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Quotes About Shiva
Quotes tagged as "shiva" (showing 1-19 of 19)
Amish Tripathi
“Don't turn blue all over now.”
― Amish Tripathi, The Immortals of Meluha
“Fire is His head, the sun and moon His eyes, space His ears, the Vedas His speech, the wind His breath, the universe His heart. From His feet the Earth has originated. Verily, He is the inner self of all beings.”
― Anonymous,
“The faithful of Shiva or Dionysus seek contact with those forces which...lead to a refusal of the politics, ambitions and limitations of ordinary social life. This does not involve simply a recognition of world harmony, but also an active participation in an experience which surpasses and upsets the order of material life.”
― Alain Daniélou,
Renee Ahdieh
“The moment I saw him running toward you that morning, I knew you were going to save him, just as he saved you.”
― Renee Ahdieh, The Rose & the Dagger
“Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers,
things standing shall fall,
but the moving ever shall stay.”
― Basava, The Lord of the Meeting Rivers: Devotional Poems of Basavanna
Robin Rumi
“I am Shakti, as well as Shiva. I am everything male and female, light and dark, flesh and spirit. Perfectly balanced in one single moment lasting an eternity...”
― Robin Rumi, Naked Morsels: Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica
“The rich will make temples for Siva. What shall I, a poor man, do? My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head the cupola of gold.”
― Basava
“Lord Shiva, you my sunshine, my soul, Sivoham.”
― Usha Cosmico
Aporva Kala
“Jai Shiv shambu, shiv shankar, Jai Bhole..”
― Aporva Kala, Life... Love... Kumbh...
“When Shiva beats his DAMRU- Evil Shakes !! while the Wise Awakes!”
― True Krishna Priya, End of Humanity-3rd World War- The Great Revolution- Mass Dna Upgrade- Nwo of Yogic Elite
Sushil Singh
“i am here and now in all this Omnipresent , i am the universe.”
― Sushil Singh
Satyen Nabar
“I screwed up guys, real big time; holy great grandmother of all screw-ups!”
― Satyen Nabar, A Bolt of Lightning
Balajinnatha Pandita
“Starting from the source of vibrant Consciousness, the first two tattvas of Shaivism are (1) Shiva tattva and (2) Shakti tattva. It is important to understand at the beginning that these two tattvas are only linguistic conventions and are not actually part of creation. According to the deep yogic experience of the sages of this philosophy, there is no difference between Shiva tattva and Shakti tattva. They are both actually one with Paramasiva. They are considered to be two tattvas only for the convenience of philosophical thinking and as a way of clarifying the two aspects of the one absolute reality, Paramasiva. These two aspects are Shiva, the transcendental unity, and Shakti, the universal diversity. The changeless, absolute and pure consciousness is Shiva, while the natural tendency of Shiva towards the outward manifestation of the five divine activities is Shakti. So, even though Shiva is Shakti, and Shakti is Shiva, and even though both are merely aspects of the same reality called Paramasiva, still, these concepts of Shiva-hood and Shakti-hood are counted as the first two tattvas. These two tattvas are at the plane of absolute purity and perfect unity.
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 73.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
Balajinnatha Pandita
“The essential nature of samvit is the subtle stir of spanda. The introverted and extroverted movements of spanda cause samvit to manifest itself in both the noumenal and phenomenal aspects of creation. These two aspects of samvit are known in Shaivism as Shiva (transcendent) and Shakti (universal). Shiva and Shakti are the two names given to the monistic Absolute (Paramasiva) when it is being considered in its dual aspects of eternal and transcendent changelessness (Shiva), and the ever-changing and immanent manifestation of universal appearances (Shakti).
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 17–18.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
tags: kashmir-shaivism, paramashiva, samvit, shakti, shiva, spanda 3 likes Like
Balajinnatha Pandita
“It is important to understand that, according to Kashmir Shaivism, this analysis of all phenomena into thirty six tattvas is not an absolute truth. It has been worked out by the authors of the philosophy as a tool of understanding for the ever-active and inquiring mind and as a form for contemplative meditation. Through further analysis, the number of tattvas can be increased to any level. Similarly, through synthesis, they can be decreased down to one tattva alone. In fact this has been done in the Tantraloka, where one can find doctrines of contemplation on fifteen, thirteen, eleven, nine, seven, five, and as few as three tattvas as well. The practitioners of the Trika system use only three tattvas in the process of a quick sadhana: Shiva representing the absolute unity, Shakti representing the link between duality and unity, and Nara representing the extreme duality. [Shakti is the path through which Shiva descends to the position of Nara and the latter ascends to the position of Shiva.] Finally, a highly advanced Shiva yogin sees only the Shiva tattva in the whole of creation. However, since the contemplative practice of tattvadhvadharana used in anava upaya includes meditation on all thirty sex tattvas, that is the number commonly accepted by the Shaivas of both northern and southern India.
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 79.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
“Sivtatva’ and ‘Saktitatva’ (Lord Shiva and Holy Mother Kali) – Father’s semen in mother’s womb, both combined. Next I am born – ‘Sadasiva’ which means a continuous hilarity within my body. Next comes ‘Iswartatwa’ – Man becomes God and he is so made (One is All); ‘Sadvidyatatva’ – All these I am – All is One – I am all these, which is in action. What is that? Suppose in the spiritual world whatever will reveal within the brain will be flashed among the human race and by such phenomenon the world will get real benefit.”
― Sri Jibankrishna or Diamond
Sushil Singh
“OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
prayer of Five Element which i(universe) Exist.”
― Sushil Singh
“Only when you go beyond Mind, will you be able to respect the energy that inhabits us; until then you will either exploit others with your energy or will deplete your energy, leading a purposeless life!”
― Ramana Pemmaraju
Sushil Singh
“On the Sivaratri day after performing the routine, the devotee shall go to the temple of Siva and perform worship.”
― Sushil Singh
Quotes About Shiva
Quotes tagged as "shiva" (showing 1-19 of 19)
Amish Tripathi
“Don't turn blue all over now.”
― Amish Tripathi, The Immortals of Meluha
“Fire is His head, the sun and moon His eyes, space His ears, the Vedas His speech, the wind His breath, the universe His heart. From His feet the Earth has originated. Verily, He is the inner self of all beings.”
― Anonymous,
“The faithful of Shiva or Dionysus seek contact with those forces which...lead to a refusal of the politics, ambitions and limitations of ordinary social life. This does not involve simply a recognition of world harmony, but also an active participation in an experience which surpasses and upsets the order of material life.”
― Alain Daniélou,
Renee Ahdieh
“The moment I saw him running toward you that morning, I knew you were going to save him, just as he saved you.”
― Renee Ahdieh, The Rose & the Dagger
“Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers,
things standing shall fall,
but the moving ever shall stay.”
― Basava, The Lord of the Meeting Rivers: Devotional Poems of Basavanna
Robin Rumi
“I am Shakti, as well as Shiva. I am everything male and female, light and dark, flesh and spirit. Perfectly balanced in one single moment lasting an eternity...”
― Robin Rumi, Naked Morsels: Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica
“The rich will make temples for Siva. What shall I, a poor man, do? My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head the cupola of gold.”
― Basava
“Lord Shiva, you my sunshine, my soul, Sivoham.”
― Usha Cosmico
Aporva Kala
“Jai Shiv shambu, shiv shankar, Jai Bhole..”
― Aporva Kala, Life... Love... Kumbh...
“When Shiva beats his DAMRU- Evil Shakes !! while the Wise Awakes!”
― True Krishna Priya, End of Humanity-3rd World War- The Great Revolution- Mass Dna Upgrade- Nwo of Yogic Elite
Sushil Singh
“i am here and now in all this Omnipresent , i am the universe.”
― Sushil Singh
Satyen Nabar
“I screwed up guys, real big time; holy great grandmother of all screw-ups!”
― Satyen Nabar, A Bolt of Lightning
Balajinnatha Pandita
“Starting from the source of vibrant Consciousness, the first two tattvas of Shaivism are (1) Shiva tattva and (2) Shakti tattva. It is important to understand at the beginning that these two tattvas are only linguistic conventions and are not actually part of creation. According to the deep yogic experience of the sages of this philosophy, there is no difference between Shiva tattva and Shakti tattva. They are both actually one with Paramasiva. They are considered to be two tattvas only for the convenience of philosophical thinking and as a way of clarifying the two aspects of the one absolute reality, Paramasiva. These two aspects are Shiva, the transcendental unity, and Shakti, the universal diversity. The changeless, absolute and pure consciousness is Shiva, while the natural tendency of Shiva towards the outward manifestation of the five divine activities is Shakti. So, even though Shiva is Shakti, and Shakti is Shiva, and even though both are merely aspects of the same reality called Paramasiva, still, these concepts of Shiva-hood and Shakti-hood are counted as the first two tattvas. These two tattvas are at the plane of absolute purity and perfect unity.
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 73.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
Balajinnatha Pandita
“The essential nature of samvit is the subtle stir of spanda. The introverted and extroverted movements of spanda cause samvit to manifest itself in both the noumenal and phenomenal aspects of creation. These two aspects of samvit are known in Shaivism as Shiva (transcendent) and Shakti (universal). Shiva and Shakti are the two names given to the monistic Absolute (Paramasiva) when it is being considered in its dual aspects of eternal and transcendent changelessness (Shiva), and the ever-changing and immanent manifestation of universal appearances (Shakti).
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 17–18.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
tags: kashmir-shaivism, paramashiva, samvit, shakti, shiva, spanda 3 likes Like
Balajinnatha Pandita
“It is important to understand that, according to Kashmir Shaivism, this analysis of all phenomena into thirty six tattvas is not an absolute truth. It has been worked out by the authors of the philosophy as a tool of understanding for the ever-active and inquiring mind and as a form for contemplative meditation. Through further analysis, the number of tattvas can be increased to any level. Similarly, through synthesis, they can be decreased down to one tattva alone. In fact this has been done in the Tantraloka, where one can find doctrines of contemplation on fifteen, thirteen, eleven, nine, seven, five, and as few as three tattvas as well. The practitioners of the Trika system use only three tattvas in the process of a quick sadhana: Shiva representing the absolute unity, Shakti representing the link between duality and unity, and Nara representing the extreme duality. [Shakti is the path through which Shiva descends to the position of Nara and the latter ascends to the position of Shiva.] Finally, a highly advanced Shiva yogin sees only the Shiva tattva in the whole of creation. However, since the contemplative practice of tattvadhvadharana used in anava upaya includes meditation on all thirty sex tattvas, that is the number commonly accepted by the Shaivas of both northern and southern India.
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 79.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
“Sivtatva’ and ‘Saktitatva’ (Lord Shiva and Holy Mother Kali) – Father’s semen in mother’s womb, both combined. Next I am born – ‘Sadasiva’ which means a continuous hilarity within my body. Next comes ‘Iswartatwa’ – Man becomes God and he is so made (One is All); ‘Sadvidyatatva’ – All these I am – All is One – I am all these, which is in action. What is that? Suppose in the spiritual world whatever will reveal within the brain will be flashed among the human race and by such phenomenon the world will get real benefit.”
― Sri Jibankrishna or Diamond
Sushil Singh
“OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
prayer of Five Element which i(universe) Exist.”
― Sushil Singh
“Only when you go beyond Mind, will you be able to respect the energy that inhabits us; until then you will either exploit others with your energy or will deplete your energy, leading a purposeless life!”
― Ramana Pemmaraju
Sushil Singh
“On the Sivaratri day after performing the routine, the devotee shall go to the temple of Siva and perform worship.”
― Sushil Singh
(further informations you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
New AKH
Model of the AKH
General Hospital main entrance
Over time, the Josephinischen buildings of General Hospital became unzweckgemäß (purposeless), so that has been decided in 1957 to build a new large central clinic.
(Josephinian style, the Josephinian style, also Josephinian Baroque or Josephinian Classicism denominated, is a stylistic direction of the Austrian art, of arts and crafts, interior design and architecture of the Josephinism in the Habsburg Empire under Emperor Joseph II in the 18th Century.)
Construction of the new AKH in Alsergrund was began in the summer of 1964 with the nursing school, including boarding and personnel dormitories (3 "sister towers") at Lazarettgasse 14. From the year 1968 followed the second phase of construction with the university hospitals for Pediatrics, Psychiatry, University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Depth Psychology and Psychotherapy, and a day care center for children at the Gürtel ("clinics at South Garden"). These were opened in 1974 and 1975. The planning behoved an architectural partnership, which included Wolfgang Bauer, Georg Köhler, Felix Kässens, Hannes Lintl, Georg Lippert, Alexander Marchart, Roland Moebius, Otto Mayr and Otto Nobis. 1970 was started at the Gürtel (belt) with the underground garage and 1974 with the located behind main house. This consists of the ambulance and surgical area (51 ORs) and two large, a total of 22 floors high bed towers, which accommodate 2,199 beds.
The AKH is connected with its own metro station Michelbeuern/AKH to the public transport network. The central building with the bed towers was officially opened in 1994, but already (partially) used since 1991. Total construction costs were at about 45 billion shillings (now approximately 3.3 billion euros) estimated in 2004 - originally projected were 1 billion shillings (around 73 million euros). The construction costs were funded jointly by the City of Vienna and the federal government. The cost explosion and an associated bribery scandal in the construction of the new AKH General Hospital led to the AKH-scandal, the up to the present biggest Austrian building scandal. Did one speak earlier of "the General", so with the construction slowly began the term "General Hospital" to spread, primarily for new buildings, and became mainly from the AKH scandal in 1980 more and more the dominant term.
At present (2011) are approximately 9,300 persons employed at the General Hospital, of which about 1,600 physicians and more than 4,500 health and nursing staff. Annually, almost 99,000 patients are inpatients and half a million patients are treated in the 397 clinics. About 7,500 students are enrolled at the Medical University of Vienna.
On 19 July 2003 was transplanted from a team of doctors of the hospital world-wide for the first time a human tongue.
School
To prevent stationary admitted children of school age with prolonged hospital stay miss too much class time, there is a branch of the AKH Vienna sanatorium school.
Pastoral Care
For the religious and spiritual needs of our patients a variety of facilities are available. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant (AB and HB) Christians get together with Muslims and Jews spiritual care.
As the old AKH is no longer used as a hospital, there is for the sick ones of Jewish faith a prayer room in level 5 between the two towers of the new building, in charge of this is the Chief Rabbinate of the Jewish Community Vienna.
Orientation
The main entrance to the General Hospital leads through the entrance and administration building and is located on Level 5. Basis of the orientations is a color system the main corridor system being highlighted in blue. The main corridors thereby run here in east-west direction and are arranged as a so-called H-corridor system. The destinations (medical departments) are highlighted in orange and yellow doors mark the way to the escape stairs. In addition exist for the two bed-houses own colors. The easterly situated bed house including the elevator doors of the corresponding lifts is red, the westerly bed house marked green. The individual floors are referred to as "plane".
Facts and Figures
As of 2008
Buildings and facilities
Land area: 240,000 m²
Usable area 337 696 m²
Value of land and buildings: 1.825 billion Euro
Value of technical equipment: 43 million euros
Amount of operating and office equipment: 32 million euros
Departments and wards
27 clinics
10 university institutes
62 ambulances
330 specialist outpatient clinics
82 nursing stations
21 ICUs
51 operating theaters
Rooms and Beds
As of 2011
2,116 beds in total, of it
1,713 single beds
137 intensive care beds
137 intermediate care beds
129 day-care treatment beds
(maximum of 30 beds per ward and a maximum of 3 beds per room)
Personnel
Total staff about 9,300 people, of which
approximately 1,600 physicians
approximately 2,900 nurses
Costs and service revenues
As of 2005
Service revenues (social insurance): 365 million euros
Grants from the City of Vienna: 124 million euros
Grants from the Federal government: 47 million euros
Material costs: 164 million euros
Staff costs: 266 million euros
Loss for the year: 11 million euros
Net loss: 31 million euros
Statistics
As of 2005
494 758 outpatient cases
94 403 Stationary admissions
Average length of stay: 5.9 days
46 466 operations
2,393 births
1,403 deceased patients
1,521 autopsies
Teaching and Research
1 Big auditorium with 507 seats
2 Großhörsäle (big auditoriums), each with 287 seats
2 lecture halls, each with 147 seats
40 individual workstations
26 group study rooms
14 practice rooms
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeines_Krankenhaus_der_Stadt_Wien
(further information you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
New AKH
Model of the AKH
General Hospital main entrance
Over time, the Josephinischen buildings of General Hospital became unzweckgemäß (purposeless), so that has been decided in 1957 to build a new large central clinic.
(Josephinian style, the Josephinian style, also Josephinian Baroque or Josephinian Classicism denominated, is a stylistic direction of the Austrian art, of arts and crafts, interior design and architecture of the Josephinism in the Habsburg Empire under Emperor Joseph II in the 18th Century.)
Construction of the new AKH in Alsergrund was began in the summer of 1964 with the nursing school, including boarding and personnel dormitories (3 "sister towers") at Lazarettgasse 14. From the year 1968 followed the second phase of construction with the university hospitals for Pediatrics, Psychiatry, University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Depth Psychology and Psychotherapy, and a day care center for children at the Gürtel ("clinics at South Garden"). These were opened in 1974 and 1975. The planning behoved an architectural partnership, which included Wolfgang Bauer, Georg Köhler, Felix Kässens, Hannes Lintl, Georg Lippert, Alexander Marchart, Roland Moebius, Otto Mayr and Otto Nobis. 1970 was started at the Gürtel (belt) with the underground garage and 1974 with the located behind main house. This consists of the ambulance and surgical area (51 ORs) and two large, a total of 22 floors high bed towers, which accommodate 2,199 beds.
The AKH is connected with its own metro station Michelbeuern/AKH to the public transport network. The central building with the bed towers was officially opened in 1994, but already (partially) used since 1991. Total construction costs were at about 45 billion shillings (now approximately 3.3 billion euros) estimated in 2004 - originally projected were 1 billion shillings (around 73 million euros). The construction costs were funded jointly by the City of Vienna and the federal government. The cost explosion and an associated bribery scandal in the construction of the new AKH General Hospital led to the AKH-scandal, the up to the present biggest Austrian building scandal. Did one speak earlier of "the General", so with the construction slowly began the term "General Hospital" to spread, primarily for new buildings, and became mainly from the AKH scandal in 1980 more and more the dominant term.
At present (2011) are approximately 9,300 persons employed at the General Hospital, of which about 1,600 physicians and more than 4,500 health and nursing staff. Annually, almost 99,000 patients are inpatients and half a million patients are treated in the 397 clinics. About 7,500 students are enrolled at the Medical University of Vienna.
On 19 July 2003 was transplanted from a team of doctors of the hospital world-wide for the first time a human tongue.
School
To prevent stationary admitted children of school age with prolonged hospital stay miss too much class time, there is a branch of the AKH Vienna sanatorium school.
Pastoral Care
For the religious and spiritual needs of our patients a variety of facilities are available. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant (AB and HB) Christians get together with Muslims and Jews spiritual care.
As the old AKH is no longer used as a hospital, there is for the sick ones of Jewish faith a prayer room in level 5 between the two towers of the new building, in charge of this is the Chief Rabbinate of the Jewish Community Vienna.
Orientation
The main entrance to the General Hospital leads through the entrance and administration building and is located on Level 5. Basis of the orientations is a color system the main corridor system being highlighted in blue. The main corridors thereby run here in east-west direction and are arranged as a so-called H-corridor system. The destinations (medical departments) are highlighted in orange and yellow doors mark the way to the escape stairs. In addition exist for the two bed-houses own colors. The easterly situated bed house including the elevator doors of the corresponding lifts is red, the westerly bed house marked green. The individual floors are referred to as "plane".
