Our Crunchy Talks Set The World On Fire

Who said middle-aged women are invisible? Midlife is an incredible and colourful journey that deserves to be seen, heard and celebrated and last week, inspirational ladies from different backgrounds took to the stage at Chester’s Storyhouse and joined us in reshaping the way we look at the second act of our life, sharing their incredible stories of repurposing and reinvention. 

It was an evening of wisdom, fun and empowerment in which we left our greyness behind, encouraging each other to speak up, stepping out of our comfort zone and embracing our age with a positive attitude, challenging ageism and stereotypes together. 

For me, it was a chance to meet up with incredible ladies, encouraging women to rethink their approach to midlife but also an opportunity to practice gratitude for having pulled together such a brilliant panel of experts who endorsed our project, accepting to take part in our challenge: resetting the meaning of midlife.

Heritage expert Emma Stringfellow, curve silver model Rachel Peru, counsellor and CEO of the Charity ‘Motherwell Cheshire’ Kate Blakemore, humorist and motivational speaker Theresa Robberts together with the editor of Goldie Magazine, Rebecca Weef Smith, they are all women who don’t let age define them. Bold and daring, they are making their own way through midlife redesigning the ordinary path people are supposed we should take. For midlife is a period of renaissance and expansion rather than contraction and winding down in which we evolve rather than disappear.

Last week we discussed the various topics of midlife issues: from body positivity and the importance of wearing what makes us feel good, to sports challenges seen as a boost for mental health such as wild-swimming or skydiving. But also the importance of finding a new purpose in life embracing the urgency of making a difference in this world, turning an old dream in a new project and reclaiming our own space unapologetically.

I know there is still a long way to go in terms of getting rid of old clichés but last week we set the world on fire and I am really looking forward to our next “Crunchy Talks“, a series of panel discussions which are part of a long term project set to be international (stay tuned for updates). 

Our event will return to in January at Storyhouse in Chester as part of the Festival Of Languages, this time discussing the latest ‘Ageist Britain Report‘ results and the power of casual ageism language on triggering stereotypes. Who is going to join us next?