The only time I ever ran away from home I took with me for provisions a jar of my mother’s pickled beets. My escape didn’t take me far. For some reason, now unknown, I only made it as far as the woodshed roof, where I sat myself down and proceeded to enjoy the plunder from the pantry.

The passion for running away remains — I have frequently run away to Mexico and plan to do so again — as does that for pickled beets. And I had the opportunity to enjoy some just last night when they appeared, to my surprise and that of a few others, on the menu for the Harbour House restaurant’s New Year’s Eve winemaker’s dinner. The beets were delicious and improved considerably for having been seasoned with cumin.

But they were really only a very tiny part of an extraordinary dinner, which took full advantage of local bounty, from island-raised pork and Harbour House-grown vegetables to the wines of Garry Oaks winery.

We began with a leek and potato soup that included a delicious grana padano custard, a pork terrine from Salt Spring’s Redwing Farms that was outstanding (the beets were an accompaniment here), a warm spinach salad with an amazing array of complementary flavours, a rather sad excuse for a sorbet (in my humble and possibly ill-informed opinion), a very nice beef tenderloin with a celeriac puree that was new to me but so tasty that I find myself craving more, and one of the nicest dessserts I’ve eaten in a long time, which consisted of a vanilla bean-flavoured cream, a very fine little cup of hot chocolate and whipped cream, Frangelico and a biscuit. As with everything else on the menu, the complementary flavours of the latter were memorable.

The Harbour House restaurant, under chef Paul Stewart, is making a name for itself for fine cuisine, and additionally for sourcing local products and going to the extra work of growing many of their own. (If you ever have an opportunity to try the maple syrup taken from their own trees, do so because it’s an amazing treat.) The Harbour House, of course, is not the only local restaurant with a passion for going local; it is a strong movement here and one that makes me proud to be an islander. It is also a huge advantage for Salt Spring in its efforts to compete as a tourist destination.

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Another of our advantages is that we can boast a couple of wineries whose products pair well with the gourmet dining so readily available on Salt Spring. Last night was a celebration of both food and wine, and the winemaking and growing partnership of Elaine Kozak and Marcel Mercier were present to talk about their winery and their wines. The pairings were excellent, and even those pickled beets did well with the winery’s Prism, much to the pleasant surprise, I gathered, of both Elaine and Marcel.

The Zeta is another good Garry Oaks product and was a big success with the tenderloin. (I regret very much having poured a glass of it the other day for my friend the very fussy Kevin Bell, who took one sip and rejected it. It is not a wine for sipping without food.)

It was a New Year’s to remember, not only for the food and wine and great dinner music of Lloyd English and Ian van Wyck (I’m certain I heard Diane on the piano as well), but for the party in the Old Pub (a far superior name than Green Room, or Blue Room, or whatever it was). Keyboard player Willie MacAlder, a founding member of Powder Blues, and guitarist Johnny Tornado put on a great show, and kept the dance floor full most of the night.

The past year has had its challenges, but Mane and I bade it farewell in style, and in good company. Here’s to a happy and rewarding 2012!

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One of the most solid and steady people I know is Stan Lam, and I’m sure I can speak for many islanders when I say I miss him. Back when he owned Harbour Low Cost, wanting the Globe and Mail was only part of the reason for picking it up every day at his store; joking and chatting with Stan was the other part.

I won’t go into much detail about the man who was instrumental in launching the Golden Island restaurant and owned the Harbour House for a while (gaining renown and notoriety for a short-lived experiment with strippers during his tenure!) beyond the fact that he’s a smart guy with a big heart. He likes to keep a low profile.

It was in the early 80s that Stan moved here with his family from Victoria. He knows Salt Spring well. And I think the word he used over lunch the other day was “decay” when we were talking about how the island has changed.

Gyle and Sam Keating didn’t use the word decay but their assessment of where we are as a community was not a positive one. They recalled that 30-something years ago when they arrived it was not unusual to stop and wait on the road when the driver ahead of you stopped for a chat with someone coming the other way. And it wasn’t a problem.

