It seems apt that the Women of the World festival spurred me back into writing, given that I opened up this blog about 2 years ago as a collaborative project with two female friends, both publishers, whilst I was working in the theatre. Fancying ourselves as arty ladies we thought it would be amusing to create a blog dedicated to the 'cultural musings of three London ladies' and name it after a euphemism for a vagina. We talked endlessly about it. And then never wrote a thing. We should've named it 'Fickle fannies'.
But I digress.
Those who work with me know how much I admire Jude Kelly. Just LOOK at her! With her sexy European fringe and vaguely masculine dress sense, rocking an in depth knowledge of the arts and a kick ass, unapologetic attitude to programming, she is what I imagine my ultimate lesbian crush to be. And sort of how I'd like my own life to be in 15 years or so, frankly. Every time I see her talking on the news about how unecessary the arts cuts are, or explaining the inspiration behind another one of her amazing festivals I think 'go Jude!' and I think 'go clever women' too, which is essentially the tagline of her brilliant WOW festival, now in its third year. It's a forum where women can 'help other women', and includes talks, workshops and, in my case, 'speed mentoring', a brilliant concept that left me feeling giddy with all of the possibilities open to me, and extremely grateful to the women taking part.
Arriving with a friend from a similar industry who had just had a change of heart and handed in her notice, and me feeling as though I knew something had to change in my current job, but unsure exactly what, we were told to sit in the outer ring of one of three larger circles and wait for our mentors to trickle into the inner sanctums... Preferring alchemy to any forced match-making, I was sat opposite a warm faced woman called Sandra and waited for the gong. A few questions deep, and with a gentle goading from this articulate and sharp media professional I found myself spitting out the words 'I THINK I WANT TO BE A COMMISSIONING EDITOR AT THE BBC!!'. In just three minutes I'd managed to work through a nagging feeling that had been festering at the back of my cranium, and in some strange confessional moment of clarity I realised something - my current job wasn't creative enough and I wasn't happy with it. It was as simple as that. What was fantastic was being in an environment where I was a) encouraged to want more from my career, b) allowed to be unapologetic about wanting a more creative role and c) allowed to admit that my skills and CV were, actually, pretty good. This, after a week at work where I had been 'warned off' asking my superiors about pay inequalities in the team and told that discussing salaries was simply not the done thing, was quite enjoyable.
Sandra's suggestions were equally as simple - write more, think more, do more. Use my job to get what I need. Make new friends and don't be afraid to ask people for their time. Do what I do, well, and take credit for it. Simple words, but quiet inspiration. So thank you Sandra, and thanks Jude. You're a star.
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