Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996. Marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate, you'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Rockin' Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter. Here comes Dave. Oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missin'. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So much laughs and insights everywhere. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.

Peter McCully: Welcome back to The Pulse Community Podcast. I'm Peter McCully, and we're bringing you more stories from the heart of mid-Vancouver Island.

Dave Graham: And I'm Dave Graham here. We are busy, busy, no time for the February blahs. The month is rolling along with the Winter Olympics underway in Italy, BC Family Day is coming up, and of course, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Peter McCully: And we can't forget Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which supposedly indicates six more weeks of winter.

Dave Graham: Yes. About that whole groundhog thing. It doesn't hold up to much critical examination. In fact, it is absurd from the get-go, and yet year after year, we play along with this and I love it. It's good to have a little harmless nonsense in our lives from time to time. We don't need a woodchuck to look for his shadow when all we need to do is look outside. Oh, by the way, Peter, did you know that we have our own predictor here on the island?

Peter McCully: No, Dave, I didn't know that.

Dave Graham: Oh, yes. Vancouver Island Violet. She's in the Comox Valley. We call her a marmot, another name for groundhog for that matter. Another name is land beaver, but that's beside the point. There are other critters brought into play. For example, there's a place in Texas that uses an armadillo. Another community employs the use of a thousand-pound alligator named, what else? Big Al. Oh, it's wonderful to see all the ways people embrace the silliness of it all.

Peter McCully: Well, this week on the podcast we have cartoonist and Vancouver Islander Adrian Raeside. His latest book, The Canada Handbook, is a bestseller and it offers an illustrated guide to what makes this country uniquely Canadian.

Adrian Raeside: If you're not First Nations, we came from somewhere else. We're a very young country, so I think that's why we're so tolerant. We don't mind what religion you are, what language you speak, what your gender is. We are cool. They accepted me 50-some-odd years ago, so they'll take anyone. But to me, if you're going to read that book, you'll understand Canadians. We are not only unique from any other country, we're accepting.

Dave Graham: Sophia Conway is an Irish-born photographer who has made the Parksville-Qualicum Beach area her home. Her exhibition Shelf Memories: The Invitation captures handwritten notes and invitations found in used books.

Sophia Conway: It's something very intimate when it's a little note that you weren't really meant to see. It was between two other people. You don't know who they are or where they are in the world right now, but you have this little insight into their relationship and this moment, this life that they shared. It's a little time capsule and I love it, and I want to honour that person's memory in a way.

Peter McCully: On a future edition of the podcast, we'll be joined by Juno-nominated blues singer Crystal Shawanda. Crystal transformed from a gold-selling country star to a powerhouse blues performer.

Dave Graham: Susan Schaeffer will be here to tell us about the art at the Bayside Resort in Parksville.

Peter McCully: And we'll chat with Suzanne Cunningham, chair of the Mid-Island Health Alliance. The group will be opening the Primrose Medical Centre in Qualicum Beach this September.

Dave Graham: This is exciting news for the thousands of us who are challenged with accessing healthcare in our region. We are always excited to hear from you. Consider this an open invitation to reach out to us, leave a voice or a text message. Let us know of a story we could look into, ask questions, express opinions, whatever you'd like. Head to our website, click on the contact link. You'll find us at thepulsecommunity.ca.

Peter McCully: And our website has links to all our podcasts plus event listings, contests, and we've added Vancouver Island webcam links.

Valerie Baker: Hello.

Peter McCully: Hi. I am looking for Valerie Baker.

Valerie Baker: Speaking. This must be Peter.

Peter McCully: How are you today?

Valerie Baker: I'm good, thank you. How are you?

Peter McCully: I'm doing pretty well. I wanted to thank you very much for entering our contest and you are our lucky recipient of a $100 Smile Card from Thrifty Foods.

Valerie Baker: Wonderful. Thank you so much.

Peter McCully: And we had lots of folks who told us what their go-to recipes were. Yours was a little different. Yours was salmon. We had a lot of pasta, a lot of shepherd's pie, that type of thing.

Valerie Baker: Yes.

