Page 85 - Estwood Davidson: Travels with Beattie and Winston

ISSUE : Issue 54

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1990/6/1

career, then. No way. 'Cause I didn't know enough about it, to start with. (Why did Winston go off into the Army, and you go off into the Navy?) I can't under? stand it at all.... Probably some of his friends went in the Army, and probably he figured maybe that he should be with them. So that was that. So, eighteen months I ran from Greenock, Scotland, down to Gibraltar. Bay of Bis? cay, trying to get convoys through to Mal? ta. And rough going. I was on the Malta run. I was on the Assiniboine at that time--destroyer. So, it's a funny thing. I came back from overseas. And I was on Barrington Street one night, and who did I see coming in uniform--! could tell him a mile away--his hair was just as black as a raven's wing-- it was Winston. Well, him and I got on a little tear then for 2 or 3 days. And away we went again. The next time -I met him was in--when we were both discharged then--in 1946. I met him on Charlotte Street in Sydney. And I was working over at the naval base then as a mechanic. That was more or less my trade, and I took some more of it in the Navy. Who would I see coming, old Winston again. Well, the fate seems to always pull us together. He said, "What in the name of time are you doing here?" I said, "Living here." He said, "So am I. I live up in Amelia Street." And we got talking, got a few beers and went up to the park--Vic? toria Park--we used to hang around there a little bit. And he said, "We should start playing a little bit." "Holy jumping," I said, "I'm out of practice too bad. I hear there's good players around here." "Well," he said, "I heard some of them. But I don't think we'd have any problem," he said, "playing against them." "Oh, yeah. Well," I said, "if we can make beer money, probably we should try it!" So anyway, we got talking. And he said, "We should go up to the radio station." He al? ways poked me to go ahead. So I went up and asked Charlie MacDougall. I said, "How about giving us a chance on the radio, Mr. MacDou- gall?" "Well," he said, "can you play?" Winston was with me. "Oh," he said, "I don't know. I guess we can play a little." He said, "Would you play a tune for us?" We said, "Well, of course we'll play a tune for you." We were game for anything then. Holy jumping, we were only about 26, 27 then. So we played the tune for Charlie. And he said, "Holy jumping," he said, "you're certainly great players." He said, "I'll give you a job on Saturday night. But you should have a piano player." So he men? tioned Beattie (Wallace), and he gave me a number, and I called Beattie. I said, "Would you come over and try?"--we were The Violin Shop ' Johannes Sturm Violinmaker/repairer Quality Repairs to String Instruments Custom Vork Bow Rehairing New and Used Instruments Strings Accessories For information or appointment, call (902) 345-2883 R. R. 1, Grand Anse, Richmond County, N. S. BOE 1 VO Complete line of building materials i "The yard is FULL and the PRICES ARE RiGHT cl&slle; buikJuig centre Quality and Service You Can Build On 736-9722 252 Halfway Road ?? Sydney Mines I iF BUSY, CALL 736-6201 OR 736-7334 | (FAX #736-9806)

Cape Breton's Magazine