Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Photo a Day 14 - Red Hats

I snapped these colourfully attired ladies in Hahndorf, South Australia. They belong to the "Red Hat Society and although I had heard of it, I had never seen any members before. Apparently there are thousands of groups in USA and in other countries around the world.



Originally the society was formed for women over 50  to get together, socialise and support each other. Now it is open to women of all ages. They wear red hats and purple clothes to their get togethers. The Under 50s wear pink and mauve.

This poem says it all.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me,
And I shall spend my pension
on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals,
and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired,
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells,
And run my stick along the public railings,
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens,
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat,
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go,
Or only bread and pickle for a week,
And hoard pens and pencils and beer mats
and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry,
And pay our rent and not swear in the street,
And set a good example for the children.
We will have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me
are not too shocked and surprised,
When suddenly I am old
and start to wear purple! 

Jenny Joseph
When I am old .. I shall wear purple!
Liz Needle

4 comments:

  1. HI Liz what a great idea. Now can I suggest you make that purple poem into white text please as I could not read it. I think I know the poem but would like to see it as I can sure others would.

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  2. Sorry Margaret, but it won't let me, probably because it was copied and pasted from another website. However I have enlarged the font and it will let me make it green.

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  3. And I can make it red, but still not white. Weird

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  4. Oh my goodness, I see these ladies around here all the time, but I had no idea they were outside of America! Who knew! I remember that story about when I am older I shall wear purple, my sister-in-law had it in a picture form in her bathroom. We weren't even near 50 at the time, but she laughed saying, Hey it's coming and we have to be prepared!

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