“You are something, perhaps crazy!”
That’s the email my older and wiser sister wrote to me when she heard I was the new editor of The Townships Sun. Yep, at a time I should be fading into the sunset, here I am facing a new challenge that, for once, is not health-related.
I’m enjoying it, although not rejoicing in the circumstance that opened up this opportunity for me – the untimely passing of past-editor Barbara Heath, whom many of you knew, or knew of.
With almost 50 years under its belt, The Townships Sun is a little community magazine in English about “Townships life and culture, past, present and future.” Remembrances are the most natural place to start when thinking of the English-speaking community, but I’m trying to encourage more content – articles, stories, poetry, photos, artwork – about the present and future of our community.
Now I have trekked through the editorial work of the first two issues. The first one was delayed by a paper shortage, but is now in the hands of subscribers and on the shelves, including a new shelf at the Cookshire IGA. This issue has the dual themes of “Truth and Reconciliation” in the Townships and the new surge of Townships book writing, publishing and reading – both present and future.
The December-January issue will feature a sampling of visual artists – so many in the Townships, with such varied approaches! – including two in the Haut-Saint-François. Accompanying their work are short stories and other local and inspirational offerings on other topics.
What’s so much fun? Being in contact with such creative people. Learning even more about the fabulous community in which we live. Thinking more deeply about the time in which we live, the past that led us here, and where we are heading.
How has the pandemic changed us? Who are the great photographers among us? What are the concerns of the next generation? What do you know about any “disappeared” hamlets near you? (Maple Leaf, for example)? And so much more!
If you can contribute to this discussion, I’d be very interested in hearing from you at editor@TownshipsSun.ca.
ESCAPING BOMBING IN SCOTLAND
First published in Scotland and just now released in Canada is a memoir named Marjorie’s Journey: On A Mission Of Her Own. It tells the story of a young Scottish woman who, to escape the bombing during World War II, led a group of 10 children on a daring journey by ship from Scotland to South Africa, where she set up a home for them.
The Quebec connection is the author of this little book, Ailie Cleghorn, a retired professor at Concordia University. Her mother was a close cousin of Marjorie Marnoch, and they grew up together in Ailie’s grandparents’ home in Aberdeen. Cleghorn tells Marjorie’s story, chronicling extensive research and interviews with the children that took her on an international mission of her own.
And the Townships connection is obvious, for those of us with roots in Scotland! To hear a short interview with the author, visit scotlandstreetpress.com/journal.
RESOLVING CONFLICTS IN RELATIONSHIPS
From Mental Health Estrie is a workshop via Zoom, free and in English, on Wednesday, November 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Melanie Hughes will present “Conflict Resolution for Interpersonal Relationships.” To register, visit Mental Health Estrie’s Facebook page, email outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com, or call 819-565-2388.
CHRISTMAS MARKET IN COOKSHIRE
This extravaganza of crafts has some 20 exhibitors showing off and selling all kinds of treats, edible or not. The Market is on Sunday, November 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Victoria Hall, 125 Principale West, Cookshire.
OSCAR AND WALTER IN LAC MÉGANTIC
The exhibit by Tony De Melo has been extended to December 6: Trials and Tribulations: Oscar and Walter, an Encounter shows a series of paintings using actual texts from Oscar Wilde’s trials, on which he enlarged and superimposed details from Walter Crane’s engravings and drawings. You can see this thought-provoking exhibit at the Galérie Métissage, 6361 rue Salaberry, Lac Mégantic, Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SMALL ART IN COOKSHIRE
A massive group show of small format artworks by beloved artists from our region – that’s what the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery is offering in the period leading up to Christmas. The exhibit of “gift-sized” works opens on December 11. Heads up: One of the artists is Denis Palmer. Look for more details in the next Rachel Writes.
STUFF WANTED IN CANTERBURY
Thinking ahead they are, those people at the Canterbury Centre. “We are beginning to collect items for our Marché aux Puces (Flea Market) at the Canterbury Centre: antiques, collectibles, household wares, small tables and chairs in good condition, architectural items, stained glass, old photos, prints, and paintings. We do not take large appliances, furniture, electronics or clothes. Call 819-872-3400 and Tony will get back to you,” writes Ed Pederson of the Bury Historical & Heritage Society. The Marché aux puces is planned for July 2022.
CHURCHES
United. In-person Sunday services are bi-weekly. The November 21th service is at home; November 28th services are in person at Trinity United, 9:30 a.m., and Sawyerville United, 11 a.m. Info: 819-452-3685; spiresta@hotmail.com; or United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge (Facebook).
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). The service is in French at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 4 p.m., Sundays, on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by November 29 for publication December 8, or by December 13 for January 5.

