June, 2006 - Nr. 6
In my Travels…
…I am always looking to find something g special to recommend to my readers, a service, a book, a shop or venue.
Sometimes the tried and true are the best recommendation, like George Jewellers at Eglinton and Markham, Scarborough. A fourth generation shop specializing in Clock repairs, watches and jewellery, some of which I have collected over the years. I especially like pearls in their many variations and have always been good advised by Heidi, Reiner’s wife. Their selection of watches is well-known and the service is friendly and fast. I understand that Reiner makes house calls if you have a "sick" grandfather clock!
George Jewellers is the only one of its kind in the east of the city and I highly recommend this shop.
I also admire Catherine MacKay’s boutique, which has recently moved to a
new location. Yes, it is a bit hard to find at first, but well worth the
search. Nowadays it is not easy to find a suitable location for a small
business. Rents in the malls are exorbitant and storefront locations have
become rare.
Thus
she had to move to an upstairs spot of a small mall on Wynford Heights
Crescent, which is easily enough found, if you travel on Eglinton Ave. E. to
Don Mills Road, turn east on Wynford Drive, pass over the Don Valley and
soon you will find the small mall on the Wynfords Crescent. On its backside
is an entrance to upstairs business suites, next to the supermarket back
entrance. Take the stairwell or elevator up one floor and you are looking
almost immediately at suite 125. As you step through the doors you get
immersed into Catherine’s fashion world, where good taste and quality go
hand in hand.
She
picks her offerings in such a way that you know that you are not running
into yourself at every corner. This is not mass market merchandize, it is
carefully chosen labels and styles for the woman that appreciates something
a little different, yet does not want to pay couture prices. The best part
is her selection of accessories to go with her beautiful outfits. Her
regulars rely on her good taste and come back again and again. These are
clothes for a lady, they make you fell feminine and special, without costing
and arm and a leg. You can call Catherine at 416-224-1216.
Books
It is summer and time for some serious reading in the garden, on the beach, on the bus or in bed, whatever is your favourite spot to relax.
James Bach, famous for historically researched books has come out with a novel. Ever since "Other losses" caused quite a stir in the book market fans have been waiting for his next offering. This time it is a novel, yet the title already makes us think that it has some solid historical background. It took the author 7 years to write it!
Wasn’t it Tayler Caldwell who sold her best investigative work as fictionalized novels and kept living? What do you think might have happened if the Captains and the Kings would have come out as a historical non-fiction work?
Our Fathers’ War is and intriguing look at just that: Our father’s
war. The book is 628 pages long, spans continents, and weaves in intriguing
story of various families from here and abroad. It is epic in its
proportions, a bit like the famous Russian novels, but easier to read. There
are battle scenes and there are love scenes, everything that life consists
of. It is a Canadian Story and also German story and a very good read! Our
Fathers’ War information: ISBN 1-550-96-635-9,hardcover, costs $39.95 and
can be ordered via
Mc Arthur & Company
c/o Harper Collins
1995 Markham Road
Toronto, ON, M1B 5M8
Phone 1-800-387-0117
For more information go to
www.jamesbacque.com. You can find interesting and enlightening notes on
the book and also order it and his other works online. The website even
gives the answer to the question that has made many people wonder: Why did
not enough people know what was going on? Why do our parents and
grandparents say that they did NOT know?
Travel to Germany
Other than cut and dry travel guides there is no current good literature on Germany that would invite the reader to think in broader strokes about this country, or so ithas been suggested to me. Until Now I retort. There is a lovely travelogue about my fatherland: The Bells in their silence by Michael Gorra, Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-691-12617-3, by Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.
These Travels through Germany are certainly somewhat subjective in their very personal observations and conclusions, but they are also intelligent and deductive of a good knowledgebase.
It even touches on the dreaded past that becomes just a little easier to
understand reading this book. It appears top be the right time for more
rational dialogue on a subject that has been fraught with heavy emotions.
Analytical deductions are more commonly entered into the picture; a strong
interest in trying to really understand versus a simply blaming attitude
prevails in newer literature about Germany.
A historic Journey
On June 17th, 2006, History Channel is going to show a very important film that deals with a sons struggle to understand his fathers’ involvement in Germany’s history, while trying to deal with his own son’s unreality of the subject. This is a story that is not new to German Canadians. Many of them have been called Nazi, even in school as children and apparently this is still happening, at least occasionally right here in Canada.
Manfred Becker is a noted Documentary film maker living in Toronto and tackles this subject from a subjective family point of view. He is honest and sincere in his effort to truly understand the various points of view, trying to arrive at an acceptable truth, something he can live with, and something that has integrity.
What he discovers is astounding and it makes it clear to the viewer: Any experience is subjective reality and thus there are situations in which one person cannot fully understand another’s choices or thinking.
It is time to discuss these matters openly and with compassion in our hearts. AND it can be done without compromising ay amount of integrity. James Baques notes might help Mr. Becker also to understand the situation more clearly.
One thing is sure: History Channel should be commended for showing this highly personal account of the past, for opening the door to a more open dialogue. When communication is being prevented from taking place then nothing will be understood, nothing will be learned. Blame, shame and regrets do not resolve anything. No one will learn anything.
Mr. Becker told me in a short phone conversation that he showed the documentary to a TV station in Germany and after 10 minutes he was told that they would never show it there.
We wonder why? What are they afraid of?
I really hope a lot of our readers will see this film and write their response to it to Echo Germanica. We really want to know what you think! It is important! So please take time out from soccer and watch the film!
