Weird weather week for late January

Greetings everyone! Well it has been a weird week as far as January weather is concerned. No snow, but lots of rain and crazy temperatures – one day mild and then the next is so cold!  Hard to know what to wear!

We started our walking group at the community hall on Friday and there were eight of us walking to the beat of music. It was lots of fun and we know there are several more who are hoping to join us but weren't available that day. 

Come on down on Tuesday and Fridays at 10 a.m. and join us. There is no charge, but we are asking for small donations to help pay for the heat –  but certainly not necessary. 

On Saturday, Russ and I did something we haven't done for years--we went on a sleigh ride - or rather a wagon ride - with 29 other people from Malagash and the surrounding area. 

We all went to the Hamilton's Sleigh Rides in Lower Onslow. Now as we all know there was no snow so we jumped into the wagons and ours was drawn by a beautiful Belgian and a Clysdale horse. What a great team! 

We headed out through the woods and through a large culvert under the 104 Highway. Our stop was a large lodge in the woods. A large bonfire was burning to warm us up and then into the lodge for a delicious supper – home-baked beans, chili, hotdogs, salad, brown bread, rolls and so on. Carrot cake and the most wonderful chocolate cookies. No calories counted that evening.  After our meal, we boarded the wagons again and back to the starting point. I can tell you we have our names on the list for next year. What a wonderful evening! 

Our driver was surprised when I mentioned that our one horse was a Belgian and I explained that a good friend used to breed them and show them - sure enough he knew the same friend.

On Saturday evening a games night was held at St. Andrew's United Church in Fox Harbour.  A nice evening with various games, from scrabble to a jigsaw puzzle and many others were set up for everyone's enjoyment. 

Another one is being planned and this one will be in the Malagash Church. Looking forward to playing at the next one.

Jig the Joker is going strong in our legion on Friday evenings. The ackpot is over $900 at the present time. Both Russ and I have had a stab at it the last couple of weeks but the Joker is still hidden. Why don't you come down and give it a try?  Drawing is at 8 p.m. It's a great way to spend Friday evening. Lots of fun and games!

Word has just been received that the North Shore Community request for a refugee family has finally come through. The committee applied for a family several years ago and for a long time it was on hold but now we are getting our family. 

From what I heard it is a family with three young children. No other details are available at this time but I will be sure to let you all know. There will be lots of things that our family will need so donations will always be gratefully accepted.

We were saddened by the passing of Roberta "Bobbie" Treen, wife of Sam Treen, of Tatamagouche. Bobbie and Sam used to live in Malagash and were active members of Malagash Church. Sam has a great wealth of knowledge of local history and has presented the history of Malagash at our church. At the present time, no plans are available. 

It is the time for annual meetings of our Churches and Malagash will be holding theirs on Tuesday evening - weather permitting. I know people really don't want to attend but it is necessary to decide on the budget and to make plans for the coming year.

I love the old saying "some people go to church to see who didn’t!"

Have a great week everyone and hopefully the other "shoe" won't drop this week as we are getting used to no snow. Saturday afternoon there was a large turnout at the Wentworth Ski Hill-- don't know what they did before the artificial snow. The hills looked great and lots of people on them and a huge amount waiting for the lifts. Remember to keep smiling this week, It makes everyone wonder what you've been up to! See you next week!

Marian Durling is the Malagash and area columnist for the Citizen-Record.