You've heard of the Dark Ages and the Victorian times. Well, then came the 'Sex and the City era' - the one in which I became a grown-up. A wonderful era for women - a terrible time for eyebrows. During those years, SATC showed us what it was to be a woman in your 30s and 40s. We anticipated a world of phenomenal outfits, hilarious chat, enviable apartments and inexplicable prancing. And wonderful holidays! I looked forward to those most of all. Carrie Bradshaw and her chums had taught me that when I became a proper woman, I would 'summer' places. Yes, summer like it's a verb.
I'd summer in the Hamptons with three of my best gal pals, who'd amuse me with bawdy conversation over an endless supply of cocktails - and we'd do it all while wearing beach-appropriate heels. Afterwards, we'd return to our regular lives of non-stop brunching punctuated by minuscule amounts of entirely satisfying work.
Fast-forward to today. I'm now in my 40s, and I've still yet to 'summer' anywhere. I have been camping 376 times, but now that I've matured, I suspect that the Hamptons is a place of fairy tales, and truthfully I'm glad-because I've given birth to four of the largest babies you've ever seen, and it would take a dangerous number of cosmopolitans to convince me to tuck my floppity tummy-apron into a pair of bikini briefs and display it on a beach full of carefully coiffed Hamptons-types. In fact, I've been surprised to discover that I rather love unsophisticated British breaks, where nobody's fabulous in flip-flops and factor 50, nor are they witty in wellies. And no one looks cool eating a Cornish cream scone... except maybe Ross Poldark?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Woman & Home UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Woman & Home UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Welcome to ENGLISH WINE COUNTRY
Ellen Himelfarb discovers palate-tingling wines and warm hospitality among the sunlit slopes and flint villages of Sussex
Naturally STYLISH
Combining mindfulness ideas and natural materials, this country house - built by Lisa and David Wallace – exudes beauty, calm and serenity
Make ANXIETY Your superpower
Embracing worrying thoughts might be more beneficial than suppressing them, says Samantha Wood
I hope the kids have my self-confidence
Author and presenter Richard Madeley reflects on the early days of parenting, and watching his family grow
Love..OR LIES?
Romance fraud is, sadly, on the increase - meet two women affected and find out how to stay safe
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A...PROBATION OFFICER
Meet Sarah Port, 40, deputy head of the Probation Delivery Unit in North Essex
Could YOU live on your PENSION?
Surviving on the minimum retirement living standard for a week shocked Faith Archer into increasing her contributions
We're having a FASHION moment
And long may it continue, says Wendy Rigg, charting the rise of midlife fashion
There really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME
But when Yorkshire-woman Sharon Wright fetched up in Surbiton, which would hold that special place in her affections?
Older & bolder
One of our favourite comedians, Helen Lederer, has finally sent imposter syndrome to Room 101