My Jane Austen Tea Party Surprise

Mariska, Robyn and I on our road trip yesterday
I had another blog planned for today, but it will stand over until next week in favor of telling you about the huge surprise my friends sprung on me yesterday (9 November). It was this past Tuesday when Robyn, a good friend of mine called and asked how I felt about taking a road trip. I'm always up for an adventure so I said: "Yes, sure that sounds like fun!"

In the days that followed I had an inkling that something was up, I just didn't know what it was and every time I asked I got a different story. 'You're going to a succulent farm.' Mom's story. 'We're going to the beach,' Robyn's story and 'We're going to have sushi,' Mariska's story.

Saturday rolled around and Robyn came early to do my make-up before she and mom tackled my hair. I love make-up, but wearing it every day is not always practical, so I really appreciated all the effort and pampering.

A short time later my friends and I hit the road to Port Elizabeth, with me still feeling there was more to the trip than I was being told. the soundtrack to our trip consisted of the Cranberries and the Scissor Sisters, courtesy of Mariska. Delores O'Redan's haunting vocals took me right back to my High School years and early twenties spent in Port Elizabeth.

We finally entered the city and shortly reached the Beach Hotel where, as it transpired a fundraiser was being held by the Cerebral Palsy Association of the Eastern Cape, not only that, but the fundraiser was in the form of a Jane Austen Tea.  Now, anyone who knows me, knows I'm a major fan of Miss Austen, so this was right up my alley and an absolutely amazing surprise.


The surprises kept coming when I realized the organizers knew about Freeda Moon's books and this blog too!

But Miss Austen was undoubtedly the star of the show and rightly so!
In between reconnecting with a former physiotherapist from my primary school days (it was so nice to see you again Sandra) and enjoying the delicious eats, I managed to win perfume with my Jane Austen trivia knowledge!
Who's the lead character in Pride and Prejudice? Elizabeth Bennet, of course!
I learned something that I never knew as well, namely that George Austen, one of Jane's brothers perhaps had cerebral palsy himself, I knew he was deaf and likely could not speak, but did not realize that some of Jane's letters pointed to George having many CP-like symptoms. He died at 72, out-living her by some thirty years.

After the tea, Robyn, Mariska and I headed for the beach, it was a little windy, but nothing beats being close to the sea!



Our last stop before heading home was Barney's another of my youthful haunts! Strawberry Daiquiris and pizza were the order of the day.

I don't think this short post or any post could adequately capture how special this day was for me.  I want to sincerely thank my mom (who doggedly kept the secret despite all my efforts to discover it, and who got up early to make sure I was ready by making me look all 'Austeny'. Thanks mom, I felt beautiful and confident) and all of my friends for making this possible behind the scenes. I love you all and am so very blessed to have you all in my life!

To Robyn and Mariska who physically took this trip with me, thanks so much, it was a blast!

Last but not least, to the Cerebral Palsy Association of the Eastern Cape, thank you for all the work you do and your tireless effort to remove the stigma of being differently-abled.

If you would like to assist this organization you can visit them here: https://www.cerebralpalsy.org.za/

Regards

Freeda Moon

NEXT WEEK: Why a good support system is vital! 

Comments

  1. Rojo10 November 2019 at 11:37

    What a great day it was! So relaxed and easy..... A day away from everything, with conversations and good laughs ... Just what we all needed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cerebral Palsy Association (Eastern Cape)11 November 2019 at 01:28

    Thank you so much for this lovely post! We loved being part of your surprise, and hope that this is the start of a long and beautiful friendship.

    ReplyDelete

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