Category Archives: Miscellaneous

The Union Club Travel Club Is Pleased to Announce…

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There is ongoing enthusiasm among experienced members interested in hosting small-group trips for fellow members to bond and enjoy as a benefit of membership. The UC Travel Club encourages you, dear reader, to come forward to us with your own proposals, if you have a trip or an outing that you are familiar with that would provide pleasure to our membership.  You could propose to host a group or just tell us all about the opportunities out there.

We are pleased to announce the following future hosted trips for your consideration. As new trips are proposed and vetted we will update the list.

2018:  Day trip to Othello Tunnels on Kettle Valley Rail Trail at Hope

2018 or 2019:   Art Tour of London

2018 or 2019:   Experience Yukon!

2019:   Wine and Culture Tour of Italy

2019:   Great Migration and Highlights of South Africa

2019:   Via Rail Winter Wonderland Cross-Canada Trip

2019 or 2020:  Self-drive Canal trip in France

2020:   The Road From the Past: Traveling Through History in France

 

EXPERIENCE YUKON 

Possibly for later this year or 2019.  Presented previously at the monthly UCTC meeting on March 26, 2018

Hosted by member David Leverton, Executive Director of the Maritime Museum of B.C.  David has a long history of close museum and cultural workings with First Nations of the area. He will host a set of unique experiences in Yukon that his special relationships and knowledge will facilitate. While ready with a proposed format, he is open to suggestion by early responders with interest. Be sure to see his presentation for more details of the moment. For expressions of interest or questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

David Leverton at dleverton@telus.net

 

ART TOUR OF LONDON 

Possibly for later this year or 2019.   To be presented at the monthly UCTC meeting  on April 29, 2018.

Hosted by UC member and art tour expert Lara Tomaszewska, PhD  ISA ,this adventure is forming up to comprise a comprehensive guided art appreciation tour in select renowned venues and opportunities in London. The trip will feature the tour over several initial days of arrival and then allow participants complete flexibility for unhosted enjoyment of London or other destinations for as long as desired. Opportunities will exist to stay in reciprocal clubs. Further details to be released, but early responders with interest can have a hand in shaping the details.  For expressions of interest and questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

Lara Tomaszewska, PhD, ISA 

OPENWORK Art Advisory

www.openworkart.com

+ 1 250 213 2111

+ 44 (0)747 031 4475

 

WINE AND CULTURE TOUR OF ITALY

Possibly for 2019 . To be presented at the monthly UCTC meeting on May 28, 2018.

Hosted by members Kerry Brown and Richard Larkin, this tour would be based on the premier wines of Italy and some little-known fabulous ones, likely Tuscany and Piedmont, visiting such wineries in Chianti, Montelcino (Brunello region), many of which have accommodation and/or restaurants with meals paired with their wines.  The northern part of Italy is unique – lakes and mountains and not often traveled; UNESCO World Heritage sites, good wine and food. We would also see if we could tie in any affiliate clubs for a stay or at the very least a meal. We could tie in Rome which is a perennial favourite with lots of things to do/see/experience. For expressions of interest or questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

Kerry Brown at kerry@successbizcoach.com

GREAT MIGRATION AND HIGHLIGHTS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA 

