Today the gaggle of girlfriends went down to the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel to partake in the Sunday brunch. There were nine: Krista, Janice, Gillian, Meaghan, Kate, Patti, Jessie and myself. The first five are the "610 Reid" girls, as that is their address, and they plus us two "195 Kings College Road" girls have equaled a very fun gang all term long, in fact one of the best gangs I've just happened to fall into. (There were others? Err... maybe more on that later...) Jessie, the other, is a visiting friend. We dressed up a little: khakis, nice necklaces, pretty hair. We went downtown together, laughing and crossing streets and turning heads, and then went into the fancy dining room where copious amounts of food were on offer in a giant garish gazebo in the center of the room. There was all kinds: home fries, handmade omelettes, cedar planked salmon, chicken Frederick, veggies, salads of all varieties, fruits and cheeses, desserts like pies and cakes and rolls and croissants, and ham and turkey and beef roasts...and all the condiments to match. As much as you could eat for $14.95 plus tax. How marvellous.
Since we had all partied the night before, we were, as they say, feeling a bit peckish. In short, we devoured that banquet. Not all of it: that wouldn't be ladylike. But we certainly made a respectable dent. We stayed a few hours, we filled out the loose clothing we'd worn for the purpose. This was a bi-yearly tradition for the girls, as an end of term celebration. I must say: could I have hand-picked these friends better? Dressing up pretty and stuffing our faces? Yes, they certainly are perfect.
Afterwards, we were waiting in the lobby and decided to get a photograph of ourselves taken, standing on the beautiful front staircase. I should also mention that at the moment a movie is being filmed in Fredericton, a made-for-TV special about the "1972 hockey battle between Canada and Russia." So there were mock signs up in Russian, and men walking around with sideburns and tight seventies-style polyester suits with jackets that bore the emblem "Team Canada". While Krista and I were waiting for the other girls to join us, we flirted with a tall one who walked by. Then, once we were all assembled, I looked around to see if there was anyone who might like to take the shot--and spotted an actor practicing his lines. So, one of the future stars of the national featurette was the photographer, perhaps a little reluctantly, of the nine of us grinning our gluttonous best.
Then we went home and watched "Garden State". Could this day get any better?
Credits:
The photo is from this tourism site.
Janice, for the introduction to these friends. She did the hard work, I just mooched.
|