In this week’s edition of Tip of the Hat, Dig of the Spurs, we note the passing of the penny, marvel at the arrival of spring in February, and wonder if those stale Surrey jokes will ever end.
Joke’s on us – again
I don’t know what you were thinking when you heard about those shirts, but I can guess.
You were mildly outraged (Surrey bashing – again?) then maybe a little sheepish (Perhaps they have a point?), then figured so what? The guy lives in Surrey, after all.
Don Pitcairn, formerly best known for his brave efforts to make Surrey’s beaches safe for nude sunbathers and for an unsuccessful run at politics as a Green party candidate, will hereafter be known as the T-shirt Guy.
Last week, cheeky logos like “The Future Dies Here” and “Better Safe than Surrey”, got Pitcairn into hot water with City officials who were concerned about copyright infringement, inadvertently earning him a new claim to fame.
We tip our hat to Pitcairn for addressing the elephant in the room (I mean, is there a drug war or what?) but we also dig our spurs into his bare behind for trading on lame, outdated stereotypes about this city.
Next!
Coin quandary
Making my first post penny cash purchase last week felt a little strange.
On Feb. 4, the Royal Canadian Mint stopped distributing the one-cent piece, a fixture of coin purses, piggy banks and chesterfield cushions since 1858.
All cash transactions will now be rounded up or down to the nearest nickel, creating some awkward moments at the till until new habits form.
Non-cash transactions, it should be noted, are still denominated to the penny, so it’s not exactly goodbye.
[In 1967, Canada celebrated its centennial with a commemorative one cent piece.]
But it still leaves penny hoarders with an annoying chore.
The solution?
Donate to the nearest charity penny drive.
George Greenaway Elementary got the jump with its Goodbye Penny Drive last spring, raising more than $1,000 (an astounding haul of more than 100,000 pennies).
If you’ve got a penny drive our readers should know about, we’d be glad to spread word.
Send your tips to editor@cloverdalereporter.com or drop us a line on our Facebook page (Facebook.com/CloverdaleReporter).
Picture this
Now, onto the story that has everyone talking. Dozens of people shared our Feb. 7 photo of crocuses blooming in Cloverdale with friends (especially those in Eastern Canada, where a major winter snow storm was brewing) via our Facebook page.
“Yay!!” Exclaimed one commenter. “I loved February in B.C.,” added another. “This is the time of year when all the rest of you wish you lived in Vancouver. In May, we will reverse that, however.”
“The beauty of love,” added a third, in Russian! (Turns out there’s a translate option.)
Your turn
We love hearing from you online and in letters to the editor. Let’s keep talking, Cloverdale.