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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-06-10, Page 61Entertainment ® Feature Religion *Family ®More SECTION GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1.987—PAGE 1A s exeiti WILLIAM THOMAS Model rail buffs invite locals to hop BY PATRICK RAFTIS • The scene is a familiar one throughout Great Britain. The streamlined locomotive pulling a trail of cars over ribbons of metal track through hills and valleys, past wooded lots, through bustling cities and ,sleepy little towns. Passerbys stop to watch the great engines haul their cargo of freight or passengers on to the next• leg of the journey, made as smooth as possible by the men at the controls of the engine and the vigilance of those responsible for keep- ing the trains on the right track. And then, when it's over, you can pack it all back up in the cases and go home. Model railway, as a hobby, is also an ex- cercise in nostalgia for John McGibbon, of RR 2, Goderich. Born in Manchester, England, McGibbon is a former signal man on the British .railway system. Now a maintainance supervisor'at the Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders, he keeps in- volved with the iron horses through an ex- tensive collection of model engines, cars and track layout. "The railway has always been part of my life," McGibbon said. His involvement with `model rail began one Christmas. After several years of campaigning to get his daughter in- • terested in receiving a • model set for Christmas, McGibbon decided he would have to try another tact. "I thought, 'The only way I'm..going to get .one is to ask for it myself,' and sure enough I got one. And that's what kind of started it," he remembers. .. • START LOCAL CLUB McGibbon and his wife Ann are members of a model railway club they helped found several years ago in Toronto, .before moving to"Goderich last year. The ' club- has members from Toronto, Missisauga, Oakville, Hamilton Cam- bridge and other municipalities and they would now like to add some members from the Goderich area. "The prime objective of thub is to en- courage railway modelling irrgeneral and in particular the British outline of of model rail," Said McGibbon. While he has nothing against the North American railway system, McGibbon's'in- terest lies with the system he grew. up with in England,. where rail travel is still a prevalant form of transportation. - ,"Most Canadians grow up to be thirty= .five,.. forty. -years.. o.ld_..and_.neve.r..rid .e_on..a train. In Britain, you wouldn't be there a day (before.you'd find cause to 'travel by rail )," he notes. "Ev.en today," he says; "the railway is an integral part of the transportation system there". EEEVELOP LAYOUTS The idea of a model railway' club is to • develop layouts to take to model railway exhibitions. The McGibbon.* layout measures 12 feet by 20 feet, but some clubs have put together much more extensive layouts' for display at exhibitions. One club, called Engage, of which McGibbon knows, has a setup measuring 24 feet by 64 feet. n -board Model enthusiasts hope to start rail club Model railway enthusiasts John and Ann McGibbon add some looking for interested persons from this area to join their model finishing touches as they set up a section of their model layout in. rail club. For information call 524-9821. (photo by Patrick Raftis) their garage of their home at RR 2, Goderich. The McGibbons are With more people in the club, a more comprehensive layout could be developed 'and-travet costs- to'mere-exhibtit'ions'"coiild.. be spread out, says McGibbon, who says his group has been restricted by costs to exhibitions in the Toronto area. . In a club, each member or team builds their own segement within an overall - design and the tracks are joined together to form a whole. Creating the scenes, includinglandscap- ing, buildings and tiny vehicles is one of the more interesting aspects of the hobby, according to McGibbor). "It's a fascinating hobby because there are so many aspects to it," he said, nam- ing painting, scenery building and elec- trical skills as examples. "Everyone should have a hobby," he claims. "It's theraputic It gives you a chance CO get away -from yaw work and in- to something else". • McGibbon's club uses the Engage scale, in which tracks. and trains are one - seventy -sixth actual size. Engage is the se-. c'ond most popular size of model railway components, after HO,OO, which is one - eighty -seventh 'actual size. MODELS, NOT TOYS McGibbon emphaisizes the difference between the expensive and elaborate models enthusiasts use, and the toy train Sets parents buy their children. "These are not toy trains, they're model trains: There is a tendency for people to say, 'Oh yeah, I havea little boy who would like that.' About all a little boy would 'be able to do is wreck it," he cautions. 