HodgePodge: Tourist food fun

Tourist food fun

HodgePodge by Charlie Hodge

A true hodgepodge of a Hodgepodge

If you’re reading this Thursday, June 13 (prior to 7 or 8 p.m.) then bundle yourself up and boogie down to Mackie Lake House and listen to the delightful sounds of my dear friend Rann Berry. Rann is well worth the run. (Gee I’ve waited a while to use that literary lilt line).

A gifted Okanagan singer/songwriter Rann is hosting his album Sorry I’m Late release concert that evening at the popular Kalamalka Lake club and is inviting folks from up and down the Valley to join him. Sorry I’m Late features 14 songs including a number of superb originals and a couple of classic covers. Rann’s excellent vocal skills and masterful guitar chops make this newest album a ‘must have’ for your music collection.

My favourite is Verse, Chorus & Bridge, a truly beautiful ballad bidding farewell to two close well-known Okanagan musical friends Gary Smyth and Steve Soucy. It stands on its own as a top-notch song even for listeners who do not know or are aware of the poignance of the song. Love Letters is a catchy original ripper that instantly sets the album rocking. My favourite cover is He Aint Heavy, He’s My Brother. Berry’s vocal are masterful complimenting Dana Barnes’ twinkling of the ivories!

The album was recorded at Abbey Road in London. I won’t tell you more about that – I will force you to go see Rann to learn more.

You can simply download his songs for free or support Ryann by purchasing a CD at his show – which begins at 6. For more info go to www.rannberrymusic.com

***

During the next couple months I will be writing my restaurant and craft beer pub reviews again for tourist and locals to pick through. There are so many new spots opening up or reopening after the COVID nightmare.

Last week Tez and I revisited one of our regular favourites – Brandt’s Creek Pub. I thoroughly gorged on their Apple Bourbon BBQ ribs featuring baby backs glazed in bourbon sauce, with a hint of apple, piles of mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots. It’s been two days and I am still moaning. Tez had to be dragged away from her seafood linguini loaded with smoked salmon, crab, prawns mushrooms… Not sure who was happier with their choice.

Beers with Brian will start next week as well. Stay tuned.

***

I must admit I never realized the overall fixation Canadians have for pizza. Either that or restaurant owners feel the competitive need to offer it on their menu. Still, I have not seen one menu (except total single theme restaurants such as Chinese or Japanese) that do not offer at least three kinds of pizza.  Ironically former target marketed facilities are offering pizzas as well

Now I can get pizza at some Tim Hortons, Subway, McDonalds…

***

Hockey victims can breathe easy – just five games left at the most.

While Edmonton would normally be one of the last teams I would cheer for, they now have my vocal support for the next week. That is only because of the admiration Tez and I have for the two best players in the world: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Florida’s goaltender Bobrovsky should win the playoff MVP. Heck he earned that reward in game one.

Tez and I just watched the Oilers get thumped 4-1 with the teams heading back to Edmonton. Even though they are down two games to zero I am going to suggest the Oil will bounce back winning all the marbles in seven games overtime with Hyman potting the winner!

***

A few weeks back I told you to dummy up and put on a helmet if you are riding a bike, scooter, skateboard … This week I am asking you to do the same thing – only this time with a hat. I attended an afternoon workshop regarding the dangers of heat and smoke and it scared the daylights out of me. Hosted by Interior Health, the wake up session highlighted the potential dangers we all face with the intense summer heat we are likely going to engage during the next couple of months and just how vulnerable we are to it. One of the simplest safety moves if we are adamant about going outside during the heat is to don a proper hat.

If possible, do your yard work, exercise, or socialize in the shade. Drink fluids and be smart. I was shocked to learn about the numbers of people who die from heat stroke or other complications. Seniors and those with compromised immune systems (hmmm, sound familiar?) make up a large number of deaths during heat waves but a shocking number of young folks as well are naive victims.

Play smart live long.

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HodgePodge by Charlie Hodge
Charlie Hodge is a best-selling author, writer, a current Kelowna City Councillor, and a Director on the Regional District of the Central Okanagan Board. He spent more than 25 years as a full-time newspaper journalist and has a diverse background in public relations, promotions, personal coaching, and strategic planning. A former managing editor, assistant editor, sports editor, entertainment editor, journalist, and photographer, Hodge also co-hosted a variety of radio talk shows and still writes a regular weekly newspaper column titled Hodge Podge, which he has crafted now for 41 years. His biography on Howie Meeker, titled Golly Gee It’s Me is a Canadian bestseller and his second book, Stop It There, Back It Up – 50 Years of the NHL garnered lots of attention from media and hockey fans alike. Charlie is currently working on a third hockey book, as well as a contracted historical/fiction novel. His creative promotional skills and strategic planning have been utilized for many years in the Canadian music industry, provincial, national, and international environmental fields, and municipal, provincial, and federal politics. Charlie is a skilled facilitator, a dynamic motivational speaker, and effective personal coach. His hobbies include gardening, canoeing, playing pool, and writing music. Charlie shares his Okanagan home with wife Teresa and five spoiled cats.

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