GAIA Magazine Issue 3, August 2015

a i a g ISSUE 3 Aug 2015

for every woman

TURKISH, MUSLIM AND a LESBIAN

That NASTY PINK RASH

VG Lee exclusive interview with the inimitable author & Comedian

gender apartheid

Artisan ‘Funeral Director’ Emma Mackay

...making it in a man’s world

coco chanel 'The most courageous act is still to think for yourself.

Aloud.'

Editor’s Letter

To say the last couple of months have been a whirlwind would be an understatement. It all started when I met Michelle Mone, a woman whose mission is to not only make women look and feel good, but to honour and empower them through her mentorship, keynote speeches and philanthropy. She has been speaking to people around the world of late and mentoring businesses or individuals from Singapore to LA… Michelle grew up in Glasgow’s tough east end and has literally fought her way to the top.

She says: ‘I wake up every morning with the fear of failure and that’s what keeps me driven.’

I certainly learned a thing or two!

Closer to home I met with our cover star, the inimitable VG Lee. She embodies the ethos of our magazine celebrating inspiring women. Dealing with her cruel childhood has given her a vigour and zest for life in her later years. She is one remarkable lady.

It’s an honour to get to meet the women that we do, from all walks of life whilst making Gaia, every single one is brilliant in their own way.

Because we know it can be hard to wait for each issue to launch you can head to our website www.gaiawomen.com. There, you can keep up with behind-the-scenes action, our partners, news features and other things we can’t fit in to the magazine.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.

AJ Alanna Jane Follow me on twitter at @AlannaJane1 instagram GaiaWomen ... Tweet us at @GaiaMagEditor

Editor: Alanna Jane Contributors: Rachel Black, Mac, Suzanne Egerton, Allie Allen, Jo Minns, Horse McDonald Design: idesign Cover photograph: DJ Connell Publishers: Randan Publishing Ltd Company Number SC201978 Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accidents or any other cause. Gaia Magazine does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission of the publisher.

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© 2015

THIS ISSUE WELLBEING

Saddle Up - the benefits of horse riding TRAVEL

Mallorca and the Isle of Wight ON THE COVER

We catch up with the inimitable author and comedian VG Lee FOOD AND DRINK

A snapshot of our favourite eateries this month FEATURES

That Nasty Pink Rash - gender apartheid Backwards Evolution Turkish, Muslim and Lesbian ARTS

Books.Music SPORTS

The women working tirelessly behind the scenes ARTISAN

Funeral Director - Emma MacKay, making it in a man’s world AGENDA

Events Calendar THE LAST WORD

Horse Whispers…

Issue 3 Aug 2015

Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline Celebrate Their Relaunch

The Switchboard, which offers confidential peer support for the LGBT+ community, relaunched their service in June at a gala event in London.

It has been a listening ear for the gay community for more than four decades. Originally called the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard, the LGBT helpline began in 1974 when members in the community saw a need for help within London.

The organisation has changed its name to reflect the calls it receives from around the country. Now they take calls from all over the UK and from abroad, which is vital as so many local helplines are closing down.

Since first answering the phones that year, the Switchboard has continued to grow, diversify and reach out throughout forty years of social change. More than fifteen thousand people use Switchboard’s services every year to talk about a variety of subjects including coming out, discrimination, and sexual health. Volunteers are trained to listen, signpost people to specialist services and to support them to make informed decisions for themselves. The group is run and delivered by trained volunteers who come from the LGBT community that they support.

Crucially, people who use the service do not necessarily have to identify as being LGBT to ring. You could be the family or friends of someone. Their ethos is peer support: people from the community, supporting the community.

Nuala O’ Sullivan, Horse and David Sinclair fellow co-chair

Nuala O’Sullivan, Switchboard’s Co-Chair, said “This is an incredibly exciting time for Switchboard. We have so much to celebrate and a new chapter to look forward to. Our new name will help us to spread the message that we continue to provide a safe and confidential space where people’s concerns can be listened to and talked through.

“Everything is kept completely confidential. It’s this ethic that has kept us going for so long. People know that they can pick up the phone and speak to someone about what’s going on in their lives with a feeling of security.”

Statistically, 80% of the Switchboard’s callers and volunteers are gay men, something they are keen to address. Olympic diver, Tom Daley, was announced as the new patron of the charity – in his first ever patronship of an LGBT charity. In addition to Tom they have also appointed singer Horse McDonald and comedian Rosie Wilby as patrons to reach further in to the LGBT community.

The Switchboard is open seven days a week on telephone number 0300 330 0630 To find out more about the Switchboard LGBT+ helpline, whether it’s for support or to volunteer, you can visit them via their website. www.switchboard.lgbt

Photos: Joel Ryder

0300 330 0630

wellbeing

Saddle-up!

Horse riding

your way to health and fitness.

by Jane Allen

Many of us find it more effective to exercise with a friend - but could your best training partner be a horse?

Horse riding is not just a sport, it’s a partnership. The connection that can be achieved with a horse is hard to put into words. It can make you feel happy and positive, and lower your stress hormones giving you a sense of well-being.

Riding combines a cardiovascular workout with a rewarding mental challenge. It helps improve your fitness and balance, build muscle tone, encourage muscle strength and improve hand-eye coordination and joint mobility, while also burning calories – an invigorating lesson without stirrups is as good as going for a lunchtime gym workout.

Horse riders are typically a social crowd. With a shared love of horses, you’ll find you make friends for life, often with people you would otherwise have been unlikely to meet, and there are plenty of events for you to join. It gives you a sense of freedom that no other sport can match, so why not experience it for yourself – there is nothing else like it in the world.

Physical benefits of horse riding

Horse riding is a great form of exercise which has both cardiovascular and muscle conditioning benefits.

Although it may seem as though the rider is not engaging in any physical exercise, an hour’s activity can burn similar calories to that of a 30-minute jog or cycle ride. Therefore, all the health benefits associated with engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise are gained.

After your first ride you may feel muscles that you never knew you had. This is due to the movement of the horse and its effect on the rider during the ride. As the rider reacts to the horse’s movements to avoid becoming off balance, the deep postural muscles of the trunk and pelvis and the adductor muscles of the thighs are continuously being conditioned.

Psychological benefits of horse riding

Horse riding is recognised as having excellent therapeutic qualities. The psychological benefits can be of equal importance to riders as the physical benefits.

Simply being out and about and enjoying the great outdoors will boost your general wellbeing and act as a great stress buster. There is a real sense of exhalation and freedom when you ride, a feeling that is second to none.

Furthermore, developing a relationship and sense of trust between yourself and your horse is highly rewarding. Learning to control and care for an animal much larger than yourself can have a profound affect on your confidence and is a great feeling.

.

Is it for me?

Fitting horse riding into your life is simple! Meet like-minded people; soak up the fresh air and benefit from a great cardiovascular workout - burn around 360 calories an hour. With lots of national, regional and local events across the UK, you will never be short of places to go with the friends you have made. Riding lessons are an important way to learn horse riding and mastering the basics will make riding safer and more enjoyable.

What equipment do I need?

The most important thing is safety and comfort.

Footwear

– if you have riding boots then that’s great, if you don’t then there’s no need to worry – a pair

of boots with a small heel will be ideal. Trainers and flat soled shoes aren’t suitable because they could allow your foot to slip through the stirrup and get caught up. Some riding centres may provide you with boots so check before you go.

Trousers –

jodhpurs are optional. We would recommend wearing trousers without a seam if possible to avoid any discomfort.

Riding hats

– hard hats should be provided by your riding centre and be fitted by a qualified instructor

before you mount the horse.

Clare Harris, who took up riding again five years ago after a 12-year break, was pleased to find some unexpected benefits when she returned to the sport she loves. As well as keeping her fit and relaxed she credits the riding with relieving the symptoms of her MS. “After half an hour being back in the saddle the spasms in my legs had loosened,” says Clare, 50, from Niton, Isle of Wight.

Horse riding can stretch hip joints and reduce pain and spasticity in leg muscles and improve muscle tone in the legs. Riding can also improve coordination, balance, and posture. “ When the class was over, my legs were tired, but I enjoyed the time I spent with the horses and look forward to my weekly hack.”

What are you waiting for ?

To find a stables near you visit: www.bhs.org.uk

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INBOX your magazine, your thoughts….

