Important Forum

One of our seniors will be displaying her art (Therese Mils). Wishing her & friends good luck on this.

Great day for cycling!

Today was only Jack & myself (Laurette) cycling today. We went to Stanley park & had a great day. This is what we saw on the seawall. Lovely Starfishes.

Active Aging

I found this in the courier today & found it interesting alternative walking. For those who want to be able to read it just click on the article & it will enlarge.

What a lunch!!!

OMG what a feast we had. It was a 3 course meal with dessert afterwards. We started with small plate of pasta, salad & then main course was chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto with veggies & small roasted potatoes.
These 3 ladies were great & volunteers as well.
After we had entertainment by Patrizia, who is great & gets them all dancing as well.

Let me tell you some of these ladies are in their 80's but love to dance.

Family Services at Britiannia

This is Shirlean, cook for family programs (child care, etc...) who does lunches & snacks for the little ones. She is one groovy chick.
She had just emptied this bag of flour & I was teasing her about not to sneeze or inhale etc...
Very hard worker as well.
The history of the building is that it used to be a public cafeteria for the centre but we have too many patrons now to even do this idea any more.

Cycle Club!!

Here we are today! From left to right Karen (new member today), Mona, Jack & Me (Laurette). We left at 1030am & it was sunny, windy & cool. But great to get out. We had fun. Hoping to do this regular on Mondays always depending on the weather. Today the first day of Autumn.

Reminder to ALL!!!!

Friday 26 Sep Noon

Special luncheon

Lion's Den

Italian Feast

with the Italian Ladies doing this lunch!!!!

Walking Club

Today Chiho drove Linda, Maria and me with our new Walking Club member, Brigitte, to English Bay in the rain ... the beach looked barren without the summer sunbathers ... with rain coats and umbrellas we followed the seawall to Second Beach where the Walk for Mercy group was holding an outdoor fundraiser for young women in need of safe housing and medical care for abuse and eating disorders ... we also passed the "new" outdoor pool at Second Beach ... a dedication plaque near the pool showed that it was opened in 1995 with heated fresh water (the old pool was fed with sea water by the incoming tide) ... the pool is open from Victoria Day in late May until Labour Day in September ...

From Second Beach to Lost Lagoon we followed a newly paved path - divided for people on foot and people on wheels - past an interesting variety of shrubs and trees, past the old stone bridge that crosses the creek where ducks and geese take refuge ...
on the east end of the park we passed geese, ducks, seagulls, crows and pigeons, but saw no swans ... then to her delight, Brigitte spotted several white swans on the far side of the lagoon ... we can only assume that they like to keep to themselves ...

Our walk continued along Haro Street towards Denman ... the housing varies from beautifully restored two-storey homes of the early 1900's to minimalist three-storey Art Deco apartment buildings, from cement towers built in the 1970's to steel and glass towers of the 1990's ... the tree-lined streets were decorated with flower beds and shrubs, brick-laid walkways, and roundabout gardens at the intersections ... the West End is one of the most charming urban residential areas in the world ... the population density is greater than the population of the Manhattan district of New York City ...

The rain did not stop hardy walkers, runners and cyclists ... Denman Street was bustling with people of all types ... cafes and produce markets were open to the street in a welcome gesture ... we called Chiho to meet us at Denman and Davie ... we were grateful for the comfortable ride back to Britannia ... damp and chilly, but refreshed, we poured ourselves hot coffees and treated ourselves to Maria's homemade cookies ...

Linda and I decided we need to buy new waterproof jackets if we want to continue our Saturday walks throughout the coastal rainy season which can last until June of the new year ... this is, after all, rain forest country and it is the rain that creates the wild natural beauty of the Vancouver area ...

Contributor Virginia B

A.A.A.D.D.

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D

- Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder-

This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.. The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day:the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Senior's Badminton

Tuesday & Thursday each week from 11:30-1:30 they have badminton for Seniors. Mostly asian seniors but very welcoming to non. Vera & I (Laurette) have joined & it is fun. I did this last Jan-Feb for a short while to keep active during the dreary months. I have started earlier this time as the pool is closed for 1 month & this is one form of exercise. It is fun & quite a work out. The fella posing is Wally who is in charge of this activity & will help you get started. Very charming man.

Fighting City Hall!!!

