Twenty-five Years of 22 Minutes by Angela Mombourquette

an unauthorized Oral History of This Hour Has 22 Minutes as told by cast members, staff and guests
by Angela Mombourquette

I really like the way this book is laid out. All the people involved in the conception, follow-up, performance, and the production are recognized in this book. Imagine in this day and age a comedic version of the news becoming a long-running (25 years at the writing of this book) award-winning show coming out of the maritime provinces for the most part. The book is segmented by conversations with each of the people involved in any way with the show. Basically, the book is like an interview with each person; the fact this show ran on a significantly low budget (virtually none) is astonishing. At times it reminded me of the old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney "We'll put on a show!" "Let's put on a show!" movies.

I really enjoyed how everyone would work on the ideas they came up with. Some of them though really comical, came off badly, which almost made them even funnier. If you were and still are a fan of the show, you will really enjoy this book. If you didn't always watch it, you will enjoy learning how it all went together and wish you'd watched it more. This is a genuine satirical Canadian TV show, with the humour of the Maritimes. No wonder it's had such a long run! 5 stars to this one.

Legends, Oddities & Mysteries - including UFO experiences in New Brunswick by Dorothy Dearborn

Illustrated by Carol Taylor
Published by Nimbus Publishing

This little book is a fast read of short stories. Good one to read while in a waiting room or coffee shop. My copy is 122 pages long. I'm not too sure that legends is the right word, these might more rightly be called folklore but then legends are born in folklore. Certainly the book contains many oddities, best known perhaps is the Magnetic Hill, a well-known tourist attraction, and certainly the "gull" doors of the Bricklin car were odd at the time. Ahead of its time, but through excessive spending it went the way of the Dodo bird. I actually remember it. Some of the stories are well-documented and these are dealt with by the Dorothy Dearborn in her own unique voice as well as the voices of the actual witnesses.

Real people made contributions to the author and granted permission to use their names. To me this puts a truer light on the oddness of the incidents. One of the quirkiest and humorous stories is "The Great Submarine Chase of 1914". A particularly strange legendary one is "Kingston's Lunar Rogue and Mysterious Stranger". Several of the stories are quite amusing. There are ghost stories, stories of buried treasure, facts, and finally a section on UFOs in New Brunswick. I've heard that the Maritimes are a hot spot for UFOs and even USOs so it seems natural these stories would be included. All said, the book is quite interesting although most of the stories are only a couple of pages or so long. A fascinating look into New Brunswick's unique history and lore.