January 2023 Newsletter

Life in Mexico – Brr!

We’ve lived full time in Manzanillo for over a decade now, and don’t regret a single moment. Sure, southern Mexico can get hot and muggy in the summertime, but the winter months are a pure joy.

The two photos show the Peace Bridge in Calgary and the wonderful Oasis restaurant on the beach near our home in Manzanillo. At one point in December, there was a 60 C difference in temperatures, from -30 to +30. Everyone in Calgary was scrambling to clean up snow after a blizzard; the only thing I had to clean up on my back patio was the tequila shot glasses.

Movie Review

Glass Onion; A Knives Out Mystery

Streaming on Netflix

This is the second installment in the Knives Out series, starring Danial Craig as the private detective Benoit Blanc. In this latest episode, the southern gentleman travels to Greece at the invitation of an egomaniacal billionaire.

The host in question is Miles Bron (played by Edward Norton), an internet tycoon who made his money under mysterious circumstances. His guests are all old acquaintances who are now in thrall to his fortune.

The occasion is a murder-mystery evening. The venue is not, in this case, a haunted manor on the Moors, but a modernistic mansion on a private island in the Aegean Sea. The mansion is dominated by a futuristic ‘glass onion’, a Buckminster-like dome full of glass sculptures.

Right from the get-go, the intrepid detective sees through the billionaire’s façade and is soon on the trail of the murder of Bron’s former partner Andi Brand, who mysteriously shows up very much alive at the party.

While I enjoyed the first move, Glass Onion is a much more entertaining film, with a faster pace and more twists and turns in the plot as the detective digs deeper and deeper into the shenanigans. Thanks to a campy performance by Kate Hudson and a slew of cameos (Hugh Grant, Serena Williams), the show has a much lighter, more entertaining tone.

I highly recommend Glass Onion!

Books Available on Kindle Unlimited

All of my books are available on Kindle Unlimited, a monthly Amazon subscription service that allows you to enjoy over one million books, including Joan the Saint, Magnus the Magnificent, The Hotel Seamstress and the complete FBI Agent Jack Kenyon series. It’s a great deal!

Book Review

Killers of a Certain Age

By Deanna Rabourn

If you’re a fan of the Thursday Murder Club mysteries that feature a gang of septuagenarians hunting down evil-doers, then you’re going to enjoy Killers of a Certain Age.

Rather than a cozy murder mystery featuring amateur sleuths, Killers follows the fortunes of four retired assassins, Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie. The quartet were recruited in their early 20s by a mysterious organization known as The Museum in order to kill former Nazis. Their remit eventually evolved into international criminals and corrupt officials, until they were retired and put out to pasture.

Now, apparently, The Museum wants them dead. A hitman is sent to snuff them out during a retirement cruise. Unfortunately, the hunter becomes the prey when they get wind of his intent, and they go on the lam.

Written in a tongue-in-cheek manner, the women use all their training and wiles to keep one step ahead of the opposition. It’s a delightful, how-to extravaganza in ways to off your enemies.

I highly recommend Killers of a Certain Age!

TV Review

Harry & Meghan

Streaming on Netflix

This 6-part documentary follows the lives of a young couple who fall in love, get married and have a family.

The couple, of course, are Prince Harry, an heir to the British throne, and Meghan Markle, a mixed-race American actress.

The documentary is a very sympathetic look at the hostility that they encountered, both from the British press and the royal family. Prince Harry is furious at the paparazzi, who pursue them in a manner that resulted in his mother’s death. Meghan is left bewildered and hurt by the negative reaction from the royal family that their marriage caused.

It is the latter, especially, that resonates with North American audiences; why did they treat her so poorly? The confusion, I suspect, arises from where you grew up.

In England, the monarchy’s role is extremely pervasive. It epitomizes the heritage, culture, ethos and the institutions of the nation. You mail your letters through the Royal Post and pray for Her Majesty’s health every Sunday (she’s the head of Anglican Church). While no official ‘caste’ system exists in the UK, your Lincolnshire accent immediately puts you in your place. There is a pecking order, and the monarch occupies the apex.

I was born and grew up in Canada. As a child, I attended Princess Elizabeth Elementary School and carried currency featuring the image of the queen in my pocket. As head of state in Canada, she was the symbol of our heritage.

But that’s pretty much where it ended. Nobody passed personal judgement based on how lordly your parents were; everyone was treated (and mistreated), relatively equally.

The same goes for people like Meghan who were born in the US. While she grew up well aware of the prejudices her mother faced, she also grew up with the expectation that anyone, regardless of their background, could succeed on merit. The unspoken social mores that pervade much of British life (such as deference to royalty), were entirely alien to her.

The result is a documentary about two loving, kind people who ran into an impenetrable wall that literally forced them into exile. It is equal parts illuminating, infuriating – and sad.

Coconut Attack!

A Club Santiago couple was shaken up when an unidentified palm tree flung a coconut against their windshield. The assault took place during broad daylight as the male driver was pulling up adjacent to the large Las Hadas sign at the corner of Audiencia and Miguel de la Madrid roads. Angry witnesses split the coconut open with a machete before a motive could be determined. Police are warning motorists in convertibles to exercise caution at the intersection.