Brockville Reawakens

The summer is getting closer now, today was finally nice weather for a change! I was actually able to wear a tank top, begin to work on my natural tan on my arms. It’s so surreal to think that a few days it go it was cold, grey, and miserable. That’s how the weather is in Canada, for those reading from overseas, or in other parts of North, and South America. Ontario, the Province (basically like a state), I reside in gets very hot and humid in the warmer times of year (May til around the fall months). In the winter it gets bone chillingly cold, not necessarily as cold as more Northern parts of the country. I live near the USA border, as do most Canadians, the communities further North, in this vast land, tend to be smaller in population. There are some large cities though, Northward, but the largest Canadian cities are all near the USA, in the Southern parts of the nation.

I took a visit today to a lovely little tearoom called Cosies, located in the heart of downtown Brockville, Ontario, Canada. I’ve done a piece on them before. For those new to the blog, my name is James Hardiment, I am a singer/songwriter based near Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. It’s a little border town that borders New York State in the USA. Brockville is also on the border, a little further down the St. Lawrence river, which divides the 2 countries apart from each other.

Cosies was having a special celebration in honour of the new King of Great Britain being crowned, King Charles III, in his Coronation ceremony. They had a sticky toffee pudding on the menu as a special item, on top of the usual British delicacies, and it was absolutely faboulous (a picture of that British comedy show Ab Fab is on the walls, amongst others too!). Abi Goodyer, the daughter of the owners Alison, and Paul Goodyer, had baked them fresh today. It was so warm, rich, and sweet. My tastebuds were delighted by the sweet British treat. I think the last time I’ve actually had the desert, was back in 2020 before the pandemic, when I went to visit my Nana in the UK. It’s sort of a spongey, brown cake, with toffee poured on top of it, and a healthy dollop of whipped cream, sort of like a hat, or crown, on the cake. I also ordered a pot of tea, Yorkshire Gold, with milk, as I usually do. The way us Brits like to drink our tea, I never could really get into the whole herbal, and flavoured teas that are so popular over here.

After dining at Cosies, I said my goodbyes and ventured around the downtown core, King St. specifically, the tearoom is actually at 45 King St. West, very close to the courthouse, which is just up a hill on a side street, which is divided in the centre with statues, fountains, lawns, and flowers. The fountain wasn’t working yet, I imagine they will switch it on soon, now the snow is gone, but I’m not sure. I took a look up that area as well, and discovered a bit about the courthouse, and it’s history.

Pictured: The Leeds-Grenville County Courthouse building, in the heart of Brockville, and it’s downtown core. The building is seeped in lots of interesting history.

Finally competed in 1843, the current courthouse that you see, in the pictures above, was designed in a Neo-Classical style, by Toronto architect, John George Howard. The actual construction of the building was lead by a man, named Benjamin Chaffey, who was a contractor based in the area, at that time. It’s a very imposing, impressive structure, reminding people of what happens if they disobey the rules of the town! Not sure if that’s what he was going for, but that’s how I interpret it anyways. On the top, I noticed a clock, and a flag pole, with a statue of a woman, holding the scales of justice in her hand. Known as “Sally Grant”, this is actually a replica of the original statue, carved from wood by William Holmes, a Brockville carpenter (the original) in 1844. The present statue, was created by Smith Falls sculptor, Bob Kerr, and installed in 1981. The current piece is known as “Sally Grant II”, the original is now in Westport’s museum, and has been restored.

I also noticed some lovely churches near by as well, and took a few nice pictures of them, and the flowers too, that were in full bloom. Truly a beautiful place to live! Maybe some day I might move to Brockville, or at least get a summer home out here. I’d love to continue to support Cornwall, Ontario though, I can’t just leave it behind. I’ve spent most of my life moving around to different places, it would be nice to finally settle down somewhere permanent, and continue to work on my art.

Down near the waterfront, there was a local farmers market going on. I wanted to learn more about it from the organizers, but I didn’t see a booth set up by them. There was lots of cool things for sale, such as jewelry, clothes, and baked goods. It was actually fairly busy too, which is great to see. I love to see the little guys out there, mom and pop shops, having a good day for a change! Every Thursday, and Saturday, from May to December, the stalls are set up on Market St. close to the Railway Tunnel. Known as the Brockville Farmers Market, it also has a history to it, according to its official website. Maybe I’ll write more about them in the future! I know my Cornwall, Ontario based chef friend has been looking to get into Brockville markets to sell his spices. Probably not this year tho, I think cutoff to sign up was at the end of last year.

