Amanda Jeffery, Free Press
Local author Jeff Crawford has released another book. The author is known for his previous novel Dreamshaper, which was released October 2009. This book, though, is aimed toward a younger audience.
Mr. Pratt’s Coffee Mug was released in August 2020. Crawford said he was inspired by one of his teacher’s coffee mugs when he was growing up. “His coffee mug was absolutely disgusting, to the point where you could smell it half-way across the classroom,” says Crawford.
He says the mug was a frequent topic of conversation amongst the students. The more he thought about it, Crawford said he started wondering what kind of creature would grow inside a mug like that.
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In the book, a creature escapes the mug, but only one student sees it. The story is about the student dealing with the critter before it wreaks too much havoc.
“This one is my first illustrated book,” says Crawford, who is now a teacher at Drayton Valley’s HW Pickup School. He says the age group it’s aimed for is about seven or eight years old. “At the end of it there’s a bunch of learning activities as well.”
Crawford says the illustrations for the book are one of his favourite parts. At one point a former student of his, Shae Skelton, reached out to him. “She just wanted to say thank you for the time we had in class, and she drew a little portrait of me because she was doing some digital artwork.” He says they ended up chatting and he learned that she was taking art classes in college.
When he got the rights for Dreamshaper back from the publishing company, he asked her if she could come up with a mock cover for Dreamshaper and he was impressed with the results. “The cover she drew me for Dreamshaper was far better than the one I got with my old publishing company,” he says. With the cover she provided, Crawford self published Dreamshaper.
If you’re a teacher who has just headed back to school I have some bad news. Facebook says you’ve been doing it wrong. Or, to be more specific, you’ve been teaching the wrong stuff.
According to something I read on the social media platform, the education system is teaching kids the wrong subjects. And it has been for years.
Facebook obviously wouldn’t just allow someone to publish something without rigorous fact checking. That would be grossly irresponsible. So we have to assume there’s a degree of existential truth to the list of Subjects that Should Be Mandatory in Schools, but I’m not sure what.
I won’t bore you with the full rundown but it includes things like home maintenance, insurance, coding, balancing a cheque book and public speaking.
Wait, what?
Balancing a cheque book was an important skill back around 1990. These days it’s as much use as knowing how to change a roll of fax paper or memorizing your best friend’s phone number.
Keeping up with home repairs is a great thing and you’ll save a bunch of money if you can do them yourself, but as a subject it’s a little vague. Are we talking about changing a lightbulb or pouring a concrete slab for your deck? It would be good to know because one of these things is not like the other.
Insurance? I don’t even know what that means. Sure it can be an expensive mistake if you wind up overinsured. And it can be an even more expensive mistake if you wind up under insured. But I’m not clear on how they’re supposed to teach that in schools when there are so many variables and every case is going to be different.
Coding would be a very worthwhile skill in an increasingly computerized world, but I’m not sure it’s something we all need to be good at, the same as we don’t all need to be doctors, airline pilots or electricians.
And public speaking? Well, don’t schools already teach that? Isn’t that the point of every presentation you were asked to make in front of the class from Grade 1 show and tell onwards?
So if I was a teacher I’d ignore what Facebook says and stick to what I’m doing. You see a lot of criticisms of the high school curriculum, but the standard, traditional subjects have stood us in good stead. Sure, you don’t necessarily end up using everything they teach you in school once you enter the real world. After almost fifty years I’m still waiting for a Frenchman to approach me on the street, say “bonjour” and ask me how old I am or what the time is, but I’ll certainly be prepared if it ever happens.
And the other stuff, reading, writing and arithmetic, is still as important as it ever was. Yeah, we all carry a calculator with us these days, but if you’re trying to figure out whether 600 grams of cheese for $7.22 is a better deal than 450 grams for $5.07, you still have to know how to ask the question before your phone can give you the answer.
Teaching things like that is what school’s for. I hope that never changes.
A local woman has made it to the top after losing the most weight and was named the TOPS Queen for 2026.
Seventy-eight-year-old Pat Thoreson has been a member of the not-for-profit weight-loss club, Take Off Pounds Sensibly, since 1984. After losing the most weight in Alberta this year, Thoreson was crowned the TOPS Queen last May.
“I started out with a weight problem when I was growing up, so I’ve spent a lot of years at it,” she says.
Since she joined TOPS, Thoreson has lost 72.25 lbs, though she says most of the loss was over the past couple of years.
Prior to joining TOPS, Thoreson had tried out a number of different groups in an attempt to achieve results, but with little success. She says she would lose a little bit of weight, but then would gain it back.
Living near Winfield, Thoreson would meet with the club in Bluffton. From spring to the fall, Thoreson would drive herself to the club every week. Over the winter, Thoreson’s husband would drive her so she wouldn’t have to drive in the dark.
As much as the group was about losing weight, the social aspect was also appealing. She says the club was extremely supportive, and she formed a bond with the members, which was one of the reasons that kept her motivated to return.
“We take turns doing programs, and we have contests. It’s just a good support club,” she says. “That has been another thing that has gotten me to this point.”
One of the women Thoreson met was Violet Schmidt, who was Queen in 1995, and the two became very close.
“Over the years, she was one of the best supporters that I’ve ever had,” she says.
Unlike other groups, Thoreson found the approach of TOPS refreshing. Each week there was a weigh-in for the members, similar to other organizations, but they focused on making healthy food choices rather than food or calorie restriction.
“It’s a food exchange,” says Thoreson. “It’s not that you can’t eat certain foods; you just think about the amount of calories and that type of thing.”
She says they allow themselves to eat the food, but just remain conscious of how much and how often they ate it.
It’s also cheaper than many other programs. To join TOPS, there is an annual fee of $49 USD. Thoreson says her club, which has since relocated to Hoadley, also charges a $5 fee for each meeting to cover the costs of the coffee and rental space. Other than that, there are no fees for information packages and no meals that have to be purchased.
Thoreson says the biggest weight loss came after she received an award for being part of the club for 40 years.
“I thought, ‘40 years and I haven’t really done a whole bunch,’” she says. “That’s one of the things that kind of shook my memory that this was why I was really here, not just to visit.”
She says she lost weight at a healthy pace and was able to keep it off thanks to the information she had from the group and the exercise regime that she stuck to.
