“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” :Reggie’s Painful Start to the New Year ( A Children’s Story)

These people in Toronto seem to like to celebrate as New Year’s Eve is coming soon and Toronto people like to party. I am not sure if they are happy to end the year or begin a new year. These humans can be puzzling!

I am happy with the past year as I arrived safely in Canada and luckily landed with Bob, Fay and Dillie. Even Karim has joined us. I have much to be thankful for.

Karim and I are so excited as we feel there is something electric in the air. Dillie is a bit more chilled as he has been through it many times. I hear Bob and Fay talking and they say Paul and Patricia are coming over for a special dinner called the dinner of the Seven Fishes. Bob and Fay have been working for days on it. The smells are incredible.

Paul and Patricia come over and they have brought peanut butter cupcakes for doggies as a special present for us dogs. If you want to know how to win over a dog’s heart peanut butter is a good start. We all split one and what a delicious treat. A good way to end the year!

The Christmas tree lights are turned on and the fireplace crackles and we dogs sit by it until its too warm to stay in front of the fire. The humans are drinking some special liquid called wine and talking. Then dinner is served and it lasts for several hours. Us dogs get a treat of some fish called tuna with some rice after we eat our chicken kibble. We are so full and tired all three of us go for a nap and are woken up by Fay so we can “see the ball drop”. The ball drops and everyone shouts, “Happy New Year”! Something in a bottle goes pop and the humans clink their glasses full of the liquid. Paul and Patricia leave shortly after and Bob and Fay work to clean up all the dishes.

Bob then takes us for a walk. It is the first one for us in this new year and it is cold and we can see our breath. We joke about us being the Rat Pack. I notice Karim is a bit unsteady on his feet and I ask him if he is feeling fine and he responds he is just so tired he wants to sleep. So that’s where we go and we are dreaming of beef as tomorrow there will be a special New Years dinner of roast beef and we dogs know we will get a piece as a treat.

I have a special dream that I am back with Karim in the pack and we find a door to slip through and we are in a butcher’s shop in the main market at Cairo with all sorts of meat in the open for us to eat and there are no humans about.

In the early morning I am woken up half asleep by Dillie howling. I am very confused about why Dillie is acting so out of character. I see Dillie trying to nudge Karim to wake him up. But there is blood on Dillie’s snout. Has he hurt himself and is howling in pain? Then I see Karim is not moving and there is a pool of blood oozing out of his mouth. He is cold. Karim has left us to the world beyond. I say a quick prayer to Allah and pray he will guide Karim to the world beyond. Bob is with us and he knows instantly that our dearest Karim has gone to the world beyond. He picks up Karim and wraps him in a blanket. Then I see Bob and Fay putting their heads down and crying. Bob says a prayer wishing Karim a safe journey. I go outside with Dillie and we howl like wolves. We are so sad. We are hurting. Why did this happen to Karim? What did he do wrong? One moment happy the next dead. Why is life so unfair? Karim my dear friend Dillie and will miss you terribly. Our little Rat Pack is down to two now. Safe travels dear brother.

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog ” : Bob and Fay Speak About Reggie

When we first met Reggie it was a chance meeting at Sherwood Park in Toronto at an off leash trail. Reggie was with his foster parents. Our West Highland Terrier Dillie and Reggie hit it off. Reggie was well mannered and even shook Bob’s hand. Buddhists believe in auspicious connections meaning that a random meeting is not so random. There is a purpose to such a meeting. Call it fate if you wish. We learnt from the foster parents that Reggie was with a rescue society and was up for adoption. We completed the application too late and missed out on our destiny with fate.

Fate came back two weeks later as the new owner was going to be transferred by the bank he worked for to Singapore and Reggie was not in his plans so we became owners of the cute fellow. Aside from nipping Bob on the first day and being a bit surly and hiding behind the sofa he quickly fit into our family life. Most importantly he and Dillie got along like brothers, you know the ones that get along with each other.

