Given that today is April Fool’s Day, I thought I’d start by skimming across the history of this long-standing tradition.
One of the earliest known written references to April Fool’s Day can be found in a 1561 collection of poems and songs by the Flemish poet Eduard De Dene entitled Testament Rhetoricael. It includes a poem about a nobleman who — on April 1 — sends his servant back and forth on a series of farcical errands. The poem’s late-medieval Dutch title is “Refereyn vp verzendekens dach / Twelck den eersten April te zyne plach.” While my medieval Dutch is a little rusty, Alex Boese, author of the April Fool’s page on the fascinating hoaxes.org web site, claims it can be translated roughly as: “Refrain on fool’s errand-day / which is the first of April.”
In these litigious times, I’m not even certain that the April Fool’s Day tradition is still alive and well. I can see school boards far and wide outlawing any such shenanigans for fear of being sued. April Fool pranks could well create an “unsafe” learning environment and cause irreparable damage to a student’s fragile sense of self-worth.
However, back in the days when I went to an institute of lower learning, the observance of April Fool’s Day was de rigueur. And woe was you if you lost track of the date. Your only hope was to evade being noticed by your schoolmates until after the official April Fool cut-off time of 12 noon. I wondered if my recollection of April Fool pranks being time sensitive was a universal phenomenon… or if it was unique to my old school. Once again Mr. Boese came to the rescue.
On his wonderful April Fool’s FAQ page, Mr. Boese writes, “Although there’s no known record of this rule [pranks can only be perpetrated until twelve o’clock noon] having been explicitly articulated outside of English-speaking countries, it’s nevertheless widely observed, for a practical reason. People are more likely to be fooled in the morning, when they might not remember what day it is. As the day progresses, they’ll wise up, and pranks against them have a higher chance of failing.”
I have no idea (yet) how Dunvegan, Ontario celebrated April Fool’s Day in the past. But in the real Dunvegan, and the rest of Scotland, the event lasts two days. The 1st of April is Hunt-the-Gowk Day (“gowk” is Scots for “cuckoo”), and the 2nd of April is Taily Day. I’m told that the focus of Taily Day involves pranks aimed at people’s bottoms. Which could be the origin of the ever-popular “Kick Me” gag.
Before we leave this topic, I wanted to tell you about one April Fool hoax I came across in my travels. In fact, it’s number six on a list of the top 100 hoaxes ever. It took place in 1976 during an early-morning BBC Radio interview with a renowned astronomer. The scientist told listeners that, at 9:47 AM, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event would take place. Because of an unprecedented alignment of Pluto and Jupiter, the effect of gravity on Earth would be greatly lessened. He went on to tell the audience that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment the alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. Just after 9:47, the BBC switchboard was flooded with calls from listeners claiming to have felt semi-weightless. One woman even reported that she had floated around the room. And that’s no joke.
Crokinole right on the button
Last Sunday’s e-mailbox was a place of joy. Not only did I get a list of facts about last Friday’s Crokinole Party at the Hall, DRA President, Ben Williams, sent me a full report. This allows me to cut out the middleman and give you a first-hand account. This is how Ben summed up the action.
“Here is the rundown of the Crokinole party last night. It was as usual a great event and was well attended with quite a few new faces that have never been to a DRA event before.
We had about 40 people for the pizza supper and social hour. Our mystery entertainer for the event, Steve Merritt, brought along a few banjos and guitars and offered up some great music for the kids to dance to and the adults to stomp their feet and clap their hands. He even brought along a few dancing puppets that danced along with his playing of the harmonica. The kids were mesmerized!
The tournament started just after 7:00 with eight tables and we played until about 8:00 when the taffy was served up to everyone’s delight. We then had another musical interlude from Steve while we enjoyed the sweets with a bag of popcorn.
The evening came to a close with a four-way tie for first place. The sudden death playoff saw the following people win: 1. Jack Suter; 2. Alyson Graham; 3. Tyler Pritchard.
The kids were all sent home with gift bags stuffed with treats to keep the sugar buzz going after all the taffy. It was also great to see everyone lend a hand at the end of the night to help put away all the tables and chairs and give the hall a quick sweeping.
A big thank-you to Kim Brooks for organizing the loot bags and supplies, Vivian Franklin and Karine and Brianna Speuhler for their expertise and help in the kitchen keeping everything running smoothly and slaving over the taffy on snow. Sean Burgess for organizing the pizza, and of course Steve Merritt for the wonderful entertainment.”
Dunvegan Soccer Saved!
As you may recall, for the past month or so, the Dunvegan Soccer Program has been desperately looking for someone to replace our long-time rep at the Glengarry Soccer League; Kenny MacLeod.
It quickly became obvious that, for this year at least, filling Kenny’s shoes would be a two-person job. Bob Linney had already agreed to attend the GSL meetings, but his day job and responsibilities as chair of the Municipal Recreation Advisory Committee did not allow him to co-ordinate the on-field details of the Dunvegan program.
Luckily, Mona André from the northeast corner of the Dunvegan crossroads has stepped up and volunteered to help. I’m told Ben will be meeting with Kenny, Bob and Mona to go over the details as soon as possible. He also looks forward to introducing Mona at the next DRA Executive Committee meeting this coming Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 PM. Well done, Monica and Bob!
Breakfast Menu Expanded
Organizers have alerted me to the fact that the menu for this spring’s fund-raising breakfast at the Kenyon Presbyterian Church in Dunvegan has been expanded. This year, fresh fruit will be added to the smorgasbord of culinary delights. Don’t forget, the event is scheduled for Saturday, April 25th from 8 – 10 AM.
GPM AGM… second notice
I promised you more details on the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s Annual General Meeting and Potluck Supper to be held Friday, April 17th. The evening event will start at 6:00 with a “Social Hour” which is in fact only a half-hour. The dinner gong will ring at 6:30 sharp for folks to line up at the potluck buffet table. The AGM will follow at 7:00. It will include the election of the Museum’s Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, a year-end review and a presentation of the 2015 budget. As well, the AGM will feature Dane Lanken’s talk on “Life and Times of Velma Franklin” and the presentation of a Pioneer Award to Harold MacMillan.
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