In Yvonne Roberts’ critique of Nicole Kidman for staying fit and being proud of it, she mentions that “exercise can be enjoyable” (“Fabulous abs, Nicole. But this frantic effort to appear half your age is frankly a bit demeaning.“, Comment). This is critical. I’m a year older than Kidman and I swim three times a week, I go to Pilates, I bike into town, I walk the dog, and I eat pretty healthy. I still don’t look like Kidman and I don’t i can act but i love being active, feeling fit and strong and the mental benefits that come with it. It’s not about turning back the clock but living my life fit, enjoying my body and respecting it. Hopefully it will also reduce some of the health problems of old age, but if not, I’ll still have had a good time.
i owe adams
Sudbury, Suffolk
Nicole Kidman’s body is abnormal and has been acquired only because she has money, power, stylists and a lot of time. Any magazine cover that advertises this as “perfect” is lying to the public and its readers.
I’m 50 years old and I wouldn’t mind looking like I did 20 (or even 10) years ago. But how can I look my daughters in the face, whom I constantly remind them to love themselves as they are and not conform to imprisoning stereotypes, if I resort to surgery, surgery and more surgery?
Kidman is a great actor and very intelligent. However, this magazine cover; it is a parallel universe. Women years. deal with it.
Mrs. White
Barnet, London
I’m in a Facebook group with about 60 women in their 50s from all over the world, of whom I’ve only met two. We post about our self-defined fitness sessions: a long walk with the dog, a Pilates class, a CrossFit session. Each of us aims to reach 222 sessions by the end of the year. Last year there were 221 and the previous year 220; you get the picture. It is brotherly and supportive, nonjudgmental, celebratory. Many of us do weights and resistance exercises; none of us look like Nicole Kidman. But there’s muscle definition, there’s abs, quads and biceps and, most of all, there are bright, smiling, red-faced selfies. It’s unlikely I’ll be in the group in 2050 with a goal of 250 sessions, but if I am, it probably has something to do with the proven benefits of weight-bearing exercise for older women.
This isn’t “frantic self-improvement,” but sensible future-proofing; a cheap set of dumbbells and 3 consistent 30-minute sessions a week at home. It stabilizes our joints, helps resist the shocks of decreased bone density, and means we can keep putting one foot in front of the other for longer. And yes, I like it to look good and it is true that I look at my shoulders when I wear a sleeveless top. Building muscle is for all of us, not just superstars.
alison clark
Durham
Gardens a luxury for tenants
James Wong asks, “Why, even as a nation of gardeners, do we fight to get people involved in gardening?” (“Is it time to ditch the term ‘gardening’?“, Magazine). I’d suggest it’s because so few young people own homes and many are renting. When you rent, you can be kicked out of your home for no reason with a Section 21 notice, so why bother farming the backyard garden and spend hundreds on bulbs, shrubs and saplings when you could lose it all with the smack of a letter on the doormat Why invest in trowels, gardening gloves, compost bags or wood chips and endless weekend afternoons of your time on something so precarious?
Worse yet, homeowners may have their own ideas about what can be done with their gardens. When I was renting, I remember tidying up the garden and planting some cheap berry bushes. The following weekend, he arrived with some construction workers and dumped a load of building materials on them. I practically gave up after that.
Remember that gardening, decorating, home improvement or DIY is mostly off limits to Generation Rent and will be until we have long overdue rental reform.
Gavin Holmes
Norwich
Refugees and red tape
Kenan Malik is right (“There are lies, bloody lies and then there is the Home Office propaganda.“, Comment). The Home Office is full of contradictory and impossible advice. Afghans who “face a serious risk” in Afghanistan are warned that they “need to apply for a visa to come to the UK”. [but] there is no Visa Application Center (VAC) operating in Afghanistan.” To do? Typically, you will need to submit your biometric information (fingerprints and photo) at a VAC in a third country to complete your application. Therefore, you need to travel with your children to a neighboring country and then find a VAC. If you get discouraged, of course, and decide to make your own way here, you will end up in Rwanda.
Robbery Bob
Peel
Factory farming damages the water
While the reduction in the number of farm inspections should certainly be reversed (“Farmers are free to pollute our rivers ‘because Truss cut the red tape’”, News), the fundamental reason agriculture is now the number one cause of water pollution is that today’s factory-scale factory farms keep large numbers of animals on land areas that are too small to absorb waste products from animals.
Ending factory farms and reducing the number of animals raised would help with water pollution, climate change (caused in part by methane emissions from livestock), and the worrying growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (caused in part by by the misuse of antibiotics in factories). farms). It would also reduce the scale of the misery, frustration, and sometimes chronic pain experienced by millions of farm animals today.
ian greenmanager, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent
Forget Mars. think of the earth
The huge sum wasted on the goal of sending astronauts to Mars could instead address the climate emergency by funding vast amounts of clean energy and insulation (“NASA’s deep space adventure will cost the US $93 billion. It will be worth every penny“, Drafting). Our appreciation of the fragility of our unique planet would be further enhanced by watching shows like David Attenborough or Climate change: Ade on the front line. A small fraction of $93 billion could fund many TV ads to raise money to preserve the natural world.
tim root
London N4
Sweet surrender
Every August I grit my teeth and look forward to the annual moment of frustration and jealousy. And, yes, there it is: Nigel Slater’s column proclaiming that he has more fresh figs than he knows what to do with (Food and drink, Magazine). Please, Nigel, have mercy! On the other hand, as we navigate between rows of wild garlic in the spring, we still happily recall the recipe from long ago where he described it as “very rare.”
Sarah Williamson
Sheffield
Committed and supportive university
The decision to benchmark our performance as an employer through the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index was not based on “a climate of fear,” as a recent report insinuated. letterbut by a strong commitment to providing a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ staff members. Our commitment to providing an inclusive environment has been recognized by Stonewall with a Silver award and we have been ranked as one of the top employers in the country for LGBTQ+ staff.
Our participation in the Stonewall scheme depends on the results it provides in improving diversity and inclusion in our workplace, not on the threat of public controversy. Stonewall has no power to influence our political position. This is established through a member-driven process, completely separate from our employment function.
The polarized debate over trans rights may have often prevented a balanced discussion, but it has not prevented the College from advocating for the mental health right of trans and gender diverse people.
The publication of our 2018 position statement is an excellent example of the integrity of our policy work, which makes it abundantly clear that gender dysphoria is not a mental disorder and should never have been classified as such. At the same time, we advocate continuing to support psychiatrists in their role in fully exploring their patients’ gender identity in a nonjudgmental, supportive, and ethical manner.
To deliver on this, we need to build the evidence base that enables young people, their families, caregivers, and the clinicians who support them to make more informed decisions about the care that is right for them.
The recommendations in the Cass interim review echo our own calls for more research and the need for a cautious but compassionate approach to caring for children and youth, in the meantime. We will lend our full support to the review to ensure that the final recommendations can help services learn from past mistakes and that children and young people with gender dysphoria can access good mental health care, when they need it. .
Dr. Adrian JamesPresident of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
London E1
