June 24, 2021

OAK BAY LIVING

TWEED SUMMER 2021

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TWEED Summer 2021

Volume 9 | Issue 2

INSIDE 10 Heart of the home A kitchen reno that checks all the boxes

DEPARTMENTS

6 8 15 16 18 24 28 32 36

Editor’s Letter

TELL TWEED!

A writer transformed

Clay play Feel the senses come alive

Oak Bay Insider A wounded Warrior

Tweed Magazine would love to hear from you!

Email story ideas to Susan Lundy lundys@shaw.ca

10

Tea With Meet Melinda Stephenson

Fashion Colour Pop

Get growing!

Pot or plot kitchen gardens

Master of the creative Sculptor Russell Papp

History Windsor and the wicket

Adopt a pet!

Victoria Humane Society

ON THE COVER: Ben Brannen of Bespoke Design; clothing credits on page 21. Photo by Lia Crowe

18

24 We provide Free Services to Those in Need Delivered by Caring Volunteers

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EDITOR'S LETTER

A writer transformed

Publisher and advertising inquiries Dale Naftel publisher@oakbaynews.com 250-480-3234 Group Publisher Michelle Cabana Associate Group Publisher Janet Gairdner

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Advertising Dale Naftel Glen Butcher Devin Prizmic Editor Susan Lundy, lundys@shaw.ca Photography Lia Crowe Don Denton

SUMMER 2021

PHOTO BY LIA CROWE

W

hen I wrote my first poem, I was working on a self-illustrated-with-crayons book of compositions. This was February’s offering: “I think ice / is nice / because ice is ice / and that is very nice.”

Thankfully, my writing skills have improved—or, “transformed,” you might say, since that’s the theme of this edition of Tweed.

Writing has always been my passion. I spent hours upon hours writing at the kitchen table of my childhood home. If a teacher asked for a four-page, double-spaced story, I’d submit 10 pages, single-spaced. I wrote fiction, poetry and even a few plays.

I majored in creative writing at university, initially presenting as a poet. Unfortunately, my beautifully rhyming iambic pentameter poems were quickly shot down and, even though I transitioned to more modern poetry, I ultimately turned my attention to fiction and then journalism and creative non-fiction.

Most of my early writings are either long gone or filed away somewhere. But recently, I was directed to the archives of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, where I worked for more than two decades. Buried in the archives, starting in 1989, are collections of my biweekly columns, mostly documenting anything I found amusing at the time.

I went to the online archives and, without reading them, cut and pasted the columns from 1989 to 1992 into a Word document. Time went by and they remained unread; the thought of delving in was somewhat terrifying—there aren’t many occasions in life when 55-year-old you meets 25-year-old you.

Finally, I took a deep breath (more likely, I grabbed a large glass of wine) and opened up the file. Immediately, I remembered the challenge of writing humour columns on a regular basis. To find my subject matter, I’d look back over the past week or two and find the one thing that made me laugh the hardest.

Mid-50s me has an easier time creating regular columns because I have many, many more years of anecdotes to pull from.

Upon reading these old columns, I discovered I could place them into three categories. First, there are the “I simply won’t go there” columns. For example, there’s a rant on misogyny that I refuse to set my eyes upon. Somehow the thought of reading my 1990s, 25-year-old take on misogyny is scary.

Then there’s the “oh my, I was young” category. Like

the piece that recounts the time I “sprang” the clocks ahead instead of “falling” them back during an autumn daylightsavings time change. At the time, I was editor of the Driftwood and narrowly escaped publishing a front-page “put your clocks ahead” reminder that was thankfully cut at the last minute for space issues. I wouldn’t even be admitting this now if I hadn’t seen this email from a local online news source this past March: “OMG SORRY. THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO CANCEL DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME: This morning, we reminded you to set your clocks back tonight—it should be the opposite.”

The final category includes the gems. And there are definitely some of those; truly funny stuff that will provide much fodder for future use I continue transforming into a more mature (aged) writer.

