Carol Portas welcomed 69 members and two guests to the May meeting of Retford Ladies Probus. She then introduced Joyce and Avril from JAK Silks. Joyce got the travel bug and went backpacking and her favourite place was India. She brought Avril a beautiful silk scarf which was much admired and this prompted them to start a business.
Joyce persuade Avril to go with her on one of her trips. Avril was dubious about how, as an octogenarian she would cope. Her first impressions of Delhi were incredible, amazing, chaotic and humbling when she saw the women cooking for their families on the streets and the children playing happily all around. They stayed in family homes and one night were invited to a meditation which involved removing all clothing and pushing strings up the nose. They suddenly felt very tired! Avril thought the sunrise at the Taj Mahal was awesome but the overnight train journey to Amritsar was not to be repeated. Instead they took the express train back to Delhi, enjoying a four-course meal with silver service. Joyce treated Avril to a five-star hotel in back in Delhi. After bucket and jug showers Avril should have been ecstatic but was strangely disappointed because the hotel could have been anywhere.
Joyce finished by showing the group lovely ways to tie their scarves. A perfect end to a perfect pitch. The group’s next meeting is on Wednesday 13th June at Westhill Community Centre at 10.00am for a 10.30am start, when Tom Dixon will be giving members a taste for liquorice. All are welcome.