The McCarthy’s Party Blog
PIRATE PEACE
Hollywood has a peculiar way of teaching history. Growing up in Newfoundland meant we heard a lot of pirate stories. Our family home in ‘Conception Bay’ gazes directly upon ‘Kelly’s Island’; peppered with holes dug by treasure hunters hoping to find the hidden cache of the Pirate Captain who lent his namesake. We often played…
Read MoreMERCHANT OF MENACE
Just before we married, my wife inherited a ramshackle of a place in Bonavista, Newfoundland. It was a hard-old spot that looked fit for nothing beyond the haunts that were rumoured to possess it. We intended to flatten it and use the lovely section of level land to build a new seaside cottage. But those…
Read MoreCULINARY COUNTRY
We were living in Vancouver when the foodie world first discovered Newfoundland and its many culturally identifiable culinary nuances. Really? Hawkins Cheezies? Roast Chicken Chips? Pineapple Crush? How in the name of God could anyone tout Newfoundland as the “Darling” of the Gastro clique? “… starved for content.” Obviously, the food community must…
Read MoreRIGHT FLIGHT
This year marks the 100th anniversary of transatlantic flight. Can you imagine? Only 15 years after the Wright Brothers fly for the very first time, Jack Alcock and Teddy Brown strap themselves into a glorified kite and hurtle themselves from the shores of Newfoundland. 16 hours later they landed in Clifden, Ireland and so immortalized…
Read MorePRETTY PETTY
When guests ask us how to correctly pronounce Newfoundland, we let them know we’re probably the last group they’d want to consult on any sort of linguistic matter. “… want to consult…” Most Newfoundlanders are still speaking ‘Early Modern English’ with the same dialects we’ve managed to preserve since the late 1700’s. Remember…
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