A music station for a dynamic generation
Staycation style
EDITOR SIOBHAN WYKES
14 Let’s hear it for Loose Women’s Body Stories campaign!
ON THE COVER 9 Linda: Bold, brave, unfiltered – You go girl! 10 O.M.G. The one where they get back together 13 Take that, Phil & Holly… Amanda’s revenge 24 Just like Naomi, I joined the New Mum Club at 50! 31 Win! 5 memberships to the Bake Club 56 The Botox boom… Why everyone’s having ‘tweakments’ 66 Win £500 of jewellery at the Diamond Store 69 Three in a bed… and one of them’s dead! 84 £550 prize crossword
SHOWBIZ 16 Saira Khan 21 Carol McGiffin 42 Eddy Grant 58 Lorraine Kelly 62 Eamonn and Ruth
78 The Masked Dancer 85 Ricky Gervais
REAL LIFE 18 I moved in with my husband after 20 years 34 Beware of cyber crime 52 Our men are DIY disasters! 60 ‘We built a playground for our grandaughter’ 70 Cold case files
REGULARS 4 Start your week with a smile 14 Style: Get set to staycation! 22 We’re all talking about 26 Style: Grab your hat! 28 Beauty 32 Diet: Drop 7Ibs 36 Homes: Seas the day 39 Style: Well trained! 40 Recipes: Get set to grill! 45 Cry Freedom! What’s on this Bank Holiday
O Please let me know your thoughts, siobhan.wykes@hearst.co.uk
50 Recipes: Cheers to the long weekend! 54 Dear Vanessa 64 Fiction 67 Your stars 68 Cash advice 74 Girls’ night in… and out 80 Colour therapy 82 Puzzles 86 Travel 90 Treat yourself for under a tenner Hearst Magazines UK is a trading name of The National Magazine Company Limited (Registered in England number 112955) whose registered offices are at 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ. Terms and conditions: Entrants must be 18 or over. Employees of The National Magazine Company trading as Hearst Magazines UK, Spoke and associated companies are excluded from taking part. Hearst Magazines UK retains the right to not award prizes to claimants or consortiums who in the opinion of Hearst Magazines UK have not entered into the spirit of the promotion. Should more prizes be claimed than are available in any prize category for any reason or claimed as a result of a technical error, a simple draw may take place for the prize. The editor’s decision is final. Suppliers cannot be held responsible for breakdown in communication systems or networks. Images are for representational purposes only. SP: Spoke, www.Spoke-Interactive. com. Data Protection: We will use the information you supply to process your competition entry. For our privacy notice visit hearst.co.uk/privacy-notice.
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COVER PICTURES: GETTY, LOOSE WOMEN/ITV THIS PAGE: ALEX LUCK, LOOSE WOMEN/ITV, NICKY JOHNSTON
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t go through their pictures looking for the best ones, quickly deleting the less-flattering angle? Maybe you know how to use an app to make yourselves look even better than the real you. I’m not judging. I’ve done it. I’m just questioning why we all do it and I applaud all of the Loose Women who have relaunched their campaign to be proud of our real faces and bodies, no matter what size, age or shape. I’m in my 50s and, truthfully, I’m not sure what lessons I’m teaching my 24-year-old daughter, when I asked her go into my photos and show me a picture with a filter on it. Since the campaign first launched in 2017, Nadia Sawalha has been a shining example of showing her ‘true self’ – just go on her Instagram. Cellulite, weight gain, a tired face without make-up, bed hair… Why? Because it’s what she (and us all) really looks like without hair and make-up, Spanx and a flattering shot! We only live once. It really would be a shame to waste too much time wondering how we look better in a picture.
R U O Y T STAR
h t i w k e e w SLIME SHOCKER! It was less crowning glory and more slime ’n’ gory when Scarlett Johansson accepted an award at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The 36-year-old got covered in slime by her prankster hubby, Colin Jost, who appeared to have mistaken the ceremony for the Kids’ Choice Awards. She stopped in shock before shouting, ‘What the f***?!’ as Colin apologised. For once, we can excuse the bad language – we’d have been furious!
Royally good news Princess Beatrice has announced she is expecting her first child with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The news is said to have ‘delighted’ both families and is thought to have brought the Queen much joy while she mourns the loss of Prince Philip. The couple have been married since July 2020, and their baby is expected to arrive in the Autumn. Beatrice is a stepmum to Edoardo’s son, Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie, who’s five. The tot will be a 12th greatgrandchild for the Queen (after Harry and Meghan’s second child, a girl, arrives in the Summer), and 11th in line to the throne. Congratulations to all!
WORDS: CLAIRE McATEER, HELEN PIKE PICTURES: GETTY, INSTAGRAM
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Instagram/otimabuse
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Who wowed the crowd?
Oti sizzles in figurehugging scarlet; blue is the hue for Holly, and Georgia hits the right spot
Instagram/hollywillo
ughby
Instagram/geor
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giatoffolo
Who needs symm stay in fashion? T etry to shouldered wond hese onee option. Oti Mabu rs are a classic se hot as a guest on , 30, looked redThe Show, while Holly Jonathan Ross Willoughby, 40, got the blues to h ost in this Safiyaa fro Dancing on Ice ck rece Georgia Toffolo, 2 ntly. And 6, w dotty for this Reb as ecca Vallance gown.
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ICONS REIMAGINED!
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Fancy a laugh? We had a real hoot when we saw some of our favourite music stars transform themselves into their musical idols, for Greatest Hits Radio’s campaign to find the nation’s favourite track from the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties. We love Coleen Nolan as Dolly Parton! The Top 500 most iconic songs will be revealed on Bank Holiday Monday, 31 May. Vote now for your favourite at planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits
HOW TO LOOK
’ ‘De-vine
The cinemas reopening is plenty enough to smile about, but there’s further excitement for the product tie-ins unveiled recently. The release of Disney’s Cruella sees MAC produce a make-up collection inspired by the film, starting from £12.50, exclusive to lookfantastic.com, while Sally Hansen has your fingertips covered with its six bold shades of polish, £9.99 each, from Boots. Black and white hair optional!
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R U O Y T STAR
h t i w k e e w
Now
Fashion throwback
Renée Zellweger turned into a fully fledged film star thanks to Bridget Jones’s Diary, but the 52-year-old had been on the big screen years before that. The frock on the right is a classic Nineties number – from the spaghetti straps right down to the sheer finish. Over 20 years later, the actress screams sophistication in this sleek, stylish Armani dress, which she wore to a socially distanced Bafta celebration in LA last month.
Instagram/theroyalfamily
WORDS: SARAH WHITELEY, HELEN PIKE PICTURES: GETTY, INSTAGRAM, SHUTTERSTOCK
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8 A ROYAL VISIT How lovely does Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, look here? The 56-year-old Royal visited Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey to recognise International Nurses Day earlier this month – and the nurses look delighted to meet her. What a lovely way to say thank you for all of their hard work! 6 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
Renée has left the Nineties where they belong and embraced sleek high fashion
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Y M H IT W E T A D Y L K E WE BEST MATES!
Instagram/garylineker
Then
Everyone is loving being out and about and seeing friends again – including these lovely ladies! Angela Griffin took to Instagram to show off her selfie with Lisa Faulkner and Nicola Stephenson as they caught up over a bite to eat. She wrote: ‘Beautiful lunch with my beautiful girls… The sun stayed out and so did we. And the view… London was looking it finest. Missed it so much.’ Looks like a fab day!
Instagram/theangelagriffin
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9 Where everybody knows your name… Gary Lineker looks right at home in this shot – and it’s no wonder, given the name of the street! The 60-year-old silver fox posted the picture, saying, ‘Bit of filming on Filbert Street and… well… here.’ Quite a funny photo – talk about using his head!
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n o z t i r p S ! r e m m u S If booking a slot at your local is proving troublesome, there are still plenty of opportunities to bring the bar to you! Morrisons have introduced a new Aperol Cocktail Box, featuring all the ingredients you need to make the iconic aperitif. That’s not all they’ve thought of; the kit also includes savoury snacks to nibble on, too. Let the spirit of Italy come to you! You can order the box at morrisons.com/food-boxes for £35, with next day delivery. Cheers!
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Linda Robson has bravely stripped off for a new campaign by Loose Women – and reveals that she’s happy to show the ‘unfiltered’ me…
Linda: Why I finally love my body tars of daytime panel show Loose Women stripped off recently as part of the show’s powerful Body Stories campaign, which they first did back in 2017. They appeared in a series of black and white before and after snaps, railing against ‘body tuning’ – apps which create a ‘tuned’ filtered version of the person, digitally removing any imperfections.
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been up and down. Now, at the age of 63, the Birds Of A Feather actress is back to a more healthy weight, and seems to have finally accepted her body. ‘I’ve got veins and cellulite, but that’s part of growing old,’ she confessed. The proud grandmother added, ‘When I post online I’d rather it was funny than glamorous. I want to have a laugh with people.
WORDS: SHELLEY SPADONI PICTURES: LOOSE WOMEN/ITV
‘I’ve got cellu ulitte bu ut that’’s part of ag gein ng’’ And one of the brave ladies, joining pals such as Stacey Solomon, Coleen Nolan, Denise Welch and Nadia Sawalha in snaps before they were ‘body tuned’, then after – was popular ‘Loosie’, Linda Robson. Linda has had her fair share of body battles, over the years, like most women. As well as a secret battle with OCD, drinking and depression, which led to a breakdown over Christmas 2018 – her weight, and her relationship with her body, has
‘I’m not that worried about my body any more. It is what it is. You get to 63, and obviously I’ve got veins and cellulite, but that’s part of growing old, I suppose. ‘I don’t feel as nervous as I did for the first campaign. The reaction was just amazing last time. I’ve got the picture up in my kitchen. ‘Loads of people were then doing their own Body Stories. It helped a lot of people.” It’s been quite a roller coaster for Linda to get to this point of acceptance.
Back in January 2017, Linda told her fellow panellists that she’d decided to overhaul her unhealthy habits, after it was revealed on a previous episode that she used to eat the sugary equivalent of 100 doughnuts every month. Linda embraced her new lifestyle, took up yoga and lost 3st in 2018, dropping to a size 10, having banned sugar and ditched what she admitted was a bottle of wine a night. Speaking later on Loose Women, however, she admitted that she’d lost too much weight, which ‘made her look 90’. We’re so glad she’s in such a good place now. Linda, you are our absolute inspiration!
Linda, and her ‘tuned’ version (right)
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After 17 years, the cast of Friends are finally meeting up at Central Perk - but some have changed, dramatically…
Our favourite six New Yorkers are reuniting!
fter months (or, at this point, years) of rumours and anticipation, the Friends reunion of our dreams is about to become a reality. The show about the ups and downs of six friends living in New York has proved timeless with its bingeable re-runs. And they will finally meet up for an HBO Max special to honour the iconic sitcom’s 25th (yes, really!) anniversary, talking about those years. So, as we wait for their return, we take a look back at what our favourite friends have been getting up to since – and just how much they’ve changed…
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Rachel
JENNIFER ANISTON
In 2004, our favourite girl-next-door said goodbye to the show and the character that made her a megastar and a style icon. Of all the cast, Jen, now 52 – whose smooth skin and gorgeous hair are as enviable as ever – doesn’t seem to have aged! There are rumours she’s gone under the knife, but she’s always denied them, aside from a 2007 nose job to fix a ‘deviated septum’ – and those genes are clearly amazing. We’re jealous! Though Friends was set to have 24 episodes in its last season, Jen’s movie career only made it possible to shoot 18, the last of which drew in 52.5 million US viewers and another 9.46 million here. A year later, and after five years of marriage and one guest appearance on Friends, Brad Pitt ended things Jennifer’s been with America’s sweetunlucky in love heart, then embarking 10 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
as we know on a relationship with his Mr and Mrs Smith co-star, Angelina Jolie. Jen followed her own break-up with 2006’s The Break-Up, co-starring Vince Vaughn. The two briefly dated – after her romance with Pitt died out, Jen referring to Vince as her ‘defibrillator’. But it wasn’t to be, and by 2012, after working together on the film Wanderlust, Jen and actor Justin Theroux began dating and, shortly thereafter, were engaged. The two tied the knot at their Bel-Air home in 2015, though, after two years, called it quits due to ‘difference of opinion on where to live’. Last year, Aniston won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her work in The Morning Show alongside Reese Witherspoon at the SAG Awards – but that’s not what made headlines everywhere the next morning. A friendly moment between Aniston and Brad Pitt backstage was photographed and sent the world into a whirlwind of Brad and Jen speculation, until all went quite over the thought of a looming Rachel and Ross reunion…
Ross
Hasn’t David Schwimmer aged like a good wine? He still looks great – the few natural From dinosaur wrinkles he’s expert to giraffe developed since Friends he carries off with charm! The man behind Rachel’s on-off love interest – scientist and multidivorcee Ross Geller – went on to be just as iconic a comedy creation with the next generation, when he voiced Melman the giraffe in the Madagascar movies. The 54-year-old actor then married English writer and photographer Zoe Buckman in 2010 and the two had a daughter, Cleo, now nine, but they divorced in 2017. As well as directing two episodes of Joey and the Simon Pegg comedy
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Monica
COURTENEY COX
Ross’s OCD younger sister and chef, went on to star on Cougar Town,which Monica Geller was portrayed by lasted for six seasons, ending in 2015, 56-year-old Courteney Cox. as well as popping up in shows like the Having openly admitted previously American version of Shameless, Modern that she’d had a lot of work done, Cox Family, and Drunk History. is now looking a little more like the old In 2014, Cox got engaged to Snow star we knew and loved, having had all Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid, her fillers dissolved. ‘I’ve had to learn who she met through Ed Sheeran. to embrace movement In January 2019, and realise that fillers Courteney revealed are not my friend,’ she that she and McDaid said in 2017. ‘I’m as aren’t engaged natural as I can be. any more, but are I feel better because still together. ‘It’s I look like myself.’ actually better than After Friends, she it was before,’ she split from her Scream confessed. co-star, hubby David She’s still good Arquette, claiming, friends with co-stars ‘We found ourselves Jen and Lisa – the living separate lives.’ three have a group The pair share 16-yearchat and occasionally old daughter, Coco, meet up, too. We Courteney was a TV ‘cougar’ together. can’t wait to see it The mum-of-one for real ourselves!
DAVID SCHWIMMER Run Fatboy Run, David went on to star as lawyer (and father of Kim) Robert Kardashian in The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story in 2016. His performance earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie. Schwimmer also had a recurring role as Debra Messing’s on-screen love interest, a blogger named Noah, on the Will & Grace revival. In October 2018, Schwimmer made headlines due to his seemingly uncanny resemblance to a suspected criminal in Blackpool. The star responded with his own parody video, pretending to steal a crate of beers and pleading innocent. Schwimmer also currently stars on the Sky One sitcom, Intelligence. But surely, nothing will be talked about more than his return to the coffee house on our favourite orange sofa…
Chandler
MATTHEW PERRY
We’re delighted that Matthew Perry is back for the reunion, as the inimitable Chandler – Courteney’s on-screen husband and arguably the wittiest Friend of the group. But sadly, he doesn’t look like he’s in a great place these days. Matthew’s past struggles have left their mark. The 51-year-old – who never married – looks haggard, puffy and older than his years. Some fans were dismayed on seeing him in the reunion trailer, suggesting he was slurring his words. Matthew sadly became addicted to pain medications during his stint on the show. He lost a drastic amount of weight and checked into rehab in 1997, and Matthew’s had since then has focused a tough time on sobriety.
Matthew went on to star in 17 Again alongside Zac Efron – about, perhaps fittingly, a young man that sees the future and wants to turn things around. In 2018, fans were dismayed when the actor was hospitalised after gastrointestinal surgery. The star also alarmed fans after tweeting he’d ‘got kicked out of therapy’, later clarifiying, ‘Easy guys, it was one session. I’m back in therapy where I belong.’ On the acting front, one of the CanadianAmerican’s other roles would include playing Ted Kennedy in The Kennedys After Camelot – but he’ll always be Chandler Bing to us. Could we be any more excited?!
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Phoebe
Since Friends, Lisa Kudrow, now 57 – who played loveable, singing vegetarian masseuse Phoebe Buffay – easily landed parts in movies like P.S. I Love You, Bad Neighbours, Easy A, and The Girl on the Train. And the years have been kind to Lisa, who – apart from a nose job as a teen – insists that she has never had any surgery, Botox or fillers: ‘I’m not convinced I’d look better. I’m afraid I would only look… altered!’ Other high-profile roles have included Congresswoman Josephine Marcus in Scandal, Lori-Anne Schmidt in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Sheree in Grace and Frankie, in addition to guest-starring on The Good Place. The actress also created
Lisa’s still a star in comedy
WORDS: DANIELLE SOUTHWOOD PICTURES: GETTY, YOUTUBE
Joey
LISA KUDROW
MATT LEBLANC
He’s become quite the silver fox, but aside from the hair and a slightly fuller face (hey, it’s called getting older!), Matt Le Blanc – aka Joey Tribbiani – seems as youthful as ever, though his forehead looks rather wrinkle-free… could he have had a few anti-wrinkle injections there? Either way, the 53-year-old’s looking good. Hilarious, not-so-sharp but a total womaniser, Joey (who also dated Phoebe’s twin Ursula in one episode) stole our hearts with his relatable love for food and the iconic pick-up line ‘How you doin’?’ Three months before Friends’ curtain call, Matt’s now ex-wife Melissa McKnight gave birth to a daughter, Marina Pearl. So LeBlanc’s next role was written in the stars – fatherhood! He also carried on playing the same character in the spin-off Joey, which sadly wasn’t a huge hit and ended after two seasons. Since then, Matt has appeared on Lisa’s Web Therapy and in Episodes, from 2011 to 2017, which earned him a Golden Globe. Matt also came to our shores to co-host Top Gear from 2016 to 2019. But we can’t wait for his return as mischievous Joey!
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and starred in the Showtime series Web Therapy, which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. Most recent roles were on Netflix’s Space Force with Steve Carell and Feel Good. The star previously opened up about her struggles with body image, saying she ‘felt like this mountain of a woman’ next to Jen and Courteney during their time on the show. ‘I have a whole battle all the time,’ Kudrow told comedian Marc Maron while appearing on his podcast. ‘I end up with, “So what? So, all right. You’re older. That’s a good thing. Why’s that a bad thing?”’ We wonder if Lisa will channel her inner Phoebe and grab her guitar to sing us Smelly Cat on this one-off talk show? Who knows when we’ll get this chance again?!
Oh my God...
Can you believe the iconic voice of Jaaanice only appear in 19 episodes of Friends?? A testiment to the scene stealing abilities of actress Maggie Wheeler. Famous Friends fans set to appear in this show include Elliott Gould (Jack Geller), Christina Pickles (Judy Geller), Larry Hankin (Mr Heckles), Thomas Lennon (Joey’s hand twin), James Michael Tyler (Gunther) and Reese Witherspoon (Rachel’s sister Jill). No to mention, drum roll, David Beckham! How’ve you been doing, Matt?
