In Mexico, November 1st is traditionally known as Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). In the rest of Christendom it is celebrated as All Saints’ Day.
“The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.”
Last night at dinner I counted about 30 people, which is about half of our total membership. Does it mean that half of the club kicked the bucket?
No, some people simply chose not to attend to express their displeasure with the chosen venue.
Le Chalet Basque has some good things going for it (central location, easy parking, private room) but inspired cooking is not one of them.
The food is bland and sorely lacks originality.
Our tasting buds (at least mine) need to be satisfied and so far they are not.
Last night, the food still lacked pizazz but the service (orchestrated by a single waitress) was excellent.
This waitress is a pro and deserves a medal.
The annual dinner/meeting is a good idea. It is a way for club members to socialize and get to know other people and their (seldom seen) mates more intimately.
Yesterday I enjoyed talking to Noel Marcovecchio who as a former (repented) barrister proved to be an entertaining conversationalist.
After dinner, Christine Cragg (our steadfast president) gave a short State of the Union address.
I think that our union is fairly strong but (like vampires) we need new (young) blood.
We could loiter around high schools and proposition young people… but on second thought it might look a little suspicious.
Anyway, we need to find a way to attract more energetic people.
After thanking numerous deserving members for their help throughout the year, Christine Cragg told us that Brigitte Moran accepted to be part of our Board of Directors.
An excellent bit of news.
We were extremely lucky this year to snag Herb and Brigitte Moran. Their dynamism and good cheer is propelling our club to new heights. And the best is yet to come.
At the end of the dinner, people signed a book (Pétanque Memories) that will be sent to our dear friend Colette Van Der Meulen who is presently feeling a bit under the weather.
Get well quickly Colette, we miss your smile and your contagious laughter.
Alain
PS: Go to “My Photos” to watch the few pictures I (hurriedly) snapped last night.
Watch the following video in “Full Screen”.