September Hospitality - Lady Mayoress Claire Anstee

Lady Mayoress Claire Anstee gave her 801st speech (she said she gives 800 speeches a year as the wife of the Lord Mayor!) to the CWC at the Welcome Back hospitality morning. She was elegant, entertaining and enthralling speaking about a year in the life of the Lord Mayor and Mayoress and Mansion House. She talked about her daily schedules that at times involved 5 changes of clothes and meeting a very great many people. But you could sense the pride and joy of her past year in this role. She gave the impression that although her life was not her own this past year she would not have missed it for the world. And on top of it all we found out that she was born in Montreal, Canada! The CWC members are even more excited to visit Mansion House this December after such a wonderful description by Lady Mayoress Anstee.

Our past office manager Phyllis Nickerson sent a very generous gift donation to the Maple Leaf Trust. Funds were raised at her Almost the Queens Garden Party in her new home in Ottawa, Canada. The Maple Leaf Trust thanks Phyllis and her ever supporting husband Lee for donating the funds to our fund.

Submitted by Patty Bell

Tour of the National Gallery

We were a privileged group to have a private tour of the National Gallery on Friday Nov.12. We were all a bit surprised at how busy and lively the gallery was that evening with live music and several other tours. But we were so engrossed by our terrific tour guide Margi Davis that we hardly noticed anything else but the paintings. She made us look carefully at each painting pointing out details in them that one normally (well at least I) would miss. We learned who was who in the painting , why the artist chose to include certain items and also how much artisitc freedom the artist had when he painted for his patron. It was indeed a truly enjoyable way to start the weekend in this city blessed with so many wonderful galleries and museums. A special thank you to Margi Davis who donated both her time and expertise to make this another great CWC event.

Submitted by Patty Bell

November Hospitality

We were led on a fascinating archaeological dig at the November 9th Hospitality. Our guest speaker, Lady Alexandra Richardson, talked at length about the art and perseverance of being a biographer, unearthing files in attics in Ireland, Texas, Italy and England to name a few locations. She even sourced information from sales staff and cleaners in Singapore Airport to glean information about the subject of her book Passionate Patron: The Life of Alexander Hardcastle and the Greek Temples of Agrigento.

He was an englishman with a passion for Greek Archaeology who lived in Agrigento, Sicily in the 1920's supervising a dig there and in mainland Italy as well. We were given a glimpse into his past before he moved to Agrigento and with how he lived out his later years. I am sure many of the ladies who attended that day will read what should be a very interesting book. Get her book here!

Vi Knight of the Veteran's Affairs Committee led a Remembrance Day moment reading a moving poem written by a 12year old boy form Calgary about Why We Wear A Poppy.

Submitted by Patty Bell

Family Carol Service

Please invite your friends and family to join us for our annual Family Carol Service!

Friday, December 3rd
6:30 pm at the
Crown Court Church of Scotland
Russell Street, Covent Garden
London WC2B 5EZ

Children are welcome! Refreshments will be served following the service of Lessons & Carols, so please RSVP to info@canadianwomenlondon.org, letting us know how many people will be attending. There is no cost for this event, and you don't even need to be a member of the CWC, but monies raised from the offertory will be shared between the Church and the Maple Leaf Trust.

For a larger version of the invitation, click on the image below.

A Trip to Highgrove

October 4, 2010

Not a tube strike, traffic, nor storm clouds could keep a sold-out group of CWC and Australian Women’s Club members and their friends from boarding the coach at 8:30 am for an eagerly anticipated trip to Highgrove. Our first stop, a mandatory shoppers’ destination, was Tetbury, once an ancient wool and yarn market located within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire. Today it is renowned for its antique shops, elegant church spire and honey-coloured stones on the market square.

The Highgrove shop, situated at 10 Long Street occupies the major part of a period building thought to have been a brewery. It was just a shopping appetizer for us and a few minutes later, we reached Highgrove!

After a security and passport check, we were welcomed to the Estate by the scent of orchards and brilliant sunshine. Our 2 groups of 25, managed by Lolly Fullerton and Teresa Howe, were led by wonderfully knowledgeable volunteer guides who provided Royal anecdotes in addition to all aspects of the garden. Standing in front of the Orchard Room, a lime washed building of oak and stone designed by Charles Morris, a short history was provided.

Originally styled “High Grove”, it is the country home of The Prince, The Duchess of Cornwall and Princes William and Harry. It is also the location of the Home farm of the Duchy of Cornwall, well known for its organic foods and gardening. Built between 1796 and 1798 but due to 2 fires over the years, the buildings were restored with local Cotswolds Stones and other saved and recycled pieces. The Duchy of Cornwall acquired Highgrove House from the MP Maurice Macmillan, son of former Tory Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1980. It was indeed a blank canvass of 15 acres where The Prince has devoted much energy transforming the neglected grounds into some of the most innovative gardens existing today. Everything at Highgrove embodies the Prince’s environmental philosophy - that it is better to work with Nature than against it.

