Innholdsfortegnelse for Monday, May 13, 2024 i Woman's Own

Want to do the least to feel your best? Sounds pretty good to, well, probably everyone, doesn’t it?! On p26, find out how little things, like making the bed (surely we all do that, right?!), can help you find your spark again. I also love how singing in the shower is an instant way to happiness. My morning routine usually consists of belting out Taylor Swift or Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me – so I’ve got that one nailed! If you fancy a pick-me-up in the form of food, on p32 we’ve got some recipes that are sure to put a smile on your face – especially pantry pasta! Anything you can whip up in minutes gets my vote. Given any of our recipes a try? Let me…

UK vs US Us Brits are set in our ways, but it turns out, so are the Americans We speak the same language, well, kind of, but let’s be honest, the difference between us and Americans is as vast as the Atlantic, isn’t it? Take tipping, for example. Or, more precisely, the cardinal sin of not tipping in America. It doesn’t matter if all they’ve actually done is walked past you, tipping is as important as breathing in the US. You can’t move without doing either of them. ‘NOTHING IS SMALL IN THE STATES, IT’S SUPER-SIZED’ I’m thinking of this, as I am lucky enough to be having a little US road trip soon, even though I’m still traumatised by the last time we were there when even something like…

Pantry pasta PREP TIME: 5 MINS COOK TIME: 10 MINS CALS: 223 FAT: 4G SAT FAT: 0.5G CARBS: 36G SERVES 2 Pull together a tasty meal in minutes using just a handful of ingredients from the cupboard. YOU WILL NEED 200g spaghetti50g tin anchovies in oil1tbsp capers, drained and rinsed1tbsp olive oil2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced½tsp crushed chilli flakes HOW TO DO IT 1 Cook the spaghetti in a saucepan of boiling, salted water according to the pack instructions. 2 Meanwhile, pour the oil from the tin of anchovies into a medium frying pan. Add the capers and cook for 2-3 mins until crisp. Transfer the capers to a plate (leaving the oil behind). 3 Reduce the heat to low and add the olive oil and garlic to the frying…

WHEN WE WERE SILENT by Fiona McPhillips (£16.99, HB, Transworld) Lou Manson joins Highfield Manor with just one motive. She is dead set on exposing the dark truths that lurk behind the wrought iron gates of this elite private school in Dublin. But Lou’s plan goes awry when she grows close to the brilliant and beautiful Shauna Power. Revealing the long-buried secrets of the school would mean letting Shauna down – can she sacrifice friendship for revenge? Before long, Lou discovers that Highfield Manor will stop at nothing to protect its own interests. Decades later, when called to testify against Highfield, can Lou face her past? A powerful exploration of corruption, wealth and redemption. THE OTHER TENANT by Lesley Kara (£16.99, HB, Transworld) Marlow is living in the one place…

Harry’s FRESH SWIPE Could the Duke of Sussex’s latest move be the nail in the coffin when it comes to repairing his relationship with his father and brother? Prince Harry, 39, has cut ties with his homeland after officially changing his primary country of residence from the UK to the US. And, in a seemingly thinly veiled dig at the King and Prince William, he is also believed to have backdated his official American residency to the day he was booted out of Frogmore Cottage. The change of address was recently filed for his firm Travalyst – which aims to improve the environmental impact of travel – although the change of date listed was tellingly 29 June last year, when his father asked him to return the keys to his…

BOHO BLOUSE The perfect holiday top to wear with your denim. Blouse, £25, sizes 8-24, Peacocks GET AHEAD Keep your hair in place. Hairband, £24, busbyandfox.com HAND HERO With orange and lavender. Apothecary Calm Hand Lotion, £5, M&S FIRST SERVE Up your salad game. Salad servers, £26.50, Oliver Bonas STRIKE A POSE Create a home sanctuary with this stylish yogi. Ornament, £6, B&M FREE SPIRIT Jazz up a plain tee. Waistcoat, £19, sizes 8-22, Matalan OUT OF OFFICE A monochrome palette makes for a sleek holiday capsule wardrobe. Dress, £25, shirt, £22.50, trousers, £22.50, all sizes 6-22, F&F at Tesco. Earrings and ring, stylist’s own. SHAKE IT UP Chic rustic pottery. Salt and pepper pots, £14.99, H&M WOVEN WONDER Style on its own or display artificial flowers and plants Vase,…

