As we approach September, some ideas... · Saturday August 23, 2025 by colin newell
For those just joining us… hello. For those here for the first time or dropping in after a long time… Hola! Good day.
Looking at the stats for this blog, I see a lot of visitors… but I don’t get a lot of feedback.
I’d love some feedback. I have some ideas I am cooking up for the Fall.
One is a radio show. Yep. A new medium… or is it an old medium?
Either way. Yea. And it will be paralleled with a podcast.
But what are we up to? That is going to be the subject of some up and coming posts.
Stay tuned.
If you are a regular here, please send me a note via this easy contact page.
Singing with the trees quick book review · Sunday June 29, 2025 by colin newell
In his debut novella, artist and singer songwriter Rob Fillo invites us on a journey of self discovery, enlightenment and wisdom born of pain.
From the urban malaise of Richmond, British Columbia and the rising spectre of COVID globally, Rob has decided to flee the capitalist establishment and degradation of civilization, casting off the yokes of modernity and boiling down his belongings into the cramped comforts of his 2004 Nissan Sentra.
I took a deep breath and realized that I packed my 2004 Sentra to the gills with nearly everything I owned. I think part of me never wanted to come back to my condo…
In the summer of 2020, Rob Fillo, then 38 years old decided it was time to find out what he was made of – what measure of human man he was — and by what measure he would measure himself. This was, after all, the recesses of Vancouver Island, in all its pitiless and unforgiving and often impenetrable wilderness; from dense black forest, alpine mountains high to plunging rock crevices to a restless Pacific Ocean. And guarding these confines, cougars and marmots and bears (Oh my!)
I imagined I would have to fight a bear — or something — to earn my stripes. I awaited this challenge on my last night, alone in the misty darkness…
Equipped with a keen sense of empathy and the ability to, above and beyond all other things, listen, Rob was quickly initiated into the back-World of Island bush camping and co-existing with his co-escapees. His preternatural skills with the acoustic guitar and West Coast song writing won him quick accolades with groups small and large — quickly leading to headlining small town pub and bistro gigs.
There I was, under the stars, fire blazing, and this goddess of the forest decided to materialize and come sit with me.
At a reasonably lean 80 pages, Rob fills us with wonder within the realm of our surroundings, encouraging us to question our motives in the material World. After two easy breezy reads (yes, you can read this cover to cover in one 1.5 hour ferry ride between Island and mainland…) I felt like I had a brace of important questions for myself (and others) and wanted more. Here is hoping for another chapter in Rob’s life! The life and music of Rob Fillo can be found at his website RobFillo.com – and his books in many respectable bricks and mortar book shops as well as Amazon online.
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and former authority on the subject of coffee, food and beverage culture… who likes to read and review great books…
Book review - Blood on the Breakwater · Sunday October 8, 2023 by colin newell
Although better known for its tea rooms, English architecture, and a seemingly inexhaustible 12 month blooming cycle, Victoria has rarely been thought of as a petrie dish of murder and intrigue – and yet, award winning journalist Jean Paetkau hits us squarely in the face with a bracing and salty tale of betrayal, dogged journalistic determination, and a hundred year old family scandal!
In her debut foray into crime fiction, Jean has successfully made the leap from children’s books into a very crowded genre often crying for originality. And while I often have the skepticism of a character from a Mickey Spillane novel, I found myself hooked within the first few passages of chapter one.
In Blood on the Breakwater, our heroine, Helene Unger, an often exhausted and bedraggled solo parent, finds solace and comfort from sunset walks on our historic waterfront. And while Victoria and its horizons seem to have sprung from a Toni Onley painting, something more sinister awaits waterside. Her life with “Vancouver Island Radio…” has been one of routine and ritual soon to be shaken up with the appearance of a lifeless woman, Lucy Marino, floating off shore.
To my delight, Jean leaves few Victoria anchors uninvolved and outside the realm of suspicion; the arts, the business of city blooms, bakeries and coffee shops! For residents of our fair garden city, Blood on the Breakwater appears to touch on every hot button issue facing our privileged gilded boulevards – whether it’s bike lanes or ferry traffic or street parking!
While our Helene might be a couple of Fluevog foot steps behind any number of suspicious characters, closely on her heel is Detective Kalinowski who has the shop worn cynicism of a gumshoe twice her age, the twitchiness and suspicion of too many encounters with the dark side of humanity.
