Famed Dutch band to tour Canada

48th Highlanders of Holland will visit Canada next month.

One of the most moving and memorable tours I've ever taken was to the battlefield graveyards in the Netherlands, where so many young Canadians gave their lives to help the Dutch gain their freedom from the clutches of Hitler's evil.

The Dutch have never forgotten what Canadians did for them and to this very day care for our graves as if they were their own soldiers. The bond between our countries has grown ever stronger since World War II and every time a major WWII occasion crops up, the Dutch open their homes and arms to welcome back Canadian veterans.

In 1991, the Dutch created a living tribute to Canada when it established the 48th Highlanders of Holland Pipes & Drums band, named after the famed Canadian regiment which helped liberate the city Apeldoorn in April 1945. The Canadian regiment had its own pipe band and its members led the regiment into battle that day.

Now, that Dutch band in coming to Canada for a seven-day tour between Nov. 2-9.

The visit of the Dutch band is timed to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the 48th Highlanders of Canada at their “Homecoming Weekend”, Nov. 4,5 and 6, 2011. (see http://www.48highlanders.com/ for more info on that event).

The Dutch Band will be performing in Burlington (twin city of Apeldoorn), Brantford and Toronto betwen Nov 2 – 9 and everyone is invited to attend the free performances.

Here's where they'll be performing:

Nov. 2 - Burlington: Branch 60 of the Royal Canadian Legion, 7 p.m.  

Nov. 3 - Burlington: 11 a.m., Mount Royal Plaza and Brant Street; 5.30 p.m. 501 Kenmar Crescent street party.

Nov. 4 - Brantford: 9.45 a.m., Brantford War Memorial. Laying of a wreath and Remembrance concert;

11.30 a.m., Canadian Military Heritage Museum. This will be followed by performances with the 48th Highlanders of Canada.
Nov. 5 - Toronto: 11 a.m., Parade in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Nov. 6 - Toronto: 11 am. Remembrance Day Parade Queens Park.

Nov. 7 - Burlington: Performance for the Seniors, 11.15 a.m. Burlington Senior’s Centre, 2285 New St. in Central Park adjacent to the Central Library.
Nov. 8 - Burlington: Performance at Burlington City Hall, 11.30 a.m., Laying of a wreath at the Burlington War Memorial at City Hall; 12 p.m., Performance for Mayor Rick Goldring and members of Council and citizens of Burlington, Burlington City Hall Square.

To find out more about the band and it`s Canadian Tour see www.48th-highlanders.nl/indexeng.html.

For further information contact: Jim Matz (Tour Organizer, Canada) jimmatz@cogeco.ca or 905-632 – 5752.

And if you ever get a chance to visit the Netherlands, make sure you visit one of the Canadian military graveyards - it's a moving experience you'll never forget!

Aruba is the jewel of the Caribbean

I took this photo of fun-loving tourists enjoying a
sail ride above one of Aruba's beautiful beaches.

DATELINE ARUBA - I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I'm not a big fan of the Caribbean.

There are exceptions, of course. Grenada, Barbados and Bermuda (okay geography professors, I know technically Bermuda is not a Caribbean country but it's always lumped in with the other island nations of that region) are places I find fascinating to visit.

Now you can add Aruba to my "favourites" list.

Just returned from that treasured desert island which sits just north of Venezuela and I must say the country and its people captivated me.

Aruba's official slogan is "One Happy Island" and it seems smiles are etched on the natives' faces at birth.

Aruba is unlike any other Caribbean island I've visited. It really is a desert island with lots of cactus sticking up from the country's famous white sand. Aruba is more Arizona than Jamaica. The island sat under water for the first billion years of time and when the waters pushed back it left lots of coral on the land,  which helps filter the country's drinking water and makes it, according to locals, the best tap water in the world. I must say, the tap water was exceptional and it was sans chemicals.

Aruba is small - about 19 miles long and 8 miles wide, but proving once again good things come in small packages, the island has much to offer visitors, including some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world. There's lots of sunken World War II ships just offshore and they have become gathering places for tourists visiting the island.

The island was once part of the Dutch West Indies and the head of state is still the Queen of the Netherlands. Holland also handles Aruba's foreign affairs but everything else is controlled by Aruba's parliament.

The country is rimmed by white beaches and there's only one 18-hole golf course, a beauty designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. 18 years ago. The course at Tierra del Sol straddles the Caribbean Sea and playing it requires the strength of Superman because you are always battling hurricane force winds and that dreadful Bermuda grass that makes playing the course equivalent to teeing off on an SOS pad. But the course is in great shape and the views are superb.

Being so close to South America, there's a real Latin flavour about Aruba and the nightlife here is wonderful - lots of dancing and great rum!

I'll be writing lots of stories in the coming weeks about Aruba, including how Canadians have overtaken its beaches; how one man defies logic and makes wine on this desert island; and how I performed on the Robert Trent Jones course.

So stay tuned!