Good ol’ fashioned home cooking

Shannon Rose

March 2009

When we walked into Fireside, a friendly family oriented restaurant on the corner of Van Horne and Victoria, we were showered in hospitality. The smoky smell of meat cooking was mouthwatering. The walls were adorned with paintings of landscapes and orange lighting that would put any diner at ease. Anyone over 50 will feel like they’ve stepped back into their youth.

We were seated immediately in a comfortable booth, with high backs to give the illusion of privacy. As we were removing our outer gear, we were presented with a generous portion of tangy coleslaw, two giant pickles and four slices of rye bread to munch on while we perused our extensive menus. Both my guest and I ordered from the table d’hôte, which includes soup, dessert, and coffee or tea. We chose from chicken, filet mignon, lamb chops and burgers, among other offerings. Our waitress was friendly and catered to our every need almost immediately.

Both the beef and barley and the chicken noodle soups were and flavourful – obviously homemade. My chicken brochettes, done to perfection, were served with french fries and salad. The home-style fries, made with real potatoes, were crispy outside and soft inside. The salad was served with a house dressing that was both light and savoury. The portions were so large that we took home leftovers. My guest ordered the grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes and salad. The meat was juicy and tender. It was well done – but not burnt – well-seasoned and flavourful.

For dessert my guest had rice pudding that was thick and fresh. I ordered a baked apple, sprinkled generously with cinnamon. Both were tasty blasts from the past. Another dessert option was prunes. For a good old-fashioned meal, Fireside is definitely a good choice.

The prices for the dinner special range from $12.50-$28.95, with appetizers starting at $3.25. Fireside is located at 4759 Van Horne, corner Victoria. Call 514-737-5576.

Westmount theatre group lets loose

Shannon Rose

“It’s often the most unlikely of people that come,” says Lois Dellar, a working actress who teaches theatre classes at Manoir Westmount. “You give them something to say besides their own words and they’re playing a character so suddenly they’re allowed to do anything and the inhibitions drop away.”

But it goes beyond fun. Dellar saw an NBC news feature on two psychologists who have been doing theatre classes with seniors for 14 years. “They’ve proven it helps cognitive skills, problem solving, self-esteem, and socialization.”

Of course amusement is still the primary objective. “For some of them, it’s the highlight of their week,” Dellar says. “We laugh a lot.”

“Fun doesn’t have to stop because you’re past 21,” Yvonne Moody interjects. Moody is a regular at the Friday class. “Everybody works together well, and Lois is always full of brilliant ideas, so we’re never short of entertainment,” she says.

The class always begins with icebreaker games, which lead to plenty of laughter. The objective of these games is “to keep them thinking on their feet to get the brain and body working,” Dellar says. The warm-up includes memory, improvisation and problem solving games.

Dellar explains that it’s important, when teaching seniors, to cater to their diverse needs. Some of the students are not mobile and others don’t have the capabilities to memorize all of their lines.

“It’s like readers theatre,” she says. “They come on for their entrances and they go off for their exits.” They have their scripts with them throughout the performance but the actors are so animated, you forget that they have the script in front of them.

Her own experience spans theatre productions, movies and TV shows. Recently she was in a movie called Taking Lives with Angelina Jolie. Dellar played the part of a store clerk. “I do a lot of small parts with big stars,” she says. She has also been on TV with main roles in Dead Zone, Millenium, 21 Jump Street, Neon Rider, and The Outer Limits.

Dellar graduated from the Dawson College professional theatre program in the 1980s. Her first role outside of school was in a movie called Jack Knife, where she was in a scene alongside Robert De Niro. “I played a waitress. I come and serve his table. He’s there with Cathy Baker.” Dellar managed to score a picture of herself and De Niro,which apparently was nearly impossible to get. In those days, he refused to have his picture taken.

“Right now we’re working on some skits my husband wrote.” Dellar says the great thing about having original scripts is being able to tweak them. “They’ll say, 'Oh that’s funny!' or 'Oh that’s a little too risqué. Maybe we should tone that down a little bit.'” The other up side of having Her husband, James Melvain, writing the scripts, is the flexibility to add a character if a new resident joins the group. Because Melvain takes the time to come to class and get a feel for the personalities of the actors, the parts are tailored to each individual.

Dellar can’t help but brag about her husband’s success. “He’s an up and coming writer and he writes all my stuff!”

Moody also likes Melvain. “Lois’ husband is quite clever. He writes really amusing sketches. He sees us working so he knows our personalities.”

