Mother met Dad during the Battle of Britain. She served as a nurse at Middlesex Hospital in London where she met Dad on one of the wards. She preferred older men; a fact that she readily acknowledged and he was an officer, which met […]

A tribute for a generation of survivors on the occasion of the Assault on Ukraine by Russia 23February 2022, and the deprivation that will surely result.. Aniela (Czechowska) Shepel 12Jan., 1926-17Apr., 2011 During the occupation of Poland in WWII, Aniela was taken by the Germans […]

The recent events in Ukraine brought to mind vivid memories of Ivan Shepel, my father-in-law.  Surely, there would be tears in his eyes and hurt in his voice. On Jan 23, 1997 Vera’s father, Ivan died. We found him sitting on the couch in […]

I was born in the decade that followed the Second World War.  Mother was Scottish, born in India during the British Colonial Period.  Dad was Canadian, raised on a farm in Grimsby Ontario.  I am witness to the Americanisation of my Canadian culture, to […]

I wrote this personal reflection, a few years ago, in honour of the 50th Anniversary of the adoption of a new national flag for Canada. The Maple Leaf replaced the British National Flag in our Parliament and the Ensign flag (circa 1957) in 1965. […]

Think of me as a ‘fully cognisant Canadian’ with opinions that you may find interesting, provocative, or (forgive my conceit) enlightening. I am a retired professional, Canadian, who needs to keep writing, just for the exercise of it so the words keep flowing. British […]