I DON’T like to shout about my age these days but there’s no denying that I’m firmly out of the baby-making category and hurtling head-first towards the menopause camp.

“The change” can, for some, be ­problematic and even debilitating, but now thanks to campaigners and ­celebrities it’s not a taboo subject.

Open discussion has helped my group of friends deal with some of the biggest menopause challenges, including anxiety, stress and even depression.

We discuss who is taking HRT, exercising furiously to cope with belly fat or necking herbal sleeping pills to try to finally get a good night’s sleep.

Last Tuesday one of my best friends sent me a two-word WhatsApp message which read: “Bloating. Discuss.”

And we did, at length, when I got into the office where we first met many years ago (she is now shoving ground flaxseed on her breakfast and it’s working a treat).

But if the Equality and Human Rights Commission has its way, many menopausal women will no longer even get to set foot in the office to make friends like this following ridiculous new guidance.

They say bosses could now be sued if they don’t make “reasonable adjustments” for menopausal women in the workplace.

They say symptoms, which range from hot flushes and brain fog to difficulty sleeping, can be considered a disability.

Bosses should provide rest areas, improve office ventilation and relax uniform policies.

HOT FLUSH OF ANGER

This new ruling is being hailed as a victory for women but I see it as a gigantic step backwards.

The last thing working women need is to be treated as some sort of emotional liability.

And the advice which really forced me into a hot flush of anger is that women experiencing symptoms should be given a work-from-home option.

Post-menopausal women are the fastest-growing work group and there are now nearly five million aged 50 to 64 in employment.

They need to get the mental and ­emotional stimulation of working with colleagues, not be boxed off at home like some sort of outcast.

Nearly half — 44 per cent — of UK employees did some work in a remote capacity last year.

In my opinion this is damaging to our economy, our businesses and mental health.

Flexibility may be helpful, but menopausal women don’t need to add another symptom such as depression to their list of woes.

They don’t need their confidence to crumble as they work remotely and isolate themselves.

And to those younger women who must be terrified about one day developing a disability and being written off, please remember that the menopause is a ­perfectly natural age-old process.

Many of us really can glide through it with the help of modern medication, diet, exercise and a bloody good natter around the work coffee machine.

Remember, 50 really can be the new 30 — even in the workplace.

Teach Putin a lesson

YESTERDAY marked the grim anniversary of two years since Putin ordered his war on Ukraine.

And the pictures this week of the brave Ukrainian children going to school in converted metro stations to stay safe from bombardments was a heartbreaking reminder of how so many people have suffered.

Lives have been lost or changed forever. Thousands of kids are being taught in the underground schools in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.

Tragically they are the lucky ones because they are at least getting some sort of education, some sort of normal life, and a small chance of a proper future when this war finally ends.

I truly pray the vile Putin is driven out of Ukraine soon, for the sake of all those in that shattered country – especially the children.

Corrie losing the plot

IT somehow felt timely that in the same week Corrie star Dame Maureen Lipman said the soap needs to return to its northern roots to win back viewers, the show’s wonderful actor John Savident sadly died.

As butcher Fred Elliott, he was known for his booming voice, his habit of repeating himself and his disastrous love life.

Fred, who left Weatherfield in 2006, wasn’t involved in any murder plots, domestic abuse or drug addiction but he was utterly adored by the fans – and I am sure loved and remembered by them to this day.

Within eight years of him leaving, soap audiences plummeted by an average of 42 per cent on all channels as smaller characters took on explosive – and often ridiculous – storylines.

Maureen believes Corrie must reconnect with its past and focus on showing normal people living their lives. I couldn’t agree more.

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LIAM Gallagher says he is loving life in his £4million French chateau.

He spends his time incognito in a local Irish bar, enjoys the sunshine and . . . spends hours trawling his grounds searching for doggers after claims people were hooking up on his property.

He says he didn’t find any “sex people”. Better luck next time, Liam.

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FOLLOWING in Queen Elizabeth’s footsteps was never going to be an easy task for King Charles after all the respect, love and trust she built up throughout her long reign.

So to receive nearly 7,000 cards from well-wishers following his cancer diagnosis must be a boost for the new King – not only to help him in his health struggles but also to make him ­realise just how much his ­people are rooting for him.

Brave Esther

MANY of us have been asked what our final meal would be and I’ve flippantly rolled out the same answer for years: A lamb vindaloo and Peshwari naan, washed down with a bottle of sauvignon blanc.

But when terminally ill Esther Rantzen was asked the same question recently it made me realise that actually this is one of the most tragic questions we can ever ask someone.

She said: “I’d love caviar, if possible, and the fact that it doesn’t always agree with me doesn’t matter, does it?

“I could even have champagne, which I’m deeply allergic to.”

I hope she eats the finest, tastiest foods for as long as possible.

You’re aloud to smile girls

I BOUGHT tickets to go and see Girls Aloud when they come to Manchester in May and was pretty excited.

Now I just hope they perk up a bit before they get on stage.

They met up at a party this week and only Nadine cracked a smile for the camera while Cheryl, Nicola and Kimberley looked as though they’d rather be anywhere but together.

Come on “girls”, Sarah would be horrified.

Beyond a soak

I always thought I looked a bit daft when I frantically sucked water out of my smartphone after dropping it in the bath then rushed to shove it in a bowl of rice.

Now I know it was pointless too because Apple has issued new guidelines which say you should never put a soggy phone in a bowl of rice because it could cause permanent damage.

Instead, it says you should gently tap out the liquid.

The only saving grace is I know for a fact I’m not the only person who has done it.