THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Montreal in the 1960's from youtube
Came across this youtube video of Montreal in the 1960's , some great shots we've seen before but always welcome to see again, (jmho)
Monday, September 15, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
45 years ago today ........we headed down to Yasgurs Farm
Wow 45 years ago..................Yikes baby that's a while ago & doesn't really seem that long.
Woodstock......................1969 just across the border from us in NYS.
I always laugh at a line I heard years ago, that if all the people who claimed to have been to Woodstock were really there , then there would have been 2 million at least......................lol
Woodstock......................1969 just across the border from us in NYS.
I always laugh at a line I heard years ago, that if all the people who claimed to have been to Woodstock were really there , then there would have been 2 million at least......................lol
Joni Mitchell – Woodstock Lyrics
I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me
I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
I'm going to try an' get my soul free
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who l am
But you know life is for learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me
I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
I'm going to try an' get my soul free
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who l am
But you know life is for learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Nuns Island -bypass bridge
Wow remember when we could only get to the island by boat .....now they want to bypass it.......lol
Here is a Gazette story from today Aug 13 2014
Here is a Gazette story from today Aug 13 2014
MONTREAL — The Nuns’ Island bypass bridge will open sometime this fall, according to the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated.
The bridge, which has been under construction since August 2013, will allow the bridge agency to close and reconstruct the existing Nuns’ Island Bridge, which is planned as part of the replacement of the Champlain Bridge.
Like the existing bridge, the bypass will have three lanes each direction. The bridge will also feature a dedicated bus lane, and will also have widened bike lanes.
The agency says that the bypass construction will also allow them to remove a traffic light on Highway 15 which slowed down traffic to Montreal in the afternoon.
The bridge, which has been under construction since August 2013, will allow the bridge agency to close and reconstruct the existing Nuns’ Island Bridge, which is planned as part of the replacement of the Champlain Bridge.
Like the existing bridge, the bypass will have three lanes each direction. The bridge will also feature a dedicated bus lane, and will also have widened bike lanes.
The agency says that the bypass construction will also allow them to remove a traffic light on Highway 15 which slowed down traffic to Montreal in the afternoon.
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Son of a Beach .......now competing East-West
Very nice idea to have a beach in anycase & since Projet Montreal thought of it a few years ago, is reason to consider their preferred location,...............but HEY Projet-Montreal ,any way you look at it behind the Auditorium is just plain DUMB...........the Condos built right there are built over the main GARBAGE DUMP and no matter what BS you hear from any level of Gov't officials ( they are all liars anyway) you woul;d have toxins leaching into the water from that area........the whole river I doubt is 'safe' but it is a swift running current & flo...that the other end near the (can't say nuthouse anymore) Douglas would make a little more sense (heavy on the 'little' )............lol
.....and BTW: if you don't believe me walk down the river bank just about anywhere & dig a stick into the bank & voila you will see crud & sludge oozing out......... so you may want to think about being upstream a bit since there were virtually no industries along the river from the Nat.............to St.Anne de Bellevue........(roughly).............JMHO- LesF
Here's the update Gazette story:
The mayor of the borough of Verdun said he’s going ahead with his plans to build a new beach near the Douglas Hospital, despite calls from Projet Montréal to move it east.
Several factors, including water levels, current speeds and project costs, make the Verdun Natatorium site a better location than the Verdun Auditorium, according to borough mayor Jean-François Parenteau, who said he’s hoping to bring the project to a design competition next October.
Projet Montréal leader Richard Bergeron proposed the planned beach be moved behind the auditorium, where he and other opposition councillors swam at a news conference on Wednesday.
“It would be really more expensive if we make something behind the auditorium,” Parenteau countered. “Maybe two times or three times more expensive.
“It’s important to have a beach, but it’s important to make a good decision for the citizen, too.”
Parenteau estimated that the auditorium site would cost $3 million because of extra work needed to improve the slope of the beach, while the natatorium site would cost $1.5 million.
According to borough administrators, that’s a rough estimate based on costs for other recently built beaches, and precise figures would need further study.
Bergeron cast doubt on those numbers.
“We have no idea how much it will cost, no more him than me,” he said.
