Good morning, Oak Bay. Know everyone? Notice everything? We have a very unofficial role for you on our new Local Board. Details below, alongside a garden love story, a deli inside Farmy and a free Sunday skate. First, vote: polls are open today, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Monterey and Henderson recreation centres. Our election guide is below. The Oak Bay Local team |
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A garden with a past The letter that changed a garden on Fairfield Road  Photo · Archive photo: Guerinf / Wikimedia Commons, CC0. August 2024. |
A wartime separation, a reunion after 13 years, and a garden you can visit today. Peggy Pemberton-Carter hid travellers' cheques in a talcum-powder container during her wartime internment near Shanghai. After her release, they helped pay her way to San Francisco. She reached Victoria in December 1945. The next month, a letter arrived. Nicholas Abkhazi, the Georgian prince she'd befriended in Paris, was alive. He had been a prisoner of war in Germany. Neither had known the other's fate. They reunited in New York after 13 years apart and married in 1946. Back in Victoria, they spent four decades shaping the garden Peggy had started on a rocky Fairfield property. As she later put it, "the garden became our child." Visit their garden: Abkhazi Garden, 1964 Fairfield Road, is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last entry at 4. Admission is by a suggested $10 donation. Stay for lunch or afternoon tea at the teahouse: 778-265-6466 to reserve. Paths include gravel and steps, so check accessibility before visiting. Dogs are welcome on leash. Walk through the gate knowing that story, and it's a different garden. Sources · The Land Conservancy: their story · Hours and visiting details |
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What's pinned up around the village |
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Posters from around Oak Bay. Tap any to open the source. |
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| Vote today at Monterey Recreation Centre, 1442 Monterey Avenue, or Henderson Recreation Centre, 2291 Cedar Hill Cross Road. [District of Oak Bay] |
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| Kevin Murdoch and Sam Holland joined CFAX's Ryan Price. Listen before you head to the polls. |
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| 🏛️ | Need to register at the polls |
| Bring two pieces of identification showing your identity and residency, with a signature on at least one. The District explains registration and voting assistance. [District of Oak Bay] |
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| 📖 | Your Oak Bay election guide |
| Meet the candidates and check voting locations and registration details before heading out. [Oak Bay Local] |
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A few reasons to leave the house |
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| 🥪 | A deli hiding in plain sight |
| NICO Kitchen is inside Farmy at 2897 Foul Bay Road. The independent kitchen and deli lists sandwiches and charcuterie, with hours Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A lunch stop to try today; closed Sunday. |
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| 🎃 | A little Halloween rummaging on the Avenue |
| Today, Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lazy Susan's, 2039 Oak Bay Avenue. Island Vintage Events' Halloween Vintage Fair & Makers Market is a reason to leave time for a browse on your village errands. |
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| Sunday, Oct. 18, 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. at Oak Bay Arena. Bring the whole family and your skates. |
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| 🎷 | Let Sunday end on a quieter note |
| Jazz Evensong at St. Mary's Oak Bay features the Elaine Lakeman Quartet on Sunday, Oct. 18, 4 to 5 p.m. at 1701 Elgin Road. Suggested donation: $20. A late-afternoon outing after the family skate. |
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| Monday, Oct. 19, 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Monterey Recreation Centre's Dogwood Room. This free session is about meeting neighbours. Register ahead at 250-370-7300. |
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| 🛍️ | Friends of Monterey Centre Bazaar |
| Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Monterey Recreation Centre. Go early for the good finds. |
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The Pick · Local partner · Granddaughter for Hire Granddaughter for Hire 1 hour Complimentary Companionship visit. Quality companionship and everyday support for seniors in Oak Bay. Call 778-533-1787 Local ads help keep Oak Bay Local free. Become a partner |
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The Pick · Local partner · Liv Café & Bistro This week's menu was grown in Saanich. The fall harvest from Liv's Edible Gardens and your Thursday to Saturday dinners. Local ads help keep Oak Bay Local free. Become a partner |
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The Local Board Unofficial know-it-alls wanted 👂 Local Gossip wanted. You hear about new shops, neighbourhood changes and stories worth checking. Useful tips, please. Your neighbour's private business can stay private. 📅 Local Gatherer wanted. Your calendar is full, and you know which events deserve a crowd. 💬 Local Listener wanted. Bring us the questions people are asking, the things we're missing and honest feedback on this newsletter. 📸 Local Lens wanted. Your camera roll has a neighbourhood beat. Send us little photos and clips from around Oak Bay: a spectacular sky, something new on the Avenue, a deer with somewhere to be. Phone cameras encouraged. No fancy gear required. Tell us where and when you took it, and how you'd like to be credited. ✉️ Apply with a few lines. Reply with Local Board, your first name, chosen role and one thing we should cover. For Local Lens, start with one photo you've taken. These are volunteer roles: no meetings, no CV. Send a useful tip when you have one, and we'll check it before sharing. |
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From the Oak Bay Local group Three neighbours, three ways of seeing |
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A few moments worth slowing down for, shared in the Oak Bay Local group. Phil Warren caught the first light over the water. |
Carlo Gallo keeps running into these two neighbours. |
A little golden light, shared by Tom R Mrnka. |
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The Local Board starts with one good tip. A shop we should meet, a gathering that needs a crowd, a question nobody has answered yet. Hit reply with your role and one idea.
And if someone came to mind while you read the job titles, forward this to them. Every neighbourhood has a Local Gossip. Ours might as well have a byline.
Have a good weekend, Oak Bay. The Oak Bay Local team |
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Pass it on Know a neighbour who'd want this? If this issue was useful, forward it. Or send them the signup page and they'll get the next one. |
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