Brookswood Beat Brookswood Senior Citizens Activity Centre Newsletter February 2014 Ringing in 2014 February’s birthstone, the amethyst, is said to stimulate and sooth the mind. Brookswood Hall sparkled new year’s eve. Members are reminded Contact Information that they can book the hall for President: Bonnie Hartup (general inquiries) [email protected] private events. See numbers Vice President: Andy Sterzcyk (AV, website, Line dance) [email protected] Secretary: Lyd Francescutti (newsletter, Food and Friends) [email protected] Treasurer: Irene McNeill (Finances, Maintenance) [email protected] Board members: Pat Bunnell (booking special events) [email protected] Marion Dixon (drop-ins, Food and Friends) [email protected] Sandra Lewis (Food Bank donations) [email protected] To leave a message: 604-530-4232 Food and Friends Slides into 2014 With a number of the usual volunteers out of town for the January 2nd luncheon, we were lucky to have Jason (left) and his two daughters pitch in with the serving. Guests were wowed by a series of slide shows presented by Bob McNeill. We’ll definitely have Bob back sometime in the future with more slide shows. Guests enjoyed a walk down memory lane January 16th when Liette Masse from the Langley Centennial Museum brought the community trunk to share January 16th. Upcoming Presentations: Feb. 6 - Getting to Know your Bladder Feb. 20 - Ukrainian Day March. 6 - Library Live and on Tour March 20 - Ghana Show April 3 - CARP Bob April 17 - Lawn Bowling Jason Liette Renovation Update Construction on the Upper Hall washroom will be delayed till February. The crew will work around scheduled classes and events but be prepared for some inconvenience. Dave Truman, a Rotarian, is project manager. He, along with David Wright and other members, will be donating their time. Please let Lyd know if you will be able to contribute some lunches and/or snacks for these hard-working guys. [email protected] Grant Updates Bonnie has applied for two more grants, one to install new windows in the upper hall and a second one to help pay for the new shed that the Home Depot Crew will be building for us. Help Wanted – Knitting Loom New member, Joy, has been given a great knitting loom but it didn’t come with instructions. If anyone knows how to work this machine, could they please contact Joy at 778-549-0965. Valentine’s Party Line and social dancing Sunday, February 9th 1 - 5 pm Tickets available from Peggy Bring finger food to share $8 More Year-End Reports Fourth Friday Friends Fourth Friday Friends has struggled a bit during 2013 to keep up the membership. We have changed the group from being just an Embroidery group to also include QuilAng. We hope to have somewhere around 15 members in 2014. We are SO grateful to see the ramp, as we never travel light. Surrey Square Wheelers The Surrey Square Wheelers were pleased to ﬁnd a new home at Brookswood when the rent at our previous locaAon went up. Thanks to Paws 2 Dance moving to Monday night, we were able to keep our regular Tuesday (Advanced) and Wednesday (Beginner) evening sessions. Since we’ve joined Brookswood, our members have built shelving in the basement to house our considerable stash of decoraAons. Member Dave Wright has been part of the renovaAon crew, helping with the ramp, the washroom, the stage doors, and several other smaller projects. Marlene and Jerry have become invaluable volunteers for the Brookswood Food and Friends program. In September, we held our annual club picnic on the grounds and were delighted that many BSC members from other groups were able to join us. Peggy Thomson Line Dancers 2013 was another busy year for this acAve group. The ValenAne’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo parAes were so much fun, Peggy is planning to host them all again in 2014, along with a MariAme Party. Over Christmas, the line dancers celebrated Peggy's birthday and enjoyed a feast at our Christmas party. Peggy is gathering music and ideas for the BSC 50s dance being held in late March. She has started a brand new class for real beginners to line dancing to be held at 5pm Thursdays. Bridge Organized by Gisela, the bridge club conAnues to meet every Wednesday and Friday aZernoon. Unlike many duplicate bridge clubs that are known to be a li\le “cut-‐throat,” the Brookswood bridge club is very friendly and supporAve. Beginners are always welcome – other members will help them along. Sewing Sisters 2013 was a wonderful year of fun and acAvity within our group. We were thrilled with the ramp which is a great asset to our group and the center. A big "Thank You" to all involved in erecAng it. Along with our twice monthly meeAngs we also enjoy three fun-‐ﬁlled weekend sewing retreats. Everyone enjoys them so much. This year we hope to have a number of group projects with some members teaching us new techniques. Our numbers have grown and we have a variety of members who hand sew, knit, quilt and garment sew. We are not just quilters – we are a diversiﬁed group. Thank you Brookswood Senior Centre for a wonderful meeAng place. Off the Rack and Down the Runway SSW showed off some swoon-worthy outfits at their annual fashion-show fund-raiser. Photographs by Bonnie H. The Do’s and Don’ts