Sunlight streaming into the garden, I watched my daughter Skye, as she sat with her friends on her first birthday. It was July 2021 and although we were having a lovely day, something was niggling me. After the party finished and everyone had gone home, I spoke with my wife Susie, then 34. ‘Did you notice how tiny Skye looked compared to the other babies today?’ I asked. Susie nodded, looking worried. We’d also noticed that Skye couldn’t crawl or walk like her peers. Instead, she just shuffled around on her bum. Although we were aware that babies develop at different rates, we’d been worried about our daughter for a while. ‘SKYE WAS OBLIVIOUS, HAPPILY PLAYING’ Skye was born perfectly healthy and we were so happy to bring her home.…

FEAR OF SCAN Q At a recent health check, my GP told me that I’m at risk of developing osteoporosis and has referred me for a bone scan. I’m getting in a real panic about it. I have been claustrophobic all my life and the idea of having to lie in a tunnel is terrifying. A friend told me she had an ultrasound scan. Can I ask for this instead? A The scan your GP has arranged is called a DEXA scan and it’s the best way of detecting thinning bones – something that becomes more common at the time of menopause due to lower levels of oestrogen. Please don’t worry, for this type of scan you simply lie on a table and the scanner is an arm that passes…

Ultimate volumiser I’ve been so impressed with L’Oréal Paris Volume Million Lashes Panorama, £12.99, Boots. My natural lashes are not too short and not too thin. This is good, but it means I need a mascara that does a bit of everything. The conical-shaped wand grabs and lifts every lash, and the creamy formula coats lashes to make them look fuller. You can use the tip of the wand to coat tiny inner eyelashes, too. Rhiannon Lash lengthener It’s the distinctive wand shape of REFY Lash Sculpt, £20, refybeauty.com, that sets this mascara apart from others. It does look a bit strange, but if you want to add serious length to your lashes, then this is the one for you. The arc of the brush fits perfectly round eyelids, while…

CLUES & ARROWS Fill in the clues in the direction of the arrows Sudoku To solve the puzzle, each 3 x 3 box, each column and each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9. Wordsearch Which of these terms is also used to denote sets of Braille characters and rosary prayers? The answer is the one missing from the grid. AEONAGECENTURYDAYDECADEEPOCHERAFORTNIGHT HOURMINUTEMONTHPERIODSECONDWEEKYEAR CROSSWORD ACROSS 6 Decorate (5)7 & 17Dn. 2023 romantic drama film starring 10 Across, 27 Across, 5 Down, and 20 Down (6,2,5)10 _ Ward, star of film Blue Story and TV series Top Boy (7)11 Frank __, TV detective played by Peter Falk (7)12 Not one nor the other (7)13 Diabolic (7)14 Bilious organ (4,7)19 Enormous (7)21 Extensive landmass (7)23 Gangster (7)25 Egg white (7)26 Camouflage (8)27…

LOREEN 2023 The Swedish singer made history last year when she became the first woman to win the famous contest twice. Loreen triumphed with hit Tattoo after previously scooping the top prize in 2012 with Euphoria. She now joins Ireland’s Johnny Logan, who’s the only other double winner. Yet some fans accused the 2023 show of being rigged, suggesting bosses fixed the results for Sweden to win, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s victory. JEMINI 2003 The duo from Liverpool is remembered for all the wrong reasons after their song Cry Baby had the UK in tears in 2003. Jemini’s panned vocals bagged us our first-ever ‘nul points’ after singing horribly off-key. Gemma Abbey and Chris Cromby claimed to have been unable to hear their backing track, but…

Picking up a box of blonde hair dye at the chemists, I smiled. ‘Hello old friend,’ I thought. After two years with dyed grey hair (it was trendy at the time, really!) it was time to go back to me. Not my natural brunette, but a gorgeous, bright peroxide blonde, and I couldn’t wait to unleash my fun side once more. Because I’m a firm believer in the old adage that blondes have more fun - in fact, I’m proof of it. My love affair with blonde began when I was just 11 years old, in 1997. To liven up my mousey-brown locks, my mum let me have two blonde streaks in my fringe, just like my idol Geri Halliwell. Admiring my new ’do in the mirror before school, I…

