France, Aug. 8th, 1917
Dear Old Lily,

I'm afraid I have only myself to blame for the fact that I haven't had a letter from you for ages and ages ~ perhaps you have even forgotten me ~ have you? You won't be cruel enough to say so even if you had ~ I know.
But we have been pretty much on the go over here lately and somehow it seems much harder to write these days. Mother is always "strafing" me because I don't write home often enough.

We are in a much more unsettled sort of state than we were last year. Then we were in one part of the line and had regular towns in and out. Now we are on the move nearly all the time. By the way ~ perhaps you didn't know it but there really is [underlined] a war on over here!

But I say, Lily dear ~ I think that you might have been kind enough to write to me again. You know that I do love to get your letters ~ and your time isn't wasted that you spend on them ~ Besides, you know ~ if you help to keep the "troops" cheerful, you are helping to win the "wa-ar." But I shouldn't strafe you, should I? You have always been so good to me and I'll be lucky if you haven't quite forgotten me! Is it too much to hope that you are keeping a wee corner of your heart[illegible] for me? It would be something very precious and I should indeed be luckly....With ever so much love, Bassell.

Actual letter saved between the pages in one of Lydia (Mrs. Drew) Thompson's books.

"Somewhere in France, April 27/17," the letter begins:

Dear Lily, Just a few lines to let you know that I am still "alive and kicking" and to ask why I have been so neglected lately? There hasn't been a letter from you for ages and ages! Guess you must have forgotten me entirely this time. I would have written to you before but things have been too busy for much letter-writing these days over here. And it was up to each one of us to put our whole energy into the affair. Now that the first part's over, we are having a bit of a rest.
I wonder if you are having lovely sunny spring days in England. Over here we have had a lot of wet and cold weather but lately it has turned warmer and we are all feeling so much better. During the first of "the push" it was most miserable in some ways. In fact, the "weather man" did his best to drown us out and then to freeze us. We had quite a brisk snow storm and as we were living in shell holes etc., with plenty of mud and water, things weren't the most comfortable. But the men are fine ~ always cheerful and happy. I'm afraid that the above looks as though I was grumbling ~ [underlined] I'm not doing so at all. We had the time of our lives. But we do grumble when our friends forget to write to us! Now that was very cruel of you Lily dear! Just at the time when things are fairly rough for us! I wonder what you have been doing lately. Are you back in town again? It is so long that I don't believe I even know whether you are still in My Lady Frayle [A musical play]. I think you were the last time you wrote. I hope that your foot has been better and that you have been having a good time lately. Give my regards to May and to the rest of the family ~ and look here, Lily dear ~ you just get busy now and write a nice long letter to me! Wish there was some chance of leave again ~ but it seems further off than ever just now. Well, I must stop. Cheer-Oh, Lily dear,
With lots of love Bassell.
P.S. Don't forget that letter. [underlined] Please write.

Actual letter saved between the pages of one of Lydia (Mrs. Drew) Thompson's books. Tomorrow: A letter from Bassell, dated Aug. 8th, 1917.

On Thursday, November 11, we will lay wreaths at the base of the cenotaph and observe a moment of silence ~ surrounded by veterans. Remembering the hundreds of thousands who served in the First and Second World Wars, Korea, on UN missions, NATO and in Vietnam and now Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lest we forget, let us wear our red poppies. Honour these brave individuals and recognize that Canadian soldiers and civilians continue to serve around the world today.

Thought for Today ~

Army doctor, John McCrae from Guelph, Ontario, wrote the beautiful poem In Flanders Fields, honouring the many who did not return home from the First World War. Wild poppies sprang up in the muddy fields where they fought and fell.

Today, the poppy remains a symbol of support for our war veterans. The Royal Canadian Legion distributes a lapel-poppy to be worn over our hearts. The proceeds help veterans and their families.

(For larger image of poppies, click on photo.)

Haldimand - Norfolk ~ On-the-Block

Virtually all the land the province owns in Haldimand and Norfolk


"What most people didn't realize was that the Ontario government had also put virtually all the land the province owns in Haldimand and Norfolk counties on the table for consideration. Among the land, owned by the Ontario Realty Corporation; that was on the block were the Sprucedale Correctional Centre in Simcoe, the former OPP station on Highway 3, an assortment of salt domes throughout the area, a huge assembly of land near Dunnville, and the old Cayuga courthouse."

"This was all put on the table in negotiations," [Toby] Barrett says. "It's in Hansard."

"...the various salt domes and ministry of transportation yards along [Highway] No. 3 and the former OPP station," Barrett says, "they're perfect locations for smoke shacks, that kind of stuff."

Exerpts from Christie Blatchford's HELPLESS Caledonia's Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us. p. 113, Doubleday Canada, 2010.

Dr. Marshall's History of Haldimand County

"...The last and most vigorous defender of the rule of law was overturned and effectively silenced" writes Author Christie Blatchford in her most recent book, HELPLESS Caledonia's Nightmare of Fear And Anarchy, and How The Law Failed All of Us.

Blatchford praises Judge Marshall for trying to uphold the law during the Douglas Creek Estates occupation. After numerous attempts to restore law and order, Judge Marshall was found in an appeal court to have been "within his discretion to have kept calling the parties back to his court for updates, and to have asked the OPP and the government to report publicly on the exercise of their respective operational and prosecutorial authority. But, the judges said, Marshall had gone "further than he should have" in reviewing both OPP and government conduct."

Blatchford quotes Dr. Marshall's son, Albert, who is also a lawyer, "When this matter in Caledonia came before him, he had a choice. He could take the easy road and [accede] to the Crown's requests and ignore the rights of a few. If he had done this, no one would have faulted him....Instead, he chose to stand up for what he believed was right. When he did this, he was very much alone."

To read about the Haldimand County that the late Ontario Superior Court Judge David Marshall lived in and loved, pick up Dr. Marshall's History of Haldimand County, available at The Neat Little Bookshop in Cayuga.

A comprehensive and concise history of the area surrounding the Lower Grand River that empties into Lake Erie.

"On Man, on Nature, and on Human Life, Musing in solitude ~

"On Man, on Nature, and on Human Life,

Musing in solitude, I oft perceive

Fair trains of imagery before me rise,

Accompanied by feelings of delight

Pure, or with no unpleasing sadness mixed;

And I am conscious of affecting thoughts

And dear remembrances, whose presence soothes

Or elevates the Mind, intent to weigh

The good and evil of our mortal state."

The Recluse. William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) Britain's Poet Laureate 1843 - 1850. (Photo: taken Nov. 1, 2010 lw)