On dressing appropriately

There was one of those Twitter flurries the other day, when AA Gill suggested that Mary Beard should not be on the tv because of the way she looks. I'm really enjoying Meet the Romans, and enjoying the fact that Mary presents it, an all too rare sighting of an intelligent middle-aged woman. A rare sighting of a woman on tv who is not employed at least partly because of her looks. Of course I joined the flurry firmly on Mary's side tv is full of men whose looks clearly didn't come into it, why should it be different for us? 


But then I started to think, there is a middle way here. I'm writing this in my gardening clothes because I've been gardening, I wouldn't dream of wearing them to work. I have office-lady clothes for that. To be honest I'm never band-box neat, even in my best clothes, I'm a scruffy individual at heart. But if I were presenting a tv programme about one of my great passions in life I think I'd brush my hair and put on my best jeans and t shirt at the very least. Most of the dress rules of my parents' generation have gone, but I think there are still one or two. Notably to dress with respect for those around you (your viewers of you are on tv), and to give a damn about what you wear and how you look, which probably boils down to respecting yourself.

Introductory post

I've tried this before and found I didn't really have much to say. It's funny really, because I'm an opinionated person.  I was explaining this the other day to a friend who was starting a blog.... and... I started to think .... actually I do have something to say. Plenty! 


So this blog is going to feature all the nice, reasonable, sane things I want to tell the world. It's going to be a gentle, positive blog but I'm not a goody-twoshoes so I'm not absolutely guaranteeing that.