We planned quite some time ago to bomb down to Wolfville this weekend, for a little getaway. Unfortunately, on Friday night, Mother Nature decided to spring a freak early snowstorm on us. We got nearly 30 cm of snow by Saturday morning, which put the kibosh on plans to head out early and take in the Wolfville Farmers' Market. After A. spent several hours digging out the car and then cutting a path out to the main road, we got on our way by early afternoon.
On arrival, however, our B&B (the aptly-named Gingerbread House Inn) did look like something off a biscuit tin. The photo above was taken this morning, outside the doors of our suite. It was all very wintery and picturesque. Plus, we had a great meal last night at Tempest Restaurant. The chef has recently returned from a two-week Slow Food conference near Milan, and to mark the occasion was offering a four-course Northern Italian tasting menu last night. Delicious stuff - though a guilty pleasure as one of the courses was tagliatelle served with stewed rabbit sauce. I thought of our evil foster-bun Gnasher while enjoying it...hehe.
I've been hearing on the radio this morning that the Marquee Club is closing its doors for good. (Even the CBC Radio 1 programme Q reported on the news, just a little while ago).
It's a great shame, but probably inevitable. The club's owners announced in early 2005 that they were shuttering the place, due to the high cost of bringing acts to Halifax. Within months, however, they were opening for occasional shows. The last year or two, things seemed as busy as ever - but now the news that they are shutting again. As the Marquee is one of the premier live music venues in this city, it's definitely a loss. But I suspect something will come along and take its place in due course. I just hope that when it does, it's located more centrally downtown - my biggest gripe about the Marquee has always been that it's on Gottingen Street. While I'm sure rents there are cheap, I never felt terribly safe going there at night.
Last time I planned to go to the Marquee, it was to see Bloc Party in September - but I ended up re-selling my tickets cos I couldn't go. Looks like that was my last chance....
In time for Remembrance Day, an unsettling story in Saturday's Globe about efforts that are currently being made in some sectors of Spanish society towards acknowledging the horrors of General Franco's fascist regime. But "truth and reconcilation" comes to some more easily than to others, and with atrocities having been committed within living memory, plenty of Spaniards seem happy to let sleeping dogs lie. While they may have a point, the example of Germany certainly shows that genuine atonement is possible. A very interesting article, on a country we don't often hear much about on this side of the pond.
I marked my 36th birthday on Saturday November 8th. It was the nicest birthday I can remember in a very long time.
It helped that it was a Saturday, as usually I am at work on my birthday and am lucky most years to get in a rushed dinner afterwards. This year, J. flew in from Montreal the night before, and we started the festivities that evening with seeing Feist play a fun show at the Metro Centre. Saturday morning, I breakfasted like a queen on blueberry pancakes and Mimosas, courtesy of A., before heading over the road for a manicure. By the time I got back, J. was ready to go and we had hours of pootling around the shops at the Hydrostone and in some of the antiques emporia on Agricola Street.
By late afternoon, we headed downtown in good time for our appointments at Spirit Spa, where I was scrubbed and slathered in mud before being wrapped in plastic and left to stew for a bit, whilst an aesthetician administered a scalp massage.....aaaaaaahhhhh. By the time I regained consciousness, it was time to head home, get dolled up, and go down to Gio, a fantastic new resto at the Prince George Hotel. The consensus was that it was our best dining experience in Halifax to date. Champagne was sent to our table on arrival by a member of staff, an (apparently very satisfied) client of A.'s. I ate elk for the first time, and for dessert they served up cherries (my favourite fruit) in multiple ways. Oh, and the wine was fabulous, and I tried some scrummy pear cider. Just a great evening all round, and a fitting end to a very indulgent day.
Saw Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan at Neptune last night. I'd really been looking forward to it as I've heard so much about this play in the press lately (it's also been staged in Toronto and Vancouver recently). It didn't disappoint - it was excellently-written. I did wonder a bit about the two lead actors, though - they were certainly competent, but I wasn't wowed by them. As a result, the final scenes of the play - where Frost elicits Nixon's confession of complicity in the Watergate scandal - weren't quite as compelling and dramatic as I imagined they'd be. It will be interesting to compare this production with the film version that is currently in production; the film stars the original cast members who premiered the show in the West End and on Broadway (Michael Sheen and Frank Langella).
I certainly came away from the play wanting to see some of David Frost's actual interview footage with Nixon for myself. Luckily, YouTube is full of clips, so I'll be checking some of that out very soon.
Or so say the English, at least. I was really interested to read a story in last weekend's Globe (new link) about the growing popularity of Halloween in England over the past decade. It's a surprising phenomenon - certainly when I lived in England in the mid-1990s, Halloween was a non-event. In some schools, you might find kids having little Halloween parties in class, but that was about it. All the autumnal hijinks were reserved for Bonfire Night on November 5th.
It's all changing now though, it seems - and there's plenty of grumbling in Blighty about what is viewed as a distasteful, over-commercialised North American import. I did a little Googling out of interest and found that consumer spending on sweets, decorations and other Halloween-themed items has boomed over the past decade, since retailers figured out that plugging a new holiday to children (who in turn harass their parents to buy stuff) was a potential goldmine.
I don't think it would be such a great stretch for the English to celebrate Halloween - the holiday originates from their Irish and Scottish neighbours, after all. But it would be a great shame if the rise of Halloween in England meant the eclipse of traditional Guy Fawkes/bonfire celebrations. What a boring world this would be if everyone adopted the same practices.
So I recently joined what looks to be a very cool book club. My friend C. has been a member for a number of years, and invited me to check it out. Not only is it an opportunity to read some great books (many of which I probably would never have picked up otherwise), but it's a much-needed chance to get out and meet new people. I went to my first meeting on Monday night. There were about eight very interesting women there, all professionals mainly drawn from law and academia. And one of them is the newly-elected MP for Halifax, which is pretty neat (said she's still hoping to attend meetings whenever she's home from Ottawa).
