Innholdsfortegnelse for 28-May-2024 i Woman's Weekly

Colouring in When I was young, I wore a lot of black. I think I naively believed that it looked rather cool, like a Parisian beat poet puffing on Gauloises in a cafe off the Boulevard Saint-Germain. My wife Claire also favoured black when young, but whether that was another attempt at French arty chic, or because of its allegedly slimming effects, I’m not at liberty to divulge. However, both of us, as we’ve matured, have belatedly realised the error of our ways and embraced colour in what surrounds us – we think it’s a lot more fun. So, if you’d like to experiment by adding a little bit more colour to your outfits, don’t miss our expert’s fashion guide on page 17.…

A regular on Loose Women and TV veteran, in many ways, Ruth Langsford feels like a friend. The warm nature and honesty you see on the ITV daytime show translates in person, and whether it’s on ageing, weight gain or her highly anticipated return to This Morning, the star, 64, is not afraid to lift the lid on the challenges of being a woman, specifically in the showbiz industry. ‘In television, age is not always a positive [for women],’ Ruth admits. ‘Loose Women is fantastic and, thank God for it, but often your age can be a negative in TV.’ The former Strictly contestant, whose career spans almost four decades, explains, ‘You are at the mercy of programme controllers. You can have the best agent in the world and be,…

When I became a grandad I was in my mid-50s. It was great but I found it hard to get my head around. There was a disconnect between the uncomplicated joy of my first granddaughter and a sense of unreality because it meant I was now officially a grandparent – and that felt odd. Your preconceptions of what it is to be an older person can be challenged by labels like grandad. When I see a news story on the TV and they talk about a 68-year-old pensioner, I immediately think of an old guy, and then I remember I’m 68! I have five grandchildren now – Ivy, 11, Edith, six, Kit, five, Bodhi, 21 months, and Wren, seven months. When one of them comes in shouting ‘Grandad or Grandpa’,…

Ever since she was a Brown Owl for the local Brownies club when her children were young, Shirley Galsworthy BEM has known the power of community and the importance of helping others. ‘I like to feel needed and that’s a big thing as you get older,’ says Shirley, from St Albans. ‘In my job as a carer now, I’m needed and I am helpful. I don’t think you should ever stop contributing to your community.’ ‘I hope to be a role model for younger generations’ Shirley, now 90, and her husband, Rob, married when she was 18. They had four children, but sadly Rob died just six weeks after being diagnosed with intestinal cancer when he was 35 and Shirley was 30. ‘I never remarried, and our children and family…

3 WAYS TO... Cope with bladder leaks 1 TRY LIFESTYLE CHANGES Make sure you drink enough water and cut back on caffeine and alcohol, and quit smoking. They all can have an impact on your bladder. 2 WORK YOUR PELVIC FLOOR Regular exercises to help strengthen the muscles here can help control leaks. Pull up muscles as if you are attempting to stop your flow of urine. 3 GET SOME PADS Incontinence products, such as absorbent pads and pants, can be worn to help manage your condition, while you wait for treatments to work. MY HEALTHY LIFE Lavina Mehta is a personal trainer and wellness coach. My go-to remedy Walking outdoors in nature is my therapy. I know whatever I’m feeling – whether it’s perimenopausal brain fog, anxiety, tiredness or…

3 OF THE BEST... STYLE TIPS 1 GO BIG ON ART If you have a large blank wall above your sofa to fill, opt for a large-scale canvas or framed piece of art to be the main focal point of the room. 2 PICK SIMPLE COLOURS A palette of white, creams, tonal browns and a few black accents is all you need for this minimal look. Add plenty of texture with woven fabrics and antiqued leather to add interest to the neutral scheme. 3 KEEP IT LIGHT AND BRIGHT To help the room feel as light and airy as possible, keep curtains soft and lightweight, letting in as much natural sunlight as possible – think delicate cottons and linens. Avoid heavy woven or velvet fabrics in favour of shutters if…

Difficulty level MEASUREMENTS To fit age 12 months. Actual chest 45.5cm/18in. Actual waist 50.5cm/20in. MATERIALS 1 x 100g (270m) ball of Cygnet Pato Baby DK (100% acrylic) in each of White (799), Pink (796), Orange (Apricot 784), Yellow (Lemon 798), Green (Mint 790), Blue (Baby Blue 785) and Lilac (782)*. Size 4mm crochet hook. Yarn is available from theknittingnetwork.co.uk TENSION Square panel measures 20x20cm, using 4mm hook. ABBREVIATIONS BLO, back loop only; ch, chain; dc, double crochet; htr, half treble crochet; slst(s), slip st(s); sp(s), space(s); st(s), stitch(es); tr, treble crochet; yrh, yarn round hook. NOTES Pattern is one size but can be easily adjusted. Adding/removing rounds on front/back panel: do this in twos in order to finish with an odd number of rounds, which makes a difference of 3cm…

