Skip to content
John Swart

John Swart

After three decades co-owning various southern Ontario small businesses with his wife, Els, John Swart has enjoyed 15 years in retirement volunteering, bicycling the world, and feature writing. At the Voice of Pelham he won the George Cadogan Memorial Outstanding Columnist Award, and Outstanding Columnist in the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards. His column The Balanced Life appears weekly on PelhamToday.

Recent Work by John

COLUMN: When cancel culture comes to bicycling

COLUMN: When cancel culture comes to bicycling

Removing bike lanes isn't about bikes; 'it’s about choosing sides, calculating the votes to be won or lost, and dismissing those in the other camp,' says columnist
Read more >
COLUMN: Travel might be great way to beat 'premature aging'

COLUMN: Travel might be great way to beat 'premature aging'

Much-publicized new study not convincing this columnist
Read more >
COLUMN: What you need to know about dead butt syndrome

COLUMN: What you need to know about dead butt syndrome

Otherwise known as Gluteal Amnesia, and you definitely don't want it
Read more >
GUEST COLUMN: Best activity to maintain physical, cognitive function may surprise you

GUEST COLUMN: Best activity to maintain physical, cognitive function may surprise you

It's better than swimming, it's better than jogging, it's better than bicycling — it's pickleball!
Read more >
GUEST COLUMN: Sleep vs. hydration – Finding the balance

GUEST COLUMN: Sleep vs. hydration – Finding the balance

Cutting out liquids before bed can have unexpected consequences, says columnist
Read more >
COLUMN: Janis to Jesus — Never a dull day at this bookstore

COLUMN: Janis to Jesus — Never a dull day at this bookstore

Port Colborne's Alphabet Bookshop among last of bricks-and-mortar breed
Read more >
GUEST COLUMN: Radio lover tunes in to 'controlled chaos'

GUEST COLUMN: Radio lover tunes in to 'controlled chaos'

Orillia-area collection includes everything from one of the first radios with remote control, manufactured by General Motors in 1932, to Sony Watchman
Read more >
More work by John >