“On Mondays, [my husband and I] would floor curl in the afternoon. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do chair exercises for one hour in Buck Lake on Tuesdays and Winfield on Thursdays. Then on Thursdays I would walk for three-quarters to an hour at Winfield as well,” says Thoreson.
As a Queen, Thoreson says she would like to advocate the importance of healthy choices to people.
“A person can do it if they just stop and think about what they’re eating and what they should be eating,” she says. “Even though it took me 42 years, I still go there. It’s not like you have to do it all of a sudden.”
Thoreson says she hopes people will hear her message and make time to attend a meeting at a nearby club to see what the organization is all about.
More information about the program can be found at www.tops.org.
I remember when I let my kids walk to school alone for the first time. I stood in our big front window waving, and blowing kisses fighting the urge to jump in my car and follow them. I told myself repeatedly that if I didn’t get a call from the school wondering where they were, they must have made it safely and they did.
The route to school from our home on 54th Ave was pretty calm for the most part except for three crossings. The first was crossing the road that the old pool was on from west to east. There was no cross walk and it had some blind spots. People often picked up speed while driving and I would really hammer it into the kids’ heads “Stop, look and listen! Then get eye contact.” The other two crossings closer to St. Anthony School did have traffic lights, however some drivers liked to make that right hand turn while they were looking left. Again “Eye contact!” I wanted my kids to know the responsibility of being a pedestrian, after all we lived in town and walking was something we did often. I never wanted them to implicitly trust that the driver saw them, or wasn’t distracted. They needed to be predictable and patient for drivers. That first walk happened three years ago and my, how times have changed.
Whereas, before I directed much of my annoyance and outrage at drivers, now it’s the “pedestrians,” who aren’t actually on foot. I’m talking about people on an e-anything who zip and zoom from sidewalk to the roads, and who don’t make eye contact, don’t act predictably and generally are not respecting the rules of the road or the sidewalk.
Do I sound like a Karen? I hope so.
A few weeks ago I was walking to the library from the office, and there was a truck at the fourway stop to my right. I made eye contact, looked both ways and proceeded to walk. Then out of the blue to my left, an electric scooter came off the sidewalk onto the road, cut off my path of walking and zipped through the intersection, without stopping thereby cutting the truck off too. In this one instance not only could the person have hit me, but the truck that was ready to proceed could have gunned it and hit him.
Seinfeld is my mindless pleasure. There’s one episode I just watched where Kramer got into blows with a baseball player over a ball cleaning violation on the golf course. Jerry thought he was being too strict with the rules. Kramer’s response. “Hey, a rule is a rule and let’s face it without rules…there’s chaos.” This is what the roadways and sidewalks seemed to have devolved into, utter chaos.
So despite the fact that the current laws on electric anything are murky, and scooters shouldn’t be used off of private property, here they are. And while I would love to deliver the typical PSA to drivers, that says “Hey it is back to school, please watch out for pedestrians.” I also want to shout out. “Hey it’s back to school, please make sure your kids know the rules of the road, how to be a respectful pedestrian that acts in a predictable manner around vehicles, and non-motorized pedestrians! Please!!! For the love of…”
I am not just being a Karen on this one and I would like to put the general reminder that not more than a few years ago we had an e-scooter death in this very town when a scooter driver hit a pedestrian, knocking him down resulting in injury causing death.
So on one hand I would like all drivers to be aware of the pedestrians out on the sidewalk this school season but also, pedestrians or hybrid pedestrians please also do your due diligence and watch for traffic, and be predictable. Lets make sure everyone gets to where they are going in a boring and uneventful way this school year.
The Drayton Valley Thunder are getting ready to hit the ice for the pre-season, and head coach Jeff Truit says there will be some changes this year.
Truit, who is in his second season of coaching the team, says there were some lessons to be learned last year.
“I knew that this was a tough league coming in, and with a younger group,” he says. “We learned a lot of lessons in how we have to play and how we have to approach things.”
Truit says it wasn’t anything earth-shattering for him; he was aware there could be some improvements the team needed to work on when he started.
There were a lot of first-year players on the team last year, and so there was some inexperience to contend with.
“I thought last year that we got out-competed at times,” he says.
Heading into camp this year, Truit says they are focusing on bringing in more skill and speed, and they are also looking for bigger players.
“It’s going to be a very competitive camp. I think our scouts have done a tremendous job with the quality of players we’ve got coming in,” he says.
The coaches will be keeping an eye out for some of the taller players with more muscle mass this year. Truit says there is a place for every size of player, but he wants a team that’s a balance of players who are six feet or more and have power and the smaller guys who have the speed.
One of the areas that he saw needed to be improved was their game against the boards. He says the team needs to be able to win those battles. When the players head into that situation, there is a mental aspect to the win. Truit says sometimes size can affect how the player acts in the corners.
“We’re not sacrificing skill because these guys do have skill,” he says. “We look at that being a real positive for our team.”
Truit says there is a fire within every athlete regardless of their size, and each one has to work within the team to make it a success.
A lot of the recruits have worn letters on their jerseys from their past teams. Truit says even though these past leaders are coming into a new level of hockey, they know how to prepare for games and are less likely to get overwhelmed.
“They are very mature young men,” he says. “The nice thing about it is they’ve been leaders, they’ve had to take care of their teams and set the example on and off the ice.”
Truit says last year was a tough year, but as the players have come back, he sees a new level of focus. He says their attitudes have always been great, but they are willing to take on the responsibility of taking the team to another level.
“They know we have to improve,” he says. “They know that the pressure is on. They seem to have grasped that, and that speaks to the quality of their character.”
Truit says there is a mental aspect to the game that the players have to master as well.
“[As an athlete] you have to take it upon yourself to raise that level, and that’s a mindset that you’ve gotta come into,” he says. “And it just feels like now they are going to get it done.”
Truit says he sees the increase in the drive from the players, and he’s really excited about what the upcoming season will bring.
While the role of the captain on the team is an important one, Truit says they are all expected to help with the leadership.
“I care about the collective unit rather than just the captains,” he says.
Truit says one of the best things that fans can do to help the team is to fill the seats during games. He says it can be very intimidating for the opposing teams coming in to hear the cheers for the home team.
He says he believes the fans will be proud of the improvements that have been made to the area, including the taller glass, new clock, and screen. The atmosphere will be different.
“The fans here in Drayton Valley can be a very intimidating group when they’re loud and they’re cheering and supporting that way,” he says. “They did a great job for us last year.”
