Movie and Book Reviews

Helmut Erxleben  reports: “I was looking for a quick read and grabbed Only Time Will Tell written by Jeffrey Archer off the Fast Lane shelf of the OPL. It’s the first part of a fast paced trilogy in which we meet young Harry Clifton, the musically talented son of a poor dockworker’s widow. How the father died plays a key role in the story’s development. There are a number of good hearted characters who support Harry but they are no match for the evil Mr. Barrington, father of Emma who Harry has fallen in love with. You have to read the rest of the story to find out how a German torpedo resulted in a chain of events in which Harry is arrested and charged by the Americans for a murder he did not commit. The Sins of the Father, the second part of the trilogy, is now on order at the OPL and I’m number 139 on the waiting list. I am dying to read the rest of the story, but I don’t want to make Lord Archer richer than he already is by buying his books.

Harold Erlendson, our movie critic, reports on two films. The first is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Harold writes: “This is a movie for seniors (or Probians) . A group of British recent retirees decide to outsource their retirement to what they believed was a newly restored hotel in seemingly exotic India. It was much less luxurious than advertised but it slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways. This is a heartwarming, genteel film with a sprinkling of sexual comedy. The strong cast includes Judi Dench and Maggie Smith”. The other film is The Five Year Engagement. Harold writes: “A must see film for Theresa and me because we had a five year engagement, but not like this one. As expected for a romantic comedy, it was both romantic and funny. There are some scenes and jokes that you would not want young children to watch. As the story develops, you build a growing interest in the couple that has you rooting for them to find a way to stay together. The movie is a little long for my taste but probably will put a goofy smile on your face as you leave”.

Member News

Consolations to Bruce Davis on the death on May 18 of Bess, his wife of 61 years . . . Keith Warren died on May 12. Keith had given up his membership last fall because  failing health had prevented him from attending meetings in recent years .

On the move are George Usher and Jim Smith. Where to? You guessed it. Ennisclare.  Also on the move, but in a different sense, is mall walker Al Klarer who has now put on a total of 46,000 miles walked. Quite a feat! . . Nice to see Wib Erwin back at the May meeting looking fit and walking well. Wib fractured his hip in a curling accident this spring . . . Congratulations to Bob Trillia, who has been nominated for a Community Spirit Award . . . Did you know that Paddy Weedle’s  first name is really Herman? Paddy only uses Herman in signing the many articles he has written. These articles cover biographical information on heroes in the military service. Of particular note, four graduates of Paddy’s old historic school in Ireland have over the years been awarded the Victoria Cross. Paddy researched their histories and produced extended articles on each.

PLEASANT EXPERIENCES

Bill Perdue, took a cruise in late May up the Norwegian coast aboard Holland America’s Ryndam. It couldn’t have been better he reports. The weather was perfect, sunshiny and pleasant every day, with temperatures in the 60 -70F range and great views of the mountains and fiords. A highlight was a stop with a 2 hour train trip up into the mountains.

Members are invited to offer brief write-ups on good movies, shows, restaurants or trips that they have enjoyed  

 

Membership Notes

THE COFFEE COMMITTEE We all enjoy the coffee and doughnuts that are served at half-time at our monthly meetings. They don’t just appear, there is a lot of work involved. The coffee tank and doughnuts have to be picked up; they have to be set up and looked after and then after the meeting the empty tank has to be returned to Tim’s. Peter Pretty and Dave Johnson do all this work for us. Guys, we really appreciate your efforts!

The June meeting is a good time to bring a guest and potential new member because our speaker will be Bob Kerby, who will be talking about Cruises and what to look for before you sign on the dotted line. You no doubt know many friends who enjoy cruising and could benefit by coming to the meeting.

Dues are due: The letter in the mailed Newsletter is a reminder that annual dues are required by August 1st, so please follow the instructions in the letter to make your payment.

President’s Message.

Greetings club members and a special welcome back to our snowbirds.

There are several items of club business I would like to share with you:

*First a big thank you to Ivor Barlow who has overseen the construction of our new web site from day one.

*And now that we have a web site, which has such great potential for the club, we will need a web master to keep it going. One of our younger members would be ideal for taking on this job which essentially only involves keeping the web site up-to-date once a month. Ivor and I would be pleased to hear from any of you.

