I was out visiting friends sharing a meal and a few drinks on their breezy verandah. My lifelong friend of 50 years and I were discussing what we liked and disliked about menopause, as good girlfriends going through menopause sometimes do...

During our conversation I mentioned that I don’t really get hot flushes other than sometimes during the night but that I feel hot in general almost all of the time when usually I’ve been a cold frog.

It was as if the very second those words came out of my mouth I instantaneously turned into a sweaty hot mess with water pouring out of me, sweat dripping down my face.

It seemed like a personal jinx of some kind. A horrible joke that was clearly on me. Maybe the universe just has a funny sense of humour?!

I’ve never seen anything like it and we all laughed uncontrollably about the sheer insanity of it all.

A night I’ll never forget.

I was definitely the hottest woman there! Humbling.