A 2004 study by the borough concluded that the natatorium would be a stronger potential location, thanks to a gentler slope underwater and slower currents.
An added bonus for the borough is that the site near the natatorium, a former snow dump, has to be cleaned anyway. To build the beach there would “kill two birds with one stone,” Parenteau said.
But Projet Montréal prefers the auditorium site, citing access by public transportation.
Three métro stations are within one kilometre of the proposed beach.
“It’s an important criterion, specifically for adolescents,” Bergeron said Wednesday. “So that they can be independent and come to the beach, from anywhere in Montreal.”
The auditorium site is also in a busy residential and commercial area.
Bergeron noted that additional studies on cost must be done before a final decision is made.
“If the natatorium wins out, despite the fact that it’s not accessible, despite all other reasons — well, it wins, that’s all,” he said.
Both sides said they’re willing to sit down and discuss possible sites.
“It must not be the subject of a political war between parties,” Bergeron said. “We’re looking for collaboration.”
“I’d be quite happy to go swimming in the natatorium (site), but it seems to me that Montrealers will have better access to the site we recommended this morning.”
gbarry@montrealgazette.com
.....and BTW: if you don't believe me walk down the river bank just about anywhere & dig a stick into the bank & voila you will see crud & sludge oozing out......... so you may want to think about being upstream a bit since there were virtually no industries along the river from the Nat.............to St.Anne de Bellevue........(roughly).............JMHO- LesF
Here's the update Gazette story:
The mayor of the borough of Verdun said he’s going ahead with his plans to build a new beach near the Douglas Hospital, despite calls from Projet Montréal to move it east.
Several factors, including water levels, current speeds and project costs, make the Verdun Natatorium site a better location than the Verdun Auditorium, according to borough mayor Jean-François Parenteau, who said he’s hoping to bring the project to a design competition next October.
Projet Montréal leader Richard Bergeron proposed the planned beach be moved behind the auditorium, where he and other opposition councillors swam at a news conference on Wednesday.
“It would be really more expensive if we make something behind the auditorium,” Parenteau countered. “Maybe two times or three times more expensive.
“It’s important to have a beach, but it’s important to make a good decision for the citizen, too.”
Parenteau estimated that the auditorium site would cost $3 million because of extra work needed to improve the slope of the beach, while the natatorium site would cost $1.5 million.
According to borough administrators, that’s a rough estimate based on costs for other recently built beaches, and precise figures would need further study.
Bergeron cast doubt on those numbers.
“We have no idea how much it will cost, no more him than me,” he said.
A 2004 study by the borough concluded that the natatorium would be a stronger potential location, thanks to a gentler slope underwater and slower currents.
An added bonus for the borough is that the site near the natatorium, a former snow dump, has to be cleaned anyway. To build the beach there would “kill two birds with one stone,” Parenteau said.
But Projet Montréal prefers the auditorium site, citing access by public transportation.
Three métro stations are within one kilometre of the proposed beach.
“It’s an important criterion, specifically for adolescents,” Bergeron said Wednesday. “So that they can be independent and come to the beach, from anywhere in Montreal.”
The auditorium site is also in a busy residential and commercial area.
Bergeron noted that additional studies on cost must be done before a final decision is made.
“If the natatorium wins out, despite the fact that it’s not accessible, despite all other reasons — well, it wins, that’s all,” he said.
Both sides said they’re willing to sit down and discuss possible sites.
“It must not be the subject of a political war between parties,” Bergeron said. “We’re looking for collaboration.”
“I’d be quite happy to go swimming in the natatorium (site), but it seems to me that Montrealers will have better access to the site we recommended this morning.”
gbarry@montrealgazette.com
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Verdun to get Beach by 2017..............story in today's Gazette Deja Vu all over again.
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2009/10/23/projet-montreal-promises-a-beach-in-verdun/
MONTREAL — Official plans are still in the works, but a new beach should be open in Verdun by 2017, said borough councillor Pierre L’Heureux.
“We’re really in the preliminary, very early stages of planning,” said L’Heureux.
L’Heureux said the plan is definitely to have the beach ready by 2017, and based on early estimates, he feels it’s a realistic objective.
