A Sun-Kissed Summer Retreat

Our first retreat could not have happened in more perfect summer weather. Sunbathing, reading, walking in the woods, iMovie making, playing cards, boating, and croquet were our participants' activities of choice - and that's just what they did in addition to their own projects! The conversations round the dinner table and bonfire were stimulating and the food was fabulous. Thanks to everyone who made the trip up to the Nurtury...To Liz, Kathy, Bernice, Kim and Sue...You made our first retreat one to remember.

Get planning for next year's retreat...Scheduled for the last week in July 2011!

Open House at the Nurtury, Sunday July 18

You are invited to attend wine women and philosophy's Open House which is being held at The Nurtury, in Lakefield, Gore - between 2pm and 4pm - on Sunday July 18th, 2010. An easy drive from Montreal, the day is free and all are welcome to come along to find out more about our beautiful premises and location. This is an opportunity to see first hand whether The Nurtury would be a suitable place to go on one of our artist or writer retreats, or to host your own retreats, meetings or events. It will also give you the chance to find out if a wwp weekend or away day is for you. As with all wine women and philosophy occasions, a welcoming glass awaits you.

Please email us for directions to The Nurtury. Make sure to spread the word to your friends and colleagues. We look forward to seeing you there.

Play Social Bridge away day Sunday 13th June

Thanks to Marianne for leading the Play Social Bridge away day this past Sunday. The day was aimed at women totally new to the game, which means that the emphasis was on the basics: we learnt about 'plays', 'bids' and 'calls'...And even though we found the dealing and shuffling order challenging (sorry, Marianne!!!) we got there in the end. The progress made from start to end was amazing, and we anticipate new members joining the wwp bridge nights when the season kicks off again in September (hint, hint Roni!). Moreover - and taking inspiration from the day - Marianne and Rona are planning to run a Play Social Bridge away day/weekend in the Fall aimed at beginners, brusher-uppers, and intermediate players. Watch this space for more details.

Note to wwp members : Marianne and Rona will be structuring the bridge nights a little differently come September. Each evening session (we have one every two weeks) will begin with a 15 minute lesson - posted on the blog ahead of time - covering a particular aspect of the game e.g. bidding, leading, finessing. So... Wondering how many points you need to have between you and your partner before committing to a five-diamond contract??? Come join in on our bridge evenings and you'll be sure to find out!

wwp Summer Retreat at the Nurtury, Lakefield, July 19-23

Reasons to join us this summer at the Nurtury...

• You can get away from it all to the beautiful Laurentian countryside.
• Finish off that book proposal, dissertation, report or art work.
• Start that new project : The one you have always been meaning to do.
• Come for one or two days or for the whole 5 days.
• You can decide your own schedule.
  
• You can either choose to eat with us or take your meals off to enjoy by the lake...or even up to your room.

When is it? - It starts at 10am on Monday July 19th and finishes at 4pm on Friday July 23rd.
Who is it for ? - It is for writers, artists, photographers, walkers, readers...
What does it cost? - It costs $350 for the week which includes self-serve breakfasts, lunches, 3-course evening meals and overnight accommodation in a single room or $90 per day which includes lunch, a 3-course evening meal, overnight accommodation in a single room and self-serve breakfast the next morning.
How do I apply? - Initial notes of interest should be made to us by email. We will then email you an application form if places are still available. Please note that places are limited, and will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Photo credit: Thanks to Carolyn Roy for this beautiful picture of the Nurtury taken at the wwp Digital Photography and Photoshop weekend at the end of April.

wwp visits The Dinner Party in New York

Linnet and I recently visited Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

'The Dinner Party comprises a massive ceremonial banquet, arranged on a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. The settings consist of embroidered runners, gold chalices and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with raised central motifs that are based on vulvar and butterfly forms and rendered in styles appropriate to the individual women being honored. The names of another 999 women are inscribed in gold on the white tile floor below the triangular table. This permanent installation is enhanced by rotating Herstory Gallery exhibitions relating to the 1,038 women honored at the table.'

To find out more about this iconic 1970s art installation and take the virtual tour of The Dinner Party click on the link above. It will give you a head start on your 'homework' for the next salon evening, which is to research a women featured in the installation and bring what you have learned about her to our members' dinner party/BBQ on August 26th.