There are lots of stories around transformation in this issue of Tweed, including a piece about a kitchen renovation, a fashion story created around colour (think transformation with paint) and a park-turned-cricket haven.

In the end, meeting 25-year-old me wasn’t too bad—better, perhaps, than meeting six-year-old me: I think Tweed is worth a read or, better, I think Tweed is as nice as mead. Happy summer, everyone!

Susan Lundy has been writing stories since she was six years old. She has a degree in creative writing from UVic and, after working for many years as a journalist, is now a magazine editor and freelance writer. She is also the author of Home on the Strange, a collection of humour essays released this spring by Heritage House Publishing.

Creative Director Lily Chan Creative Services Michelle Gjerde Distribution Laura Cross 250-480-3277

oakbaynews.com | 250-598-4123 818 Broughton Street, Victoria, BC VBW 1E4

TWEED magazine is published quarterly by Black Press. The points of view or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of Tweed. The contents of Tweed magazine are protected by copyright, including the designed advertising. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the publisher.

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By Devon Paige Smith | Photos by Don Denton

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W

alking into the beautiful foyer of The Bourne, it’s obvious the homeowners have an eye for clean, classic design. But the real heart of the home lies in its recently transformed kitchen.

Built in 1926, the Beach Drive house was designed by Karl Spurgin in the style of Edwardian English architect Edwin Lutyens. The current owners purchased it in 2011.

“We lived with it for a while and really took the time to decide what we needed and wanted for the house,” explain the homeowners, sitting in the gorgeous, spacious and bright kitchen.

“The biggest thing for us in the kitchen was working with what we had and highlighting our favourite features of the original space,” they add.

Upon entering the room, one of the most obvious and impressive features of the area is the feeling of being one with the woodland and heritage gardens that surround the house and which were carefully restored by historical garden specialist Cyril Hume.

“That was the most important factor for us: keeping that connection to the garden and terrace. Keeping that sense of space and light and being outside, when you’re really in the kitchen. That dictated for us how we’d best spend our money—on the design and on things that truly made us happy every day,” they explain, smiling.

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Another feature, the original built-in stainless-steel sink, was also a “non-negotiable” for the homeowners, who were vehement on it being included in the new design.

“It’s just so unique and it was a part of the home that really felt original; [it felt] like it should stay with the house,” they say.

Even though they were game to take on much of the work themselves, with the help of general contractor Stephen Winter, they knew they needed some help in the design depart-

ment to ensure they were able to achieve their vision. As with many houses of that age, many changes had been made to the cosmetic and structural aspects of it over the years.

“As we opened it up, we definitely started to find lots of strange and wonderful stuff,” they laugh.

After struggling to find a design that worked for them and incorporated all their must-haves, the homeowners made the connection with designer Atarah Humphreys from Urbana Kitchens, who—along with the rest of the team at Urbana— was a game changer in their planning.

“Atarah just has a great sense of design and most importantly she listened and understood our vision. Not only was she able to tackle the issues like finding space for the fridge and including the original sink, she also brought that sense of space and connection to the garden, not just through the design but also through the materials she used,” they explain.

Italian marble on the countertops and a brushed finish on the cabinetry do indeed bring in a sense of the organic and mimic the exterior attributes of wood and stone outside in the garden and on the terrace.

The cooking island in the centre of the kitchen contains a gas stove, and the surrounding walls hold the oven, fridge and sink area. Part of the new kitchen incorporates a

former sunroom, and this is where a large, secondary island now sits—providing lots of space for family gatherings and entertaining. It’s also a place where people can flow between the indoors and the outside areas from the back patio. Large doors that open to the fresh sea air and ocean views from the back terrace offer yet another opportunity to bring the outside in.

“Their kitchen is not only beautiful but it’s a workhorse space, and it’s low maintenance,” explains Atarah from the Urbana office. “We think that’s such an important part of design—the kitchen should be a usable space, and a space you enjoy being in.”

The main goal was to tie it in with original space without looking overdone or overthought, the homeowners say.