John Byers, one of three men in the group is fond of the characters that he plays. He’s happy that the group only performs comedic plays. “Last play, I was an adventurer. I was trying to address everybody on the ship and somehow I couldn’t because they kept interrupting me. I was so interesting but they wouldn't let me talk!”

Dellar says he had one of the best lines in the play. “And then you decided to go after the woman who was the tennis champion because you figured she had millions in sponsorships. And he said, ‘I think I’d like to million you—I mean marry you!’”

Byers enjoys the residence activities but he does have one complaint about his accommodations. “My problem is that there are 112 women and 13 men. So I’ve got to defend myself. I got a new battery for my pacemaker so that’ll give me the strength to ward them off!”

Dellar says that she loves acting but also has a passion for teaching. She says she laughs all the way home. Moody also laughs throughout the class. She believes this is a chance to break the ice with her fellow residents provide a place where they can let loose. “I suppose we’ve all got a little bit of exhibitionist in us.”

More paramedics on the horizon

Shannon Rose

Paramedics in Quebec are hard to come by, and wait times can be exceedingly long. “There has been a shortage of paramedics for quite awhile,” said Michel Godon, co-chair of the pre-hospital emergency care program at John Abbott College. “This program will try to get more of them out there which has an effect on response times. Some people have to wait up to a couple of hours before they can get an ambulance. It’s all based on priority.”

He explained that paramedics are frequently overworked. “They just don’t have enough. During the summer people were booking overtime on their days off. They cancelled their vacations to work, because they were needed.”

They operate in 12-hour shifts. They try to stagger the hours so that there are always a decent number of medics on the road.

“As a paramedic, when you need a day off, you’re tired, you’re burnt out; it’s not always feasible to take a day off, because it means that there’s not going to be anyone responding.”

As a teacher in the John Abbott paramedic program, Godon tries to prepare his students for the rigorous nature of the job. “We had them do night shifts on the weekends, some of them didn’t sleep all weekend and they love it.”

Regardless of the demanding nature of the job, it’s rewarding. “One thing about this type of job is that people don’t go into it just for a paycheck obviously. They want to help people. They don’t mind doing extra shifts.”

The students want to learn this profession so that they can help people, but there are other perks as well, Godon said jokingly. “They like the truck with the red lights and sirens. They’re getting paid to break the law, speed through red lights.”

This is the first semester that John Abbott has offered this program. But Godon has been working on it for two years.

At completion of the program, students will be trained for primary care. They take biology, immunology, pharmacology and emergency medical courses in order to learn to stabilize patients before sending them to the hospital. They will be trained to deal with “something as stupid as someone letting off a smoke bomb in the metro,” to dealing with modern day crises inlcuding weapons of mass destruction and hazardous materials.

Paramedics and ambulance drivers are one and the same. During their training, the students take 45 hours of ambulance training.

Godon said that he was chosen to write the program because of his background and connections in the industry. He is a retired paramedic firefighter and also co-chairs the Police Technology program at the college.

With the integration of this program into Abbott’s curriculum, there will likely be more paramedics on the road within a couple of years.

“There’s going to be better care because there will be more people available. If we hire more people there will be less delays.”

Godon said that there are two other colleges, Ste-Foy and Ste-Agathe, who offer a similar program. “I looked at what the other colleges were doing and I consulted with the people that I’m working with and then we decided to add the John Abbott touch to it.” He explained that in the other colleges, the internships were done at the very end of the training. “I felt that if you wait long enough to put someone in the hospital to realize that they don’t get along with sick people, it’s kind of too late.” At John Abbott they start their internships right away. “We’re very pro-success at Abbott. If our students start a program, we want them to finish it.”

Godon explained that the students spent the last two weekends observing in ambulances and dispatch centers, the 911 center where the calls come in for the ambulance. “As a paramedic you’re in the vehicle all the time, you get your calls on the radio.” He explained that even though his students will never be working in a dispatch center, it changes the dynamic when you know what is going on, on the other side of the phone call. “It’s a good idea to know where those calls are coming from, what those people are actually going through while giving you those calls. They’re on the other line talking to this person, who might be really panicked. It’s chaos.”

The students are also spending 24 hours at the Veteran’s hospital and an internship in the geriatric ward of the Montreal General. “More and more patients that they have are elderly. Problems breathing, stomach problems, the flu.”

Older people often wait too long to call for help, he explained. “Maybe they should have seen a doctor two weeks before, but when they call, it’s a crisis situation.” Some paramedics can get annoyed with some of the callers because they feel that they are not in a dire situation. But this type of attitude is unacceptable. “If they’re calling you it’s because they need help, so you’ve got to give it to them.”

