The Time Out Ladies Club was launched in July 2000 and on the 31st July, 2014 fifty people helped to celebrate this auspicious occasion at a Mystery venue in Wellington.
The day dawned bright and sunny – after all the rain that Cape Town has been having, this was an exciting way to start the day. Our coach took us out to Wellington and our mystery lunch venue was the Au’de Vine Restaurant at the Au’de Hex Boutique Hotel which has recently opened in beautiful Wellington.
In fact, in the last year the Time Out ladies club has visited Wellington on three occasions, which is certainly an up-and-coming area in the Western Cape to visit time-and-again!
On arrival at the Hotel everyone was led to their deck on the lake and offered a sherry or orange juice. This peaceful atmosphere had everyone chatting and enjoying each other’s company. All too soon it was time to get the proceedings on the go and everyone was summonsed into their restaurant which had been elegantly decked out with beautiful long white table cloths and each table had a bunch of arum lilies on it! An excellent way to indicate that Spring cannot be too far away is when the arums appear.
Mel introduced the guests and then presented her speech – always a moving and well thought-out way to start our day. Thank you for the kind words Mel –
“In closing I have been on many trips with Traveltime and TimeOut but the last one to Grahamstown was an eye opener in so far as the organisation was concerned. How Brian and Carol managed to get us down and up that hill in Grahamstown to see all the shows that we had chosen was a feat of no mean proportion.(45 shows, 202 tickets). I have the greatest admiration for Brian and even though he was not completely well towards the end of the tour, he was carrying and organizing suitcases right to the end and even deposited my suitcase on my spare bed when I arrived home. We are all very fortunate to be associated with your travel tours and look forward to years of adventure with you both”
Then it was Carol’s turn to thank everyone. She likened her years with TimeOut to a boomerang………she threw this boomerang out to everyone 14 years ago and she (and Brian) are overwhelmed with the love and fun that has been returned with the tours they arrange. In the future they are to be known as “The Chief Boomerang Handlers”
Brian had prepared his usual presentation which gets better each year and this is always the highlight of the day for the ladies. Especially towards the end when Brian always puts his interpretation of the year and the fun we’ve all had together. Another fitting tribute to Time Out and Traveltime – thank you so much, Brian!
Starters were a tomato tart served with Basil and Parmesan cheese – a lovely light and tasty start to our lunch.
Everyone received a gift, thanks to the generosity of sponsors and several of the ladies who had contributed so graciously. Always fun to receive a gift and evidence was the expectation of waiting for your name to be called! Thanks to Michelle and Alison for handling this prize giving so well.
Main course was a lamb shank with delicious vegetables and mashed potato. They looked huge and it was interesting to see how everyone managed to finish their meals! Delicious to boot.
A second prize giving after mains added excitement to our day. Dessert of a chocolate fondant served with vanilla cream and a beautiful pansy decorated the plate, ending our meal.
We were then given the opportunity to view the rooms of this newly opened boutique hotel. Gracious, elegant and very comfortable rooms and common areas with a modern twist of luxury fittings makes one want to plan a future weekend away in the Winelands for sure.
Coffee was served, with light music playing in the background coupled with an awesome view. Most of us did not want to leave this tranquility to head back to the city. This is a sure sign that everyone had enjoyed the day to-the-full! A wonderful feeling for the organizers of this occasion!
Traffic was chaotic – it always is when the coach rolls right into peak-traffic and this means that some people were on the coach for almost 3 hours before they finally reached their destination.