“First We Eat”: A Lighthearted Film Takes on More Serious Overtones

The Canadian documentary “First We Eat” takes a rather amusing and lighthearted perspective on the challenges of eating locally particularly in Canada’s Yukon.

It was precipitated by a landslide that covered the only road into Dawson City. Grocery shelves were emptied in 48 hours. This caused Suzanne Croker to embark on a one- year project to only eat local. Her husband and three children were reluctant but, in the end, supportive. By day three Suzanne is exhausted and near tears. Making your own salt from plants and getting your drinking water from trees and making birch syrup is not an easy task. In fact, it is just about a full time job.

Crocker realized the family would not make it unless they obtained help from a group of hard nosed but supportive hunters and gatherers and the viewer is on a journey discovering a community of producers including dairy farmers, livestock producers and most interestingly Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in natives who have been living off the land for thousands of years although the younger generation has to “go back to school” and be trained on hunting and gathering. And such respect and veneration they have for the fish and animals they kill and where nothing is wasted. Suzanne notes her vegetarianism is on hold as the only source of protein was from fish and meat.

Crocker’s family accomplished Crocker’s goal an amazing feat where 97% of food is transported into Dawson City. There are moments of family agony and retching and gagging over terrible tasting food. Yet there is the triumph of making birch syrup, homemade yogurt, butter, cheese and moose beef and kidney pie amongst many other dishes. Soap berries or pig blood and milk smoothies anyone?

Crocker notes when you rely on outside sources for all your food you are in trouble. Crocker strongly believes in establishing a relationship with all the producers of her food to the point she knows where everything came from on the family’s plates.

As Crocker says, “Some of the challenges we faced are very much specific to the North, but the theme of food dependence is global. A community that depends on its food coming from elsewhere is extremely vulnerable. And I like to say that the North is the canary in the coalmine of food security.”

I try to eat local and it does take some effort but the produce I eat is fresher and not doused with preservatives and chemicals but if the pandemic spirals out of control I will not have to depend on grocery stores to the extent most people do. Never take for granted your food supply and give thanks to those who produce it and transport it to you.

In a way there is some similarity to a Canadian documentary I saw (the name of which escapes me) of a couple wanting to make a point that much of the food produced simply rots away as garbage so they lived off food from restaurant and grocery store dumpsters for a year.

Crocker is an acclaimed film maker and “First We Eat” is very well produced conveying an important message. It won the 2020 Audience Choice Award at the Toronto Hot Docs Festival. It has been playing throughout Canada including Cinema Parc in Montreal other virtual theatres are described here https://blueicedocs.com/stream/31/first-we-eat/.

Congratulations Crockers! You did it! Watch this trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LmBY915KNQ Oh by the way Suzanne no longer requires blood pressure medication.

Canada embarrasses itself almost to the point of kidnapping: The Meng Wanzhou Abduction

It’s been almost two years that Meng Wanzhou has been held in a rather luxurious house arrest in British Columbia. Yes Canada did not have much of a choice in the matter due to its extradition treaty with the United States. But the extradition trial has dragged on in an interminable fashion to the point of embarrassment for Canada. Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, is in fact a prisoner of the Canadian government. Each day drags by with delay after delay. Each day is another day away from her family. What on earth is taking so long or can political blame be flamed by finger pointing for this delay.

Then to complicate matters in an apparent retaliation the Chinese government arrested two Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor for espionage two days after Wanzhou was arrested. At least Wanzhou is receiving a trial.

Perhaps it is up to Joe Biden, if there is no coup launched against him by President Trump, to cool things down by “letting go” of Wanzhou in exchange for China freeing the Canadians. Unless something is done soon tensions over Chinese treatment of Uighur Muslims and the use of their 5G Network are going to boil over. Until then the hostage taking by both sides will continue. And by the way both Canada and the United States have nothing to be proud of concerning the treatment of their aboriginal populations.