Godon emphasized that a priority is to make the students aware of the importance of politeness and respect. “If the patients feel comfortable with the medics, then things will go a lot better.

“We’re there to serve the citizens and give them the respect that they deserve.”

High end fashion at Place Kensington

(photo: Robert Galbraith)

Shannon Rose

Most people think that fashion shows are about haute couture but the Kensington Knitters would disagree. For them it’s about having fun and displaying their knitted creations.

“We model, we're not very sexy but you get the idea,” said Miriam Berger, founder of the Kensington knitters club. “All of this goes to Father Johns, for the street children,” she said as she pointed at the stacks of blankets, hats and scarves that were to be donated to Dans la Rue (an organization founded by father Emmett Johns, serving youth living in the streets or youth at risk).

Residents, Berger and Elinor Cohen organize the Kensington Knitters who meet weekly to knit blankets. “The two of us are retired professional social workers,” Berger said. “We try to develop leisure time activities with a purpose. We're helping Father Johns.”

“This is one of the few groups that supplies us with blankets,” said Father Johns. He explained that Canadian Tire used to donate blankets to the homeless but then someone from the Old Brewery Mission went public saying that the homeless don’t need blankets, they need housing. “Nobody said that they didn't need housing, but when they're cold, a blanket does pretty well.”

“Its hard work but it’s worthwhile,” Cohen said. “The street kids walk around with them on their shoulders.” This isn’t only about the kids, Berger said. “Socially it's wonderful. We get together and have tea and cookies, we talk and we fool around with knitting.”

Cohen explained that the residents knit squares and then she sews them together and crochets the edges to make complete blankets. “Every blanket is a combined effort. Each square is made by an individual.”

Every November the knitters model their “fashions”. This year, they had less residents participating than in previous years but the atmosphere was still jovial. “Not as many residents get involved because the age group is older now,” Berger said. “There are more resources in the community so that they can stay in their own home longer, rather than coming into a senior's residence.”

This year there was live music and a witty MC while the models strutted along the catwalk with their blankets draped across their shoulders. The auditorium was filled to the brim with residents who turned out to see the show. “Everybody who knits gets a flower, formal speeches are made and then we have the parade.” Berger said. “The mobile residents model and then we pick a couple of waitresses who offered cause not everyone can do it. So many of them are on canes and walkers.”

“I'm getting kind of used to seeing all this beauty but the first time I saw the fashion show, I was going to rush down to Holt and Renfrew and say I've got an idea for you,” Father Emmett Johns said. “They quite appreciate these. We love our kids, but we're not able to give them the warmth that a good knitted blanket does in the middle of a winter's night.”

Coffee, tea or paint?

Deanne Hall-Habib, Bertha Truchek, and Gloria Meiloff (photo: Shannon Rose)

Shannon Rose

Most of us love chocolate and some of us are coffee addicts but what do we think of these delicacies as painting mediums?

“When they told me the paintings were made with a medium of coffee and tea, I thought ‘you can’t go wrong,’” said John Zampetoulakis, owner of the newly-opened Kokkino’s café where the paintings are being displayed. “I lucked out. I think it’s great. As we were putting them up, people were buying them.”

As I walked in and joined the crowd sipping free coffee and eating baklava, I saw dozens of beautiful paintings depicting landscapes, flowers and animals. The framed paintings were all over the cozy, warmly lit café. One of the paintings in particular caught my eye. It looked like it had been torn. “Her dog ate the painting and then she stuck it together again,” Zampetoulakis said. There’s a picture of the dog underneath the painting.

Gladia Jarka, a member and artist of the Women’s Art Studio of Montreal, explained that when instant coffee, tea or cocoa is mixed with water, it becomes similar to a sepia toned watercolour.

“It’s fun, it’s quite forgiving. But it has its own set of challenges,” said Pauline Shapiro, a member of the studio who originally brought this idea to the group. “I saw an exhibition of paintings in Bromont at the chocolate festival and I saw some people doing coffee work. I researched the Internet and I found out how to do it.” She demonstrated the technique to her fellow painters.

“I went to a gallery and it was all wine and cheese,” Zampetoulakis said. “Everybody was so into themselves. Here, everybody’s nice.” The paintings are reasonably priced and Zampetoulakis bought one for his daughter as a Christmas present.

The exhibition continues at Kokkino’s, 5673 Sherbrooke, corner Harvard, until December 14.

