Colouring Sheet: Letters from Uncle Val - #1

Ever wonder what the next "knitting" will be?

What the coolest people will haul out of their bags in the bars of 2017 and go at with the fervent reverence previously reserved for homespun?

Here at Rattling Books we believe the next Big Thing - BIGGER EVEN THAN POETRY - that's right, BIGGER EVEN THAN POETRY IS GOING TO BE RIGHT AFTER THIS NEXT BIG THING - we believe THE NEXT BIG THING is colouring. Not for kids though. We don't reccomend it for kids. Colouring is an adult activity.

So haul out the crayons and print out your Uncle Val Colouring Sheet.

Colour.
Be Calm.

And if you want to listen to Letters from Uncle Val while colouring you can purchase a download online or get the CD from Fred's Records.

Saltfish Valentine: a Christmas Recipe from Andy Jones, author of Letters from Uncle Val

Salt Cod Valentine (Brandade De Morue Avec Twist Terre Neuvienne)
(A Xmas Pâté for Celia)

Preparation Time: 70 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 13 hours
Yield: about 3 cups

1 pound center-cut salt cod (the thickest part of the fillet)
1 medium baking potato (6 ounces)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium White Onion, minced
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus several whole sprigs for garnish
pinch of Newfoundland Savoury
1 loaf bread, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices and toasted
1/2 cup white wine

Soak salt cod in cold water in the refrigerator 12 hours, changing the water three times.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bake potato until tender, about 50 to 60 minutes. While the potato is cooking, drain and rinse salt cod, then place in a medium pot covered with cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool in liquid. As soon as the potato is done, split it in half, scoop out the steaming flesh, and pass through a sieve or a ricer.

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and white onion; cook until soft, then add cream and simmer 7 minutes. Stir in the white wine during these seven minutes. Remove from heat. Drain cod and pat dry. Remove the skin and bones, then pulse a few times in food processor to break into coarse pieces. With the machine running, add the garlic-cream mixture in a steady stream. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the potato and a pinch of Newfoundland savoury, and stir until everything is mixed well. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if necessary. If not using the salt cod Valentine immediately, cover and refrigerate. (It will keep for up to a week.)

To serve, place in a large iron pan and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until heated through. Stir in parsley, spoon into a serving bowl, and serve surrounded by toasts. Garnish with a few olives.

Andy Jones is the author and performer of Letters from Uncle Val.

Letters from Uncle Val is a Canadian audiobook produced by Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Andy Jones As "Uncle Val," Saint John, February 4

Comedian Andy Jones will be presenting Letters from Uncle Val at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, New Brunswick, on Friday, February 4. (For details, click on the photo.) Uncle Val is a displaced elderly out-harbour gentleman, learning to adjust to life in the suburbs of St. John's, Newfoundland.

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Listen to an excerpt from Rattling Books' unabridged audio edition of Letters from Uncle Val, available as an audio book CD or an MP3 download.

Rattling Books produces Canadian audiobooks in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Andy Jones At The Eastern Edge Gallery In St. John's, Newfoundland

Andy Jones, one of Newfoundland's most well-known actors and writers, will have a month-long (January 17 to February 19) residency at the Eastern Edge Gallery in St. John's, during which he will
continue to develop The Abbie Table Project, a collaborative work started in 2006.

The centerpiece of the project is a 10' x 4' table inscribed with a story of the life of a Newfoundland family engaged in the salt fishery from the 1920s to the 1950s, which has been "illuminated" by several dozen contributors. Jones' residency at Eastern Edge will include "performances" of the table in the form of public readings and interpretive theatre pieces.

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Listen to an excerpt from Rattling Books' audio book edition of Andy Jones' Letters from Uncle Val. This audio book is available as an audio CD or an MP3 digital download.

Andy Jones' "Queen of Paradise's Garden" Puppet Show, St. John's, Newfoundland, December 28-31

Kids making you crazy this Christmas? Of course they are: Santa's come and gone, your (ex) best friend gave your six-year-old a drum set and school is never going to open again.

All you need is a little bit of magic to overcome those homicide/suicide impulses, magic that will stick around for a while after the spell has been cast.

