| Islands of Song |
| Taken from the Cork St. Patrick's Day Festival site:
The story of Newfoundland is one of survival. Settlement was discouraged for almost 200 years - and yet they came. For over 300 years, the Irish came to Newfoundland trading one life of squalor for another. They brought their melodies and songs to help them remember. As new generations born on this rock began to call themselves Newfoundlanders, the Irish music that they freely shared was claimed for this new country to help it tell its story. Six fine songwriters from Newfoundland, who embody the diverse styles of the new music of the province, have arrived in Cork, the European Capital of Culture, to celebrate Cork St. Patrick's Festival 2005. They have come to bring their music home. Islands of Song presents a generation of songwriting talent so that we can enjoy their music as they collaborate with each other and explore common ground. The Cork musicians Ken Cotter, Ger Wolfe, Niall Connolly, Mark Greville, Mick Flannery, Martin Finn and Clare O'Mahony. ..AND.. Ron Hynes, Jim Fidler, Pamela Morgan, Colleen Power, Hugh Scott, and Darrell Power from Newfoundland (whew!) will be performing over the four nights at the Triskel Arts Centre. Knowing about these six wonderful Newfoundland musicians, I was at a definite advantage in being able to picture what the shows might be like. I knew to expect music that I'd love and that others would, too. What I didn't expect was to fall in love with the music of the Irish songwriters. If you have a chance to peruse their websites and listen to samples of their songs, do it. If you have a few extra dollars to spend, buy their CDs. If you have an opportunity to go see any of them in concert - do it! You will not be disappointed. Islands of Song will continue to bring this fantastic group of musicians together again the last week in June in St. John's, Newfoundland. Sounds like a great vacation to me! This trip to Ireland was born in a casual conversation with Jim Fidler one evening on the ham radio. He mentioned that he was going to bring some of Newfoundland�s best to Cork, Ireland to work with Irish songwriters and share songs and collaborate on new ones. That sounded like a great idea and as it began to take flight he shared name after name that had agreed to join him. With this incredible line up, how could I NOT go? Any opportunity to hear Jim is a good one, but with Ron Hynes, Pamela Morgan, Colleen Power, Darrell Power, and Hugh Scott going with him, I figured I�d never in my life have that opportunity again to hear all that talent at once. The formula of an incredible group of Newfoundland musicians sharing their songs with talented Irish songwriters made the potential outcome a possible explosion of music like no one has seen before. It could be one heck of a concert review to write, too. I really didn�t know how I was going to afford to go but the Lord smiled on us and provided opportunities and windfalls so my hope became a reality. In the month preceding the trip, Jim helped to stoke the fire of excitement as he�d mention tidbits of songs, rehearsing with the musicians and the show they were going to put on to raise funds. All of the above musicians at one venue, The St. John's Convention Centre, in St. John's NFLD in one evening! I wish I had been able to be there for that. March 16th dawned with excitement. I went to work for half a day and then Karen and Heather picked us up at home and drove us to the airport in New York JFK. The plane was supposed to leave at 7:55 and we had to be there at least 2-3 hours before that. Leaving a tad late, the ride was uneventful with Vic driving to the airport and Karen and Heather getting a rest. JFK was not as confusing as I had remembered it in the 60�s when we drove my brother back and forth. A hug and a kiss from each of the girls and a command to �Have a good time!� buoyed us up for the very looooooooong line at the American Airlines check-in counters. The hour-plus wait was made easier by joking with our fellow line-mates. One girl was traveling to visit her boyfriend in Italy for 2 weeks. She was considering moving there for 3 months on a semester abroad program at her University. She spoke some Italian and was studying Information Technology. The lady behind us was French but going to London to live for a year. She was having a nicotine fit and was not having any luck with the line moving fast enough. The lady next to her watched her stuff while she went and satisfied her urges. She had us laughing telling us about the last time she traveled on a long plane ride without her cigs. She had purchased nicotine patches but they require scissors to open. You can�t carry scissors on the plane. The attendants don�t even have scissors! Finally the attendant got it open with much sawing by a plastic dinner knife. We had a good laugh over her addiction with nicotine. When we got on the plane, I was shocked at how big it was. I had not been on a Transatlantic flight since 1969. Whoa! Seriously huge plane, this Boeing 777! In the back section where I was seated there were two seats next to the windows and six across in the middle. I was thankful to have requested a window seat. Even though it was nighttime, I figured I could watch the sunrise. Plus there was only one person who had to move when I went to the bathroom. Stella sat down next to me and we became instant flight buddies. She was a British national who had married an American and moved to New York City. She had her own law practice but was thinking about joining a firm so she would be able to draw more of a consistent income. Her Mum was anxiously awaiting her two-week visit. Vic was seated 10 rows ahead of me because we had not bought tickets at the same time. The seats were comfy and I settled in easily. We waited a very long time after everyone had boarded while they kept loading cargo and baggage onto the plane. Eventually the pilot announced that someone�s baggage had to be removed from the plane after it was all loaded. We left an hour late. Supper was served at 10 PM to get us used to the European