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Wednesday, December 20, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B7 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Oakvillewomen have `Lunch with Jan W ong' By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR Martha Stewart said `No.' So have Conrad Black, Hilary Weston, and Howard Stern. Photo by Peter McCusker Jan Wong was in town promoting her newest book, Lunch with Jan Wong. Enjoy annual seniors'variety show Seniors' Spectacular 2000 will showcase the talents of 170 per formers at the Oakville Centre on Friday, Dec. 29th at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 and are available through the box office at 130 Navy St., 815-2021, weekdays from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m. The box office will be closed Dec. 24th, 25th and 26th. For more information on the show, see Friday's Beaver. And, Margaret Atwood wishes she had too. Atwood, an icon in Canadian liter ature, was Jan Wong's first lunch interview for the Globe & Mail in September, 1996. Wong was asked to interview Atwood over lunch and write about the launch of her new book, Alias Grace. But Wong's editor, Cathrin Brad bury, had a different idea. Wong was told to re-write the piece in the first person, to include details of the lunch and what it was like to dine with Atwood. "Lunch was Margaret's idea," Wong told members of the Oakville Club and the Oakville chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) over lunch recently. Wong was guest speaker at the CFUW-Oakville's 50th anniversary Christmas luncheon at the Oakville Club. Wong, who is promoting her third book, Lunch with Jan Wong, has also written two books about her China experiences, Red China Blues (1996) and Jan Wong' s China (1999). "Margaret wanted to change tables after I was already waiting for her with food on my plate. I have never done this since," Wong said of her luncheon with Atwood. Not liking the table reserved for the interview, Atwood insisted they move to "a quieter table" in the back of the restaurant, in the smoking sec tion, and Wong obliged, despite the fact neither women smoked. "It was 11:30 in the morning, and there was nobody else in the restaurant." This detail was included in Wong's rewrite which launched the Lunch with column. "When I finished my re-write, my editor loved it. Margaret Atwood was previously treated always as a Cana dian icon, and nobody wrote about her as a human being." Atwood was so upset that she demanded the article be removed from the Globe's database. "We also used to treat our CEOs with kid gloves, and take only proper photos of them. We never did any thing to embarrass them," said the 48year-old journalist. "We did the same for our politicians. We called them statesmen." Admitting her research for the Atwood piece was minimal - she read Alias Grace prior to the inter view - Wong now does considerable digging into an individual's life and background with the tenacity of a hard-nosed investigative journalist before `lunching' them. Wong `lunches' celebrities. In her book Lunch with Jan Wong, she has assembled 60 of her favourite columns including those on Margaret Trudeau, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, Liona Boyd, Mickey Rooney, Pierre Berton, and Anthony Quinn, among others. "I do my research," she told her audience of 150 at the $25-a-plate lunch. "I interview other people who know the celebrities I'll be `lunch ing,' because I have only one hour to figure out what makes that person tick. "Celebrity is a multi-million dollar business," said Wong, adding that the public wants to know their little secrets - height, weight, age, and what they like to eat. "I asked Helen Gurley Brown of Cosmopolitan her bra size, because she has a career based on cleavage," said Wong. Cosmopolitan sold three million copies of each issue for 42 years with Brown at the helm. "Celebrities are very important to our culture and economy," said Wong, comparing the public's lust for (See `Celebrities'o n page B 4 ) Meet the Team A C O N T IN U IN G "C A N A D A 'S SERIES PROFILING THE STAFF OF BEST C O M M U N IT Y NEWSPAPER" Inge A ndersen Inge has been a m em ber o f the M e tro la n d fa m ily o f newspapers fo r the past 4 years. Recently transferring from C ity Parent/Forever Young d iv is io n to the O a k v ille Beaver circ u la tio n departm ent, Inge has en jo ye d her experience w ith the newspapers. As an O a k v ille resident, the transfer to O a k v ille 's c o m m u n ity new spaper was a n ice transition. Oakville Beaver." Inge has d o n e ch a rity w o rk w ith the C anadian M en ta l H ealth Asso c ia tio n and spends her spare tim e "enjoying her children, her new son-in-law and continuing her education with computers and the internet". She also enjoys reading and go in g fo r w a lks w ith her M altese dog, A ngel. "I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with great people in all three divisions. An added benefit now is to have the privilege o f serving the wonderful subscribers to the Qakvdxe B eaver C A N A D A 'S BEST C O M M U N IT Y NEWSPAPER 2000 CCNA Better Newspapers Competition e lm ... d ic k ... u p ... d p up up / . H Come sing by candlelight Your favourite Christmas carols accompanied by a f; traditional pipe organ. T h u r s d a y , D e c . 