Facts and Figures
As of 2008
Buildings and facilities
Land area: 240,000 m²
Usable area 337 696 m²
Value of land and buildings: 1.825 billion Euro
Value of technical equipment: 43 million euros
Amount of operating and office equipment: 32 million euros
Departments and wards
27 clinics
10 university institutes
62 ambulances
330 specialist outpatient clinics
82 nursing stations
21 ICUs
51 operating theaters
Rooms and Beds
As of 2011
2,116 beds in total, of it
1,713 single beds
137 intensive care beds
137 intermediate care beds
129 day-care treatment beds
(maximum of 30 beds per ward and a maximum of 3 beds per room)
Personnel
Total staff about 9,300 people, of which
approximately 1,600 physicians
approximately 2,900 nurses
Costs and service revenues
As of 2005
Service revenues (social insurance): 365 million euros
Grants from the City of Vienna: 124 million euros
Grants from the Federal government: 47 million euros
Material costs: 164 million euros
Staff costs: 266 million euros
Loss for the year: 11 million euros
Net loss: 31 million euros
Statistics
As of 2005
494 758 outpatient cases
94 403 Stationary admissions
Average length of stay: 5.9 days
46 466 operations
2,393 births
1,403 deceased patients
1,521 autopsies
Teaching and Research
1 Big auditorium with 507 seats
2 Großhörsäle (big auditoriums), each with 287 seats
2 lecture halls, each with 147 seats
40 individual workstations
26 group study rooms
14 practice rooms
www.de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeines_Krankenhaus_der_Sta...
Quotes About Shiva
Quotes tagged as "shiva" (showing 1-19 of 19)
Amish Tripathi
“Don't turn blue all over now.”
― Amish Tripathi, The Immortals of Meluha
“Fire is His head, the sun and moon His eyes, space His ears, the Vedas His speech, the wind His breath, the universe His heart. From His feet the Earth has originated. Verily, He is the inner self of all beings.”
― Anonymous,
“The faithful of Shiva or Dionysus seek contact with those forces which...lead to a refusal of the politics, ambitions and limitations of ordinary social life. This does not involve simply a recognition of world harmony, but also an active participation in an experience which surpasses and upsets the order of material life.”
― Alain Daniélou,
Renee Ahdieh
“The moment I saw him running toward you that morning, I knew you were going to save him, just as he saved you.”
― Renee Ahdieh, The Rose & the Dagger
“Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers,
things standing shall fall,
but the moving ever shall stay.”
― Basava, The Lord of the Meeting Rivers: Devotional Poems of Basavanna
Robin Rumi
“I am Shakti, as well as Shiva. I am everything male and female, light and dark, flesh and spirit. Perfectly balanced in one single moment lasting an eternity...”
― Robin Rumi, Naked Morsels: Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica
“The rich will make temples for Siva. What shall I, a poor man, do? My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head the cupola of gold.”
― Basava
“Lord Shiva, you my sunshine, my soul, Sivoham.”
― Usha Cosmico
Aporva Kala
“Jai Shiv shambu, shiv shankar, Jai Bhole..”
― Aporva Kala, Life... Love... Kumbh...
“When Shiva beats his DAMRU- Evil Shakes !! while the Wise Awakes!”
― True Krishna Priya, End of Humanity-3rd World War- The Great Revolution- Mass Dna Upgrade- Nwo of Yogic Elite
Sushil Singh
“i am here and now in all this Omnipresent , i am the universe.”
― Sushil Singh
Satyen Nabar
“I screwed up guys, real big time; holy great grandmother of all screw-ups!”
― Satyen Nabar, A Bolt of Lightning
Balajinnatha Pandita
“Starting from the source of vibrant Consciousness, the first two tattvas of Shaivism are (1) Shiva tattva and (2) Shakti tattva. It is important to understand at the beginning that these two tattvas are only linguistic conventions and are not actually part of creation. According to the deep yogic experience of the sages of this philosophy, there is no difference between Shiva tattva and Shakti tattva. They are both actually one with Paramasiva. They are considered to be two tattvas only for the convenience of philosophical thinking and as a way of clarifying the two aspects of the one absolute reality, Paramasiva. These two aspects are Shiva, the transcendental unity, and Shakti, the universal diversity. The changeless, absolute and pure consciousness is Shiva, while the natural tendency of Shiva towards the outward manifestation of the five divine activities is Shakti. So, even though Shiva is Shakti, and Shakti is Shiva, and even though both are merely aspects of the same reality called Paramasiva, still, these concepts of Shiva-hood and Shakti-hood are counted as the first two tattvas. These two tattvas are at the plane of absolute purity and perfect unity.
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 73.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
Balajinnatha Pandita
“The essential nature of samvit is the subtle stir of spanda. The introverted and extroverted movements of spanda cause samvit to manifest itself in both the noumenal and phenomenal aspects of creation. These two aspects of samvit are known in Shaivism as Shiva (transcendent) and Shakti (universal). Shiva and Shakti are the two names given to the monistic Absolute (Paramasiva) when it is being considered in its dual aspects of eternal and transcendent changelessness (Shiva), and the ever-changing and immanent manifestation of universal appearances (Shakti).
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 17–18.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
tags: kashmir-shaivism, paramashiva, samvit, shakti, shiva, spanda 3 likes Like
Balajinnatha Pandita
“It is important to understand that, according to Kashmir Shaivism, this analysis of all phenomena into thirty six tattvas is not an absolute truth. It has been worked out by the authors of the philosophy as a tool of understanding for the ever-active and inquiring mind and as a form for contemplative meditation. Through further analysis, the number of tattvas can be increased to any level. Similarly, through synthesis, they can be decreased down to one tattva alone. In fact this has been done in the Tantraloka, where one can find doctrines of contemplation on fifteen, thirteen, eleven, nine, seven, five, and as few as three tattvas as well. The practitioners of the Trika system use only three tattvas in the process of a quick sadhana: Shiva representing the absolute unity, Shakti representing the link between duality and unity, and Nara representing the extreme duality. [Shakti is the path through which Shiva descends to the position of Nara and the latter ascends to the position of Shiva.] Finally, a highly advanced Shiva yogin sees only the Shiva tattva in the whole of creation. However, since the contemplative practice of tattvadhvadharana used in anava upaya includes meditation on all thirty sex tattvas, that is the number commonly accepted by the Shaivas of both northern and southern India.
— B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 79.”
― Balajinnatha Pandita, Specific Principles of Kashmir Saivism
“Sivtatva’ and ‘Saktitatva’ (Lord Shiva and Holy Mother Kali) – Father’s semen in mother’s womb, both combined. Next I am born – ‘Sadasiva’ which means a continuous hilarity within my body. Next comes ‘Iswartatwa’ – Man becomes God and he is so made (One is All); ‘Sadvidyatatva’ – All these I am – All is One – I am all these, which is in action. What is that? Suppose in the spiritual world whatever will reveal within the brain will be flashed among the human race and by such phenomenon the world will get real benefit.”
― Sri Jibankrishna or Diamond
Sushil Singh
“OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
prayer of Five Element which i(universe) Exist.”
― Sushil Singh
“Only when you go beyond Mind, will you be able to respect the energy that inhabits us; until then you will either exploit others with your energy or will deplete your energy, leading a purposeless life!”
― Ramana Pemmaraju
Sushil Singh
“On the Sivaratri day after performing the routine, the devotee shall go to the temple of Siva and perform worship.”
― Sushil Singh
(further informations you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
New AKH
Model of the AKH
General Hospital main entrance
Over time, the Josephinischen buildings of General Hospital became unzweckgemäß (purposeless), so that has been decided in 1957 to build a new large central clinic.
(Josephinian style, the Josephinian style, also Josephinian Baroque or Josephinian Classicism denominated, is a stylistic direction of the Austrian art, of arts and crafts, interior design and architecture of the Josephinism in the Habsburg Empire under Emperor Joseph II in the 18th Century.)
Construction of the new AKH in Alsergrund was began in the summer of 1964 with the nursing school, including boarding and personnel dormitories (3 "sister towers") at Lazarettgasse 14. From the year 1968 followed the second phase of construction with the university hospitals for Pediatrics, Psychiatry, University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Depth Psychology and Psychotherapy, and a day care center for children at the Gürtel ("clinics at South Garden"). These were opened in 1974 and 1975. The planning behoved an architectural partnership, which included Wolfgang Bauer, Georg Köhler, Felix Kässens, Hannes Lintl, Georg Lippert, Alexander Marchart, Roland Moebius, Otto Mayr and Otto Nobis. 1970 was started at the Gürtel (belt) with the underground garage and 1974 with the located behind main house. This consists of the ambulance and surgical area (51 ORs) and two large, a total of 22 floors high bed towers, which accommodate 2,199 beds.
The AKH is connected with its own metro station Michelbeuern/AKH to the public transport network. The central building with the bed towers was officially opened in 1994, but already (partially) used since 1991. Total construction costs were at about 45 billion shillings (now approximately 3.3 billion euros) estimated in 2004 - originally projected were 1 billion shillings (around 73 million euros). The construction costs were funded jointly by the City of Vienna and the federal government. The cost explosion and an associated bribery scandal in the construction of the new AKH General Hospital led to the AKH-scandal, the up to the present biggest Austrian building scandal. Did one speak earlier of "the General", so with the construction slowly began the term "General Hospital" to spread, primarily for new buildings, and became mainly from the AKH scandal in 1980 more and more the dominant term.
At present (2011) are approximately 9,300 persons employed at the General Hospital, of which about 1,600 physicians and more than 4,500 health and nursing staff. Annually, almost 99,000 patients are inpatients and half a million patients are treated in the 397 clinics. About 7,500 students are enrolled at the Medical University of Vienna.
On 19 July 2003 was transplanted from a team of doctors of the hospital world-wide for the first time a human tongue.
School
To prevent stationary admitted children of school age with prolonged hospital stay miss too much class time, there is a branch of the AKH Vienna sanatorium school.
Pastoral Care
For the religious and spiritual needs of our patients a variety of facilities are available. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant (AB and HB) Christians get together with Muslims and Jews spiritual care.
As the old AKH is no longer used as a hospital, there is for the sick ones of Jewish faith a prayer room in level 5 between the two towers of the new building, in charge of this is the Chief Rabbinate of the Jewish Community Vienna.
Orientation
The main entrance to the General Hospital leads through the entrance and administration building and is located on Level 5. Basis of the orientations is a color system the main corridor system being highlighted in blue. The main corridors thereby run here in east-west direction and are arranged as a so-called H-corridor system. The destinations (medical departments) are highlighted in orange and yellow doors mark the way to the escape stairs. In addition exist for the two bed-houses own colors. The easterly situated bed house including the elevator doors of the corresponding lifts is red, the westerly bed house marked green. The individual floors are referred to as "plane".
Facts and Figures
As of 2008
Buildings and facilities
Land area: 240,000 m²
Usable area 337 696 m²
Value of land and buildings: 1.825 billion Euro
Value of technical equipment: 43 million euros
Amount of operating and office equipment: 32 million euros
Departments and wards
27 clinics
10 university institutes
62 ambulances
330 specialist outpatient clinics
82 nursing stations
21 ICUs
51 operating theaters
Rooms and Beds
As of 2011
2,116 beds in total, of it
1,713 single beds
137 intensive care beds
137 intermediate care beds
129 day-care treatment beds
(maximum of 30 beds per ward and a maximum of 3 beds per room)
Personnel
Total staff about 9,300 people, of which
approximately 1,600 physicians
approximately 2,900 nurses
Costs and service revenues
As of 2005
Service revenues (social insurance): 365 million euros
Grants from the City of Vienna: 124 million euros
Grants from the Federal government: 47 million euros
Material costs: 164 million euros
Staff costs: 266 million euros
Loss for the year: 11 million euros
Net loss: 31 million euros
Statistics
As of 2005
494 758 outpatient cases
94 403 Stationary admissions
Average length of stay: 5.9 days
46 466 operations
2,393 births
1,403 deceased patients
1,521 autopsies
Teaching and Research
1 Big auditorium with 507 seats
2 Großhörsäle (big auditoriums), each with 287 seats
2 lecture halls, each with 147 seats
40 individual workstations
26 group study rooms
14 practice rooms
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeines_Krankenhaus_der_Stadt_Wien
Better Large-Arches National Park in Utah as the sun sets. Mountains, high desert, and rock formations in abundance.
The Desert Has a Voice (James Watkins)
The desert has a voice that calls
In dry, dirt dreams-
Warm, wind-washed wonders
In wingless, soulless flight.
Cold, moonlit masquerades
Through long level years,
Crying out with countless cares on deafened ears-
Drowned in measured, motor-muffled madness,
And child-chattered, purposeless flight.
Quietly, calmly calling-
Darkened, deepening desert-
Star-filled with stumbling stalkers
And wounded warriors in fevered nights.
Dreams-peaceful, persistent, dreams-
As wheeled sky turns
Eternal turning, evening eyes-
And thoughts of morning colored light.
Millennial seas-
Doomed and dusty years-
Row upon heaping row of years-
Tears-
Caked, covered
And desolate.
The desert has a voice-
That calls and halts
And peers with perfect perspective-
Stopping us in our way.
“I have seen blood-stained battles!
I have seen despot desires!
I have seen prophets come and go,
And ages pass with shallow…glancing blows!
I have seen civilizations crumble…
Tumbling, heavy-handed
Into pagan pasts!”
The desert has a voice-
And every grain of sand has a name-
Every wind-blown grain of sand.
And someone-somewhere-knows the names.
They have perfect place and purpose-
Rocks cry out! Rocks….sing!
Some soaring angelic scribe somewhere
Records the history of rocks, and sands, and deserts.
Drab, dull, drifting desert distances and plans.
Ragged, jagged, craggy-edged
Mountain spine explosions and
Dry, desert sand.
The desert has voice and future-
With lifted hill-high green valley-
And clear bright stream winding
To cool, crystalline sea.
They wait….silently…
Almost… forever waiting-
But I know the secret of deserts-
And –
Dreams.
James Watkins-April 2006
St Mary, East Walton, Norfolk
Norfolk churches expert the late Tom Muckley (1935-2009) photographed at East Walton, September 2006.
Ten years later, I revisited:
It was the long summer of 2016. I was out cycling fairly purposelessly in the backwaters of west Norfolk, following the narrowest, quietest lanes and occasionally remembering them from a decade before. I came to East Walton, which is well off the beaten track, a quiet village down a cul-de-sac off of the Gayton to Narborough road. We are miles away from West Walton here, and the names probably result from an early 19th Century attempt by the Post Office to tell the difference between them. St Mary is beautiful, a round tower with a pleasing, comfortable 14th century church attached. Beside it sits the ruin of the chapel of St Andrew, a couple of farmhouses, and the massive and lovely former rectory.
How idyllic the life of a minister of the Church of England must have been during the early years of the 20th century! Back in 2005, I met an old lady in the graveyard here who recalled the Rector when she was a child in the 1920s. He had just two churches in his care, this one and the similarly remote and lovely Gayton Thorpe. On a Sunday morning he'd cycle to his other church to celebrate an early communion, and then back to East Walton for Matins. Even in those days the villages weren't huge, but today there are barely a dozen people on the electoral roll here, and the Minister responsible for it has charge of five other churches.
The great round tower has a visible lean to the west, and has been bolstered and restored in the early years of the current century. The architect's drawings are on display inside. The windows are filled with lovely irregular panes of 18th century glass. And indeed, stepping into St Mary is to step into a different century, and not a medieval one, for here we have an interior which is almost entirely of the early 18th century, a time when the Church of England itself was a bit of a sleepy backwater. The brick floors are a setting for good quality box pews, which lead the eye to a three-decker pulpit in the south-east corner. It must have all looked very fine when it was first installed.
Perhaps less happily, the chancel arch, which must have been a beautiful one judging by the quality of the Decorated foliage in the bits that are visible, was filled in. A wooden archway was put in its place, and low, flat ceilings were installed. It may be that these ceilings were partly practical, to keep the heat in; but the open porch was also given one, and so it seems more likely that someone here didn't like medieval roofs.
As you may imagine, this all gives St Mary a character of its own, and I like it a lot. A sprinkling of medieval survivals - wild, grinning corbel heads, the quatrefoiled font, the flowered tympanum above the priest door in the chancel, a brass which asks us to pray for the souls of William Bacar and Margaret his wife - are adornments to this simple, lovely space. It was good to come back.
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May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones ! An unusual degree of callous disregard is shown as the beloved proud Valley Peoples Queen Annapolisa Pageant is cancelled without consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with new ideas have proclaimed themselves to be the generation that will interrupt and then terminate 88 years of traditional multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageantry ?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
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A quick review of the notorious hostile takeover bid and attempt to extract the 2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade away from its natural home in the town of Kentville ?
February, 2017 - With only 3 months to go and parade planning and preparations well underway as per usual for the upcoming 2017 edition of Kentville Grand Street Parade, parade officials were suddenly caught totally off-guard and absolutely blindsided by the shocking news coming from out of nowhere that current ABF Management who are in charge of the festival made a final decision in private that will take Grand Street Parade away from its historic 85-year old home in Kentville ? They would then relocate it to a new and different location of their choice ? Apparently, they had already taken it away from Kentville and moved it to New Minas without consultation, written or verbal notice, or permission ? And so it seemed that a group of rather uncaring, arrogant, covertly operating, and inconsiderate ABF Officials with radical new ideas had ignored the town of Kentville's vital interests and ignored 87 years of tradition and (incredibly) have taken the 2017 annual Grand Street Parade ( and even future Parades ) away from them without consultation, notice or permission ? Drastic location changes and even the elimination of other longtime events and attractions always held in Kentville such as the Friday night outdoor show and fireworks, the Memorial Park Wednesday and Thursday displays with Valley student participation and numerous attractions, the bringing in of popular outside bands, and even the famous historic Kentville Children's Parade were all targeted by this grouping of ABF directors for cut-back or elimination ? Radical changes in the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition including gender, contestant rules, location of crowning ceremony, and changes in overall competition format were also discussed ? The ABF Officials defended their secretive, inconsiderate and authoritarian type actions by claiming that as stewards of the festival they are entitled and obliged to uphold the integrity of the festival ? (integrity ? ) They later changed stories saying they were left with no choice due to Kentville's inability to prove they can successfully host such a large Parade event, ( Kentville has hosted this parade for the last 85 years ),and also because the people in charge of Grand Street Parade were unprofessional, indifferent and uncooperative ?
And so it came to be that a newly elected Mayor and Council in its infancy were suddenly confronted with perhaps the most serious challenge ever to be faced by the town of Kentville ever since the tragic loss of their major transportation sources, that being the loss of the railway in 1989, and then the shocking loss of aviation in 2014 when the Town CAO and the Warden and Council conspired to close out Waterville municipal Airport and evict all businesses and tenants ? This serious challenge came in the form of a surprise and pernicious attack and hijacking of Kentville's most beloved local commercial attraction, that being the Grand Street Parade ? The unexpected assault came from an unfamiliar and unfriendly source that seemed inconsiderate, disrespectful, and even a tad opportunistic when considering that Kentville had just finished installing a brand new rookie Mayor and Council ? When newly elected Mayor Snow, was suddenly swarmed by the news of so many extreme actions already taken against her town's best interests, the shocked and disbelieving Mayor said she was overwhelmed, heartbroken and called these actions unprecedented, disrespectful and unacceptable when speaking with local media ? All agreed that any attack on Kentville's most popular and well known outdoor world class event without the courtesy of an invitation, negotiation, inclusion or consultation is unacceptable ? Needless to say, the biggest losers of all were the good citizens of Kentville who have contributed so much over the lase 90 years years going back to the thirties and forties when the CNR train would bring guests to stay at the Cornwallis Inn ? The Town has invested enormous amounts of time, energy and resources into the creation of this world-famous event that draws tens of thousands of visitors.
