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Some things borrowed and blue

Broadcast Date: June 4, 1989

June is a month of blooming flowers and blushing brides. That's got the CBC's Phil Tilney, guest host of the radio program Open House, thinking about wedding traditions. Why does a bride wear something borrowed and something blue? Why tie old shoes and tin cans to the bumper of the newlyweds' car?

Some things borrowed and blue

• Open House aired from 1986 to 1994 on CBC Radio. According to the CBC Radio Guide, it was "a program about what people believe." It was replaced by Tapestry, which is still on the air as of 2004.

• Phil Tilney, who was guest host in this clip, is an ethnographer, writer and curator who focuses on folk culture, folklore and folk art. He was a regular commentator on CBC Radio in Ottawa with a radio column on folklore.

• Peter Meggs, the regular host of Open House, was one of two young CBC employees who helped launch the "Radio Revolution" of the early 1970s. Meggs and Doug Ward consulted with radio employees across the country to produce a report on how to make CBC Radio relevant in the TV age.

• Meggs was also an ordained Anglican minister, a former CBC executive and former host of CBC Radio's Concern.

• In a CBC press release announcing the debut of Open House, Meggs talked about the need for a spiritual show. "Life and death issues, whether they be pollution of the planet or in vitro babies, or [U.S. missile-defence system] Star Wars, all tend to trouble the human spirit. This may help explain a renewed interest in all religions. And it is to all religions we shall turn to for insights."

Some things borrowed and blue

Medium: Radio

Program: Open House

Broadcast Date: June 4, 1989

Host: Phil Tilney

Duration: 5:11

Last updated:
April 16, 2008