Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Pick Me Up! Special

You made it to the summer holidays! Now to get through them! Thankfully, this month, we’ve got plenty of ideas for the whole family to enjoy. Check out some fascinating museums (pg26), pack your bags with fun camping essentials (pg66), and go on a quirky getaway (pg52). And when the kids are finally asleep – or you’ve caved in with the iPad – why not sit down with a cuppa and read our fun, quirky and inspiring real life stories. Meet Lauren (pg30). After buying her first home, she decided to stray from the typical Insta-perfect design. With a touch of creative flare and a splash of colour, she’s turned her home into a Miami paradise. After falling pregnant, Rachel (pg42) couldn’t wait to meet her newest arrival. Only, a…

Number fit What is the dialling code for calling someone in Syria? Which one of the listed numbers won’t fit in this mini grid? That’s your answer. Spiral crossword A 56-year-old American woman fell in love with Bruce 26 years ago and has finally tied the knot by getting married. Who is Bruce? The answer to each clue (apart from the first) begins with the last letter of the preceding answer. The shaded squares will spell out the two-word answer. 1 Stripy beast (5) 2 Spaceman (9) 3 Enter private land without permission (8) 4 Gently cooked all-inone casserole (4) 5 Gardener’s or builder’s hand cart (11) 6 Monstrous creature who appears at fullmoon (8) 7 America’s Sunshine State (7) 8 In the land of nod (6) 9 One of…

Loading up the van, I jumped in as the third passenger. On our way to Comic-con, the other two were my husband Ian and Draco… our very own Dalek. A lifelong Whovian – a Doctor Who fan – Ian had somehow wrapped me into allowing him to build Draco back in 2015. ‘I’ve downloaded instructions to build a life-size Dalek,’ he had told me on day. To be honest, I really hadn’t thought much of it. Ian was always starting projects before giving up. We had a part-complete train track in the back garden, and not to mention the boat he began! I just assumed this would be another phase. However, splashing out £2,500 on MDF and fiberglass, he filled our lounged with bits and pieces. And typically, months on, he…

Rug reviver Remove carpet dents caused by heavy furniture by placing a damp cloth over the affected area and steaming over the top using an iron. Isobel, Wakefield Boozy bedtimes An easy way of getting rid of any bacteria on your mattress is by filling a spray bottle with a bit of vodka and a few drops of essential oil then lightly spritzing it. Then leave to air dry. Ellis, Bosworth Greasy garbs If you’ve got an item of clothing with an oil stain, sprinkle on some baking soda, leave for an hour, gently scrub with a toothbrush and some laundry detergent and then wash as normal. Erica, Richmond So fresh! If you’ve run out of kitchen clips, use a clothes peg to keep bags of food sealed. Morgan, Spalding…

Everything Eric Williams had worked hard for was crumbling around him – and he had no one to blame but himself. Eric had been a respected judge, he’d enforced the law, but he was living in disgrace after a public conviction for stealing With no job and his reputation now in tatters, Eric, 47 decided to reap revenge… Eric used to be an upstanding member of Kaufman County, Texas, and was married to his devoted wife Kim. He was a justice of the peace who handled low-level legal cases and was known in his neighbourhood for riding round on his Segway. He was loved by all who met him and regarded as a high-standing member of the community. But he was exposed as a thief in 2012, when CCTV caught…

The slim one Since 1971, the small Himalayan country of Bhutan hasn’t used the usual Gross Domestic Product as a measure of success but has replaced it with Gross National… what? To find out, solve the puzzle… Add a letter anywhere in each of the boxed-off words to fit the clue, eg, SOOT + H = FIRE. Write the added letter in the space provided. Read down the added letters to spell out the answer. • Fire • Flooded • Fast • Blemish • Hard • Wash out • Pity • Brag • Herb The little one What is the only taste that whales and dolphins can sense? Solve the crossword, then read down the yellow squares to find the answer. ACROSS 1 Pig house (3) (3) 5 Lithe, light…