DESTINATION UNKNOWN

INSIDER INTERVIEWS

Last month you truly delivered on the front cover interview - I poured over Mary Gauthier’s words more readily than I usually do. We’re not all about beauty and shopping, sometimes we like to scratch a little deeper and debate bigger topics.

Thanks for making that possible.

More amazing interviews next issue, please.

Janice McBride, Glasgow

Whenever I look for a holiday, I struggle to find where to go, for how long and what to do when there. That’s why I love your travel and hotel features - the team’s inside knowledge of the destinations cut through the usual wishy-washy brochure stuff and tell you what a place is really like.

Ann Blair, Banchory

MOTHER’S LOVE

LIFE’S NOT ALWAYS A BED OF ROSES

I just wanted to applaud you for choosing some of the more unpleasant side of life to feature in your articles.A Slice of Life in your June issue was indeed shocking, especially combined with the imagery but is nevertheless a fact of life in the UK and worldwide today. Please keep highlighting the plight of others that we otherwise may not get to hear about.

Lisa Sinclair, Felixstowe

Your piece, Mother’s Day-Not The Only Day To Say Thank You made me take a long hard look at my relationship with my own mother. I am forever busy in my own life so that often I forget how she may be feeling. I showed this article to mom and we agreed to make quality time for each other. We’re afraid that if we don’t that time will run out for either of us.

Sara Morton, Oregon

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THNK OF THE MAGAZINE - CONTACT US

info@randan.org

Travel Surf's Up! You're never too old, right?

Allie Allen My eyes were stinging, the salty water streaming from my nose and my hair flopped wildly in my face – but, somehow, I was up. It can’t have been a pretty sight, with legs wobbling and arms waving, but emerging triumphant that after a shaky twenty minutes I was on my feet and feeling like a surfer. That is, until I ploughed headlong into Scott, my instructor, and went flying into the English Channel.

By then it was too late. I was hooked. The training had begun early that morning. We had three days in which to turn ourselves into masters of the waves with the expert help of Wight Water, a long established family Adventure Sport business. A 10am start saw us collecting our bulky foam boards and hotfoot down to the water’s edge shepherded by Scott. On the warm sand, we were shown how to ‘pop up’ on our boards.

Frenzied paddling to catch the wave, you propel yourself from a face down position to a semi – upright squat in one fluid movement. It seemed straightforward enough. We were itching to go.

Bravado on the beach quickly gave way to embarrassment on the sea. Battling to paddle out while avoiding other beginners is energy draining, being slapped in the face by wave after wave is also a test of will. That’s why you learn on softboards: They are more buoyant and don’t cause any long – term harm when colliding with fellow surfers or bathers out for a peaceful morning swim.

An hour later my teeth were chattering, arms ached and feet were numb with the cold. As one of Britain’s estimated 200,000 devotees, I found surfing the most demanding physical challenge I have ever experienced. Muscles I didn’t know existed are still raw and I ached for days afterwards. But the sheer exhilaration of catching your first wave, bouncing up and rolling into the shallows drives you to do it again and again. It must be a little like walking on water.

Style is important, both on and off the water, and surfers exude a certain kind of cool. Our instructor divulged that surfers can be recognised instantly by their style. I tried to imitate the effortless stance of the pros… and failed miserably. That’s why lessons are a fundamental part of surfing. Without them you pick up bad habits.

The sport has never been more popular and a great way to discover the British coastline. A novice can easily master the island’s waves.

Wight Water Adventure Watersports is a ten minute walk from the Waterfront Inn at Shanklin, where would – be surfers can stay the weekend and receive as much tuition as they can handle. There are a variety of good pubs and restaurants dotted along this pretty esplanade. The beauty of surfing in the UK is that the weather can’t spoil it. It’s the swell that matters. Our best day’s surfing was under heavy skies, not noticing the rain until we unzipped our wetsuits.

Who needs to chase the waves and sunsets in California?

FACTFILE: Wight Water Adventure Watersports TEL: 01983 404987/866269 www.wightwaters.com Waterfront Inn, Shanklin, IOW

Public bar, seafront patios and decks, open all day for coffees, snacks, lunches, dinner, clotted cream teas.

Stunning location.

A family-run B&B / Hotel with 8 bedrooms, all en-suite, 5 of which have sea views and all offer bed and breakfast. "We appreciate that our guests' enjoyment is the key to our success and we endeavour to offer high standards in customer service together with a personal touch. We welcome dogs, and pets in general, throughout the hotel." www.waterfront-inn.co.uk Isle of Wight Tourism www.islandbreaks.co.uk

TRAVEL ELLA International Lesbian Festival

The Spanish summer is about so much more than beaches: Mallorca offers a wide variety of culinary delights, wonderful wines, welcoming locals and last but not least natural attractions. It is a place where for over a week in September women from all over the world can meet and share their interests for music, art, culture, sports and nature.

1 - 9 SEP 2015 Ticket prices start from €250 per person Where better to meet like-minded women, whether you are on your own, part of a couple or with a group of friends. And we will be on hand with a friendly hello. There are whole day programmes and activities to satisfy body and soul in an entertaining, cultural, artistic women-oriented atmosphere.

ELLA is an exclusive event for women who know how to enjoy life.

Here is a sample of the event programme: WEDNESDAY 2.09.15

10:00 – 18:00 ELLA TALKS (INSPIRATIONAL TALKS – OPEN TO PUBLIC) 18:00 – 20:00 COCKTAIL & NETWORKING THURSDAY 3.09.15

11:00 – 21:00 ELLA PLAYA + ACTIVITIES Cala Mayor ELLA Playa is the official meeting point of the Festival during the day.

This is where you can play sports, sunbathe, relax, dance and enjoy the chill-out zone.

20:00 GRAND OPENING + SHOW / LIVE MUSIC Grand Opening of the Festival – Live Music, Cocktails, Photocall.

Catering courtesy of Hard Rock Cafe 22:00 PARTY: ELLA AROUND THE WORLD LINE-UP • Mia Knani • Hannelore Von der Vogelwippe • Mia Wallas • Djane Blues FRIDAY 4.09.15

11:00 – 21:00 ELLA PLAYA + ACTIVITIES / GAMES 20:00 SPANISH DINNER + SHOW / LIVE MUSIC 22:00 PARTY: ELLA AMERICAN DREAM MONDAY 7.09.15

10:00 – 17:00 CATAMARAN EXCURSION 11:00 – 21:00 ELLA PLAYA- CALA MAYOR 20:00 – 00:00 ELLA MIX LBT OUTDOOR FILM FESTIVAL DAY 1 plus much more……

Join us now for an unforgettable experience.

Hasta Luego!

For further information visit: www.ellafestival.com

VG Lee Photo DJ Connell

on the cover

by Alanna Jane

A friend gave VG Lee an unwanted birthday present - a course in stand-up comedy. But now she's discovered laughter DOES make the world go round...

Being a stand-up comedian is a very tough job. Standing in front of people is never easy, but standing in front of people who judge everything you say and expect to laugh every few seconds is much harder.

You sometimes wonder why the hell people want to become a comedian in the first place, but VG does just that with gusto.

VG (Val) was born in Birmingham to parents who weren’t interested in her but has gradually worked her way southwards and now lives and writes in Hastings on the Sussex coast.

She has forged a successful comedy and writing career and has published four novels, and a collection of short stories. In 2012, her most recent novel, ‘Always you, Edina’ was chosen as Stonewall’s Book of the Month for June. At the end of November 2014 she won the Ultimate Planet award for Established Author of the Year.

I recently caught up with Val at her home in Hastings…

AJ: Hi Val, let’s start right at the beginning, how was your childhood?

VG: I didn't have a happy childhood, neither my mother or father wanted children, they were very disappointed in us (me and my brother). When I was five my mother sent me away for around three months to my auntie and it was probably the best time I ever had. They didn’t like children, they found them boring, they were very sexual people and were just interested in affairs.

AJ: Has that affected your personal relationships?

VG: Yes, I am totally unable to have a decent one. I wouldn’t speak for my brother but I certainly think it made us timid in some ways actually.

AJ: Did it make you not want children yourself?

VG: I would have liked children. Years ago I was married for quite a period of time, which again was a bad and foolish move and at that time I would have liked children, although in retrospect now I see that I would never have got away, or not got away as easily, as I was quite a fearful person. Over the years I’ve grown stronger.