“Being in an older home, we wanted the kitchen to be cohesive and classic like the rest of it,” the Urbana team explains, adding that they specialize in working within whatever constraints a home (and homeowner) throw at them. “By adding details like simple crown moulding to echo the other crown in the house and simple leaded glass to blend the dining room and kitchen together, we were able to mimic a lot of the original feel in the new space.

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to listen to every client, make sure they know they’re being heard and that their ideas and desires will be brought to fruition.

When all that comes together you end up with a project like this, where we were able to include everything the homeowner was looking for and more.”

Finishing off the kitchen space at The Bourne are several pieces of carefully curated art by BC artists collected over the years by the homeowners. This includes a beautiful raku mask above the fireplace by Jan Lovewell and a large, stunning multimedia painting behind the cooking island by Susan McLennan.

“We are art enthusiasts, so it was important to us to have the space to showcase these amazing pieces,” the homeowners say, motioning around the room.

Overall, the kitchen project took about a year to complete, but the homeowners are thrilled with the result.

“The kitchen feels harmonious with the rest of the house, and we really got that feeling of bringing the outside in that we wanted so badly. The details and features weren’t as important as the overall feeling of the space, and thankfully were able to achieve it with [Urbana’s] help.

We’re very happy.”

OAK BAY INSIDER

Wounded Warrior transforms quiet cul-de-sac

C

Christopher Causton was mayor of Oak Bay for 15 years. He is now the Goodwill Ambassador and a captain with Victoria Harbour Ferries. He is the former owner of Jason’s (Wind Cries Mary) and Rattenbury’s (Old Spaghetti Factory) and is a classically trained hotelier. A member of Harbourside Rotary for 36 years, he flies different flags at his house every day. ec595@hotmail.com

ul-de-sacs are normally quiet enclaves, especially in Oak Bay. But on the evening of December 31, 2008, a 197-foot Lafarge cement barge, named Warrior, was being towed by the tug Inlet Rover when it went aground off Radcliffe Lane. For the next four days that cul-de-sac, located across from Trial Island, became the most visited spot in the municipality.

The weather forecast for New Year’s Eve 2008 was for high winds and an ebb tide. Being the last day of the year, residents were deep into planning their evenings’ festivities, and the celebrations for transitioning from one year to the next.

Kitchens were busy, tables were being set and one family was even settling in for a few hands of bridge. For those able to see Enterprise Channel, the headlight on the vessel seemed a little too far to the north, which was a bit unusual. In fact, the southwest wind had caught the barge and blown it onto the rocks right off 639 Radcliffe Lane. And there, despite the tug’s best efforts, it was now stuck.

In January of 2012 the cruise ship Costa Concordia went aground off Isola del Giglio in Tuscany. There were rumours that the captain had wanted to wave to his girlfriend. Others speculated that it was a siren’s song or mermaids that lured the captain onto the rocks. Suffice it to say that in Oak Bay, on the last day of the year, 2008—a miserable windy and cold evening— there were no sirens around Radcliffe Lane! The tug had merely been unable to control the barge in the weather conditions that prevailed.

As dawn broke on a New Year’s Day, it was apparent to those early on the scene that the barge was well and truly stuck. A second barge was called in to take the cement off the Warrior and divers moved in to ascertain whether or not there was any structural damage. Meanwhile, word started to spread around Victoria that

there was a sight to behold in South Oak Bay, just off Radcliffe Lane.

However, those trying to find Radcliffe first had to locate Hood Lane, which has the distinction of having just one house on it! Both lanes are only 12 feet wide with no turnarounds, other than in driveways. But off that lane is one of Oak Bay’s secret little walks, complete with an outlook, which was now suddenly discovered by thousands of people who wanted to get a picture of the wounded Warrior.

Divers confirmed both that the welded steel hull, built in 1981, had held intact, but also that the barge was wedged tight into the rocks.

Transferring of the cement continued and several efforts were made by tugs to pull the barge off the rocks ... all to no avail.