What was that story in the Driftwood a few months ago about a driver ramming someone else’s vehicle in a fit of road rage? Holy shit, I thought, and so did a bunch of other people.

Salt Spring has changed indeed and not much for the better.

My lady Mané and I were in a local store today looking at gloves, but they didn’t have what we wanted. Somewhat hesitantly the person at the counter suggested we go over to Mark’s Work Wearhouse, and when I agreed that that was what we would do she allowed that some people take offence to the suggestion they should shop at Mark’s. Being in polite company I restrained myself from saying “holy shit” aloud, but that’s what I thought.

Here’s a store that’s been in business in Ganges for years now, owned by local people and obviously catering to a local customer base. Yet there are still those who resent the bulldozing of some ramshackle huts reminiscent of the ugly little backwater that was Ganges 35 years ago, and will blame it on Mark’s.

I’m optimistic nonetheless. I told Stan that I think the election results will — over time — reinstill a lot of lost confidence. We need to get beyond the widespread perception, the legacy of the coffee company fiasco and more, that business can just bugger off, we don’t need it.

Further cause for optimism is to be found in the spirit of cooperation seen among the local businesses that have banded together and created a marketing campaign called Christmas on Salt Spring: Get your glow on! With little time and less funding, but a lot of spirit and positive energy, a fairly broad cross-section of businesses has stepped up to create a good buzz about the warmth of a Salt Spring Christmas — choral concerts at ArtSpring, craft fairs all over, visits by Santa and a rather yummy drink called the glowtini.

This is all about building community spirit, thwarting decay — and stopping in the middle of the road to talk to your neighbour.

As many people know, I love Mexico. But by god I love Salt Spring a whole lot more, and I think we’re on the right track.

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We have a slate of officials who will serve Salt Spring well during the next three years, and perhaps move us a little closer to the only type of government structure that is going to serve us in the long term.

Islanders voted well, and candidates — for the most part — campaigned in the same fashion. It was civil as Salt Spring elections go and even fun for some. Carol Dodd seemed to be having a ball every time I saw her. In fact, her sense of fun was refreshing in light of the very serious tone taken by many of her opponents. But an election is a serious affair; this island is at a turning point. Do we move forward with a common desire to work for a community that is strong economically and socially, and well protected environmentally? Or do we sit back and let the decay — economic and social — continue?

My sense is that we have chosen the former.

So that leaves only one topic for me for this instalment: food and wine. My partner and I decided to celebrate the onset of colder weather by finding a nice spot in front of the fire at the Oystercatcher, and try a bit of halibut. I’m very fond of halibut, and equally so of warm fires on a November night.

We were not disappointed. Greg the waiter (and a runner-up bartender yesterday in the Christmas on Salt Spring Glowtini competition) kept us fed and watered for the evening. The halibut was perfectly prepared; that’s a challenge — I know because I’ve cooked it and failed before, as have several restaurants in my experience over the years.

There were two highlights that evening, the halibut being the first. The second was another winning wine from Garry Oaks Winery in the Burgoyne Valley. We had the 2008 pinot gris with dinner, and alone it would have been outstanding. With the halibut it was superb.

It’s not the first time I’ve been blown away by a Garry Oaks wine. I had the good fortune a couple of months ago to sample some of their pinot noir, of a vintage that is no longer available. I’m not a big fan of  pinot noir, and wasn’t a big fan of the movie that celebrated this particular grape. I really do like merlot or a big Bordeaux blend.

But Elaine and Marcel of Garry Oaks created one of the finest pinot noirs I’ve ever tasted with that particular year, with Salt Spring grapes, no less. And I have been advised that they have more good pinot on the way.

So many reasons to celebrate Salt Spring — from good elections to fine wine.

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Technology is something I have no difficulty embracing and enjoying (until it up and bites me in the ass, which happens frequently but only because I did something dumb). I embraced it keenly on Monday evening when, laid low for the third or fourth week with an out-of-sorts sciatic nerve, I tuned into Dave Vollrath’s live video stream of the candidates’ meeting we staged at ArtSpring.

