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Working out with Bob, Page 3 Hawks at the feeders, Page 6
VOLUME TWENTY FIVE, NUMBER ONE
JANUARY 2011
Flinging off the ties that bind By Joan Roberts When I agreed to serve as Chair of Beaumont’s Dining Services Committee, I somehow envisioned meetings enlivened by discussions of Chef Mark’s coq au vin or Baked Alaska. I was soon to discover that the lead topic, occupying three-quarters of the agenda, would be sartorial rather than gustatory: in other words, the Dress Code. Somehow, over the months, we worked our way through blue jeans, short shorts, bare skin—OK, visiting grandkids—and ended up facing the ultimate decision: whether to change the coatand-tie policy in the Mansion dining rooms, with a view toward luring baby-boomers to Beaumont. What emerged from some lengthy discussions was
Photo by Louise Hughes Dr. Don Trachtenberg, for one, says "yes!" to new ruling.
a step beyond the Byzantine set of rules involving the “semi-formal” porches, which are affected by the time of year and the type of meal (brunch in particular). The continued on Page 6
Reviving an art form from across the sea By Mary S. Page and Grace L. Madeira What is a “Sailors’ Valentine”? A question we are often asked. The answer is: a wooden octagonal frame filled with a mosaic of colorful seashells covered with glass, with a history! Before the traditional Valentine era, ladies of leisure in Europe were already creating the elaborate shellwork in many forms. These works were far superior to the Barbadian designs and should not be confused with them. In the mid-1880s a man named B.H. Belgrave came from England to Bridgetown, Photo by Louise Hughes Barbados, and opened a curiosity
Shell workers include (seated, from left) Mmes. Collings, Webb, Rush, Dearnley, Langfitt, and Bolling; (standing, from left) Mmes. Madeira, Starr, Page, and Thayer.
continued on Page 8