Innholdsfortegnelse for 30-Mar-2021 i Woman's Weekly

A childhood memory We probably shouldn’t have been there; it was an abandoned Victorian garden and my brother and I were just children, stumbling across what seemed like a magical time capsule of past grandeur while on holiday in the country. But the things I remember most of all were the huge rhododendrons, no doubt planted as then-fashionable saplings – perhaps brought back by plant hunters from the Far East – by 19th-century garden staff from the long-ago vanished big house. Ever since that childhood exploration I’ve loved these plants for their stunning spring colour; if you feel the same have a look at page 42.…

A lovely thought For three years, I have paid for my mum to have Woman’s Weekly delivered, which she loves. Before we moved to Suffolk from Kent last September, she would always pass them on to a friend. We were wondering what to do with them now, so I posted a message on our village Facebook page asking whether there was anyone who was isolating who might like a magazine popped through their letterbox. I was contacted by a local resident, who is a respiratory nurse at Colchester Hospital, and her suggested they might cheer up the patients on her ward, as they are currently not allowed visitors. It’s lovely knowing that they are benefiting from some light reading. Tracey Parr, Suffolk Great reads I just wanted to say thank…

Elspeth Wright, 1964 This is a favourite photo. My younger cousin Alison (on the left) visited to borrow an outfit for an important date. Here we are enjoying the spring sunshine in Toronto, Canada. ✢ We’d love to see how great you looked in any era up to and including the 1980s. Please send a good-quality photo with your name, address and daytime phone number clearly written on the back, to: Fashion Dept, Woman’s Weekly, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP. Photos will be returned.…

What are hyperfoods? We know our superfoods – nutritionally dense fruit and veg, which health experts urge us to eat more of. Blueberries, broccoli and green leafy veg usually make the list – although there’s no scientifically accepted definition. But a hyperfood is, in effect, a super superfood. They have specific health-assisting or disease-fighting properties, to the extent they could even be used in the future in the fightback against viruses such as COVID-19. Early findings from the Corona-Al study by Imperial College London have identified 10 foods containing molecules with antiviral properties. Researchers hope this information could be turned into dietary advice by the end of this year for patients recovering from COVID-19. ‘We’re looking for ways to potentially help people when they’ve contracted the virus, reducing either the…

MAKE-UP MELTER La Roche-Posay Toleriane Monodose Make Up Remover, £16.50 for 30, feelunique.com Making your evening skincare routine all the more simple, these gentle but effective make-up remover ampoules provide the exact portion you need to lift off dirt, stubborn mascara and impurities, while ingredients like thermal spring water and glycerin help hydrate and soften skin. ANTI-AGEING L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Retightening Collagen Ampoules for Mature Skin, £19.99 for seven, Boots Formulated for mature skin, these tiny ampoules help target fine lines and wrinkles in just seven days. The hero ingredient? Since our collagen levels deplete as we age, this delivers a highly concentrated dose in a lightweight, golden oil serum to firm and tighten the skin around your face, décolleté and neck. SOOTHE SKIN Revolution Skincare Niacinamide Ampoules, £10…

LAMB SADDLE WITH HERBED STUFFING The Easter table deserves a centrepiece and this delicious roast lamb is perfect. SERVES 6 ✣6 garlic cloves ✣Small bunch of rosemary, leaves picked ✣Small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped ✣ 6 anchovies ✣Zest and juice of 1 lemon ✣4tbsp olive oil ✣1.5kg (3lb) boned saddle of lamb You will need: ✣ Kitchen twine 1 Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Put the garlic, rosemary leaves, parsley, anchovies, lemon zest and juice, 2tbsp olive oil and ½tsp black pepper in a small food processor, and blitz until everything has combined and is finely chopped up. If it seems a little dry you can mix through a little extra oil. Leave to one side. 2 Place the lamb fat side down on a clean, flat surface…

Being a Lido Lady makes me FEEL FANTASTIC! You may have seen myself and swim buddy Nicola on the news – we’re the Lido Ladies. With retro flowery swimming hats and a sense of fun, we’d been taking daily dips in our local Brockwell Lido for two years. Until the first lockdown hit. We were demotivated when we couldn’t swim, so to keep ourselves buoyant we started mucking about taking flamboyant pictures in swim gear. And it generated some media attention. We now have a charity calendar sold in aid of Mind and a lido tour planned when lockdown lifts. We started swimming together after becoming friends dog walking. I’d been swimming for a while before that to help manage anxiety and stress, and it made me feel better…