All Valley towns take great pride and look forward to their individual town festivals and especially to their yearly parade. The citizens of Kentville are no different. Towns like Kingston, Hantsport, Wolfville, Windsor, Berwick, Canning, Greenwood etc. will never have to worry about someone hijacking their yearly community parade or otherwise taking it away ? However, sadly, the citizens of Kentville will now have to live with the troubling prospect of the possible loss of their beloved town parade without notice at any time and the accompanying loss of many years of time, energy, town resources, manpower put forth by residents, and all the other general services and contributions made during the past 88 years to create this world class event ?
The current 2017 ABF board of Directors is led by Angela Pelton and Alxys Chamberlain (Queen Annapolisa 2015), with Barb Madic, Heidi Scotney-Kinsman, John Patterson, Katie Gordon, Krista Morine, Linda Keddy, Logan Morse, Sarah Griffiths, and Steffany Cox-Lingard ?
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news clippings :
Frustration growing in Kentville, N.S. over Apple Blossom parade change CTV Atlantic atlantic.ctvnews.ca/frustration-growing-in-kentville-n-s-...
Kings County Councilor Emma Van Rooyen calls for the de-funding of the Apple Blossom Festival
atlantic.ctvnews.ca/apple-blossom-festival-competition-di...
JULY 14, 2023 - Valley Pride workshops, drag performances, and more events planned for Kentville and Wolfville over the weekend.
globalnews.ca/video/9832465/first-official-pride-festival...
CTV Jan. 23, 2017 " A long-standing N.S. festival opens competition to all gender identities"
www.ctvnews.ca/canada/long-standing-n-s-festival-opens-co...
ABF 2022 - Princess competition and Queen Annapolisa pageant to be postponed this year ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52076239848/in/datepos...
New Minas agrees to host the parade after approached by festival organizers ! Protest Petition is started !
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
Kentville will host the Apple Blossom parade after all
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/kentville-gets-apple-b...
No Smoking in KVille, but we encourage you to drink, gamble and smoke pot all you want ? Maders tobacconist in downtown Kentville is celebrating 50 years in business,,
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/9344935900
may 2023 = Kids welcome at an all-age Drag show to be held at the Kings Arms in Kentville,,
www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
A protest against an all-age drag show at the Kings Arms ends peacefully in Kentville,
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/communities/a-celebration-of...
Lunenburg - Now even Queen is a bad name ? Lunenburg recently changed the name of Cornwallis Street to Queen Street. Queen was first choice of all those in a survey taken to select a new street name. But the town received another complaint from the local anti-racism committee saying they are upset by a democratic decision that would replace one colonial street name (Cornwallis) with another, (Queen ) ?
www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ns-town-that-changed-cornwa...
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2022 :
* Update 2022 Update * This year's ABF won't be the same as the others ? For the first time ever in a long illustrious history, this ABF will be missing the better half of the Festival, that being, the coveted Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition and the coronation and crowning ceremony in Wolfville ? All have been postponed ? Bad news indeed for aspiring young participants, for our local communities, for the Festival itself, and for all patrons and sponsors. Perhaps the current board of Directors should focus more attention on their job of actually holding the event rather than arguing about inclusion and entrance ? We look forward to next years pageant ? It also looks like the Directors this year are not prepared to make the necessary expenditures needed to bring in outside guest performers for the Friday night concert (or for a big-name Saturday night concert ) as was always the case in previous years when bands like Eddy's Basement, or various guest Tribute Bands, or the Barra McNiels, K D Lang, Michelle Wright, and many others were brought in to entertain Wednesday Thursday or Friday night Memorial Park audiences ?
It seems that ABF Officials are emphasizing the word 'free' in advertisements this year ? The ABF events they advertise as free have always been free ? Is this promotion or the pointing out of the 'free' idea mean there are plans in the future to begin charging Kentville citizens for events that have always been free in the past, such as Grand Street Parade or the Friday night Memorial Park entertainment and Fireworks ? It seems more likely that if they were ever to repeat this year's lackluster bare minimum effort of our World famous festival that they may have to start paying patrons to attend ?
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Following a 2 year absence due to Covi,, the 2022 Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. (and Parade) will be held as per usual this year.. Unfortunately the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition has had to be postponed until next year due to time constraints.
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Shocking news from ABF,
* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *
Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?
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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?
This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?
It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?
You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?
Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)
ABF news updates :
ABF news updates :
Logan Morse and a newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when moving to terminate the historic and long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? Directors show no remorse, only saying that bold action was needed to improve, evolve and bring the pageant up to their modern standards ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...
May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual degree of disrespect shown when the long running all Valley Peoples Pageant is cancelled without either of consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with bold new ideas have apparently proclaimed themselves to be the generation that will interrupt and then permanently end 88 years of wonderful multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess enjoyment ?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
Annapolis Valley families are in shock and children cry upon learning their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking this bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-
Valley residents lose a long time major public yearly entertainment event after the ever popular ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and corporate greed ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft at a taxpayer owned airport in a far inferior airshow ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
Kentville, an identity crisis. Help, Is there a Superhero out there to save Kentville from the newconers ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/51811175986/in/album-7...
The controversial 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been the target of exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport and then relocated it to their own home riding in the Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, the Kingston Apple Blossom Princess, and ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?
Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Disregard for safety shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unshaded, no sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...
Exploiting a Queen for a photo op ? Politicians at the official opening of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretend that there's still a Pageant while knowing full well that Queen Annapolisa has been terminated forever and will no longer be a part of this Festival ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade ABF stewards defy Trudeau's call for diversity and inclusion ? Many nearby local Valley towns and villages that always normally attend are now excluded from the parade ? This exclusion also means an absence of the diversity provided from the attendance of these many local communities ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view the complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
89th Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023,, It's the sad ending of an Era ? ABF Organizers take away tremendous diversity when all Royal proceedings have been excluded from this years festival, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52934419451
Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,
www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...
The Town of Kentville has moved to cut back and eliminate many hours of public outdoor entertainment that were held as a part of the Apple Blossom Festival ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785
A medley of the guest Tribute bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville - Always free of charge in the past at the Apple Blossom Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,
www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9
Mean corporate greed is shown by the newcomer ABF directors in this years Apple Blossom Festival ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band at the free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it will now cost 50.00 pp to see the 'Queen tribute band' performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/
A Scrooge-like cheap Town of Kentville rips off its own citizens (and right at Apple Blossom Festival time) ? Cold capitalism shown by Town of Kentville and by the newcomer ABF management ? Citizens burdened with an out of pocket expense of TWENTY DOLLARS each just to attend an outdoor street dance held downtown on taxpayer owned property during Apple Blossom Festival ? Is there no sense of shame ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...
She's Ruined It ! Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something that can only be described as stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54493011308/in/dateposted
2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A brief 45-minute and a very limited and compacted Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero large marching street bands and majorettes invited other than 1 mini version of the standard RCMP entrée, No Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Royalty or their famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants weren't here, Zero horses or wagons, No armaments, soldiers, bands or displays from the Aldershot military or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet the Guest parade announcer proclaims in quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, incl Toronto - it's the longest with the largest route and has the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t, where did she come from and what is she talkin about ?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00
Mayor in Kentville Grand Street Parade - A new Royal rider rolls down Main Street aboard the Kentville Apple Blossom Princess float ? This year the newcomer Mayor graces the royal throne. 'Somebody get that king a crown and scepter '
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted
they've ruined it part 2 ? May 31st, 2025 Grand Street Parade - From 100,000 down to 10,000, Parade attendance shrinks to all time low, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost.... Also see, They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
ABF Directors may disapprove and may have terminated the beloved Queen Annapolisa pageant and the multiple village Apple Blossom Princess competition but Valley residents will always admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. The majority of Valley citizens are delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are invited and will be coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now Royalty-less ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946
The long proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from sight and erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? A special honorary history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners from 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and apparently replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer President and other ABF directors who have taken over and ruined the world famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens
Meet the directors,
May 30th, 2025 - a 20 dollar hamburger and a ride on the bouncycastle ? High level security enforcement brought in for this years ABF Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? ( must have taken up most of the budget ) ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up security perimiter with manned guard posts to provide tightened security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in the past had always featured guest rock bands, interesting displays, and a Royal visit following the glamorous coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but has now been cut down to some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, fireworks, air blown bouncy jumpers and minimal live local entertainment on the main stage ? It has been reported that a parking violator was successfully apprehended thanks to the upgraded crowd control security and strict traffic control hired by the Board for this occasion ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569
May 30th, 2025 Memorial Park Kentville - Seniors and those with disabilities are made to walk long distances in order to reach this year's disappointing ABF Friday night outdoor rock Concert that didn't bring in a rock band, (nor much of anything else) ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...
Oct 4th, 2025 - Kentville Harvest Festival Centre Square, A disappointing harvest festival this year that forgot about hayrides, pumpkin people making, the harvest and the farmer ?https://www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835089011/in/photostream/
Upgrade 2025 ? taken from the front of Phinneys dept store - a massive expenditure is budgeted for a major upgrade to the Mayor's business backyard - Downtown Kentville Webster Street gets a complete and total beautification makeover with new installations of street paving, paint, new sidewalks both sides, driveway entrances, and new curb and gutter both sides ? All the other streets that surround the Phinneys' downtown business block have also been upgraded including Aberdeen Street, Cornwallis Street, and Main Street ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835340734/in/photost...
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An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last humiliating major transportation loss forced on the people of a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from the outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? This long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? The cold hearted eviction also left our young Air Cadets over at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and so now the next generation has to grow up without their nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so, a group of out-of-towners that mostly don't even live in this community had transformed an active thriving local Aviation business center that had taken decades to build and establish, into a barren and useless place where unsupervised Michelin children now ride bikes and dodge weeds poking their heads thru a deteriorating asphalt runway that was once a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, this unwarranted calculated forced closure and loss of a vital member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that will greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end this devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a windfall for the Kingston Greenwood area, and, Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to be bused to the nearby town of Canning ? This would leave only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify Kentville as their home school, an education reality that still exists in Kentville ? There is no longer a movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it never was replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now there's just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace all of Wandlyn's many facilities including hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a very good exchange for the community ?
The traditional July 1st Canada Day town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is well known as one of the most identifiable entitlements provided by a town ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges the customer 10,000 dollars just to turn their town water on at roadside ? And then after this rather large up front financial layout paid for by the brand new customer, he will still have to pay for all of his yard trenching and household plumbing work ? And in return for this large initial forced surcharge, the valued new customer will be rewarded with a water bill courtesy of the town of Kentville each month hereafter ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge traversing the Cornwallis River ? And so now many local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created safety hazards ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own local yearly parade returned back home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. etc. held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom festival week ? No explanation was given and no replacement or apology was ever offered by the Town for such a devastating loss to be absorbed by the citizens of Kentville ? Kentville has now lost its most identifiable of all citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville, when newcomer ABF Directors had shown an uncommon degree of disrespect, as well as their disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or to be included in the Town Parade ? It seemed that Kentville had lost yet another identifiable citizen and wonderful Ambassador that always performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, dignity, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, the many steps backwards, and the cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire and never replaced ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade of less than an hour ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys drive thru burgers, the loss of one of the 2 dt Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a 7/24 convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and the end of the pretigious Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and symbolically married for decades to the Town name of Kentville ? There remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists created when the Wandlyn hotel complex burned down and when not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues were ever replaced ?
And now, in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments are taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, from the looks of a recent Town municipal election, most candidates that ran are relatively new to this area and as such might be unfamiliar with the Town's long time traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates had even naively described the town as a kind of happy go lucky, blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville movie set place that is teaming with busy villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and internationally known boutiques and eateries which does not present an accurate description of the Town ?
And apparently the new Mayor who is also a new local business owner, appears to have befriended ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, the well known skydiving academy, the international flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulating himself on enlarging the size of his downtown retail store and expressing his own personal happiness over a new (taxpayer funded) installation of a brand new sidewalk in front of it, but failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and youth unemployment, the drug problems, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the devastating cancellation of the historic Princess Kentville competition, the vacationers concerns about no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There was also the recent eradication of the Apple Blossom Festival and decimation of the world famous Grande Street Parade ? And there's also the current Town housing crisis, the high increases in rent, and the alarming rate of downtown business failures, and also the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum and outdoor display of some sort ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that has immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies traditionally held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also this years' poor presentation of a Grande Street Parade and one unsafe situation in the newcomer Parade where normal residents (incl Seniors) were seen perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also the local residents plea to 'bring our high school students back home again' , and some complaints about the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events exceeding the grade school level ? There was also the controversy over the hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance to the honored heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course, there was also the recent down town flood crisis ? The mayor did not address the question of why a Provincial Government would force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then those who caused this major loss, did not offer to replace it but just left the area without such a facility ? And, there was no mention of the need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of sudden and unopposed takeovers of small businesses by newly arrived foreigners from Asia when locals here can't find work ? And what about growing concerns over the recent issue of the formation of an exclusive Ontarioville newcomer type town growing within an already established town ? There were also many concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that had made some of the streets unfit to drive on, at a time when a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that was smooth as a baby's bum ?? And then there was the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? And there was also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, can it be time to stop newcomer mentality, and to make it mandatory for all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions to be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect, protect and retain the Town's unique character, history, diversity, identity, and many longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ? ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
Newcomer ABF directors trying to erase history ? The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :
"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "
May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and some extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always attend ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also a major disappointment for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included as there are many town residents young and old who identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However, the now purposeless Apple Blossom Princess float was used this year to transport a grouping of everyday town residents as they sat around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville with diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum and a weak effort that really missed the inclusion of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and also missed the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the many large out of town contingents that always normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to seeing, and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It became obvious that what was being advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite because this new version of our Grand Street Parade had lost the inclusion, diversity and the major contribution put forth by the absent Valley communities along with their individual Princess contestants and Child attendants that always come to Kentville to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the many Princess Teas, and the Royal attendances at schools, hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as appearances at the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert and fireworks, Royal attendances highlighting the Saturday morning Children's Parade, and a Royal trip down Main street Kentville aboard a beautiful hand crafted royal float in the famous Grand Street parade ?
And so, to quickly sum up, can a strange looking, incomplete, shortened, now Royal-less, newcomer mentality amateur version of our elite world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that was now missing her heinous Queen Annapolisa and also missing 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their individual 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats, and also missing much of the unique character and diversity usually provided by the numerous Valley villages and communities who were no longer included, and that also failed to include many of the large out of town marching bands and pipers and majorettes who usually attend, and that also lacked representation from local area farming, agriculture and livestock,, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?
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Some previous parades :
2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s
2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18
2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s
2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s
2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s
2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s
2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s
2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s
2023 Grand Street Parade - The exclusion of many of the usual participants and denial of their valued diversity have marred the 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Many nearby Valley communities were missing in the Parade when longtime participants were no longer included ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
A concerned Kentvillian must finally speak out, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/44424045874
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.
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Mendigo, mendicante, morador de rua ou sem-abrigo é o indivíduo que vive em extrema carência material, não podendo garantir a sua sobrevivência com meios próprios. Tal situação de indigência material força o indivíduo a viver na rua, perambulando de um local a outro, recebendo o adjetivo de vagabundo, ou seja, aquele que vaga, que tem uma vida errante.
O estado de indigência ou mendicância é o mais grave dentre as diversas gradações da pobreza material.
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A vagabond is an itinerant person. Such people may be called drifters, tramps, rogues, or hobos. A vagabond is characterised by almost continuous travelling, lacking a fixed home, temporary abode, or permanent residence. Vagabonds are not bums, as bums are not known for travelling, preferring to stay in one location
Historically, "vagabond" was a British legal term similar to vagrant, deriving from the Latin for 'purposeless wandering'.[2] Following the Peasants' Revolt, British constables were authorised under a 1383 statute to collar vagabonds and force them to show their means of support; if they could not, they were jailed.[2] Under a 1495 statute, vagabonds could be sentenced to the stocks for three days and nights; in 1530, whipping was added. The assumption was that vagabonds were unlicensed beggars.
By the 19th century the vagabond was associated more closely with Bohemianism. The critic Arthur Compton-Rickett compiled a review of the type, in which he defined it as men "with a vagrant strain in the blood, a natural inquisitiveness about the world beyond their doors." Examples included Henry David Thoreau, Michael John Arthur Bujold, Walt Whitman, Leo Tolstoy, William Hazlitt, and Thomas de Quincey.[3] A notable 20th century vagabond was the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős.
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Le vagabondage désigne communément le style de vie de celui qui vit de manière permanente sans adresse et sans emploi fixe, volontairement ou non, le « sans feu, ni lieu ». Juridiquement, le vagabond était souvent celui qui était inconnu dans l'endroit où il se trouvait, qui ne possédait aucun passeport ou autre certificat d'identité ou de bonnes mœurs, et ne pouvait se faire « avouer » (reconnaître) par quelqu'un (curé d'une autre paroisse, etc.). Le vagabondage était alors lourdement réprimé; le délit de vagabondage n'a disparu du droit français que dans les années 1990.
Le terme « vagabond » peut être utilisé, au sens péjoratif, pour représenter un sans-abri. Il peut aussi désigner celui qui part à l'aventure pour vivre une expérience de vie différente du mode de vie sédentaire; c'est pourquoi on dit qu'ils vivent de manière désordonnée, du moins en apparence. Des vagabonds célèbres ont existé, par exemple Jésus, Gandhi, Lanza Del Vasto, et d'innombrables philosophes-vagabonds. Le vagabond est celui qui décide de vivre pour une durée indéfinie sans attache, dans un but spirituel (voir Les Clochards célestes de Kérouac), social ou sous une contrainte matérielle. Au sortir de leur période vagabonde, certains d'entre eux ont produit telle ou telle œuvre, résultant de l'inspiration littéraire ou artistique découlant cette phase de vagabondage.
La fable de Jean de la Fontaine, Le Loup et Le Chien, illustre bien une situation où un vagabond l'est par choix.
If you have a chance to meet the Mormon missionaries, take the time to listen to what they have to say. Their message may be what you need – peace and answers in a troubled and often confused world, where immediate pleasures give way to a feeling of purposelessness. If your life has hardships that you struggle to overcome, if you have addictions or sins you struggle to overcome, the Church will help you overcome these things and find strength of heart. It teaches that we are all of great worth to God, that He loves us, and we are never alone.
The missionaries will give you their message – and also ask you to read the Book of Mormon, which contains the word of God for us today. Indeed, the Book of Mormon invites all to lay their burdens at the feet of Christ and through Him find peace, joy, and Eternal Life
Source: Understanding Mormonism
Better Large-This formation in Arches it looks like Alien and its offspring were frozen in a rock formation. PS...that is a cave in the eye slot.
The Desert Has a Voice (James Watkins)
The desert has a voice that calls
In dry, dirt dreams-
Warm, wind-washed wonders
In wingless, soulless flight.
Cold, moonlit masquerades
Through long level years,
Crying out with countless cares on deafened ears-
Drowned in measured, motor-muffled madness,
And child-chattered, purposeless flight.
Quietly, calmly calling-
Darkened, deepening desert-
Star-filled with stumbling stalkers
And wounded warriors in fevered nights.
Dreams-peaceful, persistent, dreams-
As wheeled sky turns
Eternal turning, evening eyes-
And thoughts of morning colored light.
Millennial seas-
Doomed and dusty years-
Row upon heaping row of years-
Tears-
Caked, covered
And desolate.
The desert has a voice-
That calls and halts
And peers with perfect perspective-
Stopping us in our way.
“I have seen blood-stained battles!
I have seen despot desires!
I have seen prophets come and go,
And ages pass with shallow…glancing blows!
I have seen civilizations crumble…
Tumbling, heavy-handed
Into pagan pasts!”
The desert has a voice-
And every grain of sand has a name-
Every wind-blown grain of sand.
And someone-somewhere-knows the names.
They have perfect place and purpose-
Rocks cry out! Rocks….sing!
