Update: This, that and some other things

Update: With respect to the last item in this post, Andrew Smith, over at Andrew Smith's Blog, has posted a discussion of the event and a link to the podcast of the session posted by the Royal Ontario Museum. Check it out and thanks to Andrew.

I've been a little busy with work of late, so haven't had much time to be blogging. I have been gathering together some material, however, and here's what I have.

Over at The Ottawa Citizen on October 25, Richard Helm published "Chronicles of combat: Canadian veterans tell their 'rough stories'". This is a book review of freelance journalist Ted Barris' latest tome, titled Breaking the Silence: Untold Veterans' Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan. Helm describes the book as Barris' "most personal work to date, exploring the heart of wartime experience with an intimate reflection on his own encounters over the years with close to 3,000 Canadian veterans. From classroom talks with Second World War vets to deeply moving private conversations with those who served in Korea and Afghanistan, he strives to unlock the terrible silence of combat."

Likewise, Michael-Allan Marion at Brantford's The Expositor has published a review of historian James Elliott's latest, Strange Fatality: The Battle of Stoney Creek, 1813. Marion writes that the book is the "first detailed account of the little-known battle [and] is all the more worthy of being named in literary dispatches, considering that most Ontarians grow up knowing little about one of the most important battles ever fought on the soil of their province."

In another vein, Clara War, archivist for the Cobourg and District Historical Society Archives, has written for Northumberland Today about a photo exhibit being presented at the archives on Cobourg's military history, in particular the Cobourg (or 10th) Heavy Battery of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Full contact information is available in the article.

Likewise, the Dufferin County Museum and Archives, in Orangeville, Ontario, has opened an exhibit on Dufferin County's military history, including photographs, documents and objects which highlight "the service of local veterans".

Finally, the Royal Ontario Museum has issued a news release concerning the "Director's Signature Series: Battle on the Plains of Abraham", will be held at the museum on Wednesday, November 11, from 1830 hours. This presentation will take the form of a debate between politician Bernard Landry and historian Jack Granatstein concerning the "impact of one of Canada's most significant battles" and will examine "whether Britain's victory over France on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 was ultimately good for New France, its inhabitants and their descendants." Further details are provided at the link above.