As Canadians celebrate the summer holidays, many patients will be fighting to celebrate life itself. Roll up your sleeve and help hospital patients in need during Downhome Week, Aug. 9-13th.
Downhome Week
Monday, August 9-Friday, August 13th
This event is a province-wide event.
We have a clinic here at 7 Wicklow Street - St. John's; Grand Falls-Windsor; and Corner Brook. We will also have mobiles across the province during Downhome Week. As well, there will be a BBQ during this time at the St. John's location.
Prizes: People will also have an opportunity to enter to win great prizes, subscriptions, etc. The grand prize is a trip for two to beautiful Woody Island!
Check us out online www.blood.ca or call 1-888-2-DONATE to book an appointment.
One donation can help save up to three lives.
While one in two Canadians can donate, only one in 60 actually donate.
Recently, Linda Browne sat down to chat with Newfoundland icons Sandy Morris and Greg Malone of the legendary Wonderful Grand Band. To learn more about the WGB's upcoming shows, the band's early years and how they really felt about wearing pantyhose, check out the August issue of Downhome, on stands now.
To hear more, have a look at the following video clips.
Click here to enter to win a copy of the band's first self-titled album on CD.
Greg Malone and Sandy Morris discuss why it's great to be part of the WGB.
The guys share a bit of news about the band's upcoming projects.
Malone and Morris chat about the rerelease of their first self-titled album on CD, recorded at Clode Sound Studio in Stephenville in 1978.
All hail the Queen! The Watermelon Queen that is...
From July 21-22, the 2010 Miss Georgia Watermelon Queen, Whitney Leah Conner, 20, visited the Colemans grocery store locations in Mount Pearl and St. John's to help promote watermelon and its many health benefits.
This marked the third time that Colemans, a member of the National Watermelon Association, hosted a visit from a U.S. watermelon queen.
Whitney competed with the nation's eight regional watermelon queens in a contest where they were judged on their poise, personality and knowledge of watermelons.
2010 Miss Georgia Watermelon Queen Whitney Leah Conner greets a young watermelon lover.
Did you know?
Watermelon comes in many sizes, shapes and colours. Some are red inside; others are yellow. Some have seeds; other do not.
The watermelon is the fruit of a large vine, which grows flat on the ground. The watermelon, with vines, which grow from 12-15 feet, is part of the same family as pumpkins, cantaloupes and squash.
The watermelon flower is not very showy and must be pollinated, generally by honeybees, to produce fruit.
Watermelon varies in size from the five-pound "Sugar Baby" to the "Jubilee," which can weigh as much as 40 pounds.
Watermelon has many health benefits including:
1. Energy production
2. Protects against macular degeneration
3. Fights heart disease
4. Loaded with antioxidants
5. Reduces the risk of cancer
6. Prevents erectile dysfunction
7. Good source of vitamins and minerals
Check out the video to find out more about the health benefits of watermelon, straight from the watermelon queen herself, Miss Whitney Leah Conner!
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has declared approximately 480 active lighthouses and approximately 490 inactive lighthouses across Canada surplus to its needs. Under the new Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, these properties can be transferred to new owners wishing to take advantage of their heritage designation or tourism potential.
This rare picture, submitted by Leonard Simon of Stephenville, NL shows the lighthouse at Cape St. George, which was destroyed by fire in the late '20s.
The Act came into force on May 29, 2010 as a means to protect federally-owned heritage lighthouses by allowing them to be used for other purposes, as long as they are maintained in a manner consistent with established conservation practices.
Individuals, municipalities or non-profit groups may apply to Parks Canada for heritage designation of any federally-owned lighthouse property. For the surplus lighthouses, a written commitment to acquire ownership and protect the lighthouse must be accepted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in order for it to be designated under the Act. Potential owners must submit a business plan that shows their proposed use of the property will be economically viable over the long term, and that they have the capacity to manage the property.
In some cases, lighthouses contain aids to navigation, which must remain operational. Parties wishing to purchase these properties would need to enter into an agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, permitting it access to the site for maintenance and operation of the aid to navigation.
