A DAY OUT WITH THE GIRLS AT LAST
26 FEBRUARY 2022
I’m going to a hen party today and I absolutely cannot wait. Any excuse to hang out with your girlfriends is a good one. As the past two years unfolded, I convinced myself that I didn’t really miss days/nights out. That I missed seeing friends and the camaraderie of enjoying a few drinks but that could be easily done at home too. But over the past few weeks I’ve been out a couple of times for friends’ birthdays, a few football matches and even one friend’s son’s 21st – eek, how does my (younger) friend have a 21-year-old?! – and it reminded me how much I enjoy the simple pleasures of a day out. It’s not about the drinking – I’d happily sit drinking mocktails all day – but the pure unadulterated joy of just revelling in each other’s company and, of course, the obligatory conversations with strangers that turn into in-depth knowledge of each other’s lives. Yet the enjoyment of seeing each other again comes at a price – the return of grooming! It’s not that we’ve been living like cavewomen for the past few years, but we have let things, well, slip a little. While the first lockdown forced us to learn how to do our own intense grooming – my bathroom wall still sports the telltale hair dye spots – and we convinced ourselves that we’d save a fortune in the future by being able to do it ourselves, we’ve all gone screaming back to the professionals. Last weekend, three of my friends went to get their hair done ahead of a meet-up in town. If you remember, the weather was atrocious and one of the men out with us questioned why they’d waste their money getting their hair done in a storm. They tried to explain that it’s not just about looking good, it’s about feeling good too and pampering yourself in any form makes you feel better about yourself. Clothes and shoe shops too are seeing an upturn in business, as we all seek to refresh our wardrobes ahead of returning to the real world again. So if you’re planning a girls’ day out or a weekend away, turn to page 22, where we have a six-page guide to where to go, what to do, what to wear, what beauty products to use and all the other tips you might need to feel good in yourself about getting out and about again. A friend sent me a link during the week to a survey that a new pub is undertaking, asking questions about what food/music/drinks/social media preferences people have. I was easily working my way through it until I got to question 7: Describe your dream pub. How do you even begin to do that? Especially in the 50 words or less that the survey allowed me. I described the decor, music and drink options that would appeal to me but ultimately the one thing I want from a pub is the one thing they can’t provide – all my favourite people around me. I look forward to reacquainting myself with them and my favourite bars over the next few months.
Enjoy the issue.