FISHBOWL MAGAZINE APRIL 2017

SALT SPRING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE

April 2017 - FISSUE #104 FREE & EASY

8

th Anniversary Edition Ken Brudner

The INFLUENCE of ONIONS • 5 the Anuual

Easter Art SHOW • 8

April Calendar of

STUFF to DO on the ROCK • 9

Salt Spring’s NAYANA

FIELKOV with MATTHEW “POKI” MCCORKLE

RAGMOP Theatre’s

Falling Awake at Artspring April 11th & 12th

www.fishbowlmagazine.com read us online at issuu.com/fishbowlmagazine email us today at thesaltyfishbowl@hotmail.com

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MIKE DELAMONT

GOD IS A SCOTTISH DRAG QUEEN THU APR 13 | 7:30PM Generously sponsored by Kate Merry Appropriate for ages 14 + due to some coarse language

250.537.2102 | artspring.ca

Adults: $23 Youth: $5

On Our Cover

GRAFFITI THEATRE PRESENTS:

RAGMOP Theatre’s

Falling Awake Created & performed by Nayana Fielkov & Matthew “Poki” McCorkle

April 11 & 12, 7:30 pm at Artspring International theatre company RAGMOP (Nayana Fielkov & Matthew “Poki” McCorkle) presents Falling Awake, an award-winning surrealist physical comedy about a women and her deceased lover meeting in the dreams. Fielkov, a Salt Spring native and child actress in countless GISS and community productions, is excited to bring Falling Awake here where it all started. After graduating from GISS, Nayana pursued theatre in Vancouver, creating extravagant and cutting edge performance such as the Jesse award nominated “Hard Times Hit Parade” with the Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret. Her unique approach to clown and comedy is now paired with McCorkle, international mime and object illusionist, to create a theatre experience that is mesmerizing, surreal, heartfelt and hilarious. The show features spontaneous fish, salt, flash floods, the musing of love, and the questionable nature of reality.

Last Summer the duo toured the nation, performing at Fringe Festivals to sold out houses and standing ovations, receiving the acclaim of: Best of Fest & Staff Pick (Edmonton), Best of Fringe Short-list (Toronto), Best Ensemble (NOW Toronto), Critics Picks (NOW Toronto), Best English Production Nominee (Montreal), Best English Comedy Nominee (Just for Laughs Montreal), and The Montreal Clown Festival Award Nominee (Montreal) and Joanna Maratta Award (Vancouver).

Nayana Fielkov is a performing and visual artist trained in classical theatre, musicals (Capilano College Theatre department, Alex Bruhanski Theatre), mask, clowning (John Turner, David MacMurray‐Smith, Deanna Fleycher, Peter Jarvis), Action Theatre TM (Ruth Zaporah), and Contact Dance Improvisation (Peter Bingham, Edam Dance, Karl Frost). She has been supported by B.C. Arts council, Canada Council and Columbia Basin for her projects Habitats and Oracle Improv. She is co-founder, director, and player of the touring theatrical musical ensemble The Myrtle Family Band and of Vancouver’s cherished Theatre Collective, The Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret.

Matthew “Poki” McCorkle is mime and object manipulator specializing in physical illusions. His work has traveled to Dubai (Cirque Éloize 2014, 2015), Israel, Taiwan, and Germany (PALAZZO Dinner Theater 2015-2017). He co-conceived the award winning physical theatre duo Button Wagon (2010-2013) and The Incredible Incredible (2015-current). He is a proud member of Clowns Without Borders including tours to The Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Hiayan (2013) and to Syrian Refugee centers in Nürnberg Germany (2016). Matthew is based at the Lookout Arts Quarry in Bellingham WA, USA where he is the Artist in Residency Coordinator.

“A mesmerizing display of physical comedy”

- Critics’ Pick -NOW Toronto

“So beautiful that I groaned with pleasure”

- Colin Thomas

FISHBOWL

Scopes Brought to you by our own in-house astrologer who now goes by her numerologically correct name of “Ya Righta.”

^ Aries: Half of what I say

is meaningless...the other half is total BS. Stop trying to find meaning in it!

It’s not going to happen, ever!

d Libra: Overspending last

month will find you slightly less well-off this month. You’ll likely not learn from this experience.

e You may never find what you’re looking for, but at feel is not necessary limited to what you least you managed to find out a bunch eat and drink but could be the cloud of of useless information while trolling smoke you walked through on the way Facebook.

Good job! to the coffee shop this morning. _ Taurus: The way you

Scorpio:

` Gemini: Your talents

f Sagittarius:

dictate that you will not go so far in life. Laugh and the world laughs with you…or is it at you? Either way, Better luck next time! you’re laughing, right?

a Cancer:

Today may seem like an extraordinary opportunity to get even with the world, unfortunately, the world may have different ideas.

b You will find your soulmate this week. Look to your left, nobody sitting there…April Fools!

Leo:

c Virgo: Today is not your

lucky day. It’s likely tomorrow instead!

g Capricorn:

Everything you are thinking about will end up getting lost in some sort of fuzzy haze later today. It’s ok, it wasn’t anything important anyway.

h Aquarius: You are not a loser. You just tend not to win.

i Do you feel like every time you read your horoscope here it’s just an April Fools joke?

