JUST A REMINDER…

MonSFFA’s 2023 CHRISTMAS Luncheon!

The club invites all of its members and friends, and their families, to an in-person, buffet-style Christmas Luncheon this afternoon, Saturday, December 9, from 2:00PM-6:00PM.

Sandwiches, snacks, and refreshments will be provided by MonSFFA!

We will also hold our traditional Christmas Fund-Raising Raffle, proceeds to benefit the club. So bring your loonies and folding money, and may the odds be ever in your favour!

Raffle tickets are $1.00 each; note that Platinum-Level members benefit from a two-for-the-price-of-one special!

Many wrapped gift prizes of cool sci-fi/holiday items will be arrayed under the tree from which winners may chose!

Our ground-floor event venue is the very same as last year’s, located on the West Island. Because this is a private residence which the club is employing by special arrangement, we are curtailing publication of the specific address online for reasons of privacy.

The locale is accessible by car, commuter rail, or bus, and is between a 5- and 15-minute walk from the several public transit stops nearby. Commuter train stops: either Gare Pointe-Claire or Gare Cedar Park; bus: 201, 203, or 211 (check STM route schedules).

All members and special guests have been e-mailed, in advance of the Luncheon date, the means to access the specific address, plus travel directions, public transit routes, and local parking information. By following THIS LINK, you will be directed to those details.         

 

Invitation to MonSFFA’s 2023 CHRISTMAS Luncheon!

The club invites all of its members and friends, and their families, to an in-person, buffet-style Christmas Luncheon tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, December 9, from 2:00PM-6:00PM. 

(A note of clarification: an initial e-mail distributed to all members and special guests included an erroneous date, Saturday, December 16. The correct date of our Christmas Luncheon is, in fact, this Saturday, December 9; tomorrow!)

Sandwiches, snacks, and refreshments will be provided by MonSFFA!

We will also hold our traditional Christmas Fund-Raising Raffle, proceeds to benefit the club. So bring your loonies and folding money, and may the odds be ever in your favour!

Raffle tickets are $1.00 each; note that Platinum-Level members benefit from a two-for-the-price-of-one special!

Many wrapped gift prizes of cool sci-fi/holiday items will be arrayed under the tree from which winners may chose!

Our ground-floor event venue is the very same as last year’s, located on the West Island. Because this is a private residence which the club is employing by special arrangement, we are curtailing publication of the specific address online for reasons of privacy.

The locale is accessible by car, commuter rail, or bus, and is between a 5- and 15-minute walk from the several public transit stops nearby. Commuter train stops: either Gare Pointe-Claire or Gare Cedar Park; bus: 201, 203, or 211 (check STM route schedules).

All members and special guests have been e-mailed, in advance of the Luncheon date, the means to access the specific address, plus travel directions, public transit routes, and local parking information. By following THIS LINK, you will be directed to those details.

Club members who have not yet received this e-mail may contact president@monsffa.ca to request it.

THEN…               

Out-of-town members, and any who couldn’t make it to the Luncheon, will have opportunity to participate in the club’s seasonal celebrations, too! We are hosting an online get-together the following weekend, specifically on Sunday, December 17. This casual ZOOM-chat will run from 1:00PM to 4:00PM, allowing everyone the opportunity to exchange best wishes for the Holiday Season! So join us for our “Holiday ZOOM-Chat” and enjoy conversation and good cheer with friends!

The club’s Website (www.MonSFFA.ca) will provide, on the day-of, a link allowing folk to join this ZOOM-chat.

Finally, MonSFFA wishes all of its members and friends, and their families, a very Merry Christmas, a Joyful Holiday, and a Happy New Year!

 

Invitation to MonSFFA’s 2023 CHRISTMAS Luncheon!

The club invites all of its members and friends, and their families, to an in-person, buffet-style Christmas Luncheon on Saturday afternoon, December 9, from 2:00PM-6:00PM. 

(A note of clarification: an initial e-mail distributed to all members and special guests included an erroneous date, Saturday, December 16. The correct date of our Christmas Luncheon is, in fact, this Saturday, December 9!)

Sandwiches, snacks, and refreshments will be provided by MonSFFA!

We will also hold our traditional Christmas Fund-Raising Raffle, proceeds to benefit the club. So bring your loonies and folding money, and may the odds be ever in your favour!

Raffle tickets are $1.00 each; note that Platinum-Level members benefit from a two-for-the-price-of-one special!

Many wrapped gift prizes of cool sci-fi/holiday items will be arrayed under the tree from which winners may chose!

Our ground-floor event venue is the very same as last year’s, located on the West Island. Because this is a private residence which the club is employing by special arrangement, we are curtailing publication of the specific address online for reasons of privacy.

The locale is accessible by car, commuter rail, or bus, and is between a 5- and 15-minute walk from the several public transit stops nearby. Commuter train stops: either Gare Pointe-Claire or Gare Cedar Park; bus: 201, 203, or 211 (check STM route schedules).

All members and special guests have been e-mailed, in advance of the Luncheon date, the means to access the specific address, plus travel directions, public transit routes, and local parking information. By following THIS LINK, you will be directed to those details.

Club members who have not yet received this e-mail may contact president@monsffa.ca to request it.

