Category Archives: Events

Yarn Dec 2020 /Jan 2021

The Southern Yarn for December 2020 and January 2021

The final 2020 issue of The Southern Yarn is also the FIRST issue for 2021. Read it now, or if you prefer, some of you can wait for the B&W one on yellow paper version to wend its way through the post to you. 

Here is the Editorial to get you started.

Just as “Google” came into our vocabulary several years ago, now, thanks to the pandemic, the new understanding of “Zoom” has become commonplace. What a gift! (Every cloud has a silver lining!). Meetings and birthday parties have been enhanced, under the circumstances, by this sharing technology, which facilitates virtual togetherness. Zoom will no doubt play a useful role for many Canadian families this Christmas as COVID restrictions continue to be necessary. Kudos to the Kiwis and Aussies for managing to come through their lock-downs much more successfully than most!

The other understanding of “zoom” played a big part of this past year for me. My trusty Canon SX720 HS with 40x optical zoom brought me up close to many new birds – some of which I share in this month’s Birds I View (back page).

In Getting to Know, p.7, you will learn about a very resourceful lady named Gladys Sandford. And, in 100 years ago, on page 6, how Qantas was started. All this and so much more!

With little in the way of Club event reports, I am again grateful to Jenny Gates for her contributions to this issue, including the “Lady in Red” piece; also to Peter, Brian, Terry D., Jodie S. and our advertisers.

YOU, too, are encouraged to become a Yarn contributor! Don’t be shy – share. Make the most of your Christmas, as we say goodbye to this year,

Stay safe!

Revisiting Our Bushfire Fundraiser

The video is online and the reviews are in. The video by Brian Rougeau of our Winnipeg Fundraiser for the Australian Bushfires is “beautifully done”, “incredibly moving”, “a powerful testament to all the work you did”, and viewers “… can’t stop watching it”.

If you haven’t seen the video yet, be sure to check it out today. And please take a moment to “like” the video and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We only need 100 subscribers to get a dedicated name for our channel, and then we can start adding more videos about the club and other interesting topics.

Stay safe, well and happy, everyone!

Yarn June-July 2020

The Southern Yarn for June and July is ready for you to download, either directly, or through the Yarns page.

Many of our anticipated events will be impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions, but perhaps now more than ever, we value our connections with one another, even if meeting in person is harder to achieve.

Here’s Charlie’s editorial to get your started: 

One thing I enjoy about this “job” (as editor of The Yarn newsletter) is hunting for good news stories to share. So, it is encouraging to find a good number of sites devoted to offering just that. You will find some of them in the following pages.

Continue reading

Online ANZAC Day Services

Although our ANZAC Day event on April 25th has been cancelled, there are other ways to participate in ceremonies in Australia and New Zealand to commemorate all the ANZACs who fought and died for our freedom. Remember that services on April 25th are in fact on April 24th for us here in Canada:

  1. standatdawn.com/home – RNZ Defence Force
  2. awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac-day – Australian War Memorial
  3. abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/anzac-day-2020/12132330 –  ABC Radio
  4. dva.gov.au/commemoration/personal-commemorations – mark the day in your own way with your family

And in case you’ve not called down under recently, the time difference for ANZAC Day is:

  • Sydney = 15 hours ahead … 5:30 am Sydney Apr 25 = 2:30 pm Winnipeg Apr 24
  • New Zealand = 17 hours ahead … 6:00 am Wellington Apr 25 = 1:00 pm Winnipeg Apr 24

Hopefully this will help you all participate in ANZAC Day this year.

Lest we forget.

Update on ANZAC Day 2020

Although the DUCW’s ANZAC Day commemoration has been cancelled this year, we are compiling a list of opportunities to watch services online, and will post them in a new blog tomorrow.

ANZAC DAY COMMEMORATION 2020 – CANCELLATION MESSAGE

It is with deep regret to advise that our ANZAC Day service in Ottawa, scheduled for 9am on 25 April, has been cancelled. Organisers have also cancelled ANZAC Day services in Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

It is with deep regret that we write to advise that our ANZAC Day service in Ottawa, scheduled for 9am on 25 April, has been cancelled. Organisers have also cancelled ANZAC Day services in Toronto and Vancouver.

We are as disappointed as we know you will be with this outcome, but given the COVID-19 pandemic and the advice of the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian public health authorities, it is the responsible course of action.

While we will not be able to gather together on 25 April, we encourage all Australians and New Zealanders, wherever you may be, to commemorate ANZAC Day in your own personal way.  Please take a moment to pause and reflect on the service and sacrifice of the thousands of Australian and New Zealand men and women who serve or have served in wars, conflict and peace keeping operations. We especially ask you to think of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.

Public ANZAC Day services have also been cancelled in Australia and New Zealand.  But, the Australian War Memorial will be holding a private ceremony in Canberra at 5.30am on 25 April (AEST), 3.30pm on 24 April (EST), 12:30pm on 24 April (PDT).  The ceremony will be broadcast live by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and streamed online.  Please see more information on this here: www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac-day. The Royal New Zealand Returned Services Association, alongside the New Zealand Defence Force, will also be holding a virtual dawn service to commemorate ANZAC Day, which will be broadcast by RNZ National, on the RNZ App, from 6am (NZST) on 25 April, 2pm on 24 April (EST), 11am on 24 April (PDT).  You may wish to watch include these ceremonies as part of your commemoration of ANZAC Day.

Our thoughts are with all Australians and New Zealanders in Canada, and our Canadian colleagues and friends, in these challenging and unprecedented times.   Please stay safe, stay informed by following the advice of public health authorities, stay connected with your friends and family, and please stay home.

Her Excellency Natasha Smith, Australian High Commissioner to Canada

His Excellency Martin Harvey, New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada