Gym-tastic! Fitness is a Feminist Thing

by Fortysomething Fan Girl | Aug 6, 2017 | Health, Sport

There have been many anniversaries of note in 2017: 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele 75th anniversary of Desert Island Discs 50 anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 40th anniversary of the death of Elvis...

Country Matters: How I Came to Love the Countryside

by Fortysomething Fan Girl | Jul 30, 2017 | Nature

I’m not sure how I came to be living in the countryside. I have always considered myself an urban person. Urban, with National Trust sub-clauses. As a child I liked the countryside depicted in books: The Famous Five, Swallows and Amazons, The Wind in the Willows that...

Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag: Your Handbag Speaks Volumes

by Fortysomething Fan Girl | Jul 23, 2017 | Family, Fashion

My wedding anniversary is coming up. I have my eye on an unnecessarily expensive handbag which is going to subliminally inform the world that I am a grown up, sophisticated woman who knows her Hermes Birkin from her Chanel Flap Bag. It’s possible that it will also...

The Proof of the Pudding: Social Progress Measured by Dessert

by Fortysomething Fan Girl | Jul 16, 2017 | Family, Food

When the film ‘Nine and a Half Weeks’ came out in 1986 I was very taken with that iconic kitchen scene. Wow! All that fresh stuff in that clean fridge! A turn-on in itself. Strawberries and cherries beautifully ripe! Chilled wine and a perfectly set jelly!...

Stone in Love With You: The Resistible Rise of the Avocado

by Fortysomething Fan Girl | Jul 9, 2017 | Food

There are few things I enjoy more on toast than a smashed avocado topped with a poached egg and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes. I realise I am in danger of sounding like one of the legion avocadophiles who daily bombard social media sites with images of green...