After months of hot sunny days in Auckland the day of the Inaugural Ladies Run and High Tea picnic dawned a little mixed on the weather front. We had rain overnight and the view of the Sky Tower was a little murky. But we were not deterred. The ladies were dressed, high tea picnics prepared, the passengers reminded to hand over the keys and we were off to the Parnell Rose Gardens for our rendezvous point.

When we arrived at Parnell, Deepa had the clipboard and handed out the guide notes for the run to the passengers, many of whom have limited experience of navigating, raising some concerns. One “team” arrived, having had heated discussions about the need or otherwise for the passenger to provide advice to the driver, prompting the comment that this event might go down in club history for the wrong reasons.

Fifteen cars set off from Parnell following Deepa and Mike for a cruise up the Northwestern Motorway, turning off onto the Riverhead-Coatesville Highway and then across to Orewa to Wenderholm. It was a nostalgic drive over roads now by-passed by the motorways, at speeds that allowed for sightseeing, conversation and singalongs. Debbie and her daughters’ roadtrip soundtrack looked great in our rear vision mirror.

According to reports, the drivers up front were more competitive. Janine, Deepa, Angelique and Kath challenged each other at the lights, possibly egged on by their passengers.

We arrived at Wenderholm, still in convoy, where Sue had set up picnic tables with tablecloths, laid out china tea cups and had the kettle boiling for tea and coffee. All we had to do was unpack our chairs and set out our high tea goodies for a delicious, shared picnic. The food was good, plentiful and the tea flowed along with the conversation.

All ladies received a prize, the weather was kind – not too hot or wet, and all relationships appeared intact on the day. Some ladies took the wheel to drive home and others chose to be passenger, particularly those that followed their teas with a very nice G&T, in a good china cup.

Thank you to Sue for organising the event, and to her helpers Deepa, Janine, and Angelique. Everyone had a lovely day. Sue thinks that the Ladies Run is now a confirmed March event for the Auckland Club. It will be a challenge to top the Inaugural run.

 

Philippa West

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