What is Reggie like? He is one very smart dog and we swear he understands English! He has a strange passion for watching the BBC and we can’t figure that out. He also loves that British never ending soap opera “Coronation Street”. Dillie hangs out with Bob and prefers jazz and classical music to television.

We know that rescue dogs can suffer from trauma but aside from that first day we see no outward signs of trauma. It was as if some voice had spoken to him after nipping Bob on day 1 as he very quickly nuzzled up to him and whimpered as if he was apologizing. Isn’t that so strange? We know his rough past with the loss of his master Anwar, his time on the street and the injury caused to him by a big dog on the streets of Cairo. If he is hurting emotionally he is hiding it well.

He does have a strange habit of prostrating himself at the same time each morning and evening for 5 minutes or so. It is almost as if he is praying?

Reggie enjoys his kibble and lots of cold water. He looks at us after dinner as if he is thanking us.

One reason we adopted Reggie was to keep our ageing Dillie on his toes and stimulated both to enrich and lengthen his life.

Reggie has only been with us for a few months but is popular with humans and their dogs. He has a very unique story about living on the streets of a tough city. And my goodness he loves his walks especially the long ones. We are apprehensive about letting him off leash until we finish with his training at “puppy school”. But we know he has had enough of wandering alone and we think off leash he will stay close to us like Dillie.

Is he different from Dillie? Both love belly rubs, walking, food, treats and toys but Reggie is quieter than Dillie. Dillie is more territorial when it comes to anyone coming in our house that he does not know well. Reggie might give a few barks but soon is wagging his tail and greeting them looking for a pat on the head. Not exactly a guard dog.

He is now a member of our family!

“A Wake”: Reminding us of the Pain and Struggle with Life

“A Wake” reminds us that life can be painful and full of emotional struggles. The themes raised in the plot may not be innovative but deserving to be related to us again.

My first reaction on reading the brief PR synopsis provided the me by distributor Breaking Glass Pictures was due to two Disney actors involved it was going to be puerile and squeaky clean but knowing the films that Breaking Glass Pictures releases that didn’t make sense. Breaking Glass specializes in creative “indie” releases some of which are in the LGBTQ genre. In fact, the synopsis refers to “A Wake” as an “LGBTQ Family Drama” of which it is but the topics of suicide, religious hypocrisy, social media bullying and dysfunctional families are subplots within the film that are linked to an LGBTQ film.

In a sense the film pays attention to a posthumous coming out of homosexual Mitch (Noah Urrea). Mitch dies from a suicidal overdose after being bullied and “exposed” on social media. We have seen the damage of social media bullying in Canada as the act of cruel cowards and to bring this topic into the public eye never hurts.

And “coming out” can be painful and socially humiliating for a conservative religious family with the end result “of a cover-up” sanctioned by the church which could have been the case in “A Wake”. It can also be self liberating and accepted with love and compassion which some of Mitch’s family exhibit. But Mitch couldn’t bring himself to come out. And that is worrisome in itself but common I am sure.

For fear of ruining the plot I’ll refrain from dealing with it further.

The technical production is flawless. The acting kudos belong to Mason/Mitch (Noah Urrea), Molly (Sofia Rosinsky), Jameson (Kolton Stewart), Megan (Megan Trout) and bickering but loveable grandma Loretta (Bettina Devin). Pastor Bob (Scott Cox) and his scantily dressed wife Sheila (Tiffany Heggebo) are portrayed as hypocritical anti-LGBTQ characters almost comical and so easy to dislike! The rest of the acting is passable however during a rather explosive wake the acting of all is raised several notches. And what a scene of a family implosion you must have seen in your life with the death of a family member. The film delivers on this subplot so very well.

So this is no Disney film but it looks like it is heading that way for the first thirty minutes but after it takes a dark twist that makes it worth watching.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_emfxasHBV8

This American film is directed by Scott Boswell and will be available August 31 on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu and through local and satellite providers as well as on DVD.

