What is or are the thirty-nine steps....

....It depends whether you read the novel or watch the Hitchcock movie.   The Patrick  Barlow Adaptation that our Let's Do It Day Trippers enjoyed today at Chemainus Festival Theatre follows the Hitchcock version.  "Am I right, Sir," as Mr. Memory might say.

The four (and a tiny bit) member cast managed to juggle all the parts including, the music hall, Hannay's apartment and milkman assisted escape, the Forth Rail Bridge escape, the crofter's cottage, the reluctant public address at the election meeting, the airplane chase on the moors, the bedroom scene involving handcuffs, and the final denouement at the London Palladium, among others. The humour was physical, extremely well timed, clever, and hilarious! Overall we laughed and applauded all through the performance.

Coupled with a scenic drive to Chemainus via Shawnigan Lake, a mini browse of Chemainus, and a feast of a buffet, it's clear why we really like our trips to the Chemainus Festival Teeatre. Next up is Steel Magnolias:

 - keep watching out in Expressions and the web page to find out the details.

Also, don't forget there are still a few tickets left for 2 Pianos 4 Hands.

April 27: 2 Pianos 4 Hands, Belfry Theatre

An unstoppable juggernaut – back in the Belfry after touring five continents and 150 cities. “Funny, clever, insightful and touching, full of music, humour, story, and character.” Globe and Mail

BY TED DYKSTRA & RICHARD GREENBLATT

From Chopsticks to Bach, the boys play it all in their quest to become concert pianists. Through their trials and tribulations with music festivals, unusual teachers and demanding parents, they learn what it means to be good, but not quite good enough to follow their dreams.

Depart: 10:00 am Cost: $38.50 + lunch (includes group rate entry)

No refunds after 12:00 pm April 11, 2011

Craigdarroch Castle and view art gallery March 23, 2011

Our select and intrepid group of Let's Do It Day Trippers arrived at the wonderful and somewhat dotty Craigdarroch Castle on a beautiful spring morning.  Looks like something out of The Addams Family in this shot.
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Beautiful fireplace - shades of  Citizen Kane's Xanadu

Stained glass...

"Art" shot of a detail of the white oak panelling to be found all over the house.

Dance dress....

 ...and mess uniform worn in the dance hall on the fourth floor.

 Speaking tube to summon the groom to bring tea to the tower and read the newspaper aloud to you.

 She may not have been amused...

.... but we were by this fascinating place.  Great to see the first of the tourists in Victoria and families taking advantage of spring break.

After a great lunch at the Beagle Pub, we headed off to view art gallery of modern art to see the new "Wild Things" exhibition and have brief talk by the owner, Maureen Flanagan.  We just missed the Channnel 12 team who were filming a feature on the exhibition for tonight's news.You may have seen it already!

Some of Jennifer's work...

Dave Barnes' pieces were a combination of wood carving using reclaimed wood mainly, covered with mixed media - drawing, painting, and collage.  Most of his pieces contained detailed narrative.

  He has also started producing three-dimensional pieces using the same techniques.

 Not part of the Wild Things exhibit, but on display in the gallery, Lara Scarr's work combined fibre art and other media in her Thread&Paint Revolution series.

Centre of the Universe and The Hive

Our full bus of Let's Do It Day Trippers arrived at the Centre of the Universe to appreciate the spectacular views and the rather chilling wind reminding us that it's not quite spring yet!

We toured the 1.8 metre Plaskett Telescope first. It was amazing to learn that this telescope was completed in 1918, and was supplied with its 1.8 metre mirror from  Belgium just before the outbreak of WW1.  At getting on for 100 years old, this is an impressive facility - still being used to carry out research today, but with the addition of computer controls to orientate the telescope and digital output for photography. The telescope is named after John Stanley Plaskett, as you can just make out on the plaque.

The skeletal model was built at the same time as the telescope and shows the giant concrete archway supporting the telescope. The dome rotates, and the shutters open to make observations.  The telescope itself is about 1.8 metres wide, and it was one of the largest in the world at the time.  Today, the observatory's large telescopes in Hawaii are 8 metres wide!

