A Walk into Cornwall...

It was a gorgeous, clear, golden morning, a few weeks ago. I had woken up early, after a night of karaoke fun, now safe from the craziness of the bar, at my house in Long Sault, Ontario, Canada. It’s not in the town of Long Sault, closer to the 401 Highway if anything. I often walk or bike in the summer time when I can do it, just one of the many activities I enjoy doing. It gives me a great opportunity to keep my photography, and videography skills as sharp as possible.

I took a stroll down Headline Rd. which is a less densely populated street just outside of Cornwall, surrounded by farm fields, and also forest. It eventually crosses the 138 Highway which leads to the 417 to get up to the nations capital city, Ottawa. I was starting at the other end of the road, close to Power Dam Drive, which heads into Cornwall southbound, and up to the roads that take you to St. Andrews West, and the town of Long Sault. As I got closer to the 138, there are 2 trails, one on each side of the road, known as the South Stormont Recreational Trails. For those that don’t know South Stormont is one of the counties in our province of Ontario, in which the bike paths are located. One walkway leads to St. Andrews West, which is a tiny picturesque village, located at a crossroads of the 138 highway. There is an impressive historical stone church, as well as a great little restaurant called Quinn’s Inn built in 1865 by John Sanfield MacDonald, who would later become the First Premier of Ontario from 1867-1871 according to their official website.

I wasn’t heading up to St. Andrews West that day though, I was headed to Cornwall, to the place I commute through every day. Instead of by car, I was on foot, instead of working, I was exploring, and appreciating the nature which surrounded me at the same time. The bike trail was filled with cool DIY birdhouses, with lettering on them, as well as rocks painted with inspirational quotes. I snapped a few photos to show you below. I thought some of the messages were rather nice compliments, and encouraging words. Perhaps the idea is someone going on a solo walk can be cheered up a bit if they are going through some hardships in life?

Pictured: A friendly baby deer took a peak at me on a previous walk on the trails last summer! Thought I would share to brighten someones day I hope.

You can park your car close the entrance to the trails on the road if you aren’t a local. Both trails are nice but I prefer the one that takes you from Headline Rd. to St. Andrews. I find that one winds a bit more and is a little more interesting visually. I headed to town instead though, stopped by my favourite bar, Rendezvous to charge my phone up for a bit, have a cup of coffee, and an afternoon beer, before heading down to Lameroux Park in Cornwall to check out the St. Lawrence River. When the weather is nice I love to be outside, walking, biking, driving, sometimes I’ll head out with my headphones on to listen to a mix of a song, to make sure it sounds good. As I’ve mentioned before there are plenty of great biking trails in the area, and this is no exception to that. Sometimes you spot some interesting animals too, but in the summer months bug spray is a must!

For those that don’t know I am a singer/songwriter that moved back to the area from Ottawa in 2019. I work full time driving forklifts Monday-Friday 8-4.30pm, then I sell Men’s suits, and shoes, various evenings 5-9pm. The music is more of a hobby, but I do make some money from it, from time to time. I’m hoping to do more live shows in the coming months which will get my name out there more in the area. I have been building an online presence for years, one of my music videos, for a song called “Wine” has over 45,000 views on YouTube which I am happy for.

I hope to do more exploring on foot this summer, as well as by car, discover what I miss on a daily basis by taking the time and seeing what I can. Be sure to follow my social media pages for updates on upcoming music shows, and more! Just scroll to the bottom of the home page, all of my socials should be there.

Well that’s all for now folks,

James

Spanish Flavours in Prescott

Just off the 401 Highway in Prescott, Ontario, Canada, there is a gourmet Spanish food & beverage importer, also a restaurant too. It’s tucked away in an industrial estate, down a side road, you wouldn't know it was there, if you just drove on the main drag towards the waterfront. It’s called El Rebost de les Mil Illes, and it’s owned and operated by Marc Gomez Segu, who was born in Spain. He met his wife in Barcelona in 2010, lived there for 4 years. They married in 2012 in that nation as well. His wife is Canadian and they would move to Canada in December 2013. Marc had a passion for food, but despite the cultural, and language barrier he began to import premium Spanish products from his home country. He would then distribute them to restaurants and specialty stores here in Canada. He began the business in 2017.