Joel Barter sent us a terse message: “The first Home Children wreath ever laid in Quebec will be in Bury at 2 p.m., November 6, 2021.” Lori Oschefski, the CEO of the British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association confirmed his assertion.
Remembrance Day! We have so much to remember on November 11. Before 1931, as Armistice Day, it marked the day the First World War ended in 1918. Later, it became an occasion to remember all wars, and the veterans who served in them.
We wear red poppies in remembrance of “all those who have served in the nation’s defence,” (warmuseum.ca).
Starting in 1933, the members of the Women’s Co-operative Guild in Britain began also wearing white poppies in support of peace. Today, peacepoppies.ca encourages us to wear white poppies, signifying a broader remembrance to include civilians who now make up 90 percent of conflict victims, and supporting the use of non-violent means of conflict resolution.
And we lay wreaths to honour those killed.
Now, for the first time, Joel Barter is laying wreaths for the more than 100,000 children shipped from Britain to Canada between 1869 and the 1930s – the first wreath at the cenotaph in Bury, then another at the Gibbs Home, 806, 13th Avenue North, Sherbrooke (for the date, see Joel’s Eastern Townships Roots Facebook group.)
Today, more than four million Canadians are descended from those original children who landed here unaccompanied by adults – many at the Gibbs Home. They worked as farm hands and servants, cut off from their families. Their stories are replete with hardships, tragedies and also miracles. At 100objects.qahn.org is one story about Home Child Frederick Williams and his “home-child-box” of belongings. Stories about other children are at pier21.ca.
Barter has helped 10 families find their relatives, mostly through his Facebook group. “I got immersed in it and decided to help with getting their story out,” he wrote.
CEREMONIES
Remembrance Day ceremonies: Thursday, November 11, at 11 a.m. in both Sawyerville and Cookshire. At 11:45 a.m.: at Island Brook in Newport, and in Saint-Isidore-de-Clifton. On Saturday, November 13, is a ceremony at 1:30 p.m. in Weedon. On Sunday, November 13, it is at 11:30 a.m. in East Angus. Bury and Scotstown ceremonies were November 6.
LISTEN!
Mental Health Estrie is offering two workshops via zoom, free and in English. On Wednesday, November 10, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Rachelle Doucet will teach “Active Listening Skills.” On Wednesday, November 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Melanie Hughes will present “Conflict Resolution for Interpersonal Relationships.” To register, visit Mental Health Estrie’s Facebook page, email outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com, or call 819-565-2388.
WINTER EATING
How to support your immune system and mental health over the coming months of shorter, colder days and winter blahs and sniffles? Registered dietitian Cora Loomis will tell us how to do this by “Eating Well for Winter.” At lunch via Zoom on Thursday, November 18, from 12 to 1 p.m., she will talk about foods, supplements, and forms of self-care to keep us happier and healthier during winter.
WINTER EXERCISE
Are you vaccinated? Are you willing to wear a mask before arriving in your exercise area? Will you wash your hands, bring your own materials and water bottle, and stay one metre away from other participants?
If your answers are “yes,” you are welcome to any of the Viactive groups listed below. All three of the bilingual weekly exercise groups for people aged 50+ are free of charge, and newcomers are welcome to begin anytime.
In Cookshire, Serena Wintle welcomes you on Wednesdays, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Manoir de l’Eau vive, 210 Principale East. Info: 819-875-5210.
In Newport, Lyne Maisonneuve and France Demers invite you to the Viactive group at the Municipal Hall, 1452 Route 212, Island Brook, on Tuesdays, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Info: 819-889-1340 or 819-560-8565.
And in Sawyerville, Denise Nault and Gérard Nault facilitate the group at the Église Notre Dame du Rosaire (Catholic church), 4 Randboro Road, Sawyerville, on Wednesdays, at 10 a.m. Info: 819-889-2630.
OSCAR AND WALTER
Trials and Tribulations: Oscar and Walter, an Encounter by Tony De Melo contemplates two men. He created a series of paintings using actual texts from Oscar Wilde’s trials, on which he enlarged and superimposed details from Walter Crane’s engravings and drawings. You can see this thought-provoking exhibit at the Galérie Métissage, 6361 rue Salaberry, Lac Mégantic, until November 30, on Thursday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
COOKSHIRE CHRISTMAS MARKET
To avoid delivery delays, visit the Cookshire Christmas Market. It’s a two-storey extravaganza, with some 20 exhibitors showing off and selling all kinds of treats, from wine to wooden toys for all ages, and from maple syrup to baked goods. Prices range from $3 to the sky’s the limit, if you are an extravagant gift giver. The Market is on Sunday, November 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Victoria Hall, 125 Principale West, Cookshire.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). The service is in French at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 4 p.m., Sundays, on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. In-person Sunday services are bi-weekly. November 14th service is at home. November 21th services are in person at Trinity United, 9:30 a.m., and Sawyerville United, 11 a.m. November 28th service is at home. Info: 819-452-3685; spiresta@hotmail.com; or United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge (Facebook).
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by November 15 for publication November 24 or by November 29 for December 8.

