Innholdsfortegnelse for 3-Oct-2022 i Woman's Own

Cooking is not my forte. There are about three dishes I actually know how to do well (Cajun salmon is top of the list) but I’ve decided you can’t go wrong with pasta – surely! So I’m going to give the recipes on p32 a go. On the table in around 30 minutes, so fingers crossed that even I can master them. If you attempt the Kermit risotto, make sure to also read the advice on p35 – our Food team has great ideas for using up the extra ingredients, along with some savvy shopping deals you won’t want to miss out on! It’s been pretty dreary lately but reading about sunny Mexico on p44 might put a smile on your face – some beach daydreaming could be exactly what…

TOP BOD Lockdown took its toll on Paddy McGuinness, 49, with the presenter joking, ‘In prison movies people come out of isolation looking in peak physical condition. I’ve only been on lockdown for 18 days and can no longer see my penis!’ But he soon got back into shape, ‘I started at 92.7kg and finished at 78.7kg, from a 36in waist to 32in.’ We’d keep our light on for you, Paddy! FOOD FOR THOUGHT He may be at the top of his game in the kitchen but unhealthy habits saw chef Gordon Ramsay feeling at a low point. The 55-year-old, who now eats five small meals a day, revealed, ‘I was overweight. I look at the pictures and think, how did Tana stay around?’ The dad-of-five added, ‘I didn’t want…

Lifting another heavy box on to a shelf, my heart thumped. As I panted for breath, I sat down for a moment to reset. It was July 2017, and my work as a hotel manager was busy and stressful, particularly on long night shifts, and I was struggling to cope. Even the slightest physical strain made me feel like my body was overheating, and I could feel my heart fluttering faster, like I had terrible anxiety. ‘I SUFFERED WITH A BURNING CHEST’ ‘You’re going through the menopause,’ my doctor said, prescribing me HRT. At 44, I thought I would be too young, but given my symptoms, it started to make sense. Of course I wasn’t thrilled about it – who wants to go through the menopause early? But I told…

WORRIED ABOUT VARICOSE VEINS Q For years, I’ve had varicose veins. They worsened during lockdown, which I’m guessing is because I was less active and gained weight. Last year, I asked my GP to refer me to get them done, but he said the NHS doesn’t fund that surgery any more. But I’m worried the skin around my ankle is discoloured. A Being sedentary and carrying excess weight certainly predisposes to varicose veins. Routine varicose vein surgery is no longer covered by the NHS, but what you describe sounds like varicose eczema, which could increase your risk of developing an ulcer, in which case you may be eligible for treatment. Please go back to your GP. Do I still need antidepressants? Q I was prescribed an antidepressant called sertraline about…

Hydration station Dehydrated skin looks duller and is more prone to sagging – incorporating super-hydrator hyaluronic acid will help give your skin extra bounce. Use My Skin Matters Intensive Hydrating Serum, £4.50, Sainsbury’s, every morning after cleansing, before moisturising. Brightening boost Does your complexion look dull and tired? Glycolic acid can help melt away dead skin cells and leave your skin looking brighter. Asda Vitamin C Glycolic Toner, £4, Asda, blends the acid with vitamin C to revive tired complexions. Bargain moisturiser Tesco’s moisturiser is available in two formulations – Kind & Pure Hydrating Daily Moisturiser, £1.60, Tesco, uses rose hip and Vitamin B5 to boost hydration, while Kind & Pure Refreshing Daily Moisturiser, £1.60, Tesco, has seaweed and cucumber to refresh complexions Nourishing oil Facial oils help deeply nourish…

And… relax 27 September-3 October 2022 ASK ALEX A ‘WHAT IS MY HOROSCOPE TODAY?’ ARIES 21 Mar – 20 Apr The efforts you make now should lead to success, whether in the immediate future or a little further down the line. TAURUS 21 Apr – 20 May Someone you believe is not interested is very keen and a project you think is languishing has the makings of being a winner. GEMINI 21 May – 20 Jun Mercury is in retrograde until Sunday, frustratingly, delaying information and sending you round in circles. CANCER 21 Jun – 22 Jul Your ambition and your passion combine to open doors. You are in one of those rare win-win positions. LEO 23 Jul – 22 Aug Your horizons open up, but with Mercury on a…

