Recently, I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with the Waiuku branch of The Red Hatters.
For those of you familiar with the poem ‘When I Am Old’ by Jenny Joseph, you will understand what a vibrant and entertaining lot they are!
All adhering to the first and only rule of Steampunk – thou shalt be splendid; these young at heart hipsters (is that a pun?) gather once a month for lunch, all gloriously decked out in purple and sporting the titular red hats.
I bumped into member, Valerie, outside the library at Pukekohe just after my author talk there and she was much taken with my steampunk regalia and asked if I’d mind coming to talk to their group. Of course, I said I’d be delighted and so it eventuated.
They meet in the historic Kentish Hotel, Waiuku, which holds the record for the longest continual liquor licence in New Zealand – from 1853 to the present. I couldn’t have conceived of a more appropriate venue to be honest and I’m already hatching plans for some kind of a steampunk related event to be held there.
The food was fantastic and both my husband, aka Phineas Leviticus Kidd, and I enjoyed ourselves completely. I will be posting photos to my author page on FaceBook.
You can read When I Am Old here
