This week has been busy with dining out for charitable causes. First there was the luncheon in Aylmer for the Heritage Association, not a charity per see, more of a conservation of our early heritage in the Gatineau Hills-Ottawa valley area. It is important to remember that without such groups there would be precious little heritage to talk about or look at.
Italian Peonies imported and given to me by Will
Then on Wednesday night we participated in ''A taste for Life'' which was supported by the Toronto Dominion Bank and by hundreds of people attending the event throughout Ottawa with 45 restaurants in the Capital giving 25% of the nights proceeds to Bruce House and Snowy Owl Foundation. We went to Absinthe on Wellington Street West which as the name implies has a lot of drinks on its menu made from Absinthe. It is also a very good restaurant, they have knowledgeable staff and Chef Patrick presents an imaginative cuisine in a modern zen décor. The turnout was very good our friends A and R were the hosts at Absinthe. The goal of Bruce House which opened in 1988 is to provide supportive housing and care to people living with HIV-AIDS. This service is unavailable through any other agency in Eastern Ontario. Their belief is that everyone is entitled to live and die with dignity.
Snowy Owl Foundation's goal is to establish and maintain a financial resource available to organizations dedicated to HIV-AIDS education and prevention.
It was a very enjoyable evening and all for a good cause.
Today I participated in the Writers Festival (www.writersfestival.org) luncheon given at TABLE 40 at Fraser Café on Springfield Road, in the New Edinburgh area of Ottawa. Vincent Lam, winner of the Giller Prize for his first book Bloodletting and Miraculous cures was presenting his new book The Headmaster's Wager published by Doubleday Canada. I know Vincent through his parents, A & R who were on posting with me in Beijing a few years ago. Vincent is an Emergency Room Physician in one of Toronto's largest Hospital and a writer, he also plays the violin. He was raised in Nepean a suburb of Ottawa and his parents were Boat People from Viet Nam who came to Canada at the end of that war.
His book is based on his grandfather and grandmother, who were Chinese national living in Saigon in South Vietnam about 80 years ago. As he explained some parts of the character are real to life and other parts is fiction. The critics are raving about this book and it seems like he may very well get another award. I was very happy to meet Vincent, who is charismatic, with an easy manner and very approachable.
Vincent Lam, author, medical doctor, musician
The Writers Festival is in support of Children's Literacy and events like this one provide funds for various programs on literacy. It also brings writers like Vincent to schools to engage children and give a positive image of reading and books. A chilling statistics was given, the rate of literacy in children in Ottawa, the Capital of Canada is lower than that of children in Cuba.
I knew that Cuba had better health care for its population compared to the USA but this one on literacy I was unaware of, though I notice all the time how children have no vocabulary, cannot spell, cannot put a sentence together or read without stumbling on every word and have problems with critical judgement in general.
The restaurant Table 40 ( table40@frasercafe.ca) is a unique place, the tables are made of Western Maple fished out of rivers in British Columbia, the trees where cut diagonally and the wood was finished to give this high polish rough look showing all the variation and gradation of colour in the wood. The light fixtures are antique with naked filament bulb, lots of natural light and the kitchen is a modern lab setting at the back where the brothers Ross and Simon Fraser, both Chefs cook.
Then on Wednesday night we participated in ''A taste for Life'' which was supported by the Toronto Dominion Bank and by hundreds of people attending the event throughout Ottawa with 45 restaurants in the Capital giving 25% of the nights proceeds to Bruce House and Snowy Owl Foundation. We went to Absinthe on Wellington Street West which as the name implies has a lot of drinks on its menu made from Absinthe. It is also a very good restaurant, they have knowledgeable staff and Chef Patrick presents an imaginative cuisine in a modern zen décor. The turnout was very good our friends A and R were the hosts at Absinthe. The goal of Bruce House which opened in 1988 is to provide supportive housing and care to people living with HIV-AIDS. This service is unavailable through any other agency in Eastern Ontario. Their belief is that everyone is entitled to live and die with dignity.
Snowy Owl Foundation's goal is to establish and maintain a financial resource available to organizations dedicated to HIV-AIDS education and prevention.
It was a very enjoyable evening and all for a good cause.
Today I participated in the Writers Festival (www.writersfestival.org) luncheon given at TABLE 40 at Fraser Café on Springfield Road, in the New Edinburgh area of Ottawa. Vincent Lam, winner of the Giller Prize for his first book Bloodletting and Miraculous cures was presenting his new book The Headmaster's Wager published by Doubleday Canada. I know Vincent through his parents, A & R who were on posting with me in Beijing a few years ago. Vincent is an Emergency Room Physician in one of Toronto's largest Hospital and a writer, he also plays the violin. He was raised in Nepean a suburb of Ottawa and his parents were Boat People from Viet Nam who came to Canada at the end of that war.
His book is based on his grandfather and grandmother, who were Chinese national living in Saigon in South Vietnam about 80 years ago. As he explained some parts of the character are real to life and other parts is fiction. The critics are raving about this book and it seems like he may very well get another award. I was very happy to meet Vincent, who is charismatic, with an easy manner and very approachable.
The Writers Festival is in support of Children's Literacy and events like this one provide funds for various programs on literacy. It also brings writers like Vincent to schools to engage children and give a positive image of reading and books. A chilling statistics was given, the rate of literacy in children in Ottawa, the Capital of Canada is lower than that of children in Cuba.
I knew that Cuba had better health care for its population compared to the USA but this one on literacy I was unaware of, though I notice all the time how children have no vocabulary, cannot spell, cannot put a sentence together or read without stumbling on every word and have problems with critical judgement in general.
The restaurant Table 40 ( table40@frasercafe.ca) is a unique place, the tables are made of Western Maple fished out of rivers in British Columbia, the trees where cut diagonally and the wood was finished to give this high polish rough look showing all the variation and gradation of colour in the wood. The light fixtures are antique with naked filament bulb, lots of natural light and the kitchen is a modern lab setting at the back where the brothers Ross and Simon Fraser, both Chefs cook.
No comments:
Post a Comment