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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-04-30, Page 21Comm * Entertainment * Features • Religion • Family • More SECTION POSTSCRIPT Home and Garden Show attracts large crowds Up to 3,500 people attended the three-day Horne and Garden Show in Goderich on the weekend. The show featured over 50 displays and five entertainment and fashion shows. (photos by Dave Sykes) •3 fn.ytiLi3F Bernie's on the verge of something new Bedford Hotel chef wins gold medal in London competition BY DAVE SYKES For local chef Bernie Verge, just getting there is half the battle. The last time the Bedford Hotel's head chef entered a moulded sculpture in a culinary arts competition, it was acciden- tally ruined in transit. That was 12 years ago. The disappointement of having of hours of intricate labour dissipate has healed with time, but he learned that' getting to the show is a minor accomplishment. This time Verge made it to the show and his efforts were rewarded with a gold medal performance in the moulded sculpture competition at the Tenth Annual Culinary Arts Show and Awards Dinner, Sunday, April 20 at the Holiday Inn City Centre, London. While the Association of Chefs de Cuisine of London offered 13 categories covering everything from hors d'oeuvres, cold meats, fowl to ice carvings, Verge com- peted in the fat, vegetable and salt sculptures. Using a basic lard, he carefully captured the, grace and elegance of an eagle, its wings spread, as in the process of landing. • Tlie eagle,clutching a fish its claws, is depicted as landing on a hollowed out log. The sculpture, which Verge worked on over a six-week period, was judged the best of 12 entries in the class. But the gold - medal winner didn't believe his creation held promise of a medal' victory. "When .I saw the other entries, I didn't think I had a chance to win," he explained. "I thought the others were quite good but I 'think what won it for me was that there was; action in my sculpture." The other entries were more passive in nature and second place was awarded to a Huckleberry Fign sculpture while an owl sculpture took third place and a bronze medal. • Working front a photograph, Verge started with a very basic wire frame to stabilize the eagle, and built,the sculpture from the base up. Using knives and then toothpics for design and detail, he estimates there is more than 12 hours work in the sculpture. Tura to page 2 The "precious present" is a good place Talking about the weather is usually perceived as a cop-out especially by us journalists whose thoughts are filled with the serious doings of the global community. No serious thinker would consider ut- tering the phrase, "Isn't it a wonderful ( miserable, sunny, rainy, stormy, plea- sant) day?" Compared to terrorist bom- bings, the nuclear arms race, third world starvation and any number of serious issues in the cold, hard world of news, such observations are inconsequential and innane! But, today, I'm braking , the, rules. After such a long, cold and miserable winter, I think I deserve it. Wasn't that a marvellous weekend? Though I was hard at work covering the events of the community, I couldn't. help but be warmed, and soothed by the arrival of spring and the strong promise of sumjner over the weekend. Wandering up and down Nihe Mile River and Lake Huron in search of fishermen to photograph, I was eventual- ly wooed and won by the sun. Soon, I was seated by the water with tentative toes tingling in the icy water, luxuriating at the warm caress of the sun on my. shoulders. There's nothing so relaxing as wand `r- ing by the shores of the lake examining unusual stones and then tossing them back into the lake. Or, lying on the shore, eyes closed, melting into the sand as the sun warms your face. Or, watching the glistening waves ripple into shore as a gull hang -glides overhead. • For me, letting the worries•of the world fly away for the afternoon with a biplane that's motoring across the azure sky° is the perfect antidote to stress. It's a relax- ation exercise without the taped music and the accompanying melodic voices. It's a tranquiller without the side effects or the fear of chemical addiction. Yes, a beautiful day is a wonderful healer. Enjoying something as simple as the weather is a pleasure I allow myself too seldom. But, it's something I've decided I needmuch more often. Unfortunately, enjoying life simply because you're alive is something most people forget to do at all. It often takes a life-threatening disease or situation for many of us to be reminded of such enjoyment. Recently, whiie researching a story about alcohol and drug addiction, I was struck by the vitality of two men who were (and I guess still consider themselves) alcoholics. Because, at their lowest points they had lost their families, their jobs, their homes and almost their lives, they were acutely aware of each day's value especially now that they had stopped drinking and begun to rebuild and nur- ture what they had lost. One man spoke of the gift of the "precious present", an ability to find joy in the immediate moment, the here and now. He said many people waste their lives by always waiting for that one thing in the future that they think will finally bring happiness. ,Their satisfaction is always an arm's length away. Instead, these men were enthralled by the fact their hearts were beating, their lungs were breathing, their limbs were functioning and their senses were in good working order. They treasured loth the song of a bird and the warmth of their relationships. Stopping to enjoy the weekend weather helped me to understand them. Though my head is usually stuffed full of burning issues, endless lists, unorganized infor- mation, festering worries and evolving ideas, I allowed my brain to shift into neutral for the weekend. And, the peace was wonderful. Once my necessary tasks were com- pleted, I watched smiling as my worries and uncertainties evaporated into the warm air. Skipping stones, I laughed as I saw my anxieties scurry across the water's .sur- face and finally disappear into the lake. Other larger concerns plopped into the lake with a resounding splash. I gave myself time to wonder at the fossils in the rocks, the twisted shapes of driftwood and the shapes of clouds in the sky. And, I allowed myself the freedom from guessing at the level of pollution in the lake, the possible consequences of the Bruce Nuclear Plant situated farther north on the lake and the effects of acid rain on the lake's fish and plant life. In short, I turned off the over-worked analysis mechanism in my brain and let my thoughts float freely into fantasy or wherever else they pleased. For a couple of. hours when I allowed myself just to be, I think I may have found and enjoyed the "precious pre- sent" the men I interviewed talked about. The "precious present" is a good place to ,he. I think I'll visit there more often. 72, Medal winner Bedford Hotel chef, Bernie Verge, displays the eagle sculpture that won a gold -medal at the Tenth Annual Culinary Arts Show and Awards Dinner in London sponsored by the Associa- tion of Chefs de Cuisine of London, Verge worked the sculpture for over six weeks in preparation for the show. He defeated 12 other entries in the category.(photo by Dave Sykes)