Archive | June 2017

June 15th | Evening Mystery Tour

Jun15

The evening of June 15th was warm and balmy – a perfect summer’s evening, in fact, when around 20 adventure-seeking ladies boarded the coach for our Mystery Tour. At least the name of the coach company inspired confidence – “Boomerang Tours” – so we knew we would eventually arrive back where we started!

Anyway, both David, our driver and Alex, our guide seemed to know exactly where we were going so that was OK! We were on a wildlife and history coach tour and Alex called out questions along the way to see if we could guess the names of villages, plants, birds or animals that we might encounter en-route.

We were on a tour of the Deben villages and the countryside seen from the coach was a picture in greens and golds, splashed here and there with scarlet from wayside poppies!

Our first stop was picturesque Ramsholt Church with its round tower overlooking a peaceful bend on the River Deben. The churchyard was full of wild flowers and the church was cool and quiet inside. After looking round and drinking in the beautiful views under a bright blue summer sky we reluctantly moved on a short distance in the coach and came to The Ramsholt Arms. This pub has an idyllic location below the church on the sandy shores of the river, and on summer evenings there’s nowhere better to sit with a glass of something gazing at the sparkles on the water, or peering up and down the river to catch glimpses of herons or cormorants, or perhaps a barn owl swooping over fields on the opposite bank.

We stopped here for a drink and to sample the two home-made cakes baked the previous night by our guide Alex, and I can vouch for the fact that they were both delicious!

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Back in the coach and down a few more narrow lanes to Bawdsey, at the mouth of the river, opposite Felixstowe Ferry, where the ferryman in his rowing boat plies his trade. We were too late to see it in operation, of course, but just in time to see the beginnings of a glorious sunset! After a short wander we boarded the coach again for a leisurely ride home.

En route we listened to more interesting facts from Alex about what we were passing – from details of the wildlife, trees and plants to historical facts and information about people and places connected with the area, from Saxon Ship Burials to Alien Encounters! We rolled into Capel just as it was getting dark – about 10.15 pm. after a delightful evening!

June 10th | Capel Fun Day – our stall

Jun10

Our stall at FUN DAY on 10th June 2017 was aptly named “ALL BOTTLED UP”. We had all filled empty jars and bottled with goodies – mainly with children in mind. We also had a “Guess the number of Jellybeans in the Jar” competition.

Altogether we raised £83.80, including £7 for the competition. A little boy called George from Winding Piece won the jellybeans. His guess was 178 and there were 182 in the jar.
All except 8 jars sold – a successful afternoon!

June 1st | Summer Social – “Ladies Day at Ascot”

Jun1

There is no such thing as “Ladies Day” at Ascot Races. It’s actually known as “Gold Cup Day” – but however you call it, Capel Ladies held their own SPECIAL “Ladies Day at Ascot” as part of their Summer Social in the Vine Lounge.

Everyone wore their posh outfits, complete with hats and fascinators, to add to the atmosphere of the occasion, and there was bunting round the room and flower arrangements (made by Shirley and Pat) on the tables.

Barbara Faulkner was on hand to tell us all about the history of Ascot from its origins to modern times, and she also organised some real horse-races for us to participate in! We were in groups of 4 or 5, with a small bundle of monopoly money, a racing card listing the horses, a jockey’s cap and a dice. One of us was the jockey, one was the owner of the horse, one the trainer and the others punters. The jockeys had to go and stand by the “track” which was a board marked out in lanes and grid lines, each lane with its own toy horse waiting at one end for the “off!”

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At Barbara’s whistle, each group rolled their dice and shouted the score to the jockey at the trackside, who would then move their horse along the track for the required number of spaces. The winner was presented with a rosette and a cup, and also received their winnings if they had bet money on their own horse! It was great fun, and the overall winners were Table One who had amassed a total of £800! The jockey and owner received the Gold Cup from “the Queen” in a special presentation!

After all the excitement there was our bring-and-share high-class buffet to tackle, and a glass of prosecco for each lady! All in all it was an evening to remember!

If you fancy your chances and are willing to put up your membership fee you’ll be made very welcome – come and join us!