Another dramatic week! The war in Ukraine keeps getting worse! Hopefully, the pandemic for us is getting better. For many, “masks off” is a hit musical, but it will be a while before that happens for others. As it is noted in several European countries and China, the variant is causing a big rise in cases. The lifting of the testing on returning to Canada is great news for travellers, at least for those flying home. Since most of my friends drove, that will not make any difference. There was a good turnout at church Sunday in Sandford, and it was wonderful to have Bruce Harwood back with us. A small treat in honour of St. Patrick’s Day followed the service. Carol’s message about “second chances’ resonated with everyone who has ever made a mistake in life choices. Following the service, the Sandford Council members met for the last time to tie up some loose ends after two years of making decisions via email. All are two to three years beyond the end of their tenure, so thanks very much to everyone for all the work done in that time. The charge AGM is following church on the 27th. There were a number of celebrations to comment on this week. Leslie Barr Joosten Ford was mentioned earlier ahead of the big day. John Bakalaar, formerly of Uxbridge, just celebrated his 85th birthday. He and Wilma have returned from a British Columbia trip that included miles of walking, which looked pretty strenuous in many cases. Happy birthday to Mel Tindall, who is very well known in the area! Also, 28th anniversary wishes to his son Ryan, and wife Karyn, who is doing a wonderful job at their farm selling vegetables etc. Karyn does a marvellous job with baking and spending time with their kids. More kudos to Robyn Ottolini, who was part of a musical festival in England! She travelled this time with her dad Steve. Happy birthday to our own St. Patrick, Pat Molloy, who celebrates his birthday on that special day! In the special remembrance for veterans, Heidi Cushing was celebrated. Heidi joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service in WW2 in the motor transport pool. Sadly this week, we also lost another of our veterans, Harry Thornton, June 14, 1926 – March 16, 2022, of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. Our deepest appreciation to both these people! Perhaps we have a deeper appreciation of their service when we see an actual war being waged. Thanks to Tish MacDonald for keeping them front and centre in our thoughts. Happy birthday also to Rita Gates! Rita and her family lived for many years in Sandford, where their children grew up and went to school. Rita now lives in Norland and recently had several swans in front of her house. We were able to find out some information about a couple of them that were tagged. This came from the group started by Harry Lumsden a few years ago when the trumpeters were very scarce. Harry recently passed away, but his daughter and others carry on the organization. Happy birthday also to Donna Webster, whose husband Hank recently celebrated! Both are well-known in the area. Birthday wishes go out also to Linda Morgan. Linda’s sisters also had birthdays recently, so maybe a family celebration? They grew up with their parents around Sandford and still have relatives in the area. The biggest wishes go out to a wonderful lady who is one of our oldest parishioners. Zelda Steniford will be 93 on Tuesday! She still gets around quite spritely, drives her car in all kinds of weather, and shares her house with her brother Gord; it is the house they grew up in. We wish her continued good health and happiness. Young Mack Moore is ever trying something new in her horsey life. She went on the rodeo styles riding from barrel racing, and now she is involved in something called, appropriately enough, cowboy curling. I’ve never heard of this before, so I don’t know whether it’s a new sport, I don’t know but rather interesting, on sand, not ice, I think, from the photos. Our sympathies go out to one of our amazing senior piano players, Evelyn McGuckin, whose sister-in-law Norma Irene (Betty) (nee McGuckin) recently passed away. It was also a shock to read of Rod and Helen Freeman’s deaths within a month of each other. In 1968 they bought the farm across the road from me, belonging then to the Bartons, and now the Smiths, and moved from the city just a few years after I arrived. Although Rod was also a dentist, we were never had much time to interact as his practice was in the city. One of their children married one of Bob and Yvonne (Barton) Noble’s children. Our deepest sympathies to the families of the three children and many grands and greatgrands!
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