You know when you have a friend coming to town and they say “You gotta show me all the sights! What do you do in your town?” and you list off all the cool and fun things that makes your hometown fun and interesting and exciting?
Well, I’m going to admit today that some of the items that makes New Westminster famous I’ve never experienced. I’ve lived here for almost 15 years (except for that year where we lived just off Cambie and I hated every single second of it) and …

When it comes to registration in “programs of choice” in the public school system, there must be a better way. In New West, we don’t have parents camping out on the sidewalk overnight to be the first in line to register their kids (thank goodness) but our method is still crazy. In New West, instead of having the insanity begin the year before a child enters school, it begins at birth. As soon as you have your child’s birth certificate, you can sign them up for the school and program you hope they will enjoy six years later. You can even sign them up for late French Immersion, 12 years in the future.

At three, every child wants to be a firefighter. Who wouldn’t, what with the sirens and the lights and the ladders and the shiny red fire trucks and the huge boots … nevermind the awesomeness of the firefighters’ helmets.

One year ago, we were facing an epic Vancouver Snowmageddon. This weekend the flurries begin and it’s a good reminder to all to prepare for salting and shovel duty on the sidewalks that line your property. Last Christmas, we ranted about the difficulty faced by those in wheelchairs or pushing strollers (and really, anyone at all) to walk our slippery streets when the snow is left to ice over. Don’t be the one all the neighbours scowl at as they walk past.

The weather we’ve been having lately has prompted me to search my brain a bit to find indoor things we can do here at Chez Arbo. My Nana used to be a whiz with the crafty stuff and I have extremely fond memories of either receiving something she had made, participating in making something with her, or going and checking out what other people had made together with her. I was also a Brownie and a Girl Guide (and later a Pathfinder and a Ranger leader) and so some of …

For those in the aching, angst filled years between 13-18, weekends are often filled with drinking, driving aimlessly around town, attending house parties, and being silly bored. In my youth, I spent countless hours fundraising for a youth centre, but I never did see the creation of a youth drop in centre while I was the age to enjoy it. So when I heard about the groundbreaking of a youth centre at Moody Park, I was excited to see not only the funds already allocated, but stuff actually happening.

When I was a kid, I loved the water – on TV mostly. In real life, it was something to akin to a lurking creature looking to choke the life out of me. I have no idea how I got this fear of water, which had me taking beginner lessons at the late age of thirteen. But, wherever it came from, it’s not a dominant gene passed along by me. My three (almost four!) year old daughter is in love with the water, particularly this summer …

I am having a real problem writing this post. I am a white guy and as my ancestors came to New Westminster in 1909. I am one of the very, veeery few New Westminsterites whose oldsters may have actually participated in active or passive discrimination of Chinese Pioneers in this city’s past.
I fully understand my position in this story but as a bleeding heart liberal and as a BC elementary and secondary student whose history education consisted of French Canadians, Aboriginal Canadians, Chinese Canadians and South Asian Canadians to the …

Recently, commenter and contributor Ruth Seeley mentioned a link to Rick Springate’s website Go See TV, a website that contains fascinating old video footage of New Westminster events, converted into easy to view digital vignettes. This website is a rare treasure trove of nostalgia for all who have lived a life in the Royal City or who are interested in the way lives use to be lived here.
One page of Go See TV exclusively presents footage from most May Day celebrations from 1932 to 1963, all of which were …

I recently related the story of how Ross, my husband, and I met -he lived next door to me in a rented apartment here in New Westminster. I was utterly amazed at the sense of nostalgia that washed over me. That apartment gets shoved to the back of my mind most of the time due to preoccupying baby needs, mortgage payments, strata complexes, and all the other trappings of “adult” life. So I’d like to take a moment to reflect on how fond I am of the old apartment.
 It was one …