Best bet is to let the kids up out of the basement, remove the duct tape, wrap them and yourselves up in something cosy and go to the LSPU Hall some afternoon in late December. That's when Andy Jones' puppet show, based on his book, The Queen of Paradise's Garden, will be casting its glamour over burnt-out parents and permanently wired children (God love 'em!). Click on the LSPU Hall link for information about tickets and times and so forth.

The story is a free adaptation by Jones of a Jack tale told by Albert Heber Keeping of Grand Bank, which he got from Billy Quann of Sagona Island. Billy Quann had it from . . . never mind. The tale goes back a long way, to "olden times, when quart bottles held half a gallon and houses were papered with pancakes."

(Of course, the kids are going to start up again sometime. It might be a good idea to have a copy of The Queen of Paradise's Garden to fend them off with. Follow this link to its place of purchase.)

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Andy Jones wears many hats — many heads, actually. Listen to an excerpt from Rattling Books' audio book edition (available as an audio CD or MP3 download) of Jones' Letters from Uncle Val (Uncle Val being an outharbour gentleman who finds himself adrift in the suburbs of St. John's).

Check out Rattling Books' new holiday prices: thirty percent off everything until Old Christmas Day (January 6).

Newfoundland's RCA Theatre Company Call For Submissions: Christmas Monologue Contest

The Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company is holding another round of its popular Christmas Monologue writing contest. The monologue must be about Christmas in Newfoundland – past, present or future – and run no more than five minutes.

The contest closes December 10, 2010, at 5pm. For more details, click on the image of "the Hall."

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Rattling Books has a fine selection of Newfoundland monologues. Listen to an excerpt from a Joel Thomas Hynes rant about provincial icons. Hear "Uncle Val" (Andy Jones) bemoan his lot in the suburbs of St. John's. Click here to listen to Frank Holden's Judge Daniel Woodley Prowse rail at both felons and plaintiffs in a nineteenth-century Newfoundland courtroom.

For these and other voices of Newfoundland and Labrador, visit the Rattling Books website. Our audio books are available as audio CDs or MP3 CDs, and as MP3 downloads.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador To Announce Winner of 2010 Heritage and History Book Award, December 7

Robin McGrath's The Winterhouse and Andy Jones' The Queen of Paradise's Garden have been shortlisted for the 2010 Heritage and History Book Award, which will be presented next Tuesday, December 7, at the Ship Pub, during the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador Christmas party. Everyone is invited; admission is free. Authors of shortlisted books will be reading from their works.

Winner of a 2010 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award, The Winterhouse is a novel about the marriage of a fourteen-year-old Newfoundland Gentile orphan to a Jewish remittance man. "The Winterhouse (Killick Press) is a lovely book, full of memorable characters, sharp writing and plenty of history, folklore and rustic charm." (The Canadian Jewish News; for the rest of the review, follow this link.)

According to Quill & Quire, The Queen of Paradise's Garden is a Good Thing from beginning to end. "The ample delights in store are evident from the first line – 'Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, not in your time, indeed not in my time, but in olden times, when quart bottles held half a gallon and houses were papered with pancakes and pigs run about with forks stuck in their backs seein who wanted a slice o’ham . . . .'" To read the entire review, click here.

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Listen to an excerpt from Robin McGrath's lovely short story, "The Birchy Maid," read by the author. "The Birchy Maid" is available as an MP3 single download, and it's also included in the EarLit Shorts 4 short fiction collection, which can be purchased as an audio book MP3 CD or an audio book MP3 download.

Listen to Andy Jones reading from Letters from Uncle Val, a comic masterpiece from Newfoundland's King O' Fun and Rattling Books. Letters from Uncle Val is available as an audio book CD or an audio book MP3 download.

Canadian audiobooks from Rattling Books in Newfoundland and Labrador

Andy Jones, Jack and Jesus, November 16, St. John's, Newfoundland

On Tuesday, November 16, Running the Goat Books & Broadsides will launch Andy Jones' Jack and the Manger at the LSPU Hall in St. John's. Illustrated by Darka Erdelji, who collaborated with Jones on Running the Goat's internationally acclaimed The Queen of Paradise's Garden, this Christmas "Jack tale" is both funny and poignant.