A little on the jerky side (no, not the candidates — well maybe one or two) but otherwise a perfectly adequate video stream to be able to take in the entire meeting. If we had known earlier we would have publicized it, but I was unaware that Dave was going to stream it until a day or two before.

And I certainly enjoyed the show.

As Dietrich Luth said, he hasn’t changed. And indeed he hasn’t, not in his public manner nor in his dogged perseverance to be well informed on a range of issues. What was the group he mentioned whose meetings he’s been attending regularly for years? That’s Dietrich for you.

I have been accused of manipulating public opinion by bashing Dietrich during his term as regional director. If by bashing it was meant that I was critical of Dietrich for consistently and doggedly withholding information that should not have been withheld, I am guilty.

No newspaper or news outlet is ever completely innocent of manipulating public opinion. But few do it intentionally, and fewer with malice. In 30 years of publishing I’ve seen pages and pages of manipulation in our newspaper alone — all of it in the letters to the editor!

But back to the show: my interest in this election lies more on the Islands Trust side, having felt for many years that the Trust fails an island the size of Salt Spring because it was never designed for it. And the changes to its structure have not been sufficient. If they had been, the Trust would be something akin to a municipality today.

For that reason I could support any candidate who does not favour the status quo, but would prefer a candidate who is strongly desirous of change. That leaves out Larry Woods, which is fine because he’s prepared to make false allegations about others with no effort either to defend or retract them. I would say the rest of the slate range from lukewarm to hot in their desire to see change — David Borrowman to Peter Grove to Carol Dodd to Mark Wyatt-George Grams.

Salt Spring has tremendous potential to be a strong and thriving community for the talent of its people alone. But they must commit to real change for the fulfilment of that potential.

Meanwhile, I’ve posted a reminder on my To Do list on my iPhone, which will later sync up with my laptop. The reminder: Vote for real change on Nov. 19!

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I think the elections of 2011 are showing that those fears were unfounded. With 10 candidates alone for school board, and another 12 divided between Islands Trust and CRD, we are seeing just how strong is the interest in civic affairs.

And now that the campaign is in full swing, we are seeing the beginnings of attack strategy. If you don’t feel secure enough campaigning on your record and your platform, go after the other guys. And if you want to reach out to islanders who believe firmly in the preserve and protect mandate, you bring out the old greedy land developer bogeyman.

It has worked admirably in the past, witness the last incorporation vote. But will it work again? There is no doubt that the majority of Salt Spring Islanders believe in and support the preserve and protect mandate. But are they all so easily swayed to fall for the same fear-mongering again? I don’t think so.

I’m hoping most people have come to realize how serious are the deficiencies in the current system, that we must advance to the next logical step in managing our community affairs. And having come to that realization they will select candidates who support a governance study.

When I cast a vote I look at the candidate’s record and platform. I pay little attention to conspiracy theorists or those who like to speculate or those who go beyond speculation and make wild allegations about their opponents. It just doesn’t wash with me.

During 25 years of newspaper publishing on Salt Spring, I’ve heard a lot of wild theories, false allegations, ugly rumours and outright lies. I take everything with more than just a grain of salt.

And judging by comments made by one candidate on his blog, I’ll have to keep the salt handy during the next couple of weeks.

The charge has been made, without any foundation in fact, that we’ve been out to “manufacture discontent.” Larry Woods has stated that we have been in league with Islanders for Self Government and two other Trust candidates to do so (as if the manufacturing process were necessary).

Those who will happily follow anyone who shares and advocates their point of view will carry on in ignorant bliss of the truth. To others, who find it prudent to take a more critical view and perhaps ask a question or two, I can say it is a complete and utter fabrication.

Here we go again, folks! Politics, Salt Spring style!

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How was that possible?

It was easy, actually. There was so much to see and do that our attention was consumed by other attractions. But we did eat some delicious apple cake at Fern Creek Farm, which used to be the Hamilton family’s property on Isabella Point Road. And (this is a bit of a stretch) there were apples in one of the wines we tried, and bought, at Mistaken Identity Vineyards in Ganges.

