Find Out More About The Find Your Midlife Magic Event
The unique challenges facing women in their midlife years are being put under the spotlight this autumn at the first ever Find Your Midlife Magic event
Yorkshire-based Annie Stirk became a mature silver model following a career change just before she turned 70, and she spends her days proving age is no limit to style, beauty or fashion. Now with the help of Rachel Peru, Christine Talbot and Bernadette Gledhill, these ‘fab four’ women will be putting navigating midlife at the top of the agenda, creating a bespoke event for women in the stunning setting of Goldsborough Hall.
‘Rachel and I worked together in 2021 for another event called Silver & Sassy because we felt that silver-, grey- and white-haired women were underrepresented in the fashion, advertising and brand awareness world, and we wanted to do something about that,’ says Annie. ‘Then we met Bernadette who helped us out with the music and sound for the show, and Christine who was our presenter, and we’ve remained friends ever since. One day we decided to meet up for a coffee and this led to us saying “wouldn’t it be nice to do another event – but what would that be?” We realised that we’d all faced challenges in midlife, some still going through it, and we wondered “what can we do to redress this? What would we have liked?” We decided we’d put a bit of magic back into midlife and this gradually evolved into what we feel will be a fabulous event.’
Read More: The Organic Beauty Products You Need Right Now
The so-called ‘fab four’ Yorkshire women realised they all had one thing in common – having faced the challenges of the so-called middle years of 45-plus. ‘The concept is really to put middle years in the spotlight,’ explains Annie. ‘Of course there’s the menopause, but there’s lots of other stuff going on as well. We’re often referred to as the sandwich generation, caring for elderly parents while still facing parenting responsibilities. We face challenges such as family pressure, work-life balance, imposter syndrome and midlife hang-ups. There may be things that you’ve not done or achieved that you really wanted to, and you might feel a bit regretful or have insecurities which keep you awake at night.
‘Midlife is such a significant time of change and we wanted to create an event which our guests come away from feeling inspired and supported to live their very best life and find new ways of negotiating the challenges of their midlife years. The speakers that we’ve engaged for the day will all have a part to play in addressing some of the issues that women face in midlife.’
Taking place on 3rd October, guests will be joined by a very special keynote speaker, actor and writer Gaynor Faye, as well as stylist and celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton. Other well-known and inspirational Yorkshire personalities, experts and guest speakers taking part include motivational speaker Lisa Clifford, campaigner and model influencer Manraj K Sanghera and TV doctor, broadcaster and writer Dr Jane Gilbert. As well as thought-provoking panel discussions and motivational and expert speakers, there will also be a chance to share information and tips on achieving a happy and fulfilled life – whatever the date on your birth certificate. Themes will range from health, hormones and nutrition to skincare, fashion and dealing with all the stresses and challenges affecting women. From physical and mental health issues to body image, changing skin and hair, the demands of caring responsibilities or new life patterns – they will all be discussed.
‘For women at this midlife stage, it’s very important that you get to achieve what you want to achieve, feel happy and fulfilled, and know that there is something else out there’
Annie and the other women are aware that they are fortunate to be in the position they are, but still believe they have plenty of advice to share with other midlifers. ‘The four of us aren’t saying “look at us, aren’t we amazing, look what we’ve done”,’ explains Annie. ‘We are all aware that we’ve been lucky to have the experiences and opportunities we have. But you also make your own luck. So we want the women to be able to hear our experiences, take what we’ve done and realise they can have a go too. We want our experiences to be a bit of a springboard for others to go off and achieve their dreams or face any challenges they want to tackle.
Read More: How Yorkshire Actor Natalie Anderson is Providing Space for Honest Chats about Perimenopause and Women's Health
‘I’m looking forward to the fun and the friendship of the day because that’s what brought Christine, Rachel, Bernadette and I together. But I’m also looking forward to the end of the day when I’m hoping that a lot of the women who have been part of this fantastic event will feel energised, inspired and empowered to go off and grab whatever it is that they have burning inside them. That they will feel they’ve got the confidence to do it. For women at this midlife stage, it’s very important that you get to achieve what you want to achieve, feel happy and fulfilled, and know that there is something else out there.
‘We think the setting of Goldsborough will be perfect to allow the women to escape from the everyday and immerse themselves in a beautiful location with really fantastic speakers, great food, and a glass of Prosecco at lunchtime to help along the way.’
Living North have a pair tickets for this special event to giveaway to one lucky winner. Enter here for your chance to win
