Atlanta Branch

January 29 Meeting

News

The turnout for our January meeting was excellent with many guests in attendances. "How Brexit Baffled Britain" was the provocative subject that our speaker, Patrick Allitt, spoke about at our first meeting of the year. He definitely kept our attention as he gave the historical background that had led to the creation of the Common Market/European Union. With two horrific World Wars devastating most of Europe financially and otherwise, something needed to change in the way European countries interacted with each other to prevent future conflicts. Trade was thought to be a way to ease tensions, and a mutually beneficial trade effort was initiated in 1951 with 6 countries called European Coal & Steel Commission. As with so many ideas that start out with good intentions, over the years the EU became a huge bureaucracy that decided it would be a good idea to have their own military, its own currency and overwhelming rules and regulations so that everyone would be on the same page. One important aspect of the EU is the free flow of people between the countries. The individual nations who elected to join the EU had the option of using the Euro for buying and selling to the majority of the countries have. However, the overreaching rules and regulations that standardized everything from cheese to dog leaches ended up destroying much of the uniqueness and sovereignty of each country.

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Annual Christmas Party

Event

This year's party was another special treat at the home of James and Elizabeth Munson. Their beautifully decorated home was so welcoming and definitely set the tone for the Christmas party celebration. The centerpiece was a huge tree with abundant decorations.

Everyone seemed very pleased with the buffet items expertly prepared by Party Express and calorie-busting desserts that were just delicious!! Lots of glass clinking with Christmas wishes all around.

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November - William Shakespeare First Folio

Event

How fortunate our Branch is have had our own personal docent to give us a guided tour of the Shakespeare First Folio Exhibit at the Michael Carlos Museum at Emory University. Dr. Sheila Cavanaugh offered to take us through the Shakespeare Exhibit not only in the museum but also in the Library where there were several areas focusing on Shakespeare's influence even in the modern world. Dr. Cavanaugh spent the better part of this past year organizing and setting up these exhibits which was all very impressive.

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October 2016 Member Meeting

News

A member of our Branch, Dr. Sally Parsonson, presented us with a visual and verbal account of how Wordsworth's poems referenced the scenic world around him. We learned that William Wordsworth wrote several travel guides of the Lake District, and needless to say, Grasmere was a favorite.

His poems reflected his life and the memories he had of his childhood near the Derwent River in the Lake District. His passages consisted of recollections of his youth and experiences with nature – the lakes, rivers, streams, animals and plants.

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September Member Meeting

News

Gordon Mathis, former principal at the Galloway Upper School, gave an interesting presentation on the origin of the King James Version of the Bible. We welcomed his expertise on the subject which was based on the book, "God's Secretaries." King James, assigned a committee of 47 Anglicans who were given the task of developing an authorized version. It took about 7 years to gather the many versions of the Bible at the time and compile them all into what was the third English translation that we revere as the official King James Version. It was a fascinating account of the evolution of a version of the book that is still used to this day. This was a perfect topic for the English-Speaking Union.