Alan Skeoch

Month: July 2022

  • EPISODE 611 “1931…What have you got for 1931 or earlier, ALAN”

    EPISODE 611   “1931…What have you got for 1931 or earlier, ALAN”


    alan skeoch 
    July 10, 2022




    RING RING RNG…

    “Hello, Alan, we’re doing a movie and need tools…kind used by violin makers.”
    “I have some.”
    “Nothing can be later than 1931…The set director is a bit of stickler…”
    “See what can do.  When needed?”
    “Next Wednesday…we will send a truck.”
    “Can you give me an idea of the script?”
    “Two scenes need your kind of things…I’ll send  pictures.”
    “ 1) A violin makers workshop…small tools for fine work…workbench
       2)And a Moonshine makers still….homemade whisky

    Marjorie and I have been providing props and sets for movies now for nearly 30 years.
    We have a lot of things from commercial playgrounds to derelict farm machines and
    everything in between.

    Here are some pictures of the things we assembled to help make the movie set
    look like real life in 1931




    .











    Movie making is a secretive business.  The last thing a movie maker wants is visitors
    or early release of set construction.  Tough for  Art Directors to ever get much recognition,. 
    Set designers are very creative people but often they have to act fast.
       A set is built one day, filmed the next day and demolished
    the following day. Often but not always.  Some sets last a month tucked away in some
    semi hidden location.  Some sets last for years

    Only rarely do Marjorie and I ever see what is done with our things.

    So use your imagination

    The Key?   The year 1931.  

    alan


    Take a look.  Nearly everything here could be used in the movie.

  • EPISODE 610 JAZZ IN THE SUMMERTIME AT BENARES, FRIDAY JULY 8, 2022…The Octokats

    EPISODE 610     JAZZ IN THE SUMMERTIME AT BENARES, FRIDAY JULY 8, 2022


    alan skeoch
    July 8, 2022

    WHAT A privilege to sit in the front row of a jazz concert like no other.  Feels like we are 
    selected to a private concert.  But it is not private .   Every Friday night
    for the rest of the summer there will be music for anyone who can bring a portable chair
    and find a spot on the front lawn of Benares.  Concerts begin at 7 p.m. and end around 9 p.m.
    while the sun is still shining. Get there early if you can.  Cost?  If you are a little short on cash, the night will be
    free.  But it would be better to fork out $10 per person to help keep these concerts
    rolling.   A t half time volunteer Friends of the Museum with baskets will give you the chance to support 
    professional musicians.    

    A DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE EVERY FRIDAY
    NEXT WEEK, July 15…   LAURA FERNANDEZ…pianist, singer, songwriter.

    sponsored by Friends of the Mississauga Museum


    “Marjorie. the Octokats are almost ready.”
    “You could help drag our lawn chairs across the grass.”
    “I am carrying your purse, “
    “How did I ever marry such a person as you”
    “Just good luck.”
    “Where will we put the lawn chairs?
    “Right up front.”
    “Unfold a chair.”
    “Is unfolding difficult?”
    “Not for me, maybe for you”
    “Best you do the unfolding then.”

    “Too busy taking pictures.”
    “Love conquers all, I read somewhere.”

    Then it all began … with the winning smile of the band leader




    This is Roxy, the best behaved person (dog) at the jazz concert.
    Certainly the biggest.





    HOW TO GET TO BENARES…


    Benares Historic House

    • 1507 Clarkson Road North, Mississauga, ON, L5J 2W8
    • Tel: 905-615-4860 x 2110


    History

    Benares Historic House was built in 1857, although parts of the home and several outbuildings date back to 1837. The house was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1977.

    Benares was home to four generations of the Harris and Sayers families. Today, more than 95% of the artifacts on display are original to the Harris family and the home. These include furniture, dishes, letters and pictures.

    The house and most of its contents were donated by the great-grandchildren of Captain Harris (Geoffrey Harris Sayers, Dora Sayers Caro and Barbara Sayers Larson). It was restored to reflect daily life in the World War One era and opened to the public as a museum in 1995.

    Why Benares

    Varanasi, also known as Benares or Banaras, is a city in northern India on the banks of the Ganges River. It’s the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism and also played an important role in the development of Buddhism.

    The original owner and builder of Benares Historic House in 1835 was Edgar Neave. He named the property “Benares”. At the time, naming a property after a travel destination was common practice.


  • Fwd: EPISODE 608 …HOME CHILDREN..”OUR GUTTER CHILDREN CARTOON

    EPISODE 608      GIN, WHISKY AND CHILD ABUSE  — DARK ENGRAVING

    alan skeoch
    July 2, 2022

    Ron N. asked me to find the articles I wrote about the Home children.  Found on episodes 398 and 399.

    At the same time this engraving popped up but was not printed as an Episode.  Notice the connection between alcohol
    and child abuse.   If you want more graphic material on the Home Child movement then consult
    Dr. Barnardo…the trail you will then follow will be upsetting. Be warned.

    SOME readers will remember this cartoon.  Others will find it new.

    The full story of the abuse and more abuse of the Home Children has yet to be told.  Perhaps I should
    tell all I know and put others on the trail.   It will not be a pleasant unravelling.   One summer I flew to
    Liverpool and was given access to some of the records.   What an eye-opener … I could have spent
    a lifetime there.  But my access was terminated as I have no family root in the Home Child story.

