The Side Column of Shame Part Two

In our inbox this morning, after she had read Jane’s fess-up post below, was this very funny response from one of our favourite readers, Sue. We persuaded her that it was too good a comment to not post (even though she was keen to stay quiet about her affliction) so here it is, for you all to share…how many more of you feel like this?

Dear Jane and Amanda,

I am a long time devotee of TWR.  I greatly enjoyed the fun of test-driving a TV for you over Christmas.

But on reading you this morning I was struck with a shared shame that is so profound that I cannot bear to write this on your comments page but feel driven to ‘ come out’.

Every morning as I start my high powered ( Ha Ha!) vocation ( it has to be called that so they can pay us the pittance they laughingly call a living wage) as an English teacher, Special Needs Teacher and Child Protection Officer ( no that does not mean 3 wages…just 1/3 of a normal wage to do 3 jobs – clever accounting eh?) in a boy’s school do I log on to the site offering me advice as to how to make sure’ Every Child Matters’, the site that keeps me at the cutting edge of world affairs, goddammit even the site that tells me when Toast has a sale.

No, the Daily Mail is my, oh so guilty, pleasure.  I scan the right hand column like a middle aged woman possessed.  I know more about Amy (TOWIE), Kerry, and Katie than I do about some of my own rellies…possibly I care about them more too but that’s to do with some of the weird rellies I have.

My feminist and socialist credentials are loud and proud in front of classes of braying 15 year old boys.  My personal shame is only deepened by the fact that I am the ‘right on’ mother to 3 daughters all who work in telly/film/drama and Lucy, my eldest, even lives off Broadway Market where we all buy overpriced rustic loaves at 3 times the price of Lidl!

The new obsession that dares not speak its name is indeed the DM gossip snippets.  I have followed Courtney’s clothing disasters with a zeal, La Fonda’s hands follow me in my dreams and Claudia and Renee’s bony shoulders and backs are a source of constant musing (and what is Madame Schiffer doing with the eyeliner?! My 19 year old does that look! Walk away from the Mac Black woman!)

Well that’s over…I’d like to say I feel better sharing but It’s to go no further! Hell, I had less trouble coming out as gay 15 years ago than I have to admitting this fetish.

Have a lovely weekend, I’m off to make a banner for my girlfriend’s school fete, write a report for a severely dyslexia youngster, help my middle girl with a film/TV promo job she has to do and lots of other worthy tasks.  Hell I might even buy myself something from People Tree online!

But never doubt that I will keenly follow the sam cam Vs michelle fashion punch up (the good money’s on Michelle – those biceps/that height, the girl can surely pack a punch? And wearing Thakoon takes us back to the September Issue when we all fell in love with him!) on the DM right hand snippets of shame site!


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