By all accounts, last Thursday’s “Classical Music Under the Stars” event at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan was a memorable evening. The weather was perfect. Cooler than the daytime, but not so cold as to spark dreams of a bonfire. The evening air was redolent with the scent of fresh-baled hay. And the turnout was impressive, especially in these early days of post-Covid caution. While they had 59 paid admissions, informal audience counts ranged from 70 to 75. The latter included staff and some extremely well behaved and appreciative young offspring. Interestingly, when it came to ticket sales, non-members outnumbered members by nearly two to one.
The ‘star’ of the evening, though, was pianist Nicholas Deek. The young virtuoso delighted the audience with a program that included: Andante Spianato and the Raindrop Sonata by Frédéric Chopin; Beethoven’s Pastoral Sonata No. 15, in D Major, Op. 28 and Sonata Pathétique, No. 13, Op. 8; and Haydyn’s Sonata No. 5, in D Major. Sensing the appreciative audience’s love of classical music, in the second half of the evening, Nicholas also added a number of pieces not on the program, including an enchanting performance of Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2.
I have always held musicians in awe. To have a brain that can instruct each of the individual’s ten digits to perform a different task, often simultaneously, is astounding. And Nicholas’s mastery of his art is a perfect example. It was a privilege to hear him play. I look forward to being able, at some point down the chronological road ahead, to say “yes, I heard him when he played in Dunvegan.”
Give Macs a chance
While we’re in a museum frame of mind, it’s high time that I reported on the online fundraising auction that was held from July 7th to July 21st. As you may recall, a host of local craftspeople, artists and businesses donated goods and services to be sold on the silent auction block… a dual-purpose initiative that was designed to promote local shopping and support the museum. Thanks to their generosity, the auction raised $2,000 for the museum. Gwen Barrett, the summer student in charge of the event, told me that virtually every item sold for more than the suggested opening bid… some for much more, thanks to a bidding war.
I congratulate Gwen and her volunteer team on the auction results. However, I would like to point out a possible avenue to help the GPM do even better with future online auctions. When I tried to review this summer’s fundraiser, I found that the auction software the museum chose for their web site is not Mac-friendly. In other words, if you have a Macintosh IOS or OSX device (iPhone, iPad, Macbook or iMac), the auction pages do not display properly. Consequently, it was very frustrating to browse the items and place a bid. The net result is that an entire segment of prospective bidders were written off: Mac users.
To avoid this in the future, I would suggest that the auction site be tested on both the PC and Macintosh platforms before it goes live. Better yet, I would recommend pulling the plug on their auction plug-in and looking for an online fundraising auction web service. It would mean giving up a few points in auction fees, but I think the professional look, ease of use and guaranteed compatibility with all operating systems would more than make up for it. Not to mention the potential of fewer headaches.
VaxxPass update
I have more details on last week’s DIY craft project: producing your own vaccination passport. Before we get started though, the problem of receipt standardization has been solved thanks to a tip from Gwen Barrett from the Glengarry Pioneer Museum. It turns out that Ontario’s Covid-19 Vaccination Appointment Booking web site now offers official receipts. Just go to “covid19.ontariohealth.ca”, scroll to the bottom of the page, check off that you accept the terms of use and click “continue.” This takes you to an “Identity Verification” page where you enter your personal data. When you’ve done this and click continue, the next page has an option you can select to see — and download printable PDF copies — of your official Ontario vaccination receipts.
A word of caution though, the receipts come with an ominous sounding warning: “This document contains confidential information that is intended only for the named individual. Any unauthorized disclosure, copying, or distribution of the contents is strictly prohibited.” While some might interpret this to mean we mere mortals cannot copy the receipt. I disagree. The key here is that the information contained in the receipt belongs to the person identified on the document. If she or he wants to authorize its reproduction, that’s their right.
Using my official receipt as an example, I started by reducing it to the size of a standard wallet-sized card (2” x 3.5”) and pulling a test print. The result was way too small to be legible without a magnifying glass. So, I decided to increase the dimensions to that of a Canadian passport (3.5” x 5”). At this size, the text was readable, although to be fair, not generously so. The resultant print also conveniently fit a file card size (or some call it a photo size) laminating pouch: 3.5” x 5.5”. Terry and I happen to have a laminator from our communication business days and have ordered some pouches. If you don’t have a laminator handy, I’d suggest taking your receipt(s) to a local photocopy or office supply store. While my new Glengarry VaxxPass won’t fit in my wallet, I will be able tuck it into a shirt or jacket pocket… and between the pages of my real passport. Assuming we’re ever allowed to go anywhere again.
MacLeod’s MacPhotos
Admittedly, it didn’t hold a candle to the 1936 Clan MacLeod picnic when over 1,000 MacLeods and MacLeod-adjacent individuals gathered north of Dunvegan at the corner of Stewart’s Glen Road in Donald D. Macleod’s maple grove. Nevertheless, Sunday’s get-together at Allison MacLeod’s yellow house at the corner of Pendelton and County Road 24 was duly reported as being column worthy. However my stringer’s report was skimpy on detail, so I checked with Kennie and Annette MacLeod, Allison’s parents. I had suspected that the underlying reason for the gathering was some milestone event like clan matriarch Margaret MacLeod’s birthday. But I was wrong. According to Kennie, it was simply a time when the stars were aligned and almost the entire family could gather for a giant photo-op. I gather enough pictures were taken to have George Eastman, inventor of Kodak, turning in his grave.
In addition to Margaret, wife of the late Norman MacLeod, last weekend’s gathering included their three children — Kennie (Annette), Norma Mesman (Andrew) and Joyce Kane (Paul) — most of their children and their children’s wee bairn. No doubt all of the shots were precious to the takers, but Kennie tells me that the prize ones were of Margaret with her ten great grandchildren. Norma and Andrew contributed their three grandchildren. Joyce and Paul tossed in their two. And Kennie and Annette topped things off with their five ‘on the ground’ and one expected in September. Congratulations Margaret on such a perfect day of memories.
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