Talk radio: Rose Scollard revisits radio plays with new book, Love and War Western Style
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When Calgary playwright Rose Scollard and her family moved from Ireland to rural Ontario in 1948, their first family home was less than luxurious.
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It was the upper floor of a house outside of River Canard, a small hamlet south of Windsor, Ont. There was no running water. A pot-bellied coal stove was used to cook all the meals and was the only source of heat. Scollard's father thought he had landed an office job in Ontario working as a clerk for the Ford plant. But upon the family's arrival, he discovered it had fallen through. It was October, and it was already cold and snowy that year. So Scollard's parents dipped into what was left of their savings to buy warm clothing for the kids and a few pots and pans.
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Scollard, who was born in a small town in Northern Ireland in 1939, had spent her early childhood listening to British radio programs during the war years. The family would gather around the 'wireless', as it was then known, in her grandparents' house. Being without a radio seemed unimaginable.
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'(My father) couldn't get a job and there wasn't much housing available, either, so we had to go live out in the country,' says Scollard, in an interview from her home in Calgary. 'We lived on this lonely road at the top of this old house with no plumbing. But there was electricity. They bought a few bits of furniture and a radio. That's what got us through the winter.'
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Scollard's father eventually found a job on the railroad, and the family built a new home. It was still in the country, and the family suffered through a few weeks with no electricity and no radio. One day, when trudging home from school, Scollard and her sister saw the porch light alit at their home. Radio was back in their lives, as was the melodramatic radio programs from Detroit such as Lux Radio Theatre, The Philip Morris Playhouse, The Shadow, The Lone Ranger and Boston Blackie.
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In 1953, Scollard's family followed some of their neighbours' lead and purchased a television. Radio offered access to a new world for Scollard, a lifeline and way to connect to a new country. For her, television was less miraculous.
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'I found it very flat and uninteresting because you weren't doing that imaginative work,' she says.
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It's hardly surprising that radio drama became a part of Scollard's creative DNA, even if opportunities to write them weren't abundant. For a brief period in the 1990s, Scollard wrote radio plays for CBC. Her first was an adaptation of a sci-fi/horror play, The Chosen, that CBC producer and writer Mark Schoenberg had seen at the Edmonton Fringe Festival and commissioned for Vanishing Point, a drama series.
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Scollard says writing radio plays was the most fun she has ever had in her professional career, which has included a long run in the theatre, founding the women-centred theatre company Maenad Productions, and co-founding literary press Frontenac House with her husband, David. Unlike with live theatre, most of the production headaches were taken care of by CBC's technicians and director Martie Fishman at the studios on Westmount Boulevard. There were no opening-night jitters because, for the most part, it was all pre-recorded.
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Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Turn books into mushrooms — like magic
Raymond Lyttle would disappear into the wizardly world of Harry Potter any chance he could get in elementary school. He recalls being eight years old, burrowing into a haskap bush at recess and cracking open one of the books to escape the bullying he experienced at school as a closeted queer child. Lyttle would open one button on his winter jacket, just wide enough to get one hand through and flip the pages so he could avoid getting frostbite. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Oh Doughnuts owner Amanda Kinden was inspired to repurpose Harry Potter books into something delicious. 'I fell in love with reading pretty quickly and would burn through books voraciously. I found it to be a really safe place,' Lyttle says. He read the entire series — seven books published between 1997 and 2007 — nine times in order; he's lost count how many times out of order. The relationships between child wizard Harry Potter and the other characters, and the familiarity of the world created by British author J.K. Rowling, kept Lyttle coming back for more. But when Rowling's focus shifted from being a writer to campaigning against the transgender community, Lyttle, a 24-year-old trans man, says he couldn't return to the books and support the author who was attacking his identity. 