Innholdsfortegnelse for 7-Mar-2023 i Woman's Weekly

Living life to the full Longer ago than even I can remember, the Roman poet Horace coined the phrase ‘carpe diem’ – seize the day – and people have been quoting it ever since. I suppose, simply put, it means make the most of every day because we never know how many of them there will be. I once met an elderly gentleman on a train who seemed to personify that attitude – he was travelling on his own to visit his nephew – it turned out he was 99 years old, with the ambition of reaching 100. I found him truly inspirational, and I had just the same feeling again, seeing our wonderful reader Connie Bate on page 7. 3 of the best... chocolate treats ROCKY ROAD Check out…

CONNIE BATE, 94 Tell us about your look After looking for a stylish coat for ages, I finally found this smart camel coat from Jaeger. It’s just so cosy. I’ve teamed it with black boots, a hat, gloves and a handbag that I bought from a great little independent boutique in my village. Even though I’m now 94 years young, I still have such a passion for fashion and am always looking for new pieces to add to my ever-expanding wardrobe! What’s your favourite thing about yourself? It has to be my smile. JULIE JENSON, 51 Tell us about your look I do like a long skirt or maxi dress. This one is by Desigual – a Spanish label. I’ve always loved their colourful prints. My jumper is by DKNY,…

I was 48 when I had anADHD DIAGNOSIS It was only when a client said she’d been diagnosed with ADHD and I started looking into it because of my daughter that I saw the list of symptoms and thought, ‘That’s me!’ Struggling with concentration and emotional regulation – tick. Disorganised and easily distracted – tick. Impulsive – double tick. I’d always struggled and kept burning out, but it was when I started getting perimenopausal that I really found it difficult to focus. My daughter was diagnosed aged 22 and, although we are very different, I know there’s a strong hereditary element to ADHD, and so I wasn’t surprised when my assessment came back. At first, I didn’t want medication. For me, the diagnosis was about validation – accepting that I…

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Painting escape, Devon Brush up your artistic skills with a weekend residential course in rural Devon. Tutors Janet and Peter have 20 years’ experience of hosting arty retreats, with the aim of showing beginners and more experienced painters what is possible to achieve. Guests stay in the artists’ home, a wisteria-draped pink cottage in a pretty hamlet, and have meals and drinks together. Alongside structured tutoring in the studio, with the chance to try out different media, there’s free time to explore the surroundings. For those gripped by the painting bug, the studio door is left unlocked for extra practice. Book it One-day courses are £75. A weekend painting course is £475 based on two sharing, or £545 for single occupancy; brambles artretreat.com Tiny workshops, Isle of Wight Unwind on…

ARIES 21 Mar – 20 AprExpect the unexpected. Make your plans flexible in case there are last-minute changes. That way, you’ll make best use of your time. TAURUS 21 Apr – 21 MayYou may have an important decision to make. Don’t let yourself be rushed. Wait until you’re absolutely sure. GEMINI 22 May – 21 JunFinancially, you may receive a fresh opportunity or an idea you’ve had for quite a while might come to fruition. CANCER 22 Jun – 23 JulNew people are coming into your life if you let them. Sometimes you prefer your own space to socialising, but welcome them in. LEO 24 Jul – 23 AugYour home is your focus right now. Anything that inspires and uplifts you will be very beneficial. VIRGO 24 Aug – 23…

He is the ‘King of Ballroom’ after appearing on every series of Strictly Come Dancing since it began. And pro dancer-turned-judge Anton Du Beke is showing no signs of slowing down. After making the transition from dance floor to hot seat on the judging panel, Anton says loving his work is what keeps him driven. As well as a stint in panto last year, he has just published his fifth novel, The Royal Show, and is on tour this year. He gives credit to his wife Hannah and their twin children Henrietta and George for giving him crucial support. Anton says, ‘I’m extremely fortunate to do work I love, and I also have a great home life, a truly amazing wife and incredible children.’ ‘The real luck of having twins…

Although there are hundreds of thousands of Lewises, people often mistake me for Martin Lewis, the ‘Money Saving Expert’, and I’ll get emails that start ‘Dear Martin’. He and I have known each other for years and agree on many things. I tease that he’s ‘the rich one’. I have my dad to thank for my love of numbers and logical thinking. He was a maths teacher and pioneer of mechanical calculators, which had a handle and dials you set by hand. They fascinated me as a kid and I still have a couple of them at home now. I worked for charities at the start of my career. I’ve always been keen to help those who can’t afford to pay accountants with tax relief and so on. I also…

