Caramel Afternoon Tea

On 9th November several of the ladies met to enjoy what was described as a 'Caramel Afternoon Tea'.  Lady Butterfly, Mrs. Bean, Lady Chatterby, Lady Pankhurst and Lady Lowsborough-Goodby all gathered in the palatial home of Lady Lowsborough-Goodby, in the al fresco area, to partake of tea, with several different caramel delights to accompany the beverage.

The steady chatter, and the tinkle of feminine laughter was, I am sure, heard from half a kilometre away.Lady Lowsborough-Goodby bemoaned the fact that she needed a man, ( It is so hard to get good staff lately)

It was wonderful to see the arrival of Lady MacMuck, accompanied by her beloved manservant, Adamis, later on in the afternoon. Lady MacMuck has been battling a sore and poisoned foot, and it was thought that she may not make it to the gathering. Thankfully she is now on the road to recovery.Lady Butterfly supplied us with her divine caramel slice from her kitchen, and it didn't last for long.

As the afternoon wore on, several of the ladies went home, and Lady Butterfly, Lady Chatterby and Lady Lowsborough-Goodby settled down to sip tea, and eat delicate chip butties with tomato sauce, and watch the sunset. All in all, it was a rather jolly afternoon, and once the holiday festivities are over, it is hoped that it can be repeated quite soon.

Garden Party

The dark gloomy sky clearly contrasted  the atmosphere at our inaugural garden party.  Everyone arrived in their finery and red hats, fit for lunch with royalty.  As we settled down for lunch under the gazebo by the pond, the little Jack Russells circled us waiting for some yummy morsels to hit the ground.  Who could blame them?  Following the avocado Mexican dip, we devoured red salmon and cucumber, and toasted almond and chicken sandwiches, accompanied by a refreshing summer fruit platter.  Mini quiches were also on the menu…and what’s an Aussie garden party without mini meat pies and sausage rolls?  The chilled mint and lime water cleansed our pallets in preparation for the scones, blackberry jam and double cream.  By this time, you would think there was little room left for anything else, but we managed to cram in some chocolate caramel slice and smooth Belgian chocolates followed by a selection of hot tea.  We had a carefree afternoon enjoying each other’s company and humour.  Bursts of loud laughter penetrated the gloomy sky and boisterous animated conversations echoed through the neighbouring suburban gardens.  Our high spirits even paled the neighbour’s lawn mowing attempts into insignificance.  Our high spirits came naturally – no alcohol involved, just lots of sugar.  Who needs it anyway, especially when Delia is keeping us entertained.  Hopefully we can all do it again sooner rather than later.

Photos courtesy of Lady Regalia Chatterby:

Garden Party song

My version; inspiration and words borrowed from Ricky Nelson’s Garden Party lyrics - see video link at end of lyrics.

I went to a garden party, reminisced with my new friends 
A chance to share some memories and eat some food again 
When I got to the garden party they all knew my name 
But no one recognized me cause I didn’t wear purple again 

But it's all right now 
I learned my lesson well 
You see you can't please ev'ryone so 
You got to please yourself 

  

People came from miles around, Mrs Bean and Lady M.L were there 
Lady Regalia Chatterby brought her bag of tricks there was magic in the air 
And over in the corner much to my surprise 
Lady S.M wore her new red hat with a sparkle in her eyes.

Chorus la da da da 

I served them lots of food I thought that's why they came 
No one left a scrap , we didn't look the same 
I said hello to Mary Lou, she sounds foreign to me 
After serving more sweet calories, it was time for tea

Chorus la da da da 

Someone opened up the garden gate and out stepped Lady Lowsborough-Goodby B. Goode 
Sharing jokes and laughing out loud, just like she should 
If you gotta go to garden parties I wish you a lot a' luck 
But if memories were all we made then that’s enough for us. 

