TWITTERING ON

By Angela Kelly

Perhaps we all need a bit more humanity and pragmatism when it comes to them. After all, they still WANT to win and definitely don’t let the fans down on purpose.

I for one hope Emma is back competing when her wrists are totally right once more and she has full fitness. Whatever the outcome, she’s a heroine in my eyes – and a winner.

Our heroes are only human so give them a chance

WE all seem to have impossibly high standards for our heroes. And when they fail – for whatever reason – we’re disappointed.

I was thinking about that when I read about poor Emma Raducanu’s woes about her wrists. The tennis player needs surgery on both her wrists which will rule her out of Wimbledon and the French Open.

It really doesn’t seem five minutes since we were thrilled to be basking in her Brit success in 2021 when she burst onto the international scene taking the US Open title.

The 20 year-old from Kent looked to have it all: wonderful tennis skills, charisma that attracted a host of commercial sponsors and even a refreshingly sensible approach to success that created an ideal role model for youngsters everywhere.

We just waited for her to make the next spectacular move and notch up more successes. But it just didn’t happen.

She went out early from major competitions and, for the last 10 months, has been dealing with a recurring injury to both hands.

Emma has always impressed with her no-nonsense approach to both her successes and her failures and deserves massive credit for her approach to professional life.

Even with the current bleak, although temporary, tennis prospects caused by her need for surgery she is thinking of her fans.

In a statement, she explained: “I tried to downplay the issues so I thank all my fans who continue to support me when you did not know the facts. Looking forward to seeing you all back out there.”

A working life in journalism has taught me that we build up our icons to knock them down again, which is particularly cruel but a fact of media life.

People always have impossible expectations of sporting heroes. It’s as though we are living vicariously through them.

This is, though, very unfair and pointless. Sportsmen and women in particular need time to grow their talents and part of this is enduring failure as well as success.

Shoppers are shocked at new store rule

EVER since the first supermarket was opened in the UK by Premier Stores in South London in 1951 the population has been hooked on this type of one-stop shopping.

Since then, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and the other major names have become firmly ensconced in our retail life. They have simply changed shopping habits forever.

So, major alterations in one of the big names like Sainsbury’s is worth a second glance. In fact, it’s currently worth a controversy. Sainsbury’s has changed the shopping routine by installing security gates in some stores, forcing customers to scan their receipts in order to leave.

Shoppers have resorted to Twitter to express how the move makes them feel like shoplifters. They allege they are being made to feel like criminals by blocking them leaving before their receipts are checked.

Some point out the difficulties that individuals with disabilities or parents with young children may experience as a result.

The reason for this change is likely to be linked to security and the rise in shoplifting due to the dramatic increase in the cost of living.

This may be just something we have to accept these days but, unfortunately, once one chain has tried it the likelihood of others going the same route is high.

A nose for success?

WHAT sort of a nose have you got?

I know this is a trivial question but it’s currently up for debate as Disney is being slammed over the noses it gives its characters in its films and TV series.

Princesses, for example, usually have little button jobs while witches and other villains tend to have larger, sometimes hooked noses. This, critics believe, sends out the wrong message to young children.

The result is that TikTok has been alight with more than 5.3 million views of Disney being called out over their depictions.

You might be tempted to dismiss all this as totally unimportant unless, like me, you looked in the mirror at the nose Nature gave you and realised you were veering towards a villain’s conk.

Age has made me realise that not only is the shape of your nose irrelevant but that beauty is very much in the eyes of the beholder. In fact, many acknowledged beautiful women have unconventional noses.

However, I think the Disney critics do have a point here. If you peddle perfection like this you affect the way that anyone –especially youngsters – perceive themselves in today’s competitive world.

Children are already under enough pressure via social media to conform in all sorts of ways. Why add even more by implying their nose is not as “good” as someone else’s and somehow reveals just who you are?

Let’s all say yes to the mess

PROBABLY every home has one “messy drawer”. You know, where we chuck in keys, elastic bands, bits of string, small tools and sundry pieces of paper.

It’s the accepted bit of mess we don’t fret about. A bit like the chair in the bedroom piled high with clothes. Now, a new book from author Kerri Sackville called The Life-Changing Magic of a Little Bit of Mess makes this all officially acceptable. Her philosophy basically is “Has anybody got to the end of their life and wished they’d spent more time with their steam mop?” The answer, obviously, is no.

So, she started writing a manifesto for mess which she believes is good for the soul.

Great! So let’s now all accept that our homes will never be completely spotless and let ourselves off the hook. Job done.