A Charlton woman is hoping her experiences can help women across the world as she prepares for the next stage of her career.

Claire Hattrick, known as Clipboard Claire, runs her own blog aimed at supporting women with a variety of issues, including the menopause and being a single parent. Since launching her site in lockdown, thousands of women visit her blog daily to see what advice she has to offer.

Claire told the Advertiser: “From not knowing anything about websites a year ago, to where Clipboard Claire is now, I am incredibly proud of my website and the community we have built and I am ready to share it with the world!

“My drive is to get this blog out there and help as many people as we can. If you can help somebody and put a smile on their face, that’s what drives me forwards.”

53-year-old Claire began her career as a sales executive, and following the birth of her identical twin daughters, Abby and Beth, decided to follow her passion to become a beauty therapist.

However, like many women, Claire suffered from the effects of the menopause as she got older, and she received symptoms including “debilitating” joint pain.

“I’m into my ninth year now and I’ve been treated by so many consultants,” she said. “I’ve suffered horrendously and it’s very debilitating when your joints hurt.

“I’ve had a horrendous journey for many years, and it wasn’t a hot flush which was all people seemed to talk about for the menopause so it was lonely.”

When lockdown hit, Claire, alongside many beauty therapists across the UK, was unable to work for a time. Her 23-year-old twins also came home for a while, with Abby returning from her job as a biochemist while Beth returned from being a paramedic in London.

“They came back and were causing chaos in my lounge,” she said. “They saw I was in a lot of pain, and they said I should launch my blog to help others through it. I’ve always had a massive passion for helping others and always wanted to do a blog, so that was where Clipboard Claire was born.”

The name comes from a nickname given to her by a neighbour, which she has now embraced as her own.

“I’ve always been uber tidy and organised,” Claire said, “and the name came from one of my neighbours giving me that nickname after seeing how organised I was when raising the girls.

“People have called me that ever since and had a bit of a laugh at my expense. But now, at the ripe old age of 53, I don’t mind and it’s something I’m quite proud of.”

The blog focuses on a range of topics and experiences Claire is familiar with, including raising twins, preparing for children and life as a single mother, which she writes using extensive research. However, it is her discussions of the menopause which have resonated the most with readers.

“It’s shameful really when you think that 50 per cent of the population are women. It’s a terrible time for most women as it’s a really bumpy ride.

“It shouldn’t be so depressing. It’s a transition, but women have little idea about what they might go through. My saying is that forewarned is forearmed. I know some women will sail through it, but in my experience they’re few and far between.”

Claire believes that her blog was launched just at the right time to help those working from home understand their symptoms, while more women are becoming more vocal about the menopause thanks to greater representation in the media.

“The menopause stuff has really taken off since Davina McCall presented Sex, Myths and the Menopause on Channel 4, and we’ve started to be noticed and approached by organisations like Marks & Spencers.

“It’s gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. We work with a lot of companies like WHSmith and Amazon as affiliates, so it’s gone absolutely mad!”

Claire has recently been featured in national newspapers like The Sun as part of her work, and is hoping to expand what she does to help even more women. However, it’s still very much a family affair.

“My girls have done really well for themselves and they help me as I’m not very techy,” she said. “Abby helped me with the website, and people are really impressed with what she’s done, while Beth does a lot of social media when she’s on her days off.”

Claire is now speaking with MPs and other experts to try and do more to help do more about the menopause.

“Our aim is to use all our blogs to put a booklet together for GP surgeries to help pre-warn them about it, and we’ve got some on board,” she said. “If we can get it out there, having done over a year of research for it, then I hope it will reduce the strain on the NHS. They’re not out of the woods yet, not for a long shot, and we need to help where we can.”

She’s also hoping to expand her offering from a blog into a more interactive community, with discussions on the Clubhouse App with expert speakers. She’s already received a strong response.

“We’ve had lots of people get in touch, including men,” Claire said. “Two men during the pandemic got in touch to say they wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the blog.

“We post on about 80 groups now, and we do a little bit of everything. It’s all free, and it doesn’t cost anything for people to read.”

As the blog nears its one-year anniversary, Claire hopes that she can help more and more people as Clipboard Claire expands.

“We have had an amazing response from everyone we have helped, or even just made smile, so far,” Claire said, “and that is all we aim to do! We want to keep making sure that everyone can come to us for help when they need it.”

To see Claire’s work, and find out more, visit: https://clipboardclaire.com/sign-up-2/