All Of The Above - Duncan's Blog

Paradise Canada Style

We discovered Tofino British Columbia last week. I had no idea it was so exotic. How else to describe this place? It matches the wonders of the world in it's alluring potion of history, geography, nature, drama and beauty. The... Read more →

Service Industry, American Style

The world loves to criticize the U.S. for pretty much everything. I'm certainly not ambivilent about the country or it's politics. It's people however are a different matter. I just returned from a 4 day trip to Nashville and this... Read more →

Salt Intake not in doubt when travelling on the 401

The city of Toronto renewed the contract for the Boardwalk Cafe the other day and lo and behold, it wasn't a McDonald's or a Harvey's or a Kentucky Fried Chicken Food. These purveyors of lousy food seem to secure many... Read more →

Banjoitis

I'm scheduling this to appear while I am immersed in a dream world brought on by a fatal disease called banjoitis. This non viral condition hits one out of every three trillion people and I'm one of it's victims. The... Read more →

Romantification of Travel

I've written here before about a middle aged couple who sold there house a couple of years ago for a huge amount of money and hit the road. I don't know them all that well but they have included me... Read more →

This Christian is the "real McCoy"

I've written often about my friend in India, Ravi Kumar. He continues to impress me with is devotion and hard work.. I received an email from him last week. Here he is riding his motorcycle with one of the Habitators.... Read more →

Harry Wolfe 1930-2008

Growing up in Algoma District and the Sault Ste. Marie area, we certainly knew of Foster Hewitt on the CBC doing the play-by-play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The real hero of the day however was the broadcaster on the... Read more →

Safari in Botswana

It all began innocently enough with a late afternoon safari. It was of course hot, dusty and as usual, exhilarating. The spottings were endless; aardwolf, wild cat, jackals and many more. We were returning to camp when we heard on... Read more →

Cape Coast Ghana

This is the last leg of our time in Ghana. We were sure glad to see the bus the day we left the village. It was time to leave. The tour company provided the bus and a terrific guide, Kofi.... Read more →

One More Ghana story

We've been safariing in the Botswana bush for the past two weeks with no Internet access. I'll write on that later. For now, one more story about Moses in Ghana. Sometime in early December: Last night was our night out.... Read more →

Market Day

December 1 We visit two markets. The first was today at the local village. We walked through the residential section of the town (a most interesting activity) to get there. Three guides (body guards) came with us. Good thing. It... Read more →

Duncan finally goes to church

Sunday, December 2 We went to a service at a quaint but very hot Methodist Church today. All of the churches we passed along the way, of which there many, were bursting at the seams with song and well dressed... Read more →

The Work

November 30 We start each day with the sound of the artisan (mason) yelling "more tar, more tar, more tar". Actually he's yelling "mortar, mortar, mortar". We go through a lot of mortar. The locals begin making the bricks at... Read more →

Now I know how Queen Elizabeth feels

We're celebrities here. When school is out, the village kids (and there are a probably 100,000 of them) follow us everywhere. And are they ever noisy. The din is overwhelming at times. Often we're sitting under our canopy talking amongst... Read more →

Village Life

November 29 I suppose if we were to stop and think about it, we'd be able to figure out the politics of a village such as this. Chances are it's the same world wide. Each family has approximately 8+ kids.... Read more →

African Light

November 28 Much has been written about the African light. This doesn't apply to the 12 hour period between 6 pm and 6 am when there is absolutely no light, but I digress. The reddish hue that permeates everything is... Read more →

Trip the light fantastic in Kofiase

November 27 The village organized a choral night for us. Four local church singing groups and the local drumming combo performed in the open air church. Dancing is mandatory so I showed the locals just how nonrhythmic and uncoordinated 2... Read more →

Children Pollution

November 26 There are simply too many kids in this country. I call it children pollution. Each family has 8-10 and when you add in the surviving grandparents and the unwed sisters to this nuclear family, that's a lot of... Read more →

Kofiasi, Ghana

November 25th. Where to begin? It's hot! As Robin Williams says so definitively in Good Morning Vietnam, "how hot is it? It's damn hot!" It got to me on the first day. I shouldn't have joined the "let's move a... Read more →

We're in Accra Ghana

After a most pleasant British Airways flight, we check in this evening, November 24th. The rooms are terrific. Of course, it's all relative. The smell of urine was a bit off-putting but we made a change and now all is... Read more →