Posts by Ken McGoogan
The real magic happens at the Ring of Brodgar
People get excited about visiting Stonehenge, that remarkable series of standing stones just off a major thoroughfare in the south of England. But the real magic happens here in Orkney at the Ring of Brodgar. These standing stones are between 500 and 1000 years older than Stonehenge. And as you can see from Sheena’s photo,…
Read MoreExploring Orkney with a celebrated story-teller
Here’s Our Hero at the Broch of Borwick in Orkney, shortly after a visit to the Brough of Bigging. Both initial B-words are pronounced the same, but the Broch is an iron-age round tower, while the Brough is a fortified headland difficult of access. I say these things on the authority of our expert guide,…
Read MoreDoes anybody recognize this man?
The one in buckskin, standing with Our Hero? He’s proving elusive. As you can see, I managed to lay an arm on him the other night at McMaster University. Fabulous event, by the way, organized by HAALSA (Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art). Superb dinner beforehand at a restaurant called Il…
Read MoreKeriann McGoogan wins Pearson Canada Award
Keriann McGoogan has won a Pearson Canada Award in the Ryerson Publishing Program. The merit award, which carries a $1,000 honorarium, recognizes “academic excellence in completed course work and demonstration of promise in educational publishing.” McGoogan, who holds a PhD in physical anthropology from the University of Toronto, will receive the award at a ceremony…
Read MoreArctic explorer celebrates in Hamilton with Supercrawl
Arctic explorer John Rae is going up against Supercrawl this Saturday night. At first, I felt dismayed. But as a metaphor, a David-and-Goliath, I think the juxtaposition works almost perfectly. Supercrawl is a wildly successful Hamilton street festival that celebrates arts and culture. Last year, it attracted 80,0000 people. What’s not to love? John Rae,…
Read MoreRemembering James Joyce on a lesser anniversary
On this date 109 years ago — September 9, 1904 — James Joyce moved into the Martello Tower in Sandycove, a suburb of Dublin. The place is now a museum — a shrine to some of us — and I snapped the above photo a couple of months ago. Joyce arrived here uninvited, having recently…
Read MoreRocky Mountain High: Yo, Alberta!
Nothing beats a hike from Lake Louise to the Plain of Six Glaciers. See the above photo, shot today by Sheena Fraser McGoogan. But the whole six-day visit was splendiferous. Led by the Clan MacRae, a couple of hundred people turned out to see Our Hero give a slideshow presentation called Return to Rae Strait.…
Read MoreCalgary festivities prove you CAN go home again
Tonight’s the night John Rae turns up in Calgary. The Arctic explorer will be there in spirit, anyway, for my talk at the U of C. The event, sponsored by Clan MacRae, helps kick off the 2013 Calgary Highland Games. Today’s Calgary Herald ran a terrific piece by Chris Nelson, headlined Clan Macrae leads the…
Read MoreThe Great VIA-Rail Book-Launch Extravaganza
OK, that may be putting it a bit grandly. But yes, come October, we propose to launch 50 Canadians Who Changed the World with a cross-Canada, multi-event, book-launch extravaganza. HarperCollins Canada and VIA Rail are co-operating to make this expedition happen. Starting from Toronto on October 12, accompanied by my wife, Sheena, and detraining as…
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