You know the banded woolly bear caterpillar, don’t you? The one that is covered with short, stiff hair bristles, bands of black bordering a swathe of brown. The one that is said to forecast the severity of the coming winter.
The one that is in charge of the weather station at the airport in Westbury, you say?
Something I did not know was that the banded woolly bear caterpillar is the larval form of the Isabella tiger moth, a beautiful winged creature wearing yellowish-orange and cream-coloured wings spotted with black. The caterpillars hatch in summer and overwinter under bark or inside cavities of rocks or logs. In the spring, they spin fuzzy cocoons and transform inside them into moths.
I found this information at almanac.com, the Old Farmer’s Almanac online. The almanac also says not to worry if you find an all-black woolly caterpillar; it does not mean winter will be endless! All-black or all-white woolly caterpillars are different species, and do not predict the weather.
And yes, a scientist has inquired into whether woolly bear caterpillars really forecast winter weather. That’s how this all started, the idea that the wider the black bands, the more severe winter will be.
In the fall of 1948, Dr. C.H. Curran, curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, travelled north, collected scads of caterpillars, determined the average size of their brown bands, and on that basis, forecast the winter weather for the New York Herald Tribune. Over the next eight years, he and his friends, the Original Society of the Friends of the Woolly Bear, had lots of fun predicting mild winters. But their sample size was small; they didn’t really have evidence of a link between winter weather and the width of the brown band.
Thirty years later, the idea took force, with Woolly Bear Festivals in October in North Carolina, Ohio and probably elsewhere. Sort of like Groundhog Day. All in good fun.
But read on. Mike Peters, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts says there could indeed be a link between winter severity and the brown band of a woolly bear caterpillar. “There’s evidence,” Peters told the Almanac, “that the number of brown hairs has to do with the age of the caterpillar – in other words, how late it got going in the spring. The [band] does say something about a heavy winter or an early spring. The only thing is… it’s telling you about the previous winter.”
Hmm. The thought occurred to me – could we learn something from the woolly bear? Perhaps that correlation (less brown and severe winter) is not necessarily cause and effect? Or that the effect and cause might be reversed – that harsh winter causes caterpillars to hatch late, and sport more black?
Isn’t science fascinating?
BEING AN ALLY ON PRONOUNS DAY
“Being an Ally: Standing with your LGBTQ2S+ Loved Ones. That’s the topic of an online talk by Dr. Nate Fuks of the Department of Psychology at McGill University, on Wednesday, October 20, at 6:30 p.m. The presentation is hosted by Mental Health Estrie (MHE). It is online, in English, and open to all at no charge.
Emily McBurney of MHE writes, “We invite you to join us on International Pronouns Day (October 20) to further the conversation and increase understanding of the current issues of concern to the LGBTQ2S+ community.” To register, contact Emily at outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com or 819-565-2388. She will send you the zoom link.
Ok, here are some clarifications. “International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities.”
You can find that explanation at pronounsday.org. The annual Pronouns Day began in 2018, and is the third Wednesday of October.
Now then, what does LGBTQ2S+ stand for? Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer or Questioning-Two-Spirited. The plus-sign signifies a number of other identities; check ok2bme.ca for more information.
COOKSHIRE ART EXHIBIT ENDS SOON
The Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery exhibition of landscape paintings inspired by the Haut-Saint-François, Le Haut en tableaux by Ginette Djinn Bertrand, Diane Dugal, and John Ward, continues on Sundays only, from 12 to 4 p.m., until November 7, at Victoria Hall, 125 Principale West, Cookshire.
UPDATE ON PLASTIC PASSPORTS
Diane Grenier of the Centre d’action bénévole du Haut-Saint-François tells us the CAB is no longer making plasticized vaccination passport cards. The Quebec government now wants people to contact them directly at 1-877-644-4545 to obtain a wallet-sized card. “The government gave us permission at the start to do this,” she explained. “But they started having problems along the way, so they shut it down and made one direct line for all.” She opined that they should automatically send a card to people after their second vaccination, and I do agree with her.
CHURCHES
United. In-person Sunday services are every two weeks: at-home service on October 17; in-person service at Trinity United, 10 a.m. on October 24; at-home service on October 31. Info: 819-452-3685; spiresta@hotmail.com; or United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge (Facebook).
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). The service is in French at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 4 p.m., Sundays, on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by October 18 for publication October 27 or by November 1 for November 10.

Yes, I have my vaccination passport.
I’m proud to say I’ve kept my little yellow booklet safe since 1971. It’s approved by the World Health Organization and documents my smallpox, yellow fever, cholera, and typhoid vaccinations. I made sure to keep my vaccinations up to date so the countries I wanted to visit would let me in.
In 1989, I got another little yellow booklet, this time from Health and Welfare Canada. It documents these vaccinations: polio, tetanus, diphtheria, typhoid booster, Immune Serum Globulin (against hepatitus A, measles, chickenpox, rubella), rabies, Adenovirus (ADV, against Acute Respiratory Disease, or ARD), and Twinrix (against Hepatitus A & B).
I’m especially happy for my polio vaccination. When I was born, it had not yet been invented. My grandfather had polio and spent most of his life severely crippled.

He was not alone. Between 1949 and 1954, polio paralyzed about 11,000 people in Canada, many of them children; 1953 alone saw nearly 9,000 cases and 500 deaths.

Polio came to Canada in 1910, and stayed until 1994. The Canadian Public Health Association tells the story at cpha.ca/story-polio.
And now, my two Moderna vaccinations against Covid-19 are documented in a QR code on my cell phone. I am happy to show my new passport when required; I am glad to do my part in the fight against the novel coronavirus and its army of mutants.

Why would anyone hesitate to get this vaccination when its health risks are so few compared to those that come with getting Covid? It puzzles me. But I have learned not to argue about it. The disease of “knowing” seems to have gripped many of our minds.

I’ll let Mark Twain have the last word: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

SENIORS’ EMERGENCIES
This is a life-or-death topic: Medical Emergencies in Seniors. A video-conference is to offer life-saving information about the most common medical emergencies that seniors and caregivers can face, and how to handle them. The Zoom is planned for Wednesday, September 15, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
“Knowledge is power, and the more we know, the quicker and better we can act.”
So says the presenter, Jennifer Hobbs-Robert. She is senior advisor at the Jeffery Hale Community Partners in Quebec City, and has a Master’s degree in nursing. The JHCP is a community organization that promotes health and well-being among the English-speaking population in the Quebec City region.
To sign up and get the Zoom link, quickly contact Michelle Lepitre at ml@townshippers.org.
SEX TALKS
Two workshops entitled Talking about Sexuality are planned for the coming two Fridays via Zoom, from 12 to 1 p.m. The interactive lunchtime talks are led by Gabrielle Joncas-Brunet, consultant and educator for consent culture, sexual health, and gender diversity.
The topic on September 17 is Gender and Sexual Diversity, and on September 24, Emotional/Sexual Autonomy and Sexual Decision-making. Gabrielle will offer answers to your burning questions and explore what impacts our autonomy, our decision-making process, and how we can bring more intentionality and well-being into our lives.
To register and receive the Zoom link for the workshops, contact Michelle Lepitre in advance at ml@townshippers.org.
POET D.G. JONES
“For the mind in time / is a perishing bird, / It sings and is still.” That’s from “The Perishing Bird,” a poem by Douglas Gordon Jones, in which he likens human thought to an ecosystem that contains birds, bees and butterflies. The poem can be found in The Essential D.G. Jones, published in September 2016, some six months after he died. It was the last of his 12 books of poetry.
Jones was one of Canada’s great lyric poets, and he’s ours – a Townshipper who lived in North Hatley and taught at both Bishop’s University and the Université de Sherbrooke. He also co-founded the bilingual literary journal, Ellipse; the only literary periodical in Canada to offer reciprocal translations of both English and French Canadian poetry. He received two Governor General’s Awards, one in 1978 for poetry and one in 1993 for translation.
A “literary ramble” at the D.G. Jones Writing Cabin, 120 Houghton Street, is on Sunday, September 26, at 4 p.m., with the kind permission of his widow, Monique Baril-Jones. Leading the visit will be Steve Luxton, poet in residence at the Lennoxville Library. To join his half-hour talk, sign up in advance at bibliolennoxvillelibrary.ca/activities/ (scroll all the way down to “adult activities”), or call 819-562-4949. Participation is limited to 12 persons.
To see a video of Steve Luxton’s talk about Ralph Gustafson two weeks ago in Bury, visit artsunaean.ca.
CHURCHES
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 4 p.m. (new time) Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Sunday services: September 19 is a Home Worship Service, and September 26 will be in-person worship (time and place TBD). Please bring proof of vaccines, and wear a mask while in the building. You will be asked to register as you enter, and ushered to your seat. Please bring your own sustenance/beverage to the service (no social time after). Offering plates will be at the door for those who would like to contribute. Paper and digital copies of the service will be available afterwards. Info: 819-452-3685; spiresta@hotmail.com; or United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge (Facebook).
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). The service is in French at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by September 20 for publication September 29 or by October 4 for October 13.

