What's Next? For Women

What's Next? For Women Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from What's Next? For Women, Health & Wellness Website, Paignton.

A friendly community for women in Torbay to create meaningful friendships, through learning, doing, sharing and having fun, whilst supporting local businesses and charities too.

New here? This is the page for 'What’s Next? For Women' (WNFW). 💛The two photos below sum up something important about u...
07/09/2026

New here? This is the page for 'What’s Next? For Women' (WNFW). 💛

The two photos below sum up something important about us.

Both are me. Same woman. One before I'd brushed my hair in the morning. The other after I'd made myself a little more presentable. Both still with my trademark lippie on, which otherwise without, I think makes me look a bit grey!

Sometimes we have the time, energy and inclination to make an effort. Sometimes we have nothing left in the tank. Sometimes we want to be real.

At What's Next? For Women, come as you are.
No dress code. No expectation to look, behave or be a particular way. You don't need to know anyone and you definitely don't need to come to everything.

We're a growing community of nearly 700 women, predominantly 40+, across Torbay and the surrounding area, building friendships through doing, learning and sharing together.

We've paddleboarded, kayaked, tried e-bikes, played walking football, dipped in the sea and learnt together.

Coming up or being planned are another Beach Day, first aid, a legal panel, Living with Loss, something crafty before Christmas, a Christmas night out and a January gift swap... with plenty more ideas being planned.

Some events are free, others have a cost.

There's no membership or subscription and our events will also be inclusive and be as accessible as possible (I also host a group called Access Torbay).

I run a business of my own, called LSS Connect, if you're interested, so whilst WNFW is a hobby, it's also an important way for me to get to meet more women in Torbay, not just those at the business networking events, some of you may know me from.

👉 Visit our page and have a look at what's coming up. Each event will tell you how to book, or how to let us know you're interested while we're still shaping it.

See something you fancy? Come along.
Come alone. Come with someone. Come dressed up. Come with your hair unbrushed.
Just come as you are. 💛

🎄 Sorry, not sorry... now thinking ahead to December💃 Friday 4 December – What's Next? For Women (WNFW) Christmas Night ...
06/09/2026

🎄 Sorry, not sorry... now thinking ahead to December

💃 Friday 4 December – What's Next? For Women (WNFW) Christmas Night Out... our first!

🎟️ Tickets on sale now. Early bird tickets £15pp

I'm thinking we make this 'Phoenix Ladies Night' at The Box Office Lounge in Torquay our Christmas party.

I know the charity, I know Sam, the comedian performing, and I also know the General Manager at The Box Office, part of The Arena.

The evening is raising money for PHOENIX RISING, a local charity supporting women affected by domestic abuse, with comedy, live music, burlesque, DJ and raffle.

Booking link in the image below. I've booked my ticket. If you book, let us know in the comments. Tag or share with a friend too.

Let's get a crowd of us together, having fun while raising awareness and funds for a charity supporting women who really need to feel supported. 💛

++++++++++++

🧶 And then for our final event of the year, something relaxing and quieter... a relaxed Christmas crochet evening, possibly Thursday 10 December (to be confirmed) led by my creative step-daughter Sam.

£5pp to cover the cost of materials

Supporting Torbay Scrapstore CIC.

A chance to learn create something for Christmas, chat and have a little bit of calm before the busyness of Christmas. Beginners (like me) very welcome.

Nothing confirmed yet, but would you be interested?

++++++++++++

👇And another fun night 28 November

Some of us are going to see Ruby Wax and Kathy Lette as part of the Torbay Literary Festival on 28 November at the Palace Theatre, Paignton.

Care to join us?

We've booked seats in Row C. Booking link in the comments. We don't all know each other, some of us are coming alone.

Every WNFW event is designed to support local businesses and charities too.

See you soon! Annagail 💛

🍁 November | What's being plannedA couple of very different What's Next? For Women events are taking shape before we hea...
05/09/2026

🍁 November | What's being planned

A couple of very different What's Next? For Women events are taking shape before we head into the busyness of the Christmas season.

🫶 LIVING WITH LOSS

Something simple and informal by the sea, on a beach. A beach fire, sparklers, conversation and good company, sharing tips and messages of hope for the future.

