QQN News

QQN News - December 2003

Dear Readers,

Oh my, it’s snowing again. After the drought and fires of summer this is very welcome. What has been so unique about living here in Grand Forks is that after a snow fall, the sun comes out and melts it all away. Saves on shovelling. Now it’s time to tuck in for the winter. Meanwhile, read on about violinist Jasper Wood, conductor Clyde Mitchell, and a tale of coincidences.

"One Seed" visited schools in Sechelt, B.C.

November started with loading up the old van for a visit with a few schools on the coast of BC, in Sechelt, to do “One Seed” . I also visited with friend David Dunlop and watched the Lunar Eclipse from the end of the Davis Bay Pier. Watch for an article being posted soon about David’s “Walking with Aids through Crossroads”. As I type this, the world is recognising World Aids Day, December 1st.

QQN hits CANLinks Province Hot Sites list!

I was busy doing a telephone interview last Wednesday, Nov. 26 with singer-songwriter Francine Jarry in Montreal when Gary Taylor of Gary Taylor Management contacted me about seeing my web site listed in the Province. I was totally puzzled by this, and at the same time excited. I went out and purchased a copy of the Vancouver Province and found it on page A40 under the Weekly Hot Sites. The listing can also be seen on the CANLinks web site (follow the links for Nov 26).

CANLinks criteria for making the list are what make this really meaningful.

1. We like the site;
2. The site is graphically attractive and complete;
3. The site navigation is effective;
4. There is content on the site which would be of interest to a BC audience;
5. Sites may be several pages or several thousand – interesting, funky, noteworthy, or unique content is primary criteria.

So thanks go to CANLinks for including QQN. Also listed were two other sites by my site manager at Green Thumb Web Design. Boundary Garlic and Bluestem Nursery. Bravo M! Congratulations and thanks for all your great work! The web site statistics and e-mails are also telling us that the site is working really well.

While I was off on the coast, Michael Paul, manager for Jasper Wood, left me a message to let me know that Jasper has a new CD, released this last month under the Endeavour Classics label. It’s titled “Jasper Wood – Stravinsky: Works for Violin and Piano.” I’m listening to it as I’m writing. Wow, talk about a soaring of sound. It’s about exploring new horizons in classical music – under-recorded and under-performed works. I’ve written a wee review of it for you.

Jasper Wood CD - Stravinsky: Works for Violin and Piano

Clyde Mitchell leads Sinfonia Orchestra of the North Shore

I just love this kind of work that allows me to meet so many incredible and talented people. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Clyde Mitchell, conductor and artistic director with the Sinfonia Orchestra of the North Shore, in Vancouver B.C. This is the Sinfonia’s fourth season. It was a fantastically delightful interview and has been written into an article on this website. I hope you enjoy meeting Clyde. He really is a passionate character, bubbling over with enthusiasm.

Clyde Mitchell

A tale of coincidences - interviewing my neighbour Katherine Berg

Have you noticed lately how there seem to be a lot of coincidences happening in your life? Coincidentally here’s a great example.

My 86-year-old neighbour of three years, Katherine Berg, came over one afternoon for a cup of tea and a chance to tell her story on my tape-recorder. We talked about her life in Russia, the times of Lenin and Stalin, and her family’s escape to Canada. (See Chapter 1 and 2 posted here.) We also talked about their new life in Saskatchewan and finally B.C. When we were talking about her first job in the city of Vancouver she described going for an interview in a grand house on South West Marine Drive owned by the Harry Reifel family. Actually she wasn’t the one being interviewed but she was the one who got the job.

Katherine Berg

While Katherine was explaining the mansion and the family I asked her to describe the entranceway, the downstairs dance hall, the Chinese quarters and the swimming pool with a glass house. Sure enough, it was the very same mansion that I worked on as William Switzer’s interior design assistant in 1973-4. Katherine began working there as the second floor maid in 1934. And here it is, seventy years later and I have just written a piece for Canadian Interiors (now on your magazine shelves) on William Switzer, and the second floor maid is sitting at my kitchen table. Now what were the chances? The coincidences continue….

It all started last fall when I was visiting bookshops on Broadway in Vancouver with my wee book “One Seed”. I passed the building where William Switzers Interiors used to be thirty years ago, the building which has since been Woodlands Restaurant and is now something completely different. As I walked by I casually asked, “I wonder if Bill Switzer is around, and if so, how he’s doing?”

I walked on for about five minutes, stopped in a restaurant for a snack, and was sitting at a window table staring out at the street when I saw a figure standing by a car. It looked a lot like William Switzer. I went rushing to the door and yelled out, “Bill?”
He looked at me quizically. “You are Bill Switzer aren’t you?”
He nodded in affirmation, came over, took my hand and asked gently, “Do I know you?”
“You sure do, Bill,” I replied. “I worked for you thirty years ago when we did the house on South West Marine Drive.”

“Come and join us for lunch next door,” he said. “My son Allan drove me here today from the other side of town to get the best hamburger around.”

Now, what were the chances? So when Canadian Interiors was looking for ideas for stories I suggested one on Bill Switzer, the biggest secret in the Canadian furniture industry. That too was a coincidence, getting in touch with Canadian Interiors, but I’ll save that for another time.

And this all rotates around a building known as Rio Vista, built by Harry Reifel, bought by Rosalie and Joe Segal in 1973 and re-furbished by William Switzer with me as his assistant designer. Small world. You just never know when your life is going to come back and face you. Why I say ‘face me’ was because I quit working for Bill in 1974 and spent the last thirty years wondering what would have happened if I had stayed and what Bill might have thought of me now. Thirty years of wondering and worrying. And everything is fine. Maybe these last thirty years was to write a story about this remarkable man but I had to know him in 1973 first.

I know. A long winded bit of news, but you know, these coincidences are just completely amazing. Have you had any lately? Can we ever fully explain them?

Suggested reading and listening

I’ve just finished reading Michael Moore’s “Dude, Where’s My Country.” It’s definite food for thought on the crisis with our world; the Bush administration; future oil shortages; the Middle East. Bit of a mess actually. Recommended reading for anyone willing to look at different points of views.

And about the oil shortages – CBC’s Quirks and Quarks did an item called “Liquid Sunshine” on Nov.1 which makes reference to the amount of fuel being consumed by humans in one year as coming from enough vegetation that would cover the whole planet – of course a few million years ago. Gosh, talk about depleting a planet in just a few short years of a material that took millions of years to create. What kind of legacy are we leaving? For info on the “Liquid Sunshine” segments visit the Quirks and Quarks web site.

Rather a long bit of news this month, but then, I’m a writer and I do have a lot to say.

I wish for you all a warm, safe and loving Season of Light. My gift to you all is Bite of the Month, A Gift of Magic.

May there be peace in your heart and food in your belly.
Rosemary