Just to say

Germanshepherdsmum

Shirley Williams might have dressed in a frumpy, perhaps untidy, way but I don’t think anyone could ever say she dressed inappropriately. She always looked to me like an academic who wasn’t interested in personal appearance. What a brilliant woman though, and a woman of profound faith, wisdom and integrity. AR cannot be compared to her.

No comparison in their backgrounds either. One born into privilege and money with access to the best education, surrounded by political experience and intellectual curiosity. St Paul's GS, Oxford and a Fullbright scholarship, what amazing opportunities! The other born into poverty and neglect, caring for an uneducated drunken mother and then whilst still a child herself, struggling as a single mother, leaving school with no qualifications and no support. I think her life so far has been pretty amazing. No, absolutely no comparison.

That is true about forums Monica but I am always amazed at how much information people do give away. There is one poster, for example, who has let it be known exactly where she lives. I could knock on her door.
Facebook does at least have settings for privacy but on here there are none.
I have been confronted on one occasion by someone in real life who recognised me by something I said on here - it was simply a class I had been to.

GSM But though there were odd comments on how Shirley Williams dressed, she was never subject to the criticism various women politicians have been subject to in recent years.

Mind you men have not been excluded, Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Rishi Sunak have all been criticised for their sartorial choices.

None of them are subject to the constant torrent of comment female members of the royal family have to live with. Within minutes of one of them being seen outside whetehr on parade or just nipping to the shops, someone has identified every garment they are wearing that is visible, brand, style, price, how long they have been known to own it, when they last wore it and with what.

Who on earth is interested in all this boring detail I cannot imagine, presumably only mothers of brides/grooms, deciding what to wear for their child's wedding. I cannot see where else the kind of clothes royals wear when on parade could otherwise be worn.

I have always been very careful about what I put in writing in any form, including in the far off days of paper or pen. Letters go astray, people read over other people's shoulders, others quite brazenly pick up other people's letters etc and read them.

At least on forums we are hidden behind pseudonyms. Apart from a few people I have met at meet-ups - and that is consciously my choice, know who I am - and similarly, apart from the people I have met at meet-ups, I do not have the smallest clue who any of you are. I see your forum names, your posts may tell me where you live, in regional or county terms, and some details of your family, but beyond that we may have sat next to each other on trains, in the theatre, or spoken at meetings without having any idea that the person next to us is on GN and I would immediately recognise their peudonym.

You are, in fact, far more safely anonymous online on a forum with a pseudynym than in a letter to a newspaper with your name on.

I am always very careful what I post on here.

Germanshepherdsmum

Anyone can read what is posted on Gransnet BigMamma. It’s not a private forum.

You have no control of your words once you press send - even in an email to a friend or a business. You don’t know who they might send it on to. If you are not prepared for the whole world to read what you write then don’t send it to anyone

what a lovely observation please stay BigMamma

BigMamma

kittylester

Are we supposed to be worried about Catherine Bennet's opinion?

I think people should be worried that when they post comments about their family and friends are being shown on the general internet. I for one, should have read the rules as I did not know that any comments we made will be put out there for the entire country to read.

This now makes any asking for help from the forums regarding family and money troubles are out of the question, especially for me.

I am now leaving the forums for good as I truly expected any comments I made to be kept within the Gransnet forums and not be posted on the World wide web.

BigMamma please don't leave GN. I really enjoy your posts and your wise input and advice. You don't have to post anything personal about yourself but your participation in helping others is really appreciated. I appreciate YOU. I love reading your posts.

I don’t particularly care what has been written in the Guardian. I do not have a problem with anyone saying they do /do not like what someone was wearing. I do object to not liking someone’s outfit equating to calling her a tart. To me that was the line that was crossed.

Shirley Williams might have dressed in a frumpy, perhaps untidy, way but I don’t think anyone could ever say she dressed inappropriately. She always looked to me like an academic who wasn’t interested in personal appearance. What a brilliant woman though, and a woman of profound faith, wisdom and integrity. AR cannot be compared to her.

