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2016 Spring Speaker Series

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Potpourri session are $5 each.

Monday,  April 4,  2:00 PM,  Pinedale Motor Inn

WHAT’S NEXT FOR GRAND BEND?

Speakers: Paul Pittao property developer and assistant Kimberley Kennedy
Cate Molito, Executive Director of the Grand Bend Community Health
and Dave Campbell Executive Director of the Grand Bend Community
Foundation
Moderator: Nancy Winters

Join us and four friends of Grand Bend whose eyes are on the future, to hear and discuss what to look forward to in our own home town.

Monday,  April 11,  2:00 PM,  Pinedale Motor Inn

WHY ORGANIC?

Speaker: Gary Eagleson
Moderator: Bob Kennedy

Local organic farmer Gary Eagleson speaks to the benefits of growing and eating organic, how it is done, and what the future bodes for sustainable farming.

Monday,  April 18,  2:00 PM,  Pinedale Motor Inn

WHAT IF COMMUNITY LIVING CLOSES?

Speaker: Bruce Shaw
Moderator: Roberta Walker

When governments make changes, the communities have to cope with the fallout. Bruce Shaw of Community Living will  describe the challenges in the latest rumblings about our local Community Living and its clients.

Monday,  April 25,  2:00 PM,  Pinedale Motor Inn

WHAT’S UP WITH AGING?

Moderators:  Various members of the PIL Curriculum Committee

There is so much chatter about aging, the wellness issues, the  psychological changes, the cultural surprises, and the relationship challenges.   Its our turn to talk.

We will have a  round table discussion with our Curriculum Committee and see if we can find both the reasons to celebrate and  some shared solace. A lighthearted look what  “senior” means.

Monday,  May 2,  9:30 AM, Departure from Sobey’s parking lot

STEPPING BACK IN TIME

A FIELD TRIP TO THE HISTORIC VILLAGE OF SPARTA

Trip Coordinator: Beckey Jackson
Car Pooling: Shared rides will be organized. Please offer to drive. Please contact Beckey if you can drive.

Join us on  a Spring Day Trip to the historical village of Sparta established in 1813 as a Quaker Settlement .  The village has remained a small settlement with many of it’s early buildings still standing and used for  galleries  museums, shops and lovely quaint homes of significant early Ontario architecture.

Upon arrival in Sparta we will be met at The Forge and Anvil Museum by a member of The Sparta Historical Society for a  tour and brief introduction to the village.

We plan lunch at Sparta House Tea Room and Restaurant, a culinary destination with an emphasis on homemade real English fare.

Our next stop, The Peter Robson Art Studio and Gallery offers acclaimed Robson paintings, prints, cards, etc. for viewing and sale.  Not to be missed by art lovers.  If time allows the Sparta Candles shop built in 1883 and the Village Collective Art studio including Fresh Heritage Herbs sale are highly recommended.

Please contact Beckey to indicate your participation. bandbjackson@hay.net or (519)238-5458.

Renaissance Art, January 11, 2016

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We will watch and discuss the BBC’s beautiful and enlightening six part documentary on Renaissance Art, written and produced by Andrew Graham Dixon.

RenaissanceArt
Moderator: Nancy Winters
Registration Fee: $15
Time: 5 weeks, Monday, 10:00 AM to noon, January 11 to February 8
Location: Pine Dale Motor Inn

Why we Dance, January 11, 2016

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We dance for fun, we dance to celebrate, and we dance when in love. But why is moving to music so appealing and why did humans decide to do it in the first place? Join us to explore the many fascinating aspects of dance, from Fred Astaire to Sufi Whirling, from the origins of jazz in the dances of African-American slaves, to the Ghost Dance of Native Americans , and from dance as psychotherapy to the wonders of Baryshnikov, the Tango and the Twist!

DanceModerator: Karen Bowes-Sewell
Registration Fee: $15
Time: 5 weeks, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM, January 11 to February 8
Location: Pine Dale Motor Inn

Things with Wings, February 15, 2016

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A wide ranging digital tour through the lively world of winged creatures; from whimsical and mythical to scientific and cautionary. Birds migrate and bees pollinate; bats frighten and ravens warn. We will soar with the magical films of Attenborough and Ted Talks’ ornithologists.

