Newsletter Issue 26 – November 2007

Issue 26 – November 2007

The Seniors Connect Coffee Connection in Lion’s Head on Wednesdays have remained very popular with average attendance of 16 seniors – often more. Some mornings we enjoy just being together and having lively conversations with lots of laughs. Other times we go out for lunch as we did on September 19th to Stokes Bay Community Centre where Bob Zavitz had prepared a banquet for 24 of us. It was delicious and we entend hearty thanks to Bob and his helpers. Pat Horner and John Byard entertained with very funny monologues and we were all amazed at John’s memory ability whilst Pat keeps her book with her – just in case!

On September 26, we had a guest speaker join us for coffee – Mr. Andrew Goss from the Ontario Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform (requested by Provincial Government), who have proposed a Mixed Member Proportional system. As many of us are not fully understanding the referendum vote we are required to participate in, Mr. Goss was able to explain a lot about it to us and answered questions. We are grateful to him for coming from Owen Sound – at our request – and giving explanations gently and clearly. We may still not be thoroughly sure about it but want to use our freedom to vote as intelligently as possible. Let us be grateful that such freedom delivers us from a Burma situation.

We will be glad to see any of you on Wednesday morning from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Come and go as you please.

C. Patricia Horner
October 3rd, 2007

On October 11, a charter bus loaded with forty-odd seniors pulled out of the parking lot of the Tobermory Community Center, heading for Bala and its cranberry fields. It was one of the first real fall days – cool, overcast, and breezy – and it was perfect for this outing to the Muskokas. Of course, it wouldn’t be an official trip without a stop at Tim Horton’s, which took place at the halfway point in Collingwood. Shortly before noon, having taken the leisurely route through the Beaver and Horseshoe valleys with the kind of spectacular color displays that only the hardwood trees at this time of year can provide, the bus arrived in downtown Bala – just in time for lunch. The area was buzzing with activity in preparation for the Cranberry Festival that was to begin the next day. Our group had the choice of three small local eateries for their mid-day meal, with a handful having brought their own lunches. Some had the time to do a little sight-seeing in town, or to shop in some of Bala’s quaint boutiques and galleries, or to stroll the boardwalk along the waterfront. After lunch, it was off to the cranberry fields. Promptly upon arrival there, our group was escorted to a pair of comfortable covered wagons and pulled by a tractor for a tour of the “south field.” We learned that it takes five years after cultivating for the cranberry plants to bear a crop, and that they are grown on dry land and then flooded for a few days only to facilitate picking (no sugar added!). There was a winery on the grounds, so we had the chance to taste a variety of vintages, as well as buy cranberries in all the assorted forms known to mankind (in bread, scones, biscuits, chocolate covered, marinated in vodka, dried, jellied, mixed with apple cider, and as pure juice, to name a few). After settling our packages on board, we departed the cranberry fields and headed toward home, stopping along the way for dinner at Swiss Chalet (that was yummy!). We watched a movie on the rest of the ride home, arriving back at the Community Center about 8:30 p.m. Special thanks to Bill Bishop for arranging the trip, and to Gwen White for coordinating the day of the trip.

Marsha Nichols