72 Point Blog National News, PR and Market Research Specialists…

OLDEST MUM…

29th   May

Until recently, going through the menopause put a definite end to any thoughts of having children.

But thanks to medical advances, this is no longer a hurdle for those who still want children, raising the question of exactly how old is too old for a woman to have a baby.

And the debate has been thrown into the limelight once again after Elizabeth Adeney became Britain's oldest mum - at the age of 66.

There's no doubting she will give her child the best possible life - after all she has chosen to have this baby, and gone through so much to do so.

But I think you would struggle to find someone who is completely comfortable with it.

While most women in their 60s are thinking of how to make the most of their retirement, Mrs Adeney is going to be up to her eyes in dirty nappies and running around after a boisterous toddler.

And what about her son? When he reaches his 18^th birthday, his mum is going to be well into her 80s.

He is going to notice that his mum is a lot older than other parents in the playground, and I'm pretty sure other children will spot it as well.

How much finger pointing and name calling is he going to have to face during his school years from youngsters who realise his mum is closer in age to their gran?

And when he should be enjoying his teenage years, staying out late and making his parents worry sick about his whereabouts, he is going to be caring for a woman in her 80s.

Is she going to be there for major milestones in his life, like his university graduation, his wedding day and the birth of his children?

Mrs Adeney has defended her decision to have IVF saying 'It's not physical age that's important - it's how I feel inside.''

But while she might feel great now, her son is still going to need her in 10 or 20 years time. Is she still going to feel as good then?

Women are having children later in life now, but we are talking late 30s or early 40s, not at the same time they collect their pension.

I can't help but feel women go through the menopause for a reason.

IVF is a great alternative for those who aren't able to have children naturally, but I'm not sure that should include women nature considers to be too old?

Written by Gemma

Katie & Peter: Another view…

12th   May

I too am completely devastated by the split, they were the perfect couple - but unlike the comments below I think Katie Price is completely to blame for the breakdown of this marriage.

Yes Jordan is famous for getting her boobs out and falling out of clubs but from that brash and trashy persona, she cleverly crafted Katie Price. And it was Katie Price that both the nation and Peter Andre fell in love with.

She showed us a different side to the gaudy and loud glamour model who had previously had relationships with complete to**ers like Dwight Yorke and Dane Bowers. She showed us her love for her children, her canny business sense and we saw her grow in to a national treasure.

In Peter, she found an honest, moral guy with strong family values. He is no doubt a bit cheesy and corny and at times a complete wally, but essentially he has what makes up the perfect husband. He adores his children, clearly loves his wife and would never stray.

But Jordan’s boozy antics last Friday were the last straw for Pete. Yes, of course she deserves to let her hair down now and then and have a drink or two, but what husband isn’t going to be annoyed when he sees pictures of his wife and a mother of three splashed across every tabloid showing her bra and smooching with strange men?

Judging by the pictures she looks absolutely hammered. She’s cheek to cheek with a random man, her top is around her waist and was allegedly falling all over the place. Come on, Jordan, you know you’ll be papped! You are the most famous glamour model in the world and you court the media spotlight. Did she not think that Peter wouldn’t find out about her night out? Is she surprised a red-blooded male has reacted this way at the pictures?

If any man thinks this behavior is acceptable for a wife and mother then he is a complete sap! He has done the right thing and put his foot down on her drunken conduct and blasé attitude towards their marriage. He constantly puts up with reminders that she is the breadwinner and deals with the fact she has had very public relationships in the past, but he acts with dignity and decorum. But turning a blind eye to millions of builders seeing your loved one’s knockers in the Daily Star when you’re at home looking after the kids is surely too much to ask.

People are speculating that this is a publicity stunt and I truly hope it is. Despite the bickering and his disapproval of her behavior they are a brilliant couple who are happy to share their ups and downs with the nation.

It’s so easy to take the moral high-ground and brand this couple as chavvy and fame hungry, but they are great TV and millions of us see them as ‘one of us’. I hope she begs for forgiveness, vows to never to drink again and runs back to his open arms with her 34GG’s merrily bouncing everywhere.

Then we can avidly watch their reconciliation on ‘’Katie and Peter – The Make-Up’’ which will soon to be coming to ITV 2.

Written by Libby.

Goodnight Darling…

23rd   Apr

Ok, now I understand what all the fuss is about...

