Well – although it’s a glorious sunny day as I write this and all the lovely spring flowers are out, it’s PERISHING cold outside, and there was ice on the bird bath this morning! Anyway, that doesn’t stop Capel Ladies Club members from doing their own thing – and during Lockdowns several of them have been busy re-discovering old hobbies and crafts, while others have taken up something new!

Activities include bird-watching, jigsaws, cooking, gardening, reading and even painting – both the D.I.Y. kind as well as the more artistic sort.

One member, Penny Thompson, has been quite prolific in producing watercolours, and indeed one of her efforts even ended up being framed and sold in a Hadleigh art shop, which came as quite a surprise to her when she spotted it!

Her interest in painting began around five years ago when she joined the “Art for Fun” club, which (in normal times) meets weekly on Monday mornings in St Mary’s Church Hall, and it’s something she has missed very much over this last year. Hopefully it will run again once things are back on an even keel. (Two of Penny’s watercolours are shown here.)

Another Lockdown activity for some members has been walking, especially in and around the village, and on the many local footpaths, some of which combine to make circular walks in the Capel area.

For those of you who haven’t been on any of these recognised walks, three leaflets are available from the Parish Council office or the Drayton Insurance office free of charge. Now that May is here with the warmer weather, these walks are ideal for families to get out and explore the area and enjoy the countryside! (Don’t forget to take a plastic carrier bag with you to bring your litter home – and maybe to pick up any cans, packets or bottles which others have thoughtlessly discarded. This may mean you need some disposable gloves as well, but it’s a good lesson for children to learn too!)

C.L.C. have now got a WhatsApp group going strong, which involved some members being introduced to texting for the first time! It works really well and often does the trick when it comes to cheering someone up with a ‘funny’ or just passing the time of day! We hope it won’t be TOO long before we can hold a proper meeting face-to-face.

Sue Woolgar