Essex Girls

I'm sure everyone in the UK knows what is meant by the phrase 'Essex Girl' - for those overseas who may never have heard of this disparaging term think bling-bedecked, wannabe-WAG, orange perma-tanned, white-stiletto wearing bimbos.  As an incomer to Essex I can assure you that this stereotypical description is generally very wide of the mark BUT now and again, in my little corner of SE Essex (and, lets be honest, this is the bit that people mean when they talk about Essex Girls - not the flat, open and sparsely-populated estuaries and salt marshes near the coast, nor the very upmarket little towns and villages to the north, where old money and retired army majors abound - no, they mean the stretch of Essex that roughly borders the Thames Estuary, from Romford in the west to Southend in the east) I do spot a full-blown example of Essex Girl in all her blousy glory.  Though, thankfully, I've never come into contact with any of the truly dreadful creatures that are currently being featured in ITV2's 'The Only Way is Essex' (check out the link here) who are hoping to dispel the myth of the Essex Girl - and I fear they're not being ironic when they say this!!

Anyhoo, I went to a wonderful talk yesterday evening at the local library all about Essex Girls - only this time it was about girls from Essex - or women who had Essex connections - throughout history.  It was really interesting and I learnt a lot about the local history of the area too.  There were only three women discussed last night - Ann Boleyn's sister (aka The Other Boleyn Girl) who lived with her husband in Rochford Hall (now site of an upmarket golf course,) Princess Caroline of Brunswick who made Southend-on-Sea a fashionable Georgian spa resort, and a little known Essex girl - Hannah Lake, who emigrated to America in the 1650s and through marriage became one of the founding mothers of the New World (she even had Wickford connections which was even more interesting for me).  The talk was given by a local author called Karen Bowman who has recently published her first book, Essex Girls, which she has written partly to counter the dreadful press Essex Girls get nowadays.

It was a great evening and all provided for free by the Essex Library Service, and as they had a great turnout (on a very wet and windy evening too) I'm hoping there'll be a few more such evenings in the not too distant future.  The Library Service is truly amazing in Essex, not only are the libraries open seven days a week (yup, they even open on Sunday afternoons) but they also have a wonderful stock of books, free internet access, DVD hire and very helpful staff.  They could teach the libraries in both Bristol and South Gloucestershire a thing or two - like being open more than two half days a week for one thing and having some decent books on the shelves for another!! 

Comments

[Lindsey]

I hope they mentioned me, too? Only joking but I am proud to consider myself an (ex) Essex girl. Every time I go back it makes my heart a little lighter. Not only the library service but the education department is wonderful. Best place in the world!

[Karen Bowman]

Just like to thank you for your mention of my Essex Girls book. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the evening and my talk. I too think the Essex Library service is great. I hope to do more talks about different women in the future...hope to see you at one of them perhaps. kind regards, Karen Bowman