Cathy and Claire - Jackie magazine

[Redvelvet73]

Inspired by another thread.

Does anyone remember this advice column? Did anyone ever write to them and actually get their letter published? Always wondered if the letters were genuine.

www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/mar/21/jackie-magazine-agony-aunt-gayle-anderson-jackie-the-musical

I secretly hope you are Melanie who answered the (far grittier) questions sent to Just 17!!!

I remember being almost faint with anticipation when Jackie heralded the imminent arrival in England of some American anti-acne product. Can’t even remember what it was now, but I’m pretty certain I made a special trip to Boots with my mother to buy whatever it was.

I so loved that magazine! Then there was a short gap until I moved from a state to an independent school at 13 - and all the cool girls were reading Vogue and Cosmopolitan.

Yes definitely remember it

And Trisha in MyGuy

I remember Cathy and Claire too! I remember that I used to hoard my Jackie magazines and re-read them all periodically. I once came across a Cathy and Claire page that had the same problems, exactly as another Cathy and Claire page from a few years earlier. So I wrote and told them. They wrote back, offering an explanation which involved blaming a junior member of their team and a filing cabinet, I seem to remember.

I was a teen in the late 80s/early 90s. I don't remember me and my friends reading Jackie, but we loved Just 17 and their agony aunt and uncle Anita and Nick!

Used to love Jackie. A friend of mine (now - didn’t know her then) was part of the Cathy and Claire ‘team’ who responded to letters

I loved Jackie magazine and Blue Jeans also. There's a Best of Jackie annual. I think I'll opt for the second hand version. www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9781853756085?cm_sp=rec--pd_hw_i_1--plp&reftag=pd_hw_i_1

Also liked the 'Dear Doctor' column.

For years we read pubic hair as public hair and thought how strange when it was private!

A girl in my class wrote in and it was published. She was devastated as her boyfriend was emigrating. I don't think there was a lot C and C could do about it!

Oh Op you've made me go all nostalgic. I used to get the Jackie every week or was it every month and The Smash Hits and The Just 17. I used to love reading The It happened to me stories. I can't recall if they were in The Jackie or The J17, though.
I do remember Cathy and Claire

I loved Jackie, and like a pp I had a sister who favoured Blue Jeans, so I felt we got a good cross section of photo stories, problem pages and posters. Years later I flicked through my young niece's teenage magazine, and was taken aback at how far things had shifted from angst about going 'all the way'. At 14 I formed the distinct impression from Cathy and Claire that if you respected yourself, you simply Didn't. (It's fair to say I was a late developer in that department.) My niece's generation seemed to be learning that they Probably Should.

My friend put a toner in her blonde hair and it went pink and didn’t wash out.

Yes, you are not alone with that😂

I think you are right.

Oh God yes! I was thinking about the quizzes that used to be in Jackie . I loved doing them and loved the Cathy and Claire page. The toners etc bring back memories too. Imagine what the problems would be these days.. I shudder to think. Those were much more innocent days thank God.

I must be your friend!

Cathy and Claire was my favourite bit

Oh no! but I do hope that at least 'The Old Codgers' in the Daily Mirror were real. 😨

Yes I remember them well, I was determined to get one published so sent in quite a few over a short period of time. They sent a very kind letter back with a bit of advice then a paragraph saying that maybe I needed to get a hobby 😆🤦🏾‍♀️

I did eventually get a letter published though, it was a completely made up scenario but I didn't feel bad because I thought it was something somebody could actually be going through so the advice might be useful 😬

Was it Jackie that would have a photo of a teen heartthrob across the centre pages so you could carefully pull it out and pin it on wall or put it under your pillow so he would be close to you😀

Oh wow, blast from the past! I loved Jackie, Blue Jeans and My Guy 😅

We found some old Jackie magazines in the staffroom a while back and were completely horrified at the content!

I think "Claire" was Claire Rayner at the time. I don't know if there ever was a "Cathy' though ...

I was just thinking about teen magazines last night and how we would read Cathy and Claire first and wonder how anyone our age about 14 would go all the way.
My friend and I were obviously late developers and didn't have boyfriends just crushes on an American boy in our class.
He went home that year too but I didn't write to Cathy and Claire (annoying little sis would probably have found out and teased me).
This was mid 80s and I hid the magazines from my mother as I thought she would be shocked at the sex bits!
Innocent days

Yes dm was horrified by those story Magazines like Loving when characters went all the way