Literary Rambles with Steve Luxton.
Anyone who has heard Steve speak knows he has the gift of a silver tongue, spinning stories and poetry with an inimitable British accent. But did you know he’s an amateur naturalist, and a nature walker since his early childhood in England? In short, he’s the perfect sauntering companion, revealing nature and history in a poetic light.

Steve Luxton of Hatley is the Lennoxville Library’s poet in residence, and this summer he’s leading a series of Literary Rambles in the Estrie, including our part of it. He was in the Johnsville Bog last month. On August 22, he’ll be at the Louis Dudek house in Way’s Mills to share the 20th century writer’s story and poetry. On September 5, it’s on to Bury where his talk will take a Scottish slant.

The rambles are really more of a stroll in the heart and mind, while participants’ bodies leisurely sit at the bard’s feet.
On August 8, I joined his small group in the cemetery just behind the Green in Hatley Village. We strolled past the gravestones to sit together beneath a spreading maple.

There he regaled us with excerpts from and revelations about the “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” by British poet Thomas Gray, published in 1751. A lament for the common man whose talents go unseen, Gray’s Elegy is still frequently quoted today.

In Gray’s days, it was the most popular poem in English. Before the battle at the Plains of Abraham, British General James Wolfe was heard to say he would have preferred to be the author of the Elegy than to be victorious. So the story goes. Soon after, Wolfe died: Maybe his mind was on that possibility.

Luxton also treated us to his reply to Gray’s Elegy. His is a contemporary poem in free verse, inspired by the very graveyard in which we were sitting. It mentions a monstrous manure spreader, a “deer’s slim legged and round bellied silhouette,” and “Old Man Drew” who died when his ride-on mower rolled down a slope.
We were enthralled. The two cemeteries, one in 1751, one in 2021, seemed to merge.

To see a video of Steve’s talk, edited by John Mackley, visit ArtsUnaean.ca.
Luxton’s Literary Rambles begin at 4 p.m., all ages welcome. The Lennoxville Library has limited participation to 12 persons. Sign up in advance to receive the exact meeting location and details at https://bibliolennoxvillelibrary.ca/activities/, and scroll all the way down to “adult activities.” Or call 819-562-4949.
LOCAL MARKETS
Here’s your passport to our local farmers’ markets. Clip it and keep it.
First, in Westbury, the public market is at the Town Hall, 166 Route 112, on Thursdays at 4 to 6:30 p.m. until August 29.
Next, the village market of Sawyerville at the Community Garden, 70 Randboro Road, is on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. until September 25.
Third, Dudswell’s market is at 167 Main Street, Bishopton, at 9 a.m. to noon until September 18.
Over in Lingwick, the Marché de la petite école is at 60 Route 108 on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. until September 10.
Catch the public market in La Patrie under the wooden shelter (l’abri-bois) on Chapleau Street, on Friday, August 20 and September 3, from 4 to 7 p.m.
And new in our area is the farmers’ market at the Canterbury Cultural Centre at the corner of Route 214 and Canterbury Road. This market began during the recent Flea Market in support of the Cultural Centre, and is continuing on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., until August 28. Harmony Farms (Route 108 near Card Road) is among the contributors.
CANTERBURY FLEAS
By the way, both the Canterbury farmers’ market and the flea market were “a great success. Thank you!” said Ed Pedersen. The Bury Historical & Heritage Society made well over $2000 for the Canterbury Cultural Centre.
SAWYERVILLE YOGA
Myrna Lowry plans to lead a new 10-week session of yoga in Sawyerville on Tuesdays at 10 a.m., beginning September 14. Distancing and mask protocols are to be followed when not stationed on a properly distanced yoga mat. The exact location is to be announced. To register: Myrna at 819-875-5393 or myrnamac44@gmail.com.
COOKSHIRE ART GALLERY
The Hors Zone exhibit of painters André Philibert, Odette Gauvreau, and Frédéric Lapointe is coming to an end. Their deliciously diverse work is at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery’s Victoria Hall, 125 Principale W., Cookshire, until September 5, open Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
COOKSHIRE ARTISANS’ BOUTIQUE
Artisans’ creations are for sale at the Maison de la Culture John-Henry-Pope boutique, 45 Principale W., and is open Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., until September 5.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). The service in French is at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 10:30 a.m. Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Rev Tami is away for holidays from August 16 to 31. For pastoral care, please call Ms. Virginia Wallace at 450-521-4889.
The United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge will have an in-person joint service on Sunday, September 12, at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity United Church. Proof of vaccines must be shown at door, and masks are mandatory. Please use the ramp door. If you are feeling unwell, please do not attend. Paper and digital copies of the service will be available after the service. Info: 819-452-3685.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by August 23 for publication September 1st or by September 6 for September 15.

