1
00:00:01,935 --> 00:00:03,735
[cheering & applauding]

2
00:00:03,804 --> 00:00:07,139
The wild blueberry
capital of the world.

3
00:00:07,207 --> 00:00:08,974
[applauding]

4
00:00:09,042 --> 00:00:12,544
A huge stain on the community,
in the most delicious of ways.

5
00:00:12,612 --> 00:00:14,212
[laughing]

6
00:00:14,281 --> 00:00:17,849
What is a wild blueberry?
Well, I'll tell you.

7
00:00:17,918 --> 00:00:19,885
It's not one of
these bloated,

8
00:00:19,953 --> 00:00:24,756
Genetically modified
abominations...

9
00:00:24,825 --> 00:00:28,527
That you're gonna find at
the supermarket, okay?

10
00:00:28,529 --> 00:00:34,400
A wild blueberry is that sweet,
little low bush berry that is

11
00:00:34,468 --> 00:00:39,204
Far more dense in taste
and nutritional value.

12
00:00:39,206 --> 00:00:41,373
And, you know,
I should stop.

13
00:00:41,442 --> 00:00:43,508
I don't want to pump up wild
blueberries too much 'cause

14
00:00:43,577 --> 00:00:45,610
They'll turn into the big fat
kind that I hate.

15
00:00:45,613 --> 00:00:47,279
[laughing]

16
00:00:47,347 --> 00:00:48,880
However, not everything
is so sweet.

17
00:00:48,883 --> 00:00:53,919
This town was nearly blue
'berried' in the ground.

18
00:00:53,987 --> 00:00:57,589
Just three years ago,
a sink hole formed

19
00:00:57,657 --> 00:01:01,126
Right in the middle of
lions club park.

20
00:01:01,194 --> 00:01:03,462
Closing down not just your
community centre,

21
00:01:03,530 --> 00:01:06,598
But that beautiful piece
of park land.

22
00:01:06,666 --> 00:01:08,200
Now, what is a sinkhole?

23
00:01:08,268 --> 00:01:11,904
Well, that depends on whether
you consult the oxford english

24
00:01:11,972 --> 00:01:15,373
Dictionary or the oxford nova
scotia dictionary.

25
00:01:15,376 --> 00:01:17,209
[laughing]

26
00:01:17,277 --> 00:01:19,244
Let's just say one of them
pretty much sums up the

27
00:01:19,312 --> 00:01:21,513
Sinkhole as being a big
pain in the 'a' hole.

28
00:01:21,515 --> 00:01:24,116
[laughing]

29
00:01:24,184 --> 00:01:26,618
When you grow up in a small
town in newfoundland,

30
00:01:26,687 --> 00:01:29,154
You see the people have a sense
of humor about hard times.

31
00:01:29,223 --> 00:01:30,255
Check, check.

32
00:01:30,324 --> 00:01:32,291
I turned that into a career
and hit the road.

33
00:01:32,359 --> 00:01:34,726
Mr. Jonny harris!

34
00:01:34,794 --> 00:01:37,362
Now I'm on a mission to find it
funny in the places you'd least

35
00:01:37,431 --> 00:01:40,699
Expect it — canada's
struggling small towns.

36
00:01:40,767 --> 00:01:43,602
Towns that are against the
ropes, but hanging in there...

37
00:01:43,670 --> 00:01:46,238
Still laughing in the
face of adversity.

38
00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,240
This is oxford,
nova scotia.

39
00:01:48,308 --> 00:01:52,177
♪

40
00:01:52,245 --> 00:01:55,481
[cheering & applauding]

41
00:01:55,549 --> 00:01:56,815
There was a little confusion.

42
00:01:56,817 --> 00:01:58,984
When I first found out I was
coming to oxford,

43
00:01:59,052 --> 00:02:02,020
And I looked it up, I wasn't
sure if it was the

44
00:02:02,022 --> 00:02:05,323
Wild blueberry capital of
the world, or if it was

45
00:02:05,392 --> 00:02:08,961
The wild... Blueberry
capital of the world.

46
00:02:09,029 --> 00:02:10,762
Like, if your blueberries
were normal,

47
00:02:10,831 --> 00:02:12,631
But everyone was
doing tequila shots.

48
00:02:12,699 --> 00:02:14,633
[laughing]

49
00:02:14,701 --> 00:02:22,040
♪

50
00:02:22,108 --> 00:02:24,843
To learn about oxford's
story from a to z,

51
00:02:24,912 --> 00:02:28,814
I met the owner of gjde,
eric mosher.

52
00:02:28,882 --> 00:02:32,350
[cheering & applauding]

53
00:02:32,419 --> 00:02:35,720
Eric owns gjde enterprises,

54
00:02:35,723 --> 00:02:37,523
The only store that was
named during the

55
00:02:37,591 --> 00:02:39,324
Bonus round of
wheel of fortune.

56
00:02:39,392 --> 00:02:40,892
[laughing]

57
00:02:40,961 --> 00:02:44,329
Gjde enterprises: George, joan,
deborah and eric.

58
00:02:44,397 --> 00:02:46,998
My father, my mother,
my sister and myself.

59
00:02:47,001 --> 00:02:48,733
The 'e' is silent,
but I'm not.

