Elizabeth May is Coming to Ambleside

 

One of the regrets I have is missing the opportunity to hear Tommy Douglas speak in 1968 on Vancouver Island. My father, who lived in Northern Ontario and was an avid CCF member, admired him. I guess I thought Tommy Douglas would be around for a while; it was summer, there were other things to do. Years later I realized I had missed out and would nevhear him speak. 

Elizabeth May will be speaking here next week on  

Climate Change   

Kiwanis Terrace Garden Great Hall 

959 West 21 St.WV.    

Friday, April 14th at 7 p.m. 

Everyone is welcome to this free event. Parking is available at the recreation centre. 

Please invite your friends and neighbours.

Elizabeth May has served on boards of numerous organizations, national and international.  She has written eight books.

Elizabeth May OC MP is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. She has been the member of Parliament for Saanich - Gulf Islands since 2011.

Here is a list of some of the honours she has received:

Honours and awards

• International Conservation Award from Friends of Nature, 1985
• Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, in recognition of significant contribution to compatriots, community and to Canada, 1992
• Elizabeth May Chair in Women's Health and the Environment, Dalhousie University, 1998.^[19]
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (DHumL), Mount Saint Vincent University, 2000.
• Harkin Award from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society for her lifetime achievement in promoting the protection of Canada's wilderness, 2002
• Best Activist Award, Coast Magazine, Best of Halifax Readers' Poll, 2002
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of New Brunswick, 2003.^[96]
• United Nations Global 500 award.^[97]
• Officer of the Order of Canada, 2005.
• Couchiching Award for Excellence in Public Policy, 2006
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Mount Allison University, 2007.^[98]
• Newsweek Magazine: One of World's Most Influential women, November 28, 2010^[99]
• Maclean's Parliamentarian of the Year, 2012^[100]
• Awarded the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012^[101]
• Maclean's Hardest Working Parliamentarian of the Year, 2013^[50]
• Maclean's Best Orator of the Year, 2014^[102]
• Honorary Doctor of Divinity (D.D.), Atlantic School of Theology, 2015.^[103][104]
• Maclean's Most Knowledgeable Parliamentarian of the Year, 2020^[105]

First Official Meeting of Aging Gracefully

On Tuesday April 4th, we had our first official meeting of the Aging Gracefully group at the Senior Center. There were 17 people in attendance. 

Paula Cline opened the meeting with a delightful overview of what we hope to accomplish and introduced our speaker, Dr. Deborah O'Conner, 

Deborah O’Conner, who is a Professor at the School of Social Work at UBC, presented our group with her modified version of Palmore’s Facts on Aging Quiz. This sparked a lively discussion around how the normal aging process affects our daily lives. Once we have a basic understanding of what normally happens to our bodies and minds as we age, we can more readily determine when we need additional help or services before a crisis emerges. 

Three main themes of the afternoon were:

• Advocacy - we need to advocate for ourselves and/or have someone advocate on our behalf
• Ageism - we need to be aware of myths perpetrated by ageism which may stop older adults from seeking help
• Social Isolation - we all need to be more aware of a drift towards social isolation and its dangers.

In future sessions, Aging Gracefully hopes to delve deeper into many of these ideas. In May, we will hear from Sgt. Mark McLean, WVPD, and Jeff Palmer, Block Watch Coordinator, on how to recognize and thwart scams. In June we will hear from experts on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

Stephen Leacock

Stephen Leacock has played a small but significant role in my life. I think he might have been on one of my reading lists in high school. But, it was when I took my first (night) course at a university in the Stephen Leacock building on the McGill campus, my life changed. I was over-awed by the building and the course and the realization that one could spend their life with debate and discussion about literature - at least it was a possibility. One that was not fulfilled for many years. 

Over all those years, Leacock’s vision of the perfect small town has stayed with me. From time to time, I have thought I might find a version of it in the Okanagan. Lately, I have discovered it right here in Ambleside. 

We have the banks - many banks along with many money exchanges. Our shops can be a little off the wall - the large corner woman’s shop that sells only pajamas and maybe the odd bathing suit. Beside that one is/was a shop that sold only organic fertilizer and designer wall paper.  (Covid may have put him/her out of business). And, just steps way, is our own exclusive pot shop. Our new delightful mayor is just quirky enough and friendly enough with all the shopkeepers.

As I sit on a park bench by our newly re-opened Ferry Building, I can envision a steam boat (or party boat) picking up the town’s elite from the wharf to take them for an excursion up to Indian Arm for their annual picnic on the August Bank Holiday.

We have our very own Mariposa.

Back in the day, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town was one of the short stories that was required reading in high schools all over Canada.