In the main building we had a planetarium show in the small domed planetarium that holds about 20 people.  There we learned about the night sky, galaxies, and star clusters, as well as nebula which are the nurseries of stars.  Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable .  For example she, informed us that there are approximately 100 billion to 400 billion stars like our sun in our galaxy alone and that "shooting stars" are actually meteorites falling to earth and burning up in the atmosphere.

After an excellent lunch at Romeo's in Broadmead, we headed off to the Hive for a quick stop on the way back to the centre. The coordinator gave a brief presentation indicating that the Hive was a combination of information resource centre for business, residents, and consumers, an historical archive, and a location for display and sale of locally produced craft items.

A couple of our day tippers were particularly interested in the old telephone exchange having had personal experience in operating similar equipment in the past! These things have much more substance than cell phones!!

Check the web page for information on upcoming trips, and join the Let's Do It Day Trippers!!

Sidney Trip Was Fun

We arrived at the Shaw Discovery Centre in the rain, but the weather cleared while we were visiting the denizens of the Salish Sea.
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The jelly fish were dramatic - part of the Sex in the Salish Sea exhibition (a family friendly theme)

And Chris had to stick her head in the kids' view tank to give this weird science fiction-like effect.

Lunch at Mary's Bleue Moon Cafe was great, although one or two of us felt a little guilty eating seafood after the aquarium visit!

The British Columbia Aviation Museum was just across the street..

The guided tour was really interesting.  We saw the new hangar area as well as the restoration shops.  Several of the planes were restored to airworthiness, while others were for display only.

The Vickers Viscount (1948 to 1963) is being restored by a group of ex-airline pilots and seemed more spacious than some current airliners inside.

And, of course the Spitfire (1938-1948) is always a favourite. This one is a 3/4 scale replica model featuring the Invasion Stripes used in the WW2 Normandy landings to avoid attack by friendly forces.

A quick visit to the Red Barn on the drive home ended an excellent Let's Do It Day Trip.  Get your tickets at the office now for upcoming trips in March and April.

Tickets available for March 9 Sidney Trip

Tickets are still available at the office for our fantastic March 9 trip to Sidney

At only $7, plus Shaw entry and lunch, this is a great value trip.  Greatly reduced group entry to the Aviation Museum is included in the $7 ticket price. 

Choose to browse Sidney and/or take a coffee break if you've recently visited the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre.

Let us know if you need assistance to access these attractions. Willing volunteers are ready to help you!

March 9: Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre, Sidney / British Columbia Aviation Museum
Depart: 9:30               Cost: $7 plus Ocean Discovery Centre admission plus lunch

The Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre is an aquarium and marine education centre focused on the amazing ecosystem of the Salish Sea. The Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre is an aquarium and marine education centre focused on the amazing ecosystem of the Salish Sea.They’re back! The enormous skulls and skeletons from Sidney’s former Marine Mammal Museum have returned to the waterfront and are on display in a special exhibit at the Centre. Skulls, teeth, vertebrae and baleen adorn the revived exhibit. A full scale killer whale skeleton is suspended overhead. The display showcases the biology of Salish Sea cetaceans — whales, dolphins and porpoise — and pinnipeds — fin-footed mammals. Discover the differences and striking similarities between humans and marine mammals!

The British Columbia Aviation Museum is a major attraction on Vancouver Island. There are many interesting aircraft, engines, pictures, models and artifacts. The Memorial Room contains artifacts from the wars that Canadians fought, either as members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Flying Corps, or Royal Air Force. There is a historical display of the Pat Bay Airport as it was during its time as a Commonwealth Air Training Centre, complete with models of all the aircraft that were stationed here during those years. We will have a guided tour of the facility and visit the gift shop.

Still one ticket available for 39 Steps

ONE TICKET STILL AVAILABLE - CHECK THE OFFICE

March 30:  Chemainus Theatre - "The Thirty-Nine Steps"

Depart:  10:30 a.m.  Cost:  $65.00 (incl. transportation, theatre, buffet, HST & gratuity)

NO REFUNDS AFTER 12:00 NOON 16 MARCH

Re-booking the gallery trip for May 11

It's a pity that the weather didn't allow us to do our trip to Oak Bay on Feb 23.  However, we have been able to rebook the galleries and restaurant for May 11. This will be a great trip and great value! Stay tuned for more details.