BLACK HEARTS by Doug Johnstone (£8.99, Orenda Books, PB) Death awaits the Skelf women at every turn. Running the family business as funeral directors and private investigators, they’ve encountered more than their fair share of shocking events. But recently, they’ve been coming face to face with some of the most unnerving cases to date. A violent fight breaks out by an open grave, a young stalker’s obsession puts Hannah and her partner Indy in terrible danger, and an elderly man complains of abuse at the hands of his deceased wife’s spectre. With ghosts of their own ready to wreak havoc, the Skelfs are reaching crisis point… An electrifying thriller. FOREVER HOME by Graham Norton (£20, Hodder & Stoughton, HB) Whispers followed Carol and Declan from the start. Her, a divorced…

FUN FACTOR Straight out of the gym and a run-in with Dannii Minogue, who was visiting the UK before heading back Down Under. So does the former X Factor judge miss London? ‘I miss the buzz,’ she confesses, but of course Australia is still very much home for Kylie’s sister. ‘Thanks for the belly laugh,’ she texted me later. ‘That’s the only exercise I’ve had today!’ It was my ‘abs’-olute pleasure! LUKE WHO’S TALKING! My ex next-door neighbour and Hollywood star Luke Evans has never been busier globetrotting and filming, everywhere from LA to New York, Japan and Acapulco in the run-up to Christmas. Speaking of Yuletide, he’s voicing the lead role in Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, a new musical animation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, out on Netflix in…

We were three lines into texting each other after we’d matched on the dating app Tinder when the advertising executive suggested we meet for a drink in 45 minutes. It was 9.45pm on a Tuesday in June and I was in bed as I had to get up early for work the next morning. ‘Shouldn’t we talk first before arranging a date?’ I wrote back. Immediately, I was informed that my lack of spontaneity was ‘unsexy’. So I did what any other mature woman would do – I blocked him. Then there was the software developer who late one night wanted me to come to his hotel room where he was staying on business. And the engineer who I suspected was married (call it woman’s intuition) and, when he…

Have you heard about? THIRD-HAND SMOKE CAN STILL BE TOXIC While you’re probably familiar with second-hand smoke – when a smoker’s fumes are breathed in by someone else – third-hand smoke comes from handling a smoker’s clothes. And this may be enough to expose people to cancer-triggering toxic chemicals, which become absorbed through skin.* Live with a smoker or want to quit yourself? Try the free NHS Quit Smoking app (iOS and Android). Hannah Jones, 44, Hampshire ‘I developed insomnia after having my son, which was affecting my ability to run and be productive. I now take four to six drops of Dragonfly CBD Oil (£29.50 for 500mg, dragonflycbd.com) a night. I’m getting a full eight hours, and feel less irritable and more tolerant. I also have more energy so…

She undermines me Q A colleague constantly interrupts me, contradicts me and tells others I’m not up to the job. And she brought up a small mistake I’d made in a meeting. My manager told her off, but I felt humiliated. When I tried to speak to her about it she called me immature. I feel very undermined and stressed. A Undermining behaviour is exactly as you describe – it not only damages your mental health but also breaks your confidence and has you questioning your professionalism. You need to talk to your manager or HR. Much of what she is doing is workplace bullying, and you need to be clear about this when you ask for help (take examples). No one deserves this treatment. WHY WON’T HE SPEAK TO…

Imagine an ex partner publishing an intimate photo of you on the internet. A million eyes suddenly viewing a picture you’d shared with someone you’d trusted wholeheartedly. It’s almost too much to bear… Yet, thousands of women are victims of revenge porn, a shocking crime that is sadly on the rise, with a 40% increase in cases between 2020 and 2021. And now, a BBC Panorama investigation has uncovered a disturbing new trend of sharing, trading and selling explicit images on social media platform Reddit. Professor Penney Lewis from the Law Commission, says, ‘Sharing intimate images of a person without their consent can be incredibly distressing and harmful for victims, with the experience often scarring them for life. Current laws on taking or sharing sexual or nude images of someone…

READER QUESTION Q I’m owed a tax rebate. Should I use a company to claim it for me? A People are losing out financially by using third-party companies to claim tax rebates, rather than going directly to HMRC, according to an investigation by Which? The companies charged fees of between 25% and 48% of the rebate – and that is sometimes with administration fees and VAT on top of that as well. If you are eligible for a tax refund, you should simply contact HMRC and the full amount will be paid directly to you. For more details, visit which.co.uk. Go green for less Go to the home page of anglianwater.co.uk and search ‘Water Saving Quiz’ for tips on how you can save water and energy around your home. For…