“There are No Lions in Tel Aviv”: A Story of Passion, Greed and Downfall: Toronto Jewish Film Festival

There was once a Rabbi Dr. Mordecai Schornstein who arrived in Palestine in 1935 from Copenhagen. Not wishing to remain a rabbi he transformed his love of animals into a pet shop then donated all his animals to establish a zoo in Tel Aviv. The deal was the Zoo gets the animals and he would be director of the zoo for life. There was intense lobbying to the municipality to get the land to open the zoo but a team of activists prevailed and the zoo finally opened and it was a smash hit and in a way was an achievement for the soon to be Israel.

By today’s standards the conditions for the animals were very poor but the staff was very respectful and loving of the animals. His family members remember him as a hard person to live with and it was as if he related to animals better than he did to humans.

Squabbles with his administration intensified as did the value of the real estate the zoo was occupying. Relations between the Zoo Association and Schornstein deteriorated until his paycheques became irregular and to buy lunch he took three lira from the Zoo till to buy himself lunch which was a criminal offence for which he appeared in court and was fined a token five lira with the judge admitting he was ashamed of the decision but the law was the law. Schornstein left the Zoo and became a founder of a bird sanctuary. What happened with the huge sums received by the Zoo administration from the real estate developers? What happened to those billions? Schornstein died a pauper and in 1980 the animals were transferred to a Safari Park.

As a commentator said the zoo taught many how bad a zoo can be but it also told many how greedy many people can be.

A fascinating story recounted through the many visitors to the zoo most of whom are in their twilight years. Great newsclips as well give it an authentic historical feel. In a way a bittersweet story. An important step in the bolstering of a Hebrew culture but was it in the right direction?

To buy a ticket https://tjff.secure.force.com/ticket/#/events/a0S0b00000FGm06EAD

To read more about the film and to see a trailer https://tjff.com/films/there-are-no-lions-in-tel-aviv/

The 63-minute film directed by Duki Dror will be playing November 23-24 in Hebrew with English subtitles. It was the winner of the Festival’s David A. Stein Memorial Award.

The Barren Land of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

If you have been exposed to an MBSR/MBCT course through a hospital which is quite often a step for people suffering from depression, anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder mindfulness becomes a bland therapeutic tool focusing on a apparently simplistic tool of meditation focusing on the breath to give the mind a respite from what has upset it. At the end of the day it is therapeutic type of tool. Whether it be MBSR or MBCT in an institutional setting it really has very little soul. A constant Jon Kabat-Zin theme of being in the present moment in a non-judgemental fashion. Often boring body scan meditations. Breathe, breathe and think of nothing else but the breath. This has so much wisdom in it but having been at least 14 days of MBSR training at a local hospital I can say only a few really understood its significance .Nor is there any understanding of Buddhist or Daoist traditions that form the core of modern mindfulness.

Yes MBSR and MBCT arguably are simply tools. Like prescribing an anti-depressant MBSR/MBCT has become a “drug” to deal with stress and psychiatric disorders. I participate in, or used to before COVID, a monthly mindfulness group meeting headed by a psychiatrist at a local hospital. Yet try to talk about “being in the present moment” or “feeling as one” during meditation really no one understands these concepts. That is a shame to see that mindfulness may be just another RX script. A new nondrug drug. The way I see it taught within the hospital situation is that mindfulness is about a state of mind and not a state of how to live mindfully.

Now if it works to reduce or control stress and psychiatric conditions bravo!

But mindfulness living requires more than a technical sophistry if one wants to take that path. Should there be a value-based mindfulness? By this I mean a conscious attempt to import certain values into a mindful practice. Arguably if one becomes aware of these values isn’t one mindful of them?

Can we move beyond that shallow technical application of head towards a value-based mindfulness that involves principles of living and relating that involves more than a quick and dirty meditation that frees the mind from adverse reactions to life?

Perhaps this is something we should delve into? Are there principles of mindfulness that take us beyond the quick and dirty technical use of mindfulness and shape our lives to a more rich and rewarding intellectual existence beyond that trite “living in the present moment” expression. Well it is not that trite but in my experience it is trite as MBSR participants have absolutely no or little understanding of how it feels and how it means.