1 GENTLE MOVEMENT Stand up straight, with your shoulders down and gently back. Sit with a lower back cushion and rest your arm on a lap cushion. 2 DON’T SLOUCH Roll your shoulders, bring your neck forward or completely stop using your shoulder. Don’t invent strenuous exercises or use heavy gym equipment. 3 SHOULDER EXERCISES Do them for six to eight weeks to help stop pain returning. Try the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy exercises at csp.org.uk 4 PAIN RELIEF Take paracetamol or ibuprofen. Apply heat or cold – frozen peas or a heat pad, wrapped in a tea towel for 15 minutes, three times daily.…

It was love at first sight. As soon as our daughter laid eyes on the little bundle of toffee-coloured fluff, that was it. There was no way we were leaving the dog rescue shelter without him. Grace had been asking us for months – every day without fail – just to make sure we didn’t forget what she wanted for her sixth birthday. She didn’t want any other presents. Not toys or games or electronic devices. She just wanted a dog. Any dog. Big, small, loud, quiet, a pure-bred pedigree or a mutt with a little bit of everything – it didn’t matter to Grace. ‘No pedigrees under our roof,’ the shelter manager grinned. ‘Although this little pup does look a bit like a Cavapoo.’ Grace was oblivious, laughing and…

Dog Days by Ericka Waller (£14.99, HB, Transworld) If you enjoyed Beth Morrey’s Saving Missy, you’re going to love this. George has lost his wife of 50 years, Dan is a counsellor with OCD and Lizzie is living in a women’s refuge with her son, Lenny. Enter Poppy, Fitz and Maud – the dogs who help these troubled characters navigate the ups and downs of life. Hilarious and moving, it recognises the unconditional love of dogs and their ability to make the world a better place. Under the Light of the Italian Moon by Jennifer Anton (£14.99, PB, Amsterdam Publishers) Inspired by a true story, this emotional novel is a sweeping love story spanning two decades. Nina Argenta is torn. When her brother emigrates to America she promises her mother…

This week’s columnist: Theatre and TV star Jodie Prenger “When I was about eight, my mum and dad bought a care home – which my mum still owns and runs today – so I grew up with countless grandmas and granddads. ‘How can they comprehend that we’re in a pandemic?’ I still remember Gertie, Yvonne and Fiona, but there was one lady in particular, Phyllis, who I used to bring teddies to all the time. I must have been about 10 years old. I remember she loved animals, especially seals. She offered me money to go to university, saying she owned some shares that would pay for it. Much to her disappointment I explained that I wasn’t going to university, as I wanted to be a singer. So we decided…

A classic black biker will work from day to night Choose a neutral shade to make it work with your whole wardrobe A biker will give a more relaxed look to a formal dress Mix textures like suede and leather for an updated look…

Light from the outside world crosses a series of tissues to reach the retina, including the cornea, the lens and the vitreous fluid. Problems with any of these can cause blurred vision, while the issue could be with the retina or the optic nerve. Simple causes include conjunctivitis, migraine and chronic eye strain – such as with excessive use of computer screens – and some medications, including the COX-2 drugs for arthritis. More seriously, uncontrolled diabetes, trauma, infection (either generalised or local, such as orbital cellulitis), corneal problems including trauma, severe dry eye keratopathy, contact-lens problems, chemicals or foreign bodies in the eye. Serious conditions such as acute angle-closure glaucoma, optic neuritis, anterior uveitis and temporal arteritis need urgent treatment. Haemorrhages, retinal artery or vein occlusion, acute macular degeneration and…

How do I prepare for an interview? Q I was made redundant during the pandemic and I have a job interview coming up, which is great. I’m very nervous and I know that isn’t going to help me. I’ve read about building confidence on the internet, but I just can’t do it. Name and address withheld A Well done for getting an interview and yes, being nervous doesn’t help! Nor does telling yourself that you can’t do it. As soon as we tell ourselves that, we believe it and we won’t succeed. It’s good you’re reading about confidence – I would suggest you try any exercises offered too. One I find helps is to take oneself back to a few confident moments, and climb into them and relive them. Your…

YOU WILL NEED 1 Cut a large square of gift wrap or wallpaper and fold in half to form a triangle shape. If you’re using thin gift wrap, fold in half again to create a thicker piece to surround the plant pot. 2 Place the straight edge of the fold around the bottom of the plant pot and wrap around to cover. Use some double-sided sticky tape to secure in place. 3 Tie a piece of twine around the pot and add a gift tag to decorate. 4 On the top of the spring bulb plant, add some hay or moss to cover the soil. Place some quail egg or other mini Easter decorations among the hay and moss.…