The Jack tales were originally Germanic oral stories, used for "the edification of princes." Jack is an archetypal Everyman, but in this case he is also a particular individual: Andy Jones comes through loud and clear, while maintaining the integrity of the Jack tradition. Even if you're not a prince, or a princess, there's no doubt you'll be edified by Jones' unique retelling of the Nativity story.

The launch features music by Sandy Morris and Graham Wells, and a cash bar too.



ANDY JONES READING FROM THE QUEEN OF PARADISE'S GARDEN

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Listen to an excerpt from Rattling Books' unabridged audio edition of Andy Jones' Letters from Uncle Val. An outharbour gentleman, Uncle Val is having a difficult time adjusting to his new home in the 'burbs of St. John's. You can hear the entire story of his trials and tribulations by purchasing an MP3 download of Uncle Val, or the audio CD.

straight.com review of An Evening with Uncle Val by Andy Jones

An Evening with Uncle Val
By Kathleen Oliver
(straight.com June 12)

By Andy Jones and Michael Jones Sr. Directed by Lois Brown. At Presentation House Theatre on Thursday, June 5, as part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. No remaining performances

Poor Uncle Val. The septuagenarian is trapped in St. John’s, having been forced to leave his outport home to live with his daughter, her loathsome husband, and their children, who don’t behave anything like kids did in his day. “Children ran messages,” he explains, “and in return, they were allowed to sleep indoors.” It’s a lonely life, till he befriends a 90-something neighbour who claims to be pals with both the royal family and the Beatles, meets a new girlfriend, and becomes the kids’ favourite babysitter.

Writer-performer Andy Jones has been doing Uncle Val for some 30 years, and in this show he also plays himself, offering explanations for his own wildly digressive style of storytelling. “I used to feel bad about it,” he confesses, “until I realized—it’s cubist theatre! It’s like I’m flattening out my brain.”

read the rest here

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Letters from Uncle Val written and read by Andy Jones is available as an audio CD or digital download from Rattling Books.

Andy Jones and Robert Joy at the St. John's Comedy Festival

from the St. John's Comedy Festival website:

From June 18 to 22, twelve of Canada's top comedians will crack ribs in the City of Comic Legends.

Back again are Shaun Majumder and Mark Critch of 22 Minutes. Newcomer-locals John Sheehan and Jonny Harris join the cast, as does Winnipeg Comedy Festival founder Al Rae, award winning Debra DiGiovanni, Jennifer Grant and Tim Nutt!

This year's 'Fest has also added a two-day Comedy Workshop, an Open Mic Night, and An Evening with Uncle Val starring Andy Jones! The Sunday Night Gala moves to the Molson Theatre in Mile One Centre. It will be hosted by our own CSI:NY star Robert Joy, feature Canadian comedy legend Mike MacDonald, and be recorded for broadcast by CBC!

Tickets on sale May 14th at noon!

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author. Robert Joy is the narrator of Rattling Books' unabridged audio version of Michael Winter's acclaimed novel, The Big Why, as well as a narrator on Robin McGrath's Coasting Trade.

Andy Jones Performs for the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services

Writer and actor Andy Jones will be appearing at the Reid Theatre for the CACUSS Convention (Canadian association of College and University Student Services), Memorial University of Newfoundland, on June 23, 2008.

For future tour dates and other news about Andy, check out his website.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

Article on Andy Jones

Jones gives life to host of eccentrics

By Stephen Hunt, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Newfoundlanders always have been pretty exotic to the rest of Canada.

What's surprising is that outport Newfoundlanders -- eccentrics who live in the remote hamlets that are often more connected to the sea than the rest of the people in the province -- seem just as odd to Newfoundlanders themselves. That was the inspiration behind Andy Jones's latest one-man show, An Evening With Uncle Val, the comedy veteran is performing as part of the High Performance Rodeo, Calgary's International Festival of the Arts, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

"I've always seen outport Newfoundland as a very exotic place," Jones says, over the phone from St. John's, where he grew up in the 'burbs. "It was the source of so much inspiration for Newfoundland artists. All the storytellers, all the musicians -- so many of them."