A politician I admired once told me I reminded him of Shirley Williams. I was very flattered, until he added ‘because of your hair’.

Times have changed, Remember Shirley Williams, politician' renowned for her untidiness and disinterest in dress. It was always seen as one of her most engaging characteristics.

Hiring Nick Kyrgios to fill its vacant toxic male slot is an unforced error on BBC’s part
Catherine Bennett, Guardian
(This article is more than 1 month old)

Sorry, Catherine, Nick has been a very good commentator at Wimbledon.

Elrel

Now the tabloids are dripping with the jewelled finery of the ‘public event ‘ of a months’ long Indian wedding. Happily, among the fabulously arrayed ‘great and the good’ is Boris Johnson making it clear that Carrie’s campaign to tidy him up didn’t last long.

I heard about 150 private jets have taken guests to the Mumbai wedding from all over the world. Many of those will be people who love telling us ordinary folk not to fly for eco reasons.😝

JaneJudge

well i never
I google angela rayner trouser suit discussions and it that thread was the first thing that comes up
followed by the article linked and then;
womensagenda.com.au/latest/angela-rayners-green-suit-why-is-it-so-difficult-for-women-in-power-to-dress-correctly/

Article taken from The Conversation, known for its Academic rigour, journalistic flair

🙂

well i never
I google angela rayner trouser suit discussions and it that thread was the first thing that comes up
followed by the article linked and then;
womensagenda.com.au/latest/angela-rayners-green-suit-why-is-it-so-difficult-for-women-in-power-to-dress-correctly/

She's probably on The Dark Side.

Sometimes they criticise Gransnet but, quite honestly, we have nothing on them!

do you think she reads gransnet though? or do you think she is tipped off? as it doesn't really come up on google does it? (I am now going to try)

How utterly nauseating and sickening.
Ostentatious, obscene wealth.

The challenges faced by slum children in India include abuse, neglect, exploitation, poor socio-economic conditions, lack of protective environment, and health problems like malnutrition.

About 7.8 million children, accounting for 6.07%, live in urban slums. Children living in slums are 1.3 times likely to suffer from diarrhoea than those in non-slum areas. About 300 million people living in urban India face exclusion from essential health services and other services like safe drinking water, sanitation, education, and access to essential services and most often their births or deaths are not registered. Children are prone to diseases and disasters.

I feel sick just reading about that family and their six month wedding celebrations.

GN does appear in a tiny bit of the article, which isn't fair, given the range of helpful topics we do cover. Exactly. Journalists are well known for being selective and biased in their reporting. CB is no exception

Joseann

Mukesh Ambani, dont you know?
And a load of fancy guests.

Sorry, I don't know.

But I recognise those two, possibly.

Mukesh Ambani, dont you know?
And a load of fancy guests.

Elrel

Now the tabloids are dripping with the jewelled finery of the ‘public event ‘ of a months’ long Indian wedding. Happily, among the fabulously arrayed ‘great and the good’ is Boris Johnson making it clear that Carrie’s campaign to tidy him up didn’t last long.

Ooh, who's getting married?

Primrose53

Bottom line is GN did NOT remove the thread and when I asked them to they said it would be a shame as so many people contributed to it. So THEY chose not to.

They are obviously less bothered about it than a handful of holier than thous on here who know full well that plenty of other politicians, minor celebs etc have been called far worse in recent years. It seems it’s fair game to joke about some people (Katie Price springs to mind) but not Saint Ange.😉

Now, if AR had been a Conservative politician I wonder if some posters would have been so quick to leap to her defence?

Now the tabloids are dripping with the jewelled finery of the ‘public event ‘ of a months’ long Indian wedding. Happily, among the fabulously arrayed ‘great and the good’ is Boris Johnson making it clear that Carrie’s campaign to tidy him up didn’t last long.