An attempt at the world record for accordion playing is to be made in St. John's, Nfld., on the weekend. The record is for number of people playing, not length of performance. I don't see how they can fail. The piece will be "Mussels in the Corner", a good choice as it's fairly easy and everyone knows it, or can learn it in three or four seconds. I'm not sure it will be improved by having six or seven hundred people play it at the same time though. More).

But what about the larger picture? Will this harm the flagging Nova Scotian tourism industry? Will visitors in the region suddenly change their plans, cancel their tickets to "Shakespeare by the Sea", forego their trip on the Harbour Hopper, and head over to Newfoundland? We'll know by tomorrow. As it is, accordion players from the Maritimes as well as St. Pierre and Miquelon are converging on St. John's as I write. Anyone eager to hear olde tyme accordion music in the next few days will be out of luck.

In any case, perhaps a bit of a "heads up" from our friends on the Rock would be appropriate next time they plan an attraction of this magnitude.