Chorus la da da da  

Repeat chorus

Ricky Nelson performing Garden Party

ART Lady Lowsborough-Goodby and I went to the play ART at the Phoenix Theatre, Coniston last Saturday afternoon. We were only 2 of 6 that attended that session. I hope their other sessions had a much better attendance as this play was wonderful. There were only 3 male characters who were brilliant in their dialogue. We were very impressed by the performance involving 3 friends and a piece of Artwork of white lines on a white background costing 200.000 francs. One of the friends hates the piece of Art and makes no attempt at hiding his opinion of “its shit”. The other friend saying he likes it. They all have spotlighted moments of their opinions of the other 2 friends at various times throughout the performance. It was both funny and serious as the 3 friends argue and then make up again. How they all remembered their lines without a moments hesitation as if they were just having normal conversations is beyond my abilities I’m sure, lol. Lady Lowsborough-Goodby and I enjoyed a cuppa and biscuits on the lounge prior to the performance in our red fascinators and purple/red outfits and were pleased to see 2 women walk in dressed in red as well. Another great afternoon. Lady Regalia Chattersby.

SWAN LAKE

Act 1: Scene 1: The Prince Ziegfried’s coming of age party is held in the garden of the castle with his family and friends. The court jester is the favourite and is in the limelight of attention. The Prince is given a medallion as a symbol of maturity and a crossbow as a symbol of a warrior by his mother, the Queen. The happy Prince is dancing with his friends and courtiers. As it gets dark the Prince is left alone with his dreams and his friends and the court jester arrive to take him hunting. Scene 2: A flock of swans are swimming in the evening mist on the lake. The Prince watches the swans turn into young girls. The evil magician Rotbart had cast a spell on Odette, the Queen of the swans and her friends and turned them into swans. The spell can only be broken by a young man who has never pledged his love to another girl before falls in love with her. Prince Ziegfried gives her a vow of eternal love and fidelity. Act 2: Scene 1: A big gala ball is being held at the castle by the Queen. Prince Ziegfried is to choose himself a fiancée. After dancing with young girls he can’t choose but when a mysterious knight appears with a beautiful girl, the Prince gives a vow of eternal love to her. A white swan appears and throws herself at the window. The Prince is in despair and runs away from the castle. Scene 2: At night back at the lake Odette returns and tells the other swans of the betrayal of the prince. The evil magician has triumphed. The Prince appears and fights the magician . True and selfless love breaks the evil charms. Evil is defeated and all powerful love wins. As dawn breaks the swans turn into girls and with the Prince and Odette they set out on the road towards a new life.

In all our finery (and a few red hats etc)Lady Lowsborough-Goodby,Lady MacMuck,Lady S.M,Lady Butterfly,Lady D.DV,Lady K.R and I went to the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre to see Swan Lake Ballet by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. In fact there were some very well dressed Illawarrans there to watch this ballet. We had a cuppa,wine and some munchies before we entered the theatre to take our seats. We were not disappointed by the beautiful girls and legging wearing guys performing this wonderful ballet. The ballet dancing, outfits and the settings were just spectacular with the music setting the scene. This was my first ballet and would love to see more. Some ladies seated in front of us nicely lent us some pamphlets on future ballets and other performances so we could be very busy in the future. Lady R.C.

Art & Craft, Dapto

Today’s adventure for our little band of Red Hatters (RH) was a jaunt to some craft stalls at St Luke’s Church.  The band of RH consisted of Cheryle, Delia, Marianne and I armed with empty bags to ensure that we could load up with the bargains.

The first stop was the cake stall – we had to get in before all the lovely goodies disappeared and then we browsed around the other stalls.  The favourite stall, after the cake stall of course, was the Op Shop Stall.  Here we picked up a few things and had a good old bleather with our fellow browsers.

There was an excellent display of quilts made by the local church ladies.  There were all designed and sewn by then and you could tell each quilt was made with heaps of love and care.  The designs varied from the traditional to the modern.  The ladies had also made heaps of little knick-knacks that just screamed, “Buy me!!”  Needless to say we obliged.

After the initial shopping rush we stopped for a cuppa and some wedges.  The wedges were just to die for; crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside……yummmmm!!

After our lunch we sauntered over to the handmade card stall and each of us (with the exception of Delia) made a card in their workshop.  But we got more from the workshop that just making some cards.  Marianne discovered that she could join the quilters and is coming back during the week to join that club and to make a lovely Noah’s Ark quilt.  I shall be joining the fortnightly card making class that is run by Allison.  And we discovered that Allison’s parents run a Scottish Country Dance group in Wollongong.  So once we have more details this might be something that some of us will take up.

