Grazia Issue 819

WE WENT INTO 2021 hoping for a more optimistic year. The truth was… somewhat different. In our 23-page Review of the Year, we look at the biggest talking points over the past 12 months. (And analyse why we all fell for Jack Grealish’s hair.) But for all the political scandals, royal fallout and trauma of another 12 months of Covid, one thing that’s been a solace for many of us is agenda-setting TV. So I couldn’t think of anyone better than Lydia West to front our bumper Christmas issue. Her extraordinary performance as Jill in It’s A Sin opened up a conversation about the AIDS crisis, and prompted HIV testing in Britain to hit an all-time high. On page 38, Lydia reflects on the importance of her breakthrough year –…

Have your say… Email us at feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk ■ Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GraziaUK AGREE TO DIFFER ‘I’ve made peace with being bitched about – and it’s a revelation’ (29 Nov) was exactly what I needed to read. I was halfway there with this revelation, but Emma Jane’s column verbalised it perfectly. I’m 43 and have recently, due to ‘differences of opinions’ with close friends, found myself ‘letting go’ and having peace with the fact that we can’t all agree all of the time. I wonder if I’m being selfish for not really giving two hoots what they say about me, or is it actually a sign of maturity? Either way, it’s liberating. Go forth and bitch – it’s not my business. Bec GENDER POLITICS I read Grazia…

HELP OUR MEDICS They saved our lives… now they need saving (29 Nov) resonated with me. I’m a junior doctor in the NHS. For 21 months we’ve been in the eye of the storm, feeling helpless as we watch people die from this virus, some of them colleagues. The pandemic rages on, morale is at an all-time low and we face aggression from people due to escalating waiting times. Patients are dying in ambulances outside A&E, waiting for a bed. Meanwhile, the Health Secretary says the pressure on the NHS is ‘sustainable’. It’s gaslighting on a national scale. I hope Duty to Care is able to provide us some relief.* Emily…

Let’s take a break from it all this Christmas This festive season should be about joy. We might be furious with the Government for their alleged Downing Street party last Christmas. We might be anxious about Omicron cases rising. But while not denying our anger, sadness and frustration, let’s allow ourselves a space for peace and – if we can – joy too. For having another Christmas to celebrate at all, for spending time with family and friends safely, and for knowing that, regardless of all the chaos, this season is about love. So grab a mulled wine, wrap those presents and take a breath – we all deserve a break from the noise this Christmas.…

BY THE TIME YOU read this, you will know more than I do about how normal Christmas 2021 will be. I write too early to be sure (I’ve told you before: this is not the internet ), when Omicron seems more transmittable, but maybe milder?, but maybe not (more stats required); when Government ministers advise against snogging strangers underneath mistletoe, but not against going to the parties in the first place; when school nativities are being cancelled (which would have qualified as a mercy in my day at The Narrator coalface); and hospitality despairs as desperately necessary December bookings are withdrawn (poor bastards). So yeah. Christmas 2021 could be normal(ish). Could be… not. And that’s complicated. Because on the one hand, life with no sense of what’s coming next is…

1. Up MARIAH CAREY PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, INSTAGRAM/FASHIONSANTA, MARIAHCAREY It’s Her Time, nothing and no one can change that. Was it even Christmas before her? Sure, technically yes – but it must have lacked flavour. 2. Up HENRY CAVILL The Witcher is back for season two! One could argue that Cavill – who plays the lead and the Witcher in question – is pretty much the Father Christmas of Netflix. 3. Non-mover FASHION SANTA He was a Big Thing pre-Covid. No word if he still is – but he definitely should be. Can this be the start of a campaign to bring Paul Mason, Fashion Santa, back to Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall? 4. Non-mover NENEH CHERRY Recently revealed she wrote the first verse to ’80s classic Manchild while going up the stairs…