Hi Everyone,

I miss you all terribly and have been trying to stay busy so as not to go completely insane while I live on my own.  Without a job or a cottage to visit or a backyard to sit in, I have been walking into High Park every morning, only a 10-minute walk from me.  Thank you God for that park!  It is beautiful and fresh and full of people like me who are receiving all the gifts nature can provide.  I have completed many sketches there.

Back in my apartment, I have been doing some virtual singing with the Church of the Redeemer choir.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyR0nteK06g.  Maybe our church choir could go virtual.   

In addition, I have read many breathtakingly marvelous books lately:

1. ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama;
2. ‘The Splendid and the Vile’ by Eric Larson, about Winston Churchill’s first year in power during the Blitz of London, England;
3. ‘The Mirror and the Light’ by Hillary Mantel;
4. ‘My Dark Vanessa’ by Kate Elizabeth Russell; and
5. ‘Trumpocalypse’ by David Frum

Next on my list are:

1. ‘The Skin We’re In’ by Desmond Cole; and
2. ‘The Vanishing Half’ by Brit Bennett.

Finally, I have been teaching myself to paint thanks to two incredible international artists who offer online courses:

1. ‘Will Kemp Art School.’  He lives in England and teaches acrylics.
2. ‘My Painting Club’ by Richard Robertson.  He lives in New Zealand and teaches oils.

The painting of the orange slices on a blue plate are from Will Kemp’s painting blog.

All my love,

Sandi Hill

RE-VO’s Karaoke Classics (2020) is a gift of love to his family and friends. RKC 2020 features twenty-two songs performed live to multi-track by Mac Reeves (in his basement under CO-VID lockdown), and post-mixed/equalized to ensure balance. Throughout this video album, Mac showcases many vocal tones, often performing in the “style” of a particular singer yet still maintaining his “true” voice, a technique he calls ‘hybrid-vocals’ (eg. part Neil/part Mac). On other songs, we hear Mac doing his own unique “covers” of classic or contemporary songs (ie. “Don’t You Forget About Me,” “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart” or “Someone You Loved.”)

The songs use sophisticated Karaoke tracks developed by professional musicians from around the world, and then, in RE-VO’s home studios, these Karaoke tracks are enhanced/reinforced by RE-VO’s own performances (eg. drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and background vocals) and additional production layers. RE-VO searched the Web far and wide for the best of the best, and these talented artists are first in their class, the wind beneath Mac’s vocal wings on these basement sessions.

View the full playlist here!

Pat and I have assembled a little chamber music project in our living room.

I have always loved this little piece that appears in Bach’s Magnificat.

Originally written with recorder duet, Pat and I can play that – and it is wonderful sounding writing Bach has done. The keyboard part is also manageable so I added that.

Then we added voice and cello to what we had assembled that far. I don’t have a solo voice, but I tried!

I should add that I like the “good news” words from Luke – the starving (destitute?) will be filled with good things, the rich will be sent away empty.

Even if it makes you laugh, it will have accomplished something in these strange times.

Take care. Be well.

Tom & Pat Clark

Click here to view the performance!

photos show the youth making goodies for the Food ministry we are providing at the Church of the Holy Trinity with Toronto Urban Native Ministry. 

In a chat with one of our TSP Communications Group, I was asked to share a brief note about one of my recent activities supporting the FCJ Refugee Center. As some of you may know, I have been helping out over the past 4 years in different capacities at this nearby immigrant center that specializes in assisting the undocumented  not only with legal process advice but also by maintaining a supportive peer community for immigrant families and youth with popular events and providing some of them with Second Harvest food distribution. [On Thursday afternoons I am delivering food hampers to 14 families in the York University/Keele/Jane area

Three weeks ago Francisco Rico (one of the co-directors of FCJ) asked me if I could fabricate ten plexiglass frames to protect the FCJ staff from direct breathing contact with their clients once they resume their in-office interviews [now carried out by phone or Zoom]. “Why not?” I replied innocently.

And with that I began the search for both the 2″ x 2″ pine needed for the frames and the increasingly rare sheets of 2′ x 4′ plexiglass. Both Home Depot and Loews were already cleaned out; nearby New Canadians turned out to be my only supplier (their last sheets!). Then with the occasional help of my 16 year old Spanish immigrant “little brother” Carlos, we cleared out my garage and started to turn out the ten protectors, each custom-built for different configurations of the staff desks. [[Unfortunately too busy to take pictures of that process]

The photos below capture the final stage of delivery to FCJ:

Bob Fugere