Charlie Watts Rolling Stone Drummer Passes

Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones’ Drummer and Inimitable Backbone, Dead at 80

Rock & roll legend “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier [Tuesday] surrounded by his family,” according to publicist

ByJOE GROSS 

Charlie Watts, drummer with The Rolling Stones, Great Britain, circa 1970. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts, the Rolling Stones’ drummer and the band’s irreplaceable heartbeat, has died at age 80. No cause of death was given.

Watts’ publicist confirmed his death in a statement. “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts,” it read. “He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier [Tuesday] surrounded by his family.” The statement referred to Watts as “one of the greatest drummers of his generation” and closed by requesting that “the privacy of his family, band members, and close friends is respected at this difficult time.”

Watts’ death comes several weeks after it was announced that the drummer would not be able to perform on the Rolling Stones’ No Filter Tour of U.S. stadiums. “Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation,” a rep for the band said in a statement at the time. “With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks, it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming.”about:blankabout:blank

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 94 Nationalist Rampage at Avenue Du Parc in Montreal

A high voltage of ethnocentricity surged through the crowd at the Hecklevesque rally in Montreal at an auditorium on Avenue du Parc in Montreal. A huge crowd streamed out to Avenue du Parc thrashing any Hassidic Jews, Portuguese, Haitians, Greeks and visible minorities. Two Greek restaurants were set ablaze. It was beginning to look the 1918 anti-Greek riots in Toronto. One lady at the rally who had set one of the Greek restaurants on fire was attacked by the berserk owner of the restaurant in flames and stabbed her in the back with a sizzling skewer of lamb and there she lay screaming in pain as the lamb and green pepper sizzled away. Another protestor was locked in a meat locker freezer overnight and was carted away a la rigor mortis the next day. Three Portuguese shopkeepers were taken to hospital with broken noses. Some 75 injured people were lying on Avenue du Parc.

Charges of inciting a riot were laid against Hecklevesque who was delighted to be a martyr. He was out on bail a few hours later. The audience was so full of hotheads was it his fault they overreacted? The media attributed the event to over enthusiastic rabble rousers. The Greek community formed a “Greek Life Matters” movement. The Marxist Leninists at McGill University (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) hailed it as a true proletarian uprising. The Canadian Albanian Friendship League said, “Comrades it is clear what happened on Avenue du Parc. Zealous bourgeoisie and petit bourgeoisie elements are waging a war to tear Quebec apart from Canada. When they accomplish it they intend to share the plunder. The proletarians of Quebec are being swindled by nationalistic opportunists. These counterrevolutionaries never tire of bashing immigrants hoping to divert attention from the real proletarian bourgeoisie struggle. They never talk of masters and wage slavery but one should be aware of there would be masters in an “independent” Quebec. The proletarians of Quebec will have nothing to gain from this drive for independence. Capitalists whether Greek, French, American or English are the true enemies of the Quebec working class. It is not the immigrants who are stealing the jobs. They either have the ambition to start businesses to escape economic enslavement by the bourgeoisie or take jobs the local working class deems too degrading. They work in sweat boxes where they are paid low wages where the owners claim their wages are low as they are involved in a risky business yet they enjoy luxurious winter vacations, live in grand houses in Outremont or Hampstead and have their children drive Corvettes. Isn’t it a tough life?  The hype over the Avenue du Parc incident serves to divide the working class into compartmentalized pockets incapable of acting as a unified working class when it is required the most to fight the nationalist swindle in Quebec.”

The Montreal Greek community was nervously fingering its worry beads outraged by the insults thrown their way by people who they had trusted over the years. In such cases it seemed understandable why immigrants formed insular communities. When times were good all went well but when times got rough, either politically or economically you as an immigrant were the first to get finger pointed at. After “The Slaughter on Parc” as many Greeks called it the Cretan Workingman’s Club formed vigilante groups to patrol Avenue du Parc and Park Extension to protect Greek-Canadians and Greek businesses. The immigrants complained bitterly to the federal and the Quebec provincial government but almost all politicians failed to make any commitment for fear of upsetting “the delicate equilibrium in Quebec”. There was outrage in Athens as the Canadian embassy was spray-painted with the slogan “Murder and Looting in Quebec”. The Canadian ambassador’s car was firebombed.

