After an interregnum of some 284 days since VanRamblings published last, today — Monday, August 18th, 2025 — marks VanRamblings inglorious return.
In the coming days, weeks and months, as per usual, most Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, we will publish our thoughts on all things municipal, provincial and federal politics, interspersed with columns on cinema (such as this Friday’s column on film festival season), and on the occasional Saturday, return to our semi-regular feature, Stories of a Life, and on Sundays, Sunday Music, where we will continue writing about our favourite 100 albums of all time.
Most of the next two weeks will be given over to writing about Vancouver’s municipal political scene, this week and part of next focusing on the probable Mayoral aspirants seeking office in order that they might install themselves in the spacious offices and luxurious living quarters located on the third floor at Vancouver City Hall (thank you, Dr. Penny Ballem), a home away from home for the Mayor.
In tomorrow’s column, VanRamblings’ focus will be on who, only a month ago, seemed to be the serious-minded Mayoral aspirants. Much has changed, though, over the past month, and the list of Mayoral aspirants has winnowed considerably, although a few of the usual suspects for Vancouver Mayor remain serious about making a bid for office on Saturday, October 17th, 2026.
A major focus of VanRamblings’ writing beginning next week through until October 12th will be, what for us, is the première arts event of the autumn season, the 44th Vancouver International Film Festival, which this year will run, in a somewhat truncated form, from Thursday, October 2nd through until Sunday, October 12th.
As far as we are able, we’ll attempt to keep the columns short, pithy, informational and full of our somewhat out on the edge opinions, bound to make some folks (usually the ones being written about) unhappy, while enlightening others in what we hope is an entertaining and provocative manner. As far as possible — given our advanced age (we’re 75 years of age now) and our general ill state of health (alas) — we’ll try to stay away from what once was our stock and trade: hyperbole, always fun to write but, perhaps now, a thing of VanRamblings’ ignominious past.
With the exception of Friday, September 5th — when, in the first person, we’ll write about our various health travails — we’ll continue to employ the third person voice on VanRamblings, which we know drives some people crazy, but there it is.
We look forward to your return tomorrow, and in the days, weeks and months hence, as we once again seek to build our loyal, and just plain great, readership — who want to know just what is going on in our municipal, provincial and federal governance, and the who, what and why of the decisions that impact our lives.