September 2019

Hosted by member David Bate, Victoria resident turned long-time South African entrepreneur and traveler, his tour is described as follows: Experience the greatest annual wildlife event on Earth.  Join a discerning group of Union Club members on a trip to Southern Africa in September 2019 to witness the arrival of millions of zebras, wildebeests and other antelopes at the end of their journey across the plains of East Africa from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.  This annual pilgrimage is known as the Great Migration and is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should top the bucket list of every travel enthusiast.  The 15-day trip includes highlights of South Africa, Victoria Falls and Kenya.  Touch down in South Africa and begin your journey with an introduction to Cape Town and visit to iconic Robben Island, the Alcatraz of Africa, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 prison years.  Move into the heart of South Africa’s nearby winelands of Stellenbosch, Franschoek and Paarl and spend two days exploring some of the best wines and cuisine the New World has to offer, including at least two restaurants listed in the World’s Top 100 restaurants.  Fly into Victoria Falls and experience the largest waterfall and one of the wonders of the natural world.  Return to Johannesburg and spend a day touring the Apartheid Museum and Soweto.  Enjoy an overnight train journey on Rovos Rail, rated as the most luxurious train in the world, from Pretoria to Durban with stops to tour the Kwa-Zulu battlefields where figures such as Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi and Jan Smuts all participated in the same battle. You will also get a brief taste of a safari before disembarking in Durban for a flight to the Maasai Mara and the heart of the migration.  During your four night sojourn in the Maasai Mara, witness river crossings where hundreds of thousands of antelopes and zebras test their luck against lurking crocodiles.  Watch packs of lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs track the herds and, if your timing is right, see a kill in action from the safety of your safari vehicle.  During your down time, enjoy luxurious ‘Out of Africa’ styled tented camps where butlers cater to your every whim and rose petals await you in the bath drawn in your old fashioned iron bath tub.  Dine on gourmet meals and fine wines that introduce the culinary delights of Africa.  Options available for extended tours to South Africa (golfing tours, garden routes) Namibia (sand dunes and Skeleton Coast), Botswana (Okavango Delta), and Mauritius, Zanzibar, The Maldives and Madagascar (all great beaches), among other locations.  This trip will be guided by Dr. David Bate, a Union Club member who has lived in South Africa for over 20 years and owns wine cellars in the heart of South Africa’s wine country.  Space is limited.  If this trip piques your interest, please reach out to:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

WALKING DAY-TRIP TO THE OTHELLO TUNNELS ON THE KETTLE VALLEY RAILROAD TRAIL AND COQUIHALLA RIVER AT HOPE, BC    

Proposed for later this spring or summer.

Hosted by Rob d’Estrube this will be a simple ferry/bus ride to Hope with lunch and an opportunity to walk the trail along the Coquihalla River and through the tunnels. Travel site ratings are 4.5+ out of 5. Easy walking and available in a 1K or 4.5K version along the rail trail. Easy possibility of both distances being accommodated in the same trip. Timing will be determined by member input. To express an interest in the trip and answer questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

VIA RAIL WINTER WONDERLAND FIRST CLASS ALL-INCLUSIVE PRIVATE-CABIN RAIL JOURNEY ACROSS CANADA 

Proposed for winter of early 2019.

Hosted by Rob d’Estrube this trip is from Vancouver to Toronto during the season where all the sights are snow-clad wonderlands, taking advantage of the lowest rates for travel plus discounts for seniors. Great for single travelers, no single supplements, as there are cabins for one as well as for two or more. All meals (very good) included and 4 + days of wonderful relaxation and bonding with members. Plenty of room to move around so we aren’t glued together. Stay on or travel further when arrived in Toronto.  The destination is not important here, nor is the schedule: the immersive journal is all. To express an interest in the trip and answer questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

A SELF-DRIVE CANAL TRIP WITH MEMBERS AND FRIENDS IN FRANCE

Proposed for 2019 or 2020

Hosted by Rob d’Estrubé, this will be a two-week bit of life in the slow-lane through some backwoods of France. Depending on the canal and the size of the locks we will limit the group to 12, likely divided between 2 or maybe 3 boats. Single travelers welcome as there are a variety of accommodations.  The journey is everything here, the French Immersion experience transcends place and time: You will neither be in the here nor the now: you will be “in the present”.  We will drive our own boats, cook our own food aboard or dine out along the way as desired. Happy hours are long and usually all on one boat. Stories, lies and exaggerations, through the blur of wine and cheese, replace the real world. This will be perhaps your most relaxing and engaging holiday ever. Quaint villages and towns, chateaux and market places abound at our side. Have semi-independent days away from the boat if you are fit enough to cycle or walk down the towpath: you’ll never get lost. Read a book while the world goes by but be ready to help in the locks. It’s easy work and you can get off and explore the lock keepers’ gardens. Tie up anywhere between locks for the evening and let the birds serenade you in a countryside without road noise. Acquainted members will become fast friends. To express an interest in the trip and answer questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

THE ROAD FROM THE PAST: TRAVELING THROUGH HISTORY IN FRANCE  

Proposed for 2020.  A truly unique and once-in-a-lifetime exploration.

