July 13, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
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Hot weather demands icecream. In my world, that fact is completely non-debatable.
Friday evening, after a morning of overcast and rain, the weather perked up, the sun came out and icecream became the order of the day. With our friends from Edmonton, my mother and I headed out to Fort St. John’s only hard icecream parlour: Peppermint Patty’s.
There are over twenty different flavours and the generous scoops are available in sugar or waffle cones. It was enough to throw my mother’s friend into a fit of indecision that lasted nearly 15 minutes. In the end the girl working there found a more than adequate solution (one flavour to fill the cone; one flavour as the scoop on top) and we all left contented with huge single scoop cones of gourmet icecream.
The prices are a bit steep but when you need a creamy frozen complement to the sun, Peppermint Patty’s is the place to go.
July 10, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
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Jimmy Rankin was among friends July 7th, as he played to a diverse crowd at the Lido Theatre in Fort St. John, which included many islanders.
I myself was in the company of a true Cape Bretoner, my friend Tanya was the first person I thought of to accompany me to the show when I heard Jimmy would be in town. As I anticipated, not only did Tanya know who he was, but was thrilled to go.
What a great time! For those of you familiar with the Rankin Family (now The Rankins), you will appreciate the way Jimmy’s deep, soulful performance can sweep you back to the days when he and his brother and sisters used to charm us with their melodic harmony with such hits as “Tell My Ma” and “Forty Days and Nights” and “Mairi’s Wedding.” Jimmy was sans family this time: one audience member, at the encouragement of Jimmy to name some requests shouted “Mull River Shuffle, boy!” (I cheered and hollered to second the motion…it’s my favorite song of theirs) and Jimmy smiled and replied, “Mull River Shuffle…I need the Rankins for that one!”
Nevertheless, I was still taken back to my childhood, Jimmy superbly belting out some classics accessible to him alone, such as “Orangedale Whistle” and “You Feel The Same Way Too.” He entertained us with some of his hits from “Song Dog” as well as some of his newer material from his recently released CD, “Edge of Time.” True to Rankin form (this is the second time I have seen Jimmy; the first time was the entire family together, including John Morris), he got the audience involved to help sing some of the songs!
It was evident everyone was having a great time—there was a delightful mingling of accents calling out to Jimmy: at one point, after a roaring applause, he came out for an encore and checked the time, when an audience member called out playfully: “never mind your watch!” My friend turned to me and said knowingly, “that’s gotta be a Newfoundlander!”
The performance was one of the best I’ve seen. Jimmy’s sole band member James even managed to squeeze in some banjo playing, and by the time the night was coming to an end, the entire crowd had managed to rise to their feet and clap along to several of the numbers.
Come back Jimmy, and next time, bring your family!