Peter McCully: But when the pinks are running and they're at the grocery stores in the spring, we get a bunch of them and freeze them up.

Valerie Baker: I used to, or I still do, only use the sockeye for that recipe. Usually makes it when I have guests and it's so simple and it's so special. It really is a very different way of preparing salmon. In fact, my son-in-law never, ever would eat salmon. He didn't like it at all until he tried this recipe years ago, and he was just sold on it. So, yes.

Peter McCully: Well, you don't mind if we share it with everybody, do you?

Valerie Baker: No, not at all. It'd be my pleasure.

Peter McCully: Well, that's what we're gonna do.

Valerie Baker: I hope you try it too. And I'm sure it'll be just fine on pink salmon. I'm sure it would because it's all in the dressing, you know, which you marinate overnight.

Peter McCully: Thank you, Valerie.

Valerie Baker: Thank you, Peter.

Fireside Books: There's exciting news for book lovers. Fireside Books in Parksville now has a second location in Port Alberni. The Bookwyrm Used Books are just $5 or less. The Bookwyrm on the corner of Redford and Anderson opens seven days a week from 10 to 5, building your personal library for less. Fireside Books at 464 Island Highway East in Parksville is a book dragon's dream come true. Browse their extensive collections seven days a week. Both locations make growing your personal library easier than ever. New and used books and so much more. Order online firesidebooks.ca and pick up at either location. Details available online. Ask about returning books for a book credit. Fireside Books and the Bookwyrm, two locations, one amazing adventure in browsing.

Peter McCully: It's time to bring on our first guest. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: Sophia Conway is an Irish-born photographer who immigrated to Vancouver Island six years ago and has made the Parksville-Qualicum Beach area her home. She's an author, poet, and photographer. Her exhibition Shelf Memories: The Invitation captures handwritten notes and annotations found in used books, personal messages that span over a century of human connection.

Dave Graham: Thank you for taking time for The Pulse podcast today. It's a pleasure to meet you. I can't wait to hear some more of your story.

Sophia Conway: Thank you so much for having me.

Dave Graham: Can we begin with Ireland, where you came from, how you got here? First off, Ireland, what was life like there?

Sophia Conway: It was great, but actually it was an Island boy that brought me here, so no surprise, and I've just loved it here. It's equally as beautiful and the people are amazing, but it was good to have a fresh start too in life.

Dave Graham: This may be a painfully obvious question, being beautiful BC and everything, but can you talk to some of the things you found especially inspiring that you've found since moving here?

Sophia Conway: Definitely the nature, but I think it was mostly the arts community, seeing people of all ages passionately pursue whatever they love, whatever form of art that they enjoy was just very inspiring to me and encouraged me to get more into poetry writing and photography and everything I'm doing now.

Dave Graham: So would you say your artistic pursuits have changed since you got here?

Sophia Conway: Oh, absolutely. Also, taking on my husband's surname, I literally changed my name and moved to another continent, and that was the fresh start that I needed to really think about what I wanted to pursue and who I wanted to be. And then having my son just three years ago really encouraged me to be a little bit more fearless and bold and just wanting to set a creative example to him and thinking about the legacy that I leave behind too.

Dave Graham: Okay, which swings us nicely into this project of yours. Your husband's grandmother wrote an inscription in a book for your son. Can you complete that story?

Sophia Conway: Yes, my son met his great-grandmother just once before she passed, unfortunately. But at that visit, she wrote a little inscription into a children's book and gifted it to him. Unfortunately she misspelled his name, but the message is so sweet and all he has of her now of course is that book, that little handwritten note and just two pictures. And so I really treasure that little message. He knows that he was loved by her, and so we really treasure that little inscription.

Dave Graham: What was the moment that caused this trigger that you could turn this into an artistic expression?

Sophia Conway: There wasn't really one moment that stands out to me now. I think it was just the slow realization that these things are so precious. I found a few inscriptions in some thrift store books as well, and just thinking how amazing and personal and precious these things were, it just felt such a shame that they succumbed to these thrift store shelves. I guess I thought I might treasure it for the person that I would record it, maybe honour that person's memory through holding onto that. I think that's what it was.