Pursuant to the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has determined that the lighthouses on the lists below are surplus to the operational requirements of the Department. A surplus lighthouse may only be designated as a heritage lighthouse if a person or body submits a written commitment to acquire the lighthouse and protect its heritage character in the event that it is designated as a heritage lighthouse.
To see a list of active lighthouses declared surplus, click here.
To see a list of inactive lighthouses declared surplus, click here.
Please note that there may be some administrative or legal issues to be addressed in relation to some of these listed lighthouses that would restrict the capacity of the Department to transfer ownership. We recommend that those interested in submitting a petition for a surplus lighthouse contact Andrew Anderson at (613) 990-8886 or andrew.anderson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca for further information prior to submitting a written commitment to acquire a surplus lighthouse.
From skydiving to zip lining, Atlantic Canada is an adrenaline junkie’s paradise.
By Linda Browne and Shawn Hayward
Have you ever dreamt about soaring through the sky like a bird? Does the thought of shooting down a raging river faster than a speeding bullet make your body tingle with excitement? Here in the Atlantic, there’s no shortage of activities that will get your blood pumping and your heart thumping. Extreme sports are not only a chance to step outside your comfort zone by trying something thrilling and new, but also a great way for tourists and residents alike to see Atlantic Canada in a whole new light. Have a look at 10 of these amazing adventures. Are you brave enough to take the plunge?
A Giant Leap of Faith
Dave Williamson may have phobias like every other person in the world, but one thing he certainly doesn’t have is a fear of heights. He owns and operates the Atlantic School of Skydiving in Waterville, Nova Scotia – the only skydiving school in the region, which has been around since 1982. His students can complete either a tandem jump, or take the first jump course before safely and successfully completing a solo jump.
Watch Downhome's Linda Browne and Jumpmaster Dave Williamson complete a tandem jump in the Annapolis Valley, NS.
For first-time skydivers, a tandem jump is perhaps the best option. Harnessed to the front of a certified and experienced skydiving instructor, you’ll jump from a Cessna 182 aircraft at around 10,000 feet and experience about 35 seconds of freefall (at a speed of up to 120 mph) before your instructor deploys a special parachute built for two. You’ll get to drink in the spectacular views of the beautiful Annapolis Valley and the Bay of Fundy as you spend the next six minutes floating peacefully to the ground.
Dave has been skydiving for more than 33 years, having taken 6,700 jumps, including 2,000 tandems. Yet he never gets bored with what has become routine.
“Every jump is different. I do it because I like it. It’s fun,” he laughs. “It’s a thrill every time.”
He admits there are inherent risks to skydiving, However, Dave adds, “A lot of activities we take for granted come with risk also, just like driving a car. I tell people the most dangerous part of their day is actually driving to the drop zone.”
If you have the desire for skydiving but are still on the fence about it, Dave has some simple advice: “Just do it.”
Did you know?
The Scottish Parachute Club (Skydive Strathallan) recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. The club – which is one of the oldest skydiving clubs in the world - was founded in 1960 by Dr. Charles A. Robertson, father of Memorial University graduate Andrew Robertson.
Soaring to Great Heights
If the thought of throwing yourself from a moving plane is too scary, paragliding is perhaps the next best thing, since you start at the bottom and work your way up, literally.
Watch a tandem launch at Pegasus Paragliding in Nova Scotia.
Michael Fuller, chief instructor and owner of Pegasus Paragliding – aptly named for the winged horse in Greek mythology – has been paragliding for 16 years. He’s been taking students under his proverbial wing since his school (located among the Cobequid Mountains in Diligent River, Nova Scotia) opened in 1997. He’s been offering tandem flights for the past six years and says this is a great introduction to the sport.
“I get all types, but mostly those people who are adventurous of spirit and mind,” he says. “I’ve taken a guy in a wheelchair and I’ve taken eight year olds and I’ve taken 75 year olds.”
