Columns
Kicking off Chaffsgiving, we welcome you to the most sacred holiday of all! Gather 'round a table of strangers - not friends, not family, but people you barely know, because Chaffsgiving
The other morning I was washing down the sink after breakfast, flushing close to a gallon of water to get rid of a few remnants left from the porridge pan.
The price of a moratorium, The fight for farmland, A time to give thanks
Late last week, I saw the great journalist Isobel Yeung post on social media about a clash in her calendar. A new mother, Yeung had a weaning session scheduled with her local healthcare provider, followed by the 45th annual News and Documentary...
Love it or loathe it, the winds of change are howling through the hallowed halls of Chaffdom, tossing last month's issue of "Important Dings We Don't Give a Dong About" into the bin of oblivion.
Sometimes when I listen to right-wing supporters in the U.S. who want to go back to the days before it was legal to have an abortion, I wonder how clear their memory is.
The perfect storm, Report cards, Earning its place in history
Kids are smart. This is something that I've learned over the past four years or so as Jess and I have had two of them. Oh, they may not be smart in the sense that they nap when given the opportunity
Monuments are often erected to commemorate the most illustrious achievements of civilizations. Yet, as we find ourselves ensconced in the year 2124, it is not the grandiose statues, towering skyscrapers, or ambitious space elevators...
Whether it's in the U.S. or, recently Canada, there is much talk about federal elections; a little more than a month away in the U.S. and just about any day in Canada after the NDP withdrew its support from the federal Liberal government.
How do you like them apples?, This must be the place, Community connections
It seems that every era has its own set of customs and ideas about what is proper and what is not. If we were to step back in time, we might be quite surprised at the wording used in local newspapers and, to be fair, should a person of a bygone era...
Never have we seen a monkey more valiant than Albert III, the long-tailed macaque that dared to defy the heavens, only to be thwarted in the most explosive fashion.
Over the years in this space I have often reflected on the impact of a life (while making the case for more robust obituaries to be written) or someone's impact on their community and everything that has been made better...
Whether through books or movies, or in our local case, theatre, we have an opportunity to learn about the past. With the case of Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: The Farmerettes, the production that wrapped up the season at the Blyth Festival...
We need them to do more, Organized chaos, A new name
For readers who attended a one-room schoolhouse, perhaps their memories are similar to mine. I attended SS#1 school at Port Albert.
O, Captain! My Captain! It is with a heavy head and heart that The Chaff must announce that the most hallowed of 'eens will not be taking place this year.
Full-scale election fever is running amok these days and everyone either has it or is avoiding it like the plague, which it kind of is.
We have the U.S. election this fall, which will mark Donald Trump's official return to politics...
Well, the Blyth Festival has finished its 50th anniversary season, the streets of Blyth are not crowded with hundreds of people trying to find a place to park and the merchants are missing the extra customers coming in.
A new, hazy mess, On shaky ground, More in common
Having attended a number of concerts at Toronto's fabled Massey Hall over the years - even seeing one semi-recently after the years-long renovation process - there is something that sometimes happens...
Ponder this for a moment: how much of your day do you spend talking when you could be doing something far more fun? If you've ever felt bogged down by words, let's have a chat about "brevs".
Canadians can be grateful as we simply look on from a distance as the U.S. faces, for the third straight U.S. presidential election, the possibility that Donald Trump could be elected and completely change...