nfttuoob - Salt Spring Island Archives

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page Fourteen GULF ISLANDS DRIFTWOOD Wednesday. October 22, 1980 Not so laid back Famous country singer Willie GALIANO NEWS Nelson did a series of television spots in the United States recently School inspected by three officials in favour of the 55 mph speed limit. He used the slogan, "Shotgun Willie drives a laid back 55." Shortly after, he was ticketed for doing 85 mph in a 55 mph /one. BYKATHLYNAND BASIL BENGER On Thursday, October 16, a group of three officials 'converged on Galiano School. An assistant fire marshall came from Nanaimo, a health inspector from Sidney and a B.C. Teachers' Federation staffmember from Vancouver. Their objective was to survey the building to objectively assess its inadequacies. Their written reports have not yet been received but when they arrive they should prove interesting reading, especially for the new joint committee set up at the school board meeting of October 8. The Galiano members of the committee, trustee Jim Ripley, principal Ken Gaylor and parents Susan Friend and Ann Hennessy met last week to tabulate local priorities for Galiano School, and these were to be discussed with the Salt Spring members of the committee this week. From these deliberations should emerge a joint brief from Galiano parents and the school board, which chairman Ivan Mouat will present to the minister of education, Brian Smith, when he visits Salt Spring this coming Friday. The board had requested the opportunity to present the brief in private but the minister's schedule did not permit this, so it will be presented at the public meeting. It is to be hoped that at a later date the minister will find time to meet with the members of the Galiano School committee to hear them present their case for a new Galiano School with greater force and clarity. INTERNATIONAL VISIT A group of 32 students from Pearson College visited the Gulf Islands last week from October 16 to 19. The students of this international college are aged from 17 to 19 years and come from over 50 different countries. Six students, three girls and three boys, visited Galiano staying in the homes of teachers and parents. On Thursday morning the group accompanies Galiano's senior class to Salt Spring to savour the flavour of a bigger Gulf Island and to watch a soccer tournament. On Friday they gave Galiano students a taste of life in far away places by showing film strips and playing games and music of Senegal, Malaysia, Brazil, Peru, Quebec and China. In the afternoon the students could choose between horseback riding with Stephen Pattison or hunting with Ken Silvey, giving them a good appetite to enjoy an African dinner hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Maclure who later showed movies and slides of their sojourn in Sierra Leone. On Saturday the Pearson-ites attended the island soccer tournament on the school grounds, either as players or spectators. The day was concluded with a pot-luck supper at Linda Laughlin's. The visit was rounded off by a game of golf and a tour of local beauty spots. Although Pearson College teachers, Marks and Margaret McAvity, have often entertained students privately at their home on Galiano, this is the first occasion when a public visit has been arranged, with the advantage that so many Gulf Islanders have been able to enjoy the company of these young people from many countries. LIFE PRESERVERS Within the last month and a half two orange life preservers emblazoned with the words "Long Harbour" have disappeared from Sturdies Bay Wharf. The replacement cost is about $90 each but the offence is considered more serious than theft. Damage to or theft of emergency equipment might endanger life and so is considered much more reprehensible than an offence against property. Anyone having information leading to the return of this equipment should tell Peter Dunn or Gary Lupton. NATURE NOTES In Chesapeake James Michener writes of the migration of great flocks of Canada Geese from the Arctic to their wintering grounds in the south. "And once in a great while, on such a night, when the moon was full, the children would actually see the flying wedge pass between them and the moon, and hear the geese as they flew, and on this matter they would speak for the rest of their lives." The thrill of seeing these birds flying south, sometimes at a height of over four miles but still audible, is best experienced on the prairies. This week former correspondent DUNCAN PAVING LTD. Asphalt Paving Fully Guaranteed Nothing too small or large RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL Quick Completions - Free Estimates Phone 748-2531 and ask for Bill Wa/lis Box 815, Duncan, B.C. ,,, Happy soccer players at Galiano Mary Harding and farmer Larry Friend reported having this exciting experience on Galiano. GALIANO SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP The Galiano Island Soccer Championship organized by school principal Ken Gaylor and former soccer international Bert Mozley was completed at the school on Saturday afternoon. Four teams had reached the semi-final of the knock-out competition. Nearly 50 players ranging in age from 10 to the low 60's took part, and an equal number of spectators lined the pitch to cheer their children, parents and those old enough to know better. Hot-dogs, soft drinks and coffee were dispensed by the parents' association, despite the inability of the wiring to heat a 20-cup coffee percolator without blowing a fuse. In the first game John Hales and associates defeated the Rams of Bert Mozley. John played goal like the rugby full-back he used to be, fielding