As you are reading this no doubt Capel Ladies Club members will have enjoyed their delayed Summer Social in the Vine Lounge, listening to Jazz Galore and tucking into their shared buffet supper! Let’s hope it really IS the start of things getting back to normal again! More details of the evening and photos will be posted soon.

We finished our summer meetings with a delicious lunch out at The Brook in Washbrook. The weather was on our side, and many of us sat in the garden to have our lunch, while another group decided to stay indoors and avoid the risk of sunburn. However, the groups did mingle in and out to catch up with each other, and there was also a special guest to chat to, as ex-member Joan Molle had joined us from Stowmarket!

A new season marks a new start – and a new name! It is proposed that CLC will now stand for:
CAPEL LADIES CONNECT!
(although, at time of writing, this is still in the melting pot… watch this space!)

We are trying to change our image and become more vibrant and interactive to all age-ranges, and – as the new name implies – to CONNECT with both our current and potential new members! To this end we will be holding an Open Evening on 16th September! Look out for our advert in Capel Capers this month, and for posters around the village!

Ladies of all ages are warmly invited to this FREE event – non-members very welcome! You can drop in any time from 7.30pm to meet our friendly committee and members, have a coffee/tea and some cake, as well as peruse local fashion and craft stalls from two enterprising local ladies.

Kristie Barbouti will have a selection of versatile clothing and accessories for sale, from her online business ZovaChic, and you can also discover Lynn McConnachie’s range of innovative ‘seed’ cards, and other creations, made in support of the BrainTumour Trust.

Why not come along on 16th September at 7.30pm to Capel Library and see what’s on offer? Bring a friend along too!

With all this excitement there’s another event to look forward to! Our October 7^th meeting will host the extremely charismatic vet Brian Faulkner, whose amusing anecdotes about the ‘Life of a Vet’ are sure to make you smile!

Hope we’ve shown you there’s something for everyone and lots to enjoy – plus good company of course! See you there!

The good news from Capel Ladies is that we are most definitely a fully-functioning Club again, even though, to date, we have not been able to hold any indoor meetings. Our big disappointment was having to postpone our Summer Social and entertainment with Jazz Galore in July because of the extended date for the relaxation of Covid restrictions, which meant no large indoor gatherings. Nevertheless, we are still looking forward to this on the first Thursday of September, so it’ll be a great way to start the new season!

Meanwhile we have enjoyed two coffee and cake outings, to The Milk Shed at Sproughton, and The Stables at Martlesham. Both venues sound very rustic, and indeed they were peaceful locations but with very tasty refreshments!

Our five intrepid scarecrow-makers had great fun creating a very glamorous lady complete with bling and leopard-skin heels! She cut quite a dash in Chairlady Mary Butter’s front garden during the Scarecrow Trail! Hope she gave people a few chuckles too.

Our next meeting is a lunch at The Brook, Washbrook, where at last we will all be able to sit together indoors! It’s the final fixture of the season, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to go back to regular meetings in the autumn.

Wishing you all a relaxing and restriction-free sunny summer!

See you in September! (as the song goes!) New members always welcome!

Well – the great news is that Capel Ladies Club is BACK!! With any luck (and the weather on our side!) we will have held one outdoor, socially-distanced, limited-capacity meeting in the form of a Tea Party in Liz and Tony Gullivers’ garden on the afternoon of the 27^th May! Hopefully it was able to ahead, along with much catching-up and conviviality!

A further planned get-together is for “A Cup of Coffee at a Mystery Venue”, on June 17^th. Details are yet to be confirmed but it’s yet another date for the diary!

Our WhatsApp group is growing too, and proving very useful for instant messaging and passing on news, gossip and funnies! Any CLC members who haven’t yet signed up to this please let our Chairlady Mary Butters have your mobile number so she can add you to the group.

More formally, we hope to have the first ‘proper’ meeting, our Summer Social with Jazz Galore, in the Library at 7.15pm on Thursday 1^st July. Entrance by ticket (£5) only, which must be booked in advance.

For further details and to book, please contact Linda Evans: 01473 311262.

For some extra publicity we are hoping that a group of members will get together to create a Fantastic Female as an entry to the popular Scarecrow Trail in the village, to be held in the first week of July. Fingers crossed!

We’ve also processed an application to share a spot in the Floral Display at the shopping precinct with the WI again this summer, after somehow missing out last year! So keep a lookout when the time comes….

Meanwhile, CLC is on the up-and-up, so let’s hope the weather takes its cue from that! We could all do with some warm sunny days to sit outside with a glass or a cup of something! Check out our website for some of the ways we’ve spent sunny days in the past, and get a flavour of what Capel Ladies Club is all about! Maybe you’ll even want to join us; all are welcome!

Sue Woolgar

As I write, some late CLC news has come to my attention!

At a recent committee meeting, it was agreed to co-opt some new members onto the existing committee, and an EXTRA meeting is being held on 9^th September to do this, and to discuss the way forward for the club.

Meanwhile, obvious restrictions still prevent us from holding our first CLC autumn meeting in the Library. To compensate for this, an afternoon tea is being planned (hopefully!) for Thursday 3^rd September at the Bluebell Café in the By-Pass Nurseries!

Why not join us for tea and scones? All members and prospective members welcome!

– Sue Woolgar

At the time of writing this article I am not sure when Capel Ladies Club will next be able to meet. It would be great to think it could be September, but who knows?

So – just in case we are actually able to enjoy our full Autumn Programme, I thought I would give details of what to expect, both as a reminder for current members and as useful information for potential ones.

Our autumn in-meetings include a visit from Wiltshire Foods, a talk on the Silk Road from China to Essex, tales of Suffolk Ghosts and Hauntings and a Christmas Social with Buffet supper in the Vine Lounge.

Our planned trips range from an outing to a local vineyard and one to the Hotter shoe shop in Ipswich. Nearer to Christmas there is a shopping trip by coach arranged jointly with the W.I., and of course our club’s Christmas meal out to a pub or restaurant. (Can you remember what that’s like???)

I do hope that at least some of these things appeal to many of you, and that they might just tempt you to come along to a meeting on the first Thursday in the month, at 7.45pm in Capel Library, where you will find a friendly crowd and an interesting speaker to pep up your evening.

For more information please see locally distributed posters or browse this website.

Do give it a whirl – you never know, you might even enjoy it! And you’ll certainly learn something – and also make some new friends!

Sue Woolgar

P.S. Our members each received another nice surprise from the Capel Ladies Committee last week – a presentation box with a pretty gift tag containing two delectable cupcakes! Mmmm! We can’t guarantee that this will be happening EVERY month, but it’s a lovely lockdown treat! Thank you again CLC Committee!

Capel Ladies Club is 52 years old this autumn, and we’d like to think it’s an integral part of life in our community. We are currently looking to encourage new members to join us and bolster our numbers, whilst bringing some new ideas and interests to the club. We have a range of interesting speakers and activities planned for this year as soon as things return to normal.

Meanwhile –

For the upcoming 18th June trip to Norfolk Lavender, Heacham, please meet at 8.30am at the Capel Co-op.

For those members who are going on the Great Blakenham woodland garden visit on Thursday 16h April, please meet at 6.30pm at Capel Co-Op (half an hour earlier than usual!)