Why Ageing Doesn't Mean Decline and Fall Ageing is like climbing a mountain but, despite what we’re led to believe, getting to your peak is not the best part. Once you’re over the hump, there’s a whole new world to explore; a world that society and advertisers either ignore or tell us is all downhill.... Continue Reading →
Writes
Wearing Well
Should I Dress for my Age? I went to a comedy gig on Friday, and when I was ready, I asked my husband if what I was wearing was appropriate. He answered with ‘perfect’, but then I thought about my question. I hadn’t asked whether it was a good outfit, or attractive, I’d asked if... Continue Reading →
My Body is a Wild Thing
You’ve heard of lady bumps, right? They appear in girls around the age of puberty and are generally welcomed, until you get used to them, when they become cumbersome and annoying. I’ve just returned from the Doctor’s where I discovered that, now I’m firmly into old lady puberty (the menopause) I’m getting old person bumps... Continue Reading →
What’s in a Name?
(First Published on The Motherload Blogzine, 31st August 2019) My name is Lisa. I was perfectly happy about that until I opened a Drama School in my early 30’s and every fourth mother enrolling their child was called Lisa too. It was then I realised that my name gave away my age. Lisa is the... Continue Reading →
Never Too Old to Rock
My 53-year-old husband has decided to become a rock star, and I’m not even kidding. He’s played bass since he was a kid and always dreamed of making it big but work and responsibilities got in the way of that dream, until now. He still has two businesses to run, a couple of school-age kids... Continue Reading →
Why 50 is Fabulous for Women
I have a new sense of purpose and, since my preconception was that I should be settling down with my knitting as I approached 50, I wondered why. Ok, I still prefer my slippers to towering heels, and need a seat with a back, but I’m energised and ambitious at a time when the world... Continue Reading →
Resurgence
There was a time when middle-aged women would melt into the shadows. Many would adjust their elasticated skirts, sit down in the darkest corner of the room and watch men continue to perform in the sunshine. Folding their hands in their laps, they closed their mouths and let the next generation turn their faces to... Continue Reading →
Naked Ambition
I want to want to take my clothes off There was a beach, I have a body, so I was beach body ready, right? I’m ashamed to admit that, on holiday, that’s not how I felt at all. I’m ashamed because I have two daughters who I should be setting a better example for. The... Continue Reading →
A Modern Day Bottom Drawer
Whilst reading a novel set in the 1920’s, I came across the phrase her bottom drawer and I remembered my Grandma telling me about what a girl should collect for her bottom drawer in preparation for married life. Traditionally a woman would accumulate linen, clothing, cutlery etc. The bottom drawer was either a literal or... Continue Reading →
Should I Let my Child Watch the News?
Following a discussion on the Jeremy Vine show about my ten-year-old daughter’s response to Brexit, a listener called in to say that any anxiety my child felt was my fault for allowing her to watch the news. When I’d stopped defensively stamping my feet and blaming the politicians, I thought about it from the commentator’s... Continue Reading →