Thamesview Farms

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Last evening (Thursday) the local Beefsteak and Burgundy wine club (St Marys Stonetown #227) held it's annual summer event outside at the home of Derek and Amy on the grounds of Thamesview Farms overlooking the Thames River here in St Marys. Our president Claire is pictured, the album contains some photos of the location, some of our guests and the servers. I am a current member and past president.

Stonetown is a men's club, originally formed by Pierre after a sabbatical visit to Australia many years ago, but tonight we had wives, partners and invited guests attending. Kate was feeling a bit tough and couldn't go; I took a mutual friend in her place. I'm told we had over 50 in attendance. Usually our meetings are around 24 devoted pissants (or sometime wine connoisseurs). Some events are just tastings, this event was a much more than a tasting with hors d'oeuvres, a full meal and dessert complemented by wine at every course.

Our wine steward Jere selected an interesting flight of wines to explore starting with a Spanish bubbly (Segura Viudas Cava Brut, LCBO #216960), moving on to a Spanish white (Paco & Lola Albariño, Vintages #35004), then a Cote du Rhone (E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône, Vintages #259721) and finishing with a light Italian frizzante (Batasiolo Bosc D'la Rei Moscato D'Asti DOCG, LCBO #277194). As always there was plenty to drink and good food to share. Some of the dishes were from local produce from Derek and Amy's farm — pasture raised beef rand maple syrup in the dessert. The chef, Eli Silverthorne, who has done this other years, did another stellar job — preparing on site and away from his kitchen must be difficult.

A good time was had by all and the weather held for us. It had been threatening rain all day and even misted a bit while we arrived. But it cleared to become another beautiful night in a lovely location.

Ps. These photos (mostly from my Canon T6i and my cell phone) have been augmented with some taken with my Nikon F4S film camera. I have C41 film developed locally but I scan it.

Case Study - MWQ Transport

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In 1969, when I would have been 17 years old and in grade 11 at the old OSCVI school in Owen Sound, I took a course on "Business Organization" with a Mr. DeBoer. Part of the requirements for the course was to do a case study of some business. I chose to do it on my father's business — Maurice Quinton & Sons Transport — which operated out of our home in the village of Walter's Falls in Grey County, Ontario. I recall that I did very well on this assignment, mostly because I followed the guide we were given — organize it this way, cover these issues, include this material, etc.

My father squirreled this report away and it came into my hands as part of his estate and papers when he passed away (1914-2012). Yesterday Kate discovered the single copy of the report while cleaning up her files. Today I've scanned the document as a series of pictures; they are a somewhat hard to read as the paper has yellowed and the ink has faded. But here they are, warts an all (many spelling mistakes), with Mr. DeBoer's comments in red. Someday I hope to restore the text and will share that. For now, the images will have to do.

I have written before on dad's company, e.g., see blog entry "Maurice Quinton & Sons Transport" (2021). If you dig around my blog you'll find lots more about my family.

March Forth!

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Tuesday, March 4, is another nation wide 50501 protest. We are at the Texas Capitol and it's our last day in Austin before heading home on Wednesday. We gather to protest the current administration and "March Forth Against Fascism".

We took an Uber to the event and left our cameras at home. These pictures are from our cell phones. I was worried/hopeful that the protest might descend into a riot. There were lots of news reporters and photographers there — I even asked one fellow if he'd share his photos with us. There wasn't a riot although there was some talk about guns and the right for protestors to "bear arms" even there at the state capitol. Not a path I'd want to take.

There is some awareness of the threats and insults 47 has made against Canada — tariff wars, border disputes, threats of annexation, 51st state, "governor Trudeau", etc. I talked with one fellow who had a sign about the tariff dispute, identified myself as Canadian, and discovered his partner was Canadian as well!

Friday past was the disastrous televised White House meeting with President Zelensky (see NPR Report) where Putin's Puppets made it clear where they stand — they don't stand for democracy and treat Ukraine as an extortion opportunity (give us your rare earth minerals, we'll give you up to Putin). The history of cease fire violations by Putin was not something 47 & Vance would hear. The idea that you cannot have a cease fire without security guarantees was a notion that these puppets would not let Zelensky argue. They seemed to have no awareness of the Budapest Memorandum (1994) where Russia, the UK and USA promised to protect UA sovereignty in exchange for giving up nuclear arms. So much for security guarantees. They didn't even seem to understand that this war started in 2014 (Trump thought the annexation of Crimea was 2015, Vance corrected him). The event was an embarrassment but there are many who still side with 47 and Putin. GOP OMG WTF! It was a terrible day for us made all the worse by the news that a dear friend Don had passed away back home in hospice care back in Canada.