60
00:02:48,736 --> 00:02:51,736
[laughing]

61
00:02:51,739 --> 00:02:53,672
I had a look around inside.

62
00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:56,474
It's got a bit of everything,
I suppose.

63
00:02:56,543 --> 00:02:59,678
It's got ornaments, candy,
whatever you need.

64
00:02:59,746 --> 00:03:01,513
Basically, this store's got
everything but

65
00:03:01,515 --> 00:03:02,914
The kitchen sink hole.

66
00:03:02,983 --> 00:03:05,083
[laughing]

67
00:03:05,085 --> 00:03:07,752
Eric told me about the good
old days here in oxford.

68
00:03:07,821 --> 00:03:11,223
When we moved to oxford,
oxford was like at its prime.

69
00:03:11,291 --> 00:03:13,559
We were primarily a
lumbering community,

70
00:03:13,627 --> 00:03:17,329
So there were sawmills
and lumberyards.

71
00:03:17,397 --> 00:03:19,998
We had a furniture factory,
wool mill,

72
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,234
A huge producer of
like wool blankets.

73
00:03:22,302 --> 00:03:25,704
There was lumber mills and
furniture factories,

74
00:03:25,706 --> 00:03:29,341
Which garnered this area the
nickname 'slab town',

75
00:03:29,409 --> 00:03:32,911
Until someone realized it would
sound nicer if they called it

76
00:03:32,979 --> 00:03:35,113
Anything but slab town,
really.

77
00:03:35,181 --> 00:03:36,982
[laughing]

78
00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:39,718
We had a men's wear,
women's wear, a shoe store.

79
00:03:39,786 --> 00:03:42,254
We had an upholstery shop.

80
00:03:42,322 --> 00:03:45,457
Barber shop, beauty parlor,
bakery.

81
00:03:45,525 --> 00:03:47,525
There were two drugstores.

82
00:03:47,594 --> 00:03:50,895
And the town started shrinking
because people were able to

83
00:03:50,898 --> 00:03:53,598
Travel and go to other
places and, you know,

84
00:03:53,667 --> 00:03:55,267
The plight of every
small community.

85
00:03:55,335 --> 00:03:56,435
Yeah, yeah.

86
00:03:56,503 --> 00:04:01,073
Loss of industry here meant
decline for retail business.

87
00:04:01,141 --> 00:04:04,710
I mean, even with eric's shop,
it's still holding on strong,

88
00:04:04,778 --> 00:04:07,979
But he said they used to have
10 employees there.

89
00:04:08,048 --> 00:04:11,816
And now, it's him. They went
from 10 down to just one.

90
00:04:11,885 --> 00:04:15,220
In fact, now I think he's got
to rename it 'ogjde':

91
00:04:15,222 --> 00:04:16,755
One guy just does everything.

92
00:04:16,823 --> 00:04:18,957
[laughing]

93
00:04:19,026 --> 00:04:22,494
Oxford is not what you call a
tourist destination.

94
00:04:22,562 --> 00:04:23,762
We're not on the water.

95
00:04:23,830 --> 00:04:26,164
We don't have beautiful
views so much.

96
00:04:26,232 --> 00:04:27,832
People, when they're
on the highway,

97
00:04:27,835 --> 00:04:29,668
They want to get to
the sunrise trail,

98
00:04:29,736 --> 00:04:32,003
To heather beach and sort
of like the more touristy

99
00:04:32,072 --> 00:04:34,339
Scenic parts of nova scotia.

100
00:04:34,407 --> 00:04:37,175
He said oxford has sort of
become a bit of a

101
00:04:37,243 --> 00:04:39,544
Drive through town,
where people pass through

102
00:04:39,612 --> 00:04:41,913
To go to other more
touristy areas.

103
00:04:41,982 --> 00:04:45,083
Although, a surprising amount
of people will stop to get

104
00:04:45,152 --> 00:04:48,453
Their picture with oxley,
your giant blueberry.

105
00:04:48,522 --> 00:04:51,156
[cheering & applauding]

106
00:04:51,158 --> 00:04:53,425
Apparently oxley used
to have arms.

107
00:04:53,493 --> 00:04:56,594
And I've seen actually on a
little snow globe in his store,

108
00:04:56,663 --> 00:04:58,663
So I know what it looked like.
He was sort of like...

109
00:04:58,732 --> 00:05:01,266
- [laughing]
- right?

110
00:05:01,335 --> 00:05:04,136
But apparently the kids used to
climb up on the arms.

111
00:05:04,204 --> 00:05:08,573
And the arms were breaking, and
the kids would get caught on it.

112
00:05:08,641 --> 00:05:10,542
As a small town, you don't
want your kids

113
00:05:10,544 --> 00:05:11,943
Getting hooked on oxley.

114
00:05:12,011 --> 00:05:13,345
[laughing]

115
00:05:13,413 --> 00:05:15,814
And people come to see
eric's shop, of course.

116
00:05:15,882 --> 00:05:19,651
In fact, tripadvisor ranked
his store as the number one

117
00:05:19,719 --> 00:05:21,853
Thing to do in oxford.

