It was off to the theatre for some Capel Ladies members in April, to see an adaption of the story of “Brief Encounter”. Having seen the old black-and-white film years ago, I couldn’t remember much about it, and I was even more curious to see how it could have been turned into a musical! It was a collaboration between the New Wolsey and two other theatre companies, and enacted by a very talented cast of actor-musicians. The story is a simple one – a chance meeting in a railway station tea-room between a young married housewife and a hospital doctor leads to a passionate though short affair, with an emotional parting scene at the end. The songs and musical items did not interfere with the action, and were beautifully performed to keep the show flowing along. There was humour, too, with the romances of the station staff and their courting of the tea-room supervisor and waitress progressing as the story unfolded. An excellent show, with a bittersweet ending! Great performances too, from all the cast members!

We had our own Coronation celebration in May, with our fun horse-racing games evening, presided over by one of our favourite speakers, Barbara Faulkner. She told us some of the history of Royal Ascot, and the traditions and customs which go with it. Then we had our own horse races, with six events of different lengths which were run up and down a measured course, in the shape of a board marked out in lanes for our model horses to race along! We were in teams, with a jockey from each team who was responsible for moving their particular mount along the course, according to the number thrown on the dice by the team members on each table. Each team had paid £100 stake money, (the Monopoly kind!), and for a 3^rd place finish they got £100 back, 2^nd place received £200 and first place received £300 prize money and a cup! At the end of the evening the team who had won the most prize money was presented with the GOLD CUP for the Coronation Stakes, and they were each given a miniature cup to take home, too! After this we had some nibbles, a glass of Prosecco or elderflower and Coronation cupcakes, each baked and beautifully decorated by Marie Barker. It had been a really fun evening!

Check out the gallery of images from our Coronation Stakes, below:

Coming up we have a visit to Hearts Delight Garden Centre, our Summer Social, a trip to The Hold on the Ipswich Waterfront, and the Orchard Players’ Summer Show to see! Lots there to amuse everyone!

Seems such a long while ago now when some of our members met up at Oranges and Lemons for cake, coffee and a chat. It was good to catch up with everyone and to forget all about the wet, wet spring we had been having outside! It was also good to have a look around the shop, and handy for me in particular as I found the perfect birthday gift for someone while we were there!

It was a real shame about the poor turnout for our April Speaker, but what with several nasty bugs about and it being the day before Good Friday you could understand the reasons. Anyway, our Speaker, Gary Egerton, was lively and jovial as usual. After all, he is a qualified London Blue Badge Guide, and the Fun Quiz he gave was based on interesting facts all about the Capital. There were multiple-choice questions, so a lot of the time previous knowledge wasn’t essential – it was fun to learn stuff about the city that you didn’t know before. One item of interest was the story of Old Tom Parr, an old man from Shropshire who was meant to have lived for over 150 years, and who was buried in Westminster Abbey by the order of King Charles 1. The winning team of three, who scraped in by just one point, were Louise, Wendy and Mary, who won a box of chocolates. At the end of April, we have a theatre trip booked to see “Brief Encounter” at The New Wolsey, and in May we have a fun Horse-Racing session to mark the Coronation, when we will be wearing Red, White and Blue and enjoying a glass of something to celebrate! You are very welcome to come and join us, why not check out our website for more details?

A coachful of ladies from both the W.I. and Capel Ladies Club set off to Ely for the annual Ely Cathedral Christmas Fair. It was a cold, wet November day, with a bitter wind blowing, but inside the Cathedral it was warm and bright with plenty to look at and buy – arts and crafts, decorative items, clothes and hats, Christmas ornaments and wreaths, and there was a wonderful mix of aromas such as mixed spice, cinnamon, pine and oranges from the various stalls. Outside in the cold and wet a cheery carousel covered in lights turned round, filling the air with seasonal music, whilst the poor market stall-holders selling artisan breads, cheeses and chocolates, stood under their canvas awnings looking cold and miserable, hoping in vain for customers! I felt really sorry for them, but as there was no shelter for prospective buyers to inspect their wares, no-one that I saw chose to stand in the cold wind and rain to buy their goods! At the end of the afternoon, we clambered thankfully onto a nice warm coach with our various purchases, and our friendly driver Marcus, from Felixstowe Coaches, brought us safely back to Suffolk.

