I joined the Friskie Fillies Red Hat group on April 15, 2013. I'm not good with dates, but on our way home from the 25th Anniversary Friskie Frillies Red Hat lunch, we heard about the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon. For seven years, I've really enjoyed "lunching" with these ladies.
In 1988 at the Bayshore Inn a group of ladies met. This is when Red Hat groups in BC were started. We were one of the first groups in Vancouver. My cousin-in-law Patricia was at the Bayshore and was a founding member of the Friskie Fillies. She asked me if I wanted to join and that's how I got involved. We've gone for seven years. During COVID everything has been cancelled but they have a social distancing tea organized for next month, the last one was cancelled and I'm wondering if this one will happen. It's not lack of interest, but too many of the ladies are high risk and don't want to take the chance. Many of the ladies have been in for 25 years!
Paula lent me the book on how Red Hat got started. Readers digest version - ladies wanted to go out for lunch. Wearing red and purple isn't a good combination, but when you are over 50, you don't care. So they made red and purple the colours. During your birthday month you wear a purple hat and red clothing. The rest of the year it's a red hat and purple clothes. They prefer you shop at charity shops and get them really cheap. Great concept, wonderful ladies. Should someone under 50 want to join, the colour is pink and you start wearing red when you turn 50. There is no meeting, agenda or charity work. It's just lunch and friendship.
In 1998 our American Red Hatters decided to tell everyone who was a Red Hat member they needed to join the Society. The Friskie Fillies rejected this, but our Queen joined. If you don't carry a Red Hat membership, you cannot go to Red Hat organized functions. I joined three years ago so I could go to the functions. There were few in our area and the prices of the conventions and cruises are so inflated, I wouldn't even think about attending. It's become a money making corporate entity.
My Surrey Group, The Red Hat Tomatoes is a "Society based group". You must belong to the society to attend a lunch. I joined the society three years ago when I joined The Red Hat Tomatoes. The group meets in Surrey and the ladies are lovely. On Thursday we had another social distancing meet at the park very close to my home. We all took a vote and only two members decided to continue with their membership in the society. It's US$ 30.00 a year and all any of us get out of it is a lot of annoying marketing emails.
We are no longer a Red Hat group. Starting next month, we will get together as friends and each of us will take our turn organizing it. It will be your turn to organize in your birthday month. There are two of us with December birthdays, so I took November.
I look forward to many more lunches with "friends"!