CHINESE SPICED PORK BELLY WITH PLUMS This rich and fruity dish is a good way to make the most of tasty, but great-value pork, and is ideal for a weekend lunch with the family. SERVES 6 PREP 5 MINS COOK 3-6 HRS ✣ 1.2kg pork belly, cut into thick slices ✣ 2 cinnamon sticks ✣ 3 star anise ✣ 1tsp Chinese five spice ✣ 6 plums, halved ✣ 150ml red wine ✣ Juice 2 oranges ✣ 1 chicken stock pot ✣ 150g Chinese greens, such as pak choi or tatsoi 1 Put the pork in a slow cooker with the cinnamon, star anise, five spice, plums, wine, orange juice and stock pot. Cook on low for 6 hrs/high for 3 hrs. Alternatively, put the ingredients into a casserole dish with a…

Dr GillAdvice from our Woman’s Weekly doctor Weight-loss jab Shedding the pounds is hard and keeping it off is even harder. Bariatric surgery works well, but the cost, acceptability and availability all limit use. A new injectable drug – LY3437943 – which combines gut hormones that stimulate insulin production, looks promising in controlling cholesterols, glucose and weight – but a racing pulse rate is a side effect. Longer studies are needed to check this, and whether the impact on weight and diabetes control is sustainable. RISKS OF SHINGLES Post-herpetic neuralgia is the commonest chronic complication of shingles, but data from three very large studies has also revealed a raised long-term risk of stroke and coronary heart disease. The incidence was around 20-30% greater than for those without a history of…

PER SERVING 284 cals, 10g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 43g carbs CHERRY CAKE Lovely with a cuppa, this is perfect to have on hand for anyone who might pop by. It also keeps well for up to five days in an airtight container. SERVES 12 PREP 15 MINS COOK 50 MINS-1 HR, PLUS COOLING ✣ 225g baking spread or butter at room temperature ✣ 175g caster sugar ✣ 3 medium eggs ✣ 100g ground almonds ✣ ½tsp baking powder ✣ 250g self-raising flour ✣ 200g glacé cherries, chopped or halved ✣ 6tbsp whole milk or 4tbsp milk and 2tbsp dark rum You will need: ✣ Large loaf tin (27x8x7cm), greased and dusted with flour COOK’S TIP If you can, get hold of Stroh rum, distilled in Austria. It’s 80% proof…

SHOW TIME Rhododendrons are undemanding, shade-loving and supply the flashiest of flowers. If you don’t have the right soil (neutral to acidic), they do well in a container as long as you water them regularly. There are plenty of small varieties – including ‘Cowslip’, which has blooms of pale primrose with faint raspberry streaks, or bridal pink ‘Ginny Gee’. Both flower in April and grow to around a metre high. TOP NOTES If you garden along to music, you’re not alone – apparently two-thirds of us play pop, classical and chill-out tunes while we’re weeding and watering. But did you know that your tunes are also helping plants thrive? Studies show that music vibrations can help boost growth and even attract pollinators – a great reason to let the music…

Difficulty level MEASUREMENTS Approximately 21cm/8¼in wide (at widest point). Length is adjustable. MATERIALS 1 x 100g (196m) ball of Stylecraft Special Aran (100% acrylic) in Magenta (1084)*. Pair of 4.5mm (No. 7) knitting needles. Yarn is available from theknittingnetwork.co.uk TENSION 17 sts and 25 rows, to 10 x 10cm, over pattern, using 4.5mm needles. ABBREVIATIONS K, knit; p, purl; st(s), stitch(es); k2tog, k 2 sts together (to decrease 1 st); skpo, slip 1 st, k 1 st, pass slipped stitch over knitted st (to decrease 1 st); yrn, yarn round needle (to make 1 st). NOTES Yarn amounts are based on average requirements and are therefore approximate. Stitches are increased throughout pattern repeat, then these are cast off to create zigzag edge. SCARF With 4.5mm needles, cast on 21 sts.…