Pisces:

Find the FISHBOWL ONLINE!

you can now easily access The Fishbowl Magazine issues online at

issu.com/fishbowlmagazine It’s never been easier to find out what’s happening on Salt Spring Island!

GREEN PRINTING & LAYOUT: aD sALES: Deadlines are the 10th of the month IMAGINE THAT GRAPHICS.CA previous to book ad space & submit content. cOLUMNISTS: Lisa Sigurgeirson Maxx Calendar events can be submitted up until the 17th.

John Bateman • Dorothy Price • Ken Brudner Dorothy teaches classes today & retreats Call Genevieve at 250 locally 538 8427&orworldwide. email Vincent • Dr. Brad Dunstan Visit www.santosha-yoga-retreats.com or phone 250.653.4655 Peter Marsha Moreau • Melinda Parks-Divers Visit www.santosha-yoga-retreats.com or phone 250.537.7675 thesaltyfishbowl@hotmail.com for rates & information.

THE FISHBOWL is brought to you by publisher Genevieve Price along with the following local columnists.

Salt Spring Island’s #1 Source for Arts, Entertainment & Culture.

Check Dorothy out our Facebook Twitter teachesand classes & pages. retreats locally & worldwide.

2013 SMALL BUSINESS of the YEAR!

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E F O U R

Price is Right

PRODUCT REVIEWS

by: Genevieve Price Sponsored by

EcoTools: Bamboo Foot Brush and Pumice I neglect my feet in the winter. Why, because I can! I also like to go polish free for at least a few months’ post-Christmas and pre-spring to let my nails breathe.

When I discovered EcoTools: Bamboo Foot Brush and Pumice, I was in love! It’s a dual action tool on a stick, amazing! Even you boys should give this a try!

Simply scrub feet with brush, then gently smooth rough patches with pumice. The handle is what really sets this product apart from its competitors.

It’s so great I bought a second for my son who insists on running barefoot even in the early months of spring and always has black feet.

This contraption acts just like an eraser, incredible!!

This “Earth Friendly” product gets a big Big Toe up from me!

Paintings by

Patricia

Brown Patricia Brown’s paintings are on exhibit through April in the Library Program Room (when not in use).

Art display runs April 1-29, Mon-Sat 10am-5PM Work shown spans over a decade, including some of the Fibonacci series, the Yellow Point series, Iceland and Taos, and Magnificent Maxwell.

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E F I V E

GISS improv students going to

NATIONAL IMPROV FINALS Ottawa April 19-20

You know that old saying, “You have to play the Mayne Island Agricultural Hall before you can play the National Arts Centre”? It is so exciting for these six improvisors from Mayne, Pender and Salt Spring Islands (grades 9-12) to be going to the Canadian Improv Games national finals in Ottawa, our nation’s capital. Having won the Vancouver Island Region, they have earned a spot among the top 20 teams from across Canada. It’s a story of tremendous patriotic symbolism. It is no small distance from Salt Spring Island, BC to Ottawa, ON.

It’s a phenomenal opportunity for these kids, from our little islands, to take part in workshops with some of the best trainers on the continent and compete with the top twenty high school teams from here to Newfoundland — not to mention touring our national galleries and museums, visiting parliament hill and hopefully meeting with our MP as well.

Stay tuned for more information about how you can help support the team and see them in action. They have shows

Fundraising show - April 8th at Artspring scheduled for Mayne Island on April 7th, Pender Island on April 8th and Salt Spring Island on Monday April 10th. They fly to Ottawa for the tournament April 19-22.

There is a raffle underway, a silent auction in the works and donations are gratefully accepted at fundrazr.com/ gissimprov.

This is actually GISS Improv’s fifth time making it to the national tournament since they began participating in 2004. They made it on the online wildcard ticket and before that they went back to back in 2007 and 2008. So, it’s nine years since they last got to hoist this trophy and a decade since their first regional championship.

The team is made up of grade 12’s: Melanie GregoryWorsell, Peter Hoskins, & Shaye Steele, grade 11’s: Fiona Pirie & Kane O’Scalleigh, grade 9 Amelia McCluskey & their coach, teacher Jason Donaldson.

They have to raise a lot of money in a very short period of time to make this come true. It is Canada’s 150th, The Canadian Improv Games’ 40th and a once in a lifetime opportunity for these students.

My Food Matters

by CHEF KEN BRUDNER

THE INFLUENCE OF ONIONS There is nothing I enjoy cooking more than the ubiquitous and influential onion.

Why influential? Well, depending on the type of onion and the method of cooking, including temperature, will help determine the outcome of a dish. From raw, pickled, sautéed, baked, roasted, caramelized and even used in desserts these members of the Allium family have many uses.

There is no other vegetable quite like the onion that has the ability to affect a dish depending on how it is cooked. For instance, if you were to make a particular soup twice in two different pots and in one cooked the onions down (you would usually start with the onions) until they literally melt in your hand and are transparent you will have enhanced your creation with more natural sweetness and depth. Comparatively, if you just sautéed them briefly leaving some crunchiness you would be left with the distinction between the onion and the rest of whatever it is on your plate in both taste structure and appearance.

