Article by Christyne.
The last you heard from me was earlier in the year when I was featured and pictured in a 2 page spread for the quarterly magazine Life and Living, not front page this time Twiggy had that slot. I did enjoy doing another professional shoot in London
Shortly after I auditioned and got a small speaking role in a film university students were making as a mysterious shop keeper, it was great fun and done in a very professional way and a great experience.
After that in April I entered a model search competition held at a local shopping centre over 260 men and women turned up to be photographed this was whittled down eventually to the final 19 who were then asked to do a live fashion show wearing clothes from the shopping centre. I was one of the 19 chosen in June to do the catwalk show which I went on to win, the nearest in age to me was 38.
I will now go on to do a professional shoot for the centre in Oct which will be used in promotion and publicity for them.
I was very surprised and pleased to win, no one knew my age of 67 until the fashion show was reported in the local newspaper.
Being judged on merit not age
So I was judged on merit not age and of course that is the way it always should be what ever age you are and what ever you chose to do in life…..
Very recently my photograph was used in the USA by the Hearst newspaper corporation to advertise a competition( the photo used is the one featured).
Titled a National Magazine is looking for real women over ages 40 to 70 who look better now than they did years ago.
The advert for the competition went as follows have your look’s improved not because of surgery or injectable’s but because you’ve realised the best is yet to come and you are now more “you” than ever before, then tell us all about it etc etc.
The winner was to go on the Oprah chat show, aimed at the over 40′s and aired in New York City
I was more than a little surprised and pleased that my photograph was used in this way, especially as it was used in a American magazine and not in this country.
I am now very much of the opinion as my experiences have proved over the last couple of years that women of my age who are well over 60 can still compete with a very much younger generation. So get out there ladies there are still plenty of opportunities for you if you look and when you do find them grab them with both hands as you never know where they may lead.
Christyne was originally featured on Fabafterfifty as a ‘Fabwoman‘ and regularly updates us with her adventures!
What an inspirational lady! I love the way Christyne spells her name with a ‘y’ too….I spell mine with a ‘y’ too…Paulyne! I think people who spell their names slightly differently to the norm tend to stand out from the crowd. I certainly wanted to read the article when I saw her name as ‘Christyne’. My 23 year old daughter’s name is EVY. I chose that spelling myself when she was born. I’ve only ever seen the name spelt as ‘Evie’. She stands out from the crowd too.
Exciting times started to happen to me when I hit my 50th birthday in 2008. I was off work dealing with my demons when I turned the tv on ( I had stopped watching) when I saw that Richard Arnold was searching for women to appear on his Fab@50 show to celebrate Madonna turning 50 that summer. I was on my laptop at the time, and before I knew it, I’d pinged a collection of photos out into ‘cyberspace’. It was a ‘moment of madness’ for me…I’ve had a few of those..but there was no taking it back. I never for one moment thought, ‘oh, no what have I done.’
Sometimes one just needs to cease the moment. The public had to vote and soon my pix had generated several ‘hits’. I then got the call to appear on the show. I was really excited but the date coincided with a family funeral which involved long-distance travel. With train cancellations, I got home at nearly midnight then had to be up and ready for the driver at 5.30am. I appeared on the show not even having time to wash my hair. RA gave me a special spot on the show (there were a group of us) and introduced me as ‘more like 35!’ I ended up ‘baring my belly-button’ to the nation LIVE on GMTV sharing one of my many keep-fit secrets (belly-dancing). I am now immortalised somewhere in the archives of youtube and NME sites doing a 30sec ‘shimmy’ alongside a performing band!
Other opportunities followed…Twiggy chose me to represent London in a Smooth Radio Live Life Award promoting Olay Definity Eye Illuminator. My mugshot appeared in the Sunday Woman Observer magazine ‘Women of Substance’ feature alongside 5 other women, and I was invited into the SR studios to record a one-liner advert for Olay DEI which was broadcast across London for a week. This was particularly exciting for me as Twiggy has been my idol since I was a child in the 60s. I would love to meet her! but a signed photo I received for participating in the OLAY ad, suffices for now.
In 2009 I featured in a ‘I hate my house’ show for ITV This Morning and got a brand new lounge into the bargain.
Following on from this, in 2010, I was invited to feature in a Woman’s Own ‘Guess our ages’ article. I was in dress and shoe heaven! I was still fighting my demons on the day, but the make-up artist did a fantastic job! I did a ‘Sex in the City’ photoshoot alongside a 37 year old grandmother and a stunning 70 year old lady with a figure to die for!
Just one mad moment in time led to a host of exciting opportunities; the experience gave me back my ‘mojo’ and I realised that life was for living.
I lost my life-time career in 2010 due to illness. I’ve been in recovery for a couple of years now….I’m re-inventing myself as a blogger and poet…focussing on improving mental health through expressive writing. I hope to share my experiences with a wider audience when the time is right. At the moment, I’m ‘feeling the fear, but doing it anyway……’.
Thank you, Christyne, for inspiring me….and for giving me an added ‘boost’ to carry on with my many and varied interests.
Sumlushlass 15.4.13
Hi there thank you so much for your lovely comments. WOW though what you achived after you turned 50 is fantastic you have shown yet again you never know what you can achive until you try.
Sorry to hear about your health issues but so glad to hear things are getting better for you now.
Good luck with your writing you are also truly inspirational in showing to all that when one door shuts, another will open as long as you go looking for it. It is great you are such a positive thinker.
Wishing you all the very best for the future. Christyne xx