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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-07-27, Page 5( )�)ililt,tt Riding bus in Irbid an adventure It was 8 a.m. and we had already answered one of Life's Great Questions. Never again will I have to ask myself "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Now I know the answer. The chicken, like us that hot and sunny morning, is going to Umm Qais. Before we got to Umm Qais we had our fair share of adventures. We (Colin, Melissa, Rebekah and myself) had travelled with the group as far as Ajlun, where we had been dropped off in the bus station (I am this close to using quotation marks), to catch the bus to Irbid. With the help of some fairly creepy locals (who wanted to drive us themselves), we found the right bus and boarded it. It was the last time for the next 24 when someone talked to me directly to my face. Irbid is considerably north of Madaba and considerably more conservative. Shopkeepers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, even the hotel clerk, looked right though Melissa, Rebekah and I and would only talk to Colin. On the buses, Colin was told how much it cost for four people, and he was expected to pay for us. It was incredibly awkward and more than a little demeaning, but I suppose it is only fair as we were the fish out of water and that is the way their culture works. What I didn't like was the way people leered at us (for all intents and purposes, an American with three wives) and made comments in a language I don't understand, but in a tone that is unmistakeable. There are three bus stations in Irbid. The Umm Qais bus was fairly direct, and dropped us off right at the foot of the Tell, where we then followed the chicken and the ticket collector up the hill. It cost us a dinar to get in to Umm Qais, which was a Roman/Byzantine city. As such, it was highly organized, made up of completely straight lines, and very well constructed. What the Romans hadn't counted on was the earthquake which destroyed the site (and everything else in the country...mostly) in 747CE. Still, the theatre, church, market, bath house and decumanus (street) have been restored. Of these, the church is my favourite because it is octagonal and made of black basalt blocks, which is a nice change from the limestone that takes up the rest of my life currently. There was a Jordanian team excavating the old Forum, and we wandered up to talk to them. They showed us all around the site and then let us fiddle around with their pottery while we drank coffee (such coffee!), but Roman/Byzantine isn't my forte so I don't really know the sherds. The director told us that the government wants to pour a lot of money into Umm Qais, and make it a big site like Jerash. We tried not to look too jealous. The bus stops in this country seem to operate by mutual consent. You simply stand on the roadside, and when the bus comes, you stick out your hand. If there is a person 50 metres away from you who also wants to catch the bus, the bus stops twice. Since the roads of most towns are divided, the bus drives up and down a few times before finally setting off to its main destination. Pella was one of the hottest places I have ever been. We started off walking, but a mini -bus picked us up and took us to the rest house where we had lunch, tea and a two hour sit. The lunch cost us more than the rest of the trip had (the hostel was five dinar and the bus was usually somewhere around 300 fils, which is about 60 cents Canadian), but the view made it worth it. We could see the Jordan Valley, Syria, the Sea of Gallilee, the Golan Heights, Gilead, Israel and The West Bank. After our ridiculously overpriced lunch, we walked down (literally...it was quite the drop) to the actual site of Pella. We meandered around for a while admiring the stratigraphy (they had to dig down almost two metres before they hit the wall tops, so some of the squares are four or five metres deep, but the heat was overwhelming, so we decided to head back down to the main road. The next bus took us to Dayr Alla and was fairly uneventful, but on the bus from Dayr Alla to Amman, one of the men kept trying to buy Rebekah from Colin, using cigarettes to sweeten the deal. Melissa was safe because she and Colin were "married" (so that they would be 'allowed to share a hotel room in Irbid to save money), and he showed no interest in me`, but nothing Colin could say would dissuade him. We finally lost the man in Amman when we went looking for the Madaba bus, but it was a very odd hour and a half up from the valley. Finally we made it home to Madaba, where the bus dropped us off half a block from each other so that we could go to the different hotels. I was beyond tired. It had been a very hot, very long, very smoky day, and I collapsed as soon as I got home. It is an entirely different country up there, and we all realized how very spoiled, and how very lucky, we are to live in Madaba where, even if white tourists are accepted, they are expected. Still, I wouldn't have missed the trip to Umm Qais and Pella for anything, and the experience on Jordanian minibuses was an irreplaceable part of the trip. News Plans to relocate resource consultants could take funds from local daycares From Page 1 is not to close daycare centres but to provide more special needs services to more children in Huron County. "Lots of special needs children don't go into daycare and it's our hope to be able to service the children at home as well," she said. McDonagh said if daycare centres were forced to close, "this wouldn't be the only reason." adding that Tuckersmith