Pictured: Marc was outside expanding his patio, when I snapped some pictures a few weeks ago!

When the lockdowns began, all the places that they supplied ended up closing down, so to make up for the loss of revenue, they decided to open up their own restaurant, and food shop. Initially, it began as a takeout only, then as restrictions eased up, they opened up the patio, and now they are creating a dining room in the unit next door. They are located at 991 Industrial Rd. Unit D, Prescott, ON, K0E 1T0.

Marc has a business commerce university degree, he always dreamed of owning his own business, his passion for cuisine, coupled with years of restaurant experience as a teenager came together naturally. His mother is a great cook, she is one of his biggest inspirations behind the new business venture. There are 2 different divisions, European Quality Foods Ltd. which imports, and distributes. Then there is El Rebost de les Mil Illes (which translates to “The Pantry of the Thousand Islands” in Catalan, which is Marcs native language!) which is the restaurant, and gourmet foods shop. They sell high quality Spanish products that you won’t find in large retailers. The company works directly with farmers, and producers from Spain who stand behind the quality of their products.

When I interviewed him by email (my name is James Hardiment by the way, I am a singer/songwriter based near Cornwall, Ontario, this is my official website and blog.) I asked him what his favourite item was on the menu was? His response was the charcuterie, and paellas on the very top of his list. Paella is probably the most international Spanish dish. Made from rice, it originates from a place called Valencia. It is made with saffron, and sofrito (tomato culinary base) that has different variations; seafood, veggie, chicken, rabbit, even chorizo, etc.

As I mentioned previously, he is expanding to the unit next door, creating a dining room space for visitors. The current space will remain only as the kitchen. The new area will have a designated area for El Rebost as the shop, and a dining room for the restaurant…Little Barcelona! The patio has been open for the last 2 summers, and this year he has decided to put a fence to create a proper sitting area with a nice ambience.

Some of my favourite items that I've purchased include, octopus, and mussel pate. A sort of seafood spread that you can put on toast, or crackers. Delicious, if that’s your cup of tea. I’m a big lover of seafood, I also love pate, typically I buy the more traditional French ones that I’m used to, such as duck for example. I grew up eating a lot of that whilst I lived in England as a young boy. A nice lunch time food, quick and easy, just grab a knife and spread it. I ordered food from their restaurant also, which was delicious, various tapas dishes, and charcuterie boards. To wash it down I enjoyed a Spanish sparkling soda pop.

Talking to Marc was awesome as well, he was so knowledgable about his homeland, the items that he sells at his store. I have always wanted to visit Spain some day, and am fascinated by the food, art, music, and culture of the country. Barcelona is on my bucket list, I’d love to return to Europe some day, but for now I really want to fully explore this great country we live in. There is so much to see and do here at home, I love this place with all my heart, the nature is breathtaking, and most of the people I’ve met have been warm, and hospitable. I moved to Canada from the UK in 2007 as a teenager. I went to high school in Cornwall, then University in Windsor, Ontario. I’ve also lived in Ottawa where I worked on music with my friends.

If you’d like to learn more about Marc and the products that he sells, you can visit his official website:

www.elrebost.ca

I’m also hoping to get Marc on my brand new podcast Bridge to the Seaway, where I sum up these blog articles, then conclude with an interview with a local musician, artist, or business owner in the community. You can listen to the first 4 episodes here:

https://soundcloud.com/james-hardiment/sets/bridge-to-the-seaway-podcast

I’m moving the next episodes over to YouTube this weekend hopefully. Been a little behind as I figure out everything with the new video podcast format. You can find all my channels and socials below the article, if you scroll to the bottom of the website.

Well thanks for reading folks, that’s all for today!