Theatre legend invites students to bring ideas to the stage

Shannon Tosic-McNally, Victor Knight and Gabriela Saltiel (photo: Scott Philip)

Shannon Rose

Victor Knight has always had acting on his mind. He has shared that passion with Dawson students for a quarter century. “Victor’s 86. The man’s been around and he knows what he’s talking about,” said Kyle Pelletier, a third year student of Knight’s. He’s one of the older teachers at Dawson who is able to communicate with the younger generation.”

“My family was in show business,” said Knight, a teacher in the professional theatre department since 1974. “I was the eighth child, so my mother certainly was no longer a dancer. My father had been an entertainer in London.”

Knight explained that when his father returned from serving in World War I, he chose to drive a taxi. Knight speculates that his father no longer had the stamina to be an entertainer.

“Very frequently he would get calls from his old friends in the business that would say ‘we need a couple of kids for a film next week,’ I would go trotting off and do extra work, small part stuff.”

Gabriela Saltiel, a second year theatre student, has obviously heard about Knight’s beginnings in the theatre world. “He was born into the business and it shows because it’s so in him.”

Like Knight’s father, his acting career was put on hold due to serving in a world war, but when he returned, he enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England. He never completed this program. “After I graduated — well I didn’t graduate, I got kicked out.”

He explained that a lot of his classes got cancelled and he and his classmates were frustrated. “The whole class got mad and they said ‘go and tell them.’ I was fool enough to do that.” He said he was labeled a troublemaker and was asked to leave. “I didn’t make the trouble, they made the trouble.”

This bump along the road didn’t phase Knight one bit. “I immediately got work so it didn’t matter.” It was a job at the Kew Theatre in Kew Gardens, in London. “The week that I got kicked out of school, I got a job there and I worked there for three years.

Victor Knight’s students on the Romeo and Juliet set (photo: Lucas Chartier)

“One day, a friend of my fathers called me up and said ‘Victor, my niece is coming down from Montreal and is interested in the theatre. Can you take her?’” This call altered the course of Knight’s future. “I said I would try to fit her in somewhere and I did. I later followed her to Montreal and we got married and had a child.”

“I wish he had told you the story of how he got engaged,” said Saltiel who had been eavesdropping. “The first play that they saw together was Twelfth Night and when he proposed to her he took this quote from the play and it goes on and on and on about how he could love her and how he would show his love to her. It’s the sweetest thing ever.”

Although Victor and Helen Knight are no longer married, they share grandchildren in England.

When Knight arrived in Montreal, he began working in radio. He worked at a daily soap opera called Laura Limited. “Your mother may know about it, you wouldn’t though,” said Knight, addressing one of his students.

He also worked on a national broadcast every third or fourth Sunday. He explained that the pay was lucrative for the time. For the two gigs, he was making well over a hundred dollars a week doing what he loved.

Knight explained that he did not originally plan on becoming a teacher. He was working on a play at Sir George Williams University that the Chief of Studies was directing. “He was directing the play but I ended up doing a lot of the directing for him because I’d been in the business a little bit longer than he had. At the end he said ‘You’re a born teacher.’ I didn’t believe him and I said ‘I didn’t even finish high school.’” He was assigned two courses.

“What I like about the way he directs is he lets you do what you want first,” said Bineyam Girma, a third year theatre student. The third year students are currently working on Romeo and Juliet. “I had an idea of how Tybalt should be and I brought it to the stage. He doesn’t tell you, ‘play it like this.’”

Knight explained how he came to be at Dawson College. Sister Saint-Laurent was working in theatre at Marianopolis College. “She got into trouble with a play that she was directing. The sexual parts were getting embarrassing so she asked me to finish the play for her.” He did the same thing the following year.

After she joined Dawson College, Knight said she called him up and said, “You’ve got to come here now.”

Knight began his career at Dawson teaching pre-university courses. Shortly after, he was approached by members of the administration to develop a program for professional theatre with the help of Bert Henry, a long-time colleague in the department.

Knight wanted the students to have a venue for their plays. “I was walking along Notre-Dame street and I saw this empty cinema and I called Bert and I said, ‘Come with me, I’ve got to look at this place.’ It was in appalling shape but it was perfect. It had romance written all over it.” This became the original Dome theatre. It was 1974.

“I’m making new friends every year with these students. I tried retiring. I took one semester off. I felt like I was waiting to die and I don’t like waiting to die.”

“I wish he was my grandpa,” said Shannon McNally, one of Knight’s students, as she walked by.

“I’m doing exactly what I want do,” he said. “What possible reason could I have to retire?”