118
00:05:21,921 --> 00:05:26,057
And number two was the
riverside art gallery.

119
00:05:26,126 --> 00:05:30,428
And number three, well, there
was no number three.

120
00:05:30,497 --> 00:05:34,166
Eric said that another tourist
draw is people who come to the

121
00:05:34,234 --> 00:05:37,435
Blueberry capital of the world
looking for blueberries any

122
00:05:37,438 --> 00:05:41,039
Time of the year, not knowing
that the blueberry season

123
00:05:41,107 --> 00:05:43,341
Is relatively short.

124
00:05:43,410 --> 00:05:45,877
Oxford is the blueberry capital
of canada.

125
00:05:45,945 --> 00:05:47,846
So, everyone that's
interested in blueberries

126
00:05:47,914 --> 00:05:49,180
Comes to the town.

127
00:05:49,183 --> 00:05:51,850
It could be the springtime,
could be mid-summer,

128
00:05:51,918 --> 00:05:53,184
It could be in the winter.

129
00:05:53,187 --> 00:05:54,719
Where's the fresh blueberries?

130
00:05:54,788 --> 00:05:57,789
If you come here before
September looking for

131
00:05:57,858 --> 00:06:00,392
Blueberries, well, the only
berries you're gonna find

132
00:06:00,394 --> 00:06:02,227
Are gonna be frozen.

133
00:06:02,295 --> 00:06:04,429
If you come here
after October, well,

134
00:06:04,431 --> 00:06:06,298
You might just freeze some
berries of your own.

135
00:06:06,366 --> 00:06:08,600
[laughing]

136
00:06:18,144 --> 00:06:20,078
As much as I learned
about oxford so far,

137
00:06:20,146 --> 00:06:22,981
I knew it was important to
get the whole story.

138
00:06:23,049 --> 00:06:25,984
Luckily, you have someone in
town with rocks in her head,

139
00:06:26,052 --> 00:06:29,854
Renowned geologist and sinkhole
expert, amy tizzard.

140
00:06:29,857 --> 00:06:33,591
[cheering & applauding]

141
00:06:33,660 --> 00:06:36,561
Amy told me the story of
how this sinkhole

142
00:06:36,630 --> 00:06:38,396
Was first discovered.

143
00:06:38,465 --> 00:06:41,599
In 2018, in late July,
someone was at a

144
00:06:41,668 --> 00:06:44,269
Wedding reception at the
community centre.

145
00:06:44,337 --> 00:06:45,570
Here across the lake.

146
00:06:45,572 --> 00:06:48,006
Stepped outside to
relieve himself and,

147
00:06:48,074 --> 00:06:50,041
Heard the sound of
rushing water.

148
00:06:50,109 --> 00:06:53,878
And there was a hole
quite suddenly.

149
00:06:53,947 --> 00:06:58,249
Some guy went out around behind
the building to have a pee.

150
00:06:58,252 --> 00:07:01,853
And when he got back there,
he could hear —

151
00:07:01,921 --> 00:07:05,290
Under the ground —
running water.

152
00:07:05,358 --> 00:07:07,392
And according to the story,

153
00:07:07,460 --> 00:07:09,294
That made him have to
pee even more.

154
00:07:09,362 --> 00:07:11,029
[laughing]

155
00:07:11,031 --> 00:07:15,066
This guy then realized that the
very ground that he was

156
00:07:15,134 --> 00:07:18,203
Standing on— let's just say for
a guy whooping it up at a

157
00:07:18,271 --> 00:07:20,405
Wedding with an open bar,
he found himself

158
00:07:20,473 --> 00:07:23,341
In a strange depression.

159
00:07:23,410 --> 00:07:27,612
News of the sinkhole spread...

160
00:07:27,681 --> 00:07:29,647
As did the sinkhole,
itself.

161
00:07:29,716 --> 00:07:30,982
[laughing]

162
00:07:31,050 --> 00:07:32,750
She explained to me that,
essentially,

163
00:07:32,819 --> 00:07:34,786
What a sinkhole is...

164
00:07:34,854 --> 00:07:38,857
There is a known bedrock that
extends into the town of oxford.

165
00:07:38,925 --> 00:07:41,025
Rocks like gypsum,
rock salt.

166
00:07:41,028 --> 00:07:45,129
Those types of rocks are more
prone to dissolving in water.

167
00:07:45,198 --> 00:07:47,599
You get groundwater and
surface water interacting

168
00:07:47,667 --> 00:07:49,300
With these rocks
that dissolve.

169
00:07:49,303 --> 00:07:52,804
And, it formed some sort of
cavity underground.

170
00:07:52,872 --> 00:07:55,574
And when that cavity gets so
big that the roof of the cavern

171
00:07:55,642 --> 00:07:57,876
Can no longer hold up,
it collapses,

172
00:07:57,944 --> 00:08:00,145
And the result is a sinkhole.

173
00:08:04,117 --> 00:08:05,683
She explained it
very well to me,

174
00:08:05,686 --> 00:08:08,953
But I was still confused
because, to me, you know,

175
00:08:09,022 --> 00:08:12,457
From phil collins to sting
to chris de burgh,

176
00:08:12,525 --> 00:08:15,193
I always thought
soft rock was solid.