Dave Graham: What is it when we find these books and all of a sudden someone's personal handwriting, that triggers something within us. Have you identified that?

Sophia Conway: I think it's just that insight into another person's life, and we're very used to that now through social media, but it's something very intimate when it's a little note that you weren't really meant to see. It was between two other people. You don't know who they are or where they are in the world right now. But you have this little insight into their relationship and this moment, this life that they shared. It's a little time capsule. Sometimes I do feel like I'm intruding to have these little messages, but it's also a book that has been put out there to the public, either in a thrift store or in a little free library. And so I also feel like, why not? It's there and I love it and I want to honour that person's memory in a way.

Dave Graham: That's the key you're honouring. It's in the public domain. See, my experience was Milner Gardens had a second-hand book sale from some of their collection on the estate, and I was drawn to them and picked up some. Just having them in my hand I thought was very cool, and I did buy a couple just to have, but then I started flipping through them and I saw some notes inside. All of a sudden that added a dimension to the book.

Sophia Conway: When I think of all the inscriptions that I have found, I didn't know these people existed until I found their name and their message and these dates and locations, and I think that's really amazing. And so in a way, I feel like they live on. Something that I feel very passionate about, and maybe I'll add my own inscription and feature so that somebody will remember me someday.

Dave Graham: You alluded earlier to finding books in thrift stores, and it has been, over the past six months or so, you've gathered these materials. Did you have a sense just from looking at a book that perhaps it might contain a little nugget of something or are you just hit and miss?

Sophia Conway: After a while, I have recognized a little bit of a pattern in the kind of books that people like to give, and now I know that I will most likely find something if it's religious or faith-related because those are books and topics that are deeply personal to people and often used to encourage each other spiritually. Also, children's books, especially the classics. Like for my son, I have done this too, where I've especially sought out a children's book that I loved as a child so that I can read it to him. And so there are a lot of grandparents, especially that gift children's books, but anything that would mark a milestone in somebody's life.

Dave Graham: One of the pieces is the Sunday School hymnal gifted to a little girl immigrating from the UK to Canada, the Methodist School Hymnal. In the inscription, 25th May, 1930. What did you feel like when you opened this book and saw that?

Sophia Conway: I didn't think so much until I sat down to take a picture of it and decided to try Googling it because it has the name of the school where she was gifted this, and I looked that up and realized it was based in the UK, where I believe it still exists today. And then when I looked up the date 1930, it was actually the years of the Great Depression. Just with these two small pieces of information, I suddenly understood so much more about what this person probably was going through, this little girl that her family were immigrating during the years of the Great Depression over to Canada. Especially as you mentioned as an immigrant myself, it really stood out to me, and so one or two of the books I've held onto because they feel personal to me, and I just feel like I understand a little bit of what this little girl might have gone through. And the fact that I found it here in Canada shows that she has arrived. But it's this beautiful little time capsule of a very tumultuous period in somebody's life and has a historical context too, which I enjoy. And this is definitely one of my favourites.

Dave Graham: And the handwriting is exquisite.

Sophia Conway: That is something that's gone down. I mean, I noticed with the more modern and recent books, the handwriting is not as nice as it used to be, but it's far easier to read, and I feel like it's more humorous these days where people give more joke books. Well, maybe it was simply the cost of books back then, or a more serious society. I couldn't tell you, but it's definitely more formal and beautiful looking, the older books.

Dave Graham: Have you picked up on any other trends from older to newer?

Sophia Conway: I feel like some of the older books are simply in better shape. People had more respect maybe for their written word, but it's hard to tell. It really depends on what journey they've been on.

Dave Graham: So are you going to continue looking for more books and inscriptions?

Sophia Conway: I intend to certainly, it's something that I really love doing. I'm amazed that nobody has done this before. This is actually an original idea, which is exciting too. It's something that I would love to continue doing, especially when it comes to the books that I find in the area. I feel like it's a little time capsule of local history and the people and the relationships that have happened here. I really would love to continue doing it, and I intend to.

Dave Graham: Is there like a dream inscription that you have in mind that would be the pinnacle?