Growing up, I always wanted to care for others. With dreams of being a doctor, I was always on hand to look after a family member when they were ill. Offering them paracetamol, tea or anything they needed – I just wanted to make them better. I knew early on what I wanted to do with my life, and I’d do anything I could to get there. So, when the time came, I enrolled on a BTEC Health and Social Care course, so I could get the qualifications I needed. As a two-year course, it taught me everything I needed to know. It was practical and relevant to the skills I needed. It even provided the opportunity to undertake work experience within the field. I’ve always wanted to help There…

Get your garden ready for summer! Add a touch of luxe with metallic details. Dulux’s Colour of the Year, Brave Ground, is a warm, earthy tone which connects back to nature, providing a firm and fun foundation for creativity in your home. Here Dulux shows you how you can use it to create three different looks! Expressive bedroom Expressive colours allow us to define a space where we can really express our personalities. Varying shades of pinks and reds, these colours work brilliantly together, and give scope for graphic designs. The warm foundation of Brave Ground holds these pops of colour together to give a unified and balanced feel to any room. Earth bedroom Brave Ground is also a colour that lets other shades shine, and it works naturally with…

Follow it Solve the puzzle to spell out a term related to the picture. The arrows show you where to put your answers. The answer is spelled in the yellow squares. Three in a row Simply to improve the view, architects in which country designed a sequence of electricity pylons that look like a line of giant humans striding across the countryside? Make three nine-letter words using all of these three-letter sections and enter them in the grid. We’ve given you three letters to start you off. Unscramble the shaded letters to find the answer. ETE RGE NDS CAF RIA EME HIG NCY HLA Just for FUN THIS MONTH’S PUZZLE ANSWERS Follow it Answer: HAMPER Three in a row Answer: ICELAND…

Staring at the confetti cannon my mum, Sarah, and my partner’s mum, Sandra, were holding, I couldn’t wait to find out the gender of my baby, Holding onto my partner, Andy, 28, I squeezed his hand. Wait for it…’ Mum announced. Bang! At the same time, my kids, Amalie, five, and Mason, three, popped the white balloons in their hands. Gasping, I was delighted to see the baby blue confetti flutter down from the sky. ‘A boy!’ I squealed to Andy. It was September last year, and I was 20 weeks pregnant. Just a couple of days later I’d collected some baby boy clothes. ‘I couldn’t resist,’ I confessed to Andy as I held up a tiny baby grow which said Daddy’s Little Man on It was quite a stressful…

YOUR WORK BFF They’re often the person we spend most of our time with, making a long day fly by, and now, a new survey by www.rovva.com has proven just how much we love our work besties. While men were found to have more friends at work, it was women who really cherished those relationships. They were more likely to believe that work friendships are important, more likely to stay in touch with work friends from previous jobs and more likely to confide in their work friends than men. In fact, the survey found that women are 64% more likely to talk about relationships, and 54% more likely to talk about mental health than men, proving just how important our pals at work truly are. What we’re all talking about……

As the fireworks exploded bright colours in the dark sky, I smiled to my partner Aaron, then 27 It was Bonfire Night 2016, and I felt full of excitement and magic. Just moments before, we had taken a pregnancy test and it came out positive. ‘We’re going to be parents!’ I squealed to Aaron, dreaming of our family of three. We had only been trying for a child for a couple of months, and I was surprised that it had happened so quickly. Over the following few weeks, I experienced stomach pains and decided to book an appointment with the GP. ‘You need to go straight to the hospital for a scan,’ my doctor said, after examining my bump. What if something’s wrong? I worried. We went immediately to the…

From the moment my little girl could talk, she’s always been such a caring person. As a family, we like to support as many charities as we can and Charlotte is front and centre of the fundraising. When she was just eight-yearsold, Charlotte began raising money for charity, after her friend was taken into hospital. She’s always wanted to help and so before long, she started doing pageant work. As her mum, I imagined it would be like Toddlers & Tiaras, but that’s simply not the case. Each pageant represents a chosen charity and Charlotte picked the Royal Sapphire as they raise awareness and money for Crawford House in Newcastle. Run by the Sick Children’s Trust, Crawford House is a ‘home away from home’ setting for families with seriously ill…