When the Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021, rescue efforts centred around digging out the sand in which the tanker was stuck. This course of action was obviously not an option for the Warrior. Calls from the mayor’s office relayed the message that action was needed. A rising tide was in the forecast and more tugs were required!

On the morning of January 4, early risers were treated to the unique sight of 12 tugs stationed in McNeill Bay. The two biggest, Foam and Cates 2, secured ropes to the barge and pulled… finally, success! The barge was then towed to Esquimalt Harbour, escorted by six tugs.

To this day I have never seen a barge use Enterprise Channel again. They all now make passage on the south side of Trial Island. The cul-de-sac has returned to its normal peace and quiet.

One of the great ironies of this story is that a neighbour to this accident had, in 2003, become the first sailor to complete a non-stop circumnavigation from the West Coast. He started his trip off Trial Island!

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Wishing you, your family & loved ones the very best during this time.

SUMMER 2021

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TEA with

Melinda Stephenson CLAIM TO FAME Marketing Specialist, Oak Bay Recreation Centre

By Susan Lundy | Photos by Lia Crowe

Nice to meet you, Melinda. Where were you born, where did you grow up? I was born in Calgary, Alberta.

I grew up there until we moved to a farm near Blackfalds, Alberta. I lived at the farm from Grades 7 to 12, and then moved back to Calgary for university and art college. I had the best of both worlds growing up—farm and city life!

Tell us about your work at Oak Bay Rec—give us a snapshot of a day in the life of Melinda Stephenson…Mornings are spent catching up on emails, digging into projects, like the Active Living Guide or website changes. There are always last-minute requests for projects like signs, social media posts and advertising. You must be on your toes!

What do you love about working in Oak Bay? I love working here for many reasons: the creative variety of my workday; working alongside smart, adaptable and friendly colleagues; walking around the community on my lunch hours—it’s so beautiful here. And seeing the happy faces on the children and adults who come through the recreation centre is the icing on the cake! It’s a livelihood that allows me to play and fits with who I am.

What can you tell us about your previous experience in sports and recreation? That’s easy! I have always been sporty. Aquatics, ringette and school sports were my passion as a youth. My first real job was a swim instructor and lifeguard, which I continued until after starting my first full-time job following university. During those years I also coached and was a referee for ringette and played a variety of summer sports. The list goes on.

The theme of this issue of Tweed is “transformation.”

How can sports and recreation transform people’s lives? Moving the body gets the endorphins going, cheers you up, helps with sleep and relieves stress. Working out beside someone in the gym, for example, can inspire you, as well as offer social connection and provide opportunities to meet new people and friends. Being physically active is a personal investment in mental and physical health, promoting self-improvement and vitality!

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I know post-COVID-19 people will be excited to resume all their favourite recreation activities, including strategic mental games like playing cards. Being socially active does wonders for how you view your day and relate to others.

What are your passions/hobbies outside of work?

I love being outdoors in nature; this has always grounded me. A few of my favourite things to do outside are hike, walk, swim at the lake or the ocean with my son, sit and draw or paint, or share a tea or coffee with my family and friends. In the winter, I love a good book and have been working on some creative writing.

What brings you joy? The little things like flowers blooming throughout the year (spring is my favourite season), smiles on people’s faces, laughter, playing and experimenting in my artistic endeavours, visiting with loved ones, travelling to new outdoor places and meditation.

Anything else you’d like us to know? I enjoy getting to know people and starting projects—it’s what keeps me going. There is always something new to learn!

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OAK BAY LIFESTYLE

Get growing!

Pot or plot: kitchen gardens feed body and soul

By Angela Cowan Photos by Don Denton

I

f you’ve ever picked a cherry tomato fresh off the vine, sun-warmed and firm beneath your fingertips...or a crisp snap pea, sweet and plump and green...or dug up a new potato still dusted with black earth and felt its weight in your palm, then you know the singular joy and satisfaction that comes from gardening.

Small-scale agriculture has been on the rise for years now, with people of all experience levels trying their hands at the odd potato plant, or a pot of sage and rosemary for fresh cooking herbs. And it’s become especially popular through the pandemic. But kitchen gardens, or “potager” gardens, have a long and storied history that hearkens all the way back to ancient Egypt, and connects cultures from all over the world.

