After 350 years as a corporation, the Hudson Bay Company is dead. They raced to the bottom with their goods becoming worse by the year, until they were as cheaply made as goods from Walmart; but Wally World endures, basically a Chinese Factory Outlet. Far be it for me to explain how the economy works, when the “leader of the free world” has no clue! All I can do is write a song about it.
Polar bear hunting on the ice of Hudson Bay (photo B. Inaglory)
The Hudson Bay Company began in 1670 after Sieur des Grosselliers convinced Prince Rupert of England that he could get rich by trading into Hudson Bay and the great hinterland of the Canadian Shield, which was rich beyond dreams with fur bearing creatures just waiting to be skinned and made into hats.
Better yet, watch this amazing film about building a replica of the Nonsuch, in England, in 1968 for the 300th anniversary of the founding of the company.
In March 1925, one hundred years ago this month, the Victoria Cougars hockey team won the Stanley Cup, beating the Montreal Canadiens in 4 games. I wrote a song about that, and made a video to go with it. Link is at the bottom, but please read on before viewing!
Hockey is, of course, the national sport of Canada and we love it so much that what happened a century ago is still important to us. I expect that has a lot to do with the fact that hockey is not only the fastest game, but also the roughest and hardest to master – requiring one to know how to skate and handle a puck at the end of a long stick, while moving on ice at high speed, and avoiding being clobbered by others moving equally fast.
Typical Canadian winter day
So we have a natural advantage here, winter, that provides us with ample opportunity to learn how to skate as children playing outside on ice will do. Victoria doesn’t have winter anymore, at least with outdoor ice, but we still have lots of arenas and skaters. One hundred years ago the climate was colder here, and even the west coast had frozen lakes and ponds. The first indoor artificial ice arena in the world was built right here in Victoria BC! The song tells the story of the battle for the Stanley Cup, which was epic even then.
The Stanley Cup is the oldest sports trophy in the world, and was donated by Lord Stanley, Governor General of Canada. Now it belongs to the NHL, not by law but by dint of the fact that possession is ownership, or as they say, 9 tenths of the law. But the Cup will be returning here to Victoria soon, to celebrate the historic victory of the Cougars a century ago, before the Cup became the sole property of the NHL.
1993 Montreal Canadiens – last team from Canada to win the Stanley Cup
Of course the fact that the Cup has not been won by a Canadian based team since the Montreal Canadiens last won it a generation ago remains a sore point for Canadians, since we all consider the Cup to be our national property. Thus we remember when two great Canadian teams battled for it long ago.
Howie Morenz – the first hockey star
A word about one of the players, Howie Morenz, the first “star” of pro hockey, in the day before stardom was as degenerated as it is now. He was known as the Stratford Streak, the fastest, highest scorer of his day. He inspired two pro teams in fact, the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers, after their respective founders saw him in action and decided that they would bring pro hockey to their own cities. Morenz is today considered the 15th greatest player of all time. Quite the accolade!
In truth, the main interest I have in Morenz is the fact that my father, born in Montreal March 18, 1918, exactly 107 years ago today, caddied for Howie Morenz at a golf course one day as a teenager. So my Dad met the great Morenz, making me only 2 degrees removed from greatness…
And now, hockey fans, here is the soon-to-be-greatest hockey song of all time, “One Hundred Years Tonight”.
Last year I wrote this song for my son who was going off to New York on business. His business took him to the Trump Tower on Wall Street, although he said the office there was small and mostly used for the prestige. He didn’t mention the heavily armed guards at the doors. Is that for show, I wonder? Recent events led me to record the song properly, and somehow it seemed to say a lot about how Canadians are feeling, although I never intended it that way. Was I prescient? Well, I never thought they would elect you know who twice! To all my American friends – Canada will endure this, as you will. Don’t despair, it could get worse, and you’ll always have Putin on your side if we invade!
