Something new will be happening at the Governor’s House in Hyde Park. The Vermont Apple Pie Literary and Travel Society will be holding dinner-discussions here starting in October.
Inspiration for our literary discussions and dinners
Mary Ann Shaffer’s best-selling novel is the obvious inspiration for the Vermont Apple Pie Literary and Travel Society. The fictional Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society began as a spur-of-the-moment inspiration to make it possible for the people of the Guernsey to get together and enliven their existence during the time of the World War II German occupation of the islands, not to mention having a good meal. Although this is Vermont and the pie will be apple, the idea is the same: to enliven our evenings with stimulating conversation, not to mention having a good meal, and to expand our circle of interesting friends.
Guernsey during the occupation and how that impacted the daily lives of its citizens will be the topic for discussion for the first series. The dates for those dinners are October 19th, 2013 and February 1st and March 8th, 2014. There is a list of books on the subject for those who want to find out more and read about it from different perspectives. Everyone is welcome to attend. There is no required reading and no special knowledge is needed to participate. The hope is that a lively discussion will include views from all sides, a variety of opinions, some good questions to ponder, and maybe even some answers.
The dinners will be at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday nights to make it convenient for people to come from a distance. The inn will offer discounted rooms for anyone wanting to stay for the weekend or spend Saturday night. Advance reservations are required to attend. A travel adventure is in the planning stages to Guernsey and other Channel Islands for May, 2014. Preference will be given for places on the trip to those who have participated in at least one dinner-discussion.
Some future topics will be:
* Guernsey during the German occupation
* Newfoundland and its connections to the Channel Islands and other places
* Rudyard Kipling in Vermont
* Palladio, Vicenza and the legacy to English and American architecture
* Spices: where they come from, how they got here, and what we do with them
For more information and a sign-up for email announcements go to www.OneHundredMain.com/events/vermont-apple-pie-literary-and-travel-society/