AJ: Have you been able to have any closure with your mum and dad, did you learn to accept how they were with you?

VG: Sadly not.When people say, ‘well they couldn’t have been as bad as all that’ I’m afraid they were as bad as all that.They probably held us both in fear, me and my brother.

My dad certainly until his death and my mother was a force to be reckoned with.But in later years she was addicted to anti depressants and sort of disappeared for twenty years as a person, she was there but she wasn’t there.

AJ: Through your shared experiences are you close to your brother?

VG: I love him dearly and I’d say he loves me although we’re not always on the same wavelength… (laughs)…but we are totally linked.

AJ: You say you haven’t been able to form relationships fully but have you managed to find love?

VG: I love my friends and I often mention Mary, and I would say that I love her dearly and she is so important to me but I don’t seem to have the ability for the romantic love.

AJ: Do you feel that it is something that is missing in your life?

VG: No, I don’t. I feel that what I was hoping for in life was to have dear friends because I never had any of those for quite a long while, and I have them now. The friends that I do have I’ve known a long time and they are very close to me and I can cope with them but I couldn’t cope with a proper commitment.

AJ: You came to writing quite late, what did you do before that?

VG: I was a sign writer and mural painter in London with Mary. We had a company for twenty years.

We did all sorts of funny cartoons of parrots kissing, beds running about, and Mary is still a sign writer. I was always good at drawing, although Mary is far better than I am, I have the common touch I think, although I don’t draw now. We set out to have a laugh and not make money and we did both.

AJ: Did you ever have a lightbulb moment when you thought, ’I want to write’ ?

VG: Yes, when I discovered that I could do it and that was in my early forties. I suddenly realised that I may not be the best at anything but I could put my thoughts down and create people and it was very very exciting to me.

AJ: And how did that progress in to the comedy?

VG: I started writing humour and then when I took myself more seriously I got a bit up my own backside and decided I wanted to be a literary author so I stopped writing comedy and wrote very dark pieces, then people were asking why wasn’t I writing comedy. In the end I grew out of those foolish few years, and thought I must just write what I like writing which is mainly comedy but every now and then I’ll write something not so funny.

AJ: Have you always been funny, as to me, you seem such a naturally funny person?

VG: I think I have. My paternal grandmother was very funny and my brother is very funny, it was probably our way of trying to amuse our parents. I was a loner for many years and humour was how I connected with people.

On a good day I think I can do it.

AJ: You had a big birthday coming up (60th) and set yourself some challenges, what were they?

VG: Someone bought me a comedy course down here in Hastings which I went on, and although I was terrible at the course, I was actually quite good at the comedy at the very end. I set myself a challenge of sixty comedy gigs in a year, which I booked straight away for my sixtieth year.

I did over ninety, plus a two week stint at the Edinburgh Festival, and put on two stone from eating burgers late at night!

I still do it now but I choose my venues, friendly rather than hostile ones, it’s fed in to the performing with the writing too. People expect me to be funny and both have helped each other.

AJ: What are you currently working on?

VG: I’m trying to finish a novel but it won’t happen this year because of other commitments. I’m trying to finish another funny story for performance because if you’re reading comedy it’s a bit like stand up, people expect you to have something new every time which is very difficult. My column for The Lady magazine this month is whether to have wood chip on the walls or not?

AJ: How do your characters come to you?

VG: I tend to start with people around me. I have my ex neighbour Les Next Door who features in all The Lady pieces, I’ve probably got a whole novel on him.

Mary has turned up in all sorts of guises but usually as friends who are difficult and selfish, but she doesn’t mind because she does like being in things. From that evolves other characters, which are fictional. I try to fictionalise more as I have upset people in the past when I have used them.

AJ: Having read your books, you are very observational…

VG: I am, I can see something and describe it to someone, they’ll see it and they won’t find it half as interesting and think I’ve made it up but I do have a humorous eye on the world. Even when I’m very low I can find humour in something.

AJ: Describe your writing environment?

VG: I can write most places really. I’ll be writing on the train today when I go in to London. I told my friend Paul last night that when I’m settled I’m going to do a morning in the library and a morning in the pub on the corner. I’m going to force myself to have two half pints of Shepherd Neame beer and it will surely feed into something .

AJ: I’d like to see the difference between the library and the pub writing…

VG: I just wanted to set myself a test really as I do like pubs.

AJ: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

VG: Not advice exactly, but the best thing that happened to me was somebody telling me that I had been cruel. It upset me so much that I looked inwards and realised that sometimes with humour you can be too funny at somebody else’s expense and it was a huge learning curve for me and it changed my life. That happened when I was thirty and even now I thank that person for saying it. Sometimes a criticism that is true, if you recognise it, can set you on a better path.

AJ: This has obviously had a profound effect on you..

VG: It did. It made me look at how glib I could be. I had been being funny all my life and it is easy to do anything for a joke. Sometimes I still step out of line but I know it now , whereas before I did it and just didn’t care. It may seem obvious, but for me, once I could really see that people did have feelings that I was hurting it was a big realisation and I tried to stop.

AJ: Is there a piece of advice that you would give to anyone starting out in the literary world?

VG: I would say if anyone is doing anything creative, please don’t do it for the money. Don’t dream of money, don’t dream of success in that sense. Just think what a joy it is to create something, what fun and if you’re lucky, if you keep working then something will happen. But I do have people often wanting to write blockbusters or make big films and I just think that isn’t the way, you’re not going to get any joy out of it, or any creativity, so never just do it for the money.

AJ: Is there anyone that’s been an inspiration to you?

VG: Mary is a big inspiration to me. She has never done things for the money. Her politics are so decent yet she still manages to be such a ‘wicked’ person. I think the combination of humour, wickedness and decency is inspirational and a wonderful way to be.

AJ: Are there any authors that you admire?

VG: I love Sarah Waters, she combines a high standard of writing with the ability to produce pageturners. She is endlessly kind and supportive and has no ego. I like Daphne du Maurier, usually women authors that are full of characters, happenings and emotions and I also like Silence of The Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. I do read a lot.

a i a g boutique pop-up women’s events

women’s weekender

VG Lee

‘Drumkilbo’ 23rd-26th Oct 15

Join us for one of our annual ‘weekenders’. Located in the beautiful Scottish countryside. includes Two very rare and exclusive performances by two highly unique women

Full details from

www.gaiawomen.com

AJ: How do you feel that lesbian fiction is viewed these days?

VG: There are a lot more writers, which I’m really pleased about.

Some are very good and some I feel, perhaps, aren’t working hard enough at it, just getting books out. But I’m glad to see there are so many more coming through. I’m one of the judges for the Polari First Book prize this year and to me, the quality of the entries is first rate. It’s wonderful to see. I want lesbian fiction to be respected and not just light.

AJ: How do you feel being labeled a lesbian fiction writer?

VG: I don’t mind that at all. I think I’ve always set out to be that without realising it. I never wanted to work for the mainstream. I maybe wanted that at some point in my life but never to the point where I could look out the lesbian characters, like I know some people have done, or made them slightly obscure because my life is surrounded by all sorts of people but very much lesbians. I write what I know. It’s all about the writing.

AJ: Is there a reason you have chosen to live in Hastings?

VG: It’s a bit like Hackney-on-Sea and I loved living in Hackney but I came to visit a friend at a time when I was feeling rather stuck and stolid in London and thought ‘I could live here’. I’ve never regretted it and I’ve been much busier work wise since I moved here .

AJ: What is next for you?

VG: Mary and I want to put together a book on our twenty years of sign making and writing. There’s some wonderful pictures and we were possibly the only women in London doing it at the time. I hope to finish my novel and would like to write a memoir before I get too old. I have never written about my childhood properly, because it’s too grim, but I might put that down on paper.

AJ: And finally, how are you feeling right now?

VG: I honestly wish everyone could have a life like mine. It’s come to me late but if you get up in the morning and there’s jolly things to do: writing, talking, performing, what better life can a woman of 65 want?

www.vglee.co.uk

Feature

THAT NASTY PINK RASH Is the colour claimed by the gay community ultimately disempowering women?