When I first got into the advertising and sales side of the newspaper I didn’t know anything about anything. But I did know I wanted to make sure that we built our clients effective ads specific to newspaper marketing.
“Newspaper friendly” advertising is a stand alone subset of advertising, just like every social network has their own specs for effective digital advertising, and billboards have their requirements, and radio has their requirements. Newspaper ads that follow certain specs are more effective.
Why is this important for you to know? Because with the rise of AI, we have been getting many AI posters as graphic design submissions for advertising. As a jumping off point for our graphic designer this is fantastic intel, however as a carbon copy ad, these posters are not always newspaper friendly.
A few basic tips I share with people when they are considering submitting a draft design are these:
White space! Newspapers need white space. Too much of everything leads to a whole lot of nothing for the eye to focus on. White space allows your prospective clients to see your important messaging from a distance and draws them in closer to see more once interest is piqued.
Font size. The Free Press type font is 9pt. Advertising should be larger than this. In some cases much larger.
Font contrast. A dark font on a lighter background is the easiest to read. This is why newspapers are black font on white paper. Again this takes us back to white space.
These are the basics that I let people know about. This may mean that your newspaper ad is not a carbon copy of your promotional poster.
But our brand! You might protest.
Branding does not mean placing the same identical ad across multiple mediums. Branding requires you to ensure the big picture aspects of your company are included in all advertising such things like: colours, typeface, image themes etc.
You wouldn’t put a very detailed poster on a billboard would you? No. People driving at 70km per hour don’t have time to read all of the information. But you may put the same headline, with the same colour and similar imagery with a big bold company name. Social media advertising favours not just images but videos – branding may appear in the beginning and end of the video.
If you do choose to draft your ad graphics in AI here are some prompts I pulled from Gemini you could use in that will help make your ad specific to the newspaper medium:
Newspaper prompt guidelines from Gemini
1. Demand High Contrast and Grayscale Clarity
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“High contrast, strong key lighting, bold outlines, optimized for black and white print, crisp grayscale separation.”
Note: you can reference the same but in colour, the colour contrast will be more defined.
2. Enforce Simple Compositions and Ample Negative Space
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Minimalist background, single clear focal point, uncluttered design, generous empty negative space for text overlays.”
3. Choose Graphic or Vector Styles Over Hyper-Realism
Phrase to include in your prompt:
“Flat vector art style, clean graphic illustration, sharp edges, print-ready layout, high-legibility design.”
One of the services the Free Press provides is graphic design. Our graphic designer on staff, has worked in marketing and has a degree in graphic design. She has a keen eye and great understanding of the importance of typeface, layout, and focal point. If you draft your poster initially in AI send it our way to be rendered into a newspaper friendly format. Provide us with a png or pdf file, unflattened so we can adjust to make sure you are getting the best ad that will catch the most eyeballs.
The fact is the wrong ad style for the wrong medium is ineffective no matter the marketing platform you use. Over at the Free Press, advertising is part of the full newspaper package and we want your ads to be as interesting and eye catching to our readers as our editorial headlines.
Last Friday the Evansburg Inn was entered into the annals of history by the Beer Parlour Project, which has been making a photographic documentary of historic hotels across Western Canada.
Chris Doering, Rob Pohl, and Doering’s wife Connie Biggart are the founders of the Beer Parlour Project, which aims to record the history of hotels that were the focal point of their community when they were first built. The group wants to capture the essence of the building using a combination of digital and vintage flash photography of the building and the community of people who use it.
“My friends and I are history photographers,” says Doering. “So we go around and document historic buildings, machinery, or whatever the case may be.”
While they were out in the field working, they were often in rural areas. Often there were hotels in the community, some of which were still original structures from the first half of the 20th century, and they would stop in for lunch.
“Right under our noses is all these really interesting hotels with really interesting stories,” says Doering.
The trio started the project in 2022 and have been to about 50 rural establishments since then. Their goal is to visit 100 older hotels across Western Canada so they can publish a coffee table book. They’ve already secured an exhibit at the Alberta Art Gallery in 2028, which they are excited about.
The Beer Parlour group started their weekend on a Thursday at the Colinton Hotel in Colinton, Alberta. From there they drove to Evansburg on Friday, and on Saturday they stopped in at the Warburg Hotel and Saloon.
Though Doering, Biggart, and Pohl all have full-time jobs, this project is their main hobby. The group is funding their project on their own, though they are looking for some arts grants to help cover some expenses. As such, they try to get as many stops in as possible if they have to travel any distance.
Doering says they pick areas to focus on each time they are planning to work on their project. Once they have the area and have selected the hotels, they look into the history of the building and its relationship to the community. They also consider the cultural side of things and how people are involved in the history of the building.
“They’re really little hidden gems,” says Doering. “Outside appearances can be deceiving.”
Doering’s role in the project is digital photography, research, and handling most of the interviews.
“You hear some really amazing stories,” says Doering. “Some hilarious, heart-breaking — you name it.”
Pohl focuses on taking photos, often on his vintage tri-pod camera, and he also helps with some of the writing for the website.
While Pohl’s camera isn’t the best camera for the project, he uses it because he prefers to develop the pictures in his darkroom. It also provides a great ice breaker as patrons come up and ask him questions about it.
“It’s funny, the expectations of people now, especially the younger generation. [They say] ‘Can I see the back of the camera? What does the picture look like?’” says Pohl.
He says people are often shocked that it will take a month for the picture to be developed, but they always offer to send them a complimentary picture when it’s ready.
Pohl says now that they’ve been to a few different bars, had their stories told in the paper, and have been interviewed for television and radio, they can show that they are credible and have a legitimate project that they are working on. This could make it easier to secure grants to help cover some expenses, and it could also make it easier for them to get their work published in a book.
It hasn’t always been easy for them to get people to trust them. For the most part, owners have allowed them to come in, take some photos, and talk to people; however, some have turned them away.
“There is always a little suspicion because they think we’re either gonna portray their place as a dump and try to make fun of it, which we’re not. We’re trying to celebrate it, get people aware of these [places] and out there to enjoy them,” says Pohl. “We don’t use any images or take any pictures in a way to portray it in that light, so we’ve got to get that understanding in place.”
The other suspicion owners sometimes have is that the Beer Parlour Project is going to charge them for the work they are doing, which has never been the case.