And you may wonder… What can one see in a garden in the autumn? Late season perennials such as asters, rudbeckias and sedums, add their strength in colour, as do the ripening apples and pears. And more…

Our guide explained the interlinking of various themes and gardens, each with its own character and purpose. In the Thyme Walk, a lime avenue started with a bronze of a Borghese Gladiator and ended with a dovecote, a gift from the Sultan of Oman. Weaving through the magical woodland garden full of hostas – one of the Prince’s favourite plants, we glimpsed “Hollyrood House” a Tree house where the young Princes played as children. At the southern edge, the “Wall of Gifts”, a series of quirky architectural pieces from University students, was intriguing. We smiled at the luscious green Fern Pyramid that the Prince received for his 50th birthday and the mischievous Leprechauns given by a white witch from Ireland. We learned that the Prince loves moss, ferns and hostas, and birds. There are some 67 birdhouses for natural pest control.

Then there is the Azalea Walk, a special place adorned with busts of people The Prince admires – poets, scholars, environmental campaigners and composers. In contrast, to the left is a touching memorial to Tigga, the Prince’s much-loved Jack Russell Terrier, who rolled about in these gardens.

A contemplative arboretum featuring a stunning bronze titled “ The daughters of Odessa: Martyrs of Modernism, is dedicated to oppressed people of the world and situated in the healing garden dedicated to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. How appropriate as The Prince learned so much about gardening from his grandmother. Further there is a sanctuary, a sundial garden and later we come upon the Highgrove Terraces and Cottage Gardens, full of memories and gifts – a catapa tree, a 50th birthday present to the Prince from Sir Elton John, a gateway of Indian doors from Jodhpur and a circular stone seat made by masons from Hereford Cathedral. Last we marvel at the lavish Carpet Garden, resembling a Turkish carpet, which was exhibited at the 2001 Chelsea Flower Show winning a Silver Medal. One is immediately transported to a Moroccan riad here, surrounded by olive trees, fountains, cork oaks, cypresses and vines.

It seems that no CWC outing is quite complete without a Canadian connection. We were fortunate to meet Head Gardener Debs Goodenough who was busy planting bulbs. Some 30,000 bulbs are planted yearly using only natural fertilizers and mulch. Mrs.Goodenough was raised on a farm in Alberta and trained in horticulture in Canada. Later while working at Kew Gardens; she met her future husband and became Head Gardener at Osborne House, and managed other historic landscapes over a twelve-year period. In 2008, she was appointed to her present position. She smiled and told us that The Prince does get his hands dirty and is very involved in all aspects of the garden.

After our 2 hour walk though 2 miles of garden, many of us relaxed over tea and cake in the Orchard Room, while others perused the beautiful gifts in the adjoining shop.

On the trip back to London, Teresa, Lolly and Flora Tan uncorked a wine and cheese party complete with games for “royal prizes”. Yes we had traffic and a long coach ride but there was new respect for the Prince’s pioneering work in organic gardening and a lovely day of delightful memories.

All profits from the shops go to The Prince’s Charities. To find out more, visit the web site at http://www.princescharities.org.

Submitted by CWC Past President Teresa Howe. Teresa wishes to thank Lolly Fullerton for all their her help and especially for flying in from Canada for this event.

Prince of Wales’ Garden Party to Make a Difference

On September 14, twenty two members of the CWC had a unique opportunity to attend the Prince of Wales’ Garden Party to Make a Difference in the gardens of Clarence House in London . The garden party was an exhibition of ideas and activities to encourage people to think about sustainability and reducing their impact on the planet. We wandered at our own pace among the exhibits, stopping and sampling the sights that were of interest to us.

Highlights were:

Learning to grow vegetables in small spaces – many unique container ideas.

• Making a reusable bag from old curtains
• Pledging at least one way to reduce the energy consumption in your home
• Sampling the food at the Farmer’s Market with lovely local and organic vegetables and unusual foods like spelt pasta
• Planning a drought resistant garden – ideas I will certainly use in my garden in Calgary
• Browsing the Red Cross’s pop up charity shop
• Watching singing and dancing on the people-powered dance floor
• Resting in the chairs made from recycled supermarket trolleys
• Learning how to recycle old clothing to make new and unusual outfits
• Marveling at the 3 meter green piggybank (being green saves you money) and the sheep climbing the ladder (loft insulation) and the bicycle-powered laptop

There were food cooking demonstrations, live music and comedy presentations, food tasting and a talk by Sir David Attenborough. Although we did not run into any of the Royal Family, it was a fun and informative morning. We all left the Garden Party full of new ideas to be more “green” and the importance of making greener choices in our everyday lives.

Lynda Opocensky

New Season of Great Events!

Time certainly does fly and I hope everyone is as excited as I am with the lineup of great events starting very soon. By now, all current members should have received their printed copy of the new CWC bulletin - and I hope to see many of you very soon!

With the new season of events about to kick off, I recently sent off an email to the 100 women who left their names with us on Canada Day at Trafalgar Square (see the previous post!). I wanted to reproduce it here in case your name isn't on our email list or perhaps you've found this blog, but aren't yet a member.

Here's the message...

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer!

I also hope that you found a moment to read the email sent to you just after Canada Day, introducing you to the Canadian Women's Club, our history and our website.

We're thrilled that some of you have already signed up as new members, but if you haven't yet had a chance to find out more about the club, now is the perfect time.