Yet should we have a cup of “mindful tea” wearing our mindful T-shirts. Or should we be suckered in by employers offering mindful courses to perhaps exploit and manipulate their employees. Hey, the employer says, we gave you the tools to manage stress so let’s put more responsibility on how as after all you have been “trained” to handle stress.

Let us delve deeper into what mindful living might encompass. Coming up a discussion on the 16 guidelines of life.

(The author is certified in mindfulness by the University of Toronto and the University of Leiden.)

Human Trafficking on the Rise: Hotels Must be on the Lookout!

Expert advice on preventing and escaping from human trafficking

Guest Contributor119 postsPosted on Yesterday at 8:13 am

The more we can do as hoteliers to help spot human trafficking and report suspicisons, the better. To that end, we from you this piece from Safety.com.

The slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries represents a dark part of history. While officially and legally abolished long ago, the concept of slavery continues to exist today. It is known as human trafficking, and it is highly illegal. This is also known as “modern slavery,” representing the unlawful trade of human beings through recruitment or abduction.

Because human trafficking is a “hidden” crime, finding exact statistics is difficult. However, in 2019 alone, the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline was able to identify a total of 22,326 trafficking victims and survivors. They also reported a 19% increase year over year in the number of victims reaching out to the hotline for help, which is promising.

Unfortunately, escape from a trafficking situation is often difficult, and can seem impossible for the victims. However, there are ways in which victims — especially young ones — can break away and escape.

Do human trafficking victims escape often?

There aren’t specific statistics about how many victims escape from their situations, or how often this might occur. The 2020 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report noted that globally, in 2019, 118,932 human trafficking victims were identified, and 11,841 traffickers were prosecuted, with 9,548 of those convicted. However, plenty of reasons exist as to why victims feel they need to remain in their situations and cannot escape. They might be undergoing physical or psychological abuse, or the “pimp” or owner could be using threats of violence against the victim’s family. If the human trafficking involves labor, the victim could be in debt bondage to the owner.

Then, there is the emotional attachment factor. Traffickers are masters at manipulating victims to believe they care about them and that they love them.

When it comes to sex trafficking, “pimps hone in on the girls, and offer them the attention and gifts they crave from a man,” said psychiatrist and book author Carole Lieberman. When the girls realize that they’re being groomed for sex with others, “it’s too late,” Lieberman said.

A growing dependency on their traffickers, combined with being kept in unfamiliar places, can also mean the victims stay put.

“Victims do not have the option to hand in their notice, or resign,” said Tera Hilliard, CEO of Forgotten Children Inc. “They are physically and mentally trapped in slavery, with very limited options of freedom.”

Teach children proper actions

Many parents live in fear that their offspring will be snapped off the streets by strangers and sold into the slave trade. However, stories about parking-lot or shopping-center abductions hit “all the marks of a good urban legend,” Michigan State Police Lt. Sarah Krebs told MLive in an interview.

In reality, victims — especially young victims — are manipulated into the life by someone they know or someone they might have met via the Internet. Putting numbers to this, 27% of sex trafficking victims are trafficked by family members, and approximately 32% of victims are trafficked via an intimate partner. Victims of labor trafficking scams are lured by job offers, advertisements or fraudulent means.

Furthermore, it’s estimated that 60% of child sex trafficking victims have a history in the child welfare system, Hilliard said. “Human traffickers will prey on individuals who are most vulnerable, which is why foster children have a greater risk of becoming victims than those who aren’t in the system,” she added.

Whether children are foster, biological or adopted, the key to protection is prevention. To help keep your child safe, keep the following human trafficking safety tips in mind:

Children should know their name, addresses and phone numbers.
Children should know how to call 911.
Children must know how to react if threatened: they should yell, fight and run.
Children should always ask for parental permission before logging onto the internet. They also must check with parents before talking with anyone on the internet, in a chat room or via messaging.
Children should be told it’s okay to be rude to adults if they think the adults might be threatening in any way.
Parents must be involved in all facets of their children’s lives, including who they talk to (both online and in real life), their activities and if the children have any concerns.