This month… HOTEL AT HOME Many of us would be jetting off to stay in a hotel abroad over the summer, but this year is different. Enjoy the five star feeling from your house with these top tips from Swyft… 1 Sweet dreams Invest in some high-quality linens and iron them to achieve that crisp, fresh bed feeling. 2 Something in the air Consistency with a specific scent throughout your home is an excellent way to give a hotel vibe. 3 Floral features Fresh flowers smell great while adding a pop of colour – seasonal blooms are usually used by hoteliers. 4 Bath time pamper Grab some luxurious bottles of shampoo, body wash and moisturisers to give your bathroom an irresistible spa feel. 5 Soft essentials Hotels always have large,…

Shall I wait for my big day? Thanks to the pandemic, my wedding has been pushed back over and over. I really want to start trying for a baby, but I also want the big day I’ve been dreaming about since I was a teenager! Shall I just wait a bit longer? Selena, Warminster YES Pick Me Up! reader Claire, from Bath says: If it’s a day you’ve dreamed about forever, be patient and wait for the perfect day. Your life plan shouldn’t be messed up because of Covid-19, don’t let it ruin your perfect plans. Stand by what you’ve always dreamed of. Whatever the reason is for wanting to get married before having a baby, it’s obviously important to you and that’s why this question is so tough for…

Peering around at the plain white walls, I brainstormed everything I could do with the space. Bright colours, funky prints and lots of plants! I thought, my mind going wild. ‘It has so much potential!’ I beamed to my partner Richard, 33. It was January 2020, and we had just moved into our first home with our children Sienna, six, and Otis, two. My dad has been an interior designer for 30 years, and my mum was always decorating our houses growing up. I get my creative flare from them, and I couldn’t wait to follow in their footsteps and give my own place an interior makeover. In March 2020, we started renovating. ‘Let’s get rid of all this magnolia,’ I told Richard straight away. My priority was to bring…

Getting ready for yet another day of Zoom lectures, I was well and truly fed up. ‘I still can’t believe all of our classes are being taught online now,’ I said to my boyfriend Harry. Both of us were students at the University of Edinburgh. He was studying economics and I was a sociology undergra Like every other student up and down the country, and indeed around the world, our learning had all moved online ‘It doesn’t seem real, does it?’ Harry mused. ‘Neither does having date night over a video call,’ I laughed The pair of us hadn’t been together for very long when the national lockdown was announced in March 2020. Despite the unusual circumstances, we spoke every single night and really got to know each other. After…

Holding up a tiny tooth, my daughter Amaya, then five, gave me a gappy grin. ‘Do you think the Tooth Fairy’ll come?’ she asked. It was February 2021, and Amaya had had two teeth out at the dentist. They’d been causing her some recent pain. As predicted, the next morning, Amaya awoke to find money under her pillow. Only, instead of £1, it was a wad of cash! See, as an only child and grandchild, Amaya was always being treated – by grandparents, aunts and uncles, plus her dad who I’d split from. And after her bravery at the dentist, they couldn’t help but top up her loot. ‘Fifty pounds!’ Amaya gasped, counting the notes. Amaya was a very grateful and sweet little girl. She’d always been the same. Always…

Settling in the pub garden, my horse Midnight lapped up the fuss from punter Stay here,’ I ordered, before going to the bar. Midnight was a regular at the Meynell Ingram Arms - the same pub I worked in during the uni holidays. The landlord had kindly given me the OK to bring Midnight down for a drink. My beloved horse Midnight had been a gift for my 14th birthday. ‘Surprise,’ my mum, Paula, 50, and dad, Mark, 49, had smiled, walking the greying black beauty down the path to our countryside home. He’d even come complete with a bright red bow! I’d already been riding Midnight for months with his previous owners and had fallen in love with his lovely nature. Now that he was mine, I got into…

Aries March 21st - April 20th With the sun in Leo, you are feeling ready to go forward in the areas you spent much of this year holding back in. Education is well starred and you may find yourself looking at ways of expanding your knowledge that would never have appealed to you in the old world. Friends let you down with trust issues and you may find yourself avoiding those you know have said things you did not want them to share. Mercury has not been at his most helpful, but Saturn is on hand to help you understand why others let you (and themselves) down. Taurus April 21st - May 21st I know, but you may not yet, that you are waiting for the Sun to enter Virgo…