Some soaring angelic scribe somewhere
Records the history of rocks, and sands, and deserts.
Drab, dull, drifting desert distances and plans.
Ragged, jagged, craggy-edged
Mountain spine explosions and
Dry, desert sand.
The desert has voice and future-
With lifted hill-high green valley-
And clear bright stream winding
To cool, crystalline sea.
They wait….silently…
Almost… forever waiting-
But I know the secret of deserts-
And –
Dreams.
James Watkins-April 2006
(further informations you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
New AKH
Model of the AKH
General Hospital main entrance
Over time, the Josephinischen buildings of General Hospital became unzweckgemäß (purposeless), so that has been decided in 1957 to build a new large central clinic.
(Josephinian style, the Josephinian style, also Josephinian Baroque or Josephinian Classicism denominated, is a stylistic direction of the Austrian art, of arts and crafts, interior design and architecture of the Josephinism in the Habsburg Empire under Emperor Joseph II in the 18th Century.)
Construction of the new AKH in Alsergrund was began in the summer of 1964 with the nursing school, including boarding and personnel dormitories (3 "sister towers") at Lazarettgasse 14. From the year 1968 followed the second phase of construction with the university hospitals for Pediatrics, Psychiatry, University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Depth Psychology and Psychotherapy, and a day care center for children at the Gürtel ("clinics at South Garden"). These were opened in 1974 and 1975. The planning behoved an architectural partnership, which included Wolfgang Bauer, Georg Köhler, Felix Kässens, Hannes Lintl, Georg Lippert, Alexander Marchart, Roland Moebius, Otto Mayr and Otto Nobis. 1970 was started at the Gürtel (belt) with the underground garage and 1974 with the located behind main house. This consists of the ambulance and surgical area (51 ORs) and two large, a total of 22 floors high bed towers, which accommodate 2,199 beds.
The AKH is connected with its own metro station Michelbeuern/AKH to the public transport network. The central building with the bed towers was officially opened in 1994, but already (partially) used since 1991. Total construction costs were at about 45 billion shillings (now approximately 3.3 billion euros) estimated in 2004 - originally projected were 1 billion shillings (around 73 million euros). The construction costs were funded jointly by the City of Vienna and the federal government. The cost explosion and an associated bribery scandal in the construction of the new AKH General Hospital led to the AKH-scandal, the up to the present biggest Austrian building scandal. Did one speak earlier of "the General", so with the construction slowly began the term "General Hospital" to spread, primarily for new buildings, and became mainly from the AKH scandal in 1980 more and more the dominant term.
At present (2011) are approximately 9,300 persons employed at the General Hospital, of which about 1,600 physicians and more than 4,500 health and nursing staff. Annually, almost 99,000 patients are inpatients and half a million patients are treated in the 397 clinics. About 7,500 students are enrolled at the Medical University of Vienna.
On 19 July 2003 was transplanted from a team of doctors of the hospital world-wide for the first time a human tongue.
School
To prevent stationary admitted children of school age with prolonged hospital stay miss too much class time, there is a branch of the AKH Vienna sanatorium school.
Pastoral Care
For the religious and spiritual needs of our patients a variety of facilities are available. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant (AB and HB) Christians get together with Muslims and Jews spiritual care.
As the old AKH is no longer used as a hospital, there is for the sick ones of Jewish faith a prayer room in level 5 between the two towers of the new building, in charge of this is the Chief Rabbinate of the Jewish Community Vienna.
Orientation
The main entrance to the General Hospital leads through the entrance and administration building and is located on Level 5. Basis of the orientations is a color system the main corridor system being highlighted in blue. The main corridors thereby run here in east-west direction and are arranged as a so-called H-corridor system. The destinations (medical departments) are highlighted in orange and yellow doors mark the way to the escape stairs. In addition exist for the two bed-houses own colors. The easterly situated bed house including the elevator doors of the corresponding lifts is red, the westerly bed house marked green. The individual floors are referred to as "plane".
Facts and Figures
As of 2008
Buildings and facilities
Land area: 240,000 m²
Usable area 337 696 m²
Value of land and buildings: 1.825 billion Euro
Value of technical equipment: 43 million euros
Amount of operating and office equipment: 32 million euros
Departments and wards
27 clinics
10 university institutes
62 ambulances
330 specialist outpatient clinics
82 nursing stations
21 ICUs
51 operating theaters
Rooms and Beds
As of 2011
2,116 beds in total, of it
1,713 single beds
137 intensive care beds
137 intermediate care beds
129 day-care treatment beds
(maximum of 30 beds per ward and a maximum of 3 beds per room)
Personnel
Total staff about 9,300 people, of which
approximately 1,600 physicians
approximately 2,900 nurses
Costs and service revenues
As of 2005
Service revenues (social insurance): 365 million euros
Grants from the City of Vienna: 124 million euros
Grants from the Federal government: 47 million euros
Material costs: 164 million euros
Staff costs: 266 million euros
Loss for the year: 11 million euros
Net loss: 31 million euros
Statistics
As of 2005
494 758 outpatient cases
94 403 Stationary admissions
Average length of stay: 5.9 days
46 466 operations
2,393 births
1,403 deceased patients
1,521 autopsies
Teaching and Research
1 Big auditorium with 507 seats
2 Großhörsäle (big auditoriums), each with 287 seats
2 lecture halls, each with 147 seats
40 individual workstations
26 group study rooms
14 practice rooms
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeines_Krankenhaus_der_Stadt_Wien
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Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023 Main Street Kentville -
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A loss of inclusion and diversity in 2023 - The exclusion of so many of the participating Valley towns that normally attend and the susbsequent denial of their valued diversity have marred the 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Many nearby Valley communities are missing from this years Parade when longtime loyal participants were no longer included in the Kentville Grand Street Parade ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :
"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "
May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and some extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always attend ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also a major disappointment for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included as there are many town residents young and old who identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However, the now purposeless Apple Blossom Princess float was used this year to transport a grouping of everyday town residents as they sat around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville with diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum and a weak effort that really missed the inclusion of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and also missed the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the many large out of town contingents that always normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to seeing, and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It became obvious that what was being advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite because this new version of our Grand Street Parade had lost the inclusion, diversity and the major contribution put forth by the absent Valley communities along with their individual Princess contestants and Child attendants that always come to Kentville to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the many Princess Teas, and the Royal attendances at schools, hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as appearances at the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert and fireworks, Royal attendances highlighting the Saturday morning Children's Parade, and a Royal trip down Main street Kentville aboard a beautiful hand crafted royal float in the famous Grand Street parade ?
And so, to quickly sum up, can a strange looking, incomplete, shortened, now Royal-less, newcomer mentality amateur version of our elite world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that was now missing her heinous Queen Annapolisa and also missing 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their individual 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats, and also missing much of the unique character and diversity usually provided by the numerous Valley villages and communities who were no longer included, and that also failed to include many of the large out of town marching bands and pipers and majorettes who usually attend, and that also lacked representation from local area farming, agriculture and livestock,, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?
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Following a 2 year absence due to Covi,, the 2022 Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. (and Parade) will be held as per usual this year.. Unfortunately the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition has had to be postponed until next year due to time constraints.
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Shocking news from ABF,
* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *
Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?
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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?
This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?
It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?
You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?
Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)
Logan Morse and a newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when they terminate the historic long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? Directors show no remorse, only saying that bold action was needed to improve, evolve and modernize the pageant ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...
May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual degree of disrespect is shown when the long running beloved Valley Peoples Pageant is cancelled without consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with new ideas have proclaimed themselves to be the generation that will interrupt and then end 88 years of wonderful multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess history ?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
Annapolis Valley Families enter into shock and children cry upon learning that their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, respect, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-
Valley residents lose a long time major public yearly entertainment event after the ever popular ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and corporate greed ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft at a taxpayer owned airport in an inferior airshow ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
Kentville,, an identity crisis , help, Is there a Superhero to save Kentville ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/51811175986/in/album-7...
The controversial 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been the target of exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport and then relocated it to their own home riding in the Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, the Kingston Apple Blossom Princess, and ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?
Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Disregard for safety shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unshaded, no sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...
Exploiting a Queen in a photo op ? Politicians at the official opening of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretend that there's still a Pageant while knowing full well that Queen Annapolisa has been terminated forever and will no longer be a part of this Festival ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade ABF stewards defy the Trudeau call for inclusion and diversity in Canada ? Many of the nearby local Valley towns and villages that always normally attend are now excluded from the parade ? This exclusion has contributed to the subsequent denial of the highly valued diversity brought with them ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view the complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
89th Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023,, It's the sad ending of an Era ? Organizers take away diversity and create exclusion when all Royal proceedings are removed from the festival, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52934419451
Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,
www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...
The Town of Kentville has moved to cut back and terminate more hours of public long time outdoor entertainment ? The citizens of Kentville are to be once again punished by Town cost saving cut backs and cancellations to numerous days public entertainment that are always held at Memorial Park as an important part of Apple Blossom Festival celebrations ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785
A medley of guest Tribute bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville - Always free of charge in the past at the Apple Blossom Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,
www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9
Mean and stingy corporate greed is shown by the newcomer ABF directors in this years Apple Blossom Festival ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band at the free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it's now going to cost you 50.00 pp to see the 'Queen' Tribute band performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/
Scrooge and the Town of Kentville rip off its own citizens (and right at Apple Blossom Festival time) ? A cold capitalist attitude is shown by the Town of Kentville and by the newcomer ABF management ? Citizens are to be burdened with an out of pocket charge of TWENTY DOLLARS each just to attend an outdoor dance held downtown on taxpayer owned public streets of Kentville during the Apple Blossom Festival ? Is there no sense of shame left anymore ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...
She's Ruined It ! Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something that can only be described as stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54493011308/in/dateposted
2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A brief 45-minute and a very limited and compacted Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero large marching street bands and majorettes invited other than 1 mini version of the standard RCMP entrée, No Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Royalty or their famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants weren't here, Zero horses or wagons, No armaments, soldiers, bands or displays from the Aldershot military or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet the Guest parade announcer proclaims in her, quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, incl Toronto - it's the longest with the largest route and has the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t, where did she come from and what is she talkin about ?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00
2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A new Royal rider rolls down Main Street aboard the Kentville Apple Blossom Princess float ? This year the newcomer Mayor will grace the royal throne,, 'Somebody get that king a crown and scepter '
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted
they've ruined it part 2 ? May 31st, 2025 Grand Street Parade - From 100,000 down to 10,000, Parade attendance shrinks to an all time low, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost.... Also see, They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
ABF Directors may disapprove and may have terminated the beloved Queen Annapolisa pageant and the multiple village Apple Blossom Princess competition but Valley residents will always admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. The majority of Valley citizens are delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are invited and will be coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now Royalty-less ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946
The long proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from sight and erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? A special honorary history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners from 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and apparently replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer President and other ABF directors who have taken over and ruined the world famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens
Meet the directors,
May 30th, 2025 - High level security enforcement for this years Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? ( must have taken up most of the budget ) ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up manned traffic guard posts to provide tightened security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in the past had always featured guest rock bands, interesting displays, and a Royal visit following a prestigious coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but is now severely cut back to some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, fireworks, air blown up jumpers and some minimal live local entertainment as their main stage event ? Reports that one parking violator was successfully apprehended thanks to the upgraded crowd control security and strict traffic control hired for this event ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569
May 30th, 2025 Memorial Park Kentville - Seniors and those with disabilities are made to walk long distances in order to reach this year's disappointing ABF Friday night outdoor rock Concert that didn't bring in a rock band, (nor much of anything else) ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...
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Some previous parades :
2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s
2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18
2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s
2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s
2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s
2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s
2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s
2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s
2023 Grand Street Parade - To view a complete (newcomer version) of the deteriorated famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
A concerned Kentvillian must finally speak out, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/44424045874
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.
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The Longing of the Unlit Lamp
"The lamp stood unlit in the dark
Darkness was its world
Darkness was its Universe.
The lamp knew not,
What its purpose was.
Darkness covered all its yearnings
To find its purpose.
Then, when anguish reached
Its limit of pain,
It cried out to its Creator:
"Pain of purposelessness overwhelms me.
Come to me, my Master, my Creator,
Show me the reason."
Then the lamp itself lit the lamp.
Darkness vanished.
Purpose, mission realized-
Love....."
Tulshi Sen, "Ancient Secrets of Success for Today's World"
What I have learned from this beautiful poet, author, business leader and public speaker is precious and priceless to me and is reflected in every piece of artwork or poetry or music that comes through me. In fact my Flickr site started as a way to pass on how I've grown through these success principles. By practicing these ancient teachings, I realize that true wealth is being able to design my life the way I want to live it. This aspirational poem from his book reminds me to raise my belief level and live the romantic and powerful life I see for myself. His techniques have helped to expand my imagination and open up the realm of more possibilities and choices.
This is picture is copyrighted to a Canadian Business Magazine called "Mehfil" which is featuring my Teacher this month. Link to the article here:
www.mehfilmagazine.com/featurestory01.cfm
Also:
*********Added December 1, 2014
This Labrador retriever's full name registered with the American Kennel Club was Grogan's Majestic Marley of Churchill. The only thing Marley had in common with Winston Churchill was the name (named after the street he lived on anyways), or if one can somehow reword the "We shall fight them on the beaches" speech to "Marley shall chew, swallow, and destroy every object that could pass through his mouth, jump on, play with, or go ballistic with anyone at anytime. Marley shall steal food from babies. Marley shall hump every object of his desire, living or inanimate. Marley shall panic with paranoia whenever a thunderstorm rolls in. Marley shall fail obedience training... Marley, sit. Marley, SIT! Marley. Marley. Oh, forget it!"
Author John Grogan detailed the years he's had with Marley, from when Marley was a puppy and Grogan and his wife a young couple starting a new family. Marley's puppy weeks passed by in a blink. Marley's obedience training obedienced the owner more than the dog. Marley cost more money to upkeep than human babies. Marley played with the newborn baby. Marley was neutered. Marley puked and took a dump in Florida's ocean. And somehow, the Grogan family increased from two plus one dog to two plus three kids plus one dog.
Anyone who's ever had a pet will find something in common with the story, that how much the Marleys, Kittys, or (insert your pet's name here) were a part of our lives.
A dog's life is not that complicated, it needs to be fed, it needs to play and run around, it needs to love and be loved. What else matters? Why did God give dogs such short lifespan? So that humans can grieve when their pet dies? Or maybe we need to ask why did God give us longer lifespan and we most live a purposeless apathetic life.
Marley was loyal. Marley was a good representative as man's best friend. I recommend this book, and oh, get a pet.
Your life can't go according to plan if you have no plan.
2600 x 2600 pixel image designed to work as wallpaper on most iOS devices.
Typeface: Microbrew Soft Four
We took a bizarre triangular space and converted it into an opportunity for fun. Enjoy a production directed by your child as you sit in the adjoining toy room. Either that or make the space into a purposeless hole for storing things you should probably donate or throw.
If you have a chance to meet the Mormon missionaries, take the time to listen to what they have to say. Their message may be what you need – peace and answers in a troubled and often confused world, where immediate pleasures give way to a feeling of purposelessness. If your life has hardships that you struggle to overcome, if you have addictions or sins you struggle to overcome, the Church will help you overcome these things and find strength of heart. It teaches that we are all of great worth to God, that He loves us, and we are never alone.
The missionaries will give you their message – and also ask you to read the Book of Mormon, which contains the word of God for us today. Indeed, the Book of Mormon invites all to lay their burdens at the feet of Christ and through Him find peace, joy, and Eternal Life
Source: Understanding Mormonism
2005-2007
80" x48"
Colored pencil, modeling paste on wood panel
Below is a transcription of the words of LUXURIA/LUST above:
Lust scalds my loins with a rush impervious to age. I approach death fully pitched, virility intact, unwilling, incapable of baring witness to the absurdity of it all. I am a smear on life's endless palimpsest and on its scrolling inevitability mouth the soundless scream of the toothless mime. Anger festers my lust. Why was my erasure not complete? Why leave this crust of desire to ridicule all else that was other, all else that aspired to be not that which I have become…for I have become old. Desire is not reciprocated and so leaves me wanton, filled with lust that is untransformed. Youth inflames me distilling my desire into sheer wantonness. Youth burns me, distorts me, corrupts me in the mirror of self-deception. I yearn for what I cannot have, cannot touch, can only remember. Wherein lies my sin? What justifies such punishment? Lust is in and of the moment and as I have lived in and of the moment, lust is a constant. Only the object of wanton desire shifts and manifests itself according to need. In my youth I was an object of lust. I was bestowed power that I regarded with annoyance for my lust lay elsewhere. Do I lust now for that power which now has power over me? That power which I abused and thus abused others who had objectified me? Was I so careless that such punishment should torment me unto death? That beauty which was given me and was painful to those who lusted after it and were denied recognition because I denied it recognition, is this then my torment? I am ignored. I am become a suitor for my own hand and it denies my existence. I lust now for youth and it has forgotten me. I am become old and cannot forgive myself my carelessness. My accuser lives in old photographs, his veracity protected by the hands of others. I am tormented by his avatars. I lust for their recognition, for them to see me as I was then and did not recognize myself. Youth torments me. I long to immerse myself in its indifference. I long to ignore myself. I ask forgiveness. I am become pervious. I feel no need, no desire, to defend myself. I begin, I think, to see how purposeless a defensive life can be when there is nothing left to defend. I lust for that which can never be and am become a caricature cast in lead. The past defeats me. Youth defeats me. I do not recognize myself. I am a gestalt of illicit metaphors. The past lies scribbled across the face of me discouraging further participation, a maze of frustrating and derelict intersections and interstices proclaiming the clutter of a careless sensuality. But lust is not my sin; it is age, and I am punished for it. Lust inflames me. These loins host a thirst that cannot be quenched.
Collection:
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento, California
There was a weird atmosphere in the air this week, a forboding atmosphere that whispered promises of madness, evil and ... ooooohhhh ... bad things under your bed at night.
By Friday I was so gripped by it that all I wanted to do was get home from work, lock the doors, pull the curtains shut and prop myself up behind a mattress with a shotgun, waiting for zompires to break down the door.
It got me thinking about our purpose in the universe (not the zompires, the weird atmosphere) because let's face it, humanity's purpose surely isn't supposed to be as a zompire's luncheon.
So I thought. And I thought some more. And I came to the conclusion that, from the universe's point of view, humans serve no purpose. We contribute nothing to it. The universe itself is purposeless, it's all just stuff, whirling around, happening.
We're just creepy crawlies, slithering around on a rock somewhere in space, hoping that we don't get hit by an asteroid even as we fight amongst ourselves under the threat of weapons so powerful they could wipe us all out just as surely as an asteroid might.
We are, essentially, useless bugs (with the capability of mass nuclear destruction admittedly, but still, bugs in universe-sized terms).
This led me to thinking about my own personal ambitions and goals, and how completely inconsequential they are - since humans serve no purpose, I serve no purpose, so what's the point? We are pointless organisms with nothing to offer, sub-microscopic life that is here and gone in a blink of the universe's eye.
And that's when I got the idea for this photo, which was a big relief and made me happy again.
And then I watched something funny on Netflix and everything was alright.
The end.
Strobist info: SB700 rear centre, full power into a softbox. SB600 camera left at half power. Fired by CLS.
Hullo again! Let's mix things up here for a bit. Over the holidays I had the chance to take a short layover in our nation's capital, in between a flight from Knoxville and a bus ride to New York. I ended up taking an early flight and a late bus so that I could spend roughly five hours out on the streets, checking out some of the more prominent pieces of DC's Modern heritage. I didn't catch any of the historic classics; in particular, I'm sorry I didn't get any shots of Union Station (Daniel Burnham, 1907), a Beaux-Arts gateway to the National Mall, still in great shape.
