the third Christmas Party for IWA Akita

The 22nd Meeting and the third Christmas Party for the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S ASSOCITION in AKITA was held at Vinaccia Trattoria in Akita. Attendance by Kax2/Nax2/Icx2/MPx2/I/S.
Apologies from Mx2/S.
The venue was so beautiful that we thought we could really be in Italy! We enjoyed the sparkling white wine and the delicious appetizers and of course the good humour and conversation… some of which went like this…

What do lions sing at Christmas? JUNGLE BELLS!
Santa Claus is a woman because… Men cannot pack a bag!
Santa Claus is a woman because… Men would rather be seen dead than caught wearing red velvet!
Santa Claus is a woman because… Men don’t answer their mail!
Santa Claus is a man because… Only a male Santa can ignore ‘fashion’ and wear the same suit for 500 years!
Santa Claus is a man because… Santa has never been known to answer a letter!
Santa Claus is a man because… A woman would never even think of going down a chimney and risk staining that red velvet!

Thanks were given to Mrs Ka for arranging such a wonderful evening.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a SAFE and HAPPY CHRISTMAS and to wish you all the compliments of the season.

Professor Joseph Lian's Talk

The 21st Meeting of the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION in AKITA was another huge success with attendance of 3 visitors and Ic x 2, Na x 2 and Sh. The Talk ‘Professor Joseph Lian, Sailing and Liberal Arts’ and film show traced his journey of 4,000 kilometres, on his own boat, from Hong Kong via Taiwan, Okinawa, Ikitsuki, Fukuoka, Tukui to Akita. It was so interesting and stimulated the members very much. We learnt all about different sailing boats and all the things that have to be considered when sailing; radio/radar/auto-pilot/chart plotter/GPS/flares/water purifier/life raft/map reader/set of sails/medical pack, etc. Professor explained that he started sailing only 12 years ago but now it is his great joy. The journey took about 5 weeks, half of that on sea stops for repairs and chandler supplies. The trip started on 1st May 2011 because the weather conditions would be at the most conducive for a safe passage. Professor travelled about 200 kilometres a day and kept going through the night.
His boat is a 37 foot long Pacific Seacraft C37 and was built in 1993.
We didn’t finish the talk until 9 p.m. and could have gone on longer it was so interesting! However, we had to enjoy the Potluck Supper which was delicious. Thank you for everyone bringing such delicious dishes to share. Thanks were given to Professor Lian and we left the AIU by 9.45 p.m.
IWA has decided in the future to change the Evening Talk Meetings from November to October to avoid bad weather conditions. I am sure we shall continue to enjoy a variety of informative talks in the future. Thank you for all your support.