Lucknow Sepoy Ranees mark 20th anniversary together
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
On Nov. 20, the members of the Lucknow Sepoy Ranees (LSR) gathered together at St. Helens Hall to honour the 20th anniversary of something very special: being themselves! The Citizen stopped by this auspicious celebration and infiltrated the group’s rowdy ranks just long enough to get the inside scoop on this spirited coterie of local ladies of a certain age.
Event organizer and Founding Queen Ruth Dobrensky offered an interpretation of their collective’s ear-catching name. “Lucknow is the Sepoy town, and it means ‘soldier’ or ‘warrior,’” she explained. “And ‘Ranees’ means ‘Queen.’ So we’re the ‘Warrior Queens’ of Lucknow!”
Despite the location specificity of their ferocious moniker, not all the day’s attendees live within town limits. “Some of these ladies are arriving from the Mildmay and Walkerton and Hanover areas, and they’re joining us for lunch today. Barb is our chef for the day, and she’s preparing a fantastic lunch for us,” Dobrensky told The Citizen. After Barb’s celebration chicken, mashed potatoes, pie and punch, prizes and a choir-led sing-along were also on the agenda for the afternoon’s 20th anniversary bash.
The LSRs are a branch of an informal international organization known as the Red Hat Society (RHS). Dobrensky went on to spill the beans on this opposite-of-secret society’s singular, nefarious mission. “It’s the 25th anniversary of the Red Hat Ladies for all of the world, and we are all over the world. And all we’re here for is to have a good time!” she boasted joyfully. Dobrensky and the other members of the LSR are well aware of the benefits of a simple good time. “It’s about comradeship - it’s a way for people to get out and have a good time with other ladies. And sometimes we do things and invite gentlemen along as well…. It gives everybody a chance to get out and share the day together, without worrying about the grandkids, or whatever! Just getting out there and having a good time!”
The RHS was inspired by the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. The poem’s iconic opening lines fire off the titular warning to the reader. “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn't suit me,” it reads. When Joseph’s poem first debuted in 1961, it delivered a rather radical karate chop to the precious notion of the so-called “little old lady”. The narrator in “Warning” does not intend to go gently into that good night - instead, she gleefully plans to spend her golden years finally breaking free from the surly bonds designed to create a proper and polite woman who fits into the space laid out for her at birth. Similarly, the women of the Red Hat Society are all finally old enough to understand what it really means to have fun and cut loose.
Of course, serving their community is still part of this society of socialites. Dobrensky listed just a few of the activities to which they’ve gotten up. “We’ve gone Christmas caroling at seniors’ residences, we’ve had daffodil teas to raise money for cancer research, and a few other things. But basically, we go out, we have dinner, or lunch. We go to movies, we go to plays, we go to sing-alongs. We’ve gone on mystery tours where nobody knows where we’re going, and we get a clue, and follow the clues to see where we’re going to go next - that sort of thing. We also have events all year round. There was a big event in September, over in Mildmay, for people from all over Ontario, and there were a couple hundred ladies there!”
Although the RHS are all about keeping it chill, there are a few strict rules they adhere to when gathering in great numbers. “Everybody wearing red wears purple hats,” she confided. “If you’re wearing a red hat, it’s not your birthday month. If you’re wearing a purple hat, it is your birthday month!”