WANTED: Someone who appreciates awesome views every morning,and for the rest of your life. Living in a private park-like estate on a bluff overlooking Northumberland Strait. With expansive Vancouver Island Mountains in the background. Your new lifestyle features a 2750 sf west coast style, south facing home on 3 levels. With state of the art home comfort systems throughout. It is also an operating B&B with bicycle and scooter rentals, a turnkey operation. You have to see it! To believe it! Check Cliff Cottage's website www.cliffcottage.info Come stay the night! Realistically priced by motivated owners.

“Now that’s a long, tall drink of ‘Sexy’” is now Shelagh Rogers, laughter with that big warm smile of her’s, introduced Russell deCarle, celebrated Canadian songwriter, lead singer and founding member of Prairie Oyster.  On stage along with Russell where Denis Keldie playing the accordion in a true Zydeco style like I remember in N’Orleans, and Steve Briggs, guitarist with soul.   We all felt that closeness of a great venue, The Roxy, on Thursday, June 24th.  Singing and playing Cajun, country, blues and love songs prefaced by amiable conversations, stories and history cumulated into Russell’s first solo recording “Under the Big Big Sky”.   Nathan Tinkham joined in and, well we just couldn’t let them go without a standing ovation and a few more songs.  My fav:  Fingernail Moon, Mohair Sam, and Sugar Beet.  Now don’t that sound southern and country.  You Betcha!

Hi!  I will be completing this one very soon.  Call me, if I can be of help in connecting you.

Ah, Yes! There’s a little gypsy in all of us!  Toe-tapping, swaying to the lilt, romantic rhythms sung in the native language of these gifted performers. “Saje” took us on travels through Italy, Spain, Hungary, France, Ireland spinning songs of passion and then slipped us back to Gabriola. It was a full house at The Roxy on Saturday, June 5th, and “Saje’s” CD launch party. Lou Gradanti, Maestro & arrangements, piano and accordion sang delightfully in his native Italian. Andrea Georgiev and Sam McDonald on guitar enchanted us with their sultry melodies. Ben Giordano on guitar and drum, originally from Monaco complimented the group with French and Spanish persuasions with a voice of warm caramel, smooth as velvet . And on the violin, Jeremy McDonald, played a unique blend of stirring Celtic, haunting train, and delightful dreams around the bonfire. The finale was a knock you back in your chair, and lift you up off the ground solo, a classic, Czardes,brilliantly performed by Jeremy. Watch out for more “Saje” on Gabriola. They’re addictive. My fav : All 15 of them all on one CD for $15. Recorded at The Octave Studio, contact Lou at 247-7245.

Nia embodies freedom of dance, awareness of self, joy of movement and breath. Missy Nobels is a White Belt Nia teacher living on Gabriola. To put this in a sense which I could understand when I started exploring Nia about 3 years ago, it is a combination of aerobics, rhythm, Tai Chi, Jazz, Modern Dance, Aikido, Tae Kwon Do and Yoga, movement and dance. Very physical, intense, expanding as you become aware of your body’s universal energy. Missy teaches in Nanaimo and Gabriola, and points further afield. We love her class, our freedom of expression in dance form where the 13 white belt principles Missy embraces are infused to us, beautifully, and only in the Missy-style. The language of conditioning and self-healing are the 52 moves of Nia. Our season is now complete, reoccurring in September with several events planned in between, one being on my front lawn. I’m delighted!