Dave and Shawn McCullough both learned to play music in their parents’ kitchen growing up.

Now, many years later, they’re starting to appreciate playing with each other and are trying to find more time for just that.

Dave is 54 (“that’s 102 in dog years,” says Shawn) and Shawn is 47. It’s taken awhile for them to get back together as both have had other musical pursuits. (Dave plays bass with Red Rose Express; Shawn plays with everybody.) But they’ve joined with drummer Bill Parsons to become the house band on Wednesday Wing Night Open Mic at The Cove in Westport.

“Officially, we started playing together around ’92,” said Shawn. “We played together off and on but in the last couple of years, we’ve been playing more together.

“We have fun and laugh at each other when one of us makes a mistake.

“Probably nobody notices but us.”

“It’s just heaven now that he’s grown up,” said Dave. “There’s nothing like blood — the harmonies, the mistakes.”

As with many musicians, both grew up trying out many instruments. Dave started off with mandolin, guitar, banjo, before settling in on the bass.

Shawn found his instrument a littler earlier.

“When he was little, all you had to do was give him a guitar,” said Dave. “He wouldn’t bother you for hours.”

It’s a little bit of a different experience for the elder McCullough playing with his brother in a trio.

Well known as a solid bottom-ender, Dave said the pressure is off to a certain extent because Shawn does a lot of the singing.

“With Red Rose Express, we have three lead instruments but a lot more of the singing falls to me,” he said. “Now, most people may not know this but singing while you’re playing bass is tougher than singing while strumming a guitar.

“You have to think differently.

“Also, it’s easier to get tight in a three-piece.”

But there also seems to be one of those intangibles going on when the brothers play together.

They’re very different.

Shawn plays 200-300 dates a year. Dave has a day job (with Ontario Parks).

Shawn can be as flashy as it gets. Dave plays a more laid-back, rhythm-section style.

“I can get flashy, I just usually don’t,” Dave said. “And there’s no need to get flashy when you play with somebody like him.”

Want to learn more about wildlife identification? To spend a day outdoors exploring? To have a staring contest with a peregrine falcon? You can do all of these things and more at the Wintergreen Studios’ 2nd Annual BioBlitz. BioBlitzes bring together expert and amateur naturalists to identify as many species as possible in 24 hours. Wintergreen’s BioBlitz will take place from 12 noon Saturday June 4 to 4pm Sunday June 5, and will feature guided hikes, kids’ programs, and identification (ID) workshops with live critters. Come one, come all, and help us crack 1,000 species this year! This event is free and open to the public. Wintergreen is located at 9780 Canoe Lake Road near Godfrey

The term “BioBlitz” was coined during the first 24-hour identification event, which took place at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, DC, in 1996. Early BioBlitzes were held to measure the biodiversity of a site, which gives insight into the health and productivity of an ecosystem. Now many BioBlitzes include nature-themed programs such as ID workshops, hikes, and kids’ activities to teach and excite the public about biodiversity. A combination of scientific survey and environmental education make for a fun, enriching outdoor experience!

Wintergreen has lined up many exciting workshops for this year’s BioBlitz, thanks to the work of Kate Belmore and Monica Capovilla, Queen’s Education students who are serving as the 2016 BioBlitz Co-Chairs.

Kenny Ruelland and Matt Ellerbeck (Save the Salamanders) are teaming up with their cold-blooded friends to educate participants on reptiles and amphibians. Amanda Tracey, a PhD candidate from Queen’s University, will get everyone wild about wildflower ID. Dr. Graham Whitelaw, also from Queen’s, will teach participants to branch out and learn about trees, forest plots, and biodiversity. Joanie Lamoureux from Parc Safari will get participants up close and personal with a peregrine falcon. “I’m so excited for the workshops,” says Kate Belmore, BioBlitz Co-Chair. “We don’t often get the chance to feel the texture of snake skin, or see the strength in falcons’ feet. Spending time around animals – especially ones that we might find scary – helps us to love and appreciate them. It’s important we understand that they’re not something to fear, but something to cherish and protect.”

