Category Archives: Cheerfulness

45 years and away they go . . .

Yes, I have come to the time when the ongoing challenge of acquisition and relinquishment has tipped, permanently, I hunch, in the direction of relinquishment. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Judith Hardcastle bought some spanking new packing boxes. … Continue reading

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HB 450: Mr W. S.

Yes, old Will is 450 today; and yet, like the figures on Keats’ Grecian urn, he remains forever young. I rejoice today in the fact that he and I have been buds for almost 60 years. I was introduced to … Continue reading

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Certainty and uncertainty

Many of you will know that I am a parishioner of Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver. I went there as a teenager, and now I find myself back there as a senior citizen (more accurately, an old crock, since the … Continue reading

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Hallowe’en: a moveable feast

Hallowe’en: a moveable feast I say a  moveable feast, not that it moves from day to day–it’s always October 31–but that its meaning changes. I had a conversation this morning with my pharmacist about this, a man a little younger … Continue reading

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“I didn’ ‘ave the Latin …”

Perhaps some of you who were walking upon the earth in the sixties will remember the “Beyond the Fringe” British comedy record. One of its memorable skits concerned the man who had thought of becoming a judge, but he couldn’t, … Continue reading

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“Every day” – a song from Max Woolaver

Those of you who know me well will know that I am profoundly ignorant about music. When I was a teenager, I wondered why people my age were so interested in bands and singers and so on–couldn’t figure it out. … Continue reading

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Clown: A guest blog from Lisa Voth

I  asked my friend Lisa Voth to write a guest blog for me, because I had taken one of her workshops and enjoyed it immensely. I found it stretching, uncomfortable in the best sense, and illuminating. I noticed many parallels … Continue reading

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Happy Valentine’s Day anyway …

Valentine’s Day (indeed, Saint Valentine’s Day) and Christmas have something in common. Christmas Day has devolved (degenerated?) in our culture into a day on which many of us, consciously or unconsciously, take stock of our lives and decide whether or … Continue reading

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“I didn’ ‘ave the Latin …”

Perhaps some of you who were walking upon the earth in the sixties will remember the “Beyond the Fringe” British comedy record. One of its memorable skits concerned the man who had thought of becoming a judge, but he couldn’t, … Continue reading

Posted in Cheerfulness | 2 Comments

Leonard and Thomas

At the moment, I am teaching a course in the Seniors Program at Simon Fraser University called “Leonard Cohen and Thomas Merton: poets, tricksters, soul-brothers.” Each week I stand before some 96 students (87 women, nine men) and talk about … Continue reading

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