Still Standing (2015) s01e13 Episode Script

1
Sir, what should we call
this new found land?
Perfect don't spend another
minute thinking about it.
Eventually I got to
the bottom of it.
They take crushed up sea
cucumber to improve erection.
Sleep under a quilt made by nan
- the toilet has a remote?
Have a poop in a
toilet made by NASA.
When you grow up
in a small town in
Newfoundland, you see that
people have a sense of
humour about hard times.
Check, check.
I turned that into a
career and hit the road.
MC: Mr. Jonny Harris.
Now I'm on a mission to
find the funny in the
places you'd least expect it,
Canada's struggling small towns.
Towns that are against the
ropes but hanging in there,
still laughing in
the face of adversity.
This is Fogo Island,
Newfoundland and Labrador.
An island off an island
off the edge of a continent.
Isolated for hundreds of
years self reliant in the
most extreme conditions.
I got to Fogo as all
people do on the ferry.
The ferry is like our
TransCanada highway,
we get lumber brought
over for wood stoves.
Our groceries
obviously, supplies.
There's been many stories
of people being stranded
on the boat overnight,
being stuck on the ice.
Folks I don't know how to
tell the rest of Canada in
such a way that they
will believe me.
There's been some times
where you'll see caribou
swimming next to the boat.
No.
- Yep.
That sometimes your ferry
has to swerve to avoid caribou.
Maybe they got sick of
lining up for the ferry.
Could be yeah.
Shag this we're
swimming. -Yeah.
Here we are on
Fogo Island folks.
I'm telling ya for most
Canadians the idea of
coming to Fogo Island is like
going to the edge of the earth.
It was the 60s before you guys
got electricity and plumbing.
I'm not saying that you
guys are behind the times
but when the Russians were
putting a satellite in space,
you guys were taking a
candle to go for a poop.
By the time you guys got
paved roads, the moonwalk
had happened and I'm not
talking Neil Armstrong.
I'm talking Michael Jackson.
Hey Roy how are ya?
I went out with Roy Dwyer here.
He knows all the history
- he's written about
four books on the place.
You wonder how people
ever survived here.
Yeah it's the coldest, on
of the most inhospitable
places on earth, You look
at the landscape,
the barrenness of the soil
and the rocks, it wasn't the
land that drove them
here, it was the ocean.
Cod is in our blood right?
Like Mercury.
When that collapsed people
didn't know exactly what to do.
The cod moratorium in 1992
put 30,000 people out of work.
It's like someone pulling
the rug out from under you,
the whole economic
system collapsed.
He said back in the day
you know the schools would
be teeming with kids.
Nowadays, we're seeing a lot
of half empty school buses,
population is
declining, no question.
Now you see the school bus
you gotta look twice to
see if there are any
kids on it at all.
You could be driving
behind that school bus for
half an hour and no one
give you the finger.
The fishery here was able
to make a lateral move
from cod into shrimp and crab.
It's still the fishery
that keeps Fogo hanging on.
Oh yes if there was no
fishery what would the
tourists have to visit?
Fogo Island is making
a serious play in the
tourism sector right?
They could be from
Austria, they could be from
Australia and they need someone
to explain the culture.
So you're the host, you're like
the interpreter for the island.
He is a professional story
teller, it says so right
on the side of his truck.
How did you hear about Roy?
Well I was looking to get
some storytelling done,
he gave me a quote on a
ten stanza fishing poem
and he'd throw in a
free limerick.
There once was a man from
Tilting whose wife loved
nothing but quilting.
It's needle and thread
that she loves in bed
and his poor old John
Thomas is wilting.
I could see how for tourists,
hearing about life in Fogo
could be like stepping
into another century.
Money was scarce, I don't
know if I ever seen a
10 dollar bill until I went
to university and left home.
Is that right?
And Jonny you're going
to come to my place.
Oh yeah?
- Oh yes.
For many a place where
people can still live off
what they fish and grow must
be a bit of a curiosity.
I guess if you live in a
city you can't do that and
they say do you mind if
I take a picture of
your clothes on the line?
Is that right?
And I'm oh okay sure.