Sudoku To solve the puzzle, each 2 x 3 box, each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 6. Word search Research at the University of Southampton has found that there is a lot of truth and some evolutionary impulse in the old saying that women are attracted to men with a what? The answer is the one missing from the grid below. BALD HEAD • BEARD • BOAT • DEEP VOICE • DOG • FAST CAR • UNIFORM • GUITAR • HAT • LAPTOP • LAUGH • MOUSTACHE • PONY TAIL • SMILE • SPECS Just for FUN THIS MONTH’S PUZZLE ANSWERS Sudoku Word search Answer: UNIFORM…

Growing up, I had a wonderful upbringing. I was always active and out playing with my friends and family. Life was good, but as I child, I was always complaining of stomach aches to my parents Wendy, 71, and Dave, 84. I don’t remember them too much to begin with, but as the years passed, my stomach and gut pains only got worse. By the time I was in my midteens, I suffered with severe bloating and cramps. Naturally, everyone assumed it was just my hormones, so I tried to get on with things. I moved to London to study Graphic Design and Photography at university, and I was determined to live a full life. Only, from then on, my stomach issues continued to progress. At 20-years-old, I found myself…

Dress for sunshine in George at ASDA’s breezy collection of fun prints, bright shades and soft fabrics. Team with denim shorts for a dreamy combo all summer long. Go to ASDA stores or shop the collection online at direct.asda.com/george Let your one-piece take centre stage with neutral accessories. Change your shoes to go from park to play! Drape a faux leather shacket over a bright dress. Summer accessories Wondering how to make your summer wardrobe come to life? Award-winning personal stylist Susie Hasler (www.styledbysusie.co.uk) reveals the accessories everyone will be wearing this year… Scrunchies Prefer a messy bun this summer? Choose a scrunchie to suit your style. Look for brightly coloured, oversized ones. If you prefer a low ponytail or something a little sleeker, try tying a silky scarf around…

Clutching my chest, I winced as I felt a painful burning sensation. ‘Are you okay?’ my mum Michaela asked me, worried. ‘I’ve got the worst heart burn,’ I said. ‘And I was sick this morning!’ My partner Tom, 29, and his mum Bev looked at me, concerned. ‘Oh my God,’ Bev said, stopping in her tracks. ‘Rachel… you’re pregnant!’ Mum and Bev agreed. It was early 2019, and I was already a mum to two boys – Bobby, eight, and Lewy, seven. To confirm their suspicions, I took a pregnancy test. And they were right! ‘We’re having a baby!’ I excitedly told Tom. We paid to have a private gender scan, and I was over the moon when the sonographer told us that we were expecting a baby girl. I…

GOLD STANDARD Washing your hair holds a special place in self-care. Even though the act of shampooing is primarily to clean and care for our tresses and scalp, why not make it the best experience possible and transform your hair, leaving it three times softer? L’Oréal Paris Elvive More Than Shampoo has been formulated to bring a new experience to hair washing for the ultimate deep cleanse. It’s officially time to swap out your ordinary shampoo for the gold standard! The luxurious and rich new formula with a velvety, mask like texture, is crafted with forty times more nourishing actives and provides the perfect balance of a deep yet gentle cleanse with no weigh-down, thanks to the high performing cleansing agents. Leaving hair three times softer and twice as shiny…

Colour blocking is summer’s easiest and most vibrant trend. You can opt for monochromatic colour blocking by dressing in different shades of one colour, or try contrasting colour blocking by combining different bright colours that would usually clash. It’s fun, fresh and fashionable! Blue and orange look beautiful with a tan! Tie everything in with colourful jewellery. Snag swimwear British inclusive fashion brand Snag is best known for its game-changing tights and sell-out Chub Rub shorts. Following popular demand from loyal customers, the brand has just launched their new swimwear range. Available in sizes 4-38, the new collection reflects Snag’s dedication to be truly inclusive and representative of all bodies. Snag are committed to being sustainable, and products in the new collection are made from a minimum of 50% recycled…