Lastly, before I go, there was one other thing to mention, the 1000 Islands boat cruises are opening up again in the coming weeks, and months. The 1000 islands, is what they call the chain of islands that are located all across the St. Lawrence river, close to Brockville, and many other communities along the water. I’m hoping to do a piece on them at some point, perhaps go on a tour, and see if I could do a vlog style video with a friend.

That’s all for this adventure, until next time!

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

A Dam Good Time

A few weekends ago, the weather was gorgeous out, I, singer/songwriter, James Hardiment, decided to take a stroll along the Waterfront Trail, in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. I started by parking my car down in the dog park near the Power Dam on Second St. close to the river, just outside an area of town, known as Riverdale. Riverdale is a lovely neighbourhood, with lots of beautiful houses, and greenery, playgrounds, and parks, throughout.

The Moses-Saunders Power Dam, is a dam that is situated between Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and Massena, New York, USA. It provides hydroelectric power to both Canada, and the United States, with a generating station on each side of the border, for the respective nations supply. The dam is located on the St. Lawrence River, which is a river that splits the 2 North American countries apart with its deep, strong current, liquid divide.

Built between 1954 and 1958, the power station was part of a larger St. Lawrence Seaway Project. More than 6,500 people had to be relocated to construct the dam, and new towns emerged just outside of Cornwall. Places such as Ingleside, and Long Sault are examples of this. The people were forced to relocate, as they dammed the river, and created Lake St. Lawrence all those years ago. There have been many economic advantages to this project, including shipping, and trade opportunities as a result of the infrastructure put in place to allow cargo ships to safely passage down the river to do their trade. Things such as the locks and dams helped to pave the way for the large vessels to pass through.

The Power Dam Visitor Centre isn’t too far away from the dam, just follow the bike trails along the river and the signage should take you there.

Pictured: The Moses-Saunders Power Dam, as seen from the Cornwall, Ontario, Canada side. Behind where I’m stood is the visitor centre.

Pictured: The visitor centre building from around the back, quite a modern structure, inside is a really interesting museum, filled with historical images, as well as interactive games. The games show you how challenging the work, that goes into keeping a power station running, can be.

Pictured: It looks like they are doing some developments close to the visitor centre as well. New structures, as well as pathways and landscaping is being done as of writing this article.

The visitor centre is all connected to the Waterfront Trail, which runs along Cornwalls waterfront (if you follow my blog I’ve mentioned this before). The trail is actually part of a much larger network that goes from Sault Ste. Marie, all the way to the Quebec border! I have wanted to attempt some of this trail, as a kid I pretty much did the stuff around Cornwall. I also went up to Ottawa and did a lot of their trails too, but that is a different network.

As of writing this, it might have been a week ago at this point, but I had noticed a lot of fallen trees on the pathways in Cornwall. Hopefully they have been cleared up by now, if not I’m sure they will be eventually. We had had some pretty rough weather lately, and strong gusts of wind, which brought them down to the ground. It was easy enough to get around them, for the most part, on foot anyways. As a cyclist it might be a bit more tricky! I’ll be getting my bicycle out again soon enough.

Pictured: A downed tree, close by to the Power Dam Visitor Centre. I was able to get around it on the right. Hoping that it’s cleared up by now! Mother Nature amazes me, her power is unthinkable sometimes.

If I do get the bike out, I think I’m gonna film some videos on it, show portions of the trails perhaps, I’m still undecided. I notice there is a thing called Slow TV in Europe, where they just play randomly long videos, boat cruise down a river, or a bus on a trip. Perhaps grab a Go-Pro or team up with someone with some type of mountable camera to a helmet or bicycle. If anyone wants to join me on that project let me know! We could easily blur faces of anyone that passes by too. There’s plenty of ways to get in touch, on social media. My links to all my socials, and email, are all below. Feel free to comment, like, and share this article too. I appreciate your feedback greatly. If you’d like to learn more about the Power Dam Visitor Centre you can visit their website below:

https://www.opg.com/building-strong-and-safe-communities/our-communities/eastern-ontario/saunders-visitor-centre/

According to their website, the centre will reopen for the season in May 2023. I look forward to visiting them again when they do, I also encourage you to as well at home!

Got to catch up on the blog a bit, until the next one!

James

An Epic Ride

Ever since I moved to Canada, there have been two things I’ve wanted to do. First thing, was to rent a boat and travel the entire Rideau Canal, which goes from Ottawa, all the way to Kingston. The canal was originally built by the British back in 1832. They wanted a supply line connecting the cities, in case the Americans would ever attack again, but it never happened. It connected the Ottawa River, with the St. Lawrence.