People love it when we
hang the clothes on
the line, don't they?
I think there's a real
opportunity there for
Roy and Christine to get
the tourists to do
some of their chores.
Call it experiential tourism.
Yes I'm hanging out the
clothes now my lover
and you can be next.
And after that you can
unpack the dishwasher like
a true Newfoundlander.
So why do you think people
are so fascinated with seeing
the simple life, the old way
of life here in Fogo?
I think nostalgia, people
are full of nostalgia,
and there's no going back
when you progress.
And progress on Fogo
Island isn't just doing
your laundry in a washer/dryer.
There's something
bigger happening here.
Much bigger.
There's the Fogo Island Inn.
It's your first sight of it?
First sight on the Inn.
Yeah yeah, look at that.
They've gone from the
stone age to the space age
in one hotel - the
Fogo Island inn.
Thanks Roy.
- No problem.
Roy drove me up to
the Fogo Island Inn.
The architecture of the
place is wild, just looks
like a beautiful stack
of white shipping
containers on the rocks.
And it sort of looks like,
who here watches
Battlestar Galactica?
I never had a chance to
meet Zita Cobb but
she's the one
responsible for the inn,
she's a Joe Batt's Arm girl,
raised without plumbing
or electricity.
She went away, became one
of the wealthiest women in
the country, built the
hotel and the proceeds
from the hotel go back
into the community.
As far as I can tell it's
a non profit with room service.
Of course you know the
project was really based
on sourcing locally.
And Amanda Decker Penton,
she was showing me around.
So this is all
available at IKEA right?
You can get all this.
All made across the road.
Our wood shop is
across the road.
Its unbelievable.
Anything that could
be hand built there
was hand built here.
But all the materials they
brough in from away had to
be done with a really
high artistic,
ethical and
environmental standard.
So they ended up having to
buy a bunch of wire down
in the states, having
it melted down and
forged into nails and
using those.
Custom made nails.
- Custom made nails.
Which is funny because
everything is finished
so you can't see a nail.
Absolutely.
I think if I went to that much
trouble to get nails
I'd have them sticking
out everywhere.
Geez look out there's some
nails sticking out of the floor.
Well there's an
interesting story
behind that nail.
Cheers Amanda.
- Cheers.
The inn has given people
a chance to stay in Fogo.
Amanda and her family had been
living out in Alberta.
So she was thrilled
she was able to find
employment back here, she
always wanted to raise
her daughter as Fogo Islander.
You really need to bring
you back home and then
make you, you know subject
you to what you really are
so that you'll be able to
grow and know who you are.
Amanda eventually showed
me one of the guest rooms.
And room like this one was
aout 1,000 dollars a night.
Hourly rates weren't available.
Wow.
All of the furniture,
quilts, cushions, rugs,
all done here.
You see this in lots
of Newfoundland homes.
That stuff that your
grandparents were trying
to ship off to the cabin
cause they can finally
afford something from
Sears, you know what I mean?
Sort of reminded me of
nan's room, in fact it so
much reminded me of
nan's I apologized for
not visiting enough.
One object in the room
that is certainly not
vintage is the toilet.
The toilet has a remote?
Of course.
Three settings on the bidet,
send 'em some room service,
I've got my night
all planned out here.
Everything okay Jonny?
And I'm a goldilocks.
I like the middle setting.
Just give us a few minutes.
The first one is not quite
enough, it's like a lawn
sprinkler, the third
setting that will take
the salt off your truck.
Hope you didn't hurt yourself.
No.
All good.
The Fogo Island Inn, sleep
under a quilt by nan,
have a poop in a toilet
made by Nasa.
In the hard times between
the mid 50s and the mid
70s the federal and
provincial government
replocated over 300
isolated communities.
Back in the days
of resettlement the
government urged the
people of Fogo Island to
leave -but they did
not and the government
eventually said if you
stay you're on your own
and the people of Fogo
Island said, you promise?
We were here, we wanted
to stay here so the other
people of Fogo Island got
together and decided
how they were going
to approach this.
