Columns
We were travelling recently when we came upon a new subdivision on the edge of Stratford. The houses were all big - I'd guess they'd be 4,000 square feet.
While it is not unusual for someone to have more than one vocation, a gentleman who lived in Auburn several years ago had two varied ones; he was a cobbler and a raiser of canaries.
Having a chance conversation at Massey Hall in Toronto last week led to a bit of reminiscing and the feeling that I am not, in fact, immune to the unstoppable wheels of time as I once thought I was.
The news, last week, was dominated by the destruction of the season's first hurricane, not only six weeks earlier than normal, but also incredibly strong, destroying property in the southern islands of the Caribbean and the Yucatan...
Xtra! Xtra! This just in! We here at The Chaff have received some breaking news about an earth-shattering Chaff staff shake-up that's sent the entire team here at Chaff World Headquarters (CWH)
A vote of confidence, Lives of girls and women, By any means necessary
After last week's debate between the two presumptive candidates for the presidency of the United States, much has been made about whether President Joe Biden is fit for another four-year term
Yo, yo, hey, hiya, hey, hi, how are ya?! Welcome to another slice of the cheese that is The Chaff. Today, we embark on a whimsical, wild and wonderfully wacky journey through the fertile fields of auditory agriculture.
Casting over our bookshelves for something to read, I came upon a 50-year-old book written by the family doctor of my childhood, Dr. William Victor Johnston, a former president of the Ontario Medical Association
Tracking the impact, Democracy? Think again, The ties that bind
Zaps, zings and zips are happening. Zigs are too. We've all seen the zines, zeroed-in on the zones and ZZ Top'd "La Grange". Welcome to The Chaff - your weekly Zen-ending zoom into zaniness, zestiness, zealotry...
For those of you who read my review of The Farm Show: Then and Now last week, you'll know that I took a bit of a "meta" approach to it.
As we approach the celebration of the occasion of the founding of confederation, I look out the window of my farmhouse and see more than 200 acres of soybeans, contrasting with pasture and hay fields at my neighbours' across the road...
A new home for tornadoes, Behind closed doors, Better luck next year
Some of the readers of this column may already be aware of a most remarkable couple who made Wingham their home for several decades. For the rest of the readers, please make your acquaintance with Reg and Mentie DuVal.
A very sad advertisement was found in the Feb. 11, 1848 edition of the Huron Signal.
You've all seen a television show or a film before that has a scene in which a photographer - maybe a journalist or a cop - is going through his or her pictures and spots something...
Yabba-dabba doomsday, e'rybody! The Chaff is back to snack on some facts while attracting some gnats to make stacks on stacks on stacks of gnats on gnats on gnats - Gnat Stacks - they make a great snack and that's a fact.
Two totally unrelated news items last week seemed to connect for me in a way that brought new relevance to the world in which we live.
Dome worry... about a thing, Another set of eyes, Hazardous to your health
For those who have been involved from the very beginning - look just to my left for an example of one of those people, Keith Roulston, one of the founders of the Blyth Festival - it must be amazing to see the Festival marking its 50th anniversary season.
X may mark the spot but, for some troubled teens on TikTok, ticks are marking the licks. The Chaff has been following a twisted new trend and we know that you're not going to like it: tick licking.
My two younger daughters and I will be attending the opening night of The Farm Show: Then and Now at the Blyth Festival's Harvest Stage Friday night, giving my daughters a chance to see a show that was first produced before they were born.