What can guests to the BioBlitz expect as they gather at Wintergreen June 4th and 5th? Education and entertainment from our many ID workshops. Enriching kids’ activities such as pond studies, Earth art and bird calling. Guided hikes across Wintergreen’s 204 acres, showcasing its forests, meadows, ponds, marshes, granite outcroppings, and a glacier-carved lake. Identification help from a team of expert naturalists, including participants from Kingston Field Naturalists, Queen’s University, Conservation Ontario, and many more.

“There’s a recent study that demonstrates that most North American children can recognize 1,000 corporate logos, but can’t name a dozen local trees or plants or birds,” says Rena Upitis, Wintergreen’s Founding Director. “The BioBlitz gives us a chance to change that – we’d like children to recognize 1,000 species – or more! Why is this important? Because if you can name something, you begin to know it. And once you know something, and learn to love it, you will also take steps to protect it.”

Come to the BioBlitz for a few hours, or for the entire 24-hour period. If you bring a tent, in the evening you can watch the moths gather, or do a bit of stargazing. Info: Rena Upitis, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; 613-273-8745

Visitors to the Red Door Studio Tour this past Thanksgiving weekend not only had a chance to get up close to a number of particularly friendly farm animals but also enjoyed perusing a wide variety of art and craft items made by the over 18 talented artisans showing their work there.

One artist was Mary Lou Devine of Simply Devine Paverpol of North Gower, Ontario, a fabric artist who incorporates a relatively
new product called Paverpol in her unique fabric sculptures. Paverpol is a water-based, environmentally friendly polymer medium used to saturate fabric, giving it a hard and durable finish that enables the sculptures to survive long term both in and out of doors. The medium, which has been around for 15 years, was first discovered in the Netherlands by a group of sculptors who were making over-sized floats for a Mardi Gras style event that takes place there. The artists were looking to get away
from the toxic materials normally used to finish their creations and came up with a durable water-based polymer product that is human, animal and environmentally safe.

Devine, who worked as a federal public servant in Ottawa for years and retired in 2009, took up paverpol fabric sculpture one year later and has been making work ever since. Her creations are whimsical mostly figurative forms, some table top sculptures, others free standing taller forms with titles like Gilbert of the Gower, a smiling leapfrogging elf. Devine said Gilbert was the result of challenge she suggested to a fellow Australian paverpol artist, who agreed and posed the challenge to other paverpol artists around the world.

Some of Devine's other works include tall table top figures, some of which function as necklace holders and have a surface that
resembles metal, which results from adding small stones to the medium. Paverpol is a versatile medium that can be applied to any natural fibre and for artists who especially like to clothe their creations, paverpol is a great way to go.

Devine, who started first as a painter, said that working as a paverpol sculptor allows her to paint as well as sculpt. As far as her inspiration goes, she said her ideas come from everywhere but most often her characters tend to create themselves. “I often start with an idea in my head and will find myself struggling until the character decides exactly what it wants to be.”
Devine offers classes in paverpol sculpture at her home studio in North Gower and plans to offer classes in Kingston as well.
Visit www.simplydevinepaverpol.com

The Red Door Studio on Long Bay is holding its first show over the Thanksgiving weekend. The studio is located off the Westport to Maberly road (#36), a location that straddles two successful, long standing studio tours. The Perth Autumn Studio Tour is based in nearby Brooke Valley, and the Westport Fall Colours Tour is centred in nearby Westport.

Until this year the Red Door was a location on the Fall Colours tour, but for a couple of reasons Ingrid Bron, the owner of the property where the studio is located, wanted to start an independent show that still takes advantage of the crowds that attend both tours on Thanksgiving weekend each year.

“For one thing we have always been at the edge of the Fall Colours Tour because we are far from Westport, but more than that I have been hosting some emerging and younger artists each year who are not likely to make a lot of sales, or artists who have larger pieces that are hard to sell, and paying the full studio tour fee was more than they could risk,” Ingrid Bron said.

