Wiggles and giggles

Fringe reviews #6: Side quests highly recommended

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Spacious rural garden makes smooth transition to urban space

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to dig up some of their beloved plants when they sell their home and move to another property. But relocating hundreds of prized plants from an established and spacious rural garden to a blank slate is a whole other matter.

In 2022, Sandra Gessner Eggertson and her husband decided it was time to sell their three-acre rural property near St. Andrews. They purchased a home on a quiet street in Winnipeg where Eggertson planned to make a new garden. Their rural property was listed that fall and sold immediately. Eggertson moved in December, but first, hundreds of treasured perennials, including hostas and specialty lilies and iris plants, needed to be transplanted into pots.

With the assistance of a good friend — a fellow lily and iris enthusiast — the enormous task of digging and dividing took three months. The plant divisions were loaded into a truck and transported to her friend’s farmyard, where they spent the winter in a protected location with ample snow cover.

“First we placed bales of straw in the shape of a big square to act as a catch-all for snow,” says Eggertson. “The pots were placed close together inside the square and then covered with mulch. I had very few plant losses.”

Bearing other people’s burdens

It might feel like an honour to have a family member or friend place tremendous trust in you to be their voice when they can no longer speak for themselves.

Whether they’re physically or mentally unable to do so, or deceased, being in charge of fulfilling their wishes often can’t be fully grasped by those taking on the roles of executor of their will or power of attorney.

These important jobs may not be the most onerous on the planet, but for the uninitiated, they probably involve more twists and turns than anticipated.

There’s not many playbooks on how to be an executor or serve as the attorney-in-fact named in the power of attorney document, says Philippe Richer, lawyer and principal at TLR Law Office in Winnipeg.

Wiggles and giggles

EDMONTON -- As any disgruntled mall Santa can attest, the business of keeping kids happy can be cutthroat, even for a friendly pirate on board with one of the most successful children's entertainment groups in the world whose cutlass couldn't even slice butter.

"I've caused a lot of children to cry for some reason," says Paul Paddick, who goes by his stage name Captain Feathersword when he's performing with the Australian ensemble The Wiggles. "It's not so much, 'You're not really Captain Feathersword,' as, 'You're a scary person.' I think my voice by nature is very confronting close up. It's OK at a distance on TV or onstage, but when I'm very close to someone, I tend to send a lot of kids off crying."

With his hearty, boisterous laugh, it's no wonder some kids still envision a ruthless buccaneer. But the jolly 42-year-old actor, who eschews traditional weaponry in favour of his tickling feather sword in order to promote non-violence, exudes a genuine warmth and cheerfulness towards children that seems common to the entire Wiggles franchise.

Wearing their trademark multicoloured skivvies, the four men who comprise The Wiggles have combined musical talent and showmanship, guided by their backgrounds in early childhood education, to create an entertainment empire since their formation in 1991.

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Soccer game days treated as religious events by some

The World Cup concludes Sunday with the final match to determine the winner. It’s not a religious event, but it has religion-like elements. This includes things like pilgrimages to matches, shared songs and rituals, “saints” like Messi and Ronaldo and, for many, a deep devotion to a team.

Religion has been evident during games, too. Some players from the Christian tradition crossed themselves after scoring goals. After Germany’s win over Curaçao, players from both teams stood together on the field in a prayer circle after the final whistle. Some Muslim players performed sujood, the Islamic act of bowing down in submission and gratitude to God, after scoring, while others did dua, raising their hands in grateful prayer.

Outside of the World Cup, football has even been used as a way to explain faith. Pope Francis, an avid football fan, did that in his homilies and speeches. Football, he said, can teach Christian virtues such as community, cooperation and teamwork over individualism.

Pope Leo XIV feels the same way. “Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget,” he said before the World Cup kicked off. “Life is not a race to show off on our own, but a path we learn to walk together. Anyone who does not know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, has not yet understood the game. Anyone who does not know how to live with and for others has not yet understood life.”