In the PROBUS calendar of events June brings us to the summer break in meetings. There is hope that we will resume in September by having an in-person meeting at our usual venue. This will of course be prefaced on having met the provinces criteria for Step 4 of the roadmap to easing COVID-19 restrictions. The Management Team will be monitoring B.C. s four-step plan, which ends with everything pretty much as we knew it by as early as September. In Step 2 we are able to visit with more people and travel beyond our health zone and includes easing restrictions around gathering sizes and a lifting of travel restrictions. The province continues to advise against all non-essential travel from out of province. Currently, social gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed outdoors, while gatherings of the same size are permitted for seated, indoor, organized events, such as at movie theatres and banquet halls, with safety protocols. Some of our Special Interest Groups have started meeting outdoors again and it is safe to do so. On July 1, further lifting of restrictions may be announced. Joan and I are booked for our 2nd vaccine shot this week and truly looking forward to spending more time with family this summer. I suspect that many of you will be spending more time with family and friends. Have a great summer and see you in September. Larry Prins

THE PROBEJUNE 2021

TEA CONNIOSSEURS

The Tea Connoisseurs had been meeting on Zoom for

several months. On Wednesday, June 9, we met at Prince

Charles Park for our first in person get-together.

We started off in the shade of a lovely big tree, only to

be drowned out by what seemed to be a very noisy

murmuration of starlings. In order to hear ourselves while

maintaining correct social distance, we picked up our chairs

and relocated to the shade of a different tree. A lively

discussion ensued, until a very cool wind came up. We

persevered for quite a while in the cold then, since the

majority of the group had not brought extra layers, it was

decided that we would all be more comfortable in the

sunshine. So, again we picked up our chairs and relocated

to a sunny patch for the rest of the afternoon. Nothing

was going to deter us from enjoying our first in person

get-together in far too long.

Midge

This photo shows our last meeting of the season held at

Heather Johnson’s home. This is the first time we were able

to meet in person and it was wonderful to have 8 of the 10

of us present. We enjoyed the sunny morning in our lawn

chairs, socially distanced for everything except this

picture. All of our meetings this past year had been held

courtesy of Jan Petrar and her able handling of Zoom. We

managed to complete and discuss 9 books. We have most

recently finished “There, There” by Tommy Orange, a

difficult read about the state of native life in urban USA.

It was made that much more difficult given the

devastating revelations of the past weeks in Kamloops. We

have exchanged personal books for our summer reading

and will meet again in September hopefully in person once

again.

Stay safe, Joan Prins

Perhaps like many of you, I am feeling a bit of cabin fever from all the pandemic lockdown(s)

over the past year and a half. Now as

restrictions are lifting and people are receiving their second vaccinations, we are again able to

meet for outdoor activities in groups of 10. I am

wondering if there are any club members interested in forming a travel group. At least for

this year and over the summer perhaps we could get together for day trips each using our own

vehicles or traveling with people in our “bubbles”

(if they are still required) and meet at some destination within a couple of hours drive for

picnic lunches, bocce and other activities the

group might like to do. I would like to organize a meeting in the park (weather permitting) with

people who are interested in participating. As

gatherings are currently limited to 10 people we might have to have a couple of these meetings or

have a Zoom call with everyone to co-ordinate

events. I am interested in knowing what destinations/ideas you would have for

outings/day trips/overnight trips. If you are interested in participating could you please

contact me at Serack@shaw.ca.

Happy Trails

Marjorie Serack

TRAVEL GROUP

Jackie Simpson and Joan Prins are pictured here preparing

Jackie's herb garden! After a long winter it was good to get

our hands into the dirt and wait for the magic of the sun

and water to do the rest. Jackie will soon have dill (bushels

of it), cilantro, basil, as well as parsley all growing in

containers on her enormous deck. Cross your fingers!

This is “Dipstick”, a beautiful tawny “lioness”. I have no idea as to her

breed. I was told by a veterinarian and cat lover, that her markings were

unique in that they are usually associated with males.

However, I digress.

She had an attitude and demanded

our attention, yowling at us if we

ignored her while on the phone.

Che cared little for anyone but

Cherryl and myself. I could cradle

her in my arm and rub the top of

her head. I called this “giving her a

nuggie”. She would go limp and

purr.

She rode Cherryl’s shoulder as a kitten then like a scarf when she grew.

We would warn guest NOT to pet Dipstick. On more than one occasion

they did and were left bleeding.

I was a lecturer in the Veterinary Technician program at TRU. On those occasions when Dipstick needed medical attention IWould bring her into the campus clinic. I would have to hold her during any examination and/or treatment as she would, at every opportunity, strike out at the vets or technicians. Even the Charge Technician, a true animal lover, was left bleeding. As a result on orientation day for each new class she would lay out the rules, duties and expectations for the new students. She would end by stating “ if you do not adhere to these rules you will have to look after Rick’s cat”.Dipstick died of cancer a few years ago. We don't miss vacuuming the cat hair, but she is still missed.Rick & Cherryl Rice 😢

Adventures on Vancouver Island during covid

Art and Sue Lacourciere

Continued from June 2020 to July 2021

July 2020. After spending the month of

June on lovely Salt Spring Island, we had

booked an airbnb in Royston, just south of

Courtenay for July. Our accommodation

was a lovely little cedar cabin owned by an

interesting couple who had previously lived

on Denman Island. Our stay included

going kayaking with them, sharing a

dinner and good conversation outside at

covid distance. We explored the area,

cycling along the many trails that connect

Royston to Courtenay. Visiting farmer’s

markets, a hike in Strathcona park,

discovering the best bakeries and coffee in

the Comox Valley and a day trip to

Denman and Hornby islands were some

highlights.