The raw crunch and perkiness of a red onion on a burger or munching on a green onion extends the limitless nature that these gifts can bring to the table (so to speak). Metaphorically, onions have been compared to life. The peeling away of an outer skin that perhaps has daunted us and the uniform layers beneath the skin when taken away one by one, reveal the core, the crux of our issues.

The name onion comes from the classical period when it was given the Latin name unio that means oneness or unity. The word was created by adding the onion-shaped

letter “o” to the word union, yielding a new spelling “ounion.” The letter “u” was later dropped to create the modern spelling. A union is something that is indivisible and which, if taken apart, is destroyed in the process, like an onion.”

Scallions, Spring, Vidalia’s, Ramps, Yellow, White, Red, Shallots, Pearl, Leeks and Cippolini all have a place in any cuisine around the world. According to the “National Onion Association,” (yes there is actually one) onions not only provide flavour, they also offer important nutrients and health-promoting phytochemicals. They are high in vitamin C, calcium, iron and folic acid and a good source of fiber. Onions are low in sodium and contain no fat. They are also an antioxidant that helps or slows the oxidative damage to cells and tissues of the human body.

The reason onions make us cry when they are cut is because they release a gas called Propanethiol S-oxide. When mixed with certain enzymes in the onion, it creates a sulfur gas. These gasses then get to your eyes and create a mild acid which irritates them.

In an increasingly health-conscious world, the onion’s health value is uncontested and its versatility and value in the kitchen are rarely matched. Such a multi-faceted vegetable deserves recognition and advocacy.

Love What You Cook, Love What You Eat! allmyfoodmatters@gmail.com

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T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E S E V E N

April 23rd

2:30 - 4 pm Salt Spring Library

Earth Day program:

this

April

For all CBC Radio 2 fans with nostalgic memories of Night Lines, RadioSonic, Radio-On or Pearls of Wisdom, ArtSpring has an event for you: on April 1st, retired radio host David Wisdom offers a presentation and interactive talk on “The Art of the Slide Show.”

Featuring the work of Salt Spring and local artists, including Ahava Shira, Seth Berkowitz, and David Borrowman, Wisdom conducts his talk with all the humour and charisma that won him his Radio 2 following. David Wisdom’s own work as a visual artist has been exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery, The Teck and Equinox Galleries in Vancouver, and at FaultLine Projects on Salt Spring.

Next up, on April 13th…has it ever occurred to you that God might be a Scottish drag queen? No? Hmm. According to comedian Mike Delamont, that may be exactly the right persona for our favourite deity. In an hour of rollicking humour, God, dressed in a floral power suit, comes to skewer everything from Justin Bieber to the pope. This one-man show, proudly sponsored by Kate Merry, won Pick of the Fringe in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Orlando, and was nominated for Best Comedy at Just for Laughs in Montreal. God is a Scottish Drag Queen hits the stage at 7:30 pm, running for just over an hour. Due to coarse language, the show is not recommended for youth under 14.

Switching gears entirely, on Saturday, April 22nd, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin will be a live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City direct to ArtSpring’s stage.

For those unfamiliar with ArtSpring’s Live Opera series, Eugene Onegin is the last showing of our 2016-17 season. Based on the titular novel by Pushkin, Eugene Onegin portrays the three strata of Russian society in the 1890s, from everyday country life in the first act to rural gentry in the second, to finally the glittering surrealism of the St. Petersburg aristocracy in the third. Beginning at 10 am, the show runs for approximately three hours, with an intermission for refreshments and socializing.

Finally, April wraps up with a performance and choral workshop by the Elmer Iseler Singers on April 24th. Conducted by Artistic Director Lydia Adams, this 20-voice professional choral ensemble, founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler, has forged an enviable international reputation. As one Festival of the Sound reviewer expresses it, the Elmer Iseler Singers present “a powerful reminder that some emotions are too powerful to be merely spoken…they must be sung.” In addition to the choir’s 7:30 pm performance, Lydia Adams will lead a choral workshop, open to the public, at 4:30 pm in ArtSpring’s theatre.

Participants must pre-register for the workshop. Both show and workshop are proudly sponsored by Debbi P. Toole.

For tickets to any shows at ArtSpring call the Box Office at 250.537.2102 or visit www.tickets.artspring.ca.

For a complete listing of events at ArtSpring visit artspring.ca/events.

CYCLIST BIKELIST: The Book for Every Rider with journalist, athlete

Laura Robinson Family-friendly event; bikes welcome too!

For the love of cycling author, athlete Laura Robinson shares stories & her award-winning book: Cyclist Bikelist: The Book for Every Rider Three-time Ontario cycling champion, 1979 Ontario and Canadian rowing champion and an avid cross-country skier and runner, Laura Robinson was raised in a family who encouraged her love of sports. Laura also has a deep commitment to social justice. She’s seen how girls and women, indigenous people too, have often been treated as second-class athletes and citizens, and she hasn’t shied away from speaking truth to power.

A member of Island Pathways will also introduce participants to the plan to create a Salish Sea Bike Trail Loop, including a Salt Spring section from Fulford to Vesuvius.

If you’d like to find out how to buy the right bike or how to make bike safety fun or learn more about the world of competitive sports, don’t miss this reading and presentation. At the end of this family friendly event, there will be time to look over any bikes that are on hand and maybe adjust some seats and pump up some tires to help get them ready for the cycling season.