It’s no longer used for supplies, or freight, just pleasure craft these days. It’s the longest continuously operated canal in the world, and also an UNESCO World Heritage Site. I would love to explore it, in its entirety, 202km in length, on a nice pleasure boat. Going through the 46 locks would be an interesting experience, one that takes me back to growing up in a small town in the UK, called Smithy Bridge. Beside us was the Rochdale Canal (pronounced “Rotch-dale”) which was filled with garbage for many years until it was restored again for the tourist narrowboat owners. Narrowboats, for those not familiar, are a sort of house boat, that can fit in a narrow waterway, typically very long in length. They are usually painted colourful, with nice flower designs on them.

A trip like that would be really amazing, but not a cheap experience, I did get my pleasure craft license though back in 2018, so at least I have that for now! The other thing I’ve wanted to do, is explore the Waterfront Trail in its entirety. It’s a trail that spans from Sault Ste. Marie, in Northern Ontario, all the way to the Quebec border, a whopping 3600km in length. I probably wouldn’t do the whole span, especially the mountainous parts. My main focus would be closer to Cornwall, Ontario, and the surrounding towns. Perhaps I would even document the experience, especially now that I have the blog up and running.

I bought a new cruiser bike last summer, from Sport Chek, a matte black colour, a very sweet ride, with that classic retro style. I miss riding my bike, I would hit up all the trails throughout Ottawa, and Gatineau, back when I lived there in 2016-2018. I snapped so many pictures with my semi-pro Nikon camera D5100. I mostly shot nature, and architecture of the buildings of the city. I must have close to 1000 photos from those days, I’d spend my weekends out, for 8 hours at a time.

I have so many ideas, it’s just a question of getting those plans achieved. I’m always creating something, whether it be music, trips, dream big or go home! The world is what you make of it, life is short, some people don’t make it past childhood, every day alive is a blessing. I try not to let people get me down, I’m so content when I’m out exploring new places, meeting new faces. I’m loyal to my friends, and if you are good to me, I will try to help you in return.

Anyways it’s time for me to head to bed, I have to work in the morning…

James

Pictured: The Rideau Canal locks near the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Ottawa, formerly the Grand Trunk Railway Hotel.

Pictured: The Waterfront Trail in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, beside the old canal, no longer in use and closed off from the St. Lawrence River.

Tunnel of Love Underneath Brockville!

Looking for a nice romantic stroll with your partner, or perhaps a nice family outing? Then look no further than the Brockville Railway Tunnel, located near the waterfront area of the city. As the name suggests, it used to be a tunnel for trains to pass through, underneath the downtown core, from the waterfront to Pearl St.

Opened on December 31st, 1860, the tunnel was designed to give access to the waterfront for the Ottawa Railway. It was part of a line than ran from Brockville to Arnprior, with a branch line that ran from Smith Falls to Perth. The underground burrow runs 1,750ft in a Northern direction. Construction started in September 1854.

The final train passed through in 1969, and the City of Brockville aquired the abandoned stone structure, in the early 1980s, ‘83 to be exact. Then a long process of restoration began, which was eventually completed in August 12th, 2017. The newly renovated tunnel features Wi-Fi, amongst other cool things. A portion of the tunnel shows the cool rock natural rock formations. The rest of the length is stone blocks, a pretty typical style of that 1800s railway era.

There is no track anymore (as you will see in the pictures below) and now the tunnel is filled with various hues of coloured lights, and music echoes through the passageway. Water drips down from the roof of the structure, it is quite a marvel of old engineering. One could only imagine the back breaking work required in that time period. Keep in mind, this was long before we had powerful excavator machines like today! Back in those days it was hard, brutal labour, all done by hand most likely. I’m so glad I live in the modern age of automation for that reason!

One thing I suggest, is bringing something with a hood, be it a raincoat, or perhaps a hoodie, hoodie shirt. If you don’t you will get very wet in certain parts of your walk. I love the shades of interesting lights, that are dynamic, shifting hues constantly. It’s amazing how much light can change the mood or tone of a scene, be it on stage, or even a film. As a singer/songwriter, based near Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, I find myself taken back to an old live performance when the lights adjust. It feels like I’m back at a concert, or even just karaoke at my favourite local spot, Rendezvous Restaraunt in Cornwall.

