Life In The Fast Lane

I have to admit that for the last several days, I felt like a very important person.  The week of September 10 - 14 had been filled with high profile meetings, photo ops, welcome speeches, and presentations.  I'm surprised that I still had time to prepare classes and mark assignments.

        

The week started off with a guitar/songwriting workshop with Dave Gunning, a well known Canadian Folk/Celtic singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia.  Since 1997, he has released 9 albums, received two Canadian Folk Music Awards, and received a Juno Award nomination.  He is well known for incorporating storytelling in his music.  He had come to Iqaluit to perform his music at Nakasuk Middle School on September 8th.  I had wanted to go to the concert but I was ill that day. 

            

The workshop was organized by Heather Daley, the founder and current Executive Director of the Alianait Arts Festival.  She is the same lady with whom I collaborated in organizing a workshop with the Canadian folk group April Verch back in May.  Unfortunately, that workshop had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

            

Due to Dave's tight schedule, he only had time to be with my senior students for the first half of the 90 minute period.  Heather was also there to observe and to take pictures.  My students sat in a semicircle around Dave as he played a few of his songs on his guitar.  He prefers tuning his guitar openly rather than relying on a tuner.  After each song, he talked about what songwriting involves: brainstorming, collaborating, chord progressions, and inspirations.  Unfortunately, he didn't have time to go in depth - something my students were hoping for - because he had a flight to catch back to Ottawa.  Overall, Dave is a very good singer and guitar player.  After the workshop, he spoke with the students and even posed for pictures.

            

Dave Gunning recently ran into some trouble with the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) over the cover art of his upcoming album, No More Pennies.  Since the cover includes several of the soon-to-be retired 1-cent coins, the RCM claimed them as intellectual property and wanted Dave to pay a $1,200 royalty fee for every 2,000 CDs that would be produced and distributed.  However, thanks to a flood of media stories, the RCM came to its senses and decided to waiver the fee & "assess its current intellectual property policy." 

            

Tuesday evening was the first cadet training night at 795 Iqaluit Air Squadron.  The unit stands at 20 members but that number would increase thanks to 12 new recruits.  The commanding officer, Captain Chubbs, welcomed everyone back from the summer holidays and presented certificates to cadets who successfully completed their summer camp courses.  After the opening parade, the recruits were introduced to the training staff and given a tour of the cadet building.  Relying on the public speaking skills I acquired during my undergrad years, I quickly came up with an introductory speech, welcoming the recruits to the unit, assuring them that they made the right choice, and that I hoped to see them in the newly created band program.  For the time being, it'll still be percussion based.

            

Wednesday night was the highlight of the week because of the arrival of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.  The British couple were paying Iqaluit a royal two-day visit, the first royal visit in 10 years.  The air cadet squadron had been requested to provide an Honour Guard and I was lucky to be allowed to tag along.  I finally had an opportunity to wear my black suit.

            

We made our way to the RCMP hangar at the Iqaluit Airport where the greeting ceremony was to take place.  The hangar was already crawling with RCMP and plain clothes officers.   The plane was scheduled to arrive at around 2050 (8:50pm) giving us forty minutes to prepare.  As the minutes ticked by, more important people began to arrive: Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak, Commissioner Edna Elias, and RCMP Superintendant Steve McVarnock, just to name a few.  When the plane carrying the royal couple landed, everyone in the hangar took their places and stood at attention.  The officers and I stood to the right side of cadet display.

            

The main hangar doors were opened, filling the interior with cold air, and the sounds of the plane's engines.  The plane taxied as close to the hangar as possible, giving the royal couple the least amount of distance to walk in the rain.  Premier Aariak and Commissioner Elias were the first to greet the Prince and the Countess before escorting them down the line of visiting guests.  The Prince then took to the dias where he was saluted by the cadets on parade.  Thereafter, he and his wife inspected each cadet, officer, and civilian on parade.  The Countess received a small bouquet of Arctic Cotton from a senior cadet.  

            

I have to admit that I was a little nervous because this was the first time I have ever spoken to members of the British Royal Family.  I had been instructed that only the royal offers his/her hand to be shaken.  Captain Chubbs introduced me as the civilian band officer of the air cadet unit and Prince Edward wanted me to explain the music program.  I relaxed when I realized that speaking to royalty was a lot easier than I thought.  When I spoke with the Countess, I added that I was also a music teacher at Inuksuk High School.    

            

After the parade, the Prince & the Countess mingled with the cadets and posed for photographs.  Due to their tight schedule, they only had 20 minutes, but by my calculations, they stayed for about thirty.  After the royal couple had left, I briefly chatted with Commissioner Elias.   Although the visit was brief, I think the cadets would agree that it was a fun and exciting experience.  The Earl & Countess would spend the remainder of their visit touring Nunatta Sunakkutaangiit Museum & the newly rebuilt St. Jude's Cathedral, attending an RCMP awards ceremony at the Legislative Assembly, and attend a communal feast at St. Jude's Parish Hall.     

            

The week finished with the taking of student & class photos.  A section of the school's cafeteria had been transformed into a photo studio.  Between Thursday & Friday, classes were called down one at a time.  For my class photo, I instructed my students to bring their instruments with them.  Band students do photos with style!  I was glad that the photographer took several pictures because I'm a notorious blinker when it comes to the use of flash.  At the moment, I can only hope that I didn't ruin the class and staff pictures.        

            

The weather has been getting colder with every passing day, bringing strong winds, rain, and fog.  Many of Iqaluit's unpaved roads turn into long stretches of mud and brown puddles.  To clean up the mess, the town uses snowplows to 'pave' over the puddles.  The cold weather has also been affecting the health of the community with many people catching the common cold.    

            

And for the first time in Nunavut's history, the residents of Iqaluit will be required to wear seatbelts when operating a vehicle.  In the past, wearing seatbelts was entirely optional.  The only explanation I heard of was that it was difficult to put on a seatbelt while wearing a large winter parka.  I guess drivers will now have to find a way to buckle up unless they want to risk getting a ticket.  So far, RCMP officers have only given out warnings, but it's a safe bet they'll be issuing tickets in the coming days.