All in all it was an exceptional day in which we shared our love for laughter and fun with each other and those we had met during our day.  The more we go out and network the more we find to do and meet others with a similar drive to live their lives to the full.

Calendar Girls by Tim Firth

Although The Roo Theatre is a fairly small and compact theatre it was not a full house for this evening’s performance. The audience consisted of mostly middle aged women dressed in their best. And our small group got lots of lovely comments about our red hats and being told how much we were admired for the things that we do. The more we go out the more we find that people seem to open up and chat when they see us sporting our red hats. And we ladies get lots of chances to network …….and all because of a simple red hat. Life is grand!!!

Any back to telling you about Calendar Girls – Most of the action is located within a village hall. There is an amateur dramatic feel to the staging that works well with this play. The plot is about real events; the making of a nude calendar by members of a Yorkshire Women’s Institute (WI) who after reeling from the loss of one of their peers husbands, band together to shoot a nude calendar to raise funds for a small memorial (a sofa for the cancer ward’s waiting room). However in doing this they not only raise the required money but capture the attention of the world’s press and get more than they bargained for.

The ladies in the WI are a group of women - bored, retired, frustrated, and searching - who are bonded by their dislike for their snobby chairwoman. Without spoiling it too much for those that have not seen it, it really is a testament to the confidence of the performers, and the competence of the staging and direction that nothing is actually revealed, and the emotional reaction from the characters is nothing but infectious, with laughter and applause ringing around the theatre as they strike a tastefully nude pose for the slightly embarrassed photographer.

The message however remains clear and present throughout, and the strong sense of community between the characters, the moral of the story, the supportive nature of women and their capacity to love, really did hit home.

All in all, it was a terrific performance where no one performer eclipses another. The girls refer to themselves as “women of a certain age”, and that really was the target audience this evening. While everyone in The Roo Theatre seemed to enjoy themselves, it was the “women of a certain age” and us Red Hatters that really got into the performance, and maybe were more able to read into the nuances in the play that would go over the heads of a younger theatre goer or some of the men in the audience.

It was a good night but as one of my fellow Red Hatters said, “I still preferred Pippin”. And I would have to agree with that and we both suspect it was because Pippin was a musical and nothing to do with young men in tights.

Low Pay? Don't Pay

“Low  Pay? Don’t Pay!” - Written by Dario Fo – was originally set in Italy at a time of social upheaval.  However this production was translated to reflect the current social and political life of the workers in Wollongong.  Workers were striking in a bid to win better wages and women wouldn't accept that they were inferior.  This production takes Fo's writing and embellishes it with slap stick (reminded us girls of John Cleese and the Ministry Funny Walks) which is at times daft but never degenerates into the surreal.  Stage managers are brought into the action to get extra laughs by clever use of props.

As part of the civil unrest, people refused to pay spiralling prices for electricity and consumer goods. In fact they insisted on paying only what they considered to be a fair price for essential items - or nothing at all. Shoplifting and theft became rife.

Low Pay? Don’t Pay!” traces the story of Antonia and Margherita as they join the crowds of people taking groceries from a supermarket without paying.  It follows their hilarious attempts to disguise their ill-gotten gains from their hot-headed moralist husbands, Giovannin and Luigi – not to mention the police - by resorting to more and more inventive hiding places.  Finally they take to hiding them under their coats and pretending to be pregnant. The audience was in uproar when Antonia’ announced she had a wet butt but it wasn’t her waters that had broken, it was a bag of olives!

The twist to the play see the husbands fall from their high moral position as they discover they have been made redundant  and they secure some goods that just happen to have fallen off the back of a lorry. 

 The play had a slow start with sections where there was no laughs as time was taken to explain the social conditions.  The result was that “Low Pay? Don’t Pay” was an amusing entertaining evening rather jaw-achingly funny one. 

All the jaw-achingly funny stuff took place outside of the theatre; while the ladies in the back seat of Vanessa’s car struggled to get the seat belts on without strangling themselves.  It was a great evening; great company and excellent value for money.