Innholdsfortegnelse for 27-Dec-2021 i Woman

Did you have a good time filming the Call the Midwife Christmas special? I can hardly remember doing it because I think we recorded it in April, which is a long time ago. I pack my bags and kind of go during [the episode], but I think I shall come back. I don’t think that’s my final appearance. It must be a lovely show to work on? Oh, I always love it. It’s absolutely one of my favourite things to do. I love the people, I love the company, the director and the producers. It’s just a class act. The only thing I don’t like are the children, because in my opinion they’re a bit precocious and rather a nuisance, and my character is supposed to like them. But I…

Shimmer and shine like the DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE Forget drab jumpers, sequin season has arrived! Look royally radiant in key, sparkly separates that you can wear for day or night and dress top to toe in gold. Celebrate in style like CHARLENE WHITE The Loose Women presenter stands out in a figure-hugging jumpsuit. The wide belt defines the waist, while the kick-flare balances your frame. Team with heels to really elongate your legs.…

✱ TAKE TIME OUT You need 30 minutes of relaxation to regain lost emotional balance. Walk, read or do deep breathing until you’re feeling better. ✱ LET OFF STEAM Offloading to someone trustworthy reduces stress. Talk to your partner. Email a friend. Call Samaritans on 116 123; they offer support in any pressured situation. ✱ GET PERSPECTIVE Underneath most festive frustrations there’s loyalty and love. So remember the positives – even make a list of what you value in your family. ✱ LOOK AHEAD Remember that once celebrations stop, tension is likely to fade. But also, explore what needs to occur during 2022 so that this year’s flashpoints don’t get repeated.…

‘I didn’t know who I was’ They say us Brits are great at saying sorry, even when we haven’t done anything wrong, and up until recently, that was the story of my life. I was always apologising for something I thought I’d done wrong and going out of my way to make the people I cared about happy, even if that meant doing things I didn’t want to do. My mum Jan was a single parent, so I spent a lot of time being cared for by my nan June, and while sometimes she could be a wonderful person to be around, showering me with affection, helping me paint, draw and bake cakes, she also had another side to her that would leave me doubting myself. I’d be chattering away…

Mary McLaughin, 56, said, ‘All of my life, I had been told I was an only child, so when my cousin Terresa contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in connecting to a “possibly close relative”, I said, “Well, heck yeah!” I have always wanted a sibling and then, at age 52, hit the jackpot! When Diane appeared on the screen, I saw mannerisms, expressions and physical characteristics which I knew were mine, too. I told her all about our mum, her beautiful auburn hair, how she seldom smiled and smoked like a chimney! Mum was in and out of a psychiatric hospital as I grew up. Mental illness wasn’t really talked about back then, but Mum definitely suffered from deep, dark depression. I remember her sleeping all of…

Jan wasn’t sure how she felt about New Year’s Eve. She’d experienced quite a few in her 45 years, some good and some pretty awful. She wondered what category this year would fall into. Last year had been her first as a single woman after 20 years of marriage. It had been an amicable break-up, but it had still been strange sitting around the long table at the home of friends, making conversation and toasting in the New Year with five couples. This year, she’d been invited to a party being hosted by her friends Sally and Troy. They’d rented out a room above a pub that was only a 10-minute walk from Jan’s house, so she really had no excuse not to go. But part of her just wanted…

PIERS OFF! Piers Morgan made TV history when he stormed off the ITV set of Good Morning Britain after a row over his views on the Duchess of Sussex. He later ditched his show Life Stories to join TalkTV – back at the Murdoch media empire, where he began his career 30 years ago. ANT GETS HITCHED Ant and Dec raised the copycat bar, when Ant wed his personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett in August, after Dec married his PA Ali Astall in 2015. Ant described Anne-Marie as his rock, for her support through his drink-drive arrest and rehab in 2018. KATIE’S CRASH Glamour model Katie Price suffered her biggest drama yet in September, when she crashed her car after a drink-and-drugs binge, followed by a month-long stint in rehab. The…

JENNY AGUTTER We had a visit from Sister Mildred which meant that Miriam Margolyes was with us, which was delightful. She arrived on a milk float! It’s always great when she’s about. Miriam is entirely wonderful and completely unpredictable and just great fun to be around. HELEN GEORGE The Christmas special was a lot of fun to film. We’re obviously preparing for Lucille and Cyril’s wedding, which was quite a big affair and beautiful to be a part of. It was lots of fun to have something to celebrate. ZEPHRYN TAITTE The special centres on myself and Lucille [Leonie Elliott]. I was hands-down scared, because I’ve never before had a whole episode pretty much focused around me. So when it was time to actually do it, I just had to…

