Free Bird I Am
Celebrating bold women, second acts, and 6 years on Substack. Plus: Unoffice Hours invite.
Hiya 🤗
Happy Women’s Day. We need a day of activism followed by an official public holiday, right? Berlin has done this - c’mon London.
I’m off to see Rose Wylie’s new exhibition: The Picture Comes First – our 91-year-old rebel artist and the first female British painter to have a solo exhibition at the RA in London. Why has it taken so long!? And why are paintings by men still more expensive than those by women? I agree it’s “obscene”.
90 works and her biggest exhibition to date. Love the ambition - she has so many stories to tell.
Celebrating Lyse Doucet, BBC International Correspondent, for her outstanding coverage of the Middle East crisis. She’s been reporting on Iran for decades and has built trust and deep connections with locals. “We need change” is what I remember from her latest video - post January protests.
She’s also been reporting on Afghanistan for 40 years and calls it her ‘second home’. She lived in the Inter-Con in Kabul for a year. Can’t wait to read her first book The Finest Hotel in Kabul. Brilliant idea to tell the story of a country through the hotel and its staff. Civil war, US invasion, the rise-fall-rise of the Taliban - it’s never closed its doors!
Both bold, inspiring women, who’ve dedicated their lives to their art. A reminder to keep on putting yourself out there - and be present and enjoy the little things in life. Sitting in a cafe without worrying about air strikes. Watching Pete the cat potter about her studio, at home in the chaos (he’s in a few of Rose’s paintings).
I read an interview with Lyse in Saga - she hates the word ‘retirement’ and thinks we should banish it. Agree - it makes people feel redundant. I call it ‘Unretirement’. Can’t stand ‘midlife’ or ‘empty nester’ either so FREE BIRD I AM! Everyone should feel free.
Language matters - it shapes our identity. Why would we pigeon-hole ourselves?
Guitar solo at 4:55!! How I want all women to be feeling today and everyday.
Bold Types
I’m also celebrating ME - proud of myself for raising a sassy young woman who’s making her way in the world. Hopefully I’ve given her a good work ethic - with everyday adventure.
Been thinking about what I want to do now and my second life, as Tracey Emin calls it (also want to see). More travel and solo adventures - it’s when I feel most alive and free.
Blending journalism and travel. Travel inspires empathy – tiny steps towards world peace :) Connecting other second act entrepreneurs.
I have a new name and logo. Bold Types was the name of my interview series and I prefer it - more fun. Been down a rabbit hole - Bold Talks, Bold Books, Bold Tours lol. Thanks to Sophie Parsons The Art of Trying for bringing my vision to life.
It’s my 6th anniversary on Substack this month. Still enjoying it here - the community, the conversations. Appreciate how they’ve gone all in creating a full tech stack for us - video, livestreaming, podcasts, audio, socials, blog. A flywheel, which makes repurposing content and doing collabs easier.
Lives are a great addition - an experience - done in an hour and you both get clips to share on socials. I’ve been enjoying Natasha Tynes’ Substack Writers Salon - she asks what I want to know.
It’s much noisier now - more gurus and playbooks, but you do you. The main focus is still writing & connection.
Hamish has a new book out in October: How to Save The Media. Love the bold title. On putting people above platforms, and his personal journey from scrabbling freelancer to co-founder of Substack.
He’s also in his second act and building his legacy. A book is your business card – more founders should write one.
Raising a glass to all the bold women who’ve inspired and supported me: The Tonight Show Starring Amy Fallon, Claire Venus ✨, Sarah Fay, PhD, Aida @ Iran Women Observer, Francesca Marchese, Amy I Beeson 🐝, Sam Lou Talbot, Marianne Lehnis, Maria Miret, Lex Roman, Liz Kelly Nelson, Rebecca Dunphy, Pennie Quinton, and many more.
Have a gorgeous week! ✨
Nika x
PS Below for paid subscribers an invite to this month’s Unoffice Hours. Connect - chat - collaborate. Bit of book talk. An hour to yourself, mostly. Planned serendipity :)
Our March read is The New Tourist by Paige McClanahan.
Wonderful way to do it.