MEASUREMENTS 33.5cm/13in wide above base and 26.5cm/10½in high, excluding base. MATERIALS 1 x 100g (230m) ball of King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK (50% cotton, 50% bamboo viscose) in each of Navy (542), Orange (Jaffa 3049), Lime (Green 583) and Pink (Fuchsia 536)*. Size 4mm crochet hook; stitch marker. TENSION 18 stitches and 14 rows, to 10 x 10cm, over pattern, using 4mm hook. ABBREVIATIONS Ch, chain; st(s), stitch(es); dc, double crochet; slst, slip stitch; yrh, yarn round hook; dc2tog, double crochet 2 sts together thus, [insert hook in next st, yrh and pull loop through] twice, yrh and pull through all 3 loops on hook. NOTES Yarn amounts are based on average requirements and are therefore approximate. Instructions in square brackets are worked as stated after 2nd bracket. BAG Base:…

“There are days when life is trying to tell you something, and last Thursday was one of them. Let’s begin with the moment just after breakfast when I went upstairs to tidy the spare room. Unfortunately, access to the spare room was blocked by Mr Dear, who was clinging to the door frame. Or rather, he was clinging to a metal bar that was hanging from the door frame. ‘Look at this,’ he said. ‘I can do eight chin-ups without hardly breaking a sweat’. He then proceeded to do eight chin-ups without hardly breaking a sweat. I can’t quite describe the expression on his face without upsetting sensitive readers, but you know that painting called The Scream? He made the agony of that face look like somebody who was wondering…

1 Improve your soil Fertilise your beds once the soil is workable. Dig in a 5cm layer of compost and a slow-release fertiliser, such as chicken manure or comfrey pellets. 2 Sow vegetables It’s time to get going on your veg! Sow courgettes, peas, beetroot, leeks and cucumbers under cover. You can also plant asparagus crowns. 3 Spring cleaning Spruce up your patio by scrubbing away slimy patches with a broom or pressure washer, and give watering cans a hot soapy wash to deter fungal diseases.…

SUZI, WELL OVER 60! Tell us about your look I love digging around vintage stores, markets and charity shops. It’s fun, plus it’s good for the planet – and my budget. My jacket is Adidas, my Whistles shirt is decades old, my Monsoon skirt I found in a pre-loved shop, boots are from a Kurt Geiger sale and the 50s frames were handed down by a relative. My style is all about mixing and matching, and never feeling you’re too old or invisible! And the best bit of your body? My hair. CLAIRE HALL, 47 Tell us about your look I would describe my style as ‘classic with an edge’. So while I love the longevity of my classic Jaeger coat, I also like to add a twist. My look…

WHAT I’VE SEEN This is Us on Amazon Prime. I’ve absolutely binge-watched every episode and I sob constantly at it! WHERE I’VE BEEN Looking after the animals on my farm. It’s great for tallying up my steps, as I walk the dogs, say hello to my cows and then come back. WHAT I’VE BOUGHT A piano so I can start tinkling on the old ivories again, and packing bags because I’m about to move house. WHO I’VE MET Only my mum, as we’re in a bubble together and I’ve had the vaccine, which I got because I work in the care home.…

‘Having cancer made me more aware of the difference we can all make’ Vicky Saynor is 45 and lives in Hertfordshire. Sitting down beside my husband, Chris, 45, there was nothing I could do to hide my worry. ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked. It was October 2018 and we were at Heathrow Airport, getting ready to take off for our honeymoon in India. Until that moment, I’d been all smiles. ‘I found a lump on my breast,’ I said. ‘I’d seen something new – a lump that wasn’t there before’ As a treat, we’d booked into the business-class lounge; even the bathrooms were luxurious and covered with mirrors – reflecting every angle. My dress looked great, but then I’d seen something new – a lump below my collarbone that wasn’t…

✢Don’t spend long periods focusing on something without a break, such as electronic devices, reading or even driving, especially at night and in poor weather. ✢Be cautious about contact lens use. Keep high levels of hygiene and don’t try to extend their use or leave them in – you risk local infection or trauma. ✢Control chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Don’t run constantly high sugar levels. Be aware of the increased risk of infection, including eye infections, with diabetes. ✢If you have pain, nausea, fever, a red eye or other symptoms, if blurring doesn’t settle after rest with your eyes closed, seek medical advice.…

ARIES 21 Mar – 20 Apr This is a time to be creative and to think outside the box. Any problem can be solved by using a new mindset. TAURUS 21 Apr – 21 May Don’t be afraid to speak out now. It’s very important to express your emotions and not to allow things to fester on the inside. GEMINI 22 May – 21 Jun This is an excellent time for beginning a new project. What excites you? What gives you pleasure? Do it! CANCER 22 Jun – 23 Jul You may be making some changes to your daily habits. Maybe you need a new structure to accomplish everything you want. LEO 24 Jul – 23 Aug This is the time to focus on your health and wellbeing. A new…