Virginia Ironside

Virginia Ironside (born 1945 in London, UK) is a British journalist, agony aunt and author. She is the daughter of painter and coin designer Christopher Ironside and fashion designer and the first-ever professor of fashion design at the Royal College of Art Janey Ironside, and the niece of the visionary painter and designer Robin Ironside.

Ironside writes a column, "Dilemmas", for The Independent and a monthly column for The Oldie. Her first book, Chelsea Bird, was published at the age of nineteen. During the 1960s she wrote a rock music column for the Daily Mail newspaper.She is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Books by Virginia Ironside

• The Virginia Monologues - Why Growing Old is Great (2010)
• The Virginia Monologues - 20 Reasons Why Growing Old is Great (2009)
• No! I Don’t Want to Join a Bookclub (2007)
• The Huge Bag of Worries (2004)
• Janey and Me: Growing Up with My Mother (2003)
• Goodbye, Dear Friend: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Pet (1998)
• Problems! Problems!: Confessions of an Agony Aunt (1998)
• You’ll Get Over It: The Rage of Bereavement (1997)
• The Subfertility Handbook (Overcoming Common Problems) (1995)
• How to Have a Baby and Stay Sane (1989)
• Made for Each Other (1985)
• Distant Sunset (1982)
• Chelsea Bird (1964)

Controversy

Ironside received considerable attention after her appearance on BBC One's religious discussion programme, Sunday Morning Live, in 2010. She stated "If a baby's going to be born severely disabled or totally unwanted, surely an abortion is the act of a loving mother." and added "If I were the mother of a suffering child - I mean a deeply suffering child - I would be the first to want to put a pillow over its face... If it was a child I really loved, who was in agony, I think any good mother would." Though some viewers supported Ironside, many complaints were registered on the programme's website message board.

External links

• The Virginia Monologues