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rod mickleburgh

Long ago, when you actually had to get up off your posterior to manually change the channel and CBC's chief newsreader advertised Crest toothpaste in his spare time, viewers of a certain age were entranced by a freckle-faced, effervescent youngster named Maggie Muggins.

With her ever-sunny disposition, the pig-tailed Maggie approached each day as a chance for a new adventure, skipping along to a merry "tra la la la la la lee." At the end of the show, she would beam: "I wonder what will happen tomorrow."

I mention this dimly remembered chunk of CBC lore because I can't get Maggie Muggins out of my mind when reflecting these days on Christy Clark. Our premier, too, seems to have that same big smile and zest for daily adventure.

Last week, she took a run at reforming the Canadian Senate, and not with a demand that senators be awake during debate.

Within an adventuresome 24 hours of the sort that the young Maggie would have relished, Ms. Clark dashed from proposing 10 more B.C. senators to suggesting that Ontario and Quebec be starved of senators to saying Senate reform wasn't that important after all. Ho hum. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Then, it was on to the funeral of the great Betty Fox, where Ms. Clark happened to bump into ex-VANOC chief John Furlong. When he mentioned a willingness to help out, Mr. Furlong found himself appointed a few days later to co-chair the province's independent review of Yahoos Run Amok.

Notwithstanding Mr. Furlong's sterling qualities, his selection was not only hasty, but curious, given his biting attack on Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson in the pages of his best-selling book, Patriot Hearts.

While I can't imagine Mr. Furlong not discharging his duties honourably, a perception of bias could cloud any finding of fault with the city.

And we have since learned, courtesy of a chance interview with Jeff Lee of the Vancouver Sun just after the riots, that Mr. Furlong agrees with Chief Jim Chu: No number of police could have controlled those unruly crowds. That's a strong belief to have ahead of time on a matter some consider vital to determining what went wrong.

Again, Mr. Furlong's integrity or ability to be fair is not at issue. It's the fact that whatever the review concludes, there may be those who attack its credibility because of views expressed by its co-chair before the probing of a single fact.

It reminds one of the potential pitfalls of rushing into things spur of the moment, as Ms. Clark did with her Senate promulgations, and a couple of funding announcements earlier this week that also had a hurried quality.

Not to mention backtracking on her headline-grabbing vow to throw the book at all those involved in the riot. Turns out she wanted jail only for the "core" group of riot instigators, not your run of the mill, Jill and Johnny Looter.

More and more, this tendency to make up policy on the fly is becoming a trademark of B.C.'s perpetually buoyant Premier.

Tra la la la la la lee. I wonder what will happen tomorrow.

*****

Quotes of our time:

* Councillor Suzanne Anton, May 31: "We're all very confident that we won't have 1994 again."

* Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, noon, June 15: "We really want fans to have a great time watching the game. … Leave the liquor at home and just have fun."

* Councillor Heather Deal, speaking to CBC Radio's Stephen Quinn, one hour before game time, June, 15: "We're a grown-up city now. We know how to party downtown. … We rock at this."

*****

Who says the Vancouver Canucks don't have a sense of humour? That fellow signing T-shirts Thursday to raise money for downtown businesses hit hard by looting and shattered windows was none other than … ta da … Tanner Glass. It should be pointed out, however, that Mr. Glass's shot was not implicated in any of the broken panes.

****

Whilst watching Andy Murray, the latest forlorn British hope at Wimbledon, I observed amid the shirtsleeve crowd a balding fellow in jacket and tie whisper pleasantly to his comely companion. The pair turned out to be the Baron and Baroness of Carrickfergus, somewhat better known as William and Kate.

Having reviewed the tape, with a bit of lip-reading, I can now report what the dashing Prince said to his just-married seat mate. "Wait till you see Calgary," he quipped.

Which reminds me of the pointed remark by the Duke of Edinburgh (pronounced like "Mickleburgh") when presented with a trademark Stampede Stetson on a visit to Cowtown some years ago. "Not another one," His Royal Highness groaned.

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