Unlike skydiving, paragliding begins with an open canopy. At the launching point, when the wind conditions are just right, the canopy is laid out and inflated above your head (like a kite). Once it’s been carefully checked, you take off running down a hill (the steepness depends on your skill level) with the rising air gently lifting your feet off the ground. Before you know it, you’re flying like a bird. If the weather is agreeable, students can look forward to about a minimum of 20 minutes of airtime and breathtaking views.
Michael says tandem flights are ideal for those “who just want a little taste of it, a little something exciting to do for their visit to this part of the country,” or “people who have always dreamt of flying and never thought it was possible, to get that close to being a bird.”
Did you know?
On June 21, 2002, Canadian Will Gadd set the world distance record for paragliding when he coasted a distance of 423.4 km in Zapta, Texas. The current world record is held by Nevil Hulett, who travelled 502.9 km in South Africa on December 14, 2008.
High-Flying Thrills and Chills
Ever wonder how acrobats can fly and twirl around on the trapeze with ease, and did you always think it would be cool to try it? You can – at Acro-Adix School of Acrobatics in St. John’s, Newfoundland, operated by husband and wife team Josh and Dany Munden.
Watch student highlights from Acro-Adix School of Acrobatics in St. John's, NL.
Josh, a Whitbourne native, and Dany, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, met seven years ago while working on the circus team at a Club Med resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The couple later spent two summers running a trapeze school in Whistler, B.C. before opening their own school in St. John’s last year. Between them, they have more than 20 years experience in aerial arts.
There are two roles on the flying trapeze: flyer and catcher. The flyer is the one who performs the tricks in the air, while the catcher is the finisher, the person who catches the flyer. At the school, students need a minimum of two flights before they can make a successful catch, and safety is the No. 1 priority. Everyone that flies is in a safety harness the whole time above an 88-foot long safety net.
Josh says acrobatics is a sport that can be enjoyed by both the young, and young at heart.
“The oldest guy I ever caught was 85 years old. My daughter is the youngest I’ve ever seen fly. And she’s been flying by herself on the bar since she was 14 months old,” Josh says. “The coolest experience we’ve ever had was we taught an 11-year-old blind girl, and she did a catch after her fourth try.”
The aerial arts are addictive, adrenaline-filled and open to anyone with a sense of adventure.
“You just gotta experience it. You gotta swing out on that bar and let go in mid-air and just trust this dude is going to come up and catch you, pull you out of the sky,” Josh says. “You’re on fire, you’re electric after you do it. There’s such a sense of accomplishment.”
Did you know?
Look closely and you’ll see Josh in Nelly Furtado’s video for the tune “Forca.” Josh has also worked as a rigger for Britney Spears in Toronto.
Under the Sea
Newfoundland and Labrador is a natural scuba diver’s paradise. “We’ve got decent currents here…so you can pretty much go diving anywhere there’s a beach, anywhere you can get into the water,” says Sean Farrell, Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) divemaster with Pretty Safe Enterprises (PSE), based in Portugal Cove.
Watch Sean Farrell scuba diving in Bauline, NL at night.
Sean has been scuba diving for about 10 years and counts Middle Cove, Outer Cove, St. Philip’s and Spoon Cove (on the Avalon Peninsula) as being among some of the best sites. However, the most famous dive sites are the four shipwrecks around Bell Island: the Lord Strathcona, Saganaga, Rose Castle and P.L.M. 27, all sunk in 1942.
“They’re world-class wrecks. People come from all over to see those,” Sean says.
If you’re an experienced diver and need transportation to these sites, Ocean Quest in Conception Bay South offers charter boats. If you’ve never been scuba diving and think maybe you might like it, both Ocean Quest and PSE offer an introductory course in which beginners suit up in scuba gear and spend a couple of hours playing underwater in the deep end of an indoor swimming pool.
“Doing Discover Scuba is a small investment. In just doing that you’ll see if it’s something that you’d like, if you’re comfortable wearing the gear, if your body’s comfortable in the water. That’s the easiest way to find out if becoming certified is something you’d like to do,” Sean says.
To hear about six other amazing adventures you can have in the Atlantic region, pick up the July issue of Downhome, on stands now!
