Until this week, I had never heard of Valerie Hunter Gordon. But she’s a woman who deserves to be remembered, not least of all for making life so much easier for anyone looking after young children. Back in 1947, Valerie, who lived in Surrey, was expecting her third child and wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of washing, drying and ironing three sets of towelling nappies. She was amazed she couldn’t buy any disposable nappies in either the UK or the USA, so she set about designing them herself.

She began with PVC pants fastened by poppers, with a drawstring for a good fit. This bit could be wiped clean or washed. It was lined with wadding and a thin layer of cotton wool next to the baby’s skin. This bit was disposable. Valerie made over 400 sets of disposable nappies to perfect her technique and applied for a patent in 1948. These were frugal times and the disposable nappies weren’t an immediate success as women thought they were both wasteful and extravagant. But that didn’t last long and within a few years, millions of nappies were being sold under the Paddi brand. Sadly, the business went into decline after failing to compete against Proctor & Gamble and its Pampers brand. And, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Valerie died earlier this month at the age of 94 but she left a lasting legacy and made life a lot easier for millions of families.

I’ve been on the road a lot over the past 10 days and I have to say the colour of the leaves on the trees is just magnificent. Last Wednesday, I was in Cavan to speak at the National Women’s Enterprise Day. I was delighted to meet so many entrepreneurial women. Then on Saturday I travelled north to Belfast where I was MC for the Irish Men’s Sheds Association celebration in City Hall. What an impressive building.

As I took to the stage in the Great Hall, I couldn’t help but think of the history that had been made in that room and building. The celebration was a great event attended by up to 400 men from sheds throughout the country. The concept of Men’s Sheds has really taken off in Ireland and the association now has 350 sheds with over 10,000 men passing through them every week. Sheds have been described as spaces where men can just be, where they can belong, where they can give back to their community. As part of our partnership, you can read more about them on page 12. Look out for a full conference report in next week’s issue.

I was well impressed with the contribution from Helen McEntee, Minister for Older People and Mental Health. She said we must continue to challenge the stigma around mental health by constantly talking about it, just as we do about our physical health. She gave a commitment to support Men’s Sheds and I look forward to her delivering on that promise.

Talking about physical health, our columnist Katherine O’Leary gave herself, her family and all who care about her a right fright over the past two months. You can read all about it on page 14. Better still, you can hear all about it at the Women & Agriculture Conference today (Thursday) in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Sligo. I look forward to meeting you there.