Persist and Prevail! How many people realised, noticed or even cared that March 8th was International Women’s Day, or that the whole of the month of March is designated as Women’s History Month? The Radio Times The covers of the Radio Times during the first two or three weeks of March 2023 didn’t offer many clues. In fact, any passing alien looking at some of the front covers, would be hard put to know that women even existed. It wasn’t much better once you looked at the programme menus inside the RT, which, remember, does seek to inform much of the population about the multitudes of viewing and listening opportunities available every week. If you searched the pages covering March 8th (International Women’s Day), you might have noticed the occasional nod to it – Film4 screened ‘Little Women’ and Radio 3 valiantly celebrated forgotten women composers. BBC Sounds and Lucy Worsley did their very best too,  But there was not much else going on unless you believe that a repeat of...

ROSES ARE RED VIOLETS ARE BLUE SUGAR IS SWEET AND SO ARE YOU (OR MAYBE NOT) In the 1960s Jim Reeves and others warbled their way through treacle with their top-selling versions of this little verse. At the same time, and with casual cruelty, schoolchildren were subverting the song in each other’s autograph books (remember those?) and cheerfully writing: Roses are red Violets are blue A face like yours Belongs in the zoo. By the way, these sardonic little poets were probably the same diligent students who enjoyed rewriting Christmas carols. Hark the herald angels sing Beechams pills are just the thing But this is no time for digressions…. The cards, the poems, the heart shaped pizzas…… Let’s focus on the red roses, the chocolates, the satin hearts, the inflated  prices and the short-lived annual frenzy of Valentine’s Day on February 14. By now, of course, it’s the end of February so the roses have shrivelled, the leftovers have been sold off at half pri...

  STRIKING WOMEN Lysistrata In 411 BC, Lysistrata, a bawdy comedy, by Aristophanes, had ‘em rolling in the amphitheatres of Ancient Greece. The play is often performed today with a strong feminist slant, although if you look carefully the politics are probably a bit dodgy. Lysistrata, the heroine, is tough, principled and resolute. She’s fed up with the ongoing war between Athens and Sparta, so encourages the women of Greece to go on a sex strike and stop sleeping with men until peace is declared. They all solemnly agree. After lots of slapstick, including the older women of Athens seizing the Akropolis and pouring water over a chorus of decrepit old men who are trying to smoke them out, all the men gather (exhibiting physical signs of extreme desperation), and peace is agreed.  Of course it’s a bit ironic that all the actors in Ancient Greece would have been men, but the ideas in the play have continued to resonate. And it is very funny. A millennium or so later…. Women worki...

  THE MILTON KEYNES FAWCETT GROUP END OF YEAR QUIZ  Season’s greetings! The weather is grim, everything is a bit difficult  and jolliness is in short supply. The only answer is to avert your gaze for a while and have a go at our Milton Keynes Fawcett Group  quiz. There are no prizes and the answers are at the bottom of the page so you can cheat as much as you like. Some questions are ridiculously easy, others less so, and a few are downright bizarre. They were compiled in between the bouts of manic activity that are traditional at this time of year, so apologies in advance for any howling errors. Thanks for staying with our monthly blogs. We look forward to another year of battling against the patriarchy and hope you will stay with us. Why not think about joining the national Fawcett Society and coming along to the meetings of the Milton Keynes local group? You are very welcome to join us for a taster session. Just drop an email to miltonkeynesfawcettgroup@gmail.com ...

  SISTERHOOD AND STRENGTH Scary sisters The Graeae, three sisters in Greek mythology, managed to survive by sharing one eye and one tooth, which is really rather impressive. Sadly it all went a bit downhill for them when Perseus stole the eye for blackmail purposes, but since the sisters’ names in translation are Dread, Horror and Alarm,  we needn’t really get too upset. Sisters as stock villains - wicked, ugly, conspiratorial, wild or seductive, regularly appear in literature, religion, history, show-business and folklore. The more wholesome sisters, the Marys and the Marthas, don’t get such good publicity. Cinderella certainly had a bad time with her sisters, but at least didn’t suffer the gruesome fate of Cordelia in ‘King Lear’, who had no support at all from her nasty sisters. Mary Tudor and Elizabeth 1 didn’t get on at all well; neither did Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Haviland.  The Weird Sisters definitely had it in for Macbeth, and ‘Whatever happened to Baby Jane?...

   What is happening in Iran is the frontline of feminism right now: the simple expression of desire for equality, for dignity, for life without fear. And as such, it touches us all. Say it with me:   Woman. Life. Freedom Kamin Mohammadi COURAGE Since mid-September when Mahsa Amini was arrested and killed, waves of protest have continued throughout Iran, with few signs of slowing down. In their passionate call for change, schoolgirls and young women are being joined by young men and groups of workers. ‘Get lost, Raisi’ they have shouted at their president (a man recently seen shaking hands with the great and the good at the UN summit). Their extraordinary courage is something we can only aspire to. What has it been like to live, knowing that the morality police, directed by a violent authoritarian state, might arrest you for wearing nail varnish? To be aware that a few strands of hair escaping from your hijab can bring about a beating, or worse? What must it be like now, ...

  2022 Early September At the beginning of this month there was a palpable air of panic. Headlines on energy prices and the cost of living competed with the news of catastrophic floods in Pakistan and the war in Ukraine. In Britain politicians were tearing pieces out of each other in a leadership election, Parliament wasn’t functioning, the heatwave had caused havoc with the harvest, there were multiple strikes and civil liberties were at risk. Mid September And now? For some days the country has been on hold. Immaculate organisation, solemn ceremony, gleaming uniforms and medieval language are on screens everywhere. The backdrop to our lives has changed. People are classified as ‘mourners’ and ‘well-wishers . Their opinions are channelled through a respectful media, punctuated occasionally by moments of protest.There are sombre speeches about duty, heavy responsibility and service. How do we navigate this? Everything has changed and nothing has changed. After the ceremony, the mo...