You know how a single man walking a dog in a park instantly attracts women? Women see the two of them together and assume he must be the caring, supportive type (depending perhaps on the breed of dog). Being 7-months pregnant in the Song Company is a ‘middle-aged-female-audience-member’ magnet. They come up to me and positively beam. Then come the three questions; “When are you due?”, “Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?”, “Is it your first?”. There are no wrong answers to these questions. I can say anything and my reward is a bigger smile.
Men react differently on the whole. Older men are like the more respectfully distant version of their female counterparts. I misunderstood one man the other day when we were performing in the Art Gallery of NSW, as he called out to me: “Good luck with that!” I thought he was referring to the fact that I had lost my way to the lifts and was left dithering near the Archibald’s. Younger men glance down at my stomach then hastily look back up again and go into a mild form of shock. Some of them even take a visible step back. “Don’t worry!” I want to say. “You’re not the father!”
Ruth will be taking maternity leave next month. We wish her and Mungo the best of luck with this next life stage.