    I did learn more than I wanted to know about Alfred de brissic
     Owen however. (spelling ?)  Strange that his role in the Home Child movement in Canada
    has never been explored.   Nasty.

    alan


    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE …HOME CHILDREN..”OUR GUTTER CHILDREN CARTOON
    Date: July 31, 2021 at 12:49:25 PM EDT
    To: John Wardle <jwardle@rogers.com>, Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>, Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>



  • Fwd: EPISODE 608 …HOME CHILDREN..”OUR GUTTER CHILDREN CARTOON

    EPISODE 608      GIN, WHISKY AND CHILD ABUSE  — DARK ENGRAVING

    alan skeoch
    July 2, 2022

    Ron N. asked me to find the articles I wrote about the Home children.  Found on episodes 398 and 399.

    At the same time this engraving popped up but was not printed as an Episode.  Notice the connection between alcohol
    and child abuse.   If you want more graphic material on the Home Child movement then consult
    Dr. Barnardo…the trail you will then follow will be upsetting. Be warned.

    SOME readers will remember this cartoon.  Others will find it new.

    The full story of the abuse and more abuse of the Home Children has yet to be told.  Perhaps I should
    tell all I know and put others on the trail.   It will not be a pleasant unravelling.   One summer I flew to
    Liverpool and was given access to some of the records.   What an eye-opener … I could have spent
    a lifetime there.  But my access was terminated as I have no family root in the Home Child story.

    I did learn more than I wanted to know about Alfred de brissic
     Owen however. (spelling ?)  Strange that his role in the Home Child movement in Canada
    has never been explored.   Nasty.

    alan


    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE …HOME CHILDREN..”OUR GUTTER CHILDREN CARTOON
    Date: July 31, 2021 at 12:49:25 PM EDT
    To: John Wardle <jwardle@rogers.com>, Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>, Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>



  • EPISODE 607 BUYING TRACTORS — DID I MAKE A MISTAKE?



    EPISODE 607    BUYING TRACTORS — DID I MAKE  A MISTAKE?





    alan skeoch
    July 5, 2-22

    We paid $2100 for a 1946 Case Model D tractor.  That must have made some eyes roll  
    Stupid is as stupid does, as Tom Hanks said in the movie. Keith Seabrook was the last owner
    before us but there were many owners in the past.  Originally this 1946 Case had been
    use to drive the great steel blade of a sawnill distantly north of us.  It was still running smoothly
    and son Andrew put it to work right away setting up his bee yard.

    Who cares?  Well I care.  This Case D cost about $600 in 1946.  Does not sound like much, does it?
    Well in 1946 a good wage was $2,600 per year  Enough money to buy more than 4 tractors if
    a person did not eat, pay a mortgage, dental bills, taxes…the whole ball of wax.



    Case IH Puma 140-175 tractors refined and refreshed for 2022 | LECTURA Press


    case puma specs, big discount UP TO 60% OFF - <a href=www.iraqi-datepalms.net” data-noaft=”1″ style=”margin: 0px;” apple-inline=”yes” id=”884E9883-6348-46CD-84CE-114322338832″ src=”https://alanskeoch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/4wd-tractors-puma-175-cvx-case-ih2.jpg”>
    Models vary in price

    Then Serendipity happened yesterday.  Tractor seredipity.  An unpredictable coming together of disparate events.

    1 ) I Dropped in to pay a local farmer for a
    sack of red clover seed for andrew’s bees.  $212.  Just to pass the time I mentioned the
    old 1946 Case.

    “Cost us $2,100…USED, really used for …76 years  ”
    Then Bert got really interesting.
    “We just bought a used Case tractor too”
    “How much did you pay?”
    “65,000…one year old”
    “What would a new Case cost?”
    And Bert disappeared for a moment then came back with a FIGURE
    “Brand new, it would cost you $105,000 for the model we bought.
    …other models go up as high as $150,000 I would guess.”

    2 ) Review of Facts
    -Cost of Case D in 1946 – $600
    -Price paid for Case D in 2022  – $2,100
    -Price paid by Bert (farmer) in 2022 for 1 year old 2021 Case Tractor 
    -Price Beret would pay for new Case tractor in 2022    $195,000

    3) How could a farmer afford to buy a new tractor?

    Average annual income in Canada in 2022 is $54,630
    Average FARM income in Canada in 2022 id $38,250 per year
    Value of crops    $3,000 per acre (Optimum)

    4) How does Bert, manage to buy tractors, combines, grain trucks
    …food, electricity, cell pones…the whole ball of wax.?

    “How much land do you harvest each year?
    “About 12,000 acres”
    ‘Wow! How is that possible?
    “We rent land from owners.”
    “Why is so much land available?”

    “No farmer can live on the old 100 acre farm.  Yes there are a few exceptions,  But most  Farm owners  rent the  land to us 
    because they can no longer afford to farm.  Better jobs in the city.””

    THE BIG QUESTION

    Was a Case Tractor cheaper in 1946 ar $600
    than a new Case Tractor today at $105,000 ?

    OF course this is a stupid comparison….the old 
    Case was …. (you finish it)

    The new Case can…(.you finish it)

    alan