177
00:08:15,262 --> 00:08:17,695
[laughing]

178
00:08:17,764 --> 00:08:19,731
But eventually, in the
name of public safety,

179
00:08:19,799 --> 00:08:22,667
The parkland was
permanently closed.

180
00:08:22,736 --> 00:08:27,072
It was sold to a private
investor who filled it in.

181
00:08:27,140 --> 00:08:28,706
Filling the sinkhole in
doesn't change the

182
00:08:28,775 --> 00:08:30,775
Underlying geological
conditions.

183
00:08:30,843 --> 00:08:34,212
So, it's still at a risk for
future sinkhole development.

184
00:08:34,281 --> 00:08:36,614
We just don't know what
timeframe that could be.

185
00:08:36,683 --> 00:08:38,683
It could be tomorrow, it could
be in 10,000 years,

186
00:08:38,685 --> 00:08:40,218
It could be in a million years.

187
00:08:40,286 --> 00:08:43,755
The loss of the park had a
huge impact on the town.

188
00:08:43,757 --> 00:08:48,526
The community centre was
the hub of social activity.

189
00:08:48,529 --> 00:08:50,028
I took swimming
lessons here.

190
00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:52,964
I would use the playground
as a child, too.

191
00:08:53,033 --> 00:08:56,034
So, it's the loss of
community space.

192
00:08:56,036 --> 00:08:59,037
I guess if you did have to
try to find a silver lining,

193
00:08:59,105 --> 00:09:01,739
The sinkhole did bring
in some tourism.

194
00:09:01,808 --> 00:09:04,809
This thing sucks in more than
pylons and picnic tables.

195
00:09:04,877 --> 00:09:07,111
[laughing]

196
00:09:07,114 --> 00:09:10,548
It was quite a scene
for about a month.

197
00:09:10,617 --> 00:09:12,517
Some of the shops
downtown in oxford

198
00:09:12,519 --> 00:09:14,352
Were having sinkhole sales.

199
00:09:14,420 --> 00:09:15,987
People had their
signs done up:

200
00:09:16,056 --> 00:09:18,857
"sinkhole sale,
everything might go".

201
00:09:18,925 --> 00:09:20,258
[laughing]

202
00:09:20,326 --> 00:09:21,559
I think that's good.
I think you've got to

203
00:09:21,628 --> 00:09:23,428
Jump on these
marketing opportunities

204
00:09:23,496 --> 00:09:25,897
When they present
themselves, right.

205
00:09:25,965 --> 00:09:28,266
You know, maybe you could say:
"visit oxford, nova scotia.

206
00:09:28,335 --> 00:09:31,402
Our public parks might not
include a golf course,

207
00:09:31,405 --> 00:09:32,871
But we have a hole in one."

208
00:09:32,939 --> 00:09:34,806
[laughing]

209
00:09:34,808 --> 00:09:37,242
[applauding]

210
00:09:46,219 --> 00:09:49,988
However broken the bedrock,
it is covered — no doubt —

211
00:09:50,056 --> 00:09:53,091
By a bounty of
beautiful berries.

212
00:09:53,093 --> 00:09:55,660
And I discovered that the
family that picks together,

213
00:09:55,662 --> 00:09:56,961
Sticks together.

214
00:09:56,964 --> 00:09:58,830
I'm talking about the owners of
black track farm,

215
00:09:58,898 --> 00:10:00,465
Dwayne and greg gordon.

216
00:10:00,533 --> 00:10:03,201
[cheering & applauding]

217
00:10:03,203 --> 00:10:05,770
I went out and had a chat with
the lads out in the field.

218
00:10:05,839 --> 00:10:07,205
And it turns out that,
you know,

219
00:10:07,207 --> 00:10:10,308
They do their job pretty much
the same way I do mine.

220
00:10:10,377 --> 00:10:12,377
We both go for low
hanging fruit.

221
00:10:12,445 --> 00:10:14,045
[laughing]

222
00:10:14,113 --> 00:10:17,115
What I mean by that is wild
blueberries are a

223
00:10:17,183 --> 00:10:21,186
Low bush berry, not unlike
the gordon's themselves,

224
00:10:21,254 --> 00:10:22,720
Or like most nova scotians.

225
00:10:22,723 --> 00:10:24,656
These berries are
pretty grounded.

226
00:10:24,724 --> 00:10:26,858
[laughing]

227
00:10:26,926 --> 00:10:29,527
They told me that there are
several reasons why

228
00:10:29,529 --> 00:10:32,330
Wild blueberries grow
so well in this area.

229
00:10:32,398 --> 00:10:34,298
The ground here is acidic...

230
00:10:34,367 --> 00:10:37,835
Or, has the right ground for
growing blueberries.

231
00:10:37,904 --> 00:10:39,570
They're here natural.

232
00:10:39,573 --> 00:10:44,342
There's a very specific, highly
acidic soil in this area.

233
00:10:44,410 --> 00:10:46,044
And I think if I got it right,
I think the

234
00:10:46,112 --> 00:10:50,114
Soil helps them grow.
And the acid makes them wild.