THEN…               

Out-of-town members, and any who couldn’t make it to the Luncheon, will have opportunity to participate in the club’s seasonal celebrations, too! We are hosting an online get-together the following weekend, specifically on Sunday, December 17. This casual ZOOM-chat will run from 1:00PM to 4:00PM, allowing everyone the opportunity to exchange best wishes for the Holiday Season! So join us for our “Holiday ZOOM-Chat” and enjoy conversation and good cheer with friends!

The club’s Website (www.MonSFFA.ca) will provide, on the day-of, a link allowing folk to join this ZOOM-chat.

Finally, MonSFFA wishes all of its members and friends, and their families, a very Merry Christmas, a Joyful Holiday, and a Happy New Year!

 

9) THANK YOU

We thank for their contributions to this afternoon’s agenda Danny Sichel, Carly Terreault, L. E. Moir, and Joe Aspler, as well as all of our contributing participants. And, of course, we thank you who attended, both here online, and physically in the meeting hall; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together.

10) NEXT MONTH’S CLUB EVENTS, AND BEYOND

December

MonSFFen will next gather on Saturday, December 9 for an in-person Christmas Luncheon, and again, online, the following weekend, Sunday, December 17, for a Holiday ZOOM-Chat.

The Luncheon locale is not set up for WiFi, and so live-streaming won’t be possible, unfortunately. Because we won’t be able to connect with our out-of-town members on this occasion, we have, therefore, scheduled the Holiday ZOOM-Chat on the following weekend (Sunday, the 17th) so as to allow our out-of-towners—and indeed, all MonSFFen—to touch base online before the Holidays. This casual ZOOM-chat—no formal programing is planned—will run from 1:00PM to 4:00PM, allowing everyone the opportunity to drop in for a chinwag and exchange best wishes for the festive season.

The Christmas Luncheon the weekend before (Saturday, the 9th) is set to take place from 2:00PM to 6:00PM, and will offer a buffet and our traditional MonSFFA Christmas Raffle—lots of gift-wrapped prizes to be won! This raffle serves as a fund-raiser benefitting the club. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each; Platinum-level members enjoy a two-for-the-price-of-one bargain! So bring your loonies and folding money, and may the odds be ever in your favour!

We are returning to the same West-Island locale in which was held last year’s Luncheon. Members and special guests will receive an official invitation, either via e-mail or postal mail, in advance of the event. Said invitation will include directions for those driving to the party, as well as for those travelling by public transit.

Post-Luncheon, those wanting to continue the celebrations will relocate a short distance to a local pub!

2024

MonSFFA’s regular schedule of programmed meetings will resume in the New Year. Our first get-together of 2024 will unfold on Saturday, January 13 from 1:00PM to 4:30PM. Fans of astronomy will want to mark their calendars as we will welcome special guests David Shuman and Paul Simard, who will present their short documentary film, ShadowChasers, and speak on the topic of April 2024’s solar eclipse!

11) SIGN-OFF

Online participants, were you able to clearly see and hear today’s meeting? Please take a moment before departing to leave a comment as to how well, or not, this live-stream/ZOOM-chat worked from your perspective. Your input will help us to assess the experience, pinpoint any problem areas, and where possible, continue to make improvements.

To all, enjoy the rest of your day, and with the festive season in the offing, may we proffer early wishes to MonSFFA’s members, their families, and all friends of the club for a Merry Christmas, a Joyful Holiday Season, and a Happy New Year! Until next we gather, keep well and safe!

8) PRESENTATION/GALLERY: AIR SHOWS AND AVIATION MUSEUMS

Many SF fans are modelers and fans of old airplanes. This is a presentation on airshows and aviation museums. These include the RAF Museums (London and Cosford), the National Air and Space Museum (Washington), the USAF Museum (Dayton), the Imperial War Museum (Duxford), the RCAF Museum (Trenton), and the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum (Ottawa).

During my life as a business traveller, I spent the equivalent of more than three years on the road: airplanes, airports, hotels, meetings, taxis, rental cars….. That’s one reason why I missed so many monthly MonSFFA meetings, and several ConCepts as well. One benefit at least was that I could arrange side visits. Some destinations had air museums. Other destinations even had an air show.

This is a presentation on some of those places. Note that you’re seeing only a small selection of a vast number of aircraft. All are rare, and some are irreplaceable last examples.

Note: the slides that our in-person audience will see during this particular presentation have been uploaded to our Website and are viewable, here below. Click on a slide for a closer look.

 

 

 

 

7) BREAK!

Time for our mid-meeting break!

Get yourself a snack and a drink; we’ll resume proceedings in a moment, including our usual raffle. And, we’ll briefly update our membership on the latest club business!

Programming continues in about 15 minutes with a presentation/gallery on air shows and aviation museums. The aviation industry has developed, over the years, many technologically advanced experimental and production aircraft, akin to the imagined airplanes and spacecraft of the future so prevalent in early science fiction. Thus are many SF fans also fans of aviation!

This afternoon’s e-meeting is a continuing experiment. If the local technology is performing properly and all has gone well, you are viewing a live-stream of this MonSFFA meeting, now underway. Those joining us online may follow along, and participate, by way of our ZOOM-chat.

Are you able to clearly see and hear today’s meeting? We are testing our technical set-ups to ascertain which delivers the best results for our online participants. Please take a moment to leave a comment as to how well this live-stream/ZOOM-chat is working from your perspective. It is our aim to live-stream future club meetings, thereby creating hybrid events in which participation may take place both in-person and virtually.