The solution was to form the Red Door Collective, which uses a different fee structure with a lower up front payment, and try to develop a stand alone event with features that should make it an attractive show for the public to attend.

There are 18 artists who are part of the collective and three guests as well, all showing at the Red Door. They range from well-known Westport painters such as John Shea and Sharbot Lake Sign maker Donna Larocque, to newcomers such as textile artist Kim Fisher, and many others.

The art will be set up in the barn and throughout the property, which is also a hobby farm with an infamous donkey (Murray), sheep and other livestock. There will be music performed periodically throughout the weekend and locally sourced food prepared in conjunction with the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, in addition to the unique artwork on display.

The Red Door collective includes: Meghan Balogh – photographer; Diane Black - sculpture in clay and iron; Steven Boyd - stained glass; Ingrid Bron - salvage art; Jim Craig - jewelry designer; Mary Lou Devine - fabric sculptures; Shawn Donaldson, Abstract painting and mixed media; Martina Field - collagraph prints; Kim Fisher - textile creations; Lynda Johnston - Totally Hooked; Cindy Laneville - mosaic stained glass artist; Donna Laroque - signs and portraits; Douglas MacDonald - cast stone; Jana Osterman - multi-media art; Marguerite Roberts - textile art; John Shea - architectural landscapes; Jim Sprague – woodturning; Rhéni Tauchid - painting; Jennifer White - watercolour painting.

For further information go to Reddoorcollective.ca. The show runs from 10 am to 5 pm, October10-12.

Scott White, a transplanted painter and carpenter originally from Newfoundland and now residing with his family near Westport, said that if it were up to him, he'd be painting full time.

White, who is primarily a self-taught artist, has been painting for over 20 years. He said he fell in love with painting back in high school. A number of his canvases were on display at the Glendower hall near Godfrey on February 21 as part of the historical society’s open house there.

White's preferred medium is oil and his subject matter is diverse. He is particularly drawn to historical buildings and landscapes, both local and some in Newfoundland, as well as antique and vintage cars.

His works, especially his landscapes, seem to capture the drama of his eastern Canadian birth place. His Newfoundland landscape titled “Norris Point” is a particularly enticing canvas with deep and bright hues that make the expansive white house perched on the rocky shore seem to glow from within. White also paints local landscapes and he said he was fascinated and inspired by the buildings and geography at Bedford Mills, which is the subject of another painting where he captures the historic architectural charm of one older building located there.

Old vintage cars are often front and center in White’s canvases and in one painting he depicts a red 1934 Ford emergency vehicle. “I love painting older vintage cars since they have certain characteristics that you don't often get to see and I chose to paint them partly as a way to preserve their uniqueness.” White paints at his home and has set up a studio in his garage where he works in the warmer months. He moves the studio into his home in the winter time.

Asked if his carpentry in any way informs his art work, White said that while carpentry can sometimes be a creative outlet, especially when designing certain prescribed spaces, painting offers him a totally different kind of freedom. “When you are painting you don't have to follow any rules at all. The options are endless and the challenge is that you can turn a blank canvas into anything you like.” He said that he will often paint from photos especially when depicting an actual place but he also takes creative license to make his paintings more interesting and dramatic. As an example, in one landscape he added a snowy owl perched on a fence post, which he said was not actually there. In some cases he will first create a number of sketches and then paint from those.

White's work is currently hanging at the TAG Art Gallery in St. Catharines and his paintings can also be viewed at the Sharbot Lake Country Inn. He is planning to apply to a number of summer art shows this year including the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit. Anyone wishing to view Scott White's work can visit www.2-scott-white.artistwebsites.com or visit him on Facebook at ScottWhiteFineArt. Appointments can be made to visit his studio by emailing him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feature Article - May 15, 2008

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Feature Article - May 15, 2008 Central Frontenac slows Earthworx composting planBy Jeff Green

Faced with a contentious zoning application by Casey Shea of Earthworx, Central Frontenac planning consultant Glenn Tunnock recommended that it be deferred, and council agreed.

