Saturday, 17 June — Lower South River to Port Hood¹

I got up a bit before 8h30 and had the continental breakfast on offer at the motel, gassed up the car, and headed back to Cape Breton, crossing the Canso Causeway Bridge at 10h36. I continued north on the Trans-Canada Highway to Yankee Line Road, which I took to Middle River, where I picked up the Cabot Trail, stopping for photos along the way; I stopped again for photos on the Middle River bridge and along the Third Lake O’Law. The mostly overcast skies produced rain drops as I reached the Doryman in Chéticamp about 12h40. Given the responsive wi-fi at the Doryman, I took the opportunity to post a number of photos I had taken over the past three days when my free time to post them didn’t coīncide with an internet connection. I also had a bowl of the Doryman’s chowder and a house salad before the cèilidh started and another bowl of chowder with a haddock burger later on; their chowder is becoming one of the best in Cape Breton, creamy and full of seafood and exactly to my taste.

¹ Posted on Monday, 19 June, for Saturday, 17 June.↩

Today’s cèilidh featured Colin Grant on fiddle and Jason Roach on keyboard. For the most part, it wasn’t a dancing crowd, though a single square set with four couples was danced midway through the afternoon. A number of the members of the amazing Le Swing du Suête dance troupe in Chéticamp were in attendance and they step danced at numerous points throughout the afternoon in various combinations, usually synchronized, to advertise their shows this week-end at the Place des Arts beside the church. A group of eight or so guys from Ontario dressed in vivid blue and white knickers and ne plus ultra golf togs, whom Colin soon dubbed the kickers in knickers, were also in attendance; one of their number joined the square set and later several good naturedly got out on the dance floor and shared their version of what they were seeing, livening up the proceedings even more; a few of them were pretty good. A few others in attendance also step danced at various times during the afternoon. During the second break, Gillian Head on fiddle was accompanied by Robert Deveaux; when she finished, she was replaced on fiddle by Christine Melanson (from New Brunswick, but often seen in Cape Breton). Colin played a couple of Rankin tunes requested by an attendee and gave us a varied diet of jigs, marches, strathspeys, and reels, with some occasional clogs and slow airs, including a lovely Killiekrankie, which Colin said was a tune Arthur Muise liked. Colin’s playing style is very distinctive and Jason’s accompaniments complemented it very well. All in all, an interesting and enjoyable afternoon of music and dance.

I regained the car in light rain and +16 (61); I ran out of the rain south of Chéticamp. My next stop was at the Red Shoe, where I was invited to join friends at their table. Kenneth MacKenzie on fiddle and Patrick Gillis on guitar supplied fine music as I enjoyed it, great conversion, and tea. Later on, Sandra Gillis joined the other two musicians on piano. I reluctantly left early as the travel time to West Mabou Hall is more than doubled with the closure of Asylum Bridge on West Mabou Road (I was told it is because the water is now regularly getting too close to the roadway on the bridge, requiring it to be raised, another effect of global warming). It was raining in Mabou when I left, but not in West Mabou when I arrived at the hall, where it was overcast and grey and +15 (59).

Tonight’s music was by Olivier Broussard on fiddle and his sister, Paryse Broussard, on piano. My first remembrance of encountering Olivier was at a Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association concert in St Anns when he was twelve and already an amazing player for his age, eschewing the easy for much more difficult tunes and playing them with aplomb. I first heard Paryse at one of Ian Cameron’s sessions in Creignish. With older sister Claudine and younger brother Julien, they have been playing at farmers’ markets and other venues for some years and I have heard Olivier and Paryse also play sets at various cèilidhs and dances. Tonight, however, was their first time playing for a whole dance and I was really looking forward to it. Because there were not enough dancers in the hall, they played three very fine cèilidh sets, a delight to listen to. At 21h26, four couples started the first square set, which grew to five couples in its last two figures. The following set of jigs got no takers. The second square set had eleven couples by its end, as did the third square set. A waltz followed. The fourth square set had twenty couples on the floor. The step dancers were Sarah MacInnis, Stephen MacLennan, Iain MacQuarrie, and Amanda MacDonald, all of whom turned in exceptional performances. The fifth square set had sixteen couples in its third figure. A final set of jigs at 23h47 got no takers and the dance ended then. The beautiful playing throughout was at a perfect tempo for dancing and flawless to my ears; several I talked to during and after the dance were in agreement with my assessment. I will certainly look forward to hearing them play more dances in the near future! Although this was clearly not as well attended as a high summer dance, it was nevertheless a superb one, as the dancers took full advantage of the wonderful music and with the energy and enthusiasm typical of the local dancers both young and old, stepped ’er off in fine style all night long.

As I drove back to Port Hood via the Colindale Road, I reflected with amazement at the talents I saw and heard today. What a magnificent collection of fine artists, each with their own unique styles, all playing the music I love so much. How much luckier can a guy be to be able to hear this much fine live music in one day?