Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

LESLEY HART: Women who shaped me, from Mum to Elaine to Alice

Actress Elaine C Smith, pictured here at the launch of the SNP Women's Pledge with her 11-month-old grand daughter, Stella in 2015, is one of the woman who have inspired Lesley.
Actress Elaine C Smith, pictured here at the launch of the SNP Women's Pledge with her 11-month-old grand daughter, Stella in 2015, is one of the woman who have inspired Lesley.

I’ve been inspired by the brilliant documentary series, The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland, which celebrates the achievements of women who reshaped and revolutionised post-war Scotland (available on BBC iPlayer).

So I’d like to take this opportunity to celebrate the women who changed modern me. And ancient me. A potted herstory of my life, if you like.

First, there’s Mum

Mum, you’re up first, obviously. In terms of women who changed me, shaped me, nurtured, and inspired me through my life, you are literally number one.

Not only would I not have taken shape without you, but I wouldn’t have felt so empowered to express my full range of eccentricities had you not encouraged me so ferociously to be myself, and to strive for happiness in that.

Nobel Prize-winning Canadian author Alice Munro is another woman Lesley is inspired by.

If I haven’t quite mastered adulthood, or entirely severed the umbilical cord, then that’s because who I am is a massive baby that still wants to lie on your lap in front of the telly, aged 44.

I have two sisters, both inspirational and endlessly tolerant of me and my middle child angst.

Even now, when I throw a tantrum and tell them, “You don’t understand me!” they are incredibly understanding and respond with love and humour, for which I’m always grateful. What a laugh they are.

Funny women, in fact, have profoundly changed my life. And I can’t possibly fit them all in here, but one deserves a special mention.

And then there’s Elaine

I didn’t always know Elaine C Smith personally. My first encounter with her was watching Naked Video and Rab C Nesbitt as a kid.

We had every episode taped, and I would study them obsessively, learning the words, trying to do all the voices and play all the parts.

I was completely in love with all those funny Scottish people, and for me, Elaine was the funniest of them all.

When I started writing plays, I had the idea that I could maybe work with Elaine if I wrote something for her to be in.

She didn’t know who I was, and the play I sent her was pretty eccentric (obviously), so the whole thing felt like a long shot.

A woman in a chip shop

It was a about a woman stranded in a chip shop that’s floating in the North Sea who’s had a bump on the head and thinks she’s Billy Connolly. There was logic to this, I promise.

Elaine’s first words to me were, “What is going on in that head of yours?” and then “It’s a bonkers idea… I love it!”

The rest, as they say, is our ten-year friendship and collaborative herstory.

Next up, a shout-out to Miss Clark – my school drama teacher, whose words, “Lesley, you can do this” are responsible for me never getting a proper job.

There are too many gal pals who’ve shaped my life to mention, and lovers too – thanks to you all.

And Alice Munro

Even those who broke my heart and stole my Alice Munro short story collection – I’ve been happy to replace it.

Thanks to Alice Munro for being my favourite writer in prose, whose stories of women yearning for a better life are beloved companions that have shaped my understanding of all humanity.

Thanks to all the amazing women, far too many to mention, who shape and change my life every day, in so many ways. Power to you.

 

Conversation