Innholdsfortegnelse for 29-Apr-2025 i Woman's Weekly

"My mum was a big fan of BBC Radio 4 (although it was still called the Home Service when she was young), so I grew up with talking radio always on in the background. As is so often the case, what is normal for your parents then becomes normal for you, so I became a fan myself, then I married another one. Now our children have inherited the enthusiasm. Later, as a different way of hearing people talk, we discovered audiobooks, initially for long car journeys – it was amazing how the Harry Potter stories kept the children as quiet as mice for mile after mile. So, I was interested to read that Jeremy Vine loves audiobooks too. See page 15."…

"I feel so sad that there are fewer books being read. Articles claim people don’t even put up bookshelves now. But, reading is so important. It’s about firing the imagination, understanding other worlds and places, and going on adventures. Personally, I think it’s the ultimate answer to boredom, and I worry that in our quest for constant excitement and stimulation, we’re actually getting more and more bored. I do think social media has a lot to answer for, but it’s more than that. If you go to a movie now, there’s no more than 25 seconds of dialogue. The opening scene in The Godfather is just over 25 minutes long. They simply wouldn’t allow that scene nowadays, because it’s too long and viewers don’t have the patience. My favourite memory…

Mushroom and bacon frittata Delicious eaten hot or cold with a salad on the side for a filling lunch option. SERVES 3-4READY IN 25 mins ✱ 500g Jersey Royals or small new potatoes✱ 1tbsp cooking oil✱ 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped✱ 125g mushrooms, sliced✱ 6 medium free-range eggs, beaten✱ Fresh parsley, chopped, to garnish 1 Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 12-15 mins, until tender. Drain them and set aside to cool, then slice. 2 Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the bacon and mushrooms in it, until the bacon begins to crisp and the mushrooms have softened. 3 Off the heat, mix through the sliced potato and beaten egg, then season…

Coping with MARFAN SYNDROME This genetic disorder of the connective tissues affects body structure and internal organ support Marfan syndrome affects one in 5,000 people in the UK. Although rare, it’s one of the most common connective tissue disorders, passed to a child from an affected parent. The gene defect leads to reduced production of a protein called fibrillin, resulting in parts of the body being able to stretch abnormally when placed under tension. People with Marfan syndrome often develop stretch marks because the tissue in their skin is weakened and less elastic. The defective fibrillin gene also causes some bones to grow longer than they should, especially the arms and legs. In some cases, neither parent has the syndrome but the fibrillin gene changes (mutates) in the parent’s egg or…

Banoffee fridge cake All the flavours of the classic dessert layered in an easy fridge cake. SERVES 12READY IN 30 mins, plus chilling ✱ 600ml double cream✱ 250g mascarpone cheese✱ 1tsp vanilla extract✱ 3tbsp icing sugar, sifted✱ 150g salted caramel, plus extra to drizzle✱ 360g digestive biscuits✱ 5 medium bananas, thickly sliced, plus extra for the top✱ 2 chocolate Flakes, crumbled, to serve YOU WILL NEED ✱ 20cm springform cake tin, greased with a little oil and lined with cling film 1 In a large bowl, whip the double cream, mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar to soft peaks. 2 Warm the caramel in a small pan until it turns just runny. 3 To assemble the cake, use a third of the biscuits to cover the base of the tin; cover…

Difficulty level TESTED BY US so they work for you MEASUREMENTS Approx 22x22cm/8½x8½in. MATERIALS 2 x 50g (125g) balls of Scheepjes Catona 4ply (100% cotton) in White (Bridal White 105) and oddments in each of Pale Pink (Powder Pink 238), Beige (English Tea 404), Blue (Cornflower 511) and Bright Pink (Shocking Pink 114)*. Pair of 3mm (No. 11) knitting needles; stitch marker; clock mechanism kit; glue gun; piece of 22x22cm stiff card; tapestry needle for swiss darning. Yarn is available from theknittingnetwork.co.uk. TENSION 27 stitches and 38 rows to 10x10cm, over stocking stitch, slightly stretched, using 3mm needles. ABBREVIATIONS K, knit; p, purl; ss, stocking stitch (k on right side and p on wrong side); st(s), stitch(es). NOTES The original yarn is no longer available, so a suitable substitute has…

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: Oil. Average = 25 More than 45 = 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 to make…

"Mr Dear enjoyed a day trip to London yesterday, and what do you think struck him most? Was it perhaps the majesty of the Thames? Or the excitement of the bustling streets? ‘Do you know I saw a tin of Brasso in a shop,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think they made Brasso any more.’ I drew myself up to my full 5ft 1in, and frankly I don’t know why I bothered. When you’re my height, standing up straight never seems all that impressive. ‘Don’t be daft,’ I said. ‘Of course they make Brasso. We’ve got Brasso in a cupboard somewhere. How do you think our candlesticks get cleaned?’ ‘Do they get cleaned?’ he said. ‘Anyway, I thought our candlesticks were silver. Well, almost silver.’ ‘I didn’t have any silver polish,’…

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY Stone curlews, which have golden, orb-like eyes that enable them to find food at night, migrate here from Spain, southwest France and north-west Africa to breed each year. The revival in numbers of these beautiful-looking birds – up to 350 breeding pairs nationally – is the result of a 40-year project run by the RSPB with farmers and landowners. ✱ rspb.org Beavers are back If you listen to The Archers on BBC Radio 4, you’ll know that the reintroduction of beavers to the landscape is controversial and will probably remain so for some time. Legally acknowledged as a native species in 2022, the government has now announced that applications to introduce licensed beaver populations will be approved. Already spreading naturally, and through widespread secret releases, this opens the…

