Date: August 28, 2000

Got your Christmas Music? It is that time of year, only a bit earlier. This week we will be starting to work on Christmas and Chanukah music. I hope you remembered yours. If you are a new member since last year, ask Bud Robar if he would please give you a set of Christmas Music. You should make sure that you have Carol of the Bells and Eight Candles, along with our other seasonal music.

We will be doing lots of singing during the Christmas period with the great job Rudi Flaig has been doing in lining up singouts in malls. This is a great fundraiser, and gives us excellent exposure around town. Here are some dates and locations. Mark the dates and times, and plan to be there. As usual, let Rob know NOW if you can't be there.

Do your part! Sell some chocolate. John Clendinneng is the man in charge of Chocolate Bar sales, and he wants you to bring in your money. Jerry Silverberg has a few more bags more since the first batch went so quickly. If you haven't already picked up a bag of these delicious milk chocolate and almond bars, do it tonight. There are only a few remaining.

They sell for only $2.00 and John will be glad to get you out earning money. Part of the profit goes to your account to pay for retreats and other expenses.

Invite a friend to chorus this week. It as easy as 1-2-3. You know that summer is an ideal time to invite someone that you know loves to sing and is able to carry a tune. We are one of the few singing organizations that do not quit for the summer. Invite people from your church choir, or other choirs that are on summer hiatus. They may like what they hear and want to stay. Remember that membership starts with ME.

Start a monthly payment plan now. Don't forget the easiest way to pay is in small instalments. The $14 Monthly payment hardly hurts. (Nor does the $42.00 quarterly payment, if you prefer that.) This is encouraged for all members of the Chapter. If you pay $14.00 at the first rehearsal every month, you save a couple of dollars, and make the payment process painless. Start NOW. Post-dated cheques payable to Island City Chorus can be given to Ray Watkins, Chapter Treasurer. All members who have just paid dues for June 30, 2000 should start to pay $14 per month NOW. This helps us with our current cash flow problems, and makes the bite less painful.

Still Wanted NEEDED- bright ideas. The Chapter is in need of funds, and good fund raising ideas. Obviously singing is an ideal way to raise money. If you know of a group that is looking for some excellent entertainment at a reasonable price, refer them to Alan Kenley at 514-341-7171.

Please talk to Jerry Silverberg about other fund raising ideas you may have. Since the show didn't quite bring in as much as we budgeted, we need to have some successful fundraisers.

In addition to the sing-outs we will have between now and December 31, 2000, we need to have some other fund raisers. If you have a suggestion, call me (514-993-4673) or send me an email (imphillips@sprint.ca).

When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Because maids dressed wealthy women, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. And that's where women's buttons have remained.

In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write. Documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfil obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

This comes from the French word "m'aidez," meaning, "help me".

In France, where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called "l'œuf." When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans pronounced it "love,"

Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of dense, orange clay called pygg. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became know as "pygg banks". When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig. And it caught on!