The
Café opened its doors once again on September 3rd and after settling
down with some word puzzles or the chance of a chat we welcomed our musical
entertainer, Beryl Jukes. Beryl is well-known in folk music and dancing circles
within the county and for many years has performed with her piano accordion and
as a ‘caller’ at country dance and barn dancing groups. She had recently
returned from a busy time at the renowned Sidmouth Folk Festival. Everyone was fascinated to hear about the
variety of skills needed to play the accordion, and Beryl was soon demonstrating
her expertise! We were keen to sing along and with the help of our conductor,
we also joined in with percussion instruments – it’s not easy to conduct whilst
playing an instrument but Beryl soon had us accompanying in two, three and
finally four parts. It was great fun and much enjoyed.
A
delicious tea was served, as usual, by our lively ‘refreshments team’ before David
introduced the second part of the afternoon which was based around a theme of
‘Fashion and Style’. There was a wonderful display of outfits from across the
decades from the 1940s to the present day plus the opportunity to try on a
range of hats, scarves, jewellery and more. For the gents there was also a
range of head-gear, plus ties, bow ties, shirts and even a string vest (but
no-one tried that one on!).
Many
fascinating photographs and facts were displayed in addition to books and
magazines from the past and present to bring back memories of the way tastes in
fashion have changed over the years. These were prompted by questions on the
display boards as well as a light-hearted quiz to give us food for thought!
We
were thrilled that a number of our guests brought along items to add to the
display – a wonderful hat from Switzerland, a much-loved wedding tiara and
veil, a beautiful hand-made child’s ‘nurses’ outfit, worn by many generations,
christening robes and much more. There
were wedding photos showing fashions from the past and photos of our visitors
as small children in their ‘Sunday best’.
Special
mention has to be made of some spectacular ballroom dancing dresses, worn by
one of our friends and hand-stitched by her husband – it really was a special
afternoon.
There
was just time for David to give the answers to the quiz before it was time to
‘clear the decks’ once more.
What
an afternoon! We look forward to our next meeting on 1st and 15th
October at Crantock Village Hall from 2pm – 4pm. New members are always welcome,
and should you require further information please contact Di on 01637 830544 or Joan
on 01637 831347.