If an abductor tries to grab a child, the child should know to:

Scream “stranger, don’t touch me!” or other “stranger” words. They should also make a great deal of noise and be sure others understand that this is not the child’s parent or relatives.
Bite, scream, kick and poke the abductor in the eyes, grabbing on to anything they can.
Run away from any threatening situation, and find the closest adult for assistance.

What to do if you are captured

Despite all of the preparation, warnings and resources, you, or someone you love, could become a victim of human trafficking. If you are in this position, experts suggest these tips.

Find a way to make contact with someone you trust in the outside world, such as a friend or family members. “Tell that person where you are, and the danger you are in,” Lieberman said. “But don’t ask them to come themselves, because they could be in danger, too.” Instead, ask them to call the police.
If you can’t do this, find a way to communicate with a stranger, letting them know you might be in danger. Lieberman suggests writing down your name and any identifying piece of information with the word “help” on a piece of paper and then hiding it in your shoe. If you are taken into public, such as a restaurant or store, that paper can be slipped to a proprietor, waiter or cashier.
Don’t buy into the lies of the pimp or trafficker. If you are a victim, “get help as soon as you possibly can, and don’t believe any lies the trafficker or pimp will tell you,” Hilliard said. “Remember that there are people who genuinely care, and are willing to rescue you.”
If possible, call a hotline that can help get you out of your situation. In the U.S., reach out to the National Human Trafficking Hotline by calling 888-373-7888, visiting their website or texting “BeFree” (233733).
Once you escape and get settled, get emotional and mental help. The physical toll of being a human trafficking victim is enormous. The psychological toll can be just as bad, if not worse. The U.S. Office of Justice indicated that individuals escaping the bonds of human trafficking can experience severe guilt, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and eating disorders.

The bottom line

Human trafficking involves fear, coercion and fraud to enslave its victims. While escape might seem impossible, advice and help are available to help victims break away from pimps, owners and others whose goal is exploitation. Keeping mentally aware during captivity and finding a way to make contact with a trusted individual — or even an interested stranger — in the outside world can help lead to escape from bondage.

About the author

Writen by Amy Sorter of Safety.com.

New York State Bar Association Shamefully Tramples on Individual Rights over Mandatory COVID Vaccination

New York State Bar Association Calls Upon State To Consider Mandating a Safe and Effective Vaccine if Voluntary Measures Fail To Protect Public Health

By Susan DeSantis

News Center
New York State Bar Association Calls Upon State To Consider Mandating a Safe and Effective Vaccine if Voluntary Measures Fail To Protect Public Health

Health

The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is recommending that the state consider mandating a COVID-19 vaccine once a scientific consensus emerges that it is safe, effective and necessary. But before taking this significant step, the state government should conduct a public awareness campaign to urge voluntary vaccination.

NYSBA’s House of Delegates approved a resolution on Nov. 7 outlining conditions for requiring the vaccine for all New Yorkers save those exempted by doctors. It would be up to public health authorities to decide if a vaccine mandate is necessary, and whether it should apply to all residents or to a smaller population such as health care workers or students.

With the number of cases again on the rise both nationally and statewide, the association is asking the state to:

Ensure that vulnerable populations are treated ethically and without discrimination. This includes communities of color, older adults, nursing home residents, people with disabilities, prisoners and immigrants. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James and two national civil rights organizations have criticized the federal government’s plan to distribute the vaccine through pharmacies. They say the plan falls woefully short of meeting the needs of communities of color that were disproportionately harmed by the pandemic.
Enact a state emergency health powers act and crisis standards of care addressing gaps in existing law. This is essential to a well-coordinated response to the pandemic, increasing the capacity of the system if there’s a surge in cases. It would also clarify the legal authority and ethical standards for making decisions if there are shortages of anything from personal protective equipment to trained health care workers.
Release older prisoners and those with disabilities and serious illnesses who do not pose a danger to the community
Eliminate restrictions on the provision of care by telehealth and increase reimbursement for such services

“The magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented over the last 100 years by any measure – the number of lives lost, the survivors who remain seriously ill, the risks faced by health care workers, the disproportionate impact on communities of color, the profound trauma and the disruption to our economy,” said NYSBA President Scott M. Karson. “The United States was unprepared to deal with this pandemic. We need to take these actions to be sure we are ready should there be a rise in New York’s caseload during the cold, winter months.”

