HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-01-13, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2011.
Jim’s message
Jim Finkbeiner made a 32.5 kilometre trek from Exeter to
Clinton to raise awareness about the Walk for Memories
fundraiser that the Alzheimer Society runs annually. The
walk will be held at St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School
in Clinton and South Huron District High School in Exeter
on Jan. 29. Finkbeiner, who made the walk with the help of
MPP Carol Mitchell and MP Ben Lobb, made his way from
Exeter’s fire hall to the Clinton office of the Alzheimer
Society in record time, arriving two hours earlier than
anticipated. (Photo submitted)
Did you realize that when you
bring a real tree into your home for
Christmas, you may be bringing in a
variety of bugs? And those bugs are
awesome and cute, according to the
bugs, and everyone who attended the
postponed Christmas Concert at
Hullett Central Public School on
Wednesday, Jan. 5.
It seems that the tree on the
auditorium stage was infested with
at least 12 different kinds of bugs - a
butterfly, two ladybugs, tics, bees,
grasshoppers, etc. The entire cast
sang “12 Kinds of Bugs for a
Christmas Production” and they
were dressed in a variety of
appropriate bug costumes. Their
awesomeness comes from the fact
that they just have a few more legs.
The theme song for the operetta
was “A Bug’s Christmas”. These
bugs were guaranteed to make you
itch. Turns out the termites that
came in were very hungry. They
were in danger of ruining the tree.
And they had chewed the wires and
the tree had no lights. This would
never do said the Queen Bee. A
remedy had to be found and the
termites would have to go.
Fireflies to the rescue. The
Kindergarten classes, dressed in
yellow and carrying small
flashlights, paraded around the gym.
Supposedly they landed on the
branches and the tree was again lit
up for the holidays. Because
Christmas time is the time of love
and hugs, the termites were spared.
It was a cute little play with a great
message for any season. The
children were obviously well
rehearsed and excited to finally
show off for their family and friends.
Pupils from Kindergarten to Grade 4
took part in the operetta.
Also part of the evening were the
Grade 4/5 students who entertained
with three seasonal songs, among
them “A Christmas Greeting”.
“Responsibility” is the character
trait being considered at the school
during January. This trait means
being reliable and considerate.
Barack Obama is on record as
saying, “Change will not come if we
wait for some other person or some
other time. We are the change”, that
is needed now. This responsibility
needs to be extended to persons in
the wider world as well.
With that in mind, the school has
accepted the challenge to fill two
hockey bags with shoes. The
challenge came from a group of
people who are headed for Haiti in
late February. That country is not yet
recovered from last year’s
earthquake and the people are still in
need. So if your shoe collection
needs thinning out, consider helping
fill those bags. They are seeking
sandals and running shoes for
children and adults in gently used
condition up to size nine adult. The
children always learn more from
these character traits when the adults
in their lives support such
endeavours.
In the absence of Terry Fletcher,
the senior choir lead the service at
Londesborough United Church on
Sunday, Jan. 2. Appropriately the
choir chose to do a carol study/sing.
The 12 days of Christmas were not
yet done and it was an opportunity to
sing some of those favourite carols
once more.
The service began with a brief
history of choirs themselves and of
carols. The Christmas carols we sing
come from many cultural
backgrounds, German, French,
Latin, English and North American.Choir members explained the storybehind “O Come All Ye Faithful”,“Away in a Manger”, “O Little Townof Bethlehem”, “Hark the HeraldAngels Sing” and “The First Noel”
and then those hymns were sung by
everyone.
Background was also given about
the Canadian carol, ’Twas in the
Moon of Wintertime”, which the
choir sang as an anthem.
Laurel Mitchell read a ‘Minute for
Missions’ which explained how
monies donated to the United
Church’s Mission and Service Fund
assist intra-cultural ministries in
Canada. The 2010 goal for
Londesborough United’s M&S fund
was surpassed by year’s end. The
total donations were $5,330.63.
