Menstruation

A BBC news article asks if it is time to end the veil of secrecy surrounding menstruation?

I say yes, it needs to end.

Too many women globally are still made to feel ‘dirty’ or ‘unclean’ during their period. Too many girls still start without being prepared. Too many women go through menopause without knowing what to expect or what is available to help. Too many women are unsure about what is normal and what isn’t regarding their own body and some receive unnecessary medical treatment as a result. Still too little is understood about the biology of menstruation scientifically which means that treatments for menstrual irregularities are positively Medieval. Too many girls are missing schooling either because they are ostracised from society during their period or because they lack access to sanitary protection. Our silence as women feeds into the mythology that women are somehow ‘lesser’ because we bleed.

Keeping the Kids in Bed

As a result of my post on 1970s home decorating in Facebook, I've remembered why we kids didn't get up at dawn and disturb our parents. The lack of bedroom heating and relatively colder winters meant ice on the inside of the window glass.

Not that you could get up if you were stopping with Granny Greyhips (my Dad's Mum) in Townhill, Dunfermline. The beds had flannelette sheets, two (at least) good wool blankets, a candlewick bedspread, and a matching Eiderdown of truly epic weight. Basically, you had to be at least twelve before you had the strength to get out of bed unassisted!