The sacred festival of Samhain (Sow'en) marked the start of Winter, and the beginning of the New Year in the old Celtic calendar. It was considered a liminal time in which the world of the living and the realm of the deceased overlapped. This was a time for the remembrance of those who passed on to an unknown place. Candles were set in the window to welcome the beloved ancestors and to light up the path of the recently departed so that they may be blessed as they set out on their new journey.
There was always an element of fear and trepidation about this night – the eve before Samhain – and also one of expectancy. Not only were certain kinds of divination practiced, but also questions were asked of the ancestors and wisdom sought from their descendants. And, it was also a 'mischief night' when young people disguised themselves, played pranks or engaged in light-hearted jokes involving the community.
The modern custom of trick-or-treating is based upon these old traditions, where those in costume went from door-to-door begging for food and drink. At inhospitable houses, for example, the gate might be removed from its hinges.
The mystery and mayhem often associated with this night is not aided by the commercialism of modern Halloween which tends to emphasize ghoulish fascination with goblins and ghosts not to mention spooks and spectres rather than the communal commemoration of their ancestors.
For those who prefer the scary sights and sounds of haunted houses and their mysterious ephemeral inhabitants, James Bay resident and local historian, John Adams highlights one haunted home worth checking out (as reported in the Times Colonist , October 31, 2010.
THE BENT MAST
The Bent Mast (512 Simcoe St.) is a pub-style restaurant in James Bay. The structure started as a house in the 1880s for the Chandler family, but over the years saw many other uses and occupants. The place has been home to so many reports of ghosts, one former employee who was familiar with paranormal phenomena suggested it might even be a portal between our earthly sphere and the underworld.
Among the most frequently reported ghosts are a middle-aged man sitting by the front window, the upper torso of a woman hovering near the women's washroom and several children on the staircase. One spectral boy in particular is said to play hide-and-seek upstairs, and may be the same one who has reportedly talked with patrons on the front-yard patio and has the ability to take control of their cellular phones.
Residents of James Bay have also reported that there are several ghosts who are known to inhabit the Gatsby Mansion Hotel at 309 Belleville Street. Apparently they appear rather regularly which is probably why it takes a certain kind of person who is willing to work the graveyard shift doing maintenance work in the more remote areas of the property.
Two extraordinary books, this time; one is fiction but has an amazing follow-up story in to-day’s world; and the other is a science based book which is very relevant to to-day’s world.
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones.
This is the story of a little girl living on the island of Bougainville, to the North East of Australia. A revolution is in progress and all the whites have left the island except one man, Mr. Watt, who is married to a native girl. Mr. Watt decides to keep the school open for the children but has only a copy of Great Expectations from which to teach. You’ve guessed it, hence the name of the book Mr. Pip.
The story of the orphan Pip living in this mysterious city of London becomes so fascinating to the children, especially a 13 year old girl named Matilda, that all they want is to take shelter in their minds from the ravages of real life on the island and immerse themselves in Dickens’s story. But too much imagination can be a dangerous thing.
The story is well written in a very good story telling style that will keep you happily turning the pages. Lloyd Jones won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize Best Book Award and was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize for this one.
And now to the modern day part of this story. On your computer, (don’t tell me you don’t have one; if so, go to the library and use one there because you must see this follow-up to the book.) Once in front of the machine, go to Google and type in the words: ‘Coconut revolution’. Up will come a page of listings on the top of which are the words: video results. Click on: Coconut Revolution (2001 50mins) and watch. What a fascinating story. You are now watching the BBC documentary from the very same island where the people have managed to win back control of the south where a huge copper mine had been established by RTZ, the world’s largest mining company. They started their fight back by firing arrows at the helicopter gun ships and making fuel for their truck out of Coconut milk!! There is even another update from when elections were being held on the island and even the rumour of a referendum to decide if they should declare independence from New Guinea.
I went back and read the book again with the video in mind. An interesting experience, to say the least.
Under a Green Sky by Peter D. Ward Ph.D.
More than a couple of hundred million years ago, there was a cataclysmic event which caused the extinction of nearly 97% of all species on earth. This event was called the Permian Extinction. All through the 1990’s and into this century, scientists have been arguing over whether or not this happened due to something large dropping out of the skies or was it caused by something much more sinister happening here on earth.
Don’t worry. You don’t need to be a scientist to understand this book. It is a fascinating chronological discussion by an expert Paleontologist who himself wrote this book, being fresh from his research and subsequent explanation of how the dinosaurs became extinct due to a 10kms wide meteor hitting the earth.