This event, thanks to founder Harry Burton, has become one of the major community happenings on Salt Spring. It’s not as big as the Fall Fair, but what is? And its timing is perfect. This year we had the fair itself, followed by Sip & Savour, followed by the Apple Festival. I hope that the schedule repeats itself next year and onward into the future.

All three celebrate the bounty of Salt Spring, and showcase the talent and the skill that turn the bounty into food and drink for the table.

On Sunday we ate some delicious barbecued pork, again at Fern Creek Farm, accompanied by an apple and plum sauce created by island Chef Bruce Wood. We enjoyed cheese at David Wood’s Salt Spring Island Cheese, which was followed by goat’s milk ice cream. This was a novelty, but tasted no different from a good ice cream made from milk.

We saw plenty of visitors during the rounds we made on Sunday and why not? No other community I know of in the region has an apple festival. And the weather was perfect.

It is events such as this that we need to sustain our economy, with dates in the shoulder and off-seasons when there is little pressure on the local infrastructure.

In the current issue of the Driftwood is a report that the local economic development commission is a little unsure of the way ahead. Commissioners should bear in mind that ours is already a tourist-based economy, and that’s something we can build on. They might look to places like Penticton, where hardly a weekend goes by without a special event or celebration of some kind.

(That we even have such a commission represents a huge leap forward for Salt Spring. Until just a few years ago the merest suggestion of such a body would have met with scorn and derision.)

We have plenty to celebrate. Let’s celebrate what we have with visitors and everyone wins.

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Today, owners Mark and Terena LeCorre are carrying on the tradition, continuing to offer more than 111 nights of music a year. Since Jill’s visionary move all those years ago, Shipstones Pub has stepped up and added further to the delightful atmosphere that is Ganges on a summer night.

Last Friday was no exception when Mané and I strolled into town after dinner to check out the local band Lane 31. Had we not a destination in mind we would have stopped to listen to the lovely voice of Simone Lamers and the Soul Intentions at ShipStones but we pressed on to the Tree House.

There we found the six-piece band crammed on to the smallest stage I’ve ever seen, but the cramped quarters made no difference to the quality of the music. Salt Spring continues to provide a home for myriad outstanding musicians, and how cool it is that several local bars and restaurants provide them with a venue to play. As for Lane 31, we were impressed. A great musical style and a tight band.

Now that summer is here, take advantage of the warm evenings and enjoy the ambiance of Ganges after dark. Or better still, go early and mingle with the tourists in the stores and galleries before spending a night on the town!

Sure, we could use more sidewalks, more street lights, some left-turn lanes and — dare I say it? — some traffic signals, but Ganges is still a fine little village. It is also an integral and special part of this community. We should make the most of it.

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In the interim, the capacity of all three ferries has increased considerably, along with the frequency of sailings. And the island’s population is probably five times what it was then.

What hasn’t changed?

The infrastructure a community needs to thrive.

The holding capacity at the ferry terminals has seen increases over the years, but changes at Fulford have been pitifully limited. Now we see vehicles backed up as far as the marina, creating havoc for local traffic or anyone who wishes to pick up or drop off passengers. And this has been going on for years.

The ferries themselves aren’t big enough to handle the traffic at peak periods, pissing off islanders and tourists alike, many of whom can remember when a ferry existed to join two roads and as such was integral to the transportation infrastructure.

The roads haven’t changed much either. They’re a bit wider in places and in better shape, and Stewart Road now makes a reasonable alternative route for part of the distance between Fulford and Ganges. But how many times a day do we now find ourselves in a line of cars on one of the main roads behind someone who is waiting for an opportunity to make a left turn?

Is there something abhorrent about turn lanes? Do they violate the principles of preserve and protect? I’ve spent the past few months living in a spot that offers an excellent view of the Lower and Upper Ganges roads intersection. When the ferry traffic arrives from Long Harbour, nearly half of it wants to go right. The pickup trucks — and the more adventurous passenger vehicles — will bounce about on the bumpy shoulder to make their way past those turning left. The rest wait patiently to arrive in first or second place at the stop sign before proceeding on their merry way up the hill.