Honestly, Blood on the Breakwater is as much a surprising thriller as it is a banter masterclass in the witty/pithy exchanges between detective and civilian investigator (Helene).
Suspects dodge and weave with the unpredictability of sedans in the Douglas-Hillside-Government intersection. I found myself held in place, by the scruff of the neck, as the denouement approached like a runaway steam train over the Malahat. It was exhausting and ultimately satisfying. Begging for more, I only began to imagine the potential sequel and pathways our heroine would uncover in future volumes and adventures.
Blood on the Breakwater is a breezy and tantalizing read – and a must have for Island residents. The book is available at all of your favourite shops – from Munro’s to Bolen Books to Russell Books and, oh yes, very online at Amazon.
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and writer of words online since 1995. Always on the hunt for a choice piece of fiction, his hand is either holding a coffee cup or a paperback!
Stamping out breast cancer with Erica and Sue. · Saturday January 27, 2018 by colin newell
Join Erica & Sue
– Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators, for an afternoon of stamping in support of breast cancer research.
Make six all occasion greeting cards while learning a few cardmaking techniques.
When – February 25, 1 PM-5 PM
Where – Cedar Hill Recreation Center
How Early registration: $50 / after Jan 31 until Feb 11: $55
Seating is limited so register early
Proceeds to be donated to the Run for the Cure – including 25% of sales (minus material costs)
supplies by Stampin’ Up!
bring an adhesive (tape runner or liquid glue)
materials pre-cut and packaged
You DO NOT have to be crafty to take part. Just come and enjoy the company of friends and have fun.
pick up Stampin’ Up catalogues
view sample projects
hourly prize draws
thank you gift
Contact Event Coordinators Erica or Sue to register. Erica: 250-686-3402; ericaedney@shaw.ca Sue: 250-661-5680; suephilipcda@gmail.com
Local artisan series chapter one - Alfons Furniture · Monday August 8, 2016 by colin newell
When we first moved into our new house, one of the first neighbours to pop by was Alfons.
He lives on the street parallel to our and shares part of a back fence. An enthusiastic gardener and outdoorsman, Alfons represents all the good things about good neighbours – engaged, good humoured and genuinely interested in what is going on in the World around us.
As it turns out, Alfons is a fine furniture maker and designer – a guy who makes some very unique and breathtaking pieces that would grace and compliment any home or business. He completed an apprenticeship program in fine furniture in Germany in 1987. After several years working with a variety of senior masters in the craft, he returned to school to obtain a Master’s Diploma in furniture making.
Alfons came to Canada in 1998 and honed his craft in several different work shops in the Victoria area before setting up his own woodcraft design lab in 2005. Alfons focus is on traditional European design and the Contemporary interpretations within North America.
Alfons’s shop and ideas area is in the heart of Rock Bay in an old multi-storied warehouse that contains guitar makers, digital labs and an assortment of high end maker spaces.
We had lunch together recently after getting a tour of his unassuming work space and environment where many of his great ideas come together. There was something about the positive energy and youthfulness of the space that resonated with me – and I imagine that this contributes to the overall quality of everything that comes from this building and his creation space.
What I also discovered about Alfons is his acute ability to listen and provide instant feedback on what I may have been trying to convey on some of my design ideas – which is an immensely valuable skill when designing items of furniture that may reside in a home for 100 years or more.
As Alfons pointed out to me over lunch at the Salt Chuck Pie nearby, “The customer relationship is the most important key to succeeding in virtually any project… whether it is building the perfect piece of fine furniture for their home… or making their computer work better in their business…” Yes indeed, I can certainly relate to that!
Have a look at Alfons’s website and photo gallery – I think you will agree that he builds and designs some of the most remarkable pieces of furniture in the South Vancouver Island marketplace.
You can find Alfons online or make an appointment with him via – Alfons Laicher
Alfons Custom Furniture & Woodwork Inc. – 2614 Bridge St. #223 • Victoria, BC • V8T 4S9
Phone: 250-361-4119
Email: Alfons@AlfonsFurniture.com
This is Chapter One of an ongoing series of artisan conversations – with the creators, makers and ideas people of Vancouver Island.
