Concert at the Suga club

So the Sugar Babes haven't yet decided on their new name, but the Sugar Club is to be renamed the "Because I am a Girl" club for next Sunday night's extravaganza. Organised by Magdalene Eve Buckley, the concert is in aid of PLAN's campaign to help girls in poorer countries.
click on the quote from them below to find out more on what they do -
"Across the world, girls face the double discrimination of their gender and age, leaving them suffering at the bottom of the social ladder. Girls are denied access to health services and education, and also face extremely high levels of violence, abuse, and harassment."
I am really honoured to be taking part in the event, as well as really nervous. It's going to be a proper concert, with lights, and maybe make up, and microphones and everything. Last time I was in the sugar club I saw Tycho Brahe, and the opening song of the Camembert Quartet, and look at them now, nameless late late show band... I hope in a few years that I am the resident nameless late late poet... saying a few lines about each guest before they come on, but somehow I doubt it.

It's true tho - girls get a raw deal sometimes. Here's something I wasn't going to tell you about, but it seems relevant, so here it is. It was November of last year. Lucan Writers were featured guest poets at the White House poets thingymajig in Limerick. They have a blog where they put up pictures and names of the poets. None of the four women that travelled down there got their names on the site, (their pictures appeared, but the names didn't) the two men that travelled did. It's a small thing, a petty thing for me to mention here, but it rankled a bit at the time. It was only my second ever reading, and kind of a big deal, (I even wondered was it because I wasn't good enough!): Here's the link, if you're interested...

Anyway - I should've just emailed them at the time, but they had named the local women, so I guessed they might've just happened to lose our names, and didn't want to be all "CRAZY FEMINIST" about it. Point? I don't know - it was just a small thing, but made me wonder do women struggle to be taken more seriously in writing. The answer is thankfully no, (I was reliably informed of this at this years writer's festival by the brilliant Julia O'Faolain) but it did feel a little like a hangover from the "ah girls, aren't they lovely, bless their little hearts" kinda times of the past.
Another little thing that occured to me earlier this year was when the GAA were having their late late celebration show, PK mentioned that GAA, the church, and politics were the 3 major things that make the Irish world go round. And then I looked at the audience, and the "important" representatives from all three of those organisations were men. Don't get me wrong, they had a panel of token "chicks who dig sport" three female sports journalists, who were suitably marvelled over as strange and rare creatures, but I suppose if things are still that teeny tiny small bit male dominated and controlled over here, it's even harder for girls to get a fair share where life is more of a struggle. Anyway c'mon and support the charity concert, anything that tries to improve girl's lives where things are REALLY tough has to be a good thing.

Now what the hell am I going to wear??? and what to do with the hair? (plans for a haircut were scuppered by the car's cunning plot to go on strike until it was washed at the weekend)