Our website calendar page now lists more than 40 events and activities for our September - January season and there truly is something for everyone! For garden lovers, the first email sent to you highlighted one of the most exclusive events on offer: a private group tour of the gardens at Highgrove. For culture vultures, we've arranged a day trip to Oxford to visit the newly renovated Ashmolean Museum, a tour of Leighton House, the Museum of London's new galleries and visits to Mansion House and Marlborough House. For cooks and gourmands, there are two cooking classes you can attend as well as two 'Let's Do Lunch' events. For book lovers, you can choose from afternoon or evening book groups - or attend both! And as usual, there are monthly bridge games held at the Canadian High Commission at Grosvenor Square, a few 'IT with Tea' sessions - not forgetting our hugely popular Wednesday morning walks through Regent's Park.

For brand new members, the best way to find out more about the CWC is to attend one of our monthly Hospitality Coffee Mornings. As well as listening to an interesting and entertaining guest speaker, you'll have a chance to mingle with other members over coffee or tea and light snacks.

Our first Hospitality Coffee Morning is on Monday September 20th, when our guest speaker will be the Lady Mayoress of London. In October, we're excited to have forensic expert Christine King as our guest speaker, and in November our speaker is author Lady Alexandra Richardson. Our December morning will have a special Christmas theme, and in January, we'll meet Gracie Finley Stickings, who will treat us to anecdotes about her career and time playing Anne of Green Gables at the Charlottetown Festival.

Our coffee mornings are absolutely FREE to all members, but if you would like to attend as a guest you are more than welcome. The charge for guests is just £5. If you do decide to join on the day, your £5 will be refunded!

I hope that gives you a taster of some of the wonderful events to come - and I do hope you'll join us soon. I'm sure many of you already have busy and active lives, but the great thing about the CWC is that tours and events are organised for you - you just need to turn up on the day! Many of our members tell us that they simply enjoy visiting new places more when they are with others. And sometimes it's nice to just feel 'at home' with other Canadians while exploring London and all it has to offer. You might be surprised to discover that we have a few members of other nationalities who simply appreciate what the CWC has to offer and who like doing things with Canadians!

Please do drop us an email if you have any questions at all - you can email us at info@canadianwomenlondon.org. And if you're ready to join, you'll find our application form on our website along with a full list of Calendar events! If you're still not sure, have a look at some past events on our blog - or get in touch and tell us you would like to try an event as a guest.

Best wishes,

Patty Bell, President

Canada Day 2010 Celebrations in London

Once again, the Canadian Women's Club said hello to hundreds of people who dropped by our stand at Trafalgar Square on Canada Day.

A huge thank you to Chad Molleken of Rainmaker and of course to the various sponsors who created interest in the day with a fabulous website, and who provided us with a wonderfully positioned stand looking out over Trafalgar Square with Big Ben in the distance. As well as gathering up many, many names of women who would like to receive further information about the club and the Maple Leaf Trust, we answered questions about Canada and Canada Day, pointed people in the right direction to find Tim Horton's coffee, Canadian flag tattoos and of course joined in with the Canadian Tenors to sing our national anthem!

If you're finding this blog after having visited us yesterday, thanks for dropping by to say hello or for taking one of our postcards. We have a wonderful club, a superb team of volunteers who organise fabulous events, a great charity to support, and you are very warmly welcomed to join us. Our events kick off again in September - please do get in touch to find out more!

2010 Annual General Meeting

The Canadian Women's Club celebrated a year of more than 100 events for the 2009-2010 season at our AGM held yesterday! The AGM is when we review the events of the past year, take a close look at our financial situation, hear reports about our charitable work, make any changes needed to our rules and constitution, thank activity leaders and members of the executive team who are moving on to new pastures and welcome the new executive team who will lead the club going forward.

CWC 2009-2010 Executive, from left:

Kate Brundage (Vice-President for 2010-2011),

Teresa Howe (Outgoing President),

Patty Bell (President for 2010-2011),

Renee-Marie Vanasse (Outoing Treasurer),

Barbara Richards (Outoing Vice-President)

In addition to all the above, we were very pleased this year to have a presentation from Mark Ball about LIFT 2010, a London-wide International Festival of Theatre that will be taking place from 23 June to 18 July. Mark was introduced by Donna Thomson, CWC Honorary President, and both spoke about their excitement about the range of experiences, performers and adventures that LIFT will be offering this year - with ground-breaking works from Canada, Germany, Tunisia and elsewhere. Mark talked to us about just a few LIFT events that should surprise and enthrall us. You can read more about LIFT 2010 by clicking here!

Mark Ball of LIFT with Teresa Howe

There were many thank you's to various activity leaders for creating such a fantastic programme of events - but the main thank you went to our outgoing President, Teresa Howe who for the past year worked tirelessly on behalf of the club. She put her heart and soul into keeping the club fresh and exciting. We all felt enriched by the fantastic range of events she coordinated and new members were impressed by her warm welcome.

Isabelle Mignault and Teresa Howe

Heartfelt thanks also went to Margaret Wickware, our most recent Past President, who is moving on to new things after acting as Chair of the Maple Leaf Trust for three years. Margaret wasn't able to be with us at the AGM but her report was very graciously given by Fawn White.

Fawn White

And so now we congratulate and welcome Patty Bell as our new President, and take a break for the summer until we recommence activities in September. Enjoy a few pictures from the AGM and see you all in September! And one last event to mention....please come out and say hello to us at our stand on Canada Day, Thursday 1 July - Trafalgar Square...from 10:30am until 6:30pm!