Loss can take many forms. Bereavement, the end of a relationship, changes in health, work, family, identity, or simply a life that hasn't turned out quite as we'd imagined.

With charitable donations to The Last Kiss Foundation

As always with What's Next? For Women, these aren't about sitting in a room being talked at. They're opportunities to do, learn and share together, while getting to know other women along the way.

Dates, booking details and more information to follow.

⚖️ LEGAL MATTERS

A panel of local legal professionals, covering some of the legal matters that can affect us as we move through life.

Specific topics will be agreed in advance, with an opportunity to submit your questions beforehand so the panel can make the session as useful and relevant as possible.

£5pp suggested donation, with proceeds going to Citizens Advice Torbay

More details once everything is confirmed.

Which one might you be interested in? Or perhaps both?

"Bring who you are and don't let anyone tell you you're not enough because you are." ~ Andrew Scott, Actor💛 We are all e...
04/09/2026

"Bring who you are and don't let anyone tell you you're not enough because you are." ~ Andrew Scott, Actor

💛 We are all enough.

I’ll put a link in the comments to a short video of Andrew saying this at a conference, in response to a question from an ambitious, articulate young man who introduces himself as autistic.

It’s a lovely human response.

Sometimes being vulnerable is simply part of being human.

“No, I’m not fine.”

“I’m exhausted.”

“I’m scared.”

They are all acceptable answers.

At What's Next? For Women, you’ll always be invited to come as you are.

You don’t need to impress anyone. You don’t need to have it all together.

Just bring you. 💛

Many women come to our events alone, some with a friend. See you soon.

📷 Andrew Scott

A conversation with my husband recently got me thinking about what it's like for our grandchildren growing up in these t...
03/09/2026

A conversation with my husband recently got me thinking about what it's like for our grandchildren growing up in these times.

We agreed that we'd want them to know they could ask us or tell us absolutely anything. And we really do mean anything.

Many years ago, a young member of my family came to talk to me about "their first time".

Inside, part of me was screaming...

"La, la, la... I don't really want to know this. Can't you talk to your parents?"

But another part of me was thinking...

"Wow. You trust me enough to talk to me about this. You value my opinion." ❤️

And that mattered far more than my embarrassment.

So it got me wondering whether simply saying "you can talk to me about anything" is actually enough.

Perhaps we need to name some of the things we mean?

S*x. Relationships. Money problems. Loneliness. Body image. Being asked to do something with your body you don't want to do. Drugs or alcohol. Something that's happened online. Mental health. Suicidal thoughts. Something you've done that you really regret, etc.

Perhaps naming the difficult things expands the boundary of what our children and grandchildren realise they can talk to us about.

We won't necessarily have the answers. We might need to help them find someone who does.

And yes, they might embarrass us but trust me, we'll get over it.

I'd far rather that than discover someone I love had struggled alone, or turned to an unsafe source or someone who didn't have their best interests at heart.

We're thinking of actually having this conversation with our children and grandchildren, rather than assuming they already know.

There are no subjects that are off limits.

Would you or have you had this conversation with yours?

And what would you add to the "you can ask me about..." list?

📷 Our youngest granddaughter... it'll be a while before we get any of these questions from her!

Any other stepmums here, like me?I became a stepmum 22 years ago.Before that, I'd actually been avoiding dating divorcee...
02/09/2026

Any other stepmums here, like me?

I became a stepmum 22 years ago.

Before that, I'd actually been avoiding dating divorcees.

Then one conversation with a relative changed my thinking. They suggested that perhaps a man who'd been married and had children might have learnt to look after more than just himself. So I changed the filter.

And then I met my future husband. A divorcee with several children. 😊

Someone else gave me some advice early on in our relationship. I had a choice. I could marry the man and keep myself separate from his family, or I could choose to be involved.
I chose to be involved.

I decided I'd try to be a bit like an Aunty. Caring, a good listener, encourager, but who wasn't trying to replace their Mum.

I've learnt lots in those 22 years.

💛 I've learnt you can love and feel incredibly proud of people who aren't biologically related to you.

💛 I've learnt relationships take time to develop. You don't suddenly become a family because two people get married.

💛 I've learnt that every relationship is different.

💛 And I've learnt that I didn't need to have children of my own to get my maternal fix. I now have several grandchildren too.

Being a stepmum isn't always straightforward. Families aren't always straightforward.

