BOUQUET One month ago my husband dropped me off at NRGH emergency. Not one person was in the waiting room. 12 hours and one twisted colon later I was having surgery. Thank you so much to Joy, Tullah, Dr. Alcher and his team and Allison. If an operation had to happen, this was the absolute best way. Staff were having fun, enjoying their jobs, attentive and caring. I can’t thank you all enough.
BEEF To B.C. health officials. The U.S. CDC recommends 28 days between vaccines. So do most provinces and states. Why is it 8-12 weeks here?
BOUQUET To the amazingly patient RN who administered my COVID-19 vaccine. As a child I had a severe fear of needles and it took weeks of building up courage and working through anxiety just to book my appointment. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and compassion. You are my hero.
BEEF To the athlete at the local pickleball courts talkin’ all that stuff. No one needs your unsolicited advice on the court. Especially when I’ve been mopping up your kitchen for weeks.
BOUQUET To the thoughtful and talented artist(s) posting those short encouraging messages around the city. They are wonderful.
BEEF To a dog owner in the Long Lake neighbourhood. Your pup loves you and misses you so much it barks all day incessantly out of boredom and loneliness. I live about a kilometre away, so the barking must be very distressful for your closer neighbours. Please be a kind pet owner and remedy the situation.
BOUQUET A shout out to fire Chief Tim Doyle. A hard-working guy who keeps long hours and has a strong sense of community safety. A real asset for Nanaimo.
BEEF To the city that allows ugly tiny box houses to be built in the front yards of large beautiful stately homes.
BOUQUET To the residents of Opal, who after being betrayed by this council, have protected the safety of their kids by parking on the road to slow down traffic.
BEEF To the coffee shop that has just three types of doughnuts out at 8 a.m. If you don’t have them available in the morning, when exactly do you sell them?
BOUQUET To Mayor Leonard Krog for having Canada Day celebrations in several locations around Nanaimo. Great idea and gives us the choice of one or more places to go. Maybe this format could be adopted for the future?
BEEF First nice evening after the heat dome, and the neighbour decides to mow his dead lawn at 8:45 pm. Can’t enjoy a peaceful cool evening because inconsiderate, libertarian and self-absorbed neighbours are the defining essence of Nanaimo culture.
BOUQUET To Courtney at the BCLC lotto booth at Nanaimo North Town Centre for excellent customer service.
BEEF To the beefer complaining about self-checkouts – if you won’t darken those stores’ doors, good for you, but don’t expect others to follow your lead. It’s called progress. Get over it.
BOUQUET To Moto-Tech Automotive. My air-conditioning in my vehicle was not working and I called them and they said they could do it right away. I drove down there and an hour later I had beautiful cool air in my vehicle. Thanks very much Vince.
BEEF To our MP for voting yes to Bill C-10, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act, which will lead to internet censorship. You should be ashamed of yourself.
BOUQUET To Superior Farms for their outstanding summer camp series. Getting kids to learn all about animals and farms while entertaining them, even in Death Valley heat, is to be commended and congratulated.
BEEF To the restaurant owners for not enforcing social distancing or mask wearing in their kitchen. I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but we can see back there. They clearly have no regard for their patrons, some of who are sadly being fooled by the COVID-aware wait staff into thinking health and safety protocol is being enforced in the back as well. Not OK.
BOUQUET Thank you to the caring Samaritans who helped when my car stalled on Hammond Bay and Turner Road on the hottest day of the year. You called for a tow, brought cold water bottles and moved my car. Most greatly appreciated.
BEEF To the food store insisting people should forget Canada Day. As an immigrant it is offensive to me.
BOUQUET To Haley and team at Nanaimo Golf Club for putting on a perfect wedding. It was a beautiful day and everything was wonderful, including the cart ride.
BEEF To the dessert shop, it would have been nice to walk over for ice cream after dinner during the heat wave (or any evening for that matter), but you prefer to close your dessert shop before dessert.
BOUQUET To the residents of Colinwood, Mildmay and Avro for being so awesome over the last 18 months. Your newspaper girls will miss you all. Thanks for being so kind and generous.
BEEF To all the hubbub concerning flags. It seems every day some group is flying this flag or that flag to promote or discredit views. Perhaps it’s time to raise the white flag and just give up. Would that make everyone happy?
BOUQUET To Lindsay at Diamond Eyes Optical at University Village plaza. Very professional and explained everything so we understood. Received my husband’s lenses very quickly, arranged appointment with specialist; my glasses will be ready in no time. Great service.
BEEF To the two employees at NRGH who always bully and harass their co-worker setting her up for failure all the time. Shame on their supervisors for failing to protect this employee.
BOUQUET To White Rabbit Coffee Co. I knocked over my drink and one of the baristas came over and saw I had spilled it and offered to make me a new one. Thank you for your kindness and delicious iced latté.
BEEF Really getting tired of all those who drive with nowhere to go and all day to get there. If you can’t drive the best you can, drive like someone better than you.