*As mentioned at our last meeting we are reviewing potential monthly meeting sites as one step to control rising costs and thus keep membership fees from rising too drastically.

*And finally our 2012/13 nominating committee will soon be in action trying to find members to fill various jobs on the management committee. None of these jobs is very onerous. The club needs your expertise and a glance at our bio book shows we have lots of that on our roster.

See you on April 19. . . . Dave

Past Meetings.

In February the club decided to vote for Ted Nixon of Probus North Oakville as national board director for District 3. So far there has been no indication from National on the results of the election. On another matter members were urged to fill up the front pews rather than spread loosely all over the church.

Our profiler was Lionel Latter. Born and brought up in Toronto, Lionel began his business career with various jobs but soon found his niche in cardboard box packaging. He worked mainly with Ontario’s agriculture industry where, when he started, packaging was done by hand. Lionel took us through subsequent developments, which involved mechanisation and immense improvements to productivity. He illustrated how this was done by using cardboard box props, probably the first time a profiler has ever brought along descriptive material.

Our main speaker was Paul Rowan, a financial advisor from Dundee Wealth, 700 Kerr St suite 210. Paul’s message hinged around income taxes which can significantly reduce investment returns. To avoid some of the tax impact he discussed spousal trusts, income splitting, deductions available but often not used, floating shares and life insurance.

In March we had clarification on our liability insurance. It appears to cover anything related to our club activities no matter where they occur. And it was also good to see members bunching up more in the front pews – thanks! Our profiler was once again Lionel Latter who gave us a part two of his life’s journey through the packaging industry all again well illustrated by cardboard box props and slides on the screen.

Our main speaker was Sunita Pereira, a hearing aid counsellor from the Canadian Hearing Society. Some of the things that stood out in her talk were: She found out that a large majority of our members have hearing aids but a large number don’t wear them regularly. When in the hearing aid market get quotes, there can be a big price difference. They can magnify sound but don’t fix the clarity problem. The provincial government supplies a good part of the cost. They are best at 6 to 8 feet. At question period there was an avalanche of questions, clearly the subject was on many members’ minds.

 

Book & Movie Reviews.

Helmut Erxleben reports this month on Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, Robert K. Massie’s latest book. Remembering his Nicholas and Alexandra, which I read some 40 years ago, I knew this biography would be fun to read. It is the true story (based mainly on her diaries and letters) of one of the greatest female monarchs in western history. It begins when she, an aristocratic German 14 year old, travels to Russia to marry the teenage heir to the Russian throne, the future Tsar Peter III. The early years were extremely difficult for her, but it’s her admirable strength of character (notwithstanding her many lovers), her ability to adapt to an unfriendly environment, and her exceptional intellect which allows her to persevere, ascend to the throne, and subsequently transform a backward Russia into a modern state. As the reviewer in USA TODAY quipped: “Even bone-deep anti-monarchists will find themselves cheering on this absolute despot”. I know I did”.

Harold Erlendson, our movie critic, reports on Descendants: “This movie and George Clooney, its star, were both nominated for Academy Awards and came close to winning. Clooney plays Matt a workaholic Hawaiian lawyer. He learns that his wife has had a boating accident and is in a coma. Then he learns that his wife has been cheating on him. Now he must become a parent to his two troubled daughters. His eldest daughter is especially angry and knew about the infidelity. There is a second story going on. Matt who is descended from Hawaiian royalty controls the family trust that owns a vast tract of valuable land on Kauai. All of the relatives want to sell but Matt has the final say on whether to preserve the heritage or sell to developers. You will both laugh and cry as Matt and his girls cope with the tragedy. A good movie.”

Harold also reports on The Artist. “This film won an Oscar for the best picture of the year and four more in other categories. On the surface it would appear to be an unlikely choice. It is a silent movie with printed dialogue, 2D black and white photography, actors who are almost unknown, with no seamy sex scenes, wild car chases or explosions. As well, the story has been done before: A Star is Born, Sunset Boulevard, Singing in the Rain. The story takes place in 1927 when the Talkies turned Hollywood upside down. A matinee idol cannot adapt to the change and his career and fortunes crumble while new stars are born. It is a movie of innocence and joy in a similar time. This is a movie which everyone will enjoy. As an added attraction, it stars a terrier who should have won an Oscar.”