A close friend told me she would not be getting vaccinated against Covid-19, and had decided not to tell acquaintances whether or not she was vaccinated. “It’s my choice.”
What to say, what to do?
Mulling it over, I read an ethicist’s column on this very question in the New York Times Magazine. A reader reported her sister had told her parents she’d been vaccinated, but informed the reader that she had not been, and would not be.
The reader was afraid this deception would put their elderly parents at risk of contracting Covid-19, even if the parents themselves had been vaccinated. Neither “herd immunity” nor vaccinations are 100 percent effective. Our best defense is if all persons in contact with each other have been fully vaccinated.
What to say, what to do? Should she call her sister and ask her to come clean to their parents?
The ethicist’s response was short and pointed. “It sounds as if your sister… has neglected to consider how her decision affects others – unless, of course, she simply doesn’t care. Your parents, given their age, have an increased risk of ‘breakthrough infections,’ and they have let their guard down with your sister because she lied to them. Call your parents now. The only call you should consider making before you do is to your sister, telling her what you’re doing and why.”
We limit our personal freedoms everyday for the common good! We stop at red lights. We don’t drive when intoxicated. Please, let’s get vaccinated, too, and if we can’t, let’s be honest about it. For the common good.
FARMERS’ MARKETS
When we first moved to Maple Leaf in the 1990s, we could find no farmers’ markets in the area. As far as we knew, the nearest direct farm-to-consumer outlet was the Atwater Market in Montreal. But change has been a-comin’, and these days I count four such ongoing markets in the Haut-Saint-François, mostly outdoors, and offering organic, fresh and delectible produce.
In Dudswell, the Marché public at 167 Main Street is open Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
In Lingwick, the Marché de la petite école at 66 Route 108 is open Fridays, 4 to 7 p.m.
In Sawyerville, the Marché Villageois at 70 Randboro Road (Route 210) is on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In Westbury, the Marché public at 166 Route 112 is open Thursdays, 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Information about the markets and the producers who frequent them is available online at agroalimentairehsf.com, in English and French. The website comes to us from the SADC, and provides information about 9 local producers of cheese and eggs; 21 of maple products; 24 of meat, poultry and fish; 14 of prepared foods; and 30 of fruits and vegetables.
Yay, yay, and hooray!
CANTERBURY FLEA MARKET
The Canterbury Center at 1095 Route 214 is putting on its large annual flea market at the end of July. All sorts of things – antiques, collectibles and used household items – will be on sale, priced from 50 cents to $50. The sale will be set up inside the newly restored church building, while outside, a small farmers’ market will sell vegetables and crafts.
« We try to sell items that are in good shape, clean, and well organized, and also inexpensive, » said Tony De Melo, member of the Canterbury Center Committee of the Bury Historical and Heritage Society. « All Covid-19 protocols will be respected – hands, distance, masks. »
The proceeds of the sale will go « to maintain this historical building and help sponsor activities, » he said.
A Gothic Revival-style church, the Christ Church Canterbury opened in 1896, and served the Anglican community for 124 years. The Bury Historical and Heritage Society acquired it in 2015 to serve as a cultural center. Since then they have carried out some impressive restorations for the distinctive little building with flying buttresses.
They built a new foundation and made general repairs. They restored the building’s stained glass windows, gave the steeple a new roof, put louvred shutters in the bell tower, painted the exterior, re-wired the electrical system, and are now completing the landscaping.
« The building sparkles like a little jewel! » De Melo said. « Our next step is to make new frames for the small windows. »
The flea market is planned for two weekends, July 31 to August 1, and August 7 to 8. All four days, it is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donations of items to the sale may be made in advance by contacting Tony De Melo at 819-872-3400.
HAPPY HOUR CONCERT
On Sunday, July 18, at 5 p.m., is an outdoor Concert in the Park entitled Airs d’été, with Myriam Genest-Denis playing flute and Valérie Milot on the harp. This is the second of four concerts offered this summer by the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery in the Parc des Braves, 18 Parc Ave., Cookshire.
CHURCHES
United. Home worship services are available Fridays after 2 p.m. at Sawyerville United Church (box on top of freezer), or at Trinity United Church (plastic bag at basement door). To receive services by mail or email, or for pastoral care, contact Rev Tami Spires at 819-452-3685 or spiresta@hotmail.com. Facebook info: United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge.
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are with Covid-19 protocols in place (distancing; masks can be removed when sitting down; wear masks when singing, etc.). The service in French is at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 10:30 a.m. Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by July 12 for publication August 4 and by August 9 for August 18.

Hôtel de Ville de Bury.

Lors de leurs séances du 7 juin, les conseils municipaux de Bury et de Newport ont tous deux voté à l’unanimité en faveur d’une résolution pour conserver leur statut bilingue. Ce sont les deux seules municipalités « bilingues » de la MRC du Haut-Saint-François, et leurs conseils sont composés de francophones et d’anglophones.

Le statut bilingue permet légalement aux municipalités de communiquer avec leurs citoyens en français et en anglais, que ce soit par la signalisation, les factures de taxes, les courriels, les bulletins, le site Web ou en personne.
Les résolutions de Bury et de Newport faisaient suite au projet de loi 96 déposé le mois dernier à l’Assemblée nationale du Québec par le ministre responsable de la Langue française, M. Simon Jolin-Barrette.

Le projet de loi du gouvernement propose un certain nombre de révisions à la Charte de la langue française au Québec ; l’une d’entre elles révoquerait automatiquement le statut bilingue des municipalités si le nombre de ses citoyens « dont la langue maternelle est l’anglais » se comptait à moins de 50 pour cent de la population. Afin d’éviter ceci, une municipalité bilingue devrait adopter une résolution pour conserver son statut et le faire dans les 120 jours suivant l’adoption du projet de loi 96. L’adoption du projet de loi pourrait survenir avant la fin de 2021.