Hosted by Rob d’Estrubé, this adventure will follow closely the famous book by the same name written by Ina Caro, historian and gourmet food and wine writer. We would be a small group traveling for about 3 weeks, professionally driven and guided. The history of France will be discovered in the locations where events and paradigms took place. Reading the book will reveal the excitement ahead and the book will be a constant companion on the trip. Quoting from the NY Times here a partial review of the book and what the trip will essentially offer:

“She begins in the ruins at Orange and Nîmes, and then ushers us through blood and fire, religious wars, feudal rivalries and monarchical madness, into the light of the Renaissance, up to Louis XIV’s punishment of his superintendent of finance, Nicolas Fouquet, for the in-the-king’s-face magnificence of Vaux-le-Vicomte. And thus we visit Provence, the Languedoc, the Dordogne, the Loire Valley and the Ile-de-France.

Caro brings the reader along gently, with precise information on how long it takes to drive from one place to another, what roads to choose, how much time to budget for this or that sight; she is also helpful on where to linger, on what towns are pleasant places to have a long coffee or a picnic, and which are dull or overcrowded or seem to have metamorphosed into parking lots.

Although the book is written for visitors who don’t know France well, it is packed with information even for people who do. Caro does not seek to be exhaustive about hotels or restaurants, but she tells us about the ones that have become favorites and about others that have failed her test.

She approaches every new step visually – what’s the view from the hotel or restaurant, what can be seen and measured and studied before it is visited.

Caro is an opinionated traveler…taking no guff from unpleasant restaurateurs and snotty tour guides, and refreshingly direct about what to avoid…etc.”  The route is essentially C shaped as we start in Roman times in Provence and progress in time West and North and then East to Paris for the Revolution.

There is at least one copy of the book in the UC library for your perusal but is easily available online.

Interested early responders can have a hand in formulating many aspects of the trip, like timing, as well as determining price points for levels of accommodation and cuisine where practical.

Rob d’Estrubé has traveled extensively in France and is directly related to many of the nastier characters in this history. To express an interest in the trip and answer questions contact:

Rob d’Estrubé at robdestrube@gmail.com

Cathy Scott at Cathy@departurestravel.com

Douglas Magazine: 10 Jobs That Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago

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One of the best indications of how quickly the world is changing is how fast new job titles pop up on the scene to keep up with changing technology, scientific discoveries, market shifts and new ideas. Here are 10 job titles that only emerged in the past decade.

Scrum master
Assists an agile team in adhering to scrum values and practices, and coaches the team to be more productive. Scrum methodology originated in software development.

Virus designer
Makes use of patients’ stem cells to create antibodies or targeted therapies. Cells are grown, differentiated and processed using viral vectors. The designer engineers the viral vectors that activate the cells for targeted therapies.

Sustainability manager
Communicates and coordinates with employees, shareholders and customers to address social, economic and environmental sustainability issues and initiatives within an organization.

Chief commercialization officer
Strategically oversees the multidisciplinary pursuits required to commercialize a product. Requires technical knowledge, marketing know-how and strong business development skills.

Social media manager
Leads an organization’s social-media strategy to boost engagement. Develops strategy to guide online presence on various platforms, producing content, customer service, analyzing data, managing campaigns.

Big data scientist
Frames business problems as data questions, and then creates data models to answer those questions. Uses data to tell stories.

UX designer
Improves the usability and/or accessibility of a product (e.g., an app or website) by examining every stage of a consumer’s interaction with that product; tries to make the experience better at each point of interaction.

Information security analyst
Plans and administers security measures to protect networks and systems, (e.g., installing firewalls, updating software against cyberattacks).

Chief innovation officer
Ensures a certain percentage of company resources is directed toward innovation. Identifying opportunities and developing capabilities to serve them. Engages in change management.

Health coach
Facilitates wellness-related behaviour change. Uses evidence-based clinical interventions to engage clients in clarifying their values and taking action on their goals. Can include nutritional and exercise education.

The Ultimate Golf Yacht

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With the Club’s 3rd Annual UC Open on the horizon (tournament date: September 25), we thought it would be appropriate to take a look at the design concept of the Ultimate Golf Yacht:

The 344-foot-long Fairwei (pronounced “fairway”) superyacht design concept is what happens when an award-winning design studio, professional golf trainer, and a golf-loving client from Hong Kong conspire to design a golf-centric yacht. And come to think of it, with yachts regularly being built that are much longer than the longest holes in golf, I’m surprised someone hasn’t had the idea sooner.

The concept comes from the Grey Design/Zues Twelve studio that has a reputation for innovative design and golf pro Francis Jacquemin who’s made a name for himself helping well-heeled golfers improve their swings…aboard their own charter yachts.

