Tagged: Cape Breton
Taking a dive in the Barra Strait
On December 12, Harvey Morash and Michael Gerhartz went diving at Grand Narrows, Cape Breton, where the two great basins of the Bras d’Or Lake* converge amidst the treacherous currents of the Barra Strait.
Those currents make the water in this video disturbingly murky, but the fecundity of the sea life—the profusion of urchins, anemones, not to mention perch, lobster, and cod—is something to see.
The aerial photo at right shows the two bridges, highway and railway, that span the strait, from Iona on the left to Grand Narrows on the right.
* Lake? Lakes? An eternal argument. The Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere Reserve Association has settled on ‘lake,’ and I will take my cue from them.
Dredge it and Cecil will be LG?
Perhaps this post deserves elaboration.
By any measure, dredging Sydney Harbour is a dubious use of public funds. It may yield modest increases in commercial shipping, but dreams of a container terminal here are but a fantasy. Despite the massive boom in world shipping that characterized the 2000s, the two container piers in Halifax continue to limp along at half capacity. Plans for a third pier at Melford are years ahead of those for Sydney, where a putative terminal proponent seems to have vanished.
Yet the Cape Breton public has been massively oversold on the concept as the only possible salvation of Cape Breton’s economic future, to the point it has become a political sacred cow, and anyone who opposes it a Judas.
This is the worst possible message for Cape Bretoners: to promise a single, steel-plant-scale silver bullet to solve our problems — with the silver furnished by federal and provincial taxpayers, of course. Most area politicians and business leaders recognize this campaign as a cynical fraud, but the political momentum behind the concept is such that none dare speak against it.
New Dems want to protect their slender Cape Breton base in an election that promises to be much more difficult than the one that catapulted them to power. Liberals don’t want to give the other parties an edge in that election. Cecil Clarke wants to give his campaign for Parliament a boost.
Clarke cannot beat MP Mark Eyking in a federal contest. No one running on a Harper ticket could, and Clarke barely held his own provincial seat last year. Clarke will lose, but will he also win by losing? Insiders quietly ask what federal plum Harper and Peter MacKay have dangled to induce him to run.
On the steps of Province House last evening, a New Democrat MLA offered a chilling prediction: Clarke will be Nova Scotia’s next Lieutenant Governour, when the incumbent’s term expires next year. At a cost of $38 million in matching federal-provincial tax dollars.
Where is Dennis Ryan when you need him?
Margo Schwartz’s eulogy for Irving
This is the eulogy Irving Schwartz’s eldest daughter Margo delivered at his funeral September 20, 2010, at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre:
I speak today on behalf of all of the children of Irving and Diana Schwartz, with sister Joanne at my side and brother David and Sister Stephanie with our dear mother, Diana.
For as long as I can remember, I have been in awe of my father, Irving Schwartz. I have often reflected, with gratitude, that by some lucky accident of birth I found myself to be his daughter. I adored and respected my father and cherished every moment we had together. Our father, Irving, was a great human being, a mensch, and he was a great teacher – one who taught and led by example.
Growing up with Irving as a father was an exciting adventure. Just getting in the car with him was thrilling! We always knew that he would take us somewhere interesting and that we would get there quickly. He would regale us with stories of all the exploits the Schwartz brothers had gotten up to in their youth and sing one of his favourite songs “In a quaint caravan, there’s a gypsy”- at the top of his lungs – famously off-key.
Dad worked a lot and he loved it. He never really stopped – he was too full of positive energy, creativity and a stunning ability to get things done. But we knew the importance he placed on family too.
The wonderful world of blogging
Cape Bretoners are accustomed to coincidental connections because their homeland offers such fertile ground for them. The combination of summer residents, occasional visitors, and the vast Caper diaspora has seeded the planet with people eager to rekindle their connection to the island. The late Whitney Pier ship chandler Newman Dubinsky made a point of wearing a Cape Breton tartan ball cap on his frequent travels overseas, because of the conversations it was sure to spark.
For different reasons, blogging can have the same effect. My ex-sister-in-law, Myra Barss, is in New York, clearing out her parents’ house. She emailed a dealer in used and vintage clothes she had found through a Google search. The dealer’s reply ended with a question:
Also, on another note, are you affiliated with the blog “Contrarian?”
Myra responded:
Do you read The Contrarian? It is written by my former brother-in-law, Parker Donham. How did you make the connection between us?
Sasha’s answer:
Yes, I do read the Contrarian. I ran across his blog only last month with the article: “Why are journalists like phone sex workers.” I saw your name mentioned (tagged) on this blog only this week, so I thought it was just plain bizarre that I would run into you. Very small world.
What part of NS do tourists photograph?
Estonian travel buff Ahti Heinla used the distribution of photos on Panaramio to create a world heat map of touristiness. Yellow indicates high touristiness, red medium touristiness, and blue low touristiness. Areas having no Panoramio photos at all are grey. The analysis takes account of both the number photos and the number of authors in a given area. Here is a lo-res blowup of the Nova Scotia section.
Melting pot
A resident of England, who spends much of his time in Nova Scotia working on Seaside’s rural high-speed Internet project, writes from Tel Aviv, where he is attending a wedding:
An Irish fiddle band is providing the music for the wedding. The band members are all Israelis. I was chatting with one of them, and he asked what I did. I told him about Seaside and spending half my life in Canada.
“I’m going to Canada in the autumn,” he said. “I’m going somewhere called Cape Breton, for a festival called Celtic Colours.”
So a Londoner visiting Israel meets an Israeli playing in an Irish fiddle band, and what do they have in common? Cape Breton and the Celtic Colours International Festival, of course.
The cove that got away – updated
Explore, Canada’s outdoor magazine, has added a feature on Pollett’s Cove in northern Cape Breton to its website. Moneyquote:
When you research and read about Pollett’s Cove on Cape Breton Island, NS, you realize it’s one of those special places that consistently puts it at the top of favourite lists among the hikers and backpackers who have conquered it, regardless of where they’ve been in the world… I have to say Pollett’s Cove has been my most rewarding and scenic hike ever.
Yes, that would be the same Pollett’s Cove that Nova Scotia was too stunned to protect when it had a chance to buy the property two years ago for a fraction of the price it paid for lesser scenic attractions on the mainland.
Update: A mainlander responds:
I have to say, Pollett’s Cove is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been, anywhere. Friends from Denmark hiked in with me and we stayed a couple of days. We swam in the river and watched the sun dip into the gulf while cows grazed around us in the ruins of the old village. It was unforgettable.
Music and the provincial election
Cape Breton’s young, tech-savvy, music aficionados discuss the provincial election’s impact on their favorite industry. Hint: fiddles haven’t been mentioned.
