A Nigel Page
by Nicole D. Myers
September 2003
The title of this Nigel Page is a little misleading since I didn’t really have a summer vacation. A lot happened this summer that I want to get down though, to burn it into the memory of paper, moment by moment, in case I start to forget some of the awesome details. At my age, they say the mind is the first to go, ya know.
You better work!
My summer kicked off with employment. YAY me. I crawled back into my seasonal Tourism position as a Travel Counsellor for Halifax Regional Municipality. I worked from a vibrant visitor centre overlooking the ocean and the very green Lawlor’s Island. I spent most of the cash I made immediately playing catch up with various debts, thinking that once I got my pocketbook under control, I could start buying books and music again (it was a long cold Canadian winter after all). I settled on used books, as a quaint and well stocked used bookstore opened up minutes from me at my work place. I was able to score a few rare Beat books as well as a cheapo copy of Super Fudge by Judy Blume ( for the inner child now, come on!). I picked up the new Dandy Warhols CD when it was still a UK import, anxious to hear Simon LeBon’s guest vocal appearance and Nick Rhodes’ production. I was pleased with the record. It is still on heavy rotation at home but not more than the new song I managed to snag (quite by accident) from Duran’s forthcoming reunion record! ‘What Happens Tomorrow’ became the theme song of my summer. It’s a fabulous song and I can’t wait to hear more. I know that there are more songs out there via the lovely internet but I want to be able to hear it for the first time when it’s released in a store. I heard 75% of Pop Trash before it was released and the first time wasn’t quite the same because I was already singing along to the songs. I like the anticipation and the suspense of that first listen after ripping the shrink wrap off of the CD. Especially because DD reign supreme to me, it’s important that the first listen be virgin. It is religious for me.
Unless
One of my heroes passed away this summer. Carol Shields, my favourite female writer, died on July 16th of breast cancer. I knew she was sick from reading various articles on her previous to her death. I actually wrote her a letter, thanking her for the wonderful characters and stories she penetrated my life and imagination with. She wrote me back and that tiny postcard soared through me just like the news of her passing did. I got home from work that day and there was an email waiting for me from a friend in Victoria, BC (where both my friend and Carol live), telling me of the news. I started to cry. I didn’t know what else to do, but cry. That night before bed, I held vigil. I lit three pastel candles, propped up a few of her books and listened to her reading from ‘Larry’s Party’ on audiotape (one of the best gifts I’ve ever been given). That was my goodbye to Carol - a woman who inspired me more than I can even mention. It’s funny, the effect her death had on me. I had my summer reading list all ready to go and was plugging along just fine in the pages of my writing book. After July 16th, I couldn’t read a book or write a word (for the longest time). I was in the middle of a book by Whitney Otto and smack in the middle of the first short story I’d been remotely pleased with in years. It all stopped, time stood still. Nothing. Slowly though, after I put together a little scrapbook of clippings and interviews as well as re-reading some of the essays in a wonderful book given to me by a new and wonderful friend, ‘The Right To Write’, I was able to get back into the groove. This marks my first actual experience in losing a HUGE influence on my life and creativity. It all but broke my heart though I know she isn’t gone forever because she is alive and well in her work. Words last forever.
You c#@ks*%ker!!
How often is it that one of your favourite television shows is filmed in your back yard? Ok, well not really in my back yard but in my community. Most of you non-Canadians reading this won’t appreciate this as much but the Trailer Park Boys are STILL filming their fourth season in a trailer park close by. One of my best friends is OBSESSED with them. I was mildly entertained by the show (I worked with one of the actors at a theatre company before - I’m not star struck like she is!). I wasn’t a big fan until Sherrie got me to go over with her one night to watch them film. Watching the ‘process’ (woo gotta love that word) is intriguing and they are a really great group of people to get along with. We went over several times with our visitor passes, camera and sense of humour. Here is the official site (www.trailerparkboys.com) for the show so that if you’re all inclined you’ll see what the fuss (or not) is about (warning not suitable for children).
If I had a scanner, this Nigel Page would come complete with photos. Unfortunately I still haven’t made that leap into the 21st century. It’s exciting now because we know secrets of the new season that we aren’t permitted to divulge because the director would whoop our arses and we have witnessed some of the funniest Canadian made TV ever! Just you wait and see.
Gimme Some Of That Voodoo Thing!
Aside from rubbing shoulders with the Trailer Park Boys, I was also fortunate enough to see a few incredible concerts. It started with a foggy night on the Halifax waterfront for Canada Day. Colin James performed amidst the thickest fog ever recorded along with his skilled band, including Craig Northey and Doug Elliott of the Odds. A local blues gentleman called Charlie A’Court opened the show and he was fantastic! I indulged in some fine Canadian beer during his set and made my way closer to the stage for Colin’s show. We inched up little by little and before we knew it we were almost front row centre! I saw Colin James twice before but once in a bar I refer to as a ‘death trap’ and was fairly close but not this close. It’s rare for me to be up close to my favourites. There are no words for how amazing this show was. Colin James, for all of you non-Canadians again, is a famed rock/blues player who also released two big band (think Brian Setzer) albums. This particular night will go down in Bean history as one of the best ever. After the show, Charlie A’Court signed my concert admission wristband and somehow we managed to meet Colin and the band. I have to tell you that they were the nicest group of guys I’ve ever met. Craig Northey and Doug Elliott especially (they have Kids In The Hall ties). It was like hanging out and talking to good friends about good music, good beer with a few riotous laughs thrown in for good measure. What a night! And boy was it ever hard getting up for work the next morning. We didn’t make it home until after 2am and I needed to be up at 7:30am. EEP! Got a ton of fantastic photos (who knew disposable cameras took such great pictures!). Again, if I had a scanner.....
