Canadian country-folk singer and songwriter Stompin’ Tom Connors passed away yesterday, March 6, 2013, at the age of 77 of what has been described as “natural causes”.

Tom asked for the following letter to be published after his death:

Hello friends,

I want all my fans, past, present, or future, to know that without you, there would have not been any Stompin’ Tom.

It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with its beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world.

I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future.

I humbly thank you all, one last time, for allowing me in your homes, I hope I continue to bring a little bit of cheer into your lives from the work I have done.

Sincerely,

Your Friend always,

Stompin’ Tom Connors

A biography of Stompin’ Tom Connors as well as his famous “Hockey Song” are featured in O Canada.

In a recent article in Guardian, Diane Schmitt, an EAP professor at Nottingham Trent University, criticizes university admission systems for what she calls a lack of “any direct method for determining whether or not prospective students’ previous experience of educational practice or culture has prepared them for the approaches to study required of students in British universities.”

Read the full artice: UK universities failing to bridge culture gap for foreign students