customs I guess. And I was able to get a small amount of sleep after we had traveled over Eastern North America. What a geek I was! I much preferred watching the little plane on the "Where are we now?" screen to any movie or radio station available. I took photos of Flat Stanley flying over various cities. We said hi to Columbine in Somerville, Massachusetts, Karen and Shannon in Vermont, Tracy and Honey in Nova Scotia, and to Ken, Diane, Christina and Shawn in Newfoundland. With those formalities over, I finally caught a few winks. A few hours later, I awoke to a meal being served. Breakfast was a shoebox affair, but good nonetheless. The bagel chips with cream cheese hit the spot. I had Flat Stanley sitting on the tray and the stewardess let out a laugh. "Flat Stanley's here!" she chortled. Her son had brought one home and she asked to take a photo of him on my tray with me. After that, he was invited back to party with the flight attendants. Half of them had never heard of Flat Stanley and were a little wary of our taking photos with them. But it was all in good fun and they complied happily. We hollered "Hi!" to friends in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as we flew over those lovely provinces. Loved this view of the coming scenery. Felt like I was on a ship and looking at the horizon. Actually, I think I used to be in a former life. At least that's the connection I feel to Signal Hill & the Narrows. Stanley saw that it was -59 degrees F outside and decided to put on his blanket. The outside temperature would go down to -92 degrees F by the time we arrived in Ireland. Stanley partied with the flight attendants for a while on the flight. He really was quite the popular gentleman on the plane! Clouds covered the sky as we got closer to Ireland. We had to pass right over Cork on our way to London and our connecting flight. Stella offered to chuck me out so I could be there sooner. I declined. The first view of London was through the clouds and the next of the city was clear. The plane touched down at Heathrow after a lot of popping of ears and loss of hearing for a while. Even the gum didn't help. Heathrow was not as horrendously busy as I had expected. They sure have the Shuttle thing down pat. Only took 6 minutes between shuttles, not like Toronto airport where you might wait 45 minutes to leave the terminal on the shuttle. It was a really long walk to the Aer Lingus Terminal and I didn't really have a chance to get any coffee. I didn't have any English money anyway. The terminal looked like a leg of a spider! The plane was late as we were waiting for pilots to arrive from Dublin. But once on the plane, it was a short hop to Orkney Airport in Cork. Flat Stanley hung out in the magazine compartment during the ride. I know that Ireland is called the Emerald Isle but I just was not prepared for it to be so green. As we landed at the airport, I saw sheep and cows grazing in green green fields. It was definitely Spring in Cork as all the daffodils and crocuses were in full bloom. But the most surprising thing was when we stepped off the plane, we were greeted by St. Patrick himself! He handed us a sprig of shamrock and his assistant handed out a shot of Irish whiskey! We figured it was 7:30 Philadelphia time but - what the heck! Down it went. We rode the bus to town with the Euros that Vic had with him and got off the bus at the Terminal right around the corner from our hotel. The Clarion Cork had just opened that week for the Festival. We asked the bus driver which of the buildings by the river was the Clarion and he directed us to "Look up at the scaffolding - that's the building!" Sure enough the Clarion was half finished. Luckily, our half was finished! The sounds of construction were around every day except for St. Patty's Day though. They were lining up for the parade as we walked down to the entrance. People dressed as devils, St. Patrick and someone else, maybe St. Bridget? At any rate, the parade went right past our hotel room! We were on the left on the second floor - no balcony but nice nonetheless. The most comfortable bed I have ever slept in waited for us. As we checked in, the elevator door opened and who should step out but Darrell Power! He looked around confusedly and jumped back in, realizing it was not the parking level but the lobby. He had his guitar and I figured he was headed for rehearsal for the evening's performance at the Triskel Art Center. I waved and said "Hi!" and he did a double take and then grinned and waved back before the elevator doors closed. Already grinning from seeing Darrell, the grin became a little wider as I observed a strange sight in the lobby. A dead man shuffled in and coughed into his hand - a clown with the Belfast Clowns troupe hired to perform at the Festival! The whole troupe was staying at the hotel and would raise a few eyebrows as they walked back and forth in costume. Ron Hynes came out of the elevator and walked past us. "Hello Ron," I said quietly. He spun around, looked hard at me and said, "Do I know you?" "No, I saw you at the Savoy during the ECMAs," I told him, "I enjoyed your performance." "Wow! Thanks!" he seemed surprised. "I didn't expect anyone to recognize me over here," he explained, smiling. I got the impression I made his day! Even though we were dog-tired, the adrenaline that comes with being in a new place seeing new things took over and we could not sleep. We got settled and I gave Jim and Lillian a ring on the phone. We arranged to get together for supper and Lillian came down and chatted for a while. It was so good to see her again! It's been a while- since August and we had some catching up to do in person. The musicians from Newfoundland had been here since Monday and we had missed Pamela Morgan's performance last evening. I was sad about that because I think she has one of the most enchanting female voices I have ever heard. Pamela was staying for the week on her way to tour London, Denmark and the Netherlands. We ate at the Zanzibar Restaurant and had a full good meal. |
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