Teresa Howe, receiving a gift from the CWC,

arranged by Anne Van Gieson

Jenny Tripp Black (Chair, Veterans' Support Committee),

Kate Brundage (Vice-President 2010-2011)

Maple Leaf Trust Dinner and Auction 2010

Click image to view larger format.
Photography by David Bradfield

On 13 May, proud members of the Canadian community in the UK and their guests gathered at the High Commissioner’s Official Residence to salute Canadian musicians living or working in the UK and, most importantly, to support other Canadians living in need in this country - the mission of the Maple Leaf Trust.

For this special occasion, the formal living room was transformed into an elegant dining room with seven tables (one more than last year) each beautifully decorated with globes of red and white flowers and accented with flags of Canada and Great Britain. At each place was an Honour Roll - a list of Canadian musicians living or performing in the United Kingdom who had so generously contributed to this wonderful evening by donating their music (CDs and/or tickets to various concerts) in support of the Maple Leaf Trust. We thank you all!

During cocktails, our guests socialized in the library where our super organized, Silent Auction Co-ordinator, Natalie Kirsh had very attractively set out our first ever silent auction. The twenty-two prizes included something for everyone: travel opportunities, fashion items and tickets to at least seven different musical events. Bidding was fierce for several items: the portrait sitting donated by CWC member Phyllis Dupuy and a hockey jersey signed by Russian hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak (Canadian hockey enthusiasts readily recognize the name even if that famous ’72 Russia-Canada series took place before they were born)! A special thank you to Phyllis and Mary Ellen Jenkinson for donating these items and to Natalie for giving of her time and talents so generously.

Following a delightful performance by cellist, Christian Elliott, a 2008 Canadian Centennial Scholarship winner (funded by the Maple Leaf Trust), guests were treated to the melodic voices of the 1607 Ensemble. During their brief presentation, they sang two pieces by Clement Ishmael, a Canadian composer of great acclaim, most notably for his compositions performed on Broadway and in West End. We were delighted to have Clement as our special guest that evening. A very special note of thanks to MLT Trustee and Event Vice Chair, Fawn White who organized the musical portion of the evening and to Karen and John Murphy of Ernest and Young for underwriting this very special facet of the evening.

After a lovely dinner with excellent Ontario wines so kindly donated by Clare Barnett of the Ontario International Marketing Centre, our High Commissioner donned his Habs jersey to begin the centrepiece of the evening: the live auction. This year, the variety of items was exceptional including a highly prized photo by Canadian musician and award winning photographer, Bryan Adams, highly coveted tickets to the upcoming premiere of Sex and City 2, a lovely scarf by Canadian designer (and another Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund scholarship winner), Erdem, tickets to Diana Krall to mention but a few. Prizes were arranged by Canadian community members including CWC members Fawn White, Kate Brundage, Donna Thomson and Lynne Flanagan Thank you ladies!

Besides our very generous bidders with us that evening, I want to thank the team who worked on the online auction. Canadian Affair’s Kathryn Munro and Anette Rayner together with CWC member, Barbara Richards organized our second online auction that concluded the previous evening. Besides travel, online prizes included VIP tickets to the recent Michael Buble and Metric concerts. (Both winners have reported truly amazing evenings!) Barbara not only liaised with Canadian Affair but also designed and produced all of communication materials for this event. My sincerest thanks to Barbara for all her work.

In closing, I would like to mention that over the past several months, I have received dozens of notes of thanks sent to me by veterans and I have read heartfelt thank you notes from our Scholarship winners. A note with a cheque from a veteran now living on a limited fixed income included a £10 cheque for his fellow veterans. I can’t put into words how inspiring these shaky handwritten notes have been to me.

With the exceedingly generous support of our High Commissioner, our fundraising dinner was a huge success - raising record proceeds of in excess of £20,000. The Canadian community stepped forward that evening in a BIG way and I am most grateful. If other CWC members would like to add their support, they are welcome to contact me. As I wrap things up and move on from the CWC and the MLT, I welcome your donations that will be included in disbursements to our two charitable causes on June 15th.

With every good wish,

Margaret Wickware

Chair, Maple Leaf Trust

May Hospitality with Bob Bell

A bandaid is a bandaid, after all, in both Canada and the UK.

Bob Bell, CEO of the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital Foundation Trust and a health care management guru with international experience, gave a very fact-based comparison of the health care sytems of the UK and Canada at our May Hospitalty. He provided historical tables that detailed changes in health care delivery in both countries, for example, from number of CAT scans to number of doctors to availability of long-term care and much more.

There was lively discussion and questions from Canadians, particularly from those who are new to the UK's NHS and those who have been in the UK for some time and are out of touch with the Canadian health care system. Many tabloid myths were dispelled with the Q&A as evidence-based facts clearly illustrated that both systems were delivering care in the good to excellent quality level.

We were left with the thought that the quality of health care in the western world is for the most part very good and it certainly has improved even in the last few decades. Many thanks to Bob for taking time from his busy work life to speak to us about this important topic.

Visit to Hever Castle, Kent

A group of CWC members travelled back to Tudor times with a visit to Hever Castle in Kent, the childhood home to Anne Boleyn in the early 16th century.

Our trip (on Friday May 21st) started off with a leisurely walk from Hever station to the castle where others joined us to explore the magnificent gardens, the yew maze and of course the castle itself.

Lynn Allen organised the day and had prepared fantastic notes and maps for us to follow. She also organised the weather...perfection for a day out in the countryside! Enjoy the slideshow...