235
00:10:50,183 --> 00:10:52,083
[laughing]

236
00:10:52,085 --> 00:10:54,786
It's not just the
environment that makes

237
00:10:54,854 --> 00:10:56,387
The berries around
here so good.

238
00:10:56,456 --> 00:10:58,089
It's also the knowledge
that comes from

239
00:10:58,091 --> 00:11:00,591
Generations of experience.

240
00:11:00,660 --> 00:11:02,860
I started picking blueberries
here with my grandmother,

241
00:11:02,929 --> 00:11:04,495
My father after her, and...

242
00:11:04,498 --> 00:11:07,331
Now my children and
their, their children

243
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:08,833
Are gonna be here next.

244
00:11:08,902 --> 00:11:11,102
I followed my grandmother
around here,

245
00:11:11,170 --> 00:11:13,371
Down on my hands and knees,
raking by hand and

246
00:11:13,373 --> 00:11:17,709
Putting it in a bucket
all day for a month.

247
00:11:17,777 --> 00:11:19,244
By the time greg started,

248
00:11:19,312 --> 00:11:21,246
Things were a little
more automated.

249
00:11:21,314 --> 00:11:23,681
Machine picked everything,
everything came up,

250
00:11:23,684 --> 00:11:24,949
Fell into a box.

251
00:11:25,017 --> 00:11:27,051
You just had to
keep moving boxes,

252
00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:28,886
Make sure you
didn't spill any.

253
00:11:28,889 --> 00:11:31,789
You'd get yelled at a lot if
you spilled some.

254
00:11:31,858 --> 00:11:35,727
14 hours a day, just driving
around the blueberry field.

255
00:11:35,795 --> 00:11:38,696
Just eat your sandwich and
sit in the tractor.

256
00:11:38,765 --> 00:11:42,433
He said, you know, you're on
the back of a tractor all day,

257
00:11:42,502 --> 00:11:45,570
Lifting and reloading these
20 pound boxes.

258
00:11:45,638 --> 00:11:48,940
And you'd be doing that
6, 700 times a day, right.

259
00:11:49,008 --> 00:11:52,276
You might stop long enough
to have a sandwich.

260
00:11:52,279 --> 00:11:55,113
If not, you just make do with
the 4 or 5 pounds of

261
00:11:55,181 --> 00:11:56,448
Blueberries you'd eat every day.

262
00:11:56,516 --> 00:11:58,349
[laughing]

263
00:11:58,417 --> 00:12:01,286
It's not just the locals who
love wild blueberries.

264
00:12:01,354 --> 00:12:03,288
It's the local wildlife.

265
00:12:03,356 --> 00:12:07,525
Bear, birds, seagulls, geese.

266
00:12:07,593 --> 00:12:10,328
You get a hundred seagulls,
they land and they're just

267
00:12:10,330 --> 00:12:12,597
Going like that steady,
swallowing berries.

268
00:12:12,665 --> 00:12:14,165
So, they eat a lot of berries.

269
00:12:14,233 --> 00:12:16,568
Seagulls, they said, terrible.

270
00:12:16,636 --> 00:12:19,504
They said a flock of seagulls
could pitch down and

271
00:12:19,572 --> 00:12:22,006
Decimate a field in minutes.

272
00:12:22,074 --> 00:12:24,575
I always thought if you're
trying to keep seagulls away

273
00:12:24,644 --> 00:12:27,411
From a field of blueberries,
could you not just like

274
00:12:27,414 --> 00:12:29,614
Lay a plate of
fries over here?

275
00:12:29,682 --> 00:12:32,250
[laughing]

276
00:12:32,252 --> 00:12:37,188
Dwayne said the most effective
method that he's seen to keep

277
00:12:37,190 --> 00:12:42,026
Seagulls away is to hang a
balloon in the field.

278
00:12:42,094 --> 00:12:46,531
And on this balloon, you paint
the eye of an owl.

279
00:12:46,599 --> 00:12:47,965
I can't help but
think like...

280
00:12:48,034 --> 00:12:49,834
'hoo'... Came up with that one?

281
00:12:49,902 --> 00:12:52,270
[laughing]

282
00:12:52,272 --> 00:12:55,740
♪

283
00:12:55,742 --> 00:12:59,777
Moving from the middle east
to canada's east coast

284
00:12:59,846 --> 00:13:01,779
Surely can't be easy.

285
00:13:01,848 --> 00:13:04,482
I had a chat with
alia kamareddine and

286
00:13:04,484 --> 00:13:06,017
Zaynah mohamed.

287
00:13:06,085 --> 00:13:08,519
[cheering & applauding]

288
00:13:08,588 --> 00:13:10,888
Alia and her husband
fled lebanon

289
00:13:10,891 --> 00:13:13,891
During a civil war
there in 1988.

290
00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,361
Coming to canada had a
host of challenges.

291
00:13:17,430 --> 00:13:18,963
When I first moved
to canada,

292
00:13:19,032 --> 00:13:21,032
It was like very,
very hard for me...

293
00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:22,033
Yeah.

294
00:13:22,101 --> 00:13:24,068
Because the weather
was too cold.

295
00:13:24,070 --> 00:13:26,804
The language, I don't
know any english.

296
00:13:26,873 --> 00:13:28,840
I only know 'thank you'.

