HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-02-17, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011. PAGE 13.
The bitterly cold weather of this
past week created a new set of
problems for many. Vehicles not
starting was a common complaint
heard from many, cars, trucks and
tractors included. The mini blizzard
that blew through on Saturday was a
surprise and caused a few
cancellations. The Brussels Curling
Club jitney to be held at the Seaforth
Curling Club was cancelled.
Unfortunately, decisions have to be
made early and the weather was
awful, the roads terrible running
north and south, and the decision
was made to cancel. The day did
improve and there will be other days
to curl.
A special birthday was celebrated
at the Ethel Hall last week for Mike
Alexander. He was surprised to
arrive at the party and the near 50
guests to celebrate his 40th birthday.
Family, friends and fellow
firefighters gathered for the evening
to enjoy fun, food and birthday cake.
Our sympathies are extended to
the Semple family on the passing of
Kathleen Semple. She will be
missed by her children Calvin,
Kevin, Janice and Robina and their
families. Kathleen was a hard
working woman alongside her
husband in their dairy farm. She
loved to cook and was always happy
to be cooking for someone. She was
the driving force and organizer
behind the Brussels, Morris and
Grey food booth at the International
Plowing Match at Wingham. Our
condolences to the Semple family.
The village of Brussels lost one of
its happiest fellows this past week.
“Happy” Harold Bridge passed away
on Friday. He will be sadly missed
by his wife Karen and children
Verne, Mike, Colleen and Shirley
Ann. Our sympathies are extended to
all the Bridge families at this
difficult time. Harold was a truck
driver by trade and loved to drive. He
drove for many years for Stewart
McCall Trucking until his
retirement. Fishing was Harold’s
other love and he enjoyed his time
away with his family and good
friends.
I had a visit with Harold only a
few weeks ago and he was the “same
old Harold” even though he was in
hospital at the time. Our
condolences to the Bridge families.
Huronlea has welcomed Olga
Speiran to their family in the
Highland Apartments. We hope she
enjoys her new surroundings.
Get-well wishes go out to Marg
Work who has suffered a shoulder
injury. We hope she recovers
quickly.
Congratulations to Ben Finlayson
and Charlene Thompson who were
married Jan. 29 in the Dominican
Republic. There were 18 family
members and friends in attendance
for the nuptials. Heading to the La
Romano Resort were Ben and
Charlene and their son Owen, Bryan
and Brenda Finlayson, Barb and
Dean Vincent, Bonnie, Darryl and
Colton Hastings, Brad Finlayson and
Shannon and Crystal Gibbings,
Jason and Jenn Thompson,
Charlene’s aunt Cheryl and cousin
Elizabeth and Art Burns. It was an
awesome week of good weather,
good food and lots of fun with
everyone. Some of the bunch went
on an island tour by truck and had a
good time. The newlyweds will
celebrate with their Walton and
Seaforth friends at a reception at theSeaforth Legion this Saturdayevening at 8 p.m. We hope everyonecan come out and celebrate with thenew Mr. and Mrs. Ben Finlayson.Travelling to Elmhurst Inn inIngersoll were Marie McGavin andKen and Dawn White. They were
attending the 50th wedding
anniversary of John and May Moffat.
They enjoyed dinner and a nice
evening of reminiscing with the 15
family members and friends of the
couple. Marie was a bridesmaid for
May and Dawn is May’s sister.
The Cranbrook Dart Club had 20
players brave the cold weather on
Wednesday night. Evelyn Blake took
the high lady of the evening with
shooting a 98. Brad Speiran hit a 95
for the high man. There are lots of
other commitments and vacations,
but there is an average of 20-21
members each week. Some of them
manage to have perfect attendance
and brave the cold every week.
Neil McGavin has returned from a
week’s vacation in Kelowna, B.C.
He was with 21 other men who
enjoy a skiing holiday. They were at
the SilverStar resort and they
enjoyed beautiful weather. They had
fresh snow and powder and had a
“host” skier showing them the slopes
for the first couple of days. There
were a couple of men who suffered
sprains, but no serious injuries were
suffered. They had a fantastic chalet
and they cooked their own meals,
with groups of four taking turns each
day. Men from this area beside Neil
included Ken Campbell, Larry
Wheatly, Wayne Fear and Gary
Jewitt.
We are continuing on with the
second part of our daughter Kelly
and Adam’s honeymoon in Europe.
As readers will recall they have been
in England, France, Switzerland and
they have just arrived in Spain.
They headed into the heart of
Barcelona on a walking tour. They
saw the royal family castle and the
stairway where the King and Queen
greeted Christopher Columbus on
his return. They went to the Sagrada
Familia-the most visited
construction site by the artist Gaudi.
Gaudi believed art should reflect
organic nature so there are animals
and plants throughout the inside and
outside of the building. The detail
was amazing and the tour took about
two hours.
They were able to go shopping and
pick up some very pretty items. They
walked to the monument of
Christopher Columbus and to the
Rambla, the most famous street in
Spain. It has lots of vendors and
street performers, who are said to be
the best in the world. They went to a
Flamanco dinner and show being
held because of a festival. They
went to a bar following supper and
what was interesting is that in Spain
it is “free-pour” on alcohol, so the
drinks were 75 per cent alcohol and
only 25 per cent mix.