'As"'far as the eacpense of model railway McGibbon says; "Well; it's what you make it." He notes that one two foot by. four foot section of•a layout could be made for as lit- tle as $50 or, $60; or could cost a great deal more depending on. details and ac'essories. , For this reason, the McGibbons are en- couraging' adults and older teenagers to join their 'club, but not young children. . The McGibbons' will be holding a picnic for prospective new members at their home on July 11 and welcome any in- terested persons to the event. For more in- formation contact John or Ann McGibbon, 524-9821, Kevin Bundy has first major role at Blyth Lark turns into a passion for young Goderich aspiring actor BY PATRICK RAFTIS For someone who says got his early ex- ' perience in the business on "a lark," Kevin Bundy, 25, son of Goderich residents Doug and Lou Bundy, has done pretty well in his efforts to break into the demanding world of professional acting. Bundy, who graduated in May from the National Theatre School in Montreal, has. landed a. lead part in the 1987 Blyth Festival production of "Bordertown Cafe'. , In "Bordertown," Bundy plays a 17 -year- old youth, living with his mother on the Canadian side of the Alberta -Montana border. When his truck -driver father calls from the United States to invite him southward, the youth is pulled in all direc- tions and has to make a decision — Canadian or American? While this production is Bundy's first ma- jor role, it's not his first time on the stage at Blyth. Last season, as a member of the Festival Young Company, Bundy had smaller parts in two productions. While he had to work his acting efforts in between odd jobs like painting sets, driving delivery vehicles and sweeping rehearsal halls, the experience paid off handsomely in the form of a part this year. EXTRA BONUS "The plays (last year) were an extra bonus. Katharine (Kaszas, Festival Artistic Director), gave me 'a chance this .year because she liked what I did last year," said Bundy. "Blyth is great," he added. "The Festival really supports their actors, by having them back and getting them places in the area," said Bundy, who is living in an apartment in Belgrave, provided by the Festival. "I've been coming to see shows here for years, so it's, kind of a thrill to come back and work here. I'm really grateful to Katherine for going out on a bit of a limb with me." Bundy's first exposure to theatre was through the Goderich District Collegiate In- stitute drama club, performing in produc- tions such as "Godspell," and "My Fair Lady," under the direction of GDCI in- structers Phillip MacMillan and Warren Robinson. Former Goderich resident Kevin Bundy is back in the area, as one of the stars of the Blyth Festival production of "Bordertown Cafe," which opens June 23 at the Festival Theatre. Here, Bundy (right) rehearses a scene from the play with actress Laurel Paetz. (photo by Patrick Raftis) "It was a lot of fun — a bit of a lark," says Bundy of those high school effka ts. However, after high school, he left the dramtic arts behind for a time, to pursue a degree in English at the University of Western Ontario, in London, with thoughts of becoming a teacher in mind. However, at Western, he again found himself drawn to the school's drama department. ALWAYS A RIOT We did a couple of shows a year and it was always a riot," he said. "Because I had so much fun and I had to pick up another course," Bundy decided to audition for the Banff School of Fine Arts. " The audition consisted of performing a monologue and some dance moves for a selection panel. "They just try to get a rough idea if you're teachable," said Bundy, noting that this was his first taste of acting under real pressure. "Auditions like that are tough. In five minutes, your fate is decided fora long time." Still, at this point, he was keeping his op- tions open and not banking completely on making it on stage. "It was never a life or death thing. It was always a lark up to that point," Bundy said. "I thought, 'If this happens, it'll be fun, but if it doesn't, I'll do something else."' As it turned out, Bundy didn't have resort to doing the dreaded "something else". He was accepted by Banff and spent six weeks during the summer of 1983 learning the basics of performing arts through classes in subjects such as dance and movement and voice development. After that, it was back to London for a time, where he worked in such theatre - related jobs as the box-office at the Grand Theatre and as a waiter for the Second City dinner theatre club. While with the Second City group, he took some improvisational classes. In the spring of 1984, Bundy again found himself in an audition hall, this time for the National Theatre School. By this