A great way to celebrate Earth Day! Co-sponsored by the Salt Spring Public Library, Island Pathways and the Writer’s Union of Canada.

Film: Frontrunners/Niigaanibatowaad with author Laura Robinson 7 pm at the Salt Spring Library 8 - 9 pm discussion: current challenges re: Truth & Reconciliation Niigaanibatowaad - Frontrunners: a film about FN - Settler relations: betrayal, apology, healing.

Thomas Ross was a FrontRunner, one of 10 Indigenous youth asked to carry a torch from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the PanAm Games in 1967. Six days later, when the torch arrived at the stadium, a non-Indigenous runner took it and carried it inside to light the flame that would signal the start of the Games. The FrontRunners who had carried the torch over 800 kilometres along an ancient trade route were ignominiously denied the honour of bearing it on the final leg of its journey.

Based on a play by Laura Robinson, this film depicts the injustice of residential schools and the PanAm Games incident of 1967 and what was done to make amends at the 1999 Games. Note: The subject matter of this film is challenging and may give rise to strong emotions.

The 50 min. film will be followed by refreshments and a Q & A session with Laura Robinson and discussion of current challenges along the path towards truth and reconciliation.

Co-sponsored by the Salt Spring Public Library, the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (Salt Spring) and the Writer’s Union of Canada.

Sally Sunshine

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E E I G H T

EASTER� ART SHOW April 14 to 23rd at Mahon Hall A funny thing happened on my way to work one fine summer morning...

I was basking in the glow of my retirement as organizer and curator of the annual Easter Art Tour and exhibit.

Just a few months earlier, on opening night, I was being thanked for 10 years of service. Artists, collectors, and enthusiasts were congratulating me, in bringing together our finest artists in a series of memorable annual exhibits, now known for kick starting the fine art season on Salt Spring.

From single artists retrospectives to artist duos, triplets, quads and quintets, and group shows, the exhibits have examined various genres and themes in painting, sculpture, and photography. And now, given a ride to work by the chair of the Salt Spring Arts Council, I was being asked if I would consider returning one more time. “Sure!” I said.

Well, I might have put up a little bit of a fuss, appearances are important after all.

So, that brings us to this year’s exhibit, a show of figurative art titled ‘Body of Work’.

Twenty artists will come together, presenting work focused on the human figure.

Last year, we introduced a series of lunch hour artist talks and workshops to enhance the exhibition, and in an effort to outdo ourselves, this year we are expanding our program of events. There will be artist talks and dialogues, film screenings, dance performances, drop in life drawing sessions, and a poetry/spoken word/music event celebrating Leonard Cohen, all held at Mahon Hall, with the exhibition as the backdrop.

The opening reception is on Good Friday, April 14th from 6-9pm and the show runs until Sunday, April 23rd, from 10-5 daily.

See you there! Please visit the website for more info. www.saltspringeasterarttour.com - Anthony Matthews, Curator

Easter Art Show Events Calendar Mahon Hall

Thurs April 20

Fri April 14

Fri April 21

- ‘Body of Work’ Opening Reception, 6-9pm

Mon April 17

- Noon Hour Artist Talk 12 noon - Movement Dance & Film, 7pm

Tues April 18

- Noon Hour Artist Talk 12 noon - ‘Jikan’ Sculpture, Film & Talk with Lynn Demers 7pm

Wed, April 19

- Drop in Life Drawing with the Painters Guild, 9:30-12:30pm

- Noon Hour Artist Talk 12 noon - Noon Hour Artist Talk 12 noon - Drop in Life Drawing with Stefanie Denz 1-3pm

Friday, April 21

- Dialogues with the Arts: Pravin Pillay, 7pm

Sat, April 22

- Leonard Cohen’s Body of Work: A Tribute Night Help celebrate the life and art of Leonard Cohen with a night of song and performance poetry. 7pm. $7 Suggested Donation.

PAINTINGS of CELEBRATION Mar. 31 - Apr. 9th “A peace loving radical gypsy, revolutionary, flower child, fairy princess, warrior lives here.” So read the plaque at Sally Sunshine’s door. That was Sally to all who knew her. The rest of the island knew her as the wheelchair lady with the sparkling eyes with smiles and hugs for everyone. Sally had been a dancer, but few knew she painted. Notably she painted within the confines of the quadriplegia she lived with during the last 18 years of her life.

When she wasn’t handing flowers out to a line of riot police or being chained to a logging truck, Sally painted joyful, buoyant water-colours. Her themes; tree people, dragons, Ukrainian princesses, flower spirits - all the magical nuances that so delighted her. In the wake of her passing, this extraordinary woman has left us all a gift, an inspiring body of work which she had always desired to share with her community. Please bask with us in the sunshine that dances in Sally’s work.

Sally Sunshine; Paintings of Celebration runs Mar. 31 - Apr. 9th at Artspring 10am-5pm. Song-circles, talking circles and performances will be held daily at 1pm (except Wed.) Excerpts from “letters to sally” will be performed by Lisa Sigurgeirson Maxx Sun. Apr.2, & Sat. Apr. 8th. Susan Devor Cogan will sing from her upcoming CD “Nine Goddess Tales” Sat. April 1st & Sun. Apr.9th.