“In balancing the protection of the public’s health and civil liberties, the Public Health Law recognizes that a person’s health can and does affect others,” said Mary Beth Morrissey, chair of the Health Law Section’s Task Force on COVID-19, which proposed the resolutions approved by the House of Delegates today.

“The authority of the state to respond to a public health crisis is well-established in constitutional law. It may become necessary to require that certain individuals or communities be vaccinated, such as health care workers and students, to protect the public’s health,” said Morrissey, a research fellow at Fordham University’s Global Health Care Innovation Management Center and a faculty member in the graduate schools.

About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.

###

Contact: Susan DeSantis
sdesantis@nysba.org
518-487-5780

Medical Cannabis and the Right to Work

There are countless Canadian corporations that have drug and alcohol policies. The validity of these policies as to medical cannabis may be in doubt as it is only recently in Canada that prescriptions for medical cannabis can be widely obtained.

In the case of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1620 v. Lower Churchill Transmission Construction Employer’s Association Inc. the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador released its decision on 4June2020 important for those with a prescription for medical cannabis and in the workforce.

An employee was refused employment due to his prescription for medical cannabis. His union challenged the decision of the arbitrator. The arbitrator noted that the potential employee’s position was considered as a “Safety Sensitive Position”.

In Canadian law it is accepted that employees with disability must be accommodated by an employer unless such accommodation causes “undue hardship” for the employer. The arbitrator’s decision stated as the employer was unable to readily measure impairment from cannabis based on currently available technology and resources and the inability to measure and manage that risk of harm constituted undue risk for the employer. Accommodation can take many forms but its purpose is to ensure an employee who is able to work can do so and persons who are otherwise fit to work are not unfairly excluded where working conditions can be adjusted without undue hardship. Accommodation short of undue hardship is a very high threshold for an employer to meet. That point is reached when reasonable means of accommodation are exhausted and only unreasonable or impractical options for accommodation remain.

The union representing the potential employee applied for a judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision. The initial decision of the trial judge dismissed any ground for judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision as the trial judge thought that the arbitrator’s decision was reasonable.

The Court of Appeal stated that Canadian law provides that decisions of administrative tribunals and arbitrators are subject to a presumption of reasonableness.

The appeal court said that the onus is on the employer to establish that to accommodate the potential employee would cause the employer undue hardship. The employer could not rely on an argument that because there was no means to determine where an employee was ingesting cannabis that this caused undue hardship on the employer. “The onus was on the employer to establish on the balance of probabilities that some means of individual testing of the greivor to assess his ability to perform the job was not an alternative.” It was not sufficient for the employer to say hiring an employee would constitute a risk. The employer must go further and establish through an individualized analysis why allowing this potential employee at the work location would not enable the employer to maintain reasonable site safety, short of undue hardship.

“The conclusion follows that the arbitrator’s decision was unreasonable insofar as he failed to address the employer’s onus to establish that to accommodate the greivor by means of individual assessment of his inability to perform the job safely, regardless of the absence of a scientific or medical standard, would result in undue hardship. “To establish undue hardship the employer had to establish an alternate option involving individual assessment for determining whether the potential employee could safely perform his job. As a result the trial judge’s decision was overturned and the matter referred back to arbitration.

If you feel you have been discriminated against by an employer as a result of the use of prescribed cannabis you should seek advice from a lawyer. A tool in your arsenal as far as cannabis goes is that you have obtained a prescription for it as opposed to self medicating (which most likely will be treated as recreational use) which will not help your case.

Photo by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps.

“The End of Love”: A Film Boosted by its Place in Time: Toronto Jewish Film Festival

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival, a virtual festival of course in this insidious time of COVID , goes beyond its time limits to present an “encore presentation” of a couple of films. One of them is “The End of Love” which deals with a Skype relationship between Israeli photographer Yuval and his wife Julie. Julie is in Paris and Yuval in Tel Aviv.