Monday night a bunch of us went to City Hall to fight for more money allocation to our centre as in the new Capital Plan they have excluded us. What was once proposed has been shelved & we are not happy. So a group of staff & volunteers & as well neighbors of our community went to reason with them & explain why we are in need of it. http://vancouver.ca/corpsvcs/financial/capital/index.htm for those who wish to read abut the plan.
I learnt some history of Britannia that was interesting. This centre was a pilot project that took off well. We are the only community centre with school (100 yrs old) & library as well. We are unique.
Opened in 1976, Britannia Community Services Centre is part of a larger neighbourhood complex located at Commercial Drive and Napier Street which includes a library, elementary and secondary schools along with a preschool and out of school daycare. On the recreation side, this facility is the hub for social and physical pursuits and offers an indoor swimming pool, skating rink, fitness centre, seniors, youth and adult learning centres.
Britannia Community Services Centre is operated by the Board of Management of the independent Britannia Community Services Society and has agreements with the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Park Board, Vancouver School Board and Vancouver Public Library


This small group instead of a speech sung their hearts out & as well made their point in a light hearted way. I have advised them not to give up their day jobs to pursue a singing career. LOL

This song below to the tune of "MONDAY, MONDAY" old Mamas & Papas

One thing that was brought to my attention after we left that one council member (Mr Ladner) instead of listening, his attention was to his computer. I think that was rude of him. I wished I had seen that as I had my trusty camera with a Zooom of 10X & could have captured what he found so interesting. Not a good thing.

Monday Evenings at the Brit

The Anyone Marching Band

This band plays modern pop songs as well as funky versions of traditional marches and conceptual songs that will contain interaction and improvisation. Some music reading ability is helpful (high school level is sufficient), but open-mindedness is crucial. Portable instruments are encouraged (so we can march!). Led by Jazz bassist Sean Cronon, and regularly joined by other professional musicians, this will be a great opportunity for amateur musicians to grow and make crazy, fun music!

They meet every Monday either in the courtyard or in AML lounge

Senior Breakie Special

Some restaurants make it harder than others!!
Senior Breakfast Special
We went to breakfast at a restaurant where the 'seniors' special' was two
eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for $2.99.
'Sounds good,' my wife said. 'But I don't want the eggs.'
'Then, I'll have to charge you $3.49 because you're ordering a la carte,'
the waitress warned her.
'You mean I'd have to pay for not taking the eggs?' my wife asked
incredulously.
'YES!!' stated the waitress.
'I'll take the special then.' my wife said.
'How do you want your eggs?' the waitress asked.
'Raw and in the shell,' my wife replied.
She took the two eggs home.
DON'T MESS WITH SENIORS!!!
WE'VE been around the block more than once!

Walking Club Update

Today Maria, Linda, Flora, my neighbour Aideen and I walked north on Commercial Drive to Dundas near the inner harbour ... we turned right onto Dundas passing through a small commercial district several blocks east ... at Wall Street we turned left and found ourselves on a quiet residential street with new grass along the sidewalks and bright green leafy trees ... it was like switching from one dimension of reality to another ...

We passed two small community parks overlooking the harbour just east of the container port where giant orange cranes were lined up like giraffes ... North Vancouver was directly across from our viewpoint ... and we found a delightful community garden filled with flowers ... the neighbourhood was built up of apartments and condominiums, with an occasional restored two-storey house from the 1930's ... Wall Street follows the railway tracks along the south shoreline ... we looked for a way to get down the embankments to the road below as we wanted to check out a seafood restaurant on the waterfront, however, since 9/11, security fences block all access ... I was told that vehicle access was available at Renfrew and Commissioner ...

We checked out a few restaurants on our way back to the Drive but found none that suited all of our special appetites ... Aideen and I lost the others and, as hunger hung heavy, we settled into Sweet Cherubim for a delicious salad with home made dressing ... this is one of the Drive's natural food cafes, specializing in vegan food, East Indian buffet and a variety of egg-free pastries ...

Next Saturday, we plan to take a left turn at Dundas and explore the harbour area west of Commercial Drive ...

Contributor Virginia B.

I very quietly confided to my best friend that I was having an affair.

She turned to me and asked, 'Are you having it catered'?

And that, my friend, is the sad definition of 'OLD'!