Calling the bold and the colourful!
All you merry magnificences, dazzling dynamos, and anyone who believes life should be lived in full, glorious technicolor take notice! If beige makes you snore, you've found your spiritual home. The Never Succumb to Beige Clan is for every woman who embraces her unique brilliance and refuses to be dimmed.
Forget the colour — it's attitude baby!
Never succumbing to beige is a choice. It's a decision to be vibrantly and visibly who you are. It's nothing to do with the colour beige and everything to do with living to the max. Some of my best freinds like beige. I even have a couple of beige items in my wardrobe. So, if you like beige, go big. Make a statement. Wear beige on beige on beige.
By setting up The Never Succumb to Beige Clan (The Colourful Clan), my sister Roz and I are inviting you to have a bit of fun—be entertained, hang out with like minded others, share stories and insights. We're here to inject a shot of pure, unadulterated colour into your online world.
As Scots (although we both now live in New Zealand), we though it fitting we should have our own tartan, so Roz designed The Never Succumb to Beige Dress Tartan specially for the Clan.
By becoming a member of the Clan your subscription will ensure we can constantly improve, create better and relevant content and build our community. Thank you in advance.
Clan membership includes
- My A to Z Guide to Colourful Living — FREE PDF when you sign up.
- Exclusive member only access to a library of blogs, podcasts, Geekzone and other stuff.
- The Never Succumb to Beige Fortnightly Bulletin—news and updates, humour and our Fabulous Frew the Shrew's cartoon exploits.
- Members only Facebook Page for discussions to share stories, tips, hacks and experiences.
- Member discounts on books, courses and merchandise as we develop/write them.
- Holiday reading — our annual Christmas edition of The Colourful Times.
- Entertainment, feel-good and community.
- The right to use the Clan Tartan—instructions will be provided!
As the Clan grows, we'll add online (and perhaps a few in-person) events.
Cost of Membership—NZ$10 per month (Approximately US$5.80)
(SPECIAL FIRST YEAR PRICE)
A little taste of what to expect
Discussion and insights: Members' Private Facebook Group
What's the Best Advice You'd Give to Your Teenage Self?
What is your signature colour and why?
How beige is your life?
The FB Group is our discussion forum—we get some colourful discussion topics in play!
Stories: Example—If Life Gives you Lemons, Get Creative!
So, life has just showered a new crop of lemons on your head. In this story, I ask why, stop at making lemonade with all these little yellow suckers? To me, when the chips are down, it's about getting creative not just doing the obvious thing. I use anecdotes from my own experiences of converting my lemon mountains over the years into innovative new directions, bringing excitement and personal growth.
Videos: Example—Mutton Dressed as Lamb & Other Outdated Taboos
In this podcast, I look at outdated taboos like not being mutton dressed as lamb, starting with the question: Does wearing a bikini to your daughter’s beach wedding make you a try hard or just comfortable in your own skin? Where does the line in the sartorial sand get drawn about when you need to 'dress your age'? Should the line be drawn at all?
Inspiration: Example —So Rare, So Precious, So Cute—Meet Earth's Tiniest Wild Cat
Miracles happen—this sighting means the known population of these tiny wild felines has increased from 8 or 9 in the world! If you're long on gloom and short on va va voom, sign up to The Good News Network and get positive news stories from around the world in your mailbox daily.
Advice: Example—Wrangling Your Side Hustle
Everyone's got a side hustle these days, right? It's the 'must-have' accessory
for the happening person … apparently. I'm a seasoned side hustler, so here are somethoughts to help you keep hustling effectively, not just bustling.
Newsletter: Our Monthly Bulletin
The Never Succumb to Beige Monthly Bulletin will land in your in-box. As well as inviting you to discover new content, it features news and events, review of discussions in the FB Group, the cartoon life and times of our Fabulous Frew the Shrew and other instant hits of colour.
The Colourful Times—Annual Christmas Special
You'll get hours of holiday entertainment in our festive edition. Our bumper Christmas newsletter features sizzling seasonal stories, provocative quizes, The Never Succumb to Beige Annual Awards, top Christmas memes, cartoons, and loads of special Christmas features and handy hacks to make your season merry and bright and hopefully even a little peaceful.
And finally ... there's your sign up bonus: My Concise A to Z Guide to Colourful Living
Extract: K is for KISS (keep it simple stupid)
The KISS concept was adopted by the US Navy in 1960. It’s the principle of designing systems and strategies that are simple, straightforward, and without unnecessary complexity. Like a wildfire, jumping a fire break, KISSing jumped into the mainstream and set the world of management thinking on fire. Now everyone’s at it. Whatever its origins, it’s a great way to approach life. If you KISS it, you’re likely to be less stressy and sleep better because you don’t have s washing machine going round in your head as it spins through all the stuff you haven’t got around to.
Complexity certainly has a seat at the table—not everything can be reduced to its barest bones—but simplicity has the place of honour. It’s hard to live the good life when you’re perpetually overwhelmed. When you KISS your life, you sweep away all the unnecessary baggage, cast off the crap, shed the ought to-dos, let go of stuff you don’t need, buy less, eat better, stay fitter and focus on what matters to you and yours so you create boundaries. You’ll feel tons lighter, and people will see you quite differently.
Some inspiring 'k' words
Kaboodle, karaoke, katharsis, kazoo, kedgeree, keen, kettledrums, kindness, kingfisher, kiss (the other sort), kith and kin, knowledge, kudos.
When you KISS your life, you give yourself permission to say no to stuff you don’t want and make room for the things and people that matter.
