My good friend Heidy has been complaining on social media about the weather: “The weather round here is ridiculous: *No sun whatsoever*, but 25ºC already, really stuffy and sticky.” She’s right, of course, but Owain, the dapper weatherman who appears after the Northwest News BBC1, did warn us that cloud was coming. Our two eldest granddaughters have also been complaining, via our group chat online:
Number Two Granddaughter: Have you seen the predictions for weather over the weekend? High of 30 on Sunday and 32 on Monday.
Number One Granddaughter: I know. Insane.
Number Two Granddaughter: I’m dreading it.
Number Two Granddaughter prefers winter to summer and always complains when the temperature goes above 22°. Number One Granddaughter is concerned about how to take her dog out for walks and whether she she should let the dog-walker take the dog out today. Dog owner problems! I expect she’s quite glad some cloud has moved in.
However, the met office has put out a severe weather warning, usually reserved for winter storms and really cold spells. We are reminded to drink plenty of water - especially those of us in the more senior bracket as we are the one likely to forget to do so! I rather resent being categorised in that fashion!
Yesterday in Uppermill coop there was a man in shorts, rather short black shorts and nothing else - showing off his sun tan. Nobody seemed to bat an eyelid! In Barcelona and other parts of Spain he could be fined for his state of undress! His female companion wore very tight gym shorts, almost certainly lycra, the ones that look like cropped leggings, and a matching top, also very tight, also cropped, with lots of criss-crossing straps. She looked as if she was dressed for the gym but maybe not planning to go. Maybe what might be called gym-chic! Not a look I would recommend. No, they were not teenagers! This is what some of the British get up to when the sun shines! Men whipping their shirts off and getting their chests put at the merest glimpse of summer sun is a relatively recent phenomenon. I’m pretty sure it didn’t happen 30 years ago and certainly not back when I was a teenager.
Times change, as do fashions. So here’s a question: Should men wear skirts?
There was a time when the question would have been: Should women wear trousers? Nowadays it seems that women have perhaps more freedom of dress than men do. In recent years we’ve had the question about formal suits (for men) with short trousers - a strange look but one we could get used to. So maybe we could grow accustomed to men wearing skirts. Interestingly the writer of the article found himself wondering what to do with his “stuff”, all the things that go in pockets as a rule. Well, there is always the “man bag”. I sympathise though; some of my favourite outfits have pockets! Women should campaign for more such garments!
The Guardian’s “Long Read” today gave an interesting perspective on abortion and anti-abortion in the USA. Before the 1850s there was no legislation against abortion. In fact many women, respectable married women, had multiple abortions because it was considered safer than childbirth. Contraception was not always available or reliable and a foetus was not considered to be a truly live human being until it “quickened”, the quite magical moment when the expectant mother feels the child move within her. Terminating a pregnancy before “quickening” was not frowned on. Abortion remedies were advertised and sold. And women knew which herbs could help - juniper, bloodroot, mayapple, Queen Anne’s lace seeds!
One push towards anti-abortion legislation resulted from the falling birthrate in the 185s, with an interesting attitude to new immigrants:
“As immigrants poured into the US, the birthrate for white, Protestant, middle-class married women plummeted to historic lows that couldn’t be attributed to miscarriage, celibacy or barrenness. Improved contraception was part of the reason, but so was an increase in the abortion rate. (Dr. Horatio) Storer and his peers became preoccupied with the latter – and for reasons that had less to do with protecting the right to life than with maintaining the prevailing social hierarchy. As (Leslie J) Reagan writes, “Anti-abortion activists pointed out that immigrant families, many of them Catholic, were larger and would soon outpopulate native-born white Yankees and threaten their political power.””
Another push came from the medical profession:
“In 1857, the recently established American Medical Association (AMA) initiated a campaign, led by Dr Horatio R Storer, to end abortion. The organisation’s reasons were many, but women’s health was not chief among them. Reagan writes that the AMA and its members were attempting to “win professional power, control medical practice, and restrict their competitors, particularly homeopaths and midwives”.”
So a good deal of anti-abortion promotion was to do with social status, doctors not wanting midwives (female of course) to have too much power and influence, and control of women’s lives, of course!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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