It’s that time of the year when dry, flaky skin suddenly rears its ugly head, thanks to a combination of cold, icy weather outside and hot, dry central heating inside. If your arms and legs have seen better days, buff away those flakes with Sanctuary Spa White Lily and Damask Rose Himalayan Salt Scrub, £10, Boots. A gorgeously scented, foaming scrub that will banish winter-weary limbs and leave skin smooth and soft. It’s like a spa treatment in one little tub.…

Good night s sleep Good quality sleep isn’t always highest on the agenda during December, but yo can fake it by slathering on Liz Earle CIC Restore Skin Paste, £29, lizearle.com, before you hit the hay. The Cica extract helps restore and the bilberry seed extra will smooth out fine lines, so your skin wil look plump and ready for action in the morning even if you’re not. Party prep If you’re looking for some speedy pre-party pampering then may we introduce you to the Seoulista Beauty Rosy Glow Primer, £5.50 (for one), amazon.co.u This mask is infused with a skin-nourishing se packed with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide also contains the brand’s unique primer that g skin a glow, reduces the appearance of pores a creates an airbrushed effect. Apply…

✱ CALM (£28.99 for a year, calm.com/sleep). Featuring sleep stories narrated by famous voices, including Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry. ✱ HEADSPACE (from £9.99 a month, App Store and GooglePlay). Meditation guides lower the heart rate and slow breathing for a better night’s rest. ✱ SLEEPIO (free for some NHS patients, sleepio.com/nhs). Techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) help users overcome insomnia.…

Holiday season is here, so this week is likely to be filled with lots of (hopefully good) food. But it can often cause problems. Indigestion is extremely common and many of us know the feeling of being uncomfortably full or bloated after Christmas lunch! Dyspepsia is the medical term for indigestion and it can occur after eating, but may become more constant. Symptoms include pain in the stomach or chest, which can be burning in nature, such as heartburn. Other symptoms include an expanded belly, the sensation of needing to burp and actually burping, passing wind, nausea or even vomiting. You might notice a bitter taste in your mouth or food coming back up into your mouth. The burning feeling you may experience in your chest or throat may be…

Melon, king prawn and lime cocktail A super-speedy assembly job that looks impressive and boasts lots of flavour for so few ingredients. SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 0 MINS ✱ 400g cooked king prawns ✱ Juice of 4 limes ✱ 1 cantaloupe melon ✱ Chilli flakes ✱ Lime wedges, to serve 1 Toss the prawns in half the lime juice. Peel, then cut the melon into chunks and toss in the remaining lime juice. 2 Arrange in layers in the glasses, sprinkle over a few chilli flakes and serve with lime wedges. Per serving: 114 cals, 1g fat (0g saturated), 8g carbohydrates FOOD ED’S TIP You can prepare the melon a few hours before, but leave it covered at room temperature, as chilling dulls the flavour. Beetroot and goat’s…

All Creatures Great and Small CHANNEL 5 In this seasonal episode of the drama, James (Nicholas Ralph) and Helen (Rachel Shenton) look forward to their first Christmas together as an engaged couple, and Mrs Pumphrey (Patricia Hodge) faces a worrying time when her pampered pooch Tricki Woo falls ill… The Great Christmas Bake Off C4 Olly Alexander, Nathaniel Curtis, Shaun Dooley and Lydia West from award-winning drama It’s A Sin compete to be crowned Christmas Star Baker by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith as they attempt three festive bakes. The Larkins ITV In this feature-length festive special, Mariette (Sabrina Bartlett) and Charley (Tok Stephen) return for Christmas, but when his parents arrive to meet the Larkin clan, chaos descends on their farm as a power cut leaves the entire…

This time last year Louise Redknapp was gearing up to spend an intimate family Christmas with the father of her two children. Despite having separated three years earlier, Louise and Jamie were a picture of contentment as they relaxed after lunch in a living room strewn with wrapping paper. Quite the modern divorced couple. Fast-forward 12 months and the picture looks very different. Jamie, recently remarried to the Swedish model Frida Andersson, has his hands full juggling their newborn son, Raphael, and four stepchildren. With sons Charley, 17, and Beau, 13, dropping in to say hello, it will be standing room only. ‘While Jamie’s life is moving forward at breakneck speed, Lou is picking up the pieces and finding her new normal,’ says a close friend. ‘She’s a strong woman…

