Prince George B.C Part 2

So picture this! Having slowed the pace of life down after a few days in Prince George, my mind turned to the book of 'thoughts' that I've been asked to consider writing. I decide to make my bed first though and lean over the bed to straighten a sheet, or something, both feet off the ground. As I bring my feet down I here a crack and instantly remember that I left my laptop on the floor the evening before. My quick prayers of protection for my link with the outside world go unheeded as I survey the damaged screen, the air is blue for a while. Ultimately this stupid act will cost me $800 to fix and its not a good start to the bookMy time in Prince George has been wonderful apart from the fact that I'm known to some here as the 'laptop dancer'! I have stayed at the home of my good friend's Dave and Maureen Faulkner on the banks of the Nechako river and for me it doesn't get much better than this in terms of company or scenery. It's just drop dead beautiful here, the usual wildlife is around and bears, dear, moose, fox and beaver have all said 'hi' at various stages. Last Saturday was 'Canada Day' here which is a big national holiday here. I played a gig at a place called 'Hubble Farm', a kind of cute museum place that depicts life in the past in rural Canada. When I'm shown where the gig is I presume there is a mistake as the barn has sheep in it and stinks! The gig is in the barn, but upstairs, where I'm happy to say the smell didn't seem half so bad and in fact was forgotten. What was apparent was the noise from the generator that ran the PA system but even that was moved a few hundred yards away so all was well. The gig itself was cool and despite my first misgivings it was nice to play on Canada day in such a unique setting. Other gig's here have been two house concerts that were great fun. These are very intimate affairs whereby around 40-50 folk gather in a house, bring a bit of food and drink and listen to some music. Its great to see all the shoes piling up at the front door, a bit like a gig in the sixties! I have been making a lot of new friends here tooPrince George is becoming like a second home right now and wandering around down town I keep bumping into folk that have been at the concerts in the last 14 months or so, its great. More highlights this time have included attending the opening of the new Prince George Art Gallery (more on that in a moment) and spending some time with Martin and Gillian Daburger. They live next door to Dave and Maureen and Martin files helicopters amongst other things so it had to be done. Now last year I flew on a chopper into the Grand Canyon and I thought that was good. Martin gave me the flight of a life time over the forests and rivers, at one point I thought I might need to use the little brown bag but got through it. It was a truly amazing experience, spying on bears in the bush and rushing down rivers on which the day before I had drifted peacefully in a canoe. A few night s earlier we had dinner at Martin's house and ended the evening by hitting golf balls across the Nechako skillfully avoiding the odd sailing by. Great timesI have done so much stuff here but space will not allow me to write it all up. I'm very grateful for the kindness of so many who seem to have taken me to their hearts and given so much. I do want to mention something here though about a piece of art that Maureen has just presented at the new art gallery. Maureen is a hugely talented artist and someone I have to come to admire and love. The piece that she presented for the opening of the gallery is called 'Freighter' and it is truly moving. For me it's a communal gathering of dreams and disappointments that are linked in a special way though many of those involved will never meet. Maureen asked a lot of folk to send her something that meant something to them, for whatever reason, to be included within the piece and as you can see from the picture the result is pretty spectacular. I'm going to let Maureen say a bit more about it now. I leave for Victoria tomorrow for the Comox festival on Vancouver Island, more updates soon. Thanks for reading, hope you get a glimpse of the journeyI have done so much stuff here but space will not allow me to write it all up. I'm very grateful for the kindness of so many who seem to have taken me to their hearts and given so much. I do want to mention something here though about a piece of art that Maureen has just presented at the new art gallery. Maureen is a hugely talented artist and someone I have to come to admire and love. The piece that she presented for the opening of the gallery is called 'Freighter' and it is truly moving. For me it's a communal gathering of dreams and disappointments that are linked in a special way though many of those involved will never meet. Maureen asked a lot of folk to send her something that meant something to them, for whatever reason, to be included within the piece and as you can see from the picture the result is pretty spectacular. I'm going to let Maureen say a bit more about it now. I leave for Victoria tomorrow for the Comox festival on Vancouver Island, more updates soon. Thanks for reading, hope you get a glimpse of the journeyMusings from Maureen, moments with Martyn's companions in cyber spaceFREIGHTER is an installation response to a small drawing by an important Canadian artist, EJ Hughes. As an invited artist, working in a group show to honour the new art gallery, I was attracted to the theme of the exhibition, Making Connections. The drawing that was mine to reference showed a freighter in a protected harbour, packaged by the land, floated on the seas that link all of us on planet Earth, and holding cargo that remains largely unknown to us. As a result of my interest in bamboo scaffolding as used builders in the far east, packaging and precious objects I was able to realize a large construction with the help and knowledge of my collaborator/husband Dave. Letters to friends, from far and wide and from ages 3 to 87, requested objects to be mailed to me so that I could include them in the 154 packages that make up the overall height of 14 feet by 10 feet. If you want more information, call Martyn. He's seen it and he owns a copy of the book that goes with the art. Cheers from Maureen