Tour Report

Thursday 25^th July was the day chosen to celebrate the 13^th anniversary of the Time Out Ladies Club.  Having visited 185 destinations and over 5050 people having been transported in and around the city of Cape Town was reason enough to don smart clothes, and head out to an unknown destination to celebrate the day with friends! Brian, Vicki and Alison had already headed out two hours prior to our arrival in the coach to set up the prize table; and make sure that everything was in order for the ladies’ arrival.

The venue was the  Allee Bleue wine estate on the R44 conference venue.  A glass of sherry on arrival made sure that everyone was soon in the party mood.  At 12h00 they were led into the venue where Mel Fraser opened the day’s proceedings.  Her unique approach this year in asking Heather and Marie to say what aspect of the tours they had enjoyed the best was great!  Mel then called on Carol to deliver her speech! This year we had managed to get gifts from regular uppliers but it was the kind hearts of the ladies of the Time Out Ladies Club that really saved-the-day.  We were able to give everyone a gift, which was very special. Another gift which proved to be more pecial was that each lady got an orchid to take home. A few of the ladies started piecing the puzzle together and we discovered excitedly that the orchids they took home were off a plant that had originally been given to Carol by the Time Out Ladies at a previous anniversary. The plant produced over 56 blooms – enough to ensure that each lady could take a bloom home and we had 7 perfect specimens to grace the birthday cake. We had an excess of a few gifts and for added fun we appointed ‘scouts’ to look for the best-dressed ladies.  Bridget Nicholson; Erika Minnie and Pat Munro were chosen and they each received a complimentary coach trip to be enjoyed at a later stage. Lizanne had donated very special necklaces and Brenda and Thyra went off home with these.  What a treat for them.

Talking about our birthday cake – it was lovingly made by Henno of “Cakes By Henno” – an outstandingly decadent red velvet cake with chocolate ganache, decorated with chocolate panels.  Everyone went back for a second helping. Sometimes when one organizes a function, it flies by and this day went quicker than most; it was soon time to load everyone on the coach to head back to the city.

Unfortunately, the Tableview ladies were first to be dropped off and the Constantia ladies took over 2 hours to get back home!  This is the main hazard of late afternoon traffic.

What a special happy day made even more special by the wonderful Time Out Ladies.
What a very happy bunch of special ladies.

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