If I really wanted to
understand how this island
has been able to survive
I would have to speak with
somebody at the fishery
co-op so I went and had a
sit down with Perry Collins,
Perry Collins everybody.
It seems to me that for
the people of Fogo Island
to tell the government
they didn't want to relocate,
god there is a sort of spirit of
self-reliance here right.
I see that in all areas.
Everybody in the province
is competing for crab,
competing for the shrimp
and in order for us to get
our share of it we really
got to be competitive.
It's a cod eat, cod
eat world out there.
It is yeah.
The market for the shrimp
and crab is mostly
going to Asia right.
So did you have Japanese
businessmen coming here?
Oh yes we've entertained.
Of course they had to have
translators to translate
from Fogo into English
and English into Japanese.
I think that's hilarious,
I would love to be
a fly on the wall for
that meeting right.
Boys I can't totally tell
but that there Japan
fella is saying cause he
talks kind of queer.
I think he likes himself
a drop of Fogo Island crab
either that or I've just
sold him a skidoo
for three million dollars.
Well sea cucumbers a
relatively new product,
It's all going to China.
Is China eating
the sea cucumber?
Ah how should I say it?
He says they dry it and
it gets crushed up and
put in capsules and
they take that.
I said why are they taking that?
I think they're doing a number
of different things with them.
Like what Perry?
What are they doing
with the sea cucumber?
Well
Eventually I got to the
bottom of it: they take
crushed up sea cucumber
to improve erection.
Now does it work?
I'm not sure not yet.
What time is it?
Like yesterday was sort of
dark and foggy and
I just thought I would
do anything to not
go out on that water.
What a hellish way
to make a living.
There's other work out
there where incomes are
higher but the people
in the fishery now are
dedicated fishermen,
they're there not only to
make a living but they
feel it's part of their.
Part of their life.
The population of Fogo
Island is not half of what
is was 40 years ago,
there's trouble holding
onto young people.
So how does Fogo Island
keep on keeping on?
Because I have found that
Fogo Island has not only
found a way to survive
but a way to keep
many old traditions alive.
What's happening here
on Fogo Island now is
insuring our survival.
I went over for a visit
with the ladies at
the Wind and Waves
Artisan Guild.
These are the quilters and
they're very good at it.
Lillian is the president
of the guild and
I'll tell ya she is so good
at making rugs I don't
know where she finds the
time for hooking.
I'm the hooker of the group.
The tradition of quilting
was born out of necessity
it was from a time when
money was scarce,
you could not afford waste.
Your patchwork quilts were
made from used clothing,
your mother's dress,
your father's shirt,
your sister's blouse.
Woven literally into the fabric.
Exactly.
Which is really sweet
right until you wake up in
the morning and realize
you've got your face
smashed in the trap door
of Papi's long john's.
Got to pick it up and look
at it to make sure your
mother's 42 bra
didn't make it in.
They stopped hooking rugs
when they started selling
those canvas mats because
it was a sign of poverty
to only have these types
of mats on their floor.
I love how the old
handmade stuff,
the really good quality made
stuff was like a sign
of poverty back in the day.
The Fogo Island Inn
commissioned hundreds
of quilts, rugs and
handmade furniture.
People had to relearn the
old ways of doing this and
they rediscovered their
culture in the process.
Okay now pull it
through, you've done it.
I've done it, I've
made my first quilt.
Now they sell for 100s of
dollars to people
from all around the world.
Didn't I just undo
what I just did? -No.
Like that?
So how much does
something like this pay?
Many worry the high end
inn might change Fogo but
Lillian says tourism didn't
change them it rooted them.
The most special part of
it all is that we see
some of our young people
coming back home.
There are jobs here,
they're bringing
their spouse with them,
they're bringing
their children with them.
I only hooked once before,
it was before
I had a steady TV job.
It's a great time for
anybody to come here and
visit Fogo Island when
these old ways are not
necessary for survival but
can be appreciated -
do you know what I mean?
Who hand builds their
own boat anymore?
Well Aidan Penton is.
My father used to say
you're not a fisherman
until you can float yourself.
You're not a real
fisherman until you
can float yourself,
meaning until you can
build your own boat.
When the first settlers
came here this is what
they used for everything.
