Pat Blythe – Christmas past, NYC, John Harris, N’we Jinan…and Music!

My house looks like Santa barfed up an entire Christmas store. Lights, decorations, bibs and bobs scattered about, the decorating a work in progress and I haven’t even purchased the tree yet! Chris use to chide me on the amount of Christmas paraphernalia I had accumulated over the years so I decided one year to use the minimalist approach. A week before Christmas day Chris asked me when I was going to decorate? Ya can’t win…. So, five containers, an extensive Santa Claus collection and a couple of supplementary boxes heaved up from the basement, I am now sussing and sorting, banging nails, climbing ladders, walking on the counter to get to the top of the cabinets….letting no space go “unChristmased”. Even my musical Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is back in its place of honour.

Pat Blythe – CMW 2016 Part 2 and Other Stuff

Well, another week has just blown by and we are already half way through May. Where the hell is spring? I do believe Mother Nature has taken a detour. However, the beginning of “festival” season, music in particular, has started with a bang. CMW is the lead-in with the SING! Toronto Vocal Arts Festival running parallel and beyond. A bucket load of music is on tap this summer and folks are going to be hard-pressed to know which way to turn. So much to choose from and it will be happening all over the city, clear out to Hamilton and back. I’m not even including all the long weekend jams that happen in parks hither, thither and yon. Pick a few favourites, either local or long distance and settle in for the ride.