Day Nursery already has a large deficit. "The daycares were told at the start that these are stand- alone programs," she said, adding, "Not that anyone would want to see a daycare close. The county is looking at a plan to support the daycares in a transitional period." Huron East Clerk - Administrator Jack McLachlan said he sat down with the Tuckersmith daycare supervisor and went through the plan in an attempt to identify problems and is in the process of preparing a letter to the county. He said there's no accommodation in the plan for administrative costs, such as rent at *the proposed location. As well, while the supervisors of each municipal daycare are paid now to supervise the consultants, the plan does not outline who will supervise them once they are centralized. "There would be more mileage too because they go to each area and branch out. And, they won't be as visible in the community if they're not based in a daycare," said McLachlan in a phone interview. McLachlan said the three municipal daycare centres will also be meeting about the issue. In other daycare news, council agreed last Tuesday to increase Tuckersmith's fees in September by $1 per space for the half and full day rates. Playhouse's Give My Regards a musical marathon of Broadway tunes By Ben Forrest Expositor Staff As we sat comfortably in the back of the balcony at Grand Bend Country Playhouse on July 21, waiting for David Rogers' creation and star vehicle Give My Regards to Broadway to begin, my guest mused about our surroundings. "it's amazing what you can do with an old barn," she said. And it's true. That we would be sitting in a building that at one point probably housed hay, grain or any number of different animals, waiting to listen to a top-notch orchestra play beneath a man who has played, among many other things, the title character in The Phantom of the Opera, is quite something. Rogers. who has also landed roles in productions of Oklahoma! and Cats, hit the stage at around 8 p.m., started singing Broadway show tunes and didn't stop until at least 45 minutes later. "Then he took a 15 minute break and sang for another 45. To label the accomplishment as an extraordinary act of endurance would he a gross understatement. Even for a seasoned performer, a show like Give My Regards has to he. as my guest pointed out. the musical equivalent of a marathon. My guest came away from the evening thoroughly impressed, being among the first to rise to her feet and give Rogers one of two standing ovations he received on the evening. (Thc first came when we thought the show was over, the second when it actually was.) Many of the numbers Rogers sang that night were songs my guest had grown up with, heard on the radio or even sung at school. They were a part of her youth, and she could relate to them During the first act, Rogers pulled three seemingly unsuspecting ladies out of the audience, placed goofy headdresses on them and incorporated them into a segment dotted with love songs. During the same stretch, he extracted a man from the audience. sent him back stage and then had him trotted back out. using a humorous gag that i won't mention here since it's probably a regular part of the show. Rogers was clearly at his best during these spontaneous, seemingly unpredictable sequences, filling them with antics that left many in stitches. To ask for such a lengthy show to be full of improvisations would be a bit much, as would asking the star to belt out every note as he did in one of the show's closing numbers (he's at his best when he's singing his loudest). Any fan of Broadway show tunes will thoroughly enjoy themselves. David Rogers, of Give My Regards to Broadway THE HURON EXPOSITOR. July 27, 2005.5 LAWN QUESTIONS? Organic Programs 41120 Available ACCIREDITID lifeedIvca 524-2424 -Trust the Professionals - JULY 29-31. 2005 www.townofseaforth.ca � J Notice to Patients DR. CAROLIN SHEPHERD WILL BE AWAY AUGUST 1 - AUGUST 26 Dr. Jason Datema will be covering all patients during this time All medication renewals must be done in the office For an appointment please call Jill at 519-527-1707 Church Services You are invited to attend these area churches t. T omas Anglican Church A Cagegate1 d the Parish of The Nely Spa Jarvis St. Seaforth Parish Office 527-1522 Sunday, July 31" Worship at Northside Church Community Service 10:30 a.m. "Doors Open" Historical Tour Sunday & Monday 10-4 EVERYONE WELCOME Bethel Bible Church An Associated Gospel Church 126 Main St. Seaforth 527-0982 Sunday Worship Hour 10 am EVERYONE WELCOME NORTHSIDE UNITED CHURCH 54 Goderich St. w. Rev. John Gould Come Home to the Country INTERDEMOMINATIONAL SERVICE Sunday, July 31st, 10:30 a.m. St. James Roman Catholic Church Welcomes you 14 Victoria Street, Seaforth 527-0142 Weekend Masses: Sat 5:15 pm Sun. 11:00 am gmon s vi e United Church Until Sept. 4th Worship at 10:30 a.m. CLOSED 31" Interdenominational Service at Northside United July 31 • at 100 a.m. Steve Hildebrand Lay Pastoral Minister in Training Doors Open, Sunday July 31" p. No Sunda {(om school unto Se,t=mber First Presbyterian Church Goderich St. W., Seaforth Rev. Henry Huberts Sunday, July a.31st Service at 11:1 m. homecoming Visitors Welcome" Stay for refreshments after the service on all Spring & Summer Fashions tops, slacks, shorts, sportswear, dresses, sweaters, Petites & Misses PRICE SALE Wednesday, July 27 Saturday, July 30 Take Note: Injenuity Washable 'moo -, Suits, Navy & Black, off Regular & Petites - g - or this sa!e only � All sales final HOURS: Wed., Thurs. & Fri. 10 am -5:30 pm Saturday 10 am - 5 pm ut1fETatk lady 43 Albert St. Clinton 482-7872