Sophia Conway: A historic figure would be incredible, but that would be a very big dream. I think at this point I'm just happy, as long as there's a date in it, I'll be happy with whatever inscription I find. But the dates really add the historic layer to it. Like with the school hymnal, the addresses to and names of places, just really allows you to imagine what that might have been like or where that was. So I'm happy with whatever I can find, actually.

Dave Graham: You're planning to make this exhibition interactive. How's that gonna work out?

Sophia Conway: With the first one, it was more just trying to invite people in to value these inscriptions a little bit more and take the time to look at them. This time, I would love for people to create their own inscriptions, which will be then put out into the little free library that we're gonna launch at the McMillan Art Centre Community Gardens next door. Towards the end of the exhibition, I think in May, that will allow these inscriptions and these books then to float and rotate around the community. People can then take out a book and read this inscription and get this little personal story from somebody else in the community, from a visitor or friend, neighbour. You might not necessarily know who, but I think it's gonna be an opportunity for community connection and to record a little bit of what's going on now. So I'm excited about this interactive element and I look forward to seeing what people write.

Dave Graham: How does it feel to be a curator of these memories, these moments captured in these pages? What's that like for you?

Sophia Conway: I definitely feel as though I'm intruding, but I also feel it's a privilege to hold onto these things, and I think of my son's great-grandmother through these pictures in this one book and her handwritten note lives on for him. And so it feels deeply personal and it feels like a very important mission some days, especially when I find books with these just beautiful annotations. Some can be very short and humorous, and other ones feel deeply personal and offer real insight. And I think it's such a privilege to be able to catch a glimpse. Obviously these people didn't know that I would be sharing this with the world, but I hope that their memory lives on in this way.

Dave Graham: And what would you like people attending this show to take away with them?

Sophia Conway: Just the reminder that there's so much going on in our lives right now in the world. There's so much polarization and division, but if we can just take a moment to read each other's stories or give little insights, I think it reminds us of the heart and the person that's behind things. And so I hope it offers community connection and just a little bit of insight.

Peter McCully: Our thanks to Sophia Conway for joining us on The Pulse Podcast. Her exhibition captures little glimpses into other people's lives, and she's honouring those moments in a very thoughtful way.

Dave Graham: It's like discovering a secret conversation from the past and according to the gallery, this photo series is the first of its kind to record and document such content. The exhibition runs to the last Friday in March.

Peter McCully: Our podcast family keeps growing. Cindy Thompson of Parksville hosts a podcast inspired by what it means to be human. Check out A Resilience Project. Through guest stories, stories of resilience, listeners can discover key elements that can move us from surviving to thriving.

Dave Graham: Non-Partisan Hacks hosted by Parksville councillors Joel Garris and Sean Wood is an insider's look at municipal politics.

Peter McCully: We feature original episodes of classic radio programs on our Radio Archaeology series. Follow along with Sergeant Joe Friday in Dragnet and Marshall Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke.

Dave Graham: And then we have our Skookum Kid's Story series. There's Peter and Gracie, the Eskimo Dog, and the Mellow Submarine with Captain Dave and his ever-present sidekick Larry the Lobster. We have a new story coming out every week, and every story now comes with colouring pages to accompany that episode. The stories, podcasts, and more are all at thepulsecommunity.ca.

Ian Lindsay: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996. Marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Thrifty Foods: At Thrifty Foods, we love to help nonprofits, charities, and schools. Our Thrifty Foods Smile Card bulk program allows organizations to immediately save up to 6% on the purchase of Smile Cards in bulk, allowing you to keep more money in your organization's pockets. Ask for details at Thrifty Foods in Parksville.

Elbows Van Isle: Hi, Dave and Peter. This is Micky, the organizer for Elbows Up Van Isle. I'd like to invite your audience to join us on Sunday, February 15th, noon to 2:00 p.m. for our Canadians Against ICE Brutality peaceful protest. We'll be standing in solidarity along the highway in front of Serious Coffee, 1209 East Island Highway in Parksville. Some might look at what we're doing and say it's small. Some might wonder why Canadians are standing up for people beyond our borders when we have our own battles to fight. Martin Luther King Jr. warned us, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." That wasn't a metaphor. It was a map, a warning flare, and with everything happening in the world, the grief, the division, the exhaustion, gathering like this matters, creating together matters, community matters. For more information, you may go to our Elbows Up Van Isle Facebook group, or elbowsupvanisle.ca. I hope to see you there on February 15th. Thank you.

