Just To Say - Thank You!


The days are short and it’s the time of the year for endless distractions, obligations, conversations and jollifications. So, this is a short blog, a quick pause for a few reflections before off we go, on with the motley, staggering onwards to Twelfth Night, the winter sales, the return to work, trying out Veganuary or making resolutions that are instantly broken. And hoping, all the time, that things SHOULD get better, WILL get better, MUST get better….

 THE MEANINGLESS THANK YOU

Even if you have tried your best to avoid social media and limit the time you spend looking at emails, you will be lucky to escape the onslaught of hollow messages purporting to thank you for your custom during the holiday season. ‘Thank you for choosing us’ burbles a supermarket, while a shoe shop issues a ‘heartfelt thankyou to all our customers’ and a pharmaceutical company insists that ‘we really appreciate your time and feedback’ as they make yet another request for you to review the tube of toothpaste that you purchased two weeks ago.

This oozing gratefulness of the retail sector also slithers into awards ceremonies, where everyone, including the neighbour’s cat, is given profuse thanks for their contribution to the recipient’s triumph. The culmination of all this nonsense went well beyond satire recently, when Donald Trump simpered and preened about the great honour bestowed upon him when he received the ‘Inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.’ Whatever that is.

THE PERSONAL THANK YOU

Of course, we say ‘thank you’ automatically, many times a day, in shops, cafes, on the phone – and have become used to the equally automatic (if baffling) responses of ‘no problem’ or ‘no worries’. But it still always gives pleasure when someone goes out of their way to offer their thanks for something specific or special that they have appreciated. The words don’t lose their meaning when the context is clear. 

Which takes us neatly on to…….

THE PUBLIC THANK YOU.

The real aim of this end-of-year blog is to take the opportunity to say a simple ‘thank you’ to all the women who are working so hard on behalf of other women. Working for equal rights, working to end violence against women and girls, working in the health, care, and education sectors, working in politics, working in hostile environments or in the extreme circumstances of war, famine and disaster. And also, to say ‘thank you’ to those women who have become important role models because of their achievements and their persistence, often in the face of opposition, abuse, disability or danger. You will have your own list of names, but to give you a flavour (and do look them up if they are not familiar to you), how about these for starters? Gisele Pelicot, Fatou Baldeh, Louise Casey, Nadia Murad, Keely Hodgkinson, Yulya Navalnaya, Jess Phillips, 

AND TO THOSE WHO CANNOT NOW HEAR OUR THANKS

During 2025 a number of remarkable and well-known women died. Roberta Flack, Marianne Faithfull, Joan Plowright, Cleo Laine, Jane Goodall, Prunella Scales, Miss Major Griffin- Gracy, Diane Keaton, Patricia Routledge, for example – exceptional women, whose legacies remain for us to appreciate and value.

THANK YOU, TOO.

Many thanks to all of you who read the blog and offer advice and comments. And, as we grit our teeth and prepare to to confront 2026, thanks to all the women in The Fawcett Society and other groups working for an equal and just society. 

‘Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.’ Marie Curie


DECEMBER UPDATE ON THE MK FAWCETT CAMPAIGN FOR A SAFER, HEALTHIER, FAIRER MILTON KEYNES

  • The latest Evidence Paper, a compilation of data relating to Milton Keynes and our Safer, Healthier and Fairer manifesto, will be ready to disseminate shortly.
  • Members worked with partners to mark the Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls on 25th November, the start of the UN 16 Days of Action. There was a series of events including a torchlight vigil at The Rose in CMK and a photographic exhibition in Middleton Hall showcased a ‘craftivism’ response to the scourge of VAWG. 
  • We met with Emily Darlington, our MP for Milton Keynes Central, in October for an extensive exchange of information. We are appreciative of her time. 
  • We have submitted a response to the second consultation on the draft MKCC Domestic Abuse strategy 
  • We are now regularly attending and reporting on the stakeholder events arranged by the BLMK Women’s Health Network to better understand what advances in service provision are being made to address inequality in women’s health.
  • We met with the MK Youth Council earlier in October for a stimulating discussion about Voting at 16. 
  • We will continue to promote the manifesto campaign and encourage people to become more involved with the political process.
  • We have contributed to the planning of the annual Fawcett Society conference, to take place in February 2026.
  • MKF now has a LinkedIn presence as well as being on BlueSky. Please follow us on these platforms as well as at www.fawcettmk.org.uk

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