Tuesday 25th September 2012 ­ Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Canada: Peg Goes on the Fiddle! - 4hrs BST

Founded in 1785 by Col. J.F.W. DesBarres, Sydney was first settled by Loyalists from New York State, who were followed 20 years later by immigrants from the Scottish Highlands.  At the end of the 1700’s this area of Cape Breton became an industrial centre with the consolidation of several coal mines and the establishment of the Dominion Steel & Coal Company. Today this steel plant is the largest in North America and with a population of 26,000, Sydney – often called ‘Steel City” - is the largest city in Nova Scotia.

The Italian Inventor Guglielimo Marconi spent several years in Cape Breton setting up 3 transatlantic wireless stations.  On the 15^th December 1902 the first transatlantic wireless message was sent to England.  Although claimed by the Italians, Marconi was bankrolled by the British and of course went on to establish the Marconi group of companies in the UK.

Cape Breton was also home to Graham Alexander Bell a Scot, best known for his invention of the telephone but also for his significant contributions in the fields of medicine, aeronautics, marine engineering, sound and speech transmission.  In collaboration with others he assisted with the design of the ‘Silver Dart” aeroplane in 1907 and the HD-4 Hydrofoil which set a world water speed record in 1919. Bell is reputed to have said, “I have travelled the globe. I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the highlands ofScotland, but for simple beauty, Cape Breton rivals them all.”

Unfortunately we were unable to visit either of the museums connected with these two great inventors since of course we had been scheduled to visit Sydney on our outward journey.  Our call today coincided with the visit of the Veendam - a Holland America ship (A small block of flats really) - that I last saw in the Ushuaia, Argentina in November 2011 and as a consequence there were insufficient busses to put on the tours programme.  Since we were also at anchor, and would have to be tendered ashore, Peg and I spent a relaxing morning on board listening to the mutterings and moans of fellow passengers about the time they had to wait to board tender, taking an early lunch and walking straight on to a shore bound tender for our stroll round Sydney once more in sparkling sunshine.  It proved to be a quaint city of colourful wooden houses with their steep roofs, dormer windows and verandas – it made me feel quite homesick for my own cedar shingle home!

We wandered into a church hall where a local handicraft group had set up stalls. Some wonderful knitwear and a 2 by 3 metre quilt made up of squares depicting American Lighthouses.  I spoke to the lady who had made this quilt and she told me it had taken two-and-a-half years!  We also found some jewellery made from the local coal.  To achieve this the coal is ground and mixed with a resin that can then be poured into pewter pendent or bracelet moulds.  Peg found a delightful pendent made from this material which we purchased and which she has worn a number of times since – a perfect souvenir of her visit to Nova Scotia.

So how did Peg “Go on the Fiddle” well not at all really just my headline to grab your attention and an excuse to pose Peg beside Canada’s largest fiddle at the Cruise Terminal.  Evidently this fiddle is capable of being played – if you are a giant of course. Unfortunately my guidebook doesn’t describe the origins and purpose of this giant fiddle other then to revere the tradition of fiddle playing as a core element of Cape Breton and indeed Canadian folk music.