A REVIEW OF 2016 AND LOOKING FORWARD
2016 began with a traditional visit by our MP for Wellington-Halton Hills, Michael Chong, with his possible run for the leadership of the Conservative Party still at the rumour stage in January of last year…
In February one of our newest members, Raj Arora recounted his family’s struggle during the violent partition of his native India with Pakistan after the British withdrawl following World War II; and in March, Beth Patterson, Staff Occupational Therapist at St. Joseph’s in Guelph took us on The Rehab Journey with innovative ideas, preventative tips in avoiding accidents around the home and remarkable advances in continuing care.
In April, as chair of the Men’s Club, I took over the guest speaker spot to present my video on the extraordinary spectacle of Holy Week in Seville, Spain; and in May due to a huge response from the community, the Men’s Club invited the Women’s Group and the general public to attend a talk by Marina Nemat, author of the best selling “Prisoner of Tehran” a harrowing account of her imprisonment and torture at the hands of the revolutionary guards in the turmoil of Iran’s overthrow of the Shah in 1979. It was preceded by a dinner of pizza baked especially by recently arrived Syrian refugees, Rasheed and Awatef and donations amounting to over $1200 went to the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture. In June, we welcomed the return of David Hornsby, member Ian’s son, to his native Elora from his new home in South Africa which he described in light of the rapid changes taking place in his adopted country still under the receding shadow of Apartheid.
After the summer break we were delighted to welcome Leslie James, one of our members, whose career as a diplomat brought him rich experiences in representing Canada in the Far East. He spoke about “Reflections of a Diplomatic Career”;
In October, our member, Architect Fred Thompson, using sketches and photographs and drawing on his experience in visiting the temples of Japan and places of worship worldwide spoke about “Ritual and Space in Church Architecture”; and with Remembrance Day drawing near, we invited Anne Tinker, who recently celebrated a fiftieth anniversary with her husband Dave, who provided us with the diary entries and factual accounts of her father’s experiences as Chaplain in World War II in her November talk, “Call of Duty”;
Rounding out the year, we were brought up to date with visuals on the progress of the New Groves Hospital by Executive Director of the Groves Foundation, Lori Arsenault, followed by a detailed and interesting Q & A.
January 2017 with Michael Chong well into the leadership race, there was a large turnout despite harrowing weather conditions forcing some cancellations and a stimulating talk and questions that followed (en francais as well!) made for an enjoyable evening.
February 1st: We look forward to hearing Jan Beveridge on the politically charged issues surrounding Nestle’s purchase of property on Middlebrook Road with the intent of mining our water, of their desire to form a “partnership” with CW Council in order to do an end run around the provincial moratorium; and the question of not only their profits at our expense but the bottling of that water in containers that are polluting the planet. The award-winning documentary “Tapped” about a small community in Maine and their experience with Nestle will be shown.
More interesting guest speakers to come. The St. John’s Men’s Club welcomes new members.
Respectfully submitted,
Colin Fox, Chair foxcolin20@gmail.com