Hello lovely ladies,
Well, it’s hard to believe, but we’re now entering the sixth month of the year – where did all those days/weeks/months go? and Beloved Magazine is publishing its 9th issue! We’re already deep in winter; June 21st will be our shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, while those lucky enough to be in the northern hemisphere are getting ready for their midsummer parties.
June is a special month, marking half-time in the crowded annual calendar, so it’s a month with more than its fair share of events, special days and celebrations. We thought that we would take a look at some of these in our articles.
Firstly, casting a quick backwards glance, we see that May 25th was Africa Day, the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963. In honour of this, and of the huge cultural diversity of the African continent, our food writers are cooking up some of the best known African recipes to delight your palate.
Then, June kicks off with Wear A Dress Day on June 1st. This is an opportunity for women to put on their favourite dress -in any pattern, fabric or style they prefer- and go out to make an impression. The assumption by half the planet is that this is a summer thing, but hey, we southern hemisphere babes aren’t going to be left out! For inspiration, look to our lifestyle fashion writer, Anja Botha, who this month has great advice on matching your outfits to your footwear; or skip back to May’s edition to “The Woman In My Closet” for more dress advice.
June is Youth Month in South Africa, and LGBTQ+ Pride is one of the most prominent June events globally. In South Africa, October is traditionally Pride month, but Pride events are held all over the country at different times of year, so, combining these two themes, we asked our in-house psychologist, Anne-Bénédicte Damon, MSc, to look at some of the issues faced by LGBTQ+ youth as a result of social discrimination and stigmatisation, and how parents can help and support children who may have sexual orientation or gender identity issues.
This month, Beloved Magazine is delighted to welcome the Boss Babes network into the family- every month we will give you updates on everything happening in this exciting new venture, and news of forthcoming Boss Babes events.
We are also giving a warm welcome to writer Katherine Meeks, based in New York City. She will be sharing her wisdom with us from time to time in the form of a Letter from New York and other articles, while our new sexual health counsellor, Sari Cohen, will be telling us how excessive alcohol consumption affects our sexual performance.
Of course, we have all the regular contributors covering health, wellness, gardening, spiritual matters, book reviews and much, much more!
So, a very Happy June to you all! May it bring you joy and inspiration, whether it’s your midwinter or your midsummer!