There are many great things to do in Brockville. I love exploring the waterfront in the summer months, and as the weather changes (as of writing this it’s getting warm!) things start to open up. Since visiting this weekend, I’ve noticed that the tunnel is accessible to journey into again. I must praise the city, it really developed its waterfront area so beautifully. I often wish that we had a cooler waterfront in Cornwall, it’s not awful or anything, just love going on boat tours and stuff. In Brockville they have all kinds of interesting tours available. Back in 2019 a family friend visited us and we took one of the tours on the fast speedboat. It was quite the adrenaline rush, that craft moved swiftly across the St. Lawrence River.

There are many awesome boat trips throughout the 1000 Islands region, the area in which Brockville is located, along with many other towns that follow the river. I will be exploring more this summer locally for sure! So much to see in our own backyard.

If you choose to follow my blog, you can do that by following my social media links on the bottom of this page, I will be travelling, shouting out great businesses, and also telling stories about my original music. Feel free to like, and comment in the article with suggestions on where to go next in the region! I look forward to hearing your feedback and please enjoy exploring the website to hear my original music, and other projects.

You can learn more about the tunnel and it’s interesting history at:

www.BrockvilleRailwayTunnel.com

I love this Eastern region, and plan to spend the rest of my life here, probably in Cornwall. This community means a lot to me and I want to continue to provide entertainment, with my music, and videos. I also want to continue to work with entrepreneurs to help them succeed. I have a lot of practical experience in music and video production, on a very shoe-string budget typically!

Well that’s it for now everyone, enjoy the photos below!

James

Pictured: The exterior of the tunnel down at the waterfront portion of Brockville. The plaque beside it gives some of the tunnels history.

Pictured: The stone block portion of the tunnel, a traditional style of that time period. Mason workers, had to restore much of it back to its former glory, over the restoration process.

Pictured: The natural rock portion of the tunnel looks truly spectacular, and otherworldly, in the strange light.

Pictured: James Hardiment poses for his new dating app profile picture, inside the tunnel. So far he’s had to turn down numerous marriage proposals! What can I say? It’s got to be those eyes…

Getting Cosie in Downtown Brockville

On my weekends I don’t usually work at the tire warehouse (where I work full time) or the suit store, (where I work part time). If I have a day to relax, I usually choose to explore the local area, to discover new places and faces. I really enjoy travelling down the number 2 highway from Cornwall, Ontario, Canada (the town I live close to) to places along the St. Lawrence River. Brockville is one of my favourite towns on this route, West from Cornwall.

Right in the heart of downtown Brockville, I discovered this homely, quaint little tearoom called “Cosies”, which specializes in a wide variety of British baked goods, as well as full English breakfast, amongst other things. I am usually served by the cheerful, and knowledgeable Abi Goodyer. Her mother and father, Alison and Paul Goodyer, own the business in partnership with their son Nick, which has been located at 45 King St. West for over 6 years now. It was formerly a Pizza Pizza before the family took over the premises, and did a thorough renovation. Alison and Paul are both from Devon in England and emigrated to Canada in 1990.

Inside the tearoom, there are pictures of old British sitcoms on the walls. I remember the first time I visited playing a game with Alison of naming all the shows that I remembered from growing up in the UK. Famous shows such as the department store sitcom, “Are You Being Served?”, and other classic programs, such as “Only Fools and Horses”, a story of the Trotter brothers, a Peckham based duo, trying to become millionaires with their crazy hair brained schemes!

The Goodyer family was originally from Britain as well, and you are greeted with their charming English accents, which instantly adds to the authenticity of the place. It makes me feel like I’m back in the motherland! For any Royalists out there (or people that follow the Royal family) you will enjoy seeing portraits of the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the walls, along with the current His Royal Highness King Charles III, and many other famous relatives.

The decor of the walls is half wallpaper, half wood paneling. You could easily double the location for a place in the UK if you were filming a television program or feature film. Even the exterior of the building is very British looking, an historical stone structure. The signage is very reminiscent of something you would see in a typical English small town as well. I really love the attention to detail they went to to make you feel like you are stepping into another country for an afternoon cup of tea and a scone.

So far I’ve tried the full English breakfast, which consists of sausage, egg, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, 2 strips of bacon, beans, black pudding, and a slice of fried bread. My body was in Canada, but my tastebuds returned to the land where I was born. A truly magical experience for myself, as someone who has missed English food for a long time!

