Out and about with ladies who lunch

A woman with time on her hands during the day?

Many would roll their eyes at the suggestion, but Aucklander Yvette Pritchard believes there are plenty of ladies of leisure - so many, in fact, that she has launched a women's daytime entertainment club.

Called Corporate Wives Club, it is aimed primarily, she says, at "the wives of corporate gentlemen".

"It's generally those people who have the flexibility during the day," the 32-year-old told the Herald this week.

The club is advertising for members with a picture of ladies out to lunch, ahead of the launch of its entertainment programme next month.

The programme will have one "personal development activity" and one "outing" each week.

The first round of personal development is a beaded jewellery class on March 6. The outing is a trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island.

Members pay $275 for a six-month membership to the "exclusive" club, plus additional fees for the classes and outings.

The club is women-only but despite the name (and the marital status of the founder), you don't have to be a wife to join.

"It's just any woman who is looking for some kind of variety in their week," Mrs Pritchard said.

A former shipping company employee, she is careful to avoid references to bored housewives or women with nothing better to do, but quick to point out what the club is not.

"It's not some sort of hideous yummy mummy club ... It's not some sort of dating service."

After stints living in Britain, Denmark and Japan, she is confident it will appeal to expat wives who have followed their corporate husbands to New Zealand.

"It's not always easy to just fit in and know what to do with your day," she said. "Sometimes you truly do want to linger with the locals."

Women's clubs she encountered while overseas tended to focus on night-time activities, which were not conducive to family life, she said.

The club, which says it has 50 members, is also aimed at women who work from home and "crave a break away from routine".

Like members of any good organisation, the women will do their bit for charity.

The club sponsors a guide dog, and $15 of the membership fee goes to the Breast Cancer Foundation or Child Cancer Foundation.

But is a "wives club" where women congregate to learn beaded jewellery and scrapbooking not a little antiquated?

"It's a relatively conservative initiative, but it might have less conservative spinoffs than what one might think," said Auckland University sociologist Vivienne Elizabeth.

Dr Elizabeth said there could well be women who wanted a club of this kind, although she thought the activities sounded unchallenging, particularly for expat wives who were likely to be highly educated.

The cost ruled out all women with time on their hands signing up.

"One way to make sure you don't get the 'wrong' sort of woman is to put a price tag on membership."

But she praised Ms Pritchard for seizing upon a business opportunity.

"Good on her. We live in entrepreneurial times."


Filling in time

From the programme of the Corporate Wives Club:
* Introduction to scrapbooking ($25).
* Ladies' DIY at Bunnings Warehouse ($15).
* Auckland Zoo: Behind the scenes primate experience ($120).