Frances Manwaring, January 2025
Thank you so much for this piece, which I came across while googling “Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby” – a character who had stuck with me since first hearing about her in assembly at Junior School. Like you, I’d forgotten so much of the rest of the story, and your advice has now spared me from rereading it!
Ha thanks for the feedback. Despite, the current views about Water Babies, I’m grateful for the early assimilation of the concept of doing as you would be done by, a focus for living that I really still believe in. All the best. Frances
I was fortunate enough to live in a mixed-religious household, CoE, RC, Methodist, only grandmother went to church mainly to take me to Sunday School. However my Methodist father was very much Mr. Doasyouwouldbedoneby, and his mantra has stuck with me for decades (I’m 73 and learnt this when of infant-school age). The family were veracious readers, so I became one too, we each had book club subscriptions – though I’m paying the price of not having enough shelves for all the books I inherited plus ones bought over the years. The Water Babies story was read to me as a youngster, and later I could of course read it for myself. I had in fact forgotten that Mrs D was from the Water Babies – just remembered the two opposing characters. Ah such memories. Thank you.
Lovely to get your comments. Feel your pain about the accumulation of books. I recently moved into a small apartment and had to make some difficult choices on the book front. Donating them to Rotary for their book sale took some of the pain away. Glad to have revived some happy memories. Best wishes. Frances
Well! For decades I thought Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby was an Enid Blyton character! I remember reading about her as a young child (obviously at the time of reading numerous Enid Blyton books!) and although details were vague, the sentiment has stayed with me. My apologies to many school pupils for referencing her incorrectly in my lectures after they had been unkind on the playground….ooops!
Here is an amazing thing…
Today I and my close friend Dawn for over ten years were walking around a National Trust venue of house and garden at ‘Nymans’ at Handcross near Horsham. They usually have a small second-hand bookshop where donated books are sold a low prices to supplement the Trust’s income.
I noticed a copy of “Water Babies”; it was in poor condition, and I already have a good illustrated copy in my bookshelves so didn’t buy it.
Pointing it out to Dawn, who had never read it and only knew a couple of snippets about it as a children’s book; I said in conversation:-
“Water Babies” was one of the first books I read when I learned to read, and it had a profound impression on me that has persisted all my life. It gave me a clear insight into an important moral principle… that you should never do things others that you wouldn’t like done to yourself”. I went onto say that this was the reason I cannot understand the despicable things humans can and will do to others. I explained very briefly the story line about Tom, and Ellie, his rushing away from chastisement, and drowning falling into the water, then the fantasy life as a ‘water baby.
. . . and that the moral principle I mentioned that had such a deep effect upon me was enshrined in the character of Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby.
Now here’s the amazing bit… I couldn’t remember the name of other lady who taught Tom that _retribution_ was the result of doing bad things to others: so looked it up on my mobile phone… and clicked on the above article of yours!!
I was so amazed I read most of it out to Dawn being,.. my so pleased to find that someone else said practically verbatim what I had just explained!
It’s nice to know someone else was affected by, and taught, and put into practise the same moral principle, from the same children’s book, at the same early age in life. . . amazing coincidence too!
Douglas Denny. Chichester. UK.
Hi Douglas — thanks for your lovely feedback and for the commonality of thought! I really love the idea of do as you would be done by as a life philosophy and I believe that if one does apply that in life, it is an incredibly effective moral compass. I just wish that the be done by as you did piece slotted in just as neatly.
Co-incidentally, although I live in New Zealand now, I know Chichester and area very well. My mother’s parents lived there for years, firstly in South, then North Muhdham and eventually they moved into Chichester. I grew up in the Highlands near Aviemore and we used to make bi-annual migrations south. At Christmas, we all went and drove through the snowy nights, spotting trees in people’s windows (before all the bypasses or motorways took travelers around the towns). In summer, it was usually just mum and two kids. We’d get the sleeper train to Euston, spend a day in London doing the sights, then a blissful and what felt very exotic couple of weeks in the extreme (after a village in the Highlands) sophistication of Chichester. The market, the Chinese chop, the Witterings, Bognor, Hickstead, Winbledon on COLOUR TV (stawbs of course) etc etc. So many happy memories. Thanks for reminding me and all the best for the new year.
Dear Frances,
Thank you for your charming reply.
Charles Kingsley has proven that the pen and word (and an idea of fundamental moral principle) can indeed be mightier than the sword: and is ubiquitous, affecting perhaps millions across the globe!
—-
So you know of Chichester and area. I was born and brought up in Barrow at the foot of the Lake District which I know well.
By a circuitous life’s route… I am now lucky to live in Bosham, and practically daily walk to the oystershed slipway, can look East into the harbour, or watch the sunset in the West across towards Chidham and see the yachts and small boats moored along the creek, relax and breathe-in the sea air.
It is always different – every time – practically minute to minute – changing like a kalidoscope. . . the sky colour, cloud formations; the tidal state in the creek; the seasonal changes looking across to Chidham; the wind in your face (SW as usual for the South coast of Britain); with the sea birds calls on the harbour mudflats as a background chorus . . . it never fails to be uplifting and give cause to be grateful to be alive. I know where to walk when Churchill’s black dog is on your shoulder!
I count myself very lucky indeed to have found myself in life living in Bosham.
With best regards for the New Year,
Douglas Denny.
P. S. One of my best friends who lives in Fishbourne is a New Zealander called Bruce Munn. He married his English wife Alison when she was travelling / staying in NZ, I think in the 1960s but came to live over here. He’s the most trustworthy and rock solid person I know. He can also fix anything: tractors; cars; machines of any description with a pair of pliars and Number 5 bailing wire! 😄.
Douglas.