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(166 Posts)
Ladyleftfieldlover Sun 14-Jul-24 18:49:57

On page 49 of today’s Observer - the main section - Catherine Bennett mentions the Gransnet ‘Angela Rayner ghastly trouser suit’ discussion.

C Bennett wasn’t amused.

Callistemon213 Mon 15-Jul-24 15:56:59

JaneJudge

well i never grin
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

🙂

Primrose53 Mon 15-Jul-24 15:57:50

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.😝

Callistemon213 Mon 15-Jul-24 16:01:03

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.

M0nica Mon 15-Jul-24 16:17:00

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.

Siope Mon 15-Jul-24 17:08:21

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

Germanshepherdsmum Mon 15-Jul-24 17:30:01

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.

Cressy Mon 15-Jul-24 18:11:10

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.

Macadia Mon 15-Jul-24 18:30:51

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.

JaneJudge Mon 15-Jul-24 18:34:07

what a lovely observation smile please stay BigMamma

Tizliz Mon 15-Jul-24 20:42:32

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

dragonfly46 Mon 15-Jul-24 22:36:49

I am always very careful what I post on here.

M0nica Tue 16-Jul-24 07:22:33

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.

M0nica Tue 16-Jul-24 07:31:05

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.

dragonfly46 Tue 16-Jul-24 07:45:48

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.

Vintagewhine Tue 16-Jul-24 08:31:16

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.

Joseann Tue 16-Jul-24 08:46:37

So if you know exactly where someone lives, surely no one is going to stalk them because they said something derogatory about AR's trousers, Camilla's hair or their cousin's carpet? Or even for their political views?
The threads on family issues might be different in that respect, but I don't read enough of them to know how much information is revealed?

Joseann Tue 16-Jul-24 08:48:12

* I mean someone on GN of course!

ronib Tue 16-Jul-24 09:06:51

The Telegraph reported that Angela Rayner was being frozen out, whatever that means. Now is the burning question ‘was it because of the trouser suit’? Or maybe Keir Starmer’s personal choice? Or maybe AR is not being frozen out. Or whatever fantasy msm dreams up?

Callistemon213 Tue 16-Jul-24 09:16:25

People who are newsworthy have always been scrutinised and commented on about their appearance, the difference now is the internet and everyone is able to express an opinion.

Frankly, I'd never heard of Em&Em before this but everyone has now. There's no such thing as bad publicity, so they say 😃

(I'm more M&Co, more my price bracket.)

Yes, Shirley Williams did come from the kind of intellectual background which gave her advantages denied to Angela Rayner but she also had to fight for her place in a world dominated by men. At least that is one hurdle Angela Rayner doesn't have to overcome.

Callistemon213 Tue 16-Jul-24 09:17:11

Em&Em

Me&Em

foxie48 Tue 16-Jul-24 09:37:56

Ronib Seems only to be in the Telegraph,Daily Mail, Daily Express, and on GB news, so it looks like a plant but there's bound to be tensions between the centrist and left of the party.

Joseann Tue 16-Jul-24 09:44:28

Frozen? If she's anything like Anna, AR will survive. Both of them impulsive in their own way.

Callistemon213 Tue 16-Jul-24 09:50:45

Joseann

Frozen? If she's anything like Anna, AR will survive. Both of them impulsive in their own way.

That's what's wrong, Angela needs to plait her hair and find a snowman friend. Then she might not be 'frozen out'.

(Apologies ......)

dragonfly46 Tue 16-Jul-24 09:58:39

Just to be clear I couldn't care less about Angela Rayner's suit but just pointing out that in general it is not a good idea to give personal information away on open forums.

I rather suspect the Daily Telegraph is stirring things up.

Wyllow3 Tue 16-Jul-24 10:02:13

foxie48

Ronib Seems only to be in the Telegraph,Daily Mail, Daily Express, and on GB news, so it looks like a plant but there's bound to be tensions between the centrist and left of the party.

Trying to stir up trouble. Beyond reasonable limits, why oh why. things are divided enough as they are. I recall GN comments about different parties actually trying to work together on issues such as NHS. Don't want to go down the bitterly divisive USA model.