But I did get things like this - a minor, posthumously-completed MIes building, of interest chiefly because it's his only built library. This is less of a big deal than it would be for other architects; for Mies, the social content of a program was often less of a driving force than the raw math of the brief. Still, he may not have been entirely immune to the lure of symbolism, and certainly his compositions have as much to do with classical proportions as they do with the required floor thickness for ductwork. So I sort of want to look at this thing long enough to figure out what he's doing that's specifically "library"-ish about it.
It's not jumping out at me though, to be honest. This is about what you would expect to get if you commissioned Mies to do a library for you, although I have to say it's surprising just how much space is given over to the vast, apparently purposeless lobby zone. Was this intended to house public program? Book stacks? Work tables? The vast, institutionally-lit gray space reminds one of nothing so much as a warehouse or maybe a bus terminal, though I don't know if the latter was such a thoroughly-imprinted cliche by 1965.
The main reading room, on the other hand, is quite successful; the grace and expansiveness that we associate with long-span Miesian space is here, even with all the columns, and the generous glazing combines with the fairly deep overhang of the second story to make the space feel connected to the city, but still reasonably removed from distraction and hubbub. Otherwise, the urban idea is typically undercooked; most of the block is a solid wall set back at great length from the street. To be fair, this entire region of D.C. feels underpopulated and silent, owing to an overinvestment in offices and public buildings and an apparent dearth of housing stock. Still, the Mies isn't helping matters much.
For all that, of course, there is always something to admire in Miesian detailing. It's rarely surprising, but it always has a certain rigid elegance, especially when you do get strong sunlight on the dark, smoky metal surfaces. There's also something about the superfluity of the welded-on I-sections; aside from breaking down the facade and creating relief, they please by the sheer fact of their being so pointless. In spite of the purportedly function-driven, "skin and bones" architecture, the add-ons give respect to the program by declaring "the people who built this weren't just trying to get the most bang for their buck." It's not much, but it's something.
Washington, D.C. G Street NW, between 9th & 10th NW.
I didn't know that the feelings I experienced weren't only mine until a few months ago. I was 63 years old. I had never heard about the phenomenon, so I never suspected.
I had a long history of living like a phoenix... burned and crashed and then reborn from the ashes.
My Mother, the empath
I hear that the curse of being an empath is inherited, and upon further looking into the path, confirming it with muscle testing, my mother carried the cursed gene.
Did she show any signs of being empathic in ways that it would be a good thing? Not at all. Instead she showed the aspect of empaths that the unaware empath demonstrates: being the trash collector of other people's badness.
My mother was mostly in her world, coming out rarely. In the middle of a conversation she would rub her face with both her hands, look at you, and say: What were you saying?
I always thought it odd.
She gave birth to 4 children, one died... but she didn't want anything to do with us. Especially me. She directed all her anger, all her frustrations at me.
It was very confusing to me, but today, through this distinction, the only thing I can feel for her is pity.
She was your typical unaware empath, suffering mightily.
She only experienced some semblance of happiness when she was alone. She died in a hospital... she refused to continue living.
The doctor said that physiologically she wasn't ill enough to die. I guess she jumped of the ledge...
My first 24 years as an empath
My first 24 years were utterly miserable. Other than my nightly walks and runs I didn't know who I was. I came to the realization that other people had a lot to do with my misery, I used to go to sleep at 5 pm, wake up at 11, and start my schoolwork then.
That way, without the interference of awake people, I managed to become a top student, though it required a lot of work from me: I always felt bad, always had these horrible feelings that were ravaging my body, and paying attention was hard.
As soon as I could, I moved out of my parents' house, but my new apartment was in an 11-story building, with someone always awake, and the misery continued. I was ill more often than I was well.
At my first job, and architectural office, they had this open office with seemingly hundreds of people working at their drafting board. Hundreds of sources of disturbing emotions all absorbed by me.
Just after two months of that I had bleeding ulcer. I needed to ask for help from my boy friend's parents, and they allowed to move in with them, eat with them, so I can survive without an income.
Relationships were always bad for me. I would completely lose my individuality, and become, as my mother said, a big gray bunny. No color, no personality, nothing to say.
Architecture as a wrong profession for an empath
Architecture was my choice, but it became my curse. When you are an architect, you are only using about 5% of the time to be creative, and the rest of the time is mechanical, drafting, etc. A curse for an empath.
Even being a typist would have been better for my well-being: every moment you need to concentrate on what you are typing so you catch the typos as you make them, and not later.
Number one enemy for an empath is idleness of mind. Recreation, vacation, purposeless being. An empath is most protected from the deluge of other people's feelings when he is busy concentrating his attention on something that requires all of his attention.
Mathematics, physics, puzzles, studying something hard all worked well for me. Architecture is not like any of these: it is a 95% idle mind occupation.
I was on the run. I went from job to job, from country to country.
In 1988 I found something that would consume me and focus me: I published, edited, created a magazine. It was all-consuming, and for a while I was really well.
Until my mother came to visit... It was all downhill from there.
My health simply collapsed, in her brief visit she managed to destroy the integrity of all my systems.
A turbulent seven years followed with only one activity that helped me stay above the flood: coaching.
Coaching as an empath
Coaching, concentrating on one person's words and internal state was my saving grace.
Even when I became severely brain damaged, my coaching continued: I lost my ability to add and subtract, I lost my ability to find my way home, but I was able to coach. Quite confounding, isn't it?
the unaware empath
I think that the unaware empath is clearly described in my mother's and my story.
Let's now look at the empath that knows they are an empath, and empathy becomes a useful, invaluable tool for them.
What is the difference? Plenty.
Empath as a virtuoso
The most important difference I see is that an empath can become a virtuoso of their own instrument: instead of it resonating with everything and everyone, thus creating confusing and discontinuous miseries, the empath can direct what they choose to feel.
Of course, in the middle of doing something else, I still experience other people's frustration, anger, pride, diminishment, anxiety, doubts, fear, just like before.
The difference is: I can name these emotions, I can ask if they are mine, and find out who they generate from. The moment I realize that the feeling is not mine, I can look at it as a weird bug, but not my own self. The "labeling" creates a distance, and allows me to be me, and feeling be the feeling. Maybe psychologists should reconsider what they say about labeling!
The strong feelings are not mine, 99 times out of 100. And when they are, they are a good indicator and guide of what I should do.
This way I have an intimate "emotional journal" of some of my clients. It is here that I must mention: an empath feels your emotions a hundred times stronger than you do. There is no justice in the universe, lol.
As a coach, as a spiritual guide, an empath is able to get in touch with depths of the client that they are unaware of. Especially men, people are cut off from their feelings, and cannot use them as a useful guide to know what they want, what they don't want, what they are about, what makes them tick.
Most men I deal with chose a profession by default, chose friends and spouses by default, chose hobbies by default, and experience a low-grade misery, a vague sense of being in a jail.
They don't quite know what is the cause, how it happened to them. Some drudge through their life till they die, some choose some useless and dangerous ways to "bail out." Addictions are a good example. But these actions come from unconsciousness, and don't bring a sense of rightness, a sense of freedom with them.
This is where an empath comes really handy. They can feel for you and think with you.
Empath as the ideal tool for World Transformation
And as a leader for world transformation, as a tool for Source, I can do a better job than a non-empath. My own aspirations, ambitions, wants and needs never really developed, (I didn't know who I was, what I liked until recently!) so I can surrender to the will of The Creator, and experience no sense of loss.
Sidenote: In hindsight I can see, that this has been a very selfish move for me: As people's vibration rises, their mind gets quieter, their evil inclination, their reactiveness lessens, and I can experience a blissful respite from the continuous bombardment of other people's feelings. Except when they drink. Last night, the first weekend since Syracuse University began its fall semester, lots of students visited the hill where I live. Their emotions, their feelings, their whole being was so unruly, I had to bury myself in my pillow, it hurt so bad.
Of course I could easily become a tool for the Dark Side, a tool for some Guru, a tool for destruction... I guess I have enough awareness and enough distinctions in right and wrong, to have stayed clear of that path.
I still examine, every day, if I am still on the side of Good. You can't stay vigilant enough.
Now, let me say a few words about the recent empath assignment: Activating The Original Design.
In a nutshell (read more in my other articles) this is the story:
The story of creation, the light, the vessel, the souls of humanity, the original design
The Light (Source, The Creator, God, use your name here) was always. Its nature is to give of itself, in fact, it renews itself by causing the movement of energy.
At some point The Light created The Vessel of its own body (remember, there was nothing else!) for the sole purpose to receive its light.
The Original Design of The Vessel was to be expanding. What activates expansion is desire. So the Original Design of The Vessel is to use desire as a means to expand itself, so it can receive more and more light.
At some point The Vessel experienced "Bread of Shame" (anxiety about only receiving and never giving) and refused to receive any more light.
The Vessel said: I want to give too, like you. I want to earn my light.
The Light complied and withdrew itself into an infinitesimal point... At this point the physical universe sprang into place, a place of limited resources, a place of duality, a place of either you or me, a place of mortality.
The Vessel broke up into countless pieces, all having the identity of the Original Vessel, fully equipped with desire and the means to expand.
These little pieces, the "souls" of humanity, attempt to earn their light on Planet Earth.
But, because of the original agreement (It said: I want to give too, like you. I want to earn my light.) the circuits of the souls weren't activated. They lay dormant in humanity, and each generation have seen only a handful of people activate these dormant circuits.
The Planet is misused and starting to signs of discord. Societies are divided, the rich and the poor, the conscious and the barely conscious have a huge gap between them.
It was time to take a dramatic action: through the request of a human, an incarnate being, speaking for all of humanity, for the whole Vessel, The Creator was willing to activate The Original Design.
The vibrational frequency of The Original Design is 299. That is a 3-fold increase in capacities of before the activation.
299 is not the maximum a human being can reach, but it has become the new minimum.
What's next for humanity and how an empath can help
Further activation is only possible by earning it.
In our "deal" with The Creator, earning it is by requesting it. It's that simple.
But... you need to directly connect to The Creator, and request it specifically.
Not stuff, not what we normally ask for. Instead the specific capacity... Now, that is not an easy task for most humans that are completely unaware and unconscious of capacities and completely and only paying attention on stuff...
This is why I am developing a system that can ask for the capacities for you.
Museum Beelden aan Zee, Den Haag 2016
Als kind vergezelde Eyal Assulin zijn vader bij het installeren van sanitaire voorzieningen in gebouwen. Een leerproces waarbij hij ervaring opdeed met de constructie van ingewikkelde systemen. Eenmaal volwassen, bestuurde hij zware machines op bouwplaatsen. Het werk van Assulin geeft de spanning weer tussen mens en machine en vervaagt de grenzen tussen de controleur en het gecontroleerde. Tegelijkertijd wijst hij op de ondoelmatigheid van geavanceerde technologie die een eindeloze kooplust creëert naar ‘smart products’. Dit geldt ook voor het kunstwerk Virus, dat de komende weken te zien is in Museum Beelden aan Zee. In feite is Virus een machine ontdaan van mannelijkheid: het herhaalt nauwgezet een bepaalde beweging met steeds dezelfde kracht - maar het is een steriele actie zonder resultaat.
As a child, Eyal Assulin worked with his father assembling sanitary systems in buildings. He gained know-how and experience in constructing complex systems and, as an adult, operated heavy machinery on building-sites. Assulin’s art displays the tension in the human-machine relation, and obscures the boundaries between controller and controlled. At the same time, he points out the purposelessness of advanced technology, which encourages the never-ending purchase of smart products. Assulin's latest sculpture Virus, on display at Museum Beelden aan Zee, is a perfect rendering of his style. Virus is in fact an emasculated machine: it repeats a single action accurately, with the same power - a sterile action that has no results.
Eyal Assulin was born in Ofakim, Israel. He lives and works in Ofakim and in Tel Aviv. He is an active member and graduated of the Contemporary Art Station in Ofakim.
"Art for art's sake" is the usual English rendering of a French slogan from the early 19th century, "l'art pour l'art", and expresses a philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only "true" art, is divorced from any didactic, moral, or utilitarian function. Such works are sometimes described as "autotelic", from the Greek autoteles, "complete in itself", a concept that has been expanded to embrace "inner-directed" or "self-motivated" human beings.
Ironically, the term is sometimes used commercially. A Latin version of this phrase ("ARS GRATIA ARTIS") is used as a motto by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appears in the circle around the roaring head of Leo the Lion in its motion picture logo.
"L'art pour l'art" (translated as "art for art's sake") is credited to Théophile Gautier (1811–1872), who was the first to adopt the phrase as a slogan in the preface to his 1835 book, Mademoiselle de Maupin. Gautier was not, however, the first to write those words: they appear in the works of Victor Cousin,Benjamin Constant, and Edgar Allan Poe. For example, Poe argues in his essay "The Poetic Principle" (1850):
We have taken it into our heads that to write a poem simply for the poem's sake [...] and to acknowledge such to have been our design, would be to confess ourselves radically wanting in the true poetic dignity and force: – but the simple fact is that would we but permit ourselves to look into our own souls we should immediately there discover that under the sun there neither exists nor can exist any work more thoroughly dignified, more supremely noble, than this very poem, this poem per se, this poem which is a poem and nothing more, this poem written solely for the poem's sake.
"Art for art's sake" was a bohemian creed in the nineteenth century, a slogan raised in defiance of those who – from John Ruskin to the much later Communist advocates of socialist realism – thought that the value of art was to serve some moral or didactic purpose. "Art for art's sake" affirmed that art was valuable as art, that artistic pursuits were their own justification and that art did not need moral justification – and indeed, was allowed to be morally neutral or subversive.
In fact, James McNeill Whistler wrote the following in which he discarded the accustomed role of art in the service of the state or official religion, which had adhered to its practice since the Counter-Reformation of the sixteenth century: "Art should be independent of all claptrap – should stand alone [...] and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism and the like."
Such a brusque dismissal also expressed the artist's distancing himself from sentimentalism. All that remains of Romanticism in this statement is the reliance on the artist's own eye and sensibility as the arbiter.
The explicit slogan is associated in the history of English art and letters with Walter Pater and his followers in the Aesthetic Movement, which was self-consciously in rebellion against Victorian moralism. It first appeared in English in two works published simultaneously in 1868: Pater's review of William Morris's poetry in the Westminster Review and in William Blake by Algernon Charles Swinburne. A modified form of Pater's review appeared in his Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873), one of the most influential texts of the Aesthetic Movement.
In Germany, the poet Stefan George was one of the first artists to translate the phrase ("Kunst für die Kunst") and adopt it for his own literary programme which he presented in the first volume of his literary magazine Blätter für die Kunst (1892). He was inspired mainly by Charles Baudelaire and the French Symbolists whom he had met in Paris, where he was friends with Albert Saint-Paul and consorted with the circle around Stéphane Mallarmé.
George Sand wrote in 1872 that L'art pour l'art was an empty phrase, an idle sentence. She asserted that artists had a "duty to find an adequate expression to convey it to as many souls as possible", ensuring that their works were accessible enough to be appreciated.
Friedrich Nietzsche claimed that there is no art for art’s sake. He asked: "…what does all art do? does it not praise? glorify? select? highlight? By doing all this it strengthens or weakens certain valuations…. Art is the great stimulus to life: how could one understand it as purposeless, as aimless, as l'art pour l'art?”
Contemporary postcolonial African writers such as Leopold Senghor and Chinua Achebe have criticised the slogan as being a limited and Eurocentric view on art and creation. In "Black African Aesthetics", Senghor argues that "art is functional" and that "in black Africa, 'art for art's sake' does not exist." Achebe is more scathing in his collection of essays and criticism entitled Morning Yet on Creation Day, where he asserts that "art for art's sake is just another piece of deodorised dog shit" (sic).
Walter Benjamin discusses the slogan in his seminal 1936 essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". He first mentions it in regard to the reaction within the realm of traditional art to innovations in reproduction, in particular photography. He even terms the "L'art pour l'art" slogan as part of a "theology of art" in bracketing off social aspects. In the Epilogue to the essay Benjamin discusses the links between fascism and art. His main example is that of Futurism and the thinking of its mentor Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. One of the slogans of the Futurists was "Fiat ars - pereat mundus" ("Let art be created, though the world perish"). Provocatively, Benjamin concludes that as long as fascism expects war "to supply the artistic gratification of a sense of perception that has been changed by technology", then this is the "consummation", the realization, of "L'art pour l'art".
Diego Rivera claims that the "art for art's sake" theory would further divide the rich from the poor. Rivera goes on to say that since one of the characteristics of so called "pure art" was that it could only be appreciated by a few superior people, the art movement would strip art from its value as a social tool and ultimately make art into a currency-like item that would only be available to the rich (Wikipedia).
St Mary, East Walton, Norfolk
It was the long summer of 2016. I was out cycling fairly purposelessly in the backwaters of west Norfolk, following the narrowest, quietest lanes and occasionally remembering them from a decade before. I came to East Walton, which is well off the beaten track, a quiet village down a cul-de-sac off of the Gayton to Narborough road. We are miles away from West Walton here, and the names probably result from an early 19th Century attempt by the Post Office to tell the difference between them. St Mary is beautiful, a round tower with a pleasing, comfortable 14th century church attached. Beside it sits the ruin of the chapel of St Andrew, a couple of farmhouses, and the massive and lovely former rectory.
How idyllic the life of a minister of the Church of England must have been during the early years of the 20th century! Back in 2005, I met an old lady in the graveyard here who recalled the Rector when she was a child in the 1920s. He had just two churches in his care, this one and the similarly remote and lovely Gayton Thorpe. On a Sunday morning he'd cycle to his other church to celebrate an early communion, and then back to East Walton for Matins. Even in those days the villages weren't huge, but today there are barely a dozen people on the electoral roll here, and the Minister responsible for it has charge of five other churches.
The great round tower has a visible lean to the west, and has been bolstered and restored in the early years of the current century. The architect's drawings are on display inside. The windows are filled with lovely irregular panes of 18th century glass. And indeed, stepping into St Mary is to step into a different century, and not a medieval one, for here we have an interior which is almost entirely of the early 18th century, a time when the Church of England itself was a bit of a sleepy backwater. The brick floors are a setting for good quality box pews, which lead the eye to a three-decker pulpit in the south-east corner. It must have all looked very fine when it was first installed.
Perhaps less happily, the chancel arch, which must have been a beautiful one judging by the quality of the Decorated foliage in the bits that are visible, was filled in. A wooden archway was put in its place, and low, flat ceilings were installed. It may be that these ceilings were partly practical, to keep the heat in; but the open porch was also given one, and so it seems more likely that someone here didn't like medieval roofs.
As you may imagine, this all gives St Mary a character of its own, and I like it a lot. A sprinkling of medieval survivals - wild, grinning corbel heads, the quatrefoiled font, the flowered tympanum above the priest door in the chancel, a brass which asks us to pray for the souls of William Bacar and Margaret his wife - are adornments to this simple, lovely space. It was good to come back.
Kentville's famous Crescent Ave
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July , 2024 - Homes on Crescent Ave are evacuated in Kentville after heavy rain causes flooding. Residents living in the flood zone waiting on Town of Kentville for remedy ?
halifax.citynews.ca/2023/09/15/homes-evacuated-in-kentvil...
New law requires real estate sellers to disclose a property’s flood risk ,,
www.cfpublic.org/housing-homelessness/2024-10-01/new-flor...
I lived here 40 yrs ago - didn' look like this back then ?
www.ovlix.com/property/fFuvkv-57-Crescent-Avenue-Kentvill...
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Following a 2 year absence due to Covi,, the 2022 Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. (and Parade) will be held as per usual this year.. Unfortunately the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition has had to be postponed until next year due to time constraints.
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Shocking news from ABF,
* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *
Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?
This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?
It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?
You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?
Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)
May 30th, 2025 - High level security enforced at this years Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? must have taken up most of the budget ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up manned traffic guard posts to provide extra tight security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in the past had always featured guest rock bands, interesting displays, and a Royal visit following a prestigious coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but is now severely cut back and has deteriorated into some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, fireworks and minimal live local entertainment ? Reports that a parking violator was apprehended thanks to the high level of security and strict traffic control set up around the event route perimeter ?
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An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last humiliating major transportation loss forced on the people of a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from the outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? This long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? The cold hearted eviction also left our young Air Cadets over at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and so now the next generation has to grow up without their nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so, a group of out-of-towners that mostly don't even live in this community had transformed an active thriving local Aviation business center that had taken decades to build and establish, into a barren and useless place where unsupervised Michelin children now ride bikes and dodge weeds poking their heads thru a deteriorating asphalt runway that was once a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, this unwarranted calculated forced closure and loss of a vital member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that will greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end this devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a windfall for the Kingston Greenwood area, and, Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to be bused to the nearby town of Canning ? This would leave only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify Kentville as their home school, an education reality that still exists in Kentville ? There is no longer a movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it never was replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now there's just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace all of Wandlyn's many facilities including hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a very good exchange for the community ?
The traditional July 1st Canada Day town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is well known as one of the most identifiable entitlements provided by a town ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges the customer 10,000 dollars just to turn their town water on at roadside ? And then after this rather large up front financial layout paid for by the brand new customer, he will still have to pay for all of his yard trenching and household plumbing work ? And in return for this large initial forced surcharge, the valued new customer will be rewarded with a water bill courtesy of the town of Kentville each month hereafter ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge traversing the Cornwallis River ? And so now many local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created safety hazards ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own local yearly parade returned back home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. etc. held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom festival week ? No explanation was given and no replacement or apology was ever offered by the Town for such a devastating loss to be absorbed by the citizens of Kentville ? Kentville has now lost its most identifiable of all citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville, when newcomer ABF Directors had shown an uncommon degree of disrespect, as well as their disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or to be included in the Town Parade ? It seemed that Kentville had lost yet another identifiable citizen and wonderful Ambassador that always performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, dignity, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, the many steps backwards, and the cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire and never replaced ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade of less than an hour ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys drive thru burgers, the loss of one of the 2 dt Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a 7/24 convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and the end of the pretigious Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and symbolically married for decades to the Town name of Kentville ? There remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists created when the Wandlyn hotel complex burned down and when not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues were ever replaced ?
And now, in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments are taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, from the looks of a recent Town municipal election, most candidates that ran are relatively new to this area and as such might be unfamiliar with the Town's long time traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates had even naively described the town as a kind of happy go lucky, blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville movie set place that is teaming with busy villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and internationally known boutiques and eateries which does not present an accurate description of the Town ?
And apparently the new Mayor who is also a new local business owner, appears to have befriended ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, the well known skydiving academy, the international flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulating himself on enlarging the size of his downtown retail store and expressing his own personal happiness over a new (taxpayer funded) installation of a brand new sidewalk in front of it, but failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and youth unemployment, the drug problems, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the devastating cancellation of the historic Princess Kentville competition, the vacationers concerns about no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There was also the recent eradication of the Apple Blossom Festival and decimation of the world famous Grande Street Parade ? And there's also the current Town housing crisis, the high increases in rent, and the alarming rate of downtown business failures, and also the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum and outdoor display of some sort ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that has immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies traditionally held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also this years' poor presentation of a Grande Street Parade and one unsafe situation in the newcomer Parade where normal residents (incl Seniors) were seen perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also the local residents plea to 'bring our high school students back home again' , and some complaints about the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events exceeding the grade school level ? There was also the controversy over the hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance to the honored heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course, there was also the recent down town flood crisis ? The mayor did not address the question of why a Provincial Government would force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then those who caused this major loss, did not offer to replace it but just left the area without such a facility ? And, there was no mention of the need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of sudden and unopposed takeovers of small businesses by newly arrived foreigners from Asia when locals here can't find work ? And what about growing concerns over the recent issue of the formation of an exclusive Ontarioville newcomer type town growing within an already established town ? There were also many concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that had made some of the streets unfit to drive on, at a time when a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that was smooth as a baby's bum ?? And then there was the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? And there was also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, can it be time to stop newcomer mentality, and to make it mandatory for all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions to be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect, protect and retain the Town's unique character, history, diversity, identity, and many longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ? ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
Newcomer ABF directors trying to erase history ? The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :
"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "
May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and some extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always attend ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also a major disappointment for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included as there are many town residents young and old who identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However, the now purposeless Apple Blossom Princess float was used this year to transport a grouping of everyday town residents as they sat around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville with diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum and a weak effort that really missed the inclusion of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and also missed the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the many large out of town contingents that always normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to seeing, and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It became obvious that what was being advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite because this new version of our Grand Street Parade had lost the inclusion, diversity and the major contribution put forth by the absent Valley communities along with their individual Princess contestants and Child attendants that always come to Kentville to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the many Princess Teas, and the Royal attendances at schools, hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as appearances at the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert and fireworks, Royal attendances highlighting the Saturday morning Children's Parade, and a Royal trip down Main street Kentville aboard a beautiful hand crafted royal float in the famous Grand Street parade ?
And so, to quickly sum up, can a strange looking, incomplete, shortened, now Royal-less, newcomer mentality amateur version of our elite world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that was now missing her heinous Queen Annapolisa and also missing 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their individual 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats, and also missing much of the unique character and diversity usually provided by the numerous Valley villages and communities who were no longer included, and that also failed to include many of the large out of town marching bands and pipers and majorettes who usually attend, and that also lacked representation from local area farming, agriculture and livestock,, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?
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Some previous parades :
2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s
2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18
2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s
2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s
2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s
2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s
2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s
2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s
2023 Grand Street Parade - The exclusion of many usual participants and the denial of their valued diversity have marred the 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Many nearby Valley communities were missing in the Parade when longtime participants were no longer included ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
A message from a Kentville Superhero ! A concerned Kentvillian must finally speak out about, 'whats going down ', www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/44424045874
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.
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St Mary, East Walton, Norfolk
It was the long summer of 2016. I was out cycling fairly purposelessly in the backwaters of west Norfolk, following the narrowest, quietest lanes and occasionally remembering them from a decade before. I came to East Walton, which is well off the beaten track, a quiet village down a cul-de-sac off of the Gayton to Narborough road. We are miles away from West Walton here, and the names probably result from an early 19th Century attempt by the Post Office to tell the difference between them. St Mary is beautiful, a round tower with a pleasing, comfortable 14th century church attached. Beside it sits the ruin of the chapel of St Andrew, a couple of farmhouses, and the massive and lovely former rectory.
How idyllic the life of a minister of the Church of England must have been during the early years of the 20th century! Back in 2005, I met an old lady in the graveyard here who recalled the Rector when she was a child in the 1920s. He had just two churches in his care, this one and the similarly remote and lovely Gayton Thorpe. On a Sunday morning he'd cycle to his other church to celebrate an early communion, and then back to East Walton for Matins. Even in those days the villages weren't huge, but today there are barely a dozen people on the electoral roll here, and the Minister responsible for it has charge of five other churches.
The great round tower has a visible lean to the west, and has been bolstered and restored in the early years of the current century. The architect's drawings are on display inside. The windows are filled with lovely irregular panes of 18th century glass. And indeed, stepping into St Mary is to step into a different century, and not a medieval one, for here we have an interior which is almost entirely of the early 18th century, a time when the Church of England itself was a bit of a sleepy backwater. The brick floors are a setting for good quality box pews, which lead the eye to a three-decker pulpit in the south-east corner. It must have all looked very fine when it was first installed.
Perhaps less happily, the chancel arch, which must have been a beautiful one judging by the quality of the Decorated foliage in the bits that are visible, was filled in. A wooden archway was put in its place, and low, flat ceilings were installed. It may be that these ceilings were partly practical, to keep the heat in; but the open porch was also given one, and so it seems more likely that someone here didn't like medieval roofs.
As you may imagine, this all gives St Mary a character of its own, and I like it a lot. A sprinkling of medieval survivals - wild, grinning corbel heads, the quatrefoiled font, the flowered tympanum above the priest door in the chancel, a brass which asks us to pray for the souls of William Bacar and Margaret his wife - are adornments to this simple, lovely space. It was good to come back.
play is a critical component to living wholeheartedly (Brene Brown). even if play is cultivated, it should be purposeless - evoking pure joy. i equate playing with childhood bliss and simple pleasures
Best Large-There are so many mountains in the high deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, that they are overlooked sometimes. But each one has seen eons of time and has a story to tell.
The Desert Has a Voice (James Watkins)
The desert has a voice that calls
In dry, dirt dreams-
Warm, wind-washed wonders
In wingless, soulless flight.
Cold, moonlit masquerades
Through long level years,
Crying out with countless cares on deafened ears-
Drowned in measured, motor-muffled madness,
And child-chattered, purposeless flight.
Quietly, calmly calling-
Darkened, deepening desert-
Star-filled with stumbling stalkers
And wounded warriors in fevered nights.
Dreams-peaceful, persistent, dreams-
As wheeled sky turns
Eternal turning, evening eyes-
And thoughts of morning colored light.
Millennial seas-
Doomed and dusty years-
Row upon heaping row of years-
Tears-
Caked, covered
And desolate.
The desert has a voice-
That calls and halts
And peers with perfect perspective-
Stopping us in our way.
“I have seen blood-stained battles!
I have seen despot desires!
I have seen prophets come and go,
And ages pass with shallow…glancing blows!
I have seen civilizations crumble…
Tumbling, heavy-handed
Into pagan pasts!”
The desert has a voice-
And every grain of sand has a name-
Every wind-blown grain of sand.
And someone-somewhere-knows the names.
They have perfect place and purpose-
Rocks cry out! Rocks….sing!
Some soaring angelic scribe somewhere
Records the history of rocks, and sands, and deserts.
Drab, dull, drifting desert distances and plans.
Ragged, jagged, craggy-edged
Mountain spine explosions and
Dry, desert sand.
The desert has voice and future-
With lifted hill-high green valley-
And clear bright stream winding
To cool, crystalline sea.
They wait….silently…
Almost… forever waiting-
But I know the secret of deserts-
And –
Dreams.
James Watkins-April 2006
As I left my buddy's house after the wake for his son last Saturday, I noticed this succulent in a terra cotta container on his front porch and snapped a shot of it. I was taken by the interesting design of the leaves of this plant and couldn't help but think of the Creator and the designs and purpose of those things in this world that he has created, including people. The evidence of an intelligent designer is everywhere around us and as plain as day. Just take a look in the mirror.
It made me think, too, of the purpose of life (as one normally does when a person they know dies). Without a creator God, my friend's son's life, and all our lives, are meaningless, random purposeless events in a chaotic, chance and personless universe. We have no reason to celebrate a life or to judge one person's life as important or relevant. We are simply "star stuff", as Carl Sagan asserts (no breath of God) and to "star stuff" we will return.
With God, our lives can become purposeful and hopeful and there are reasons for living -- to glorify him, have fellowship with him, and to love one another.
A Godless big bang and evolution are handy theories. They allow one to deny the existence of God, the work of his hands and his involvement in this world. But they are so empty and lead to depression and despair.
For those who deep-down believe that life actually has meaning and have doubts about the evolutionary theory and want to explore more, I would suggest these websites as a start:
The Storms: 3 Anchors in a Crisis
by Rick Warren, God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions
What Not to Do in a Crisis
Don’t Drift
When we are caught in a crisis, we typically react in three ways. Because the sailors couldn’t head into the wind, “we gave way to it and were driven along” (Acts 27:15).
The first thing that storms tend to do is to cause us to drift. We let go of our goals. We forget where we are headed. We forget our values and start drifting.
Because they were not equipped with compasses and the stars were completely obscured by the storm, the sailors were in total darkness. When you are in a dark situation, you drift. The waves beat you back and forth, and you are led wherever they take you. Your problems batter you back and forth.
Don’t Discard
Things didn’t get any better on the apostle Paul’s voyage to Rome.
We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. — Acts 27:18
When a crisis emerges for us, first we start drifting, then we start discarding things from our lives.
With the sailors it was first the cargo, then the ship’s tackle, eventually their food (Acts 27:38), and finally themselves (Acts 27:43-44)! They all jumped overboard and started swimming to shore.
Often, when we find ourselves in a crisis of life, we are tempted to throw out the very things that are important to us because we are under pressure and want to get rid of it all. We become impulsive. We give up on our dreams. We run out on relationships. We throw away values that we learned as children.
Don’t Despair
“When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” — Acts 27:20
In an extreme crisis we eventually get to the point of despair and the last thing we throw out is hope. Perhaps you feel like that right now.
Have you been going through a problem that has been batting you back and forth? Have you come to the point where you have thrown things out, and come to the point of despair? Remember the sailors: they gave up hope because they had forgotten that God is in control. They forgot that God had a plan. They forgot that God can inject hope into an absolutely hopeless situation.
The amazing part of this story is Paul’s reaction.
Paul was calm and confident. He had courage in the crisis. Absolutely nothing fazed him.
The sailors’ reactions were the natural responses that we tend to have in a crisis, but they do not have to be our reactions. One test of our Christianity is how we handle a crisis. It is easier to live like a Christian when things are going great, when all our prayers are being answered, when we are in good health, when our income is rising.
Character is revealed in a crisis, not made in a crisis.
What should we do when things look as if they are falling apart and we are battered by big problems?
Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. — Acts 27:29
The safest thing to do when we get in a storm is to drop our anchors. Just stand still.
Situations change, and the sands of time shift. But the Bible says that those who put their trust in God are immovable like Mount Zion (Psalm 125:1).
Often when people encounter a major problem, they want to change everything else in their lives at the same time, because the situation feels overwhelming and they can’t stand still. A person will lose his or her spouse by death or divorce, and the typical reaction is, “I’m going to quit my job. I’m going to sell everything and move to a whole new location and start over.” But that is exactly what they do not need — more change. What they need to do is put down some anchors and get some stability.
Why was Paul so confident? Because he was encouraged by three anchors of the soul. These three truths can anchor you on the rock of stability, so that when the winds of crisis blow you back and forth, you will have confidence. These will stabilize you in the storm.
The first anchor in a crisis is the presence of God.
Storms can never hide us from God. We may not see Him, but He sees us. We may think God is a million miles away, but He is with us and is watching us.
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. — Hebrews 13:5
Hebrews 13:5
God is right there with us. We never go through anything by ourselves. No matter what situation you are going through right now, God is with you. He is the anchor that you can fully trust.
In Acts 27:24, Paul quotes God’s angel (who visited him in the night):
Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.
God told Paul, “I have a plan for your life.” The second anchor in a crisis is God’s purpose.
Every Christian ought to have a sense of destiny. You are not here on earth just to take up space; God has a specific purpose and plan for your life. Storms are simply temporary setbacks toward fulfilling that purpose.
Absolutely nothing can change God’s ultimate purpose for your life unless you choose to disobey Him.
If you choose to reject His plan, He will allow you to do that, but the Scriptures teach that no outside person can change God’s plan for your life. God leaves that up to you. No matter what happens on the outside, external forces cannot alter God’s purpose for your life as long as you say, “God, I want to do your will.”
God’s purpose is greater than any situation you will ever experience. God has a plan beyond the problems you are facing right now.
The point is this: It is dangerous to focus on your problems more than on your purpose for living.
Once you lose your goal, you will lose sight of the very meaning for which you exist, and you will become purposeless.
In Acts 27:25, Paul says,
Keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me.
The third anchor is God’s promise. God keeps His promises without fail. Storms cannot hide our faces from God, because God is always with us. Storms cannot change the purpose of God, because it is ultimate. Storms cannot destroy the child of God, because God’s promise is sure.
Some of us are going through devastating crises right now. Our problems are overwhelming, and we think we are going under for the last time.
God says this to you: You may lose the cargo; you may lose the tackle of the ship; you may lose the ship; you may even get wet — but you are going to make it because of the promise of God.
What should we do while we are waiting for the crisis to end? The same thing the sailors did:
Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. — Acts 27:29
Anchor yourself on the truths of God and pray.
Morning came! The sailorsdidn’t recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach where they decided to run the ship aground. All 276 people jumped overboard and got safely to land (Acts 27:39-44).
God says, “I am with you.”
Let His truth stabilize your life and give you the confidence you need in every crisis you face. Storms cannot hide God from you or you from God. God has a purpose for your life. There is a reason for it all, and you are going to make it safely to land!
Excerpted from God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions, by Rick Warren, copyright Zondervan.
Best Large-
The Desert Has a Voice (James Watkins)
The desert has a voice that calls
In dry, dirt dreams-
Warm, wind-washed wonders
In wingless, soulless flight.
Cold, moonlit masquerades
Through long level years,
Crying out with countless cares on deafened ears-
Drowned in measured, motor-muffled madness,
And child-chattered, purposeless flight.
Quietly, calmly calling-
Darkened, deepening desert-
Star-filled with stumbling stalkers
And wounded warriors in fevered nights.
Dreams-peaceful, persistent, dreams-
As wheeled sky turns
Eternal turning, evening eyes-
And thoughts of morning colored light.
Millennial seas-
Doomed and dusty years-
Row upon heaping row of years-
Tears-
Caked, covered
And desolate.
The desert has a voice-
That calls and halts
And peers with perfect perspective-
Stopping us in our way.
“I have seen blood-stained battles!
I have seen despot desires!
I have seen prophets come and go,
And ages pass with shallow…glancing blows!
I have seen civilizations crumble…
Tumbling, heavy-handed
Into pagan pasts!”
The desert has a voice-
And every grain of sand has a name-
Every wind-blown grain of sand.
And someone-somewhere-knows the names.
They have perfect place and purpose-
Rocks cry out! Rocks….sing!
Some soaring angelic scribe somewhere
Records the history of rocks, and sands, and deserts.
Drab, dull, drifting desert distances and plans.
Ragged, jagged, craggy-edged
Mountain spine explosions and
Dry, desert sand.
The desert has voice and future-
With lifted hill-high green valley-
And clear bright stream winding
To cool, crystalline sea.
They wait….silently…
Almost… forever waiting-
But I know the secret of deserts-
And –
Dreams.
James Watkins-April 2006
While skippin' through the lily fields,
I came across an empty space.
It trembled and exploded; left a bus stop in its place.
The bus came by and I got on; that's when it all began.
There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to
never-never land.
~Grateful Dead
"Cassady is revved up like they've never see him before, with his shirt off, a straw version of a cowboy hat on his head, bouncing up and down on the driver's seat, shifting gears - doubledy-clutch, doubledy-clutch, blamming on the steering wheel and the gearshift box, rapping over the microphone rigged up by his seat like a manic tour guide, describing every car going by.; ~Tom Wolfe
"Obviously the 'purpose' of the trip is carefully selected to symbolize the basic fact of purposelessness. Neal is, of course, the very soul of the voyage into pure, abstract meaningless motion. He is The Mover, compulsive, dedicated, ready to sacrifice family, friends, even his very car itself to the necessity of moving from one place to another."
-William Burroughs to Allen Ginsberg on Neal and his skeptical views of the man and voyage which spurred On The Road
Born: February 8, 1926
Place of Birth: Salt Lake City, Utah
Died: February 4, 1968
Place of Death: San Miguel De Allende, Mexico
A tribute to Neal Cassady AKA Cowboy Neal AKA Dean Moriarity in "On The Road" and Cody in “Visions of Cody”. Ginsberg was to call “N.C” the secret hero of his poem “Howl”.
