Christyne, changing perceptions of women and age- theatre debut in her late 60s
Fabafterfifty: Fabwomen
We all know women who inspire us to take a look at our own lives. ‘Fabwomen’ is all about introducing women who have not been afraid to try something new or different, and who’ve overcome their own fears or limitations and followed their dreams, whether stepping outside their comfort zone to take up new interests or pursue a new career or relationship.
We hope our Fabwomen’s stories will motivate all of us to try at least one thing new!
If you have a friend, colleague or family member, whose experiences in their fifties could inspire others, why not nominate them for a future Fabwomen feature!
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An update from Chrstyne Remnant Christyne is leading the pack when it comes to changing perceptions of women over 50. Christyne previously shared with us her experience of going to Oxford University as a mature student and finding herself as a cover girl in her 60s. Her latest update really does go to show that age is just a number! I think I must have been among the very first few “fab” women profiled on your page back in January 2011. “not that I consider myself fab” Am now in my 69th year…. and you last heard from me in July 2012 after I had won a local model search competition, after this I appeared in fashion shoots in local newspapers in Oct and Dec 2012 My theatre debut in my 60s. Had an opportunity in Oct to audition and I then won a role to be in the professional...
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Pauline, her inspirational story of moving from breast cancer to setting up Bosom Buddies charity
Article by Pauline Giles Pauline Giles shares her incredible journey, from being diagnosed with breast cancer to setting up a charity to raise breast cancer awareness for young women. An inspirational story of courage, laughter and determination! Pauline’s story May 2010 My mother and I attend an appointment with a Genetic Clinic my gran and mother had both had breast cancer and we wanted to know if we were carrying the BRCA gene which could mean my daughter and myself could be carriers. The lovely lady doctor explained in order to be checked we needed two surviving generations so they could check tissue. The doctor looked up and said ‘so Ms Giles, for you to save your daughter you would, in essence have to have the disease.’ 10 July 2010 My “I’m over it’ Party, 12 month previous I found out my husband who I had been with since I was 14...
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Ena, Fab after 50 and 80 years young!
Article by Ceri Wheeldon As Ena Mallett sends out invitations for her 80th birthday next month, she wonders if she may be expected to ‘throw a man or two’ around the floor. “I think my guests might expect it” says Ena. Why? 2 years ago Ena became the only woman in the world to achieve a 7th Dan Black Belt status in ju-jitsu martial arts. Don’t even suggest to Ena that allowances have been made for her age in achieving this – the answer is a very firm ‘no’! Ena has boundless energy and a very busy life. She teaches martial arts classes to both adults and children, has started a keep fit class for ‘older’ people, works as a lollipop lady, and takes long walks with her dog. When Ena opted to take a martial arts class as she thought it would be more interesting than flower arranging, she...
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How to Save a Life: Learning to Live Again after Blindness. Maria, 51, learns to ski after losing her sight
Article by Maria Pikulski It is so easy to make excuses to not do things once we reach our 50s. Maria shares her inspirational story – achieving things most of us would run a mile from – despite losing her eyesight. At the beginning of 2004 I was trying to come to terms with sight loss since being registered blind in September 2003. I was off sick from work as a nurse and was fighting to try and stay employed, a fight that was to last four and a half years in total. I just wanted to give up. Then my friend who worked for Blind Veterans UK’s pension’s office told me I was eligible for its support because I had previously served in the forces. Blind Veterans UK has quite simply saved my life. Through the charity I have learnt a range of individual living skills, including computer training....
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Best selling business author Dee Blick talks about turning her writing ambitions into reality
Interview with Dee Blick Bestselling business author Dee Blick, shares her story of sharing her business experience by writing two (so far) bestselling business books. Tell us a litttle about yourself… I am 50, married with two children; or rather I should say young men – Steven who is 22, Mark who is 20 and my third boy, hubby Malcolm who is 53. I live in a lovely part of the world, Horsham in West Sussex but spend an awful lot of my time in the log cabin in the garden writing feverishly from early hours to late at night! What prompted you to write your first book? I was born a writer but became a marketer. Over many years people were asking when I was going to write a marketing book. If I’m honest, I was so afraid of failure that my burning desire to write was kept on...