“We’re all part of a lineage of garden-making,” says Susan Hawkins, a Master Gardener, garden designer and garden historian. “If you look at tomb art [from Egypt], it depicts the paradise after death as a garden, and the gardens that are por24

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trayed are mostly food-producing. There are 500 references to plants in the Bible. And in the Qur’an, there’s a line that says ‘The waters that run beneath in the paradise garden,’ and it’s referring to irrigation,” she says with a smile.

Susan is well acquainted with the joys of digging in the dirt. We’re sitting on this cloudy Saturday afternoon in her plot at the Oak Bay allotment gardens, a community space for people to grow and dig and harvest to their heart’s content.

“It’s always a sanctuary for me; but especially with this virus, when you have a place you can come to, it’s so wonderful,” she says of her garden.

Susan’s been tending this plot for about 14 years, and it has such a distinct and peaceful feeling upon walking through the gate. Bowker Creek burbles right off one edge, behind an eclectically built deer-proof fence, and an old apple tree spreads its branches over our improvised seating area.

In a nearby raised bed, flowering kale grows almost as

❝ “Gardeners have played such an integral part in our cultural development. These are not trivial places. They have history. Many of these plants have come from places all over the world.”

❞ tall as me, while a thick patch of broad beans has grown so lush that it needs to be reined in with twine. Everywhere you look is something different: snap peas, potatoes, garlic, spring onions, an extensive patch of strawberries, cucumbers, Asian veggies and more in raised beds. Behind me is Susan’s “odds and ends” patch with scattered wildflowers, bluebells, blue poppies and a lone trillium in front of raspberry canes and a Bosc pear tree.

It’s not an enormous space—about 440 square feet of cultivated ground—but Susan’s careful planning and maintenance mean the plot yields an impressive amount of food.

The allotment gardens have been in use for over 40 years, but with Oak Bay’s history of larger estates and older homes, it’s not unusual to find mature fruit trees and berry bushes scattered throughout back yards and green spaces. And the community seems to attract inveterate gardeners, with raised beds found on many properties.

A professor at the University of Victoria as well, Susan has offered introductory gardening courses for years, and this past spring, focused on the history and practical application of kitchen gardens.

“The reason I saw value in starting in that historical past was to bring everyone through that lineage and all the way to today,” she says.

“Gardeners have played such an integral part in our cultural development. These are not trivial places.

They have history.

Many of these plants have come from places all over the world.

“History tells us a lot of practical information,” she adds. “If you understand gardens then, you can understand them now.”

Things like companion planting—which can feed the soil and attract beneficial insect predators or repel pests—irrigation

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Susan Hawkins in her kitchen garden in Oak Bay’s Bowker Creek Community Garden. Below, Susan Hawkin’s garden planning.

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theory, crop rotation and more can be gleaned from centuries-old garden lore.

For a real-world example of a working kitchen garden, Susan recommends visiting the estate gardens at Royal Roads. A true Edwardian garden, it was responsible for not only feeding the family and all the estate’s employees, but the gardeners were also tasked with growing unusual foods and luxuries—like cantaloupe in November—to accommodate an appetite for rarities at the time.

One of Susan’s recent students took the lessons home, quite literally, and designed a beautiful working kitchen garden for her small apartment building. Nancy Douglas lives on Beach Drive near Oak Bay Marina, and says there’s already a small garden area that’s enthusiastically used by the residents.

“We have an herb garden, because the deer don’t eat the herbs,” she says. “The idea of the kitchen garden was to have something similar, and create an area that includes food and flowers, and is as aesthetically pleasing as it is useful to people.”

One of Nancy’s “homework” assignments was to design a garden, and so she came up with something that could be applied to her building—and the board loved the idea.

Following installation of a south-side fence to keep out the deer, the garden area will eventually have berry bushes, several dwarf apple trees and one or two raised beds with strawberries, greens and edible flowers.