O Back on 27 May on HBO Max USA – and coming to a UK channel soon
best for CELEBRITY Is Amanda Holden, star of BBC hit I Can SeeYour Voice, about to get even with Phillip Schofield by becoming a bigger star than Holly Willoughby?
ou would understand if popular This Morning star Holly Willoughby, the golden girl of the ITV family, was feeling slightly afraid of the rise and rise of another stunning blonde, who is potentially stepping on her toes right now. Yes, we’re talking about Amanda Holden – and this is definitely her year. The Britain’s Got Talent judge and Heart radio presenter, whose fun, flirty style is delighting viewers of her current show, I Can See Your Voice, seems to have cemented her position as one of Britain’s best-loved female stars. And now it would seem the former actress has signed on for a brand-new Channel 4 series – which truly would see
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Amanda believed Phil didn’t want her to cover Holly on This Morning
her becoming the queen of prime-time telly. Best known for being a judge on Simon Cowell’s juggernaut ITV talent show, BGT, mumof-two Amanda, 50, jumped over to the BBC this year for I Can See Your Voice – and she proved just as popular. But two channels clearly aren’t enough for Amanda, as according to reports, she has now signed a deal to front her own yet-to-be-revealed show over on Channel 4, too. Having never accepted a golden handcuffs deal with one station, Amanda can now work across all channels. Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of her. Amanda even smashed the music charts last year, with the biggest-selling female debut album when she released Songs From My Heart. Of course, Holly hasn’t exactly been resting on
her laurels. Recently, she announced a new book, Reflections, which is set for release in October. The description on Instagram reads: ‘Reflections explores what it means to live a beautiful life in the modern world. Here, for the first time, Holly Willoughby untangles topical and emotional issues such as body image, burnout, and control with candour, nuance, and hard-won insight.’ Reports appeared last week that Holly wants to spend more time at home and Cat Deeley could replace her . Although, she is also rumour ed to want to hit the Strictly dancefloor – helped by Italian pro Giovanni Pernice, who declared her his ‘perfect partner’. Sadly Amanda is not the ‘perfect partner’ for Holly’s This Morning bestie and
co-host Phillip Schofield. Believing he was the reason she lost out to cover a stint on This Morning back in 2018, Amanda reached out to Phil by text for a coffee to set the record straight – and got ignored. Despite Amanda insisting she has ‘moved on from it’ on radio, Holly was reportedly upset for her friend Phil when Amanda appeared to be less than sympathetic about him coming out as gay last February. Setting tongues wagging yet again, Amanda posted a cryptic comment on Twitter: ‘Always more interesting what goes on behind the scenes.’ We sense, as any high-profile TV stars in their position would be, Holly and Phil will be watching developments in Amanda’s career with interest and – especially in Phil’s case – with possible unease...
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WORDS: SHELLEY SPADONI PICTURES: GETTY, ITV
No Holden her back...
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‘We’re living in a cancel culture – I agree with Piers’ Former Loose Woman Saira Khan, who stepped away to focus on her skincare range (one our editor loves), opens up on life, love and why she feels people are ‘way too sensitive’ these days… ince she burst on to our screens as a contestant in the first series of The Apprentice, Saira Khan has certainly made her presence felt. She may be just 5ft 1in, but Saira with her former this little ‘pocket Loose Women colleagues rocket’ has been a Loose Woman, a columnist, a TV presenter 12, and Amara, 10 (the and now a skincare daughter she adopted at specialist. But the best just a few days old from thing (we think!) about Pakistan), we caught up Saira is she’s never shy with the feisty 51-yearabout coming forward old, to talk about love and speaking her mind. in lockdown, staying in Married to husband Steve shape and why we all need Hyde and mum to Zac, to stop being so offended…
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But she’s glad her kids are back at school
Instagram/iamsairakhan
Instagram/stevenmhyde
Saira grew closer to hubby Steve during lockdown
Hi Saira, tell us about The Big Lunch, which you’re an ambassador of? Happy to! It’s a great idea – a neighbourhood and communities initiative. We want people to get their neighbours together for a tea party or a barbecue – a lunch – on the 5 or 6 June, which is the official date, but whenever suits you. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get together with your community and get to know each other better. The timing couldn’t be better, really… Exactly. I know people are worried about social distancing, hugs, wearing masks! We have all got used to being stuck inside, but it’s time to come out and get together. Has lockdown changed you? I have 100 per changed my lifestyle. I’m not shopping in-store anymore, I’m not going to the gym. I’ve been working out at home for a year, so why would I pay £80 a month?! I haven’t gone to the pub, and why would I? Now, I just have my mates around to sit and drink in my garden! It’s not that I’m worried about the virus, I’ve just… learned to life differently. Life’s less stressful. I have my skincare range (sairaskin.co.uk), but overall, I have more time. Loneliness has been an issue for some in the last year… Oh yes, I get that it’s been very hard and that there’s also
‘re-entry’ anxiety. No doubt, Covid has brought out the bad side in some – all that curtaintwitching and huffing and puffing from the unofficial Covid ‘police’. Was having the kids at home difficult? I was very lucky, my kids go to a really good school, set up really well with Zoom lessons, etc. But it was stressful. One minute, my kitchen was an art gallery, the next it was a science lab. I was pulling my hair out by the end. If I’m honest, I couldn’t wait to get them out the door and back to school. I love my kids, but I don’t want them 24 hours a day, wrapped round my ankles. And what about your hubby Steve? Lockdown split a lot of couples up but was really good for us. Sometimes, little things you do together make you fall in love again. We’ve grown really close. For most of the second lockdown, my leg was in a cast as I had ankle surgery, so Steve was doing the cooking, the cleaning, running his business, doing the homeschooling and he just got on with it. It reminded me why I married him. What did you do to your leg? I broke a fibula last year doing some filming and now I have a metal plate. It is healing, but it’s not quite right yet. I can’t wear heels!
Supporting The Big Lunch
You’re straight-talking – it’s got you into trouble in the past… We’re living in a word at the moment where everyone is Saira looks too sensitive. I agree with great at 50 Piers Morgan, we do have a cancel culture here. For me, racism is a huge issue, but not every white person is a racist. I’ve been more held back in this country by the misogyny from the Asian community than I ever have by white racism. The biggest threat to any misogynistic community is an independent, self-assured Has it affected your woman. They don’t want it. But fitness routine? I am not going to stop being it. Well, I wasn’t going to let being in Have we really seen the last plaster stop me completely. But of you on Loose Women? I haven’t been able to run since Yes, I’m definitely not going back. last October, and I did do 5k a Loose Women is a great platform, day. So, I bought a bike, instead. but I’ve had my platform. People But I did get very down. It made will start going, ‘There she is, me realise that when people have talking about herself again’ and an injury, you have to be a bit they’re right. I’ve told my stories, more empathic. let’s get new people on there. I do You do look great though… want a non-binary person, a trans When you get to 50, you have person, a lesbian – I want to hear to accept you can’t get away with their stories. That’s how you help what you did when you were change people’s outlook. younger. And for me, as I am only Do you have any regrets? 5ft 1in, weight does show! The one None at all. I think, look forward, change I made was going sugarnot back. I am happy with my life. free. I cut out cakes, biscuits and I’m not one of those people who’s chocolate. The results, even in a like ‘This is my life on Instagram, few weeks, were amazing. I’ve got then there’s my real life.’ I can’t be more energy, I am sleeping better, anything but real! I’ve lost fat around my belly. I admit, I am a sugar-addict. It’s O Saira is supporting the like alcohol addiction. If I know UK get-together The Big chocolate’s in the house, I’ll scurry Lunch, on 5-6 June. Go around till I find it, and when to thebiglunch.com for I do, I will eat the whole lot. more.
E R I F K C 3 QUI S N O I T S QUE
WOULD YOU EVER GO ON STRICTLY?
I would love to! That and the jungle, I would literally do tomorrow. Is anyone reading?!
WHAT’S THE SECRET TO YOUR GLOWING SKIN? Using my skincare line, Saira Skin (sairaskin.co.uk)! Every product contains natural, organic oils, produced without pesticides.
WHAT’S ONE OF YOUR FAVE BOOKS/ TV SHOWS? I’m a bit of a streaming fanatic – I loved It’s A Sin, Billions and Line Of Duty!
WORDS: DEIRDRE O’BRIEN PICTURES: BBC, GETTY, INSTAGRAM, MOYLES PR.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK
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best for CELEBRITY
best for REAL LIFE
But even married, they had separate homes
Claire and David met in 2001
It took until 2013 for them to wed
David only stayed over sometimes
I moved in with my AFTER 20 YEARS! After two decades of living happily apart, Claire Burke and her husband, David, finally decided to take the plunge and live in the same house… smiled as my husband, David, backed into the bedroom, carrying two cups of tea. Our 12-yearold son, Jay, was in tow and the pair climbed under the covers with me. ‘Sleep well?’ I beamed at David. ‘I did,’ he grinned back, kissing my cheek. ‘You?’ In fact, I hadn’t stopped smiling since David, now 48, and I moved in together – which, given that we’ve been in a relationship for 20 years and married for eight – isn’t that long, really… Five months, in fact. Yep, that’s right. Despite becoming a couple, having a child and tying the knot, we’d
I
missed out what many people regard as being a huge part of a relationship – moving in together. I met David in 2001, when I worked as a receptionist for the fire station in Bradford. He was a new recruit and I remember him saluting cheekily as I drove home one day. It made me smile, but I wasn’t looking for love. I’d just broken up with my husband, the father of our three boys – Lee, now 26, Billy, 24, and Max, 21 – and we were all still living in our family home. When I got talking to David on work nights out, I learned he was in a similar situation. ‘I’ve just split from
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my wife,’ he said. ‘We were together since we were 17.’ There was an undeniable spark, but we were determined to take things slowly. It would have been tempting to ask David to move in when my ex moved out. But I had the boys to think about – and it was the first time I’d had a house to myself, and I was enjoying it. I could watch what I wanted, no one snoring in my ear all night… When I downsized in July 2002, I found it exciting to pick what carpets and wallpaper I wanted. Plus, with David’s shifts, we had plenty of days together. Occasionally, after a family
party or if he wasn’t working Christmas Eve, he’d stay over. But apart from that, we’d spend our nights apart. We got into a routine. Watching a film, having a takeaway and a bottle of wine, then David would get up, stretch, and go home. ‘Are you ever going to live together?’ friends and family would ask. Their words got to me. ‘Why do you always want to go home?’ I asked one night in 2006. ‘Do you want me to stay over?’ David asked, surprised. ‘I want you to want to stay over,’ I snapped. The argument escalated and we broke up. Yet, the more I thought
Claire and David with their son, Jay
They feared sharing a home would ‘ruin’ things
about it, the more I realised I didn’t want him to stay over. I wanted the excitement of going on dates – and the independence of living apart. After nine months, we got back together. Although ours didn’t resemble most people’s relationships, it worked for us. Even when I fell pregnant with Jay in early 2009, it didn’t occur to either of us to alter our living arrangements. But in September 2009, Jay was born and diagnosed with Down’s syndrome. All the tests had come back low risk, so it was a huge shock – especially as our gorgeous son had a heart defect too. ‘I’ll stay over,’ David said, an offer I gratefully accepted. It was lovely to have him there, to share my worries, the responsibility – and night feeds. Yet, after five weeks, Jay was sleeping through and David was still stopping over… Suddenly, I had an idea. ‘I’ve bought you a cot,’ I announced. ‘Jay can stay at your house too.’
David would have Jay on the nights he wasn’t working, giving me the respite I needed from having a poorly baby. I’d laugh at the pictures he sent of the two of them watching TV before I settled down for an uninterrupted night’s sleep. So when David proposed on Christmas Day 2011, I had only one question. ‘We don’t have to move in together, do
searched the internet. The only sensible solution was to move in together. u ‘But what if it ruins ‘Don’t feel like yo e m sa e us?’ I asked friends have to follow th se el ne yo anxiously. ‘I don’t want path as ever ay w ht rig e us to start arguing over – go th toilet seats or dirty socks.’ for you…’ I’m a big believer in signs, so when our homes sold immediately and the perfect house came up, just a threeAfter so many years of sleeping minute drive from David’s alone, neither of us would get a new fire station, it seemed that good night’s rest with another we should give it a go. person in their bed. At the beginning of this year, Then at the end of last year, after nearly two decades as a David came home beaming. couple, we moved in together. ‘I’ve been offered a job in It’s been the best thing we’ve ever done. We were giddy with excitement as we picked a bed and wardrobes together. Jay struggled to settle at first so David moved to the spare room, so I could help Jay get back to sleep… but Wetherby,’ he announced. now Jay is getting through ‘As crew manager.’ the night fine, David has I hugged him in delight at stayed in the spare room and the news of his promotion. I’m happy in my king-size bed We’d already been looking in the en suite master room! to move, to find a good high Now, at 54, I’m so happy, school for Jay – this was I keep pinching myself. I feel the perfect excuse to find so lucky to finally live in my somewhere different. dream house with my dream But there was only one man and my dream son. But thing… ‘We can’t afford two do I wish we’d done it earlier? houses there,’ I moaned, as I Definitely not!
‘Even on our honeymoon to New York we got a twin room’ we?’ I asked, horrified. David’s face showed the same shock. ‘God no!’ he spluttered. ‘In that case, yes!’ I accepted. On our wedding day in 2013, everyone jokingly asked if we were going to spend our wedding night in the same bed – but of course we weren’t! Even on our honeymoon to New York, we got a twin room, like we did on every holiday.
WORDS: BETH KILGALLON AND SARAH WHITELEY PICTURES: CATERS
husband
‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned’
best for STRAIGHT TALK
CAROL McGIFFIN THE WAY I SEE IT... Wise words from our feisty, fearless and funny columnist
BONA FIDE BODIES
DON’T LET FALSE IMAGES MANIPULATE YOUR MIND!
y Loose Women chums have done it again. I’m talking about the brilliant Body Stories campaign, which was first aired in 2017. The idea behind it is to show reality in imperfections, to instil confidence in women so they aren’t mired in self-conscious doubt over the way they look. This year, in particular, they’ve focused on the relentless manipulation of images with the hashtag #LWKeepItReal, especially those that are often passed off by celebrities as ‘natural’. Sadly, I couldn’t take part again, which I’m secretly glad about – as these days, I’m not as confident about myself as I once was, and not that long ago, either. I’ve got saggy knees, terrible feet, skin like crêpe paper, bingo wings, and I’ve still only got one boob after my mastectomy seven years ago. So, wearing a bikini is a challenge – although I still do, all the time. But I can honestly say, I have
TT Y , LO OSE W PICTURES: GE
OMEN/IT V, NICK
Y JOHNSTON
‘M
I’m loving... LIGHT DEofNSIM ummer
Another sign my has appeared in ns. The world. White jea season first wear of the rk, heavy means all the da t to the denim goes righ robe and back of the ward d crisp an I now look clean w white ne with my pristine rms! a T-shirts and bare some new d Trouble is, I nee s pairs, as the one I wore last year seem to have shrunk since I last wore them! IT’S ALL RIGHT IN WHITE
never digitally altered a photograph of myself in order to post it on social media. I don’t do it mainly because I can’t be bothered but it’s also just tantamount to lying, to yourself and to others. Plus, there really is no need to as there are tricks you can use, like the angle of the camera (above is better), lighting (crucial to not looking like a deathly pile of mashed potato), poses that will do things like lengthen legs (à la Victoria Beckham), and lifting arms up (yes, you Coleen Nolan!), which always improves a silhouette, even lying down! And always avoid harsh, bright sunlight, as this can give even the youngest of supermodels the appearance of cellulite. Finally, listen to the Loose Women when they say, ‘You Can Look But Don’t Retouch’, and spread the word so that we can help everyone wise up to Photoshop fakery. Then the celebs can crack on with deceiving only themselves.
I’m loathing... THE FOOD POLICE
DON’T COUNT ON IT
The government’s plans to force restaurants to add the calorie content of all their dishes to the menu is another prime example of the nanny state which thinks its citizens are totally stupid. Obviously, it’s just another token gesture to make it look like they’re doing something about obesity, while simply spoiling the occasional treat of eating out for the rest of us. Talk about fun sponges.
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Are you a HUGGER? Some of us are really tactile people, who used to cuddle our family and friends whenever we saw them. Those people will have undoubtedly missed hugging loved ones over the last year. But that definitely isn’t true for everyone… others like having their own space, perhaps find hugging awkward, especially if you don’t know someone that well, and don’t like being touched. This type of human contact isn’t for everyone. Now that the rules have changed (again!), are you itching to cuddle all your loved ones, or are you secretly quite pleased – relieved, even – that it’s perfectly acceptable not to socially hug again? Tell us what you think, and for those raring to get out, turn to page 45 for more info…
Frozen cocktails In honour of the upcoming Bank Holiday, get your creative juices flowing with a refreshing beverage. While Spanish holidays are still a little out of reach, why not recreate one of its hit drinks at home? Frozen cocktails are proving popular on Pinterest, and this Sangria Slushie by sugarandsoul.co is the perfect Summer tipple. Save it for a heatwave!
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PICK of the best L G O IN G V IR A
A peely good idea
Normal People? If we’re being entirely honest, there are things we do around the house that, when we think about it, are a little bit strange, which is why we’re loving @Emma_Lou_’s recent TikTok video so much. Walking around her home she says: ‘Let’s normalise being normal.’ She proceeds to open a cupboard revealing a whole host of tupperware lids, that don’t have boxes, saying she’s keeping them in the hope that one day, the missing boxes will return. She also points out putting plastic bags in plastic bags. Surely we’re all guilty of that?! Find it on TikTok by searching @emma_lou_
OR WEIRDRFUL? WONDE
This may be the most bizarre use of fruit, but it certainly caught our attention! Anna Chojnicka decided to post banana art every day in lockdown under the profile @banana_bruiser, and 400 posts later she’s amassed over 12,000 followers, with pictures ranging from landscapes like this London one to cartoon characters. But despite appearances, no ink is used to create these pictures – just careful FIND US ON bruising. Certainly makes a INSTAGRAM AT… change from banana bread… @bestmagofficial
What a spectacle! Cruella de Vil is an iconic villain and we’re looking forward to watching the new prequel film. It must be a proud moment for British eyewear designer Tom Davies, who made the specs for Emma Stone and Emma Thompson in the film. Although bespoke frames usually take up to four weeks to make, due to tight deadlines, Tom hand-made and delivered them within hours of the fittings. He clearly had a vision…
#FilmsAndSongsForArtists Now that the restrictions have well and truly eased, we’re all ready for a bit of culture – including everyone on Twitter. To celebrate, they have their own unique hashtag… If I could Turner back time!
