Shirley Sheppard, Director
Seniors Breakfast Get-togethers
Our monthly breakfasts continued with 30-40 people participating in August, September and October, including our favourite virtuoso, Garth Hampson. Garth entertained us with an appropriate song of the month and led the singing of Happy Birthday to those who were celebrating. Jack Arsenault provided entertainment at the October breakfast with two great songs played from his phone and speaker. One song was about the seniors’ breakfasts and the other was about Blackburn Hamlet. Both were composed by him and his wife with the help of AI for voice and music. He posted his song about the Hamlet on the Blackburn Hamlet Facebook page, and linked the song on YouTube. Search “The Heart of the Hamlet.”
As it was National Seniors Day one October 1, we gave out two reflective armbands to everyone present and a pen from BCA, and had a draw for prizes. They included two lovely gift baskets prepared and donated by one of our seniors, Lynn Morris; two $25 gift certificates kindly donated by Halibut House; several generous gift certificates Tammy Bedard provided from Aspira Bearbrook Court for lunches and the Halloween movie for seniors. Several bags of non-perishable food donations were collected, along with cash donations totaling $445 over the 3 months.
Pastor Gabe at the Lifecentre Food Bank expressed his appreciation for our ongoing donations and invited seniors once again to tour their premises on September 23. We were quite impressed with the facilities and one of our seniors has offered to volunteer there.
The breakfasts take place at 9 am on the first Wednesday of each month at Halibut House, 2672 Innes Road. Please join us on the following dates:
- December 3
- January 7
To help our friends at the restaurant prepare, please RSVP to Shirley at 613-841-7691. Seating is limited and this event has become very popular!
Seniors Walk & Talk Outings
The first fall Walk & Talk took place on Wednesday, September 17, leaving from the Community Hall. We walked 5 km in and around our beautiful Hamlet. On Wednesday, October 15, we took in the beautiful fall colours at Mer Bleue for another 5 km walk. Please watch for our posters in the neighbourhood and the BCA Facebook page for announcements of future walks.
Our next Walk & Talk will be November 19 at beautiful PETRIE ISLAND, 795 Tweddle Road, Ottawa, K4A 3P4. Meet us at 1 pm at the Beach Pavillion building and join us on our walk. We will do a smaller walk (around 1 km) and a larger walk (2.4 km). Dogs unfortunately will not be able to accompany us this time around as they are not permitted on the trails. The BCA can not be responsible for transportation but we can help to find you a ride if you send us a message at seniors@blackburnhamlet.ca.
Friendsgiving
On October 12, the Director for Youth, Melanie Mathieu, organized and prepared for this special event and the Seniors Action Committee helped with the set-up, take-down, decorating, etc. Several of us seniors enjoyed the delicious pot-luck, trivia game and getting to meet other members of the community.
Autumn Lunch
Friday, November 21st at noon
Portugalos Restaurant, 110 Bearbrook Road. RSVP Shirley at 613-841-7691 by November 17 to reserve and provide a choice of main course (chicken, salmon, bifana (pork sandwich) or vegetarian pasta).
Seniors Christmas Dinner
Mark your calendars for our Christmas potluck dinner followed by festive activities to be held at the Community Hall at 5 pm, Saturday, December 13.
Seniors Action Committee members:
Barbara Whittaker, Connie Mattey, Elena Leggiadro, John Moores, Marion Hall