Beatlemania begins ~ February 09, 1964

The day after the screaming started we were all singing "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The boys were playing air guitars and shaking their heads at appropriate moments, and the girls were imitating the screams they saw the night before. We were little kids caught up in something magical, wonderful and fun, and recess at Assiniboia School in Weyburn, in the snow and cold, was our perfect sound stage, little did it matter that the school, built in 1904, looked somewhat like a prison.

The night before we watched television with our parents. Watching television as a family was what we did then and the shows that mattered on Sunday night were all on the CBC. With only one television set in the house, and only a handful of channels at best, there wasn't much choice. We watched the Ed Sullivan Show every Sunday, usually after the regular Sunday night routine of roast chicken or beef. Eating as a family was what we did then and Sunday night was a ritual.

As a family we had been watching television together through the recent months of the American malaise after the murder of their president in Dallas. The American border was only 80 km away, yet it seemed light years distant with its violence and social upheaval. Little did we know that the political turmoil was just beginning.

That night's appearance by The Beatles seemed an antidote to the darkness of the previous two months. Something lifted, diverted our attention, and the American dream was alive again, even though it now came with a working class English accent.

It was an exciting time to be kids; our world was safe and prosperous, change was in the air and we were all so innocent. Within four years our world was noticeably less safe and prosperous, and by 1970 when The Beatles disbanded, our innocence was gone forever.

Copyright 2014 by Jim Murray.

First signs of spring in Vancouver

Today was a brilliantly sunny day in Vancouver, cool and crisp, and while there is frost on the lawn there are also signs of spring in VanDusen Gardens.

Buds are appearing on the magnolia trees and the Japanese Cherry trees are beginning to bloom.

The Hybrid Witch Hazel is doing something related to spring too.

The air is crisp and cool, yet the sun warms our faces as we walk. There is that familiar smell of dirt that accompanies the advent of spring throughout Canada; the smell of dust and rot from leaves on the ground too.

It seems too early to be spring, even in Vancouver, yet the signs are here.

Photos by Jim Murray.   Copyright 2014.

Stanley Park and an almost full moon

In recent days, we have had a mix of fog and cloud, though it remains dry. 

The low cloud cover, and the distracted light of the sun, creates slightly different shades of colours in the sky than what we are accustomed.

There is a moodiness to some of these scenes, a strangeness, a darkness.

When the cloud and fog clears, sometimes ever so briefly, the almost full moon, now waning, appears, perhaps a part of the darkness and moodiness too. 

Photos by Jim Murray. 

Copyright 2014.

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park was one of the reasons we went to Tucson, and we  were fortunate to be staying at a place so very close to the eastern half of the park: Serenity Guest House. 

The park is actually two districts, one lying about 30 km east, and the other 25 km west of the centre of Tucson. We stayed on the eastern outskirts of the city and viewed the park, more of less, from our deck.

The park was created as a National Monument in 1933, and elevated to National Park status only in 1994. It covers about 37,000 ha, of which 28,000 ha is designated wilderness.

The park conserves fine tracts of the Sonoran Desert, and includes the Tucson Mountains in the west, and the Rincon Mountains in the east. There are almost 250 km of trails in the park, with varying degrees of difficulty. Snakes and spiders are common, as are other creatures, though apart from seeing rabbits and one bob cat, and hearing coyotes, we didn't see much of anything on our walks.

In addition to the amazing saguaro cactus, which is native to the region, there are other cactus, including barrel, cholla and prickly pear.

All photos by Jim Murray. 

Copyright 2014.

Saguaro National Park is a wonderful place, and it is a great place to walk. There is a calm and beauty here that is quite magnificent. This is harsh and difficult place, yet life abounds, and in the gentle breeze, amidst the towering saguaro, the silence is a symphony.

The Human Library ~ borrow a book, discover a person

The Human Library is a novel approach to promote discussion, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding, and it is on now as part of Vancouver's PuSh Festival.


It all began in Denmark after a brutal attack on a young person in 1993 when five friends began a movement called Stop Volden, or Stop the Violence in English. Within a few years over 30,000 of Denmark's youth were mobilised as members.The Human Library project grew out of a request to the movement to organise events around nonviolence and dialogue for some of Northern Europe's largest summer festivals and concerts in 2000. Today, Human Library events take place around the world. They are all volunteer based and free to the public.


In Vancouver, the Human Library is curated by Dave Deveau of Zee Zee Theatre Company. It takes place in, oddly enough, the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library. About thirty books will be available during the run of the event, including one by our own writer and playwright, Sherry MacDonald.





It's a simple enough process. The books are actually real people with stories to tell. A reader looks over the selection on offer, makes a selection or two which is duly noted on a library card of all things; when was the last time you had a library card I wonder?








At the appointed time, the reader is escorted to their book, and for about twenty minutes a story is told and some sort of discussion takes place. Or not as the case might be.

Book titles are simple and short: HIV Positive, Born Again Christian, Sex Health Educator, Living with Dementia, Funeral Director by Day - Comedian by Night, Single Mother - Three Boys. The idea is to name the book directly and honestly, with a minimum of imaging and branding. All books are volunteers and free to all readers.

For the books, their day can be full. There is much conversation as a book can see up to ten readers during their five hour stint. In that sense it can be rather arduous for the book, I suspect. The consort does have it easier. In fact after taking out a couple of books, I left.

It is also rewarding for both reader and book. It is engaging and interesting; discussion does happen, discoveries are made. Never any late fees.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.