Ranches Ladies Newsletter
Good Morning Ranches Ladies.
As the temperature increases we look forward to the summer holidays.
Hope you have a great week whatever you have planned.
What is your Superpower?
by Ansie van Der Walt
My children used to ask me that if I was a superhero, which super power would I like to have? I always say to be invisible. To be a fly on the wall. Just imagine where you can go and what you can see and hear if you don’t have to explain yourself…Alas, now that I am on the wise side of fifty, it seems my wish has come true. I am invisible. Nobody seems to notice or acknowledge women once they cross that magic bridge of middle age. We have been downgraded to old ladies, aunties, or grannies. Of course, it has its benefits – we don’t have to worry about creepy unwanted attention anymore. At last, we can walk down a street or sit alone at a café without a second glance or unasked-for comments. Don’t get me wrong – I love being the age I am. It is liberating to be free from the angst of youth, to stop worrying about what other people think, and to finally feel comfortable with who I am. I can now give and command attention from those I feel worthy of my time and energy while disregarding the rest – and not feel guilty about it.
It has happened more than a few times, that when I interview creative, smart, accomplished women, they admit to me that they don’t want their pictures published. They don’t show their faces. When I probe a bit, it is always because they fear that once people know that they are an older woman, their work won’t be taken seriously anymore. Unfortunately, many people still believe that anything to do with needlework, textiles, sewing, and handcraft is granny work or housewife duties, and accomplished women don’t want their work to be classified as granny work. Of course, we who work in this field know better but we don’t always work hard enough to publicly disprove this stereotype.I had a recent conversation with an artist who is an accomplished businesswoman, who has two degrees, who is teaching at the university, and who has recently published her first book. She did not want her picture in the book because she feared that her embroidery art will be dismissed as granny work once people realise she is not young anymore.*
I told her that if we don’t show ourselves and claim our place in the world, we are feeding the stereotype, we are erasing ourselves, reinforcing our invisibility. It is up to us to show ourselves. To claim our place as artists and accomplished members of society. I am not a selfie person. I don’t show myself just for the sake of it, and I rarely follow anyone on social media who only posts photos of themselves. But I believe in owning our own power, in showing our worth, in claiming our space. How would people know how bright, smart, and creative we are, if we don’t show ourselves? This is our superpower. Making ourselves visible.
This article is from local textile historian – Ansie van der Walt’s blog: The Fabric Thread.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefabricthread
https://www.instagram.com/ansietextilewriter/
Reproduced with the author’s permission. Thank you to Saba Asim from the Ranches Ladies Quilters Circle for recommending it.
Summer Reunions
If you are a present or past RL member who lives in the UK, or are visiting this summer, there are a couple of Ranches Ladies reunions being planned.
Sue Fulham is organising a reunion lunch in London on 8th July.
Mary Harvey is planning a reunion in Edinburgh in late July or early August.
Please contact Carole Binbrek via WhatsApp if interested and she will forward the message to Sue or Mary. You can also email ranches.ladies@gmail.com.
Tuesday Mornings
Ranches Ladies are meeting on Tuesday mornings for coffee at Larte Restaurant in Studio One Hotel, Studio City (across the roundabout from the back entrance of Arabian Ranches 1) from 10.30am – 12pm. It is a great chance for existing Ranches Ladies members to catch up and for new ladies to find out about membership and activities.
Our website is http://www.arabianranchesladies.com and you can find us on FB and Instagram as Ranches Ladies
To join the Ranches Ladies Whatsapp group if you are a member, please email ranches.ladies@gmail.com
If you have any items for the newsletter please send to arladiesdubai@gmail.com (by Friday afternoon for inclusion in the next Monday newsletter)
RL Circles News
Several circles will not be meeting during the summer months including Quilters, Story telling, Gardening, Hiking and the International Lunch Circle.
There will be no French in June except for the first week (Friday 3rd June). They may meet in July/August if enough people are around.
The Poetry Circle have their last meeting today, until September.
Please check the Circles Calendar for June on the website.
Trip to the Museum of the Future
On Wednesday 25th May, seven Ranches Ladies had a great time at the new Museum of the Future, followed by a delicious lunch at Emirates Towers.
Walking Circles
The Walking Circle, led by Alex, are doing their last walk outside today until September.
Instead, during June, July and August, they will move to walk indoors starting from Monday, June 6th 2022 at a new time of 9am to avoid heavy traffic. They will meet at “Dubai Hills Mall” outside Marks and Spencer’s and will walk for one hour and have coffee afterwards.
The Beach Walking Circle, led by Monika, are meeting at Kite beach (Blue Villas parking) on Thursdays at 6.30am.
Please email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com for more information on either group.
New – Meditative Stitching Circle
The new Meditative Stitching Circle, led by Saba, are meeting on Thursdays from 10am to 12pm.
If you would like to join please email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com
Art Circle
The Art Circle are taking a break during June. They may meet in July and August if enough people are available, on Thursday mornings from 10am to 12 noon.
If you would like to join please email Rajul: circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com for more information.
Book Circle
The Book Circle had a great discussion on 20th May about the novel, ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ by Laura Dave.
The next book for the book Circle is Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall.
They plan to meet on Friday 17th June at 9.30am to discuss this over coffee.
