Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 6, 1998, Winnipeg, Manitoba S i i in i Gay Ivi a Civ y i in e editor Brian Cole / 697-7044focus Winnipeg free press n a a a sunday december 6, 1998 do treasure arrives by mail order Tea for two a Loving ceremony Shoal farm a since we retired from the daily grind of driving into the City he to the paper she to the Bookstore facing the Day has been a ritual of slow emergence and. Tea. Beth and i have a synchronized body clocks. She will sit up Reading Long past Midnight while in a sawing logs Early a especially if i was out most of the Day sawing logs. Next morning i slip out of bed while she remains buried in covers and pillows. When i can to wait any longer i make Tea put it in a thermos Jug and go into action. Mouth Organ time. Strategy varies. Door slightly open gentle blowing and an almost recognizable amazing Grace serenades the darkened room evoking an eventual moan or plea or push the door open stride in trumpeting the dam busters. Beth a reaction is unpredictable. Familiarity can be Boring so some mornings i Surprise her with the Irish tin flute or the recorder. We re still friends. But then Ash huh Tea. Tray on a Little chair beside the bed cups and saucers Jug of Cream the cats Little plate. Early on Miffy she a always miffed was certain we were sitting in bed drinking Cream and demanded her share by pawing the air like a dog. We sit teacups in hand staring out the window onto one mile Road watching occasional Drivers in cars trucks tractors going by to work in Field barn or office and happily guzzle relishing the aftertaste that follows. Talk about wine tasting bouquet. Beth insists her first cup flushes her veins and brain of sludge. She is a connoisseur. Surely she knows More than most. Among our hundreds thousands of books on Walls in almost every room Are specials such As steeped in tradition a Celebration of Tea Tea Craft a Treasury of Romance rituals amp recipes teas amp misanes the London Ritz Book of afternoon Tea. Black Green China Ceylon Indian blends my wife recites their history the plants grew High or Low in the mountains the leaves came from the tip or Bottom of the Plant or were restricted to the first leaves picked of the season. In a sure in be heard her state that some Tea leaves or other had to be picked by virgins. She orders from Murchie a in . Importers and blenders for More than too years. There a a controlled excitement when our order arrives at the Post office in town. We go Over the treasure the bags lined up pounds half pounds Quarter pounds depending on Price and desire the names booting our memories of distinct flavours strengths and idiosyncrasies. Our favourites Tippy Golden Assam Best Ceylon pure darjeeling China Blacks such As Keeyun or Uip Sang Souchon careful Here just a Pinch of this smoked stuff can Brace up another Tea no. To blend no. 22 blend Irish breakfast Prince Charles. The mystique of brewing is a variable As advice from an economists convention. A chinese emperor recommended a set an old three legged Teapot Over a slow fire. Fill it with melted Snow. Boil for As Many minutes As it takes to turn crayfish red. Pour the boiling water Over the Tea leaves and let it remain until the Vapour melts into a thin Mist which floats upon the real Tea lovers find Joy in the taste and the ritual of making it. Then drink at Leisure and drive away the five causes of sorrow. We measure Tea leaves according to the Way we like individual kinds and blends usually three heaping Teaspoons to the pot and a cup or so of water into the thermos Jug. Sometimes we put in a Tea bag and two spoonfuls. The Man who kissed the cow said a everyone to their own steeping varies a Ceylon May suit us in four minutes others such As a darjeeling May need eight minutes. Staring out the window teacups High we sip. A what is it a i ask. Three tries Are allowed. The connoisseur guesses. Wrong wrong again sometimes right on the third try. A a it a that darn mouthwash a she complains. A ruins my slice of life is a weekly column featuring Manitoba writers. Jim Shilliday is a retired Winnipeg e the free press welcomes letters from readers. Letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed name address and Telephone number. Names will be published but not addresses. All letters May be edited for style and length. Short letters Are less Likely to be condensed. Please address letters to letters to the editor Winnipeg free press. 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg r2x 3b6. Letters can be sent to our fax number 697-7412. Letters May be submitted through the internet at . Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be signed but must include Home address and Telephone number. North end housing prices Tumble in contrast to Rolf Hitzert a letter to the editor i do believe the sky is falling on real estate in North Winnipeg. In 1991, my partner and i purchased a two Storey Home on Cathedral Avenue Between main and Salter. At the time it seemed to be a very Good bargain at $48,500, especially when the listing agent showed us a recent appraisal for the House indicating a value of approximately $60,000. Since then we have listed it on various occasions for $44,900, $39,900 and right now at $34,900. We have made a number of minor improvements to this property Over the years including studding and insulating the basement some new dry Wall Vinyl flooring new carpeting Light fixtures paint Etc. Yet assuming we receive full asking Price for this property it will have lost Over 40 per cent of its value and we will have lost All the Money we be sunk into it. I believe this is representative for this part of the City and hardly indicates a a stable in addition it is not reassuring to see that even the City a assessment department still can to get it right. At the assessment Appeal hearing i presented evidence showing that a similar House two doors Over had sold for $26,000, and that our House was listed at that time for $39,900. Despite this the assessor swore under oath that it was Worth More than $50,000 revised to $48,000 by the Board of revision. So now not Only have we