Well, it was a special Saturday morning in the Crafts Room at the Langstaff Community Centre, as we gathered together in good numbers to celebrate the holiday season. We hosted a number of guests, including Rowan Faludi and Patricia Abergel; Vasu’s wife, Padma; Mohammed’s son, Babak; Penny Batey and her guest Steve Kerr… welcome additions to our proceedings. The meeting was ably hosted by Mario Keriakedes, who put his usual eloquence on full display right from his opening remarks. He reminded us that in a time of strife and uncertainty it is occasions like this that bring people together in joy and mutual friendship. 

As is our custom, we began the meeting by going around the table — this time, to talk about our favourite memories of Christmas and holidays past. Interesting things always come out. Manisha’s early memories are of Diwali, not Christmas; Chris Ristic shared his love of “The Little Drummer Boy” song, and invited us to think of our own favourite Christmas songs; Samir talked about growing up in Sudan, which was much more tolerant of its Christian minority in times past; Mario related about his childhood experience of going carolling in Greece, when he was learning to speak the language and would chime in with the songs on a triangle. Steve surprised us and impressed the whole circle

Next on the agenda was our semi-annual report from  Vasu as our club president, and Philip in his role of secretary-treasurer. Vasu’s summary of the past year for the club was encouraging — the club has been growing, and he assured us that we’re going to grow some more. Phil showed us that our finances are in good shape as well. Summaries of their remarks are contained within the holiday slideshow for the meeting.

Next on the agenda was something called “The Great Canadian Scavenger Hunt”. Attendees were put into groups of five and given a variety of different challenges. Ten points were awarded for the first or best answers, and five points for later ones. To call the session ‘raucous’ would be an understatement. When the tallies were scored, Vasu’s team reported ’55’; a respectable number. Chris’s team, not to be outdone, reported a score above ‘600’. (Hardly likely…) Rowan then reported a score for his team in the millions. (EXTREMELY unlikely…) So the whole thing dissolved into chaos and everyone was declared a winner. Kind of like Alice in Wonderland.

Thanks to all those who went out of their way to contribute to our potluck lunch during the social break. Special thanks should go to Ilana Fisher for helping to coordinate the offerings via WhatsApp.

The second half of the meeting was kicked off with a ‘Secret Santa’ gift exchange. As a group, at the beginning, we showed ourselves to be far too inclined toward honesty. Where was the missing larceny, as person after person dutifully selected from the central pile? But then the thieves started showing up, so that was more like it. There was a certain $20 bill that changed hands numerous times. (Is it any coincidence that it finally ended up in the pocket of Samir, our resident financial guru?)

Next was the 50/50 raffle draw. Vasu collected a total of $130 from the group, so $65 went to the winner of the draw. The balance will go to a good cause in the form of a donation to be made by Vasu to the YRP Holiday Food Drive.

To end the meeting many of us shared our best memories of the dying year, 2025. Mario made an emotional address in this regard that touched us deeply. His words were a reminder that we should never take our health and the ability to see the dawn of the next day for granted. Vasu stood to tell of how blessed we are to live in what he termed the best country in the world — and I’m going to second him on that thought.