Tide of Times

I was recently asked, in the course of an on-line interview, what advice I have to offer young writers. I was expecting it because that same question comes up, sooner or later, in every interview I do, and it always reminds me of the best advice I ever received, from an old and greatly respected…

“You can’t go back.” How many times have we all heard that and recognized the truth of it and wished it wasn’t so? Unfortunately, it is so and that will never change. I’ve tried to change it several times, both here in Canada and back in my former stomping grounds in Britain, but no matter what…

When a friend of mine asked me recently why I don’t use “historically accurate” language in my books, my response ought to have been, “Thou kiddest me, surely?” I didn’t say it, though, because if I had, he would almost certainly have thought I had made a mistake and had really meant to say “Thou…

Christmas is coming, and even if you haven’t been paying attention, you should be aware of it by now through the sudden, massive increase in solicitations for charitable donations you’re receiving every day from every conceivable direction. It happens every year, and it’s part of the festive season, no matter what your specific name for…

I spent some time on YouTube a few nights ago, waxing nostalgic for the very early Sixties in England, when I was involved in the folk music revival, and one of the pieces I found was a recording by an old buddy who died more than thirty years ago. His name was Luke Kelly, and…

I spent a few days in hospital at the start of this month, undergoing some vascular surgery, and one evening while I was there, relaxing after visiting hours in a quiet, darkened ward with earphones in my ears as I listened to an audiobook, I realized that I was reliving one of my most pleasant…

I recently returned from Surrey, BC, where I attend the Surrey International Writers Conference every year, on the weekend closest to October 23rd. This was my twenty-second consecutive appearance there and I’ll be there again next time, God willing, because it’s the most exciting event, and the fastest-flying four days, of my entire year. The…

Last week I wrote about how perceptions of distance differ between Europeans and North Americans, and several people wrote to me, saying they knew exactly what I was talking about. But I’m still thinking about those differences and how they can affect us, even though most of us today would consider the topic to be…

I remember that on the north polar route on July 13, 1967, the Air Canada pilot banked our plane on one side and then the other, inviting us to look down at our first sight of Canada. We did, and were stunned by the vastness of the Arctic tundra and the countless lakes that dotted…

Most of the ideas for these columns come from ordinary, everyday circumstances that would be altogether unremarkable were it not for the fact that the simple act of noticing them highlights the kind of changes that are taking place around us all the time. I attend twice-weekly rehabilitation courses on living with COPD. They’re held…