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: One who mocks. Average = 15 More than 25 = well done 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…

We still have a landline at home because we’re old-fashioned like that. When you have a landline, you can actually hear what people are saying. Call me a stick-in-the-mud, but I’ve always thought being able to hear was a very important quality in a telephone. The trouble is, only the following people call us on the landline: A nice young man who says we have a problem with our loft insulation. He might be a robot. Another nice young man who says he has double-glazing representatives in our area. He might also be a robot. There’s a lot of it about. A lady who wishes to know when we’d like our smart meter fitted. I would give you Mr Dear’s usual response, but the editor says he can’t spare enough…

BOATS WITH A TALE TO TELL Could you survive a month adrift in the Pacific? In 1972, the Robertson family did just that aboard a small dinghy, the Ednamair, after orcas sank their boat. See their dinghy and other boats with a past in Small Boats, Big Stories, a fascinating new display at Cornwall’s National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. ✱ nmmc.co.uk Blooming lovely Welcome the summer with a visit to Manchester, which celebrates its annual Flower Festival from 24-27 May. Follow the city centre’s floral trail to discover 10 designer displays, all themed around Manchester icons. Artists and florists create gorgeous Festival Zone surprises around the shopping streets, and there’s even a ‘Fringe’ with green installations beyond the main festival area. It’s all free, and you can also enjoy outdoor…

It’s no mystery why festivals celebrating the literature of criminal psychology and the police procedural are popping up here, there and everywhere. Our relish for detective stories and thrillers has made crime fiction the biggest-selling genre among UK book lovers. We love page-turners about our favourite sleuths, whether they’re by Agatha Christie or modern mistresses and masters of suspense such as Elly Griffiths or Ian Rankin. No wonder there’s a boom in ‘murder mystery’ breaks too. Follow our leads for the 2024 season. Enjoy a stylish murder mystery weekend at the Art Deco hotel on Burgh Island off the south Devon coast, where Agatha Christie wrote And Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun. 1-2 and 20-21 November; burghisland.com/murder-mystery-weekends-2024 Watch Sherlock Holmes solve The Hound of the Baskervilles…

1 FIND YOUR COLOUR First, try to establish what shades suit you and your skin tone. As a general rule of thumb, cool skin tones can pull off bright greens, deep purples, pinks and blues, and warmer skin tones suit browns, warm reds, oranges, coral and greens. Of course, these aren’t set in stone and the best way to experiment with colour is through trial and error. ‘Wearing colour is all about having fun with your wardrobe and showing your personality through your outfit,’ says Alyson Taggart, director of product and publications at Damart. 2 START SMALL You don’t have to delve straight in with a top-to-toe fuchsia look. Ease yourself in with an accessory – some joyful earrings, a vibrant shoe or a patterned scarf. These are cheap and…

Best-ever halloumi burgers Veggie burgers that the meat eaters won’t be able to resist – and so quick and easy to whip up too! SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins COOK 10-15 mins ✱ 2tbsp oil, plus extra to drizzle✱ Handful coriander and mint, finely chopped✱ 2 fat garlic cloves, 1 finely chopped and 1 sliced✱ 2tbsp sweet chilli sauce✱ 4 pickled chillies in brine, chopped✱ 2 x 250g packs halloumi, sliced widthways into 6✱ 200g baby plum tomatoes✱ 3 thyme sprigs✱ 2 red onions, each cut into 5 rounds✱ 2 small ripe avocados✱ Juice 1 lime✱ 6 seeded brioche burger buns or pretzel buns, toasted 1 Heat the barbecue. In a shallow bowl, mix the oil, coriander and mint, chopped garlic, sweet chilli sauce and 1tsp brine from the pickled…

Coping with LARYNGEAL CANCER This type of cancer affects the voice box The larynx (voice box) is part of the throat used during breathing and speaking. There are more than 2,000 new laryngeal cancer cases annually in the UK, mostly affecting people over 60 and more men than women. Symptoms include hoarseness, pain or difficulty when swallowing, a lump or swelling in your neck, a prolonged cough, breathlessness, persistent sore throat, earache or high-pitched wheezing as you breathe. Some people experience bad breath, unintentional weight loss or fatigue. See your GP if you have any of these symptoms, especially a hoarse voice for more than three weeks, although even then, less serious conditions, such as laryngitis, are likely. They’ll refer you to a throat specialist for further tests. Laryngeal cancer…