point, for Bundy,' t was no longer "a lark". "It was quite a different audition. All of a sudden there was a lot more pressure," he said, noting that this time he auditioned with a group of about 500 and had to get through a series of call-backs (return auditions) before 17 of the original 500 were finally choosen. Having made it through that audition, Bundy found the experience well worth the Turn to page 3A The mother of invention In eras past, man invented things like fire, the wheel and the Karl Benz mechanically propelled tricycle.' These early creations left the man on the street for in some cases, the man on the foot- path) gasping in awe of the ingenuity and advancement of the beheld innovation. Then, an invention was born of necessi- ty' and it grew 'to change everything it touched upon. On April 27, two Russians by the names of Ivan Petrov ) no relation) invented an edible wine bottle made of bread and meat. Now I don't mean to belittle the Rus- sians,' in fact I can't because the American patent on Russian belittling doesn't lapse until the year 2000. But to my mind an edible wine bottle just doesn't rank right up there with Denis Papin's piston pump or Louis Pasteur's method of storing milk from "freshness dated" until the cows come home. The theory behind the consumable carafe, as the news report' revealed, is that after the typical Russian alcoholic spends his last Ruble on a bottle of cheap wine he can at least gain some nutri- tional value by eating the empty bottle. • I think it'll just make drunks fat. The typical Russian drunk has to worry about freezing to death in Gorky Park, finding a cheap but full-bodied wine with a nutty,. finish and dodging small aircraft that • land on Red Square) Boy, I'll bet that lit- tle red Cessna sobered up more drunks in downtown Moscow than any two A.A. recruiters could have managed in a month). • There are several flaws inherent in this invention. Is there any guarantee ' that the Russian drunk will remember to 1 eat the- ' bottle? Will the bottle carry a' warning label "Eating this .bottle could be marvelous for your health! "? What if he's drinking . white wine? White wine doesn't go with meat. Would it be illegal to save up the empties and throw a din- ner party at the end of the month? When he drops the bottle on the sidewalk will it break or land as meatloaf with a light wine sauce? There are just too many i variables for this invention to succeed. At the same time the Rus'stansreplac- ed the non -returnable bottle with their digestible decanter, Brett Green of Hamilton invented a seat belt for dogs. 1 was horrified, I had no idea that the Ministry of Transport was licensing dogs to drive in this country. But then I thought -• hell, if you can drink 26 ounces of cheap wine and then eat the bottle, I suppose it's not out of the question to have your dog drive you home after- wards. I mean he'd have to be a well - disciplined dog, right? Otherwise he'd have eaten the bottle when your back was turned. ,^a Anyway my confusion was cleared up when I received a wire photo of Brett Green in the front seat of his car with his dog strapped into the seat belt. Brett's behind the wheel. The photo is in- teresting for three reasons. The dog is wearing his seat belt but Brett isn't. Brett, with his arm around the dog, looks proud. And the dog, a gorgeous golden lab looks so embarrassed, he looks like he'd rather die in a head-on collision than wear that belt. His bashful eyes are unable tb look into the camera. He 1(1oks like he's saying: "Brett, if Sport and Lassie see me tied up in this thing - I'll never be able to lift my leg in this, neighborhood again!" I worry about a man who would invent a seat belt for dogs. Brett Green either has too much time on his hands or he's got too many dogs flying around the in- terior of his ear on the fast curves. The two invetl"tions, the edible vine bot- tle and the canine safety contraption are not related,'at least not directly. I made some phone calls and even if you include Estonia and Armenia, there are no men in the USSR named Brett. While both inventions have merit, one for drunks and the other for dogs, a com- bin'r�ion of the best of both creations would be more successful than either on .its oven. What I'm suggesting to Hamilton's Brett Green is to develop a seat belt for dogs made from light -weight, solid-state Gravy Train. That way after a long car ride you can unstrap the dog, hose him and his seat belt down and he can have supper in his hath water. Make the buckles out of doggy treats and call the whole thing "Table Scraps and Safety Straps". And what about a seat belt for Russian drunks to keep them from falling off the curb. Did the whole world just go on "Tilt' or is it me? INSIDE Sports.... P 7-9 Education.. P 12-13 Entertainment.. P4-5 0