We lost a great raconteur when Stuart McLean died on February 15 2017. I first got to know Stuart when he did weekly gigs on Morningside, the CBC Radio morning show hosted by Peter Gzowski. In time CBC recognized that Stuart deserved a larger role and The Vinyl Cafe was born. It seemed like the whole country tuned in to see what Dave, Morley and the kids were up to.

The Introduction to this book tells us that the first story "Dave Cooks the Turkey" aired in 1996 and that it was such a hit that Stuart had to do a Christmas story every year thereafter. That spawned a cross-country tour every year with Stuart in his low-key (and oh so Canadian way) delivering stories to rapt audiences. Now this book has collected some of the best of those stories. It ends with the last story that Stuart wrote "The Christmas Card" and I do think it was the best of the lot. For once, Stuart inserted a little personal message into this story. Perhaps he knew there wouldn't be any more.

I like to think that Stuart and Peter Gzowski and some of the other Morningside regulars gather together for a regular chinwag and discussion of current events. I'd love to know what they think of our current situation. You are all greatly missed. ( )