Milton Fall Fair 2009 Edition

I was going to do post about this weekends edition of the Milton Fall Fair.  Dave at miltonsearch.com beat me to it.

Click here for more information on this must attend event in Milton.

10 years ago today

Heres a tale of two different kinds of days.

Ten years ago today Pat and I were married in Brampton.  It was around this time exactly that we were sitting in Gage Park getting our pictures taken as our wedding party munched on some fast food they got at a drive through on the way back from the church.

The sun was beginning to hide and the cool breeze started to flow as our photographer chirped at us “ok stay there…lets try this.”  Every pose it seemed that he was attempting us to get in didnt seem right and in between shots we held each other and smiled.  “THATS IT” hed say as we seemed much more natural when NOT posing and the photos were beautiful.  It was very calm and relaxing at that point, but several hours earlier, Pat’s day wasn’t going as smoothly.

The night before the wedding I stayed over at my good friend Mike Heenan’s house after being out the night before having a few drinks to calm the nerves and prepare for the next day.  We woke up in the morning and calmly headed downstairs to flick on the Ryder Cup golf tournament.  The smell of eggs and toast filled the air as we sat back with our feet up, watched a few holes of golf and waited for the rest of our wedding party to arrive.  Stress level zero.

Over at our house on Edenridge the totally opposite was happening.  My mother, aunt Betty (who’s birthday is the same day as our anniversary…Happy Birthday Aunt Betty!!) sister in law Deb and Pat’s half of the wedding party were running around getting their hair and make up done and doing what they can to keep everything under control.  Pat, as she always does, did her best to make sure everyone was taken care of so she made some sandwiches for everyone and kept them fed nicely as THEY were trying to do for her.

There were probably 20 or so people running around in different rooms, getting the tuxes on, making last minute changes to dresses and hair and on their make up.  Our niece Ashley and nephew Richard were in the wedding party as well, much younger than they are today and were a going concern to keep an eye on.

Just an FYI the Europeans were in the lead at the Ryder Cup as Mike turned to me and said “More coffee?”  Sure I replied as we refilled and stretched out on the chairs, in what I like to call a “golf haze”.

Needless to say, I still feel kind of guilty that my day wasnt as stressful as hers but we had 20 less people running around and only 3 people to dress.

The limo was there to pick up Pat and the wedding party as the last pictures were taken with her family in a now almost empty living room…all the furniture pushed up to the side to fit everyone, and they headed off to the church.

Mike, Satinder and my brother Rick were waiting anxiously at the church listening for the signal that the limo had arrived.  The minister was with us, trying to see if there was anything he could do to lessen the stress level, but there really wasnt any to relieve.  They were a little late and just as the minister said to us “ok, 3 more minutes and we head to the pub for a pint” the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the long white stretch limo containing the future Mrs Cluett.

We had a small contingent of close friends and family members at the church in Brampton as we all lined up front waiting for the music to begin.  A few of my friends looked over at me chuckling “you can run now if you like!” and the usual barbs you give to a nervous groom on his wedding day.  Ah, too late “here comes the bride!”  (Im kidding, I never would have thought of running, besides my knees were knocking too much to be able to run if I wanted.)

Pat took my breath away as she made her journey down the aisle of the church and the knocking of the knees stopped.  My brother even had to make sure I didnt fall over as I tried to catch my breath.

The service was beautiful and even though we missed the opportunity to say our own personal vows and it seemed like a blur until the minister said “you may now kiss the bride”.  Whoo hoo.

Our good friend Neil Sammut sang “When a Man Cries” a song he recorded in Nashville to a captive audience as we went to the back room to sign and make it all legal.  In between the pictures being taken Pat and I snuck around the corner to catch a glimpse of Neil singing as we wanted to be out there listening and watching him.

After talking with a few people today and getting the usual questions of “do you remember that day” my answer is like it was yesterday.

That was ten years ago.  Happy Anniversary Pat.  I love you even more now than I did then.

More people agree about aggressive drivers

As I pointed out in a previous post, and commented on by another Milton blogger Zeeshan Hamid, there was a letter to the Champion outlining several instances of aggressive drivers in the Town of Milton.  It seems to be an ongoing problem with no real direction on what changes can be made.

Here’s Jean Paul’s letter this week.  It echos Cristina’s letter from last week.

What can be done?  There seems to be two different problems here.  One of them is aggressive driving and speeding in residential areas and the second being on the main roads like Derry and James Snow Parkway among other major intersections.

I’ve talked about traffic calming zones with speed bumps for residential streets to force drivers to slow down in areas around schools and where kids walk and play.  On the Hawthorne Villager Forum, people have talked about other ideas that possibly include a form of photo radar.

Raising awareness doesnt seem to work well.  You can have blitzes by police on a regular basis, but it seems that people go back to their old habits of driving 10km/hr over the speed limit because they can get away from it.

Why not make the speed limit 40km/hr in every residential area…no execptions.  If youre driving around homes, where there could be children crossing the street or bikes on the road the limit is 40km/hr.  This way if police do catch speeders, the fines will be increased and maybe someone will think twice about going over the speed limit.

There have been comparisons to speeding on the highways and the main streets and residential streets, and to me there is a huge difference.  Highways have an “allowance” of being over the speed limit.  Thats what fast lanes are for I’m told.

The fact of the matter is there are no fast lanes on Derry Road, Clark Blvd, Ferguson, Louis St Laurent, Trudeau or any other residentail street.  That arguement is mute.

