Older, but Wiser? Not for Bridget Jones in ‘Mad about the Boy’

“Why do I always get myself into such a mess?” seems to be the embodiment of Bridget Jones life, and the 51-year-old version of Bridget is no exception. ‘Mad about the Boy’, written by Helen Fielding is the third and final installment following the entertaining but catastrophic life of Bridget Jones – and it’s no disappointment.

 Things have changed since ‘The Edge of Reason’, Bridget is now widowed from perfect Mark Darcy and Bridget finds herself alone and bringing up two children, with reminders of her loneliness wherever she goes. This may sound bleak to many fans of the previous two books and films, but ‘Mad about the Boy’ is still as sharp, witty and original as before. Bridget finds herself once again on the dating scene – and her anguish and despair of reaching 51 just makes her more desperate and hilariously hopeless than ever.

 Obsessing over: twitter followers, pounds gained and lost in weight, clicks on her dating site, texts from her new younger man, getting botox and calories/alcohol units consumed, ‘Mad about the Boy’ appears as the ramblings of a mad woman – until you remember, it’s the Bridget Jones we all know and love.

 Although ‘Mad about the Boy’ will keep you laughing from start to finish, with eating mozzarella in handfuls straight out the fridge, getting excited over a new twitter follower and texting when drunk, reminding us all of embarrassing moments we’ve all been through, the new grown-up novel also touches upon some tragic ideas, not often discussed in previous Bridget Jones’ books. Her genuine loneliness and grief over the loss of Mark Darcy, presents Bridget of a woman more real than ever. However, all is not lost (apart from the reminder that this means no more Colin Firth in the next film- tragic) and in typical Bridget style, understandably, love is found again, although in the most unexpected of ways.

 ‘Mad about the Boy’ is truly a must-read, a heartwarming story, with a few life lessons for us all to learn from – along with the reminder that as bad as everything seems, it will get better.

By Elizabeth Clark

Need for Change? Equality of Women in the Workplace

Less than a century and a half ago, the rights of a woman were almost non-existent. Today, women are the drivers behind the force of some of the worlds biggest companies. Meg Whitman is the current CEO of Hewlett-Packard, one of the leading electronic companies in America and the former CEO of consumer giant EBay. As the fourth wealthiest woman in America, Meg Whitman has had one of the most successful careers of anyone in this century, regardless of her gender. This poses the question, why is there still discrimination towards women as successful businesswomen in this day and age?

Of course, the state of affairs is much better than it used to be, but the rise of up-and-coming businesswomen will hopefully one day mean that women and men will have an equally fair shot with their careers, and their gender will not be considered.

One of the reasons I believe there is such judgment against women as head of companies is the stereotypical nature of many people within business nowadays. Even as recently as 20 years ago, there was very few women in senior company positions, possibly due to the fact a woman working as head of a car company or electronics company was absurd and shocking, but leaders such as Meg Whitman have proved that women know just as much about computers and business as men do, and incoming CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra is obviously completely capable of managing a car company. Mary Barra is to become the first ever woman to lead a car company in America, a huge step in equal female rights.

Whilst there are still female CEO’s in the UK, the number is considerably lower than in America. Karren Brady, one of the more high profile businesswomen in the UK has previously said in an interview when asked if there was still more to be done regarding women in the workplace, ‘there’s always more to be done’ and went on to say, ‘equality is a huge issue.’ Karren Brady recently received a CBE for services to entrepreneurship and women in business, which is a huge accolade.

It’s time for the workplace to become fully equal, in any type of work; there should be no regard to whether a woman or a man is applying for a lead position in any role.

The dated assumption attached to women as domestic homemakers needs to be completely abandoned, as modern women have more than proved that we are capable of managing families and other life changes, such as pregnancy or marriage, as well as a thriving career in the male dominated business world. This is the best form of multi-tasking- a women’s strongest attribute.

By Elizabeth Clark

Quotes available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25548352 ‘Karren Brady ‘proud to receive CBE for services to women’