The RAP GUIDE to

CLIMATE CHAOS Baba Brinkman with

April 14, 7:30pm at Artspring

An invigorating show with the exceptionally talented Baba Brinkman.Through rap, music and spoken-word poetry Brinkman leads a smart, funny and compelling mashup of climate change research, pop culture and call-to-arms.

Called “an artist at the top of his game”, Brinkman has wowed crowds from New York City to Edinburgh. One night only on Salt Spring Island; don’t miss it!

A benefit for Pull Together, funding Fiarst Nations legal challenges to the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.

Bill Nye, the science guy, says “Baba is amazing… his show rocks!” Get your tickets early and spread the word!

LEONARD COHEN’S

BODY of WORK: A TRIBUTE NIGHT SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017

Doors open at 7:00pm, event begins 7:30pm at Mahon Hall Admission: $7 suggested donation Help celebrate the life and art of Leonard Cohen with a night of song and performance poetry. The night will feature local singer-songwriters and performance poets performing their own work and favourite Leonard Cohen pieces. We’ll be projecting the lyrics, so come prepared to sing along. Or bring an instrument and join in the music making.

For more information, contact Yael Wand, admin@ssartscouncil.com, or Nedjo Rogers, nedjo@islandnet.com.

Presented by the Salt Spring Arts Council as part of Easter Art Show. The Group Exhibit, Body of Work, will be on display at Mahon Hall April 14 - 23. www.ssartscouncil.com

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E T E N

Bateman Has

Issues starring the most awesome John Bateman

Salt Spring Island is well known as a destination for “alternative” life seekers.

Alternative is such a wonderfully ambiguous word because it all really depends on what you might be alternating from. Alternative foods, alternative healing or alternative governance. We even have alternative rednecks here. Did you know that the burnout marks on Salt Spring roads are organic? They take half the time to disappear than mainland burnouts do. I didn’t even know that until I made it up.

Of all the alternatives that the island offers, perhaps the most important, yet most lacking is alternative energy. When you navigate island roads and look up, you will see a squirrels nest of wires. BC Hydro has been hiking rates every minute for the past 300 years, yet we are still addicted to their electronic juice.

This all happens despite Salt Springs limitless alternative energy sources. Here on the island, we have tides, the wind and even the sun on occasion. Do you know how much energy there is tied up in rain?

I bet each drop holds enough potential energy to power one of those weird recumbent bicycles for at least a second.

One of the problems in converting to alternative energy is money.

Constructing a huge solar array would cost the average taxpayer a pretty penny. Not to mention that those taxes could be used to pay for a machine that enhances the life of a salmon by twenty five percent.

Another impediment to alternative energy progress is, as usual, environmentalists. There’s an old island saying that goes, “If you have something fun you want to do, don’t tell an environmentalist.” Again, I just made that up. Around the globe, environmentalists have successfully lobbied to stop wind farms because they kill migrating birds. Critics of that stance believe that it’s only the stupid birds that get killed.

Although it seems bleak for the island to go alternate electric anytime soon, I think we are overlooking one of the most copious resources on Salt Spring: Talking. That’s right, I said talking. Boy, do Islanders know how to talk. Considering this is supposed to be a quiet retreat for many, it sure is noisy. Pause for a moment and listen. Hear that? Someone is talking. If humans emitted greenhouse gasses from their lungs, Salt Spring would have palm trees growing.

The question isn’t whether I’m right or wrong. Because I’m right. No, the question is how to harness all that “verbal potential.” I think the only way to do it is to have everyone talk through a mask-like implement that converts words into electricity. I know that sounds cumbersome and ugly, but we have enough artizans on the island to pretty them up.

On second thought, maybe we should try to catch the words on the way in. Then everyone could wear ear-muffs that would handle the conversion process. That way we would all have the option to shut off the sound, pretend we are listening and just look at each other and grin. Honestly, I do that anyway.

Marsha’s

Book

Reviews

with Marsha Moreau

The Wonder

by Emma Donoghue I didn’t have a clue what this book was about. I only knew that Emma Donoghue’s popularity meant that I’d better get in the queue for holds at the library as quickly as possible if I wanted to read it any time soon. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, Emma Donoghue is the author of “Room”, an incredibly successful novel and recent film. Born in Dublin, and now settled in Canada, Donoghue has authored a great deal of fiction in multiple genres. Suffice it to say I wasn’t really taking a chance by lifting the cover of “The Wonder”, synopsis unknown. I found this story unexpectedly interesting, although I do have a weak spot for historical fiction.

Set in 1850s Ireland, an English nurse named Lib comes to a small village to complete a task. She’s been hired to care for (read watch over) a young girl, Anna, who appears to have gone without food for several months. The “I found this story Florence Nightingale trained Lib is to authenticate Anna’s unexpectedly story, by careful observation interesting, although over two weeks. Convinced I do have a weak spot from the outset that it must for historical fiction.” be some sort of fraud (after all who can live without sustenance for so long) Lib is surprised to find herself drawn to Anna’s pious and sweet nature, even as she looks to trap her in a lie. Anna insists she no longer needs to eat and the more she’s supported in this claim, the more Lib begins to question whether or not it’s a form of murder to let this “wonder” continue. Lib is out of her depth in this place, because of her unfamiliarity with the Irish people and culture as well as Anna’s fervent Catholicism, which seems to have provoked this unending fast. She is frequently wrong footed (a phrase the author uses more than once) as she interacts with Anna’s family, priest and doctor.

