Cries of “Hi-De-Hi!” and “Ho-De-Ho!” could be heard coming from the Library during Capel Ladies Club’s March meeting! This was because David Webb, one of the Yellow-Coat Webb Twins from the TV sit-com, was our guest Speaker. His talk was about his life before, during and since the series was made, with many amusing anecdotes, film clips, photos and items of memorabilia to illustrate his story. Occasionally he even broke into song with a backing track accompaniment!

From an early age David had always wanted to go on the stage. He cut his teeth with Ipswich Operatic and Dramatic Society, and performed in several of their musical shows – such as Oklahoma, West Side Story and South Pacific, and also sang with his brother in local theatres and working men’s clubs all over the country. In one show at Clacton Theatre, they both forgot the words of a popular song simultaneously, and had to shuffle off the stage with their heads hung low. Somebody shouted “Don’t give up guys, keep going!” which, as it happened, they did, and they landed roles in one of the most popular British sit-coms of all time! This was filmed at a holiday camp in Dovercourt in September, once it had closed for the season. Apparently when they were making the pilot episode there wasn’t much in the way of expenses, so instead of staying in local hotels the cast had to sleep in rather damp beds in the camp’s wooden chalets! David says they were all just like a big happy family, and this must have been the case, as those who can still keep in touch with each other today! We all enjoyed this trip down memory lane in David’s company for the evening

Coming up we have a tea and cakes afternoon at Oranges & Lemons, East Bergholt, and our April “In” Meeting is a Social Night with games and a buffet. Then, in May, as a pre-Coronation treat, we have a “Coronation Stakes” horse-racing night with one of our favourite speakers, Barbara Faulkner! Lots to look forward to, why not come along? Members free, guests and visitors £4.

Spring is most certainly on the way, snowdrops and daffs are appearing, and the evenings are drawing out gradually more each day!

After a very enjoyable evening watching the Orchard Players’ panto in January, Capel Ladies Club members are now looking forward to some of our up-and-coming activities in this year’s Programme. In March we have David Webb, one of the Webb twins from the hilarious TV sit-com, giving us a talk entitled “Life as a Hi-De-Hi Yellow Coat”. Then in April there’s a theatre trip to “Brief Encounter” at The New Wolsey Theatre, a Summer Social in June with music from Mr Smooth, who we’ve had to entertain us in the past, and a summer lunch out in July – venue to be arranged. In between we have a Games Evening with a buffet and several Coffee and Cake afternoons at different locations locally. Something for everyone, I think you’ll agree. Why not come along and join us? See details on website: www.capelladies.com  You’ll be very welcome!

The climax of our Capel Ladies Year was, as usual, our Christmas Social in the Vine Lounge. It being a wintry night with icy pavements, some of our loyal members didn’t fancy coming out, but nevertheless there was still a good attendance and the newly-decorated, comfortable Vine Lounge was a cosy place to be! There were no speakers organised, it was just a nice, sociable time for us to get together and enjoy a tasty bring-and-share buffet and sip a glass of something provided by the Club. There was a Quiz with mystery photos showing the past year’s activities and testing our memories of who and what had happened, and when. This was just for fun, but there was one particularly amusing photo requiring a caption, for which suggestions were invited from members. The winning caption was offered by Sue Maynard and Linda Morrison, who each won a chocolate treat.

Audrey Broadbent had bought prizes for a special Christmas Raffle and lots of people were lucky winners, and the Members’ Draw Prize of a Christmas Hamper, which had been put together by Wendy Keeble, was won by Di Barker, who announced that it was her first time as a winner in 38 years as a member of Capel Ladies Club!

As usual the tables looked very festive as we ate our party food, thanks to the Christmas table decorations made by Shirley Ward and Pat Bradford. Here’s to the New Year, with lots of fresh and interesting activities to look forward to! Make it your 2023 resolution to come and join us for more fun!

What a great sport our September speaker turned out to be! Wendy Smith, our “Wimbledon Line Call Judge” had arrived early and not only helped with us getting into the Library, but also got the tables and chairs out! She can certainly come again! Her talk was very interesting, too – even if you weren’t a tennis buff. She told us she had been line-judging for 38 years, but – experienced though she is – she and all the other line-judges have to go through the application process every year, starting in December when they fill in the application form. They even have to visit smaller tournaments throughout the UK to show their prowess over several days of matches, and once selected they are placed in teams and allocated their courts at Wimbledon. Standards are extremely high and they have to wear particular uniforms, (designed by Ralph Lauren, incidentally!) and there are rules for how to wear them, too! They are given a leaflet showing the details, for example – if they are wearing a skirt, they have trainer socks which don’t show above their new trainers, and if they have trousers on, they wear short socks with the cuffs turned down! As well as watching the lines they have to keep tabs on the score, in case the umpire loses track, and also listen to any mutterings from the players on court to make sure they don’t use foul language – in which case they have to be reported to the umpire and disciplined accordingly! This actually happened in the 2001 semi-final when in the final set of the match between Andre Agassi and Pat Rafter, Wendy reported Agassi’s bad language and he received a code violation notice from the main umpire!

