no samosas were harmed in the making of this blog – although many blueberries met their maker.

the people at the school are having dinner on the roof.

to-day was a normal day or what i would like a normal day to be. of course since it is so close to my leaving i was in a panic thinking that all days should be more significant.

as i was racing into town i passed jim racing to pouch. made a 360 –no problem on the roads here, to check to see if ange was at her desk yet.

hearing no, i raced into st. john’s could have gone more quickly if i weren’t following a car in which the driver and passenger were toking up. i get this whiff every once in a while of cannabis.

thinking i am going to take the mother road in a bit take it to portugal cove road and my usual parking spot in gower.

i am in a hurry but not so much that i cannot divert at rawlin’s cross to the georgetown bakery. in parking i am behind a person who is looking for yeast free bread, they sell wheat free bread and montréal bagels.

i have always hear of montréal bagels supposedly they put nyc bagels to shame. sheilagh rogers would gush over them as would mordicai richler. now i was going to have one.

looking over the shop i searched for the bagel of bagels and only found these misshapen things in baskets that looked like the bagel i used to make. couldn’t
be.

they were. ordered six plain bagels paid the $2.50 and left.

i thought they would be the moby dick of bagels humongous things that would weigh a ton. typical thinking prominent below the 49th.

i should have known better after having smaller fresh blueberries, and raspberries from the field that size isn’t important. i bit into it while i was driving down the monkstown road back to the gallery and almost had an accident. so tasty. i wolfed down two in the mile between the bakery and where i parked.

gave one to undrea and fearing that ange would be there left one on her desk. i couldn’t believe it they looked terrible – especially when one is used to factory everything, no two were alike but the taste. no hint of air no hint of chemicals i couldn’t stop.

i imagined myself giving up the life of a bayman and becoming a townie. if i lived in this area i would give up the view of the ocean but gain a great bakery, the duke, auntie craes when they haven’t run out of stock, i could have my samosa breakfast at the bagel, finally use the gift certificate to django’s and try the new afgan restaurant. if i moved downtown which would still be cheaper than peasants pissoir i could get a view of the narrows, signal hill and while it lasts – the bubble.

after posting the blog and heading over to tim’s with undrea, i headed out to butter pot park hoping to photograph the erratics that i had seen from the t.c.h.

took the old t.c.h. to the new t.c.h. to the off ramp. paid the $5.00 - $4.35 fee, 65¢
tax and asked the attendant how to get to the erratics.
-you must mean butter pot hill it is a 90 minute walk park next to space 53 and you’ll see the path.

it was a great walk, woods, wetlands, marsh, actually saw – and trampled on lichen, here on the rock you are actually walking on the earth’s plate, ponds, ponds and more ponds. this definitely wasn’t the east coast trail where at times it is hard to find the path. this was covered in the grey gravel that is everywhere. there were steps for the steep parts and when one couldn’t actually put down gravel boulders and smaller rocks segregated path from non path.

it was hot a bit of haze must be getting used to it as i carried on.

at the first look out i thought i hope that i am not heading up there. but i didn’t see the scenery that i saw from the road.

again i was alone, looking out all i saw of a peopled planet was newfoundland power lines in the distance and further than that the strip of the transcanada. kept rising until sure enough i was on the tolt with inukshuks leading the way. the goal was a giant pile of rocks that seemed to be made by everyone who made it added one. some were painted some had dates. even below the summit i could see the opposite side of conception bay, up to – i am guessing – brigus. saw holyrood, and its gas towers, the electric plant, bell island the bell island tickle portugal cove. behind me were woods and ponds. at the top it was even better.

obviously this wasn’t what i was looking for so to get even with the province, i started eating the blueberries – even tastier than those on the southern shore.

it was remarkable that on the trail i met no one a reminder on how empty the province is away from the capital and when off the avalon people are a rarity. back at the caravan park i only saw two people having lunch on their table.

headed west on the trans canada where i found the spot that i was looking for. parked on the verge a bit and went for a short walk to make snaps of the erratics strewn on the land.

following mike’s advice i took the witless bay line to see what was on it. it seemed like the type of road robert frank would travel when making the americans. at the transanada on ramp there was a full car park. further down in a field there was a caravan. further down the road there were cabins on the road for no reason that i could see – no ponds only bogs.

went to see what was for sale down the typical rocky road. a cabin complete with the door a good 2 metres off the ground. pass. no view simply secluded.

the high point was the caravan park where half of them were old buses, again in a landscape with no redeeming qualities.

drank a gallon of water at the north atlantic gas bar at route 10 as i braced myself for the return via the goulds.

it was time for the fisheries broadcast on radio one it is the only time that i miss the radio, thought that it would be more of a problem but with most of the people i know on holiday and programming in summer mode, i only crave the fisheries.

same trip as yesterday following yet again cars that were going 20 under the limit. this time i stopped at a closed convenience with a classic coke sign. in petty harbour knocked on peter and julia’s door. it seems that they have to work, no one home – but everything open.

this close to cape spear i had to make it as far east as possible, on the road saw signal hill and the entrance to the narrows found it hard to believe that st. john’s was so close. also wanted to find the spot where they filmed rare birds, the lot was there the building wasn’t.

best line of the day – so how far is terra nova 45 minutes? almost crashed again.
-translations
-u.s. so how far is boston from here in new york 45 minutes?
-rest of canada – so crossing manitoba takes what 45 minutes?

back in town with a globe but with the gallery still open went in to check e-mail – found the bagel that i had left for ange on her desk still - and see if jim was up for a pint.
left
asked undrea we headed for the grapevine – but not before i looked in at the duke.
again it was culture shock here was someone who actually had a work ethic someone who was trying to produce and thought about what she was producing. heard from jim that quite a few people at the school were actually making work and not making excuses for not making work or having grand designs for making work.

was invited to the combined david marshak opening party and the good luck in toronto party for andrea cooper next friday until she remembered

the best time of the evening was when perry – who must own or run the grapevine. produced this box that he was going to throw out. he gave a set of pencils left there to undrea and then went through everything else in the box – all clothing which all belonged to her including the black lace knickers. the mind boggles. have i been frequenting the wrong bar all this time?

showing the true sickness of artists here, she actually went back to her studio to work. i headed over to the duke – the quiet duke – roz behind the bar – someone who i think i know who it was being too noisy i got a pint and took out my globe to read.

convincing article on why not to vote for kerry, briefly who is he except not bush – and in his policies concerning iraq he is identical. how long is he going to live off past war glories – wait a minute i was against that war – and tell us what he is going to do.

i sense a slaughter of dukakis proportions.

note to self memorise the ode.

before heading back to pouch i headed over to jim and angela’s to yell at her. translating from the bayman it was more or less – you female out of wedlock dog, i know i missed your defecating party and i am sorry but what was wrong with the intercoursing bagel.

she hadn’t been in to the gallery at all to-day.
gave her a bagel – i ate the one i left her.
finished the last one just outside shoe cove.