Suzanne Egerton

There she goes with her doll’s buggy, helped through the press of shoppers by her mum. The wee girl wears a stylish jacket, pretty dress, stripey tights, trainers and a hairband, and is as cute as a button.But I have to sigh – 90% of the ensemble is a sickly, gungy, bubblegum pink. Not delicate shell pink either, but an aggressive, controlling colour which has been washing over the female of the species for over a generation, and conditioning many of its members for life.

You may have noticed on social media that there are recurring posts which suggest that a new wave of feminism has become not only apparent but increasingly necessary (see student photos, “I am a feminist because”, and “Everyday Sexism”). The feminism of Steinem, Greer and Freidan began to erode once the shockwaves from its explosion began to flatten, and business and commercial interests rebooted the serious work of influencing women to be ‘feminine’ again, with the colour pink a favourite weapon along with the high-maintenance hair and nails. This is an echo of the situation after the second world war, when women who had been doing hard and vital work in machine shops and the military, factories and fields, had to be persuaded or forced to vacate jobs in favour of the returning men. It was also important that they should begin the serious business of repopulating a depleted nation, and the baby-boomers who remember anything of the fifties will recall the heavy emphasis placed by advertisers on the joys of kitchen and home, the importance of bagging a husband, the essential need to be alluringly feminine, and of course reinforcement of the myth that women must always be in fierce competition with other women.

Divide and rule...

The effects of this powerful brainwashing were long-term and far-reaching, especially in the world of babywear. The layette as it was called had to be pink or blue – granny knitters were fast in those days, and could rustle up a bonnet, matinee jacket and bootees as soon as the sex of the newborn was known. But even now there is a hidebound attitude to the “right” colours for the sexes. I asked Rena, presiding over a shop selling baby and toddler clothing, why there was virtually nothing but pink for girls, and blue (and combat camouflage!) for boys. “It’s what the customers want,” she replied, slightly puzzled by the question.

But there was once a respite from this colour tyranny. The flowering of fashion experimentation in the sixties and seventies temporarily opened a window of imaginative thinking.

When expecting my first child we painted the second-hand cot white, and finished it off with a blanket (from Habitat, if I remember rightly) of spirit-lifting marigold. When she was two I made my oliveskinned, hazel-eyed little daughter a dress in a print of grey, sage and mustard; my mop-haired blond son had an outfit of black polo-necked jumper and matching corduroy trousers. Both looked brilliant, though perhaps I shouldn’t say so! And the shops sold children’s clothing in a refreshing variety of colours, although financial constraints meant that I made many of my children’s outfits myself. But then, it was an age in which individuality was valued.

So how, and why did this regimented segregation become so universal? Early 20th. century mothers were encouraged to dress boys in pink and girls in blue, as the Guardian columnist Ben Goldacre writes.

But all the research claiming a natural preference by girls for pink appears to rely on data gathered from adult sources, and/or from studies of pre-conditioned children.

However, a study of children under two, conducted by Melissa Hines of Cambridge University, observed that both girls and boys preferred pinker tones and rounder shapes,possibly a hangover from their womb-dwelling months. She concludes, “The sex similarity in infants for colours and shapes suggests that any subsequent sex differences may arise from socialisation or cognitive gender development rather than inborn factors.” Interestingly, she also found that at twelve months the children’s interest in dolls was very close to a 50-50 split between the sexes.

Ed Mayo of Co-operatives UK, former head of the National Consumer Council and co-author of Consumer Kids: How Big Business is Grooming Our Children for Profit, is quoted as saying: “It's staggering, the extent to which parents are now having to trade off their own values against the commercial interest of companies. Today's marketing assigns simple and very separate roles to boys and girls, and whips up peer pressure to police the difference.” This happened, Mayo asserts, "with the emergence of a children's market, and the need to differentiate between boys and girls: the need to make more money, basically. This isn't something that's genetically hard-wired, it's culturally created, and therefore it should be open to question." The children's market has now reached the stage, he says, where "it's no exaggeration to talk of a gender apartheid."

The quotes above appear in a long and fascinating article by The Guardian’s Polly Curtis (Pink v blue – are children born with gender preferences?), and one of her correspondents adds, “Of course, if we adhere to gender categories with toys and colours of accessories, then parents whose second child is a different gender from the first can be sold a whole new set of things. It makes business sense for shops to promote gender apartheid – in fact, the more difficult it is to find neutral things, the better. They don’t want us to be able to hand things down.”

The effects are not purely a matter of aesthetics. The phenomenon of pink for a girl (social or commercial? Chicken or egg? ) can be damaging to an equality agenda in a number of ways. My mother used to say “Pink to make the boys wink”; presumably a ‘pink’ attitude would help her girls get husbands!

And even now, the parental imprinting that goes on is shocking, and impacts on boys and their perceptions as much as it does on girls. Such imprinting that is not wholly due to parental attitudes is soon reinforced by an iron peer pressure. When I go to work at my local sports centre and watch a coachload of nine-year-olds disembark, the mass of universally rosy-hued girls is a dispiriting sight. Clones of the standard model now, they are destined, I suspect, to be the pouting, girly, tottery-heeled availables of the future, and headed for a life of self-inflicted disempowerment.

Which brings me to a bête noir of my own: have you been to a sportswear shop or department recently and tried to buy a serious pair of women’s trainers without a trim of pink, salmon, or possibly mauve?

Sportswear in general features a similar colour bias. Women like pink, don’t they? And they want to look pretty and feminine when they do a little exercise, don’t they?

Obviously, my own kit preferences are a superficial problem; they are simply a symptom of what I believe to be a creeping undermining of women’s progress, an undertow of anti-feminism. I am not holding the colour pink responsible for all the issues holding women back in the worlds of business, publishing, the arts and so on. But overemphatic gender typing as a culture impacts on social equality in many ways, from men talking over women in meetings, to adverse reactions to a woman presenting “wrongly” for her gender, whether in her dress or manner.

And I am sick, so sick, of pink.

FOOD & DRINK

LE TRUC

21 Ladywell Way, Birmingham B5 4ST 0121 622 7050 For a taste of modern Gallic dining without crossing the Channel, a visit to Le Truc is sure to impress. It is a quirky, fun restaurant serving classic, fuss-free French food. The decor is eclectic and eye-catching, with walls covered in cassette tapes and graffiti, juxtaposed with chandeliers and glitter balls.

The menu is traditional though, touching on the highlights of classic French cooking. To start, you might opt for the box-baked Camembert for two, or a bowl of French onion soup, served with Gruyére croutons. Main course options include bouillabaisse du jour served with crusty bread, or a hearty braised lamb shank navarin with potato rosti and rosemary jus. Vegetarians will enjoy confit garlic polenta with wild mushrooms and puy lentil fricassee. The dessert menu brings together unusual flavour combinations to ensure an unforgettable end to your meal. As you’d expect from a French restaurant, the wine list is both varied and well considered.

In addition to the à la carte menu, Le Truc has special nights and menus. Grazing boards are ideally suited for sharing amongst friends and the meat board includes braised pig’s cheek, pork scratchings, quail Scotch eggs and cured meats.

letruc.co.uk

The Butchershop Bar and Grill 1055 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G3 7UD

The Butchershop Bar & Grill in Glasgow’s west end is a New York-style restaurant and cocktail bar. Restaurateur, James Rusk, learned his craft at famed NY eatery, Balthazar, and decided to bring a slice of Soho to Scotland.

Food takes centre stage but if you’re a vegetarian look away now, because here it is all about the meat including a mouthwatering selection of 28-day-aged beef, Loch Fyne oysters and hand-dived Isle of Barra scallops as well as an incredible list of sides. The chateaubriand for two, is hand-carved at your table.

We opted for an à là carte menu of black pudding Scotch egg with perfect soft centres and a main course of fillet steak, glazed carrots, green beans & garlic which melted in the mouth and finished with créme brùlée: The wine list is both extensive and thorough, and attentive staff will guide you through. The leather booths and plentiful mirrors help create a sense of occasion, and the outdoor decking area is heated so alternatively, even on cooler days, you can dine al fresco and enjoy the wonderful outlook towards Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow University and one of Glasgow's beautiful Park area.

It is easy to see why it is in the top 50 of the Telegraph’s best restaurants in the UK 2015.

Unpretentious yet uncompromising, with a warm atmosphere and stylish surroundings, an evening at the The Butchershop is a culinary delight.

www.butchershopglasgow.com

Thoughts from abroad Australia Backwards Evolution Rachel Black What do you know about evolution?