Over the years, Wendy has made a lot of lifelong friends who she stays in touch with by email, even though they only actually meet up for the Tournament itself. She had brought some memorabilia with her for us to see, including menus from the After-Finals dinners, personal press cuttings and awards and books and articles about various players. Her favourite player is Roger Federer, as she says he is a highly talented but modest player and a real gentleman. She also said she misses players like John McEnroe, who was a controversial character (she admits) but who never actually swore, and only lost his temper when a point was in question. In many ways it made games “more lively and interesting”, Wendy said. Now she really admires him as a tennis commentator!

Our next meeting is a theatre visit to see “Kinky Boots” at The New Wolsey, when 20 of us will enjoy a night out. All the info about our Autumn Programme is on our website – have a look, you might be tempted to come and join us!

Who would have thought, in centuries past, that the production of one of the most luxurious and expensive fabrics in the world owes its very existence to a tiny caterpillar of the Bombyx Mori Silk Moth, which feeds on the leaves of White Mulberry trees in far-off China! The story of silk was revealed to us by Mrs Frances Harper, our April Speaker, and herself a retired employee from one of the silk manufacturers in East Anglia, at Braintree.

The process of silk production is known as sericulture. It was established by the Chinese 5,000 years ago, when, according to legend, the princess Xi Lingshi discovered that a cocoon could be unravelled to produce a thread when one dropped into her tea while she sat under a mulberry tree! For centuries the secret of silk manufacture was known only to the Chinese, until in the middle of the sixth century two Persian monks managed to smuggle silkworm eggs to the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The secrets of silk gradually spread into Europe, and an Italian merchant, explorer and writer named Marco Polo established what we now call the Silk Road, a trade route from China to Europe.

All the moths and caterpillars are still bred in China, where the silk is extracted and spun into skeins to be exported to the west, where it is woven into luxury fabrics in silk mills.

What is silk used for? Besides fine clothing, silk has been and is used for tablecloths, pillowcases, bedding, curtains, wall hangings, table runners, surgical sutures, parachutes, upholstery and bike tyres, as well as bridal and formal wear, brocades and velvet. Hampton Court, The Houses of Parliament, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace have all got furnishings, upholstery and wall coverings made from silk, much of it manufactured in East Anglia! Most of these factories are now closed, but at one time silk was woven at mills in Sudbury, Castle Hedingham, Braintree and Norwich, to name but a few of them. Nowadays the main silk weaving industry is based at Lyons, in France, known as the silk capital of the world.

Now for something completely different! Our May Speaker, Jane Hoggar, came to recount some of her experiences as a former Bluebell Girl, whose dancing career began in the 1980s. At the age of twelve, Jane had to abandon her dreams of becoming a ballerina. Measuring six-feet tall with size nine feet, she reluctantly gave her tutu away, instead, sewing herself a sequinned ‘boob tube’ and turning her ambitions to Top of the Pops, Pans People and the exciting world of cabaret! Jane described her exciting travels around the globe during the 80’s that eventually led her to the remarkable Margaret Kelly, better known as Miss Bluebell of Le Lido de Paris.

She has worked in places as far away as Cairo, Tokyo, Paris and parts of Italy, coping with the most challenging of situations on a variety of exotic work engagements. In recent years, she has also suffered from breast cancer, and kept a diary of her “chemo summer”, an uplifting book that could help other sufferers get through their treatments for this disease.

During her talk she had us all in fits of laughter, and she even demonstrated some of her dance moves and sang snatches of songs from pre-recorded sound bites, finishing with Edith Piaf’s “No Regrets”! It was a joyous and uplifting evening for all of us!

For more of the same, with a great variety of speakers and entertainment, why not come along to one of our meetings on the first Thursday of the month, at 7.30pm in Capel Library? You will be most welcome! Bring a friend, too!

Coming up we have a visit to the Orchard Players’ Summer show and a Summer Social with a Country and Western theme.  In July we are taking part in this year’s Scarecrow Trail again, and one of our members, Rose Chiverton, will be opening her garden, complete with model railways, in aid of the Blossom Appeal.

Lots of events to enjoy!