“All things that can be easily picked as they’re needed,” explains Nancy. “And we’ll make it a lovely refuge for the people of this building, with a bench so people can sit and relax. It’ll be a place where we can go and socialize—when we can—or just use it to enjoy the peace of an enclosed, secret garden.”

If you’re starting your own kitchen garden, Susan recommends keeping the basics in mind: sketch out what you want ahead of time to figure out your space and layout; raised beds are wonderful as they warm up faster and give more options for securing trellises or cover; make sure you can access the whole area; and use good quality soil.

Beyond that, think about what kinds of things you like to eat, and how much maintenance you want to invest, and then flip through your favourite seed catalogue (West Coast Seeds is a great place to start) and see what catches your eye.

The important thing to remember is that no matter where you are, you can absolutely get growing.

“In a pot or in a plot,” as Susan says, you can start anywhere.

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Master of the

creative Oak Bay’s Russell Papp

By Sean McIntyre Photos by Don Denton

R

ussell Papp can recall the thrill of receiving a new roll of masking tape for his fourth birthday. Whereas most kids would likely stare at their parents disbelievingly—awaiting the punchline to what must certainly be a cruel joke—Russell got to work, transforming discarded pieces of cardboard, egg cartons and other household leftovers into elaborate sculptures drawn from his imagination.

Russell’s mastery of masking tape would be his gateway to bigger, more elaborate projects to come.

“It starts with masking tape, then the hot glue gun comes around and, from there, there’s the nail gun and table saws and MIG welders, and it just evolves,” he says. “My imagination grew as my toolbox and my skill set expanded. The eclectic nature of my work evolved out of my interest in materials and how things are made.”

These days, the Oak Bay landscape designer and sculptor’s work is highly sought after among corporate clients and private citizens who yearn for a distinctively creative flair that’s fused with inspiration from southern Vancouver Island’s iconic landscape.

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❝

Life is easier when you can hear.

The eclectic nature of my work evolved out of my interest in materials and how things are made.

❞ “I often look to nature and the ocean for sculptural inspiration,” he says during an interview in the backyard of his Bowker Avenue home earlier this spring.

Amidst the manicured hedges, colourful palette of plants and blossom-laden tree branches resplendent with birdsong, it becomes clear that Russell’s work with the landscape is in itself a form of sculpture, one that is alive and continually changing over the course of the day, seasons and years. When done right, the results appease aesthetically and produce numerous health and social benefits.

“When I look at a landscape project, I always consider the existing trees. They are usually the first thing to go in favour of easy solutions, clearing the path of least resistance, when in fact the trees are the most important thing. A good landscape is designed around the trees,” he says. “Many people never conceptualize what is happening under the ground and the harmony that is created within the whole ecosystem. It’s so important to work with what you’ve got to create an environment, and that means taking time to listen and taking time to be a part of it.”

Russell studied visual art at Camosun College and Ecological Landscape Design at Royal Roads. He also attended Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and gained early experience with GRLA Landscape Architects in Nova Scotia. Russell paid for his tuition by working with the fatherand-son duo of Bill and Timothy Ball. The Ball family helped to establish many residential gardens in the Uplands and Oak Bay, working alongside landscape architect John Olmsted.

Some of their notable properties include famed architect Francis Rattenbury’s homes and the original gardens at Riffington Manor. One of the most inspiring spaces during Russell’s formative years was the garden of sculptor Elza Mayhew.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was cultivating a whole new skill set and appreciation of plants, trees and rocks as an art form in themselves.”

Following graduation, Russell set out to work in the film and stage industry, creating elaborate props and sets. It was that same passion to create ideas with masking tape and scrap material that he’d been doing since he was four years old, but on a whole new scale. Amid the set work, however, Russell found himself continually returning to landscaping. One day, based on the advice of his boss Timothy, he bought a 1993 Suzuki Carry mini truck and launched his own business.

“It was four-wheel drive so I could drive right into the property, across the lawn and up the hill with great big trees on the back,” Russell recalls. “We would back up to the hole we had dug, and drop the tree straight in there.”