I don’t know an awful lot. I wasn’t there when it happened. (I don’t even know much about creation. I missed that too.) I even missed The Beatles, Elvis and The Monkees.

But I am here for this.

Backwards Evolution!

A new change involving human reversal. Not a change that reverses us back to a garden called Eden or even a change that takes us back as far as the Triassic, Jurassic or any other ‘assic’ period. This is simply a change back to less evolved times.

Backwards Evolution!

In my brain I have made observations. I work as an educator and make observations all the time. Observations are valid. Airports have Observation Decks and their data is valid, trusted and respected. If their observational data is deemed all those things, then my observations must be too.

So, Backwards Evolution: My data.

Firstly, The new craze sweeping the world. Colouring-in books for adults.

Have you heard about it? Apparently adults are turning to colouring in to ‘relax’ and ‘unwind.’ Probably as a result of the second observation I have made coming a little later in this writing. In May 2015, five of the top ten book titles in a UK survey were colouring in books for adults. Publishers report selling thousands of copies of these books.

So, Who is buying these colouring-in books in such abundance? Whose need has turned this into a ‘craze?’

The titles say, ‘adults.’ The facts say…WOMEN. Women are buying them to relax and unwind at the end of a day. Not men. Not girls. Not boys. Not children. WOMEN. Adult female humans.

Can you imagine the headlines awaiting the world when a scientists has a spare moment and really considers the implications of this? We will read headlines of newspapers and ticker tape on the bottom of TV screens saying: ‘Women Blamed for Onset of Backwards Evolution.’

Women are making the switch back to younger years. Colouring in books and crayons are the new Botox.The term ‘adult’ will be removed from ALL colouring-in book titles aimed at the over 5’s And The word ‘WOMEN’ will appear IN CAPITALS AND IN BOLD.

I was so pleased to have noticed this before any scientists with spare moments noticed.

There has to be something that men are doing to contribute to this and therefore contributing to what will be blamed and labelled THE Women’s’ Backwards Evolution.

If women are going backwards then so are men. That is equality.

I hunted in my observational repertoire brain space for the ‘men’ component.I found it! I found the equity bit. The bit about the males. The bit about their input towards Backwards Evolution. This is not a gender evolution. It is just a backwards one.

Backwards Evolution: Male observations: Have you had a yarn with a male under the age of 20 lately? Have you attempted to ask that male a question? Have you noticed the reply? The utterances? Mutterings?

Speech with this cohort of humans is disappearing. Male articulation of the under 20’s has backwardly evolved into a non-muscle based sound emission. Grunt is BACK! Enunciation is OUT! Currently grunting is primarily used by these males for answering questions.

My observations are inconclusive with regards as to whether they are no longer able to hold a conversation in its entirety or if they are simply heading backwards in this direction. However, my observations of responses to questioning, is undisputable. A typical male response when asked ANYTHING has become, ‘Erah oh!’ (It sounds rather like, ‘I don’t know.’) *Without the use of tongue muscles or facial muscles to voice the words, grunt is the audible result. A request for the question to be repeated will sound like, ‘Er-ar?’ With a raised intonation at the end. ** An overachieving male may choose to add a shoulder shrug, eye roll or both to ensure clarity.

This backward communication trend could be seen to be a reason for some women choosing crayons over Botox. Furthermore in a bid to strengthen my belief in the current onset of Backwards Evolution, I shall be keeping a close eye on physiological changes to support my observational theories.

Planning future observations: I expect the following: In females, the hands should become stronger and muscles of the arms more pronounced. In males, the facial muscles should disappear to almost nothing. Leaving only enough muscular material to aid eating. *** Note: implications for role swapping due to physical changes. That could please some.

In both males and females, I expect to see thumbs becoming more pronounced and take on shapes similar to iPhone or Android phones styluses. Thus making the thumb suitable for only certain activities. With a thumb that has a limited ability to be useful it may suggest that the Backwards Evolution journey will see a return to a vegetarian way of life, such as that enjoyed

by Triceratops. A stylus is no killing machine.

The need for speech will become diminished to the extent that the limited uses of the thumb will be employed as the single communication mechanism used by humans. This can be expected to be accompanied by some short prehistoric grunts from certain males.

Did Triceratops grunt? I am observing a pattern.

Dwellings will be built by women with their new strength and decorated solely in ‘mindfulness’ colouring pages printed for free from the internet but no one will truly enjoy them as a stoop will return to the backs of most humans and eyeballs will lose all flexibility to look upwards, except of course in those over-achieving males who use them to aid with clarity of their grunts. I do see another resemblance to Triceratops!

So here we are on the edge of something new.

The Beatles (most of them) missed it, Elvis missed it and I don’t know if The Monkees are alive but if they aren’t they missed it too. The Rolling Stones are hanging in there and may be lucky (and/or preserved) enough to even become the first 21st Century dinosaurs.

Thank you to Mr Gates and Mr Jobs for your contribution to world changes and to publishers everywhere for creating mind numbing colouring books for women. You are Backwards Evolution.

Party anyone? Whilst we are upright and somewhat communicative. Girls only? **** I recognise that for some humans, evolutionary changes weren't embraced at all and cave like tendencies have endured. I do not refer to these humans in this text.

FEATURES Turkish, Lesbian... and Muslim

Firstly, you have to be invited. Then you have to promise utter discretion. On the assigned evening, you enter, and if your name is on the list you’re in.

You’ve suddenly arrived in another world. There are scores of women dancing, talking, eating, drinking. They come from different backgrounds—Muslim, Christian, Greek Orthodox and Jews—but they’re united, as Turkish and as lesbians.

You’ve finally come home.

This is a monthly party for LGBT women put on in Antalya, a coastal resort city in southern Turkey. It is hosted by *Amara, a decade-old organisation for Turkish queer women. Knocking on Europe's door yet on the threshold of Asia, Turkey is truly a land of contrasts, straddling religion as well as continents.

'I thought I was the only Muslim lesbian in the world. When I was younger and watched the likes of Martina Navratilova on TV, it was, for me, a foreign thing, not something that happened in our society,’ says 26-yearold Cemile, describing the parties one afternoon as we sit in the Old Harbour drinking ayran.

Cemile is from Konya, a city north of Antalya and has been a member of *Amara for the past five years.

'When I heard about *Amara I was shocked,' she says. ‘I thought are there actually other Turkish gay women out there ?'

'I choose when to be out and when not,’ Cemile explains. 'It's important for me to feel safe.'

Her friend Asli, sips on her drink and interjects from the seat opposite.

'I will always be the daughter who ran away from my family'. Her gestures indicate resignation, but her voice is determined. 'I had to give up my family … I had to leave them behind …so that I could be myself...’, says Asli who now lives in Istanbul. She is both Turkish and a lesbian.

With dark cropped hair and low-slung cargo pants, Asli would register on the radar of lesbians anywhere in the world. Still,even in Istanbul, a city which is home to a healthy smattering of gay cafes and clubs—she’s cautious.

Like many other homosexual Muslims, she has been trying to negotiate between two worlds that most would see as incompatible. Her story is filled with misperceptions, rejections and attempts to discover and empower herself. She tells us about a complex conflict that involves her family as well as the community around her, and it starts with the basic clash in the understanding of the term and practice of homosexuality between her being a Muslim and the Turkish culture.

Family ties are strong in Muslim communities. In fact, it goes against Islamic teachings to break those ties.

Cemile's family is large; she has siblings and many cousins. The family gathers regularly for birthdays and weddings. 'You change jobs, different friends come and go, but family is family no matter what,' Cemile noted. 'You’re linked to them by blood.’

In both cases, we are told, it is very important for Turkish nuclear families to maintain a respectable image in their community. In this context, homosexual children pose a serious threat. To a certain extent, it is permissible to maintain separate identities in the private and public spheres, but making one’s homosexual identity visible produces conflict and often separation.

Women face an even greater challenge since it is extremely difficult for them to maintain their private sphere in a community that grants far more individual freedom to males. In Turkey's macho culture, most single women still live at home with their parents, making any form of dating difficult. Surprisingly, Turkey is the only Muslim country in the world where homosexuality is not illegal.

