Tomorrow there will be tea parties held across the UK in support of the Fawcett Society’s Don’t Turn Back Time march and rally. Dressed in 50s garb, feminists will be urging the coalition to rethink their deficit plan which will take women’s rights back to the 1950s.

Here are some Fun Facts about why the Fawcett Society will be taking to the streets with tea, cake and placards:

I believe Dove started it, with the real women ad campaigns. It was, perhaps, a natural progression from L’Oreal’s popular ‘You’re worth it’ slogan. Beauty adverts that say; this is attainable and this is for you. L’Oreal updated their adverts to a Coalition style ‘We’re worth it’ recently and Ann Summers leapt onto the real woman in campaigns bandwagon.

Because, you know, we’re all in this together.

Only, as with the government’s catchphrases, this Ann Summers campaign seems a misguided one.

When I spoke about writing this subject I kept referring to it as ‘the Ann Summers real women competition’. Of course if you identify as a woman then hey! I suppose we’re all Ann Summers competition winners!  Sexy high five!

To a mere mortal, becoming an Olympic athlete is an insurmountable goal, one that takes dedication, focus, and talent. And to make the move from Olympian to F1 driver – and back again! – is simply mind-boggling. But Divina Galica achieved both.

At the age of 20, Galica represented Great Britain in the downhill skiing and slalom events at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Four years later, she was back, as captain of the British Women’s Olympic Ski Team, and finished eighth in the giant slalom. At the 1972 Winter Olympics she again captained the British women’s squad, and finished seventh in the giant slalom. For many years she held the he British women's downhill skiing speed record, with a top speed of 125mph.

So, there are rumours that a Doctor Who movie may be in the works. I mean, there are always rumours that a Doctor Who movie is in the works (anyone remember the one featuring Johnny Depp that would be “out by Christmas” about 5 years ago?), but this one has more legs than usual.


You may also have heard that a lot of people are not in favour of this movie. “Why?” I hear you ask –“that sounds like a fantastic idea!” Well let me explain... 

It is said (here) “when you’re tired of hot pants, you’re tired of life”. So we should be happy to see Madonna out dancing with back-up dancer hopefuls whilst wearing whatever the heck she wants to. Which happens to be hot pants.

Pictures of her daughter Lourdes watching her mum dance have been featured in the tabloids who insist the 15 year old looks embarrassed. To me, Lourdes just looks plain bored. It has taken me some years to overcome the crushing feeling of constant embarrassment, if anything Madonna has done her children a favour and after 15 years on this planet I suspect Lourdes is inured to humiliation.

We’re feeling sociable. Sociable and sophisticated. So here is our list of who we would like to invite to a Squeamish Bikini dinner party. Some of our guests might be a little late…

Didn't make the list? That doesn't matter. You are cordially invited to the Friday 5.

There’s been a plethora of blogs and newspaper articles by women about online abuse they receive. This led to the Tiger Beatdown Twitter hashtag, #mencallmethings which women used to post abuse they had received online. Some had found these comments hilarious and recommended replying in similarly vitriolic terms. Apparently this approach usually shuts up the ‘man in his mother’s basement/flat above parent’s garage, bathed in the glow of his laptop’. Some had been so frightened by the threats they contacted the police.

There’s been praise for the bloggers; to refuse to remain silent is always the first step in overcoming abuse. However, scroll down to the comments section on any of the online posts about this subject and you will find men claiming it is online misandry that needs to be confronted.

You should all be listening to The Hidden World of Girls. Tina Fey hosts this collection of stories about women all over the world. Covering both tribal and family traditions that deal with the transition from girlhood to womanhood, young and old women share their hobbies, retreats and folklore. Hear Russian Babushkas lose the opportunity to represent Russia in the Eurovision contest, a Mississippi teenager shoot a doe and the Speed Sisters race on the West Bank.

Tina Fey begins the show by explaining it was Stevie Wonder’s mother, Lula Mae Hardaway’s obituary that inspired her and The Kitchen Sisters to make The Hidden World of Girls.

Autumn and winter mean big boots, cosy jumpers, hot chocolate and mulled wine. They also mean anyone near me is going to hear a lot of complaining about long nights, along with many wishes that I was a black bear and could hibernate through the dark days. I don’t really wish I was a bear (although how cosy does this look?) – it would mean I would miss out on kicking big piles of leaves, snowball fights and Christmas. But the darkness does get to me, so here are some ideas for getting through it.