To join or find out more email Jackie at circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com
Climbing Circle
The Climbing Circle had a great session last Wednesday. Their next evening climbing session is planned for Wednesday 1st June 6-8pm at Go Sports, Mall of the Emirates. New members welcome, no experience required. It’s a great fun, indoor, air-conditioned fitness activity for the summer months.
For more information, email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com or send a message to Mandy or Tracy via the WhatsApp RL members group.
Story Telling Circle
Carole meeting Ibu Tien Suharto’s Wife in Jakarta
The Story Telling Circle had a great time discussing their favourite country on 23rd May. Carole talked about her time in her favourite country, Indonesia, and shared some photographic memories (above). Yasmeen’s favourite place was Iceland Alex’s was Cornwall and Lynne’s was Dubai.
The Story Telling Circle are not meeting again until September. If you would like to join them, please contact Carole or email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com
Yoga Circle
The Yoga Circle, taught by Mariana, is now starting at 8am instead of 8.30am and there is an extra class on Tuesdays at 5.30pm.
Contact circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com for more information or to join.
Literary Lunch Circle
The Literary Lunch Circle are currently reading ‘Songbirds’ – a stunning novel about the disappearance of a Sri Lankan nanny and how the most vulnerable people find their voices – by Christy Lefteri, the prize-winning author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo. They plan to meet to discuss the book over lunch on Monday 20th June. All are welcome.
To join or find out more, please contact Ashfaa at circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com
Pilates Circle
The Pilates Circle has now started on Thursday afternoons 2-3pm, at Optimal Fitness in Studio City. Gillian from Optimal Fitness is teaching the class and there is space for more ladies to join.
Please email Email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com for more information.
Shanghai Circle
The Shanghai Circle are meeting to play from 2.30-4.30pm on Fridays. If you would like to join them, please email Supriya: circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com
If you have a different hobby or interest and would like to start a new circle, please let us know.
Email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com for information on any circles.
Mosaics Circle
The Mosaics Circle, led by Ayesha, are now meeting on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in Green Community East, DIP.
No experience is needed. To join or for more details, email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com
If you have a different hobby or interest and would like to start a new circle, please let us know.
Email circles.ranches.ladies@gmail.com for information on any circles.
More Short Articles Needed!
We need more short (200 to 300 words) articles with photos for this newsletter on what you have been getting up to in your Circle groups or any topics you think would be of interest to other RL members.
If you would like to contribute please email arladiesdubai@gmail.com
Discounts
Your RL membership card is your passport to great discounts from our dozens of discount partners.
There have been some recent updates to the discounts section on the website, so please check for up to date deals.
Discounts for Hair and and Beauty are highlighted below:
Casa Havana Beauty Salon
20% Discount for 1st time customers
10% discount on all visits (excluding threading and hair extensions)
Villa 892, Al Wasl Rd Umm Suqeim 1
Tel: 04 321 5757/056 157 7878
http://www.casahavanasalon.com
Chill Salon – Hair Salon
20% off on first visit to Palm Jumeirah Salon only
Shoreline Building 1, Palm Jumeirah
Tel: 050 5788506
(Media City branch has been relocated to Palm Jumeirah)
10% off on all services at all branches
BUSINESS BAY
Marasi Drive
Hotel Indigo, Dubai Downtown
+971 (0) 505788506
DUBAI MARINA
Intercontinental Hotel 2nd Floor
Tel: 052 428 3225
http://www.chillsalondubai.com
Derma Lounge – Beauty Salon
10% Discount off Services at the salon
Not valid on products
Valid RL membership card must be shown to avail discount
Tel 043681453
Arabian Ranches 1 Community Centre
L’Atelier
Hair & Beauty
L’Atelier Hair and Beauty is now offering 20% discount on bills over 200 AED every day
Motor City (Kojak Building), Springs Souk and Jumeirah Village
Tel: 04 420 1946/04 420 3096
http://www.latelierhairdressing.com
Marquee – Hair Salon
Offering 15% discount on Monday to Thursday
Arabian Ranches Golf Club
Tel: 04 420 7700
http://www.marquee.ae
Only You – Hair & Beauty
20% discount on all services every day
Apex, Atrium 204, Motor City
Tel: 04 422 4180
http://www.onlyyousalon.com
Refinery Beauty Lounge
10% discount at our branch in Waitrose Al Thanya
10% discount at our branch in Centro – The Villa
http://www.refinerybeautylounge.com
Sugar Beauty Lounge
Sports City, Mall of the Emirates and Jumeira Lake Towers
Monday to Wednesday:
20% reduction on all nail, body, skin care and hair treatments.
40% on Keratin, Botox, Collagen and Protein
Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday:
20% on minimum spend of AED 250
Discount is not available 5 days before and during public holidays
Valid Ranches Ladies card must be shown
tel: Sports City 044520989 or MoE 043549001
http://www.sugarbeautylounge.com
Ted Morgan – Hair Salon
10% off on all days at Motor City branch.
(Jumeirah branch now closed)
Motor City, Daytona House, Unit 03
Tel: 04 457 2309
http://www.tedmorganhair.com
For any enquiries or suggestions please contact our Discounts Co-ordinator: discounts.rl@gmail.com
Website: www.arabianranchesladies.com
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Have a great week!
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