If you’re looking for a white Christmas then head over to Haslemere Hall where the Arts Society’s December speaker, Mark Meredith, will take you on a journey a period of Canadian history when winter truly was wonderful.

For the officers of the British empire, “no quarters in the world were as delightful as Quebec” and it was in winter that the Canadian social season sprang to life. Picture crisp, moonlit nights, the perfect setting for sleigh rides between taverns, where hot punch flowed freely; torch-lit walks on snowshoes to picnics beneath frozen waterfalls; balls and champagne suppers held on ice; toboggan runs; and even faux battles fought with fireworks between ice castles.

The talk, named When Winters Were Wonderful: Life and Leisure in the Canada of Yesteryear at Haslemere Hall on Tuesday, December 10 at 2pm will offer a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era.