submitted by Bobbi Speck, Toronto
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On Wednesday night the Vic foyer was a hive of festivity as Classical Pursuers, our hands and minds freed of weighty texts, buzzed about sampling beverages and appetizers. Along the room’s perimeter a smorgasbord of flag festooned tables beckoned us to explore the world outside and travel in space and time to the well-trod Camino, La Belle Époque in Paris, vibrant Chicago, Virginia during the American Civil War, Thomas Hardy’s Dorset, timeless Vietnam, Turkey.
The latter, billed as “Where East meets West” inspired the kitchen, under participant Victor Levin’s direction, to produce a Turkish buffet and a taste of adventure, and we proceeded to dine with our accustomed conviviality. We were invited to bring dessert to our tables, but the real dessert was already awaiting us in the room.
Those of us who have been seasoned by years of CP trips and summer discussions, have learned to suspend our expectations and proceed with trust as Ann unfolds the next adventure. And true to form, drawing on her intricate network of friends and associates, Ann reached into her bag of tricks and produced a treasure for us to examine.
Bill Cunningham, former producer of the National News on CBC, presented and spoke with sincerity to a select version of a stunning film he had made on war correspondents in Vietnam. The room, filled with people who love to talk, became so still! The Q&A afterwards was energetic, as one would expect after such an attentive reception.
And we gradually dispersed, sated, content, and sustained by food for thought, to be digested slowly.