‘IT’S LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE FOR THE QUEEN’ A row has broken out between the BBC and senior royals, who are furious about a TV documentary accusing them of briefing against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Buckingham Palace took the unusual step of releasing a strongly worded statement on the day that two-parter The Princes and the Press aired on BBC2. And, the following day, Prince William’s office revealed that a carol concert scheduled to be aired on the BBC will now be shown on ITV instead. So why is the Palace so sensitive to suggestions that its sources have released ‘untrue’ stories to paint Meghan and Harry in a bad light? Royals planting stories with the media comes with the territory, surely? No, it doesn’t. The…

GOLD Wearing head-to-toe golden hues is an easy way to up the wow factor in your outfit. Whether you choose sequins or satin, this luxurious tone is a must-have for any festivities. Just pair with a black clutch or heeled-ankle boots for an elegantly pulled-together look. BLACK AND GOLD If you’re after a subtle shimmer, then try black and gold patterns. Intertwining the dark hue with metallic shine gives a classy effect. From bold art-deco designs to classic polka dots, add some opaque tights to a dress or keep your top and bottom half plain to let the print stand out. BLACK A fail-safe little black dress is always reliable and the dark-hued separates make getting dressed a breeze. This season, glam up the slimming shade with metallic accessories that…

Most of us over-cater at Christmas and end up making a meal of leftovers! If you cook food in advance, or know you aren’t going to eat it all, then cool it quickly and store in the fridge or the freezer. Make sure that you reheat the food fully, until it is piping hot all the way through. This is particularly important with rice, which can contain bacillus bacteria, so do ensure it’s either left cold or hot, never room temperature. Home-cooked food doesn’t have a sell-by date on it, but often your eyes and nose will tell you something is no longer safe to eat.…

They say you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family, although for my parents that wasn’t true. They had chosen me and my two siblings, Sally and Daniel. We were all adopted, me when I was just a few weeks old, Sally as a baby, and Daniel as a toddler. None of us were biologically related, but that didn’t matter – not at first, anyway. My mum Martha had desperately wanted children, but after years of trying to conceive and suffering devastating miscarriages, she and my dad Warren decided to adopt. Mum had always told me the truth – that my birth mother hadn’t been able to look after me and, because she’d loved me so much, she’d found someone else to care for me. As a…

ARIES 21 Mar – 20 Apr Events over Christmas could have quite a profound effect on your future, whether a passionate exchange leads to wedding bells or maybe a hard frost on a relationship. For your reading ☎09058 172557 TAURUS 21 Apr – 21 May You know the people who love you don’t need expensive demonstrations of your affection. Keep it simple, whether we’re talking about Christmas gifts or celebrations. For your reading ☎09058 172558 GEMINI 22 May – 22 Jun Take a back seat and watch the fun. Sparks will be flying, and unless they’re the kind that light up your heart, you want to keep well out of it. For your reading ☎09058 172559 CANCER 23 Jun – 23 Jul Somebody has been waiting for this moment to…

The Lost Daughter Netflix In this thriller, Olivia Colman stars as Leda Caruso, a divorcee who’s holidaying when an obsession with fellow holidaymaker Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her young daughter forces her to confront her past. Encanto Disney+ Set in a magical place called the Encanto, this musical animation follows Mirabel, who’s the only child in her family who hasn’t been blessed with a special gift. As magic surrounding her home begins to vanish, she may be the only one who can help.…

The Lost Girls by Heather Young (£9.99, Oldcastle Books, PB) When Justine discovers her Great Aunt Lucy has bequeathed her a lake house, it’s just the motivation she needs to leave her controlling partner, Patrick, and take her daughters to safety. But, not only cold and remote, the cottage holds decade’s-long secrets, which still lay heavy in the air. Back when Lucy and her older sister, Lilith, were growing up in the 1930s, their younger sister, Emily, mysteriously disappeared. For more books information, see goodtoknow.co.uk/books Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (£16.99, Hodder & Stoughton, HB) If there’s anyone who can tackle the pandemic, it’s Jodi Picoult. Diana works at Sotheby’s in New York and has her whole life planned out, including a trip of a lifetime to The…

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME… Christmas. A time for goodwill towards all – unless, of course, you’re being pulled every which way by in-laws, parents, siblings or everyone at once, expecting you to be at their gaff for the big day. So what’s the protocol? Are we all meant to do exactly what we were going to do 12 months ago before our plans were cancelled by lockdown? Or are we free to draw up fresh, exciting plans without causing offence? Well, it very much depends who you’re dealing with. I’ve got a friend who’s having a terrible time trying to let down her in-laws, who think it’s their turn to see them and the kids, when her own parents are expecting them for turkey (good luck with that!) and…