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” :Anwar Speaks From The Land Beyond

My name is Anwar. I was Reggie’s first master. I was given Reggie when he was still a puppy. The wife of a good friend of mine gave Reggie to me. Her husband was  a journalist with a television network based in Cairo. He had a political commentary show and he often had guests who were critical of the Egyptian government and I think he had one too many guests that was critical of the government and one day he disappeared. No one ever saw him again. However we journalists and his wife knew what had happened to him. He had received several death threats before he died from a radical group called “The Brothers of Correct Islam”. Our journalistic investigations gave us preliminary indications this group was a branch of the secret service of the government of Egypt so we assume he was kidnapped and executed. His wife was leaving to the United States fearing her life as she was a feminist insisting upon equal rights for women in Egypt very dangerous in the political climate of Egypt. So I ended up with Reggie!

That was not his original name but to give everyone a fresh start I renamed him Reggie after a character in an American cartoon called “Archie”. I never owned a dog before so I had to do some research on the raising of dogs. That helped me and Reggie was a very smart dog which also helped me. Reggie was toilet trained in a few weeks. I worked mostly from home but when I was out researching and interviewing I had a dog sitting service take care of Reggie.

I watched a lot of BBC news and documentaries to get a realistic view of the world. Egyptian media was largely controlled by the government so it was difficult to get the truth about your own country! Reggie and I watched the BBC news every night and I swear he was beginning to understand English. In fact the practice of my English was helped by talking to Reggie in English. I prayed to Allah every morning and night and Reggie watched and listened intently to me.

As I had no wife and very little family in Cairo Reggie was a great comfort and companionship for me but as many people in Egypt experienced good things can come to an end. One night the secret police and army came and arrested me for treason for slandering the government in my articles. A soldier told me Reggie escaped. He told me Reggie was lucky as often pets of arrested traitors were often shot by the soldiers.

I was executed by a firing squad and I entered the world beyond and was so angry at the government for taking my life and turning Reggie into a street dog I wanted to remain as a ghost in Cairo and haunt my wrongdoers. Allah himself spoke to me and asked that I forgive those who had taken over the government and had taken his name in vain to gain and retain power. So I made a deal with Allah that he let my spirit remain on earth until Reggie was safe and taken care of. One does not make deals with God! But Allah said he would do all he could to help Reggie. And in his mysterious ways he did.

I hear and see my Reggie now with people called Bob and Fay in Toronto, Canada. I hear his prayers to Allah and to me so I appear to him to help him adapt and I can see he will be safe and loved and well taken care of. I am still sad he and I are parted but so happy to see he has a good life ahead of him my anger and fear has disappeared and I must now go to the world beyond and wait one day to be reunited with Reggie. So I close my eyes and I leave earth and go to the world beyond with a light heart. Good-bye.

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 93: Are the Mutants Being Framed and The Beginnings of a Nationalistic Riot?

After the firebombing of the Nicaraguan Pavilion at Expo 67 Squid and several prominent local mutants were taken to Montreal police headquarters for questioning but as there was no concrete evidence pinning the firebombing on them they were released. Squid concluded there was some ploy to blame the firebombing on mutants as it was well known Squid was a fierce opponent of Sam Moza, the fascist leader of Nicaragua,  hence he was a convenient scapegoat.

During the questioning of Squid the Montreal police produced a letter found near the scene of the firebombing signed by The Mutant Revolution Front claiming responsibility for the firebombing. But no such group existed and neither could any security authority find any intelligence on such a group. And wasn’t it odd that it was René Hecklevesque (aka Jiber) that publicly attacked mutants in his nationalistic rants. The mutants were so politically weak in Quebec why would a politician constantly be on the attack against them. This was beginning to look like a frameup of a very personal nature. Strangely although the police were caught up in a nationalist fervor, they didn’t seem to mind a foreign exhibit was destroyed as after all Expo 67 was Canada’s celebration not Quebec’s.

