In their distinctive purple outfits and red hats,
The Village Redcliffe Rubies turn heads wherever they go.
When Gail Jennings moved to The Village Redcliffe, she had a ready-made group of girlfriends waiting to welcome her.
“About eight or nine years ago, I told to my friends I wanted to go look at The Village. They said, ‘We’ll come and have a look with you.’ Well, six weeks later they both moved in! I moved in the following year when I turned 65.”
In 2022, Gail was approached by The Village Redcliffe’s entertainment committee for ideas on how to get a ladies social group together. Gail suggested starting up a chapter of the Red Hat Society called the Redcliffe Rubies, with the goal of helping other women in The Village find fun, friendship, and fulfillment.
The Red Hat Society is a worldwide membership society that encourages women in their quest to get the most out of life. Members aged 50 and older wear purple clothing and red hats. Women not quite 50 yet wear lavender clothing and pink hats.
“It’s just great fun,” says Gail, who is Queen Ruby.
“We dress up in purple clothes and red hats. On our birthday, it’s reversed—you wear red clothes and purple on our heads.”
The Rubies meet twice a month. On the second Monday of each month they host a “chatter”—a morning tea—and on the fourth Wednesday of each month they enjoy an outing somewhere.
“We put a wine and cheese night on recently and everyone wore their pyjamas. That was a big hit,” Gail laughs.
“Often we’ll go out to lunch somewhere. I try and organise different venues and locations based on suggestions from members. We’ve got about 40 Rubies and we sometimes have to hire a bus to get us to our location, like when we went to Kilcoy. Other times we carpool.”
While out in their bold purple and red attire, the Rubies attract plenty of attention.
“We have a lot of people that come up to ask us what we’re all about,” Gail says.
“A lot of young men come up and tell us, ‘You look fantastic—can my mum join?’ It’s quite funny and we’re all happy to chat to them. We also get young women come up and ask if they can join. We explain they can join but as younger members they wear lavender clothes and pink hats.”
A truly inclusive society, Gail says the Rubies are about helping women live their best lives.
“The Red Hat Society started in America, and it was mainly to get people who found themselves newly single to get back out in society. Well, there are chapters all around the world now, and we’re proud to be part of it,” she says.
“I’ve had a couple of ladies come up and say to me, we don’t care where we go, it’s the fact that we’re getting out. They don’t like to drive too far themselves, so they just like to ride with somebody and get out and about. It just makes you feel good, and that’s what we’re all about.”
