Never a Dull Moment

Jami van Haaften is a librarian and author of An Index to Selected
Canadian Provincial Government Publications for Librarians, Teachers and
Booksellers.

For those who have read Peggy Holmes’s first book, It Could Have Been Worse (Collins, 1980), this will be the long-awaited sequel. The Holmeses have left their homestead and moved to Edmonton. This book covers the period from the 1920s up to the present.

The coven shows Peggy afloat in a hot air balloon, just one of this spunky lady’s many adventures. She speculates in the final chapters: “...maybe I have an extra twist in my funny bone that allows me to see the ridiculous side of most incidents.” Whatever it is, her writings on her life in Edmonton, her friends, and her travels are wonderfully colorful and amusing. She is billed as writer and broadcaster, but these are only the most recent of her talents to be explored. While her husband Harry pursues a notable career as a court reporter, Peggy dabbles in everything from book-keeping to oil painting.

Andrea Spalding, who labels her work with Peggy “a labor of love,” is a personal friend of Peggy Holmes. She is a writer and musician and participates in a Saturday children’s television program, “Storytime.” A foreword by Peter Lougheed pays tribute to Peggy’s thorough memory and enthusiasm. Her chronicle is indeed never dull for a moment.