Tunnock said that the applicant should be asked to file an application for an Official Plan amendment, giving the township an opportunity to require Mr. Shea to provide assurances and complete environmental studies before proceeding.

“In my opinion, there is no merit in council proceeding with this application until Mr. Shea has undertaken some studies. I do believe strongly that there are deal breakers in this case. The applicant needs to demonstrate that he can receive certificates of approval from the Ministry of the Environment. A significant issue is the noise issue, and air quality as well,” Tunnock said in presenting his report to council.

Earthworx is seeking a zoning change in order to make the site, which is located on the Westport Road in Hinchinbrooke district, available for the composting of what are known as source-separated organics. The company intends to answer a request for proposal from the City of Kingston to set up curbside pickup of compostable materials, including table scraps, bones, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. The material would be trucked to the Westport Road site for composting.

Current zoning at the site, which was obtained in 2001, allows only for the composting of leaf and yard waste, and the material to be composted can only be sourced from Central Frontenac Township. Earthworx has never proceeded to obtain approvals from the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) to set up any large scale composting at the site, which is mainly used as a quarry and for topsoil extraction, and as a holding site for a variety of landscaping materials that Earthworx markets in the Kingston area.

Tunnock's report outlined the three certificates of approval that a composting site would need to obtain from the MoE, and talked about local considerations that the township could concern itself with as it considers an applicaiton for an official plan amendment. These included visual impacts and site layout, vermin and animal attraction, and traffic impacts.

“Further information that should be provided to the township as part of the process includes: site dimensions, setbacks from the proposed operation to property boundaries, expansion plans, setbacks from water and wetlands, on-site parking, buildings, if any, and proposed landscaping,” the report says.

I'd like to say this report is pretty good and thorough,” said Councilor Bob Harvey. “This shows us the hoops that Mr. Shea has to jump through. The only question I have is that when it talks about air quality, it talks about health issues, but there is also the issue of proper enjoyment of property. That's the only issue that I'd like to see looked at further. If there is a negative odour coming over, it is not what people expected when they bought their property.”

Glenn Tunnock agreed. “It boils down to an issue of land compatablity and if the land use is not compatible with other uses, then the township should not be approving this zoning, in my opinion,” he said.

In accepting Tunnock's recommendations, council approved a motion calling for site plan control, a hydrogeological study, noise asessment, the filing of a plan regarding occupational characteristics of the proposed operation, and said the municpality may require licensing of the facility under the municipal act and the establishment of a public commitee to deal with concerns that arise.

“I think it paves out a clear path for us to follow before a facility of this kind can be brought into operation. A poor site is a headache in the long haul,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski before council approved the motion.

A number of residents from nearby properties, including 13 Island Lake in South Frontenac, which is located one kilometre from the Earthworx site, attended the meeting.

Glenna Asselstine, who has become an unofficial spokesperson for the group, asked that the township make a better effort to communicate to the people who are concerned. “I only found out that this report was being presented tonight because I happened to call the township office on Friday. Otherwise we would not have been here,” she said.

Feature Article - July 17, 2008

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Feature Article - July 17, 2008 Basking in the history of Bedford TownshipBy Julie Druker

It is no wonder that June Quinn, Chair of the Bedford District Historical Society located at Glendower Hall at 1381 Westport Road, sometimes is amazed at the amount of information that she finds floating around in her head at any one time.

That amount recently increased exponentially since the society held an Open House on Canada Day. Roughly 40 local history buffs turned out to dine, chat, exchange stories and personal histories and to explore the wealth of historical information on display at the hall.

June was thrilled by the turn out. “It really gives people a thrill to see and touch history, especially if relates to them personally.”

