Columns
Last week, you will have read, I was shortlisted for the Better Newspapers Award for Best Rural Story by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association.
Hello, hi, hey, hi and hello! It's winter - the season of snowflakes, hot cocoa and... chaffed lips. Yes, that delightful sensation of your lips feeling like they've been rubbed against a cheese grater every time you step out into the crisp, cold air.
We're in late February and, even though spring isn't that far off, with all of its hope, many people are depressed.
A convenient death, Left to unravel, Justice delayed
On July 1, 1895, proud parents James and Emma Vokes, of Toronto, named their son Hadfield Arnold Samuel Vokes. That was quite a long title for the young lad to wear, but perhaps it was a precursor to the varied and rich life...
Last Friday, Cooper, our son and second child, turned one year old. Some of his family was around on Thursday for a little party and then, on Friday, I took the day off so we could spend it together.
I didn't get to my normal routine this past weekend when I sat down to watch the local news (either on CTV-2, London or CTV-1 on Kitchener) because there was none. Boy, did Bell Canada act quickly after announcing...
Zero stars never been there, Pleased to meet you, Just when I thought I was out
Friends, foes, fr-enemies, foe-nemies, ene-friends, friend-emoes, moe-ne-friends, rent-a-friends, friend of friends and feline friends, welcome to The Chaff - your weekly full-frontal, free-for-all, frolic festival...
For those of you who read the editorials in this fine newspaper, you may think that sometimes it feels like something's missing, depending on who you are and how you think. There's often a reason for that.
As we approach Valentine's Day, the most romantic day of the year, here's betting that a lot of potential grooms will use the holiday as the moment to propose. Elsewhere, many couples will make the holiday their wedding day.
Who can you trust?, In search of the truth, Behind closed doors
Just the other day, I was talking to one of our proofreaders about some of the big, juicy columns that I've got on the shelf. There are a few very big picture topics that I hope, one day, to tackle, but that are so big that it might take a long time...
Each and every year, on the second day of February, rowdy rodent revelers roar, whistling whistle pig well-wishers warble, wound-up woodchuck-watching weirdos wail, and great big groups of gritty groundhog gawkers gather to give'r
Last Saturday marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, and seldom since the end of World War II has the world needed such a remembrance day, even if it was 79 years ago, on Jan. 27, 1945, that the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated.
A living legend, Ahead of the curve, The unknown future
The hardy people who came to carve out their homes in the primordial forest used all the resources available. The soil produced crops for sale and food to eat.
Much is being made in today's world about inclusion. The act of helping everyone feel as though they belong, regardless of a number of factors, is a trend very much heading in the right direction.
Don't worry, darlings, The Chaff is back to deliver another dose of deliberately dopey and delightfully dumb discourse on dis, dat and d'everything draining and dripping down from our brains...
For years now, one of the forgotten concerns of our world has been the baby boom. Suddenly it's the baby bust.
Let's not pave paradise, The tip of the iceberg, A shot at redemption
Standing tall among the people who built Blyth in its early days was Patrick Kelly. This gentleman, born in Tipperary, Ireland, was an enterprising businessman who had lumber and flour mills in Blyth.
Life is not easy for journalists right now. Distrust in news is on the rise, turning a buck remains a challenge and freedom of the press is under attack all over the world.