By Nicola Ryan Karen Carroll is a storyteller, writer and recitationist living in Logy Bay, NL. Originally from Carbonear, she writes stories with local flair based on her family, her personal experiences and tales shared by friends. Recently, with the generous help of some local musicians, she recorded and released an e-album of original recitations…
By Gord Follett As devastating as the pandemic has been on a global level, it has managed to introduce (push) more people to the safety of the wonderful outdoors – particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador – than ever before. Surely over the past 16 months or so you’ve noticed many of the thousands of social…
Do you remember the first toy you ever cherished? A while back, a letter from a reader in Downhome about his first teddy bear launched a months long conversation with other readers who wrote in about their most beloved childhood things. My Last Surviving Teddy None of my childhood toys remain. However, I still have a vintage…
Check out these Newfoundland-themed books for photographers, dog-lovers, gardeners and everyone in bewteen. Chasing Newfoundland Photographer Ray Mackey’s new book, Chasing Newfoundland, is perfect for the homesick loved one on your Christmas list. Enjoy this colourful collection that captures the spirit of “home” the beauty of outport coves, rugged coastlines and towering icebergs. Mackey’s photos are as…
By Tom Solomon In the August 2020 edition of Downhome, Paul Warford’s column, in talking of his non-Newfoundlander wife, closed with the line that “she was welcome before she even got here.” When I read that, I thought that there was the seed of an idea for a “Mom & Dad/Newfoundland” writing. But last fall didn’t…
By Denise Flint After the success of Son of a Critch, Mark Critch’s initial foray into autobiography, it’s no surprise that the popular entertainer has written a sequel. Picking up where the first book left off, the comedian and author has continued his story with An Embarrassment of Critch’s: Immature Stories from My Grown-Up Life. Told in a…
Robert Hunt shares his father’s firsthand account of being aboard the SS Kitty’s Brook when it was attacked during WWII. My father, Edward Hunt, an able seaman, was one many thousands of merchant marines who left St. John’s between 1939 and 1945 to battle the Germans on the Atlantic Ocean in the Second World War. On May…
A student of naval architecture was surprised to learn he was the latest in an esteemed boat-building lineage. By Nicola Ryan Hoist the sails and steer your imagination back in time to New Harbour, Trinity Bay, 220 years ago. Boats of all sizes crowd the shoreline and Charles Newhook, master shipbuilder, and his crew are…
Downhome’s gardening expert, Kim Thistle, answers common questions for fall gardeners.Do you have a question for Kim? email [email protected] What happens if you plant your fall bulbs (tulip, daffodils, crocus, etc) upside down? It is often difficult to know which side is up when it comes to fall bulbs. Crocus are one of the more…
Wendy Rose chats with the musician about his new album Shantyman – A Servant to the Song “My life in music has taught me that a song has the power to change the world… one mind at a time.” Séan McCann delivered this impressive line to an interview with Memorial University in 2014, and in…
