Interviews with people living in the Salish Sea. Discover the stories that brought them to this amazing part of the world and the stories that brought them to this point in their lives now.
Episodes
Saturday Jun 27, 2020
Saturday Jun 27, 2020
Straight up, what a crazy time it has been the last few months. There are so many emotions, worries, thoughts and ideas I've had since the inception of this altered reality. At the start of it, I wondered how I would like to participate in the world with meaning and carry an authentic expression of myself. I personally believe that we are truly the creators of our reality, so how can I help create the world that I would like to live in? The first extended effort in that direction was putting energy into making multiple phone calls every day from late March through much of April. I started checking in on people I have not spoken to in years, good friends, acquaintances on the island I've never called before, my Mom...a lot, family and others. This gave me some focus, peace and joy during those uncertain times. Every call without exception held a deep connection. This shared strangeness we experienced led to a pealing back of layers for myself and the person I was speaking with. Very magical these conversations were.
As the world has been going back to something resembling what was before, I've asked myself what can I now do to be the change in the world I want to see? The conclusions have been obvious and undeniable. One of them is to take action on what I feel is important. Something that I feel is very significant right now is to help give voice to some people on our island to allow them to express their wisdom, creativity, thoughts and feelings. True expression of ourselves and bearing witness to it by listening, I believe, is a purposeful way to strengthen the bridge of connection we all share. We are surrounded on this island by amazing people, with amazing perspectives. Why not be amazed by witnessing each other's humanity, uniqueness and similarities during these challenging times?
What you will hear in this podcast is a compilation of people answering four questions relating to their individual experience over the past few months. I asked people wanting to participate in these recordings to try to dig deep to truly share themselves. To my great appreciation they did. The question are as follows:
-Where have you been putting your love?
-What have been the significant challenges you've had to face?
-What is your dream vision for the future?
-Plus, a question for the interviewee to formulate and answer themselves.
All these recording were done outdoors at various locations so the sounds of cars, birds, airplanes, wind chimes, generators, the ocean and wind all make guest appearances as well. Beautiful.
My thanks to Paul Widdershoven, Emma Cale, Mathew Des Roches and Niki Roberts for their participation on the first of this series.
Enjoy.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
In this episode, Joy will describe what it was like for her to spend the first 17 summers of life at an isolated fly-fishing tourist camp owned by her parents in Northern Quebec. She will speak about her time teaching screenwriting at the Vancouver Film School and what it was like backpacking around the world for a year with her husband Evan and two children. Plus, Joy will go in-depth describing the multiple hiking adventures she has had on the Camino de Santiago. All that and so much more. Enjoy!
Sunday Jan 12, 2020
Sunday Jan 12, 2020
In this episode, Patrick will discuss his nearly forty year career as a journalist in radio and television. He first began working as a reporter in Montreal in 1976. Four years later, he would be offered a position working out of London, England. The following decade would see him reporting from various war zones, natural disasters and civil uprisings. From Warsaw, Beirut, Manila, Berlin and a host of other international locations, Patrick was on the scene of some incredible historic events, reporting back to Canadian audiences. He will describe experiences and challenges from those years, as well as talk about the extensive period of time he spent living and working in China during the latter part of his career. All this and an incredible amount more in a very fascinating interview. Enjoy.
Saturday Dec 21, 2019
Saturday Dec 21, 2019
In this episode, Lester will describe how he developed an intense passion for snowboarding while living in Edmonton as a teen in the eighties. He will share how he first became interested music and go in depth explaining how his music career unfolded over a number of years and experiences. Lester will also talk about his recent interest in yoga, which has led him to becoming a yoga instructor on the island. As well, he will tell the story of how he met his wife, Mae. That and an amazing amount more, in a wonderfully rich and open discussion with one heck of a guy.
Thank you to Ptarmigan Arts for supporting this podcast.
Sunday Dec 08, 2019
Sunday Dec 08, 2019
In this episode, Steve will give a detailed description as to what it was like growing up as a young boy on Vancouver Island during the fifties. He will speak about why he felt it was important to grow his hair long, become a hippie and hitchhike his way back and forth across North America throughout his twenties. He will talk about more recent travel adventures which include high elevation hiking and climbing trips. Also, he will discuss his almost four decades as a builder on Pender and how building, as well as the island, has changed during that time. All that and an incredible amount more, in a very open and heartfelt interview with a true beauty of a guy.
Thank you to Ptarmigan Arts for supporting this podcast.
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
In this episode, Lauren will discuss how she first began playing piano as a child and how it developed into her writing, singing and performing her own music. This would eventually lead her from playing music as a hobby, into becoming her profession. She will go in-depth describing her career in music which includes touring North America multiple times and recording a number of albums in the process. Lauren will also speak about her current job on the island as artist director of Ptarmigan Arts and detail the many ways this organization fosters the arts on Pender Island. All that and more, in a delightful interview that provides great insight into the life of a touring musician and what it is like to hold a baby alligator. Enjoy!
Thank you to Ptarmigan Arts for supporting this podcast.
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
In this episode, Monica will speak about her early years on South Pender, which first began when she visited during the summer at the age of ten. She will go into detail about the years of collaborative fundraising and work involved in purchasing Brooks Point to make it a public space. She will describe her work with POD (Pender Ocean Defenders) and chronicle her thirty-four year career as an early childhood educator. As well, Monica will talk about her involvement with First Nations Reconciliation and her special connection with orca whales.
Thank you to Ptarmigan Arts for supporting this podcast.
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
In this episode, Paul will describe the events of a medical emergency he had shortly after moving to the island. Through that experience, he came to new realizations about himself and soon changed how he was participating in life. He will talk about living with his wife, Charlene on their boat in Browning Harbour, the very recent death of his father and the bold decision to move from New Brunswick to the West Coast. As well, Paul will explain the importance of wearing yellow glasses. All this and so much more, in a very thought provoking and incredibly reveling interview with a unique and wonderful person. Enjoy.
Thank you to Ptarmigan Arts for supporting this podcast.
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
In this episode, Sandy will share stories about growing up in Sackville, New Brunswick, speak about her fifteen year career with Legal aid BC, as well she will describe how she created a book of poetry using the words her father wrote in a dairy he kept for five months while working as a merchant seaman in 1936. Sandy will also detail how she was responsible for starting the Poetry In Motion project, a program that made Vancouver the first Canadian city to have an ongoing poetry program on public transit. All that and so much more in a stupendous little interview. Enjoy.
Thank you to Ptarmigan Arts for supporting this podcast.
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Welcome to this very special project dedicated to the voices and stories of long time Southern Gulf Island residents, the second in this series continues with Connie Auchterlonie.
While visiting Pender Island in spring of 1958 for the first time, she met her future husband, Dave Auchterlonie. After getting married and spending their first few years living in Vancouver, they decided to move to Pender in order to raise their three children. Connie will detail what it was like being a young mother on Pender in the sixties, working as a nurse on the island, attending various community dances, as well as the support of friends and community she has experienced through the years. This and so much more in this descriptive and historical account of what living on Pender Island was like in the 1960's until the present day.
This project is made possible by the support of Ptarmigan Arts.