Date: Valentine’s Day. Time: 8.15pm. Event: A Singles Night Location: A pub somewhere on the outskirts of a market town. There’s no reason to feel nervous, I tell myself as I push open the door to a private room on the first floor of a newly spruced up gastro-pub. I’ll chat to a few people,Read more
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Around the middle of January I feel a prickling flutter of disquiet. I shake it off. But a week later the prickling develops in to a full-blown itch. A mental one (not the other kind… just so we’re clear). For, in February, there’s no avoiding them. They’re everywhere. In the supermarket, in the newsagents, thereRead more
Like my heroine, Clarry Pennhaligan, I love food. Readers have written telling me that they enjoy visualising Clarry’s thrown-together meals and the Lock-In leftovers, shared by the restaurant staff at Abbe’s Brasserie where she works as a part-time waitress. I’ve confided that it’s always possible to guess when I’m on yet another diet and feelingRead more
Miriam Margolyes is looking at why we in the UK are getting fatter. We were left at the close of episode 1 of Miriam’s Big Fat Adventure with the question of whether it’s possible to be fat and happy. Episode 2 is all about extremes. What some of us will do in pursuit of perfection.Read more
I have always admired Miriam Margolyes as an actor, for her politics and for being outspoken. Now she’s taking on the issue of obesity. A third of people in the UK are officially obese. That’s a lot of us. But we don’t have a voice. We don’t speak up. In silence, we suffer ridicule, abuseRead more
I’ve been fat-shamed all my life. And each and every time it has wounded me. Hurt me. Made me want to run back to my lair and hide… and eat. For me, most of the fat-shaming has come from men. I’ve heard everything from “you’d be really attractive if you lost some weight” said byRead more
I eat. I eat when I’m happy. I’m eat when I’m sad. I eat when I’m afraid and when I’m lonely. I eat when everything feels like it’s closing in on me and when I can’t cope with the world. I eat because at times I find facing reality almost impossible. I eat to blockRead more
I’m going to be honest with you. This post is uncomfortable for me for a number of reasons. Firstly, the picture. Its a still from a video I made to promote Next Level. When I watched this video back for the first time, all I could think about was not how excited I was aboutRead more
This week I’ve been inspired to tackle something very personal and important to me. I have always struggled with my weight and, as a result, I have spent much of my life hating myself. Self-loathing has been a constant companion. Now I ask myself the question: Why do I feel such shame about being fat?Read more
I love featuring on BBC Radio Surrey & Sussex, whether I’m reviewing the papers, reviewing books, or giving tips on what Christmas presents to buy. The two playlists below are from my shows with Amanny Mo – otherwise known as my Soul Sister! Do listen and let me know what you think. Angela Dyson BBCRead more
