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

Apart or together? Sadly, we live in an age that seems to encourage factionalism – identifying ourselves as part of a sub-group, based on our religion, sexuality, skin colour, perceived class or financial situation. But can splitting us all into separate sub-groups sometimes encourage distrust of others? And is it then easier to develop a siege mentality, convincing ourselves that our particular group is discriminated against, with us against the rest? I can’t help feeling it’s better to focus on what our fellow human beings all share, rather than how we differ. And, if we’re all in it together, is reaching out to help others easier? See page 20.…

“In 2005, I wrote a book called Baggage, a memoir about growing up and why I didn’t get on with my mother. Recently, I added a new chapter reflecting on how I now feel about that relationship, and that has turned into a one-woman show about my strange family background. I grew up in a very secretive household. My mum hardly talked about her life before she met my dad, or even how she met him. She’d been married before, but I never met her first husband, and I still don’t know much about their relationship. It wasn’t until after my parents died that my sister, Patricia, and I discovered they weren’t married when they had me. Their relationship began during the war, and then my dad was posted to…

Green chilli cheese swirl An impressive spiral stuffed with cheese and potato. SERVES 8 PREP 25 minsCOOK 30-40 mins ✱ 350g tinned or leftover boiled potatoes, drained✱ 100g Cheddar, grated✱ 100g mozzarella, torn or grated✱ 100g ricotta✱ 1 red onion, finely chopped✱ 2tsp cumin seeds✱ 2 green chillies, finely chopped✱ 10g fresh coriander, roughly chopped✱ 2 eggs✱ 320g sheet puff pastry 1 Heat the oven to 180C Fan/Gas 6. In a bowl, crush the potatoes with the back of a fork. Mix in the Cheddar, mozzarella, ricotta, red onion, 1tsp cumin seeds, the chillies and coriander. Crack in 1 egg and mix again; season generously. 2 Unroll the pastry and cut it in half lengthways into 2 long strips. Put half the potato mixture along the middle of each strip…

Coping with an ANAL FISSURE This superficial tear of the anal canal is common and often needs self-care rather than treatment The anus is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract after the rectum, and ends with the anal sphincter, where skin meets the bowel lining at a ring of muscles that open and close the anus, allowing you to hold in faeces until you want to open your bowels and release it. Anal fissures occur when the lining covering the sphincter tears slightly, often if you are straining to open your bowels, you are constipated, or your faeces are very hard or large. Fissures are common, affecting one in 10 people of both sexes and all ages, most commonly children and young adults aged 15-40 years old. Conversely, persistent…

Strawberry sundae A simple idea made special with the addition of a fresh strawberry sauce. SERVES 4 READY IN 15 mins ✱ 575g strawberries, hulled✱ 2tbsp caster sugar✱ 200ml double cream✱ 200g vanilla ice cream 1 To make a strawberry puree, whizz 225g strawberries with the sugar, then push through a sieve. Slice the remaining strawberries. 2 Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold in a third of the puree. Mix the sliced strawberries with the remaining puree. 3 Layer the ice cream, strawberry cream and sliced strawberry mixture in tall glasses or bowls. PER SERVING 440 cals, 35g fat, 21g sat fat, 25g carbs Strawberry fridge cake This easy no-bake pud is great for entertaining. SERVES 8-10 READY IN 20 mins, plus chilling ✱ 250g mascarpone✱ 2tsp vanilla…

Difficulty level YOU WILL NEED ✱ Turquoise, light pink, bright pink and lime-green 8mm-wide paper raffia✱ Straw bag✱ Scrap paper✱ Large-eyed needle✱ All-purpose household glue STOCKISTS Straw bag, £28, Next; 30m ball of 8mm-wide paper raffia, £1.04, Rustic Ribbons 1 Embroider with a double length of raffia, the ends tied together with a double knot. If the bag is lined, start and finish by sewing through both layers to anchor the knot. If the bag is unlined, glue the knots to the inside of the bag. 2 Cut three 2.5cm-diameter circles from scrap paper. Pin the circles to the front of the bag to mark the flower centres, keeping the circles at least 13cm apart. 3 Bring a needle threaded with turquoise raffia to the right side, close to one…

Difficulty level MEASUREMENTS Length Approximately 3.8m/12ft 5in from ends of cord. Pennant depth 19cm/7½in. Pennant width 18cm/7in. MATERIALS 2 x 50g (130m) balls of Rico Essentials Cotton DK (100% cotton) in Blue (Dark Teal 40) and 1 ball in each of Orange (Pumpkin 87), Green (Pistachio 86), Light Blue (Mint 116) and Pink (Fuchsia 14)*. Pair of 3.75mm (No. 9) knitting needles; 3.75mm (No. 9) circular needle. Yarn is available from theknittingnetwork.co.uk. TENSION Not essential for this project. ABBREVIATIONS K, knit; p, purl; patt, pattern; skpo, sl 1, k1, pass slipped stitch over (to decrease 1 st); sl, slip; st(s), stitch(es); tog, together (decrease by working as many sts together as stated). NOTES The letter following each instruction indicates which yarn to use. Strand the yarn not in use loosely…

Kakigori Summer by Emily Itami (£20, HB, Orion) The three Takanawa sisters couldn’t be more different. Eldest Rei is a workaholic living abroad in London. Thoughtful Kiki is a busy single mother in Tokyo, and youngest Ai is a J-Pop idol who’s just fallen from grace. Through each of their eyes, Itami tells the story of a family’s clashing of worlds one summer on the Japanese coast. It’s time for the sisters to return to their childhood home and finally confront the loss of their mother 15 years before. Warm, funny and transports you to another world. Saltwater Mansions by David Whitehouse (Phoenix, HB, £18.99) Fans of true-crime podcasts will be hooked by this fascinating and unsettling account of a woman’s real-life disappearance from Margate in 2009. Thirteen years later,…

