Turn hose on sexists
THE Great British Fake Off left me with a bad case of indigestion when it popped up on Channel 4 on Tuesday. The usually whip-sharp Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding didn’t rise to the occasion – possibly because producers forced other comedians’ scripted gags into their gobs – and I haven’t warmed to Pru at all. But it was those revolting “Illusion Cakes” that left me feeling bilious. Call me old fashioned, but I want my cake to look like a cake, not a clutch bag, watermelon or bacon sarnie, and I’d rather drink a bottle of bubbly than eat it I expect we’ll see more of them though, especially from the show’s star baker Steven, who already uses Instagram to plug his professional-looking novelty creations. Perhaps he could make me one. Shaped like a bottle of Gaviscon? FIRE CHIEF Dany Cotton has a poster in her office of a female firefighter in World War II. It’s a reminder that nobody questioned women doing the job then because the men had gone off to fight. “When the men came back they were given the jobs again and the women were told, ‘You can’t do that’,” said Dany, 38, pictured right. “For many years a woman couldn’t even apply t o become me a firefighter. “The first full-time wom- an wasn’t appointed until 1982.” Dany joined six years later and this January became the first woman Commissioner of t hee London Fire Brigade. She became known nationwide after taking charge of the appalling tragedy at Grenfell Tower. No one questioned her gender or ability. She was the calm, straight-talking guvnor of 200 heroic professionals who risked their lives for others. Because, as she puts it, firefighters don’t have to be “six foot hairy-arsed blokes who can kick a door down.” Sadly, people still question whether women have the same grit, ability and commitment as men. On Friday the RAF Regiment became the first to accept women for combat roles, a move that will be extended across the military but only IF recruits meet the FORMER Spice Girls Victoria Beckham and Mel B went head to head in the publicity-seeking fashion stakes this week.
Posh was first out of the stalls, trotting around New York in a checked pink shirt and trousers ensemble from her own spring/summer collection.
They made her look like a right nana in pyjamas. Or a jammie bodger perhaps? But then Scary came up on the inside and pipped her to the same standards as men. Yet before they’ve had a chance to prove they can, the male military old guard is issuing dire warnings.
Women will get more injuries and cost the MOD a fortune in compensation - because bodies built for child-bearing aren’t strong enough.
They won’t be able to kill enemy soldiers, they’ll let down their male comrades, they’ll weaken the nation’s defences. A And we’ll pay the price in bl blood. What sexist twaddle. The macho culture in our military and 999 services has only served to deepen the psychological wounds many b brave heroes have suffered. F For far too long admitting to stress and trauma was considered weak, shameful even.And those who do find the courage are still being failed, as our story of paratrooper Wayne Domeney proves today.
So we need trailblazers like Dany Cotton, who this week spoke openly about the horrors she and her crews witnessed in the Grenfell inferno.
She revealed she is having counselling, because it is “absolutely essential” for her own mental health and so she can look after her firefighters.
Then they can carry on protecting US from today’s war, with terror. Instagram posts donning a multi-coloured sequinned dress for an awards bash.
It had “You Will Never Own Me” plastered on the front – apparently a very public jibe at her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte.
And she’s right. Just like Posh’s PJs, all I could think was: “Too right, love. I wouldn’t be seen dead in it.”