Our next activity was running our stall at the Community Association Christmas Fayre in November. Thanks to everyone who supported us – we raised £107 towards our current charity for this year – The Blossom Appeal, which is raising funds to build a brand-new Breast Care Centre at Ipswich Hospital for treating cancer patients. Our final total for the year now amounts to £273.00!

Nearly all our members came to the Capel Ladies Club Christmas lunch, held this year at Hintlesham Hall Golf Club. The dining room was beautifully decorated and the food was delicious! Everyone enjoyed their meals and we hope to return there next year!

Just the Christmas Social to go now, before we say Goodbye to 2022! A very enjoyable year for Capel Ladies Club, with a good variety of speakers, trips and outings. Let’s hope 2023 will be equally successful!

So far, next year’s events include our A.G.M. and a visit to see the Orchard Players’ New Year Show. Here’s wishing everyone reading this a Happy and Healthy New Year! And don’t forget to keep a look-out on our website for details of up-and-coming events for Capel Ladies Club! You may even feel like joining us – all welcome!

We were unlucky with the weather on our “Walkabout Woodbridge” outing in October. It was pouring with rain and quite breezy too, but nevertheless an elite group of CLC members made the trip, and although none of us fancied the walk, we found an oasis of warm, dry surroundings in the shape of Notcutts Garden Centre, and were soon settled in a cosy corner of the restaurant with coffee and refreshments! After a while we decided it was time for lunch and we moved to our reserved dining area and ordered our meals. There was a good selection to choose from, sandwiches and hot food included, and while the rain beat down on the roof we laughed and chatted together. Afterwards we all had a look round the Christmas shop where some of us chose some festive gifts. It was a fun day out in spite of the weather!

Our first meeting in November was a chance to get creative, and Ann Wilding was on hand to show us an alternative way of making greetings cards. We sat round tables with coloured ribbons, sticky tape, scissors and templates, and most of us were soon getting stuck in. Some members chose to watch rather than risk getting in a muddle, and they were the ones to go and get the teas and coffee ready so that worked well too! A fun, sociable time was had by all!

Coming up we have our coach trip to Ely Cathedral Christmas Fair, and then our Christmas Lunch at Hintlesham Golf Club. Goodness – as I write this, I realise that the festive season is really and truly almost upon us! Come and share some of the fun – check out the rest of our website to see what else we get up to, that should tempt you along!

After all the various highs and lows, and seriously worrying events of recent times, it was good to see a show which was a complete diversion from all of that! This was our Capel Ladies visit to see “Kinky Boots”, a lively feel-good musical at the New Wolsey in September.

The show is based on the true story of a failing English shoe factory and its successful recovery, thanks to the unlikely collaboration of the owner, Charlie Price, who has inherited the business, and a drag queen named Lola. The show was lively, fast-moving and full of energy, with some stunning dance moves and incredible costumes, which included those AMAZING kinky boots with their six-inch heels!

The songs and music were written by the famous singer Cindi Lauper, and the Wolsey multi-talented cast certainly did justice to them with their skills at singing, dancing and musicianship. The show had a moral theme running through it, too, about being accepted in life and dealing with relationships and grief. The happy ending left us all in good spirits as we headed for the car park!

Vanessa Hale, from Wiltshire Farm Foods, was our October speaker. She spoke about the variety and convenience of all the meals – but, as the proof of the pudding is always in the eating, we simply HAD to try some of the flavours for ourselves! These included shepherd’s pie, hotpot, chicken curry and sweet & sour chicken, and desserts were sticky toffee pudding and blackcurrant cheesecake amongst others! I think the general feeling was that they were all very tasty, and the flavours didn’t have that characteristic hint of shop-bought ready meals, they were every bit as good as home-made! I’m sure quite a few of us will be trying some at home in the weeks to come!

