From the East ...

It may come as a surprise to many that my wife, Gail, and I have sold our principle residence in Toronto and moved lock, stock and barrel to Nova Scotia, one of Canada's Atlantic provinces in the east. It was no easy decision to make, given the many ties in Toronto composed of familial, friends and professional. Not to exclude the fact that living in a big city, everything is close at hand with shops, restaurants, entertainment, steak houses, events, social engagements and ...did I mention steak houses?

Smiths Cove, where our new residence is, is a tiny village on the north side of Nova Scotia, a few minutes from Digby, which is the terminal end of the Digby-Saint John Ferry which crosses the Bay of Fundy. It is a 3-hour crossing, something which I've done many times in the past 12 years visiting Nova Scotia.

From the Academy's perspective, AEMMA Toronto continues to operate, evolve and grow under the careful and dedicated team comprised of Brian McIlmoyle, Principle Instructor and Vice President, and Beau Brock, the newest instructor in the Academy, Kel Rekuta and Aldo Valente. Not to forget, there's Paul Micallef who has been taking care of the traditional archery program at AEMMA. I am certain that the Academy is in good hands. Myself, I have not been involved deeply with the day-to-day operations given my frequent travels, and now, living in Nova Scotia, however, I am still involved with AEMMA Toronto from a more strategic perspective, and annual programs such as the armoured tournament, which I can organize from a distance. I will plan on participating in the tournament as well. With technologies such as the Internet, email, skype, facebook, etc., keeping in touch with what's going on in AEMMA Toronto has never been easier.

In Smiths Cove/Digby, there is a small Chapter, the NS Chapter. The students are dedicated and have an interest in the mediaeval martial arts. Growth is slow, but this part of the province just doesn't have the population density as the GTA! Being here full-time means that I shall afford more time to invest in growing and developing the NS Chapter. Check out the website at http://novascotia.aemma.org to peruse developments and events down east.

regards,

David M. Cvet, Provost