ARIES 21 MAR – 20 APR Anything that has been stuck for a while can begin to move forward now. This is a good time to return to a project. TAURUS 21 APR – 21 MAY Keeping a positive attitude and maintaining your sense of humour is crucial. If you can, you’ll glide through challenges. GEMINI 22 MAY – 21 JUN Clear communications need to be your focus. Think carefully before sending emails. Sleep on important decisions and see how you feel the next day. CANCER 22 JUN – 23 JUL There’s a golden lining in almost every life situation. If you look for it, you’ll find hidden gems right under your nose. LEO 24 JUL – 23 AUG Be willing to go the extra mile this week. You may…

“For reasons which escape me, I am walking down a long corridor at Buckingham Palace. Or possibly Windsor Castle. I can’t pretend to be all that familiar with royal interiors. By the way, wherever it is, you wouldn’t believe the dust on the skirting boards. And on one or two of the footmen who line the route. Anyway, suddenly I hear somebody coming, so I dive through a nearby door and there, sitting in a deckchair and doing the Daily Mirror crossword with a cup of coffee balanced on her lap, is the late Queen. ‘She was always going on at me’ ‘Oh, I’m sorry to bother you, Ma’am,’ I say. And it’s Ma’am to rhyme with jam. In real life, I would get flustered about this. In my dream,…

SO WHODUNNIT? This year marked 30,000 performances of Agatha Christie’s theatre thriller, The Mousetrap, making it the Guinness World Records’ longest-running show. Its characters are snowed in at Monkswell Manor with a murderer on the loose, and everyone has something to hide. If you haven’t seen it yet, bookings are now extending to 2026. ✱ the-mousetrap.co.uk Buzz words Having a clear idea of bee populations is vital to help them flourish. Scientists at Wakehurst have come up with an ingenious way to monitor them. Bio-acoustic devices have been fixed to a variety of trees, and these pick up the buzzing of passing bees, delivering accurate data on their numbers. It’s hoped the information will help inform urban planning in years to come, with particular trees being selected for their proven…

Arguably our most valuable natural treasure, native trees have been with us since the last Ice Age ended 11,500 years ago. Others, such as the horse chestnut, arrived in Tudor times. Just one mature tree captures up to 22 tons of carbon a year, produces oxygen, filters pollution, and helps prevents flooding and soil erosion. Simply being among trees lifts our spirits and lowers blood pressure, so it’s no surprise that hospital patients may heal more quickly if they can see a tree from their bed. Not to mention the countless animals, birds and insects that rely on them for food and shelter. Here are four of our favourite trees, and some of the curious tales surrounding our wonderful woodland. The sturdy OAK A symbol of stability, a single mature…

1 DOUBLE-DUTY WASH Traditionally, products to wash both hair and skin haven’t been the most enticing, but this cleanser really does clean from top to toe, and feels like a treat to use. The gentle blend of aloe vera and lavender is safe for the whole family too. Green People Daily Aloe Shampoo & Shower, £18, greenpeople.co.uk 2 MUST-HAVE MIST The bestselling All Nighter setting spray has had an upgrade and now contains thirst-quenching hyaluronic acid and watermelon extract. Spritz it to prime and soften skin before make-up, and over your finished look to add staying power. Urban Decay All Nighter Hyaluronic Acid Setting Spray, £29, Boots 3 ROOT REVIVER This new dry shampoo does more than absorb greasy roots. The combination of rosemary, micellar and cherry extract work to…

His behaviour is making me uncomfortable Q I became friendly with a guy at work when he first joined. He’s nice but I never wanted him as more than a friend. He has said he wants our relationship to develop and I’ve told him it won’t. He sends me constant messages and I’ve seen him sitting in my local cafe. I feel as though I’m being stalked. Name and address withheld A I’m not surprised you’re feeling uncomfortable. You need to have a conversation with him about this, and ask him to both stop messaging you and coming to events uninvited. You may feel more comfortable having this conversation with a friend there. He will also know it has been heard by someone else. If that doesn’t make him stop,…

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: Bird with rasping call Average = 15 More than 25 = well done Crossword Try the easy or cryptic clues, then rearrange the letters in the shaded squares for the answer. CLUE: Luckily for fish, dory finally allowed to go back (10). EASY CLUES Across Down CRYPTIC CLUES Across 1 Exciting bonfire Dad heartlessly vetoed (9)5 Blast sheep regularlyto wash (5)8 Stunned to find two thirds of integer (4)9 Confused re moon and star? You’ll need this person…

3 ESSENTIAL OILS TO... Boost your health 1 CYPRESS ‘It’s grounding, purifying, and good for clarity and focus,’ says Simone Stevens, aromatherapist at Tisserand Aromatherapy. Add a few drops to a diffuser when you need to concentrate. 2 LAVENDER The classic calm-down oil. ‘Helps with sleep, relaxation, and even skin flare-ups,’ says Simone. Great as a pillow mist before bed or added to a base oil for a calming sleep-time massage. 3 LEMONGRASS ‘Energising, detoxifying, and refreshing for mind and skin,’ says Simone. It can also act as a natural insect repellent, so burn some in an oil burner or add drops to an aroma diffuser. MY HEALTHY LIFE Emma Porter is a lifestyle coach and food writer. My go-to remedy A walk with Crumble, my miniature poodle. There’s something about…