During the children’s time, Barb
Bosman taught the boys and girls
two action songs, “Wide, Wide as
the Ocean” and “Noah Built an
Arkie, Arkie”. The songs were
enjoyed by both the children and theadults who hadn’t sung them sincetheir own childhood.Londesborough’s UCW willgather for their January meeting onMonday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the
official board will be Jan. 25
beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Reports for the annual report for
2010 would be appreciated by the
church office in the near future.
Regarding annual reports,
Londesborough United’s nominating
committee will be looking to fill
vacancies on the various boards for
the upcoming year. The best way to
keep in touch with church affairs is
to be involved with one of the
committees that make the decisions
that affect the congregation. It’s sort
of like getting out to vote in an
election, your voice needs to be
heard in church workings. Consider
saying ‘yes’ to the representative
who approaches you.
The Christmas decorations havebeen packed away for another yearbut the packing away reminded methat I had a peeve to share. Now I am confused. Are we notbombarded from many sides with
the need to reduce garbage and
recycle items? Did anyone else find
the job of Christmas lighting a
struggle?
On one hand some of us continue
to use the strands of lights, both
indoor and outdoor, that have been in
the boxes for many years. Is that not
the “reuse” aspect of reducing
garbage? On the other hand, we hear
that new strings of lights have energy
efficient bulbs. Do we throw away
the old strings of lights and buy
new? Is there a cost saving to the
consumer to throw out perfectly
good lights just to save money on
hydro? Are the hydro savings that
large? It might take a few years to
recover the output costs.
Regardless of whether you use
older strands or have invested in newones how did you fare when it cameto finding replacement bulbs?Apparently stores subscribe to thewhole new strings theory forpackages of replacement bulbs
seemed as scarce as hen’s teeth.
Have I missed something here? We
felt fewer people had outdoor
displays this year. Could they, too,
be confused?
And, when you were putting up
your lights did it seem that one more
length of lights would make the
display better? Good luck with
matching the lights from earlier with
what was on the shelves this year. I
gather that is good marketing on the
part of the manufacturer. But it
makes for frustration and more
garbage.
404 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
See us for these and other great books at our Brussels or Blyth office
The Citizen
Enjoy the warmth
of a good book!
BARNYARD GAMES &
PUZZLES
For kids who like the farm this
book contains 100 mazes,
word games, jokes and riddles,
brain teasers and fun activities
illustrated with lots of cartoon
barnyard animals. $13.50
BLYTH: A
VILLAGE
PORTRAIT
In 1977 a
group of
Blyth young
people
produced a
large
volume of
stories on
the history of Blyth, many excerpted from
early newspapers in Blyth and the
surrounding towns. A few copies of this
book are still available. $30.00
WHEN THE
GOING GETS
TOUGH
Dr. Dave Perrin
produces his
fifth book of
adventures as a
veterinarian
dealing with
difficult animal
patients from a
mare that’s stumbling drunk to a
cockatoo that crunches his finger like a
hazelnut to a skunk in a church. $23.95
MILES FOR
MEMORIES
At age 74
retired Perth
County farmer
Jeff
Timmermans
bicycled 8248
km across
Canada over
four months to raise awareness of
Alzheimers which had struck down his
wife Toni. He recalls that journey and
their life together in this book. $20.00
PLEASE DON’T
TELL ME MY SON
IS DEAD
Following the
sudden accidental
death of her son
Geoffrey in 2002,
Walton poet Patty
Banks created a
series of moving
poems. They are
collected in this book along with
reminiscences of friends and family. $15.00
DAN NEEDLES:
WINGFIELD’S HOPE More
Letters From Wingfield
Farm.
An enjoyable sequel to
Letters From Wingfield
Farm , the book that had
people comparing the
Canadian humourist to Mark
Twain. Return to Walt
Wingfield’s farm in
Persephone Township, a
rural community filled with
amusing characters. $9.99
THE NEW WOODBURNER’S HANDBOOK
In these days of rising energy costs the savings from
burning wood can be substantial. This is a guide to safe
and efficient woodburning, everything from choosing a
stove to maintaining a chimney. $19.95
NEWS
FROM LONDESBORO
By BRENDA
RADFORD
Call
523-4296
PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO
Hullett Central holds Christmas concert