Nearly 20 "mature chappies" from around Kaitangata rugged up and brought themselves and their sense of humour to the town's fire station for the first meeting of the, well, it does not actually have a name yet.
It is unofficially dubbed the Kaitangata Mens Club, but they are a generous lot, those senior Kai men, even letting four women through the door to join the conversation, the chats and the inevitable catching up.
At first, organiser and Kaitangata community co-ordinator Jean Proctor was concerned those who turned up might take some time to get used to the idea of having a regular gathering "for a bit of a natter and to solve all the world's problems".
She need not have worried.
The idea is the brainchild of Mrs Proctor and the late Leon Maguire, an elderly man who died recently.
They had noticed plenty of groups for older women but nothing where older men can converge and converse.
Mrs Proctor said there was no age restriction but it was more suited to people known as "mature chappies" who wanted to get out of the house and catch up with mates.
At the start of the meeting, the group stood for a moment's silence for Mr Maguire.
Then the chatter began.
Old photographs of Kaitangata and its people were deliberately laid out on the table to get people talking.
This group, mostly in their 70s, needed very little prompting.
Syd Beck (73) was no sooner in the door than he made a beeline for an old friend.
"That guy over there lives just four houses down the road but we haven't caught up for years," he said.
Bill Anderson (76) was another keen for a chat and thought the new club was a great idea, especially for retired and widowed men who often stayed at home over winter and rarely socialised in the colder months.
"This way, we can all get together and have a yarn. Really brilliant."
Hot drinks and a biscuit were provided and each member made a small donation to the Kaitangata Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Mrs Proctor said it was up to the group to organise its next meeting but, judging by the chatter evident around the table yesterday that would be sooner rather than later.
"Gee, look at them. And I thought a group of old women couldn't shut up when they got together."