FIND US AT… @bestmagofficial
Mrs Hinch’s Tesco range Considering she has over 4m Insta followers, it probably comes as no surprise that Mrs Hinch’s first homeware collection for Tesco has been a hit. Landing last month, nearly 100,000 items have already been sold across the UK. The collection includes loungewear in her trademark grey tones, perfect for keeping cosy. We predict it’s not the last we see from the superstar…
WORDS: HELEN PIKE, LOUISE BULGIN, SARAH WHITELEY PICTURES: DISNEY ENTERPRISES INC, GETTY, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, TIKTOK, TWITTER
Trending on Twitter
NE’ S E VE RYO G UP… S NA PPIN
best for REAL LIFE Amy didn’t think she’d ever have kids
Huckleberry arrived with the help of IVF
Amy and Jamey with their son
I had my first b As Naomi Campbell celebrates her first child, Amy Speace, mum to Huckleberry, three, shares her story of becoming a later-life mum t was a magical birthday. Surrounded by my best friends and my husband, Jamey, we played cards, told stories and listened to music. But there was no cocktail in my glass and I wasn’t dancing. In fact, I wasn’t getting up at all. ‘Fifty and nine months pregnant!’ I thought, looking down at my beautiful bump. The flutter of my unborn baby inside me made me feel invincible. It may have taken a while for me to get there. But I couldn’t wait for the next chapter to begin. I never planned to be an older mum. For decades, I never planned to be a mum at all. Growing up, I didn’t have any interest in having children, and in my 20s and 30s, I lived in New York, pursuing a career in acting and singing.
I
There was no biological clock ticking for me. Not only busy and ambitious, I was in an unhappy marriage. The closest I got was at 35, when a friend struggled to conceive. I visited a fertility doctor to look into freezing my eggs. He was dismissive, making me feel that I was already too late. I didn’t grieve, I pushed the idea away and got back to my career. By 2014, when I was 46, so much had changed. I was divorced and had moved to Nashville. I was single and happy with my girlfriends and my dog. I felt at peace. Then, I went to a coffee shop and there was Jamey. At first, I refused to believe that this handsome, thoughtful guy – seven years younger than me – was interested. Then he kissed me.
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Lots of his friends had children, and I loved watching him with them. He’d be an amazing father. Falling in love, I realised I did want a baby. Jamey’s baby. We got engaged in 2015 and started looking at the options – it was one hurdle after the next. My eggs weren’t viable.
Jamey and became insecure about my age. Then in January 2017, we discovered Jamey’s job came with private health insurance. Not only did it cover IVF, but also egg donation. I was thrilled. ‘Let’s do this!’ I said, jumping on the phone. It’s a good job we did,
‘I juggled night feeds and night sweats’ Adoption, surrogacy, even IVF with an egg donor, all were incredibly expensive. We married in 2016 and with every path to parenthood leading to another dead end, I started to get depressed. I felt I was disappointing
as 50 was the cut-off. Family and friends were behind us. No one said I was too old to be a mum. With time ticking, we had to move fast. While it’s the age of the egg that has the biggest impact on viability of the
Instagram/naomi
Top model Naomi has just become a mother at 50
Amy’s happy to be an older mum
With her life experience, Amy doesn’t sweat the small stuff
pregnancy, my age still meant the success rate was only around 40 per cent. For 10 days after my first implantation, I had all the symptoms of pregnancy and was giddy. But I wasn’t. I was devastated. We only had one try – and a few months – left. At the second implantation, there was a problem with the embryo. I thought we had no chance of success. So, when the call came 10 days later that I was pregnant, I collapsed on the floor sobbing with Jamey. Thankfully the pregnancy was pretty smooth. Yes, I had exhaustion and swollen legs. My age meant I had extra scans and an increased chance of a Caesarean birth. And being called a ‘geriatric mother’ drove me crazy! It was also a bit lonely… In Tennessee, America, women have their children young, so I didn’t see any mums my age. My only birth plan was ‘get the baby out alive’. I didn’t have
a nursery decoration scheme or three months rather than six in-depth prenatal classes. I just weeks. I had to juggle new took each day as it came. parenthood and the periI celebrated what my body menopause, so night feeds and was doing. ‘This is the only night sweats at the same time! time I’ll do this’, I’d think I’d have loved to have more as I watched my stomach grow children, so seeing young mums and felt my child kick. ‘I’m with years ahead of them to going to make the most build families can be hard. of every moment.’ I’ve also had moments of When Huckleberry was thinking, ‘I’ll be 70 when born by Caesarean on 16 Huckleberry goes to college’ – March 2018, my life changed or, ‘I wonder if I will meet my forever. ‘I’m a mum,’ I sobbed. grandchildren?’ That’s hard to What’s life like for a think about, so I focus on the 50-year-old mum? In many here and now. ways, the same as at any age. Although most people are You’re never ready for the lack surprised when they learn my of sleep. Like so many women, age, last week a woman called I struggled with breastfeeding me Nana. But I didn’t panic and and faced post-natal think, ‘Am I too old, do I depression. need to dye my hair?’, But, of course, I just replied, ‘I’m there have been his mum, bless ‘If there’s some things your heart.’ A one thing unique to my polite way of I’ve learned’ journey. My saying, ‘You’re for the future n la ‘P C-section an idiot!’ care of the ke ta t bu took longer to Jamey and ’t waste on D y. da heal because I just laughed. worry.’ on gy er en of my age – Being an
older mum has advantages. Emotionally and psychologically, I’m much stronger than I was at 30. I’ve seen the world and I don’t have any fear of missing out. I don’t sweat the small stuff, like worrying if Huckleberry drinks non-organic milk or what happens if he doesn’t get into the ‘right’ nursery. At my age, I know none of that matters. And I certainly don’t care what other people think about me. I’ve had decades to know and love myself, and I put that into being a great mum. At 53, my advice to Naomi Campbell is to enjoy every moment. Last week, I took Huckleberry to the zoo, where he sang Moon River to me and my heart was so full. I may have taken a longer road to get here, but being a mum has made me happier than ever. O Follow Amy’s journey at amyspeace.com
WORDS: KATE GRAHAM PICTURES: GETTY, INSTAGRAM
baby at 50!
TOP TIP! A straw Fedora is perfect with a sundress or jeans and a T-shirt.
£8, George at Asda
£21, Joe Browns
Hat, £25, Joe Browns
£20, FatFace
£8.99, New Look
£15, Regatta
£40, Boden
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y ou r
best for STYLE
£7.99, TK Maxx
£26, Oliver Bonas
r hat!
£10, F&F at Tesco
£19.95, Joules
The perfect cover-up on a sunny day…
COMPILED BY: LARA NUGENT
£4, Primark
£9.99, H&M
s p e t s x Si
to a foolproof fake tan From novice to glow-getter, there’s something for everyone in our expert guide to achieving the perfect golden colour elf-tan can seem like a tricky business, taking precious time out of your evening, plus it comes with risks (streaks, blotches, tell-tale stains between fingers) that can outweigh the results. But, what if, with the right products and a few clever tricks, you could look naturally radiant from head to toe in less time than you’d think – and with less mess?
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GLOW SLOWLY
These no-fuss formulas create a subtle glow that is strengthened the more you use them. What’s more, they don’t need washing off or more blending than a body lotion. ‘Apply liberally every few days to keep your colour topped up,’ says tanning expert Jules Von Hep. ‘No buffing, no blending, just exfoliate the night before, and wash your hands afterwards.’ On in-between days, use body lotion to keep skin supple. BEST LOVES Dove DermaSpa Summer Revived Body Mousse, £9.99.
MIX IT YOURSELF
Tanning drops can be added to your favourite face and body creams to turn them into tanning products. Think of them like cordial: the more you add, the stronger your colour. O Taking enough cream to glide over your skin, add three to four drops for your face, the same for your torso and again for your back. Try four to eight drops per arm and five to 10 drops per leg. O Mix the drops and cream together in your palms and rub hands together well before applying. Use long, sweeping strokes to apply, followed by smooth, circular motions to blend in. BEST LOVES James Read Click & Glow Tan Drops, £25. Just click and mix with your normal cream!
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SMOOTH TALK
Fake tan looks better and lasts longer when the skin underneath is soft and smooth. Oily body scrubs can prevent your tan from working by creating a ‘seal’ on your skin. Instead, use exfoliating gloves or cloths each time you shower, says leading facialist and skin expert Nichola Joss. ‘I use exfoliating gloves all Summer long, often doubled up with an exfoliating body wash.’ BEST LOVES Sanctuary Spa Vitamin C Shower Smoothie, £6.50, and Soap & Glory Exfoli-Great Scrub Gloves, £4.50.
best for BEAUTY
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SELF-TAN TRICKS
Use these techniques once you’ve applied a first all-over layer of self-tan. O To make arms appear more toned… Apply a further small amount of self-tan with a make-up brush right down the centre of the arm, working from the top of your shoulder to your wrist. The key is in the brush strokes – use small circular movements but follow a nice straight line. O To make legs look longer... Use the same technique as above, but follow a line from hip to ankle, working just off-centre around the knee.
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Always use tans that say they’ve been designed for face or face and body. Bodyonly versions can be richer, blocking pores and resulting in breakouts. You can also mix in a dab of your regular moisturiser for a diluted formula that’s even kinder to skin. St Tropez Self Tan Purity Vitamins Bronzing Water Face Serum, £22, contains skin-friendly hyaluronic acid and vitamins C and D in a lightweight base.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Tan formulas have evolved and so have their applicators... O Tanning mitts These have a range of features, including ‘thumb holes’, to help you get into tricky contours, and elasticated wrists to keep them in place. TRY: He-Shi Luxury Velvet Tanning Mitt, £5.99. O Flat-topped brushes These help give a natural-looking finish on your face. Use to tap and sweep the tan over your skin. TRY: Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (pictured), £9.99. O Back applicators Ideal for getting to hard-to-reach areas. TRY: Bondi Sands Back Applicator, £6.99.
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WORDS: HEARST PICTURES: GETTY
TOP TIP! Splash your face with cold water before applying tan. This will tighten pores to create a more even finish.
FACE FIX
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MEMBERSHIP TO BAKE CLUB B
ake Club is a subscription service that allows you to create delicious cakes and desserts from the comfort of your home. Created by Brigit’s Bakery, the Bake Club app has countless recipes with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions from expert pastry chefs. A ‘Box Club’ subscriber gets access to Bake Club’s recipe app, a free set of guided recipes, and a box containing all the ingredients you need to make your recipe of choice. Five winners will receive a three-month membership, equal to three credits worth £68.95. To find out more about the service, visit bake-club.com. To enter the competition, see right.
HOW TO ENTER
ONLINE: Save money by entering online at hearstmagazines.co.uk/best2221a by 11 June 2021. PHONE: Call 0901 027 2724 by midnight on 11 June 2021. Calls cost 30p per minute, plus your telephone company’s network access charge, and will last no longer than two minutes. Charges for mobiles may be higher. Phone line closes at midnight on 11 June 2021. If you call after this time, you will not be entered but you may be charged. Service provided by Spoke: 0333 202 3390. T&Cs: Winners will be selected at random from entries received by phone/online. We will use the information you provide to process your competition entry. For our privacy notice, please see www. hearst.co.uk/privacy-notice. For full terms and conditions, see below.
*TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to UK residents aged 18 and over. To enter, visit hearstmagazines.co.uk/best2221a or call 0901 027 2724 by midnight on 11 June 2021. Entries in the incorrect format will not be considered. This competition opens on 25 May 2021 and closes at midnight on 11 June 2021. Entries received after the closing date will not be considered. The prize is a three-month Box Club membership to Bake-Club.com. Each winner will be required to download the Bake Club app and register their name, email address and home address. For Bake Club’s privacy policy visit https:// bake-club.com/privacy-policy. Five winners will be randomly selected from the entries received. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these Terms and to have agreed to be bound by them. This competition is not open to any employees of Hearst Magazines, the promoter or their immediate families, the promoter’s advertising agency and sales promotion consultancy, or anyone else connected with the creation and administration of the competition. Only one competition entry, fulfilling the eligibility requirements above, will be accepted per person. Once selected, only the winners will be contacted personally using the contact details provided upon entry. Winners will be notified once selected. Winners will have five (5) working days to respond in full or another winner will be selected. Hearst Magazines’ decision is final in every situation, including any not covered above and no correspondence will be entered into in respect of the validity of any such decision. Hearst Magazines shall be permitted to exclude or disqualify any entrant at any time at its sole discretion. Hearst Magazines reserves the right to exclude late, incomplete or multiple registrations, or registrations made by third parties or agents. Hearst Magazines does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. The name of the winners will be available by sending a stamped addressed envelope to House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ, indicating the name of the competition. Entry to the competition and acceptance of the prize constitutes permission to use any entrant’s name, image and any competition entry photograph, for promotional and/or editorial purposes in any format in print and non-print media without additional consultation. No purchase is necessary. Once entered, entries cannot be returned / withdrawn. Spammers will be disqualified. Prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred although Hearst Magazines reserve the right to change the prize in the event of unforeseen circumstances. There will be no cash alternative. We will use the information you supply to process your competition entry. For our privacy notice visit hearst. co.uk/privacy-notice. Hearst Magazines reserves the right to (i) cancel and/or withdraw this competition and/or (ii) amend these Terms, at any time without notice. Where Hearst Magazines runs a competition with a promoter such that the promoter is responsible for the selection and/or the provision of prizes then Hearst Magazines shall not be responsible for or have any liability for the provision of such prizes. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Hearst Magazines be liable, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss, damage or injury arising under or in connection with this competition. These Terms are governed by English law, and entrants agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts in relation to all matters arising under or in connection with these Terms.
best
SEVEN-DAY DIET Been snacking on too much sugar recently? Try a total sugar detox to cut the cravings and help you lose 7lbs fast
HOW IT WORKS Eating a sugar-loaded diet not only increases blood pressure, it leads to inflammation, weight gain and unbalances your hormonal system, affecting skin and making it harder to stay slim. If you do a sugar detox right you’ll start to see the benefits in days. The easiest way is to cut out all synthetic sugars including sugary drinks, sweets, alcohol and meal replacement bars. While you’re detoxing, notice the foods that cause you problems like bloating and the foods that set up cravings – often hidden sugars found in cereals and even bread. By switching to whole grains, greens and lean protein after just 10 days you should notice a change in your taste buds: you’ll be more sensitive to the sweetness receptors in your digestive system, meaning you’ll be less tempted to eat sugar. Even your favourite diet Coke might taste super sweet and sickly! Get your sweetness fix from peppers and low-sugar fruits likes apples, watermelon and berries. Invest in a good blender, to whip them up into creamy smoothies that taste like ice cream. Follow our sweet retreat plan for seven days and you could lose 7lbs.
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WORDS: HEARST PICTURES: GETTY PLEASE SEE YOUR GP BEFORE STARTING A NEW WEIGHT-LOSS PLAN. WEIGHT LOSS ACHIEVED MAY VARY
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Drop 7lbs on the sweet retreat! 32 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
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DAY 1
DAY 2
Fresh start breakfast:
Fresh start breakfast:
Watermelon quencher: Blend ½ watermelon cut into chunks, handful of raspberries, cup of water and crushed ice. 1 slice granary toast with 1tsp almond butter. Low sugar lunch: 1 bag watercress and rocket leaves, 1 small can tuna in sunflower oil, drained, 3 chopped cherry tomatoes. Sweet retreat supper: 2 beef chipolatas with 2tbsp each of carrot or sweet potato mash, green beans and courgettes.
1 egg, scrambled, 1 slice granary toast with 1tbsp each of cherry tomatoes and mushrooms, grilled. Low sugar lunch: Avocado and prawn salad: Toss bag mixed salad leaves with 1 sliced avocado, handful of cooked prawns, drizzled with low-fat Caesar dressing. Sweet retreat supper: Cashew and chicken stirfry: Stir-fry 1 bag stir-fry veggies, 2 chopped spring onions and 1 finely sliced chicken breast in 1tbsp olive oil for 5 mins. Stir in 1tbsp soy sauce and handful of cashew nuts.
DAY 3
DAY 4
Fresh start breakfast:
Fresh start breakfast:
Add 1tbsp each of jumbo oats, mixed seeds and raspberries to ½ large tub natural yogurt. 1 glass of unsweetened green or carrot juice. Low sugar lunch: 1 cooked chicken breast with rice salad: Add finely chopped tomato, red pepper and cucumber to 30g cooked weight brown rice, drizzle with olive oil and lemon. Sweet retreat supper: Medium salmon fillet Brushed with pesto, pan-fried in olive oil for 7-10 mins. 3tbsp each of green beans and carrots.
Blitz 1 each of mango, orange, handful of strawberries with 1 small tub natural yogurt, 120ml semi-skimmed or almond milk. Handful of crushed ice. Low sugar lunch: Wholemeal tortilla with 1 small can tuna, drained, rocket leaves, spring onions and cucumber slices. Large wedge of watermelon. Sweet retreat supper: Chicken with olives: Add 1 chicken breast to 1 large can chopped tomatoes with herbs, 10 chopped olives and bake in moderate oven for 20 mins. 30g (cooked) whole wheat pasta. Green salad.
DAY 5
DAY 6
Fresh start breakfast:
Fresh start breakfast:
Bowl unsweetened muesli topped with handful of blueberries, 120ml almond or semi-skimmed milk. Low sugar lunch: 1 slice granary toast topped with ½ ripe avocado mashed and chilli flakes. Sweet retreat supper: Medium cod fillet pan-fried in olive oil, topped with 2 handfuls of spinach, stir-fried in olive oil and lemon and black pepper. 2tbsp carrot mash and green beans.
2 slices lean bacon grilled with 2tbsp mushrooms and chopped cherry tomatoes. 1 glass of unsweetened carrot juice. Low sugar lunch: Frittata: 2 eggs, 1 small chopped onion, 1tbsp red pesto. Green salad. Sweet retreat supper: Cajun fish fry: Sprinkle 1 cod fillet cut into chunks with paprika, black pepper and ginger. Cook handful sugar snap peas, 1 diced courgette and handful of baby sweetcorn cobs, drain and stir-fry in 1tbsp olive oil with cod for 5 mins. Sprinkle lemon juice.
DAY 7 Fresh start breakfast: 1 slice granary toast topped with 2tbsp almond or peanut butter. 1 glass of unsweetened green or carrot juice. Low sugar lunch: Wholemeal pita toasted and filled with 1tbsp houmous, handful of rocket, tomato and cucumber slices. Handful of mixed nuts. Sweet retreat supper: 1 fillet beef steak or tuna steak pan-fried in olive oil served with 3tbsp sweet potato or carrot mash. 3tbsp each of broccoli floret and beans.
