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.