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is considered the masterpiece of Stephen Leacock. Originally published in 1912, it is a set of fictional tales occurring in the little hamlet of Mariposa, on the coast of Lake Wissanotti. Mariposa is not an actual place. This composition has continued to thrive for its global appeal. Many of the characters, however patterned on locals of Orillia, are country town cliches. Their inadequacies and weaknesses are depicted in a funny yet sympathetic way.
Quoting Leacock: "Mariposa is not a real town. On the contrary, it is about seventy or eighty of them. You may find them all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels."

 

Picnic Time?

 It is 2 degrees and raining this morning in Ambleside. Alexa tells me to expect more of the same with a high of only 7 degrees but shows me that the rain may ease around lunch time. This is day thirteen and the last day of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is often celebrated with a picnic in the park. 

As the thirteenth day of this holiday lands on a Sunday this year when many people are not working, normally every picnic table in the area would be claimed early in the day. Unfortunately this day may turn out to be the coldest and wettest of the season. 

However there may be a few traditionalists that brave the winter conditions and have their picnic around noon if the rain slows or they can find a covered picnic area. 

The idea of concluding the celebration of Spring with a picnic each year is enticing. This could be the official start of the picnic season as  the days are noticeably getting longer and hopefully warmer.

The seawall and the beach are great places to bring down your lunch or dinner or, even your breakfast bagel and coffee, to enjoy in the fresh air, especially when it is sunny.  From now until mid October we can look forward to many good picnic days. 

Outdoor Gym

It looks like we are going to have a new outdoor cross fit type gym next to the skate board park at the beach. Our mayor has negotiated a deal with Larco (Park Royal developers) to create this facility on Ambleside Beach in the same area that occupied the outdoor swimming pool many years ago. 

Sometime ago this old pool area was redeveloped as a skate board park which is very popular in good weather. I have wondered from time to time if the park board could install park benches with seating on both sides. This way people could watch their children using the skate park while others who wanted to enjoy their takeout food from the Boat Shed nearby could enjoy the water views. 

Sometime ago, as well, another outdoor gym was installed in this area. It can be found in the weeds just east of the entrance to the Ambleside par 3 golf course. It looks a little sad and neglected. Perhaps the Park Board (if we have one) could establish a running/walking circuit between the old one and the new one. This would give runners a break from the hard surface of the seawall and a chance to break their run with a few more chin-ups. 

We're The Best

 

Ambleside may be the very best place to retire in Canada and possibly in the world. We have the perfect mix of urban/country living. As well, we have just about everything a retiree could want - a temperate climate, a picturesque location, an accessible, walkable village, fairly good public transportation, and an exceptional library and senior center. 

Our senior center, in addition to a wide variety of programs that can entertain and enlighten you, has a cafeteria that offers healthy, hot, delicious lunches seven days a week. The chef is outstanding and food selection is interesting and varied. Soon, special evening meals served twice a week will be available again. Through the shuttle bus service and special programs, the center is accessible to all seniors in the area. 

Our library is just as accessible and welcoming. Along with a world class book selection and wonderful tech services, it offers a variety of both free courses and free entertainment. Tonight, at 7:30 there is a free concert featuring The Slocan Ramblers. Here is the link 

https://westvanlibrary.ca/event/friday-night-concert-the-slocan-ramblers/

Where Are We Going?

First of all we had our parents and family, then possibly our teachers and later maybe mentors to guide us. Now, we have retired and all of those influences/influencers are gone; often, we have suddenly lost partners and good friends. Covid emphasized just how isolated we can become. 

Many of us will spend around thirty years in retirement. While we may have squirreled away a little money and dreamt of travel and golf and escape from winter to ready ourselves for this freedom-55 ideal, many of us find the reality quite different.

While we may be traveling a bit and playing golf occasionally, the reality is that we are often  spending more and more time with basic health and happiness concerns. Doctors and lab visits along with physiotherapy/chiropractors, massage therapists and exercise programs fill our calendars. We often do this just to maintain our current health. At the same time, our social networks are diminishing as people move on or pass away. 

It can sometimes be difficult to know the best solutions to our changing lives. Media and governments have their own agendas when they address our issues. Often they are founded in reaction to problems. Only when seniors have been scammed out of their life savings or long term care beds become too scarce, does the media and government take note. We need a plan to understand and deal with these issues before they become emergencies. 

Few of us have studied gerontology. We have some vague ideas that our senses will diminish over time and that we will eventually become frail. We become wrinkled and gray-haired or bald. Our short term memory becomes worse over time. Of course we are constantly hearing on the news and through advertisements of how we can avoid all of this or at least diminish the negative effects of aging.  However, it is difficult to know what is real from what is hype. 

To counteract this, a program is being offered at our Senior Centre called ‘Aging Gracefully”. Once a month, qualified people will speak to this group on the best ways to age happily and healthily. Hopefully, we can gain some insight on how to live our best lives.