GIRL ABOUT TOWN UT’s columnist Nuala Meenehan

EDITED BY

NUALA MEENEHAN

CARRIE IS BACK!

Hold on to your Manolos, Carrie Bradshaw is back! The fash pack are in a spin about the

news that Sex and the City is back with a reboot. The only down side is, Kim Cattrall, aka

Samantha won’t be joining the cast and it remains to be seen if that original spark can be recreated, but for now SATC fans and the fashion world are buzzing. Here’s a reminder how SATC changed our worlds.

COSMOPOLITANS

The Cosmo, became the cocktail of choice for a girls night out after seeing the SATC ladies seen sipping it. Cheers!

THE BIG QUESTION

Are we getting wiser or just older? Was just one of the questions Carrie posed in her column, which was answered as the story unfolded.

LADIES WHO LUNCH

The four SATC ladies got together over lunch to discuss their sexploits. Suddenly cafés and restaurants were besieged by groups of well dressed women talking in great detail about... well let’s just leave that for now... or at least until we get out with our girls for lunch again!

COFFEE REVOLUTION

Starbucks arrived in the UK in 1998, the same year SATC burst onto our screens. Seeing the ladies sip their lattes and cappuccinos helped spark a coffee revolution. Top of the list for your daily grind has to be Two Sisters, an independent coffee label based in east Belfast. This local business love great coffee and are passionate about supporting artisan roasters from the island of Ireland who source single origin beans ethically and sustainably. Get your daily fix at Two Sisters, 173 Ardenlee Avenue, Belfast or online www.wearetwosisters.com or via stockists across Northern Ireland.

Legendary costume designer, Patricia Field, changed the way we dress through her Sex and the City styling. The tutu Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the opening credits became a must have fashion item.

HIGH HEELS LAID LOW

Carrie Bradshaw plug your ears, recent retail reports show stilettos have fallen from favour with shoppers! When Sex and the City hit our screens, sales of Manolo Blahiks and other designer heels surged after the ladies said they wouldn’t be seen dead in flats! Well it appears that nearly 12 months of going in and out of lockdown shoppers have turned their back on heels and have fully embraced trainers into their wardrobes. Consumer reports show that trending trainers now represent a staggering third of all women’s shoe sales!

Kurt Geiger, synonymous with the four and nearly five inch heel, won’t be launching a single new style of stiletto this spring / summer, but will focus instead on trainers and flats.

THE TUTU

Vicky and Nathan with children Avaiah, Lilah, Krystyan and Elijah. Kieran McKendry and Ciara Kane with Lola.

Philip and Clare Glenn with family and Tilly the dog.

ECOS CENTRE NATURE PARK, BALLYMENA

Ecos Nature Park is an oasis of wildlife close to the heart of Ballymena town centre. Eight kilometres of mostly fl at footpath gently lead visitors around 220 acres of parkland that includes maturing woodland, peaceful lake and ponds, grazed meadows and hay meadows.

Elinor McLernon and Frances Gault with Willow.

Kimberley McCallum and Ciara Fraser. Una Quinn and Hannah McCauley with Gracie Una Quinn and Hannah McCauley with Gracie.

David and Claire Meers with Rory. Donna, Clodagh, Michaela and Aidan Carey. Justine and Cormac McGreevey with Bobby.

With the pandemic taking a huge toll on the health of the population, local charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke (NICHS) have launched their new ‘Step by Step’ campaign, encouraging people, families and communities to take small steps to get active, rebuild their health, and help the charity support local people to get back on their feet. One such person is Mark McCall. Mark, aged 30 from Belfast, who had to relearn to walk following a stroke in 2018.

While the charity’s face-to-face groups have been paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their services have been redesigned to continue online. Mark has taken part in NICHS’s Taking Control Self-Management programme via online video call. He says, “The course really helps you with living with the effects of a stroke. We talk about different things each week like exercise, diet, depression and medication.”

Mark continues, “I don’t know what I would have done without the services though. It would be a very dark place if there was no chest, heart and stroke group. It’s a fantastic service.”

To find out how you can help Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke rebuild healthy local lives like Mark’s, visit www.nichs.org.uk/ stepbystep

Your legacy of hope and care - a gift in your Will.

A gift in your Will could not only help your loved ones but can leave a legacy of hope for generations to come. In Northern Ireland four in ten adult deaths are caused by chest, heart and stroke illnesses. We’re working hard to change this by funding life-changing research and caring for those who are affected by devastating health conditions every day. We’ve been helping local people for almost 75 years, and with your help we can continue to be there for people who need us now, as well as those who will need us in the future. Please visit nichs.org.uk/giftsinwills for further information on leaving a gift in your Will to NICHS or call us on 028 9032 0184.

Preventing, Supporting, Caring and Rebuilding across Northern Ireland.

Fran Cavanagh, Gabrielle McDonnell, Gregory Rodgers and Aine Dolan.

Eimear, Damien, Cathal, Geraldine and Aoife McCambridge and grandmum Liz.

BELFAST CASTLE

Families headed out to enjoy the famous landmark building and estate on the slopes of Cavehill with woodland walks and trails and the best views of the city below.

John, Lisa, John and Hanna McLaughlin.

. Sara and Anna Smyth, Matthew Blair, Connir,

Raymond and Emma Smyth with dogs Kiva and Rosie.

Sonja Sleator and Daniel Lynch. Ruby, Finn and Vivienne Hanna.