Stephanie Taylor was familiar with the movement after several years working in Tamworth and also having seen members around Brisbane (they tend to stand out). On moving back to Tenterfield she ‘put out some feelers’ and the first meeting of the Tenterfield chapter – the Tenterfield Tulips – was held at the Bohemian Cafe on June 24.

The Tulips have also met up with their Stanthorpe counterparts at the Jennings Hotel.

The Red Hat Society is very much a social network, for ladies ‘of a certain age’. 

“We’re just having fun,” Mrs Taylor said.

Movies, meals, picnics and race meetings are all the agenda, with the Stanthorpe and Deepwater races destined to see future influxes of red and purple. The local group is aiming to have a regular morning tea on the last Saturday of the month (at various local cafes), plus at least one other outing each month.

The leader of each chapter is designated a queen (Mrs Taylor, in this case), supported by a duchess (Roxanne Bancroft-Stuart). Groups tend to be limited to a maximum of around 25, and the Tulips currently number seven with others expressing interest in joining. For further information call Mrs Taylor on 0407 022 937 or Ms Bancroft-Stuart on 0421 0235 830, or come along to a gathering.

The group’s next meeting is at the Bohemian Cafe on Saturday, July 29 for morning tea from 10.30am. 

“Wear red, purple or both,” Mrs Taylor said.

“There are no rules, no registration, and no such thing as too much bling. Women spend most of their lives nurturing and caring for others, whether they are in business or working at home. Red Hatting is about taking some time out to just plain have fun.”

In the meantime op shops in the vicinity have been alerted to watch out for red and purple items coming in, to be put aside for Red Hatters. Generally members where purple clothing with a red hat, but in your birthday month you reverse the colours to show you’re special.