297
00:13:28,908 --> 00:13:32,777
Also, for muslims who
practice ramadan—

298
00:13:32,845 --> 00:13:35,513
This is 30 days of fasting.

299
00:13:35,581 --> 00:13:40,051
From sunrise to sunset,
we go no food,

300
00:13:40,119 --> 00:13:42,253
No drink, nothing. Just—

301
00:13:42,255 --> 00:13:44,655
And of course, this far north,
we go from

302
00:13:44,724 --> 00:13:47,058
Very short days
in the winter...

303
00:13:47,060 --> 00:13:50,194
To very long days
in the summer.

304
00:13:50,197 --> 00:13:54,365
So, during ramadan,
you could go 16 hours

305
00:13:54,433 --> 00:13:56,200
Without having
a bite to eat.

306
00:13:56,203 --> 00:14:00,771
I can't imagine how
'hangry' you would be.

307
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,075
And just watching the sun,
waiting for it to disappear.

308
00:14:04,143 --> 00:14:06,043
And what if you have
an east coast fog?

309
00:14:06,046 --> 00:14:08,045
What if you can't
see the sun?

310
00:14:08,114 --> 00:14:11,048
You know, does east coast
fog literally create

311
00:14:11,117 --> 00:14:14,285
A gray area for ramadan?
You know what I mean?

312
00:14:14,353 --> 00:14:15,553
"oh, my god, I'm starving."

313
00:14:15,555 --> 00:14:17,088
"okay, I'm gonna have
a bite to eat."

314
00:14:17,156 --> 00:14:19,557
"no, wait,
is the sun fully set?"

315
00:14:19,626 --> 00:14:22,593
"well, I can't see it."
"yeah, but are you sure?"

316
00:14:22,662 --> 00:14:23,862
"I said I can't see it!"

317
00:14:23,930 --> 00:14:25,897
[laughing]

318
00:14:25,965 --> 00:14:27,431
There's that cultural
difference and the

319
00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:28,933
Misunderstanding, I think.

320
00:14:29,001 --> 00:14:31,035
That's kind of what makes it
ramadan a little harder

321
00:14:31,104 --> 00:14:32,603
In a rural area.

322
00:14:32,672 --> 00:14:35,440
And for zaynah, as a kid,
she's going to school.

323
00:14:35,508 --> 00:14:38,309
She's the only arab kid
at the time.

324
00:14:38,377 --> 00:14:40,411
My mom would be
cooking me meals,

325
00:14:40,479 --> 00:14:42,580
And I'd bring them to school
and people would be like:

326
00:14:42,648 --> 00:14:43,948
"what is that?" like,

327
00:14:44,016 --> 00:14:45,450
"what are you bringing
to school?"

328
00:14:45,518 --> 00:14:48,452
They're used to their sandwiches
or their soups and salads.

329
00:14:48,521 --> 00:14:50,154
And I would be
bringing like dolma.

330
00:14:50,222 --> 00:14:51,956
Kids, they just— they don't
want to be different.

331
00:14:52,024 --> 00:14:53,157
They just want to fit in.

332
00:14:53,225 --> 00:14:54,992
I would be fasting and
go to school,

333
00:14:55,061 --> 00:14:56,294
And it would be lunch break.

334
00:14:56,362 --> 00:14:57,561
Everyone's eating
and they're like,

335
00:14:57,564 --> 00:14:58,596
"why aren't you eating?"
and I'm like,

336
00:14:58,598 --> 00:15:00,331
"I'm fasting,
I can't eat."

337
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,267
She goes from the kid
with the weird lunch,

338
00:15:02,335 --> 00:15:03,935
To the kid with
no lunch at all.

339
00:15:04,003 --> 00:15:06,003
[laughing]

340
00:15:06,072 --> 00:15:08,973
At the end of ramadan,
they'll have a feast.

341
00:15:09,041 --> 00:15:11,676
So, we thought it was a great
opportunity to display it to

342
00:15:11,744 --> 00:15:13,311
The people in the community.

343
00:15:13,379 --> 00:15:15,212
They'll invite people from
the community to

344
00:15:15,281 --> 00:15:16,414
Come and share in it.

345
00:15:16,482 --> 00:15:18,749
And people can learn a little
bit about their faith and

346
00:15:18,818 --> 00:15:22,753
Their culture and try some
of the traditional food.

347
00:15:22,756 --> 00:15:23,988
And how did
they take to it?

348
00:15:24,056 --> 00:15:25,423
- They loved it.
- They loved it.

349
00:15:25,491 --> 00:15:28,159
While we were talking about it,
I felt like an idiot because

350
00:15:28,227 --> 00:15:32,129
I knew there was a name for this
feast at the end of ramadan.

351
00:15:32,198 --> 00:15:34,865
But I couldn't, I couldn't
remember it.

352
00:15:34,934 --> 00:15:40,037
And it's eid mubarak, sometimes
referred to simply as eid.

353
00:15:40,106 --> 00:15:41,639
But I said to alia, I said—

354
00:15:41,708 --> 00:15:44,542
At the end of ramadan,
the end of the fasting,

355
00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:45,977
What's the name for the..?