everything that came his way with sure hands and making long kicks to touch to get his team out of trouble. The second semi-final was even more closely contested and ended in a 4-4 tie. To decide the winner an NASL style shoot-out was imposed. The goalies had the best of these one-on-one duels foiling the first five attempts. On the sixth the captain of the Rascals managed to slip the ball past the advancing goalkeeper, thereby eliminating Hugh Maclure's team. The final which followed was scoreless until the second half despite the domination of the Rascals, led by the strong play of the half-back line of Stuart Georgeson, Ben Mabberly and Laurie Gaylor. In the second half the Rascals built up a 2-0 lead, hanging on desperately in the closing minutes as their opponents count ter-attacked fiercely and drew within one goal when Gordie Palmberg scored. GULF ISLANDS 'U-DO-A-DOOR' Molded vinyl door panels for do-it-yourselfers CABINETS RENOVATED NEW CABINETS Phone Fred Gent a V.I.B.E.X. member 653-4451 days or evenings The young students who competed in adult teams are to be commended for their plucky play. Playing particularly well on defence were Ken and Melodv Silvev. Following the consolation match which left the Rams in third place the handsome trophy, constructed by Art Hawbolt, was presented to the captain of the winning team by Bert Mozley. Barbara Fallot, R.M.T. MASSAGE PRACTITIONER For appointment phone 537-5642 t(n Phillip Swift It doesn't cost an arm \\f and a leg to advertise in Drifttooob 537-2211 537-2613 British Columbia Land Surveyor RR1 Fulford Harbour 653-4326 Access: 537-9422 Island Well Drilling Ltd. "Red Williams" Serving the Gulf Islands since 1959 AIR ROTARY EQUIPMENT OWNER-OPERATOR Call Collect: 245-2078 DUTCH BEAUTY SALON Lower Ganges Road Telephone 537-2811 Our sincere thanks to all the wonderful Dutch Beauty Salon customers who have shown their support during our transition. And we'd like to express our appreciation to our warm, caring staff: Margaret, Marlene, Brenda and Shaughna. We are pleased to announce Ms. Shaughna Boggs as our newest addition. She specializes in new styles and cuts, perms and manicures.
Wednesday. October 22. 1980 GULF ISLANDS DRIFTWOOD Page Fifteen Islander looks back on stay in Middle East Laws, customs of Kuwait provide new routine BY VALERIE RICHARDS Life in one of the world's wealthiest countries isn't as idyllic as it might seem. When Susan Blagborne with son Christian left Salt Spring Island to join her husband Richard in Kuwait in June, 1979, she reluctantly left behind her position as district health nurse, their newly purchased old farm house and island life, with which she'd become well-acquainted. Leaving Salt Spring's temperate climate to be greeted by temperatures nearing 120, Susan's discomfort wasn't placated until the cool weather of December came and temperatures fell to 50° during the day and 40 at night. The weather meant an entirely new routine for the Canadian nurse and she spent her first days remembering Salt Spring as a place where she'd rather be. A combination of heat, inability to communicate readily and foreign custom prohibited Susan from enjoying the peculiarities of the fascinating clime of the tiny middle eastern country. For the first few weeks in Kuwait, Susan spent her time being pregnant, experiencing a growing interest in Bedu clothes and weaving, market loitering and swimming at a Sea Club where she enjoyed the deluxe comfort of being cool. WENT TO ENGLAND After some exploration into Kuwaiti hospital regulations, Susal decided to have her child in England and in late July she flew there and spent the final days of her pregnancy in not only pleasantly grey weather, but with a sense of anonymity she hadn't felt in the Middle East. Jessica Blagborne was born in Exeter, after Susan spent several weeks roaming through Devon. On returning to their confined but elegant villa in Kuwait in mid-October, the Blagbornes settled back into Arabian life. Susan took up driving, tennis and an overall interest in the culture. The sandstorms ended. Susan's flowers never surfaced and her housework was undertakelfi by the houseboy, driver and maid. Susan would drive to the market to buy shrimp at $13 a kilo, or celery at $8.50 a kilo. Prices were exorbitant when it came to buying such Australian produce. And she usually found herself surrounded by men while shopping in the supermarkets. In Kuwait the women stay at home looking after their 7.8 children. HANDSOME, VAIN Men in tailored dishdashas. sporting moustaches and driving Rolls Royces were handsome, vain and ostensibly gracious. "The men were like peacocks while the women were the less vivacious and more dowdy peahens, dressed in black robes, plastic sandals and looking extremely hot," explained Susan. Old, unwritten laws haven't died completely in Kuwait. Arabian dress gives one fool-proof assurance that nothing is showing while European attire doesn't generally do so. Susan wore long skirts, long-sleeved, high-buttoned blouses and unrevealing dresses when she went anywhere. Curiosity and often concern were not always easy to be reckoned with while out in a market or public area. The awe expressed by Kuwaitis at western liberation was enough to make Susan cover herself regardless of the heat. Swimming was forbidden on public beaches because of the consequences of executing a nearnaked dip with an assembly of Kuwaitis to take advantage of a westerner's naivete. TO A BEDOUIN CAMP Susan and Richard would drive out to the. Gulf to swim, often finding themselves trapped in a sandstorm en route. During one journey they digressed to a Bedouin camp where they were entertained by