Therein lies the problem. A country that prides itself on being a gay-friendly tourist destination, Muslims experience discrimination and suffer silently within their own culture for being queer. Add gender to this already complex duality, and you’ve got … well, complications. From its inception, *Amara has faced these complexities head on.

'Turkish society is still very conservative,' explains Esma, in her early 30s. 'For an LGBT group, maybe there is a benefit to being here in Antalya.'

Esma continues: 'It doesn’t really help me though, apart from the obvious of being able to meet other women. Living here, doesn’t mean that we’re living a safe life. Some families, especially in the east of the country, if they know their daughter is a lesbian, they might kill her, or abandon her.'

Cemile herself is out to most of her immediate family, whom she describes as “traditional” rather than religious. ' It's been a long process, but after five years, I would say my mom is embracing me for who I am because she doesn’t want to lose me,' she says. 'For her, it’s important that no one else knows, the bigger family, the society.'

But that means walking a tightrope – one where Cemile must balance two of the most meaningful aspects of her identity: her faith and who she loves.

She reiterates, 'There are still regions where people kill gays and lesbians to keep the honour of the family intact.'

Esma, too, discusses being gay with her family, albeit in more theoretical terms. ' I try to raise the issue with my parents in the sense of human rights,' she says. But she’s met mixed results. ' My brother said, ‘If I hear about you having something with a woman, don’t even think about coming back to this house.'

For now, Esma, chooses to stay silent, seeing no advantage in coming out to her family.

She adds regretfully, 'I wish that the day comes when we can talk about this freely, with no restrictions, with no limits, with no fears.

'Until that day *Amara gives us the opportunity to live our lives how we want to be. Even if its only once a month.' *Amara have asked me to change their name to protect the group.

BOOKS Too Late... I Love You Kiki Archer Too Late… I Love You is the new novel from best-selling author Kiki Archer.

It focuses entirely on its protagonist, Connie Parker, and the world that turns around her. Connie isn't convinced by real-life love, but when she starts fictionalising her version of it in a new book she’s set out to write, she’s left trying to make sense of the puzzle of her life when she falls for her new best friend.

The fact that Maria is a woman leaves Connie even more confused as she herself has a three year old son with her husband. Maria brightens Connie's dull existence and a bond begins to form between them.

I loved this book. Loved the style, the tension, the everything. Although laced with humour, there is an underlying sadness that Connie harbors. It's writing style reflects the transition from low self esteem to the confidence a person can acquire when they begin to believe in themselves again and meeting Maria is the key. It also allows you to see other perspectives, too.

All the relationships are realistic and recognisable and not always with honesty and warmth.

This book shows us how we can overcome some obstacles in our life, especially when we believe we are not worth it. It fully engages the feelings of the central character, will make you laugh out loud, but then deliver the message of how our spirit may appear to be broken, but we can move forward if we allow ourselves to.

Too Late...I Love You is published by K.A. Books Publisher Price £9.99. ISBN 9781326285029 Twitter @Kikiarcherbooks

BOOKS Too Late... I Love You

Kiki Archer Too Late… I Love You is the new novel from best-selling author Kiki Archer.

It focuses entirely on its protagonist, Connie Parker, and the world that turns around her. Connie isn't convinced by real-life love, but when she starts fictionalising her version of it in a new book she’s set out to write, she’s left trying to make sense of the puzzle of her life when she falls for her new best friend.

The fact that Maria is a woman leaves Connie even more confused as she herself has a three year old son with her husband. Maria brightens Connie's dull existence and a bond begins to form between them.

I loved this book. Loved the style, the tension, the everything. Although laced with humour, there is an underlying sadness that Connie harbours. Its writing style reflects the transition from low self esteem to the confidence a person can acquire when they begin to believe in themselves again and meeting Maria is the key. It also allows you to see other perspectives, too.

All the relationships are realistic and recognisable and not always with honesty and warmth.

This book shows us how we can overcome some obstacles in our life, especially when we believe we are not worth it. It fully engages the feelings of the central character, will make you laugh out loud, but then deliver the message of how our spirit may appear to be broken, but we can move forward if we allow ourselves to.

Too Late...I Love You is published by K.A. Books Publisher Price £9.99. ISBN 9781326285029 Twitter @Kikiarcherbooks

karima Francis

by Mac

MUSIC ‘BLACK” ( working title)

Pledgemusic campaign 2015 http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/karimafrancis

Karima Francis burst into my consciousness on a brief but memorable appearance on Jools Holland around 2009. I then caught the tail end of her set at one of the last Go Go Fests. You could say that at her core there are elements of numerous genres ( I for one hate pigeonholing anyone) but I say folk in the sense of the original US troubadours raw and unforgiving but tinged with some torch, blues and warmer shades from pop.

She looks remarkable, possessing a cool swagger, visually channelling John Cooper Clarke, Dylan and possibly a young Patti Smith. Karima has the charisma and presence ordinarily belonging to someone with twice the experience.

Her voice is the ‘thing’ though, combined with a true songwriting instinct. It may have a Tracy Chapmanesque quality in the timbre and passion and the soul searching depth of a Damien Rice but she sounds very much like herself. The lyrics are questioning rather than answering - hurt, anger and sadness, but steadfast documents of the darker side of human emotional experience.

She grew up in Blackpool. Not the usual hothouse for rockstars or musicians, but this is precisely why she is unique. Her experiences growing up there have made her who she is. The ‘escape’ from a town with few opportunities and people at a loss for inspiration came from the music within.

Her move to Manchester opened doors, not only by beginning to write songs and sing but after performing at In The City in Manchester, and ‘wowing’ record company execs she was signed to Kitchenware Records. Her first albumThe Author, was produced

by Kevin Bacon and Jonathon Quarmby March 2009.

This trajectory came to a dramatic halt when she became ill with anorexia while promoting the album and the destructive consequences meant being hospitalised for nine months.

From the second very personal album garnered from those awful days, (simply produced by Flood), came 10 songs from out of that truly dark place. There are no clever tricks - Francis is all about the content.

She is currently 3/4 of her way through a Pledgemusic campaign to raise money to finish her third album, tentatively called ‘Black’. She has been cynical of such things in the past but has come around to it through such positive feedback from an eager fanbase and the realisation that it’s literally giving people what they want and ultimately a win/win situation for both.

Usually solo she has recently been working with the same group of musicians and doing shows with them under the name Fires. This seems to have unleashed a burst of musical energy. She has taken up electric guitar within the band, which obviously adds a further flavour to the overall sound, but also a bite. There are three sampler tracks on the Pledgemusic page: Blue Moon, Shout and Wherever I go . I insist you take a listen to all of these tracks ... pledge for this new album. This is an artist full of talent with many more albums to come.

sport

Who are the army of women working tirelessly behind the scenes for women in sport ?

Jo Minns, ex-England gymnast, takes a look at the trailblazers making more opportunities available to women.

“These women are largely unknown to the public but are playing a huge part in changing the attitudes towards women in sport.”

The Coach

Amelie Mauresmo - tennis Andy Murray became the first leading male player to select a female coach when he made the appointment in June 2014.

Amelie, who coached Marion Bartoli to the Wimbledon title in 2013 and is also captain of France's Fed Cup team, was appointed after Ivan Lendl quit the role.

In explaining his appointment of Amelie last year, Murray said: "She was someone who struggled with nerves and conquered them later in her career. Someone like that can help more than someone who hasn’t had those issues before.”

Her position on the coaching team raised eyebrows across the sport given the scarcity of top male players coached by women, but Amelie is helping break the ceiling for female coaches in sports with her partnership with Murray.

The Politician

Tracey Crouch - Sports Minister The 39-year-old, MP for Chatham and Aylesford since 2010, has been a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee since 2012 and has served as the vice chair of the All Party Group for Women in Sport.

An FA-qualified coach and former footballer who manages a girls' football team in Kent, she has previously spoken out after being blocked from playing in a Parliamentary football team because she is female.

She promises to tackle the inequalities facing women in sport.

“Sport can do incredible things for women and girls, but too often we're pushed to the sidelines. When I was a girl, I was told that I shouldn't play football. That getting muddy and sweaty isn't "ladylike". And we find that time and time again, when we challenge these stereotypes, when we compete at the highest level, our achievements are all too often ignored or belittled.