SAY NO TO SUGAR SNACKS Choose one of these crave-reducing snacks each day: O Handful of mixed nuts O 2 tbsp peanut or almond butter, cucumber and carrot sticks O 2 cubes reduced-fat cheese O 2 rice cakes with almond or peanut butter O Large glass of green smoothie or juice O Small bowl veggie soup with veggie sticks O Large wedge of watermelon
best FOR REAL LIFE REPORTS
E K A F Have you noticed an increase in suspicious calls, texts and emails? Now more than ever, we need to…
BE AWARE OF CYBER CRIME 34 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
e’re all spending increasing amounts of time on screens – be it our phones or our computers – and they were a lifeline to many, especially during lockdown. But are we really safe online? Members of team best noticed they were getting more suspicious texts during the pandemic, supposedly from delivery companies and well-known retailers. And it seems we’re not alone. More than 6,000 cases of Covid-related fraud and cybercrimes have been recorded by the UK’s police forces during the pandemic. The Action Fraud team told the BBC that £34.5 million had been stolen since 1 March 2020 in criminal activity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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‘My son laughed at me when I told him,’ says Sally, who lives near Warwick. ‘I’m sure he would’ve spotted that it wasn’t legitimate immediately.’ But would he? It’s troubling that scammers are seemingly getting more creative in ways to obtain money from innocent people. Convincing phone calls and plausible texts/emails can fool even the most
‘Scammers are getting more creative’ suspicious among us. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) says we need to be vigilant when it comes to phishing emails (when criminals attempt to trick people into doing ‘the wrong thing’ such as clicking on dodgy websites), and if whatever is being promised sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The NCSC introduced the hugely successful Suspicious Email Reporting Service, a new feature of the ACD (Anti Cyber Defence) programme launched in April 2020, which received nearly four million reports of suspect emails from the public last year alone. The NCSC say that your bank (or any other official source) should never ask you
Never share personal info in an email or text
Cyber fraud escalated during the pandemic
to supply personal information in an email. If you need to check, call your bank directly. Some scammers will try and create official-looking emails by including logos and graphics (there were fraudsters sending supposed NHS emails and texts during the pandemic), so be wary. If an email addresses you as a ‘valued customer’ or ‘friend’, this could be a sign of phishing and if veiled threats are made, asking you to act urgently on something, be cautious. If you think you’ve been tricked into providing your password, ensure that you change all passwords on all your accounts. Open your antivirus software and run a full scan. If you’ve lost money, you should report it to Action Fraud. Action Fraud say that scams and cybercrime come in many different forms, but there are simple steps to help protect yourself. Never give out personal information to organisations or people before verifying their credentials. Ensure your computer has up-to-date antivirus software and a firewall installed. It’s worth enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra protection too. Sally says her experience has been a valuable lesson, especially when recently receiving bogus calls. ‘I’ve taken full details of any clues from the calls so as to give as much detail as I can to the police fraud reporting department,’ she says. ‘I never give out personal details and I hope sharing my story will help others.’ It just goes to show, we need to be more vigilant than ever and report any suspicious activity.
If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or see actionfraud.police.uk for information. Suspicious emails should be sent to report@ phishing.gov.uk for investigation and texts should be forwarded free of charge to 7726 so your provider can take action if it’s malicious.
WORDS: LOUISE BULGIN PICTURES: ALAMY, GETTY, TWITTER/ROYALMAILHELP
They are scary statistics. The Strangely, Sally says, her City of London Police took laptop did seem to work faster down more than 2,000 websites, after that. But when ‘Microsoft’ phone numbers and email called back to say the money addresses linked to the crimes hadn’t come through, Sally was and there were 416,000 reports worried they would think she of fraud and cyber-crime. was trying to swindle them. The various scam text When she checked her online messages may appear to be from bank account, it appeared what high street banks, Royal Mail, they were saying was true. even the tax office. Texts asking ‘I didn’t realise that, by you to pay for delivery of a parcel now, they had control of my or a recorded message saying computer,’ she says. And, you owe money to someone are ways to scare us and lure us in. While the number of scams seem to have risen dramatically during the pandemic, it’s not a new problem. One person who understands feeling terribly guilty, she how easy it is to be tricked by authorised another payment. scammers is journalist and The following morning, broadcaster Sally Jones. Sally got a call from her bank. Sally, now 66, was working Not only had the scammers to a deadline a few years ago obtained the two sums of £120, and her old laptop became but they’d also tried to take a frustratingly slow. So when further £900 from her account. someone called claiming to be Thankfully, the bank had from Microsoft Support, stating blocked this transaction. that her computer was infected ‘I felt like such a fool,’ Sally with viruses, it seemed plausible. says, and although the situation ‘The caller was polite and could have been much worse, convincing,’ Sally says. ‘It she was annoyed with herself. sounded exactly like all the She set about changing all her people who contact you if you passwords, deleting spyware ring technical support.’ the scammers had installed and Sally was provided with the upping her security through caller’s name and advised not proper channels. She also to deal with anyone else to – reported the incident, as well ironically – avoid possible fraud. as informing loved ones in the The woman even quoted Sally’s hope that they wouldn’t fall computer licence ID code to victim to scammers too. ‘prove’ she was genuine. Usually cautious with these calls, Sally would normally have asked additional questions and checked their credentials Sally was before engaging in conversation, tricked by a fraudster but with an important work deadline looming, she agreed to let them work remotely on her computer. ‘They provided – I later realised – bogus information on a vast number of viruses within the computer and I then stupidly paid them £120 via an overseas transfer company called TransferWise to do Be extra vigilant the necessary work to when online fix the computer.’
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T E K R A M R E P U S T S E B BEEF BURGER Tesco Finest Brisket & Chuck Burger 227g (2pk), £3 Surprisingly, our panel thought these finely ground patties smelt similar to a Cumberland sausage, but on taste, the strong beefy flavour came through. Some found them a little gristly, however – but overall they appreciated the onion and garlic seasoning. Score: 78/100
s r e n n i w t n i o J
WORDS: STACEY SMITH PRODUCTS TESTED BY MELANIE GIANDZI AND CALLUM BLACK PICTURES: GETTY
Waitrose No 1 Hereford Beef 30 Day Dry Aged Steak Burgers, 340g (2pk), £5 Made from grass and forage-fed Hereford British beef, these elegant burgers have a very distinct flavour – think buttery and earthy, with a subtle sweetness. Some may find them a touch too salty (that’ll be the pink Himalayan rock salt), however they’re undeniably juicy. Score: 78/100
BEST SAUSAGE CENTREPIECE BEST LAMB SAUSAGE
Winner Waitrose Pork, Chorizo & Manchego Sausage Whorls, 360g (4pk), £4 This beautiful whirl of orange chorizo will make a striking centrepiece for your BBQ spread. The meat turns a gorgeous golden brown on the grill, allowing the pork to caramelise and develop a rich, buttery flavour with delicate notes of paprika. Well-balanced and perfectly seasoned, every bite was juicy and delicious. Score: 84/100
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Farmison & Co Lamb Merguez Sausages, 6 x 66g (6pk), £6.95 (farmison.com) Taking meat from the lamb shoulder and neck, this is another subtly spiced, long, thin lamb sausage, but this time with the addition of flavoursome harissa and earthy cumin. Some found this one a smidgen salty, but it was the super-juicy texture and pleasantly smoky finish Other that won the winner: Swaledale panel over. Merguez Sausages, Score: 480g (6pk), £7.75 84/100
Joint winner
(swaledale.co.uk), 84/100
best for TESTING
BEST VEGETARIAN BURGER
Winner
Waitrose Vegetarian Aubergine & Feta Burgers, 210g (2pk), £2.75 Our winning vegetarian burger is packed with chunky lentils and butternut squash. Flavoured with gently spicy chilli, smoky paprika and cumin, it reminded some of a fragrant falafel. Although we’d have preferred the feta and aubergine element to be more prominent, overall we think this is a great option if you prefer your veggie burger to taste of veggies. Score: 88/100
BEST BUDGET VEGAN BURGER
Winner
OOD KEBAB Aldi Salmon Skewers, 206g (4pk), £2.99, in store only For something a little different this Summer, these chunky salmon fillet pieces are a lovely light alternative to meat. Marinated in a Thai-style sweet chilli, lemongrass, coriander and soy glaze, our testers found this fish deliciously juicy. Score: 90/100
ASDA Plant Based MeatFree Triple Chilli Burgers 227g (2pk), £2.35 For those that like a fiery kick between their bap, these fresh and vibrant budget-burgers are packed with three types of chilli. They’re bright pink and a touch chewy, but hold together well, so you should make it to the end without resorting to a knife and fork. Gluten-free. Score: 80/100
T E K R A M R E P U S T S BE VEGAN SAUSAGE
Winner BEST MEAT KEBAB Swaledale North African Spiced Lamb Kofta Kebab, 400g (4pk), £8 (swaledale.co.uk) Specialising in native rare-breed meat, online butcher Swaledale allows its lambs to roam free along the Yorkshire Dales. These petite koftas are made with freshly ground lamb shoulder, combined with onion, garlic, chilli, coriander and paprika for a gently spiced North African flavour. The lamb has a decadent fat content to keep them moist. Try serving with a fresh salad, flatbreads and a dollop of cooling yogurt. Score: 90/100
M&S Plant Kitchen Chorizo Puppies, 360g (4pk), £3 Part of the M&S Plant Kitchen range, these bright red chorizostyle sausages achieved a nice char on the BBQ. Dominated by notes of mild sweet chilli sauce and red pepper, our panel enjoyed the well-balanced sweet and smoky paprika and gentle heat in these plump puppies. Gluten-free. Score: 85/100
Winner
O For the full results, visit goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/food-reviews
‘I take things as they come in life…’ Reggae superstar Eddy Grant talks about his adopted home of Barbados, his sadness for the friends he’s lost and revisiting his childhood through music… he words ‘musical legend’ get bandied about with surprising ease, but in Eddy Grant’s case, they couldn’t be more fitting. One of Britain’s best-loved reggae stars, the Guyanese native (his country has honoured him with not only a lifetime achievement award, but his own postage stamp!) kicked off his recording career in Sixties London with The Equals, one of the country’s first racially integrated pop groups, who had an unforgettable No.1 hit with Baby Come
T
The Equals were formed in 1965
Back. Eddy, now 73, followed that success with songs including I Don’t Wanna Dance, and his platinumselling Eighties album, Electric Avenue. Here, the reflective star, who performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations, tells best about the music he continues to make, famous friends swinging by his studio and why, despite the storms, his philosophy on life will always be sunny… Hi Eddy, has the past year been easier to deal with, living in sunny Barbados? Well, recently we had ash blowing our way from the volcano which erupted on St Vincent! The sky was dark by 4pm and, even with your doors and windows closed, the ash would find a way in, cover your floor. Lockdown was OK – until the volcano started its nonsense. In
42 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
Celebrating one of his biggest hits
general, Barbadians take events with grace. I live outside town, in the countryside. It’s not so bad for me. The truly terrible thing has been hearing of the death of friends. You’ve lost friends in the pandemic… Oh, Bunny Lee, the great Jamaican producer; Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals, who I’d sung with some months before he went back to Jamaica and got Covid-19. Lots of acquaintances, some family… Can you imagine the trauma beyond this – when you can stop and think of the ones that you’ve lost? I just have to relax, take it as it comes – as I do most things in this life. This, too, shall pass. You sound like a glasshalf-full person, Eddy… Absolutely. My life has been no cake walk. I thank God for giving me life and keeping me alive. I just hope those friends who’ve died find some peace wherever they’ve gone to, because eventually we all go there, right? You live with your wife, Ann. Have you seen more of her than usual? Yes, I’ve been married to that wonderful woman for 53 years. As a musician not touring due to Covid-19,
I got a chance to at least see her and some of my children. I’ve got kids in London and in Barbados. Zoom is the norm for me now! You’ve had your own studio for years. Didn’t the Rolling Stones record there at one point? They did… Mick Jagger came first, and we recorded his 1987 album, Primitive Cool. Then he brought the band to rehearse for their 1989 Steel Wheels tour. Sting was one of the first to come and use my studio for his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Everything here is on that record – the good vibes, the photography, the sunshine. Artists seem drawn to Barbados… It’s a wonderful package. When I first came here, preRihanna, there was no big ‘star’ coming out of Barbados, so I was able to cast a musical image for the island on the world map. Music has been my constant through the past year, but it always has been. Which musical greats would you have wanted to work with? I wanted to produce three
best for CELEBRITY Eddy with his family in Barbados
A trip down memory lane
Eddie is currentl yw his autobiograph orking on y and calls the experience a ‘nev er-ending trip’ down memory la ne. He says: ‘I can remember things from a long time ago in great detail! I remember arrivi ng in England for the first time. I came in the Winter of 1960, and worst one was 19 though the 61, somebody who lik for me – ed walking around shirtless – living in a cold basement was he ll. But I went on to have some very special memories of the UK…’
Eddy can’t forget the UK Winters!
Looking cool in 1985
politicising the music, just… hearing and liking it. The footprint of your childhood runs through the album. What was it like? Plaisance was on the outskirts of Georgetown – six miles away. But growing up, those six miles might as well have been 600! You just did not go to town. One Christmas, I was taken ‘to town’ to see Father Christmas at a big store called Fogarty’s and it was a massive event! But in the village, we had these massive open spaces. Didn’t matter if your house was as big as a sixpenny piece (ha, that dates me) – you could go outside. You must have had some great adventures… I’ll tell you one. Flooding’s possible there, so houses are on stilts, but mine wasn’t – and when I was little, it flooded. I was always trying to escape – and was at our little gate, jumping over. Somebody had left some wellington boots, so I got in them, and fell into the water! A distant relative was passing, saw this head and these wellies bobbing up now and again. He dashed across this two-feet wide bridge and pulled me out, just before I did the deep six. So yeah, if you like my music, you need to thank that guy! O To buy any of Eddy’s music, visit eddygrant.com
WORDS: SHELLEY SPADONI PICTURES: GETTY, SHUTTERSTOCK
people. Chuck Berry, James Brown, and The Mighty Sparrow – it is from him that I learned how to sing calypso. I could go on – Miles Davis, John Coltrane, these people I got to know, my mentors. That would be one amazing jam… What’s the inspiration behind your re-released 2017 album, Plaisance? The village where I was born. I decided the album would tell a little story of me at a certain age, in Guyana. It has a bit of the culture, as it was then. I’d like to think one day it will be made into a stage play, or something. And the hit single, Is Carole King Here? Guyana was a British colony then, so we heard a lot of British and American music on the radio. Carole King’s was played, a lot. I didn’t know who the hell she was, so the lyrics play around with that! Her coming and going into the life of a kid like me – not
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It’s a Bank Holiday weekend – time to grab your new-found freedom with both hands and make like Mel Gibson in Braveheart, as restrictions ease across Britain and bars, restaurants and cinemas fling open their doors! Take a look at our handy guide for some of the best open-air cinemas (many of which are showing Mel’s classic flick!), where to dine in style – and some serious inspiration for a delicious cocktail , or three… Let’s go! Turn over for more FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE 45
As restrictions ease, film fans are rejoicing as cinemas across the country finally reopen. We take a look at the best open-air offerings – for an unforgettable big-screen experience…
CINEM
SUMMER AT BACKYARD CINEMA WANDSWORTH, LONDON Capital Studios hosts this summer’s Backyard Cinema in the capital. As well as top flicks such as Point Break and Back To The Future, enjoy immersive experiences ‘Miami Beach’ (think palm tree cocktails, oodles of sand and boozy Slush Puppies) and ‘LA Nights’, where the Palm Lounge will transport you to sunny California. From Wed 26 May. Visit backyardcinema.co.uk for details.
@THE DRIVE IN NEWCASTLE @TheDriveIn is a fully-loaded retro drive-in experience (pop-ups also in other cities). Along with films, there’s comedy, bingo, plus silent car discos! And roller waiters bring your food and drink order to a drop-off point close by. Tickets £35 per car. Visit driveincinemas.co.uk/cinemas/ tyne-wear/the-drive-in-newcastle/
46 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
BLENHEIM PALACE For a night of classic cinema under the stars, it doesn’t get much better than the stunning backdrop of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. The eclectic programme includes Bohemian Rhapsody, Star Wars: A New Hope and the classic, Some Like It Hot. 12-15 Aug. Adults, £17.50; kids, £13. For more, visit blenheimpalace. com
DRIVE-IN CINEMA WEEKEND
OUTDOOR CINEMA EXPERIENCE MIDLANDS The Outdoor Cinema Experience takes some of your favourite movies to locations across the Midlands, kicking off with The Greatest Showman at Moseley Cricket Club on 23 May and followed by Dirty Dancing at Avery Fields, Birmingham on 12 June. Tickets from £15.87. For more, visit eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom-birmingham/outdoor-cinema/
THE LUNA OPEN-AIR CINEMA
THE FILM & FOOD FESTIVAL HEATON PARK, MANCHESTER Heaton Park hosts this four-day festival in September – plenty of time to book your tickets! With classic and new films, stand-up comedy and street food, the action begins on 23 September. Saturday and Sunday afternoon are family-friendly, screening hits such as The Lion King, The Greatest Showman sing-a-long and Onward, while Friday, Saturday and Sunday eve boasts a mix of local comedy. Adults, from £16.50; kids, from £8.25. For more, visit filmandfoodfest.com
COMRIE CROFT, SCOTLAND This three-day extravaganza of drive-in cinema, from 4-6 June, in Comrie Croft, in rural Perthshire, shows eight films across the long weekend. Choose from total classics such as Bridesmaids, Mamma Mia! and Braveheart to enjoy on the big screen. Tickets from £20.53. Visit strathearnarts.org
best for BANK HOLIDAYS OPEN-AIR THEATRE! Our pick of the best al fresco offerings across the UK…
WATERGATE BAY CORNWALL Famed as the best drive-in cinema location in the UK, the Outdoor Cinema Experience is back at Watergate Bay, but in a new spot that has the same amazing views over the Atlantic, across Newquay Bay, to the coastline beyond. From 16 July to 5 Sept. Tickets from £26 per car. Visit watergatebay.co.uk.
LET’S GO HYDRO BELFAST, NI Hit the drive-in – it’s a bargain £24 per car as it includes pizza, popcorn, soft drinks, as well as the movie! With screenings every night – from the latest blockbusters to scary horrors – there’s something for everyone. There’s only space for 200 cars though, so book early. https://letsgohydro.com/ drive-in-cinema
CARDIFF OPEN-AIR THEATRE Each year, the award-winning Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival attracts over 14,000 visitors a year across six weeks, in the centre of Cardiff. This year, Richard III by William Shakespeare, and The Railway Children by E Nesbit are on offer. From 6 July. Visit cardiffopenair theatre.co.uk for details. HOMEGROUND, MANCHESTER From Shakespeare’s gloriously funny A Midsummer Night’s Dream to a magical trip down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, via music, cabaret, comedy on a brand-new theatre stage – plus delicious things to eat and drink, make sure you don’t miss out on the most exciting new opening this year! See homemcr.org
PICTURES: 20TH CENTURY FOX, GETTY, INSTAGRAM, UNIVER
WALES This scenic country park in Neath, Port Talbot, is a popular spot for outdoor cinema screenings. There are five offerings this Summer, starting with a Grease sing-a-long. There will be hot food and snacks on offer and a bar! Tickets from £14.50, VIP tickets £20.50. Visit adventurecinema.co.uk
WORDS: SHELLE Y SPADONI AND DANIELLE SOUTHWOOD
MARGAM COUNTRY PARK
THIRLESTANE CASTLE, SCOTLAND This magnificent 16th Century castle, set in a quiet meadow in the Scottish Borders, is just over half an hour south of Edinburgh. Join the all-female troupe on the front lawn, for a bicyclepowered production of Macbeth by Shakespeare. From 26 Aug. Visit thirlestane castle.co.uk
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REGENT’S PARK, LONDON The award-winning Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest in London, situated in the beautiful surroundings of a Royal park. A variety of summer shows, including Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel can be booked. Shows from 17 June. Visit openairtheatre. com
! e id n
TIME TO
If you’re looking for places to enjoy good food, drinks and a long-awaited catch-up, then check out our nationwide options…
TIME FOR TEA
For a lovely treat over the Bank Holiday, book afternoon tea with a French twist at Bistrot Pierre. The tea comprises of baguettes, French patisseries, fruit scones and a hot drink for just £11.95 per person. Or splash out on the Sparkling Afternoon Tea for £15.95. It available every day between 2.30pm and 5pm, but you will need to book 24 hours in advance. Visit bistrotpierre.co.uk to find your nearest location and to book.