Our next gathering is a trip to Woodbridge on October 20th, with a chance to look round the shops or walk by the river, followed by lunch at Notcutt’s Garden Centre. Then in November, at our next “In” Meeting, we will be getting creative as we make alternative-style Christmas cards with Ann Wilding. On 17^th November we are off on a coach trip with Capel W.I. to Ely Christmas Fair in the Cathedral, and then follows a busy December with our Christmas lunch out and Christmas Social in the Vine Lounge. Now if all THAT doesn’t tempt you to join us, I don’t know what will!

On June 16^th Capel Ladies Club held their usual Summer Social, but with a different twist this year, as it was a “Country & Western” themed evening. We were entertained by “Mr Smooth” (Jim Hawkins), a versatile singer who performs all types of songs. We enjoyed numbers from the songbooks of Glen Campbell, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers, amongst others – and a few ladies even took to the floor to do some line dancing! There was a tasty buffet with contributions from each of us, and a Cowboy-themed Quiz with prizes including cans of sausages and baked beans, in the tradition of a Cowboy’s breakfast! A fun evening, it was just a pity more members couldn’t make it due to holidays or illness.

Our next project was Scarecrow-making for the annual Scarecrow Trail, and as it has been a Right Royal Year, we thought something regal would be suitable… so we chose The Queen of Hearts, Disney-style, with an angry expression after the loss of her tarts! Mary, Pat, Shirley and Sue spent a very entertaining morning creating the figure with a lot of laughs along the way!

On 7^th July a party of us went to see the Orchard Players’ latest show in the Community Centre. It was entitled “Into the Light”, and it was an evening of songs – and dances – from many different genres with some brilliant performances from younger members, as well as the seasoned regulars and the live band. A fun, foot-tapping evening – CONGRATULATIONS Orchard Players! My overall favourite number was the Victoria Wood classic, “Barry and Freda” – Let’s Do It! Finally, to end a busy month, Capel Ladies manned the refreshments stall at Rose Chiverton’s Open Garden Event in aid of the Blossom Appeal, our charity for this year. Rose’s garden is unique as it includes a permanently laid out model railway track with working trains. These can all be operated with remote hand-held controllers, and visitors to the garden had great fun sending the trains going, over the bridge and round the circuit! There were stalls selling plants and pink items as well as tea and home-made cakes to try! It was a scorching afternoon and the men’s singles final was on the tele, so although it was a fair turnout, we might have had even more visitors on a cooler day with no other distractions!

We look forward to afternoon tea at Kersey Mill to end our busy summer season! Do try and join us in the autumn – we begin with a talk from a Wimbledon Line Judge on Thursday 1^st September! Have a good summer – and remember to check out our Programme here on the website for details of our Autumn activites!

Capel Ladies Club members had a great time at their latest outing on June 16^th! They were on a visit to “The Shed” at Sproughton, a unique period café and salerooms selling antiques, homewares, gifts, outdoor furniture, plants and flowers, retro items – and even ladies’ dresses! It was indeed a browser’s paradise, with refreshments, too! After having a look round, with some ladies making purchases, everyone sat down to tea and cakes in the charming Nora’s Tea Room, which was decorated with memorabilia in a 1940s style, with proper teapots and strainers, and china cups. Even the waitresses were dressed in 1940s outfits, down to the last detail with seamed stockings! It was a most enjoyable afternoon, and many of our members said they will definitely make a return visit on their own!

Our June “In” meeting was cancelled due to the Jubilee Celebrations, but Capel Ladies Club did participate in the Exhibition in the Community Centre, contributing a display about the Toys, Games and Hobbies we remember from the past 70 years! Many of these remembered items are still being enjoyed by children today, although in some cases they have been brought up-to-date a bit! We’re now looking forward to our Summer Social, which this year has a Country & Western theme, and also to watching the latest Orchard Players’ Show in July. We round off the summer with a visit to Kersey Mill, and then close our doors until September 1^st when we will have a talk from an ex-Wimbledon Tennis Line Judge to start our autumn programme.