Tuesday December 20, 2022
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 20, 2022
Happy Winter solstice 2022 – Good riddance to a dreary past year
December 21, 2012
For most of us in the northern hemisphere, the drop in temperature over the last few weeks has become apparent; frosty mornings and cold air is the order of the day. Marking the first day of astronomical winter, the winter solstice lays claim to the shortest day of the year, but it’s also the date after which the Sun starts to make a welcome return.
The winter solstice is one of the oldest known winter celebrations. Not only does it mark the changing of the seasons, but it marks an end to the long winter nights.
Although Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments, remarkably little is known about these ancient standing stones. They have, however, become synonymous with the solstices, and it’s difficult to avoid news of throngs of people flocking to the monument in mid-winter and mid-summer. But they have good reason, and have done so for millennia.
October 21, 2021
Most archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was erected as a giant astronomical calendar, as the standing stones are oriented towards the rising and setting Sun at the solstices. However, there is some debate as to whether they were originally built for a specific solstice, or both.
At the winter solstice, the Sun would have set between two uprights, however the effect is somewhat lost today as one of these stones has since fallen down. Laser analysis of these stones has revealed that they were carefully shaped using hammerstones, creating vertical sides that perfectly framed the movement of the Sun.
This year, because the precise time of the solstice occurs at 9:48pm on 21 December (i.e., after the Sun has set), the winter solstice will be celebrated at sunrise on 22 December. But, if you don’t fancy heading out into the brisk winter morning, you can livestream the event over at English Heritage. (BBC)
![Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator,Ê Wednesday April 25, 2012 Bev Oda apologizes for swanky hotel stay International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda said sorry Tuesday for charging taxpayers with an expensive hotel stay in London, EnglandÊlast year, but her apology failed to satisfy critics. "The expenses are unacceptable, should never have been charged to taxpayers," Oda said in the House of Commons in response to aÊquestion from interim Liberal leader Bob Rae. "I have repaid the costs associated with [the] changing of hotels and I unreservedlyÊapologize." Oda's travel expenses caused controversy on Monday when it was revealed that she was originally booked to stay at a hotel where she wasÊattending a conference last June, but had her staff rebook her at the swanky Savoy hotel, where her stay cost her about $665 per night. TheÊtotal bill for her three-day stay including the room and room service was $1,995. The room charges included an orange juice that cost $16. Oda also hired a car and driver, at a cost of about $1,000 per day, to bring her to the hotel she was originally supposed to stay at andÊincurred a cancellation charge for refusing to stay at the Grange St. Paul's hotel. After the Canadian Press broke the story on Monday, Oda's office said she would personally cover the tab for the difference in costÊbetween the two hotels, the cancellation fee, and the orange juice. In total, she repaid $1,353.81. "She only did this because she got caught," NDP House leader Nathan Cullen said Tuesday. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bev-oda-apologizes-for-swanky-hotel-stay-1.1169374](https://i0.wp.com/mackaycartoons.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2012-04-25.jpg?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1)
Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator,