Activism, Glitter and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

March is fast upon us (how? Just how?) which means only one thing. It is nearly one of my favourite days of the year. Whilst it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that I think we should shout from the rooftops the successes of the women in our lives every single day, Thursday 8th March is officially International Women’s Day.

Last year the theme for this most magnificent day was #BeBoldForChange (read more here). In the context of Trumps inauguration and the first Women’s March it is insane how poignant this phrase has become.

With #MeToo and #TimesUp, it is a pretty wicked time to be a woman. Chicks coming together to support each other, men standing alongside the women in their lives to say time is up on the toxic masculinity that has gone ignored for so long.

Yet I know, like last year, I will have more than a handful of conversations with men asking why we still need International Women’s Day and when is International Men’s Day?

To answer your second question- officially it is November 19th but it is mediocre white, middle class men’s day every day of the year. And I get it, it is uncomfortable to come face to face with the ways that women are still being harassed and silenced. I am not so hot on it myself.

But the reason we still need International Women’s Day is that when you joke with your friends that a girl is a slut for wearing a short skirt (because apparently that is still a thing) it makes it dangerous for us to walk home alone at night. It allows judges to tell girls who have been raped that maybe if they had fought back harder they wouldn’t have been attacked. It enforces the belief that victims are to blame. We are used to the headlines that 100 more school girls have been taken by Boko Haram, millions of girls still do not have access to education and reproductive rights for women around the world are continuing to be violated.

The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report told us that gender parity is still over 200 years away. There has never been a better time to keep up momentum- to come together with all of your friends, have some cocktails or a coffee and recognize the ambition and ability of the women around you. To unite under the theme #PressforProgress.

If, like me, you intend to be as loud about International Women’s Day as you can possibly be then why not do it with other people? If you want to find a space to do this go to https://www.internationalwomensday.com/events

As I will be spending the run up in Manchester here are some of the places you should join me-

Walk for Women: Saturday 3rd March 1:30 St Peters Square 

Ending with speeches from some of Manchester’s most brill women ( Claire Mooney, Shirley May, Sarah Judge, Aisha Mirza and Jackie Hagan to name a few) providing the beast from the east has spared us and we really aren’t facing Snowmagedon, the walk for women will be a great opportunity to get together with friends and meet new people. For more information…

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/events/event/4675/international_womens_day_walk_for_women

Pen:Chant & Gorilla present ‘SHE PWR’: Thursday 8th March 6pm- 1am Gorila

This is essentially a massive party bursting at the seams with art, craft, performance, talks, DJs, music and glitter (GLITTER)! Between 6 and 8 entry is free and there will be  Q&A sessions with prominent female creatives and entrepreneurs, a maker’s market selling locally made crafts, an art exhibition, live music, DJs, cocktails, canapés and a glitter station! 8 until late you’ll need a ticket and the main club space will host a special show from Pen:Chant guest hosted by alt-cabaret live wires Eggs Collective. Think drinks and glitter, spoken word and live music.

Dancing in my Nuddy Pants: Thursday 8th March 11pm- 3am The Deaf Institute

With a strap line like ” Apply your longest boy entrancers, assemble your Ace Gang, and strap up your basoomas; we’re bringing a celebration of Georgia Nicolson” how was I supposed to miss this event? Celebrating 10 years since Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging changed your life this will be the only way to spend next Thursday night. There will be 00’s pop and indie hits, hopefully all the Sex Gods of Manchester and your gal pals. Organizers will also be collecting sanitary products for The Monthly Gift – a charity which provides tampons and sanitary towels for homeless women across Manchester. This is the spirit of International Women’s Day wrapped up in one! You will need tickets (search on Facebook).

There are so many more spaces around the city exhibiting art and photography, Q&A’s and meet-ups. Get on twitter, source your glitter and get excited!

 

Ridiculous glasses, brash comments and a cup of tea in hand- Wednesday night may be the best time of the week

I don’t hold Wednesdays in very high regard. I don’t know why? Now I am a graduate/ painfully unemployed there shouldn’t really be a difference between Wednesday and Saturday and yet I so often find myself sort of at a loss at about three o’clock every Wednesday afternoon. I don’t know if it is because it is the middle of the week and I have, undoubtedly not done as many job applications as I thought I would have since Monday morning or whether it is just the feeling of wading through to Friday that seems a bit unbearable.

I was sat on my kitchen work top, drinking a cup of tea and watching Theresa Mays speech/ coughing fit at the Conservative Party conference when I realised Wednesday had snuck up on me again (as if I didn’t already feel depressed enough). However, just before the guilt and impending doom crept in I realised; it isn’t just any Wednesday, it’s THE Wednesday. The Wednesday I have been waiting for since last winter…the Apprentice starts again tonight!

I know the Apprentice isn’t everyone’s ‘thing’. My mum hates it because she says people shouldn’t take joy from watching people being horrible to one another- the very reason I adore it. I don’t know where they find their candidates and who writes Sir Alans quips (my personal favourite being “If I wanted a friend I would get a dog”) but it’s ingenious and I am there for it.

So post- Apprentice revelation and after choking on my tea as Theresa May finally made it to the end of her speech, I set about finding out which horrible human beings would serve as my Wednesday night savours.

It didn’t take long to deduce that they are even more ridiculous than last year’s candidates and the next twelve weeks are going to be even better than I first anticipated. Evidently, there was some sort of memo that this series was all about eye wear. I guess no one told Charles you can’t just take the glasses the optician tests your eyes with.

As the girls settled in for their first argument- who should sell their questionable burgers out on the street of canary wharf, Siobhan piped up with the even more questionable advice of ‘you should be careful who you send because men will only buy from certain women’. Oh of course Siobhan, because only men work in canary wharf and they will only buy something from you if you’re skinny and have your tits out. Great input.

Then I stumbled across the mansion that the candidates would be staying in (in reality I was looking at similar town houses that I will buy when I somehow make my millions.)

The show is known for its ginormous, central London houses that the candidates get to stay in, with the weird shared bedrooms, futuristic décor and phone in the hall way that each candidate can take in turns to run to of a morning in their underwear because who knew Lord Sugar would call so early?

As I delved further into all things Apprentice 2017 (like the good journalist I am) I found an article on the house by the Evening Standard. “The Apprentice 2017 house: Candidates are staying in £29,000 per month property in Notting Hill.” I nearly choked for the second time that day (pass the cough sweets Theresa). £29,000 per month! I was under no illusion that Notting Hill was a cheap area but that is a small fortune.

The eight bedroom, Victorian property would set you back a cool £13 million if you had that sort of money lying around. It is the perfect place to contain the contestants, let’s just hope they don’t go wandering around the area sprouting too much bullshit or none of us will be safe.

No I am lying, if the first episode was anything to go by, Wednesdays might just become my favourite day of the week.