The Tuesday club that meets on Wednesday

This piece was written for a celebration of the life of 97 year old female journalist, Jackie Webster. She had been involved together with another journalist, Dalton Camp, in establishing a luncheon club in 1987, that is still meeting today.

Late in the nineteen eighties, with liberals in power,
A time which Tories might describe as not their finest hour,
Dalton Camp and Jackie looked to future not defeat
And determined that the Tories had to have a time to meet.
To reminisce on past times, to plan for times ahead
And its well known that the mind works best while it is being fed.
To meet for lunch on Tuesdays was the Webster plan,
But Dalton said not Tuesday, try Wednesday if you can.
And so it was created so very long ago
The Tuesday club on Wednesday, where some of us still go.
New members have replaced the old who seemed to fade away
And their politics now vary and can be different every day.
To become a member just a few things were desired,
Intelligence, good humour, and frequently retired
Not just New Brunswick subjects are considered when we meet
But other worldwide matters such as Trumps most recent tweet.
But one voice had stayed constant, a voice to fear impart
It came from Jackie Webster who was present from the start.
She controlled the discourse, the gavel in her hand
And demanded order, like one in another land.
In addition to the members she also would invite
Folks who felt important, so we could set them right
Ministers and Premiers, business men of fame.
The ones that she invited, almost always came.
Who’d ignore her invitation? The threat posed by her pen
Made those pondering refusal often think again.
Alas she now has left us, it will not be the same
But the Tuesday club on Wednesdays will perpetuate her fame.