A week of eating, bridge and theater - what's not to like?

In the ongoing celebration of my birthday, I had lunch with friends and colleagues, at a neighboring golf club on Tuesday.....

Sonja, Heather, David and Donna....

.....Giselle and Chet....

...and yours truly and Susan....

.(okay, we met the other tables there by chance -  there aren't that many restaurants in the neighborhood, and where else would you go but the Country Meadows Golf Club on a lovely sunny day in Vancouver - but it felt like a party anyway!

And, continuing with the birthday, lunch on Wednesday with friend Richard.  Richard and I went to law school together, I introduced him to his future wife, and we have, in spite of that, remained friends ever since.  Nowadays, what with career and family and travels, we have lunch twice a year, once for his birthday and once for mine, and always in the same place, downtown, in the Victoria, for dim sum (a bit more upscale than my usual dim sum spots, but highly recommended if you are ever in down town Vancouver and want a sure thing for dim sum).  No pictures - what can I tell you, I forgot!!

Now the bridge part.  Although the boys and I played last week, and usually play only every two weeks, they are already anticipating missing me when I am on my travels for the next while, so we doubled up on bridge, playing again on Wednesday night.  And friend (and former law school mate) Robin, who has made a previous bow on these pages, invited me down to White Rock to play duplicate bridge on Thursday.  It was a little nervous making - Robin and I haven't played bridge together to speak of, really, since law school - and that was, as you might imagine, a few minutes ago - but we had a wonderful time, and came in second in the A section, actually earning me some master points!  I was thrilled, Robin was thrilled, the people at the club were happy for us, and we will do it again - when I am in town, of course.  The nice thing is that Robin winters in the Palm Springs area (her place is in La Quinta, a bit more upscale, but within driving distance), and so we can continue to play duplicate in the Desert if it works out.

Robin, on the left, drop-dead gorgeous just like she was in law school!

Nora & Robin celebrate their win!

And last but not least for the week, two nights of theater.  First, Tom and I went to Bard on the Beach

to see King John.  Not seen it?  Neither had I (nor had Tom, for that matter....) - it was a belt notch for me.  I really didn't have really high expectations; after all it is not shown that often, and really, who was King John (bet you didn't know that he was the one who signed the Magna Carta....I did, but had long ago forgotten that factoid)?  However, the play plays better than it reads, and they did a wonderful job, with the acting, the staging, the costumes, everything.  And it was in the small tent, so it was all happening right at our fight.  We were both rivited (of course we pretty much had to be, or else we would have gotten pierced by a sword or tripped on a train); it was what theater is meant to be.

The theater on Saturday night was the polar opposite.  Not that it wasn't good - it was great - but comedy rather than history/tragedy, and a real crowd pleaser.  This one was at the Arts Club Theater on Granville Island.  I don't think I have talked about Granville Island before.  Those of you who have visited Vancouver know that it is a former industrial park converted about 20 years ago to artists studios, a market, and restaurant and theater space.  I am afraid I got a little carried away with the camera, as I always to do on Granville Island; bear with me.

Is there anything better than the Vancouver skyline on a bright sunny day?

There are always buskers.....

 

...and the market is great (I love this name - The Stock Market for a soup place...

...and I was there early enough to get a patio seat at our favorite Island watering hole, The Cat's Meouw Social Club

Tom joined me (yes theater with Tom twice in a week.  When we were in law school, it was often three or four times a week. We saw everything then; we're a bit more discriminating now, but have already arranged for two more theater evenings in August, and one in September!).  We saw Zanadu, a wonderful musical (apparently there was a movie, but I never saw it).  The voices were great, in that musical comedy way, as was the staging, and we - and the rest of the audience, by the sound of it - had a wonderful time.

Well, more theater tomorrow, and then off to Ashland, Oregon on Wednesday for yet more (both theater and food, yes, it is again the time of year for Ashland), so I will catch you up next week, before I head off to my next adventure, in San Diego.  Til then...