What a sickening picture. Our young hero cowed behind his ambitious woman. Prince Harry was a man going places, his military service was exemplary, his charity work gracious, and his Invictus Games a life line for many. Now look at him. He looks like something out of Madam Tussauds waxworks and she in her power dressing white trousers and casual shirt with hair almost obscuring her husband, he looks as if he’s pushing it aside as he leans in to get into the picture. I sound very horrible to these two but I am so disappointed with Harry and I wonder why he has allowed himself to be manipulated into this sad way of life when he’s worth so much more.
I was talking about awnings last week and why they have disapperared from our high streets. Thank you Houston Marshall for the explanation. He writes:
“As to shop awnings it was both the adding of UV filters to plate glass and the invention of air conditioning that rendered the awning obsolete as they were used to cool the shop in their shade as well as protect the window displays from sunlight.
Interestingly awnings preceded shop windows. Commercial premises were open fronted before the glass and later because of the glass tax and awnings were invented to keep goods and customers dry from the rain.”
A WOMAN’S LOT
Imagine the scene. The Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve in front of God who is admonishing them for disobeying. To Eve he says: “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing, with pain you will give birth to children, your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.”
Poor Eve, not a very positive outlook!
Although In certain parts of the world there are menstruating huts where woman are put to stay until their period is over and some cultures disallow women to touch food during this time for fear of contamination. In fact, still today in our so called enlightened world there is a negative reaction towards menstruation and the complex area of life we call reproduction. Here I think of the women of Afghanistan and the awful, cruel limitations on their lives both physical and emotional. After all, it’s a preparation for pregnancy which most women welcome however, once that has been achieved and time goes on, the mechanism changes and menopause creeps up and, in many cases, so does the weight.
One woman said: “I see it as the stage of your life when you are old, stop working, lose your memory and your sex drive.”
Another said: “I think it’s when you are trying to work, manage children or teenage moods while caring for elderly parents and holding down a job with no support from your manager.”
What is it with the menopause that gets people going? Some men think it’s a state of mind, you’ll get over it, it’s just one of those things a woman has to put up with, it won’t last for ever.
It’s Not Just ‘One Of Those Things’
It is a major and often frightening life changing event.
There have been acres of articles in newspapers and magazines, programmes on radio and television, celebrity women pontificating and employers often spouting nonsense and there are expensive clinics beyond the reach of most women – this is where Anne McGale comes into the picture.
She and her colleague Liz Wenden-Kerr are practice nurses at Holywood Arches Health Centre and they believe in the personal touch so they established local Menopause Cafés and the beauty of their latest idea is mobile cafes that pop-up where they are needed and are a wonderful way to find some comfort.
“We don’t necessarily talk menopause all the time, we offer free support, companionship, contact and conversation over tea and cake. It’s a great way to raise spirits and to realise you aren’t the only one experiencing these symptoms.”
World Menopause Day is on the 18th October this year and the first cafe will open two days before hand on Thursday 16th at First Avenue Coffee Company on Belfast’s Ormeau Road between 7 and 9 p.m. Then, celebrating the day itself on 18th October, Menopause Wellbeing NI will provide a free awareness session from 10-11 Anne asks that, due to covid, please register on line at Belfast Menopause Café 2021.
The second cafe event is happening at Maitri Yoga Studio, 4 The Mount in Belfast on 23 Saturday between 10 o’clock and 11 am.
On average this ‘change of life’ hits between 45 and 55. Usually there’s a reluctance to admit to night sweats, headaches and irritability but questions too, aching wrists, thinning hair and feeling depressed and alone. It’s important to remember this is a medical condition and thankfully a women’s committee in the House of Commons are hoping to secure legislation in line with that for pregnancy, rest areas, welfare rights, risk assessments for every woman not just those in a work environment.
Some Women Are Ultra Positive
“I see it as a time when you stop having periods,” said one. “There’s no more risk of pregnancy. You are at the top of your profession and get great support from your manager in the work place with respect for your experience. Your children are away from home and you are finding new romance with your husband. You are taking up many activities that you always wanted to do such as art and hillwalking”.
That’s a really rosey picture! Romance, art and hillwalking? Unlikely but positivity comes in all shapes and forms. My own mother had a unique approach the day she called with me in tears and confessed in all seriousness that she was feeling low and out of sorts. “I’d think it was the change of life,” she said, “but it can’t be, I don’t have hormones.”
LEAVING A LEGACY
I was sad to read of the death of teacher and playwright Stewart Love. I first meet him at the Arts Theatre when The Ulster Actors Company were rehearsing his play ‘“““Me Oul Segocia’, the story of two families, one Catholic the other Protestant. I’ll never forget one line in the play, it sent shivers down my spine and those of the audience. A sinister message was whispered from the shadows of the street: ‘Times are changing, lines are being drawn.’ A modest man and a prolific writer and this particular play written originally for radio in 1979 demonstrated the foresight of this talented man. His wife Elizabeth was always with him and the couple were close and valued friends of the Ulster Actors Company. I extend sympathies to his family.
