The South Bayview Bulldog

The annuls of petty theft will have few tales to compare with the odd outcome of the saga of the Christmas wreath filched off a Toronto front door in the middle of the night. The metamorphosis of this criminal act has taken it from a case of “theft under” into a rather an icky admiration of the thief. The victim, Sabrina Magyar, writes on Facebook that “What matters is this is a story of hope that brought us all together.” All? Well anyway, as recorded by Magyar the events include the return of the wreath, then a note of apology from the thief and then finally a meeting in person between the thief and the victim. This story is told on the Facebook page of Sabrina Magyar of Macpherson Ave. Now Ms. Magyar says the person she called the Grinch “found the courage to apologize to me in person with flowers in hand. For whatever reason my wreath was (taken), it no longer matters. What matters is this is a story of hope that brought us all together.” Ms. Magyar wrote that she will not identify the woman who took her wreath. “She is a woman with an incredible family and support system around her. We all have struggles in our lives and so does she.” Struggles? We’re guessing kleptomania. But certainly, The South Bayview Bulldog sends along its sincere wishes for a speedy recovery from whatever it is that is troubling this late-night lady of the stealing type. Merry Christmas and amen. This Twitter account may tell you more about Sabrina.

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Goalie Danielle Toland

Leaside Jr. Wildcats won a thrilling 3-2 home game against league-leading Durham West Lightning Saturday night.  Olivia Reid scored the winning goal at 1.27 into the sudden-death extra period. She was assisted by Brooklyn Sarnovsky and Rachel Knee. It is a victory that should bolster the confidence of seventh place Leaside as it enters the heart of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League season. The Lightning is a formidable team and it was no accident that Leaside goalie Danielle Toland had to face 27 shots on goal (stopping 25) against the 18 shots on goal launched by her teammates against Lightning netminder Tera Hofman. As noted by the PWHL’s online summary, the Wildcats had spotless penalty killing as they stopped all efforts by the Lightnng to score on four power plays. Other Leaside goals came from Mariah Hinds on a power play at 13.41 of the second period with assists from Alex Woods and Emma Pye and from Megan Pardy at 3.31 of the third period assisted by Maria Hinds and Samantha Jones.

Leaside Jr. Wildcats may feel they have something to prove tonight when they meet league-leading Durham West Lightning at home. The game starts at 7.40 p.m. at Leaside Arena. Good luck ladies.  PWHL standings

Here’s a lovely moment to start off your day as Canadian Forces officer Damon Perrault meets his wife and three children at Toronto airport last night. He was returning from a six month tour overseas. Look at his youngest girl jump for joy while the older daughter is quite grown up about it.

This CBC report tells of a variation on the Canada Revenue phonies who say they are coming to put you in jail unless you give them money. This time the scam was an alleged problem at Citizenship and Immigration to a woman who is a foreign national living here.

THREAT OF JAIL IS A GIVEAWAY

Look, there are many lies which you may not be able to dispute on the spot but threats that you are going to jail is an easy one. No one goes to jail in Canada on the basis of a phone call. No one. We won’t bore with the details of the Constitution and 1,000 years of British law, but such things are not allowed.

BUSINESS, OFFICIAL NAMES ABUSED

It would seem useful for law enforcement to try to address the widespread use of important business names like Bell Canada and Canada Revenue Agency by criminals. The appearance of such names in phone and Internet scams is increasingly common. One fraud tries to create a sense of importance by telling the citizen that he or she is being called by a Bell Canada operator with an important call. The potential victim is told to wait on the line until the fraudster takes over. Such names as Microsoft. RCMP and many other official bodies are used in Internet deceptions

The days to Christmas are slipping away and there are a lot of pleasant things still to do. This Sunday. December 20, 2015, Leaside United Church will have its Annual Christmas Pageant at the church. It begins at 10.30 a.m. at the church. Below is a charming picture of those who participated last year.

The Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s) has decided to let aboriginal reserves off  the hook for not complying with the federal spending transparency legislation introduced by the Conservative government. The legislation required bands to explain publically where the money went.  MPP Bennett is quoted in the Huffington Post as saying the change is part of Ottawa’s new “nation-to-nation” relationship with indigenous peoples.

The foundation is nearly finished at the long-delayed six home development that will replace Glebe Presbyterian Church at the corner of Belsize Drive and Thurloe Ave just west of Mt. Pleasant Rd. The project has been variously delayed for more than two years and is expected to see occupancy by the end of 2016. It calls for three buildings which each contain two semi-detached homes. They will sit on the large foundation which contains a common garage with 13 parking spaces. The video looks south to Belsize

Isis Redbanks

Sometimes a girl can’t catch a break. Isis Redbanks has a name that is rooted in pleasant mythology. Isis was the Egyptian goddess of health, marriage and wisdom. Who knew that just a few years after this perfectly lovely daughter named Isis was born in Toronto that some wretched thing call the Islamic State would co-opt the name? More than that, Ferrero, makers of Nutella, have decided that it cannot give Isis Redbanks a personalized jar of the famous chocolate flavoured cocoa spread, as it has promised to do for millions of other children. It has caused a lot of hard feeling in the Redbanks home and worst of all Isis does not get to have her personalized Nutella container. When bad things happen to good names.

Former Penrose Fish and Chips to again sell neighbourhood favorite

After a long period vacant, the shop at 600 Mt. Pleasant which housed Penrose Fish and Chips is slated to once again sell the neighborhood favorite. Contractors on the scene say it will be about three months before a new fish and chip restaurant, The One That Got Away, will open there. Renovations carry on daily at the store, just down the street from namesake Penrose Rd. and much old equipment is still inside (inset). Penrose Fish and Chips closed after 64 years last year. Penrose Fish and Chips to close