The owners of the Evansburg Inn, Christine and Diane Maskell, say they were happy to participate in the project because they believe it’s important for small towns to be recognized and supported.
“Some people don’t even go off of Highway 16, and when they go to these small communities, they’re amazed at what they can find in them,” says Christine.
Christine and her mother-in-law, Diane, have owned the Evansburg Inn for nearly 26 years, and it was only recently that Christine decided to close the bar down on Sundays. Prior to that, she had been working every single day to keep the place going while raising five kids.
The best memories Christine and Diane have are of the people they’ve met along the way. The history of their time running the bar is tied to their memories of their patrons and friends.
Currently, Christine, Diane, Christine’s daughter Lindsey, and her daughter-in-law, Jacey, run the place.
“We do get along really good, honest to God,” says Diane. “They say that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law don’t get along, but we do.”
The family run business has seen its ups and downs. Their family lost a grandson, son, brother, and husband when Robbie Maskell passed away in 2022.
But still, the women have continued to serve their loyal customer base. Christine is a Jill-of-all- trades, but she doesn’t touch the electrical. She does, however, handle the maintenance for the rest of the building.
“If it’s broken, she’ll fix it,” says Diane.
Over the years, their bar has been known as a place of respect.
“I say, if you respect the place, then I’ll respect you,” says Christine.
In the time they’ve owned the place, there have only been a handful of fights.
Diane recalls a time when Christine had to step in to keep the peace one night.
“There was going to be a fight — this was a few years ago. There was a regular sitting at the bar, and [Christine] knew he was going to go after [another patron]. She jumped over the bar and grabbed him, and hung onto him like you wouldn’t believe,” says Diane.
The bar has become a memorial for some. A bench outside the Inn was placed there in Robbie’s honour, and inside, there is a column filled with messages for a loyal patron who passed away.
“He used to sit in that spot,” says Christine. “He did a lot of plumbing work and help for us over the years we were here, and he suddenly passed away.”
They held a memorial service for Jerry Lee, and his family asked if they could write messages on the wall. Christine pointed them to the area where Jerry always sat, and Jerry’s family and friends left messages for him there.
Several years later, those messages are still preserved, and Jerry is still remembered.
“He had some nieces and nephews that were five or six years old. They’re 18 now and they come in, and they so appreciate that we still have [the messages],” says Christine. “A couple of weeks ago his daughter came in, and she brought her daughter in and they were talking about it. It’s kind of nice.”
Pohl and Doering’s only regret with this project is that they didn’t start sooner. Many old hotels have been closing down in recent years.
“We’ve kind of missed the boat in a way. We should have started a decade sooner and we could’ve gotten a lot more, but we’re going to have no problem hitting 100,” he says.
The group is also really enjoying working on the project, and Pohl thinks they might push past 100 simply because they enjoy it.
More information about the Beer Parlour Project can be found at www.beerparlourproject.com.
Once she’d done that, Crawford continued to keep in touch with her and they started discussing Mr. Pratt’s Coffee Mug. “So all of the illustrations are actually done by Shae Skelton,” says Crawford. Skelton, he says, used to live in Drayton Valley but has since moved to pursue her academic goals. Crawford says he’s working with her right now on another illustrated book he hopes to release in the near future.
While it’s been a few years since Crawford released Dreamshaper, he says he has a few that he’s been working on. Two of them are stand alone novels that he has queried out. He’s also working on the sequel to Dreamshaper, which he says will be self-published like the first in the series.
The term empty nester has been around for about 110 years and is used to describe the lonely feeling parents have when their children grow up and leave the house.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking about what it would be like to be on my own. I have never lived by myself. When I was a single mom, there were definitely moments when it felt that way, but most of my choices were made with my children in mind. I didn’t feel free to just do whatever I wanted.
Having been a parent since I turned 20, I always kind of dreamed about what it would be like once my kids were grown. I would only have to clean up after myself. I didn’t have to listen to YouTubers screaming about video games anymore or listen to Ariana Grande’s voice in Sam and Cat.
No more parent-teacher interviews. No more non-urgent emergencies that I have to drop everything and attend to just in case. No more refereeing and enduring my children’s consequences when their electronics were taken away.
I love my children more than anything else, but I have to say, it honestly sounded fantastic.
Well, that day has come, and I’m afraid all the hobbies that I have developed in preparation for this day might not be enough.
There was a point when my kids were little and my parents lived a flight away, and sometimes they would go stay with my parents for a few weeks. I would be excited to clean their rooms and put everything away. After it was cleaned, I would close the door because it was weird to see the room so clean.
I imagine it’s going to be like that again. I will keep myself occupied, of course. I still have my work, I still have my dogs, and I have friends and family that I will spend time with. It will just be weird to come home and not be able to interact with another person.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m comfortable being by myself, and sometimes I really need it to recover from having my time occupied with social events. It’s my way of recharging my battery.
I also know that people who avoid any socialization have a 30-60 percent higher chance of developing dementia. So as much as spending time with others can exhaust me, it’s a matter of health and well-being.
But let’s be clear.. I’m not only spending time with people so that I don’t have cognitive issues in the future. I really enjoy spending time with the people I love, and I’m often excited to do so. I just need some recovery.
With the kids gone, every day will be my recovery period, and I think I’m going to be spending more time out and about just to get that fix. Getting that human interaction will be very important for me health wise and for my sanity.
I think I’m going to have to change my perspective on the term empty-nester. It’s not necessarily something to dread or be sad about. It’s an opportunity to create a unique, peaceful space that you can rest in after a day of spreading your wings and learning who you are in this next part of your life.
The new CAO for Drayton Valley brings with him experience in a municipal leadership role. He also brings many years of military experience to the position.
Troy Grant was appointed CAO at a special council meeting held on July 8. On a municipal level, Grant worked at Sturgeon County as the General Manager of Public Services.
During his time with the military, Grant earned the Canadian Forces’ Decoration for his years of service.
He originally started at the Town in March 2026, acting as the Town Services Manager. Getting a promotion this early on was not something he had anticipated.
“I didn’t come to the town anticipating becoming anything more than the general manager of town services,” says Grant.
Now that he has stepped into the new role, Grant says he’s excited to work with the staff he’s come to know.
“This is an opportunity that lends itself nicely to my classic training through the military… I’m super excited about it.”
