Click here for a printed version of the Newsletter
Click here for a printed version of the Membership form

Kelowna New Plus 3 Friendship Club

---

President's Note

So winter did arrive in the Okanagan after all. January brought temperatures down to -18C (-25C with Wind Chill factored in) and for, many of us, it also brought some needed exercise in clearing snow off the driveway during several days.

At our Plus 3 Club meeting on January 11th we had the enthusiastic Rosemary Thompson talk and sing to us about the Kelowna Symphony Orchestra. She is a great ambassador for the orchestra and I know that many members were delighted and impressed with her talk and have resolved to go along to some of the 2012 programmes which she outlined.

At the January Meeting (which was well attended - despite the cold night we had more than 70 members present) we had a general discussion regarding Meeting nights. The problems of Parking (particularly on "Rockets Nights") and conflicts for some Gardening Club members were aired and the possibilities of advancing the time of the Meetings to 6pm were discussed. There are clearly different viewpoints on these considerations and no conclusion was reached - but it is a subject which deserves further consideration. Interestingly, since the meeting, we have been informed that construction work on the new building at the Parkinson Centre has begun and that it is now likely that by January 2013 we will be moving our Meeting location to the Parkinson Centre - this will resolve most of the parking problems.

Wednesday, January 11th was a cold day but nevertheless about 20 members visited the CHBC Television Studios and it was an interesting morning. We had the opportunity to nose around the Studios and see the operations (did you know that all of the studio cameras are remotely controlled from Vancouver?!) and talked with some of the personalities - Mike Roberts, Klaudia Ceglarz, Rick Webber and Doris Janssen. Klaudia will be our Speaker at the February Meeting.

The Dinner at Infusions on February 24th will be good (see the notice in this Newsletter). At the time of writing we have 70 people coming - so it will be a party! There are still some tickets available until we reach our limit of 100.

We have an interesting year ahead of us with a programme of Events - including another Murder Mystery on April 7th (details in the March Newsletter) and the Annual Summer Sunday Brunch which will again be at The Eldorado on June 10th.We'll have some visits for the Gardeners in March/April, interesting Speakers until April and a Games Night planned for after the AGM on May 9th.

Keep in touch and updating your diaries by reading the Newsletter and coming to the monthly meetings - starting again with the next on Wednesday February 8th at 7pm.

Club Membership is close to last year's record level and our financial position is good. At $20, annual membership of Plus 3 remains a bargain - it's up to you to make the most of it

Cheers.

Reg

---

Year of the Dragon 2012

As we embark into the delicious opportunities of this shiny new lunar year, The Year of the Dragon, be prepared for the unexpected. (Oooh la la!) Chinese tradition tells us that this is an unpredictable year of optimistic energy and vitality, of power and daring.

Step out of the usual, out of routine, and out of the familiarity of home. This is the year to get outside, push out of our comfort zones, open our minds and arms to mysterious, enigmatic and memorable moments.

The Dragon - all powerful and gorgeously enthralling. Once upon a time creatures of fairy tales and legends, Dragons represent daylight and darkness, invincibility and some serious magic.

This Year of the Dragon signals a dynamic and constantly changing period of ultimate auspiciousness. This is a year of invincible strength, and overwhelming appreciation, with a charming weakness, for beauty and good deeds.

What a stage set... of mythical proportions, for a rather beckoning 2012.

---

February 's Speaker

Klaudia Geglarz: CHBC Reporter/Anchor

Born in Poland, Klaudia immigrated to Canada with her parents when she was 8 years old. She spent the rest of her elementary and high school years in Victoria and received a double major in French and German from the University of Victoria. Klaudia then attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology where she received a diploma in Broadcast Journalism. Her first break in broadcasting came at Victoria's AM 900 Radio in 1998. A year and half later Klaudia made the leap into television and headed north to work at NTV in Dawson Creek. From there it was back to her hometown of Victoria where she spent three years reporting and anchoring at CHUM Television. After that, Klaudia spent a year at CFJC Television in Kamloops reporting and anchoring the 11 pm news. She was thrilled to relocate to the Okanagan in December of 2005 to join the award-winning CHBC Television team.

Klaudia enjoys travelling having explored Europe extensively. For the past several years, she has enjoyed various volunteer work particularly with the elderly as well as teaching children the importance of literacy. Her hobbies include reading, sipping red wine (local of course), skiing, boating and spending time with her parents in Victoria. She's also a huge animal lover and adores her beloved kitty named Madison adopted from the Kamloops SPCA.

---

Plus 3's Friendship Club

Dinner at Infusions

Ticket price, date, & time below on menu

** remaining tickets can be obtained from Tony Smith either at the February 8th meeting

 

 

---

Loose Leaves

Books discussed by the non fiction book group

The Wayfinders by Wade Davis and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer; well it seems that Wad Davis met Jon Krakauer and was fascinated with his book. Wade Davis has now written his o book about Everest and this time is about Mallory who climbed Everest in the 1920s. Mallory died on the mountain but the question has always been Did he ever reach the top? The book's title is Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest and is now on the short list for the 2012 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction.

Monuments Men was also a book selection

For the press release about George Clooney's new film project "The Monuments Men" see:

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/george-clooney-direct-star-monuments-men-about-stolen-nazi-art-exclusive-34177