The mutants distrusted Hecklevesque but the Quebec politician was seen by many as a charismatic and dashing leader. Here was a guy that would stick up for them the poor oppressed Quebecois. He spoke at several rallies being received with orgasmic delight. With the blessing of his supporters he formed the Mouvement Separatiste Quebec commonly known as the MSQ. The MSQ’s primary goal was the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. One of their main goals in their attack were “those people” namely immigrants in Quebec causing high unemployment amongst the true citizens of Quebec. The MSQ pledged should it form the government in Quebec it would immediately “cure this alien problem”. If they only knew Hecklevesque himself was an alien from Zortixia! It was never detailed how this “curing” would take place.

One fall evening Hecklevesque delivered a steaming speech against Montreal’s large immigrant community causing an uproar inflaming the passions of his audience which were egged on by his agitators in the crowd. As Hecklevesque said,” A pure, simple and clean Quebec uncorrupted by the menace of alien backstabbing and job stealing…as a young lad I lived in St. Felicien where we lived in unity. We trusted each other and lived in total harmony and shared all we had. The police force played bric brac all day and chatted with the locals. This bliss was destroyed when a Pakistani family moved into the town and then came the Ukrainians and Poles. Our serene environment was polluted and corrupted. Gambling and drugs became widespread. Prostitution appeared. We should all learn a lesson from my boyhood experience. Greeks have run out our native chefs preparers of Michigan Red Hots, pig knuckles and tourtière and replaced them with souvlaki and perogies. This contamination will end in a free Quebec.

One bespeckled man interrupted the speech yelling that Indian tribes were here before the French settlers arrived yet were treated as second class citizens. After all Quebecois were descendants of immigrants. Well this poor fellow was seized by a burly truck driver and hurled out from the hall onto the street after his face had been thrashed by angry and outraged audience members   

“Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” :Karim Tells Us About Himself

My name is Karim and I think I am about three years old. I was born in Egypt like Reggie. I am part Havanese and weigh the same as Reggie which is about 18 pounds.

I was bought in a marketplace by a family with a little girl. I forget their names. This may because I do not want to remember my life with that family. They fed me and gave me water. The little girl was nice to me in the beginning but the parents soon changed their mind about having me as a pet. I spent most of my young life in a crate even when the humans were around in their home. They ignored me except for that little girl who was too young to properly care for a dog. Although she was nice to me most of the time she pulled my tail really hard and that made me squeal in pain.

You might want to say I was ignored. Can you imagine a dog being locked in a crate almost all the time? I was sad and lonely and grew to really hate these humans. A dog likes to move around and be as free as a domesticated dog can be. These humans were cruel and the man smoked cigarettes a smell that really bothered me. His wife thought I was dirty and cursed at me for being a filthy creature. I was locked up so much I never made any friends with the neighbourhood dogs. In fact dogs began to frighten me.

Then a terrible disease like a plague hit Egypt and it was called COVID. The man and his wife owned a small local restaurant and because people were afraid of catching COVID they stopped eating out and the man and his wife had to close their restaurant. They became mean with me claiming I brought them bad luck and one day they took me far away from my home on a bus and left me in a very run-down part of Cairo. They returned home without me so I became a street dog.

Reggie has already told you what it was like for him. It was really the same for me. But instead of being frightened I felt free. I felt what I think a dog should feel like. But food and water was hard to come by. Like Reggie there were kind people that sometimes would give me food and water but a dog had to learn how to steal food to live to see tomorrow. The big dogs were not nice to us smaller dogs so I formed a pack of small tough dogs to defend ourselves and steal and hunt for food including rats.

After living on the streets for over a year my fur was matted and I was covered in flees. Like Reggie I was injured and found myself in an animal hospital. It was the same hospital Reggie was in. I was not bitten by another dog but hit by a motorcycle on purpose and for fun as when I lay on the street with a big gash on my scalp I heard laughing. Like Reggie a policeman took me to the animal hospital. It might have been the same good policeman. I am not one to pray to Allah like Reggie because Allah deserted me the moment I was born. Humans deserted me except for the kind policeman and animal doctors. I had much anger toward humans. The same Canadian rescue society that brought Reggie to Canada brought me there too to Toronto and I ended up with Bob and Fay.