One of the skills needed for the position of CAO is leadership, which is something he developed as a logistics officer in the military. Grant was responsible for organizing supply chains, personnel, finances, and transportation to ensure Canadian troops around the world had what they needed to operate smoothly.
“The CAO ultimately needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team and then employ those things with reinforcing those strengths and weaknesses to achieve the objectives that council and the people of Drayton Valley need,” says Grant. “That’s exactly what army leaders do.”
One of the first things Grant wants to handle is the Town’s organizational chart, with the goal of making it more clear to staff, council, and the public. Council will also have the opportunity to give feedback, says Grant, because he plans to run it by them before making it official.
He says he’s really enjoyed working with council over the past few months.
“Our current council is so open to innovation and creativity,” says Grant. “I think something we all need to wrap our heads around is that we have a new council. They’ve been in place for less than a year, but they’ve already demonstrated flexibility of thought, creativity, and aggressive policy changes.”
Another project that they have been working on is reviewing the way they handle contracting. Grant says he wants to be sure that it’s being done properly and is beneficial to the community, rather than costly or a hindrance.
At the end of the day, this position is about service for Grant, which is something he’s proud of.
“I’m fundamentally a service guy. I’m about serving people; serving Canadians. My whole career has been that. I guess for me, it’s the next chapter in service to Canadians, so I’m excited about that,” says Grant.
Another area that excites him is “moving the yardsticks progressively” for Drayton Valley.
“Being part of figuring out the path forward in a meaningful way, in a leadership way, with this council and the team that we have,” he says.
He says he would like the municipality to be seen as a place where people want to work. Where they are respected and know that the work they do matters.
One of the questions council had for Grant was how long he imagined he could stay in his role as CAO. Given the turnover of the past ten years, one of their concerns was the stability of the role.
Grant says he plans to stick around as long as they will have him. He will eventually retire, though, and he says he will be putting together a succession plan with the hope that the next CAO can come fully qualified from in-house.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to support the town and become the leader of a team that I already believe in,” he says.
Carol Vowk, the chair of the board for the Drayton Valley Community Health Foundation, said when they first heard about the opportunity for the eSIM lab, they were in the middle of a project for a room in palliative care. She said the foundation decided to table the idea, keeping it in mind for the future once they had completed the renovations.
However, when the Town initiated the Grow Your Own program, they decided to go for it.
“The future came upon us really, really quickly,” said Vowk.
While they were planning for the eSIM lab, they completed their renovations for the palliative care room. The space now includes a wheelchair accessible shower, which they didn’t have previously.
“We can accomplish great things when our community comes together,” said Vowk.
Following the speeches and ribbon cutting, attendees were able to watch a demonstration of the lab put on by RN students and hospital staff.
What do I like? Thanks for asking. I like loads of things.
I like beer. I like wine, especially if there’s some fresh bread and a nice piece of cheese to go with it. I like playing golf. I like holidays somewhere sunny.
One feature those things have in common is that they cost a bit. So one of the things I like the most is money, because it makes all the other stuff possible.
And this ought to be a good time for folks like me, because as of now (yes, right now) the provincial government is giving a $100 energy rebate to each and every Albertan who meets some fairly loose criteria. I tick all the boxes. You probably do too.
Over 18 (check)
Alberta resident (check)
Filed taxes in 2025 (check)
Annual income less than $225,000 (you’re kidding, right?)
So far so good. But that’s the easy part. You have to have one of those MyAlberta online accounts to apply. I do have an account, but I have no idea whatsoever what the password might be. And as for my user name? Well, if I could remember stuff like that I’d probably be working in a circus somewhere as Mysterio the Memory-Man. On top of that, so far there have been reports of a number of hiccups in the application process, so that things are neither tickety nor boo. I mean, I can probably figure something out, but it starts to feel like quite a lot of work for not much reward.
Now I don’t want to complain about free money. Because free money is the best kind of money there is. Back when I was a lad you could feed a family of eleven on steak and lobster every day for a week on a hundred bucks and still have enough left to buy a small airline.
But those days are gone. It feels like $100 doesn’t go that far these days, because it doesn’t. Just yesterday I filled up with gas (we have a fairly small car) and then bought a couple of bottles of wine and bam! Just like that, 200 bucks gone. So that was the rebate for my wife and I taken care of before it even hit our bank account.
Don’t get me wrong. Getting an extra hundred bucks is a lot better than not getting an extra hundred bucks. And it’s orders of magnitude better than, for example, losing a hundred bucks. Still, as cash bonanzas go, this one feels like a bit of an anticlimax. You cannot make $100 into a huge pile and roll around in it naked. And if you try you’ll probably look pretty stupid.
This is all a bit of a downer, but hope springs eternal. And happily there are things that I like that don’t cost money. Things like sitting on the deck in the sunshine or going for a walk, both of which I have already done today.
Perhaps I should focus on things like that for the next little while. At least until I can remember that damn password.
Change is on the way to Drayton Valley’s arena.
The facility, which was rebranded as the Team Auctions Centre last year, will see upgrades valued at $1 million thanks to a contribution from an anonymous donor.
In recognition of the funding, the Total Works Gym will be renamed as the Thunder High Performance Centre.
Changes within the building will see the installation of new safety glass around the main ice surface and the addition of a four-panel digital video board. Additional upgrades will include drillable net pegs to improve safety and Alberta Junior Hockey League standards compliance, removal of side netting to enhance sight lines and improve the fan experience, an upgraded camera system to support game presentation and broadcasting and replacement dasher boards, coordinated alongside planned board repairs.
The upgrades were announced last week in a joint statement from the Drayton Valley Thunder, the Town of Drayton Valley and the Drayton Valley Community Foundation.
“The Team Auction Centre is where our community comes together,” said Kevin Young, President of the Thunder. “This project reflects what we can accomplish through partnership. These upgrades will create better opportunities for our athletes and fans and a stronger experience for everyone who walks through these doors.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds said that the $1 million contribution, along with the renaming of the gym, would leave a lasting legacy in the community.
“The much-needed upgrades to the facility will not only enhance opportunities for residents and visitors, but also strengthen a space that brings our community together. We are incredibly proud to stand alongside the Drayton Valley Thunder and the Drayton Community Foundation in recognizing this transformative moment.”
Nothing in the last 50 years has quite matched the feeling I got waking up one July morning in 1976 and realizing I wouldn’t have to so much as think about simultaneous equations for the next six weeks.