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Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023 Main Street Kentville -
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A loss of inclusion and diversity in 2023 - The exclusion of so many of the participating Valley towns that normally attend and the susbsequent denial of their valued diversity have marred the 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Many nearby Valley communities are missing from this years Parade when longtime loyal participants were no longer included in the Kentville Grand Street Parade ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :
"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "
May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and some extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always attend ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also a major disappointment for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included as there are many town residents young and old who identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However, the now purposeless Apple Blossom Princess float was used this year to transport a grouping of everyday town residents as they sat around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville with diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum and a weak effort that really missed the inclusion of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and also missed the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the many large out of town contingents that always normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to seeing, and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It became obvious that what was being advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite because this new version of our Grand Street Parade had lost the inclusion, diversity and the major contribution put forth by the absent Valley communities along with their individual Princess contestants and Child attendants that always come to Kentville to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the many Princess Teas, and the Royal attendances at schools, hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as appearances at the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert and fireworks, Royal attendances highlighting the Saturday morning Children's Parade, and a Royal trip down Main street Kentville aboard a beautiful hand crafted royal float in the famous Grand Street parade ?
And so, to quickly sum up, can a strange looking, incomplete, shortened, now Royal-less, newcomer mentality amateur version of our elite world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that was now missing her heinous Queen Annapolisa and also missing 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their individual 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats, and also missing much of the unique character and diversity usually provided by the numerous Valley villages and communities who were no longer included, and that also failed to include many of the large out of town marching bands and pipers and majorettes who usually attend, and that also lacked representation from local area farming, agriculture and livestock,, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?
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Following a 2 year absence due to Covi,, the 2022 Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. (and Parade) will be held as per usual this year.. Unfortunately the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition has had to be postponed until next year due to time constraints.
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Shocking news from ABF,
* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *
Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?
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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?
This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?
It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?
You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?
Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)
ABF news updates :
Logan Morse and a newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when moving to terminate the historic and long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? Directors show no remorse, only saying that bold action was needed to improve, evolve and bring the pageant up to their modern standards ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...
May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual degree of disrespect shown when the long running all Valley Peoples Pageant is cancelled without either of consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with bold new ideas have apparently proclaimed themselves to be the generation that will interrupt and then permanently end 88 years of wonderful multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess enjoyment ?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
Annapolis Valley families are in shock and children cry upon learning their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking this bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-
Valley residents lose a long time major public yearly entertainment event after the ever popular ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and corporate greed ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft at a taxpayer owned airport in a far inferior airshow ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
Kentville, an identity crisis. Help, Is there a Superhero out there to save Kentville from the newconers ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/51811175986/in/album-7...
The controversial 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been the target of exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport and then relocated it to their own home riding in the Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, the Kingston Apple Blossom Princess, and ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?
Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Disregard for safety shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unshaded, no sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...
Exploiting a Queen for a photo op ? Politicians at the official opening of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretend that there's still a Pageant while knowing full well that Queen Annapolisa has been terminated forever and will no longer be a part of this Festival ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade ABF stewards defy Trudeau's call for diversity and inclusion ? Many nearby local Valley towns and villages that always normally attend are now excluded from the parade ? This exclusion also means an absence of the diversity provided from the attendance of these many local communities ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view the complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
89th Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023,, It's the sad ending of an Era ? ABF Organizers take away tremendous diversity when all Royal proceedings have been excluded from this years festival, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52934419451
Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,
www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...
The Town of Kentville has moved to cut back and eliminate many hours of public outdoor entertainment that were held as a part of the Apple Blossom Festival ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785
A medley of the guest Tribute bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville - Always free of charge in the past at the Apple Blossom Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,
www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9
Mean corporate greed is shown by the newcomer ABF directors in this years Apple Blossom Festival ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band at the free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it will now cost 50.00 pp to see the 'Queen tribute band' performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/
A Scrooge-like cheap Town of Kentville rips off its own citizens (and right at Apple Blossom Festival time) ? Cold capitalism shown by Town of Kentville and by the newcomer ABF management ? Citizens burdened with an out of pocket expense of TWENTY DOLLARS each just to attend an outdoor street dance held downtown on taxpayer owned property during Apple Blossom Festival ? Is there no sense of shame ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...
She's Ruined It ! Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something that can only be described as stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54493011308/in/dateposted
2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A brief 45-minute and a very limited and compacted Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero large marching street bands and majorettes invited other than 1 mini version of the standard RCMP entrée, No Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Royalty or their famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants weren't here, Zero horses or wagons, No armaments, soldiers, bands or displays from the Aldershot military or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet the Guest parade announcer proclaims in quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, incl Toronto - it's the longest with the largest route and has the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t, where did she come from and what is she talkin about ?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00
Mayor in Kentville Grand Street Parade - A new Royal rider rolls down Main Street aboard the Kentville Apple Blossom Princess float ? This year the newcomer Mayor graces the royal throne. 'Somebody get that king a crown and scepter '
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted
they've ruined it part 2 ? May 31st, 2025 Grand Street Parade - From 100,000 down to 10,000, Parade attendance shrinks to all time low, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost.... Also see, They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
ABF Directors may disapprove and may have terminated the beloved Queen Annapolisa pageant and the multiple village Apple Blossom Princess competition but Valley residents will always admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. The majority of Valley citizens are delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are invited and will be coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now Royalty-less ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946
The long proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from sight and erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? A special honorary history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners from 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and apparently replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer President and other ABF directors who have taken over and ruined the world famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens
Meet the directors,
May 30th, 2025 - a 20 dollar hamburger and a ride on the bouncycastle ? High level security enforcement brought in for this years ABF Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? ( must have taken up most of the budget ) ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up security perimiter with manned guard posts to provide tightened security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in the past had always featured guest rock bands, interesting displays, and a Royal visit following the glamorous coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but has now been cut down to some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, fireworks, air blown bouncy jumpers and minimal live local entertainment on the main stage ? It has been reported that a parking violator was successfully apprehended thanks to the upgraded crowd control security and strict traffic control hired by the Board for this occasion ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569
May 30th, 2025 Memorial Park Kentville - Seniors and those with disabilities are made to walk long distances in order to reach this year's disappointing ABF Friday night outdoor rock Concert that didn't bring in a rock band, (nor much of anything else) ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...
Oct 4th, 2025 - Kentville Harvest Festival Centre Square, A disappointing harvest festival this year that forgot about hayrides, pumpkin people making, the harvest and the farmer ?https://www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835089011/in/photostream/
Upgrade 2025 ? taken from the front of Phinneys dept store - a massive expenditure is budgeted for a major upgrade to the Mayor's business backyard - Downtown Kentville Webster Street gets a complete and total beautification makeover with new installations of street paving, paint, new sidewalks both sides, driveway entrances, and new curb and gutter both sides ? All the other streets that surround the Phinneys' downtown business block have also been upgraded including Aberdeen Street, Cornwallis Street, and Main Street ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835340734/in/photost...
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Some previous parades :
2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s
2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18
2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s
2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s
2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s
2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s
2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s
2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s
2023 Grand Street Parade - To view a complete (newcomer version) of the deteriorated famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
A concerned Kentvillian must finally speak out, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/44424045874
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.
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I remember looking at this...dock (I think it's a dock) in the lake, and wondering what purpose it served. It seemed very extricated and purposeless, as if someone had built it and realized it was useless, and left.
....I feel that way too a lot of the time
The elevator - provenance unknown - is a a kooky! one, featuring a purposeless mechanical whirligig underneath the cab, which I guess is intended to suggest that the elevator moves up the shaft through some elementary-school, drill-like means. You know, like those drill vehicle things on Ninja Turtles.
I thought it was cute, but (as I continue to attempt to define this mechanism interest of mine) it falls short of mechanism-ism insofar as a) the mechanism isn't really controlled by the user and 2) it's basically decorative. The capacity of the user to meaningfully alter the building is at the heart of the idea - which begins to suggest connections with Hertzberger-ian structuralism. More on that to come!
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The historic Cornwallis Inn has stood proudly in Kentville on the corner of Main and Cornwallis street serving the citizens for over 90 years, .. Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn, and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! if you google the words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them connected to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool for Kentville) . Over the years the world famous Cornwallis Inn has provided great memories for generations of local residents.. How dare they touch this famous hotel !
"It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
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May 01, 2022 - Kentville's landmark Main Street Station sold,,
file:///C:/Users/berwi/Desktop/work%20in%20progress/Kentville's%20landmark%20Main%20Street%20Station%20sold%20_%20CBC%20News.mhtml. landmsark ?????? never heard of it !
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Shocking news from ABF,
* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *
Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?
This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?
It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?
You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?
Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)
ABF news updates :
Logan Morse and a newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when moving to terminate the historic and long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? Directors show no remorse, only saying that bold action was needed to improve, evolve and bring the pageant up to their modern standards ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...
May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual degree of disrespect shown when the long running all Valley Peoples Pageant is cancelled without either of consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with bold new ideas have apparently proclaimed themselves to be the generation that will interrupt and then permanently end 88 years of wonderful multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess enjoyment ?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
Annapolis Valley families are in shock and children cry upon learning their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking this bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-
Valley residents lose a long time major public yearly entertainment event after the ever popular ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and corporate greed ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft at a taxpayer owned airport in a far inferior airshow ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
Kentville, an identity crisis. Help, Is there a Superhero out there to save Kentville from the newconers ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/51811175986/in/album-7...
The controversial 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been the target of exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport and then relocated it to their own home riding in the Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, the Kingston Apple Blossom Princess, and ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?
Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Disregard for safety shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unshaded, no sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...
Exploiting a Queen for a photo op ? Politicians at the official opening of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretend that there's still a Pageant while knowing full well that Queen Annapolisa has been terminated forever and will no longer be a part of this Festival ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade ABF stewards defy Trudeau's call for diversity and inclusion ? Many nearby local Valley towns and villages that always normally attend are now excluded from the parade ? This exclusion also means an absence of the diversity provided from the attendance of these many local communities ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view the complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
89th Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023,, It's the sad ending of an Era ? ABF Organizers take away tremendous diversity when all Royal proceedings have been excluded from this years festival, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52934419451
Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,
www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...
The Town of Kentville has moved to cut back and eliminate many hours of public outdoor entertainment that were held as a part of the Apple Blossom Festival ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785
A medley of the guest Tribute bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville - Always free of charge in the past at the Apple Blossom Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,
www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9
Mean corporate greed is shown by the newcomer ABF directors in this years Apple Blossom Festival ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band at the free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it will now cost 50.00 pp to see the 'Queen tribute band' performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/
A Scrooge-like cheap Town of Kentville rips off its own citizens (and right at Apple Blossom Festival time) ? Cold capitalism shown by Town of Kentville and by the newcomer ABF management ? Citizens burdened with an out of pocket expense of TWENTY DOLLARS each just to attend an outdoor street dance held downtown on taxpayer owned property during Apple Blossom Festival ? Is there no sense of shame ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...
She's Ruined It ! Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something that can only be described as stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54493011308/in/dateposted
2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A brief 45-minute and a very limited and compacted Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero large marching street bands and majorettes invited other than 1 mini version of the standard RCMP entrée, No Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Royalty or their famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants weren't here, Zero horses or wagons, No armaments, soldiers, bands or displays from the Aldershot military or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet the Guest parade announcer proclaims in quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, incl Toronto - it's the longest with the largest route and has the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t, where did she come from and what is she talkin about ?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00
Mayor in Kentville Grand Street Parade - A new Royal rider rolls down Main Street aboard the Kentville Apple Blossom Princess float ? This year the newcomer Mayor graces the royal throne. 'Somebody get that king a crown and scepter '
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted
they've ruined it part 2 ? May 31st, 2025 Grand Street Parade - From 100,000 down to 10,000, Parade attendance shrinks to all time low, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost.... Also see, They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
ABF Directors may disapprove and may have terminated the beloved Queen Annapolisa pageant and the multiple village Apple Blossom Princess competition but Valley residents will always admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. The majority of Valley citizens are delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are invited and will be coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now Royalty-less ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946
The long proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from sight and erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? A special honorary history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners from 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and apparently replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer President and other ABF directors who have taken over and ruined the world famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens
Meet the directors,
May 30th, 2025 - a 20 dollar hamburger and a ride on the bouncycastle ? High level security enforcement brought in for this years ABF Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? ( must have taken up most of the budget ) ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up security perimiter with manned guard posts to provide tightened security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in the past had always featured guest rock bands, interesting displays, and a Royal visit following the glamorous coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but has now been cut down to some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, fireworks, air blown bouncy jumpers and minimal live local entertainment on the main stage ? It has been reported that a parking violator was successfully apprehended thanks to the upgraded crowd control security and strict traffic control hired by the Board for this occasion ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569
May 30th, 2025 Memorial Park Kentville - Seniors and those with disabilities are made to walk long distances in order to reach this year's disappointing ABF Friday night outdoor rock Concert that didn't bring in a rock band, (nor much of anything else) ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...
Oct 4th, 2025 - Kentville Harvest Festival Centre Square, A disappointing harvest festival this year that forgot about hayrides, pumpkin people making, the harvest and the farmer ?https://www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835089011/in/photostream/
Upgrade 2025 ? taken from the front of Phinneys dept store - a massive expenditure is budgeted for a major upgrade to the Mayor's business backyard - Downtown Kentville Webster Street gets a complete and total beautification makeover with new installations of street paving, paint, new sidewalks both sides, driveway entrances, and new curb and gutter both sides ? All the other streets that surround the Phinneys' downtown business block have also been upgraded including Aberdeen Street, Cornwallis Street, and Main Street ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835340734/in/photost...
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An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last humiliating major transportation loss forced on the people of a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from the outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? This long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? The cold hearted eviction also left our young Air Cadets over at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and so now the next generation has to grow up without their nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so, a group of out-of-towners that mostly don't even live in this community had transformed an active thriving local Aviation business center that had taken decades to build and establish, into a barren and useless place where unsupervised Michelin children now ride bikes and dodge weeds poking their heads thru a deteriorating asphalt runway that was once a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, this unwarranted calculated forced closure and loss of a vital member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that will greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end this devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a windfall for the Kingston Greenwood area, and, Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to be bused to the nearby town of Canning ? This would leave only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify Kentville as their home school, an education reality that still exists in Kentville ? There is no longer a movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it never was replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now there's just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace all of Wandlyn's many facilities including hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a very good exchange for the community ?
The traditional July 1st Canada Day town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is well known as one of the most identifiable entitlements provided by a town ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges the customer 10,000 dollars just to turn their town water on at roadside ? And then after this rather large up front financial layout paid for by the brand new customer, he will still have to pay for all of his yard trenching and household plumbing work ? And in return for this large initial forced surcharge, the valued new customer will be rewarded with a water bill courtesy of the town of Kentville each month hereafter ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge traversing the Cornwallis River ? And so now many local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created safety hazards ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own local yearly parade returned back home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. etc. held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom festival week ? No explanation was given and no replacement or apology was ever offered by the Town for such a devastating loss to be absorbed by the citizens of Kentville ? Kentville has now lost its most identifiable of all citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville, when newcomer ABF Directors had shown an uncommon degree of disrespect, as well as their disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or to be included in the Town Parade ? It seemed that Kentville had lost yet another identifiable citizen and wonderful Ambassador that always performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, dignity, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, the many steps backwards, and the cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire and never replaced ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade of less than an hour ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys drive thru burgers, the loss of one of the 2 dt Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a 7/24 convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and the end of the pretigious Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and symbolically married for decades to the Town name of Kentville ? There remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists created when the Wandlyn hotel complex burned down and when not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues were ever replaced ?
And now, in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments are taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, from the looks of a recent Town municipal election, most candidates that ran are relatively new to this area and as such might be unfamiliar with the Town's long time traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates had even naively described the town as a kind of happy go lucky, blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville movie set place that is teaming with busy villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and internationally known boutiques and eateries which does not present an accurate description of the Town ?
And apparently the new Mayor who is also a new local business owner, appears to have befriended ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, the well known skydiving academy, the international flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulating himself on enlarging the size of his downtown retail store and expressing his own personal happiness over a new (taxpayer funded) installation of a brand new sidewalk in front of it, but failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and youth unemployment, the drug problems, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the devastating cancellation of the historic Princess Kentville competition, the vacationers concerns about no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There was also the recent eradication of the Apple Blossom Festival and decimation of the world famous Grande Street Parade ? And there's also the current Town housing crisis, the high increases in rent, and the alarming rate of downtown business failures, and also the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum and outdoor display of some sort ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that has immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies traditionally held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also this years' poor presentation of a Grande Street Parade and one unsafe situation in the newcomer Parade where normal residents (incl Seniors) were seen perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also the local residents plea to 'bring our high school students back home again' , and some complaints about the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events exceeding the grade school level ? There was also the controversy over the hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance to the honored heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course, there was also the recent down town flood crisis ? The mayor did not address the question of why a Provincial Government would force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then those who caused this major loss, did not offer to replace it but just left the area without such a facility ? And, there was no mention of the need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of sudden and unopposed takeovers of small businesses by newly arrived foreigners from Asia when locals here can't find work ? And what about growing concerns over the recent issue of the formation of an exclusive Ontarioville newcomer type town growing within an already established town ? There were also many concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that had made some of the streets unfit to drive on, at a time when a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that was smooth as a baby's bum ?? And then there was the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? And there was also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, can it be time to stop newcomer mentality, and to make it mandatory for all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions to be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect, protect and retain the Town's unique character, history, diversity, identity, and many longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ? ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
Newcomer ABF directors trying to erase history ? The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) How dare they touch that historibc hotel name !
. The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :
"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "
May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and some extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always attend ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also a major disappointment for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included as there are many town residents young and old who identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However, the now purposeless Apple Blossom Princess float was used this year to transport a grouping of everyday town residents as they sat around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville with diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum and a weak effort that really missed the inclusion of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and also missed the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the many large out of town contingents that always normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to seeing, and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It became obvious that what was being advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite because this new version of our Grand Street Parade had lost the inclusion, diversity and the major contribution put forth by the absent Valley communities along with their individual Princess contestants and Child attendants that always come to Kentville to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the many Princess Teas, and the Royal attendances at schools, hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as appearances at the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert and fireworks, Royal attendances highlighting the Saturday morning Children's Parade, and a Royal trip down Main street Kentville aboard a beautiful hand crafted royal float in the famous Grand Street parade ?
And so, to quickly sum up, can a strange looking, incomplete, shortened, now Royal-less, newcomer mentality amateur version of our elite world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that was now missing her heinous Queen Annapolisa and also missing 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their individual 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats, and also missing much of the unique character and diversity usually provided by the numerous Valley villages and communities who were no longer included, and that also failed to include many of the large out of town marching bands and pipers and majorettes who usually attend, and that also lacked representation from local area farming, agriculture and livestock,, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?
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Some previous parades :
2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s
2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18
2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s
2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s
2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s
2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s
2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s
2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s
2023 Grand Street Parade - The exclusion of many usual participants and the denial of their valued diversity have marred the 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Many nearby Valley communities were missing in the Parade when longtime participants were no longer included ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
2025 Grand Street Parade May 31st- from 100,000 to 10,000 Parade attendance has shrunk to an all time low,
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost...
They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
A concerned Kentvillian must finally speak out, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/44424045874
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.
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Best Large-This is from Bright Angel overlook looking northeast. The Colorado River runs through the rift in left upper. It is quite a trip down to it in the summer on foot!
The Desert Has a Voice (James Watkins)
The desert has a voice that calls
In dry, dirt dreams-
Warm, wind-washed wonders
In wingless, soulless flight.
Cold, moonlit masquerades
Through long level years,
Crying out with countless cares on deafened ears-
Drowned in measured, motor-muffled madness,
And child-chattered, purposeless flight.
Quietly, calmly calling-
Darkened, deepening desert-
Star-filled with stumbling stalkers
And wounded warriors in fevered nights.
Dreams-peaceful, persistent, dreams-
As wheeled sky turns
Eternal turning, evening eyes-
And thoughts of morning colored light.
Millennial seas-
Doomed and dusty years-
Row upon heaping row of years-
Tears-
Caked, covered
And desolate.