And there may be no better way to do that than on a yacht with numerous dedicated golf areas such as putting greens and top-deck tee boxes.

Meanwhile the interior features a swimming pool and spa that’s quite similar to what you’d expect to find in an exclusive golf resort.

Fairwei is also to reported to include: biodegradable golf balls that will turn into fish food in less than 48 hours, floating targets, and high-tech golf swing analysis software and golf shot distance calculator.

14 Sophisticated Fall Decorating Ideas

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Gorgeous autumn decor that doesn’t just rely on pumpkins.

Decorating for fall doesn’t solely mean adding pumpkins to every nook and cranny of your house. Here are 14 sophisticated ways to decorate your home for autumn:

Bowls of lavender, fall fruits, and berries are an unexpected trio…

Add squash and rosehips to your table and counter top:

Flint corn anywhere and everywhere—​​especially hanging from your front door:

Huge mum planters adorning your entry way:

An autumnal garland of pomegranates, dried berries, and leaves for your mantle:

A vase of dahlias in a rich autumn hue:

Or a vase of sunflowers for a brighter, fall perspective:

Make your own birch-bark wreath for a personal DIY touch:

Candle sticks made out of mini pumpkins and gourds:

Swap your regular glasses for rich gold goblets and flutes:

A berry wreath adorned with a harvest plaid ribbon:

Add a simple rocking chair (or two) for some rustic appeal:

Any wagon addition to the front yard is both aesthetic and quintessentially autumn:

And when all else fails put together a gorgeous bouquet of sedum and dahlias:

Victoria Sailor Treading Water with World’s Best

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Recently featured in our local media, Max Gallant is the son of Club members Illarion Gallant and Twyla Rusnak, and the grandson of Club members Dr. Conrad and Carole Rusnak…congratulations Max!

At 21-years old, Victoria product Max Gallant is one of the best Olympic class laser boat sailors in the world. Currently ranked second in Canada in his class, Gallant is hoping to compete for his country at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Max Gallant began sailing at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC) at just seven-years-old and instantly fell in love with the sport. Through the years, Max continued to progress.

“I would say it just kinda progressed,” Max says, “As I did it more and more I got better, and I enjoyed it so much that I kept doing it, and in sailing the more time you spend doing it, the better you get, so from there it just all progressed, and now here I am.”

“Max was one of those little kids that you couldn’t get him to not be here,” RVYC coach Steve McBride says. “We actually had to tell him, hey can you take a week off, not because we wanted to take a break from him but for him to take a break and get some perspective on some other things, so that was when he was young, sailing opti-dinghies and he basically lived here at the yacht club.”

From Victoria, born and raised, the Olympic class laser boat sailor cherishes the benefits of training at home.

“Being able to train at home is invaluable,” Gallant says, “I think it’s the best thing there is, having the PISE sports center up by Camosun is unreal, and just being able to train at home, it makes everything so much easier.”

He is a very easygoing guy of the water, but don’t let his smile and charm fool you. When it’s race time, Max’s competitive side comes out.

“Max’s personality on and off the water is dramatically different,” McBride says, “On the water he’s all business, but on shore, he is the guy that everyone wants to hang out with, wants to talk to, he’s really easy to work with.”

“Oh I’m definitely a very competitive person on the water,” Gallant says with a grin, “Angry face on the water.”

With a fourth place finish at the recent Cork Olympic Class Regatta in Ontario, the Canadian National Team member is keeping up with the globe’s best. Currently ranked 55th in the world and second in Canada in his class, Gallant isn’t shy of setting big goals.

“My goal is to represent Canada at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,” Gallant says, “I think it would be unreal, it would be an amazing experience to attend the Olympic Games, and see through what I’ve already started.”

“I think that’s an achievable goal for Max, but I think Max has more in him than just Tokyo,” McBride says, “For all of us to see Max achieve that goal, it would be a little bit of crowning glory for everybody involved, because it takes the community to really make that happen.”

Gallant now heads to the Laser World Championships in Split, Croatia, which take place from September 12th to 19th. Max will once again be pitted against the top sailors the world has to offer.

To view CHEK News’ footage, please click here.