Life’s had its ups and downs since then, but I’ve never quite recaptured that burst of excitement you get when school’s out for summer and, with the entire holidays ahead of you, it feels as if it might as well be out forever.
All this week I’ve been watching kids walk down our street making their way between the twin attractions of the skatepark and 7/Eleven. Some are tall, some are short. Some are in groups, others in pairs or alone. The main thing they have in common is that they all seem pretty happy.
And they should be. But I wonder if they realize this is as good as it gets. They’re young, they’re healthy, it’s the first week of summer vacation. It’s all downhill from here.
What with bullying, the pressure to conform and the potential horrors of social media, it would be foolish to assume that teens don’t have problems of their own, because some of them quite obviously do. But for the happy majority it’s a question of perspective. It’s not that your teenage years are completely carefree. I know this because I am a former teenager. When I was that age my main concerns were wondering if I’d have enough money to buy the new ABBA album when it came out, trying to catalog my stamp collection and wishing I could figure out how to talk to girls without sounding like an absolute numpty. I’m still working on that last one as it happens. Meanwhile my brother, who’s a couple of years older than I am, spent most of the mid-1970s in front of the mirror trying to make sure his hair was perfect and becoming increasingly furious when it failed to remain exactly in place. It’s all fallen out now, so the joke’s on him.
So anyway, I want to wish all the kids who are off school a long and happy summer. I hope they have the chance to make memories that will last a lifetime. It’s a horrible cliche to say that your school days are the happiest days of your life. And like most cliches, it’s not always accurate. But as Ferris Bueller once said, life moves pretty fast. So it’s important to make the most of things right now, before they are gone forever.
I never did get that ABBA album. My stamp collection is still stuffed haphazardly into a couple of fading envelopes. My school days are the best part of half a century behind me. If I was to tell one of those kids who walk past our house how quickly the time has gone they’d think I was delusional, or bonkers, or both. But it’s no exaggeration to say that sometimes 1976 seems like yesterday. And yet here we are. Half a century later and I’m still not entirely sure what you’re supposed to do with simultaneous equations.
Have a great summer kids, and take time to enjoy the ride.
Off-highway vehicles are not allowed on public municipal property in Drayton Valley, whether they are electric or not.
Cody Rossing, the senior manager of community safety for the Town, says that there have been some complaints about e-dirt bikes being used in town and he wants to educate the public about the legislation surrounding electric micro-mobility devices.
“At the end of the day, these e-dirt bikes are considered by the Province of Alberta to be an off-highway vehicle,” says Rossing.
Like other OHVs, owners have to follow the regulations around ownership and use of the vehicle, and the rules don’t change if the vehicle happens to be electric.
“There is a minimum age of 14 to operate any off-highway vehicles. You need registration and you need insurance if you are operating on roadways,” says Rossing. “You do need a helmet if you are on the roadways as well.”
Along with provincial legislation, residents are required to follow the Town’s bylaws. Like many municipalities, OHVs are not permitted to be used within Drayton Valley’s public areas. This includes roads, sidewalks, walking trails, green spaces, and any other publicly accessible areas. The only exception is if it is being used on private property, such as an acreage within town limits.
Rossing says that while many people are only learning about e-dirt bikes now, the Province has had legislation in place for more than 15 years.
“It’s not something that all of a sudden the provincial government or the municipal government has come up with in the last couple of months. It has been very well established several years ago,” he says.
One issue that has come up when these micro vehicles are used in town is the lack of noise. E-dirt bikes and other micro vehicles don’t make a lot of noise, so residents don’t hear them coming. While this might happen with regular bicycles or scooters if someone isn’t paying attention, the real danger lies in how fast the vehicles can go.
Most e-dirt bikes have a top speed that ranges from 50 kph to 130 kph. It’s dangerous enough to have an accident with an e-bicycle, which can get up to speeds between 32 kph and 45 kph, but an accident with an e-dirt bike could be deadly.
“There are huge safety issues that come with that,” says Rossing. “It’s one of those things where we want adults and we want kids to have fun, but it’s got to be done safely.”
He says that enforcement services have been responding to complaints and have spoken to a few individuals about the rules, and they will continue to do so.
Rossing says those who are not happy with the legislation surrounding OHVs can either write to the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, the Honourable Steve MacKinnon, or their local MLA.
“Ultimately my goal is always to be a full-time writer and to be able to bring that into the classroom,” he says.
Crawford also has a collection of three short stories that have been released called Tales From Mardell: Volume 1. Two of those stories were previously published in magazines. He says anyone looking to get a signed copy of Mr. Pratt’s can contact him at jwcdreamshaper@gmail.com. Crawford also has a website that promotes other local authors called FauphTalk Fiction, which can be visited at www.fauphtalkfiction.com
The term empty nester has been around for about 110 years and is used to describe the lonely feeling parents have when their children grow up and leave the house.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking about what it would be like to be on my own. I have never lived by myself. When I was a single mom, there were definitely moments when it felt that way, but most of my choices were made with my children in mind. I didn’t feel free to just do whatever I wanted.
Having been a parent since I turned 20, I always kind of dreamed about what it would be like once my kids were grown. I would only have to clean up after myself. I didn’t have to listen to YouTubers screaming about video games anymore or listen to Ariana Grande’s voice in Sam and Cat.
No more parent-teacher interviews. No more non-urgent emergencies that I have to drop everything and attend to just in case. No more refereeing and enduring my children’s consequences when their electronics were taken away.
I love my children more than anything else, but I have to say, it honestly sounded fantastic.
Well, that day has come, and I’m afraid all the hobbies that I have developed in preparation for this day might not be enough.
There was a point when my kids were little and my parents lived a flight away, and sometimes they would go stay with my parents for a few weeks. I would be excited to clean their rooms and put everything away. After it was cleaned, I would close the door because it was weird to see the room so clean.
I imagine it’s going to be like that again. I will keep myself occupied, of course. I still have my work, I still have my dogs, and I have friends and family that I will spend time with. It will just be weird to come home and not be able to interact with another person.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m comfortable being by myself, and sometimes I really need it to recover from having my time occupied with social events. It’s my way of recharging my battery.
I also know that people who avoid any socialization have a 30-60 percent higher chance of developing dementia. So as much as spending time with others can exhaust me, it’s a matter of health and well-being.