August 2020. This month our airbnb is in

Sidney on the Saanich Peninsula; an area

we are not familiar with and would like to

explore. We stayed in a comfortable

basement suite close to Sidney’s waterfront

pathways. Victoria airport is nearby with a

cycling/walking trail all the way around

it…great exercise and viewing points for

airplanes, as well as a visit to the “not to be

missed” Museum of Flight. Walking and

hiking trails abound in North Saanich. We

also cycled along a series of paths that

connects to the Galloping Goose Trail,

formerly the E&N railway and takes riders

to downtown Victoria. The Royal Victoria

Museum and IMAX was also open, taking a

few visitors, masked, for every showing. We

took a trip to Kamloops at the end of the

month to pick up winter tires and skis in

case we can’t get to Australia before winter

sets in.

September 2020 to May 2021. We go to

beautiful Saratoga Beach for the fall (and

winter if necessary). It’s low season rates

til May, but we are hopeful to get to

Australia before then for the birth of our 1st

grand child in December! At this point it is

such a “wait and see”. In the meantime we

are happy with our own little cottage. Our

bubble is small and includes my sister and

brother in law in Campbell River, just a 20

minute drive away. Also, Art’s brother is in

Powell River and they have had “covid

visits”. Every morning we take our coffee

down to the beach and enjoy the sea air,

watch the gulls, oyster catchers, and

Herons. A 1 - 2 K beach walk is our daily

exercise. We often get to see and hear sea

lions and the occasional seal playing in the

surf. We packed a lunch and made a day

trip to Quadra and Cortes Islands and

enjoyed hiking many local trails.

During our long fall and winter stay at

Saratoga, Art took up bread making and

also muesli for breakfasts, while I added

home made granola and meat pies! I also

got out my paints and did some art work

for Christmas gifts and Art caught up on

a lot of reading. Needless to say we used

the winter tires and skis on Mt.

Washington and enjoyed our days up

there. The staff did a good job of enforcing

masks and maintaining distances, so we

felt comfortable on the runs and lift lines

with the fewest numbers of skiers.

On December 1st. our grandson was born in Melbourne, Australia at 3 a.m. (our time)! Our son in law did such a great job of sending photos, videos and zoom times to keep everyone informed. It almost felt like we were in a room full of people for most of the night. As heartbreaking as it is to not be there, we have to remind ourselves that we are not the only ones who can’t be with family in these times. In fact, we probably saw more of our newborn grandson, daughter and son in law than if we had been there…so thankful for today’s technology! Christmas was good, thanks to being close (but not too close) to my

sister and family

Fast forward through a lovely spring to the

end of April at Saratoga.{and the end of

the low season} !

May 2021. We decide to spend May in Nanaimo. I

grew up there, but have spent very little time since the

the 70’s. Our airbnb was in a great location; up the

hill from Departure Bay. We enjoyed our morning

coffee everyday on a park bench or log on the beach,

watching ferries and seaplanes come and go. This

where we ran into (almost literally) Anne Churchly

on her morning walk with her daughter. There are

people in kayaks, stand up paddle boards and

sailboats. Children’s school classes come and go on

the beach. A nice place to start the day….even a rainy

one! Nanaimo has a long history and we visit the

museum, “Old Town” with its lovely old buildings

and historic plaques. Also good for cycling trails. We

get to know our way around and visit a few parks,

lakes, and places I knew growing up. There is a really

nice Sunday market in Cedar, just south of town

and many parks that go back to coal mining days.

The Crow and Gate pub was a highlight…lovely

authentic British menu and outside seating in a

beautiful garden. Also enjoyed a lovely day on

Gabriola Island…a great dinner by the sea…again

outside. We also explored Ladysmith, Parksville,

Qualicum, Englishman River Falls and Coombs!

June 2021. Here we are in Brentwood Bay on the Saanich

Peninsula. This is an old community with many wharfs,

marinas, boats, a delightful little town and nice rural

surroundings. There are many farm stands selling vegetables,

farm fresh eggs and flowers and we are in a nice suite on a

small farm just down the road from Butcharts Gardens. We

have connected with a few long time friends here and in Duncan

and are enjoying the peaceful setting. We do miss our friends at

home and keep in touch with a zoom get together on Saturday

evenings. We have also had a few zoom meetings with our

Probus tasting group. In July we are going to spend some time in

Williams Lake and Kamloops with friends. Our plan for the

summer is to travel around the province in our truck and

camper. We are hopeful Australia will open up in the fall as we

have 6 month visas and that they will be approved for travel in

the next few months.

We get our second vaccinations next week!!! 🤗 STAY WELL

EVERYONE! ❤️

June Speaker – Steve Quiney