Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Egypt's newest tombs come with eels, lion fish and grave robbers GLOBE AND MAIL TRAVEL  27/10/2017,  DIVER MAGAZINE By Stephen Weir A black and white portable television hangs in the black water above the scuba divers while a sharkless remora glides unconcerned through the glare of the underwater lights. The torches illuminate a ship’s hold filled with the luggage of hundreds of dead pilgrims. A  wheel barrel is all but covered by a mountain of ripped  and torn soft back suitcases. Cotton bundles of clothing, still bearing stencilled Mecca slogans, have crushed  a baby’s  stroller and a companion crib.  The dust and grime from a month long desert pilgrimage  has left this jumbled mountain of  abandoned possessions and now clouds the water inside Egypt’s newest tomb -- the wreck of the Salem Express. Like the hundreds of other tourists who come each week to dive on the remains of this Red Sea shipwreck, our team of divers is touring a...

Michelle Alfano's 'The Unfinished Dollhouse' Brings Raw Emotion of Parenting a Transgender Child By K.J. Mullins,  Newz4U   Michelle Alfano - photo by K.J. Mullins Being a mother is not an easy job. In her new book 'The Unfinished Dollhouse' Michelle Alfano details her personal struggles with raising her transgender son Frankie with a rawness that doesn't gloss over her true emotions. What happens when a child's gender identity isn't the same as the gender they were born with. Is there a way to come to terms with what a parent has dreamt of when it will never come to be? When Alfano's daughter was born weeks early her “Momma Bear” instincts came out. She protected her perfectly formed child throughout childhood, treasuring every moment. The little girl was perfect in Alfano's eyes and the author loved dressing her up in little dresses and styling her beautiful locks. The image may have been perfect but the reality was far from...

--> Not always happy with life in Canada but always Jolly --> By Stephen Weir,  as published in the Caribbean Camera --> The standing O began before City of Toronto Librarian Vickery Bowles, could finish announcing Denham Jolly’s name! On Thursday night in the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, Jamaican Canadian businessman, radio pioneer, and now author, won the 2017 Toronto Book Award for his autobiography In the Black: My Life.  “We’re really pleased that Mr. Jolly’s book, In the Black: My Life, has been selected as the winner,” said Vickery Bowles, City Librarian. “The book gives voice to a unique kind of Canadian experience that has historically not been heard.” Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money: fin...