But let’s be clear.. I’m not only spending time with people so that I don’t have cognitive issues in the future. I really enjoy spending time with the people I love, and I’m often excited to do so. I just need some recovery.
With the kids gone, every day will be my recovery period, and I think I’m going to be spending more time out and about just to get that fix. Getting that human interaction will be very important for me health wise and for my sanity.
I think I’m going to have to change my perspective on the term empty-nester. It’s not necessarily something to dread or be sad about. It’s an opportunity to create a unique, peaceful space that you can rest in after a day of spreading your wings and learning who you are in this next part of your life.
The new CAO for Drayton Valley brings with him experience in a municipal leadership role. He also brings many years of military experience to the position.
Troy Grant was appointed CAO at a special council meeting held on July 8. On a municipal level, Grant worked at Sturgeon County as the General Manager of Public Services.
During his time with the military, Grant earned the Canadian Forces’ Decoration for his years of service.
He originally started at the Town in March 2026, acting as the Town Services Manager. Getting a promotion this early on was not something he had anticipated.
“I didn’t come to the town anticipating becoming anything more than the general manager of town services,” says Grant.
Now that he has stepped into the new role, Grant says he’s excited to work with the staff he’s come to know.
“This is an opportunity that lends itself nicely to my classic training through the military… I’m super excited about it.”
One of the skills needed for the position of CAO is leadership, which is something he developed as a logistics officer in the military. Grant was responsible for organizing supply chains, personnel, finances, and transportation to ensure Canadian troops around the world had what they needed to operate smoothly.
“The CAO ultimately needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team and then employ those things with reinforcing those strengths and weaknesses to achieve the objectives that council and the people of Drayton Valley need,” says Grant. “That’s exactly what army leaders do.”
One of the first things Grant wants to handle is the Town’s organizational chart, with the goal of making it more clear to staff, council, and the public. Council will also have the opportunity to give feedback, says Grant, because he plans to run it by them before making it official.
He says he’s really enjoyed working with council over the past few months.
“Our current council is so open to innovation and creativity,” says Grant. “I think something we all need to wrap our heads around is that we have a new council. They’ve been in place for less than a year, but they’ve already demonstrated flexibility of thought, creativity, and aggressive policy changes.”
Another project that they have been working on is reviewing the way they handle contracting. Grant says he wants to be sure that it’s being done properly and is beneficial to the community, rather than costly or a hindrance.
At the end of the day, this position is about service for Grant, which is something he’s proud of.
“I’m fundamentally a service guy. I’m about serving people; serving Canadians. My whole career has been that. I guess for me, it’s the next chapter in service to Canadians, so I’m excited about that,” says Grant.
Another area that excites him is “moving the yardsticks progressively” for Drayton Valley.
“Being part of figuring out the path forward in a meaningful way, in a leadership way, with this council and the team that we have,” he says.
He says he would like the municipality to be seen as a place where people want to work. Where they are respected and know that the work they do matters.
One of the questions council had for Grant was how long he imagined he could stay in his role as CAO. Given the turnover of the past ten years, one of their concerns was the stability of the role.
Grant says he plans to stick around as long as they will have him. He will eventually retire, though, and he says he will be putting together a succession plan with the hope that the next CAO can come fully qualified from in-house.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to support the town and become the leader of a team that I already believe in,” he says.
Carol Vowk, the chair of the board for the Drayton Valley Community Health Foundation, said when they first heard about the opportunity for the eSIM lab, they were in the middle of a project for a room in palliative care. She said the foundation decided to table the idea, keeping it in mind for the future once they had completed the renovations.
However, when the Town initiated the Grow Your Own program, they decided to go for it.
“The future came upon us really, really quickly,” said Vowk.
While they were planning for the eSIM lab, they completed their renovations for the palliative care room. The space now includes a wheelchair accessible shower, which they didn’t have previously.
“We can accomplish great things when our community comes together,” said Vowk.
Following the speeches and ribbon cutting, attendees were able to watch a demonstration of the lab put on by RN students and hospital staff.
What do I like? Thanks for asking. I like loads of things.
I like beer. I like wine, especially if there’s some fresh bread and a nice piece of cheese to go with it. I like playing golf. I like holidays somewhere sunny.
One feature those things have in common is that they cost a bit. So one of the things I like the most is money, because it makes all the other stuff possible.
And this ought to be a good time for folks like me, because as of now (yes, right now) the provincial government is giving a $100 energy rebate to each and every Albertan who meets some fairly loose criteria. I tick all the boxes. You probably do too.
Over 18 (check)
Alberta resident (check)
Filed taxes in 2025 (check)
Annual income less than $225,000 (you’re kidding, right?)
So far so good. But that’s the easy part. You have to have one of those MyAlberta online accounts to apply. I do have an account, but I have no idea whatsoever what the password might be. And as for my user name? Well, if I could remember stuff like that I’d probably be working in a circus somewhere as Mysterio the Memory-Man. On top of that, so far there have been reports of a number of hiccups in the application process, so that things are neither tickety nor boo. I mean, I can probably figure something out, but it starts to feel like quite a lot of work for not much reward.
Now I don’t want to complain about free money. Because free money is the best kind of money there is. Back when I was a lad you could feed a family of eleven on steak and lobster every day for a week on a hundred bucks and still have enough left to buy a small airline.
But those days are gone. It feels like $100 doesn’t go that far these days, because it doesn’t. Just yesterday I filled up with gas (we have a fairly small car) and then bought a couple of bottles of wine and bam! Just like that, 200 bucks gone. So that was the rebate for my wife and I taken care of before it even hit our bank account.
Don’t get me wrong. Getting an extra hundred bucks is a lot better than not getting an extra hundred bucks. And it’s orders of magnitude better than, for example, losing a hundred bucks. Still, as cash bonanzas go, this one feels like a bit of an anticlimax. You cannot make $100 into a huge pile and roll around in it naked. And if you try you’ll probably look pretty stupid.
This is all a bit of a downer, but hope springs eternal. And happily there are things that I like that don’t cost money. Things like sitting on the deck in the sunshine or going for a walk, both of which I have already done today.
Perhaps I should focus on things like that for the next little while. At least until I can remember that damn password.
Change is on the way to Drayton Valley’s arena.
The facility, which was rebranded as the Team Auctions Centre last year, will see upgrades valued at $1 million thanks to a contribution from an anonymous donor.
In recognition of the funding, the Total Works Gym will be renamed as the Thunder High Performance Centre.