2 1 s t. ftmm 1 a t 7 :3 0 p .m . ONTARIO GOVERNMENT NOTICE C O M M E N C E M E N T O F D E T A IL D E S IG N Q U E E N E L IZ A B E T H WAY T H IR D L IN E IN T E R C H A N G E Town o f Oakville, R egional M unicipality o f H alton G.W.P. 180-00-00 THE STUDY Morrison Hershfield Limited has been retained by the Ministry o f Transportation to complete the Detail Design for the QEW Interchange at Third Line and Third Line from the QEW northerly to King's College Drive in the Town o f Oakville. In general terms, this project includes: Grace Church www. oakvi Ilebeaver.com 1 304 Spruce Street at Reynolds (one block north of OTM H ospital) (905) 845 6823 If you have a new s tip or story idea, call the Oakville Beaver at 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 . (c Vine (lie tfx ib c j Wtde'dammeni R e a so n ien ife , ^ 3 in n e /i/ fW fw rJb e ji · Construction o f a new Third Line structure over the QEW and the removal o f the existing Third Line Structure; · Construction o f a new Third Line structure over Fourteen Mile Creek and the removal o f the existing Third Line Structure; · Improvements to roadway drainage; · W idening Third Line from the QEW northerly to King's College Drive; · Installing illumination at the interchange and along Third Line; · Installing traffic signals; and · Undertaking environmental in-stream work in Fourteen Mile Creek. THE PROCESS Planning for this project, under the Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Trans portation Facilities (1999, as amended 2000) was com pleted earlier this year and an Environ mental Study Report was filed with the Ministry o f Environment in June, 2000. This project has received conditional environmental clearance and is now preceding into detail design. A Public Information Centre will be held later in the Detailed Design Phase to allow the public the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work to be completed. A notice advising the public o f the time and location o f the Public Information Centre will be published in local papers. At the completion o f this study, a Design and Construction Report (DCR) will be prepared to document the detail design work, the public and agency consultation process and a description o f the potential environmental impacts and commitments for mitigation. The DCR will be filed for public and agency information, and notices o f viewing locations will be published at that time. BalletJorgen Friday, January 12 $65.00* $60.00 Big Tidre* Member* Lisa Brokop Thursday, February 1 $60.00* $55.00* Big Tidal Members Victoria Friday, February 2 $55.00* $50.00* Big Ticket Member* Tuesday, February 6 $55.00* $50.00* Big Tide* Memben ^itw e fb (S J jw jul a i ^ a J w u jL b ~ CHOICE OF - M ixed Green Salad or Butternut Squash Soup -FOLLOWED BY A CHOICE OF: Paradiso Phyllo Layers o f phyllo pastry with roast tomatoes, spinach & feta OR COMMENTS We are interested in hearing any comments or concerns that you may have with the study. Please contact Doug Hoffman, Project Manager Morrison Hershfield Limited or 4 Lansing Square Toronto, Ontario M2J 1T1 (416) 499-3110 telephone (416) 499-9658 facsimile e-mail: DHoffinan@morrisonhershfield.com Note: With the exception o f personal information, all comments will becom e part o f the public record. Paul Draycott, Environmental Planner Draycott, Rishikof & Associates Inc. 665 Annette Street Toronto, Ontario M6S 2C9 (416) 762-8586 telephone (416) 762-2342 facsimile e-mail: draycott@outer-neLcom Olive Crusted Salmon Atlantic salmon roasted with an olive crust on a saffron basmati bake OR Spaghettini Bolognese Our homemade tomato basil sauce with the traditional ground veal m flAKA/ll I P j H -FOLLOWED BY- Chocolate Raspberry Tartufo " accompanied by coffee or tea ~ ` G ratuities not included E ntertainm ent NEWS & SPORTS Three Tunes a Week Call 905-815-2021 for Tickets & Reservations . v . T h e O akville B eaver proud media sponsor o f The Oakville Centre O n ta rio