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Looks Forward to a Busy September

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September is an excellent time to consider visiting, or re-visiting, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

Activities and events being staged include the ever-popular House Tour, a tour of unique and architecturally stunning Victoria homes, on Sept. 24.

Tickets for the event go on sale on Friday.

The first Tuesday of the month is always Admission by Donation Day, your excuse to spend a morning (or afternoon) exploring the galleries.

The gallery’s new Water Work Space is part-exhibition and part- workshop. It opens with a public open house and admission by donation on Sept. 16.

The space explores issues related to water — as a resource, a site of trade and exchange, and in relation to climate change.

The Party for our People, a celebration with local and regional artists featured in current exhibitions, features music, refreshments and interactive activities. It takes place on Sept. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m.

ART + FARE 3 is a celebration of all things local (and an annual fundraiser). It is held at and organized by the Union Club of British Columbia. The event takes place on Sept. 23, from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets are available at artandfare.com.

There are three exhibition tours offered in September, the cost is included with admission:

• Moving Forward by Looking Back, Sept. 2 at 2 p.m.

• Close to Home, Sept. 3 at 2 p.m.

• Close to Home Curator’s Tour, Sept. 5 at 2 p.m.

Club Member Publishes Book About the End of Life Journey

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Union Club member Jeanne Sedun has published “Someone I Love Is Dying”, a book that provides practical advice on what to think about and work through before and after the death of a loved one.

End of life journey

It can be overwhelming to find out that someone you love has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Someone I Love is Dying offers a roadmap for supporting a loved one through their end of life journey. Part I of the book focuses on the most important things in the time that remains after a loved one has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Part II of the book addresses what happens after a loved one dies.

Rich in examples and practical advice, Someone I Love is Dying provides:

  • Information on a wide range of topics such as dealing with healthcare professionals, identifying sources of financial assistance, clarifying your loved one’s final wishes and directives, and taking the time to preserve memories;
  • Examples, checklists and forms to walk you through the decisions and tasks that need to be addressed including caring for the body, planning a funeral, dealing with grief and executing a will; and,
  • Practical suggestions for taking care of yourself to help you support and care for your loved one.

For further information, please visit: http://www.heartinhandbooks.com/

From Vic High to Vimy

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Victoria High School Cadet Battalion No. 112, 1914.   Photograph By Victoria High School Archives 

The nine-metre-high Banner of Honour and Sacrifice contains a hand-sewn maple leaf for each student and teacher who fought in the war. This is from a memorial service in 1920   Photograph By Victoria High School Archives

Victoria High School stands like an eternal memorial to its 497 alumni who enlisted for service in the First World War, including 97 who died, with nine of those deaths a result of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Vic High opened its doors to about 900 students in April 1914, and was immediately heralded as a source of pride, a fine place to educate the young people of an emerging, even special community.

“They don’t build schools like that anymore, not with all the beautiful terracotta, beaux-art designs and a gorgeous auditorium,” said Barry Gough, a Victoria historian, graduate of Vic High and author of From Classroom to Battlefield: Victoria High School and the First World War.

“It was an age of innocence, and the opening of the school was greeted with this Edwardian sense of civic achievement,” said Gough. “Then, all of a sudden, comes the war.”

He said Victoria and Vic High greeted the war immediately with enthusiasm. It was seen as a chance for adventure, but there was also a sense of civic duty to do one’s part.

Gough said he was surprised to find that the majority of the Vic High students who enlisted were not born in the United Kingdom. They were born in Victoria, in British Columbia or in other parts of Canada.

“So their loyalties were inculcated here, rather than transferred in directly from Britain,” said Gough.

And those loyalties at home or at war didn’t falter from the start of the war in August 1914 to the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918. Instead, casualties just seemed to increase the determination in Victoria to help win the war.

The years 1914 through 1916 were slogged out with few decisive victories.

So by the time of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9 to 12, 1917, Gough said, everybody welcomed the news of a victory. Also, newspapers all over the world, even in Germany, recognized it as a singular Canadian effort.

Vimy Ridge was also the beginning of a Canadian reputation for being able to get things done. The ridge was an important piece of high ground, but the French and the British had failed to capture and hold it.

So for the job, four Canadian divisions, along with one British, were melded into a single Canadian Corps. It was an organizational first after years of Canadian units being inserted to augment British Army efforts. They trained and practised extensively for the assault, another first.