As a nation, we eat more biscuits than any other country, with 55% of us buying them at least once a week. Crumbs, we even have an annual biscuit day on 29 May to celebrate, whether we’re ginger nuts or digestive devotees! But where did our love of the humble biscuit come from? THE EARLIEST BISCUITS We have the ancient world to thank for the first biscuits. ‘Barley bread was sliced up and dried to make hard rusks that were then fermented and used to make beer,’ explains food historian Lizzie Collingham, the author of The Biscuit: The History of a Very British Indulgence. The Romans called these hard rusks panis bicoctus, meaning bread twice-baked, which is where the name biscuit comes from. ‘These long-lasting savoury biscuits remained a staple…

How can I stop my mum criticising? Q My mother babysits for us regularly, which is kind. However, when we get home, she always has a list of faults she’s found in the house or with the children. She’s clearly snooping around and I don’t like it. I have asked her to stop but her critical self just won’t let go. How do I stop her? Judy, West Sussex A The easy answer is don’t ask her to babysit! If anyone else was sitting for you and you didn’t like their behaviour, what would you do? I suspect you wouldn’t ask them back. Explain to her that this feels intrusive and uncomfortable, and, if she is unable to come over without passing comment on your home or children, you will ask someone else to sit.…

Stitch this simple cross-body bag with an adjustable strap Difficulty level TESTED BY US so they work for you SIZE: 32x16cm YOU WILL NEED ✱ Access to a photocopier✱ Tracing paper and pencil✱ 25cm of 110cm-wide striped cotton fabric✱ 25cm of 90cm-wide plain cotton fabric✱ 25cm of 90cm-wide of low-loft fusible fleece✱ 30cm chunky zip✱ 15x15cm square of lightweight fusible interfacing✱ Two 2cm D-rings✱ 3.8cm-wide bag strap✱ Matching sewing threads SUPPLIERS Warp and weft honey woven boardwalk fabric, £4 per 25cm, Sew Hot; Low-loft iron-on fleece, £4.95 per metre, The Quilt Shop; 30cm chunky zip, £4.50, Ferpa; bag strap, £9.95, Peaches Accessories Making paper patterns On a photocopier, enlarge the pattern by 225%. Trace the pattern on to tracing paper, placing the pattern on folded tracing paper, matching broken lines…

Letter of the week Pony magic How lovely it was to read author Suzanne Snow’s article [It’s a Funny Old World, 18 February issue] about Riding for the Disabled. Last year, I visited one of their stables in Chigwell. I am blind and this beautiful pony kept coming up to me and nuzzling my hand. It was like he was telling me that he was still there. It was an uplifting experience, and I’d like to say a huge thank you to all their staff and volunteers. Wendy Coxhill, Harlow, Essex PAWS FOR THOUGHT This is Lily, my gorgeous rescue Yorkie. She was 16 on Valentine’s Day. I rescued her when she was four and a half years old. My sister crocheted this blanket and gave it to me for…

After 20 years on the front line of the fight against cruelty to animals, RSPCA inspector Emily Astillberry still loves what she does. However, she has a passion for literature, and always promised herself that one day she would fulfil her ambition and write a book. In the five years since she started writing her novel, things have become harder for the charity, with record numbers of creatures needing their help. As well as her large and loving family, being able to escape into a different world as she writes has proved to be a godsend and foil to her difficult role. She hopes to bring joy and offer escapism to her readers too. ‘I’ve always read avidly and must have worked my way through hundreds of novels in my…

3 WAYS TO... Beat driving anxiety 1 GROUND YOURSELF ‘Before driving, notice physical sensations to distract from fear inside your head – your body in contact with the seat, feet on the pedals, hands on the steering wheel,’ says therapist Charlotte Bailey. 2 UNHOOK ANXIOUS THOUGHTS Acknowledge thoughts without judgement to create distance. ‘Say to yourself, “I’m noticing the thought that the driver behind me is annoyed,”’ says Charlotte. 3 PLAY SOOTHING MUSIC Research* suggests that playing too much upbeat music may increase anxiety, so music with a medium 60-120 beats per minute can help keep you calm. RESET YOUR GUT HEALTH FOR SPRING Dr Lucy Williamson** is a registered nutritionist and gut health expert. Nurturing our good gut microbes means we benefit from the natural anti-inflammatory chemicals that…

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That Dark Spring by Susannah Stapleton (£22, HB, Pan Macmillan) This true crime story, set in 1920s Provence, has all the ingredients of an Agatha Christie mystery. Eccentric British artist Olive Branson lives in a tumbledown farmhouse in an isolated hamlet, where she has made many good friends and a fair few enemies. When her half-dressed body is discovered floating in a water tank, her death is initially dismissed as suicide. But the case arouses strong suspicions and detective Alexandre Guibbal sets to work to uncover the truth. A gripping book that unpicks the evidence and brings Olive, with all her contradictions and complexities, to life. The Mystery at Rake Hall by Maureen Paton (£16.99, HB, Swift Press) It’s 1947. A dark underworld is thriving in post-war Oxford. University don…

ARIES 21 MAR – 20 APR It’s a great week to finish any jobs that have been outstanding for a while. Everything can be done much more easily now. TAURUS 21 APR – 21 MAY Face your fears. Although it may seem easier in the short run to avoid them, it’s not a sensible long-term strategy. GEMINI 22 MAY – 21 JUN This is the perfect time for buying, selling, promoting and sharing. Negotiations of all kinds can work in your favour. CANCER 22 JUN – 23 JUL You have a wonderful intuition, which will guide you in the right direction. Listen to your gut and your concerns will evaporate. LEO 24 JUL – 23 AUG Knowing when to act and when to hold off is your challenge this week.…