Dave Graham: It's time for our next guest. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: Cartoonist Adrian Raeside of Vancouver Island has been skewering politics and celebrating Canadian quirks for over four decades. His latest book and a bestseller, The Canada Handbook, offers a hilarious illustrated guide to what makes this country uniquely Canadian.

Peter McCully: Thanks for joining us on the podcast today, Adrian.

Adrian Raeside: Must be an absolute pleasure to be invited and this actually is my second podcast I've ever done. So if I make mistakes, that's the reason why.

Peter McCully: There are no mistakes. Somebody told me one time when I was a young reporter, there are no stupid questions, but then I found out there were.

Adrian Raeside: That was some stupid interviewees too.

Peter McCully: Adrian, you have had and continue to have by all accounts, a very successful cartooning career, despite the fact that at age 15 you were expelled from your first and only art class.

Adrian Raeside: I was so excited. This is gonna be my first art class in high school in New Zealand, and I was like giddy with excitement. The teacher gave us the thing, draw a plant or something. So I drew a vine and I spent ages putting on every leaf and everything else, and I was so pleased with what I've done. And the teacher came by and she said, "What do you, what is that?" I said, "What's a vine?" She said, "I'm looking for the essence of the vine, the essence of the plant." So of course, I didn't know what the word essence was anyway, and so she said, "Look, I just don't think this is the class for you." So I got kicked out and they sent me to woodwork class. But here's the kicker. After a week I got kicked out of woodwork class. Honestly, I didn't, what was left after that, but I was a bad student, let me put it that way.

Peter McCully: One of your first paying gigs, as I recall, as a cartoonist, was illustrating your mother Joan's children's books.

Adrian Raeside: Yes. Mom was a brilliant composer and wrote children's books. And in the mid-seventies, I think she let me illustrate one of her books, which was called Dennis the Dragon, about a smokeless dragon that everyone was afraid of. But it turned out he didn't smoke and the whole idea was that smoking is bad and years later, Doubleday signed me up for a multi-book contract and I managed to sneak in to redo Dennis the Dragon, but years later where I could draw a little better than back then. And they reluctantly said, "Yes, okay," just to get me to sign for the other books. Unfortunately, my mother died just a few months before that book came out, so she never saw the success and it became a huge success. Dennis the Dragon was a huge bestseller. I'd like to reissue it again one day, but who knows? That's kind of sad that she never saw it.

Peter McCully: We've got some other bestsellers we wanna chat about. One of the comic strips that you've been doing worldwide for probably 30 years or more now, is The Other Coast, which features a couple of dogs and looks at life from a dog's perspective. How did that all begin, Adrian?

Adrian Raeside: I did a comic strip years and years ago, which did okay. And then I got bored with it. I had this idea of doing a strip about a couple negotiating life in the nineties where the Internet's just happening. Technology's happening. At that time we had two dogs in the house, and every now and then I'd sneak a dog into the strip without realizing that we all know what happens when you let a dog into your life, give them a week, maybe not even that. They will take it over. And those two dogs took over the strip. It took about a year, and all of a sudden the couple were just props basically for the dogs. But actually it's better to draw dogs, I think, because you can anthropomorphize them. There's so much in a dog's life, which is funny. In retrospect, it was a good thing.

Peter McCully: That's how it is at our house. The dogs run the house now. Two dogs.

Adrian Raeside: How many dogs?

Peter McCully: Two. Which is two more than we need.

Adrian Raeside: What kind of dogs?

Peter McCully: American Eskimo.

Adrian Raeside: Beautiful dog.

Peter McCully: We do a kid's podcast called Skookum Kids Stories, and one of the stories is called Peter and Gracie, the Eskimo Dog. A lot of people who don't know me say, where did that come from?

