April 08, 2020
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

Pastels! Who Needs’em?

Dahrlings, if there’s one thing in the entire world that makes me gag even more than say, kale, it’s pastels. Colours (and i use the word lightly) that look like a diabetic attack waiting to pounce. And Easter is the…

April 01, 2020
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

It’s Been One Of Those Mornings!

Whew, Pumpkins! That was some dream I had. It’s almost too horrific to share. But here goes… I dreamt the whole world was caught in the clutches of an evil – yet stable – genius who’d unleashed some kind of…

March 13, 2020
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

AAaaaah!!!

Dear Dahrlings, I’m not panicking, Pumpkins. No. I’m simply doing what any rational person would do when faced with the end of the world. Booked myself into a 6 star resort in the Maldives. I’m staying here until it’s all over…

December 31, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

New Year's Party With Ivanna

More Ivanna Ivanna Gabbalot Columnist Part legend, part myth, all woman: Ivanna Gabbalot is OJ’s gossip columnist and considers herself the industry’s conscience. Equally annoying to Open Jaw management and inflated egos in C-suites everywhere, Ivanna touches topics others fear…

December 13, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

Have You Ever Been A Non-Grata?

Have you ever been a persona non-grata, dahrlings? I thought it meant i was ungrateful. And since that shoe fits, i uploaded a ‘gratefulness’ app to my phone.  Then I thought it was some kind of Italian cheese. “Would madam…

October 09, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

How Many Trade Publications
Let me count the names....

Dear dahrlings, I don’t think Elizabeth Barrett Browning had the Canadian travel industry in mind when she asked “How do I love thee?” But I’m not too proud to mangle just about anyone’s prose to make a point. So let…

August 20, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

Is There Anyone Not Wanting To Buy Transat?

As many of you know, I have been on an extended sabbatical in India, dahrlings. My guru, as I call him, (he really is the best plastic surgeon ever!), has had his hands full of superfluous skin hanging from my chin, my…

May 16, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

Was there a big BOGO sale on travel companies I missed?

Holy Macy’s Sample Sale, Pumpkins! Travel companies are flying off the shelves like size 2 Puccinis.  My head is spinning. I thought it was a bad CBD batch, dahrlings. Truth is, I don’t like change. When Albert moved the couch…

March 08, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

Gender Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

I’m all for liberating women, dahrlings. And I love the way everyone’s decided it should happen one day a year. Any more than that could upset the delicate gender balance men rely on to feel their prowess. Personally, Pumpkins, I’ve…

January 09, 2019
Excuse me, dahrlings, but...

What’s Japan Got To Do With It?

For decades, Pumpkins, we dealt with all manner of handsy Brits crossing the pond to run the Canadian travel landscape. Signature, NALG, Thomas Cook, even iTravel for a time.  Since allegiance to the Queen is part of our national psyche,…