Most of them couldn't read
and write and that's what
they brought with them
and that's how they
built those boats out
of those sticks.
Aidan showed me three
sticks that are lashed
together with varying
degrees of curve at the end.
So this is a blueprint
basically for?
That's pretty well a
blueprint and you can take
every different frame
out of that boat from
that blueprint there.
Like they might not be
able to read or write
but that's an astonishing
level of intelligence,
do you know what I mean?
Just taking that in the
woods and being able to
put together a
sea faring vessel?
When I wash all the
pieces, I can't put back
together the coffee maker
and I've got a degree.
He doesn't steam or
shape any of the planks.
Because you've got to
follow the curve,
you can't break that, it's
impossible to break that,
see if you follow the curve.
Which means he's got to
go out into the woods
and just look for these
shapes in the trees.
That's called a breast
hook, it's like a hook hey.
Yeah it doesn't look much
like a breast though.
But Aidan says he'll be
out sometimes looking for
trees that grow out the
side of cliff and he says
sometimes the trees talk
to him and they say
"Aidan get off the shrooms".
Every piece of wood in
this boat has got a name.
On the side of the punt
where the oar goes
there's a hole and pin
goes in that hole.
The pin that the oar hooks
on is called a dildo.
It's called a dildo.
Aidan where do the batteries go?
I don't know, I never had one.
The old ways weren't
simple at all -
they're extremely difficult.
See what I'm doing?
I'm better at a french braid.
Build your own boat, if
you do a poor job of it,
you will die.
When you get to finish,
it's an accomplishment.
People come here and even
the people who are here
can take a look at these
things and just try to
find you know some beauty
in it, some comfort in it,
there is some wisdom to it.
My father he used to
always be saying to me,
you should never forget
where you come from you know.
So one day I said to
him why not forget
where you come from?
He said because sometime
my son you might
have to go back there.
I guess what he meant was
the past is the future.
As the Fogo Island Inn
leaves it mark on the
landscape I'm left
wondering if -
like so many places -
tourism will change
this little island.
I was invited over to the
Foley's for a shed party.
So tell me what do people
make of it, people who are
here from all corners of
the world staying at the
inn and they come over
to the Foley's shed on a
Saturday night and what
do they make of it?
They love it.
I saw people that night
playing and dancing and singing.
I saw people from older
generations passing on
traditional Newfoundland
songs to younger generations.
I saw a coffee maker
that may have been
the most lonely machine
in the world.
Jonny that's on the rocks.
Okay perfect that's great.
And it's iceberg ice.
Iceberg ice?
Iceberg ice!
I knew I tasted a
hint of wolly mammoth.
But that's how you know
outsiders won't change Fogo,
their party has ice going
back a thousand years,
songs going back
400 years and dance moves
that are, well timeless.
Fogo is self sufficient,
you guys make your own
boats, pick your own
berries, fish and hunt
your own food, make
your own quilts to
stay warm in the winter.
I think if there's ever
a zombie apocalypse
not if but when
- I'm coming to Fogo.
And let's face it not even
the un-dead will line up
for that ferry.
Just before I came over
to Parrish Hall tonight
my mom called me for the
first time since I got to
Fogo Island, she said
Jonathan how's it going
in Fogo Island?
I said oh mom it's great I
sailed the ferry from Fairwell,
hooked with some
hookers, went blind in a
shed and had a taste of
woolly mammoth at
the edge of the earth.
She said Jonathan what
are you talking about?
I said mom I'm talking
about Fogo Island,
thanks so much everybody
you've been great.
We're Jonny's parents
and I'm the mother.
Great laugh, she never
stopped laughing, it's the
most laughing I've seen
since we got married.
Oh you can expect some
toilet humour at a
comedy show for sure.
Wonderful.
Enjoyed it immensely.
Pretty well perfect.
I haven't laughed
so hard in years.
He touched the
pulse of Newfoundland
and he made it so funny.
To hear Jonny explain all
the things that we are and
all the things that we do.
The punts, the quilts
and it was a bit of fun.
This is Fogo Island,
Newfoondland and Labradoodle.