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

Andy Jones talks with Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Radio's Q today about his stage show An Evening with Uncle Val

Andy Jones will talk with Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Radio's Q today (February 6) about his stage show An Evening with Uncle Val

Radio One:

2 p.m. and 10 p.m.(CT 1 p.m., NT 2:30 p.m., NT 10:30 p.m.)

Sirius Satellite 137: 12 p.m., 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET
and there's also a podcast if you miss it.

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Letters from Uncle Val

written and performed by Andy Jones

audio CD or Digital Download

available from Rattling Books

Andy Jones in Peterborough

Andy Jones brings Newfoundland comedy to Market Hall shows; Character Uncle Val 'a reverse Wingfield'

from The Peterborough Examiner

Canadian comic Andy Jones brings his brand of outport humour to Peterborough on Feb. 7 and 8 at The Market Hall.

It is billed as An Evening with Uncle Val, the opening of his Ontario tour, states a press release.

"Jones has been a key figure in shaping the character of Canadian comedy, beginning in the mid-1970s with his participation in the Newfoundland comedy troupe CODCO and extending through till today with his varied and prolific career as a writer, actor, director and filmmaker in the comedy field," states Bill Kimball, artistic producer of local arts presenter Public Energy, in a press release. This will be the first performance of An Evening with Uncle Val in Ontario and the first time Jones has performed in Peterborough.

Jones will also offer a master class in sketch comedy during his three-day stay in the city, an opportunity for aspiring local actors and comics to get some training. "Andy doesn't do this kind of thing very often," Kimball stated. "It's a real treat for us."

Jones said, in an Examiner telephone interview from Banff, that he's been performing his Uncle Val character since 1978.

The initial character was based on an aimitation of a St. John's entertainer...

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

Uncle Val Goes West

Jones finds laughs at the outpost
Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald
Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Spotlight

An Evening With Uncle Val by Andy Jones runs tonight and Thursday at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Tickets available at Ticketmaster

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Newfoundlanders have always been pretty exotic for the rest of Canada. What's surprising is that outport Newfoundlanders -- those eccentrics who live in remote hamlets -- seem just as odd to Newfoundlanders themselves.

That was the inspiration behind Andy Jones' latest one-man show, An Evening With Uncle Val, that the comedy veteran is performing as part of the High Performance Rodeo tonight and Thursday night.

"I've always seen outport Newfoundland as a very exotic place," Jones says, over the phone from St. John's, where he grew up in the 'burbs.

"It was the source of so much inspiration for Newfoundland artists. All the storytellers, all the musicians -- so many of them."

The plot of An Evening With Uncle Val concerns an old outport Newfoundlander named Val, who is forced to spend time in St. John's to have eye surgery. At first, Val writes to the folks back home about how much he hates St. John's, but as time goes on, his opinion of the place changes and he doesn't want to leave. In a way, it mimics the migration from the country to the city (and beyond) over the past several decades...

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

Christmas Recipe from Andy Jones: Salt Cod Valentine

Salt Cod Valentine
(Brandade De Morue Avec Twist Terre Neuvienne)
(A Xmas Pâté for Celia)
Preparation Time: 70 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 13 hours
Yield: about 3 cups

1 pound center-cut salt cod (the thickest part of the fillet)
1 medium baking potato (6 ounces)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium White Onion, minced
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus several whole sprigs for garnish
pinch of Newfoundland Savoury
1 loaf bread, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices and toasted
1/2 cup white wine
Soak salt cod in cold water in the refrigerator 12 hours, changing the water three times.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Bake potato until tender, about 50 to 60 minutes.

While the potato is cooking, drain and rinse salt cod, then place in a medium pot covered with cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool in liquid. As soon as the potato is done, split it in half, scoop out the steaming flesh, and pass through a sieve or a ricer.
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and white onion; cook until soft, then add cream and simmer 7 minutes. Stir in the white wine during these seven minutes. Remove from heat. Drain cod and pat dry. Remove the skin and bones, then pulse a few times in food processor to break into coarse pieces. With the machine running, add the garlic-cream mixture in a steady stream. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the potato and a pinch of Newfoundland savoury, and stir until everything is mixed well. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if necessary.

