‘ooked Mats
Our first evening in Englee includes a visit to the grocery store to restock our potato chip supply and to ask if there is a library or town hall where I might access wifi.
Chris at Breen’s Grocery is a super guy! He is friendly and helpful and likes to chat. Last year he gave us use of his truck to get fuel in our jerry cans from the marine centre down the road. He remembers us and suggests we visit the Englee Municipal Building where there is, not only wifi, but also a display of hooked mats. (Not coming to town by car, we miss the signs for the local highlights.)
After quick, hot, showers onboard, (not paying $10 at the harbour office!) we wander to The Chicken Bucket for supper out. We dined here last year shortly after they opened. We are happy to see they survived their first year and enjoy chicken dinners and ‘slaw while we chat with our brother-in-law, celebrating his birthday today.
We also manage to connect with the kids in Quebec who are leaving the next day for a two week vacation. Our thanks to the Chicken Bucket crew for supper includes a big thank you for the use of their wifi. They can hear our conversations with the family and seem to appreciate what the time has meant for us.
Back at the wharf, things are starting to wind down. One forklift is carrying buckets of water which is dumped on the wharf to clean off the remains of the day’s work. The rest of the night is very quiet and we sleep in the comfort of a safe and comfortable harbour.
Englee Harbour from Barr’d Island Lookout
We meet Arlene, the harbour master, Wednesday morning and I run a load through the laundry in her office. This is the most expensive stop for laundry in all of our travels, at $10 per load. I am glad it’s just the sheets and some towels that need to be done.
It is warm and sunny as we walk the ten minutes to the Municipal Building, overlooking the harbour. A medium sized ice berg has pulled into Canada Bay which was not there yesterday.
The ladies in the office, including the Town Clerk Manager who lived in Kitchener for 14 years, invites us to view the hooked mats and for me to return at 1:30 to use the wifi. The display is breathtaking and we are told made from t-shirts. Rather than using wool pieces, each is hooked with strips of cut-up t-shirts. The patterns on the shirts allow for very interesting colour blends.
One mat stands out from the others. It is framed, behind glass and hanging at the head of the hallway. We learn this was hooked by Chris Breen’s grandmother in 1939, with old pantyhose! Chris later told me it was never walked on, even though it looks “flattened” from use. His grandmother kept it folded over the back of her rocking chair and sat in the comfort of its cushion for decades.
There is also a room with glass works - jewellery, ornaments and some knitting and quilted pieces. There are also two hooked mats for sale - at half the price I have seen anywhere else in Newfoundland. (One is now hanging in our boat’s cabin.)
Harald finishes the laundry when I return to the office, sitting in the council chambers from 1:30 to 4:30, working on this blog. When I return to the boat, Harald is having a great chat with the Fisheries and Oceans officers who have come to inspect the catch currently being offloaded.
We learn about the fishing rules and regulations, what happens to the fish when they leave here and some about their work with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Their home base is Port aux Choix so we also realize we know several of the same people in Port Saunders and Port aux Choix. A few good stories and laughs. Unfortunately, the trained marine biologist cannot identify the strange creatures we had floating past the boat in Harbour Deep. Their work is done and they leave to make the drive back to Port aux Choix before the moose o’clock.