Shirley Conran obit - trying to get a mortgage “lit the feminist fire in me”

[noraclavicle]

Those of a certain age will remember ‘Lace’ and the hype and furore around it. But Shirley Conran’s obit today is a fascinating read for many more reasons, not least her work on promoting financial independence and understanding for women and girls.

I didn’t know she’d created the Daily Mail’s ‘Femail’ section - how it turned out may not have been her vision for it perhaps. I remember print advertising for it in the mid-80s being a photo of a woman, hand covering mouth, slyly whispering into another, all-agog, woman’s ear and thinking ‘I’m not reading that!”

All that aside, a tough and determined woman.

Obit here (with share token)

You could change it to "life's too short to intricately fold pants aesthetically like those influencers on Tiktok."

You know who you are

Same 🫣

I can't remember the goldfish bit! Obviously overdue a reread. Also passed around at boarding school @Brefugee along with Riders.

Thanks for posting the obit @noraclavicle . I didn't realize all the other stuff she'd done.

To quote 3goodrats who wrote the following on http://blog.threegoodrats.com/2016/01/throwback-thursday-lace.html

"Here is all that I remember about this book: there is a scene in which a man and a woman are getting it on, and he reaches into a goldfish bowl next to the bed, pulls out a fish, shoves it in her hooha, and then lays on top of her so she cannot move (she is understandably trying to struggle), after which she then enjoys the feeling of the fish fluttering around inside her. It was horrifying, and still is. Imagine reading such a thing when you are around 12 years old and are still formulating your ideas about what happens during sex."

Shudders!

My sex Ed was lace, Riders, Flowers in the attic, the Thirn birds and the problem page on Jackie magazine.

Sex was not what I thought it was going to be. Far fewer priests than I expected, for a start.

Omg Flowers In The Attic!

At least I had Lucky and Chances by Jackie Collins

haha, yes. Lace, all the Gilly Cooper books, Virginia Andrews...

I took Princess Daisy by Judith Krantz (made Shirley seem like Beatrix Potter) to our Bible Class camp when I was about 13 and we took turns reading out the sexy bits in the dorm.

We also passed around the novelisation of Fame in P7 - it was the novelisation of the film not the Kids from Fame which we were all mad about, so a bit of an eye opener😬

RIP Shirley, one of the heroes who slashed their way through the jungle undergrowth hoping the rest of us could walk through the clearing. Which we have - mostly - managed to do, though we still have to watch out for the poisonous snakes and tree frogs.

So right about banks, I have a friend who in the early seventies was refused a small loan by a bank to buy washing machine, even though she actually worked for the same bank! Loans and mortgages for women were usually dependent on them having a male guarantor, didn’t matter if the woman was in a secure decently paid job and the man unemployed, it was what was in their pants that sealed the deal. It is sometimes well worth reminding ourselves what a long way we have come, and how much is owed to women by women like Shirley who had a voice and used it loudly in the days when most of us didn’t have a public voice.

Agreed. I reread lace last night and was surprised by how topical it is even now. It would have gone over my head as a teenager.

Ha! I had the book as well, it was quite the education for 12yo me.

OMG missed that she had died! I still cite that mushroom quote.

She was a fabulous woman.

We grew up at the same time @Seriestwo !!

I’m going to order Lace to reread it.

@noraclavicle thanks for the share token. Really interesting to read about Dame Shirley and learn about all her other achievements. RIP.

Princess Daisy.

That reminds me of my first experience of realising that book reviewers might not be serious people. One of them, in the Irish Times, said that it was a book to be read when in bed with a box of chocolates, a bottle of champagne and a bounder. Now, I like reading, but really, in that situation, even (maybe especially) in my teens, I didn't think that 'I'll just settle down with a nice book' would be my first (or even second or third) choice activity.

🤣🤣. I think I'm a similar vintage to you.

Same - forgot The Thorn Birds in my previous post (and very early Danielle Steele novels: The Promise, Now and Forever...)

Another one of the same vintage here too ☺️

I missed that she had died ☹️ I loved her book “Superwoman” which my mum had a copy of and I still live by the “Lifes too short to stuff a mushroom” mantra.

The advice she gave that I remember most was when she says to put a big box under the kitchen table and throw everyone’s random shit in there when left lying about . And to give everyone just 1 plate, 1 cup etc and if they don’t wash them up then they have nothing to eat off 🤣

I have been channeling this energy ever since (along with strong Margot Leadbetter vibes!)