“As Sports Minister, I'll be doing everything I can to iron out the inequalities facing women's sport. I hope to see the governing bodies joining me in this - and as many of them benefit from public funding in the form of Lottery cash and Sport England grants, I'd say they have a duty to do so.”

The Campaigner

Lindsay England - founder of Just A Ball Game?

Just A Ball Game? is a not for profit voluntary organisation that challenges exclusion of LGBT groups in football. Launched in 2011 the organisation is at the forefront of social inclusion and intolerance of homophobia within sports.

Lindsay says: "We are proud to be working along side SRTRC (Show Racism the Red Card) in helping to deliver the correct messages to the general public that being LGBT should not be a barrier to anyone who wishes to be involved in football or indeed any physical activity.

"So much time and hard work and research has been given to the production of the 'homophobia tackle it' publication and I now urge everyone, in particular those working with young people to obtain this resource and deliver it to help educate and understand LGBT people, celebrate their lives and eradicate homophobia."

The Writer

Julie Welch - author and freelance sportswriter A British sports journalist, author and screenwriter who in 1969 became Fleet Street's first female football reporter.

Julie made her debut as a sports journalist when she reported on a match between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur for the Observer. Some readers thought Julie must be a man, like Lesley or Hilary, after her byline appeared in the paper the next day.

In fact Julie was a jewel in the Observer crown and had an in-depth grasp of the Beautiful Game.

She went on to become a successful author and screenwriter in the 1980s, continues to write for the press and has recently written The Ghost of White Hart Lane, co-authored with Rob White (2011) and A Biography of Tottenham Hotspur (2012).

The Broadcaster

Jacqui Oatley - BBC Sport Jacqui made history when she became the first female commentator on Match of the Day in 2007. When she started out as a football reporter, she recalls men being surprised to see a woman in the press box at non-league football.

“I was asked many times “so do you like football then?”, a question I still hear often well over a decade later.”

She has covered Women’s, Olympic, Euro and World Cup football for the BBC. Whether for Radio Five Live or BBC Television, Jacqui is now a part of the country’s footballing fabric. She was invited to compere the second annual Us Girls Conference at the University of Warwick and is a vociferous campaigner for women’s sport.

The Boardroom Executive

Karren Brady, vice-chairman West Ham United FC The first lady of football took on the role of managing director of Birmingham City FC at just age 23 years of age. It made her headline news, as both her youth and gender were extraordinary in the world of football.

Despite her youth and lack of knowledge of the football business, Karren succeeded in turning around the fortunes of Birmingham. When she started at the club it was in administration but by the end of her first year it had made a trading profit.

In January 2010, she was appointed vice-chairman of West Ham United by new JointChairmen David Sullivan and David Gold. Writing in her newspaper column Karren said: "To West Ham fans I'll make a single pledge – while we are on the board, we will hang in the Tower of London before your club again goes through the financial turmoil which so nearly brought it down”.

Photographer

Eileen Langsley - sports photographer Eileen entered the profession by accident after using photography to coach gymnastics and in 1983, she was invited to become the official photographer for Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which entailed a lot of worldwide travel covering all their events and also serving as an event liaison to organise working conditions for photographers at their competitions and championships.

Early on in her career she found it was hard to break through the barriers of prejudice in certain areas, there was disbelief that a woman would know what she was doing – sometimes from colleagues and often from event officials.

Now with over 35 years of experience,Eileen’s reputation as a female pioneer of sports photography has seen her work published all over the world in books, magazines and newspapers.

Eileen was the first sports photographer to be awarded with the International Order of Merit at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2010, the first time a sporting Hall of Fame has recognised a sports photographer in this way.

Emma Mackay

Funeral Director

Artisan

recognising women with exceptional skills in many artforms

When did you realise that you wanted a career working as a funeral director?

When I was at high school, you have a chat with the guidance teacher about what you want to do when you leave school and I decided I wanted to be a funeral director. So I must have been about 16. I knew that I would be helping people at the worst possible time that you can think of.

Do you think the work you do is physically difficult for a woman?

No, it all obviously depends on your ability. You have to be fairly fit. There are times when I do struggle because there can be some heavy lifting involved. But it’s very much a man’s world - it’s a male occupation with very few women, although now there are more women coming forward to do the job.

Do you require any training?

Yes. When you first start you learn how everything works behind the scenes, in the garage, washing cars, polishing cars, making coffins, driving on funerals, collecting people from hospitals, dressing people, basically all of the behind the scenes work. You don’t get let loose on a family right away.

What are the responses you get from people when they realise that it’s a woman funeral director ?

Sometimes they ask for a man, other times specifically a woman. Most times they are just happy with whatever funeral director they get.

One lady wished, had to have, a woman hearse driver because she had wanted to do that when she was younger but couldn't get into it. So she would have been quite happy that a lady was driving her on her last destination.

It is a very rewarding job. You are meeting people at the worst time in their life. They've just lost their loved one and you are making that final day special or perfect - how that family want that the funeral to be, exactly how they want it to be.

Do you find it difficult to take on other people’s grief? How do you handle them being desperately upset without getting upset yourself?

Well, I knew before I even started arranging funerals that it was obviously going to be a massive part of the job. You sympathise with the family, you empathise with them, but at the end of the day you have to leave it at work. If I brought it home with me, to be honest I don’t think I could actually do my job, because you would just be a wreck.

You see traumatic sights that very few of us encounter in a lifetime, is there something that you do to relieve the stress of you having to deal with these things?

The first time you see something like that, death, you are shocked but it’s part of your job, to make that person look as presentable as possible, so the family can view. There are times when we can’t allow viewing but if people are desperate to see their loved one then we cannot stop them, although we would advise them not to.

How do I cope with that? I don’t know to be perfectly honest, it’s part of my job. At the end of the day this person is still someone’s son or daughter, someone’s granny, someone’s brother and it’s my job to look after them. I want to take care of the person as I am the last person that sees the family’s loved one when I’m closing the lid. I think it’s quite an honour. I’m the last the person to see them before they go on their final journey.

Do you yourself believe in life beyond that?

I would say I was very religious. I do believe there is something, somewhere that we go after we leave here.

There has to be something. This can’t just be it. I do believe that the way I think about life helps - live it for now, don’t wait until next week to do something. You just don’t know what’s around the corner.

Can you describe your typical working week, is there such a thing?

Every week is different, it all depends on how many funerals we have. I can describe a basic working day.

We begin at around 8.30am. We sit in the office reading through the ‘funeral lines’ - these are the plans for the day, the name of each person, where the funeral is, what time it’s at, all of the travel arrangements, any flowers, ministers fees, hymn sheets. We then decide who is driving the different vehicles and where all the pick up points are. After that we then take the coffin from the fridge. We check the coffin for any valuables, anything that has to stay on stays on - there are always two of us check this and sign a document stating whether the person has rings left with him or her. We sign this and file it. The coffin lid is then closed.

We check the flowers, put them on top of the coffin and it then gets loaded into the hearse. Finally we make sure the cars are all spick and span, clean and tidy and then head off to the funeral.

When we aren't at a funeral we are still busy either working in the office, on the cars or in the workshop, including making coffins.

Crosbie Matthew, your place of work, seems to take care of every element of what needs to be done right through to families even being able to hold their service in the firm’s own chapel, you take care of everything…

That is what we are here for, to take care of everything for the family. From the minute that person passes away we collect them from the hospital or wherever they have died, back to the funeral home. We look after them then until the day of service. We can hold a service here first before we then go either to the crematorium or the cemetery.

We can travel anywhere and have done so, for example, if a family has ties up in Lewis or any of the islands. We can go anywhere in Britain, we will deal with things, it’s not a problem.

Have there been any unusual funeral requests or requirements that you've had to deal with, something that’s way beyond what you would normally do?

On the odd occasion some people want horse-drawn hearses or motorbike hearses, something that’s a wee bit different; sometimes people want specialised coffins - whether they are a football fan and they want specific colours on it or some sort of hobby theme, for example like darts on the coffin, we can do just about anything. If a family has a specific wish for their loved one, we can do it.

Are you known where you live as the local funeral director?

Yes. How does that make you feel?

Quite honoured actually. I could be in Kirkcaldy and meet a handful of people and they speak to me like they know me well. These are people I have arranged funerals for. Families come back to us and ask again for me or the same director who had dealt with them before. We are dealing with the same family for different deaths. It could be the mother and then the father or the grandparents, then the mother and the father and so on.