BOUQUET To the person who found it necessary to pay their vet $900 to be told that their pooch ate a joint butt. All you needed was some McDonald’s and a funny movie.
BEEF To the woman in the gold Toyota who left her two big dogs in the car while she went in to the home store on a 25 C day, and told me to mind my own business. Sorry I care more about your dogs’ welfare than you. Bouquet to the two ladies working at the store for taking the situation seriously.
BOUQUET To the warriors protecting old growth in Fairy Creek. There is nothing more important right now during our climate crisis. Time to vote out the fracking-loving NDP and vote Green Party in. We need to do better to save the environment.
BEEF My wife and I were sitting on a bench at Departure Bay and a man kept bumping into me, I asked him to keep some social distancing, just because the restrictions eased we still need social distancing, he told me he was making a video (a woman on roller blades) and told us to go somewhere else. Wife and I left the park.
BOUQUET To 2 Mikes Tree Services. They did a meticulous job of trimming my trees on Overlook Drive; pleasant guys, great at their job, well done.
BEEF To Parksville city council and bylaw enforcement. Current noise bylaws need revising now. Music blaring all day long is OK and the current bylaw actually protects them not the poor neighbour next to them. So much for quiet enjoyment in your own yard. Current bylaw no doubt written for a generation that was considerate and had manners.
BOUQUET A big one to Gator the police dog. The police and their team deserve the utmost respect and gratitude. People need to understand that the job is difficult and often dangerous. Godspeed Gator.
BEEF To the prime minister and the current government for continuously driving a wedge between Canadians relentlessly and without truth. Give your heads a shake with the Chicken Little theories.
BOUQUET To Dr. Bodenstab, Dr. Boshoff, and pharmacist Cody at Brickyard Central Drugs for their consistent, exceptional kindness, and professional care. You have helped me immensely, time after time, and I am extremely grateful.
BEEF To the local government worker who sat in his vehicle on Old Slope Place, sleeping. I called to him twice with no answer and I was six feet from his open window.
BOUQUET To Frans’s Auto Detailing for the exceptional job done on our car. As seniors, we are finding it difficult to do this kind of back-breaking cleaning ourselves now. Frans’s attention to detail was evident, from the roof to the tires and everything in between, our car looked better than it ever has, all for a reasonable price. We’ll be back. Thank you.
BEEF Nanaimo River is enjoyed by residents of this area all year long. Last summer, someone tried blocking it off to all people. Please clean up after yourself. You pack it in, you pack it out. Next will be locked fences up, to block everyone, just because a couple of people don’t clean up after themselves.
BEEF To the people who let off fireworks in big explosions on Canada Day evening. And a beef to the government for allowing people to sell them, regardless of the fire danger. No common sense.
BEEF To the people experiencing homelessness who feel that they are ‘entitled’ to take shopping carts from stores, which pay good money for them. I’m sure that is not why they buy them, I believe it’s for their customers. You make our groceries go up in price.
BEEF To a mobile heating and air conditioning service contractor. I called this service to repair my gas furnace that stopped working. The contractor showed up as promised. After about 20 minutes the service man stated he did not know what the problem was. Contractor gave me a bill for over $150 for doing nothing.
BEEF To the careless people who used fireworks; how stupid. It is very dry, you could have caused a fire and also they are banned in this city. Think before you act.
BEEF To the mass leftist media peddling identity politics which are dividing people who otherwise lived in peace and harmony. Shameful and absolutely disgraceful.
BEEF To the baby shower at the school. You left well over 30 balloons, streamers, and confetti everywhere. You could at least pick up your beverage containers. I hope you teach your future child how to be responsible.
BEEF To the resident near Groveland Gyro Park who trimmed trees and shrubs and deposited the debris next to a wooden fence.
BEEF To a hardware store that couldn’t help a senior carry out two big boxes of fans to her car.
BEEF To the supermarket cashier who seems to have never seen coins before. Ten minutes to count $8 of change for the guy in front of me: Five times and all wrong, until I finally gave up and left.
BEEF To the doctor’s receptionist. Your callous, unsympathetic, and dismissive attitude toward all patients is unwarranted and insulting. Try another job where you don’t have to sully yourself through contact with us, the vast, poor, unwashed masses.
BEEF To Nanaimo parks, rec, and culture for cancelling the seniors’ table tennis for the summer.
BEEF To the city for letting the section of the old highway between Aulds and Turner fall into such disrepair and having no indication of fixing it.
BEEF To the person complaining about the black squirrels, which according to the beefer are over-running Nanaimo and must be eradicated. I have lived in Nanaimo for 11 years, my home is near a forest; I have never seen a squirrel. Why this hatred for a little animal?
BEEF To the person who called veterinary staff “unprofessional” for wearing cologne or perfume. Some of us choose to work in a field where we are criticized for pursuing their passion and love for animals. Sometimes, wearing a scent reminds that person of a place, person or time in their life that was once much more joyful than yours sounds.
To submit a beef or a bouquet to the Nanaimo News Bulletin, e-mail editor@nanaimobulletin.com.