After all the delicious overindulgence of the holidays, we have a recipe for you that’s full of goodness but light and healthy – bouillabaisse (pronounced BOO-ya-baze).
This delightful seafood soup originated in Marseilles in the south of France. It is traditionally flavoured with olive oil, garlic, saffron, bay, fennel and orange peel, and includes at least three kinds of fish found in their waters, such as scorpionfish, sea robin and conger. But over the years, the popularity of bouillabaisse spread all over the world and now all sorts of fish are included. Bouillabaisse is traditionally served with a “rouille” (pronounced ROO-wee), a kind of spicy mayonnaise. We’ve included a recipe for it here, though we often serve bouillabaisse simply with crusty bread or croutons for sopping up all the wonderful broth.
Special Ingredient Note: This recipe calls for saffron, an exotic burnt-red spice with a floral quality (it actually is the stigmas of crocus flowers). You may have to visit a specialty grocery or bulk food store to find it. The recipe is still delicious without the saffron, though, and a pinch each of paprika and tumeric will make a sufficient substitution.
Bouillabaisse (This is suggested seafood – use what you like or have on hand.)
up to 1/2 cup olive oil
½ lb shell-on shrimp (larger, imported ones such as tiger shrimp)
1 (1 /12 lb) lobster
½ lb cod or halibut, cut into 1-inch chunks
½ lb salmon, cut into 1-inch chunks
½ lb coldwater shrimp
½ lb bay scallops (the smaller local ones)
1 lb mussels, cleaned
1 med, onion, diced (keep skin and trimmings for stock)
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced (keep trimmings for stock)
4-6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bulb fennel (or 3-4 stalks celery), diced (keep leafy parts for stock)
1 green pepper, diced
2 tbsp flour
2 carrots, diced
4 potatoes, peeled, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
4 bay leaves
3-4 strips orange peel (use a potato peeler to get peel)
generous pinch saffron (or pinch each of paprika and tumeric)
6 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp fennel seed
pinch ground allspice
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 cup white wine
Time saver tip: While lobster boils, shell the shrimp and while the fish stock is simmering, prepare fish and vegetables.
Begin by making fish stock. Boil the lobster in salted water for about 10 min. (it will finish cooking in the soup). Remove meat from shell and cut into bite-sized pieces; set aside with other seafood (reserve shell for the stock). Throw out lobster water – it will taste of rubber bands! Remove shells from large shrimp and set shrimp aside with other seafood (reserve shells for stock).
In a medium pot over med.-high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add orange peel, two of the bay leaves, half the fennel seed and half the thyme. Add shrimp and lobster shells plus trimmings of the onion, leek and fennel/celery; stir a few minutes till shrimp shells turn pink. Splash in half the wine and let burn off. Add half the saffron and enough water to cover the shells (6-8 cups). Return to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 20 min. Strain stock through a fine sieve.
In a large pot, heat 3-4 tbsp olive oil over med.-high heat. Add onion, leeks, fennel/celery, green peppers and remaining herbs and spices, except saffron. Cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are wilted. Add garlic and fry 1-2 min. till fragrant. Add flour and stir a couple of minutes. Add wine and reduce a few minutes. Add fish stock, tomatoes, saffron, potatoes and carrots. Simmer till veggies are nearly done, about 10 min. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add water if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Add mussels, cod and salmon; cook 3-5 min. Add shrimp, scallops and lobster; cook another 3-5 min. till everything is heated through. Be careful not to break up the fish when stirring. (Discard any mussels that don’t open.)
This column originally appeared in the August 1996 edition of Downhome, and was rediscovered recently when Janice and Ashley were researching back issues. Even though there is a cod moratorium in effect - 17 years and counting - there are still many hard-working fishing families in this province who continue to face the perils of the job. So we thought this column was worth a second read.
A Way to Live, A Way to Die
Since 1497, when John Cabot got his first basketful of fish off Bonavista, the sea has played a major role in the lifestyle of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most have made their living from her, and many have died by her. The souls lost in the many shipwrecks around our rugged coastline over the years would make a formidable list. Most of these losses are recorded, and many have been honoured in stories, poems, songs and even movies.
