Blatchford Park, Edmonton

I’ve learned that the former Edmonton Municipal Airport site redevelopment is going to include a large urban park named after my great grandfather, Kenneth Blatchford.

My mother’s grandfather, he was the mayor of Edmonton when the airport was opened in 1926, and it was named after him, as he was instrumental in its creation. It was the first municipal airport in Canada, important for the bush pilots in the north (including one of his sons, who went on to become a fighter pilot in WWII, with the RAF).

http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/news/2012/visionary-redevelopment-of-airport-lands-honours-former-mayor.aspx 

Maureen

Writer-Maureen vs Admin-Maureen

Once again I’m not-writing-because-I-have-a-cold.

However, oddly, as I recover (except for the endless hacking-up-a-lung cough), I have energy and focus for the admin work I ignore because I hate it, oh, I hate I hate it! But somehow, this week, while I’m not writing, I’m able to dig through all the detritus of a writer’s life (and it is endless!), sorting, filing, mailing, planning, organizing. I’m scaring myself with how much I’m getting done.

Who is this person?

I can’t wait for Writer-Maureen to return, but I know she will be very happy Admin-Maureen was here. Because she’ll have a clean desk to work at, and can ignore all paperwork, once again.

Maureen

YABS AGM

Yesterday was devoted to the Young Alberta Book Society AGM. The day began with a road trip to Lacombe with writer Jan Markley and illustrator Carolyn Fisher. Then an afternoon of sessions, including a walk with Nicole Luiken when we discussed what we do to become better as writers ­– we swapped tips on our favorite workshops, books on writing, and YA books. I did my spiel on Scrivener, and made a few converts, I suspect. The afternoon ended with cake celebrating YABS’s 30-year anniversary, complete with story-telling and awards for the best stories in 10 absurd categories. YABS exists to put writers, illustrators and storytellers into Alberta schools, and there were some wild stories. If there’d been a sniffling sneeezing coughing award I would have won, hands down. I won a better award, though, for raison-d’etre – why we do school visits ­– when I talked about finally connecting with a reluctant writer, on the last day of my writer-in-residency this spring. Then we dove into the annual pot-luck feast, hosted by Georgia Graham.

I feel full of comradery, after spending time with friends and newly met writers and illustrators and storytellers, inspired to keep connecting with kids through our stories.

Maureen