They have a child Lenny. Yuval tries to get a visa to visit France and his family but one gets the sense he is more comfortable in Israel than he would be in France.

Julie and Yuval struggle to maintain the relationship via Skype but it is strained. A long-distance relationship runs out of gas virtually! After having finished 14 hours of a mindfulness certification course on Zoom this week-end it works well but for an intimate personal relationship the virtual relationship breaks down as how can parenting happen in this fashion? It slowly disintegrates. Take a course virtually or a meeting or two and virtual is fine but a personal relationship like marriage and marital relationships can’t survive the need for personal contact and in this case they collapse.

An interesting film that might have passed unnoticed had not it been for the virtual relationships imposed upon many of us in these COVID times.

This film won the Micki Moore Award in the Toronto Jewish Film Festival for 2020. A film for its time? A lucky insertion into a COVID virtual unreality reality?

A painful disintegration of a personal relationship based upon Yuval’s stubborn insistence in remaining in Israel.

Poor son Lenny caught in the middle as a victim of the inability or willingness of parents unwilling to make the sacrifice to make it work.

This encore presentation will be available November 22 and 23 virtually.

It is a 90-minute film directed by Keren Ben Rafael.

It is a Franco-Israeli production with Hebrew, French and English with English subtitles.

For a trailer and details how to see the film https://tjff.com/films/the-end-of-love/

Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery Red Wines: Lake Erie North Shore Wines From Ontario

Sprucewood Shores is a well-known family Lake Erie North Shore winery and we go back at least a decade. But through time we lost touch. However samples arrived and its fantastic to be back. With the most heat units in Ontario one hopes for some interesting red wines. Of course, it is not so hot that Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay can’t thrive.

In any case carrying on the Australian cute names on the wine label theme we screw off the Stelvin cap and try a 2017 Lady in Red Cabernet/Merlot blend. Transparent black cherry colour. On the nose a fruity bolt strikes the nostrils and it is a friendly and cheery one. Strawberry and cherry and a nice, lush Merlot based core with a touch of almonds. On the palate a solid beam of red cherry tinged with Amaretto biscuits. The finish is short with a slight zap of sweetness but not that awful sweetness one can get from overripe grapes. I was not expecting such a delicious wine and Tanya Mitchell, Sprucewood Shore’s winemaker, has crafted a simple but delightful wine at a more than fair price. This is a great Christmas Party wine for the 2020 Christmas party only “yahoos”, as Premier of Ontario Doug Ford says, will be hosting and attending. The winery says this will pair nicely with a pasta and tomato sauce or pizza. I can only think a sausage and rapini based tomato sauce would be just the mark.

I would say this is a case worthy wine not for reasons of elegance or complexity but for pure enjoyment.

You can order from the winery if you wish or pick up at the LCBO.

(Lady in Red 2017 Cabernet Merlot, VQA Ontario, Sprucewood Shores Inc, Harrow, Ontario, $14.95, LCBO # 266486, 750 mL, 12.25%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me Rating 90/100).

Ok stone me to death for saying Niagara should stay away from trying to produce excellent Cabernet Sauvignon. On the other hand with more heat in the Lake Erie North Shore appellation I have had a little more success with Cabernet Sauvignon there. In fact the best Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon I have had in Ontario has been from Colchester Ridge Estate Winery more or less a stone’s throw away from Sprucewood Shores. So we have a bit of a moment of truth here with a 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon although it is a Ontario VQA as opposed to a LENS VQA so one can’t be sure if the grapes are local.

On the nose prevalent blueberry notes but there is some cassis and blackberry all of which meld perfectly together. There is also a slightly creamy element. On the palate the tannins are just close to moderate but give the wine some grip and give it some personality. The acids are restrained and the wine is perfectly in balance. There is some black cherry, cherry liqueur ad cherry pie to the taste. This wine is only available through the winery at $16.07.