Lib’s greatest support comes in the form of a newspaper reporter, Mr. Byrne, who happens to be lodged in the same set of rooms and who provides Lib with both some context and a fresh outlook. As he reminds her “you’re too close up to see it.” Lib gets her answers, which I won’t spoil, but I found the reveal less gratifying than the dialogue and interactions between Anna and Lib. If there is a wonder here, they are it.

NATURAL HEALTH NOTES

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E E L E V E N

with Dr. Brad Dunstan ND

ALL THINGS THYROID The thyroid gland gets a lot of attention these days, yet remains largely misunderstood. Today we’ll talk about what the thyroid does, thyroid conditions, thyroid tests, and then cover some treatment options.

Fundamentally, the thyroid gland controls our metabolism, regulating things like temperature, weight gain/loss, and heart rate. The pituitary gland produces TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), which, (surprise!) has the role of stimulating the thyroid gland, causing release of T4, a mostly inactive form of thyroid hormone.

T4 is then transported through the blood to various parts of the body, where it is converted into T3; the active thyroid hormone. Each of these steps can sometimes go wrong, leading to either hypo- or hyper- thyroidism. Auto-immune conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves disease are relatively common thyroid conditions.

Anyone with two or more of these symptoms can be considered for thyroid testing: Hypothyroidism: Hyperthyroidism: • Weight gain • Weight loss • Fatigue • Anxiety/nervousness • Cold extremities • Feeling hot/sweaty • TSH might be elevated, • Fast heartbeat (tachycardia) or normal.

• TSH will usually be low.

Most thyroid conditions can be assessed with simple blood tests; TSH, T3, T4, and thyroid antibodies can be measured. Although many experts agree that testing only TSH is insufficient, in most cases that is all that MSP is willing to cover. For this reason, it’s often necessary to pay for one’s own thyroid panel – thankfully they aren’t expensive tests. One can also monitor body temperature to assess thyroid function.

HYPOTHYROIDISM TREATMENT OPTIONS: • Synthroid(T4), cytomel(T3), and dessicated thyroid: These are your pharmaceutical thyroid hormone replacement options.

• Iodine: Iodine deficiency has become fairly rare here, largely due to it being added to table salt. For people who avoid salt, look to seaweeds or iodine supplements to ensure adequate intake.

• Herbs: Adaptogenic herbs, such as ashwgandwa or eleuthero, can help indirectly, by regulating adrenal function.

• Diet: Avoid wheat, and reduce use of caffeine, alcohol, and cannibis. Eat foods rich in tyrosine, such as nuts, seeds, and beans.

Hyperthyroidism is a serious condition; it requires professional monitoring of regular labwork, and usually involves referral to an endocrinologist. Do not attempt to manage this on your own. With that in mind, here are some of the therapies that may be recommended: • Surgical removal, or radioactive iodine ablation – the thyroid is rendered completely nonfunctional via radioactive iodine, or surgery. Replacement therapy – usually with synthroid – will be required for life. This is irreversible, and should not be undertaken lightly.

• Tapazole/methimazole or propylthiouracil - medications which block thyroid hormone synthesis.

• Beta-blockers – to treat the symptoms of excess thyroid.

• Herbs: Lemongrass, lycopus, and leonorus can help calm an over-active thyroid.

If you’re feeling like your thyroid might be the cause of your health issues, or you’d like an alternative approach to treating your thyroid condition, call me today and book your appointment.

Dr. Brad Dunstan, ND, is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor, with additional certifications in Allergy Desensitization, Acupuncture, Prescribing Authority, IV Therapies, and Prolotherapy. He graduated from UBC in 1999, and from BINM in 2009. He has a special focus on digestive health, chronic pain, hormone balancing, and pediatrics. He can be reached by phone at 250 537 0035, or by email at DrDunstanND@gmail.com.

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T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E T W E L V E

Lisa Sigurgeirson Maxx, ECE

Nurturing, empowering & educating families for over 30 years *amma = grandmother in Icelandic

dear singing amma Could you please write about when a child suffers trauma as a result of bullying and how can it affect the entire family? signed, Feeling Concerned Dear Concerned & Compassionate Thank you for this bold question and for bringing up the multilayered and prevalent problem that bullying is. And yes, as you have alluded to, bullying is not “just” a problem for the bullied child but can have an adverse effect on that child’s whole family dynamic.

One of the best ways to deal with the potential of a child being bullied – or becoming a bully - is prevention. The best prevention comes in the form of interpersonal behaviours modeled by parents and primary caregivers beginning in the earliest years of a child’s life.

When we practice being loving and respectful with our children, using positive communication tools that acknowledge and honour the child rather than using punitive power over the child, children experience what being respected and respectful looks and feels like. This is a foundation they can rely on throughout life. This foundation will help them choose friendships that are caring and kind. It can also help them know that it is OK to stand up for themselves, or for another if they notice that they, or someone else, is not being treated well or with respect.

Respectful and child honouring communication practices in the family can also create a sense of safety so that if a child encounters bullying they will be able to approach their parent and talk it through.

