Last year was the 25th anniversary of the competition and my 17th year reporting. I decided at the end of the season that it would be a good point to retire from providing such detailed coverage of the competition as I had previously - especially now that we're in the YouTube age where there are videos available of all the displays more or less, making my reports redundant. This forum has also become a place where people post detailed reports too.

All this to say that I will not be writing detailed reports this year. But before everyone is too disappointed, I am working on some exciting changes/additions to this website that will provide coverage of the competition, though in a different form than I had done previously.

I also hope to restore the videos feature as the terms of use issued by the hosting company does not appear to prevent this anymore.

Enjoy the 2010 season - I'm just about to conduct my first interview with team Soldi.

Paul.

This is very sad news, Paul.

Even though I joined your website only last year, I still find myself reading your reports when I'm nostalgic about a particular show. Your very precise reports allow me to picture the show in my head when, let's say, I can't watch them on YouTube (e.g. at work).

Your reports are also useful when I try to put a name on an effect I've seen in La Ronde.

I just hope that you will still post your thoughts on the displays, albeit in a more concise way.

Well, looking forwards to your changes !

After all of these years, it certainly will feel strange not reading your usual good detailed reports, Paul. Still, it is always a pleasure glancing through your previous reports as well as your thoughts on the displays.

In the meantime, I am eagerly awaiting any news you may have regarding our first competitor of 2010, as well as whatever additions to this website.

Thanks, and you enjoy the 2010 competition as well.

Trav.

Paul, I tip my hat to you for all those years of excellent report writing and patience when raining lol. Like the others, I too hope that you will give a brief comment on each show. Even a or will do .

Dan

Paul, I really understand your decision and I also believe that recent innovations, especially the availability of full videos, have limited the relevance of comprehensive reports. It's amazing to remind that a few years ago, most of us could not access too even short videos of the Montreal displays. Nevertheless, an important piece of this website will be missing because your reports, combined with the videos, were a very effective way to learn the fireworks vocabulary. Most viewers experience serious difficulties to talk about a display because they lack of words to name the pyrotechnic effects. You did an amazing contribution to teach us about this. I would like to read, within your forthcoming comments about the shows, some vocabulary information when special effects will appear. We need someone like you to do that!

Fred

Fred's above comment is truthful. Really, the reports provided have always been a great learning tool to convey and better interpret pyrotechnical terminology. With the onset of the full length videos, it became increasingly convenient to visually identify certain effects corresponding to each of the segments described in the reports/reviews - this was the prime method I (and many of us, I'm sure) employed to become familiar with the vocabulary.

Paul,

I'm guessing that instead of writing about each segment per display, you will continue to provide an opening paragraph briefly introducing the overall weather conditions present and some background about the competitors, their theme and what is generally expected of them? This would then be followed by a paragraph dedicated to your interpretations and personal feelings of the display, as you commonly write in your conclusion.

I suppose that this is what you had in mind.

Trav.

Not only does Paul decided to stop writing his reports, I also noticed this morning that Mylene's Aux Feux series of articles in the Metro was cancelled.

2010 is sure a sad year for those who become accustomed to a full coverage of l'International...

I've written a complaint to the Metro about this, feel free to do the same if you'd also like "Aux Feux" to come back (at opinions@journalmetro.com).

The International is the biggest fireworks competition in the world, yet the most-read newspaper in Montreal decided to pull the plug on its coverage. Oh well

STL

Hang on a sec everyone: I didn't say I'm stopping my reporting altogether, just that it will be different.

Wait until this weekend when I announce some big changes to this site. I will still write reports, just not the shot-by-shot reports of old. As for vocabulary, most of you seem to have learned it, at least judging by the reports you've all written in the past couple of years. Seems that I must have been a good teacher

Watch this space for news after Soldi's opening display.

Paul.

p.s. I'm also very touched by everyone's kind comments too

That's true... you have been an awesome teacher I learned most of the pyro terms by reading your reports

Vander

I agree with Vander. You know basically every single shell in the air, every sequence, from where and when. It's incredible. I've been a part of this forum since 2007, and once in a while, I glance at the old reports and think back on how awesome the 90's were compared to today's (not including the good displays, however the bad ones..)

Every display I've seen, there's always a shell that makes me wonder what that was and I get puzzled. However, I can simply read the report the following day and figure out what it was. It really helps to have a report, and all the info is awesome.

I'm pretty sure I understand where your getting at Paul, writing that many words (2905 words exactly from your Royal Pyrotechnie report last year; no don't get confused, I used the Javascript Cut & Paste word count that can be found on Google ) must be a pain to write. But I suppose it would be relaxing to just take it easy and give your fingers a break from heavy typing. Well, enjoy the 2010 Montreal Fireworks Competition! I will be watching!

Pat

I'm pretty sure I understand where your getting at Paul, writing that many words (2905 words exactly from your Royal Pyrotechnie report last year; no don't get confused, I used the Javascript Cut & Paste word count that can be found on Google ) must be a pain to write.

It wasn't the number of words, it was the time it took to put each report together - the more complex ones were taking around 3-4 hours each.

Paul

To put a nice report together is not easy i know ....