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Besserer Street, Ottawa |
I realize that in terms of working my way into the Niagara
literary scene, I’m doing myself no favours by continuously writing about
Ottawa. But having just returned from a three-day trip to our nation’s capital,
wherein virtually every waking hour was committed to visiting friends or
exploring favourite haunts, I feel compelled to share a few spoils.
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B&B |
We arrived late on Saturday, checked in with our bed and
breakfast, and then immediately set out for Genji take-out. They have the best
sushi downtown. We ordered as if we hadn’t eaten a bite over the six-hour drive.
At 7am, we awoke from our sushi-coma and dressed while a Claude Leveillee and
Andre Gagnon LP – probably the most famous (but still little-known) Quebecois jazz record of the 1960s –
played from the bedside. It sounds superfluous to prioritize retail-therapy over,
say, visiting Hog’s Back Park but there are some
things you simply cannot buy with ease in a small city: namely, lots of jazz
records (thank you, Jake & Mike at CD Warehouse) and, tragically, Irving Layton’s A Wild Peculiar Joy.
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CD Warehouse on St Laurent Blvd |
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(L-R) Craig Pedersen, Rolf Klausener, Pat Johnson & Adam Saikaley |
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Good green tea |
On Monday, we caught Ottawa-based writer Shane Murphy taking
the stage at Absolute Comedy’s Open Mic night. A comic, screenplay and Cable TV
writing machine, Mr Murphy’s set covered everything from lazy Nazis in his
apartment building to prostitutes he drove around during his stint as a city
bus driver. He was a highlight on a bill filled with impressive talents.
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Comic Shane Murphy |
We departed Tuesday morning, having done about a fifth of
the things we would’ve liked to but still finding time for a leisurely walk around Major's Hill Park. A big thanks to those we met this weekend who promote Ottawa’s ever-thriving
culture.
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Major's Hill Park, Tuesday morning |
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