Sue's Sports Starter by Sue_Thearle

Hello chaps. Well it's been quite a week, what with one thing and another. I know that Gail Emms has written a brilliant blog about the lack of women on the shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year, so I won't bang on too much about it. But I would echo the views of a lot of broadcasters, and not all of them female I might add, who would say that it reflects a depressingly predictable attitude to women's sport. It just isn't treated in the same way. And I can hear some people now shouting at the screen about women's sport not being as good as men's. I have heard these arguments a million times before (and speaking as a former Millwall Lionesses footballer of some modest ability, I really do know all the arguments about men's and women's football in particular).

In fact I was asked by the FA a few years ago to be part of a committee to discuss the possibility of making the women's game professional and one man there, with a smirk and without a trace of irony, said that the only way it would be marketable for TV, would be to make it a 6-a-side game on a beach in bikinis. Deep, deep sigh. He was a former lads' mag editor, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. But I was genuinely confused to see Zoo and Nuts on the voting list for SPOTY. So I might suggest Red Magazine and Good Living make it onto next year's list, to balance things a tad? Or Good Housekeeping? Or how about Pregnant, Barefoot and in the Kitchen? Right I am now ranting slightly, so I will shut up. But the Americans get it right in terms of promoting and recognising women's sport - so why can't we?

Right moving swiftly on, I will try and get off my soapbox without hurting myself. In fact this is the first blog in ages where I am not going to moan about any kind of injury. Hurrah and hallelujah. I have even been spinning and gyming and so far so good. I have also been to my first Xmas party of the season; a lunch which turned from day into night and I am pleased to say that I survived the first real test of Christmas stamina. I even left my pudding.....honestly. Mainly because I was stuffed, but hardly the point. I still felt slightly smug. I have also been battling clouds of dust in our house as two bathrooms are bashed into shape.

And on that subject a quick question for you all. Where do we stand on silver glitter toilet seats? Too much? The colour scheme in our family bathroom is silver and blue and I am majorly tempted by this toilet seat. But I think I have gone spangly, glittery mad. In fact I can’t see the wood for the razzle dazzle. Ho hum. But I am full of admiration for people who have loads of building work done and live to tell the tale. It is exhausting and hard work and the house is a total tip. And as if life wasn’t complicated enough already, my little boy is 5 today and having a football party for 20 kids on Sunday. Heaven help us all, but mainly me..... Have a great weekend....