Adrian Raeside: I know the series. It's a beautiful series you're doing, by the way. I highly recommend it.

Peter McCully: Thank you.

Adrian Raeside: Especially for parents, really, your kids will learn without realizing the learning, and that's the best way for a child to learn.

Peter McCully: Now, you began creating editorial cartoons for the Times Colonist in Victoria more than 40 years ago and continue to do so. Of course. What do you enjoy most about creating editorial cartoons in particular?

Adrian Raeside: The part that I don't enjoy the most are the deadlines and looking at that blank piece of paper in the morning thinking I'm gonna have to put some black ink on there and move it around to make some sort of pattern that people understand. But I think the best part is to come up with the idea that works. Is it funny? Is it saying something? Sometimes the idea is there, literally you sit down, bang, that's the idea. It's perfect. It works. Other times you can spend hours and hours doing rough sketches, trying ideas, it can be as frustrating as heck, but then at the end of the day, sometimes it actually works. For example, sometimes it can be just a question of one word and a caption can make the cartoon work or it dies. I think similar in a way to, if you're writing an editorial or a column, it can be that first sentence that grabs you. It's the same process, I think for a writer I think is the same as for a cartoonist. I'm just working in a different medium. That's all. If it hits, wow, that's great, but then you realize it's wrapping fish the next day. You say, who cares? It doesn't mean anything. It's not like I'm doing the roofs of chapels in Rome. It's either lining a bird cage or it's wrapping fish, but for that brief, shining moment, I got that idea right.

Peter McCully: You've tackled everything from BC Ferries. I think the Sunshine Breakfast was my favourite series. Pipeline politics. Where do the ideas come from? Are they just from the news cycle?

Adrian Raeside: It's newspapers, TV, internet. I'm not that savvy. You're picking a topic that either is pissing me off or it's pissing other people off, I guess is the way to put it. And it's what's current. Many times you'll start off with looking at a topic like, okay, for example, pipelines. You'll look at that idea, but then find, you can connect it to something else like healthcare. So it's interesting how these things will morph, but it always, you are looking for that topic. Sometimes it's even just from hearing something somebody says on the street and it's, oh, that's a good idea. I could use that. You know, you mine your life, right?

Peter McCully: Do you have favourite themes or subjects?

Adrian Raeside: BC Ferries. I admit it. I'm addicted. I'm addicted. Do you know what? Here's a funny story. This is a number of years ago. I was doing so many cartoons on BC Ferries. They were getting very pissed off. They hired some guy to draw a cartoon about me drawing cartoons about BC Ferries and how, I just have no ideas and I'm such an idiot that all I can do is cartoons about BC Ferries, right? They send it to me. So I thought, oh, this is really funny. I sent them to the newspaper. They ran it, and I got paid for it. So send me more!

Peter McCully: Now, three of your books have been about pets. Tell us about The World According to Dogs and Owner's Manual. Because when I read that it would appear that the dogs have a sense of humour when it comes to the owners and not the other way around.

Adrian Raeside: There's so many books about dogs. In fact, did you know that there are more books about dogs than cats? Also that the Bible has tons of references to dogs, but not about cats. But this is, we digress here as you can tell. You know, there are so many books on dogs written by people about dogs, and I thought to myself, why not do a book about dogs from the dog's perspective? Think, what is life like? They must think we're weird. Let's face it, you go for a walk with the dog and you're carrying that little plastic bag, the dog poops, you pick out the plastic bag and you carry it with you. The dog must think we are insane. Say, what are we taking these things home and collecting? Do we win valuable prizes if we get enough of them? When you think about it, dogs think we are very strange. Somebody once said to me, dogs don't think we're human. They just think we're dogs with two legs. They don't understand that we are a different species.

Peter McCully: Adrian, I just finished The Canada Handbook, which is a bestseller. As I recall, the story that this book has been about 25 years in the making. You first thought about it during the first George Bush presidency, and then that's when Americans were all searching how to move to Canada on Google. What made you finally dust it off and complete it in its present form?