What can I say? Like the Lady in Red wine above someone at Sprucewood Shores must be on happy pills because this is another red that beams at you with a smile like that of Kamala Harris congratulating Joe Biden on his presidential win while Donald J. Trump flaps around like a freshly caught Lake Erie Pickerel gasping for the air of political survival. Not only is this wine happy it is classy and almost elegant. At this price yet another case worthy wine. It is described on their website as medium oaked but the oak merely adds a little heft to the wine without making it oaky just a bit delightfully smoky. Now that’s great winemaking.

This will handle grilled beef or even a New Year’s Day prime rib roast. It will also handle homemade pizza made with that loving touch or a well-made artisanal pizza from a pizzeria in Kingsville which name escaped the memory bank.

Drink in the next couple of years.

(Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, VQA Ontario, Sprucewood Shores Inc., Harrow, Ontario, $16.07, 750 mL, 12.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me Rating 92/100).

We need to finish off the reds as after a 7 hour Zoom session in search of another mindfulness certification course at the University of Toronto I am numb and I must repeat it again tomorrow. Can Sprucewood Shores give me a shot of hope adrenalin? Let’s see with their “Reserve” upper end brand. Like Lady in Red it is a Cabernet/Merlot blend and the label makes it clear the Cabernet is indeed a Cabernet Sauvignon.

In colour it is black cherry. On the nose black cherry, blackberry in a soft vanilla framework. The vanilla would be a result of French oak barrels which I am guessing are at least second or third fill ones giving the wine a more subtle oak influence. And again the acids are in perfect harmony. On the palate tannins are low but a bit of a peppery finish. Mild notes of blackberry and black cherry. This is a much more subtle wine than the two wines reviewed above. It is more sophisticated and a big change in gears. It aims to play with the big boys but it is struggling on the palate for a precise identification of gender. Quite frankly it is not as exciting as the cheaper wines above but I think it has some ageing potential. It is more sophisticated for sure but can it compete in that niche with Yankee and EU wines at its price point? Perhaps I’ll let you decide. As far as I am concerned this wine lacks the excitement and charm of its cheaper cousins. Again it proves that a more expensive wine is not always the prima donna.

Now if you have a cellar and want to give this a couple of years to mature you might be well rewarded.

Not available at the LCBO so to order contact the winery and look at their other wines at https://www.sprucewoodshores.com/

If you are in Detroit relatively close if in Toronto a bit of a drive and an overnight is required. You can even sit on their beachfront and munch away at picnic baskets and interesting boards of cheese and antipasto. Want to have a wedding reception well they can accommodate that! And of course, they have a wine club!

(Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery Cabernet Merlot Hawk’s Flight Reserve 2017, Sprucewood Shores Inc., Harrow, Ontario, $33.76, 750 mL, 13.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me Rating 89/100).

Coming up a couple of their whites.

I’M Dreaming of a COVID Free Christmas! Good Luck on that! (Post From Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)

How to Make Decisions About Winter Holiday Gatherings Amid COVID-19

BY ELIZABETH STUART AND KERI ALTHOFF | NOVEMBER 10, 2020

What you—and your guests—need to consider before gathering for the winter holidays.

With COVID-19 case numbers climbing in the U.S. as pandemic fatigue wears on, there’s a constant tension between staying safe and wanting to get back to normal.

Those feelings may hit their peak for many during upcoming winter holidays when we crave time with family and friends, as well as long standing traditions, and face the winter season ahead.

But we aren’t coming into this time without some experience. Innovations made over the last six months can help inform how we make plans going forward. We’ve also learned from holidays that have already happened—July 4, Ramadan, and Passover for examples.

Epidemiologist Keri Althoff, PhD and mental health researcher Elizabeth Stuart, PhD bring back core concepts of the decision-making framework they applied to school-reopenings to help you consider your options. This guidance, along with lessons already learned, can help you form plans for a safe and healthy winter holiday season.

A key point is that during this COVID-19 pandemic, any in-person holiday celebration is really a 4-week process—not just a single event—that may involve pre-planning and post-event quarantine. Below we talk about what that process might involve.

Step 1: Talk about goals and ground rules—together.