'It felt sort of like learning that a place that you had cared about as a young person had burned down or had somehow became desecrated. Whatever value was there, I could never go back to that in the same way,' he says. He removed all the books from his home, giving them to someone else so they could read them without financially supporting Rowling. On Sunday, Winnipeg shop Oh Doughnuts will take the rejection of Rowling's work in a new direction, hosting a workshop called Turf the TERF, where people can bring any unwanted Harry Potter books to its 326 Broadway location and learn how grow edible oyster mushrooms on them. TERF, which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, is a term used to refer to a group of feminists who refuse to recognize trans women as sisters and reject their inclusion in women's spaces. Rowling's first foray into the anti-trans movement was when she 'absent-mindedly liked' a post on X (then Twitter) calling trans women 'men in dresses' in 2018. That snowballed into years of posts, reposts and comments targeting and attacking the trans community, earning her the TERF label. Oh Doughnuts owner Amanda Kinden was inspired to host the event by a post from the U.K.-based Instagram account which hosted a similar workshop in May to protest Rowling. While Kinden hasn't read the Harry Potter books herself, her partner grew up reading the series, but became 'very conflicted' when the author started ramping up her anti-trans rhetoric. 'Let's make something productive and delicious out of something that maybe was created with a bit of hate towards trans folks,' Kinden says. Kinden connected with Tom Nagy of River City Mushrooms, who sells mushrooms and grow kits, to throw their own event to decompose the Harry Potter books while raising awareness about the ways Rowling is harming the trans community. Instagram An a U.K. event hosted by books were made into mushroom grow kits. Growing mushrooms from books isn't a new trend, Nagy explains. A waterlogged old paperback novel can break down the same way as a damp, rotten log and create the perfect conditions for fungi. The metaphor of the process isn't lost on Nagy. He views mushrooms as nature's recycling program and as symbols for the cyclical nature of life and death. 'They're essentially initiating the future by decomposing the past. You're taking a perspective or ideology that doesn't really match with what people are realizing about human nature and society and transforming it into something different,' he says. Hearing about the Turf the TERF event, Mavis Reimer, a University of Winnipeg English professor and the director for the Centre for Research in Young People's Texts and Cultures, chuckles. 'It strikes me as a really smart protest. It's a gentle and pretty peaceful protest,' says Reimer, who studies children's literature and its impact on media and pop culture. Destroying books has been a routine protest against literature throughout history. When Indian-British author Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses in 1988, it ignited book burnings, death threats and protests across the Muslim world, owing to its perceived blasphemy. However, Reimer sees the mushroom workshop as a nuanced revision of book protests. While book burnings are usually spearheaded by people holding power to create a spectacle that can instil fear in onlookers, she says this protest focuses on repurposing and recycling the books. 'Growing is such a quiet metaphor, and it's a slow metaphor, and it's a metaphor of changing something into something else. When you use the books to grow mushrooms, those particular physical books are destroyed, but they're actually commuted and transformed into something else,' she says. 'Gardening with Harry Potter books is different to burning Harry Potter books.' Strong reactions such as this happen because words and stories are powerful, says Reimer. Often in children's literature, a book's author is more connected to the text than other genres, as authors often do readings in schools and book talks aimed at kids when a new novel is released, she says. It's difficult to separate the art from the artist when someone with Rowling's notoriety doesn't try to distance herself from the franchise — especially financially, Reimer says. Celebrity culture blurs the lines even more; Rowling was an early adopter of social media channels and has a following of millions of people. Instagram An edition of Harry Potter is prepped to eventually sprout mushrooms at a U.K. event. Kinden says she can't separate Rowling from her work because the author has dedicated money earned from the Harry Potter franchise to take away trans rights. In response to a 2022 comment criticizing her transphobic stances, Rowling posted on X: 'I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.' Rowling also began using the wealth generated from her books to influence policy. When the author introduced the spellbinding world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, it was met with meteoric success. The franchise spawned online fandoms, video games and films — all of which fed into the commercial success of the books; Rowling has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes. In 2024, U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reported Rowling donated at least 70,000 pounds to For Women Scotland, an anti-trans feminist group, when it challenged a U.K. Supreme Court ruling that said biological men could legally become women and share legal protections. Monthly What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. An email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. In April, the court subsequently passed a ruling limiting the definition of a woman to biological sex and excluding trans women from discrimination protections. In response to the ruling, Rowling posted on X: 'I love it when a plan comes together' with a picture of herself smoking a cigar and holding a cocktail. Former fan Lyttle believes Rowling's actions overrule any legacy the books had, because she's denying trans people their humanity. 'A mushroom isn't less valuable than this book. We've just decided that a mushroom is more valuable than this possession,' he says. 'It's better as fuel for something new and beautiful than as something we look at that makes us sad.'