If not using the salt cod Valentine immediately, cover and refrigerate. (It will keep for up to a week.)
To serve, place in a large iron pan and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until heated through. Stir in parsley, spoon into a serving bowl, and serve surrounded by toasts. Garnish with a few olives.

Uncle Val is the creation of Andy Jones, the author and performer of Letters from Uncle Val.

Val on the Road

Uncle Val to Visit Carbonear
from The Compass

Andy Jones will bring the character of Uncle Val to life during his one-man show at the Sheila NaGeira Theatre in Carbonear this Sunday, Nov. 18. The performance, entitled An evening with Uncle Val (The Cup o' Tea in the Woods Tour) features an indignant 70 year old fisherman, played by Jones, recently displaced from his outport home and trapped in the big city of St. John's...

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

Road Trip

Andy Takes Uncle Val on the Road
By Heidi Wicks
from The Telegram

Andy Jones is taking his sarcastically bitter but beloved Uncle Val on a trip around the Arts and Culture Centres of Newfoundland and Labrador. The show chronicles Valentine Reardigan’s arrival to suburban, middle-class St. John’s from his home in outport Newfoundland, as he begrudgingly goes to live with his daughter, odious son-in-law, grandchildren Jimmy and Kimmy and their matching French poodles.

Deliciously sarcastic, discussing encounters with The Beatles, the Senior’s Olympics and the devilish “dos and don’ts of babysitting” through letters home to his friend, Val goes from being “a slightly bitter permudgeon to being an important part of his daughter and son-in-law’s family,” says Jones...

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

More on the Nutty Professor

Calling Dr. Jones
Andy Jones teaches students the art of comedy

By Kerri Breen
The Muse

While other students will spend their semester groaning at their profs’ bad jokes, students in English 4401 will learn how to make their own comedy from veteran comedian Andy Jones.

In his version of the course, called Producing The Play, students will focus on reading, producing, and understanding comedies.

The class is set to independently produce three or four cabaret nights without assistance outside of Jones and another theatre classes who are helping with props, sets, and lighting. Some of these events will be open to the public.

“As much as possible I want to give [the class] the responsibility of putting it together and figuring it out,” said Jones, who received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Memorial in 2000.

“I divided the class into two acting companies. So everyone is in an acting company and they’ll have another job too, like publicity, or production, or management,” he said.

Jones’ 30-year career has prepared him well for the gig. Known for his work as a writer, actor, producer, and director of various projects, notably the 1980s theatre and television institution, Codco, he was also a founder of the Resource Centre For The Arts. He has won several prestigious awards and has been involved countless projects in Canada and beyond.

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.

The Nutty Professor

Comedic star takes on instructor role

By Leslie Vryenhoek
from http://today.mun.ca/

Andy Jones, star of stage and screen, takes on a very different role this fall. The St. John’s performer is slated to teach Memorial students in the Diploma in Performance and Communications Media program the ins and outs of mounting a play.

It’s a craft the local writer, actor and renowned funnyman knows well. For 30 years, he’s been delighting audiences and garnering critical acclaim.

A former member of the Newfoundland comedy troupe CODCO, he has written five one-man comedy shows: Out of the Bin, Still Alive, King O’ Fun, To The Wall, and, most recently, An Evening with Uncle Val. The latter had a successful run at Eastern Front Theatre’s On the Waterfront Festival in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia this summer. Jones has toured extensively across Canada, the UK, and Ireland, and last spring performed in Australia.

Mr. Jones has also had major roles in several films, including Rare Birds and Young Triffie. His numerous awards include two Gemini awards, Emmy and Genie nominations, election to the Newfoundland Arts Council Hall of Honour, The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Award of Excellence, and the ACTRA Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement.

Now students of English 4401: Producing the Play will benefit from his experience and talent.

In the course, they will learn the ropes from developing a script to a mounting a full production with actors, sets, costumes and lights.

To read the rest of this article, please click here.

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Letters from Uncle Val, a series of fictional letters from Andy Jones' incomparable comedic character of the stage play An Evening with Uncle Val, is available from Rattling Books. Written and performed by the author.