Cleaning up a cupboard in the laundry room the other day I came across an old briefcase.
It had lots of stuff inside—as if I had been getting ready to go somewhere with lots of material and then for some reason decided to put it in the cupboard and promptly forgot about it for more than a decade.

Included in the long-forgotten material was something that made me smile. It was my student card from my days as a doctoral history student at the Université Laval. That period was 1995-98.

I have very fond memories of my time at the Université Laval. The arrangement was that the university allowed me to travel there for periods of about two weeks several times a year. When I was there, I stayed in a basement apartment of a very nice elderly couple who lived about a 15 minute walk from the campus.

My thesis supervisor was Jacques Mathieu, and he was excellent in that role.

The dissertation that I wrote to complete the doctoral programme at Laval ended up becoming Control and Order at French Colonial Louisbourg, published by Michigan State University Press.

There is a campaign underway to convince the federal government to stand up for the rights of creators.

The request is that the Copyright Act be amended and reinforced, because it was seriously undermined by amendments passed by the previous government led by Stephen Harper. Those changes permitted wholesale copying of books by universities without the authors of the books receiving any compensation.

The campaign is called Creators Calling on Ottawa. Writers—and other creators—are encouraged to send messages to the responsible federal politicians. Those individuals are the Prime Minister and two of his ministers.

@JustinTrudeau

@FP_Champagne

@pablorodriguez

A sample message from a writer could be:

To keep creating Canadian stories like the ones I write, the education sector needs to pay for the use of our work. The government needs to fix the Copyright Act.

The message is to be accompanied by a photo of a writer holding up one of their books. Like this:

Something a little different has come my way.

It’s an inquiry from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography to write a short biography of Mathieu da Costa.

For those not familiar with the name, Da Costa is the earliest known person of African descent—for whom we have a name—in Canadian history.

I have written about Da Costa before, and I am pleased to take this on for the DCB.

I think that was it.

Last Monday evening’s performance at Truro’s Marigold Cultural Centre by The Lincolns was almost certainly the end of a very long musical run, dating back to 1960.

And what a run it was, lasting more than 60 years. In its heyday, the band delighted audiences across the Maritimes throughout the 1960s.

Then, more selectively, there were periodic reunions starting in 1978, and occurring again every so often until last Monday, October, 18, 2021.

Of course, I’m sorry to see the end. Never before and never again will I ever have a book launch like that. But what a wonderful way for the band to go out.

Bravo, Lincolns!

Long live live music everywhere.

My presentation on the “Kings of Friday Night: The Lincolns” (Nimbus Publishing) was warmly received by about 60 people at the first meeting of the Truro Probus Club in a year and a half.

The power was back.

I do not mean the electricity in the outlets—though that too was back on after a power failure cancelled the book launch / Lincoln show the day before.

No, I mean the power of music and stories.

On Oct. 18, 2021, at Truro’s Marigold Cultural Centre, under the glow of a rising giant moon, The Lincolns put on a magical show, while I told some of their stories to an audience that told us after the show was over that they loved every single minute.

Two members of the band—Rod Norrie and Layne Francis—have been Lincolns for 62 years; others have been playing with them for over 50. And though they reunite only now and then, they are still able to bring it, rocking the crowd.

It was the first time Paul Eisan sang with the band, and he was great, singing seven numbers. Then, as a surprise to everyone, Charlie A’Court made a guest appearance, enthralling the crowd with “Dreams to Remember” as a tribute to the late Frank MacKay.

Followed by a moving recording of Frank singing “Danny Boy.” When the music and talk was over, it was time to speak with the author and the band, and get books and CDs signed.

The power was back.