A few different locations have been considered and though not yet official, one front-runner would be in front of the Douglas Mental Health Institute, where the old legal snow deposit used to be, on the shore of the St-Lawrence River and alongside LaSalle Blvd.
“It’s an area that needs to have work done, regardless, so we would essentially rehabilitate the landfill, and give the waterfront back to the people of Verdun,” L’Heureux said.
The councillor said Verdun is currently looking into different design plans, after a public consultation in May showed that somewhere between 60 and 70 per cent of people were in favour of having a new beach.
Coralie Deny, of the Conseil régional de l’environnement de Montréal, said a new beach in Verdun is overdue and a step in the right direction for the city of Montreal.
“There’s always been a great demand by Montrealers to have more access to the water, there’s a lot of visual access, but not much actual physical access where people can get in the water,” she said.
Montreal is almost a “forgotten island,” Deny said, explaining how people who live on the island tend to forget its surrounded by water given how little access to it there is.
“What the beach is really part of is this whole vision of turning the borough back toward the river,” L’Heureux said.
A new beach is also set to open in Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles in 2016. Early design for that beach show it will include a boardwalk, service centres, badminton and volleyball courts and a reflecting pool. The total costs for the project are $3 million.
L’Heureux said Verdun would be interested in a similar model, but on a smaller and less expensive scale.
jfeith@montrealgazette.com
Monday, June 16, 2014
Update to the Seattle Barnes & Noble Authours Get Together
Hey great news update , Thelma sent me a photo of her signing a book at the Barnes & Noble in Seattle Washington Store at a recent get together of 6 different writers,. who graciously signed books & answered questions ,.....hopefully helping aspiring writers to continue their efforts despite the seemingly insurmountable odds against their very efforts to "just write a book that we may enjoy"
............Thanks Thelma & all of you writers out there who just want to get a message across......
........We Appreciate all your efforts & we are particularly proud of the fact that you are one of the many talents that seem to keep surfacing & making us aware of all the smart people we grew up with in Verdun / Montreal.............Thank You .
...........Cheers ! LesF
............Thanks Thelma & all of you writers out there who just want to get a message across......
........We Appreciate all your efforts & we are particularly proud of the fact that you are one of the many talents that seem to keep surfacing & making us aware of all the smart people we grew up with in Verdun / Montreal.............Thank You .
...........Cheers ! LesF
Monday, June 9, 2014
Barnes & Noble in Seattle Washington Invites Everyone to Meet & Hear - Thelma Fayle (one of our homegrown talents)
Barnes & Noble in mid June,
The following is a copy of the Invite" --- Cheers ! -LesF
For Immediate Release
Barnes & Noble
Contact: AnnaLee Zenkner
Group Author Event, Discussion & Signing
Downtown Seattle, WA, June 14th, 2014, 3-5pm
600 Pine Street, Suite 107, Concourse Level of Pacific Place Shopping Center
Barnes & Noble at Pacific Place will be hosting 6 authors of varied genres.
Join us and find your new favorite Summer read!
Featured Authors Include:
Randy Henderson, "Writers of the Future, Volume 30 <http://www.barnesandnoble.
Turn the page…open your eyes...and look into the future
They unleash the power of dreams and unlock the secrets of the universe.
They bend time, twist perception, and put a new spin on the laws of physics.
They show us who we are, what we may become, and how far we can go.
They are the Writers of the Future.
Experience their vision.
“Keep the Writers of the Future going. It’s what keeps sci-fi alive.”-ORSON SCOTT CARD
Bill Hillmann, "The Old Neighborhood <http://www.barnesandnoble.
“By writing about the streets and the people he knows by heart, Hillman shows the contrary and complex forces at work in this city.” - Dmitry Samarov, Chicago Tribune
Thelma Fayle, "Ted Grant: Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism <http://www.barnesandnoble.
John B. McIntyre, "Choices Made, Prices Paid <http://www.barnesandnoble.
Jenny Lynn Jones, "All Roads Lead to Jerusalem <http://www.barnesandnoble.
Jayant Swamy, "Colours in the Spectrum <http://www.barnesandnoble.
