Nimble Tread

Sesquicentennial

A Times ad in the Tube tells us that the first person destined to live to 150 has already been born.  Who knows, maybe it’s you!

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!  Our little holiday tends to get overshadowed by Columbus Day in the States and by that country’s “real” Thanksgiving, but we should still be proud of our special day, even if we don’t know what the hell it actually commemorates.  But if it’s history you’re after, the ever-reliable (ha!) Wikipedia recounts the following:

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher's Thanksgiving was not for harvest but homecoming. He had safely returned from a search for the Northwest Passage, avoiding the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. The feast was one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations by Europeans in North America. Frobisher was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him — Frobisher Bay.
At the same time, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbours.
After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763 handing over of New France to the British, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year. After the American Revolution, American refugees who remained loyal to Great Britain moved from the newly independent United States and came to Canada. They brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada. The first Thanksgiving Day after Canadian Confederation was observed as a civic holiday on April 5, 1872 to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious illness.
Starting in 1879 Thanksgiving Day was observed every year, but the date was proclaimed annually and changed year to year. The theme of the Thanksgiving holiday also changed each year to reflect an important event to be thankful for. In its early years it was for an abundant harvest and occasionally for a special anniversary.

That's actually kind of sweet, isn't it.  The holiday's obviously been codified a bit to fall in line with modern times, but I think the spirit's still intact.  At any rate, enjoy the day, and enjoy this clip of Leslie Feist, who not only happens to be one of Canada's more remarkable songbirds, but also churns out some of the most visually appealing music videos of anyone I know.

A Nickel Will Get You on the Subway, But Garlic Will Get You a Seat

I’m sure I’m not alone in preferring cooking at home to eating out in London.  Cost aside, restaurants in this city can be a bit hit or miss where quality is concerned, and anyways, I’m of the mind that most dishes – I’m talking normal ones here: no forms, no shuddering towers of julienned yams, no Michelin stars – ought to be at least as good coming from a home kitchen as from a professional one.  Your typical home cook doesn’t face the same temporal pressures as the pro, and his clientele, assuming he has one, is typically more supportive of his efforts.  Still, standards need to be maintained, and it’s with that in mind that I aim to launch a new feature here at Nimble Tread called Pot-au-Fugue, which will pop up from time to time and attempt to pair a toothsome little dish with a dishy little tune.  The first edition is on its way, so keep your eyes peeled!

Look Sharp

October is shaping up to be a banner month for us Rachel Podger enthusiasts (club name: The Jolly Podgers).  Not only will she be giving a masterclass at the Guildhall on the 12th, but she’ll also be releasing a beautiful disc of Haydn conerti (1&4) and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante (played with the OAE and, in the case of the Mozart, with the highly personable Pavlo Beznosiuk on viola) on that same day.  I’ve had a listen, and it’s good, very good in fact, particularly where the two Haydn works are concerned.  Add to that her ubiquitous presence at the Brecon Baroque Festival (if you’re going, don’t miss the Baroque Ball on the 23rd), and her appearance at the Wigmore with Gary Cooper on the 6th, and you’ve got yourself a nice little month.     
This really is a great time to be a classical music enthusiast.  Think about it: we’re virtually showered with first-rate recordings, we’re privy to a repertoire so extensive as to be basically inexhaustible, and we’re treated to an endless string of concerts given by enormously gifted performers who, for the most part, remain highly accessible to the public.  I’d call that a pretty good deal. 

Happy 106th!