Working for himself gave him a newfound flexibility to take

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edwardjones.ca

Is something missing from your retirement plan?

on diverse creative projects that included landscape design, sculpture and comWorking for himself gave mercial art installahim a newfound flexibility tions. Russell has since to take on diverse creative been able to focus on the varied aspects of projects that included art and creativity that landscape design, sculpture he loves. and commercial art If you’ve walked along Oak Bay Drive installations. Russell has anytime during the since been able to focus on past year, you may althe varied aspects of art ready be familiar with Russell’s creative outand creativity that he loves. put. “Between Us” is a sculpture that sits near the Penny Farthing between Hampshire Road and Monterey Avenue. Russell created the piece last year as part of Oak Bay’s annual ArtsAlive program, which gives artists an opportunity to showcase their work, while offering residents increased exposure to public art. Russell says the program is a refreshing opportunity for artists to inspire one another and the public at large.

“Art in the landscape is so important; it can spark a sense of wonder, sparking the imagination, or give pause to contemplation,” he says. “I would love to see sculpture parks integrated into the natural environment around Oak Bay and Victoria. Like many cities of the world, outdoor walking areas through nature with sculpture as anchor points only enhance the atmosphere and the outdoor experience.”

If the music festival and beer garden circuit is your scene, then there’s an equally good chance you’ve experienced Russell’s work as carnivalesque backdrops to elaborate stage settings and displays. One of his most notable and memorable pieces, he says, is a 40-foot-long, refrigerated semi-truck trailer he transformed into a 32-tap beer garden dubbed the gypsy wagon. Russell recalls the reaction from Phillips Brewery owner Matt Phillips when he showed him a sketch of the project, which involved loading the trailer with kegs then adorning its sides with crane-mounted removable panels.

He was met with head-scratching and disbelief, and then promptly given a green light to move ahead with what grew to become a huge crowd pleaser and a signature fixture at local events.

❝

❞

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Be they in the public sphere of a festival or the private world of a client’s backyard, Russell’s colourfully textured creations are very much a balance between the modern, built urban landscape and the organic backdrop of sea, mountains and forest. His style is from this place and this moment, yet is also steeped in centuries-old principles. It’s a kind of elegant intensity that invites the viewer to explore, celebrate and imagine.

“It’s art nouveau meets art deco meets a Turkish puzzle ring filled with intricacy and layers,” he says.

Russell’s favourite aspect of his work, however, is helping clients incorporate their living spaces with the natural landscape. To this end, he has begun to leave his own mark on the region’s “yardscapes.” One of his proudest accomplishments is a landscape garden at a Beach Drive property that was completed in 2011. These days he’s busy working on projects in the Cook Street Village area as well as on Ardmore Drive in North Saanich.

“Whether it’s a single sculpture or an artful environment in the landscape, the process involves clear communication,” he says. “It’s a great way to get to know someone, hearing all of their ideas, and finding a way to being their dreams to life. It might not be so clear to them, but I can take what they are saying and translate it into something they may not have considered possible.”

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HISTORY OAK BAY HISTORY

Windsor and the wicket Oak Bay’s cricket tradition

By John Schofield Photos by Don Denton

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❝ Since these early days, the sport has changed in many ways, not least from being an activity almost exclusively for players of British heritage to becoming a clear symbol of Canadian multiculturalism.

❞

E

ver wondered why there’s a strip of artificial turf in the middle of the field east of the pavilion in Windsor Park? And why the words and abbreviations TOTAL, WKTS, OVERS and 1st INNS are painted high on the east wall?

It’s all about cricket, not well known in Canada these days, but one of the world’s most widely played mass spectator sports.

The artificial strip is where the ball is meant to land after being bowled (pitched) by the bowler (pitcher) and before being hit by the batter. Without going into their mostly abstruse meanings, the words and abbreviations on the pavilion wall comprise the scoreboard and have numbers attached to them during a match to record the state of play.

