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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2012-08-02, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012. PAGE 7.Homegrown artist shows London-inspired artwork Cheryl Radford has been putting pencil to paper since she was a young child. This summer her series of historic downtown London streetscapes is on display at the Art Rental and Sales Gallery at Museum London. The drawings are described by heritage advocate Genet Hodder as “a heritage lover’s dream”. He notes Cheryl brings the buildings alive through her artistic vision; she shows a genuine appreciation of the craftmanship of their heritage features. Cheryl grew up just west of Londesborough, a daughter of Len and Joyce Radford. She is a sister to Rob, Steve and Brian who still live on the Londesborough Road close to or on the home farm. Cheryl attended Hullett Central Public School and Central Huron Secondary School and then Georgian College in Owen Sound where she studied art. Currently she is living and working in London. To mark her 50th birthday in 2011, Cheryl began a year-long project titled “Streetscapes: 50 in 50”. The current display is part of that larger project. The drawings, which range from miniatures to 8"-by-13" pieces are done in ink, graphite and watercolour. Cheryl’s fascination with architecture began in 2007 on a trip to Limoux, France. Some of the sketches were done in Italy in 2011 when travelling with a group of other London artists. She remarked that those trips made her appreciate what was to be seen right at home in London. “A Homage to Downtown London”, as the display is titled, can be seen Tuesdays to Sundays from 11 to 4 p.m. throughout August. There was an interesting editorialcomment by Bill Brady inSaturday’s London Free Press. Hespeaks about something dear to thehearts of all of us in rural Huron County, the community gatherings catered to by the women of the area and featuring local foods. One of those local products was the reason for his comment, a food he dislikes, one he should not talk about in the Blyth area, the rutabaga. Rutabagas, or turnips, are also called neeps in Scotland, swedes in the west and Brassica napobrassica. He was indignantly informed at one point that Huron County is the rutabaga capital of the land. You might find the editorial interesting to look up on the London Free Press website. It’s titled “Never turnip your nose at rutabagas in Huron County”. In a previous column I noted that my sister and I had surprised a second cousin for her 75th birthday in England. That was only one of the family-related events during a week overseas. Our mother lost a brother to the waters of the North Sea on his first active foray in a Spitfire during WWII. So we visited Runnymede near Windsor, England, the Air Forces Memorial. This memorial, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, honours the air personnel lost from bases in the United Kingdom and Northern and Western Europe. More than 20,000 names are engraved on the walls of this memorial. The memorial is on the grounds of a country estate, very serene and not in any way encroached upon by life’s busyness. Fittingly, planes from Gatwick Airport can be seen and heard overhead every few minutes. In circumstances such as this a Jewish tradition is to leave a stone from home to say; “I have been here; I will remember.” So at the base of the wall on which our uncle’s name is engraved we left Canadian flags and two stones. We took the ‘chunnel’, the train through the tunnel under thechannel, to Calais, France and renteda car. The battle of Vimy Ridge waspivotal to the Allied success in WWIand the Vimy Memorial is located near Arras. Consequently we spent several hours there. The memorial itself is impressive as is the story about its construction. Again the memorial is in the countryside and one spots it first through a break in the trees of the Vimy memorial forest. At the centre there we took a tour of the maintained tunnels and trenches from which the Battle of Vimy Ridge was fought. The tour was an eye- opener to the conditions our forces endured in a war fought mostly on the ground. Again we left small Canadian flags and stones to show that you and I value our freedom. Born in 1944, I have always wanted to visit Juno Beach, the site of the Canadian landings on D-Day. Moreover, our father lost his youngest brother on that day, June 6. The trip through mostly rural France from Arras to Juno Beach was quite interesting and we had a day with no rain and sunny skies. Our hotel was on the boardwalk of Juno Beach and we went to sleep to the sound of the waves. How much closer could one get? The Juno Beach Centre runs guided tours which are mostly information about events of the Allied landings, particularly the Canadian troops. Funded and manned by Canadians, the centre has an extensive area of artifacts and videos, etc. about Canadian forces through the years of the war and up to the present. Our uncle actually made it 10 miles inland from the beach in his Sherman tank to the village of Fontaine-Henri. We drove that route and left flags and stones at the small marker in the village for The First Hussars, his company. Between Juno Beach and Fontaine-Henri is Beny sur Mer, the cemetery of the troops lost in the D- Day campaign. There my sister and I found the gravestone of that uncle and again left our remembrances. The people of France do an amazing job of maintaining this cemetery of which you have likely seen many pictures. Again it is in a quiet country setting. In recent years while working on a family project I discovered John had also lost an uncle, his mother’s brother, in the Second World War. I found these site visits very emotional and one tends to want to linger a long time in this setting, perhaps recognizing we may never visit again. While looking at the markers, on a chance, I decided to look in the book of remembrance for John’s uncle. It turns out Arthur Fraser, of Seaforth, was part of thesame campaign but died in July of1944.My sister and I heard about theseuncles all our lives and recognize that their deaths had an enormous effect on the dynamics/tapestry of both families. This must be true of all families touched by the war. That was why we both had felt a need to make this trip. Chancing upon thegravestone of another relative andbeing able to bring home a picturefor our family history book is my‘roses’ comment for this week Now, I’ve been offering these life ‘treats/roses’ for a number of months. My wish in doing so is that readers will begin recognize their own ‘roses’. Have you? Learning and laughing Local youth had a great time learning the ins and outs of football, or soccer if you prefer, at the Huron Chapel Evangelical Missionary Church’s soccer camp in Auburn last week. Shown fighting for their shot at the world cup are, from left, Christopher Postle, Hunter Wallace and Conner Flynn. (Denny Scott photo) PUBLIC NOTICE Municipality of Central Huron Notice to amend the fees and charges for the consumption of water and the treatment of waste water for the following systems: • Auburn Water System • Clinton Water and Sewage Systems • Dundas Water System • Kelly Water System • McClinchey Water System • S.A.M.Water System • Van De Watering Water System Pursuant to Section 391 of the Ontario Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, C. 25, as amended, the Council of the Municipality of Central Huron will hold a public meeting to consider amendments to the fees and charges for the above noted systems.This meeting will take place during the Regular Meeting of Council,Monday,August 13, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.in the Council Chamber of REACH 169 Beech Street, Clinton, Ontario. Further information may be obtained by contacting the Municipal Office at 482-3997 ext. 1227 or by Email - utilities@centralhuron.com.A copy of the proposed document is available on the municipal website (www.centralhuron.com). Brenda MacIsaac, Clerk Municipality of Central Huron By BRENDA RADFORD Call 523-4296 PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO NEWS FROM LONDESBORO Go, go, go! Whether it was leaning forward, leaning back, crouching down or hooting and hollering, every child in a soap box racer at the Brussels Soap Box Derby on the weekend had their own idea about how to go faster. Surprisingly, there weren’t any flame decals, which everyone knows makes anything faster. The derby was part of the 140th Brussels Homecoming celebration which had Brussels residents, returnees and visitors celebrating the village’s heritage from the crack of dawn until the wee hours of the morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Denny Scott photo)