WingsModerator: Nancy Winters
Registration Fee: $15
Time: 5 weeks, Monday, 10:00 AM to noon, February 15 to March 14
Location: Pine Dale Motor Inn

Everyone’s a Philosopher, February 15, 2016

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We are all philosophers. The minute we are confronted with a moral conflict we are engaged in ethics.  In our quieter moments we also stop to think about the big questions. What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? What happens when we die? From times immemorial, philosophers have been wrestling with all of these very issues. This course will examine what the great philosophers have said to help us address the issues that citizens face living in a democracy.

PhilosophyModerator: Don Santor
Registration Fee: $15
Time: 5 weeks, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM, February 15 to March 14
Location: Pine Dale Motor Inn

President invites members and guests to Christmas Pot Luck and Annual Meeting, Dec. 7, 2015

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Dear Members and Guests,

please join us for our
Annual General Meeting & Christmas Potluck Luncheon

on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015 at 12:00 pm

at the Southcott Pines Clubhouse, 10246 Lakeview Ave., Grand Bend

———

Best regards,
Jacquelyn Southcott, President

Full Invitation Letter – AGM Invite 2015

Partners in Learning celebrate ten years with new formats

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Lakeshore Advance, September 9, 2015

When Partners in Learning gathers on September 14 to start its fall schedule of courses, it will also be embarking on the second decade of its activity in Grand Bend. Originally the brainchild of John Merkies and Bill Metcalfe and several others, Partners in Learning is modeled after a London organization known as Society for Learning in Retirement.

Ten years ago, some local people were attempting, even in the drifts of winter, to attend sessions in London, but were growing more and more wary of the drive. They took a look around at the retirement community located here and realized that it represented a huge range of experience and knowledge. Why could we not have a similar learning-focused group in Grand Bend? And so we did. And so we do.

“We cater to a rather select group”, said Nancy Winters, when asked who Partners appeals to. “But not select in the way some people assume. We are not `intellectuals. Rather we are retirees who miss the stimulation and challenge of the workplace, and seek out an organization to keep our brains sharp and sustain our natural need for social interaction. We are people who want to understand aspects of our world that we did not have time to think about while we were raising children and making a living:’

In celebration of ten successful years, we are changing our morning courses to accommodate people who do not feel comfortable doing research and writing presentations. We have operated by the same peer-learning format for ten years. Since retirees in this community are already extremely busy, we are basing the morning courses on the extensive availability of digital formats. This fall we will be relying on TED Talks. This is a very gentle way back into the education some people mistakenly believe that they have outgrown. Our first morning course will be “Head Games” a series of talks and discussion on the mysteries and marvels of the human brain.

Our afternoon courses will be in the original format. The first of these will be a timely series called “Understanding Islam: For so many of us the middle east is increasingly confusing and worrisome. This course will try to put the faith and lifestyle of millions into a reasonable perspective.

We meet Mondays at the Pine Dale Motor Inn, which has become like a second home for us. For most of us, “Blue Monday” has morphed into the best day of the week We urge retirees from the entire region to give us a try. And if you still work, but not on Mondays, we have some thing truly different for you!

We also offer two discussion formats on Tuesday afternoons at the Pine Dale Lounge at 2:00 p.m.. These are Socrates Cafe, at which we offer members a chance to debate issues of the time; and a new, more informal gathering to Grand Bend issues called Talk of the Town. Socrates Cafe takes place on the third Tuesday of the month. Talk of the Town is on the first Tuesday of each month.

For additional information, please look at our web-site: http://www.partnersinlearning.ca. OR call 519-238-8800.

Head Games, September 14

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Things we did not know about the human brain, new discoveries and fascinating facts. This will be a mind blowing series.

Bring a notebook and all your powers of observation

head-games
Moderator: Nancy Winters
Registration Fee: $15
Time: 5 weeks, Monday, 10:00 AM to noon, Sept. 14 to Oct. 19, excluding Thanksgiving
Location: Pine Dale Motor Inn