Newsletter #1

First, I’d like to thank you all for joining in my Substack newsletter. I’m hoping it will be a good way to communicate, away from the smoke and noise of social media. Thank you.

Please feel free to spread the word and share the link. The door’s open.

Weather

When my father was alive, he wrote to Milena and me every week, usually on paper, with a pen, in beautiful cursive. Every letter began with a weather report. In his honour, I’ll do the same and let you know that the snow is nearly all melted here on the Gulf Islands, the temperature is above freezing and it’s raining - the usual February coastal weather that induces virulent rot in all the stuff we’ve forgotten to cover up out in the yard. But the crocus stems are above ground and showing some colour - so what’s to kvetch, eh?

Music

As the calendar rolled towards to my 80th birthday here in 2025, I had started to think it was time to hang up the guitars and concentrate on weather reports and cooking, but the songs keep coming and the road beckons, so I’m back out there again, with solo concerts coming this Spring and some festivals onboard for next summer.

Here’s the rundown so far:

Saturday, April 5 - NANAIMO, Harbour CIty Concerts, 7:30 PM at the Unitarian Hall

Thursday, May 1 - TORONTO, Hugh’s Room Live, 8:00 PM, 296 Broadview

Friday, May 2 - STRATFORD, The Bunker Performance Lounge, 8:00 PM, 104 Wellington

Saturday, May 3 - DUNDAS, Community Concert, 8:00 PM at the Oddfellows Hall

Sunday, May 4 - LONDON, Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club, 7:30 PM at Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling

Tuesday, May 6 - PORT RYERSE, Community Concert w/ special guest, Dan Walsh, 7:30 at the Church

I’m considering extending the Ontario dates - if you’d like to do a house concert or community concert in the May 8-11 timeframe, just let me know.

I’d love to add more dates to the tour. It’s just me and a couple guitars, so the overhead and logistics are really simple. I don’t even need a PA for the smaller venues.

Festival announcements are forthcoming, but they’ve asked us to refrain from publishing anything until they roll out their lineups - coming soon.

And I’m writing songs again - feels good to be hammering the verses, polishing the choruses, finessing the changes. I’ve also rediscovered a couple old songs that still seem to have legs, so the 2025 set lists are definitely getting a revamp.

I’m also working on fiction writing - it’s a slog, but I’m starting to shape out a second volume of short stories, all based on songs I’ve written. It will be a companion to Fair Days, and I’m looking forward to doing some new readings at the upcoming live gigs.

Thanks for all the positive feedback on the fiction. Writing prose has been a life-changer - couldn’t have done it without your wonderful support.

Food

For the past couple years, I’ve been the food columnist for Island Arts Magazine and have enjoyed it immensely. I’ve shared recipes and cooking ideas - mostly in the Italian tradition - with readers across the country.

I plan to re-publish some of the Island Arts columns, but today I want to share a new recipe that I just came up with for today’s Sunday dinner. Milena is a great lover of walnuts, so I’m always trying to think of clever ways to include them. We toss them in salad, baking and pasta dishes all the time, but today I wanted to try something different.

Coscia de Pollo Milena

1. Start with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Soak them for overnight, or for at least an hour, in the marinade of your choice - I used EVOO, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, herbs, garlic, salt and paprika. Whatever you like or none at all.

2. Spread out the cut sides of the thighs on a plate and onto each piece place some walnuts, some mushrooms, a thin slice of cheese, and a couple leaves of something green - I used arugula because that’s what we have in the fridge. Dust with breadcrumbs and maybe a dash of dry seasoning.

3. Close the pieces, flip them over and wrap each piece in a slice of prosciutto. Place in a casserole/baking pan, with cut sides down.

4. Bake at 370 F for about 40 min - until your instant-read, poked into the centre of the largest piece, reads 160 F.

5. Serve and enjoy. We had it today with risotto, asparagus and green salad - plus albeit copious amounts of Rose`.

Views

Okay, team, I know we’re all preaching to choir these days - trying to keep our spirits up and our temper down - I’ll be brief - four quick points.

1. The best time I had in school was a poli sci course on Totalitarianism. Our text was Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism. She created a checklist for identifying when a people is moving in the direction of a totalitarian state. At the moment, it appears that the wounded land of my birth, just to our south, is checking all the boxes and heading in that direction.

2. The negative example in the States provides a compelling case for vigourously maintaining our principles of Canadian social democracy. Right now, we need to keep asking ourselves, “what would Tommy Douglas do?” and act accordingly. It’s a homily for Canada - we must not let it happen here.

3. In the early 1970’s, in the first Trudeau era, Canada had an opportunity to look east to Europe, rather than south to the US. Instead, especially under the leadership of Mulroney and Harper, we did indeed look south - with attendant benefits and costs. The present crisis in the world order presents a new and vital opportunity for Canada to become, rather than the 51st State, the 28th Member of the EU. It could happen.

4. Words to consider: “when the situation was serious, it was never desperate, and when it was desperate, it was never serious, “ - A. Metternich (Chancellor of Austria, 1821-1848)

That’s It

Let me know what you think of this newsletter. As Jimi Hendrix used to say, “feedback is a gift.”

Love to you all,

David