It was up bright and early the next
morning to get on the bus and head
to Nice, France, about an eight-hour
drive.
Arriving early evening, they had
dinner and then went to a pub in the
old town. As we know, it is a small
world, and the pub they chose had a
Canadian bartender. He was a young
man from Stratford.
At Nice and the French Riviera
and it was raining. They had the day
to explore and wander. They went to
the beach and found no sand but it
was lined with pebbles. They walked
to the Le Château ruins at the top of
the mountain and the view of Nice
was incredible. A little shopping and
a few new things and then it was on
the bus to Monaco. They stopped at
a French Perfumery on the way to
Monaco and had a tour of the place.
Arriving in Monaco, they went to the
“Rock” and ate at the top near the
Palace. Monaco is a very smallcountry and is surrounded by Franceon three sides and the MediterraneanSea on the fourth. The GrimaldiFamily is in power and live in thepalace. They stopped at the Churchwere Prince Rainier married GraceKelly and where she is buried. They
went to Monte Carlo and went over
the starting line of the Grand Prix
race of Monaco. They went to the
Grand Hotel, where the James Bond
movie was made. It was amazing
inside and very classy. It is not like
our casinos and there was a different
room for the different games. The
kids played the slot machines and
even won a few Euros in the hour
visit.
They returned to Nice for the night
and then it was on to Italy the next
morning. It was a three-hour ride and
the scenery was beautiful. The road
ran alongside the sea and wove
through mountains, tunnels and high
bridges. The first stop was at the
Leaning Tower of Pisa. They learned
that they have tried to straighten it
several times unsuccessfully and in
the 1990s realized it was
architecturally sound and more
popular with the unique lean. They
arrived in Florence in the late
afternoon and after a short rest
headed to Tuscany for a traditional
Italian meal.
The next morning was a tour of
Florence, a group picture taken at
Piazzale Michelangelo, a location
where you can see over the entire
city. They went for a leather making
tour, to Vivloi, a Gelateria known for
the best gelato in Florence and it was
amazing. At the City Hall Square are
many statues of famous Italian
people including a replica by
Michelangelo’s David, (the original
was moved to the Accademia
Museum for preservation) Hercules,
Pisious and Medussa.
They went to see the Cattedrale Di
Santa Maria Del Fiore or Doumo
Church, which is completely
covered in marble except for a small
area around the dome. It is very
impressive on the outside but very
simple on the inside. The Church is
said to hold 20,000 people. Kelly
and Adam went to the Accademia
Museum to see the original
Michelangelo’s David. The statue is
made from a single piece of marble
over 15 feet tall. There are four other
unfinished pieces leading up to
David.
They left Florence and went on to
Rome. They had a bus tour first and
saw the Vatican City, the Tiber River
that runs through the entire city and
the Colliseum. It was a this point in
the trip that Adam took ill.
A doctor was called in and Adam
had a respiratory infection that
required antibiotics. Kelly reports
that it was actually very quick and
easy to go to the farmacie, have the
prescription filled and get back to
the hotel, along with three friends.
Adam missed the tour of Rome due
to his illness so Kelly joined some of
their Aussie friends. First stop was
the Colosseum. It held 50,000
spectators for gladiator
competitions, men were forced to
fight other men, mostly slaves. The
floor has rotted away and the lower
levels of brick cells, ramps and the
original elevators can be seen. The
next stop was the Ruins –mostly a
bunch of old walls and stones. They
continued on to Vittorio Emanuele II
Monument for a panoramic view of
Rome. They went to the top floor for
an incredible scenic view. Then it was on to Vatican Citytour. They went to St. Peter’s Squarewhich is surrounded by the famouscolonnade by Bernini. There are 140statues of saints on the colonnadeincluding Christ, John the Baptistand the Apostles on the Basilica. St.
Peter’s Basilica holds 60,000 people
and the tomb of St. Peter. The Pope
opens the Porta Sancta ( Holy Door)
every 25 years and then it is closed
back up with bricks, so they have to
hit the bricks with a hammer to open
the door. The Sistine Chapel is used
by the College of Cardinals to elect
new Popes. Michelangelo’s famous
ceiling, which represents the stories
of Genesis, has been cleaned and is
fantastic. The Last Judgement
backdrop for the altar is also
gorgeous.
They went to three museums that
were incredible. The ceilings were
covered in paintings or gold or other
fancy things.
They have now arrived in Venice.
Kelly celebrated her birthday there.
Venice is made up of islands. They
travelled by boat to the center of the
city.
The tour guide arranged a special
surprise for Adam and Kelly and
they had a private dinner away from
the rest of the tour. It was a Venetian
dinner with Persecco and lemon
gelato. They went back to the
mainland on the ferry and enjoyed
the sights of Venice at night. Happy
birthday Kelly! The newlyweds are over halfwaythrough their honeymoon and haveseen so many fantastic sites, it’s hardto imagine. We can’t wait to see thephotosCelebrating birthdays this pastweek were Joyce Tipple, Mary Baan,
John McCall MacBain, Barry
Skinner, Betty Glanville, Krista
Fraser, Val Pethick, Gary McNichol,
Jack Cardiff, Keith Clark, Jack
Knight, Hayden Lee, Allan Searle,
Murray Houston and Mary Mann.
Happy Birthday to all.
By Jo-AnnMcDonaldCall
887-6570
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