Now I understand why Britain is on the verge of bankruptcy. Now I understand the full scale of the criminal overspending by the Labour government, and now I understand why my future and that of my children is in such serious jeopardy.

The figures which emerged yesterday in the Budget left me absolutely gobsmacked to say the least.

Up until now I have tried and partially succeeded in getting my head around the American sub-prime mortgage debacle, NINJA mortgages, shady banking practices and the GDP.

But that was the point where small plumes of smoke began emanating from my ears as my brain struggled to deal with the overload of dull financial jargon and figures which were more like telephone numbers - and I don't mean just one telephone number.

Then poor old Alistair Darling stood before us all yesterday and gave us the hard truth - and in the words of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, I can't handle the truth.

Britain really is stuffed. That's probably not a strong enough word. What about buggered, knackered, up s**t creek? Even the F-word might struggle to convey the full extent of the mess we are in.

Alistair Darling was at pains yesterday to explain that by the end of this year and the start of next the first buds of recovery will sprout through the stinking pile of financial s**t which has been laid on the doorsteps of each and every household in this country.

But he would say that wouldn't he? After all he is desperate to give those high earners who were last night faced with handing over yet more of their earnings to the treasury a glimmer of hope that all is not lost.

The truth is that Britain is now the economic equivalent of the Titanic seconds after it struck an iceberg. We are shipping water and listing badly, faced with certain death in the sub-zero ocean of jobs losses and depression.

The question on everyone's lips this morning is how exactly did things get this bad? Undoubtedly the seeds of overspending were sown by the tories.

But even their irresponsibility was overshadowed by a government run by Tony Blair and overseen by then Chancellor of The Exchequer Gordon Brown.

I know there were rumours that at times their relationship was less than harmonious but surely there must have been a point when Mr. Brown, who remember was lauded as 'the greatest chancellor of our time' by Blair realised the outlook was bleak if spending continued at an almost unmanageable rate.

If he didn't - why didn't he? He was the one whose job it was to balance the books, to ensure the UK Plc ran efficiently and made a profit year on year wasn't he?

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame Gordon Brown entirely for the credit crunch. Although he was instrumental in giving banks license to print money - ironic that isn't it? - he did not cause the sub-prime mortgage collapse in the US.

But he is the man, both as Chancellor and then as Prime Minister, god forbid, who was charged with running the country's finances. Surely he could see what was coming?

I bet Tony Blair is glad he's well out of it.

Written by Doug.

Hillsborough - 20 Years on…

20th   Apr

Twenty years on and questions still remain about the role played by the South Yorkshire police in the horrific tragedy which occurred at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium on April 15^th 1989, claiming the lives of 96 Liverpool football fans.

I remember the day it happened. I just cannot believe 20 years have passed. Seeing the pictures in newspapers and reading the eye witness accounts of the day that changed football brought it all back to me.

As a young football fan who had stood on the Leppings Lane terrace for an FA Cup quarter-final and the ground’s much bigger Kop End for the semi-final two years earlier to see my beloved Coventry City, I sat glued to our television screen as the gruesome event unfolded before my eyes.

Within what seemed like minutes the explanation being given for the disaster was that drunken Liverpool hooligans with no tickets had stormed the ground leading to a deadly crush in the two central pens of the crumbling concrete terrace.

The sheer scale of the tragedy brought tears to my eyes as I tried to understand what was happening. In the days that followed the official line was drummed into us that these ‘fans’ had smashed down a gate and rushed the tiny corridor which lead to the terrace.

Stories then emerged of fans robbing the dead, urinating on those trying to help the injured and even abusing police officers as they attempted to revive the men, women and children on the brink of death. Now that I know better, I feel ashamed for believing this to be the truth.

But as a young fan – I was 21 at the time - I had been to grounds where intimidation and stand-offs between police and fans was the norm. I had even stood on Anfield’s Kop End the season before and been abused and spat at because I had a ‘cockney’ accent.

So to me South Yorkshire police’s story had a ring of truth to it. And if it wasn’t for the families of the dead and their incredible fight for justice I might still believe the utter load of hogwash – to put it mildly – that the police dreamed up to protect their arses.

Every single allegation, assumption and aspersion cast by the South Yorkshire constabulary on that day has been proven false. There were no drunken hooligans – or certainly no more than a handful, if that. There was no storming of the stadium.

There was no fighting. No urinating and no stealing from corpses. What did in fact happen on that day was quite possibly the biggest police cover up of all time in this country. One so deeply driven by ignorance, a sense of self preservation and selfishness that all of those involved should hang their heads in shame even to this day.