Our biggest turnout ever for last night's member's salon evening on obedience

Whistles blew and orders were given as wwp members assembled for the last salon evening before the summer break, and explored their attitude towards obedience. Grappling with the question of whether we are rule-followers, "good girls" or unruly freedom-seekers, we countered traditional approaches to morality with the ideas of radical feminist theologian Mary Daly (pictured here), who died earlier this year. After Linnet introduced us to some concepts with which to better understand how women's relationship to obedience has been framed by male philosophers such as Aristotle, Kant, Confucius and Kohlberg, and then reworked by 18th and 19th Century female ethicists such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Catherine Beecher and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, we applied these ideas to our own public and private lives, and asked if we are becoming more or less obedient as we grow older. We were lucky to gain insights into a life devoted to obedience as Pat spoke to us of her experiences as a postulate in a convent, and her decision to leave the Catholic Church because of the kinds of obediences being demanded of women in this context. And we drew on Mary Daly's ethics of freedom for women through questioning all authority, reclaiming names designed to insult us like hag and crone, and celebrating our creative "revolting" Selves, to put Pat's experience into perspective and question our own feelings towards disobeying.

One of the ongoing endeavours of wwp salon evenings is to experiment with different kinds of conversational forms, and this salon evening was no exception. Peripatetic philosophy (walking while you talk), the narrative interview, and open discussion were all part of last evening's energizing mix. A first-time guest commented on the incredible energy she felt as she walked into the salon...This is something we are incredibly proud of, and it really speaks to the kinds of women who are becoming wwp members. Thank you to Pat for sharing, with such eloquence, her story of joining and leaving life in the convent. And thank you to our terrific members and guests (some of whom are now new members!) for bringing their wisdom, enthusiasm, vulnerabilities and compassion to the event. We will be holding a welcome back potluck for all our membership friends at the end of the summer to herald in our Autumn Salon Series...So please mark Thursday, August 26th at 7:30 down in your diaries.

Wishing you all a great summer, and if you aren't participating in a wwp activity taking place over the next couple of months (check our website for details) we look forward to seeing you in August.

Yoga at The Nurtury 7-9 May, 2010

This past weekend, 9 women gathered at the Nurtury to learn how to BREATHE...As we strove to find Balance, Relaxation, Energy, Awareness, Transformation, Happiness and Enlightenment through the practice of Hatha Yoga, we created a strong group bond and developed a sense of care and nurturing with and for each other. It was, in all ways, a special weekend full of special moments. From opening up our weekend with the question "How do we wear our bodies?", through experimenting with those same bodies as we performed our salutations to the sun, to our final look at "the pose" in its many and varied contexts over Sunday Brunch, we journeyed far as a group and as individuals.

Thank you to Marta for leading us through our Yoga sessions in a way that moved us spiritually, emotionally, physically and creatively. You not only created a safe and comfortable place for us all to stretch our bodies to new limits; you also gave us a bodily language from which to start engaging in lively and enriching philosophical discussion around the dinner table. We also want to thank Bernice for enlightening us with regard to Eastern philosopher Lao Tzu, and his notions of simplicity, suppleness, and actionless action. As for all our participants, you are truly amazing women. We loved getting to know you better, and we so appreciated the contributions each of you made to the success of this weekend. Below, a comment from Diana who drove down from Ottawa to attend the weekend.

"Just a quick note to thank you for a truly amazing weekend. I think it goes into my once-in-a-lifetime-experience category. The weekend has given me so much to process -- there's a "gentle typhoon" going on inside me and I'm just going to let it happen and see what emerges. In the meantime, I continue to think about and savour the flavours, colours, textures, sounds and connections that made my experience at the Nurtury so special."

And this just in from Pat who also made the journey from Ottawa to be with us for the weekend.

"Thank you for a magical weekend. Food for the body, mind and spirit. It was as though I had been off and away for three weeks. Better, even. I came home refreshed as I rarely am after a trip. The food was way beyond expectations, the building a delight, the location secret and yet open, and of course the opportunity to experience my good friend as a talented teacher was a rare gift. The discussions echoed the kind of things that often roll around in my head, but rarely do I have anyone to exchange them with. All in all, something I will happily do again, and recommend to friends."