Passing with much less mention is a group of men who also lived and died by the sea, the inshore fishermen. I'm sure the men who died while fishing from dories, punts, motorboats, skiffs and, in more recent years, speedboats, since the settling of Newfoundland, would comprise a greater list than those lost on larger offshore vessels. I'm talking about the lone fishermen, the brothers who work side-by-side and the father-and-son teams who go out and never return.
E.J. Pratt, Canada's unofficial poet laureate and a native of Newfoundland, speaks of these men in a short poem called "Erosion":
It took the sea a thousand years
A thousand years to trace
The granite features of this cliff,
In crag and scarp and base.
It took the sea an hour one night,
An hour of storm to place
The sculpture of these granite seams
Upon a woman's face.
Twelve years ago, on August 22, 1984, two brothers and the son of one of them from the community of Merritt's Harbour, near Herring Neck, Notre Dame Bay, went out as usual to haul their fishing gear. A storm came up and the three did not return. The bodies of one brother and his son were found close to shore the next day. The two were wearing lifejackets, and their hands and fingers were torn from trying to climb the slippery rocks. The other brother was never found. His wife lived for a year or so in the house he had built for her, but the memories got to be too hard to live with and she moved away. The wife and mother of the other two has also moved away.
Merritt's Harbour is a community of about 65 residents. Three people dying in a large city would not be considered a great loss, considering the total population, but three people represented a loss of five per cent of the population of Merritt's Harbour. It was a major catastrophe that is still felt in the village today. People continue to talk about the accident and try to speculate on the cause. The answers, however, are buried in the North Atlantic.
I learned this story when I went looking for a cottage on or near Twillingate Island. The widow of the man who was never found put their house on the market and I bought it. I would probably still own it if Downhome hadn't come along and consumed my spare time. I wrote the following poem to the memory of the three around that time:
The Ghosts of Merritt's Harbour
Three fishermen went out one day
From the calm of Merritt's Harbour
Went out to make their daily pay
The weather in their favour
Who would know, or who could say
To the happy three that left the shore
That all three would be lost that day
And one of them be seen no more
Fair weather later turned to foul
The time for hauling gear was gone
And little boats with half a haul
Went back to shelter, one by one
But three in one boat never came
Did they stay for pay, or show
Or to beat the devil at his game
We'll never, ever know
Was her engine fouled somehow
Or was she swamped astern
As gear was hauled? We won't know now
Nor will we ever learn
All night long the storm howled 'round
By morning it began to lift
And two in life preservers found
On the sea that took their life, adrift
Two found with hands cut to the bone
Evidence of a struggle frantic
The fate of the third is only known
To the never yielding North Atlantic
Two made the rocky shore that night
Tried climbing up, but no one saw
Two poor souls losing life's last fight
With fingers cold and numb and raw
Two bodies in the church may be
To be view by friend and neighbour
But three souls are still at sea
Not far from Merritt's Harbour
Sad folks in their sad abodes
Their loved ones' loss belabour
While children play upon the roads
In solemn Merritt's Harbour
It's been years since the three passed on
From the village by the sea
Yet it seems somehow they are not gone
And somehow can never be
But the ones who loved them most
No longer are around
They've left the outport and its ghosts
Where memories abound
But three ghosts will not leave this shore
The place of their last harbour
They will be here for evermore
In tiny Merritt's Harbour
In the July issue of Downhome, Dennis Flynn profiles Captain Roger Penney, who flew the Canso 704, a water bomber, into St. Anthony Harbour for its final flight in August 2007. The airplane is now part of a memorial park in the town, dedicated to Captain Ronald Penny and pilot Yannick Dutin, who lost their lives fighting a forest fire in the Bay St. George area in a similar plane. To watch a video of the plane's final flight into St. Anthony, click here.
If you are interested in supporting the memorial project, mail a donation to the Fallen Pilot Memorial Park via The Rising Sun Developers, c/o Town of St. Anthony, P.O. Box 430, St. Anthony, NL, A0K 4S0.
