Montreal: Victoria Hall

Certainly, for me the HIGH POINT of my Canadian tour was

the reception arranged by the City of Westmount (Mayor

Peter Trent) and organiser Virginia Elliot for the launch of
The Deserter in the imposing Victoria Hall.

How well I remember
the St. Andrews balls I attended here back

in the time of the debutante in the 40s. This vast auditorium with its

vaulted ceiling opened its arms to its Westmount son, returning

with a new line of books -- well, what more could an author ask for!

Apparently, my talk was enjoyed by all.

And so many came: film distributor Andrew Noble and his producer wife,

Anne-Marie, who both worked worked on The Dance Goes On just after

they'd graduated in film from Loyola University, the great filmmaker

and editor Yurij Luhovy with his daughter, Adriana, a filmmaker herself now...

...my co-grandfather Patrick Stoker and his wife Josephine...

...abd Nathalie Petrowski, a screenwriter and top

francophone journalist on La Presse.

Many told me how they loved seeing their old friends, for Virginia

had gathered many of the filmmakers and people I knew when

I lived on Chesterfield Avenue, and later atop Montreal Mountain

many years ago. So many came. What a moving, wonderful experience!