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George Stroumboulopoulos

Margaret Trudeau Educates Western

When Margaret Trudeau visited Western today, she was introduced through a video narrated by George Stroumboulopoulos, an equally well-liked Canadian cultural icon. Margaret, a mental health advocate, was invited to Western for the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Distinguished Lecture series to talk about her experiences with bipolar disorder, which she discusses in her book Changing My Mind (2010).

Margaret began by saying that she acted like a “drama queen” as a child, who was “quick to cry, quick to laugh.” She first experienced minor bouts of depression when she moved out of her parents’ home during university, noting that she missed the balance once she began living on her own in a basement apartment.

Albeit briefly, Margaret mentioned that the pressure of being a public figure didn’t help her feel better because as the Prime Minister’s wife, she was always expected to be graceful and look good. “There’s nothing more humiliating than being locked up in a psych ward, especially when people who don’t even know you look up to you,” she said. Her position as Canada’s First Lady also contributed to her mood swings, as sometimes her social calendar was filled with fancy events, whereas other times she felt more isolated in Ottawa.

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Jian Ghomeshi Visits London

When someone famous visits London, take note because from what I can tell, it doesn’t happen often. However, CBC host Jian Ghomeshi visited the Forest City today to promote his new memoir 1982. Rather than telling his life story “from womb to tomb,” Jian chose to share coming of age stories about fitting in as a young immigrant to Canada, focusing on the awkward year that was grade nine. His fan base immediately bought the book  – enough to ensure it debuted as the nation’s #1 bestselling non-fiction book, which is a huge accomplishment.

Taking a break from Western Homecoming festivities, I went to Chapters South London for Jian’s book signing. Delighted by the chance to have a seat without waiting hours beforehand, I eagerly waited for him to come out of the green room. Once on stage, Jian talked about 1982 and his memories of London, such as performing with Moxy Fruvous at Western Fair and drinking at the Spoke. Then he read aloud 2 stories about men watching sprinklers in Thornhill and his parents’ disapproval of his fashion sense inspired by David Bowie.

The Q&A that followed covered Q interviews such as Billy Bob Thornton and Harrison Ford, his transition from musician to broadcaster and tips for preparing for interviews. Jian emphasized the importance of doing in-depth research about guests, adding that he insists on knowing his guests’ work well before doing a ‘dance’ with them, as that’s how he metaphorically described the routine between interviewer-interviewee. I found it interesting when he talked about how his show disproves that listeners and viewers suffering from attention defecits are uninterested in longer content. People don’t tend to turn off 3 minutes in to the show!

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