Photogenic white sands. Inviting Caribbean waters. Ideal sunbathing weather. It’s no wonder Cancun is one of the most popular resort destinations in Mexico. It may have a party hotspot reputation, but swerve the clubs and you’ll find holiday bliss. Endless hotel choices, a buffet of top-notch restaurants and plenty of culture make it a terrific choice for your next beach escape. Use the city as a gateway to the Riviera Maya region, which sits just south of Cancun, and you’ll discover a world of ancient ruins, natural wonders and pretty seaside towns too. SINK INTO THE SANDS With around 20km of beaches to comb, Cancun is fly-and-flop heaven. Bag yourself a room in the Zona Hotelera, an L-shaped island with Nichupte Lagoon on one side and the Caribbean Sea on…

DISGRUNTLED MIDLIFERS The midlife crisis has finally been scientifically proven. Evidently, we experience our toughest times in our late 40s and early 50s when, in theory, we should be at our most comfortable, certainly financially. The research also suggests that at 45, we reach the maximum level of work stress. The paper – The Midlife Crisis by the National Bureau of Economic Research – doesn’t explain why there should be this decline in our psychological or emotional health but surmises that feeling disappointed with what we’ve achieved is the likely culprit. Weirdly, they also found that chimpanzees and orangutans go through a similar midlife low. The phrase ‘midlife crisis’ was coined at about the time I was born in the mid-60s. So, from swinging to whingeing in the blink of…

As the colder weather kicks in, it can play havoc with joints. Fortunately, there are easy lifestyle tweaks that can help. ‘Healthy joints are essential for a healthy life,’ says GP Dr Gill Jenkins. ‘And while some deterioration is inevitable as we get older, there’s a lot we can do to protect ourselves and minimise issues. Plus, it’s never too soon to start.’ Each of our tips has the potential to help your joints feel one year younger. Take on board all 10 and your body could rewind a whole decade! 1 GO NATURAL Ditch the painkillers – research shows they work for injured joints in the short term, but not longer-term chronic pain. Try herbal medicines, such as rosehip. ‘Active compounds found in rosehip have anti-inflammatory properties,…

Curly Caesar pasta PREP TIME: 5 MINS COOK TIME: 15 MINS SKILL LEVEL: EASY CALS: 446 FAT: 17g SAT FAT: 10g CARBS: 54g SERVES 6 For the full Caesar-experience, try adding leftover cooked chicken and crispy bacon. YOU WILL NEED 1 garlic clove, finely grated1tsp Dijon mustard5 anchovies in oil, finely chopped, (reserve 1tsp of the oil)50g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve (optional)150ml double cream1tbsp lemon juice400g pasta (such as fusilli lunghi)1 savoy cabbage, shredded HOW TO DO IT 1 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, anchovies and anchovy oil, Parmesan, double cream, lemon juice and a big pinch each of flaky sea salt and ground black pepper. 2 Add the pasta to the boiling…

CLUES & ARROWS Fill in the clues in the direction of the arrows Sudoku To solve the puzzle, each 3x3 box, each column and each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9. Wordsearch Which band’s 1976 album Their Greatest Hits is an all time best-seller, with over 40 million sold? The answer is the one missing from the grid. ANIMALSBEATLESCLASHCUREDOORSEAGLESFALLJAMKINKSMONKEESPOLICESHADOWSSMITHSWANTEDWHO CROSSWORD Put your feet up and have a go at this old classic ACROSS 6 _ Schwimmer, actor (5) 7 _ Cox, actress (8) 10 Act of help or assistance (7) 11 Chickens, ducks, e.g. (7) 12 Back off (7) 13 TV sitcom starring 6 Across, 7 Across, 21 Across, 15 Down, 17 Down & 24 Down (7) 14 Of a word or phrase, reading the same forwards or…

Charlotte Church ‘IT’S BEEN ONE HELL OF A RIDE!’ The singing star returns with an update on her renovation… Back in March 2021, Charlotte Church bought Rhydoldog, a £1.5 million mansion in the stunning Elan Valley in Powys. The plan was to transform the 15th-century property into a wellness retreat, but it was a wreck… The first series of Charlotte Church’s Dream Build followed the star as she embarked on the daunting makeover and there’s still a lot of work to do when the series returns for a new eight-part run. With just four months to go before the grand opening, there are seven bedrooms to finish, the entire ground floor to tackle and a to-do list that keeps getting longer… ‘The last time you saw me, I was way…