The only gift is giving to the poor; / All else is exchange.
-Thiruvalluvar, poet (c. 30 BCE)
Hello, Patrick and Corinne: Just back (Thursday) from a fabulous trip to Spain and England. Walked 108 km of the Camino! Catching up on email ... Hope to get to the party. My contribution will likely be store-bought but I will endeavour to make it a high-end sort of store-bought! Bye for now. Janet
Colleen Teahan WaldronThe Island will never be the same without you Corinne Durston and Patrick James Dunn...but you cant shake us that easy smile emoticon Here's to new beginnings and adventures in Penticton!!! We ♥ you!— 
feeling nostalgic with Alan Waldron. Carol Riera Great photo! So wish that Bruno Sterckeman and I could have been there. Bon déménagement and we'll see you soon at your new digs. xoxo to all four of you. 🍷🍷 Colleen Teahan Waldron We wish you were there too Carolina Choo Choo!!!! XOXO
Patrick James Dunn Thank
you both for such a fabulous sendoff! We'll have a reunion at The Burns
Street Social House, (Working Title as voted last night!), which can
then spill over to Sunshine Valley Spa where we can rid ourselves of
overhangs by plunging into the icy waters of the glorious river which
runs past your fabulous cabin, nekkid! Colleen Teahan Waldron Great pic of you two ♡ Patrick James Dunn Thanks Marilyn! Ditto on one above, with respect to you and Big Al!
feeling nostalgic with Alan Waldron. Carol Riera Great photo! So wish that Bruno Sterckeman and I could have been there. Bon déménagement and we'll see you soon at your new digs. xoxo to all four of you. 🍷🍷 Colleen Teahan Waldron We wish you were there too Carolina Choo Choo!!!! XOXO 
If I'm not mistaken, this is the weekend of THE BIG BASH! Have a great and memorable time. I'm sure it's with some regrets that you leave Vancouver and all the fond memories and friends. I hope you had a wonderful Victoria Day weekend and anniversary celebration. I wanted to send you a card to commemorate those events, but alas, best laid plans and all of that. Anyway, happy belated Victoria Day and 39th Wedding Anniversary, too!
Take care and hope the last week in Vancouver is a wonderful one! I'm sure you'll be super busy saying goodbye to all and packing up the last of the lot.
Fond cheers and best wishes from your friends in the lower 48, Pat and Dave
By Friday we were in
pretty good shape for today's Farewell Bash, having rolled up all the
carpets and put plywood on the windows! Party itself was a blast.
Estimate we had 100 guests or more, over the course of the evening. [Looking ahead, know
that I took out three cases of empty wine bottles, half a case of malt
bottles and untold beer cans/bottles on Sunday morning.] Heaps and heaps
of pot-luck dishes, from appetizers to salads to desserts, brought by
friends. Cora Lee had done a large crock-pot of chili, (She wants to be
in the next Coffaro Chili-Taste-Off!), and platters of sausages, of various
kinds, on the bbq. Very little food and hootch left by 1:00 am when last
of die-hard guests left! Chloe had surprised us, and delightfully so, by having had two different fridge magnets designed, (by a good friend, a graphic artist, in Winnipeg), and produced here, Hotel Kits, (Kitsilano is the neighbourhood we lived in.), our first house in Vancouver, and The Island Inn, here on False Creek/Granville Island. As well, she had printed out ballots so that people could vote on the new name for Penticton abode. The name with the most votes was Burns St. Social House. However, Lady Mary has decreed that we are going to wait and see what feels right when we get there. Entre Nous, I think she is miffed that Il Palazzo di Patrizzio was a top runner!
Copy of my address, given this evening:
Attenzzione! Attenzzione! Attenzzione! The time has come, Patrizzio said, to talk of many things, of malt and wine and what the Freeloader brings! Thank you, Lewis Carroll and your Through the Looking-Glass. It seems to me that I'm almost like Alice inasmuch as I feel like I'm in Wonderland myself, never having been with so many Freeloaders in one place at one time! At any rate, on behalf of the Management, Cruella, Packing Mistress Extraordinaire, and Staff, Patrizzio, Under-Scullion, of the Island/Islay Inn, and Hanger-On, Chloë Alexis, I'd like to thank you all for coming this evening. Hard to believe when I look out to imagine that 40 years ago, when I first came to Vancouver in September of 1974, to attend Library School, that I knew but one person in the city, Sharktooth Annie's cousin, Lou Favelle, herself a VPL Librarian. The rest, as is often said, is history, for as the years rolled by, what with work at VPL and UBC, and our growing family and squash and Mother Corinna's, (She has yet to achieve sainthood but I understand that Flamin', as a good Catholic girl, is working on the canonization process on her friend's behalf!), involvement with St James and then Trinity, and latterly with The Heartwood Cafe, the circle of friends and family grew larger and larger and larger. And now, with almost 20 years at Hotel Kits and then 16 at The Island Inn, it is time for the next adventure, that is, if I might be so bold as to presume to speak for Mme Coriandre, what we believe the move to Penticton to be.
Initially, when we told family about our proposed move, without exception, everyone asked how we could entertain leaving so many close, good friends behind. Little did they realize that that was precisely the reason for the move! I jest, of course. However, it does raise a difficult question for the move to the Okanagan will certainly change our lives in many ways, it goes without saying. However, what will not change, and of this I am certain, is the emotional relationship to everyone we leave behind. Without question, the bricks and mortar will be different but the friendship and affection which drew us together, in the first instance, will not change, will surely deepen. This being the case I would like to raise a toast to the assembled company to thank you all for the gift of your generous companionship over the years we have come to know one another and to celebrate with the traditional song, I believe most of you know. However, this version is from us to you so pay attention to the words! For They are Jolly Good Fellows and so say both of Us! Hip Hip Hooray!
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