ROAST WITH THE MOST Craving a traditional Sunday roast? Brewers Fayre and Beefeater have just launched a super-generous lunch menu, complete with bottomless Yorkshire puds, roasties and gravy. Starting at just £8.99 at Brewers Fayre and from £10.99 at Beefeater, all roasts come with seasonal vegetables such as honey-glazed parsnips and buttery root veg mash, alongside unlimited crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside roast potatoes, giant free-range egg Yorkshire puddings and lashings of velvety red wine gravy. Visit beefeater.co.uk and brewersfayre.co.uk to book.
A TASTE OF FREEDOM If a proper burger has been on your dine-out wishlist, then check out the Freedom Burger at Byron. The 6oz beef patty is available now and is layered with melted Monterey Jack cheese, an indulgent dollop of new special slaw, tangy pickles, and topped off with horseradish mayo and crispy onions encased in a fluffy artisan bun. Celebrate the beginning of the end of lockdown with one of these beauties for £13.95. Visit byron.co.uk to book. 48 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
A POSH PICNIC For the ultimate al fresco feast, take a trip to the Rathfinny Wine Estate which is located in the South Downs countryside. You can enjoy a vineyard picnic hamper for £25 per person, £12.50 for children. Each hamper offers a selection of sides, a choice of a main and a dessert. All washed down with a bottle of Sussex Sparkling Wine, £29.50. They also offer a walk-in option, which includes antipasti sharing platters which you can enjoy in a marquee if the weather lets you down! Visit rathfinnyestate.com
best for BANK HOLIDAYS SAY CHEERS Award-winning gastropub The Bridge Inn, Ratho, is just seven miles west of Edinburgh city centre and is the perfect place to enjoy Summer cocktails. Choose from Frosé, frozen rosé wine coolers, and Frozen Whitley Neill passion fruit martinis as well as an impressive range of local beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks. And for the peckish, the newly installed rustic food shack is dishing up gourmet toasted sourdough sandwiches with fillings such as mac and cheese, chilli or pulled pork and mozzarella! bridgeinn.com
Instagram/ gowerseafoodhut
NEW FROM AN OLD FAVOURITE Catching up with friends? Then it’s worth checking out Frankie & Benny’s as they’ve just given their menu a revamp at all of 103 nationwide restaurants! New dishes include Vegan BBQ Wingz, £6, Sourdough Pizzas, from approx £11, and the Meatball Sub, £10.80, perfect for all tastes and dining requirements. Visit frankieandbennys.com for more info.
SEASIDE SNACK Based on Swansea promenade, Gower Seafood Hut sells delicious fried seafood and cockles and dressed crab from the back of a converted horsebox! Perfect if you want to maximise your time outdoors and still enjoy something delicious to eat. Prices vary, so check them out at gowerseafoodhut.co.uk
Visiting the capital? Rossopomodoro has just introduced a new Italian cocktail menu at their three restaurants located in Covent Garden, Chelsea and Camden. The Hotel Starlino Aperitivo Spritzes and Stambecco Cherry Amaro cocktails are around £9.95 each and great to enjoy with your favourite pizza or pasta dish. Visit the website to check out the menu and to book, rossopomodoro.co.uk
WORDS: LARA NUGENT
HOLIDAY AT HOME
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to the
week Mix up Summer drinks by trying one of these delicious cocktails with a twist
Spicy green Margarita A tropical, herby, citrusy, spicy Margarita, but be warned – it’s hot, hot, hot! SERVES 1
Watermelon martini Who could forget the immortal line of Baby in Dirty Dancing: ‘I carried a watermelon’? Why not keep out of the heat and watch a feel-good Summer movie while sipping this deliciously refreshing cocktail? SERVES 1
160g cubed ripe watermelon 60ml vodka Sugar syrup, to taste A small watermelon slice, to garnish Muddle the watermelon flesh in a cocktail shaker, add the vodka and a handful of ice cubes and shake sharply. Taste and add sugar syrup if you’d like it sweeter. Strain into a Martini glass, garnish with a slice of watermelon and serve at once.
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A lime wedge Sea salt flakes, to rim the glass 8 fresh mint leaves, plus a small sprig to garnish 10 coriander leaves A tiny piece of habanero chilli 15ml mixed agave syrup (a 75:25 mix of agave syrup and water, to make pouring easier) 35ml blanco tequila 25ml fresh pineapple juice 25ml freshly squeezed lime juice Rim a Margarita glass with the salt by first running the lime wedge around the rim and then placing the glass upside down on a saucer of the salt, leaving a light covering around the edge of the glass. Muddle together the mint, coriander, chilli and the mixed agave syrup in a cocktail shaker. Combine with the remaining ingredients and shake with some ice cubes. Strain into the glass, garnish with mint and serve at once.
VARIATION: This also makes a great non-alcoholic drink (agua fresca). Replace the tequila with apple juice and then top up with sparkling water in a highball glass.
best for BANK HOLIDAYS
long
Rosé spritz
kend!
This recipe peps up the popular Aperol spritz with the addition of sparkling rosé prosecco, fragrant passion fruit juice and just a hint of zesty lime juice. The perfect refreshment on a hot Summer’s day. SERVES 1
50ml Aperol 25 ml passion fruit juice (such as Rubicon) 1tsp freshly squeezed lime juice 75ml chilled rosé prosecco Lime wedges, to serve
Tommy’s Margarita This twist on the classic Margarita removes the orange liqueur element and adds agave syrup.
Half-fill a large balloon/copa glass (or large wine glass) with ice cubes. Pour in the Aperol, passion fruit juice and lime juice. Stir and top up with the rosé prosecco. Garnish with a couple of wedges of lime and serve at once.
SERVES 1
A lime wedge Sea salt flakes, to rim the glass 50ml blanco tequila 30ml freshly squeezed lime juice 30ml mixed agave syrup (a 75:25 mix of agave syrup and water, to make pouring easier) Rim a Margarita glass with the salt by first running the lime wedge around the rim and then placing the glass upside down on a saucer of the salt, leaving a light covering around the edge of the glass. Put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add a good handful of ice cubes. Shake hard, then strain into the prepared glass. To garnish, cut a small nick in the lime wedge and slide it onto the rim of the glass. Serve at once.
Strawberry spritz
Extract from Summer Drinks published by Ryland Peters & Small (£9.99). Photography ©Ryland Peters & Small
A gentler version of the perfect spritz, that is deliciously light, fresh and fruity with an enticing strawberry scent. SERVES 1
15ml strawberry syrup 50ml Aperol 75ml chilled fruity rosé
wine (a Chilean Cabernetbased blend works well) 15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice About 200ml cup of soda water Strawberry and lemon slices, to garnish
into a highball glass. Add the Aperol, rosé and lemon juice and stir. Add plenty of ice cubes and top with up with soda water to taste, but no more than 200ml. Garnish with strawberry and lemon slices and Pour the strawberry syrup serve at once.
Another reason to get out and about this Bank Holiday? To avoid some handyman mishaps, like these women have experienced…
Our men are DI ‘If he wasn’t so big-hearted, he’d be under the patio by now!’ Caroline Bigg, 55, from West Sussex, is a company director and lives with her husband Alan
oming downstairs with his tool bag, my husband Alan, 58, looked proud as punch. ‘You’ve done it?’ I asked, incredulously. ‘Yep,’ he said, grinning. I’d wanted our television on the bedroom wall for ages. Heading to admire his handiwork, I opened the door and gasped. The television was literally on the ceiling. I’d asked him to do it level with the doors so we could watch it from bed, but he’d lined up the bottom of the TV with them. ‘We can’t watch that,’ I said, aghast. ‘We’ll get cricks in our neck!’ But I couldn’t get too mad. He’d tried. Yet again I’d learned, my husband is a DIY disaster… It was a running joke with my daughter Emily, 27, that if
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I needed something replacing, I’d ask Dad to fix it, he’d break it and I’d get a new one… A mechanic by trade, he was brilliant with cars, not with houses. Once, he’d tried to fix our toilet but did something to the pipes that caused water to come through the kitchen and the whole ceiling collapsed – the day before Emily’s third birthday. Another time, he tried to fix the gate, but managed to break the fence, botching it together with a few broken pieces of wood we had lying around. It looked awful – and made the gate a bit moot! The worst was when he broke my beloved oven. It was just a plastic knob that needed replacing – a £15 job. But no… ‘It’s OK, love, I’ll do it,’ Alan said.
Only, he pushed the knob so hard, it smashed the temperature control and broke the whole thing. I had to buy a new oven for £700. If he wasn’t such a kind, funny man with a big heart, he’d be under the patio by now! But, after 28 years of marriage, I’ve learnt when something needs doing, I take Alan out and Emily’s boyfriend, Ben, goes to fix it. We just keep it a secret from Alan. Recently in lockdown, I was looking at prices to board our loft. ‘Sounds expensive, I think I…’ Alan started, but I cut him off. ‘No way. You’ll go through the ceiling.’ Thankfully, he agreed and we’re calling in The TV was an expert! just a bit too high…
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Caroline and Alan are now relying on experts only
best for BANK HOLIDAYS Abi’s drilled down into the DIY basics
‘I’m now a DIY influencer!’ olding the drill, I placed it on the wall and applied some pressure. As it whirred to life, Ian came to see what the racket was. ‘I don’t know how you do it,’ he said, in admiration. I was upcycling an old bedside table, and was just doing the finishing touches. But while I love doing it myself, Ian was a hopeless handyman. An academic, his skills were definitely not in the practical department. He once tried to change a light bulb, but didn’t know how to switch off the mains. He could’ve electrocuted himself. When it came to bleeding a radiator or
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Ian could’ve electrocuted himself
Abi upcycled her bedside table
relighting the gas light, his blank face said it all. My grandad, Bob, used to be a builder and my mum learnt a lot from him. In turn, I’d picked up things, though I wasn’t a pro by any stretch. But if I wanted a shelf up, I couldn’t ask Ian. He’d probably lose a finger. So, I started giving things a go myself, watching ‘how to’ videos on YouTube. There was a lot of trial and error, and a few disasters, including when I drilled into the wrong wall, but there’s always a way to fix things. After having our son, Henry, with the train fares and nursery fees, it didn’t make sense to go back to
my HR job in London. So I began making rooms in our house look pretty and posting the pictures on my Instagram, @thewhitethistle. I upcycled things, breathing new life into old pieces. I started getting questions daily about what tools I used, so I started a blog to share things I found helpful, like ‘the best beginner DIY tools’. ‘By spending £100 on a tool, you could save £1000s,’ I wrote. Now, I’ve got over 80,000 followers, and I do ads with brands, so I’m a full-time mum and DIY influencer. I’d urge everyone to give it a try, as long as you leave the electrics and plumbing to the experts!
IY DISASTERS! ‘I had to buy a new office!’
Jade Sammour, 35, from Chelmsford, Essex, is a jewellery designer and lives with her husband Jamille, 31, and their two daughters, Soraya, three, and Attia, two
ooking around my shedcum-office, with its newly uneven walls, botched panels and blobs of glue everywhere, my heart sank. ‘What do you think?’ Jamille prompted proudly. Unable to burst his bubble, I forced a smile and nodded. ‘Excellent!’ I managed. But as we left and closed the door, we heard a series of loud thumps. All of the panels had fallen off the walls, one by one. ‘Oh no!’ Jamille groaned, slapping his forehead. ‘I messed up again, didn’t I?’ Ever since Jamille and I moved in together six years ago, he’d always been extremely enthusiastic about DIY. ‘My
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parents were divorced, so I did everything at Mum’s,’ he told me confidently. But as he got started, I realised his talent didn’t quite match his talk. It didn’t matter when it was wonky pictures. But when it came to his first big job, putting up the curtains, he put the wrong wall plugs in the plaster wall and the pole crashed to the floor. When he filled the gaping holes with Polyfilla, I winced at the mess. When Soraya and Attia arrived and Jamille offered to put up a shelf, he convinced me he’d do it properly. He spent hours going to B&Q for a spirit level and measuring up – but it
was still so lop-sided, their soft toys slid off into the cots. During lockdown, I invested in a posh shed to use as an office for my jewellery design business, but by November, it was freezing. ‘I need to get someone to install some insulation,’ I mentioned. ‘I can do that, Babe,’ Jamille offered. I should have known better… because even after spending £350 on materials and watching countless YouTube videos, it still went horribly wrong. It was so bad, I had to buy a whole new shed. The only good news is that Jamille has finally resigned himself to giving up DIY for good!
Jade soon saw through Jamille’s big words
The shed was a write-off
WORDS: SARAH WHITELEY AND CLAIRE MCATEER PICTURES: GETTY
Abi Hugo, 31, from Maldon, Essex, is an influencer and lives with her husband, Ian, and their son, Henry, and daughter, Emilia
a s s e n a r V a e D r u o y s e l k c a t , z t l e sa F s e n a V , t n u a y n r o u g o a m y t u i h r b d e n l a e c m r o u O wisd , t i w l a u s u r e h h problems wit
WHIRLWIND WORRIES
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y son has just announced that he’s getting married. He is 33, shy, a little socially awkward and has never had a proper girlfriend. While I am happy for him, I can’t help but have some concerns about the whole thing. This woman’s only 22, which seems like quite a big age gap to me – and they only met on the internet five months ago. We have met her twice now and she seems nice enough, and I know that everybody does it nowadays, but I can’t help thinking he is making a mistake – isn’t this too much, way too soon? Dolly, Basingstoke
Your lonely, shy son has met a young woman who loves him enough to want to spend her life with him, what’s not to like? He doesn’t sound like an eligible billionaire who would be a magnet to gold-diggers. She doesn’t seem to be trying to use or manipulate him. Every marriage is a leap of faith. Do your very best to help and encourage this brand new couple, in every way you can. Don’t let your doubts get in the way of your son’s chance of happiness! Give him your blessing.
JUST A HEARTLESS SHOW-OFF?
PICTURES: GETTY, NICKY JOHNSTON
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rowing up, my daughter and my best friend’s son were inseparable. Now her son is an extremely successful entrepreneur – which is amazing. My daughter, who studied linguistics, is freelancing and still struggling to find that dream job. The way my friend shows off about her son’s achievements constantly, in front of my daughter, feels pointed and it upsets my daughter terribly. With Covid-19 especially, she’s had a terrible year and so many unsuccessful interviews. Is my friend deliberately rubbing it in? I feel there’s a sensitivity chip missing! Helena, Poole
She’s supposed to be your friend. So treat her like one. Gently tell her you are thrilled to bits that her son’s a soar-away sensation, but things are so tough for your daughter right now that hearing about it endlessly is taking its toll. Say you’d be delighted to chat about her son’s achievements but only out of earshot of your understandably anxious daughter. If she’s a real friend, she’ll not only understand but have the good grace to apologise for trampling all over your daughter’s feelings. Good luck. 54 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
O Email your questions to AskVanessa@hearst.co.uk
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What’s up Doc? Hilary Jones MBE is a GP, medical writer and Good Morning Britain’s resident medic SCARED OF LASER EYE SURGERY
past year, and y eyesight’s become far worse in the sly looking into the I’m fed up with glasses. I am seriou of something going idea of laser eye surgery. The idea es me and it’s always the wrong, however, absolutely terrifi g, isn’t it?! What are your horror stories you remember readin ary – is it safe? thoughts on the procedure, Dr Hil Dorothy, Northampton
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‘MEAN GIRL’ MUMS
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ow I’m in my 40s, I thought the days of ‘mean girl’ bullying were behind me, but now I’m seeing similar vile behaviour patterns in how some bitchy mums treat me at the school gates. I’m a working mum so don’t have much time to be on the committee or baking cakes for the school fete, and they make me feel very uncomfortable about it. Last week, when I waved my son off to class, I tried talking to the big ‘clique’ but they barely opened their circle to let me in, and generally cut me out of the conversation. It really hurts! Julie, Strathclyde
Isn’t it pathetic? Some
people never grow out of their worst nursery school behaviour. Just think how insecure and damaged these women must be if they get their kicks out of ganging up on other mums at the school gates. The solution here is simply to act as if it isn’t happening. Be friendly. Be breezy. Barge into conversations and chat away as if you are completely confident in their company. Ask for advice. Swap recipes. Once they realise they haven’t managed to get to you, they’ll tire of excluding you and relax in your company. They probably feel inadequate because you are a successful working woman. Maybe they can’t think of anything to say they think will interest you? This will pass.
DR HILARY SAYS: ure affecting your eyes must I completely understand that any proced think that laser eye surgery is be considered carefully and many people still rather novel. years now and is one of In fact, it has been around for many, many choices anybody can make. It the safest procedures and most popular ses, to some extent, because of is actually safer than wearing contact len the risk they pose in terms of infection. out prior to the Extensive screening and checking is carried per than the outer surface of procedure, which does not delve any dee clinic and find out all you can, the eye. Make sure you go to a reputable at all! first. I have had it done, and have no regrets
SE VEINS UGLY VARICOleg s a couple of years
developed varicose veins on my legs often feel terribly ago – I’m only 42! Not only do my so unsightly I’m heavy and uncomfortable, they are see them. I really want to embarrassed about letting anyone ut feeling self-conscious wear summer dresses soon, witho rly straightforward, and is – is the op to get them removed fai it always successful? Lucy, Reading
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DR HILARY SAYS: posed to developing varicose Unfortunately, some people are just predis , or their occupation. It veins. For example, as a result of childbirth can not only be cosmetically can sometimes run in families, too. They they can ache, bruise, lead to unattractive but when large and tortuous y can even rupture. Because eczema or ulceration and sometimes the be eligible to have them treated yours are causing discomfort you would might be a long waiting list. on the NHS – although be warned, there including heating the veins They can be dealt with in several ways – ng a special foam to stick the from inside with radio waves or lasers, usi to tie off and strip the veins walls of the veins together, or via surgery good, completely. The results are usually very although the veins may reform in years to come.
See drhilaryjones.com
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O Got a problem you’d like Dr Hilary to answer? Email him at AskDrHilary@hearst.co.uk
THE BOTOX BOOM After more than a year with no ‘tweakments’, Lesley Reynolds explains why Botox is in high demand post-lockdown and how it can make you look years younger in days…
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Preventing the muscle contracting is what helps smooth out the wrinkles, but if lines are noticeable when the face is resting, they may not completely disappear with treatment.
WHAT IS BOTOX? Full name Botulinum Toxin, Botox is a drug made from a toxin. In fact, it’s the same toxin that causes a type of food poisoning called botulism. Much like skincare, there are many brands of Botox, including Azzalure, Vistabel, Bocouture, Dysport, to name a few.
IS THERE A RIGHT AGE FOR BOTOX? My advice is to consider having the treatment when it’s right for you. However, Botox should not be used for cosmetic reasons on people under the age of 18. In fact, a new law banning under-18s from having cosmetic Botox or fillers received Royal assent in April this year. The average age of patients at my clinic is around 35, and there’s no upper age limit. In fact, many women continue having regular top-ups in their 60s and 70s, although some start as early as their late 20s as a preventative measure to stop wrinkles occurring during their 30s.
ooking for a post-lockdown pick-meup? You’re not alone. It’s estimated that six million Brits are booking cosmetic ‘tweakments’, with the biggest in demand being Botox – the ultimate quickfix for smoothing out lines and wrinkles. Here’s what the buzz is all about.
HOW DOES IT WORK? When injected into your skin, Botox blocks the signal from the nerve to the facial muscle. This muscle then becomes relaxed, and stops the muscle contracting (and it’s this muscle movement over time that deepens lines).
WHO CAN’T HAVE IT? Botox injections are not recommended for women who are pregnant, breast-feeding or for those with neurological disorders. Always check with your GP to ensure you’re a suitable candidate for Botox, especially if you’re on any kind of medication. WHAT RESULTS CAN I EXPECT? Skilful use can make your face look years younger, softer and relaxed. It can smooth fine lines, give a gentle lift to the jawline, erase crow’s feet and frown lines, shrink pores and open up the eyes. It can also be used to
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best for BEAUTY
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER TREATMENT? You will be able to resume normal activities immediately after the procedure, but avoid any vigorous exercise or heavy gym sessions and alcohol for at least 24-48 hours, to give the treatment time to settle in. You can lightly cleanse in the evening but don’t rub too hard. Mineral make-up can be used but do not apply too much pressure to ensure Botox stays put. Avoid facials, facial massage sessions or using home facial electrical gadgets, including rollers or gua stones, for a week or so. Botox is usually ‘bound’ to the muscle after a couple of hours so keep upright for the first four hours. If you have the treatment later in the day wait at least four hours before sleeping and avoid lying on your face to avoid migration. You may notice some redness, minor swelling or bruising, or numbness around the injection sites. If you receive injections in the forehead region, you may, very rarely, also experience a headache. However, these and other symptoms are generally minor and should resolve within a few days. If you’re booked in for your Covid vaccination, wait for seven days until you have any Botox. CAN IT BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES WRINKLES? Yes! Doctors inject in small doses to treat many health problems, including severe underarm sweating, migraines, jaw grinding, eyelid twitches, squints and irritable bladder. Always go to a qualified practitioner, don’t feel afraid to ask about their qualifications or where they trained and which organisations they’re a part of.
O READERS SHOULD TAKE THE ADVICE OF THEIR DOCTOR BEFORE UNDERTAKING ANY ADVICE GIVEN IN THIS COLUMN
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE BOTOX WEARS OFF? Your facial muscles will function as they did before the treatment. This means that the wrinkles you smoothed or reduced will slowly begin to appear again; no new wrinkles will form due to the treatment, you will simply be witnessing old wrinkles reappearing.
PICTURES: GETTY FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LESLEY AND THE TEAM AT THE HARLEY STREET SKIN CLINIC, VISIT HARLEYSTREETSKINCLINIC.COM
smooth vertical bands on the neck, lift droopy corners of the mouth, reduce a gummy smile, upturn the tip of your nose and help to control excessive oily skin. After treatment there are no scars to worry about, no downtime and it takes minutes to perform. Results are seen after three to five days, with best results after two weeks. Even better, results can last from three to five months, making it one of the most cost effective and easiest treatments to choose.
Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE… On the cushion? We know Lorraine loves pet pooch Angus and she obviously likes doggie-inspired accessories too!
WORDS: NICKY DAWSON PICTURES: INSTAGRAM
Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
WINDOW SEAT Lorraine certainly makes the most of the large windows around her home – this spot is perfect for a cuppa!
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Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
PATIO Here’s Lorraine on her decked patio – we’re loving the grey rattan garden furniture (very on trend), glasstopped table and the lush greenery of the garden.
ALL SET Lorraine revealed how her dining room table had been set ready for her birthday celebrations. Candles, fresh roses, and beautiful tableware… wish we were invited!
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Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
best for CELEBRITY Instagram/lorrainekel
COSY CORNER With its sloping ceiling adding loads of character, we love this cosy corner in Lorraine’s bedroom – perfect for relaxing and flicking through a magazine!
ROSIE’S ROOM Lorraine’s 26-year-old daughter, Rosie, has this beautiful bedroom – complete with dressing table. It was given a make-over thanks to Lorraine’s partnership with furniture manufacturers Wayfair.
Instagram/ lorrainekellysmith
y l l e K e n i a r r o L Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
Instagram/lorrainekellysmith
TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, 61, relocated from Dundee to Buckinghamshire with her husband, Steve, and dog, Angus. Here, we have a look round her gorgeous family home…
SOFA QUEEN This is where you might find Lorraine when she’s not on the TV sofa! A comfy, relaxed living space here.
THE GUEST HOUSE One of the most inviting parts of this house is this charming standalone guest house – all ready for some visitors!
We built a playground Possibly the best grandparents in the world? That’s what Poppy, five, thinks!
s that all there is, Nanny?’ Our granddaughter Poppy’s face was a picture of dismay, gazing at the so-called playground. It was awful – just a couple of rusty old swings, caked in what looked like decades of bird poo. When I married my husband Brian in 2001, we already had four children from previous relationships, between us. In recent years, we’ve been blessed with six grandchildren. We love spending time with all of them. But our most frequent visitor is Poppy, now four, whose mum is my daughter Shauni, 27. Shauni’s a single mum, so Poppy comes to stay with us most weekends. Now Brian and me had moved to East Studdal in Kent – a quiet village community where people were welcoming and friendly. But the first time we took our grandaughter to the village recreation ground, she was so disappointed! She normally loves the swings, but there was no way any child would want to sit on those nasty ones. Looking at her glum little face, I couldn’t bear it. ‘There’s nowhere for me to play!’ she wailed.
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Before I could stop myself, managed by our local Sutton I blurted out: ‘Never mind, By Dover Parish Council. Poppy. Nanny will build you We contacted the parish a new playground.’ clerk, who was very helpful. Back home again with Brian, In September 2019, Brian my heart was in my boots. and I attended a parish I’d made a promise to our council meeting, to officially grandchild and obviously that couldn’t be broken. But I hadn’t thought it through and didn’t know whether it was even possible. How on earth was I going to make my promise come true? I work in a housing office and Brian, 66, is an environmental health officer. We asked around to find The recreation out that the recreation ground wasn’t fit for purpose ground was owned and
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ask if they could put in a proper children’s playground. But while councillors agreed that new equipment was definitely needed, they said they didn’t have the funds to do the work.
The playground now contains a slide and an adventure trail
best for REAL LIFE
for our granddaughter! create what was known as ‘pocket parks’ in derelict areas. We found out how to apply. First, we had to do a survey of every home in the village, to demonstrate that most residents were in favour. Then we had to give our group a constitution, open a bank account, and submit a detailed application to the government, including proof that the parish council as the landowner was supporting the playground. There was quite a lot of work required. The deadline for applications was 24 December 2019 – we just managed to tick all the boxes and put our application in that day! Then it all went quiet. ‘Will you build me a park soon?’ Poppy was asking. ‘Erm, we hope so,’ we told her. Finally, in February 2020, we got a reply… our application for pocket park funding had been successful! We were awarded £25,000, and also were given a couple of small grants from the parish and county council. Brian and I were over the moon. Now we knew we’d actually be able to make my promise to Poppy come true, and benefit all the parents and children in the village. With online research, we found a company called Playdale, who manufacture play equipment. They worked with us to come up with an exciting new playground with swings, a slide, adventure trail and a tractor. By June 2020, the new equipment was installed. But by then, the UK was Poppy loves having in the midst of a space to play
The playground has benefitted young families in East Studdal
‘With help, we’ve managed to achieve something special’ the Coronavirus crisis, and most playgrounds across the country were closed. So SPARC couldn’t hold the opening picnic ceremony we were planning, until the parish council had carried out a risk assessment on how the playground could be safely used with social distancing. We took Poppy to the park and said: ‘Look what Nanny built for you.’ Even though all the equipment was behind tape and out of bounds for the time being, she was really excited and just couldn’t wait until she could get in there and have fun. The playground finally opened in July 2020. In total, it cost £30,000. Brian and I have christened it Poppy’s Park, unofficially.
It has now been handed over to the parish council, who as the landowners are responsible for insurance and maintenance. Watching Poppy soaring up towards the sky on the new swings, we feel very proud of ourselves. After all, we’re not fundraisers, just an ordinary Nanny and Grandad! But with help from our new friends in the village, we have managed to achieve something special. Together with fellow SPARC members, Brian and I are resolute that we won’t stop there. We hope to seek further grants of around £20,000 to install equipment for disabled children, and may eventually follow that up with adult exercise equipment. It will be a lot of work to improve the park further, but we’ve done it once so we know we can do it again. But I’m going to have to be careful in future – just in case Poppy asks me to build her a theme park next time! M Once the coronarvirus is under control, Kim Gibson, 55, and Brian will be raising funds for the park.
WORDS: TRACY GAYTON
And then, they threw our request right back at us, saying: ‘We will have no objections if you wanted to raise the money, yourselves!’ Brian and I went home that night more determined than ever to give Poppy and all the other village children somewhere to play. We put a message on our village’s Facebook page. East Studdal has only 200 homes and 750 residents, but there are quite a few young families. We were pleased with the response from our new neighbours, many agreeing that a proper park was just what we needed. Their responses brought home to us how socially isolated our village is – with few local amenities. There is no nursery or playgroup or school. People were telling us that young families living just a few houses apart on the same streets didn’t even know each other, because they had nowhere to meet up! In October 2019, we started a group we called SPARC (Studdal Park and Recreation Community). It had about 40 members, with a committee of six people. Now we started looking for ways to fund Poppy’s dream playground. Somebody told us about government funding that was available to
Eamonn & Ruth
, s y a s He s y a s e sh uple Britain’s best-loved co uth Eamonn Holmes & R ugh Langsford talk us thro this week’s news…
PICTURES: BBC, ©EAMONN HOLMES, GETTY, INSTAGRAM, ITV/YOUTUBE, NICKY JOHNSTON
FOR THE LOVE OF THE JOB Instagram/ EAMONN: Being eamonnholmes ill these past couple of months with my back has made me dependent on a lot of people. Coronavirus has made us collectively dependent on those Eamonn’s working for the National mum relies Health Service. Not only on nurses dependent, but also, it had, but because Jasmine seems, inspired, because wanted to be there and look the pandemic has created what is being after people who were going through called the ‘Nightingale’ effect. a tough time. One thing is for sure, we’re Such is our admiration for the caring all going to go through a tough time. professions that 11,000 more people than We just don’t know it yet. usual have become nurses, midwives and My mother is 92 years of age, frail health visitors. I salute every one of them. beyond belief, yet still self-sufficient – Part of my admiration stems from the fact or at least, she likes to think so. Outside that I don’t believe I would have what it family, the big differences in her life takes. That so often, these are people not are the nurses who come to administer motivated by their pay packet, but by the injections, change bandages and the like. difference they can make, and the help that Not only are they incredible at what they they can give. do, they are incredibly sociable. All of us I sat talking to a young student nurse should encourage and applaud people like called Jasmine last week when I was at one Jasmine, and to those 11,000 other new of my regular appointments. I was in awe of health staff, ‘Your Country Needs You’. her wide-eyed enthusiasm towards nursing. Thank you. She had three years to go before she would pass all the necessary exams. I left with a spring in my step, not because of the steroid injection I just
‘We should all applaud our health staff’ Eamonn
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MY LINE OF DUTY
EAMONN: While everyone was marvelling at the huge audience figures of 15.24 million for police drama Line of Duty, I couldn’t help but notice the previous record for such a show had stood for 20 years. If you cast your mind back, how many of you can remember Heartbeat on ITV? I certainly do, even though I’d never seen a single episode. The long-running show starred Nick Berry, among others. I was always tucking the kids into bed, and when I heard the theme tune my heart sank, as I knew it was time to grab my taxi for Belfast International Airport on a Sunday night, heading back to London for GMTV. So for me, a great programme with hearttugging memories.
Heartbeat stirs up bittersweet memories
best for CELEBRITY
WINGING IT RUTH: What if you want to have a holiday abroad, but still have a fear of mixing with crowds and picking up Covid? A lot of folk think they can play safe by hiring a private jet. Not as horrendously expensive as you may think, because when the fee is divided between, say, 10 travellers, it could be around £700 per person. People feel safer travelling in their own bubble, and they’re prepared to pay for it. Eamonn and I have been lucky enough to experience private jets filming our series How The Other Half Lives. No queues at check-in or passport control, either. The whole experience is bespoke and with more than a packet of peanuts and a can of lager on board believe me, once experienced, it’s very hard to go back to reality!
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Eamonn and Ruth enjoying the high life
Ruth: ‘Overindulgence is coming back to haunt a lot of women’
RUTH:
So ‘Bennifer’ or Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, look like they’re getting it on again. They were the ‘in’ couple before Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – otherwise known as ‘Brangelina’ – or Kim Kardashian and Kanye West – known as ‘Kimye’. I hope it works out for them, because they give hope to anyone who has ever been in a romance that didn’t work out. Social media will be going wild with exes trying to find exes. I wonder if I will get a call from the boy who snogged me in that phone box in 1976? Until then, I am sticking with ‘Eamuth’ or ‘Reamonn’…
LET’S NOT DRINK TO THIS
RUTH: I like a drink at ‘wine o’clock’ as much as any of you. Now, though, a little overindulgence is coming back to haunt a lot of women, with a surge in the number of patients with alcoholic liver disease. Life is hard enough, which is probably one of the big explanations as to why a glass of wine or gin has appeal, but we need to realise life will be even harder if we don’t keep our intake in check.
Are ‘Bennifer’ a thing again? Ruth certainly hopes so...
It’s easy to turn to a glass of wine during tough times
ONE TO WATCH BY: ADELE PARKS chool, the training ground of the barbaric. Some say they have never been bullied, which always makes me think they probably bullied someone else or at least turned a blind eye, decided not to see to another person’s loneliness, sadness; choosing to only see strangeness and a scapegoat. Relieved, mostly, that they weren’t the ones being teased or ostracised. Cowards. Bullying is a term that has lost its power through overuse. It shouldn’t have, we should still all be afraid of the gang, the herd, the mob. When I was a girl, namecalling was dismissed. ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,’ retorted the teacher if you tried to tell them that someone had said something so cutting, so vile that you wanted to vomit. There were sticks and stones too, sometimes, but actually they never hurt as much as the words. The teachers got it wrong. They often do. I had hoped never to see Sharon Cole after I left school. She occasionally pops up in the odd nightmare, if I am going through a particularly stressful time at work but I’ve moved 200 miles from where I grew up, so I hadn’t really expected to see in the flesh again. Yet, here she is, larger than life, at my daughter’s first music
S
concert at her new school. I recognised her immediately. She hasn’t aged well, which is somewhat satisfying; she’s put on weight, her skin is saggy, but she is unmistakably her. Any residual doubt I might have vanishes when I see her whisper to the thin, pale woman sat close by. Her words sneak out from behind her hand; then she laughs, spitefully, and glances disparagingly at another mother. I know that routine. She hasn’t changed. I can hardly concentrate on Annabel’s performance.