In Under a Green Sky, Peter Ward explains not only the Permian Extinction but also four others of a lesser nature, but none the less, disastrous. The evidence for these ancient cataclysms show very clearly that global warming should not be ignored. Once the oceans start belching the poisonous gas, Hydrogen Sulphide, into a poisoned atmosphere under a sky that is always slightly green and hazy, there is little left but the same dire fate that has overwhelmed this planet several times before.
Some of you may remember a while back when a whole group of people and animals living in the bowl of a long extinct volcano on the west coast of Africa were found dead one morning after the volcano had belched out a cloud of Hydrogen Sulphide during the night, killing every living thing in the area.
Now, once again you have the opportunity to see the essence of this book on video. Go to cbc.ca and click on documentaries. Now look for One Ocean Episode One. This is a fascinating film about this subject and a lot of it is narrated by Peter Ward as he goes about his studies, including some beautiful underwater filming.
Even if you don’t believe in anything to do with global warming, I would urge you to read this book and watch the video. Personally, and for the sake of my grandchildren and their future families, I would rather do something about this now, than leave it for them to have to deal with, by which time it could be a lot more serious.
These two should definitely give you some good chewing till next time,
While many are trying to stretch their dollars and pinch their pennies to cope with a recession that is over according to the pundits and politicians, the City of Victoria has its own “Happy New Year” gift to its 78,000 residents.
This little bit of “lagniappe” comes in the form of a 4.3 percent hike in property taxes this year, (or roughly an extra $17 per 100,000 in assessed property values), in spite of the fact that there are no plans for new city programs or services.
But wait, there’s more belt-tightening news on the way for taxpayers. They can expect to shell out a compounded tax increase of 24 percent or more over the next five years to the City, which will likely dwarf the expected provincial and federal government tax dollars from individuals needed to pay for a ballooning public deficit and debt. And, word has it that the economists expect consumers to step up to the plate and spend like there’s no tomorrow, not to mention mortgage their futures in order to save an ark filled with termites. Sounds like a great plan eh?
The city currently operates on an annual budget of $190 million, of which close to half represent salaries and benefits for city staff and police, while the remainder is devoted to sustaining its physical operations.
The capital city of British Columbia is certainly a jewel in the eye of its many millions of tourists, but it desperately needs more funds to finance a host of infrastructure projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars such as seismic upgrades to city facilities, repairs to its century old sewage pipes, not to mention refurbishments of a blue bridge and perhaps the Crystal Pool.
How to finance operating expenses that continue to grow faster than inflation and that are quickly depleting the city’s reserve fund, is a dilemma that elected officials, city staff and taxpayers must grapple with during the month of March (which is when the city’s budget is reviewed).
Maybe it’s time to dust off those hair-brained ideas, you know the new diamond-studded downtown destination spot, yup, that 24-hour-a-day floating casino in the Inner Harbor? Perhaps Disney could help us turn Beacon Hill Park into a fun-filled “heritage” theme park, (plus one humongous map of BC)? Or, how about demolishing all those dilapidated apartments in James Bay and replacing them with multi-million dollar high-rise condos, that’s right the ones with those panoramic views minus the cruise ships for those folks fleeing from the blizzards, bears and badlands of Alberta?
Okay, so James Bay doesn’t have a super-sized cinema…but it does have a fun flick or two plus some unforgettable nummies to enjoy with your noir/naughty night out!
Wednesday, February 10, 6:00– 9:00 pm: A sinfully delicious menu inspired by the film"Chocolat" (which will be shown during this unforgettable entertainment event at The Superior Cafe, 106 Superior Superior Street). Reservations: 250.380.9515
Wednesday, February 24, 2:30 pm: Movie & Beef Stroganoff Supper – "An Affair to Remember" at James Bay New Horizons Activity Center, 234 Menzies Street. ($5.50 per person plus $35 annual membership fee). For more information contact: programsjb.nh@shawbiz.ca or tel: 250.386.3035.
Wednesday, February 24, 6:00-9:00 pm: Great meal followed by the David Lynch film, "Blue Velvet". Come dressed in the style of the film; prizes awarded for the best-dressed film buff; movie starts at 7:15 pm at The Superior Cafe, 106 Superior Superior Street). Reservations: 250.380.9515
Friday Movie Nights – hosted by VLSCS at James Bay New Horizons Activities Centre, 234 Menzies Street. For more information contact: programsjb.nh@shawbiz.ca or tel: 250.386.3035
