Bridging the Social Distance

For this episode I interview Yvonne Boyles, another new resident at  The Village of Riverside Glen . Yvonne, like a lot of the show's recent guests, moved to the village during the pandemic, but not from too far away, just a condo across the road, and before that a whole lifetime spent in Guelph. In fact, Jenny and Yvonne were pretty much neighbours, venturing to a lot of the same places, about fi...

For this episode I interview Mary Haggarty and Katherine Finlay at  The Village of Riverside Glen  about the "Java Music Club" - one of Riverside Glen's signature programs. About the Java Music Club: “JAVA Music Club is an evidence-based mutual support program that provides a safe environment for residents to discuss a wide range of topics.” The goal of the club is “To build a culture of mutual su...

For this episode I interview Geoff Royston over at  The Village of Riverside Glen . Today Geoff takes us on a trip through his life, his various adventures with airplanes, and his career that spans toolmaking, teaching, and even working on the Avro Arrow. He's a heck of a guy, and at 98 years old there's a lot of wonderful history to share. Tune in! Thanks Geoff! This interview was originally reco...

For this episode I interview Justin Nace. For the past fifteen years Justin has been working in music, mainly as a front-of-house-audio engineer and tour manager, most recently for bands such as  Andy Shauf  and  Alvvays . When the global pandemic hit, and tours everywhere were cancelled for the foreseeable future, that took Justin off the road along with the rest of the bands, and fresh off a tou...

For this episode I connect with Wesley Anderson at  The Village of Riverside Glen . Wes grew up in Jamaica, and worked as a pharmacist before beginning a career as a teacher here in Canada. We talk about his past, and about this pandemic - about the current challenges around navigating school and remote learning, and our shared desire for a vaccine. Wes brings 90 years of life experience and a per...

This episode explores the topic of supporting people living with dementia, and how we can adapt to the additional challenges presented by this global pandemic. For this conversation I interview Heather Luth, Dementia Program specialist for  Schlegel Villages , and Tara Rosenow, who is the Neighbourhood Coordinator for the "Emma Neighbourhood" - the memory care wing of  The Village of Riverside Gle...

For this episode I interview Frances Poirier, another new resident at  The Village of Riverside Glen . Frances was born and raised in Middleport, went to school in Brantford, and helped out at her family's General Store in Onondaga. Later as she was raising a family, she took over the General Store once more, and she was hard working woman, as the General Store offered a bit of everything - she wa...

For this episode my interview heads to  The Village of Riverside Glen , where I speak with a very new resident, June MacMillan. June was a teacher in Mount Forest for ten years before switching modes to parenting and working her family’s dairy farm. She had been living in a retirement facility in Maryhill when the pandemic led to that space closing, and June having to re-locate. It’s a special cha...

Todays episode travels to Nova Scotia, where I connect with Gabe and Tucker. Gabe and Tucker co-own  Outlaw Country Tattoo , an LGBTQ+ friendly tattoo shop, which recently has been able to re-open. They form the band "Holy Crow" which just released a new album called "Gater", that they wrote and recorded during the pandemic. They also live in two different parts of the same house. Today we talk ab...

For this episode I return to  The Village of Riverside Glen , this time exploring the learning opportunities for Personal Support Work. Supporting our seniors at retirement and Long-Term Care residences through this global pandemic has been an undeniably stressful and intense situation, but one potential positive aspect to that is that it has drawn attention to the roles of PSWs, and the ongoing n...

For this episode, I interview Dave Snider, a local musician, delivery driver, and recent graduate in Early Childhood education. He's also the host of the CFRU show "Eternal Rhythm" that airs Wednesdays at 8pm. Plus he just released a beautiful new album, the "Dave Snider/Crops Split" out on "OwnSound Recordings". And today we talk about all of these things, about music, about the future of Early C...

For this episode I return to  The Village of Riverside Glen  where I interview resident Beth Leach, and I return to China via Beth's stories. Beth has an incredibly interesting past, with complex struggles with citizenship. Beth was born in China, and so was her father, but with her father coming from an English family, and her mother coming from the United States, Beth had constant challenges aro...