There were lots of Ukraine flags; someone was giving out sun flowers (a UA emblem); and I wore my MUGA T-shirt — Make Ukraine Great Again. A popular MAGA translation at this event was "Morons Are Governing America". There were some of the same speakers from the last 50501 protest. A good sized crowd came but we wished there were more. There were some great signs, check the photos above.

After about an hour of people gathering and listening to speeches we marched down Congress. Kate and I trailed the group and, with our aged injuries, could not keep up. It was a very windy day and our hats and signs kept getting blown away. There was quite a large police presence in cars, on bikes and motor bikes, and, ominously leading up the rear, a group on horse back. Fortunately the police presence wasn't required; no riot ensued.

Can it get any worse? Well, yes it can get worse. And apparently it will get worse. We are distressed to see this sad state of affairs in a place where we have so many fine memories. 

BMI Songwriters Series

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Down Lamar, a short distance from our long stay in Austin, is the iconic Saxon Pub. They have several shows each evening from 6:00pm until late (even earlier on the weekend). We've been there many times and keep coming back. It's a short Uber ride to the pub, if we were younger and braver we might ride our bikes (we did years ago), but there's no parking at the pub or nearby so Uber is our best bet.

One of the regular live music events at the Saxon is the BMI Songwriters Series held from 6:00-7:30 on the first Monday of every month. This is a free event, no tickets are required and they don't pass the tip jar. Instead artists are sponsored by their music publisher — BMI Texas. We were here back in February and had first discovered the event in March 2024 (there's more to read there). It's an event we really enjoy in an environment where people listen attentively to the music. It's not well attended, but should be.

Tonight the first three artists are Keith Davis, Mallory Eagle, and Bobby Murray. They each get to play three songs and, after a short break, they are followed by Sachin (of Sachin and the Porch), Drew Harakal and Ty Dillon. Mostly this is a guitar song swap but Mallory and Bobby had rehearsed a song together. Drew through in a few fancy guitar licks for Ty. They were all accomplished musicians at home with their music.

These are signed artists with BMI. Some have published music (and albums); all are thankful for the royalty cheques they receive. Keith Davis lives in Buda, a suburb south of Austin, and sang some very sad tunes which I really enjoyed. Mallory Eagle is from Oklahoma and has several albums out with a new one, "Neon Waltz", just released (see her YouTube channel) — she's pretty authentic country. Bobby Murray is a young fellow from the north east and is dressed the part; he tells us that he actually works on a local Texas farm. Sachin is a performer who has been kicking around Austin for a while with his band "Sachin and the Porch" (see their YouTube channel). Tonight he's solo. Drew Harakal comes from Fort Worth and is a pretty intense performer. He has released several albums — see his YouTube page. Ty Dillon is a big guy, very funny. I recall him singing a drinking song about tequila. Check out his YouTube page.

There is an interesting documentary, Saxon Pub: Saving Texas’ Historic Live Music Venue, on YouTube that tells the story how this iconic bar was saved. Up and down Lamar developers of multi-story condominiums have pushed out small bars like the Saxon. How close they came to being yet another victim and how they were saved is an interesting story.

The Resentments

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Sunday, we went to see "The Resentments" at the Saxon Pub  — one of our last music events as we head home on Wednesday. This is a ticketed event, a regular event (a residency for years now) and we get a table near the stage. 

I understand that one of the "rules" for the "The Resentments" is that the players should just come and perform without rehearsals, without a set list. They have been playing together for years so they know the tunes and can easily follow the rules.

We had been here a few weeks earlier on our trip but this was special as Jeff Plankenhorn was also here. Tonight the band consists of Bruce Hughes (bass), Scrappy Jud Newcomb (guitar), Jeff Plankenhorn (guitars and mandolin), and John Chipman (drums). Miles Zuniga, who Gord wanted to see, wasn't there. I've since discovered he's on holidays in Europe.