And I'm very glad I changed that dating filter 22 years ago.

So I'm curious...

Are there any other stepmums in What's Next? For Women?

How long have you been one?

Best thing that ever happened to you, or not quite what you expected?

Just remember, this is a public page, so maybe don't share anything you wouldn't be comfortable with your stepchildren seeing!

Saturday 10 October could be a matter of life or death...I can vouch for Liz Watt's sessions, as I attended a Baby & Chi...
02/09/2026

Saturday 10 October could be a matter of life or death...

I can vouch for Liz Watt's sessions, as I attended a Baby & Children Mini First Aid Exeter & South Devon session with her last year. Really good, with plenty of practical practice, lots of useful knowledge and a booklet to take away too.

Liz will give me a booking link as soon as we have at least 8 women interested.

🗓 Saturday 10 October
🕑 2 to 4pm
📍 Black Ivory piano bar, Belle Vue Road, Paignton (Chillout lounge)

So, which would you choose?

👇 Comment below with just:

ADULT
or
CHILDREN

Whichever gets the most votes is the session we'll organise. 💛

As if learning first aid wasn't already a good enough reason to come...The Black Ivory piano bar, where we're holding ou...
01/09/2026

As if learning first aid wasn't already a good enough reason to come...

The Black Ivory piano bar, where we're holding our What's Next? For Women Mini First Aid Exeter & South Devon session, has started making homemade cakes and desserts. 🎂

Have a look. What would you choose? 😋

Now, I'm thinking first aid followed by cake sounds like a pretty good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

🩹 Mini First Aid with Liz Watt
📅 Saturday 10 October
⏰ 2 to 4pm
📍 Black Ivory Piano Bar, Paignton
💛 Adult £30 or Baby & Children £25 per person (With a WNFW discount of £5 for both... thanks Liz!)
NOTE: Minimum 8 needed to proceed

This is a relaxed two-hour taster session for women who'd like to feel a little more confident knowing what to do when someone needs first aid.

We already have one woman interested in the ADULT first aid session, so that's currently in the lead! 🙋‍♀️

We need a minimum of 8 women for the session to go ahead, so please let me know if you think you could benefit from this too.

No need to book anything yet. Just comment below ADULT or CHILDREN to vote for the type of session you want, or message to say you're interested. 💛

🎟 When we get a minimum of 8 interested, I'll ask Liz to set up the booking link to share.

And if you fancy, we can enjoy a cuppa and one of these delights together too. 🍰☕

Cake isn't included in the £30... but treating yourself definitely is!

Who's tempted by the first aid, the cake... or both? 😂

Saturday 24 October is Beach Day #2 and bookings are now open!Thank you to everyone who commented INTERESTED on my post...
31/08/2026

Saturday 24 October is Beach Day #2 and bookings are now open!

Thank you to everyone who commented INTERESTED on my post a few days ago. We've had enough interest for Reach Outdoors to set up the booking, so you can now secure your place.

📅 Saturday 24 October
🕑 2 to 4pm (Free Dip/Swim afterwards)
📍 Goodrington South Sands, Paignton
💷 £20 per person (normally £35)
🛶 Paddleboard, kayak or twin kayak

HOW TO BOOK 👇

Reach Outdoors have added our session to their online event calendar as an INVITE ONLY (that's YOU!). I'll put the link in the comments below.

Click on the link, select OCT, then scroll down the page to find 24 October on the calendar and you'll see our What's Next? For Women Paddlesports Session. Click BUY TICKET and follow the instructions to book and pay from Reach Outdoors.

We have a maximum of 16 places, minimum 6, so if you know you'd like to come, please book soon to make sure this goes ahead. Your place isn't secured until you've booked and paid through Reach Outdoors.

⏰ Final booking deadline is 17 October, although obviously once the 16 places are gone, they're gone!

And don't forget, Suzi Kitley from Swim Aquatics is also kindly offering her FREE dip and breathwork session afterwards, for up to 10 women. 🧜‍♀️ This can be booked separately by messaging your name and email address to What's Next? For Women or Suzi.

Who from the 15 who said they were INTERESTED will turn this into BOOKED?

Once you've booked, pop BOOKED below. It'll be lovely to see who's joining us...💛

Address

Paignton

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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