The only positive – and I’m not even sure that is the right word – is that all those who died on the horrific day did not give up their lives in vain.

Their suffering and their sacrifices helped make football what it is today. Valuable lessons were learned by those in charge of upholding the reputation of the beautiful game.

But have the police learned lessons from the role they played in the tragedy. I fear not. Only a fortnight ago reports began seeping through that an innocent man trying to make his way home amid the highly-charged G20 London summit had died of a heart attack.

The City of London and Metropolitan police forces quickly issued a statement stating they had not seen or had any contact with the man in question. Just 24 hours later a video emerged of a police officer shoving Ian Tomlinson to the ground from behind, then striking him with a baton as colleagues stood by and watched.

A short time later Mr Tomlinson suffered a fatal cardiac and died. Again, the initial police version of events proved to be complete and utter lies.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

So why – 20 years after the Hillsborough police cover-up – are we still force-fed a carefully controlled diet of lies and half-truths and when will those who occupy the glass towers finally learn that honesty is always the best policy?

Written by Doug

STOP THE BRAND WAGON…

7th   Apr

I hate Russell Brand with a passion that has quite obviously lay dormant in my soul for every one of my 41 years.

He makes my blood boil, no, in fact it’s worse than that. He makes my blood explode over the lip of the pan leaving an annoying mess seared onto the top of my hob, which has me reaching for the Jif, Cif or whatever the hell it is called now.

Brand is a disgrace to mankind and a disgrace to the profession of comedian. He should be dragged out of his house in that horrendous black and yellow dressing gown and striped leggings and left in the empty cellar of an MP’s second home to rot. He is a symptom of everything I hate about this country.

His rapid rise to fame and fortune has been achieved without ever him displaying an ounce of talent. I have tried so hard to join the mass army of Brand fans who fall about laughing at every profanity-littered sentence which spews from his mouth.

I have tried to understand why women in this office fawn over him and call him a ‘sex God’ when to be honest a picture I saw of him in a paper naked on a balcony brought back images of old Albert from Steptoe and Son with his shirt off. What sort of bloke wears his hair like Shirley Bassey in her prime, regularly dons make up, dresses like a court jester and is never seen without a three-feet long beaded necklace? Women say he looks cool.

I disagree. To me he looks like one of Adam Ant’s backing singers. So after months of struggling with the concept that this man is supposedly one of the funniest people in Britain whilst trying to appreciate his ‘work’ my ambivalence finally landed on the side of utter dislike when he played that God-awful trick on poor old Andrew Sachs.

That was the point when the festering hatred lurking deep within me, and usually reserved for people like Ashley Cole, exploded. Since then I have witnessed this shameless self-publicist join the anti-capitalist protesters in the city, (who bizarrely welcomed him with open arms) parade around his street in garish nightwear and then stick the knife into Jack Straw and his teenage son with a withering, whining posting on Twitter.

All this from a ‘comedian’. Am I the only one who doesn’t finds this comedian particularly funny. As far as I can recall comedians used to be funny people who made us laugh and smile.

Admittedly the phrase ‘tortured genius’ is often wheeled out but surely Brand is neither. So where will all this end? If this carries on can we please organize a mass demonstration, perhaps somewhere round Primrose Hill or wherever this oaf lives, to protest about the looming death of the great British sense of humour. Tommy Cooper would be turning in his grave.

Written by Doug

FASHION FIRST…

3rd   Apr

Daily Mail fashion editor Natalie Theo has cruelly slated the Junya Watanabe blue checked cardigan worn by Michelle Obama on her visit to a British girls’ school On Thursday.

Please let’s not start lambasting the new First Lady for her style. This is the first time any First Lady has, in my opinion, since Jackie O, ever really looked the part.

Compare her style to that of her predecessor Laura Bush. My granny exudes more style than George W’s missus and she’s 75 – and from Newcastle! Why did Laura insist on wearing those dreary suits and the kind of dated hairstyle that’s only ever seen on the over-50s women of middle America?

And what about Michelle’s current English counterpart? Poor old Sarah Brown. Although I’m sure a genuinely lovely girl, looks so sad and frumpy in her head mistress-style suits and sloaney accessories.

And then look at Mrs Obama. Many of her outfits have been covered by the press – some by current designers like Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo and Azzedine Alaia to name but a few. In particular I loved the elegant Michael Kors black chiffon dress which she wore to the inauguration in January.

