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We love kids…
One of the great joys of the Salamanders team is the kids…We think that it’s the quiet atmosphere of our home away from home that has kids enjoying our surroundings. We have no televisions and our music is soft, so folks are able to enjoy quiet conversation that includes the young ‘uns. Ok, so once and a while a wee one will act out but most of the time, we are blessed with children who sit and enjoy our food along with their parents and grandparents. It’s not that we believe that “well-behaved” kids should act like smaller adults: frankly, folks, we have had more adults acting out than their…
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Lights Out at Salamanders
The idea of a large scale switch off was coined and developed in 2006 as an initiative in Australia to engage the public on the issue of climate change. Originally called “The Big Flick,” the very first Earth Hour was March 31, 2007 at 7:30 pm, local time. In October of that year, San Francisco, California followed suit. 2008 was the first year that Earth Hour was held internationally. Earth Hour 2008 was celebrated on all seven continents. Landmarks all around the world turned off their non-essential lighting for Earth Hour, including: – Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia); – Empire State Building (New York City); – Sears Tower (now Willis…
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St. Patrick’s Day, Part Two
Seeing as tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, we thought you might like some fun facts about the day. We could be wearing blue instead of green. His colour was “Saint Patrick’s blue,” which was a pale shade. Green began being associated with St. Patrick because he used the shamrock to explain the Trinity to pagans. Its popularity was bolstered by the Irish independence movement in the late 18th century. St. Patrick’s Day parades did not originate in Ireland. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was in Boston, Mass on March 18, 1737, followed by the New York parade, which first took place in 1762. The first parade in Ireland was…
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The Feast of St. Patrick
St. Patrick’s Day or “the day of the Festival of Patrick” is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional date of Saint Patrick. St. Paddy is, of course, the patron saint of Ireland since about the 5th Century (a real old guy). Now it has come to pass that St. Patrick’s Day has developed a number of symbols over the years: * There is the traditional Wearing of the Green on that day (you know, as per The Emerald Isle); * There is the Celtic Cross (check the movie Gangs of New York for a rather violent explanation); * Leprechauns, rainbows and pots of gold at…
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Salamanders: What’s in a Name?
Ahem, now hear this: Wikipedia says that “Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by a lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All present-day Salamander families are grouped together under the scientific name Urodela” (gesundheit!). “Salamander diversity is most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere and most species are found in the Holarctic ecozone, with some species present in the Neotropical zone.” Well ok, so much for that. Meanwhile, if you like watching cooking shows on the tube, especially those that are set in restaurants, you may have people…
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What’s a MURT?
We at Salamanders of Kemptville take great pride in the cleanliness and decor of our site. But do you realize the kind of effort goes into ensuring that we are always putting our best foot forward? This effort is due to the hard work of our MURT, that is, our Maintenance, Upkeep and Refit Team. Let’s start with the mission of our Team, which is posted in our servery: “The mission of the Salamanders Maintenance, Upkeep and Refit Team is to exceed regulatory compliance in ensuring cleanliness, hygiene, order and safety in all operations: * For maintenance, to maintain our equipment to the maximum efficiency possible; * For upkeep, to…
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The 5 C’s
Salamanders of Kemptville prides itself in its 5C cooking: Cajun, Creole and Low Country Cooking with a Canadian Twist. This results from our family’s history and travels over the years. First of all, our Cormier name and family originated in Acadia, the 18th century French colony established just North of Halifax, Nova Scotia. So, Salamanders has a number of Acadian-inspired family dishes, which tend to be more French Canadian. Meanwhile, of course, the Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia in 1755 and some 165 families ended up in the French colony of Louisiana. Over time, Acadians became Cajuns, with typical dishes from that region, involving a fair amount of fish…
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The flag over the entrance way to Salamanders of Kemptville is that of the Acadians. It was chosen in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island in 1884 during the second National Acadian Convention. It was proposed by Reverend Marcel-François Richard from Saint-Louis, New Brunswick, President of the 3rd Commission responsible for studying the choice of a national flag for the Acadian people. Acadians are the original French settlers in the area located north of Halifax, Nova Scotia, – the Gaspereau Valley. In 1755, the British carried out the Great Expulsion, deported some 11,500 Acadians and dispersed them across North America. This gave rise to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem A Tale of Acadie,…
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Remembrance Day
With Remembrance Day being tomorrow, we thought it appropriate to honour one of our ancestors. Staff Sergeant Garnet Cecil Richardson, member of the 1st Division, Canadian Special Service Battalion, RCIC, was 22 when he sacrificed his life on the battlefields of Italy on February 9, 1944. Garnet was the son of Daniel and Violet Daisy Richardson, of Warkworth, Ontario, Canada. Garnet was also a poet. We share one of our favourites, with you, today. We Will Remember Them. Over There Fiction books, shows, and such like, Paint pictures of wars for our minds; Not pictures of war in its truest form, But as an adventure of another kind. There’s music:…
Salamanders of Kemptville | Cajun Restaurant