Parklife

This September the Canadian Women's Club introduced a new activity: It's a Walk in the Park! with Lois Darley heading up an early morning walk group through Regent's Park every Wednesday.

Setting off at 8:15 sharp for a brisk one hour walk - rain or shine - means that members joining Lois get a kick-start to their day, some fresh air, exercise and a chance to chat. With the changing seasons (and more than a few flowers) as their only distraction, it's proving to be really popular with members living in the area. Between 5 and 9 members are stumbling out of bed and into their walking shoes each week!

Lois is hoping to do a few weekend walks as well, to explore some of London's wonderful parks, and so that children, spouses or partners can join in too. Although only 4 of us turned out for the first Saturday walk in Richmond Park this past weekend, we were glad we did!

With such a large deer population in the park, and with the autumn rutting season underway, we weren't surprised to witness more than a few instances of stags prepared to defend their patch - and note that we really were that close to the deer shown in the picture below - no zoom used! We had Hayley Manning's gorgeous and extremely well-behaved 'Moots' with us (see picture) and enjoyed perfect weather for an autumn walk - crisp but dry!

Lois will soon be announcing the next Saturday walk shortly so be sure to check our website or e-newsletter in future!

October's Hospitality Morning

We greatly enjoyed having Felicity Murdo-Smith speak to us at our last Hospitality Morning about her career at Buckingham Palace. It was fascinating to get a glimpse of life at Buckingham Palace seen through the eyes of the young Felicity, who started her working life fresh out of secretarial college as a junior secretary in the Press Office.

After working for the Palace for forty years (she retired as a Senior Information Officer in 2002), discretion seems to come naturally to Felicity, but we were still amused by her anecdotes of people calling up the Palace with claims of being related to the Royal Family or with somewhat naive questions. Felicity discussed her role in organising the Royal Family's public engagements including overseas tours and incoming State Visits and described some of her highlight moments, most especially when she accompanied the Royal Family onboard the Royal Yacht.

Book launch at Canada House

Yesterday evening a number of CWC members and a large crowd of Dan Snow fans enjoyed a glass or two of champagne at Canada House and joined our High Commissioner Jim Wright in the Grand Salon to hear Dan talk about his new book, 'Death or Victory: The Battle of Quebec and the Birth of Empire'.

Dan holds joint British/Canadian citizenship and is familiar to many of us in the UK for bringing history alive through a number of wonderful television series. His youthful energy and passion for history have always been evident in his television work and based on some of the fascinating stories Dan shared with us last night this book about the epic battle of Quebec in 1759 and how it forever altered the course of North American history promises to be an exciting read.

Watch what Dan has to say about his book on Youtube!


Dan is the son of Canadian Ann MacMillan (London Bureau Chief of the CBC) and veteran BBC television journalist Peter Snow. Margaret MacMillan, a celebrated Canadian historian, is Dan's aunt. Dan is the great-great-grandson of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

New Members’ Reception

Would you prefer your white wine with a floral note, slightly fruity or with just a hint of oak?

Always a highlight of the CWC’s fall calendar, this year’s new members’ reception on October 6th was truly a delightful evening. As is the tradition, one of our members welcomed us to her lovely home, the CWC executive team supplied the hor d’oeuvres and with a glass of wine or two, an evening of great conversation was enjoyed by all.

This year, Denise Brooks offered her spacious flat in St. John’s Wood and her beautifully decorated fall table was the setting for a tempting array of tasty nibbles, all created by members of our executive team. However, at this point, our tradition was given a new twist…we were invited to sample several wines from small French vintners, all supplied by our own wine connoisseur and CWC office manager, Marie France Boutet. Everyone agreed that they were of exceptional quality. Not only were they pleasing to the palate but also a great ‘ice breaker’ as we chatted with our newest members, their husbands and partners.

Following warm words of welcome from both our Honorary President, Donna Thomson and CWC President, Teresa Howe, we learned that some of our new members are newcomers to this great city while others have made London their home for decades, having only recently discovered the CWC on Canada Day in Trafalgar Square or through the Internet. Whatever the tenure…a short stay or long term residence...we are so pleased to have you join us!

submitted by Margaret Wickware

Visit to the Silver Vaults

Glittering jewels and dazzling servers and an enthusiastic host made our September 30th visit to the Silver Vaults a spectacular day for 14 ladies.

Steven Linden, the Chairman of the Silver Vaults gave an interesting talk about the history of the vaults with stories of who stored (and sometimes hid!) the family silver (and secrets) in the vaults. Lawyers apparently made good use of the facilities as well, to secure documents keeping them safe from fire, water and thieves.

We also were given advice on the care of our own silver. You could clearly feel his passion for silver, lamenting that we were more interested in how to store silver whereas he believes it should be kept out on display. After his talk we spent time visiting the 30 odd shops in the Vaults. Several purchases were made including quite a few silver polishing gloves...highly recommended by Steven.

Then a brief walk from the Silver Vaults to the bank vaults at the Old Bank of England Pub on Fleet Street. All agreed that both food and ambience were excellent. Many were eager to come a second time. Another great lunch day with ladies who love to do lunch!

submitted by Patty Bell

Picture credits: The Silver Vaults