We spent about half the evening talking about this month's book, The Watsons by Jane Austen (which I enjoyed, surprisingly - I've never been a huge fan of Austen, but I might have to give her another try). The rest of the time we drank wine and debated what to read over the coming months. November's book is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which I have to get stuck into fairly soon if I'm going to get it done in time. I'm slightly creeped-out by the prospect, but keeping an open mind....
My sister-in-law pointed me towards this blog today, with its listing of the Omnivore's Hundred (i.e. a list of 100 things every omnivore should try at least once). Cos I'm easily bored and distracted at this hour, I present my results here.
Things in bold I have tried. Any comments in parentheses are my own.1. Venison (wild and farmed)2. Nettle tea3. Huevos rancheros4. Steak tartare (blee)5. Crocodile (though to be honest, it might have been alligator...)6. Black pudding (dbl blee)7. Cheese fondue (in a remote resto perched on a Swiss mountainside, no less)8. Carp (meh...tastes like mud)9. Borscht (of course - I have a Russian granny)10. Baba ghanoush11. Calamari (like a salted rubber band)12. Pho (lots of, in Vietnam)13. PB&J sandwich (heh...how can you tell the author of this list did not grow up in North America?)14. Aloo gobi (shockingly, I never tasted Indian food in my life until I moved to England)15. Hot dog from a street cart (?! See no. 13)16. Epoisses (Wikipedia says it is regarded as the "king of all cheeses" in France and has been banned from public transport because of its smell. Gotta git me some of that.)17. Black truffle (in miniscule shavings)18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (sure...blueberry plonk from Lunenburg County Winery is pretty ropey. So was the stuff my dad had a go at making, when I was a kid).19. Steamed pork buns (think so...in a breakfast buffet in Hanoi)20. Pistachio ice cream (yummy - very hard to find)21. Heirloom tomatoes (thanks, Halifax Farmer's Market)22. Fresh wild berries (oh yes, multiple varieties - I grew up in the country and they grew in the backyard)23. Foie gras (lordy, but it tastes like sin)24. Rice and beans25. Brawn, or head cheese (*stomach heaves at thought*)26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper27. Dulce de leche (mmm...there's a jar in my fridge right now)28. Oysters (blergh...they may be a local speciality, and beloved of gourmands...but I can't get over the snottiness factor)29. Baklava30. Bagna cauda (sounds very tasty though)31. Wasabi peas32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I dunno about the sourdough bowl thing - but I'm awarding myself half a point for the chowder)33. Salted lassi34. Sauerkraut (eurgh)35. Root beer float36. Cognac with a fat cigar (half point for the cognac only!)37. Clotted cream tea (aaaAAAHHHHHhhhh...food of the gods)38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (erm, not since I was about 20...)39. Gumbo40. Oxtail41. Curried goat42. Whole insects (not if you paid me!!!)43. Phaal44. Goat’s milk45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more46. Fugu (not a "take risks with my life" kinda gal, thanks)47. Chicken tikka masala (I prefer korma, though)48. Eel (ick)49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (Tim Horton's forever!)50. Sea urchin51. Prickly pear52. Umeboshi53. Abalone54. Paneer55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal56. Spaetzle57. Dirty gin martini58. Beer above 8% ABV (La Fin du Monde...merci, Quebec)59. Poutine (MERCI BEAUCOUP!)60. Carob chips61. S’mores62. Sweetbreads63. Kaolin64. Currywurst (?!)65. Durian (you can smell it everywhere in Vietnam)66. Frogs’ legs (they really DO taste like chicken)67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake68. Haggis (a morsel...blecchhhh)69. Fried plantain (in Venezuela - very nice!)70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (never did work up the courage to try the latter, in France)71. Gazpacho72. Caviar and blinis73. Louche absinthe74. Gjetost, or brunost75. Roadkill (wtf?! not on your nelly)76. Baijiu77. Hostess Fruit Pie78. Snail (escargot? yeah, super tasty)79. Lapsang souchong80. Bellini (*smacks lips*)81. Tom yum82. Eggs Benedict83. Pocky84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (aw hell yeah!)85. Kobe beef (it's on my to-eat list...if I ever save up enough money)86. Hare (*hangs head in shame*)87. Goulash88. Flowers (nasturtiums, pansies, violets, rose petals...all very nice)89. Horse90. Criollo chocolate91. Spam (lol)92. Soft shell crab93. Rose harissa94. Catfish95. Mole poblano96. Bagel and lox97. Lobster Thermidor (overrated...keep the lobsters simple!)98. Polenta99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee100. Snake (er, no thanks...)
I got 58 out of 100. Not bad for someone who was a very picky kid, and would turn up her nose at just about everything.
I think maybe I need to buy the Glasvegas album. It's just out, apparently, and folk across the pond are all abuzz about it. I heard an interview with the band and some snippets of their music today on the Music Weekly podcast (again! thanx Guardian), and I found myself listening intently. Since this kind of instantaneous attraction to a particular band's music is a fairly rare occurrence for me, I take notice when it happens.
[Two music-related blog posts in a row...blimey!]
Lots of bands these days stage comebacks - but some are more surprising than others. Yesterday, when catching up with some episodes of the Guardian's Music Weekly podcast, I nearly fell over when I heard that Shelleyan Orphan are back after sixteen years of wandering in the musical wilderness. Remember them? Unless you were a cultish devotee of Star Hits magazine in the 1980s, probably not. I always found them strangely intriguing...but then again, anything labelled as "Pre-Raphaelite pop" is bound to have that sort of effect on me.
Anyway, their new album "We Have Everything We Need" is out next week.