La loi actuelle permet aux municipalités de conserver leur statut bilingue même si le nombre de leurs citoyens dont la langue maternelle est « une langue autre que le français » s’inscrit sous la barre de 50 pour cent. Le statut bilingue n’est retiré qu’à la demande d’une municipalité. Antérieurement, très peu de municipalités ayant un statut bilingue ont fait cette demande, a déclaré le ministre Jolin-Barrette.

En vertu du projet de loi 96, environ 50 des quelque 90 municipalités et arrondissements bilingues actuels du Québec perdraient leur statut à moins d’adopter une résolution pour le conserver.

Un sondage téléphonique du journal Le Devoir a révélé que moins de cinq de ces municipalités renonceraient à leur statut bilingue. À l’instar de Côte-Saint-Luc dans la région de Montréal, plusieurs municipalités ont déjà adopté des résolutions pour conserver leur statut bilingue avant même que le projet de loi 96 ne soit adopté.

Au recensement de 2016, 29 pour cent des résidants de Newport et 28 pour cent de la population de Bury ont identifié leur « première langue officielle parlée » comme étant l’anglais. Selon une définition de « langue maternelle anglaise », le pourcentage pourrait être encore plus faible si on omet les citoyens dont la langue maternelle n’était pas l’anglais, mais qui parlent maintenant l’anglais à la maison, au travail ou à l’école.

Les deux conseils municipaux ont modelé leurs résolutions sur celle de Côte-Saint-Luc qui décriait la « définition étroite de la communauté anglophone » de la nouvelle loi et d’autres modifications à la loi actuelle. Les deux résolutions ont souligné le statut bilingue « comme essentiel au caractère de la municipalité et comme témoin de la présence historique des deux communautés, anglophone et francophone, dans la municipalité ».
Le maire de Bury, M. Walter Dougherty, a déclaré que « même les municipalités sans statut bilingue sont obligées de communiquer aux citoyens dans d’autres langues que le français s’il s’agit d’un problème de sécurité, comme un avis sur l’eau. Je vois que le projet de loi 96 érode de plus en plus nos droits aux services en langue anglaise. »
« C’est une question de santé et de sécurité même si seulement cinq pour cent de la population ne parle pas français », a-t-il dit. « Nos familles se sont mélangées, tout le monde s’entend en quelque sorte. Je trouve ça triste et décevant. C’est dommage qu’ils ouvrent cette boîte de Pandore. »
Le maire de Newport, M. Lionel Roy, a déclaré que l’adoption de la résolution était « sans aucun doute une décision facile. Nous nous considérons comme une municipalité bilingue et nous voulons que ça reste comme ça. Tout le monde était unanime ».

For some decades now, many English speakers in Quebec have expressed a sense of not quite belonging in their homeland. Numerous studies have observed this.

Look at the proportion of Quebec civil service positions held by English speakers: Less than one percent. Compare that to the percentage of the Quebec population whose mother tongue is English: More than eight percent. This is equally true in Quebec City and Montreal, reported a study carried out by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) at Concordia University in 2018.

Who commissioned this study? The Quebec Government’s very own Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise, or Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers. Below in this column is news about two projects funded by this same Secrétariat, and they both have to do with the question of belonging.
One has to do with belonging in a larger sense. The other aims to offer youth an inside look at how the Quebec government functions, and how to participate in it.

Good initiatives, I say. But a certain confusion about belonging still hangs over me, about how these efforts line up with other factors. Factors such as Bill 21 banning religious symbols for many government employees, and now Bill 94, proposing new limits to the use of English.
Belonging is a complicated question. « The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority; the test of courage comes when we are in the minority, » said Ralph W. Sockman. We have ample need of both tolerance and courage, as a Quebec society today.
BELONGING IN QUEBEC
The COM-Unity project is all about belonging, if you are an English-speaking Quebecer. The project was inspired by a 2018 survey of English speakers across Quebec by the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise. The survey found that English speakers « have mixed feelings about their identity as Quebecers, and an ambiguous sense of belonging in the province. »
What to do about this? The Secrétariat funded six community organizations to create projects about identity and belonging. Members of these groups represent various ages and backgrounds within the English-speaking community.
« Our rich history has shaped us, and our story has been evolving since the very beginnings of our time on this land, as has our identity, » reads the project description.
Now – tomorrow! – you can see the results of this project in the form of an online celebration. It promises « exciting new videos and thought-provoking presentations » by the six partners, involving hundreds of people of all ages, from all around Quebec. Included are « surprising artistic creations from youth, poignant videos from the Black community, touching interviews with seniors, » and more.
The event is Thursday, June 10, at 12 noon. To register, visit this link: tinyurl.com/com-unity-2021.
The COM-Unity partners are the Black Community Resource Centre, the English Language Arts Network (ELAN), the Leading English Education and Resource Network (LEARN), the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN), Seniors Action Quebec, and Youth for Youth (Y4Y). The project is coordinated by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) at Concordia University.
BISHOP’S YOUTH FORUM
The Civic Leadership Institute for English-Speaking Youth at Bishop’s University is free of charge for young people aged 17 to 26 who are interested in leadership in today’s Quebec. It is billed as a virtual gathering with peers from across Quebec.
The Forum has a jam-packed schedule from August 13 to 17, offering speakers, workshops and activities in an interactive virtual gathering. It offers an inside look at how Quebec institutions work, including the Quebec National Assembly, political parties, business, community organizations, and media. The aim is to « give participants not only a sense of what it is like to work in these major sectors, but also how to influence change. »
The event wraps up with a mock Parliamentary Commission, featuring feedback from « several Quebec luminaries. »
The initiative is supported by the Quebec Government’s Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise.
Find more information and register by July 1 at bishopsforum.ubishops.ca.
EATON CORNER MUSEUM
Summer job opening: The Eaton Corner Museum is looking for a Heritage Interpreter to work with genealogy documents, beginning June 16 for four days/week, 6 hours/day, for eight or nine weeks. For information, email eatoncorner59@gmail.com with “Heritage Interpreter” in the subject line.
The Heritage Interpreter will not be working with the public because Museum will remain closed to public visits during the 2021 season, announced Sharon Moore, for the Board of Directors. Questions? Leave a message at 819-875-5256, or visit the Eaton Corner Museum Facebook page.
ADULT ED THIS SUMMER
For persons age 16 and older, the Eastern Townships School Board’s Adult Education Summer School offers virtual high school courses, free language courses, and free employment services through Job Links. The registration deadline is June 18. Info: etsb.qc.ca/adult-education-summer-school-2021/, or email adulted@etsb.qc.ca.
CHURCHES
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 10:30 a.m. Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Home worship services are available Fridays after 2 p.m. at Sawyerville United Church (box on top of freezer), or at Trinity United Church (plastic bag at basement door). To receive services by mail or email, or for pastoral care, contact Rev Tami Spires at 819-452-3685 or spiresta@hotmail.com. Facebook info: United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge.
Baptist. In-person Sunday services for 25 or fewer persons with Covid-19 protocols in place (wash hands at the entrance, stay 2 metres apart, use assigned seating, wear masks, do not shake hands, and leave via the exit door). The service in French is at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-239-8818.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by June 14 for publication June 23 and by June 28 for July 7.