I found this invitation in an old book of Kipling’s Songs. 97 years old and looks brand new. My Dad used to say “are you waiting for an engraved invitation or what?”. Well, now I know what he meant. This is from a world that is long gone, and I miss it. Especially the carriages at 11.45 pm. The good news is that the Masonic Hall and the old Grammar School are still there in Uddingston, a small Scottish town near Glasgow, by the River Clyde. There is a new Grammar School however, so no idea what the old one is now used for. The Masons are still meeting in their hall, from what I discovered.
The Old Grammar School
Meanwhile, here in Victoria BC, we are busy tearing down everything in sight in order to build more apartments, like the Soviet Union. Nobody can stop the government mandate for housing quotas. This is how governments react in knee jerk fashion to the fact that housing prices have gone through the roof and no one can afford to buy or rent, unless they are rich or have a very high paid job. Not like the days when I bought a house for 2 years salary, with a few thousand down. Today, we are facing reno-viction by a public housing corporation, no less. Townhouses, the “missing middle” are suddenly not good enough, so they too will fall to the wrecker’s ball and be replaced with a large apartment block. Welcome to the Orwellian future.
The Masonic Lodge
Well, all this peeves me greatly, but all I can do is gripe and write songs about it. Here’s the latest one, called Modern Day Blues. Every word is true.
If you’re wondering what has happened to this blog, fear not, I have been hard at work writing and recording songs of late, among other things. The typewriter collection is down to a mere 57 machines as I slowly sell them off to new enthusiasts just beginning their their typing odysseys. Selling typewriters is a great way to meet interesting people! However, I am no longer buying typewriters for the moment, although that may change when there are only a few left! I need only one with which to write the current novel on, but that is also stalled due to the switch to songwriting. My typewriter is right here beside me though, and whenever I get going again I will complete this book. Here is a musical excerpt from the book, where the hero goes to see the gypsy Madame Zora for the 2nd time.
All Saint’s Day/The Gypsy
As if that ain’t enough, here is my Christmas song for 2024. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
Several weeks ago I found this old postcard at a thrift store. The message was so fascinating that I wrote a song about it, called “Post Cards”, changing the name of Herby to Paul for the sake of the rhyme. A week or two later I returned to the store to find an Olivetti Lettera 22. Later when I got it home I noticed that on the outside of the case, written in faded ballpoint, was the name of the owner; Emilia of the post card! The typewriter is interesting, with Italian accented vowels that do not show on the key tops. Keys 2, 3 & 4 shifted are a, i & e with back-sloped accent marks. The other two vowels u & o are clearly marked on their respective keys.
Emilia’s typewriter, with the picture postcard from Herby
I recently wrote a song entitled “What Were You Thinkin?” about a stolen Lincoln. The best picture I could find on line was this:
Internet search result
I wanted something closer to what I imagined the stolen Lincoln would look like, so I consulted Microsoft Co-Pilot, and it generated this montage, complete with the lawn and a trailer home; much closer to what I was thinkin! So far I haven’t asked for Co-Pilot to put a baseball team inside the car, but that might be interesting…
Microsoft AI generated image
Here is a clip of the first verse and chorus from my demo, recorded on a cell phone. I was using the camera to record video when I did this one, but I have switched to using Dolby On, a free app that produces surprisingly good quality audio recordings.
(G) It gets 3 miles a (E7) gallon and the (A7) steering (D7) sucks (G) But the trunk is as (E7) big as a (A7) pickup (D7) truck It (C) corners worse than a (G) Greyhound (E7) bus Takes (A7) premium gas and it’s (D7) riddled with rust The (C) seats are torn and they’re (G) growing (E7) mould It’s a (A7) colour combination of (D7) brown and gold You can (C) fit a baseball (G) team (E7) inside It’s the (Am) same old (D7) heap in which (G) Kennedy died
(G) What were you (C) thinkin’ (C) When you stole my (G) Lincoln (G) Last night it was (A7) parked on the lawn (A7) But this (D7) morning it was gone (D7) What were you (C) thinkin’ (D7) When you stole my (G) Lincoln
nathanguitars 