Bullies are extremely clever, ambitious and cruel A shame, as she’s practiced hard, wanting to make a good impression. She thinks being good at something will help her make friends. She’s wrong. More than anything, Annabel wants friends. My job has meant she’s had to change school three times already. I’ve promised her I won’t take any
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more promotions if they involve a move. The Headmistress comes onto the stage, says a few words about the extraordinary talent of the children. Most of the kids’ performances were enthusiastic, rather than gifted, I’d have preferred if she’d said as much but Headteachers of this sort of school, one full of middle-class deluded mothers, have to be careful. They nurture the illusion that every little average is the next Beethoven. We clap politely then head to the place where tea and coffee is being served. ‘Jenny Inks. Really?’ Her voice cuts through the chattering crowd, I freeze. I’d hoped maybe she wouldn’t recognise me; with my caramel low lights, my expensive clothes and jewellery, I’m much more toned and athletic than I was at school. When I look at the few photos I’ve kept, I hardly recognise the sad, scared little tubster that stares back. But I suppose it’s the scar. She has to remember that. She leans in and lands kisses left and right. I feel defiled but it would be childish to rub them away although my hand is itching to do so. ‘Jenifer Clark-Burrows, now.’ I say, although my husband’s ancient double-barrel name can’t protect me from Sharon Cole. I know it can’t. ‘I’m Sharon Thompson now but you’ll always be stinky inky
to me,’ she laughs. She turns to her friend who is hovering like an anaemic shadow. I don’t know this woman, but I do, there was always at least one, bolstering up Sharon, confirming her power. ‘Jenny used to wet her pants, even in junior school, that’s how she got the name.’ I never wet my pants. One day I sat on damp grass making my school dress wet, Sharon put about the rumour that I’d peed myself. It stuck because her lie was funnier than the truth and kids – people – aren’t interested in the truth. ‘Well, it seems like you married well despite being stinky, Inky,’ she says dropping her gaze to my ring hand. I did marry well, insomuch as I love
my husband enormously and he loves me, but Sharon means I must have married someone rich to afford a school like this. In fact, my husband is a poorly paid but very brilliant botanist; I’m a Partner in a large management consultancy, responsible for multi-billion pound clients, who are household names. I’m the highearner. I don’t tell Sharon this. I see how it is in her world. Men pay for everything, women waste their time being bitchy and competitive. It’s ironic, if Sharon had channelled her skills into business, she’d have been successful. Bullies are extremely clever, manipulative, ambitious and cruel. If she’d dialled back the cruelty, settled instead for cut-throat, she
too could have been paying the school fees. ‘I have four children,’ she says, although I haven’t asked. ‘You?’ ‘Just the one, Annabel.’ I hate myself for saying the word ‘just’. There is nothing ‘just’ about my lovely girl but mothers of large families always make me feel apologetic. Sharon draws up her face in a mock-sympathy smile, ‘Oh dear. A lonelyonly. Did you have trouble conceiving or are you one of those career women who is just too busy for a family?’ I seethe but my tongue lies fat and useless at the bottom of my mouth, refusing to spring into action. Normally, I’m articulate, coherent, even funny, but Sharon has reduced me. She’s taken me back to
the girl that couldn’t tell her teacher that when she raised her hand to answer a question, she was stabbed in the leg with a compass; couldn’t say that her homework had been deliberately defaced, rather than just “careless and untidy”; couldn’t say that her gym plimsoll had gone missing, turned up in the loo cistern, an unwearable embarrassment. My hand is shaking, the teacup rattles in its saucer. Drawing attention like an alarm bell. Sharon is staring at my scarred, shuddering hand. She won’t meet my eye. It happened on the last day at junior school. As a rite of passage, for the kids who were moving on, we were served doughnuts and coffee. An unthinkable concept now, giving eleven-year-olds caffeine and sugar, but there you have it. The monitors had to help make and serve. Sharon was Chief Monitor because the teachers didn’t know her as the pupils did. When I’m in the sun now, I can still feel the agony of the scalding skin, see it flare angrily, curl to a crisp and then disappear altogether, peeling from the bone. The Head insisted we call it an accident. He wanted to smooth waters, not to dive into murky troubled depths. They can’t protect you. I was in hospital for weeks, missed most of my summer holiday, my parents were too distraught to investigate whether it was an accident or not. It wasn’t an accident. ‘Oh, I’ve just placed your daughter, Annabel is in the same class as my Natalie. She mentioned there was a new girl. Natalie knows everyone. Practically runs this place. She joined aged five. I always think it’s best to get your feet under the table as soon as possible. You missed a trick there. Bad Mummy.’ Sharon says with a laugh. I had thought twice about sending Annabel to a school where most the kids start age five and some others join at eleven. I’d feared
she’d be an outsider, but the Headmistress assured us that the new cohort settle in quickly. Of course, she wants the fees. ‘Was that your daughter playing the piano?’ ‘Yes,’ I mumble. ‘She’s very good.’ It doesn’t sound like a compliment. ‘Natalie is on a music scholarship. She’s excellent. Not that we need the money. I put it in an account, so she can buy herself extras. You know what they’re like for labels at this age.’ Not really but I don’t say anything. I mumble an excuse about needing to get home and set out to find Annabel. My mind is whirling. Was Sharon threatening me? Is her daughter likely to bully Annabel as Sharon bullied me? It would be different now. Not boiling water from kettles but pictures on Snapchat, words on social media insidiously creeping into our home. No rest. No escape. +++ ‘It was an accident. No, there’s no suggestion anyone was pushed.’ The headmistress explained to the annoying, journalist. ‘Mrs Thompson will make an almost perfect recovery. Yes, a broken ankle, cracked ribs. Yes, unfortunately she is withdrawing her children from school, she feels coming here every day would be traumatic. But our places are very much in demand, onwards and upwards. Mrs ClarkBurrows? Oh, she’s well. A little shaken. She tripped, fell straight into Mrs Thompson, the stairway was so busy as all the parents were leaving. Now, did I mention the ClarkBurrows girl is quite the music protégée? One to watch.’ Both of You by Adele Parks is published by HQ, HarperCollins, out on the 27 May in hardback, ebook and audiobook
PICTURE: GETTY, HARPER COLLINS
best for FICTION
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*TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to UK residents aged 18 and over. To enter visit hearstmagazines.co.uk/best2221 or call 0901 027 2710 by midnight on 11 June 2021. Entries in the incorrect format will not be considered. This competition opens on 25 May 2021 and closes at midnight on 11 June 2021. Entries received after the closing date will not be considered. The prize is a £500 voucher to spend at thediamondstore.co.uk. Thediamondstore.co.uk will cover postage costs for the prize. The winner will be randomly selected from the entries received. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these Terms and to have agreed to be bound by them. This competition is not open to any employees of Hearst Magazines, the promoter or their immediate families, the promoter’s advertising agency and sales promotion consultancy, or anyone else connected with the creation and administration of the competition. Only one competition entry, fulfilling the eligibility requirements above, will be accepted per person. Once selected, only the winner will be contacted personally using the contact details provided upon entry. Winner will be notified once selected. Winner will have five (5) working days to respond in full or another winner will be selected. Hearst Magazines’ decision is final in every situation, including any not covered above and no correspondence will be entered into in respect of the validity of any such decision. Hearst Magazines shall be permitted to exclude or disqualify any entrant at any time at its sole discretion. Hearst Magazines reserves the right to exclude late, incomplete or multiple registrations, or registrations made by third parties or agents. Hearst Magazines does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. The name of the winner will be available by sending a stamped addressed envelope to House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ, indicating the name of the competition. Entry to the competition and acceptance of the prize constitutes permission to use any entrant’s name, image and any competition entry photograph, for promotional and/or editorial purposes in any format in print and non-print media without additional consultation. No purchase is necessary. Once entered, entries cannot be returned / withdrawn. Spammers will be disqualified. Prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred although Hearst Magazines reserve the right to change the prize in the event of unforeseen circumstances. There will be no cash alternative. We will use the information you supply to process your competition entry. For our privacy notice visit hearst.co.uk/privacy-notice. Hearst Magazines reserves the right to (i) cancel and/or withdraw this competition and/or (ii) amend these Terms, at any time without notice. Where Hearst Magazines runs a competition with a promoter such that the promoter is responsible for the selection and/or the provision of prizes then Hearst Magazines shall not be responsible for or have any liability for the provision of such prizes. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Hearst Magazines be liable, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss, damage or injury arising under or in connection with this competition. These Terms are governed by English law, and entrants agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts in relation to all matters arising under or in connection with these Terms.
GEMINI
22 May – 21 June Geminis such as silver screen acting and directing legend Clint Eastwood, and everyone’s favourite judge, Rob Rinder, should not have to push themselves forward with immense effort. If they do their best to stay calm under pressure and are happy to go with it, they’ll start feeling as if they are making progress.
VIRGO 24 August – 23 September You aren’t sure whether someone is deliberately making things awkward for you, or if you are being too sensitive. You’re doing your best to take a logical approach to emotional matters. You could make it easy on yourself by staying positive. Pottery, jewellery-making, music and art are good outlets for your creativity.
SAGITTARIUS 23 November – 21 December Despite a few problems early on, most things will turn out better than expected. You could meet with some interesting moneymaking opportunities. Contact with an old friend will prove lucky for you. A useful tip they give you will fatten your purse. There is also plenty to congratulate a young relative about.
PISCES 20 February – 20 March If you’re thinking about adding to your qualifications, check out your options. You need to have clear objectives to realise your potential. When you know what you want it will be easier to communicate your needs to others. There is a helpful accent on family and medical matters as the week ends.
CANCER
22 June – 23 July Don’t wait until you trip over the hurdles in front of you. Try to be organised and plan ahead. If you sense there will be problems, make contingency plans. Take a proactive approach by being creative and being ready with alternative suggestions. An extravagant impulse will need sensible handling on Thursday.
LIBRA 24 September – 23 October A little luck is that special ingredient that makes you confident you’re on the right track. You’re brimming with happiness and contentment. Everything is going well and you will want to share the fruits of your success with family and friends. People love to be in your company as you always make them smile.
LEO 24 July – 23 August You need to set yourself goals and stay focused on them if you are to feel you are doing something with your life. To achieve your heart’s desire, you need to be intent on this aim. Whether you dream of making more money, finding a soulmate or getting a better job, focus on your intention and believe it will happen.
SCORPIO 24 October – 22 November Your focus is on relationships now. Take advantage of any opportunity to broaden your circle of friends. You’re likely to welcome this chance to meet some fresh faces. An online romance will seem to have had a lot going for it – meeting in person will give you a better idea on how this might develop.
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
22 December – 20 January An extra burst of energy is being injected into your relationships. Group activities are fun because you’re with people who appreciate your taste and respect your views, and friendly invitations are giving your social life a boost. You’re surprised by how well you are getting on with people, but stop analysing and just enjoy.
21 January – 19 February Get some extra help to meet a deadline. You are aware time is running short and you want to complete a task that is important to you. Someone you need to talk to will prove difficult to pin down. If they refuse to discuss a serious matter, an ultimatum could work better.
ARIES 21 March – 20 April You might get that weird feeling, as the week begins, that something wonderful is in the air. This prepares you to snap up a great opportunity when it arises. A bonus or surprise financial gift will be received. Just watch the tendency to be slightly impatient. Making money from your creative efforts is a strong possibility.
TAURUS 21 April – 21 May An exciting job opportunity will fall into your lap. Keep a lid on long-term plans until you are more certain about how to make these happen. But be careful to make sure you don’t miss out on a chance to make new friends because an old friend is trying to prevent you from doing what you want to do. FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE 67
PICTURES: BIGSTOCK
your stars
For the week 25-31 May, with Russell Grant
best for CASH ADVICE
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Here are some simple steps to help you get organised and take control of your spending habits – especially if they’ve changed over the past few months…
Join our campaign and get your finances sorted at hearstmagazines.co.uk/ ffbest for money-saving tips and brilliant advice on being financially savvy.
KNOW YOUR INCOME This isn’t just salary, it could be money from interest on savings, cash gifts, child benefit, rental income, selling things online, etc. Subtract your monthly expenses from your income to see whether you have a shortfall or surplus. This will determine your next steps – reining in or making use of that extra money.
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KNOW WHAT YOU SPEND Check bank statements and receipts to see exactly how much you are spending each month. Add up all your fixed expenses (like household bills, rent or mortgage payments, credit card payments) and how much you are spending on other essentials such as food, petrol, toiletries, pet food, etc. Make time to sit down and do this – nothing on your bank statement should come as a nasty surprise!
How to create a budget and stick to it!
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KNOW HOW TO BUDGET If you’re not a spreadsheet kind of person, try apps such as Moneydashboard, Yolt and Emma. Digital-only banks such as Starling and Monzo are on the money when it comes to tracking spending. You can also check your spending and make a monthly or annual budget at moneyadviceservice.org.uk. We also like the 50:30:20 rule – allow up to 50 per cent of your income for things you need, leave 30 per cent for things you want and commit 20 per cent to savings and repaying any debts.
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ANALYSE OUTGOINGS AND COMPARE PRICES Checking that you’re getting the best price possible should be a matter of course, whatever you’re buying – from new trainers to switching insurers. Price comparison sites are one of the best ways to do this for a variety of things. Remember it’s your money, don’t waste it – so always find the best deal you can!
WORDS: CAROLINE BLOOR PICTURES: GETTY
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FOCUS ON PAYING OFF DEBTS Nobody needs to be paying interest on credit cards. If you are, set up a 0 per cent balance transfer card to tackle the debt. Put your debts in priority order and decide how you are going to tackle them. For free help on this, contact stepchange.org. If you think it’s achievable on your current spending and saving regime, think about overpaying your mortgage to clear the balance more quickly.
best for REAL LIFE David and Jane Drew’s life is filled with the dead
Three in a bed! obody wants three people in their marriage, least of all when the third wheel is your mother-in-law. Even less so when your motherin-law has passed away. But that’s exactly what Jane Drew has to cope with on a daily basis. She’s married to professional psychic David Drew, who insists he is in regular contact with the dead. Jane and David met back in 1984 in Blackpool, when Jane, now 57, attended one of David’s shows. A year later, they were married. Of course, Jane already suspected David’s work meant there might be some unusual goings-on in the marital home… Her first experience of the spirit world was in the early days of their relationship. ‘Sitting in the lounge, watching TV, David shouted something – I can’t remember the remark now – something
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jokey to one of his spirit by spiritual strangers – or helpers and all the knives people they knew. and forks in the drawer in the Jane confessed that they are kitchen started rattling,’ Jane often visited by her mothertold Holly Willoughby and in-law, Joan, who passed away Phillip Schofield in a recent in 1979. Although Jane can’t interview on This Morning. see her, she’ll sit on the end of ‘That’s when I thought, “oh the bed and bounce a couple of hello, this is going to be quite times to make herself known. a ride. I’m going to stick with ‘It can be a bit of a mood this guy”.’ killer,’ Jane admits. ‘Just like if The couple, who live in you went into your son’s room Llandudno, North Wales, and caught him in a personal explained that spiritual circumstance, you’d be the presences show themselves first one to turn around and more when we are relaxed, so get out of there. It’s exactly they are often visited just as the same if someone’s in spirit, they fall asleep or are about to you don’t want to be there wake up. any more than they want It led Holly you there, so they and Phil to just step back, as ask what if stepping into happened if a curtain – like the couple into a different were dimension – getting and think this is intimate something for a and were different time.’ Joan’s spirit visits visited Jane’s mother, the couple – even
Mary – who passed away in 2019, aged 89 – also visits from time to time, but the couple find it comforting. When talking about their experiences, David said: ‘She comes to visit from time to time but when we lose someone, we lose the physical person. We can grieve the loved one, but if we have the knowledge they are living on in the other world, that’s nice to know.’ David says he became aware of his psychic abilities aged two or three, when visited by spirits in the night. His mother thought he was talking to imaginary friends at first. He says his abilities are a gift and should be used to help others. Even so… most of us would prefer our mother-in-laws to step out of the bedroom! M Jane has written a book about her experience, entitled The Psychic’s Wife: Lifting the Veil.
in the bedroom
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WORDS: LOUISE BULGIN PICTURES: ITV
What would you do if your (dead) mother-in-law visited your bedroom?
e s a c d l o c
s e l i f THE CRIME: A beautiful teenager, a life full of potential and a grisly, tragic end. Could this schoolgirl help to solve her own murder…?
A murderer was on the loose here…
Michelle planned to go to uni
WHODUNNIT? Read our cold case file and see if you correctly predicted the killer’s identity…
THE CASE: Michelle Martinko was like any other teenager on the cusp of starting her adult life. The high school senior was popular, clever, loved to sing and was an upbeat member of the
The bubbly blonde loved to perform
BY LOUISE BULGIN
school twirling squad. The pretty, vibrant blonde performed in theatre productions and had plans to go to university, where she wanted to study interior design. It was an exciting time too. There were just a few weeks left of 1979, and there must undoubtedly have been excitement as to what the next decade might bring. At the time, Michelle lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with her parents Albert and Janet – and her older sister, Janelle. On 19 December that year, though, everything changed for the Martinko family. Michelle had
attended a choir dinner at a local hotel and at around 6.30pm, she’d headed to Westdale Mall. She was driving her parents’ 1972 tan Buick and the teenager loved the shops. The mall had only been open for a few months. Still in her dinner outfit – a black dress, tights, heels and a waist-length white and brown fur jacket – she was collecting a new winter coat. She was seen chatting to friends she’d bumped into and browsing merchandise. Only when she hadn’t returned home by the early hours of the morning, her terrified parents called the police at 2am to report Michelle missing. Around two hours later, the police located the family car, still parked in the north-east section of the shopping centre car park. Although the windows were frosted, they could see someone slumped inside… Tragically, they discovered
Michelle’s bloody body in the passenger seat footwell. The 18-year-old had been brutally stabbed more than 10 times in the face and chest – the girl who had been so full of life was now dead. Michelle must have been so scared and defensive wounds on her hands showed police that she’d bravely tried to fight off her attacker. She’d even been taking self-defence classes to keep herself safe, but she had been overpowered. Investigators found no fingerprints or weapons at the scene, but believed a blade to the heart would have likely been the fatal blow. Poor Michelle had lost a third of her blood, but there was DNA… It looked like there was blood on the gearstick – and on the back of Michelle’s dress. But who would want to hurt her? Her devastated friends and family couldn’t understand why she’d been attacked and killed so viciously. Police had a theory, though… Could Michelle have known her killer? They thought that
Michelle was stabbed in her Buick
her murder could have been personal because she’d received so many stab wounds to her face. Suspicion fell on her ex-boyfriend, Andy Seidel, who was rumoured to have been possessive of Michelle, and friends and family hadn’t warmed to him. But he was quickly cleared of any wrongdoing. While her heartbroken loved ones laid Michelle to rest way before her time at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, police launched a murder investigation. More than 200 phone calls and letters were received by the police from
‘A blade to the heart would have likely been the fatal blow’
THE SUSPECT:
Blood was found on her dress
The teen loved shopping
people who all wanted to help or offer information. Police worked tirelessly, chasing every lead and interviewing hundreds of people. And when it seemed like no progress was being made, a reward of $10,000 (£7,200) was offered to help catch the teen’s killer. Michelle’s family also tried, unsuccessfully, to sue to the shopping centre for negligence in providing ‘reasonable security’ for Michelle.
But in 1995, Michelle’s father died and just three years It wasn’t until June 1980 later, her mother Janet that the police released a also passed away. composite sketch to the Neither had ever come media. The image of the man to terms with losing their in his late teens – or early 20s daughter – or received – was based on descriptions the closure they’d given by two witnesses desperately wanted. But who had seen a man at the friends and family didn’t shopping mall. give up hope… The police’s phenotype This person of interest was Over the years, report believed to be white, around investigators continued 6ft tall, but more than 60 to follow up any new leads suspects were eliminated and devastating blow for and put out more requests tragically, the case went cold. Michelle’s family, who wanted for help, but none of it led to It must have been another justice for their daughter. Michelle’s killer.
NEW EVIDENCE? In 2006, following DNA advancements, investigators were able to create a profile using the killer’s DNA and eventually, detectives turned to DNA that had been freely given in genetic genealogical research to trace possible relatives. It helped to lead to many convictions – including that of the Golden State Killer, who had terrorised California in the Seventies and Eighties. Could this help in Michelle’s cold case killing? Police turned to pioneering DNA phenotyping to predict the physical appearance and ancestry from the DNA evidence they had gathered from the crime scene all those years ago. Portraits and predictions about the killer’s possible background were considered. Using a commercial genetic genealogy site and DNA evidence, investigators were able to build a family tree, and narrow down the suspect to just three male relatives based in Iowa. Two of these men were discounted, leaving only one suspect… Jerry Lynn Burns.
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e s a c d l co
s e fil
…and new DNA technology finally nailed him
A pizzeria sealed his fate
S N O I QUEST ED? R E W S AN Jerry Lynn Burns lived in Manchester, approximately a 45-minute drive north of Cedar Rapids where Michelle had been killed. He’d previously co-owned a truck shop and built a petrol station and shop near where he lived. By 2018 though, he owned a powdercoating company. Burns was put under surveillance by investigators. They needed to obtain his DNA to see whether it matched the evidence left at the crime scene. Their breakthrough came when one officer saw Burns drinking out of a glass with a straw in a pizza restaurant. When Burns left, the items were collected and taken to a specialist lab for testing. It was a match to DNA left at the crime scene. On 19 December 2018 – 39 years to the day that Michelle’s life was cruelly cut short – Burns was arrested. He couldn’t explain why his DNA was on the schoolgirl’s clothing.
Her friends and family were thrilled that they might at last receive answers, but for Janelle Stonebraker – Michelle’s sister – it was bittersweet that her parents weren’t around to witness the arrest. Those who knew Jerry Lynn Burns were stunned at the news. In February 2020, the trial began and Burns, then 66, pleaded not guilty to firstdegree murder. The defence claimed Burns had visited the shopping centre before and Michelle may have picked up his DNA while browsing in the shops
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A photo of Burns and his family
and somehow transferred it to her car. They also criticised how the evidence from the murder was handled and stored, suggesting it could have been contaminated. The prosecution, however, with the DNA, could place Burns at the scene and the odds of the DNA match being wrong were ‘astronomical.’ They also shared footage of Burns after his arrest in the back of a police car discussing whether he might have blocked out the memory of murdering Michelle.