Photos courtesy of Lynn and Barbara

The Maple Leaf Trust Online Auction is open for bids!

Please visit our online charity auction to make a bid for some fabulous trips, concert tickets...and more!

Let's Do Lunch: A Day in Grace Kelly's Closet!

Who would have dreamt that we could sift through Grace Kelly's favourite clothes at the V&A? A lucky group of CWC ladies were delighted to view the elegant, classic timeless fashion of a truly unique style icon. We studied her film costumes, wedding trousseau, French haute couture items plus several very glamourous evening gowns.

It was especially good to see the photos of Grace Kelly wearing the clothes displayed. The famous Kelly bag was on prominent display along with many small evening bags - absolutely beautiful! And of course the lovely hats ....why don't we wear hats anymore? They really do complete the outfit! And we learned that it was Grace Kelly that made sunglasses such a fashion item, having several pairs to co-ordinate with her outfits.

Lunch afterwards was at another fashion showcase, the Emporio Armani Cafe on Brompton Road. We seemed to all have gone on a diet after leaving the closet of Grace Kelly and noticing how very slim she was. Everyone ordered only one course and no wine and no dessert! But what we did order was delicious and of course being surrounded by beautiful Armani clothes was quite something. We also had a splendid view of the shoppers passing by on Brompton Road, probably on their way to Harrods.

So a good ladies day out and a good ending for the 'Let's Do Lunch' ladies this year.

Submitted by Patty Bell

PS. To see all our past entries for 'Let's Do Lunch' click on the category in the right hand side of this site.

Another year, another online auction!

Last year was the Maple Leaf Trust's first attempt at running a online auction. It was a big success, but this year, we have even more items to bid for! The auction itself won't kick off until the 6th of May but here's a taster of what's to come.

If you're already a CWC member, you will be sent the website address with your next e-newsletter - but if you're not a member, please register to receive an update by emailing me (see the image!).

By the way, we'll be taking bids from Canadians wherever they may be so please start telling your friends and family about this fun (and very worthwhile) online auction.

Visit to William Morris Gallery

Last week, a group of us had an excellent introduction to the William Morris Gallery in north London by one of its curators, and otherwise had the house to ourselves for the visit.

Morris' Evenlode Chintz (1883)

William Morris was amazingly prolific and accomplished as a designer of wallpaper and textiles (for Sanderson), embroidered and woven wallhangings and carpets, furniture, lovely ceramic tiles and bowls and vessels of varying shapes, not to speak of his beautiful illustrations, calligraphy and type-settings for books and other printed materials. And, of course, he was also an author and poet ... and the first to translate the Icelandic Sagas. At one point in his life, he was quite involved in politics - with the Socialist movement.

The collection is very suitably placed in Water House in Walthamstow, the Morris' family home from 1848 to 1856. It offers a number of examples of all the many areas of his interests throughout his life, and items later produced by William Morris' firm.

The top floor of Water House displays some beautiful examples of similar items by one of his friends, and one room on the main floor is currently set aside for an exhibit called 'Quiet Hands'. This is of commissioned furniture made by present day furniture designer Nicholas Hobbs. He, as so many who came after William Morris, is inspired by the simple and clean lines of the Arts and Crafts movement that William Morris inspired and was so much part of.

All in all, the trip to Water House at Walthamstow was indeed well worth it!

Submitted by Unni Claridge

April Hospitality: Diamonds!

“A kiss on the hand may be quite continental…”

Our April Hospitality speaker, Arabel Lebrusan, the creative director and designer of Leblas Jewellery near Sloane Square, discussed the ethical approach she takes when sourcing and making jewellery and explained why Canadian diamonds truly are a girl’s best friend.

We learned how jewellers assess the value of diamonds using the 4 Cs: carat, colour, cut, and clarity. A diamond with more carats, a clear or lighter color, a cut reflecting the most light, and no inclusions or blemishes are more valuable.

Arabel uses a 5th C however: “certificate”, to judge the value of a diamond. She uses only certified-Canadian diamonds for her jewellery because of the ethical problems that can surround many diamonds from Africa, especially Sierra Leone. By using Canadian diamonds, Arabel is able to trace the mine a diamond comes from and therefore takes a stand against conflict diamonds or those mined by children.

She spoke particularly about the Ekati Diamond Mine, 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and how the mine works with local Aboriginal groups to ensure the mine meets agreed environmental standards.

Nina Tukaj, Patty Bell, Arabel Lebrusan and Teresa Howe

Taking inspiration from her home country of Spain, Arabel designs many of her pieces, especially those incorporating filigree, to be handcrafted by specially chosen artisans in Spain. Pictures of Arabel's designs can be found on the Leblas website (click here).

We were all impressed by the Arabel’s beautiful jewellery and inspired by her efforts to improve the ethical standards of the jewellery industry. We'd like to thank her, and Nina Tukaj (a Vancouverite who is working with Arabel at Leblas) for a wonderful talk that left us all sparkling like Canadian diamonds!

Submitted by Laurel Steuernagel

Unfortunately this is the last blog posting that we'll have from Laurel, who has worked with us on an internship basis for the last few months. We took a few moments at the Hospitality to thank her - presenting her with a few fun momentos of London. Laurel was a real asset to the CWC and we'll miss her enthusiasm, great write-ups of events and assistance on so many office tasks and events. Thanks again to Laurel! We hope she'll come and visit on her next trip to London.

Visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dulwich Picture Gallery is a wonderful place to visit any time of year, and even better on a gorgeous spring day. When a very exclusive tour is arranged for members of the Canadian Women’s Club and is given by the Director of the Gallery himself, it turns into an exceptionally special occasion!

Ian Dejardin, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery

We were thrilled when Lily Harriss (our Canadian connection at the Gallery – see our earlier entry about Lily) arranged a visit for our members to the Paul Nash exhibit at the Gallery. She was able to spare some time to join us for tea and coffee (and delicious biscuits) before Ian Dejardin gave us a personal introduction to the exhibit and a tour of the Gallery’s buildings.

With his background as a curator, Ian gave a fascinating introduction to Paul Nash’s life and art. As well as giving us a greater understanding of how Nash came to be one of England’s greatest 20th century painters, Ian advised us to ‘look for the snakes’ – a sign or symbol that Nash added to certain pieces. No one knows why Nash did this. Ian also talked to us about the some of similarities found in Nash’s work with that of some Group of Seven artists, presumably gained around the same time, or through sharing similar experiences when Group of Seven artists spent time in Europe.

Given the sunshine and blossoming trees and shrubs, it made sense to then move outside do a tour of the Gallery’s buildings and for Ian to tell us a bit more about the Gallery’s history. Here’s a tip from Ian: When you have the chance to visit, walk right around the main building itself so that you can see the façade that Sir John Soane’s architectural design intended as the ‘front’ of the Gallery. As Ian told us, if you’ve ever visited any of the western world’s grandest art galleries, their design is undoubtedly based on that of the Dulwich Picture Gallery - the 'original' grand public art gallery.

Our huge thanks to Ian and Lily for making it such a wonderful event for us. The Paul Nash exhibit runs until May 9th and is highly recommended.

You will be interested in knowing that Ian and Lily are both involved in planning the Tom Thomson and Group of Seven exhibition that will open in 2011. You can read Ian Dejardin's blog entry about his visit to Toronto by clicking here. Another CWC special event to be planned! In the meantime, Canadians in the UK will be pleased to know that there are some Group of Seven postcards and notecards available at the Gallery’s shop…no need to return to Canada to stock up!

Submitted by Barbara Richards

March hospitality with Carl Honoré

At our hospitality morning on March 9th we all took a welcomed break from our busy schedules and learned to embrace our inner Tortoise with speaker Carl Honoré, the best-selling author and advocate of the slow movement. Carl shared with us humorous anecdotes and assured the forty women in attendance that less is more and slow is the new fast.

Carl with Patty Bell, CWC Vice-President

In a culture of instant messaging, speed yoga, and drive-through funerals, it is almost impossible to take the time to smell the roses. As a former speedaholic himself, Carl realized it was time to put on the breaks when he started trying to condense his son’s bedtime stories into one minute. Since Carl published his book “In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed”, which reveals the dangers of living life in fast-forward, the slow movement has been gaining speed. Slow cities have been cropping up around the world, as well as movements in slow food, slow sex, slow exercise, slow medicine, and even slow technology. Big companies are starting to embrace slowness to allow their workers to be more creative and efficient and last year Harvard University sent their incoming freshman class a letter with one piece of advice, to slow down.

In 2005, Carl published "Under Pressure". As well as outlining all the pressures put on parents and teachers to speed children along and grow up fast, he makes the case for slowing things down: letting children be children just a little bit longer. Carl recently wrote on his blog that Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper said that 'Under Pressure" is ...“A look at the mismanagement of the contemporary child: overprotected, overindulged, over-stimulated. An indispensable, anecdotal, comnmonsensical guide to why our kids are depressed, lazy and fat, and what we can do about it.”

We were thrilled to have Carl with us for such a stimulating and thought provoking morning. We all learned that we need to think more about why we go so fast, whether it's good-fast or bad-fast, or good-slow or bad-slow. We're hoping to put just a little bit more of that good-slow into our lives!

Submitted by Laurel Steuernagel

Wine tasting with Marie-France

Just before Valentine's Day, a group of CWC members and their partners, husbands and friends enjoyed a fabulous wine tasting event, organised by Marie-France and her husband Eduardo. What a great time we had at the home of Harry and Renée-Marie! The setting was splendid, our hosts perfect and we, the guests, a friendly and keen-to-learn group.

We discovered many new wines, but the highlight was to experience the food pairing. Champagne and parmesan...Viognier and asparagus pesto wrapped in prosciutto...Tavel rosé with tandoori bites... and much more. Many of us were surprised to find that St-Joseph goes very well with dark chocolate! Who knew Marie-France is such a wonderful chef? (Perhaps she might consider offering a ‘deli’ service to go with our wine purchases next time?)

There were lots of questions and people took home ideas, recipes and a better knowledge of wine. Marie-France presented each of the 11 wines with knowledge and enthusiasm. She definitely likes what she does! We can now tell how old a red wine is just by looking at it, when to keep and when to drink now, how you make champagne rosé and most importantly, to be able enhance our “table” experience by serving just the right wine with our culinary creations.

In the meantime, Eduardo, her husband, was chained to the stove assembling and delivering the appetizers to enhance each wine…(what dedication after a 5am start, a business trip to Zurich and a full day working!). Marie-France and Eduardo will deliver your order and do the catering, giving you a stress-free and interesting way to entertain. We are so very lucky to have such a talented office manager!