It seems to be an ongoing issue.  Any ideas out there?  Let’s discuss.

 

Sep 04, 2009

DEAR EDITOR:

In regard to Cristina Drapeau’s recent letter about aggressive drivers in Milton, I couldn’t agree with her more.

I have lived in Milton for about seven years now and shortly after moving in I started to notice the exact same problems at the same intersections — Derry Road at Trafalgar Road and Derry at James Snow Parkway.

Other drivers have always used the merging lane as a quick pass lane and feel they have the right of way to merge aggressively.

I’ve witnessed a large amount of road rage and aggressive driving. Many of these drivers I see offend repeatedly on a daily basis. At least a few give a wave when you let them in.

Although I understand that the police can’t be everywhere all the time, I feel that everyone should know there’s something citizens can do about this problem. It’s called Community Road Watch.

It’s a community program where if you witness another driver demonstrating unsafe driving behaviour you can report that driver and incident.

The police will send the driver a letter explaining their unsafe behaviour and ask for their voluntary compliance.

If the driver receives multiple letters, then the police may contact the driver and potentially lay charges if they feel it necessary.

It’s quite simple to do. Just remember or jot down the information of the incident, including licence, vehicle, time, driver description, time, and location. You then report it by giving the report to your local police station.

There’s even an on-line system for reporting at www.haltonroadwatch.ca to make it even easier.

However, I do feel it’s important that one takes their time and considers what they’re reporting and if it’s correct or if we are letting our frustration get the better of us.

JOHN-PAUL DELSENY, MILTON

2009 Milton Steam Era Celebration this Labour Day Weekend

The sounds of steam whistles will pierce the air in Milton this coming long weekend with the return of the Steam Era at the Milton Fairgrounds.  Come take a tour through history and see how things were done 100 years ago.

From the Steam Era website:

For the older generation it’s a chance to stroll down memory lane. For the young it’s a learning experience of a way of life far removed from todays. 

Bring your kids or grandchildren and participate in activities. Let the kids try the pedal tractors at the second stage or try sawing a log. Stay and enjoy the home cooked food, see the evening grandstand Country & Western Shows and enjoy the corn roast. You’ll find amazing sights and sounds at Steam- Era where “where your heritage comes alive”.

Everything starts on September 4th.  Check out the list of events as well.  DO NOT forget the corn roast on Friday night.  It doesn’t have anything about prices this year but last year Friday’s admission was $6.00 per person, kids under 12 were free and the rest of the weekend it was $7.00 per person, again kids under 12 free.  There are weekend passes available at $15 each.  Its well worth the money for the amount of fun you will have at the fairgrounds.  Who says theres nothing to do in Milton.

FRIDAY, Sept 4th 2009

8:00am – Grounds open
activities and demonstrations throughout the day

6:00pm – CORN ROAST following parade

7PM MINI TRACTOR PULLS at the Grandstands

Food is available from food court

At dusk:  Steam Engine NIGHT OF FIRE SPARK SHOW (weather permitting)

SATURDAY,Sept 5th 2009

8:00am – Grounds open

9:00am-5:30pm – Buildings open

9:00am – Tractor pulls begin (until 11:50am)

10:00am -4:00pm – Operating demonstrations (Sawmill, threshing, shingle mill)

1:00pm-5:00pm – Entertainment on the second stage - Games and contests for kids

12:00noon – Steam whistle blow

12-1.00pm Marions Country Band at Grandstands

12:15pm – Downtown Parade (starts at Main Street & Commercial St) & returns to the grounds.

1-2 pm Log Sawing at Grandstands

1:00pm – Junior Talent Contest at Second Stage

2.00-3.00pm Junior Members activities at Grandstands

3:15- 3.30pm – Threshing competition

3:30-4.30pm – Whipple tree Tractor pulls

4:30pm – Grand Opening Ceremonies followed by Parade of Equipment

Corn Roast following parade.  Dinner available from food court

5.30 – 6:30 – Marions Country Band

7:30pm – 32th Annual Country Western Talent Contest

CORN ROAST ongoing

At dusk:  Steam Engine NIGHT OF FIRE SPARK SHOW (weather permitting)

SUNDAY, Sept 6th 2009

8:00am – Grounds open - Buildings open at 11:00am till 5:30pm

10:00am- Church Service at the Second Stage

10:30am – Tractor games at grande stand

11:30am – Junior member Lawn Tractor games

12:15pm – Log sawing

1-2:00pm – Steam Engine Skills Competitions

3:00-3.15pm – Threshing competition

4:00pm – Grande Parade of all equipment followed by Corn Roast

Dinner available from food court

7.00 pm – Country Western Music by “DIGGER” and The CampfireCountry Band

At dusk:  Steam Engine NIGHT OF FIRE SPARK SHOW (weather permitting)

MONDAY, Sept 7th 2009

8:00am – Grounds open

8:00am – Tractor pull weigh in (Starting at 9am to 11:50am)

9:00am – all buildings open (until 5:30pm)

10:00am – Demonstrations begin throughout the grounds (Sawmill, shingle mill, baker fan)

12:00noon – Steam Whistle Blow

- Entertainment on second stage (kids games, music, dancing)
1:00-2.00pm – Steam Engine Skills Competition

2:00pm – Log Sawing

3:00-3.15pm – Threshing competition

3:45pm – Grand Parade of all Equipment