How are we surviving the pandemic? By now, we’ve each discovered our own coping strategies. In our house, one of these is Star Trek. Most evenings, we’ll be sitting together, absorbing and critiquing two episodes of the various series.

We’re never so attentive as when they are about pandemics in farflung sectors of the universe. The noble fight against the evil virus inevitably involves urgently developing a vaccine. The episode ends in a blaze of glory, humanoids saved once again.

The story assumes the whole population is eager to get the shot in the arm. I guess the writers couldn’t imagine vaccine hesitancy.
“If you think of this as a war,” said Michael Carney of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “we’re about to enter the hand-to-hand combat phase.” And it’s risky, said the New York Times article which quoted him. “If it takes too long to reach ‘herd immunity,’ the point at which the spread of the virus slows, worrisome new variants could emerge that evade the vaccine.”
Here, Star Trek gives us another useful metaphor: the Borg. One of their unique strengths is their ability to quickly mutate. “Resistance is futile.”
And so it is with the coronavirus. Give the virus enough time in enough lungs, infecting cells and hijacking them to make new viruses, it will make little copying errors, or mutations. Eventually, a set of inherited distinctive mutations is shared by a group of coronaviruses, and we have a variant.
By not getting enough people vaccinated quickly enough, and by not preventing its spread, we give the virus the opportunity it needs to develop a new set of weapons against us.

Let’s be clear: The war is against the virus, not other people. But I’ve not yet seen a dystopian movie that imagined the war could be lost by people refusing the remedy. Except, now, in real life. Those refusing measures to prevent continued infections are, in fact, fighting on the side of Covid-19. Imagine that!

GARDENING TIPS
Learn about Pollinator-friendly Gardening from master farmer/gardener Mary Ellen Kirby of the Bergerie Heritage Hill Farm in Martinville. It’s a Zoom presentation on Thursday, May 13, at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Townshippers’ Association offers this free of charge; just register in advance by contacting Vanessa at va@townshippers.org.
STRESS-BUSTERS
The last of the “Building Your Mental Wealth” workshops from Townshippers’ Association are via Zoom, on the next three Fridays.
May 14, from 12 to 1 p.m., learn how reflexology can reduce stress and anxiety with Carol Faguy, certified training reflexologist.
May 21, from 12 to 1 p.m., nutritionist Cora Loomis will give an introduction to intuitive eating, which means learning how to trust and respect your body and its natural weight.
May 28, from 7 to 8 p.m.: an inspirational, interactive wrap-up activity.
To register, for information, or for help mastering Zoom, email Michelle at ml@townshippers.org.
BURNOUT TO BALANCE
Regulating stress can take you from burnout to balance, and that is the topic of a workshop on Wednesday, May 19, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom, led by Amanda Rocheleau, a social worker and compassion fatigue specialist. She will “explore the impact of chronic stress in our lives and introduce fundamental daily practices that we can all do to help process our stress in order to prevent burnout.”
To register, for information, or for help mastering Zoom, email Vanessa at va@townshippers.org. This workshop is offered by Mental Health Estrie in collaboration with Townshippers’ Association.
TRANSLATION NEEDED?
Community groups can benefit from Townshippers’ Association’s offer of translation for key documents or research, through two programs, Enhancing Regional Community Capacity and Eastern Townships Partners for Health and Social Services. Info: townshippers.org/translation-requests/.
LITERACY HELP?
Need support to connect with services online? Literacy Quebec volunteers offer help to English speakers age 16 or older who need information and support for tasks that require digital literacy skills and/or reading or writing. Info: Literacy Helpline, 1-888-521-8181 or literacyquebec.org/helpline.
LANGUAGE LEARNING?
Want to improve your French, or English, for that matter? Meet Mauril, a new free platform to learn English and French through a wide range of stimulating and entertaining content from CBC/Radio-Canada. The approach is developed by teaching and linguistic experts and is based on official Canadian Language Benchmarks. Info: mauril.ca.
HEALTH LINK
Camille, Diane, Jenny and Michelle of the Health Link Committee have distributed care packages to seniors on special occasions during the pandemic. The bags are replete with information about services and (mostly healthy) goodies. “We would like to thank you all for your kind words and messages of thanks,” they say. “We wish you all a wonderful summer… and look forward to re-connecting with you in the fall! In the meantime, we are always available to help you or connect you to services you might need.” Info: Diane Grenier, 819-560-8540 x 9.
CHURCHES
United. Home worship services are available Fridays after 2 p.m. at Sawyerville United Church (box on top of freezer), or at Trinity United Church (plastic bag at basement door). To receive services by mail or email, or for pastoral care, contact Rev Tami Spires at 819-452-3685 or spiresta@hotmail.com. Facebook info: United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge.
Baptist. In-person Sunday services for 25 or fewer persons with Covid-19 protocols in place (wash hands at the entrance, stay 2 metres apart, use assigned seating, wear masks, do not shake hands, and leave via the exit door). The service in French is at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle: 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 10:30 a.m. Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by May 17 for publication May 26, and by May 31 for June 9.

Anyone who listens to CBC Radio knows about the Canada Reads competition. But did you notice that the books are always prose? Now here’s something new and fitting for this Poetry Month: Why not have a Battle of the Books that highlights five books of poetry?
The question was no sooner asked than organized by Angela Leuck and the Lennoxville Library. Lennoxville Reads…Poetry is planned for Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. via Zoom (find the link at bibliolennoxvillelibrary.ca/activities/). The evening will be emceed by the journalist Helga Loverseed, and five articulate local readers will champion five gutsy books by Quebec English-speaking poets.
Here’s what they are plotting for us.
A COMMON NAME FOR EVERYTHING. This is an 80-page book of poems by Sarah Wolfson. Originally from Vermont, she teaches English at McGill University.
Her poems are earthy and quirky, about life that inhabits rural places. One observes ewes and music; another an ant colony; still another serves “soup and small theories of holiness.”
“An entirely uncommon talent for precise and defamiliarizing observation,” observed poet Phillip Crymble. Wolfson’s book won the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s A.M. Klein prize last year.
Her champion, Steve Luxton, lives in Hatley, Quebec. He has published six volumes of verse, with a new one, The White Weasel, to be published this summer by Shoreline. He is currently Writer-in-Residence at the Lennoxville Library.
GHOST FACE is the fourth book by Greg Santos, who has Cambodian, Spanish and Portuguese roots. “A uniquely playful and self-reflective series of poems that pay moving homage to his adoptive parents, and explore the fantasies of a lost family and life in Cambodia,” says Goodreads. Santos lives in Montreal where he teaches creative writing. He is editor-in-chief of the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s online literary journal, Carte blanche.
Ghost Face is to be defended by Charity Kerrigan, an Early Childhood Education Specialist at Champlain College.
GONE MISS NG. Yes, the “I” is missing! Antony Di Nardo’s poignant exploration of dying was triggered by the death of his friend, Susan Briscoe. She died three years ago from cancer at the age of 52, but not before creating a widely read blog, The Death Project.
This is Di Nardo’s fifth collection of poetry, and it explores rituals of loss with wit and humour, “in language that surprises as well as juxtaposes the mundane with the ecstatic,” says Amazon.
Gone Miss ng will be championed by Jerome Krause, retired Concordia University art professor. Living in Way’s Mills, he possesses an uncommon measure of wit and humour, too.
MEMORIAL SUITE. Author Jocelyne Dubois has bipolar disorder, and in these courageous poems of “at times searing clarity” she “takes us on a harrowing journey through breakdown, hospitalization and recovery,” says Goodreads. The book “is lucid and compelling,” in the words of writer Maxianne Berger.
Dubois is an exhibiting artist, and her novella, World of Glass, was shortlisted for the 2011 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest. Defending Memorial Suite will be Lizanne Ryan, retired adult educator who is presently writing a book about her journey as a caregiver.
THE ELEVENTH HOUR is Carolyn Marie Souaid’s eighth book of poetry. What matters in the end is not the “finish line” but the human spirit “orbiting the nucleus of time,” and “bridges connecting life and death,” in the words of Arleen Paré. “This collection is a harbinger; it is the eleventh hour, the language so accurate and clear. And yet it is also a solace, balm for our uneasy twenty-first century hearts.”
Souaid has received a bunch of awards, including a top prize in the 2012 Zebra Poetry Film Festival for Blood is Blood, a videopoem written with Endre Farkas. She lives in Montreal.
The Eleventh Hour will be championed by Louise Baldwin, a woods-bather, poetry reader, and lifelong Townshipper.
Which book will prevail? The debate promises to be lively. It will be up to the audience!

DREAM GRANDMAS
The mission is to support African grandmothers who struggle to raise millions of children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. You are invited to participate by attending, online, a Canada-wide concert with top Canadian performers. Together in Concert is streamed by Canadian grandmothers affiliated with the Stephen Lewis Foundation. It’s Thursday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. For details and to register, visit www.cdngrandmothers.com.

DREAM GARDENS
The Sawyerville Community Garden is meeting on April 17 at 10:30 a.m. in the basement (back entrance) of the Notre-Dame du Saint-Rosaire Church, 4 Randboro Road, for its annual general meeting, and at the garden itself on May 22, at 10:30 a.m. for a working session.

DREAM JOBS
Online workshops for job seekers by Job Links: On April 27-28, the topic is “Self-knowledge, the key to your dream job.” Info: joblinks.etsb.qc.ca or Facebook.com/Job Links Eastern Townships; 819-566-2422 or joblinks@etsb.qc.ca.

CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person Sunday services have begun again for 25 or fewer persons with Covid-19 protocols in place (wash hands at the entrance, stay 2 metres apart, use assigned seating, wear masks, do not sing, do not shake hands, and leave via the exit door). The service in French is at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle: 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 10:30 a.m. Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Home worship services are available for pickup Fridays after 2 p.m. at Sawyerville United Church (box on top of freezer in porch), at Trinity United Church (in plastic bag at basement door). To receive services by mail or email, or for pastoral care, contact Rev Tami Spires at 819-452-3685 or spiresta@hotmail.com. Facebook info: United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by April 19 for publication April 28, and by May 3 for May 12.