356
00:15:46,045 --> 00:15:50,715
It's eid.
End of fasting is called eid.

357
00:15:50,783 --> 00:15:52,516
And she said eid.

358
00:15:52,519 --> 00:15:56,320
And I said, "yeah, when you can
eat, what's the name of it?"

359
00:15:56,323 --> 00:15:59,824
[laughing]

360
00:15:59,892 --> 00:16:04,795
In 2015, canada began accepting
refugees from syria and

361
00:16:04,798 --> 00:16:07,498
Cities and towns all over
this country found

362
00:16:07,566 --> 00:16:09,467
Places for
newcomers to live.

363
00:16:09,535 --> 00:16:12,136
And oxford was among these
towns that stepped up.

364
00:16:12,138 --> 00:16:14,672
There are several syrian
families living here now.

365
00:16:14,741 --> 00:16:18,376
When they first came, most of
them, they can't go anywhere,

366
00:16:18,444 --> 00:16:20,678
And they can't
speak the language.

367
00:16:20,746 --> 00:16:23,548
I used to help them,
take them to hospital,

368
00:16:23,616 --> 00:16:26,884
To dentist,
to grocery shopping.

369
00:16:26,952 --> 00:16:31,155
Alia said to me that she knew
it would be a great comfort for

370
00:16:31,224 --> 00:16:34,392
Other muslims, if they could
have a place of worship.

371
00:16:34,394 --> 00:16:37,028
It means a lot to them,
like, it's mean like,

372
00:16:37,096 --> 00:16:39,564
You know, like home.

373
00:16:39,632 --> 00:16:42,533
And of course, since the
community centre was closed,

374
00:16:42,601 --> 00:16:45,169
You don't really have your pick
of gathering places.

375
00:16:45,238 --> 00:16:48,172
So, alia got together with a
couple of local ladies.

376
00:16:48,241 --> 00:16:52,510
Eventually, they found a place
where muslims could worship.

377
00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:54,178
Where in god's name?

378
00:16:54,247 --> 00:16:55,713
♪ [angelic] ♪

379
00:16:55,782 --> 00:16:57,982
Well, in your united church.

380
00:16:57,984 --> 00:17:00,251
[laughing]

381
00:17:00,319 --> 00:17:03,421
♪ [prayer] ♪

382
00:17:03,489 --> 00:17:04,889
Well, it's unusual.

383
00:17:04,957 --> 00:17:07,592
Certainly unusual, that goes
without saying, I suppose.

384
00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:10,661
Yeah, it's just like the little
mosque on the prairie.

385
00:17:10,729 --> 00:17:12,764
I haven't been this
impressed since they put

386
00:17:12,832 --> 00:17:14,999
The swiss chalet and the
harveys together.

387
00:17:15,067 --> 00:17:16,600
[laughing]

388
00:17:16,603 --> 00:17:19,136
In fact, I think if you have
another unused space in the

389
00:17:19,205 --> 00:17:21,105
Church, you could put a
buddhist temple in there and

390
00:17:21,107 --> 00:17:23,140
It'd be real spiritual
turducken.

391
00:17:23,209 --> 00:17:25,009
[laughing]

392
00:17:31,351 --> 00:17:35,252
People of oxford were not
about to take it lying down.

393
00:17:35,255 --> 00:17:37,855
Although maybe you should
have, 'cause if you lie down,

394
00:17:37,923 --> 00:17:39,824
You spread your weight,
you disperse your weight

395
00:17:39,826 --> 00:17:42,426
Over more surface area...
- [laughing]

396
00:17:42,495 --> 00:17:43,895
Less of a chance of
falling through.

397
00:17:43,963 --> 00:17:47,765
Just saying, just saying.

398
00:17:47,767 --> 00:17:49,767
The town is trying to
raise money to build

399
00:17:49,769 --> 00:17:51,002
A new community centre.

400
00:17:51,070 --> 00:17:53,838
And I got to speak to a couple
of the organizers,

401
00:17:53,906 --> 00:17:56,173
Leta macdiarmid and
chrystal mcnutt.

402
00:17:56,176 --> 00:18:00,111
[cheering & applauding]

403
00:18:00,179 --> 00:18:02,413
When the sinkhole happened,
and the park was closed,

404
00:18:02,481 --> 00:18:03,848
And the community
centre was closed —

405
00:18:03,916 --> 00:18:05,216
What was the vibe around?

406
00:18:05,218 --> 00:18:06,650
It was devastating,
yeah, absolutely.

407
00:18:06,719 --> 00:18:08,152
That's where everybody
came to congregate.

408
00:18:08,220 --> 00:18:09,787
That's where the
town got together.

409
00:18:09,789 --> 00:18:11,322
Yeah, it was
very upsetting.

410
00:18:11,390 --> 00:18:13,891
The community centre, it's
the main gathering place for

411
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,528
Everything, from weddings,
birthday celebrations.

412
00:18:17,596 --> 00:18:21,399
The lake was used for swimming,
and skating in the winter.

413
00:18:21,467 --> 00:18:26,337
The old playground is exactly
where the sinkhole appeared.

414
00:18:26,339 --> 00:18:28,272
Basically, different
business owners and

415
00:18:28,274 --> 00:18:30,541
People from the community
came together and...

