BOUQUET To Eve Olive restaurant, our favourite place in town. Thank you for years of serving delicious plant-based meals with such a joyful atmosphere. We will miss you. Hopefully more veggie restaurants will pop up soon.
BEEF To the city for turning Bowen Park into camp chaos. I’ve been strolling through that park for 47 years – rain, shine, raccoons, you name it – and never once felt unsafe. But this year? It’s a whole different story. For the first time, I’m genuinely nervous just walking through what used to be one of Nanaimo’s gems.
BOUQUET To our great southern neighbour for waking up Canada’s government and populace. I hope it will make Canada great again.
BEEF To the rude and inconsiderate marketplace seller who failed to arrive at our agreed-upon time to sell me his wood chipper. I drove 20 minutes and was there on time, cash in hand. You ignored my messages until, after 10 minutes, you told me you had sold it. The least you could’ve done is let me know before I made all the effort and wasted the gas and time.
BOUQUET To Dr. vanRossum and all the staff at Petroglyph Animal Hospital, heartfelt gratitude for the wonderful care you gave our precious Louie. Our bestest boy crossed the rainbow bridge and we are heartbroken that he’s gone. Thank you for all you did to make his final years happy and comfortable.
BEEF To the RCMP for telling my elderly pensioner father that if the person in his building that has been harassing him is bothering him so much then “maybe he should just move.” This was a terrible thing to say to a victim who is reporting ongoing harassment and who doesn’t have enough money to even eat properly.
BOUQUET To Melissa, Cory and Tom for their amazing help with clearing out my apartment.
BEEF To S. You get away with bullying, treating women like objects, and employees like numbers, because you are the boss. You run this company on fear, just like the Galactic Empire. We’re not building the Death Star.
BOUQUET Gratitude and joy for B.C. seniors and pensioners organization. Since I am unable to do my taxes independently, I am very grateful that Bonnie was exceptionally gracious, conscientious and witty with her free but excellent tax service. Susan was also warm and generous to offer me a quick appointment. And going above and beyond to print off my tax revenue document. Thank you for being amazing.
BEEF To the self-entitled couple that recently tried to smuggle their small dog onto the foot ferry by hiding it in a jacket. After being caught, this guy was rude and verbally abusive to the staff because he had to follow the rules and buy a pet carrier. The ferry was late leaving because of him. Inconsideration at its finest.
BOUQUET To the little girl who gave me a picture of a bunny when I was at the Chinese Memorial Gardens Park. It is on my fridge. Thank you. You are kindness. You are light.
BEEF Why are the Nanaimo RCMP Google reviews turned off? Are they afraid of public criticism? It makes holding the police accountable for their inaction and actions impossible, and disguises the fact that there are any issues at all.
BOUQUET To my husband. Thanks for sending me funny cat GIFs every morning. It’s the first thing I check when I wake up.
BEEF It’s getting a lot harder today to afford groceries. Without naming stores I could give you price differences on quite a few items that are staggering. Example would be brand-name sweet pickles. Regular price at one store is $8.99 and the next store the same product is $5.29. Something is very wrong with this picture.
BOUQUET To Jeff C. and the Van Isle Clean Team. Volunteers spend multiple hours every week, hauling dangerous and discarded trash, hauling garbage and rotting furniture from our streams and waterways, our parks, off-road forested areas, picking up discarded needles and drug paraphernalia left behind in encampments. Thank you for your diligent, tireless, brutally hard work that helps us all.
BEEF To some of the clinic employees. Your lack of professionalism and compassion are disappointing to say the least. There needs to be to be a review of the clinic’s mandate and their staff.
BOUQUET To Allie and the team at the north end Kal Tire. Thank you for your always outstanding service.
BEEF To the city and the RCMP for virtually ignoring law-breaking noisy vehicles. It’s going to be a long, hot extremely noisy summer once again in our beleaguered little city. Urban noise is now the biggest complaint registered worldwide, and excessive traffic noise tops the list. Some cities and towns are beginning to grapple with the problem, with varying degrees of success. Nanaimo, however, does nothing.
BOUQUET To John and Caroline at Canadian Tire. My new patio set had an extra long screw and didn’t have a short screw (which was needed). Caroline found the right size but it was steel and I needed brass. She took it to John who cut the long screw to the right length and it worked perfectly and there was no charge. I was thrilled.
BEEF To city management for prioritizing maintenance of tourist areas. Why not employ students in the summer to pick up litter accumulating along high-traffic sidewalk areas where our citizens walk daily. We pay the taxes after all. This is like putting lipstick on a pig.
BOUQUET To Mood Cannabis Co. for putting on Moodfest this 4/20. Thank you. This inclusive and affordable event was perfect. I’ve missed going to events. The live music was so good. Seeing friends and families dance and interact rather than on their phones was a lovely sight. Absolutely no trouble at any point. So refreshing.
BOUQUET To Ken at Pegasus Repair Services who diagnosed the problem with my fridge freezer and did not charge me a cent, not even a call-out fee.
BEEF To the man at the supermarket who made a snide remark to my son as he quietly walked past wearing a mask. You make many assumptions about someone who is a complete stranger. A bouquet to my naturally shy, gentle son for finally turning around to deliver, “Why don’t you mind your own [expletive] business?” Good for you, kiddo, he deserved that.
BOUQUET To the lovely lady sitting beside our table at Milano’s. After she left and the waiter brought our bills, we discovered a wonderful surprise: the waiter told us she had paid $50 on our bills. What a joyful surprise and treat. Thank you.
BEEF In Nanaimo-Ladysmith only 35 per cent of voters won and 65 per cent of voters lost. In a modern democracy voters deserve better. Why not switch to proportional representation where everybody’s vote counts?
BOUQUET To the bartender at the Black Rabbit Kitchen. You make the best martini I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many. I highly recommend checking out this restaurant and bar.
BEEF To the ferry people who denied my daughter a ticket when she was one minute late after her car broke down and she ran to the ferry. They denied her a ticket on Mother’s Day to see her mom and grandmother. Nasty.
BOUQUET I love that outfit and it is legit. I don’t care if it looks like a chef’s suit splattered with tomato sauce.
BEEF Shame on the Nanaimo gas cartel. It only took them 40 days to claw back the full price drop after the removal of the carbon tax. Now, as you feel the lint being hoovered from your pocket, brace yourself for the usual excuses. If you really want to feel the burn in the back of your throat, check out gas prices in the rest of Canada.
BOUQUET Much appreciation to Tod M. for doing a fantastic job promoting our city and reinforcing our hospitality and openness to our U.S. friends and family and new visitors. Very inspiring.
BEEF Removing 29 shade trees so that members of the clubs can store their boats, and cutting down on the land available for the general public seems very short-sighted and unfair. The city could save money and make a lot of people happy by going with the less expensive option.
BOUQUET Thanks to Buy Low Foods. Not only did they renovate a much-needed retail location – their advertised specials were actually real. Many folks benefited from these deals at a time when most of us struggle with food prices.
BEEF To fisheries. Unlikely, likely, possibly, maybe, possibly. Is there no certainty?
BOUQUET To Xtend Rentals in Cassidy.Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Thank you for the fabulous soil. My garden is looking great this year.
To submit a beef or a bouquet to the Nanaimo News Bulletin, e-mail editor@nanaimobulletin.com.
