PROBUS Club of Durham WestPast Events - 2024
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"Boo Bash" Halloween Dinner and Dance - Hosted by the PROBUS Club of Ajax - October 28 Thank you to the PROBUS Club of Ajax for hosting this amazing event. It was so much fun. Everything was perfect... DJ, food, music and the organization of everything was great. |
2nd Metrolinx Tour - October 22, 2024 Ten more lucky members were able to attend a tour of the Whitby Metrolinx Rail Complex on October 22. The group spent close to two hours touring the complex and seeing what is done to keep the GO trains running. The building complex was designed to cover half a million square feet, and can easily hold an entire GO train with the maximum number of cars. Did you know that each train is fully inspected every 90 days? Be glad that you don't own a GO train! Each engine has a 1000 litre gas tank, and they fill the tank once a day!! It makes one consider whether an electric or hybrid vehicle should be in our futures. It was also interesting to learn that seniors, like us, make up the largest percentage of new travellers who are using GO trains...guess we like taking advantage of the half price senior fares! The tour was very interesting for both those who are interested in trains and for those who know nothing bout them, but enjoy riding them! We will all be looking at GO trains with a lot more interest in the future. We hope to offer this tour again in the spring for those who were not able to attend either of the tours thus far (more info to come). If you are interested in learning more about Metrolinx and its plans for the future, you can sign up to receive their e newsletter by using this link. https://www.metrolinx.com/en/subscribe-to-emails The pictures below show, left to right, our group with some Metrolinx staff, a 1000 litre gas tank, an entire train inside the building, plus all the extra space, and a picture of the train operator's cabin. |
LET'S GO BLUE JAYS! September 15, 2024 On the afternoon of Sunday, September 15th, twenty-two members of our Probus Club attended the Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre against the St. Louis Cardinals. The two "bird teams" batting it out for the Win! We had excellent seats, in the shade with a lovely breeze on a hot, sunny day, a view of the CN Tower and a no-obstruction view of the entire field of play. We also enjoyed a great view of the Jumbotron (where some of our group appeared for a few seconds). To say excitement was high in the entire Rogers Centre would not be emphasizing it enough. A good time was had by all!! |
September 14, 2024 Dave and Bev Bicknell, our Membership Co-Chairs, represented our Club at the recent 55 + Wellness Fair. We were able to speak with a large number of attendees and answer their questions as to what we offer and how to go about joining us. We also rolled out our new banner and tabletop display as can be seen in the photos below. |
August - Nine and Dine On August 27, twenty Durham West members tee’d off at Hawthorne Golf Course, followed by dinner at the Pickle Barrel. Various prizes were awarded, and everyone had fun and more than a few laughs. Thanks to the Castellarin's for the donation of prizes. |
Best of Barnful of Broadway - Westben On July 23, sixty members joined Westben in celebrating its 25th anniversary with their Best of Broadway. There were amazing numbers from Joseph, Sound of Music, Camelot, Cats, West Side Story, Abba and Les Miserables. Most of us went on to dinner at the Mill Restaurant in Cobourg. Judging from the noise level, there was much laughter and lively conversation. |
2024 Annual Picnic Our annual picnic was held on June 19th at Cullen Central Park, with just over 71 attendees. By popular demand the food was provided by Churrasco Restaurant. There were iced treats to cool us on a warm day and cookies to satisfy the sweet tooth. Members enjoyed lawn games in the shade and participated in a challenging trivia quiz. Five lucky winners took home a Tim Hortons gift card. See you next year! |
New Members and Volunteers Wine and Cheese Reception On Thursday May 30, 2024, we were delighted to celebrate our Volunteers as well as welcome Members who had joined our Club since our last New Members Coffee event, held in 2022. It was an opportunity for our newest members to meet with the various activity leaders as well as with others who give their time to ensure that we have a successful and fulfilling Club. This was a chance to discover all that we have to offer, that they might not have been aware of, and to thank those who make this possible. It was held at the Recreation Room at 1665 Pickering Parkway, and we had 53 attendees. After an ice–breaker game, we heard from members of the Management Team, those who lead our interest groups, those who run our registration desk, social committee, front of house, technical set-up etc. as to why they volunteer for these roles and what satisfaction they receive from doing so. Questions were welcome and new ideas were presented. Of course, there was lots of time for nibbles and refills as you can see in the photos! It is our intention to make this an annual event and the combination of both groups proved to be informative and enjoyable. |
Metrolinx Tour On May 16, ten lucky people participated in a fascinating, behind the scenes look, at the maintenance operation of our GO Trains. It's an impressive, expansive facility. For those who were waitlisted for this event, and others who might be interested in the future, the convenors will be talking with Metrolinx to see if we can book another tour this fall. Metrolinx restricts these trips to 10 people at a time, so, hopefully, they will provide more opportunities for us to participate. |
Games Afternoon On Wednesday April 17, eighteen PROBUS members came together at the Pickering Chartwell residence for an afternoon of games, fellowship and laughter. Several members taught fellow members how to play games, many learned new games (and are ready to buy them for home). The energy in the room was palpable, and the general consensus was “we need to do this again, it was so much fun!" Chartwell was very generous with a gift basket won by Roy Boon, and we all went home with a small token of appreciation from Chartwell. Thank you Chartwell! |
Steel Magnolias Steel Magnolias was a big hit! We had 67 people attending. The only glitch was a lack of parking due to an unexpected hockey tournament. But the show was great and they delayed the start till people were there. Due to the success of this outing to Scarborough Village Theatre, we have booked for a comedy called You Can't Take it With You for next April (after hockey season is over!) Thanks to those who attended and to those who brought along friends to share this outing! Plan to attend next year. We have booked the 60 best seats in the theatre for that show so we should have a great time! |
Court Whist Court Whist was played at the Ajax Public Library on Wednesday March 6th. The event was attended by 27 members. Started off with some confusion of the rules but followed by lots of laughter. A fun time was had by all. First place winners were Silvi Karhunen and Bernard Twyman, second place winners were Geoff Cutten and June Booth. The lucky winners of a draw were Barbara Stevens and Liz Ryan. Thanks to organizers Bernice Pyke and Lorna Smith. |
15th Anniversary – Potluck Lunch
The PROBUS Club of Durham West celebrated their 15th anniversary by having a potluck luncheon following the speaker. It was well attended by approximately 75 members. The variety of food was excellent and everyone had a great time reminiscing with friends and watching a slideshow of past events and activities. Thanks to all who attended and the delicious food provided. If you forgot to pick up your serving utensils after the event please see Bernice or Lorna as they may have them. |
Glow-in-the Dark Mini Putt– January 24, 2024 Glow in the Dark Mini Putt was a big success once again this year. The weather was kind to us and the roads were passable this year. (Remember that last year's event was on the day that the 401 was shut down.) We had 23 people spend an enjoyable couple of hours getting their exercise swinging their clubs over and over again (The place has a reason for having a six-stroke maximum per hole), doing deep bends to pick up the balls from the cavernlike holes (At least that is what it felt like when bending over six inches lower than my feet), patting themselves on the back if they got a good shot (at least I saw others doing that although I didn't feel the need myself) and banging their heads with their hands when they had another bad play (you should see my head bruises). Who says games are not Real Exercise? I heard lots of cheers, groans and everything in between during the event. Some groups kept score and others decided that lying was not what they wanted to do that day, so they skipped and insisted they were playing just for the fun of it. But whatever they chose, all had fun. All and all it was a lot of fun. Hope to see you there next time. Thanks to Bernice Pyke for organizing and Lorna apologizes for the not-so-great photos. |
For Archived Images, click on the year of interest below. |