A history buff herself who has delved thoroughly into her own family history, June thought originally that she’d write a book about the people from Bedford Township. She soon realized, after having spoken to many locals, what needed her immediate attention. She explains, ”More than writing a book, what was needed was a historical society where stuff could be gathered and generations could come and see their ancestors.”

So the society began three years ago this coming November and it presently boasts 15 members. Most of the artifacts that have been gathered and donated are stored and displayed in the office and library sections of the Hall. These artifacts include old documents from the town hall, schools, and churches, maps, photos, etchings, family histories, and the John Laughlin Collection of over 40 books donated to the society in December of 2007. Hours of work have gone into collecting, documenting and organizing the materials. One could spend hours exploring the history of the area and learning some very interesting facts.

For example, did you know that:

In 1896, Andrew Grey held military training sessions for local farmers at the Burridge School House? Or that the Corcoran family of Godrey,who sold their farm in the 1940s, returned every year for 15 years to celebrate their annual family reunions in the fields that no longer belonged to them? Or that a tornado touched down on Green Bay in 1963 and caused a considerable amount of damage?

Art lovers will appreciate a copy of a colored, etched landscape scene from the area titled “Wolf Lake from Fermoy Village” which was copied out of the Canadian Illustrated News and is dated November 25, 1876. The original art work is located at the national Archives in Ottawa.

After a visit to the society, one comes to understand the general history of the area.

Logging began in Bedford in the 1830s. Trains came along after that in the 1860s. In 1854 the post office opened up in Godfrey and Fermoy and the stagecoach was then extended to Westport.

Westport Road used to be called Mast Road after the huge pines that were cut down from these forests and used as masts for English ships. These fresh cut pines traveled the Westport Road and likely headed to the Rideau Canal or to Kingston, where they were loaded onto ships and sent to shipyards in England.

Also of interest is the old framed photo of the Council of Bedford Township dated from 1900 and whose frame bears a bullet hole from one gone astray, likely from the gun of a young rabble rouser.

The stories are endless and the history fascinating. All one need do is take a bit of time and stop by The Bedford District Historical Society located in Glendower Hall at 1381 Westport Road. You’ll definitely come away knowing more than you did when you stepped in.

It is open every Tuesday from 1pm-7pm in July and August. The society is also in great need of volunteers to help organize the large amount of artifacts and information coming in. Anyone interested in volunteering is greatly encouraged to do so. For more information call June Quinn at (613) 273-7241.

Loons Lost and Loons Found
by Ross Sutherland

We thought the new Mitchell Creek Bridge would be a disaster for the loons: and it was. But like all dark clouds the silver lining finally showed through.

Within a week of the bridge’s completion, someone had cleared fallen trees from the creek’s channel to facilitate faster, bigger, boats. Then the loons came, as they do every year. That year, however, the higher waves from the larger boats washed them off their nest. There were no chicks that season nor for the next four years.

Then a crack of light shone through in the form of a radio report on loon recovery. Humans were building floating platforms so that nests could ride over a boat’s wake. A quick internet search turned up a variety of clever raft designs from the rustic (four cedar logs nailed together) to the high tech (aluminum frames with a roof and ramps).

But would a nesting platform work on Mitchell Creek? All of the plans called for the rafts to be 30 meters from shore, which would put the nest somewhere in the woods, on the other side of the creek. Yet the loons had successfully nested on the creek for at least two decades, if not millennia. Luckily, they had not paid attention to our definition of a “best loon nesting site.”

Their chosen nesting location had been on top of a specific muskrat push-up in a marshy bay. The water here is a metre deep, not the three meters supposedly required for a loon nest. However, it is close to the only pool in the river which might make three metres of depth in a very wet spring. If it was good enough for the loons, it was good enough to try a loon raft.

As luck would have, felled cedars were among the leftovers from recently cleared hydro lines. A day’s work in the crisp fall air (one of the truly wonderful times near Frontenac Provincial Park) was all it took to build a sturdy cedar log square with a galvanized chicken wire bottom.

