Friday, 30 June — Bras d’Or to Margaree Forks¹

I got up to a nice warm (+22 (72)) day with blue sky and thin, wind-strewn clouds a bit past 9h and decided to skip breakfast in favour of a drive out to Alder Point. I stopped for photos along the way. The Point Aconi Road runs on Boularderie Island on the west side of the Little Bras d’Or Channel while the Alder Point Road runs on its east side on the main part of Cape Breton Island. Both roads offer fine views of the Channel at various points, though not continuously along the way. The Alder Point Road passes by a church with a very distinctive architecture, St Annes, and ends at Alder Point, a fishing harbour at the end of the road. Intervening cliffs hide Point Aconi from view, but the unusually shaped island off its end and Cape Smokey are both visible from the harbour. A riot of wildflowers decorated the grasses along the edges of the point and gulls, hopeful of getting discarded bait from the returning lobster boats, swarmed above each one as it came into the harbour. I took photos all along the way, both out and back, and at the harbour.

¹ Posted on Friday, 7 July, for Friday, 30 June.↩

I had lunch at Jane’s in Little Bras d’Or: a garden salad; (New England) clam chowder loaded with potato chunks, but excellent; and an egg salad sandwich packed to the gills. Simple but very tasty home cooking! Highly recommended.

By the time I left Jane’s, it had clouded over and the temperature had dropped to +20 (68). I drove out old Highway 5 through Millville and Big Bras d’Or, where I drove down Factory Road to the fishing port there: by the water, it was sprinkling with a coolish breeze off the Great Bras d’Or Channel. By the time I reached the St Anns Look-Off on the Trans-Canada Highway, light rain was falling. I can’t remember ever seeing the flashing lights indicating a non-operating ferry, but those for the Englishtown ferry were blinking away this day; fortunately, I didn’t need to take the ferry. I stopped off at the Gaelic College and got Joey Beaton’s recently released CD, Rooted in Tradition, containing thirteen recordings he had in his possession that were made when he played with Buddy MacMaster on various occasions between 1968 and 2004. I heard excerpts on a Highland Fling broadcast earlier and wanted to pick up a copy at my earliest opportunity; it’s great! I also picked up a copy of the 2018 Cape Breton calendar and one of Kolten Macdonell’s handmade mugs with a raised outline of Cape Breton Island on it. As I left the Gaelic College, it began raining steadily; the rivers and streams are very low, so it’s badly needed. I got stuck behind a slow truck on the Cabot Trail from the Yankee Line Road to where I turned off at the Lakes O’Law Provincial Park; there was a big queue behind. I took a photo in spite of the rain and the grey day: not really my cup o’ tea, but there are those who like the “mist covered mountains of home!”, as one person commented on the photo.

I checked into the motel in Margaree Forks and worked for a time on Sunday’s account. I wasn’t hungry, so decided to pick up a sandwich at the Mabou Freshmart to have after the Southwest Margaree dance, when I knew hunger pangs would be gnawing.

I drove to Mabou to attend the presentation of Ron MacInnis’ follow up to his The Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler, entitled The Return of the Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler, at the Strathspey Place, where excerpts from the new documentary were interleaved with comments from Ron, an interview with Frank MacInnis, and performances by the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association and various of its members. The show opened with two sets by the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association with Dara Smith-MacDonald directing and Betty Lou Beaton on grand piano. A lovely set by John Pellerin on fiddle and Tracey Dares-MacNeil on grand piano and another set by Dawn and Margie Beaton, Dara, Stephanie MacDonald, and Mckayla MacNeil on fiddles with Tracey on grand piano graced the first half of the presentation. During intermission, I finished and posted Sunday’s account. At the end of the second half, Stephanie; John; and Dawn and Margie together; step danced during the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association finale, with Dara directing and Tracey on grand piano. There were some technical difficulties with the documentary, primarily troubled sound and jerky images that were not present in the version I had reviewed at home in the spring and which, I am sure, will be resolved in the final released version. But its overall message and the importance of the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association, led by some very determined founding members, in the revival of Cape Breton fiddling, came through nonetheless and was well received by those I spoke to at intermission and after the show. Ron’s dedication to ensuring this music thrives and prospers by provoking community leaders to see clearly what is happening becomes evident in both the original and this follow-on and is to be commended; he has put a ton of work into this project and I heartily recommend you have a look when the final version is released.

Once out of the Strathspey Place, I hurried back to Southwest Margaree for the dance with Mike Hall on fiddle and Allan Dewar on keyboard. When I arrived an hour and fifteen minutes late, the hall had a good crowd with most tables full and a square set was just starting; its third figure was danced by seven couples. Two more square sets were danced, one with seven couples in its third figure and one with four, after which the hall began clearing out, which has become a tradition at Southwest Margaree these last couple of years. The step dance sequence got Joe Rankin and Hilda Chiasson out step dancing first together and then separately. The following two jig sets had no takers; by then, there were many more men than women left in the hall and not enough of the latter for a square set. The music was grand throughout the time I was there, perfect I’d think for dancing, and I heard a few tunes new to me—Mike is clearly expanding his repertoire. After thanking the musicians, I drove back to the motel, ate my sandwich, read, and relaxed a few minutes, and was in bed before 1h40.