For additional information on these and other Barnes & Noble Pacific Place events,
contact AnnaLee Zenkner, Community Relations Manager.
"Good Luck to Thelma & the fellow guest speakers , I hope all of them enjoy their day.
Cheers ! & let's support all of our Homegrown (Montreal / Verdun talents whether they are artists , writers , journalists , photographers etc .......they make us all proud to be from Montreal ......." - LesF
ps: as the saying goes , If You Can Read This --Then Thank Your Teachers
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Well " Loddy Dah" Is Doing Alright -update from Edmonton Journal Article
Well here is an article about Dolly's book Loddy Dah, as you know Dolly is another talent from Verdun ,and she is off to Toronto tomorrow morning for the ongoing launch of her book,......writing is not an easy game & Dolly has stuck with her plan for a long time now.....so Dolly Fantastic Job & continued success.............. Cheers ! LesF
EDMONTON - Even though she’s lived in Edmonton since 1993, Dolly Dennis has never been able to let go of the many decades she spent in Montreal.
So it’s no surprise that her debut novel, Loddy-Dah (Guernica), sees the recently retired administrative assistant and multi-faceted writer — who has written for newspapers, literary journals, anthologies and the stage — returning to the scene of her youth, amid the bustle and turmoil of the end of the 1960s.
It’s a period that has become shorthand for social change, from Woodstock to Kent State. But Montreal felt that change more acutely than many other cities, Dennis says.
“It was just the best time to be young and idealistic,” she says of 1967 in particular, which is when Loddy-Dah begins. “The world was changing. Montreal was changing. It was just before the time that people started to leave. I wanted to capture that time, because I didn’t want anybody to forget what it was like. It’s not the Montreal that’s there now.
“I always knew I would write about it. I just didn’t know it would be 40 years later.”
When Loddy-Dah begins, Expo 67 is underway, putting a global spotlight on Montreal and giving the city a much-needed injection of energy and confidence. By the time it wraps up, the October Crisis of 1970, and other attacks carried out by the FLQ before that, have brought Montreal a much different kind of attention.
This, Dennis says, was the beginning of a sea change that would really take off in 1976 with the election of the Parti Québécois, whose reign in provincial politics she calls “a dictatorship.” She singles out the Charter of the French Language, which established French as the official language of Quebec and mandated, among other things, that all English commercial signage and advertising must be removed or accompanied by the same text, in French, that is at least the same size. Dennis, who is bilingual, watched as many companies, including her employer, the Montreal-based Sun Life Financial, moved their headquarters to Toronto in protest.
“It was very stressful living under those kinds of conditions,” Dennis remembers. “People just don’t get it unless they were there.”
In Loddy-Dah, however, these issues have not yet come to a boil. Her eponymous protagonist works for a small English-language theatre company, struggles with overeating (especially in contrast to her sister, who suffers from anorexia), and tries to find her way in the world.
There are some dark passages. We learn that Loddy has dealt with sexual violence since she was a child, at the hands of a cruel stepfather. And Dennis is particularly acute at showing the ways in which adult overweight women are taunted, groped and condescended to by men who see them not as people, but objects to be discarded.
“I always work with character first,” Dennis says of her writing process. “I put on some weight after menopause and went to this weight-loss group. There was this obese girl there, and I studied her. She had dirty hair and always wore red. She had a pretty tragic life. And that’s where I found Loddy.” To find her name, Dennis scoured the Journal’s obituaries page, where she eventually came across a recently deceased 92-year-old named Charlotte. For short, Lotte — or Loddy.
Earlier this month, Dennis returned to Montreal to launch her novel at the Blue Met international literary festival. She says that while some residents aren’t keen on revisiting these chapters in the city’s past, she wasn’t going to let that get in her way.
“That’s one thing about the aging process. You find out who you are, and you don’t care what anybody else says. It’s such a wonderful thing to come to grips with.
“What are they going to do, burn me at the stake? That’s been done.”
Dolly Dennis launches Loddy-Dah at Audreys Books (10702 Jasper Ave.) on Thursday, June 12 at 7 p.m.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Thursday, May 15, 2014
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