Cricket may have retreated to the shadows in Canada, but it has a long history in this country. Sir John A. Macdonald is said to have named it the national sport. In Victoria the game was introduced as early as 1849 by Captain W. Colquhoun Grant, the first settler on Vancouver Island not employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company. And Windsor Park—formerly Oak Bay Park—has been home to Oak Bay Cricket Club (Oak Bay CC) since 1907 when the club was founded the year after incorporation of the municipality.

The club was inactive in most years during and between the two world wars but has operated without a break since 1945.

It was joined at Windsor Park by All Comers (Alcos) CC that began sharing the venue in the 1950s. Both clubs play on weekends in the Victoria and District Cricket Association. The park is also used by Oak Bay CC and other teams that play mid-week evening cricket and, over the years, junior coaching and competition have been staged at the park.

W.E. Oliver, the first reeve of Oak Bay, was the first president of Oak Bay CC and Francis Rattenbury, the famed architect, was one of the vice presidents. By 1912, A.T. Goward was president and J.A. Virtue one of the vice presidents. Goward also became president of the BC Electric Railway Company, which owned Oak Bay Park before it was purchased by the municipality and re-named in 1922.

Virtue had been proprietor of the ill-fated Mount Baker Hotel at Windsor Road and Beach Drive that burned to the ground in 1902. Oliver and Goward were also officers of Victoria Golf

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Club on Beach Drive, indicating that cricket stood alongside golf as one of the leisure pursuits of the local elite in the heyday of cricket in Canada before the First World War. Earlier, in 1896 and 1897, the golf course had been made available to Victoria CC—then the premier cricket club in the region—when the club was looking for new playing facilities. The golf club property at the time belonged to the Pemberton estate that had an arrangement with golfers to vacate it during the summer months to allow for haymaking and/or grazing livestock. As the playing area could be moved from place to place, cricket—unlike golf—was not entirely incompatible with farming activities. Also, Victoria CC played at Oak Bay Park in the summer of 1898 before returning to playing fields in the city of Victoria.

Since these early days, the sport has changed in many ways, not least from being an activity almost exclusively for players of British heritage to becoming a clear symbol of Canadian multiculturalism. More diverse immigration patterns beginning in the 1960s accounted for this change. And southern Vancouver Island retains one of the most active cricket communities in the country.

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Stop by Windsor Park some summer weekend afternoon or mid-week evening and take a look. Spectators always welcome.

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DOGS ON THE AVENUE

ADOPT A PET! 1

Forever homes wanted! For this issue, Tweed joined up with the Victoria Humane Society (VHS) to present a selection of pets looking for new homes. (And who wouldn’t want to live in Oak Bay?) Visit victoriahumanesociety.com for more information.

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We Sell Special Homes in Oak Bay… Yours.

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Chaplin & Charlie: rescued wandering an up-island property.

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A Trusted Real Estate Company proudly serving the Oak Bay Community for over 40 years.

“We’re in your Neighbourhood”

Christie’s International Real Estate chose Newport Realty to be their Exclusive Real Estate Representative for Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Christie’s International Real Estate has affiliate offices in 46 countries with a combined annual sales volume of over $115 billion. It is a unique international perspective on the worlds of art and luxury. They are the leading global authority in the marketing of distinctive properties.

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Our office is between The Oak Bay Village and downtown, at 1144 Fort Street

“We’re on your way home”

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Thank You

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Engel & Völkers has a reputation of delivering exceptional service and possessing unrivaled expertise of the Oak Bay real estate market. We pride ourselves on creating a unique selling and homebuying experience for each of our clients.

At Engel & Völkers, our real estate Advisors are known for their unmatched level of local neighbourhood knowledge paired with extensive global resources and personal connections, to provide an exclusive experience tailored to each of our client’s unique needs.

We dedicate our time, expertise and passion to help you follow your dream, home.

Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island 2449 Oak Bay Avenue Victoria BC V8W 1B1 Phone +1 403-879-8472 Learn more at victoria.evrealestate.com

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©2021 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.