Adrian Raeside: I tried it again because I dropped it after 9/11 happened, book isn't really gonna happen. And then we had the first Trump presidency and I started it then, but he wasn't as crazy as he is now. There wasn't the central theme for it that I could come up with except, hey, move to Canada. It's great. So I dropped it. Then Obama was there. The publisher called me up when Trump was running for the second term and said, "Hey, you know what? You should finish." This is Harbour Publishing by the way. Big plug for Harbour right there, just in case Harbour are listening. They said, "Why don't you finish the book?" It's like, oh look, Trump isn't gonna be re-elected. Nobody's that stupid. No, I'm not gonna do it. So I just, I forgot about it. He got elected, so I'm panicking now. I've got the publisher. Okay, we need this thing out like quick, like a bunny. Of course, I've got hardly anything done for the next few months. But literally, I was working on this thing, every spare moment to get to meet that deadline. And I think the reason that it came together was his talk with the 51st state. That was the thing that was a central theme for that book. This is gonna work because of that. Because it's not only saying, hey, Trump's an idiot. These are all the things that we don't like about him, but it's also saying to Canadians, you know what? This is what we got. It's pretty cool. Work for both Americans saying, we're outta here. We're coming to Canada. And for Canadians to say, hey, you know what? This is a great country.

Peter McCully: The book for folks who haven't seen it, that's obviously why we're chatting about it. It takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to celebrating Canada. We only have six-week elections, and we have stronger beer, and as you say, we don't have Donald Trump. How did you go about balancing that satire with the national pride that you get from reading the book?

Adrian Raeside: I think Canadians are really comfortable in their own skin. We don't mind people making fun of the fact that we say sorry a lot. That's not a big deal. We're a bit embarrassed about the Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs, but we also make fun of that too. But then we go and buy tickets to see a game that we know they're gonna lose. It's like, how Canadian are we? Also, when you think about it, isn't it better to be a country known where everybody says sorry, than a country that goes and bombs a third world country?

Peter McCully: One of my favourite cartoons in the book is the page which you dedicated to the beaver lodge. What we see above the waterline and what we see below the waterline or what's below the waterline that we don't see. I guess perhaps you could describe it for our listeners and where that idea came from.

Adrian Raeside: I've always thought the same thing, Peter. It's like, okay, you see the lodge right there, it's this little thing sticking out of the water or whatever. So what's in there? So I drew this, it's like a full-page thing where you underneath the lodge, you go in the waterline and you see this little tunnel goes down, and then you see a bedroom with all the stuff in the bedroom, and then there's some pictures and it goes down further. At the very bottom, there's a bowling alley, because let's face it, what's a beaver gonna do for six months of the year under the ice? And also think about it. You've got two beavers there in this little tiny space for six months. They must at some point, one beaver's gonna say to the other, "I'm sick and tired of farting and drinking beer all day. Get outta here." There's gonna have to be beavers not getting along.

Peter McCully: The book is in chapters and themes, and it has a theme of its own: climate.

Adrian Raeside: Although we didn't do it this time, normally every conversation starts in Canada with discussion of the climate. A 747 could have landed on your roof and you're calling 911, and they'll ask you, "How's the weather? Is it raining where you are? Can you put a tarp over?" We are obsessed with it, and I think part of the thing is that we're so close to it. You think about it. We've got how many climate zones? I don't know, 50, 60? Who knows, right? How many time zones? Four, four and a half. Toronto right now is buried under how many feet of snow? And here we are here and the daffodils are just about to come out at this time of year. It is the law. You are required if you live on the West Coast, you are required to take photographs of your blossoms and your daffodils and send them to friends and relatives back east. It's in the Constitution, I believe.

Peter McCully: Guilty as charged. Another theme is sports, which you alluded to, the Leafs and the Canucks.

Adrian Raeside: This is the one time when Canadians, when you can legally stand up and scream at someone. You can be the nicest, politest person on the planet, but then you go to a hockey game, junior hockey game, or peewee hockey game, it doesn't matter. It's incredible. Although they say hockey is a religion, usually people don't scream in churches.

Peter McCully: What do you hope those longtime Canadians and newcomers take away from the book? The Canada Handbook.