The next wine tasting will be in the spring and will feature all new wines and appetizers. The theme will be “Spring and Summer” and we’re sure to have another fabulous time - don't miss it!

Submitted by Lois Darley

Slow Down with Carl!

We're very excited that Canadian journalist Carl Honoré will be joining us for our March hospitality, Tuesday morning, March 9th (see the calendar details on our website). We'll be meeting in the Gold Room of Canada House to hear Carl tell us about his latest exploits in trying to get us all to, well...just...slow...down.

Carl lives in South London but is known around the world for adding wit and wisdom to the slow movement discussion. We don't know if he'll be speaking to us about slow sex as he has done for other audiences, slow food or slow parenting, which he's written about in his book 'Under Pressure', but it promises to be a great morning!

Please get in touch with the CWC office if you would like to be there!

Canadian Women's Club Precision Skating Team Adventure On Ice in London

(or...Let's Do Lunch, with Skates On...to mark the Vancouver 2010 Olympics)

It was with a certain amount of nervous trepidation that six ladies from the Canadian Women's Club Precision Skating Team took to the ice on Friday Feb 26th.

The majority of us had not been on skates for quite a few years and only two of us actually owned skates!

But, no matter, we were up for it. After a very shaky start in the skate changing room (Sharon was about to give up until she received some encouragement from the skate hire man, who showed her and yours truly how to put the damn plastic skates on!) we were out and on the ice! And wow did we fly!

Around and round we went and in the same direction. Everyone was reluctant to perform anything but the most basic skating manouvers: right foot push left foot push swish...swish...swish. But once we recalled the rhythm of skating we quite enjoyed the whole experience for almost one and a half hours! And no major embarrassment of falling, whatsoever.

However, I must admit that, as Sharon said "it was good to be back on land again after leaving the rink!" We rewarded ourselves with a lovely lunch at Cafe Anglais in the Whiteleys Mall on the Queensway.

Everyone agrees we should make this a regular activity of the CWC. Anyone wishing to establish the CWC Precision Skating Team, please contact the Canadian Olympic Skating team for more details (or Patty Bell if you can't find their email)!

Humbly submitted by Patty 'Hot Skates' Bell (pictured above, but just out of shot of Joannie Rochette, Canadian winner of the Bronze Medal for Figure Skating)

Snowy Wednesday Morning Walks

A few little flurries will not stop the intrepid Wednesday morning walkers - and here are the photos to prove it.

If you can get to Hyde Park or Regent's Park for an early morning walk on Wednesdays, please check your latest e-newsletter and let Lois Darley know that you would like to join us! We promise it won't snow every week...

Februry Hospitality: Lily Harriss

Our Hospitality morning last Tuesday, February 9th was an extra special affair – joining coffee, art, and humanitarianism.

Our first speaker, Lily Harriss, presented highlights of the Dulwich Picture Gallery. We were impressed to learn the Gallery’s history which began with only a few paintings from the private collection of friends Noël Desenfans and Sir Francis Bourgeois.

Lily Harriss with Patty Bell

The two men acquired more paintings after they were commissioned by the King of Poland to create a Royal Collection. But with the partitioning of Poland, the collection lacked a home. It was bequeathed by Bourgeois to Dulwich College, Sir John Soane was commissioned as architect of a new building, and the Gallery opened to the public in 1817. It is distinguished as being the first public art gallery in England and now displays a variety of art including Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and Poussin.

Lily talked about her role as Director of Development, where she plays a leading role in managing relationships with donors and raising funds to support the Gallery. As a Canadian, Lily is particularly excited about a Tom Thomson and Group of Seven exhibition that will be opening at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2011. Without a doubt, the CWC will be there!

We were very pleased that one of the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund students was able to attend Tuesday's presentation by Lily. Eleanor von Aderkas, pictured below, is currently studying Easel Painting Conservation at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge. A short article about Eleanor will be published on the blog soon!

Deborah Bowsher, Eleanor Von Aderkas, Arlene Greenhouse

The day was concluded by our second speaker, Isabelle Mignault, who spoke about her friends and experiences in Haiti and who gave a moving plea in both English and French for aide to the Haitians, especially the children, whose lives were devastated by the earthquake.

Isabelle Mignault

Renee Marie Vanasse and Isabelle Mignault

The CWC held a fundraiser on Tuesday– a Quake Bake – to support the Haitians. Along with donations made by Quebec House staff, we raised more than £300 by bringing and purchasing delicious treats. An additional £100 was donated by Canadian High Commission staff, with the full amount given to the Haitian branch of the Fondation contre l'indifférence pour l'aide à l'enfance, (Foundation again the indifference to child welfare), supported by Isabelle.

Thank you to all who participated.

Written by Laurel Steuernagel and submitted by the IT with Te@ group

Morning with Marcia Kilgore

Last Friday at Canada House, CWC members and our guests were treated to a very special event featuring Canadian Marcia Kilgore. As the founder of Bliss Spas and the creative force behind the popular Soap & Glory beauty line, Marcia's most recent venture has been the launch of Fitflop footwear. We wanted to find out how someone with such humble Canadian beginnings became a worldwide success, what inspired her to set up these businesses, and what continues to inspire her today.