I have also tried their Cornish pasty for lunch once, a meat filled pouch, with a sort of flaky pastry. Originally designed for the coal miners to eat back in the olden days, as the pastry would flake off so you could eat it with dirty hands, (or at least that’s what I’ve been told!). It comes with a nice fresh salad on the side to compliment the dish.

I hope to return to their wonderful business again at some point in the future. So happy I stumbled upon the place by accident, on one of my random weekend road trips throughout the area.

Here is their official website if you are interested in learning more about them or plan on ordering food:

https://cosiestearoom.com

Anyways enjoy what’s left of this short week, until next time!

James

Pictures: (Left) James Hardiment posing with his freshly baked sausage roll. (Right) Abi Goodyer behind the cash register holding up a bag of delicious scones.

Pictured: James Hardiment eats his sausage roll outside of the tearoom in downtown Brockville.

Pictured: Cosies from the exterior on 45 King St. W in the centre of Brockville.

Melted Mayhem Returns to Cornwall Markets 2023

W3G & Co. a local organization, had their Spring Fling Artisans Market on the upper floor of the old Sears store in the Cornwall Square in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada on Saturday 25th March. Derek Mason, known to his fans as Chef Mayhem, set up his first stall for the year!

I’ve worked with Derek and his family tirelessly on helping to market the Melted Mayhem brand as we know it today. There are presently 5 flavours of cooking spice blends and bbq rubs, available for sale through his website, as well as markets and select stores. The most popular seller by far, is the original rub he created, Martian Dust, a sweet and smoky bbq blend that resembles the reddish surface of Mars. I had a lot of fun brainstorming that name with Derek, I love to create names for products.

The market was a huge success with our local, talented culinary wizard selling over 120 bottles and a t-shirt as well! Chef Mayhem plans to enter into more markets this year, his website will have the calendar soon. You can also purchase rubs and spices online.

www.meltedmayhem.com

He also has a YouTube channel where I help him to create cooking videos, incorporating the products that he sells into practical everyday recipes. The best part of filming those is I get to eat whatever he creates…it’s a tough job but someone has to do it!

Some of the stores in which you can find his products also include (as of writing this article, subject to change over time) In and Outdoors Shop, on Pitt St. besides Mrs. B’s Gift Shop, Essential Kitchen, downtown Pitt St. across the street from Melody Music, and The Glengarry Market in Alexandria.

He plan to take the brand even further eventually and hopefully find a place to open a larger scale operation here in Cornwall, creating jobs for lots of local people has always been the dream, along with creating a quality seasoning! But that might be awhile away but it doesn’t hurt to dream big…

James

Pictured: (Right) James Hardiment (Left) Derek Mason holding up some of the spices for sale!

Karaoke Nights in Cornwall!

It’s been a blast getting back into live performance again! As a musician that primarily works in the studio recording tracks, it’s so amazing to feel a live crowd, (even if it’s only a small number of people).

I’ve become a regular at a great little restaraunt and bar that does Karaoke 3 nights a week called Rendezvous Restaraunt in Cornwall, ON, Canada. I’ve returned to the area in 2019 and it’s really awesome to be back. Some of my friends turned their nose at Cornwall, especially those from the larger cities, but it’s actually an amazing community I’m happy to be a part of. I technically live a little bit outside of town, in Long Sault, about 15 minutes from the city.

I’m hoping to move into Cornwall in the next few years depending on how things go and one things for sure I will be doing more singing in town. If you’d like to come out it’s on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting at 8pm. I’m not always there at 8pm since I work a job selling suits until 9pm some evenings.

What do I sing? That’s a great question, I’ve been doing a wide range of genres and voices. I really enjoy singing deep like Elvis, Johnny Cash and I also like getting really high pitched with bands like A-ha and the Fine Young Cannibals. My favourite decade is the ‘80s by far and the majority of the music I sing is from that era. Once in awhile though I like to change things up and do some more modern stuff.

The bar is wonderful with a really positive atmosphere for the most part. There is a pool table which costs a dollar to play most evenings, Tuesday is free! All the staff I’ve met so far have been incredibly warm, fun and supportive so I try to shout them out as much as I can.

Rendevous Restaraunt is at 1213 Pitt St. in Cornwall, ON Canada. If you ever visit the city or live here already and enjoy to get out once in awhile to sing or dance I urge you to come and check out Karaoke night. There is even a smoke machine and disco lights it’s incredible!

Anyways that’s enough of me for now, hope to see you come out one night some time soon!

James

Pictured: James Hardiment singing Karaoke in his Ralph Lauren navy blue 2 piece suit from Moores Clothing for Men.