Difficulty level YOU WILL NEED ✱ 15 x 12.5cm squares of cotton fabric ✱ Embellishments (see ideas box, right) ✱ 42x62cm piece of backing fabric ✱ 36x56cm piece of batting ✱ Matching sewing thread ✱ Rotary cutter, quilting ruler and cutting mat STOCKISTS Ruby Star Society Flowerland charm pack, £18, thefabricfox.co.uk; all embellishments, from a selection, Hobbycraft. 1 Position the fabric squares in your preferred order, with five squares by three squares. Use the embellishment ideas to add a sensory element to some of the squares. 2 Once all the embellishments have been added, join each row of three together with right sides facing and a 1cm seam allowance. Then join the five rows together to form the quilt top, making sure not to catch any of the embellishments as…

ARIES 21 MAR – 20 APR No matter what obstacles appear to be in your path, you have the power to overcome them. Just keep going. TAURUS 21 APR – 21 MAY You may be making changes, repairs or upgrades to your home. Keep it simple and everything will fall into place. GEMINI 22 MAY – 21 JUN Having an attitude of gratitude is your magic wand. Focus on the gifts you have and your abundance will grow rapidly. CANCER 22 JUN – 23 JUL You may be faced with many choices and decisions to make. Follow your heart, no matter how it looks. You’ll be guided to the best path for you now. LEO 24 JUL – 23 AUG Relax, rest, surrender and let go of all the stresses…

Letter of the week Simply dive in I loved reading about editor Geoff’s father learning to swim in later life, and about how others have been learning new skills in their later years too [Never Too Late!, 2 April issue]. I can very much relate to their stories. As a child, I was terrified of the water and hated school swimming lessons. I never progressed beyond the beginners’ group. Then, as a young adult, I went on holiday with a friend and found I couldn’t use the pool. While she clocked up length after length, I sat there feeling bored and envious! I hated those feelings and so when I got home, I signed up for adult swimming lessons. Since then, I’ve never looked back. Learning a new skill can…

Brittle or weak bones aren’t something we just have to accept as we get older. ‘We do stop building bone, but there’s plenty we can do to keep what we have strong and healthy,’ says Woman’s Weekly GP Dr Gill Jenkins. Act now and you can help slow the decline. Make time to introduce these tips into your life week-by-week and, by the end of the month, your bones will thank you for it. WEEK ONE Introduce bone-strengthening exercise WHY Regular weight-bearing and resistance activity is needed to keep your bones strong. That’s because bone is living tissue that gets stronger when it’s used. HOW TO DO IT Any exercise with impact is particularly beneficial for your bones. ✱ Think jogging, brisk walking, skipping, hopping and racket sports. ✱ Activities…

My eyes are looking tired If you struggle to get a full eight hours of beauty sleep every night, your eyes will quickly start to show it. Dark circles and dull skin are common complaints, and can often take a bit of work to disguise. Try to prevent the issue while you sleep by applying an overnight eye cream like Versed Smooth Landing Advanced Retinoid Eye Balm, £16.50, cultbeauty.co.uk. It combines retinol and vitamin E to treat and nourish skin while you doze. In the morning, opt for a lighter lotion that fights any dullness. Bubble Morning Rays, £14, Boots, brightens brilliantly – it’s like a power nap in a bottle. For really stubborn shadows, use a concealer to help them vanish. Mavala Perfect Concealer, £17, mavala.com, is packed full…

Their marriage is on the rocks Q I’m watching my son and daughter-in-law’s marriage unravel. I know the signs, having been there myself a number of years ago. I have asked him if everything is all right and he says it is, but they snap at each other most of the time and the issues seem serious when they row. I know the kids are anxious about their arguing. I’d really like to help. Yvonne, Nuneaton A It is very hard to watch your children go through a difficult time and, of course, you want to help. But it’s important that you stay separate and impartial. Even though you’ve been through a break-up, you don’t know what are the tipping points for this couple. As your son says, they may…

Books Hera by Jennifer Saint (£20, HB, Headline) From the bestselling author of Ariadne and Elektra comes the story of Hera – Greek goddess of marriage. Often seen as the vengeful wife of Zeus, Jennifer Saint paints a very different picture of her. As Hera and Zeus overthrow their tyrannical father to reign on Mount Olympus, it’s not long before Hera realises Zeus may be just like their father. Seeking to forge a better world and rise up against the patriarchy, she looks to shape her own life, contradicting the one-dimensional view presented over the centuries. Because, in a world of violence and cruelty, what other choice did she have? Father’s Day by Richard Madeley (£16.99, HB, Simon & Schuster) Nick will stop at nothing to protect his daughter. After…