What do you find the hardest part of your work?

Dealing with little ones: babies, children - they haven’t really had a life. It’s still also upsetting dealing with older people too, but they have lived a life, had families. Whereas the little ones just haven't had anything, they've just been born asleep.

Do you leave a funeral sometimes and think that went really well?

Yes. All funerals are special for families because it’s the final goodbye, the last journey for their loved one.

Some people come out and say to me ‘That was a really good funeral - thanks very much.’ The bit I like the most is when you drop the family off at the hotel after the funeral and you get a hug. That, to me, says you've done a good job.

If you were talking to someone about the qualities or character they would need to have to do your job what would you say they were?

You have to be a good listener, sympathetic with the family. You have to be able to talk to people. Be yourself, don’t hide behind a work face. Basically when I am with families I am just me, I am not someone else. You also have to be quite caring.

Do you think that dealing with death and dying on a daily basis makes you confront your own mortality?

Personally, I believe in living life to the full. You just do not know what’s around the corner, live for now. It’s so important. Just do things you want to do, travel, see the world - do things for you!

Have you dealt with anyone close to you?

My best friend. I did ask her family if it would be ok, because it would be a privilege to take her on her last journey and I wanted to make sure things were perfect. It’s very hard to deal with someone you know, family members, best friends, but it’s an honour to do it. On the day of the funeral I had to have my ‘funeral director’ head on, I didn't have my ‘friend’ head on.

But beneath it all, it really was friend doing it for a friend. , Obviously the funeral director is in charge, important. You look to that person to control everything to make sure things are running smoothly. So you can’t be upset. After the funeral I was a bit of a mess.

It was the hardest one I’ve ever had to do. I’ve dealt with different family members, grandparents, uncles.

It’s just difficult, but it was an honour at the same time. I wanted to do it for the family, just to make sure that it was going to be perfect. I knew it would be fine because I arranged it all, I knew what was going to happen. I knew how it was going to run and I knew everything was going to run smoothly. It was important for me to do that for her family.

At funerals people have choices of music. Do you have any influence over that choice?

When I’m sitting with the family going through all the funeral details I will ask them if they've thought about any music. Sometimes they have, sometimes they haven’t. Each family is different - some like classical music, some people everyday pop music. The two most popular hymns, I would say, are ‘Abide with me’ and ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’. Personally, I like ‘How great thou art’ and also ‘All things bright and beautiful’ - that’s nice and cheery. I give the family some time to think about it. It’s their decision to make all decisions that are made, are made by the family, I’m just there to help them along the way.

Tell us something you do that we would never know about…

We go and collect a person either from their home or a nursing home and take them to the funeral home.

As we are taking the person away we leave a little card with a poem and a little butterfly with flower seeds for planting, either on a pillow or on a bedside cabinet somewhere in the room as a little memento.

In what way is Crosbie Matthew different from other firms?

From first contact, when the family phone to say that someone has passed away, that funeral director deals with them all the way through, speaking with them on the phone, going out and visiting them to make arrangements, seeing them on the day of the funeral, or afterwards if there is anything to do with cremated remains, any newspaper acknowledgements or anything else they need organising. We are the point of contact for that family, from start to finish.

I like to think we are a wee bit different. We are a close knit company. We are like a work family.

Each one of us would go above and beyond for work and not because it is work, it’s because we want to.

You're looking after that family and you would treat them almost as if it were your own family.

EVENTS Val McDermid with Nicola Sturgeon

Baillie Gifford Main Theatre, Edinburgh 26 Aug 6:45pm - 7:45pm

The Diamond Dagger-winning Fifer has built a vast fan-base over the years thanks to her number one bestselling novels that have sold over 11 million copies. One of Val McDermid’s better known readers recently became Scotland’s First Minister and today, Nicola Sturgeon meets McDermid to discuss Splinter the Silence and Stranded, a book of scintillating, nailbiting short stories that range from passion and revenge in St Petersburg to the sleazy flipside of the international publishing scene. www.edbookfest.co.uk

Sophie Ward

to star in an adaptation of Brave New World Royal & Derngate, Northampton from 4 - 26 September 2015, followed by a UK tour.

The actress will take the leading role in James Dacre's production.

Ward will play Margaret Mond, a character which in Huxley's novel is male. On changing the gender of this role, Dawn King, writer of the adaptation, said: "I took this decision primarily because as a feminist, I wanted to increase the gender equality of the show. I also felt that having a female world controller of Western Europe is more representative of our world today, and of a world of the future.” www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Florence and the Machine

12 Sep 15 Motorpoint Arena Sheffield

Florence and The Machine is the name for Florence Welch and her cast of backing musicians. The band has received a great deal of critical acclaim since their inception. Her soaring, epic vocals, quirky melodies and self-contained musical world have already won her the 2009 Critics Choice Award at the Brits.

They have just returned with a new album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, and will be touring the UK. www.ticketmaster.co.uk

photo Buzz bands LA/ Consequence of sound

The Short Hot Flush Film Festival 03 Oct 2015

Exeter Street Hall, Prestonville, Brighton The Short Hot Flush Film Festival celebrates women over 50 in front of and behind the camera. They will be showcasing films and film-makers who put women in the prime of their life and beyond, slap bang in the middle of the cinema screen. www.shfff.co.uk

Horse Whispers

I take responsibility seriously. When people ask me to represent them or be involved in a cause I think about it. I mean really think about it. It is so important for me to have been asked in the first place and that I can actually do something for them.

I am an ambassador for the Clutha Trust, based in Glasgow. I am here to show kids growing up that I am still making music and that if I can then they can! No matter what kind of music you make, no matter how good, music truly is the greatest escape.

I just became a patron for the ‘Switchboard LGBT+ helpline’ a charity which has been running for over 40 years! Primarily London based it was The London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard, it has just gone national, rebranding. It is actually now international as people can also instant message for help. I grew up in a small town and had absolutely no idea who to turn to for help when I was lost. My hope is that I can highlight the Switchboard for anyone who does need to call someone. We lost our main helpline here in Scotland very recently and I know how hard that was for people.This Switchboard is indeed there for anyone to call. An amazing service totally free and operated by volunteers who aren't just well intentioned they are extremely well- trained.

I performed at the Switchboard relaunch alongside Alesha Dixon and also met another patron Tom Daley.

A great night with many of the volunteers who work tirelessly for the charity. This was as much recognition and a celebration for them as much as highlighting the charity. I dropped into the Switchboard to see how it works before I left for home. It’s so heartwarming to see people constantly giving up time for other people.

After the Switchboard launch we went along to ‘Pride’ in London. For the most part it was a positive, meeting friends and soaking up the really warm, happy atmosphere. We headed northwards on foot towards Golden Square where the Out with the Family organisation were having an open day ( I loved this). I saw a couple, a man and a woman walking in our direction, I only noticed them because the woman was staring at me intensely. Sometimes people have recognised me and I thought that must be why. However, as she and her partner passed us, I quite clearly heard her say ‘Did you see the state of that!’ Well I was so shocked and it happened so quickly I did not have a chance to respond. When I did acknowledge that it was aimed at me I realised I had not been in that position for a long time, where someone feels like they can say what they want and not take any consequences. Also it made me think of all the times I lived in fear for my safety because I was different to everyone else - well on THIS day in London they were the odd ones out…

To end on a positive note, I went to Wimbledon for the first time with friends and absolutely loved it (thanks to those special friends) ! I’m about to go to Stuttgart to carry on with the 100% Mensch Project, joining my friends from Germany. I’m at the Edith Bowman BBC Quay Sessions live with the band on 5th Aug then Party at the Palace on the 8th August. I am also beginning the work for the set list for the next tour at the moment.

We hit the Bush Hall in London on 1st October as part of a UK tour. I cannot wait. I'm also playing a special set at the Spree in Paisley on 16th Oct. Being on the stage is the ultimate thrill and instant feedback as to whether people like the new songs. We will be in various locations throughout UK ending up at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh. Every gig always feels a bit like a homecoming, such is the atmosphere. I feel lucky to have such a great group of people who follow me and what I do. I get to unleash my emotions through my singing and fortunately my audience have an empathy Hx www.horsemcdonald.com

eleanor roosevelt 'Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticised anyway.

You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.'