The one in buckskin, standing with Our Hero? He's proving elusive. As you can see, I managed to lay an arm on him the other night at McMaster University. Fabulous event, by the way, organized by HAALSA (Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art). Superb dinner beforehand at a restaurant called Il Fiasco. Anyway, this chap has been turning up everywhere. On August 30, at the University of Calgary, I spotted him at a splendid entertainment organized by the Clan MacRae and the U of C library and archives. Not long before that, he was in Scotland, flaunting himself at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. And in Hamilton, before he fled into the night, having threatened to shave his beard, he warned me that I can expect to see him in Orkney, where I give a talk near the end of this month. If you have any information that might lead to his arrest . . . .

Tonight's the night John Rae turns up in Calgary. The Arctic explorer will be there in spirit, anyway, for my talk at the U of C.  The event, sponsored by Clan MacRae, helps kick off the 2013 Calgary Highland Games.
Today's Calgary Herald ran a terrific piece by Chris Nelson, headlined Clan Macrae leads the charge at Games.
And the University of Calgary published a fine piece with, dare I suggest it, an even better headline:
Bestselling Calgary author to give talk on Arctic explorer John Rae. OK, strictly speaking, "Canadian author" would have worked better. But as an ex-Calgarian, I am thrilled to be here, and excited to be giving this talk in my old home town. Who says you can't go home again?

Those who check this page religiously (hi, mom) will have noticed that Our Hero "updated" his last posting, taking out a reference to venue. Yes, the Scots are still marching to Calgary and we're on our way, too. Originally, to give our talk about explorer John Rae, called Return to Rae Strait, we were making for the downtown Calgary Public Library. Unfortunately, during the recent flooding, that Library sustained some damage. It's being repaired, but is closed until further notice. So the organizers of our event, leaders of the dauntless Clan MacRae, are working diligently at locating another venue, complete with comfortable seats, sound system, projector, and screen. We're on our way and all systems go, but the venue is yet to be determined. Please stay tuned. As for the accompanying photo, it's from our 1999 expedition to the Arctic site where John Rae discovered the final link in the Northwest Passage.