Your reflective Heyday Friday newsletter
There's a thought-provoking campaign, a surprising encounter on the streets of New York, a story of bravery and determination, and a nostalgic ride round Paris in this week's newsletter.
A combination of work and life has meant that I simply haven’t had time to write a blog this week. So instead I’m sharing these musings in relation to a new L’Oreal campaign and debate which challenges something that has long been considered a way of complimenting, particularly older people, but could be considered an unwelcome caveat. That something, is being told you look great ‘for your age’.
There’s definitely a blog post in this, so I’m not going to pre-empt that by wanging on for too long here. I’ll just settle for giving L’Oreal a big hand for continuing to be at the pushing edge of the slowly, slowly shifting attitudes and marketing approaches in the beauty industry, which for too disgracefully long have perpetuated depressingly narrow and unrealistic standards of beauty which exclude anybody over the age of about 30 (at a push).
And saying that reading about the campaign/debate launch brought to mind THIS BLOG I wrote about another cosmetic brand, Lancome, who learnt from bitter experience just how economically important the cohort of older customers are when they made the shameful, and it turns out commercially damaging, decision to get rid of one of their most successful ‘faces’ because they thought she was too old. She was 42. Find out who she was and what happened next in the blog.
And THIS ONE where I explain the reasons why I’m more than happy to look my age, thank you very much.
I’m really interested to know what you feel about being told you look good for your age. Email me, or respond in the comments below. I’d love to include your views in the blog when I write it.
Something I do wang on about a good deal - and won’t ever apologise for because it really does, really matter - is exercise and the vital part it plays in making sure we feel as good, and stay as healthy as we can as we age. This exercise-related
FRIDAY FUNNY
didn’t half make me laugh tho!
WHAT’S MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK
Do you remember the TV show Blind Date? For those of you who’ve never seen it, it was a hugely popular Saturday evening entertainment programme. In it, a man or woman had to choose someone to go on a blind date with from three possible women or men, by asking each of them three questions from the other side of a screen. The couple were filmed on the date and then interviewed separately afterwards about how they had found it, and each other. Hosted by the irrepressible Cilla Black it ran from 1985 to 2003 (see? I told you it was popular) it was one of those water-cooler shows in those pre-streaming, pre-multi-channel days when millions of people tuned in.
That’s a very long preamble to this week’s happy entry, which comes from an Instagram account I’m unashamedly obsessed with. Meet Cutes NYC randomly stops couples on the streets of New York and asks them to tell the story of how they met. In spite of the truly horrible account name, the people and the way they became couples are rarely less than fascinating, often funny, and frequently moving.
And as for the one I’m sharing in this slot, well what on earth were the chances of THIS HAPPENING?!
If you’d like see more couples stories Meet Cute NYC also have a WEBSITE and a YOUTUBE CHANNEL
THIS WEEK I’VE BEEN……WATCHING
The recommendations I share with you in this slot are usually wholehearted and enthusiastic. But occasionally they come with reservations and this is one of those times.
Oh I so wanted to love this four part drama as much as I adored the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Anthony Doerr that it’s based on. And I nearly did. However, whereas I would unhesitatingly suggest you read the beautiful, deeply moving book if you haven’t already, the Netflix adaptation of this part-fantasy, part-historical story predominantly set in the final years of the Second World War, doesn’t just teeter on the edge of cheesiness and clunky dialogue, it frequently tumbles into it.
What saves it from being something I wouldn’t be suggesting you watch are the story itself - blind teenager Marie and her devoted museum curator father Daniel escape Paris as the Germans invade and take refuge with relatives in the port town of St Marlo. Their backstory, what happens to them as the secrets both Daniel and his uncle and aunt are concealing are revealed, and the dangers they all face as a result, are intercut with the experiences of sensitive young German, Werner, whose skill with radio construction and operation brings him to the attention of the Hitler Youth. After a brutal period of Nazi training and indoctrination Werner is forced to use his skills to track down French resistance collaborators and it is this duty which will lead to his world and Marie’s colliding.
The cinematography and filming do a fine job of capturing the fantasy element of the story and Marie is engagingly played as a young girl and a teenager by talented visually impaired actresses. It’s also hard not to enjoy something that has Hugh Laurie in it, and as Daniel’s uncle, WW1 war-scarred veteran, Etienne, he’s as watchable as ever. (I would say the same for the equally dependable Mark Ruffalo as Marie’s dedicated father, but you’ll need to get past his bizzarely flattened accent, which isn’t always easy.)
If you fancy something watchable and enjoyable enough for a chilly autumn/winter’s evening’s viewing, All the Light We Cannot See will certainly fit the bill. Just don’t expect to be blown away by it.
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is on Netflix
Watch the trailer HERE
I’ll leave the closing
WORDS OF WISDOM
this week to Anthony Doerr, accompanied by a pic of Hugh Laurie’s character in All The Light…
I had a wonderful time with my friends in Paris last weekend, including zipping round the city centre riding pillion with one of them on his motorbike scooter. I thought you might enjoy this little taste of what that was like as we crossed the Seine (we even managed to chat, as you’ll hear!) I wonder if you can spot me in the wing mirror?
I rode a moped myself for a couple of years - and then a bicycle for many more - so my expertly driven ride brought back happy memories. And prompted more than a bit of a nostalgic itch to get back onto two motorised wheels again.
I wonder….
Until next time