We invited a fellow Canadian, author and fashionista Bronwyn Cosgrave to pose some questions to Marcia. We were instantly captivated by Marcia's energy, sense of humour and positive attitude. We learned that after having worked as a personal trainer and bodybuilder in Saskatchewan, Marcia moved to New York City to join her sister, a fashion model. With only $300 dollars left, and knowing she wanted to stay, Marcia's entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. Working as a personal trainer, her network of contacts grew. After taking a summer off to study skincare, Marcia added facials to her range of services. Realising that her talent in working with people was in helping them to feel good as well as look good, Marcia created a small spa - and then a much larger spa. Marcia told us it wasn't difficult coming up with the name of her new spa: she wanted to create an environment where clients could escape from their daily routine - a soothing and relaxed atmosphere...Bliss Spa, New York was launched!

After creating some products for sale through her spa, and a mention in Vogue magazine, she attracted thousands of new customers (including Oprah!). Even with this attention, however, Marcia stayed grounded. A Bliss Spa was launched in London, bringing Marcia here to train her staff. With her next venture, Marcia launched the Soap & Glory product line - making cosmetics more affordable and showcasing her wit and humour with lipgloss names like Sexy Motherpucker.

Determined to find a way to help busy women tone their legs, Marcia's next successful product involved collaborating with biomechanic scientists and shoe designers to produce the Fitflop. With thousands of happy customers (including several CWC members!) and the science to back up its claims, the Fitflop is taking the footwear market by storm and making exercise quite literally a walk in the park!

Marcia truly has an inspirational story to tell, and her talk was a breath of fresh air for us all. Bronwyn's insightful questions helped to make it a truly memorable morning for all in attendance.

To make the event extra special, some of our guests were thrilled to win one of our fabulous door or raffle prizes! With proceeds going to the CWC's charitable arm, the Maple Leaf Trust, we were very thankful to Leblas for donating some gorgeous earrings and vouchers, to Marcia for providing a Soap & Glory gift box and Fitflop sandals, to Bronwyn for an autographed copy of her book Made for Each Other: Fashion and the Academy Awards, to Running Bare Ltd for a voucher for Fitflops, and to Van Twisk for the flowers.

Late addition: This was the CWC's first fundraiser in 2010 for the Maple Leaf Trust and more than £1,000 was raised. Thank you again for your support!

Submitted by Laurel Steuernagel Steuernagel with photography by Flora Tan and Barbara Richards. Click on the picture at the top to enlarge the photos or play the slideshow!

Culinary Corner: Entertaining with Appetizers

Anne Van Gieson, our Culinary Corner hostess, showed us how to create some delicious appetizers on Wednesday, January 27th. Split into small teams, we each learned to make one or two small dishes that we then presented to the rest of the group and enjoyed along with a glass of delicious wine. Anne's next Culinary Corner is in March, featuring Easter Traditions.

Here are just a few of the useful tips passed on by Anne - along with a recipe for you to try.

Entertaining with appetizers is a new and less traditional way to entertain guests and family. It is particularly suitable for those of us who live in smaller spaces without a large, formal dining room. In taking the plunge to do so there are a few simple guidelines to remember:

1. How much to prepare? Allow 6 pieces per person for the first hour, and another 4 pieces per person for every additional hour.
2. It is important to have some appetizers that can be prepared several hours ahead.
3. Have a mix of both hot and cold appetizers.
4. Try to have back up platters in the kitchen, ready to replenish the ones on your serving table as they become depleted.
5. If serving appetizers before a dinner, don't overdo it! A mere 3 or 4 items person willbe enough.
6. When placing items on platters, allow enough space between them so that your guests can easily pick them up without their fingers touching the neighbouring appetizer.
7. A good indication that a party is coming to an end is to bring out small chocolates, cookies, etc.

Pistachio Chicken

This recipe makes about 30 pieces. They can be eaten warm, room temperature or from the refrigerator.

2 lbs chicken pieces (off the bone)

Marinade:

2 cups buttermilk

1 tbsp mustard

1 tsp chili flakes

1 tbsp basil

1 tbsp oregano

Coating:

1 lb pistachios, finely chopped to make about 4 cups (other nuts - hazelnuts or smoked almonds - can be used in combination with, or as a replacement to pistachios)

3/4 cups breadcrumbs (try using whole wheat or sourdough)

3 eggwhites, beaten well

3/4 cup flour

sea salt and pepper

Rapeseed or canola oil for frying

Method

Combine buttermilk, mustard, and spices in a bowl. Cut chicken filets if required into 1.5" inch pieces. Pound lightly if necessary to reduce thickness so that they cook evenly when fried. Add to marinade being sure all pieces are covered. Marinade for a min. of 6 hours or overnight if possible.

Grind or chop nuts to a point where most are well ground but with some little chunks left for texture. Combine with breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Place on a flat plate when you're ready to coat.

After marinating, coat chicken pieces first with flour, then the eggwhites and finally the nuts. Put coated pieces in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. When ready to fry, heat a few tablespoons of oil. Fry slowly, at a medium to low heat for 5 - 7 minutes, turning a couple of times to be sure chicken is cooked through and has turned a golden brown. Serve right away or place on a tray to cool. You may wish to season with a bit of extra salt and pepper - to your own taste! Although delicious on their own, you may wish to serve with a small bowl of a light yoghurt for dipping.

Submitted by Anne Van Gieson