The platform was towed into place and canoes carried swamp muck, bulrush mats and motley native sedge cuttings to be packed between the logs. It was hard to imagine how all the pieces would survive the first good wind let alone attract any self-respecting loons.

The next spring the loons, ever hopeful, arrived on the creek. Then they were gone. But instead of disappearing they were on the nest. And they stayed. In the midst of one wild wind storm we watched the raft, with loon abroad, calmly riding the waves.

Near the end of June, after weeks of silence, we were woken in the middle of the night by loud, joyous loon calls. A 5:30 a.m. paddle found two tiny chicks bobbing in the water with their parents as the sun’s light broke through the trees on the eastern shore of Mitchell Creek.

Urban Hikers
by Kristin Mullin

Picture this: it’s a bright, October day in Westport. You are hiking a vibrant mountain covered in trees that are peppered with leaves of all colours. As you breathe in the crisp autumn air you can smell the change of seasons and hear the birds and small animals scurrying around. Your lungs welcome the burst of fresh air that replaces the grit and grime of stale city air. It’s so tranquil, a beautiful rustic setting – one that satisfies your need for peace during hectic days at home.

Picture this. It is a bright warm October day in Westport.

Now add a small child into the mix. Replace the nature sounds with squeals of delight as a toddler armed with boots, a hat, mitts and snacks takes the trail by storm and scans the forest for critters, determined to hug and kiss every single one. Then watch her burst into tears at the injustice of it all when they flee from her in terror (luckily toddlers are easily distracted and the area has a bountiful supply of forest creatures).

After relentlessly chasing the poor critters that call this area home my daughter and I lapped up all of the intense beauty that surrounded us. We raced up the hills and climbed what felt like hundreds of species of trees. We found mushrooms and caterpillars in the underbrush and took pictures of all kinds of interesting bugs. We were even fortunate enough to spot a young fox sunning itself on a rock.

As our hike concluded, we decided to head down to the Village of Westport for a snack at the Village bakery and reflect on all that we had seen and done. Our Foley Mountain adventure took twice as long as we had anticipated (mostly due to the activities mentioned above) but all-in-all it was a glorious afternoon and we have been itching to return ever since.

Being from the city, I am so thankful to live in this region and have access to so many beautiful sites where I can take my daughter to connect with nature. Thanks to experiences like this, she has a wonderful passion for the outdoors and a love of all nature.

Municipal composting controversy surfaces again in Central Frontenac

A group of South and Central Frontenac residents who live in the vicinity of the Westport Road will be challenging one of the proposed changes for the new Central Frontenac comprehensive zoning bylaw.

Their objection harkens back to a dispute that was played out at Central Frontenac Council early in 2008. At the time, Shea Construction was proposing to establish a regional composting site for source-separated organic waste at their property on the Westport Road, which is located not far from the border with South Frontenac and 13 Island Lake.

One of the hold-ups at the time came from the zoning of the property. At the time the zoning permitted a “composting facility for the processing of leaf and yard waste where the waste originates from the municipality.”

Shea Construction was bidding on a contract to provide a composting facility for a new green box program for the City of Kingston and they wanted to use their Westport Road facility for that purpose. They proposed changing the zoning bylaw to permit a composting facility for the processing of source-separated organics with no limits on the origin of the waste.

A public meeting on the proposal was held on April 21, 2008. A number of local residents registered their concerns about the proposal, which ranged from potential odour, groundwater contamination, increased presence of rodents, etc.

After the public meeting Council directed their planning consultant, Glenn Tunnock, to prepare a report in response to the issues that had been raised.

According to Glenna Asselstine, one of the adjacent property owners who appeared before Council on April 21, 2008, the mayor also made a commitment to keep the group of objectors informed as the process moved forward.

Subsequently the Kingston composting contract was awarded to someone else, causing Shea Construction to lose interest in the bylaw amendment.

As far as Glenna Asselstine knew, no planning report was ever prepared. “I know for sure that we never received any notice so I assumed the report was never brought to Council,” Assestine told The News.

