Ian's a p.s.a.l.m. October 2018

One-on-One with Ian

Betcha by golly, wow!

I've always like marmalade. Granted, I prefer lemon curd but definitely maramlade rather than jam. 

When I was younger and went shopping with my grandma, generally to Hillard's on Wharfe Street, I picked the Robertson's jar of Golden Shred from the shelf. At that time round the back of the label was a golliwog sticker. These stickers were placed on a card. Once you had a certain number of stickers on the card you could post it to get a badge. I remember proudly wearing my badge to school.

My auntie had a display cabinet and on the top shelf was a plaster golly. I forget whether he was a musician or not.

Now why wander down memory lane? I read a Facebook post a little earlier about golliwogs and their origin, so I thought I'd share a memory before proceeding.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century British soldiers occupied Egypt. Egyptian labourers who at the time worked for the British wore armbands displaying the letters W.O.G.S. These armbands indicated they were Working On Government Service. 

The British troops called the labourers Ghuls, the Arabic word for desert ghosts.

The Egyptian boys and girls played with black stuffed material dolls, and these were either given as gifts or bought by the soldiers returning to England.

These dolls became known as Ghuliwogs. Today they are known as, yes you've got it, Golliwogs.

Ian's A P.S.A.L.M. answers for September

The Sun is the object. Scapabobididdywiddilydoobapbapaphobia:- the fear of freestyle jazz.

Writers’ Café back at new venue

 

A program aimed at boosting budding writers will be back with a new day and venue.

  The Writers’ Café is relaunching at the Oxford branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) at 522 Peel St. in Woodstock after a summer break. The program, presented jointly with Operation Sharing, will resume Wednesday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to noon. It will run weekly at this time.

  The program ran previously at College Avenue United Church on Mondays but the new CMHA venue will be more accessible and central to some of the people it hopes to serve, said Eric Schmiedl, Operation Sharing’s Director of Print Media and Writers’ Café Coordinator. The program also runs in conjunction with Operation Sharing’s Extended Family Project, which links volunteers with people in need.

  “The program is open not only to the Operation Sharing and CMHA families but to the broader public as well,” Schmiedl said.

  The Writers’ Café focuses on various aspects related to writing, including the following:

·         Facilitating writing on the computer (including computer literacy)

·         Teaching English and English as a second language
• Creative writing (this could include short stories, poems or books)

·       • Résumes and cover letters

·       • Writing stories for Operation Sharing’s newsletter, Helping in Unity, and the Oxford Self Help
    newsletter

  The program is free and will be open to all ages.

The Writers’ Café appeals to job seekers, budding writers and those who wish to socialize with other like-minded people. Those interested in this program can call Operation Sharing at 519-539-3361 or the CMHA at 519-539-8055 for more information.

The answers to the August a p.s.a.l.m.

The September Ian's A P.S.A.L.M.