The secret garden

where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal should not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth. Simon Wade heads the Victoria branch of the Retired Heads of Mission Association (RHOMA). Born in Victoria, Wade, 68, joined the foreign service in 1967 after graduating from university. He has served in Budapest, Warsaw, Dublin, Rome, Georgetown in Guyana and Bridgetown in Barbados, as well as in Ottawa. He has been high commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago twice -- once before retirement and once after. Circumstance required an acting head of mission not long after he'd retired: "Yes, I was a contract high commissioner. It was wonderful to go back; it was almost as if we'd just taken a very long holiday." Ever the diplomat, Wade says he "found things that were wonderful at every posting." Wade says he already knew some people in RHOMA in Victoria before he arrived. "I've met others since. ... In Ottawa, they meet once a month, and they get speakers. In Victoria, it's more of a social club."



After choosing to retire in Victoria, he and his wife Mariev found fresh delight at Glendale Gardens and Woodland, when she started to volunteer at the Saanich "secret garden." The desire to learn more about gardening led to a new community, as Wade is now president of the board of directors at Glendale, a kind of education-focused baby Butchart that's one of Victoria's best-kept secrets. A magic world became real to me while I lay in bed ill with the measles and listened to my mother read aloud "The Secret Garden," a library book borrowed from a branch within walking distance from our apartment in San Francisco. A trip to the library was a fun activity for us. In the 1940s, the days before television, reading aloud at bedtime was a tradition in our family. I worked my way through the shelf of horse stories in the library's children's room, and still remember how thrilled I was with each book in "The Black Stallion" series. I soon graduated to the adult books upstairs.

When we moved to Bakersfield, the Kern County Library's Bookmobile had two stops that were very handy to me. It came to the Hillcrest Shopping Center on Niles Street, and also to the parking lot at Mount Vernon Avenue and Columbus Street, where CVS Pharmacy is located now. I became one of the "regulars." I recall there being craft programs for children, and sunset cartoon movies outdoors alongside the Bookmobile periodically. The computers are always busy, with a waiting list of patrons. You will see people sitting quietly reading magazines and books, as well as parents introducing their small children to the joys of books and reading. The Northeast Branch has a large section of used books for sale at affordable prices -- 50 cents for a children's book, for example. Some look brand-new. Proceeds go to the Friends of the Library to support needed library purchases, craft materials and programs.