Editor’s Note: For more on Nova Scotian Crystal, below is an archived Notebook article from 2018 in a time when the mouth-blown crystal maker was a real going concern. A hot glob of orange molten crystal pulled from a 1,400-degree oven dangles at the end of a...
Arts & Culture

Nova Scotian Crystal, Part II: From The 2018 Notebook Archives…

Spoken Word: Nova Scotian Crystal’s Official Statement On Business Closure
Editor’s Note: This week there was a lot of media publicity about the approaching end of Nova Scotian Crystal, a 20-year long institution on the Halifax waterfront which has been billed as Canada’s only manufacturer of mouth blown fine crystal, using craftsmen hired...

Here’s To Hope & Optimism In 2021
A New Year brings hope & optimism, and we wish you a Happy New Year. The Notebook returns to work tomorrow, Monday, and we begin to produce our next edition, with our unique journalism take on Business, Inside Politics & Cultural Affairs. Our next edition will be...

Recapping The Yarmouth Pasta Primavera Chronicles – We Can All Use Some Fun News In A Challenging Year
By Andrew Macdonald While the Holiday food fare for many of the readership consists of turkey - and lots of it - and don’t mention the leftovers, and others enjoy seafood or fish chowder, and more prefer a Boxing day ham, this is a story of the origins of an Italian...

Kevin McNamara’s Holiday Meal Consists Of Rabbit, Venison & Bear
Kevin McNamara’s Holiday Fare: Rabbit, Venison and Bear Pie By Kevin McNamara Gold River, NS South Shore: Andrew has asked me to write my recipe for my annual Christmas rabbit pie. As a child growing up in Cape Breton, it was tradition to have a piece of rabbit pie...

Nana Mouskouri Is Really From ‘Cape Breton’
By Andrew Macdonald I always thought Nana Mouskouri, still alive at 84, was actually from Cape Breton. That is because as a kid and teen my local radio station in Antigonish, CJFX would constantly play her music. Yes, she did have a British Parlour Folk album, but, of...

Colin MacDonald & Spouse Carol Are Expecting First Time Grandparents & How He Lifted Pandemic Weary Chesterites With An Antique Road Show
Colin & Carol MacDonald: Expecting Grandparents & Why He Rolled Out His Antique Car Collection In Pandemic Times By Andrew Macdonald Now, early 70s, Colin MacDonald and his spouse Carol, an accomplished artist, are excitedly preparing for the day in February...

Reader Feedback: Who Should Be The Notebook’s Nova Scotian Of The Year? – Send In Your Suggestions
By Andrew Macdonald Reader Feedback Needed: Who Should Be The Notebook’s Nova Scotian Of The Year? The Notebook is now collecting Readership Feedback, on who you think should win the first-ever Notebook Nova Scotian Of The Year award. It can either be a person or a...

Colin MacDonald On Katie’s Christmas Card: Nine-Year Old Created Holiday Card At IWK – It Is Poignant & Rather Touching
Colin MacDonald Explains The Christmas Card That Touched The Emotional Buttons Editor’s Note: I asked Chester’s Colin MacDonald, the co-owner and co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods to tell me about his choice of this year’s Holiday card. As I have noted in my Christmas...

A Nova Scotian Family In Texas – A Pandemic Holiday Won’t Stop A Southern Feed: Deep Fried Turkey, Shall We?
Editor's Note: Nova Scotian David MacDonald, his spouse and kids, live in Texas - this is the State where Texans tend to live large - and the Holiday fare of the MacDonald Clan includes a Holiday turkey deep fried. David kindly tells my readers of the meaning of...