Community
29 May, 2026
A curious afternoon
RESIDENTS from across the district dusted off their silliest hats for an afternoon tea of fun, connection and laughter last Saturday.
The St Paul’s Church Hall was filled with conversation for the Mad Hatter’s tea party, which saw 20 people come together.
Reverend Matthew Jones said he felt it was a strong attendance despite a number of other activities clashing with the date.
“Unfortunately, when you put an event on, there’s always going to be something that clashes with it – there were other events going on in town,” he said.
“We had a good turnout with lots of yummy food which was all lovingly made by different people in the church.
“It achieved what we wanted – we wanted people to feel good, to laugh and have some fun.
“Everyone got into the spirit and dressed up with funny hats.
“Some were incredibly detailed hats, with costumes to go with them, which was great.”
The main drawcard of the day was the hat-themed trivia, which saw attendees test their knowledge of cultural hats and hat types.
Ten people took home a prize of a selection of the biscuits on offer over the course of the afternoon.
Rev Jones said the main idea of the afternoon tea was to give people an opportunity to have a laugh, even if for a few hours.
“One of the reasons we really wanted to do this was a lot of people find they watch the news and feel sad,” he said.
“Having an afternoon tea, good conversation and a quiz which was challenging, fun and very light-hearted achieved what we wanted.
“I think we will try to do this again because there were people who wanted to come but had other plans – they were very disappointed they missed out, so we’ll have to do it at a time where they’re able to come down.
“Thank you to everyone who supported it – it’s a great afternoon.
“We had a lucky door prize – the wool was donated by Laffs and two ladies in the community did the knitting and crocheting, so we’re very grateful for the volunteers and the donations we received.”
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