I have been spending a lot time hearing from the residents at  The Village of Riverside Glen  and has been enjoying it so much. Today I get to share from a different perspective, interviewing Heather Culford, a Guelph resident who's mother resides in the Dementia Care Neighbourhood at the retirement centre. This time has been challenging for all of the residents and their loved ones - for months l...

This episode features an absolutely delightful guest, Tony Ferraro, a resident at  The Village of Riverside Glen . Tony's stories of old Guelph go straight to the heart - he came to Canada as an Italian immigrant, lived in the ward, and worked and met his wife at Biltmore Hats. He became the most devoted husband, determined she would never want for anything, even traveling to her area of Riverside...

Today's episode travels all the way to the East coast of China, where I interview Susan McGregor Irwin, a Canadian ex-pat who lives and works in China as a childbirth educator and doula. Susan shares how China is responding to the global pandemic: while there is currently a second wave of Covid, the wide-spread implementation of masks, the literal lock-downs of gated communities, and the tracking...

This episode features Janet and Larry Hamilton, a couple residing at the Village of Riverside Glen. Being a couple in close quarters in quarantine is bound to test the patience of anyone, but having been together for 58 years, and with experience sharing small spaces on cruise ships when they've traveled the world, these two have things figured out, and are in good spirits. When the quarantine's o...

Today I return to  The Village of Riverside Glen  where I interview Jack Stevenson, a retired cattle farmer. Jack is honestly just the sweetest, and my insatiable curiosity leads to this being a decidedly informative episode. Jack used to have his own cattle farm, and simultaneously worked with cows at the University of Guelph, and therefore is no stranger to the importance of quarantine to preven...

Today I interview Saleema Nawaz, an author based out of Montreal Quebec. Saleema's incredible new novel is called "Songs for the End of the World", and it is beautiful, moving, and eerily realistic - as it centers around a global pandemic. The surreal part of this is that Saleema finished writing it over a year ago, long before we were living through one. Years of research make this book not only...

For this episode I interview Marlene Lehman, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen.  Marlene is a bright light in a time of increased isolation.  She keeps her eyes and heart open for fellow residents who may need a friendly ear, and despite the time in quarantine, has found a myriad of activities to get her through.  When she couldn't attend mass in person, she used the internet to digitall...

June is Senior's Month in Ontario, and Pride Month in Canada, and today's episode explores the intersection, with an interview with Brad Lawrence at  The Village of Winston Park , and Kadri Phillips at  The Village of Riverside Glen , about the past and present of "Pride" at their respective retirement facilities. This was a deeply interesting conversation: on the surface, it may seem like a simpl...

For this episode of "Bridging the Social Distance" I am continuing to honour Senior's Month, this time by sharing the perspective of frontline staff. Colleen Fawcett has been working as an RPN at  The Village of Riverside Glen  for ten years. During that time she's seen many outbreaks and illnesses, but nothing on this scale of a Global Pandemic. There are many challenges: keeping everyone safe an...

During this episode, Joan takes us on a local trip down memory lane. Jenny reached Joan at her home at  The Village of Riverside Glen  on Joan's 89th birthday, and even though it was Joan's birthday, her story was the gift given to us: born and raised in Guelph, and nostalgic about all things old-Guelph, this interview will go straight to the heart of anyone who loves this city. What a gem. Anothe...

For this episode I interview Chelsey Edwards, a Programming Coordinator for  Parkwood Gardens Neighbourhood Group , and Criminal Justice and Public Policy grad from the University of Guelph. As Chelsey and the  Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition  (GNSC) work on creating a "summer experience" for students online this summer, she hopes she can create something as fun and bonding and meaningful a...

For this episode I return to  The Village of Riverside Glen , where I interview Norm Jary, former Mayor of the City of Guelph, and broadcaster for CJOY. At 91 years of age, Norm has done an incredible job keeping himself educated about Covid 19, and is taking every precaution, deeply appreciating the steps Riverside Glen has taken to protect its residents. We talk about this, and about his life -...

For this episode I interview Thirza Armstrong, host of "The Crow's Nest", a podcast Thirza's been hosting on behalf of the  Guelph Tool Library , that we've had the pleasure of airing on our CFRU airwaves. With the Crow's Nest, Thirza implores us to listen as they "chat with folks about community resilience and how the world’s lost without it, the importance of skill sharing and how you’re missing...