It’s their 30th anniversary this year, but hopes of a Spice Girls reunion may be on hold for the moment, as it looks like Mel B has potentially ruined any plans of a big comeback for the iconic girl group. The star, 48, has admitted that she’s been kicked out of the Spice Girls WhatsApp group after revealing plans for a reunion that were supposed to be kept under wraps. During Mel’s recent appearance on This Morning, host Alison Hammond asked the singer, ‘I hear you’ve been kicked out of the WhatsApp group?’ to which Scary Spice replied, ‘Yeah, that always happens to me. Because I say things. I get so excited when it comes to Spice Girls, because it is 30 years and we’ve got a lot to celebrate.…

Have you heard about? EATING AFTER 9PM CAN INCREASE YOUR RISK OF BREAST CANCER Often have dinner just before bed? You could be increasing your breast cancer risk by 25%*. Those who routinely eat after 9pm and don’t leave two hours after food before sleep, have an increased risk for getting this type of cancer. Scientists believe it is down to the disruption of your sleep-wake cycle. Batch-cook healthy meals to save time during the week. It worked for me Michelle Waldridge, 38, from Suffolk ‘My psoriasis got really bad on my face, neck and scalp. I read an article that said chemicals in shampoos could be the trigger. I now use Oregon Anti Plaque Shampoo (£10.50 for 250ml, oregonskincare.co.uk), which is designed for psoriasis-prone skin, and has no chemicals…

Health ask us She wants to go on holiday with us Q My husband and I have planned a holiday in Spain and my daughter, who is 34, wants her family to come with us. I don’t want this as last time we went on holiday together we were left with the grandkids every night and often during the day. I said this but she got very angry and denied it. What can I do? A Try not to override what you want, especially when you know how things will play out. You already know from experience that a holiday with your grandchildren isn’t a holiday as there’s an expectation from your daughter that you will do the childcare. Having her deny this happened is insulting and suggests that history…

Reaching our mid 40s and 50s is a time in our lives when we expect to be our most settled and content. Our children have grown up and we’ve got our independence back, we’re settled in to our jobs and are a bit more financially stable than we were 20 years ago. And for many of us, it really is our time to enjoy life to the fullest. But for a lot of us, there’s something missing. According to a recent study, middle-aged people in England are the loneliest in Europe. But why? With an increase in remote working coming off the back of the pandemic, and a cost-of-living-crisis to contend with, many of us have seen a reduction in our social interactions. But is there more to the midlife…

READER QUESTION Q I always get the urge to spend when I see friends splashing out. How can I stop this? A One way to combat this is to remind yourself of the decisions you’re making with your money, such as paying off debt, saving for something you desperately want, or putting money away towards a house deposit. So if you find you want to splurge when a friend books a fancy weekend away, instead of trying to ‘keep up’, focus on your own goals. Go green for less Check out Ikea’s Buyback & Resell scheme: it enables you to ‘sell’ your old Ikea furniture back to the retailer in return for an Ikea voucher worth up to 50% of the original price. Your items will then be sold to…

ARIES 21 Mar – 20 Apr The planets Mercury and Mars are now both in your sign, helping you to communicate assertively. So, is there something you need to ask for? Now is the time! TAURUS 21 Apr – 20 May The Sun is in Taurus, giving you the courage to follow your heart and pursue your boldest dreams. What do you need to change to move in a new direction? GEMINI 21 May – 20 Jun Go forward fearlessly this week! Whichever direction you feel drawn to follow it. Also, whatever makes practical sense is the right path for you to place your energy in. CANCER 21 Jun – 22 Jul Your strong intuition never fails you and it’s important you listen to your inner guidance. Don’t analyse too…

Sue Perkins ‘I’M ON A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN!’ The comedian and presenter on her latest TV travelogue… After exploring America’s largest state in Sue Perkins: Lost in Alaska earlier this year, the seasoned traveller is off for an adventure in Thailand. ‘I’ve never been to this beautiful country before and I’m representing the classic Brit abroad,’ says Sue. ‘I’m hot, sweaty, out of my depth and wearing a ridiculous hat, but just because I’m a tourist, that doesn’t mean I want to do the classic tourist things.’ In the three-parter, Sue Perkins: Lost in Thailand, Sue goes off the beaten track to visit amazing, unusual places and meet some extraordinary people – and animals! ‘I’m here for a proper adventure,’ says Sue. ‘I’m on a journey into the unknown!’…