I’ve been trolling through the news to find something inspiring for International Women’s Day. Not much there I’m afraid. Nazanin, the British Iranian woman who has been under arrest in Iran has had her ankle tag removed and therefore is ‘free’. Nothing to do with Women’s Day, her sentence has come to an end. Can she leave the country and come home? No, she can’t, men in charge there have come up with another supposed crime and she will go before their cout again on Sunday.
Duchess Meghan sat with the queen of tv interviews Oprah Winfrey and neither of them did anything for women anywhere. I’m sure that life for the new duchess was not easy. All young women (and probably young men too) meeting their new in-laws for the first time will have a hard time. Any bride preparing for her big day suffers from nerves and anxiety. Add to all this that the new family is the British royal one I can only imagine how nerve wracking that might be. I also believe that some members of that family are probably racists. But, there she was saying that she was a strong independent woman who had earned money since she was 13 years old and in the next breath saying how her new life affected her mental health and she considered suicide. I do wish she had stood up to them and refused to hand over her passport, had gone out to meet her friends and bloody well told the Firm and the press that she did have black blood and was proud of it. Instead she said her prince had to cradle her and kiss her better. And how did she get those watery eyes and not have her mascara running down her blushed cheeks? Just asking.
My friend Anna however posted a lovely tribute about the foster mother Helen Holgate who cared for her third and premature baby when she herself couldn’t. They are still friends today and had a long zoom catch up to celebrate International Women’s Day. Two strong independent women among the many that I am fortunate to know.
We know that Banksy owned up to the painting on the wall of a Victorian prison in Reading which showed a prisoner escaping while holding a typewriter. He has now said that his previous art work which showed up in the entrance to Southampton General Hospital entitled Game Changer will be put up for auction with proceeds going to the NHS. He will sell the original canvas and a copy will grace the walls of the hospital. Banksy is hoping to raise £3 million. A note accompanied the painting when it first appeared saying ‘Thanks for all you are doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even though it’s only black and white.’ I’m sort of hoping that some one will buy it and donate it back to the hospital, now that would be really cool.