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THURSDAY, AUGUST 19,.2004 THE NEW TANNER ) GRA AG ACE Congrats to Philip Aitken of ru-_ ral Acton, one of 50 Canadian youth to receive a $1,000 scholarship from Merial Canada, in partnership with the Canadian 4-H Council. Scholarship applicants were re- quired to write an essay about the future of branded consumer meat products in Canadian Livestock production, and how the develop- ment would impact the way producers raise and market live- stock. Aitken, 21, is entering his third year at the University of Guelph, taking agricultural science. SMURF SEARCH The search continues for Smurf, a missing gray skinny kitten, last seen near his Peel Street home on August 8. Smurf is the much-loved pet of Lindsey, who has put up posters all over town, asking people to be on the look out for her "loving cat" who "per's" (sic) when petted. There have been three possible reported sightings of Smurf in the past week, but each time Lindsey went to the scene, there was no kitty to be found. : Anyone with any information is asked to call 853-4074. EDEN MILLS CONCERT Singer/song writer Michael McKenna begins a fundraising con- cert series on August 28 at the Eden Mills Community Centre. Billed as the Great Wide Open Tour, McKenna will perform at her- itage theatres throughout southern Ontario, with proceeds from ticket sales ear-marked for the prospective communities where he performs. For details of the Eden Mills con- cert, call 1-866-715-5501. LIBRARY LURE The unstoppable clown/genius, Hurricane Gerty, will blow into the Acton library on August 28 for a show jam-packed with comedy, puppetry and ukulele songs. Tickets are $2 and the show be- gins at 2 p.m. For details, call the library at 853- 0301. RUN FOR ARTHRITIS Rural Acton's Amanda Presutti is preparing for the run of her life -- her first marathon in Portugal this December to raise money for The Arthritis Society. Presutti will take part in the Soci- ety's Joints in Motion program that provides runners with training, transportation and fundraising help in exchange for a pledged donation -- $5,000 in Presutti's case. Participants run the marathon for someone who is suffering from ar- thritis and couldn't do it themselves. Presutti is running in honour of her grandmother who suffers from the disabling disease. For details call Presutti at 853- 9182. TERRIFIC TIME: Ashley Lore (above) and Riley Brown (below) were smiling from ear to ear while they attended the Damsel's and Drag- ons party at the Acton library. The girls had the most fun as they took turns bowling over paper castle towers. - Angela Tyler photos CHARITY GOLF CLASSICS: Halton Region Chairman Joyce Savoline's annual charity golf classic at Acton's Blue Springs Golf Club on Thursday, August 12 was a great success, raising $50,000 to benefit children in Halton through the Halton Employees United Way Campaign. Holding the giant cheque left to right are golfers: Phil Sidhwa, American Water Services; Jim D'Orazio, D'Orazio Infrastructure; Joyce Savoline, Halton Regional Chairman; Sam Morra, Greater Toronto Sewer & Watermain Construction Association; Bill Waddell, Halton Recycling Ltd. And Bill Galloway, Dufferin Aggregates.-Submitted photo. My friends, this column is a call to arms. The Philistines are at the gates. No, this is not another piece about gov- ernment waste or judicial malfeasance. This is about something really impor- tant. The rocket scientists at Tim Horton's head office have decided to screw around with our tea. As unbelievable as it may sound, Tim's have decided to switch from tea bags to pre-brewed tea served out of an open topped carafe. We' Il pause here while you calm down and stop using bad language. I had heard Tim's was considering this some months ago. The crisis seemed to have passed so I paid no more attention. Then, without warning, last week I stopped into a Tim's in Georgetown only to find the old switcheroo had happened. Being a loyal customer I decided to give the new product a try. So how was it? Does the name "new Coke" bring anything to mind? Pl try to explain my opinion on Tim's' new "steeped tea" without up- setting your stomach. Firstly, it was tepid. Note to Tim's marketing morons: tea is meant to be served HOT! Of course, that's so it can steep but since it's pre-steeped I suppose you figure it can be served tepid. To my mind pre- steeped tea is right up there with pre-chewed toffee. The little brochure they gave out explained that pre-steeping allowed Tim's to'go back to the old way of brewing tea using loose leaves. So? Who says the old way was better? As a major tea drinker I was quite satisfied with the hot water/tea bag combination. So was every other tea drinker I know. They still are. So why would Tim's change? For one thing, the price went up al- most 25 per cent. For another, I