The over 55 ladies group ‘Madhatters’ celebrated their first birthday on Saturday 15th March, at Keiths on Cambridge in Manly, the restaurant where the first and second original ‘Tea Parties’ were held and the group was formed.
The idea behind the group was for local ladies from the immediate suburbs around Wynnum to meet, as most of us do not know our neighbours these days, and that is exactly what happened after Jill McGregor place the first notice in the Wynnum Herald. The first lady that phoned lived within 100m of her home, and within eight weeks, another lady living just 300m along the same street got in touch.
The aim was to patronise local business, so all but four of the Madhatter’s thirty-six functions have been held in local suburbs, from Wynnum/Manly/Tingalpa and Wakerley, at nineteen different venues (and there are still more to try and many to return to).
From afternoon teas to lunches and dinner, to local shows at Savoyards, the Comedy Club to a history trip to St Helena Island, to Ormiston House and a Brisbane City Walk.
The group have also tried croquet and Tai Chi, and enjoyed a scarf tying class.
It has no membership fees, and there is no committee. Every lady hosts one function per year, at her favourite restaurant or activity, it’s as simple as that.
Newsletters are emailed or handed out each month with a list of hosts and functions. There is also an activities list that everyone contributes to.
A couple of ladies are off to Hong Kong for a week and another couple are off to South America for a month. If you’d like to join the group, phone Jill on 07 3348 3354 after 7pm or email madhatters2013@hotmail.com.
Image credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Alice_par_John_Tenniel_26.png
