Alan Skeoch

Month: August 2023

  • EPISODE 868 KITTEN, CALLED CHELSEA BUN, IS A SPORTS FAN

    EPISODE  868    KITTEN, CALLED CHELSEA BUN, IS A SPORTS FAN


    Alan skeoch
    august 8, 2023

    When she is not sleeping on top of our dog Woody, our new kitten called Chelsea Bun
    enjoys watching and playing baseball and tennis.




  • EPISODE 868 DRONES ARE LIKE “BG BIROTHER” WATCHING US ALL…WHEN WE DO NOT KNOW IT


    EPISODE 868  EPISODE 868     DRONES ARE LIKE “BG BIROTHER” WATCHING US ALL…especially  WHEN WE DO NOT KNOW IT

    alan skeoch
    august 7,2023

    “Is that a hawk hovering over us?”
    “Nope Grandpa, that is a drone…and it has a camera taking pictures of our campsite”
    “How high can it fly?
    “Straight up like a UFO…hundreds of feet…so high it is almost invisible.”
    “What is it doing  now?”
    “photographing us at our campsite”
    “Who controls the drone?”
    “Aiden does…he is sitting right beside us.”
    “Must be heavy”
    “Not so….as light as a plastic toy car…drones are toys, becoming more and more common.
    “Toys?”



    A FEW THOUGHTS

    1) How have drones affected human privacy?
    2) Could a drone be used to locate Andrew’s bee hives?”
    3) Could a drone be used  by thieves?
    4) ) etc etc etc  (think about it!!)
    5) Could a drone be helpful if our kitten gets away from us?
    6) Could drones jeopardize populations of wild animals?
    7) Last year a herd of cattle escaped and could not be found for days….
    could a drone be used in searches…rescues  It took several days to find
    the herd…could a drone have discovered the herd with ease?
    8) Can drones this size be armed as they are in the Ukraine?
    9) Could drones eliminate army use of Reconnaissance soldiers…or could drones help reconnaissance??   Or both
    10) Are drones a threat to human freedom?

  • Fwd: EPISODE 867 DEAN FULTON…SOUL MUSIC AT BENARES AUGUST 4, 2023 (BILL WITHERS “AIN’T NO SUNSHINE”, WILSON PICKETT “MIDNIGHT HOUR”)



    Begin forwarded message:


    From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>
    Subject: EPISODE 867 DEAN FULTON…SOUL MUSIC AT BENARES AUGUST 4, 2023 (BILL WITHERS “AIN’T NO SUNSHINE”, WILSON PICKETT “MIDNIGHT HOUR”)
    Date: August 6, 2023 at 9:24:42 PM EDT
    To: john Wardle <jwardle@rogers.com>, Wanda Hall <chowmeinpanda@icloud.com>, Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>, Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.cm>


    EPISODE 867    DEAN FULTON…SOUL MUSIC  AT BENARES  AUGUST 4, 2023 (BILL WITHERS “AIN’T NO SUNSHINE”, WILSON PICKETT “MIDNIGHT HOUR”)


    alan skeoch
    august 4, 2023


    THIS IS DEAN FJULTON…absolutely magnetic performance of Soul Music
    on Friday August 4 at Benares.   Sorry most of you missed the performance
    but an overflow crowd of 300 brought their lawn chairs and were mesmerized 
    by Dean Fulton (vocals an keyboard, Carl De Sousa (Bass), Abe Nagy (Drums)
    and Jason Rabitaille (guitar)


    Every Friday evening during the summer a Mississauga group of volunteers
    have booked Musicians to perform in the open air from th veranda of
    Benares.   Bring your own lawn chair.

    BILL WITHERS

    LEAN ON ME
    bill withers






     ‘Ain’t No Sunshine” written by Bill Withers hits listeners with hard blow.  “Ain’T No Sunshine when she’s gone”’ is Soul
    music that reaches into the depths of human emotions.   Who has not lost someone  whose sunshine made life
    worth living? 



    Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
    It’s not warm when she’s away
    Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
    And she’s always gone too long
    Anytime she goes away

    Wonder this time where she’s gone
    Wonder if she’s gone to stay
    Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
    And this house just ain’t no home
    Anytime she goes away




    THESE PICTURES TELL IT ALL




    LOTS OF FRIENDS WERE THERE such as  My brother Eric Skeoch, Shaymus Stokes (High Park Curling Club) and John Wardle (Chairman of the 
    Castlefield Institute.   And many more friends of Marjorie’s.   No words necessary…enjoy The pictures and the lyrics.


  • EPISODE 866 REAL TRAPPER’S CABIN as found in 1957

    EPISODE 866   REAL TRAPPER’S CABIN as found in 1957


    alan skeoch
    august 4, 2023



     The Trapper’s cabin was a surprise discovery by our crew in 1957.  There were no trails
    to the cabin.  No tree blazes.  Seemed to be used for winter access although the cabin was on the banks of a small stream
    that ultinatey flowed into the mighty Groundhog River which emptied into James Bay en route to the Arctic.

