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THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012 THE NEW TANNER 5 GRAPEVINE Earth Hour Halton Hills residents are encouraged to shut off all non-essential lights and electric devices on Saturday, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., t o m a r k E a r t h H o u r. T h e Town will join communities all over the world in energy conservation efforts. Earth Hour is no longer just about turning the lights off for an hour, but is now an opportunity to promote year round conservation and actions that benefit the health of the planet. Residents can register for Earth Hour at www.EarthHourCanada.org, and share participation ideas with jennifers@haltonhills.ca. So enjoy a candlelight dinner, read with a flashlight, turn down the thermostat and think about environmental issues as you star gaze. Earth Hour is a global World Wildlife Foundation i n i t i ative which began in Australia in 2007, and has grown into what is cited as the largest voluntary action in history, reaching more than one-billion people worldwide. *** Acton schools will mark Earth Hour tomorrow (Friday) by turning off all non-essential lights and electric devices during the final hour of the school day. At Robert Little School. Staff said they are energy conscious all of the time and will have almost everything powered down on Friday. Hope symbols D a ff o d i l s ­ t h e s y m b o l of hope in the fight against cancer ­ will be on sale in Acton tomorrow (Friday) evening and on the weekend at Sobeys. Proceeds from the sale of the flowers ­ approximately $7,000 in Acton ­ will fund lifesaving cancer research to find new ways to prevent the disease and improve treatments by the Canadian Cancer Society. Eat a Peach Congrats to former Acton resident, singer/songstress Darrelle London whose new album Eat a Peach is about to be released. A single off the album was named CHUM's New Song of the We e k , a n d C B C R a d i o i s supporting the album. London will be featured in the April edition of Elle Canada, and is slated to appear on Canada AM. The album title Eat a Peach is from London's favourite TS Eliot poem, the Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock. London lived in Acton from age nine, attending St. Joseph Catholic School and then Bishop Redding, and left at 17 for the University of Western. Her parents still live in Acton. Knit Night New knitters and seasoned experts are invited to join Acton library branch staff for Knit Night ­ also called Stitch and B----. The group meets tonight (Thursday) from 7 to 8 p.m., for an hour of friends, all things knitting and books. *** Fresh brew, new books and great conservation are on tap tomorrow (Friday) afternoon at the Acton library branch for the one hour Coffee, Books and Conversation session, beginning at 2 p.m. It's a chance to talk about recent reads, and get a sneak peek at some of the new books before they are put on the shelf. Drop-ins are welcome, but registration is recommended. For more information call 519-8530 3 0 1 o r v i s i t w w w. h h p l . on.ca O, baby Want great deals on highend, hardly used baby stuff? Check out the Mom-to-Mom sale on Saturday from 9 to 11:30 a.m., at St. Alban's Church. Proceeds will benefit junior programs at the church. Spring sweets The focus will be on all things maple ­ real maple syrup, maple baked beans and maple sweets ­ at the annual Sweet Taste of Spring pancake feast on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Limehouse Memorial Hall. There will be a bake table and maple syrup for sale. EASY ACESSIBILITY: Life is about to get a lot easier for Acton's Sydney Weaver, confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy, because her family received funding from the President Choice Children's Charity to build an accessible washroom in their home. Weaver joined staff at the Georgetown Superstore to pick up the ceremonial cheque. Weaver will appear on the Easter Seals Telethon on Sunday from 3 to 4 p.m. ­ Submitted photo It's who ya know The other day we were at the doctor's office. Sitting near us was one of the "old Acton" ladies. I refer to her as an old Acton lady not because of her age, although she is a senior, but because she was probably even born in Acton. As we chatted and caught up on our families, she noted, "You don't see too many people you know here anymore..." I couldn't help but agree with her and replied, "Have you been into Sobeys lately? There are only a few I know there anymore." I looked around the waiting area at the people. The only ones I knew besides the "old Acton lady" was the staff behind the counter, who began working at the old medical centre. Its times like that when you have those `remember when' moments. There I was sitting in our nice new medical centre with the comfy chairs, flat screen TV showing advertisements and almost current magazines and I was thinking about the old medical centres. I'm not talking about the building downtown where the x-ray place is. I'm talking about the medical centre that used to be where the taxi stand was, that I suppose most recently served as a pizza place. I was also thinkBy Angela Tyler ing about the medical centre we had on the upper level of the Glenlea plaza. A few weeks ago I was reading the death notices and saw that John Wong had passed away. A feeling like a big whoosh went through me as I read it. The Wong's had the Royal Café restaurant downtown for years. It was where Lily Thai is now. When last I looked, the old Royal Café sign still adorned the one side of the building...a sort of tribute I suppose. As I looked at the picture of Mr. Wong my thoughts vividly returned to the Royal Café sitting there with my family while my dad ordered the Spanish omelette, which he declared was the best one ever made anywhere, and I patiently waited for a real chocolate milkshake made in a historic metal milkshake maker. Mrs. Wong would even bring the little bit of milkshake that never fit in the glass to your table in the metal mixer container. I don't want to seem like one of those people that hover around reading death notices yet I do read them. Every once and a while there are some that I read and it does the same thing to me as when I read about Mr. Wong. I get this sudden whoosh feeling and a memory or flashback happens. Last fall when Harold Townsley passed away I had this visual of him when I saw the picture of his pallbearers all wearing hockey jerseys as a tribute to the sport he loved. A short while earlier I had seen him downtown, waiting for traffic to go by, so he could get into his mini-van. I remember thinking at the time about stories my family used to tell, and one of them was of how one hockey player you wouldn't want to mess with when they were young was Harold. He was a force to be reckoned with back then. Sometimes I think I think too much about how our town used to be like remembering about how when it was smaller you seemed to know everyone in it. However, what I remind myself is how it used to be is how we became who we are now. My grandfather used to say you either progress or regress, but you never stay the same. It's true when you think about it, yet sometimes it's nice to regress and think about and remember the past.