A child coming forth with a topic difficult to broach needs to feel heard. A child needs someone to understand and to be supportive. A child needs to know they are not alone in dealing with the bullying.

Bullying is, in simplest terms, a power grab. A bullied child, or a child who has witnessed bullying, needs to be reassured that they have power in their own lives and can wield effective relief by speaking the truth to those closest to them.

If a parent does not know how to respond effectively, by listening to and acknowledging what is happening from the child’s perspective, that child may begin to isolate if they feel their attempts to get help are futile. If the child feels frustrated by a perceived lack of compassion their confession has garnered they may lash out at those closest to them. Bullying can be a very shaming experience. Shame under cover can cause aggression and can even result in bullying behaviours emerging from the victim.

As many of us did not grow up in families where we felt heard, understood and respected, a parent may well need to seek some sage counsel from a trained professional to know how to best support a child who is a victim of bullying. Bullying is a societal problem and needs to be addressed as such. It is not a sign of weakness to reach out for support. It is exactly what to model next.

Send your parenting questions to: the.singing.amma@gmail.com or www.facebook.com/thesingingamma Could a private session with the singing amma be helpful for you & your family? email: lisasigurgeirsonmaxx@gmail.com to book yours today!

For Everyone with Salt Spring Island teacher Dorothy Price

Yoga

self-dis·ci·pline

1. the ability to make yourself do things that should be done 2. correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement A lack of self-discipline can be a major stumbling block for us. It can make us feel lazy, unmotivated and sadly, not feel good about ourselves.

Possible consequences of casting self-discipline to the wind?

• loss of a dream or goal due to apathy or lack of ambition • loss of health due to indulging in an unhealthy habit such as smoking, excessive alcohol, and drug use or eating unhealthy foods • loss of health and energy levels due to lack of exercise Why don’t we feel motivated to be more disciplined?

Our habits, as well as medical conditions, can affect our ability to be disciplined.

Here are some “energy depleters” that might be causing a lack of self-discipline.

• fatigue from lack of sleep • distraction or mind-fog from ‘sugar buzz’ treats (or other foods/drinks) • lethargy due to lack of exercise • a sluggish thyroid gland, low iron levels or other medical issues • anxiety, worry, and stress A vicious cycle ensues. How do you become self-disciplined enough to break the unhealthy habit if you can’t muster-up self-discipline because of the habit or medical condition?! Many of us are caught in this cycle! Our energy level and health are “key” to accessing self-discipline.

Somehow, we have to transcend this cycle. Only you can do it. Just do it!

• affirm you want to make a change • get moving! Walk, run, do sit-ups, push-ups, take a class • don’t have foods you shouldn’t eat in your house (don’t go shopping when you are hungry) • get checked for low iron, thyroid issues, etc. if you suspect a problem • make all attempts to get a good night’s sleep. Staying up late is the new latest ‘addiction’ (TV, computers, etc.)

• get help with smoking/drinking/drug dependencies.

• if worry, stress, and anxiety are a problem, making the changes listed here could help greatly. If not, seek professional help • yoga, meditation and the martial arts develop self-discipline Self-discipline is a life-long challenge. It takes work, and that work will shape who you are. Sometimes you will be very disciplined and motivated and other times...not!

For me, yoga, meditation, rigorous walking, once a week gym visits and a healthy diet have changed my life. Because of my efforts, I feel my level of self-discipline is quite high... but not always! It is a constant challenge and I know that challenge will continue.

You know that self-discipline is at work when you see someone out for a run or walk, off to a class or to the gym, or avoiding the chips/candy/pop aisle at the grocery store.

Give yourself praise for even ‘baby-step” efforts. Never put yourself down if you fall short of expectations. Let me be your cheerleader! Try. Try. Try again!

See you on the mat! ~ Dorothy Dorothy teaches yoga classes, pranayama, meditation & retreats locally & worldwide.

Visit www.santosha-yoga-retreats.com or phone 250-537-7675

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E T H I R T E E N

PETER VINCENT

CITIZEN at LARGE COLD COMFORT

It’s tee shirt weather in Esperanza. I’m not referring to Esperanza, New Mexico, home of low rider cars and pink casitas. No, this is Esperanza, Antarctica. And truth be told, it was about two years ago when the weather station at Esperanza smashed all previously recorded temperatures, coming in at 17.5 Celsius. At risk of repeating myself: this is the Antarctica - the bleak, frozen graveyard of many a foolhardy explorer.

As I write (early March,) Esperanza temperature is -3C - damn balmy for the Antarctica - damn balmy for Canada for that matter, where on that same day it was -18C in Edmonton and -1C in Charlottetown, PEI. Here on Saltspring Island, it snowed yesterday. In fact, from Christmas through to this writing it has been relentless, depressingly cold to the point where returning snowbird realtors are rebooking another fortnight in Cabo St Lucas or some such Latin hotspot.

Earth is devolving into an unpredictable weather mash-up. 2016 was the hottest year on record and 2017 is shaping up to eclipse. Iceland recorded 18C in February.

Glacier National Park is bereft of glaciers. Temperatures in the Arctic are 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. A massive 175 kilometre chunk of ice 300 times the area of Saltspring Island is about to calve into the Antarctic waters.

