Harry Stemp Sept 06, 2009
Harry Stemp was born in Uxbridge in 1934. He started his career with the Uxbridge Times-Journal as an apprentice typesetter at age 14. He soon began writing sports for the Times-Journal and eventually owned 10 community newspapers in central Ontario including the Times-Journal. He started writing his award-winning Stemp’s Stew in 1965. The column came to an end shortly after he sold his newspaper chain in 1989, but was rejuvenated in 2006 when Harry became a regular contributor to The Cosmos.
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Just Cruisin
?Greetings from the Sevens Seas Navigator in Ajaccio, Corsica.
What a privilege to be part of the Globe and Mail Mediterranean Odyssey, a two-week cruise through the Mediterranean taking me into parts of the world I have always wanted to visit, but never seemed to get the opportunity.
And not just the opportunity to see so many beautiful and interesting parts of the world but, as a long-time journalist, enjoy breakfast sessions and daily forums with those who are in charge of producing and writing for the Globe and Mail on a daily basis. Daily sessions, planned not to interfere with well-organized shore excursions, these were led by Globe and Mail Publisher Phil Crawley, Editor-in-Chief John Stackhouse, foreign correspondent Doug Saunders, political analyst Eric Raguly plus popular columnists Margaret Wente and Christie Blatchford. For a news junkie such as myself it is a cruise come true.
Raised in the world of community newspapers it is intriguing to learn more about the daily newspaper world, which is so different from anything I encountered. The challenges facing daily newspapers around the world as advertising and readership declines, especially amongst the younger set, how they are facing those challenges plus the challenge of the fast-growing world of Internet news, blogs and chat rooms.
With 475 Globe and Mail readers from across Canada on the cruise, it is also great to meet new people and, in many cases, make new friends.
It is also a wonderful opportunity to see some of the wonders of the world, such as the magnificent restored ruins of Ephesus and Pompeii, and get a glimpse of what life was like thousands of years ago.
In our daily lives we go about trying to make a difference in the world and in the lives of others. Feeling we are an important part of the universe. That we are, but as one visits civilizations that go back years before Christ and see how ingenious these people were in their construction and engineering methods, one soon realizes that each of our lives, regardless of age, is a very small part of civilization and we should make the best of it while visiting this earth.
And hats off to the folks at the Globe and Mail for organizing such a magnificent travel experience. There were many surprises but the one that will stand out in the memories of those attending was the afternoon and evening spent at the Ephesus ruins outside Kusadasi, Greece.
Visiting the ruins was an amazing experience but nothing could top the cocktail party and concert planned for the evening in front of the huge columns of the restored Library. What a setting, and what a party. Under bright moonlight we took our seats satisfied with delicious hors d'oeuvres and a plentiful supply of cold ones.
On stage was a large orchestra and a local female opera singer who opened what was to be a professional show that would compare to anything you would enjoy in a concert hall. The surprise came late in the show when the large orchestra yielded the stage to a five-piece band flown in from Montreal to back up a Canadian musical prodigy, Nikki Yanofsky, also flown in from Montreal just for this occasion. This youngster chatted with the audience as if she were your 15-year-old daughter chatting at home.
However, when she began to sing she came across as a star that had been performing for years. From her first note she had the audience eating out of her hand and hollering for more.
There is no doubt we are going to hear a lot more from this young lady, who started her career in front of an audience of 100,000 at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2006 at the age of 12.
Nikki was the youngest singer ever on a Verve Records release when she recorded “Airmail Special” for the Ella Fitzgerald tribute album. And then recorded “Gotta Go My Own Way” for Disney's smash hit 'High School Musical Two'.
Besides playing to sold-out crowds at jazz festivals in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Montego Bay, Nikki has been on a multi-city tour with renowned composer Marvin Hamlisch.
As the huge crowd made their way to the buses one could hear nothing but praise for this beautiful young Canadian girl. As one man was heard to say, “Another Canadian talent out of Quebec. Move over Celine”.
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Whenever traveling I look for people with Uxbridge connections.
Not much this time around. Lots of people who know Uxbridge, love driving through it and, in some cases, wish they could live amongst us. This changed a bit at a recent dinner when we sat with Bob and Gilda Bonneville, of Orleans, just outside Ottawa.
Bob has a large Canadian Tire store in Ottawa and knew the late Norm Kane, former owner of the Uxbridge store and Pat Higgins, the current owner. Bob told me that in Canadian Tire circles Pat has a reputation of being one of the top community-minded dealers of the group.
Anyone who knows what Pat does for Uxbridge will certainly back that up.
So hello Pat, from Bob Bonneville.
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As we set sail tonight (Tuesday) we head for a day in Rome and then an afternoon and evening in Monte Carlo before flying back on Friday. If Rome and Monte Carlo can top what we have enjoyed to date, then we are in for a wonderful finishing ride.
