Brand New Year with Good Old Peter….

Time once again for my weekly randomly arranged parade of letters, numbers and images. 2018 is “finis”, so let’s take a brief look at it and see what may be looming on the horizon as well.

Sadly, my tree of Life has gained another ring, but there were lots of great memories made as it grew, for sure! Old friendships were strengthened, new friendships planted and nurtured, health issues faced, Life issues faced, and it was most definitely not a case of nothing ever changing but the date.

Lois and I moved from strength to strength, comforted by each other and willing to adjust our lives to reflect changing circumstances. We both recognize our good fortune and keep each other front and centre in our lives. I want to thank all the people who ask after her, that’s very humbling a). We did our traditional Christmas dinner at “The Old Mill”, this year with two of her cousins. Aside from the fact that they ran out of MASHED POTATOES b) partway through our sitting, it was pretty good. All in all, it was a good year, and I look forward to many more with Lois. Life is a lot better when you find someone who “gets” you, trust me.

Peter with Matt Lightstone of Secret Broadcast Picture by Pat Blythe

As has been the case since 2013, music played a very important part in Mrs Montreuil’s little boy’s life. New bands, new music, new experiences, the fun rarely stopped! (You have to sleep sometime, unless you’re Pat Blythe, apparently 😉 ) Generally, the bands I mention in my column are well worth following up on via Facebook or other internet tools, by the way, if you can’t get out and see them live. Among the bands I encountered last year were Fortunate Losers, One In The Chamber, Phantom Atlantic, Twin Flames, Weigh The Anchor, Killer Academy, Deep Sea Gypsies and Mulligrub.

I continued my promotion of indie music, with a slight change in tactics. When someone posts about the lack of good contemporary music anywhere on the internet, I still respond that there is, however I now add “… but don’t take my word for it, check out…” and then mention 5 or 6 indie bands. The results are surprising, as people later thank me “for the steer” and compliment at least one of the bands which I mention.  Regarding supporting local music, here is an article which I truly wish I had written.

http://www.htnmag.com/home/2016/9/6/10-reasons-why-you-should-support-your-local-music-scene?fbclid=IwAR3Is4QkXFVb0_0344TGgB35djbANkGMspF9ylbk4d6YPoOCf9y0M7_R8iY

I got to attend “Canadian Music Week” as a media person and also judged at “indie week”. I highly recommend attending these festivals, and buying a wristband to give you the opportunity to go out and savour great music across a number of genres. “Time well spent”, I think the catch phrase used to be.

Over the next year I will continue writing my column, of course, and filling my Facebook timeline with a melange of humour, as well as literary light to expose the “cockroaches of evil” who want to try to break our trainset. In the humour vein, I recently discovered a page entitled “Death”. Here is an example of the brilliant standard of posts on that page.

While my Facebook world will remain intact, there are other changes coming this year.

Sadly, by the end of March, 2019, the Royal Air Force will have retired its last Tornado aircraft. The product of a multi national program, almost a thousand were built, 385 of which were delivered to the R.A.F.. In Britain, Tornados equipped no less than 23 squadrons and a number of ancillary units and flights. Vale atque c) old friend, even though you did replace the Phantom d) in some units.

So I look forward to this coming year, even though there are a number of changes coming, and I hope that you all do too. It’s good to be back. “Here endeth the first lesson”.

See you soon.

a) The most suitable word to describe the way that the many friendships that I have been lucky enough to make since 2013 feel to me. Bless you all!

b) Might have been better if they’d run out of silverware. Although they did address the shortage, it was still head scratching.

c) “Hail and farewell”

d) My favourite jet aircraft

=PJM=

A confirmed Cat person, Peter dabbled with being a water boy, a paper boy and an altar boy before finally settling on a career with the Canadian federal government.  Once, in his youth, he ate a Dutch  oven full of mashed potatoes to win a 5 cent bet with his beloved sister Mary’s boyfriend. (Of course he was much younger and a nickel went a lot farther!) He has retired to palatial “Chez Montreuil”, which he shares with his diabetic little buddy Reg the Cat. He is blessed to have his dear Lois in his life. He is not only a plastic aircraft modeller, but a proud “rivet counter”. Military aviation and live music are among other interests of his, and he tries to get out to as many shows as he can. He will be here for your enlightenment whenever the stars align. Profile photo courtesy of Pat Blythe, caricature courtesy of Peter Mossman.