I cannot recall when we last attended a winter foregathering.  Coffee chats, yes. Art gallery outings, yes.  A drive to the car wash, yes. A luncheon for four. But I have no spontaneous recollection of a winter party. Today however we painted the calendar; rather, we enacted the event which has been on the calendar for several weeks. Thanks to the singular generosity and unparalleled ambition of our immediate neighbour Lynne and her unwitting sidekick Cora – both unabashed country gals who know how to handle a gun – we received an invitation to Cora’s country estate located on the cusp of Ramsay Township and the Village of Pakenham separated by Cedar Hill Side Road which identifies the route to the celebrated properties of maple syrup champion Shirley Deugo (née Fulton) and artist Stephen Braithwaite among other renowned local inhabitants who distinguish the County and beyond.

It is only in the past few months that we’ve become acquainted with our neighbour Lynne. And it was only recently that she in turn met Cora (at a coffee klatch) who, as I understand things, just happened correspondingly to promote country living and all that that entails – including sympathy for living “off the grid“ as Lynne had previously done until the precipitous loss of her husband.

I reckon the ladies mutually decided to enhance the impending winter gloom with a gathering of friends, both new and dear. Fortuitously the day was the perfect winter day,  brilliant sunshine and an overnight dusting of snow. The colours were an energized map of blue, white and yellow.

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We were the first to arrive on the scene. Our immeasurable fondness was immediate! It could not have been a more idyllic venue.  The log home (so we learned) was entirely constructed by Cora and her late husband. It oozed warmth and softening domestic texture. The hardwood flooring was for me a dream (as I skated in my thick woollen socks upon the shiny planks).

The first of what proved to be a series of serendipitous encounters was the sudden recognition that Cora was the daughter of Jimmy Lloyd, one of my notable initial clients when in 1976 I  assumed the former law office of Raymond A. Jamieson QC at 74 Mill Street in Almonte. Not long after this unanticipated ebullience both Denis and I similarly gasped as we greeted the mother of our former neighbours (Kathy and Marc) when we lived at 4 Laura Crescent in Almonte. She fittingly donned sparkling drawing room footwear reminiscent of the yellow brick road!  We parenthetically reminisced about her grandson Max whom we hadn’t seen since he was three years old and his slightly older sister Meaghan. Then we undid even that remarkable chance encounter as we welcomed into the increasingly chatty fold our immediate neighbours (lately from Brockville) and Greta (who constantly astonishes us with her unrivalled athleticism such as cross-country skiing in the winter, kayaking and paddle boarding in the summer). And if that coincidence were not sufficient, moments later I was embracing Shirley Deugo! The geographic and social circle was complete!

Regrettably however I hadn’t the opportunity to speak to everyone who subsequently materialized. It was nonetheless an uncommonly fulfilling confab and congregation. Again and again I rejoiced in the recovery of lost memories as the quips and codswallop insinuated our afternoon winter party in the country.

As well the festive board was nonpareil! Exquisitely prepared and beautifully displayed. The triumph of the gastronomy was exceeded only by the supreme delight in seeing and sharing with so many fine people. Unequivocally this social event will remain a highlight of my longevity in the County of Lanark. I cannot think of an incident which in the past 50 years I have enjoyed more! The script wrote itself.