Well, some good news in the news for a change.

The worst of another devastating summer of wildfires appears to have peaked, and the Fraser Canyon’s historic Alexandra Lodge has come through it, unscathed.

A month ago, it was reported that the recently restored landmark was threatened by a blaze that “came perilously close”.

Co-owner Ken MacKinnon poses in front of the historic lodge that he and wife Shirley have been restoring for years. Its loss to fire would have been a severe blow to history as well as to the MacKinnons. —*langleyheritage.ca*

To say the least, it was a relief for owners Shirley and Ken MacKinnon who’d spent four and-half years putting the ca 1863 building back into shape. They haven’t finished and are hoping to be able to use it for vacation rentals.

“We spent at least the last six weeks wrapped up in the stress of the fire. If it wasn’t for ourselves, it was for our friends,” she said, referring to the fact that neighbours who’d had to evacuate their homes were storing some of their most cherished possessions in the lodge.

The Alexandra, whose many guests over the years included the King of Siam, had fallen into disrepair after the opening of the Coquihalla Highway in 1980s. When the MacKinnons first visited it, rain was pouring in from holes in the roof. But no more, and as her photo shows, the lodge is looking good again.

“We sure love this old girl and cannot wait to continue our journey with her...”

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Another good news story is the return of potato farming in Central Saanich after a 40-year ban by the federal government because of an infection of a tiny parasite, the golden nematode that was first detected in June 1965. Farmers fought it until the federal government banned further potato growing, 14 years later.

The miniscule worm, which is just another of the many ‘invasive’ threats to our natural flora and fauna, is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via a shipment of tulips. On the positive side, Central Saanich farmers diversified their crops and it isn’t likely that they’ll again put their faith in any single fruit or vegetable.

This story is history, folks; one day, I’m going to write about the role humans have played in upsetting the natural order of things.

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A recent news story was entitled, “Some Canadians tell Ottawa that spelling style should lean British.” (As is practised here at the Chronicles, need I say.) The article noted that most Canadian publishers, books, magazines, newspapers and other media favour the English spelling.

That’s a total turnaround from many moons ago when I worked at what was then The Daily Colonist. That FP Publication (one of a chain owned in Winnipeg) had a strict policy of using American spelling. For example, favor vs favour. Why? Because all those ‘u’s’ sucked up valuable space!

(In all my writing career I’ve never met greater cheapskates than newspaper owners.)

When I first began writing the Chronicles, I received a complaint from a disgruntled reader who criticized my spelling. Obviously, she was American as she pointed out that “cheque” should be “check”. Well, excuse me!

The bottom line, folks, is that BC Chronicles.ca, is 100 per cent Canadian and proud of it!

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Finally, for today, another headline, “Unions demand next ferries be built in B.C.”

But easier said than done, I know, because we’re talking costs. Few probably remember that our current BC Ferries fleet, with most of its floating stock built offshore, was the creation of Premier W.A.C. Bennett who, in the 1960s, had new ferries built in BC shipyards.

Imagine that.

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