A post from Jim McCarthy:
What a wonderful time we had touring this afternoon. My son Andrew; Francis Corrigan; Mike Edmunds and I jumped aboard the van after dinner and we all headed north to meet the St. Michael’s Boys Choir Group at Saint Anne’s Community Hall in the town of Flat Rock.This was a very different experience for us since guides normally travel independently and use one of the hotels as a starting point for our tours. Needless to say, we had a great conversation on the ride down the coast with Francis as chair and lead man for the yarns; highlighted with a story about the ‘May Bush’ – something I hadn’t thought about in years but was commonly seen in Catholic communities during the month of May. A May Bush was a spruce tree skinned of its boughs, less the top couple of feet which was decorated in blue ribbons to fly like a flag in honour of the Virgin Mary and Mother’s everywhere.
The weather was gorgeous, the sun shone brightly and the wind blew steady but light from the south west. We spotted a stunning iceberg in the town of Torbay and another, albeit smaller, pan of glacial ice in Flat Rock. So by the time the children boarded the coaches, we had endless material to discuss and explain; exactly what you needed to entertain four bus loads of young men – with the emphasis on men, for they truly were a wonderful group. Not that I should have expected anything less. St. Michael’s College is internationally recognized for its scholastic program, its penchant for the arts and their acceptance and guidance of the country’s very best students. They were attentive, asked intelligent questions, paid heed to the cliffs and obviously enjoyed every minute of our afternoon on this very Irish coastline that makes up the ‘Marine Drive’ – an important connection to an all-boys Catholic school.
Obviously the boys would likely speak most fondly and memorably of the icebergs we saw today – they are truly awe-inspiring. But for me, well I actually spotted a May Bush flying on the hillside in Middle Cove. I swear I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if not for the conversation shared with my fellow guides on the ride down. And as if this wasn’t enough, when we finished our day, the group leader asked if we could stay a moment longer for the boys wished to sing us a tribute as thanks for such a wonderful day. A song they composed especially for their adventure to Newfoundland. A song aptly named ‘A Fisherman’s Prayer’. They had never performed the song publicly prior to this afternoon and we were honoured to be the first to hear their rendition.
Enjoy the video.