Having a group discussion with all of your guests prior to the event creates shared accountability. Additionally, a group discussion allows guests to gain first-hand knowledge of other guests’ perspective on appropriate precautions. Make sure to discuss:

What are your goals? (To spend time together or virtually, to plan for a really great future family reunion, to gather in small groups with just one or two other families for a meal, to connect with specific individuals such as grandparents, etc.)
What are the risks and benefits for you and your loved ones, taking into account both physical and mental health? Are there some individuals—such as a lonely grandparent—for whom the benefits significantly outweigh the risks?
How can you break down the possible solutions into smaller steps?
Are all attendees comfortable with the plan put in place?

Step 2: Make a “Plan A” for your celebration, informed by the latest data.

Write down the following measurements for your county and the counties that your guests live in:

the number of new cases
the number hospitalized
the number of deaths
the proportion who are testing positive.

Then note whether these measurements of coronavirus transmission have been increasing or decreasing.

Compare county-level data between you and your guests and then commit to measures to make Plan A as safe as possible in the current conditions for the guest that is at highest risk for severe COVID-19 illness. For example, if the guest at highest risk for severe illness lives in a county with relatively low transmission that has been decreasing or staying the same, it may be particularly risky to have attendees visit from areas with high or increasing case counts.

Measures to consider to reduce risk might include:

A virtual gathering instead of face-to-face
A quarantine period for all attendees before attending, and COVID tests if possible (A COVID test followed by 5 days of quarantine OR 14 days of quarantine if testing is not available)
Wearing masks
Outdoors instead of indoors
Ensuring enough space for physical distancing
Limiting the number of households—keep the number small!
Shorter celebration duration
No eating or drinking indoors, or, if this must happen, seating households together with 6 feet or more in between tables
Good ventilation if indoors—open windows and doors and tell your guests to dress warmly!

Even small steps, such as all attendees wearing masks throughout the gathering, can do a lot to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at your celebration.

Step 3: Make both a Plan B and a Plan C that include modifications to Plan A.

Plan B is for the situation in which the COVID-19 transmission measurements under which Plan A was made have evolved to suggest higher transmission, which may mean greater risk of COVID-19 transmission at your event.

Plan C includes a postponement date if any key attendee or anyone in the host’s household has a member who is unwell in the week leading up to the event. Given the challenges in knowing when individuals are infectious, and in the wide variety of COVID-19 symptoms, err on the side of caution—even if the symptoms are typical of a cold or allergies, it’s better to reschedule for a time when everyone is feeling well.

If the event is small, say with one other household, it is good to have a postponement date so that everyone has the extra confidence needed to say “a household member woke up with a sore throat this morning” the day of the celebration. If the event is outdoors, it is good to have a “rain date” in case of bad weather. These allow for easy postponement rather than a disappointing cancellation.

Step 4: Outline a plan for what happens in the 2 weeks after the event if someone becomes ill.

How will you all stay in touch about symptoms? If someone does become ill, who will call the other guests? What will be said? What will be expected of all guests (i.e., quarantine)?

Finally, recognize that celebrating virtually can leave room for other kinds of fun.

If the risks are just too great to celebrate in person this year, consider ways to make Zoom gatherings a little more interesting. Games like Yahtzee can be played over Zoom and there are activities that work well virtually like cooking the same recipe or doing the same artwork. Ugly sweater contests can be held virtually, as can “most beautiful pie crust” contests.

Without the usual expectations and demands, this could be the holiday season to keep things small at home and try new activities that you never seem to have the time for like decorating the house, building gingerbread houses, or learning holiday songs on an instrument. You never know what might become a new tradition!

Remember to take the time needed to rest and renew with your household members this winter holiday season by being present and enjoying one another, whether that is virtually or through safe in-person gatherings.

Keri Althoff, PhD ’08, MPH ’05, is an associate professor in Epidemiology with a joint appointment at the School of Medicine. She is the Provost’s Fellow for Research Communication at Johns Hopkins.

Elizabeth Stuart, PhD, AM, is the associate dean for Education at the Bloomberg School and a professor in Mental Health, Biostatistics, and Health Policy and Management. She was recently appointed as a Bloomberg Professor of American Health.