Chicago saw zero snow in January and February for the first time in 146 years, California flipped from six years of parching drought to cataclysmic rainfall, resulting in severe flooding. Miami is throwing everything at its disposal to pump out the rising tides. If the scientists are correct - sea levels may well rise six to ten feet by the end of the century, flooding most of the major cities along the east coast of the USA, displacing 13 million. Good news! My little house high up on a hill off Walkers Hook may eventually become waterfront.

Other than that, there is not much to recommend global warming and climate change.

Maybe that plucky little band of outliers will prove correct when they assert this whole change cataclysm business is nonsense, thumbing their collective nose at 97% of scientists. Maybe Trump is right when he calls global warming a hoax propagated by the Chinese. Maybe he is smart to eviscerate the Environmental Protection Agency and the federal weather department, to forbid employees of the federal park system to use the term “climate change,” and to back out of the Paris Climate Agreement signed by President Obama and every other country on the planet.

Maybe the tens of millions of local shellfish deaths along our coastline in the past five years are merely capricious Mother Nature raising the acidity in the waters. Maybe.

But what if Mr. Trump and the climate change deniers are wrong and the world has sat idly by, dismissing the science, nitpicking “weather” versus “climate” arguments, fiddling while Rome burns? What if this vortex of C02 emissions, rising seas, and extreme climate events intensify, culminating in a waterlogged uninhabitable wasteland? What then? When it comes to the planet, there is no restart button.

T H E F I S H B O W L - A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • PA G E F O U R T E E N

The

Thinking Garden FUNDRAISER FILM The True Story About SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN SOWING SEEDS OF CHANGE Beautifully filmed against the drought now gripping southern Africa, The Thinking Garden tells the inspiring story of what can happen when older women take matters into their own hands and how local action in food production can give the most vulnerable a measure of control over their food and future. In apartheid’s dying days, three generations of women came together to create a community garden and effect change. Several decades later, the garden still provides food and opportunity while helping the community confront climate change, poverty and HIV/AIDS. The Thinking Garden screening is co-sponsored by the Salt Spring Island Grand(m)others to Grandmothers(G2Gs) and the Salt Spring Garden Club. Ticket proceeds will be shared between the project profiled in the film and the Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. This short film will be followed by a Q and A with the filmmakers, and an opportunity to buy the farm’s cookbook.

The Grandmothers Campaign of The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF), was launched in 2006 in response to the emerging crisis faced by African grandmothers struggling to care for their grandchildren, orphaned by AIDS. Today 250 grandmother groups, almost all in Canada, have raised $25M to support their African counterparts. The local G2Gs have been raising funds and awareness since 2009.

Over 300 grassroots organizations in 15 sub-Saharan countries, run by and for grandmothers, are working to turn the tide of HIV & AIDS – 25 million of those living with HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to providing basic and psychosocial supports, their work includes home based care and training; HIV/AIDS education, vocational training for youth; legal and human rights training around violence against women and property rights. And as with the garden in the film, income generation projects like community gardens, seed sharing and animal rearing.

All welcome. Learn, be inspired and support.

Thursday April 6th, 7:30 at the Fritz. Tickets $10 at the door.

Open Stage

MEL it OVER

by Melinda Parks-Divers

Things Got Real Can I talk about something really personal this month? That is so not like me, right?

I was thinking about this month exactly five years ago. I was remembering how I felt exhausted all the time. I could feel that things were not working properly in my body. I felt the “force” draining away.

I had ridiculous symptoms that had intensified over time that I had sorta become used too until they got so bad I could not ignore them anymore. They interfered with my day to day. I could barely get through the minimum required of me.

I was dreadfully fearful of going to the doctors. Something had happened at an appointment once in my early twenties and I carried that event as a crippling wall I had difficulty scaling.

The thought of going to a doctor’s office for myself would give me an internal anxiety that I was unwilling to admit. I was fine taking the kids or anyone else for that matter, so long as it was not about me.

By the time I finally went out of complete desperation, 8 months of being tossed about and told it was my “hormones” followed.

I was at my last straw one day and went bawling my eyes out back to the doctors and finally, he made some stuff happen that brought the diagnosis at last. I hate to say it, but I was relieved. Finally, there was the reason I felt the way I did!

It was advanced by that time. The path to wellness was hard, uncomfortable, and there was a chance it would not work. That is what bothered me the most. That I had let my fears and inability to get over my past stand in the way of taking care of myself and I would not pay the heavy cost. My family would pay. My kids could grow up without a mom. My partner could have to do it himself. The irony is that was my biggest motivation to get well too.

So what is the lesson in all this?

Why do I talk about this five years later?

It was scary. It is profound. It changed all our lives a bit and definitely my perspective of the world and life. There are many lessons in here and you can take whatever you want from it. I am just glad I am here.

Writings from the heart and shit. moonshinemamas.ca

Sun, April 30th 7 to 11 pm

Old Timey Café

Gather your friends, bring your banjo, guitar and harmonica or just your voice and join young and old on the south end for a fabulous open stage!

Great music and munchies. Alcohol free and everyone welcome. On the last Sunday of every month in the OAPO annex at Fulford Hall.

Mahon Hall Group Exhibit, Artist Talks, Events, April 14-23 Reception: Good Friday April 14, 6-9

saltspringeasterarttour.com ssartscouncil.com

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