James

Creating a Podcast

I conceived the idea of doing a podcast about the Seaway Valley last year, when I talked to my friend Derek Mason, known to his fans as “Chef Mayhem”. He is the former owner of the gourmet grilled cheese, burger, potato puff serving food truck that used to be at Archie’s Golf Course in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.

Derek closed his truck during the pandemic due to uncertainty of the future. After closing, the pair of us began to brainstorm a line of spices, bbq rubs, and would go onto create cooking videos last year, and the year before. To clarify I’m not an owner of the business, that belongs to himself, and his wife Ashley, his parents also help out greatly with everything. I am more or less a marketing, and product ideas man, as well as a videographer, photographer, and musician. My name is James Hardiment, and I’m Cornwall based as well.

I talked with Derek about taking his charismatic, wholesome, family friendly personality, and starting a podcast talking about the local area, restaurants, food that type of a thing. In the end with home life (they have a wonderful daughter to raise) work life, and health issues with the pets, it just wasn’t a feasible thing to do. So I shelved the idea, as I do with many projects over the years, sometimes the timing isn’t just right!

Then a month or so ago, I decided to start to vlog, blog, and take the equipment I had built up from the cooking show we had made together, to start my own weekly podcast, in which I would summarize the blog posts of the week. After that I would interview a guest for the last 10-15 minutes, then post them for free on SoundCloud. So far, as of writing this, there are 4 episodes out, and I’m recording this weeks today. It’s called Bridge to the Seaway with James Hardiment. I named it that, in memory of the old Seaway International Bridge, which was taken down many years ago and replaced with a different crossing. The bridge connected Cornwall to Akwesasne Mohawk territory (Cornwall Island), and then another bridge links to New York State, United States.

I’m probably going to move the podcast over to my YouTube channel soon, and record it as well with video. Still looking into my options as I am using my iPhone SE, GarageBand music studio app to record audio only.

The microphones that I have been using, include a pro quality Shure SM7B, plugged into the phone using special adapter cables. I’ve also used my Rode Wireless Go Interview mic set too, which plugs into my phone. I think that going forward I’m just going to use that. It’s less hassle, at least until I can get a studio space of my own with desks, similar to a mainstream podcast, or radio show. The set up is ultra portable, meaning I can do interviews with guests pretty much anywhere. My first guest Claudine Trottier, of Focus Art Association, I recorded inside the art gallery room, my musician guest, Wade Barras I interviewed inside his car. One tricky one, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do it, is with phone call interviews. I can’t seem to be able to use my pro mics with the telephone, Facebook video call, or FaceTime. I know Zoom is a potential option, but I’ve read the quality varies depending on your setup. I could always record with two devices, and just have the phone on with headphones I suppose, worst case scenario. If anyone knows any good programs or apps for video podcasting interviews with iOS (Apple) please let me know in the comments below? I’ve downloaded one called Switcher Studio recently, gonna try that and see what it’s like, I still have a free trial left for a few more days!

I talk about all kinds of fun subjects on the podcast, my stories in music, creating it, the videos, the whole process. The cool people I meet along the way. I also love to talk about my journeys and travels across the Province, especially the local area. I really love to see my friends succeed, as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog.

Anyways, creating a podcast isn’t the hard part, it’s keeping it interesting, I love history, music, art, fashion, food, travel, and I think a lot of people do too. One thing I notice too is that a lot of people will usually just talk about the major cities and famous towns. What about the forgotten, or simply lesser known places? I thought it would be cool to shine a light on communities people worldwide may have never even heard of before, and the wonderful bunch of people that reside in them.

Anyways I got to get going, I have to record an episode of the show tonight!

James

Falling in Love with the North - Part 1

Last summer I, singer/songwriter James Hardiment, ventured up to Northern Ontario, Canada, with my father on a road trip. We started in Long Sault, a small town close to Cornwall, Ontario, where I currently reside, and eventually ended up in Thunder Bay. The trip we split into 2 days so we weren’t driving in the dark, and could also take our time exploring. For those unaware the province of Ontario is vast is scale, to put it into perspective you could fit France, and Spain inside of it, or a 1/3rd of India!