Bob and Fay have shown me nothing but kindness so much so I began to trust them quickly and of course Reggie was in and out of my pack so I could trust him. But for dogs and humans I do not know I become frightened and lunge out at them. They have done nothing wrong to me so why am I so bad?

Reggie tells me it is post traumatic stress disorder caused by my past life. I don’t understand these complicated words but Reggie puts it another way saying I had such a terrible life in Egypt I lose my head and lunge as a way of forgetting those terrible times but a special person has been working with me every day for awhile now and I have just about stopped lunging except for humans on skateboards, rollerblades, scooters and joggers. Dillie and Reggie do the same thing so Fay and Bob are willing to live with a little bit of lunging.

Speaking of Dillie I think he is a spoilt dog that knows little about life and I snarled at him a few times when I arrived at Fay and Bob’s house but Reggie set me straight that was a stupid thing to do for a rescue dog. I recognized this and apologized to Dillie who understood enough about my past to forgive me. He is a true leader and from a tradition of great and fearless Scottish hunting dogs. He comes from a noble tradition but I am from the gutters of Cairo. Being street smart, I let Dillie be the leader of the pack. I also like him as he helps me understand humans that care and respect dogs. These are not humans I have much experience in dealing with.

I love my life in Canada and the snow is so much fun. Reggie and I love rollicking in the snow but Dillie prefers the warmth of inside the house. After two years on the street and homeless and hungry If I believed in Allah I would thank him. I think of my brothers and sisters in Egypt and hope they are well.

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” :Dillie the Westie Speaks About Karim and Reggie: Together We are the Rat Pack! (A Children’s Story)

First of all, my name on my registration papers with the Canadian Kennel Club is Dylan Saunders. But I have at least a dozen nicknames such as Snookums, Poopie, Dillie, Dillykins, Lambchops and Sweetie are just a few but most often it is Dillie and that suits me fine.

I am older than Reggie and Karim. I am 13 years old and I sleep more than I used to and puppies were so much fun when I was a puppy but as an adult dog I find them too much to handle as they jump all over me and want to play. I just want some peace and quiet. I realize that my time on earth is getting shorter. I have seen and heard about many humans and dogs dying. We all must die one day and all we dogs and humans must accept that and make good however much time we have left. Reggie loves living for sure but he looks forward to meeting Anwar in the “world beyond” where all living creatures go when they die. There are people and dogs I want to see in that world but until I get there I wake up each day happy to be alive. My heart is not always regular and at the animal hospital Dr. Murray says I have a heart murmur but I don’t let that stop me from doing the things I love the most being eating, getting treats, playing with my toys and sleeping!

Bob and Fay gave me warning about Reggie and Karim so I would not be surprised. I was excited! Reggie is a very intelligent dog. He watches the news every night and loves BBC documentaries. He understands English better than me. But he is a very tough dog having lived on the streets of Cairo by himself and that was very difficult. I have had it easy for all my life with my bowl always filled with kibble, lots of cold drinking water, toys and the best of care and the most love a dog could ask for.

Reggie and Karim respect my territory and we never fight over food nor with each other. Reggie and Karim know what it is like on the streets and realize they must respect me and Bob and Fay or they think they may end up on the street again.

But I understand what it is like living with caring humans. I know how to read them. I know what their tone of voice means. Both Reggie and Karim are more used to living with mean humans than I am. They are beginning to trust humans and that may take time as they were kicked at, spat upon and cursed a good part of the time. I can help them understand how good humans treat dogs so they can feel safer and more trusting. Karim has been longer on the streets than Reggie and he trusts Bob Fay and I but had a problem with fear and aggression lunging against other humans and dogs he does not know but a trainer has helped him become less fearful.

