Tennis continued with a fifth member joining us so we can keep playing when one of us is not available. Coffee afterwards is being enhanced by specially baked treats to help us replace the calories we have lost playing.  For our monthly meeting we had a tour of Piccadilly and St James called “Putting on the Ritz”, given by Tina, a blue badge guide. We heard about various characters from the worlds of high society and finance as well as quacks and dandies who lived in the area over the last couple of centuries.  Everyone enjoyed the tour and some of us went on for a drink before heading home.   We had two adventures outside of London in June, one to the Chilterns where a great time was had by all and another to the seaside at Margate where we walked around the coast to Broadstairs where we all enjoyed scrumptious ice-creams.  Craft and book clubs continued, with members joining in for a chat even if they hadn’t a project on the go or read the book, which is how it should be.

Angela

Monday cuppa and chat and Tuesday café walks continued this month, allowing members to meet up in a socially distanced fashion.  We also enjoyed the azaleas and rhododendrons in full bloom in Richmond Park, which we combined with a visit to Petersham Nurseries and a walk back along the Thames to Richmond station.  There was also a very enjoyable walk along the River Chess in sunny weather, which made up for the dull, grey days of this month.   Tulip Siddiq, local MP for many of us, gave us a lovely talk on what it was like to grow up in Hampstead, how she became an MP and how she manages life as a working mother.  We read the Bee Keeper of Aleppo which most of us found to be a good but intense read.  And last, but not least, we went to the ballet and watched Winterisse by  The Ballet Zurich.  An excellent production which many of us would not otherwise have seen.

Angela

Where did April go? In a whirlwind of walks – an average of two group walks a week mostly in local parks and some further afield, as well as other self-organised walks.  We have all been keen to get out and see the blossom and bluebells and took in the menagerie in Golders Hill park, some of us remembering going there as children.   We have all enjoyed catching up in larger groups, taking the opportunity for coffee and sometimes something stronger.  We started playing tennis again although we’ll need more players as we’re all planning to be away at various times over the summer.  Penny gave us a most interesting talk on the history of marriage and divorce in England which was beautifully illustrated.  Many of us enjoyed reading ‘The Carer’ by Deborah Moggach and we had a good discussion.  We had a virtual cultural night when we watched Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s production of  ‘Chroma, Grace, Takademe, Revelations’ on YouTube, simultaneously gathering before and after the performance to chat as you would at a normal theatre outing.

What a year!  We started our Christmas celebrations with two festive craft sessions to make pomanders and wreaths.   Our Christmas Party as so much of the year was via Zoom, livened up with a very imaginative display of Christmas hats and a really fun online version of the Countdown game enjoyed by all.

We continued our weekly zoom meetings with Craft and Book clubs, where most people liked Hilary Mantel’s  memoir ‘Giving up the Ghost’.  Our drop-in and chat session just before Christmas proved popular with everyone sharing stories of last minute changes to their Christmas plans.

Outdoors, we managed a couple of socially distanced walks in Queen’s and Gladstone Parks and a game of doubles tennis before the Tier 4 restrictions came into force.

And last but certainly not least we were all very happy to see our newest member, Chloe looking gorgeous in her little elf costume on Christmas Day.

Written by Angela