Growing up in the United Kingdom, a tiny island nation beside mainland Europe, the size difference was extreme. Everything is bigger in North America, cars, houses, trees, mountains, waterfalls. It’s pretty much on steroids especially when you get to places like the Rocky Mountains, which are out West, a few provinces over from Ontario. Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world by land mass, topped only by Russia.

We ventured through Ottawa, the nations capital, on the first day of the journey, and continued Northwards though places like Renfrew, Pembroke, and eventually passing through the town of North Bay. I would always get Thunder Bay mixed up with North Bay, it was hilariously frustrating sometimes. When we passed through the city we noticed a lot of indigenous craft stores, and gas stations, along the route. We were debating on entering one, but we wanted to keep moving, and the traffic was very heavy on the main road that we drove through, at that time of day.

Once we had departed North Bay, we travelled in a Northwest direction, and eventually approached the city of Sudbury. Sudbury, like many of the populated communities in this part of the world, is known for its mining industry. It’s currently the largest city in Northern Ontario, with a population of over 166,000 people. There is a giant nickel coin on display in the town, we stopped there for a photograph. The region is famous for its nickel mining, as well as lumber. It makes sense, there’s plenty of trees around! Canada is basically trees with the occasional city or town.

Pictured: James Hardiment stands besides the giant nickel in Sudbury.

After Sudbury, we moved on towards Sault Ste. Marie, and checked into a hotel. That night we went to a wing place beside the hotel that gave a deal to the guests. The food was very good, and the portions were generous. In North America the portions are much bigger than growing up in the UK. You usually end up with plenty of leftovers, unless you are really hungry. Maybe that’s changed at this point, I’m not too sure, I haven’t lived there since 2007.

The next day, leaving Sault Ste. Marie, suddenly the landscape changed dramatically. We were surrounded by breathtaking scenery, mountains towered all around us. Ascending, then descending, as we navigated the single lane road, which would change to 2 lanes on one side, to allow cars to pass easier. It would alternate sides as you continued along the highway. Lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks, surrounded the rock giants. It was probably some of the most stunning views that I had seen in a long while. I haven’t really travelled too far since the pandemic began, and my region is fairly flat in comparison.

Pictured: Mountains along the way, a little bit past Sault Ste. Marie. The scenery is like something from a postcard!

After Sault Ste. Marie it becomes a series of very small communities, spread across a vast area. We took a break in a town called Wawa, which has a giant statue of a Canadian goose. Wawa is known for its fur trading in the 19th century, and then later gold and iron ore mining. Most of these remote communities have a strong connection with some kind of trading, or mining, extracting, industry. The town has only been known as Wawa since 2007, prior to that it was called Mitchipitocen, and was founded in 1899.

Pictured: James Hardiment stands in front of the giant goose in Wawa. I told you the nature was on steroids in Canada!

Another community worth a mention, was the very small town of White River. Best known as the birthplace of the Winnie the Pooh character we all know, and love today. In 1914, a trapped bear cub was purchased by Captain Harry Coleburn, in White River, who named the creature Winnipeg, Winnie for short. I’d show the statue to you, but I don’t want to anger any Disney copyright lawyers, since it features the cartoon characters likeness. There is also a nice Hertiage museum with local artifacts to see.

Aguasabon falls is a really spectacular sight, as you pass through Terrace Bay. The speed in which the water rushes over the waterfall, is truly something else to see. Hidden away from the town by forest, you wouldn’t even know it was there if you just kept driving along the highway. We only stopped briefly to see the falls, and then proceeded onwards to Thunder Bay.

Pictured: Aguasabon Falls in all of its beauty and splendour, truly a sight to see!

Eventually we would reach our final destination, the city of Thunder Bay. I will talk more about it next time. Thinking of making this a 3 part series, there’s too much for one blog post!

Anyways enjoy your weekend. Sorry I’ve been a little behind on my blog posts lately.

James