If you are a woman over 50, it may seem that you are over the hill. But what if you could relish in your life and age?
The Red Hat Society celebrates a daring kind of aging. With a growing following in South Africa, it is inspired by Jenny Joseph’s poem Warning.
”It is aimed at giving women a zest for life and some fun or general interest in life after 50,” says Yvonne Demmer, leader of the Trinity Belle, a branch of the Red Hat Society based in Benoni.
”I’m thinking hang-gliding for our next outing,” says Demmer, who is also referred to as the chapter’s ”queen”. ”We went motorcycle riding on our last outing.”
Although the Red Hat Society is not a global charitable organisation, the Cape Town Red Hat Renegades have taken the motto of ”fun and friendship after 50” and made theirs ”fun and friendship with a purpose”.
”Queen” Jo Maxwell says that any charitable event with her group is called a fun-raiser. ”That’s what it has become. We wear purple and red hats and it’s fun.”
The Renegades are involved in feeding more than 900 children in crèches, townships around the Cape and supplying sleeping bags to displaced refugees.
Anne Wilson is a 60-year-old retired teacher and member of the Trinity Belles. She joined earlier this year: ”I enjoy the camaraderie and the opportunity to do things I wouldn’t otherwise do. I think this is an ideal way for aging women to get and meet other like-minded women.
I think this is particularly true of single women, either divorced or widowed. We all need to make time for fun and do wild things. This is a woman’s opportunity after years of putting others first. Be wild and who cares what others think. When they see the attire, they already think we have lost it!”