I was honored to be asked to give a talk to The Montreal Garden Club. Gail Johnson gave me a generous introduction in the home of Gail Jarislowsky where members of The Montreal Garden Club gathered on the morning of May 12, 2016. Judith Webster, the Club President, was heroic in coming too even though she had just had knee surgery one week before. It was a large turn out and everyone was wonderfully warm, welcoming and enthusiastic. Here they are in the living room and you see both Gail Johnson, who graciously hosted a lovely dinner party for Charlie and me and others the night before, Gail Jarislowsky, our hostess and Nancy Turner, who lives in Montreal but also in Washington, Connecticut where she and her late husband Bill created a marvelous modern house designed by Nancy’s architect daughter and son-in-law and were near neighbors and friends. Several years ago, Nancy and Bill hosted members of The Garden Club of Montreal in Washington for a few days that included a visit and lunch at Brush Hill. It was lovely to be with Nancy again. Marilyn Elkin was one of those visitors and she invited me to give this talk.
Charlie and I stayed in the handsome home of Topsy and Tom Gillespie who were the perfect hosts and we discovered, friends of dear friends of ours. The evening following my talk, Topsy and Tom, along with Cynthia Gordon, the program chair and her distinguished friend, Dr. Mustafa Elhilali, invited us to a well disguised but unforgettably fabulous restaurant downtown. The name of the restaurant is Bouillon Bilk, but the sign outside reads Multi-Systems suggesting it is an electronics store. Those in the know, namely Cynthia and Mustafa, took us there and the superb food was only surpassed by the great company! A very happy time for Charlie and me. We hope to see some of our Montreal friends come to Brush Hill.