But rather than focus on Michelle’s outfits, which every fashion editor seems to be doing at the moment, I would like to ask the question – why is it so important for a female in a powerful position to look good?

I think the answer is simple. Clothes, make-up, shoes, handbags and jewellery – the love of all these pretty things is not what makes us important – but it is what exudes our “femaleness” to the world. (sorry Germaine)

It’s about time we had a real woman in a position of power. A nice one – one like Michelle who doesn’t act like a scary ball-breaker.

Why do we feel we have to act like men to make it into positions of power? Look at Margaret Thatcher. She was ruthless and cold in her outlook as well as her dress sense – but she got her comeuppance.

And I watched the Apprentice on Wednesday. The girls on that show are so keen to prove how hard-nosed they are – business women on a ruthless mission to prove they can get to the top - and f**k anyone who gets in their way. But like Ice Queen Thatcher, they always get their comeuppance – and make idiots out of themselves on national television which is fun to watch.

But my point is – is it not our intrinsic soft and gentle nature that has always been our secret weapon? And why shouldn’t we use fashion to accentuate everything which makes us female?

At her talk to the girls at the school yesterday Michelle Obama said:“I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity.”

Michelle exudes quiet strength and dignity - and her smooth and womanly style heightens that and, in my opinion, makes her an extremely powerful weapon for America.

Written by Harriet

AN EXPENSIVE MISTAKE…

30th   Mar

At a time when many Brits are losing their jobs and battling to pay bills, the amount MPs can claim on their expenses is just insulting.

And the nation’s bad feeling about it hasn’t been helped by the revelation that our hard-earned cash has paid for adult movies watched by the husband of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Britain was in a recession, this would be hilarious.

While claiming for the cost of her internet connection, Jacqui also claimed for two adult films, costing £5 each.

I would love to have been a fly-on-the-wall in the Smith household when the couple learnt this mistake was going to come out.

I should imagine being caught buying a blue movie is bad enough but for the entire country to learn they paid for it is even worse.

This embarrassing blunder couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Government though as they battle to save the country’s economy.

But maybe they should look closer to home first though as I’m sure they could save a few pounds simply by cutting back on the amounts MPs can claim.

As well as the usual things such as travel and stationery, they can also claim for a second home to allow them to spend time in their constituency and at Parliament meetings in London.

Fair enough for those MPs who don’t live within commuting distance to the capital but do we really need to pay for their widescreen TVs, washing machines and furniture?

I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure having a top-of-the-range TV in their lounge doesn’t impact on whether or not they can do their job.

Jacqui Smith, who earns an annual salary of £141,866, even submitted an expenses claim for an 88p bath plug.

And MPs wonder why people have no respect for them?

I’m sure people would think a lot more of them if they paid for their own bath plugs, especially given the financial mess the country is in at the moment.

Surely it’s only a matter of time before the whole expenses system is overhauled and MPs simply claim back the costs of things that really matter to their job.

Written by Gemma

FERN…

26th   Mar

Fern Britton is quitting This Morning, apparently after learning co-host Phillip Schofield is taking home more money than she is.

Despite releasing a statement saying she is leaving after ten years to spend more time with her family, an ITV insider has said the real reason is that she is furious Phil is on more money than her.

If that is the case, then who can blame her?

How many people would happily stay in their job if they knew a colleague on the same level as them was getting paid a bigger chunk of cash?

And we aren’t talking about an extra £1,000 or so here – while Phil got around £45K an episode for ITV game show Mr and Mrs, Fern got just 15K.

This is a major difference considering they were doing exactly the same job.

But I reckon this is just an excuse. I think the writing was on the wall for Fern the moment she owned up about her secret gastric band operation.

After seemingly losing weight the non-celeb way, by eating healthily and doing some regular exercise, her fans were left disappointed after finding out she had had the stomach shrinking op.

And many felt that she had cheated at the weight loss - not great considering she was the face of dieters’ snacks Ryvita.

So maybe this move will be a good thing – for her and This Morning.

Some of This Morning’s viewers will have lost their respect for the presenter they thought was open and honest, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there are a few who stopped watching the show over the furore.

But once the hype about her quitting dies down, the questions will start about who will replace her.

And just as I feared, I have already heard former GMTV host Fiona Phillips mentioned.

I think I actually preferred Fern.

Written by Gemma