By the time the battle was over, a total of 170,000 men, mostly Canadians, had accomplished what their European allies could not, and national transformation began. Casualties were high, with 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded.

But that didn’t shake the feeling of accomplishment.

“The stories that appeared in the newspapers and in soldiers’ letters written home were telling the story that this was a Canadian thing,” said Gough.

The Daily Colonist had headlines such as “Canadians take ridge of Vimy” and “Dominion’s men in great drive.” Other stories mentioned the brilliant feat of the Canadian troops, and “the glorious achievement of our forces.”

Jim Kempling of the University of Victoria, a specialist in Victoria and the First World War, agrees Vimy Ridge marks the start of a national change of attitude in Canada. It was a new attitude with a new identity and it began with the soldiers.

He notes it can even be seen in the wartime diaries of his Canadian grandfather. At the start, his grandfather writes with pride of the “British Bulldog” found in all Canadians.

“But by 1917, he’s Johnny Canuck and his language changes,” said Kempling. “That transformation is very real.”

Nevertheless, he also said it’s important to realize much of the triumph of Vimy Ridge was a result of post-battle, even post-war circumstances and myth-making.

For a start, the real Battle of Vimy Ridge was only one comparatively small piece of a larger British offensive known as the Battle of Arras. Also, that British plan was meant as a diversionary tactic to lure German troops away from a sector further south where the French attacked.

But the Germans were not diverted and the French assault, now known as the Second Battle of Aisne, was a near disaster. French troops, exhausted by three years of terrible fighting, mutinied and refused to leave or even enter their trenches. The commander was forced to resign. The offensive halted.

Under new French command, order was restored and offensives continued, but with small, less costly attacks to give French morale a chance to recover.

Despite the overall lack of success, however, Canadians never lost their sense of achievement over Vimy. They also continued to fight as a unit, increasing their sense of solidarity.

Sir Julian Byng, the British general who commanded the Canadians during Vimy Ridge, was promoted and moved. But Byng’s protégé at Vimy, Canadian-born Gen. Arthur Currie, was given command of the Canadian Corps. The Canadians’ reputation for solid competence continued.

By the time the war was over, the soldiers had taken on a new identity more Canadian than British, no longer colonial but confident and independent. When they came home they also arrived with a new energy and confidence.

“A lot of Canadian went through this transition,” said Kempling. “They came home and the impact was that suddenly we had a whole bunch of people who knew how to do things.”

“Bureaucracy and government organization in Canada before World War One was really quite small,” he said. “But the people who came back knew how to organize things on a large scale.”

“The nature of government in Canada changed because we had this pretty impressive skill set that had been developed during the war,” said Kempling.

 

UC Member Proud to Release His Second Children’s Book

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Union Club member Henri van Bentum is proud to announce that, fresh on the heels of his first publication, he has released his second children’s book!

Henri’s charming new children’s fable, featuring two garden gnomes, is titled “Nimbert and Tirwinkle in an Enchanted Flower Garden”.  These stories (including Henri’s first book) were written during his convalescence with cancer.  At the time, Henri crafted these stories not only for children, but for the “youngster” in all of us.

“I write these fairy tales not only for the young, but to re-kindle the youngsters in us all.  Fairy tales or fables reflect eternal archetypes of the human family. 

If, somehow one day, all the existing fairy tales in the world were to disappear, soon new fables and tales would appear since their themes are universal.”

For further information on this wonderful creation (including the ability to “Look Inside” the book), or to obtain your own copy, please click here.

 

Veteran Profile: Major (Ret) C. G. Owen

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Veteran Voices of Canada recently published an article on Club member and former General Committee member, Major C. G. Owen.

Major C. G. Owen (RCR) was born in Los Angeles, California on May 3, 1929. He served as an officer of 3rd Battalion RCR (Pioneer) and after approximately 16 months of training for overseas service, he was sent to Korea.

During the Chinese attack on Hill 187, he was wounded and became a Prisoner of War for several months. He was released at the cessation of hostilities in 1953.

“He put the gun to my head and pulled the trigger. The firing pin hit the bullet but the bullet didn’t fire.”

To view an interview with Maj. Owen, researched and produced by Veterans Voices of Canada, please visit: https://vetvoicecan.org/veterans-profiles/land-force/charles-gordon-owen-rcr/

Maj. Owen retired to Victoria, British Columbia and joined the Union Club in 1985.