It’s 1998, and the Town of Beaverly is home to Canada’s deepest but least exploited sinkhole.
For years, Mayor Conrad Lemon’s efforts to transform it into a tourist attraction have been unsuccessful, as have most of his plans to put Beaverly on the map.
When an emergency thrusts Beaverly in the spotlight, Mayor Lemon is determined to make the most of it… no matter what. At his side (against her will) is Jemima MacNaught, assistant editor of The Beaverly Modicum, who finds herself forced to choose between loyalty to her profession and her town, though she’s not sure she wants to stick with either.
With A Hole in the Ground, longtime Québec humour columnist and broadcaster Ross Murray has written a novel that’s a tribute to small towns, small newspapers and the people who keep them running, through holes and high water.
That all who journey past be touched; “Yea ever heard about Nigger Rock,” the old man asked? Before I could answer, he continued to speak. “Yea know that black runaway slaves are buried there.” Have you ever heard of the underground railroad? “That railroad for your information was not like the one they have in Montreal now, the one they call the Metro…” “…those poor runaway slaves came all the way to Canada in order to be free, but…” “…there was a black woman,…she went by the name of Birdie,” the old man continued. “I think we need to make Birdie proud.”the old man added, after he had read her poem. Who is Birdie? What does she have to do with Nigger Rock? Read her story, and as the old man said,..“make Birdie proud”.
Society’s failure to properly honour the long john?
The power secrets of MEtivation?
How to perform a body scan on the Prime Minister?
What to do when you discover slime in your Gatorade?
Fifty ways to say “I love you”?
Something that rhymes with “borscht”?
Ross Murray has all the answers. If only someone would ask him the questions. All you really need to know is that this collection of observations about the weirdness and wonders of life will leave you laughing and jumping for joy.
Thirty-five years ago, the Quebec government signed a landmark accord with indigenous peoples in the northern reaches of the province after it initiated the first of several large-scale hydroelectric projects in James Bay. Since then, the once-nomadic Cree of the region have undergone dramatic changes in their way of life. Today they reside in self-governed modern communities. But the bush and the traditions that evolved there remain central to their identity, as Eeyou Istchee: Land of the Cree so eloquently bears witness. This book is the most comprehensive photo essay ever produced on the Cree people of eastern James Bay. It features more than two hundred photographs by Louise Abbott and Niels Jensen, along with a trilingual text based largely on interviews with Cree residents. The sensitive images portray the annual cycle of activities among the Cree, including summer gatherings, the fall moose hunt, winter wellness journeys (or “winter walks,” as they’re often called), and the spring goose hunt. They also highlight the flora, fauna, and geography of Eeyou Istchee, as the Cree call their far-flung territory.