416
00:18:30,610 --> 00:18:32,610
And said, we really need to,
you know, fill this void...

417
00:18:32,678 --> 00:18:38,282
And have something for everyone
to gather and congregate in.

418
00:18:38,350 --> 00:18:42,820
What I was able to attend was
a blueberry bake off.

419
00:18:42,888 --> 00:18:45,256
Blueberry bake offs have been
kind of a fun way to get out

420
00:18:45,324 --> 00:18:48,092
And, you know, have a good time
and try something new.

421
00:18:48,094 --> 00:18:50,761
These gals, their attitude
for a new centre is,

422
00:18:50,763 --> 00:18:53,731
"bake it 'til you make it".

423
00:18:53,799 --> 00:18:55,833
There's all kinds of things you
can make blueberries from,

424
00:18:55,835 --> 00:18:59,603
You know, muffins and loaves,
to cake and cobbler and crisp.

425
00:18:59,672 --> 00:19:01,405
We have pie today,
we have cheesecake.

426
00:19:01,473 --> 00:19:05,943
Maybe you'd like to try my
to-die-for blueberry muffins.

427
00:19:06,012 --> 00:19:08,479
Leta's to-die-for muffins.

428
00:19:08,547 --> 00:19:11,015
It's sort of a nod to
her profession.

429
00:19:11,083 --> 00:19:13,250
She runs a funeral parlor.

430
00:19:13,319 --> 00:19:15,052
[laughing]

431
00:19:15,054 --> 00:19:17,555
Do you die for them or
die from them?

432
00:19:17,623 --> 00:19:19,990
We'll have to see.

433
00:19:20,059 --> 00:19:21,792
- What a day for it, hey?
- It's perfect.

434
00:19:21,861 --> 00:19:25,062
I ate so much, oh, my god.
I got to try muffins and

435
00:19:25,130 --> 00:19:27,965
Cakes and cobblers
and crumbles.

436
00:19:28,034 --> 00:19:30,168
And I was willing to eat it all.

437
00:19:30,236 --> 00:19:32,336
If I got to fill my
pie hole to

438
00:19:32,404 --> 00:19:34,338
Help with your sinkhole,
I'll do it.

439
00:19:34,340 --> 00:19:36,140
- [laughing]
- I'll do it.

440
00:19:36,208 --> 00:19:41,212
♪

441
00:19:41,214 --> 00:19:43,981
Under your ground,
mother earth laid down

442
00:19:44,050 --> 00:19:47,285
Some tracks of soft rock,
but don't resent her.

443
00:19:47,353 --> 00:19:50,021
Maybe a community is
a bit like a donut,

444
00:19:50,089 --> 00:19:53,123
It can be great
without a 'centre'.

445
00:19:53,192 --> 00:19:56,393
The attitude of the people
who live off this land

446
00:19:56,462 --> 00:19:59,029
Matters more than the
caverns underneath.

447
00:19:59,032 --> 00:20:01,966
Bake it 'til you make it,
but go easy on the sweets

448
00:20:02,034 --> 00:20:04,368
Or you might have cavernous
holes in your teeth.

449
00:20:04,437 --> 00:20:07,738
Or try lebanese food in a
mosque in a church.

450
00:20:07,806 --> 00:20:10,041
I know that sounds
kind of radical.

451
00:20:10,109 --> 00:20:12,944
But all can feel blessed in
oxford, ns,

452
00:20:13,012 --> 00:20:15,513
The world's
wild blueberry capital.

453
00:20:15,581 --> 00:20:17,314
Thanks for coming out to
the show, everybody.

454
00:20:17,317 --> 00:20:18,749
You've been great!

455
00:20:18,817 --> 00:20:20,484
[cheering & applauding]

456
00:20:20,486 --> 00:20:22,519
I laughed 'til I was
blue in the face.

457
00:20:22,588 --> 00:20:24,888
I like talking knowingly
about food even though

458
00:20:24,957 --> 00:20:26,824
I don't really
know anything.

459
00:20:26,892 --> 00:20:29,693
Well, thank you for the laugh,
jonny. It's nice.

460
00:20:29,762 --> 00:20:33,464
♪

461
00:20:33,532 --> 00:20:36,400
Geology and puns go hand in
hand and, jonny nailed it.

462
00:20:36,402 --> 00:20:39,937
♪

463
00:20:40,006 --> 00:20:41,272
Jonny, you were...

464
00:20:41,340 --> 00:20:42,606
You were great.

465
00:20:42,608 --> 00:20:44,875
Love you in murdoch mysteries
and you were great live, too.

466
00:20:44,944 --> 00:20:48,078
♪

467
00:20:48,147 --> 00:20:51,415
The to-die-for muffins, has
anybody actually died from them?

468
00:20:51,417 --> 00:20:53,484
Not that I know of.

469
00:20:53,552 --> 00:20:55,286
It's likely he literally
knows us all.

470
00:20:55,354 --> 00:20:57,521
- Exactly, yeah, absolutely.
- In under a week.

471
00:20:57,589 --> 00:20:59,257
It's like he's from
our hometown.

472
00:20:59,325 --> 00:21:04,228
♪