Adrian Raeside: The fact that we're not Americans, we're not British, we're not Europeans, although we all came from those places. If you're not First Nations, we came from somewhere else and we are a very young country, so I think that's why we're so tolerant. We don't mind what religion you are, what language you speak, what your gender is. We are cool. They accepted me 50-some-odd years ago, so they'll take anyone. But to me is that if you're going to read that book, you'll understand Canadians. We are not only unique from any other country, we're accepting. So many countries now, if you look at the rise of the right wing in Europe and in Britain and in the United States and a little bit here, not really that much when you think about it. We are sort of this island surrounded by some pretty horrible stuff that's going on in the rest of the world, and I hope that we can stay that way. It would be a shame to see the fabric that we have right now torn apart. Sometimes people can mistake tolerance for weakness, but you can never do that with a Canadian. We're a tough bunch.

Peter McCully: Adrian, you were talking about the internet, and not only folks can find you in various media anywhere in the world in print, but you've recently redeveloped your website, so folks can now visit you or even have your cartoons come into their inbox on a daily basis. Tell us about what you've done with your website.

Adrian Raeside: I'd had a website for a long time and I met up with a lady who was the daughter of a very good friend of mine, Hubert Beyer, who was a columnist out of the BC Legislature, who's since passed away. I was talking about redoing my website. She's the webmistress of the site and it's great because we've been doing some videos, some different characters, like Bad Penguins in there, so it's given me the freedom to branch out of that rectangular spot in the newspaper, which is where I've been for the last 40-some-odd years. So it's been fun to do.

Peter McCully: Folks can search the website by cartoon theme series, older archival material as well, right?

Adrian Raeside: Sometimes that's probably not a good idea for me to do that because it means I can't plagiarize myself. That was a great idea 10 years ago. I don't think anyone would notice that if I redrew it now, not that God forbid I would ever do that. Of course.

Dave Graham: Thanks to Adrian Raeside for joining The Pulse community. His passion for Canada comes through in his work. The Canada Handbook is a celebration of what makes this country special.

Peter McCully: I appreciate his perspective on Canadian identity and acceptance that captures something unique about the country.

Dave Graham: That speaks to our raison d'être here at The Pulse Community Podcast. See what I did there? As we feature stories from and about the mid-Vancouver Island region and we have a newsletter so that you'll never miss out on a guest or a contest, sign up at thepulsecommunity.ca. So, Peter, you're married. You've been so for quite a long time, I gather. Are you still romancing your bride? Do you have grand plans for Valentine's Day?

Peter McCully: Just a simple red rose. And you, Dave, how are your plans coming along?

Dave Graham: That's nice. I like that. Well, I'm picking up on the idea that maybe a car wash is not particularly romantic even when they use the colourful soaps.

Peter McCully: Well, that's a sign of progress. So what are you thinking about now?

Dave Graham: I've also stopped asking the question, what would I like to receive for Valentine's Day? Not everyone will have the same level of appreciation for shepherd's pie, even with a ketchup heart painted on top. Maybe that's more suitable for a birthday or an anniversary.

Peter McCully: Well, not really, Dave.

Dave Graham: Oh, it's okay. I have it figured out according to custom. Well, you know, Red Roses would be the best choice as they represent love and passion. But then I remembered my partner saying once that daisies are her favourite flowers. So if I pick daisies instead of a bunch of red roses, I'll probably have money over for a nice dinner, eh, I mean, I'm talking like a classy joint here, someplace where drinks don't come in a paper cup.

Peter McCully: Well look at you. There might be hope yet, Dave. And then we go out for a romantic game of mini putt.

Dave Graham: Come on. Are you trying to tell me that mini golf isn't romantic?

Peter McCully: Hey folks, don't forget BC Family Day is coming up. Get out there and enjoy some quality time with the people that you care about and thanks for joining us.

Dave Graham: Oh, I got it. Bowling. The atmosphere, the shoes. Ooh, I really think I'm onto something here.

Rockin' Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter, here comes Dave, oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missin'. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So to speak. Laughs and insights everywhere. What a treat. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics all right. Join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.