I can’t begin to keep up with the time here. It’s been unfortunate that my brother-in-law and nephew haven’t been able to get out and draw/paint as much as they might have liked. Friday at Woody Point was a beautiful day, Saturday not bad. Sunday we were back to cold, chilly, wet and generally disgusting. My poor cedars on the deck just get put upright and get going again, and it rains buckets, and they end up over sideways and floating. We keep hearing that the weather is going to get better. Oh yeah?I don’t remember if I wrote last week about the show at the Bay of Islands Yacht club. In checking, find it wasn
’t included. So let’s hop back to last Thursday. Six young people have summer employment with the Bay of Islands Theatre. They did a wonderful dinner show called “A Concise History of Newfoundland”. Only one of these kids is a theatre student. The others were going into various careers like law and medicine. They interspersed funny scenarios taken from Newfoundland history, with songs from Newfoundland and the appropriate historical periods. The dinner was excellent, and we all enjoyed the show. What talent.
Monday the 11th was one of the good days for weather. Bob and Joel went off to Woody Point again; some drawing and photography for Joel; Bob was giving a watercolour workshop in the afternoon. Kathi and I left at the same time, and headed up to L’Anse aux Meadows. It was a fantastic drive, in beautiful weather. Along the way, we stopped at a chip truck - and got a fat lot of shrimps, onion rings and chips.
As we pulled out from the chip truck, I heard a rattling and banging under the car. Stopping to check, discovered the rear mud-flap flapping. Never let it be said that twist-ties are not one of humanity’s great inventions. A simple twist-tie fed through the two holes in the car and the flap, a couple of twists - and it’s miraculously silent again.
In L’Anse aux Meadows (actually Hay Cove) we found our B&B, and then went off to photograph icebergs before dark came. Since the weather was decent, it was a good time to do it. There were a lot of icebergs around. A 100-square mile ice-sheet recently broke off the Arctic’s Petermann glacier - and the bergs we were seeing were pieces of that ice-sheet, moving into the harbours and gradually breaking up into smaller pieces.
http://www.icebergfinder.com/iceberg-map.aspx
That evening, Kathi and I went to the Norseman Restaurant for dinner. It’s a wonderful place to eat, and we had two nice large cod dinners, a partridgeberry martini, chocolate mousse and pannacotta for dessert. During dinner I was telling Kathi about the Festival 500 community choir in Corner Brook during May, with Scott Leithead from Edmonton - and that Scott’s choir Kokopelli, from Edmonton - would be in Corner Brook July 15. The couple at the next table overheard, and mentioned to us that their daughter was singing with Kokopelli but also playing oboe for one of the pieces.
On Tuesday morning, the great weather had again disappeared, and instead we were buried in fog and sheets of rain. Figuring there was little else to do, we went off to explore some of the smaller coves and towns; up to the Dark Tickle store so I could get one of the warm jackets I’d seen the day before. Cold enough to see the breath! We stopped at a small craft store, where I also got a perfect scale model of a Viking ship - Kathi got a pair of labradorite earrings - part of the opal family of stones.
Just after one Bob and Joel arrived, and we went to have lunch at a small restau
rant called The Daily Catch. Excellent food, including crab cakes and a carrot-ginger soup. By then the weather had improved enough that we could drive to the Viking village of Norstead - a fascinating look into the history of the Norse migration to North America. Please note: Vikings never put horns on their helmets; that was a theatrical addition invented somewhere along the way to make them look more fearsome. After Norstead, we also went to the national Historical Site of L’Anse aux Meadows, and then out for some more photos of icebergs.
That evening we had dinner at the Norseman again. We were joined by a member of the staff of Parks Canada - she pretty well runs Gros Morne, but does other things as well - and was in L’Anse aux Meadows to work with a film crew doing a documentary. I also wanted to hear one of my favourite singers, Wade Hillier, who often performs there. It was a great evening, good food and company. It is without a doubt my favourite restaurant anywhere.
So Wednesday morning we were off again, driving to St. Anthony to see if there were more icebergs around, and just see the lay of the land. Following a quick lunch, Kathi and I were on the road home and the two fellas went out to do some more drawing while they could. They went down to Norris Point and Rocky Harbour, and did some work there.
Friday everyone was on the way home, and life resumed a somewhat different pace again. Friday evening, Corner Brook was treated to the wonderful youth choir from Edmonton - Kokopelli - led by Scott Leithead, who was the choir clinician at the Corner Brook Festival 500 in May. Those of us who sang with the community choir in May were invited to join Kokopelli for the music that we knew. - and I discovered that Scott is a friend of two of my musician friends - Dylan Bell and Suba Sankaran.
Saturday morning - today, July 16 - I was out the door to meet a friend who was helping move a deck umbrella from the store to the house. Box was too big for my car, and he has a truck. That done, I worked a little, and then went down to City Hall for the Gay Pride Parade. Who should be there singing and taking part, but Scott Leithead and Kokopelli.
So it’s been a busy week......and I confess to being a bit tired. Just a bit. Starting tomorrow afternoon, I am camp chaplain at West Haven till Friday noon. OK. 35 small kiddies.....fun!
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