As for parking, the lack of it is evident nearly every Saturday in the summer, when both sides of Lower Ganges Road are solid vehicles as far as the Upper Ganges intersection, creating yet more hazards for pedestrians. Much the same goes for Ganges Hill.

I could go on about sidewalks, but why bother.

Nothing is going to change until we change the way we manage our affairs. It’s way past time we grew up and did so.

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Saturday is best, because everyone is gearing up for a busy day. Yet many of us are happy to tell anyone who asks, along with those who don’t, that Ganges on a Saturday is an experience you want to miss.

I disagree. Just don’t try to drive through it and you’ll be fine. Luckily for us — my partner Mané and I — we can walk a couple of blocks and we’re downtown in the heart of the action. Of course, we put ourselves at some risk on Lower Ganges Road on a Saturday because there’s no safe walkway for pedestrians, given the parked vehicles on both sides of the road, but that doesn’t stop us, or the countless visitors who walk between the head of the harbour and downtown.

Probably the biggest improvement in Ganges these days is the public art that is now on display. The sculptures outside Mahon Hall are striking, and a magnet to anyone walking by. There’s a nice mixture of the work of Carl Sean McMahon; some of it I like and some I don’t. But it’s all very intriguing.

And if you look across the street there’s not only public art but a very public artist. I’ve written about Alan Crane before and will happily do so again. Alan adds immensely to the flavour of the village as he works on his stone pieces, to the delight of visitors and islanders alike.

You don’t have to walk much farther to see the first of many kinetic wind sculptures that have sprouted in the past few months, congregating mostly around Grace Point Square. Gallery owner Matt Steffich liked what he saw when he came across Lyman Whitaker’s sculptures, and Steffich Fine Art is now the place to buy them. But Matt recognized the opportunity to display the pieces publicly, and add immeasurably to the ambiance and appearance of the village.

I’ve seen a lot of public art that was just plain ugly. Lucky for us, we don’t have that problem here. Of course, we have our share of other problems, but one day we will solve them.

In the meantime, Ganges is reasonably friendly as a pedestrian village — not so safe in places, but friendly nonetheless. It’s a lovely place to spend a Saturday morning.

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He expressed regrets for not having gone to my father’s funeral, and explained that while other guys our age are free to get together now and then — at events such as funerals, which become more commonplace with the passage of time — he’s probably at the day care, or busy with some other family responsibility.

Sooner him than me. But Dave is happy with his lot, as he always seems to have been. He and his ex, Lois, arrived on the island in the early ’70s and his sense of humour was strong then. It has only improved with age.

Dave was in the office to place a rental ad; he has a suite to rent. In the course of about 20 minutes, various thoughts occurred to him, all relevant, all logical and all outside the bounds of what is acceptable on Salt Spring Island.

“I should get a subsidy” for renting the suite, he claimed at the outset. He is, after all, offering a valuable and much-needed service on this island: a rental unit.

From that point, the questions multiplied.

On density: Why such rigid control over the availability of rental accommodation when the need is so great?

On building design: Why not build up? Urban centres around the world have long realized the economic benefits of building upwards. Why not conserve valuable green space and reject rural sprawl?

On zoning: Why not concentrate residential development in places such as Ganges? Why extend expensive infrastucture to the far corners of the island?

After considering these questions, one remains: Why are we so narrow in our thinking? Why are we so attached to principles such as the maximum population build-out? (What is it now, anyway? 20,000? I remember that at one time it was 15,000.) Is it really so important? If we value social diversity (not to mention the future prospect of having to wait several ferry sailings for a plumber to come and repair a leaky faucet), why not be flexible?

For many years now businesses have had to adopt a broader perspective in their modus operandi, commonly known as “thinking outside the box.” We, too, as islanders can think outside the box, and preserve and protect this place, our home, at the same time.

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