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Karen, turning a hobby and a passion for sewing into a business.
Article by Ceri Wheeldon I came across Karen Arthur on twitter, and always looked forward to her pictures of her latest creations. So I asked her to share her story Fabafterfifty readers. Karen has always enjoyed sewing – and has always liked to look at the fabric in her clothes and thought about how they can be used for something else. But how did she start making handbags as a business? “ A friend found a gorgeous suede jacket in the back of her late mother’s wardrobe – she asked me if I would be able to make a bag from the it, as she wanted to send it to her sister as a keepsake. It was a challenge for me as I had never made anything from suede before – but I said yes and then thought about how I would do it afterwards! I made a lovely handbag from...
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Shirlie Kemp talks about her artwork and Life after 50…
Interview by Ceri Wheeldon Shirlie Kemp talks to Fabafterfifty about her life and reinvention in her 50s. I fell in love with Shirlie’s artwork and asked so asked her to share with Fabafterfifty how her new career came about! Shirlie is no stranger to reinvention having had to change career track very early on. Known as being part of pop duo Pepsi and Shirlie, and Wham! surprisingly Shirlie didn’t set out to have a musical career – in fact Shirlie had wanted to work with horses and was training to be a riding instructor when at the age of 17 she developed terrible hayfever- putting an end to her equestrian dreams. But as one door closed another opened…as Shirlie explains: A change of career direction “ Just as was having to rethink what I could do for a living my two friends George (Michael) and Andrew (Ridgely) were just starting...
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Would you give up your job to follow your passion? Gillian shares her experience.
Article by Gillian Mawson Gillian talks about her new venture- and the difficult decisions behind it. Tell us about your current project…. In early 2008 I was researching the Manchester Blitz of December 1940, when I discovered a June 1940 newspaper which described the arrival of over 17,000 Guernsey evacuees in England. This included 5,000 school children who had left with their teachers, leaving their parents behind. The evacuees had to remain in England for 5 years because the Nazis occupied their island. I knew nothing at all about these evacuees, and tried to find out more but could discover very little. I realised that this was an untold story of the Second World War which, because of the advanced age of the evacuees, needed to be captured. I began to trace surviving evacuees, and discovered that many had not returned to Guernsey after the war, but had remained in...
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Changing Gear: A bike ride from Britain to Bulgaria. Coping with bereavement with positive change
Article by Eileen Sutherland We all cope with bereavement and grief in different ways- Eileen shares her journey following the death of her son. In July 2006 when I was 54 my husband and I cycled from Britain to Bulgaria. I was unfit, overweight and had a dodgy knee. He was fit, an experienced cyclist and very strong. So naturally when it came to allocating panniers, tents, bike boxes and thermarests I voted that he carry them. He (Allan) manfully took the brunt of the weight but due to lack of space I did have to carry some stuff. As a result there was a lot of shouting and crying from me as we cycled across Holland and Germany. But by the time we reached Austria I was taking things in my stride. My Lycra cycling shorts were starting to ‘bag’ around my bum and tum and I was able...
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Diane Goes to Ghana to Help a Community cope with Heartbreaking Poverty and Deprivation
Article by Diane Priestley Diane Priestley is an Australian journalist now living in London who travelled to Ghana in Africa with Madventurer as a volunteer. Here she writes about her experiences at an impoverished beach village that desperately needs outside support to break free from the poverty trap and improve the future for hundreds of isolated, deprived children. Maranatha is an isolated, impoverished community on a windswept strip of beach between the open ocean and the Volta River on the south-eastern coast of Ghana. The fishing community of around 700 people (with more than half the population children) live in huts made of palm trees and the children attend barren classes in dilapidated bamboo shelters with broken concrete floors. The beach village is one of the poorest corners of Ghana with the greatest need for the basics of food, water, sanitation and buildings. The villagers live mostly on Banku, a...
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