Wordwise You have 15 minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters in the grid. Each word must contain four or more letters, one of which must be the central square. No proper nouns, plurals or foreign words are allowed. There is one nine-letter word in the grid, for which the clue is: Disparaged. SUDOKU To solve this puzzle, fill in the grid so that each 3 x 3 box, each row and each column contains the numbers 1-9. LINKWORDS Fit 10 words into the grid so that each links with the end of the word on its left and the beginning of the one on the right. Then unscramble the letters in the shaded squares to make a word. Clue: Viral infection that causes a blistered…

One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fforde (£16.99, HB, Cornerstone) It’s 1964, still very much a man’s world. Meg wants to be a cook and is struggling to get work, so when her mum summons her to help out at a banquet at a small hotel in Dorset, she rushes there. The hotel is dated and upstaged by a nearby, more modern establishment, but Meg and the staff intend to make the best of it. That is until Justin, the son of the hotel owner, turns up and wants to take over the running of the kitchen. Too many cooks? Meg thinks so. Fforde never disappoints. This Could Be Everything by Eva Rice (£16.99, HB, Simon & Schuster) It’s 1990, and February Kingdom is 19. Having already lost both her parents,…

Where shall I put this china cat?’ I yelled at Deb. ‘What china cat?’ she said. You might remember that my sister used to live in a large house in the country, complete with a whirlpool bath, a coffee machine which looked like the controls of the Starship Enterprise, and a hot-and-cold-running gardener. She has now downsized to a flat round the corner from us. Well, three or four corners to be strictly accurate. It is, of course, a lavish two-storey flat with high ceilings and big windows that offer a magnificent view of the park. ‘I suppose it might not be a cat, it’s difficult to tell, really. It’s rather modern.’ As you might have guessed, I am helping her to unpack and move in. So far we’ve only…

Lots of us love to knit and crochet in our spare time, but these clever craftswomen use their creative passion to pay the bills too. Here they share how they make sure it’s a wonder-wool life! Close knit Jeanette Sloan, 55, is a knitwear teacher and designer who loves using playful colour combos and innovative stitch patterns. My mum came to the UK from Barbados in the 1950s and learnt to knit because she was cold! I was fascinated by how graceful she looked knitting, and how magical it seemed. She taught me when I was seven, starting with items for my dolls. As I got older, I knitted items for myself from patterns in magazines. Through difficult times, Mum and I knitted together – that made the special bond…

Do you tend to wash and go when it comes to caring for your hair? If so, it’s time to upgrade. All the powerful ingredients that are good for your skin can also help it. And while we’re not suggesting that you should use all these products for a complicated, multi-step regime, investing in the right formulas for your hair problem could be just what you need for healthier, shiny locks. Collagen for thickening Occurring naturally in our bodies, collagen is vital for healthy hair growth and supple skin. But as we age, our natural levels deplete, and our hair can thin and skin can slacken. Collagen supplements help to boost both of these from the inside out. While creams enriched with it help smooth and tighten the skin, shampoos…

I never even get a thank you Q I support a child through a charity that helps young people whose parents are struggling to make ends meet. I buy her the things she needs for school and send gifts twice a year with cards. I never hear from her. I wonder if she gets them or if she is grateful. Why wouldn’t she say thank you? Alison, Bristol A That’s a lovely thing for you to do and I’m sure she is grateful and gets them. There are a number of reasons she may not say so overtly. First, she may not have the language skills, and second, she may feel anxious about writing as she is unsure what to say. She may also not have someone who’s encouraging her…

Difficulty level YOU WILL NEED ✣ 36 charm squares ✣ 30x38in white quilting cotton fabric ✣ 38x38in backing fabric ✣ 37x37in batting ✣ 10x38in binding fabric ✣ Matching sewing thread ✣ Quilter’s ruler ✣ Rotary cutter ✣ Cutting mat ✣ Pins Finished size: 38x38cm TO MAKE 1 Start by arranging 36 charm squares into four colour families of nine squares each – we’ve used pink, red, green and blue. 2 Arrange each of the nine squares into a three-by-three formation to form a square. Machine-stitch together in rows with a ¼in seam allowance and press the seams towards the darker fabric side. Machine-stitch the rows together to form a total of four blocks. 3 Using a quilter’s ruler, rotary cutter and cutting mat, cut through the middle of each square…