The Toronto Scrabble Club celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last Wednesday. I have been coming to the Club since 1993, yet not regularly. I did attend weekly many years ago, back when the Business Department was still on the fourth floor of the Central Library, but when the Club changed its schedule to start an hour earlier, I could not make it after work since it is such a long transit trip. Once I retired I started to attend weekly again, yet with all the snow that we have been having recently, I decided it was better to stay at home. I was happy to attend my first Toronto Scrabble Club anniversary party, and it was a big one: fifty years.
Mississauga Club members came out to celebrate too (Shan, Steve, Sophia, Yvonne, Shauna, Dave, Troy and Valeria) yet Mark wasn’t feeling well and decided not to come. We were leaving for Paris the following day so he wanted to take it easy and get ready. I did stop at his place to drop off a few things, including a piece of anniversary cake. The Club ended an hour later than usual with all the revelry going on, and after the brief stopover I didn’t get home till 1 a.m. I started writing this post from the departure lounge in Toronto, finishing it while at Charles de Gaulle Airport waiting to depart for Réunion. I figured I’d have plenty of time to write this while waiting in airports.
I had another rough night, losing all three again, to take my record to 11-13:
418-430 against Mad. I had VIDETTE on my rack yet Mad played in the spot I wanted. Fortunately there was an R so I could play RIVETTED (89). I also scored 66 for EXAMS. Mad played REsIDUE (90), EROSION (78) and AUNTiES (62). I had the rack ABEEOSX which makes no 7LW yet only one 8LW: TEABOXES. I scored high with the X anyway. All the other games were played in the main room, with just the four of us in the “executive annex”:
324-390 against Glenn. We played in the executive annex. I played the game’s only bingo, DINErOS (70). After the second game we gathered together for a photo and a piece of anniversary cake. I am in the middle of the photo, standing between Shauna (who is seated) and Steve (standing with his arms folded).
470-471 against Margaret M. We played in the larger room for the final game. Bingos and high plays galore: I played ANAPEST (87), FAIrIEST (83) and AXLED (63) and Margaret played BRAINIEr (61), REAWAKES (110), DELUDING (89) and WAVY (61). In this game I held the rack BELLSTY which makes no 7LW but only one 8LW: FLYBELTS. I didn’t know it. FLYBELTS, like TEABOXES, required me to play the word through the initial letter.
On February 20 we flew to Paris and had a ten-hour layover before our flight to Réunion, so made the most of it by attending a walking tour. I visited Paris in 2009 yet it was Mark’s first time there.
Notre-Dame is open again
Outside the Louvre at the conclusion of our walking tour
Mark at the Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station, heading back to CDG Airport to catch our flight to Réunion
One Response
Thanks Craig for the news and especially for the proof that you were in Paris! 🤣