The Province
a day ago
- The Province
Hong Kong food tour is a window to Chinese food in Vancouver
Mia Stainsby goes on a food tour with Humid with Chance of Fishballs with founder Virginia Chan trying uniquely Hong Kong dishes. Kung Wo Beancurd Factory, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, has been making soy products since 1803. Photo by Gavin Wilson Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. In the Vancouver area, cha chaan tengs, or uniquely Hong Kong cafés, are potent nostalgia to former Hong Kongers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Locally, I'm talking the likes of New Town Bakery and Restaurant, Ho Yuen Cafe, The Boss Bakery and Restaurant in Vancouver, and the Lido, Cha Don, Cha Kee, and 852 Kitchen in Richmond. At cha chaan tengs, British colonialism insinuated its way into Hong Kong-meets-west dishes like eggs and toast, macaroni soup with ham, French toast, egg sandwiches, pork chops and rice, along with more Asian dishes like satay beef noodles. And always, always, egg tarts, pineapple buns, milk tea with condensed milk, and yuen yueng (a mix of coffee, tea, milk, sugar). The cuisine has been named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. 'It's what I think the epitome of Hong Kong food is,' said Virginia Chan, a food tour operator in Hong Kong. 'The Cantonese food we eat, like dim sum and Chinese barbecued meats, is from the Canton, or Guangdong, region in China. But the food you find at a cha chaan teng is iconic and unique to Hong Kong. It was invented here. It's influenced by the British but they wouldn't recognize it to be their own. It's ours. We made it our own. Classics like macaroni in soup, egg tarts and French toast, pineapple buns, milk tea — all invented in Hong Kong.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Virginia Chan, a Vancouver ex-pat and founder of Humid with a Chance of Fishballs food tours. Photo by Virginia Chan I love to go on food tours on my travels. And in Hong Kong, it was with Chan, a Vancouver expat and founder of Humid with a Chance of Fishballs food tours. The quirky name riffs on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs — the multiplatform franchise about a kid and a machine that turns water into food storms. Chan is a machine herself, breathlessly leading us to some iconic foods, elucidating on their whys and wherefores. Cha chaan tengs, Chan says, began as tea houses. 'People loved to have what they called afternoon tea here, usually with a pastry. The British had them at hotels and fancy restaurants, which locals couldn't afford, so they made their own version. 'At dim sum, it's tea with no milk or sweetener but in these cha chan tengs, instead of full leaf tea, they'd use the brokens and the dust.' Tata and Yellow Label Lipton tea are popular go-tos. Brits used fresh milk; Hong Kongers made milk tea with evaporated milk. 'It had a longer shelf life and was cheaper. We call it silk stocking tea because it got strained through a long cloth bag that looked like a stocking.' There's usually a bakery in the restaurant because the British taught them how to bake (whereas at dim sum, most items are steamed). Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The egg tart's origin is debatable, Chan says. 'Some say it's from the Portuguese. I say it's British because it was originally made with short crust. I think puff pastry is more popular these days, though.' The perpetually busy Kam Wah Café in the Mong Kok neighbourhood is one such cha chaan teng, a locals' favourite for pineapple buns and egg tarts. There, we had both, along with French toast with a slab of butter and milk tea. 'They just got inspired by British goods but made Hong Kong versions, due to an unavailability of goods or taste preference. A cool example is chicken pie. Hong Kongers make individual sizes and instead of butter, we use lard for the pastry and the seasoning would be soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. The chicken was tossed in Chinese seasoning and mixed with peas and ham instead of potatoes and mushrooms,' Chan said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A day earlier, I had visited Central's Lan Fong Yuen, the G.O.A.T and longest reigning cha chaan teng when it comes to milk tea. It started as a dai pai dong or streetside stall in 1952. The finest pineapple bun I had, though, was in the entirely different world of the two-Michelin Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel, where it was beautifully crafted into designer patisserie fare. For the very Hong Kong tradition of dim sum, we went to Luk on Kui, one of the few survivors of dim sum by trolley. In this raucous second-floor room, you scramble for a seat, sharing a table with strangers. On the third floor, you can get table service for an extra charge. 'They're moving away from trolley service as people are getting wealthier and want to be served,' Chan says. 'And dim sum chefs are dying off as it takes a lot of skill and no one wants to do it anymore.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Dim sum at Luk On Kui, one of the few survivors of dim sum by trolley in Hong Kong. Photo by Gavin Wilson There's a shelf under the table for newspapers and papers for business meet ups (safe from the messier business of eating). If someone pours you tea, tap with three fingers in a 'thank you', an ancient tradition from when an emperor secretly visited tea houses. When he poured tea, his entourage would tap with three fingers, symbolizing a bowed head and prostrate arms, while concealing the emperor's identity. Chan poured tea from a bowl into smaller tea bowls. 'Green tea is cooling and black tea is warming,' she said, in traditional Chinese medicine parlance. 