Bedu Nomads inside one of their large, low, desert houses. Inside, the women were segregated. The men ate first and conversation was minimal. The possibility of a flat tire on a lonely Kuwait road prompted the Blagbornes to keep their car mechanicallv sound. Susan did get a flat tire and was about to attempt the repair job when an Italian stopped and took over from her. "Come over and meet my husband...he's Italian...! must thank, come to our house and have a drink," Susan invited but the Italian tire ace was too paranoid to have anything more to do with her. He refused and disappeared down the road. She'd never have been able to fix a flat tire. While in a Kuwait shopping centre, Susan mistakenly bumped into an Englishman who, when they collided, began yelling, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Susan learned later that just a week before a woman had been accosted in the same store and the man had been publicly whipped. TURNED COOL The weather turned cool and the Arabians cast aside their cotton to replace it with linen and wool dishdashas. Air conditioners and antiquated ceiling fans came to a standstill in December and Susan found the 60° temperatures chilling. She met other women who had suffered the same inactivity; women who had at some time before been socially enterprising and engaged in career duties and who were finally undergoing the same restlessness resulting from the transition from attainable emancipation to cultural confinement. There was a growing social spirit within the English populace and before the Blagbornes left, a Canadian Gub was founded for women who, in any other circumstance might have looked askance at participating in such a clique. The last lap of Susan's residence in Kuwait involved a further appreciation of the life to which she'd grown so accustomed. The Blagborne house maid was sending her daughter to nursing school, the house boy was sending money home to India in order to purchase a coconut plantation in the lush southern regions of that crowded country and the Blagborne driver, on receiving a pair of Christian's four-year-old trousers as a gift from Susan to his family, refused to part with them. "Did they fit one of your children" Susan inquired later. NOT FOR HIS SON "Those trousers aren't for my Flea Market Saturday Fulford Hall needs money Efforts are being made by the Fulford Hall Committee to raise money for maintenance and insurance costs of the hall. Flea market this Saturday, Oct. 25. is just one of the ventures by which the committee endeavours to raise funds. Cost for insuring the Fulford Hall for this year is $1,500. Replacement costs exceed the insurance rate and a hall, similar in size to Central or Mahon Hall would be the biggest possible if the present building were destroyed. The Fulford Hall is the third hall in that location. The site was the property of J.J. Shaw until he donated it to the community when it was decided a hall was required in the Burgoyne Valley. Mrs. M. Gyves, of Fulford, recalls the early days of card parties and gatherings when all social events would take place at the Gyves residence on Fulford- Ganges Road. FOUR TAKES "I had three young children and sometimes there would be four card tables going all night. We needed a place where young people could gather, so, with Mrs. Maxwell, I went gathering funds. We made $1,500 in a. single day," explained Mrs. Gyves. In 1920, due to the backing of the South Salt Spring Island Women's Institute, Fulford Hall was built. In 1925 the hall was destroyed when the wood furnace overheated and the roof caught fire. The second hall was completed in 1926 and, again, it burnt down in 1936. Gulf Islands Septic Ltd. Local, Fast, Efficient Service for having your septic tank pumped. 537-9353 537-2325 SUNSHINE FARM FOODS Gulf Islands Natural Foods Centre Valcourt Mall J.& D. - Y.& J. Clements *„ Susan Blagborne and daughter Jessica son. I will keep them for myself forever," replied the emotional driver, who had called Christian Blagborne "habbibi" or "my little darling". Kuwait, with its touch of Fort McMurray Gold Rush infiltration, had maintained its laws and customs which Susan had come to enjoy and feel a familiarity with. They left the country in May and toured India where they saw the Taj Mahal. "It was the trip to the mausoleum that was more interesting," Susan discovered. They later visited the Mendies family in Nepal where Susan dispensed curity diapers for two new-born babies in the Nepalese family. They flew on to Thailand and eventually Bali, where they spent an exhilarating three weeks. They returned home with a little sand in their eyes yet Susan is still hesitant about planting flowers for next spring in the event she might not be here to enjoy them. SPEED BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION Box 1003, Ganges, B.C. Jack: 537-9750 Gordon: 653-4234 * NEW HOMES * ADDITIONS * FOUNDATIONS * ROOFING „ LAW OFFICE Gordon B. Sloan barrister & solicitor notary public Temporary location: The Gulf Clinic, Lower Ganges Rd.. Salt Spring Is. Telephone: 537-5505 Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Preferred areas of practice include: Real estate and conveyancing, general litigation practice, divorce and family law, general commercial law and incorporations, mortgages, wills, estates, personal injury law.
Page 1 and 2: . G-.inpes, BC Feb 1 nfttuoob 537-2
Page 3 and 4: Wednesday, October 22, 1980 GULF IS
Page 7 and 8: Wednesday, October 22, 1980 •GULF
Page 11 and 12: Wednesday. October 22. I WO GULF IS
Page 13: Wednesday, October 1 22. 1980 ,GULF

nfttuoob - Salt Spring Island Archives

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?