I was very much humbled and honoured to be amongst the guests at this year’s Women of the Year Lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel, London on Monday 11th October.
It doesn’t seem appropriate to try and be funny about an event like this, but you do get slightly punch drunk by the amount of fame in the room – Lulu, Julie Walters, Annie Lennox, Baroness Kennedy, the Right Honourable Theresa May our new Home Secretary, Sandi Toksvig who hosted so brilliantly, just to name drop a few. Where else can a woman go to stand in the queue for the loo, (it was even a men’s loo acquisitioned for the occasion!) with living legends like Dot Cotton (June Brown) and Kath Kidston (yes, she’s a real person, not just a flowery print!).
For the past 55 years, the Women of the Year has brought together outstanding women from all walks of life, creating one the most significant gatherings of women in the world. Each guest is invited on the basis of her own merit and achievement and nominated because of her special contribution to society or the workplace. I am very proud to be considered one of them and believe that I represent all the wonderful women I have been lucky enough to have come into contact with throughout the last eight years of running Funny Women.
The main Women of the Year Award went to Annie Lennox who has used her vision to change the lives of many – her humanitarian work revolves around peace, poverty, motherhood and the devastation wrought by HIV and Aids in Africa. Other Awards went to architect, Zaha Adid for Outstanding Achievement, the ‘Window to the World’ Award to Susie Hart for her work with the disabled in Tanzania, and the ‘Yes you can’ Award to Shara Brice who created the UK’s most ethnically diverse and effect youth programme with the Ascension Eagles cheerleaders in East London.
As I said, humbling, yet inspiring. It proves we can do anything we want, regardless of our gender.
Thank you for all the support you give me and the charities we support each year. I believe that Funny Women has a role to play in helping women from all walks of life to find their voice and approach their goals with confidence. Not just those of you who aspire to perform comedy, but also the women who want to get over their nervousness of speaking in public, dealing with work colleagues or even just engaging in ‘small talk’. This year’s Funny Women Awards has been outstanding and I always look forward to meeting your at our shows and workshops.