'Tea was also the commercial driving force in Hong Kong and the reason it came under British rule.' With hours of sampling ahead of us, we settled for just two dumplings. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At Mammy's Pancakes in Central Market, the first Michelin-recommended street food stall, they don't do pancakes, they do egg waffles in umpteen flavours (like pork floss and sesame, white sesame and chocolate, lemon). The egg-rich light waffles, originally inspired by the Dutch dollar waffles or stroopwafels, were hot and crisp and delicate. Then, another egg tart stop. Why not, when they're in the top five of Hong Kong snacks. Tai Cheong Bakery, an egg tart go-to for 71 years, often ranks as the best. Another why not! We joined a lineup at a Michelin Bib Gourmand ice cream shop in Kowloon for a black sesame ice cream cone. Heartwarming is known for stone-ground black sesame (ground by two stone mills by the door) products. As the Michelin Guide points out, the products are prized for their intense flavour and chewy texture. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At Lau Sum Kee, a Bib Gourmand in Sham Shui Po run by a third generation of operators, we had noodles made using a bamboo pole, a dying technique. The pole is hooked to the wall above the noodles and the noodle master bounces, see-saw like, sitting on the other end, flattening dough that is made with Canadian flour and duck eggs. It's then fed into a roller and cut into noodle strands or wonton sheets. The technique gives the noodles a firm, springy texture. I could taste the artisanal love in the prawn and pork wontons, the lo mein with dried shrimp roe, and noodle soup. Noodles at Lau Sum Kee, a Bib Gourmand in Sham Shui Po run by a third generation of operators. Photo by Gavin Wilson Nearby Kung Wo Beancurd Factory, another Bib Gourmand, has been making soy products since 1803. 'It's my favourite place to have tofu pudding and tofu,' Chan said. 'I love the silken texture. No one else does it quite like them. The tofu fragrance is light, subtle and the texture is sooo light, airy and silky.' Although the pudding is often served with red beans or black sesame, this place spotlights the tofu. 'Kung Wo is so confident, they only let you add some sugar. That's it.' The shop offers other dishes like chicken wings, pig's feet, dumplings and noodles, too. But yes, the tofu pudding is like silk and cream. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. After wandering through the Nelson Street wet market, with an amazing display of seafood (including frogs, butchered fish still twitching from muscle contractions, fresh fish maw) we managed one more tasting at another Michelin-recommended street food spot. The rice rolls, or cheung fun, at Hop Yik Tai are humble but with a wonderfully silky texture. With peanut, hoisin or hot sauce, it grabs you by your lapel to take notice. Too crowded inside, we happily ate (was it with toothpicks?) in an alley. Side dish Times are tough for so many families and corporate kindness matters more than ever. The Glowbal Restaurant Group has a history of helping to feed families in need and on Canada Day, they'll be holding a fundraising 'Great Canadian Patio Party.' Proceeds will go to Snacks for Kids, a program run by volunteer Vancouver firefighters, providing nutritional support to 10,000 food insecure youths in over 90 Vancouver schools and after school programs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Head to the patio at Glowbal Restaurant at 590 West Georgia Street and from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on July 1, there'll be music (Gift Shop, a Tragically Hip tribute band), a barbecue with burgers, hot dogs and other grilled items, side dishes, Canada-inspired desserts like poutine bar, cotton candy, snow cones and more. For kids, there's a bouncy castle and face painting. Tickets are $30 ticket ($40 at the door). Glowbal group of restaurants (Glowbal, Coast, Italian Kitchen, Five Sails, Black and Blue, The Roof, Riley's, Trattoria) will be providing 250 meals a week in the next school year to families in need in Vancouver elementary and secondary schools, which will be delivered by volunteer firefighters. miastainsby@ Read More Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks World BC Lions NHL
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Elbows Up' anthology to include prominent patriots Margaret Atwood, Jay Baruchel, Atom Egoyan
TORONTO – An upcoming anthology to meet the recent swell in national pride will include essays by prominent Canadians including writers Margaret Atwood and Omar El Akkad, as well as filmmakers Atom Egoyan and Jay Baruchel. Its publisher McClelland & Stewart says 'Elbows Up!: Canadian Voices of Resilience and Resistance' will examine our relationship with the United States and ourselves. McClelland & Stewart publisher Stephanie Sinclair says she felt 'an urgent need' to create a time capsule that captures a pivotal period of history. She says it was inspired by the 1968 collection 'The New Romans: Candid Canadian Opinions of the U.S.' It will feature excerpts from 'The New Romans,' including one by Atwood — who will also supply a new piece — and works by late writers Margaret Laurence, Farley Mowat and Mordecai Richler. The book will be edited by CBC broadcaster Elamin Abdelmahmoud, and is set for release Oct. 14. New works will also come from writers Jeanne Beker, Niigaan Sinclair, Catherine Hernandez, Canisia Lubrin and Ann-Marie MacDonald. Another comes from Ken Dryden that was previously published in the Atlantic. 'This is a book that will be talked about for decades to come,' Sinclair said Thursday in a release. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
