Belinda Crowson`s straight shooting speech would make the Galts Dance the Highland Fling.

``To all of those people who told me that it’s not appropriate to talk about those women, to those people who told me that when 13 year-old girls enter prostitution it’s my personal fault, to those people who told me that I should go to church more (ok, that one’s probably true), and to those people who told me people were deliberately choosing not to move to Lethbridge because of the plaque we put on The Point and because of my book, I have to say loudly, clearly and resoundingly – thank you. I wouldn’t have written this book without you.``
Belnda Crowson, Author of `We Don`t Talk About Those Women`` (Lethbridge Historical Scoiety 2010) at her book launch 15 September 2010

Perhaps the ladies of the night thought we needed a bit of piano music. Or maybe the city`s founders just wanted bit of the bagpipes. But as ghouls played havoc with the microphones at our famously haunted Galt Museum last night, I glanced out the window at Sir Alexander`s ruins (the part of the hospital he commissioned and which was built while he was alive and a frequent summer resident of our city.)

For just one second, I thought I could glimpse our city`s co-founder,Canada`s First Finance Minister and creator of the Canadian Dollar, standing there in his top and tails wearing the medals Queen Victoria gave him. Was that a satisfied grin on his face? And was that his son, Elliot, standing just behind him?

There`s no doubt about it. Lethbridge`s straight talking Father of Confederation and his son would have loved his Belinda Crowson`s speech. (and the sketch about Mayor Hardie.) And Sir Alexander`s father, novelist John Galt, would have literally danced highland fling over it.

Belinda did the city proud last night. She also did writers in Canada a great service by braving the smug, self-censoring Albertans who continually try to sanitize our history and manipulate our heritage to suit their own political and social agendas.

Most imporatantly, Belinda`s given readers a great book to curl up with this winter!

Contact the Galt Musuem Bookstore or the Lethbridge Historical Society to get your copy of We Don't Talk About Those Women: Lethbridge's Red Light District 1880s to 1940 by Belinda Crowson, (Lethbridge Historical Society 2010)