STORYWORLD

  On first appearances, this novel by Grainne Murphy appears to be a suspenseful, disaster story centred around the lives of a group of innocent people trapped in a bus teetering on the edge of a massive sinkhole. While the central catastrophe does play an important part in the novel, the story really becomes an in-depth study of human love and loss and grief and our fragility and strength in the face of tragedy. Hence the title and the bus disaster becomes a metaphor for the knife-edge we vulnerable humans tread as we struggle to overcome adversity and survive.   The story begins when a road in rural Ireland collapses and swallows a bus carrying eight passengers. As the bus threatens to fall deeper into the sinkhole, the authorities scramble to set a rescue plan in place. What follows is partly the poignant story of some of the victims inside the bus, but mostly the novel focuses on the people involved in the rescue, mainly Nina, a news reporter on the scene, and her ex-husba...

  Now the evenings are cooler and summer is drawing to a close, it's time to reflect back on some of the other local trips we took and wonder how I ever complained about the endless sunshine and heat! Here are some of the highlights of our wanderings.                                                DELTA BEACH and FORT LA REINE MUSEUM Fort La Reine, on the outskirts of Portage la Prairie, is an interactive museum where you can wander through completely furnished houses and shops from every era in Manitoba's history from an authentic trapper's hut to a 1920's house to a fully functioning local newspaper office complete with printing press. Every detail is lovingly preserved. Set aside a few hours to get through every intricately furnished room. Delta Beach on Lake Manitoba is a wild and windswept place next to Delta Marsh - a favourite spot for hunting lodges since ...