My sister Suzie has recently opened a souvenir store at Old Harry in the Magdalen Islands (Îles de la Madeleine), Quebec, in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It’s called La Trappe, after the iconic local lobster traps, and is open during the summer months in the northern part of the Islands.
Our parents originally bought their house in Old Harry during the 1970s when they were developing educational programs with the Magdaleners, and spent many happy summers there. When they died, Suzie ended up with the house and has been living there for several years. Covid brought an influx of Québécois visitors, confined to their own province, to this remote archipelago. They were entranced by the spectacular views and endless beaches, and have been coming in increasing numbers every year. The rest of the world, too, has been discovering this gem of a place. So in 2022 Suzie, with twin Katie, decided to open a souvenir store in Old Harry, and it has been doing booming business ever since. You can see it for yourself if you travel to the Magdalen Islands, or go to the store’s website.

The area was named after the Old Harry rocks in Dorset, England, coincidentally very near to where I used to live as a child in England. They look very similar, although they are white and those in the Magdalens are red. Old Harry is an old English name for the Devil, and here is the Devil of the Islands!
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