It was that time of the year, once again. On May 13, Shepstone Place and the Estcourt Lions Club hosted Tanya Visser at Linglela Lodge. The venue was filled to capacity as keen gardeners came to listen to the gardening guru of South Africa.

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As always the atmosphere was electrifying. Things started happening from 10am with the arrival of the hostesses coming to prepare their tables. The hustle and bustle that went on was intense, as crates of décor were carted in, containing exquisite delicate china for the Royal Event category.

Kings and queens would have been honoured to have attended a tea party in such fine and elegant surroundings. Aloes, strelitzias, porcupine quills and beautifully hand-painted enamel cups were used to portray the beauty of our country in the Out of Africa category.
Then came the fun! Tables decorated with funky hats, quirky cupcakes and every child’s dream fairy garden.

Colour and texture exploded everywhere in the Mad Hatter’s category. To calm matters down and bring a peaceful touch to all the madness, the Simplicity category displayed beautiful tranquil settings. With touches of moss, country roses and soft colours, the simplicity of life radiated beauty and serenity.

Tanya and her brother, Shaun, were given the difficult task of judging these absolutely amazing tables. Eventually after much deliberation, decisions were reached and the winners were announced. Out of Africa category was won by Linda Enslin. A Royal Event was won by Jenny Wreford. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was won by Tanya Putterill.

Simplicity was won by Merinda Schaub. A very big thank you to ALL the hostesses. The amount of money, time and love invested in presenting such amazing décor is truly appreciated.

This was the fourth time that Tanya Visser had visited Estcourt but it felt like the first. New tricks of the trade were shared with the audience, as Tanya challenged everyone to attempt vegetable gardening as it is one of the most rewarding projects, no matter how big or small the garden is.

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She went on to mention how lucky we are to live in Estcourt, as our winters are cold enough to stimulate the growth of many types of fruit trees. On a serious note, she stressed the importance of saving water and made suggestions on how we can all save this very precious commodity.

With a steaming cup of tea, delicious eats and gifts for each guest, everyone enjoyed a fun filled informative afternoon.
The economic conditions play a big part in the success of fund raising as non-profit organisations have to rely a lot on sponsorship and donations.

This year we were extremely blessed with the way in which companies, and individuals gave so willingly towards our project. The committee of Shepstone Place and the members of the Estcourt Lions Club would like to take this opportunity in thanking all the sponsors.

This event would not have been possible without you and we are eternally grateful. A very big thank you to Sherlene Gericke and all the flea market stall holders. They braved the coldest, wettest, windiest day ever in Estcourt to display their beautiful wares. We hope that it was worth all the discomfort you endured. To all the guests, thank you for supporting yet another one of our projects.
It’s people like yourselves that make it possible for us to continue doing what we can to help those who have reached their golden years and to help those less fortunate than ourselves. May God bless you all.

Last, but not least, we would like to thank the Estcourt and Midlands News for all the coverage they gave us.
We are so fortunate to have such an understanding and co-operative media team who go out of their way to make our lives so much easier. Thank you very much!

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