Changes within the building will see the installation of new safety glass around the main ice surface and the addition of a four-panel digital video board. Additional upgrades will include drillable net pegs to improve safety and Alberta Junior Hockey League standards compliance, removal of side netting to enhance sight lines and improve the fan experience, an upgraded camera system to support game presentation and broadcasting and replacement dasher boards, coordinated alongside planned board repairs.
The upgrades were announced last week in a joint statement from the Drayton Valley Thunder, the Town of Drayton Valley and the Drayton Valley Community Foundation.
“The Team Auction Centre is where our community comes together,” said Kevin Young, President of the Thunder. “This project reflects what we can accomplish through partnership. These upgrades will create better opportunities for our athletes and fans and a stronger experience for everyone who walks through these doors.”
Mayor Nancy Dodds said that the $1 million contribution, along with the renaming of the gym, would leave a lasting legacy in the community.
“The much-needed upgrades to the facility will not only enhance opportunities for residents and visitors, but also strengthen a space that brings our community together. We are incredibly proud to stand alongside the Drayton Valley Thunder and the Drayton Community Foundation in recognizing this transformative moment.”
Nothing in the last 50 years has quite matched the feeling I got waking up one July morning in 1976 and realizing I wouldn’t have to so much as think about simultaneous equations for the next six weeks.
Life’s had its ups and downs since then, but I’ve never quite recaptured that burst of excitement you get when school’s out for summer and, with the entire holidays ahead of you, it feels as if it might as well be out forever.
All this week I’ve been watching kids walk down our street making their way between the twin attractions of the skatepark and 7/Eleven. Some are tall, some are short. Some are in groups, others in pairs or alone. The main thing they have in common is that they all seem pretty happy.
And they should be. But I wonder if they realize this is as good as it gets. They’re young, they’re healthy, it’s the first week of summer vacation. It’s all downhill from here.
What with bullying, the pressure to conform and the potential horrors of social media, it would be foolish to assume that teens don’t have problems of their own, because some of them quite obviously do. But for the happy majority it’s a question of perspective. It’s not that your teenage years are completely carefree. I know this because I am a former teenager. When I was that age my main concerns were wondering if I’d have enough money to buy the new ABBA album when it came out, trying to catalog my stamp collection and wishing I could figure out how to talk to girls without sounding like an absolute numpty. I’m still working on that last one as it happens. Meanwhile my brother, who’s a couple of years older than I am, spent most of the mid-1970s in front of the mirror trying to make sure his hair was perfect and becoming increasingly furious when it failed to remain exactly in place. It’s all fallen out now, so the joke’s on him.
So anyway, I want to wish all the kids who are off school a long and happy summer. I hope they have the chance to make memories that will last a lifetime. It’s a horrible cliche to say that your school days are the happiest days of your life. And like most cliches, it’s not always accurate. But as Ferris Bueller once said, life moves pretty fast. So it’s important to make the most of things right now, before they are gone forever.
I never did get that ABBA album. My stamp collection is still stuffed haphazardly into a couple of fading envelopes. My school days are the best part of half a century behind me. If I was to tell one of those kids who walk past our house how quickly the time has gone they’d think I was delusional, or bonkers, or both. But it’s no exaggeration to say that sometimes 1976 seems like yesterday. And yet here we are. Half a century later and I’m still not entirely sure what you’re supposed to do with simultaneous equations.
Have a great summer kids, and take time to enjoy the ride.
Off-highway vehicles are not allowed on public municipal property in Drayton Valley, whether they are electric or not.
Cody Rossing, the senior manager of community safety for the Town, says that there have been some complaints about e-dirt bikes being used in town and he wants to educate the public about the legislation surrounding electric micro-mobility devices.
“At the end of the day, these e-dirt bikes are considered by the Province of Alberta to be an off-highway vehicle,” says Rossing.
Like other OHVs, owners have to follow the regulations around ownership and use of the vehicle, and the rules don’t change if the vehicle happens to be electric.
“There is a minimum age of 14 to operate any off-highway vehicles. You need registration and you need insurance if you are operating on roadways,” says Rossing. “You do need a helmet if you are on the roadways as well.”
Along with provincial legislation, residents are required to follow the Town’s bylaws. Like many municipalities, OHVs are not permitted to be used within Drayton Valley’s public areas. This includes roads, sidewalks, walking trails, green spaces, and any other publicly accessible areas. The only exception is if it is being used on private property, such as an acreage within town limits.
Rossing says that while many people are only learning about e-dirt bikes now, the Province has had legislation in place for more than 15 years.
“It’s not something that all of a sudden the provincial government or the municipal government has come up with in the last couple of months. It has been very well established several years ago,” he says.
One issue that has come up when these micro vehicles are used in town is the lack of noise. E-dirt bikes and other micro vehicles don’t make a lot of noise, so residents don’t hear them coming. While this might happen with regular bicycles or scooters if someone isn’t paying attention, the real danger lies in how fast the vehicles can go.
Most e-dirt bikes have a top speed that ranges from 50 kph to 130 kph. It’s dangerous enough to have an accident with an e-bicycle, which can get up to speeds between 32 kph and 45 kph, but an accident with an e-dirt bike could be deadly.
“There are huge safety issues that come with that,” says Rossing. “It’s one of those things where we want adults and we want kids to have fun, but it’s got to be done safely.”
He says that enforcement services have been responding to complaints and have spoken to a few individuals about the rules, and they will continue to do so.
Rossing says those who are not happy with the legislation surrounding OHVs can either write to the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, the Honourable Steve MacKinnon, or their local MLA.
The most wonderful time of the year
Oh boy oh boy oh boy! It’s summertime and the living is easy, just like the song says. August is on the horizon, and what better way to kick off the last full month before the onset of autumn than with a long weekend? All weekends are good.
An empty nest is bittersweet
The term empty nester has been around for about 110 years and is used to describe the lonely feeling parents have when their children grow up and leave the house.
Town CAO looks ahead
The new CAO for Drayton Valley brings with him experience in a municipal leadership role. He also brings many years of military experience to the position.
Troy Grant was appointed CAO
These are a few of my favourite things
What do I like? Thanks for asking. I like loads of things.
I like beer. I like wine, especially if there’s some fresh bread and a nice piece of cheese to go with it. I like playing golf. I like holidays somewhere sunny.
