Rejuvenated ex-wife right to move on with life

Remembering Canada's military families

OTTAWA - Not only did Reine Samson Dawe's husband serve his entire career in the Canadian Armed Forces, but her four sons all followed in his footsteps. And while she is quick to point to the many ways military life has benefited her family, there have also been hardships — including the death of her youngest son, Capt. Matthew Dawe, in Afghanistan in 2007.

Selected this year's Silver Cross Mother by the Royal Canadian Legion, Samson Dawe will lay a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial during Monday's Remembrance Day ceremonies on behalf of all mothers who have lost children as a result of military service to Canada.

In an interview from her home in Kingston, Ont., Samson Dawe acknowledged the challenges that come with being part of a military family. Those include frequent relocations, often to relatively isolated communities, as well as the separation that comes with training and deployments and the threat of a loved one being injured or killed in the line of duty.

Samson Dawe, who met her husband while interning at a military hospital in Halifax after studying physiotherapy in Montreal, recalls the night in 2002 when four Canadian soldiers were killed by a U.S. warplane in Afghanistan. Her two oldest sons, Peter and Philip, were serving in the country at the time and she barely slept a wink while waiting for news.

Winnipeg author Joan Thomas wins GG fiction award

Winnipeg author Joan Thomas has been awarded the 2019 Governor General's English-language award for fiction for her fourth novel, Five Wives.

The winners of the Governor General's Literary Awards were announced Tuesday morning; each winner in the English and French categories receives $25,000, while each publisher receives $3,000. Five Wives was published in September by HarperCollins.

“It's incredible,” Thomas said on the phone from HarperCollins' Toronto office, where she was doing media interviews following the announcement of the win.

“I woke up this morning to my phone going crazy. I know there are a lot of people in Winnipeg who were cheering for me, and who are very happy, and that just deepens my joy about the whole thing. I was calm at first, but when I walked into the offices here I started crying.”

Prost! Raise a glass to Oktoberfest

As September comes to a close, a pair of local breweries are bringing some serious gemütlichkeit.

For the uninitiated, gemütlichkeit’s a word that doesn’t translate neatly from German to English, but which roughly means friendliness and good cheer.

Both Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.) and Kilter Brewing Co. (450 Rue Deschambault) are hosting Oktoberfest parties this weekend featuring food, music, games and, of course, plenty of beer.

Both breweries are rolling out special releases to coincide with their respective Oktoberfests — expect malty festbiers, marzens, rauchbiers and other German-inspired brews, served up in hefty steins alongside Bavarian-inspired fare. Devil May Care’s festivities run through to Sunday and feature eats by Freebird Kitchen, while Kilter keeps the party going through to Saturday, Oct. 3, and is offering pretzels and Oktoberfest-themed hot dogs. Lederhosen is encouraged.

Winnipeg a character all its own onscreen

Watch something shot in Winnipeg with a Winnipegger, and you will be treated to a live running commentary. We can’t help playing “spot the location.”

When we recognize that field/statue/mall/intersection/theatre, we have to say it. It’s practically civically mandated.

A friend told me she was at a film screening at which people literally applauded footage of the Mint. (That likely would have been 2005’s The Constant Gardener.)

Being excited about seeing Portage Place Mall at Christmastime in the trailer for Violent Night 2 — and then exclaiming, to your husband, “Oh, look, it’s Portage Place Mall at Christmastime!” — is not, I will admit, particularly cosmopolitan behaviour. In fact, I could be accused of suffering from a mild case of Podunkitis.

Vinzenz Geiger rallies, wins Olympic gold in Nordic combined

Horror stories about China’s treatment of Uyghurs gives issue more attention.