I must have led a sheltered life but I confess that until today I had never heard of the Red Hat Society. It sounds a bit like Conan Doyle’s Red Headed League but I didn’t need Sherlock Holmes to tell me that there was more to all these red titfers than meets the eye. These are ladies who dress in red hats and purple frocks to go to tea. Really. And, according to Wikipedia, there are 40,000 branches-worth of ’em throughout the world. That sounds unlikely, but this particular contingent, the Rode Hoeden, from the Netherlands, were quite authentic and on parade this afternoon in London’s Jermyn Street. Do not think of April 1.
Red Hat Society Nederland is een vrolijke vrouwenbeweging voor ladies, die de 50 gepasseerd zijn en plezier in het leven hebben. We kleden ons in het paars en dragen een rode hoed. Er zijn geen regels, behalve een: NIET ZEUREN!
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The Netherlands Red Hat Society is a light-hearted women’s society for ladies who have passed 50 and enjoy life. We dress in purple and wear a red hat. There are no rules except one: QUIT WHINING!
Sounds like my sort of club. Anyway, they were a friendly lot, not a whine to be heard, and something of a tonic for a jaded street photographer in the capital.
Photos: Mike Evans, Fuji X100S.