lost at least $14,000 on the House the City insists on overtaking us by More than $400 per year. Hey have i got a great Deal for the City and the assessors. Buy our place for $34,000 and make a Quick $14,000 profit by Selling it at the Price they swear ifs Worth. Offers Doug Penner Winnipeg Justice must be seen to be done a what the Premier did is of no concern. It does no to help me in deciding what did we hear that right Justice Alfred Monnin because this May seem obvious How can you decide on what happened exactly in the alleged vote splitting scheme in the last election a and How far up this thing goes a until you know what the Premier knew and did unless of course that a been decided ahead of time. I believe the Complete saying is a Justice must not Only be done it must be seen to be right now it looks like this exercise is Only for appearances. Roy Jemison Winnipeg Fine tune health Reform when the Manitoba government established regional health boards and the Winnipeg Hospital authority it created a new level of management for health delivery. The stated intent was that health care would become More effective and efficient. The whole plan was to be implemented province wide in one massive operation. A project of great complexity and involving billions of tax payers dollars was launched in the Blind Faith that this was the Best Way to go. The appointed boards were left to thrash around in uncharted Waters. Any business planning a massive change in its operations would do so in careful Steps. To do otherwise could easily Lead to disaster. In private Enterprise management is fired if that happens. Also when a business wants to rationalize its operations it tries to reduce Levels of management. So Why does the Manitoba government increase Levels of management when that is Well known As a bad idea this government can maybe still avoid Landing in a quagmire of its own making. It should take a step Back and proceed in a More careful manner. Put the plans on hold except for the few boards that seem to be doing Well. Fine tune the plan and Only then implement it in full. The Manitoba government will find at election time if it was successful and if not it will be fired by its shareholders the people of Manitoba. Robert a. Doorenbos Thompso water Cost rises astronomically the recent Surprise increase in Winnipeg water rates should not be surprising. At least since 1991, every year the Cost of water from the City of Winnipeg water Utility has been increased. As close As i can figure the Cost of too cubic feet of water in 1991 was $1.28 compared to a 1998 Cost of $2.32. If the four per cent increase is allowed effective Jan. I 1999, the Cost of water will be $2.41 per too . For an increase of 88 per cent since 1991. Inflation has not gone up 88 per cent since 1991. Water is probably our most precious commodity but what other precious commodities wheat Gas Oil Gold Etc have risen 88 per cent since 1991? people on fixed incomes have not seen an increase in Public pensions of 88 per cent. Winnipeg a new mayor promises to reduce property taxes is he going to do it at the expense of the water we drink c. Cruden Winnipeg use tests for improvement this is a response to the controversy elicited by the administration of a three hour multiple Choice test to medical doctors in deciding their competence to continue working in intensive care units. While we can argue that we have come a Long Way in our teaching practices in general our assessment procedures have not. Unfortunately tests often poorly designed multiple Choice tests decide the academic and professional future of students. Test driven teaching and politically driven testing procedures dictate and nurture algorithm recitation by students and Content driven teaching by teachers. In some parts of the u.s., students performance on centrally designed tests have been used occasionally to fire teachers. Tests should serve Only two functions to motivate students and to study and to identify problem areas. I do not know How Well the multiple Choice test items were designed by or. Daniel Roberts. Multiple Choice test items Are notoriously difficult to write if they Are to be part of a valid instrument. According to the free press the test was tried on or. Roberts Resi dents in training. This kind of statistical validation May be a dubious practice. It would have been less draconian if the test had been administered to motivate doctors to improve their skills and knowledge and to identify weaknesses and then followed up by a comprehensive in service training without imposing the stigma of a a incompetence and the inconvenience of a closing their Arthur Stinner professor mathematics and natural sciences faculty of education University of Manitoba Grey cup harmed by ticket prices Why is everyone so shocked about the Low attendance at the Grey cup firstly the tickets were expensive. The bombers got greedy and paid for it. Secondly Winnipeg has a reputation of being cold. People did no to want to freeze at the stadium when they could stay at Home a not to see two out of province teams. Finally local interest was Down because the bombers weren to in the Grey cup. People did no to want to see Calgary and Hamilton play football for $100 a ticket. In conclusion it should be obvious Why attendance so Low. Next time they should lower ticket prices to $50 and do More advertising to raise Public interest. But most of our football Money problems will be solved by having a decent football team. Scott Davidson Winnipeg Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 a Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vol 127no 7 a 1998 Winnipeg free press a division of . Newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697-7000 a member of the Manitoba press Council Rudy Redekop publisher email Ca Nicholas Hirst / editor Brian Cole i editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown i circulation sales and marketing Laurie Finley advertising Perry Nixdorf i technology Glenn Williams i finance and administration a Reader questions the line of questioning at the Monnin inquiry into alleged election irregularities ;