Pour Some Sugar On Me!
The second show that I am in complete and utter awe about is my night with Def Leppard. I missed the Leps in the 80's in the round. I was disappointed about that and I also missed them for their ‘Slang’ tour. That doesn’t upset me because from popular public opinion it wasn’t their best. However, the night they graced the stage in Halifax (the first night of their Canadian stint) they were un-f@#king believable!! My sister and I had seats that were decent but it was a place where getting to your feet and rocking out was not an option. We spotted a few empty seats over on the other side of the arena, close to the stage so we took them. MAN were we close! Joe Elliott is something else on stage. Imperial! Rick Allen is a phenomenon. He is just unbelievable. I wrote a review once I was able to digest the show and it’s power. It was one of those shows that reminded me that I was still alive. Boy did I need that. My official review is posted on a Rick Savage website. All was right with the world after the Leps breezed into town. Now I await the official Duran Duran reunion tour.
Let me check my schedule!
My social calendar has been happening this summer. I attended wine tasting events, volunteered at the theatre I used to work for, schmoozed at a few political announcements, lunches with friends, whale watching, club hopping (to some dull degree), summer teas, birthday gatherings, a family wedding (with no date! Ugh.), anniversary parties and the few things I have left to do before the frost sets in.
Leftovers
Before the fall takes over and gives way to yet another cold Canadian winter, I have big plans for myself. Tonight I am attending the International Gala opening of ‘The Republic Of Love’ (a film based on one of my favourite Carol Shields novels) at the Atlantic Film Festival. I have been looking forward to this event and am happy to report that the gala is now sold out. (Sad to note though that while Carol helped with the development of this film, she didn’t live long enough to see it.) Next week is going to be a fun and full week. For you non-Canadians, we have Canadian Idol down to the last two hopefuls. One of the contenders is from Cherry Brook, NS - Gary Beals. To celebrate his success in the show, the Metro Centre (our big venue) is opening its doors for the two hour finale so I am thinking of going to that. I also have reservations for Neptune Theatre to see ‘The Rocky Horror Show’. *makes mental note to self to break out my black lingerie and umbrella* And lastly, to make this summer season complete, I will be taking myself to the Art Gallery Of Nova Scotia to see the ‘Post Impressionist Masterworks’. One of Matisse’s favourite paintings of his own, a nude that used to hang in his dining room will be on display along with fifteen other paintings by Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Maurice Prendergast. I believe the Van Gogh is a 1886 piece called ‘Bowl With Summer Flowers’. Prendergast’s piece is the yellow and blue ‘Picnic’ from 1915 and of course the nude of Matisse’s that he loved so much he kept it all his life. Should be an inspiring time.
Summer highlights
- (of course) hearing a new Duran Duran song
- Duran winning the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award (very inspiring moment, yes?)
- writing and almost completing ‘Glissando’ my first short story in aeons
- my niece’s wedding in Great Village
- my three year old niece Hannah starting pre-school
- having my picture taken with Bubbles (see Trailer Park Boys web link)
- rediscovering strawberry jam
- buying my po’ bo’ hat
- buying my first small piece of art from a local artist on the Halifax waterfront
Those are just some of the other things that brought me extreme joy this past summer. I am getting ready to hunker down with a stack of books and preparing my Christmas shopping list for the winter. The sixth and final season of Sex And The City starts airing on Bravo in Canada on September 19th, looking forward to that. My TV schedule will soon flare up again. CSI, Without A Trace, Angel and deep winter brings Queer As Folk while I have to wait until Spring for new Trailer Park Boys (where my 12 year old neighbour will have his TV debut as one of the ‘Bottle Kids’). My 30th birthday is looming. I am prepared for my breakdown. I once told a friend who was turning 30 that it was no big thing. Now that I am nearing that same age, exiting one era into another, I know exactly what he was talking about when he expressed his thoughts and anxieties about turning 30. I vow though to turn my fears into positive nuggets of something or other. I was a born optimist and despite all the personal/emotional junk I have collected over the last few years, I am almost certain that the coming years HAVE to be better than the previous because nothing could be worse than the aches and grave pains of one’s twenties.
Conclusion
This concludes ‘what I did on my summer vacation’. There were other things that happened but I am bound by the ‘Privacy Act’ so I am unable to divulge the details here. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my love and deep sadness for the passing of a comic great, John Ritter. I loved how he made me laugh. He graced the screen of my TV growing up playing the naughty Jack Tripper and these days he brings the voice of Clifford to children of a different generation. He will be missed, a great, happy man - show your love. And, to Mr. Johnny Cash - I will sing ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ just to remember you. R.I.P.
Olé,
Nicole