I can say I loved it when Bob and Fay retired because they are around the house with me so I spent very little time alone. I mean there was a dog walker that took me out when they used to work but that’s not the same! Reggie and Karim keep me company when Bob and Fay leave the house so I enjoy having them with me. They are part of our new family! I also do my best to keep them out of trouble. I enjoy being the leader of the pack and that means Karim and Reggie respect me. I can teach them things and they can teach me things too. They are my brothers and I am so fortunate to have them as brothers. I also know I will probably die and go to the world beyond before they do so they can take care of Bob and Fay as they love me so much they will be so sad when I pass on. There will be Reggie and Karim to take care of them You think humans take care of dogs? They do but we take care of humans too . Love and respect goes both ways.

I love it when all three of us dogs go on walks and the humans all say what a handsome group of dogs we are. The dogs also know how tough Karim and Reggie can be so we get a lot of respect from them. I love that movie “Ocean’s Eleven”. We are the Rat Pack! I love Reggie and Karim and will do all I can to make their lives in Canada so much better than it was in Egypt.

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Wine Planning: A Little Set-Back; The Opening Toast and THE BIG BLUFF?

As we recounted in an earlier story PP and Celine Serpent are engaged and I have a contract to select the wines for their engagement party. PP, seeing that Celine has paid my consulting fees, assumed she is paying for the wine but surprised him by saying the groom and groom to be should pick up the bar tab! I think PP must have turned as white as ash knowing his Panamanian bank accounts were still frozen so he pleads me keep it cheap!

We have a couple of things going for us. Firstly, the engagement party reception will be held outside and it most likely will be hot. A warm summer day has a couple of advantages. Guests will the thirsty and will quickly down a welcoming toast and the outside warm air will play havoc with their tastebuds so we can escape without Champagne and its attendant cost. I’m not sure where PP obtained the money to pay for the wines but he said it is an advance for a book he is writing “A Fall From Grace”. How much it is he did not say but he talks of it being made into a movie and he’ll be rolling in dough! But until then he is on a tight budget.

I say let’s try a couple and see which is best suited.

We start with an organic Prosecco in a very traditional flasked bottle. In addition to being made from 100% Glera grapes I think the bottle would appeal to many of Serpent’s friends who are a bit on the flaky and artistic side according to PP. Like most Proseccos it has a platinum colour. Aromas of pear, Granny Smith apples with a twist of pineapple. It has a certain crispness to it but far from the acidic rip of Extra Brut and Brut Champagnes. There is some tangerine, asparagus and kiwi on the palate. I think the guests will not be wowed but not disappointed. As PP knows Celine is a very wealthy lady and people make the assumption the wines she serves will reflect that wealth. Most won’t even dare think they are budget wines! The Big Bluff is what PP is hoping for.

(Villa Teresa Organic Prosecco, Non-Vintage, DOC Prosecco, V.T. SRL, Vittoria Veneto, Italy, $15.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 544056, 750 mL, 11%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

The other choice is a rosé Spumante called La Pìcia from Monte Del Frá, It has a delicate pink colour. On the nose raspberry, peach, strawberry and choke cherry. On the palate a nice crisp acidic bite but no where near the bite you get with Champagne. On the palate whipped cherry Jello…are you seasoned enough to remember that product from the 1960’s? But there is a light dusting of strawberries, ruby grapefruit and cranberries. All in all fruity and light. A blend of Corvina and Molinara.

(La Pìcia Spumante Extra Dry, Monte del Frá, Bardalino Chiaretto, DOC Chiaretto 2019, Monte del Frá, Somma Campagna, Italy, $21.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 19048, 12%, 750 mL, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 90/100).

PP is a bit pissed off with me as he thought he made it clear $16.00 a bottle was his limit. However due to his book advance he is willing to splurge. He likes the look of the Villa Teresa bottle which will appeal to Celine’s “flaky artistic friends” but he likes my thoughts on both wines tried so he chooses both. I tell him as long as they are served very chilled both are thirst quenching and in fact both have more character than many entry level Champagnes. Next what are we going to match the canapés with!