The desert has a voice-
That calls and halts
And peers with perfect perspective-
Stopping us in our way.
“I have seen blood-stained battles!
I have seen despot desires!
I have seen prophets come and go,
And ages pass with shallow…glancing blows!
I have seen civilizations crumble…
Tumbling, heavy-handed
Into pagan pasts!”
The desert has a voice-
And every grain of sand has a name-
Every wind-blown grain of sand.
And someone-somewhere-knows the names.
They have perfect place and purpose-
Rocks cry out! Rocks….sing!
Some soaring angelic scribe somewhere
Records the history of rocks, and sands, and deserts.
Drab, dull, drifting desert distances and plans.
Ragged, jagged, craggy-edged
Mountain spine explosions and
Dry, desert sand.
The desert has voice and future-
With lifted hill-high green valley-
And clear bright stream winding
To cool, crystalline sea.
They wait….silently…
Almost… forever waiting-
But I know the secret of deserts-
And –
Dreams.
James Watkins-April 2006
“There are days when I am convinced that Heaven starts already, now, in this ordinary life just as it is, in all its incompleteness, yet, this is where Heaven starts…see within yourself, if you can find it. I walked through the field in front of the house, lots of swallows flying, everywhere! Some very near me…it was magical. "We are already one, yet we know it not.” –Thomas Merton
“Every moment and every event of everyman's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men.”—Thomas Merton
“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go. So there it is, with all its beautiful purposelessness, and it has become very familiar to me though I do not know "what it is." Or even if it is an "it." Not to be foolish and multiply words, I'll say simply that it seems to me that Zen is the very atmosphere of the Gospels, and the Gospels are bursting with it. It is the proper climate for any monk, no matter what kind of monk he may be. If I could not breathe Zen I would probably die of spiritual asphyxiation.” –Thomas Merton
“We have the choice of two identities: the external mask which seems to be real...and the hidden, inner person who seems to us to be nothing, but who can give himself eternally to the truth in whom he subsists.” –Thomas Merton, “New Seeds of Contemplation”
“It should be for satsang that we go to spiritual centers. By going there, people who are involved in the world can attain peace and concentration. The concentration gained when one goes there cannot be achieved if one sits at home. Even though the breeze blows everywhere, coolness will be felt more if we sit in the shade of a tree. In the same way, although God is all-pervading, His presence will clearly shine in certain places more than in others. That is the greatness of satsang. Satsang is the best thing for spiritual advancement.”—Amma, “Awaken Children”
Thomas Merton quotes from www.goodreads.com.
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Mayor Corkum - hats off to the Mayor
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Apple Blossom Princess Kentville will no longer be included in the Apple Blossom Festival or the Grand Street Parade .
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Following a 2 year absence due to Covi,, the 2022 Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. (and Parade) will be held as per usual this year.. Unfortunately the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition has had to be postponed until next year due to time constraints.
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Shocking news from ABF,
* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *
Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?
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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?
This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?
It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?
You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?
Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! if you google the words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them connected to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn has provided many great memories for so many of our local residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
ABF news updates :
Logan Morse and a newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when moving to terminate the historic and long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? Directors show no remorse, only saying that bold action was needed to improve, evolve and bring the pageant up to their modern standards ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...
May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual degree of disrespect shown when the long running all Valley Peoples Pageant is cancelled without either of consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with bold new ideas have apparently proclaimed themselves to be the generation that will interrupt and then permanently end 88 years of wonderful multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess enjoyment ?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...
Annapolis Valley families are in shock and children cry upon learning their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking this bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-
Valley residents lose a long time major public yearly entertainment event after the ever popular ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and corporate greed ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft at a taxpayer owned airport in a far inferior airshow ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
Kentville, an identity crisis. Help, Is there a Superhero out there to save Kentville from the newconers ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/51811175986/in/album-7...
The controversial 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been the target of exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport and then relocated it to their own home riding in the Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, the Kingston Apple Blossom Princess, and ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?
Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Disregard for safety shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unshaded, no sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...
Exploiting a Queen for a photo op ? Politicians at the official opening of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretend that there's still a Pageant while knowing full well that Queen Annapolisa has been terminated forever and will no longer be a part of this Festival ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...
2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade ABF stewards defy Trudeau's call for diversity and inclusion ? Many nearby local Valley towns and villages that always normally attend are now excluded from the parade ? This exclusion also means an absence of the diversity provided from the attendance of these many local communities ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view the complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
89th Kentville Grand Street Parade May 27th 2023,, It's the sad ending of an Era ? ABF Organizers take away tremendous diversity when all Royal proceedings have been excluded from this years festival, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52934419451
Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288
Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...
Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,
www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...
The Town of Kentville has moved to cut back and eliminate many hours of public outdoor entertainment that were held as a part of the Apple Blossom Festival ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785
A medley of the guest Tribute bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville - Always free of charge in the past at the Apple Blossom Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,
www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9
Mean corporate greed is shown by the newcomer ABF directors in this years Apple Blossom Festival ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band at the free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it will now cost 50.00 pp to see the 'Queen tribute band' performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/
A Scrooge-like cheap Town of Kentville rips off its own citizens (and right at Apple Blossom Festival time) ? Cold capitalism shown by Town of Kentville and by the newcomer ABF management ? Citizens burdened with an out of pocket expense of TWENTY DOLLARS each just to attend an outdoor street dance held downtown on taxpayer owned property during Apple Blossom Festival ? Is there no sense of shame ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...
She's Ruined It ! Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something that can only be described as stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54493011308/in/dateposted
2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A brief 45-minute and a very limited and compacted Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero large marching street bands and majorettes invited other than 1 mini version of the standard RCMP entrée, No Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Royalty or their famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants weren't here, Zero horses or wagons, No armaments, soldiers, bands or displays from the Aldershot military or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet the Guest parade announcer proclaims in quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, incl Toronto - it's the longest with the largest route and has the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t, where did she come from and what is she talkin about ?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00
Mayor in Kentville Grand Street Parade - A new Royal rider rolls down Main Street aboard the Kentville Apple Blossom Princess float ? This year the newcomer Mayor graces the royal throne. 'Somebody get that king a crown and scepter '
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted
they've ruined it part 2 ? May 31st, 2025 Grand Street Parade - From 100,000 down to 10,000, Parade attendance shrinks to all time low, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost.... Also see, They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?
ABF Directors may disapprove and may have terminated the beloved Queen Annapolisa pageant and the multiple village Apple Blossom Princess competition but Valley residents will always admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. The majority of Valley citizens are delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are invited and will be coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now Royalty-less ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946
The long proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from sight and erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? A special honorary history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners from 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and apparently replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer President and other ABF directors who have taken over and ruined the world famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens
Meet the directors,
May 30th, 2025 - a 20 dollar hamburger and a ride on the bouncycastle ? High level security enforcement brought in for this years ABF Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? ( must have taken up most of the budget ) ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up security perimiter with manned guard posts to provide tightened security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in the past had always featured guest rock bands, interesting displays, and a Royal visit following the glamorous coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but has now been cut down to some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, fireworks, air blown bouncy jumpers and minimal live local entertainment on the main stage ? It has been reported that a parking violator was successfully apprehended thanks to the upgraded crowd control security and strict traffic control hired by the Board for this occasion ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569
May 30th, 2025 Memorial Park Kentville - Seniors and those with disabilities are made to walk long distances in order to reach this year's disappointing ABF Friday night outdoor rock Concert that didn't bring in a rock band, (nor much of anything else) ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...
Oct 4th, 2025 - Kentville Harvest Festival Centre Square, A disappointing harvest festival this year that forgot about hayrides, pumpkin people making, the harvest and the farmer ?https://www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835089011/in/photostream/
Upgrade 2025 ? taken from the front of Phinneys dept store - a massive expenditure is budgeted for a major upgrade to the Mayor's business backyard - Downtown Kentville Webster Street gets a complete and total beautification makeover with new installations of street paving, paint, new sidewalks both sides, driveway entrances, and new curb and gutter both sides ? All the other streets that surround the Phinneys' downtown business block have also been upgraded including Aberdeen Street, Cornwallis Street, and Main Street ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835340734/in/photost...
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An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last humiliating major transportation loss forced on the people of a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from the outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? This long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? The cold hearted eviction also left our young Air Cadets over at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and so now the next generation has to grow up without their nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so, a group of out-of-towners that mostly don't even live in this community had transformed an active thriving local Aviation business center that had taken decades to build and establish, into a barren and useless place where unsupervised Michelin children now ride bikes and dodge weeds poking their heads thru a deteriorating asphalt runway that was once a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, this unwarranted calculated forced closure and loss of a vital member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that will greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end this devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a windfall for the Kingston Greenwood area, and, Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to be bused to the nearby town of Canning ? This would leave only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify Kentville as their home school, an education reality that still exists in Kentville ? There is no longer a movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it never was replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now there's just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace all of Wandlyn's many facilities including hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a very good exchange for the community ?
The traditional July 1st Canada Day town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is well known as one of the most identifiable entitlements provided by a town ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges the customer 10,000 dollars just to turn their town water on at roadside ? And then after this rather large up front financial layout paid for by the brand new customer, he will still have to pay for all of his yard trenching and household plumbing work ? And in return for this large initial forced surcharge, the valued new customer will be rewarded with a water bill courtesy of the town of Kentville each month hereafter ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge traversing the Cornwallis River ? And so now many local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created safety hazards ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own local yearly parade returned back home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. etc. held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom festival week ? No explanation was given and no replacement or apology was ever offered by the Town for such a devastating loss to be absorbed by the citizens of Kentville ? Kentville has now lost its most identifiable of all citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville, when newcomer ABF Directors had shown an uncommon degree of disrespect, as well as their disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or to be included in the Town Parade ? It seemed that Kentville had lost yet another identifiable citizen and wonderful Ambassador that always performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, dignity, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, the many steps backwards, and the cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire and never replaced ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade of less than an hour ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys drive thru burgers, the loss of one of the 2 dt Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a 7/24 convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and the end of the pretigious Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and symbolically married for decades to the Town name of Kentville ? There remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists created when the Wandlyn hotel complex burned down and when not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues were ever replaced ?
And now, in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments are taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, from the looks of a recent Town municipal election, most candidates that ran are relatively new to this area and as such might be unfamiliar with the Town's long time traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates had even naively described the town as a kind of happy go lucky, blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville movie set place that is teaming with busy villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and internationally known boutiques and eateries which does not present an accurate description of the Town ?
And apparently the new Mayor who is also a new local business owner, appears to have befriended ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, the well known skydiving academy, the international flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulating himself on enlarging the size of his downtown retail store and expressing his own personal happiness over a new (taxpayer funded) installation of a brand new sidewalk in front of it, but failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and youth unemployment, the drug problems, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the devastating cancellation of the historic Princess Kentville competition, the vacationers concerns about no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There was also the recent eradication of the Apple Blossom Festival and decimation of the world famous Grande Street Parade ? And there's also the current Town housing crisis, the high increases in rent, and the alarming rate of downtown business failures, and also the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum and outdoor display of some sort ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that has immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies traditionally held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also this years' poor presentation of a Grande Street Parade and one unsafe situation in the newcomer Parade where normal residents (incl Seniors) were seen perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also the local residents plea to 'bring our high school students back home again' , and some complaints about the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events exceeding the grade school level ? There was also the controversy over the hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance to the honored heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course, there was also the recent down town flood crisis ? The mayor did not address the question of why a Provincial Government would force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then those who caused this major loss, did not offer to replace it but just left the area without such a facility ? And, there was no mention of the need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of sudden and unopposed takeovers of small businesses by newly arrived foreigners from Asia when locals here can't find work ? And what about growing concerns over the recent issue of the formation of an exclusive Ontarioville newcomer type town growing within an already established town ? There were also many concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that had made some of the streets unfit to drive on, at a time when a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that was smooth as a baby's bum ?? And then there was the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? And there was also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, can it be time to stop newcomer mentality, and to make it mandatory for all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions to be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect, protect and retain the Town's unique character, history, diversity, identity, and many longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ? ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
Newcomer ABF directors trying to erase history ? The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :
"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "
May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and some extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always attend ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also a major disappointment for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included as there are many town residents young and old who identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However, the now purposeless Apple Blossom Princess float was used this year to transport a grouping of everyday town residents as they sat around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville with diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum and a weak effort that really missed the inclusion of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and also missed the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the many large out of town contingents that always normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to seeing, and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It became obvious that what was being advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite because this new version of our Grand Street Parade had lost the inclusion, diversity and the major contribution put forth by the absent Valley communities along with their individual Princess contestants and Child attendants that always come to Kentville to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the many Princess Teas, and the Royal attendances at schools, hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as appearances at the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert and fireworks, Royal attendances highlighting the Saturday morning Children's Parade, and a Royal trip down Main street Kentville aboard a beautiful hand crafted royal float in the famous Grand Street parade ?
And so, to quickly sum up, can a strange looking, incomplete, shortened, now Royal-less, newcomer mentality amateur version of our elite world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that was now missing her heinous Queen Annapolisa and also missing 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their individual 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats, and also missing much of the unique character and diversity usually provided by the numerous Valley villages and communities who were no longer included, and that also failed to include many of the large out of town marching bands and pipers and majorettes who usually attend, and that also lacked representation from local area farming, agriculture and livestock,, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?
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Some previous parades :
2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s
2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18
2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s
2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s
2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s
2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s
2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s
2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s
2023 Grand Street Parade - To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie
A concerned Kentvillian must finally speak out, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/44424045874
Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.
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you are still the only one who uses my english name out loud
noluthando where the hell are you going
i told you that my advisor said we must learn to engage, invite and embrace the unwanted persons of the world or that we are relatively purposeless beings and that when he said that i thought i loved him a little bit even though no one really terrifies me more and i'm sure i didn't completely understand what he said but i looked at his pictures in his office and felt very heavy and irrelevant and also ethically lacerated
into the face of a small boy he photographed in soweto, holding a sandwich in his little skinny hands
wonderbread crumbs
nothing less nutritious, maybe
a series on malnutrition?!?!?!?!!?
a series on hiv/aids?!?!?!?!?!
he said, can american photographers be remotely interested in doing series in africa on anything but poverty, famine, or disease in africa? can they look at something beyond obnoxiously obvious suffering?
CAN THEY FEEL SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE WHOSE BODY IS NOT DYING, RATHER, WHOSE BRAIN IS?
i said i didn't know whether or not that was true
he said, well, they want shock value, they want statistics without humanity
a photograph of a skinny black body can make a name for someone, he said
a picture of someone dying can seal the deal, he said
americans and their fucking cameras, i am grateful for the opportunity to teach you how to do it right, he said
i can sit in your office and you can say bad things about "americans" like i am not one of them
but i know i am, you know i am
is there a difference between the harvard lawyer
and the hungry guitarist
ollen says, no
you say, yes
i say, where is the fire
thandile says, probably
sudoku warriors at a mini mall
on the phone with my mom she says, how is it going
"i have never tried more at anything else in my entire life"
if you want to cure your apathy
your summertime blues
your old school tennishhh shoes
GO TO A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY
"i want to learn how to surf but i also really don't want to wear a puka shell necklace. are they mutually exclusive?"
rodney king goes to niagra falls
niagra falls is going right this second!
is there is enough water in the world for niagra falls, forever
you can put on a sweatervest very quickly for someone your age
where is the fire?
wake up to hayley taking a picture of me sleeping
what the hell are you doing?
and laugh and feel very stupid until it's time to go
"ambiguity is too much like water to not actually exist"
you are beautiful like a tree
you are beautiful like a tomato
you are beautiful like some colors, or apricot, or granulated disco ball sugar
some colors are yours and some are mine and some are both of ours and when i say "you" it is indiscriminate and without indication of who i actually am talking about or perhaps there is no conviction towards anyone and it is honestly not directed at anyone and yet somehow still written with thankful and consciously super saturated conviction
An empty room in a hotel. The spaces on either side were once for pay phones. Now they are empty shelves, lining a purposeless chamber. A whole room, without use, save to remind us of telephony and time.
Nur durch Zufall habe ich die Hinweistafel entdeckt, die diese scheinbar zweckfreie Metallstruktur als Kunstwerk auswies. Die Skulptur, denn um eine solche handelt es sich, wurde 2005 hinter dem Museum Hamburger Bahnhof anlässlich einer Ausstellung der Friedrich Christian Flick Collection aufgestellt. Der Vorstellung des Künstlers gemäß ragt die Skulptur aus einer Baumgruppe heraus. Beim Betreten der schmalen Käfiggänge wird der Besucher mit nahezu klaustrophobischer Enge und einer ambivalenten Wirkung konfrontiert. Man ist der Natur nah, aber durch die enge Drahtmaschenkonstruktion zugleich von ihr separiert. 2008 wurde die Skulptur den Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin geschenkt. (Text einer Erläuterungstafel)
Only by chance I detected the explanatory plaque identifying this seemingly purposeless metallic structure as a work of art. This sculpture, for a sculpture it is, was installed in fall 2005 behind the Museum Hamburger Bahnhof as part of an exhibition of the Friedrich Chrstian Flick collection. In keeping with the artist's concept, the sculpture juts out from a cluster of trees. When entering the narrow cage the visiitor is confronted with an almost claustrophobic narrowness and a pervasive sense of ambivlaence. The viewer is very close to nature, yet simultaneously cut off from it by the wire mesh construction.
(Text copied from an explanatory plaque)
St Mary, East Walton, Norfolk
Photographs taken September 2006.
Ten years later, I revisited:
It was the long summer of 2016. I was out cycling fairly purposelessly in the backwaters of west Norfolk, following the narrowest, quietest lanes and occasionally remembering them from a decade before. I came to East Walton, which is well off the beaten track, a quiet village down a cul-de-sac off of the Gayton to Narborough road. We are miles away from West Walton here, and the names probably result from an early 19th Century attempt by the Post Office to tell the difference between them. St Mary is beautiful, a round tower with a pleasing, comfortable 14th century church attached. Beside it sits the ruin of the chapel of St Andrew, a couple of farmhouses, and the massive and lovely former rectory.
How idyllic the life of a minister of the Church of England must have been during the early years of the 20th century! Back in 2005, I met an old lady in the graveyard here who recalled the Rector when she was a child in the 1920s. He had just two churches in his care, this one and the similarly remote and lovely Gayton Thorpe. On a Sunday morning he'd cycle to his other church to celebrate an early communion, and then back to East Walton for Matins. Even in those days the villages weren't huge, but today there are barely a dozen people on the electoral roll here, and the Minister responsible for it has charge of five other churches.
The great round tower has a visible lean to the west, and has been bolstered and restored in the early years of the current century. The architect's drawings are on display inside. The windows are filled with lovely irregular panes of 18th century glass. And indeed, stepping into St Mary is to step into a different century, and not a medieval one, for here we have an interior which is almost entirely of the early 18th century, a time when the Church of England itself was a bit of a sleepy backwater. The brick floors are a setting for good quality box pews, which lead the eye to a three-decker pulpit in the south-east corner. It must have all looked very fine when it was first installed.
Perhaps less happily, the chancel arch, which must have been a beautiful one judging by the quality of the Decorated foliage in the bits that are visible, was filled in. A wooden archway was put in its place, and low, flat ceilings were installed. It may be that these ceilings were partly practical, to keep the heat in; but the open porch was also given one, and so it seems more likely that someone here didn't like medieval roofs.
As you may imagine, this all gives St Mary a character of its own, and I like it a lot. A sprinkling of medieval survivals - wild, grinning corbel heads, the quatrefoiled font, the flowered tympanum above the priest door in the chancel, a brass which asks us to pray for the souls of William Bacar and Margaret his wife - are adornments to this simple, lovely space. It was good to come back.