http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress Nothing too specific. Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:36:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Arnold Bennett is director of the Housing Hotline. He works with about 15 staff and volunteers. We spoke at the downtown YMCA on Sunday, 26 Nov., 2006 during one of his organization's regularly scheduled two weekend clinics. JDG: You get some interesting cases. AB: Woah, we get interesting cases. Well you've been sitting here, ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=44 DAY2_0040 Originally uploaded by jdgravenor. Everybody looks dry, but two of the four (and the photographer) had just dumped their canoe in the lake, a good kilometre behind us. It didn't take long for us to take shelter ashore, get dry and down to the business of making dinner and dreaming of ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=42 Whatever happened to Beth Manley? She worked the overnight shift at (formerly) bilingual Montreal radio station CKVL. Here's a story about her from a local paper. I like the reference to drunks. And what was that traveler up to, hooking up with not one but three female tourists? To all ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=35 Montreal's own William Shatner was making headlines for his acting chops 50 years ago this month. According to the online Canadian Encyclopedia, it was the year of his big break, "when he replaced Christopher Plummer on three hours' notice in the role of Henry V, after Plummer was hospitalized." ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=34 Philippe Nicol, the guy on the right, did pretty well for himself -- if you don't mind living in a fishbowl. And maybe he -- and his wife, Rose, on the left -- didn't mind. They billed themselves as Count and Countess Philippe Nicol. He grew to a height of ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=29 From a defunct monthly publication: La Canadienne, July-August, 1921. Here's my translation: Your face is beautiful But what about your nose? Nowadays, if you want a successful life, it is necessary to to pay special attention to your appearance. Not only do you want to look as attractive as possible, primarily for your ownsatisfaction ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=27 Found this little gem in the May 1, 1933 edition of the Montreal Star. Seems that, in the political turmoil that the Great Depression fomented, a homespun fascist movement got legs. The Montreal Star, to its credit, hints here of its discomfort with the brownshirts and their "Fascist salutes." Patenaude, at ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=26 O.K., well so the pun isn't that funny. But the tenement is spanking clean (even if Jean Drapeau is just about to expropriate and tear it down). It kind of makes you wonder why they don't use that "hydro silica" process anymore. Hey, wait a minute! Doesn't "hydro" mean "water" ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=25 Well, can you blame them for leaving the bird in the car? What with all the folks scarfing down fowl of every description, it's an owner's duty to spare his beloved falcon that. What appeals to me about this story is the sheer filler-ness of it all. And the idea ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=24 Here's a shot from yesteryear that Kate M. might find interesting. (She asked about the Dorchester Bridge -- see comments.) This picture's from a 1953 newspaper article. It shows the south end of the tunnel running through Mount Royal. You're looking up Mcgill College from, I believe, atop the Dorchester ... http://www.jdgravenor.com/wordpress/?p=23