    The cabin was primitive …. one door and one window.  Door closed but window smashed wide open perhaps by a
    ber smelling a carcass.   Inside was room to sleep and a place to sit beside a hand made table although the signs of 
    life were hard to decipher since the sod roof had leaked for some time.

    I wish I had taken the time to photograph the interior but my try Brownie camera would not have
    captured much and most can be deduced by rotting remains in the cabin exterior.  I seem to remember spikes on the wall
    of the cabin where the trapper stopped skins from bodies.  There were some skeletal remains on the ground
      But little else.

    Some disaster may have happened because we came across places where the trapper had set his traps and 
    just loft them.   Some had the carcasses of small animals such as beaver or muskrat.  Left to suffer death
    in  leg hold trap.   Leg hold traps  are now illegal.  Quick death traps are better.  Better for whom?

    What were we doing in the wilderness in the first place?

    Briefly put we were searching for magnetic ore bodies located in the bed rock deep
    bellow the overburden of spruce, birch, poplar and cedar that clothed a section of Canada’s boreal foesrt in the 
    untracked (except for the trapper)  wilderness east and west of the Groundhog River of Northern Ontario.

    Floyd Faulkner, Bob Hilkar, Walter Helstein and I were the ground team.  We had air photos that gave odd readings
    by airborne magnetometer that had to be checked and perhaps staked.  Highly secret work.

    Today this is all done by helicopters in a few days,  For us it would take all summer and a good part of September.
    Lots of blood, sweat and tears.  Amend that no tears but lots of blood lost to bugs and axe cuts…and lots of sweat.

    Noone would  ever believe how tough that job turned out to be.  Worst thing was when Walter sipped on a log and impaled his
    hand on a sharpened tag alder picket.  Weather turned bad and it took several days before a plane could reach us.  His hand got
    infected but we cold nothing for him.  We never saw
    Walter again.

    Over the years I gathered a good pile of trappers goods……traps, bear skin coat, moose skulls with antlers, assored skulls, 
    stretching boards ,blazing axes, beaver skins, canoes etc. etc.   Lucky we did,  Murdoch Mysteries Film crew needed all
    we had last month.

    P.S.   My moosehead skull and antlers were brought home from the Groundhog River job.




  • EPISODE 866 REAL TRAPPER’S CABIN as found in 1957

    EPISODE 866   REAL TRAPPER’S CABIN as found in 1957


    alan skeoch
    august 4, 2023



     The Trapper’s cabin was a surprise discovery by our crew in 1957.  There were no trails
    to the cabin.  No tree blazes.  Seemed to be used for winter access although the cabin was on the banks of a small stream
    that ultinatey flowed into the mighty Groundhog River which emptied into James Bay en route to the Arctic.

    The cabin was primitive …. one door and one window.  Door closed but window smashed wide open perhaps by a
    ber smelling a carcass.   Inside was room to sleep and a place to sit beside a hand made table although the signs of 
    life were hard to decipher since the sod roof had leaked for some time.

    I wish I had taken the time to photograph the interior but my try Brownie camera would not have
    captured much and most can be deduced by rotting remains in the cabin exterior.  I seem to remember spikes on the wall
    of the cabin where the trapper stopped skins from bodies.  There were some skeletal remains on the ground
      But little else.

    Some disaster may have happened because we came across places where the trapper had set his traps and 
    just loft them.   Some had the carcasses of small animals such as beaver or muskrat.  Left to suffer death
    in  leg hold trap.   Leg hold traps  are now illegal.  Quick death traps are better.  Better for whom?

    What were we doing in the wilderness in the first place?

    Briefly put we were searching for magnetic ore bodies located in the bed rock deep
    bellow the overburden of spruce, birch, poplar and cedar that clothed a section of Canada’s boreal foesrt in the 
    untracked (except for the trapper)  wilderness east and west of the Groundhog River of Northern Ontario.

    Floyd Faulkner, Bob Hilkar, Walter Helstein and I were the ground team.  We had air photos that gave odd readings
    by airborne magnetometer that had to be checked and perhaps staked.  Highly secret work.

    Today this is all done by helicopters in a few days,  For us it would take all summer and a good part of September.
    Lots of blood, sweat and tears.  Amend that no tears but lots of blood lost to bugs and axe cuts…and lots of sweat.

    Noone would  ever believe how tough that job turned out to be.  Worst thing was when Walter sipped on a log and impaled his
    hand on a sharpened tag alder picket.  Weather turned bad and it took several days before a plane could reach us.  His hand got
    infected but we cold nothing for him.  We never saw
    Walter again.

    Over the years I gathered a good pile of trappers goods……traps, bear skin coat, moose skulls with antlers, assored skulls, 
    stretching boards ,blazing axes, beaver skins, canoes etc. etc.   Lucky we did,  Murdoch Mysteries Film crew needed all
    we had last month.

    P.S.   My moosehead skull and antlers were brought home from the Groundhog River job.