know how much tea (one bag) I'm getting now. Who knows how much tea they' II be using to brew a cup in their pre- steeped concoction? I suppose the price has to be jacked-up so high to pay for the expensive electrical and plumbing renovations for the equipment (caul- drons?) necessary to conjure up this stuff. I've already said their version of what they call tea was tepid. The taste was something else. To my palate, it tasted like brown water. I've had lousy tea in my day but this was tops on the Ghipg es I threw it down the drain. cS e e e e Crisis demands quick action! The Way | 1 See It sue) Mike Olgary 1 probably should have taken it to the toxic waste drop-off in Milton. All of this is, of course, my opinion. But that's just the point. Tea drinkers are a finicky lot. Some folks just dunk the bag in HOT water a few times. Oth- ers like it medium. | like my tea strong. My sainted mother would have a teapot on the stove all day. She'd periodically add more tea and water. So I cut my teeth on strong Irish tea. To this day I believe if you can't stand the spoon up in the pot it's not tea. I wondered if the fact the Canadian Army recently picked Tim's as its offi- cial coffee gave the head office types a bad case of egotus inflationatum (Fat Head Syndrome)? Just because our armed forces proclaimed that Tim's blends coffee the way Canadians like it does not mean they can dictate how tea should taste. The truth is that if you sur- veyed 100 tea drinkers as to what the ideal strength of tea is you'd get 143 different answers. And that's the basic tea fact that Tim's seems to have over- looked. Tim's will still have a few teabags in the store. They're mostly herbal or breakfast tea types. While very nice, they are no substitute for Tim's regular blend. It's too bad, actually, 'cause I quite liked Tim's tea. At home I drink exclusively Tetley's. You can't go wrong with tea made by the "Little People". Tim's old tea was a reasonable substi- tute when out and about. Ihave an extra large Tim's travel mug that I keep tea in most of my day. It's an excellent product: the mug-not the new tea. As I travel around my territory I'm in a Tim's two or three times a day. Of- ten I'll pick up a soup or sandwich for lunch or a muffin in the morning. No more. If Tim's is going to sabotage the Canadian institution of tea, I won't | darken their doors. You'd think they were Americans or something with their cavalierish attitude towards tea. Ever try to get a decent cup of tea stateside? Half the time they serve you a bag in a cup with tepid water. It's another reason to ~ hate George Bush. Come to think of it, didn't Wendy's, or some other burger |- joint, buy out Tim's a few years ago? That may explain a lot. An exorcism of Tim's head office may be called for. You may be wondering why I'm so incensed at this turn of events. It's be- cause I'm a proud Canadian and we're talking about tea here. When Canadi- ans prevailed at Ypres they were fueled by tea. When we stormed Fortress Eu- rope on D-Day we carried tea and ammo. Countless generations of Cana- dians first tasted strong spirits out ofa cup and we called it tea. Friends, this abomination of pre-brewed tea is a di- rect attack on our heritage. The fact it came without warning makes it the most ignominious sneak attack since Pear] Harbour. I seriously considered organizing an armed revolt. After making inquiries I found my plans to stage an "Acton Tea Party" ran afoul of bureaucratic red tape. When word leaked out, the town environmental advisory:-committee demanded to know where I planned to dump the tea. When I told them Fairy Lake they sicced the "Friends of Fairy Lake" on me who demanded an envi- ronmental report on the effects tea would have on the lake vegetation. Then the Department of Fisheries and Oceans threatened a lawsuit if the hair on one little fish was hurt by the dis- carded tea. I thought I might dump Tim's tea down the sewer 'till the Region called. They wanted to know how much tea I had in mind to dump so they could bill me for the wastewater charge. The final straw came when my so- called friends in the town clerk's office heard about my plans. Seems you can't have an armed revolt without a parade permit and you have to apply six months in advance of the planned dis- turbance. The original tea protesters in Boston, those many years ago, had it easy compared to to-day's revolution- aries. They just dressed up as Indians. Can't do that to-day. The cops will charge you with wearing a disguise to commit crime no matter how justified your cause. (Big sigh'here.) One thing is sure. Tim's has lost a regular customer. I won't drink that swill they call tea. One can only imag- ine what Tim's has in mind next? I can hear their research department now. Double, double, toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. y