The people who had objected did not think much further about the matter. But when the notice came out about an information session about the new Central Frontenac comprehensive zoning bylaw, Glenna Asselstine went to the CF website and searched through the lengthy document to see if there was anything about the lot in question or about municipal composting.

“I was surprised to find, on page 175 of the bylaw, under ‘Waste Management Facility’, under section 5.15.4, that an exception zone is included for that very property, which was exactly what Shea Construction had asked for,” Asselstine said.

A meeting of nearby residents was hastily convened, and they decided that at this point they must make their objections known to the municipality.

“We feel that the township tried to slip this into the zoning bylaw, Glenna Asselstine said.

She has sent an email to the township CAO asking him if it was a staff or a council initiative to put the change into the comprehensive zoning bylaw.

Asselstine said that she has contacted more than half of the members of Council, and none of them indicated that they were aware of the proposed change in zoning, which only applies to the Shea property.

“All I know is that if we wish to appeal the comprehensive zoning bylaw, we must raise an objection in person or in writing, so we will deliver our objection in person on Saturday,” she said.

A public information session on the new zoning bylaw will take place on Saturday, August 7, at the Oso Hall between 10 am and 1 pm.

 

Photo: Helen Humphreys

Book lovers gathered at the United church in Westport for the Westport Art Council's 3rd annual Writers’ Reading event and were treated to a sneak peak at four celebrated authors’ latest works.

Roy MacSkimming read from Laurier in Love, his just-released work of historical fiction about the life of Sir Wilfred Laurier as told from the vantage point of the two women he loved simultaneously during his lifetime. His wife Zoe, a “ quiet, loyal, demure and retiring personality” and his mistress Emilie Lavergne, a charismatic, sophisticated, fiery and well-read intellectual. Laurier is a fascinating personality and many biographies have been written about him but MacSkimming admitted, “It was the darker side of Laurier that drew me in...the side of him that made him human.”

Helen Humphreys, who now resides in Kingston, read from her latest work, a new novel titled The Reinvention of Love that is slated to come out next fall. It is based on the real life love affair between Victor Hugo's wife Adele Foucher Hugo and Hugo's good friend, writer and literary critic Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve.

Humphreys read the first two chapters, which were a rollicking and comedic ride through the trials and tribulations facing Charles and proved an inviting teaser into what will surely be an entertaining romp through this particular love triangle during 1830s Paris.

Trevor Cole gave his first public reading from his latest novel called Practical Jean, his third novel to date, which was just recently reviewed in the Books section of Saturday's Globe and Mail. A “serious” comedy set in the fictional town of Kotemee, the tale delves into the topics of friendship and death. The book's main character, Jean Horemarsh, begins to question the meaning of life after watching her mother's demise from cancer.

Cole's reading was highly comedic and the book, when read aloud by him, sounded more like a play, which is not surprising since two of his books Norman Bray and The Fearsome Particles were both adapted for radio and optioned for film.

Last but not least, former leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, Ed Broadbent, read from three different sources of his own writings, each in his words, “reflections of my concerns as a social democrat”. They all specifically concerned the topics that have been the primary focus of his career in politics: equality, democracy and citizenship.

He began reading from an essay that appeared in the Queen's Quarterly a few years back titled Canadian Citizenship and the New Barbarism, which outlines the reasons behind the recent downturn in social democratic thinking in this country, but also in the US and Britain.

He also read from a Bronfman lecture that he will be giving at a later date at the University of Ottawa.

His readings were dense, and filled with facts and statistics that provide much food for thought on the direction in which the nation has been heading. He highlighted the latest findings from various studies, which have determined that social equality is of the utmost importance in maintaining healthy robust democracies, citing that “more equal nations and states prove to be better off in almost every way.”

Each author took questions from the audience, and listeners had an opportunity to purchase books and speak intimately with some of this country’s most popular authors and personalities.