ALL ABOARD WITH ADVENTURE CANADA - AGAIN!
In August and September , 2024, I was once again honoured to join Adventure Canada as onboard naturalist and author, this season on their cruises heading from
Greenland to the High Arctic and Into the Northwest Passage.
Not only were birds like Ivory Gull, Yellow-billed Loon, and (white morph) Gyrfalcon seen, the trips also delivered amazing cultural, natural and geological experiences.
From the poignancy of the Franklin expedition graves on Beechey Island, to the pods of hundreds of beluga whales passing by mere metres offshore, to the stromatolites of Port Epworth,
every day produced a new sight to move the soul.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to share these moments with such a diverse and engaging collection of staff and passengers.
​Thank you again, Adventure Canada
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POETIC JUSTICE
On this year's Adventure Canada cruise from Greenland to the High Arctic, I once again had the pleasure of travelling with Margaret Atwood, and I am happy to report that the onboard store sold out of all of my books again. Given the events of last year, I shall refrain from mentioning the sales of other authors onboard. However, if anything similar to last year did occur, and if I was foolhardy enough to even send a taunting photo this year, I am told that a certain author is currently working her way through a book of Shakespearean insults, and that I may expect to hear from her soon!
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As a reminder, I include last year's account.
AUGUST 2023 I found that the onboard bookstore had sold out of copies of my books, while copies of some Margaret Atwood's titles were still on the shelves. I mentioned this in passing at the ship's evening gathering - possibly even offering my commiserations (ahem) - and was skewered at the the following evening's poetry event by a limerick from Margaret;
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There once was a codger named Steve
Who had lots of tricks up his sleeve;
He pissed off Saint Margaret
A dangerous target
And now he's a toad in Belize
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To which I replied (eventually)
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To my lasting regret
I insulted Margaret
And now I must pay for my joke
I’m a sub-human toad
In a forest abode
Still, Belize is a nice place to croak.
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So beware and take heed
Should you once feel the need
To take on the queen of Can Lit
A life of despair
Awaits you out there
But boy, it surely was worth it
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TV OPTION RENEWED FOR THE BIRDER MURDERS
Award-winning Canadian production company Shaftesbury Films (Murdoch Mysteries) and BAFTA-winning U.K. producer Company Pictures (Wolf Hall) have renewed their option to develop the Birder Murder Mysteries for TV . Could this be the year the international partnership and their talented screenwriters including Nick Hicks-Beach (Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Inspector Banks) bring the series to TV screens?
Watch this space for updates!!
GLOBE SHORT STORY GOLDFINCHES ARE BROWN
Goldfinches Are Brown, the short story I was commissioned to write for the Globe & Mail, appeared in the Diversions section of the holiday edition, published December 24th, 2022.
For those unable to access the newspaper version, the online version of the story can be found here.
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