Most of the songs came from the front row of Bruce, Scrappy and Jeff. However, John Chipman did a couple of songs: "Just a Step" (by the Resentments from "Switcheroo", 2008)  which he often does with the Purgatory Players on Sunday mornings and "Already Gone" (by Slaid Cleaves from "Ghost on the Car Radio", 2017). Both worked very well with his gravelly voice. I had been in conversation with John trying to get my hands on "Just a Step" and found a copy of Switcheroo on Amazon — luckily as it's long out of print.

At the first Resentments event we attended, a month or so ago (February 9), they joked about No. 47 (aka Agent Kraznov, Don the Con, The Commander and Thief, and more) claiming Canada as the 51st state and suggested that their friend Jeff should be the governor. Jeff is an American but has a connection to Canada living with his wife, who is Canadian, on Vancouver Island. I found this joking around disturbing and deeply insulting. The tariff wars the current administration has unleashed are an awful betrayal and a real threat to Canadian sovereignty.  As a result I had a conversation with John over Facebook Messenger and again this very morning at the Purgatory Players.

We are distressed that people, especially musicians, do not take recent events seriously. While everyone seems to be against what's happening and nobody claims to have voted for him the attitude seems to be that things will return to normal in a couple of years with the Democrats taking back the congress at the mid-terms. We worry that the democracy will not survive that long. 

This isn't a matter of petty politics, what's happening in Washington is morally wrong! Everyone needs to speak up; to be silent is to be complicit.

Tesla Takedown

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Yesterday, Saturday March 1, we were at a "Tesla Takedown" protest in San Antonio and met up with our friends from Blanco. We gathered with several hundred on the IH 10 service road in front of the Tesla showroom/dealership and protested from 2-4pm. This is an international movement to put pressure on Elon Musk where it hurts most. Our protest met with broad support from many passing by (honking, thumbs up, waving, etc.). See  Tesla Takedown Campaign and What to know about the #TeslaTakedown movement targeting Elon Musk and DOGE (Feb 28, 2025).

We do not agree with the chain saw tactics of an unelected billionaire, no mater what his intentions, empowered by Don the Con from Mara-Lardo with a pseudo department. DOGE is not empowered by Congress, Elon Musk is not a cabinet director reviewed and approved by the Senate, his minions in DOGE are not auditors — they're young hackers gleefully wrecking institutions built to protect the vulnerable. The auditors who were in place in the many agencies, the Inspector Generals, were put there by Congress to perform that role and have the ability and training to fill that role.  DOGE does not. The IGs were illegally fired by "He who cannot be named" without cause to give Musk and DOGE the room to do their damage. See The Significance of Firing Inspectors General: Explained (Jan 31, 2025).

This country is no longer a democracy, it's a Broligarchy of the filthy rich who care little for anyone other than themselves. The damage done will not be so easily undone. So much for "American Exceptionalism". For those who voted for this; we hope you're happy with what you got. What's the price of eggs?

We head home shortly, not a moment too soon. Apparently tariff wars begin Tuesday.

Jerry Jeff Walker

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It's nearing the end of our trip to Austin and with one No. 47 WTF daily moment after another it's pretty clear that the place we've loved so much has turned into something bitter and ugly. We probably will never return; or not until sanity returns. And that will takes years.

Today we remember why we first came to Texas. It was for the music. And Jerry Jeff Walker especially. There are so many songs he did that we've enjoyed so, as a right of passage, we visit his grave. 

Jerry Jeff  is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas. His plot is located in the Statesman's Meadow, Section 1, Row E, Number 24. He passed away on October 23, 2020, in Austin during the first wave of the Covid epidemic — a reality No 45 could not gas light away.

We've passed by the cemetery in east Austin so many times since first coming to Texas back in the 1990's but have never stopped in. It's a hero's cemetery and a JJW is a deserved Texas hero. We enter through the visitors center and tell the guide, oddly a Canadian too, why we're there. She shows us where to find the grave.

At the grave we have our picture taken by others who are visiting other Texas heros.

My favorite JJW album is "A Man Must Carry On" (1977). We had the pleasure of seeing him a couple of times over the years. Notably at the El Macombo in Toronto (1982). The last time we saw him he was a guest at Ray Wylie Hubbard's 70th Birthday Bash (2016) at the Paramount in Austin (that was quite an event, but I haven't written it up). 

See also my Jerry Jeff Walker blog (2020) on his passing.