Innocent: Michelle’s ex, Andy
Janelle finally saw justice
In just three hours, a jury found Jerry Burns guilty of murder and he was sentenced to life. Janelle’s husband, John, later spoke of Michelle’s bravery. ‘We’re thankful that she fought so hard. Michelle played a critical role in identifying her own killer,’ he said. ‘The defensive wounds on her hands show it. She fought so hard that she was able to deflect the killer’s knife so that he stabbed himself, leaving the blood that caught him. In a very real way, Michelle became her own best witness.’ With her killer now behind bars, the hope is that her family have finally found closure. PICTURES: CBS NEWS/48 HOURS, GETTY
The photofit resembles a young Burns…
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This week’s mustsee TV 1
Mariah: The Diva, The Demons, The Drama FRIDAY, CHANNEL 5, 11.30PM
You may have to set the record button for this one, but if you’re a fan of the biggest diva of all time (and let’s face it, who isn’t?) don’t miss this biopic exploring the soaring highs and excruciating lows of 2000 to 2001, the year in which Mariah Carey’s pet project – the ill-fated movie Glitter – seemed to send her spiralling both professionally and personally. Includes interviews with family and collaborators with the All I Want For Christmas Is You singer.
UP G N I M O C
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Domina FRIDAY, SKY ATLANTIC, 9PM
This epic eight-part historical drama that follows the life of Roman Empress Livia (Kasia Smutniak) started last week. As the story begins, we meet a naïve young girl whose world crumbles after Julius Caesar’s assassination. In the years that follow, she must navigate her way through a brutal society to find revenge. Continues on Friday, or catch up on the first couple of episodes on Sky – but it’s not for the faint-hearted!
CINDERELLA Amazon Prime Fairytale fans, get ready for the new modern musical version of Cinderella, starring singer Camila Cabello and Handsome Devil’s Nicholas Galitzinet. The iconic fantasy story is set to launch exclusively on Amazon Prime this September. The film also stars Frozen’s Idina Menzel, so if you’re a sucker for a sing-a-long, don’t miss it.
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YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT Sky Cinema If you’re partial to a thriller, this really is a must-see. Strange events plague an unlikely couple (Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried) and their young daughter when they rent a secluded house in Wales that has a dark past. If you stick with it to the end, you won’t be disappointed.
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Bake Off: The Professionals
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TUESDAY, C4, 8PM NEW SERIES
Pastry chefs from hotels, restaurants and small businesses battle to be crowned best patisserie team in Britain. The teams face testing challenges judged by world-class experts, Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden. For their first trial, the battling bakers must produce Tarte Piemontaise and a Jaffa Cake!
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THURSDAY, BBC TWO, 9PM NEW SERIES
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T CORONATION STREE Natasha tells Nick and Leanne that if they won’t go to the police, she will. Shona finds Natasha in the police station waiting room and begs her to reconsider, pointing out that by involving the police, she’ll be putting Sam in even more danger. What will she do? Elsewhere, Jenny is suspicious when Sharon tells them of her change of plan. Johnny and Jenny head to the bistro for lunch – Jenny’s put out seeing Ronnie and Sharon at the next table, but is intrigued when Johnny says he knows her from the prison and that he has no knowledge of the mentoring scheme she claims to be part of.
The Road to Partition
Part one of two. On 22 June 1921, King George V and Queen Mary arrived in Belfast for the official opening of the first Northern Ireland parliament. Fearful for their lives, they had come to a city scarred by sectarian violence. One hundred years on, this is the story of the events that led to the partition of Ireland.
Big Soap Story
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Springwatch 2021 TUESDAY, BBC TWO, 9PM NEW SERIES
Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan are broadcasting live from Wild Ken Hill in Norfolk, as cameras capture the dramas of such birds as avocets and barn owls. Elsewhere, Iolo Williams encounters red deer in Scotland, and Gillian Burke dips into Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.
THEY SAID WHAT?! On last week’s (brilliant) Loose Men, they discussed if flirting counts as cheating… ‘I flirt with everyone - men and women,’ said Martin Kemp. ‘Just keep respect for your partner in mind.’ Quite right. Then Richard Madeley asked: ‘Are you allowed to say when your partner’s not there, “I find you very attractive”?’ The answer was a resounding no. Oh, Richard – as Judy says – you are awful, but we like you!
EASTENDERS Sharon makes up with Linda and tells Zack she wants him gone. Vinny wonders about his brother’s mystery woman but Kheerat refuses to kiss and tell, while Suki is desperate for money for mysterious reasons and asks Phil for a loan, but he refuses. Elsewhere, Sonia is taking things step by step with her dad and Rocky is still determined to win her heart.
EMMERDALE
Despite Sam and Samson’s best efforts, Lydia sees what’s been posted about her online and she’s heartbroken by it. The next day, when a brick is thrown through their window, protective Samson is worried about leaving Lydia alone. He urges her to call the police about the harassment, but Sam wants to settle this the Dingle way. Meanwhile, Kim’s shocked to see a figure enter the house on the CCTV system. And finally, will we discover what is really wrong with Kim…?
Watch thing! ONE
Toby Jones
Danny Boy CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES! ALL THAT GLITTERS… With more lockdown restrictions having lifted, celebrate in style with these stunning bottles of bubbly from theglitteremporium. co.uk. With a variety of glasses, bubbles and soft drinks to choose from – it really does look as good as it tastes, so what are you waiting for?! PARADISE! Now that we’re allowed to have people over, why not make the most of the 2021 barbecue season with this stunning ‘Paradise’ banner from partydelights.co.uk? At just £5.95, guests will be whisked away to paradise island in your backyard. SUMMER HITS Spotify’s Summer Hits playlist will get you in the party mood, whether you have people over in the garden or not! With classic tunes from the Sixties up to now, these bright sounds are guaranteed to get you in the celebratory mood.
Anthony Boyle
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH best ‘What is the line between war and unlawful killing?’ If you missed Danny Boy on BBC Two last week, you can still watch it on iPlayer. Northern Irish actor Anthony Boyle, 26, plays the real-life soldier Brian Wood, accused of war crimes in Iraq by the tenacious human rights lawyer Phil Shiner, played by Toby Jones. The two men go head-to-head in a legal and moral conflict that takes us from the battlefield to the courtroom, and one of Britain’s biggest ever public cases, the
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Al-Sweady Inquiry. Here he explains why he believes we should all sit down and watch what happens when morals and the line of duty clash… What made you want to be a part of Danny Boy? When I read Robert Jones’s script, I was immediately attracted to how he explored the grey areas in the story. I then met with director Sam Miller and he explained his
vision for the piece and it made me really want to be a part of it. We get to tell Brian’s extraordinary story. We get to explore not just the realities of war, but how they can come back to haunt you. What research did you do? I didn’t want to meet Brian before filming as I didn’t want it to cloud my
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TRUE LIES 9pm, E4, Friday A secret agent’s life takes a shocking turn when he learns his wife has been playing away. He must now not only save the world but also save his own marriage. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, start your weekend off right!
judgement on how I was going to play the role. But I ended up meeting him with the producer a few days before we started shooting and it couldn’t have been more beneficial. We spoke for about eight hours straight. That man has been through things not many people on the planet have, so to hear him speak was endlessly fascinating. Why should people watch Danny Boy? Danny Boy is an exploration of truth. Justice. Trauma. And Toby Jones is in it, so I’d urge anyone to watch! O Danny Boy is on BBC iPlayer now.
EFFIE GRAY 11.20pm, BBC Two, Friday When Effie Gray becomes the wife of writer John Ruskin, it soon becomes apparent that Ruskin regards her as a muse rather than a romantic partner, and the stifling atmosphere soon takes a toll on Effie’s health. With Dakota Fanning and Emma Thompson.
PITCH PERFECT 2 9pm, ITV 2, Friday Fancy a feel-good Friday film? Look no further as the a capella Bellas’ return, striving to resurrect their image by entering a difficult international competition to regain their reputation. With Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, you won’t be disappointed!
GOING OUT… FOR THE DAY
Hooray!
MONOPOLY LIFESIZED Tottenham Court Road Could you be the first on board? This is a new, participatory gameplay attraction bringing together the best of Monopoly, escape rooms and team challenges – the first of its kind in the world – and it’s due to open in London on 14 August 2021. The team are seeking the biggest Monopoly fans in the UK to be among the first on the 15m x 15m board – and stay out of jail! More information, a trailer and tickets are available at monopolylifesized.com
UP ON THE O2 Thursday Lates, London Taking place every Thursday until 17 June, those who book a 7pm, 7.30pm or 8pm climb will kick-start their weekend in style with extended time on the roof of The O2. Combined with an unforgettable outdoor climb, visitors to the ‘Thursday Lates’ will enjoy a live acoustic performance at the summit and delicious mocktails (or a champagne upgrade), for the perfect chilled-out evening vibe. Tickets available at theo2.co.uk/upattheo2, with prices from £37 per person.
SCHOOL OF ROCK Starting in Hull Based on the hit movie, this brilliant musical kicks off again on 7 September. It follows Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star who decides to pose as a substitute teacher at a prestigious school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band – sensationally performed live by the production’s young actors every night with roof-raising energy! See https:// uktour.schoolofrockthemusical.com for tour dates.
WORDS: DANIELLE SOUTHWOOD PICTURES: BBC, CHANNEL 4, GETTY, ITV, NBCUNIVERSAL, O2, SKY, SONY PICTURES RELEASING, SOVEREIGN FILMS, SPOTIFY, TRISTRAM KENTON, TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX, UNIVERSAL PICTURES
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‘The clues are everywhere!’ DAVINA MCCALL
Tell us all about The Masked Dancer… It’s still the ultimate game of Guess Who? Only this time, there’s no guessing by voice. There are a lot of times on this show where we’re close, but no cigar – or a name has been mentioned once, then not mentioned again and it was in fact that person. It is much harder, but that’s what makes it fun, in a… funny kind of way! The clues become all the more important, are there more here? The clues are everywhere. They’re in the backdrop, on the costumes… there’s one person who’s got apples everywhere, or they might be cherries – and we can’t figure out the relevance. It must be a big clue, though. Me and Mo – we’ve got no idea what’s going on at all! Oti has started strong. And Jonathan has us all second-guessing ourselves. It must be tricky to dance in the costumes, how are they all coping? There’s been no mishaps! When you think they’ve got these huge masks on and there’s spinning dancers around and they’re literally being turned upside-down at times – it’s amazing.
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‘I’m not looking for high kicks…’ OTI MABUSE
How did you feel about joining the panel? Very excited. The Masked Dancer is just one of those things that I will always hold close to my heart, simply because of the people I do it with… there is great banter and chemistry and coming to work is a joy. What are you looking for in the performances? I am looking for the clues. I’m not looking for high kicks and legs and splits. If a character is coming out as a Beetroot, you never expect in a million years that someone can dance in a Beetroot suit, yet they do! It’s bonkers and I love it. If you were a contestant, which costume would you pick? I’d be a fish, like Finding Nemo. That would be me, or Dory. Or I’d be something completely opposite to what I think people know me as. A sloth, something like that.
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‘There’s some interesting twists’
JONATHAN ROSS
Is it harder to guess dancers than singers, Jonathan? I think it is, actually. Even though they’re giving us more clues. Whereas someone’s voice – even when they try to disguise it – you begin to form an idea of who it is, then you reinforce that idea. Here, how do you know what someone dances like?! And there’s a couple of very interesting twists. How is it having newcomer Oti join the panel? Oti is great. She’s really helpful for us identifying who she thinks has had training and what kind – classical or modern street dance. She can spot that going on, but she also says a lot of the time, she can see the more experienced dancers disguising their ability early on to catch us out, then blow us away! Tell us about the costumes on The Masked Dancer… Beetroot, I love – beautiful and elegant, the sort of dress that my girls would have loved wearing when they were little. It’s almost like a fairy dress and it really moves when she twirls. Squirrel is someone people are going to love. She’s great with a nice little furry tummy which, as you get older, you appreciate in a woman more. Zip is great – big face.
O The Masked Dancer begins this Saturday on ITV and continues nightly for one week. Also on ITV Hub.
GILLIGAN You danced along a lot on The Masked Singer, does this continue?! Yes, people said I danced like a dad. I don’t even have children, but hey… I can promise you that there’s loads of dad dancing going on! If you were to ever be a contestant – Masked Singer or Dancer? Singer. I feel like I can dance, but the moment I get on stage, I’ve got two left feet. I think I can do a bit of singing, rapping. Also, you always hear how hot the costumes are, so the last thing I want to do is be dancing in it! I mean, I hate driving with my coat on, let alone dancing… Anyone stand out for you? Llama is one of my favourites. Llama’s got a monocle and stuff. What I love is when people occasionally break character. Sometimes we make them laugh. They’ll be doing all their character stuff and suddenly they’ve lost it and you go aha, there’s still a human in there!
WORDS: DANIELLE SOUTHWOOD PICTURES: GETTY, ITV
‘There’s a lot of dad dancing’ MO
r u o l Co therapy
PICTURES: GETTY
Take some time out to unwind with one of these beautiful projects…
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If you need something to help keep your brain busy – look no further. Grab a pen and flex those intellectual muscles with these tantalising puzzles…
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an you find the animals in the grid? They will be placed only once and may be either horizontal, vertical or diagonal and go either forwards or backwards. There is one word listed that isn’t in the grid – can you work out which one it is?
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ill the grid using the numbers from 1 to 9 only. Each number must appear once in every column, row and 3x3 square. Now, off you sudok-go! 5 4 3 5 2 9 4 2 9 8 6 7 1 5 8 1 6 9 5
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WORD WHEEL ind as many words of three or more letters in the wheel as you can. Each word must use the central letter and a selection from the outer wheel – no letter may be used more times than it appears in the wheel. Can you find the nine-letter word?
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KRISS KROSS an you fit all the words into the grid to complete the puzzle? Some words may initially fit in more than one place, but there is only one way to fit all the words together to complete the grid. The solution is below.
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4 LETTERS CHIP GUMS 5 LETTERS CHAIR FLOSS MOLAR NURSE SMILE 6 LETTERS BRACES CANINE CAVITY ENAMEL
MIRROR POLISH TONGUE 7 LETTERS FILLING INCISOR 8 LETTERS BRUSHING 9 LETTERS HYGIENIST MOUTHWASH 10 LETTERS TOOTHPASTE
Love puzzles? All puzzles are kindly supplied by Richardson Puzzles & Games. Download your FREE (T&Cs apply) printable Giant Crossword Map of the World from richardsonpuzzlesandgames. com/free-puzzles
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Puzzles WIN 1 X £200, 2 X £100 OR 3 X £50 PRIZES
Use the anagrams, straight, cryptic, quiz and picture clues to solve the crossword. When completed correctly, the pink squares, reading top to bottom, left to right, will reveal the answer to the question below:
Who organised the ‘morale boost’ mentioned in 11A? (3,5) This is your prize answer. Enter by using the numbers at the top of the grid or at hearstmagazines.co.uk/bestcross2221
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TO ENTER CALL 0900 100 0921 (UK 65ppm)† / 1550 787026 (ROI 97cpm) † 1
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ACROSS 6 What West Indian dance is where participants must bend backwards to pass under a horizontal bar? (5) 8 What word can be added to the front of man, nova and star to make three different things? (5) 10 What famous statue is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo? (5) 11 PICTURE A Name the song by him that was recorded, sung line by line, by a host of stars, intended as a morale boost early on in the pandemic? (7) 12 Drive this CAR round the bend (3) 13 Between the Devil
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C and the ___ sea, saying (4,4) 15 Put (someone) on a ___, idealise, exalt (8) 16 & 22A PICTURE B Who is this comedian? (3,5) 19 What is the name for the pasta that comes in short spirals? (7) 21 Public square (5) 22 See 16A (5) 23 What is international radio code for the letter ‘T’? (5) DOWN 1 PICTURE C What is his wife’s first name? (6) 2 What is the medical name for the collarbone? (8) 3 Arrange for the MAID to get among things (4)
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4 What Turkish port was formerly known as the Roman city of Constantinople? (8) 5 She went ___ with envy, expression (5) 7 Which famous Dickensian orphan is rescued in the end by Mr Brownlow? (6,5) 9 Twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet (3) 13 ANAGRAM WILDGLEN
14 Which British band’s biggest hit was Vienna, back in 1981? (8) 17 Field, pasture (6) 18 Sounds like the New Yorker found the sweetbreads to be terrible! (5) 20 Costa del ___, resort region on the coast of southern Spain (3) 21 What liquid measure is equal to one-eighth of a gallon? (4)
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and current government guidelines, we are removing postal entries to our crossword for the mean time. This is to ensure our readers’ safety so that you don’t have to leave the house in order to enter the crossword competition. You can still enter using the numbers or website address at the top of this page. Please note, it may take longer than usual for us to process entries and select and award prizes to winners, due to the current situation. One entry per household. Phone and online entries to reach us by closing date of 11 June 2021. Winners will be drawn at random from correct entries received by phone and online. Names and counties of winners available on request. No correspondence can be entered into. The editor’s decision is final.
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ANSWERS MEGA CROSSWORD
17/2021 LADDER ACROSS 6 Molar, 8 Apple, 10 Dirty, 11 Calorie, 12 Net, 13 Crescent, 15 Follower, 16 Car, 19 Origami, 21 Broom, 22 Lines, 23 Zebra. DOWN 1 Gordon, 2 Amaretto, 3 Play, 4 Cable car, 5 Vexed, 7 Rachel Weisz, 9 Par, 13 Collapse, 14 Nicholas, 17 Ramsay, 18 Hoult, 20 Ian, 21 Baby. Phone and online entries open 25 May 2021 until midnight on 11 June 2021. Over 18s only. †UK Calls cost 65p per min plus your telephone company’s network access charge; ROI 97c per min, and should last no longer than 2 mins. UK SP: Spoke (0333 202 3390). ROI SP: Spoke (0818 205 403).
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Ricky Gervais is one funny guy – but he’s also a celebrity with a conscience, and one of Britain’s loudest voices when it comes to animal rights…
With After Life’s Brandy...
O You can sign the #FurFreeBritain petition at furfreebritain.uk
A family of animal lo vers
Pickles is a huge social media star
Talking about how grow up, Ricky admitted: ‘W ing e always had a dog and a cat.’ He also recalled a childhood incident th at fuelled his passion: ‘I remember when I wa s a kid – my brother wa s 10 years older than m e. He got in trouble for punching a bloke in th e park… My Mum said, “What did you punch him for?” and he went “[Because] he kicked the dog” and Mum we nt “Oh, all right”. That was my first bit of street justice!’
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WORDS: SHELLEY SPADONI PICTURES: INSTAGRAM
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added, ‘Banning the sale of fur in the UK doesn’t even require debate. It’s a nobrainer. ‘Should the UK be selling fur from animals who have been electrocuted, gassed to death, may even have had Covid-19? No, it shouldn’t, let’s get the ban done.’ Speaking previously about his views on blood sports, Ricky made his disgust equally obvious. ‘Really?’ he blasted. ‘You want to see an animal stabbed to death, for your pleasure?! ‘I cheer when a toreador gets gored to death. He shouldn’t have gone in there. It’s not a fair fight.’ Armed with the knowledge we have, about how much animals suffer for blood sports or for someone to strut around in that expensive fur coat? We would have to agree. Bravo, Ricky Gervais!
Instagram/rickygervais
omedian, actor and animal lover Ricky Gervais has never been backward in coming forward, and regularly uses his platform to speak out against animal cruelty. Most recently, alongside other UK celebs such as Brian May, Dame Judi Dench and Alesha Dixon, the After Life star urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ban the sale of fur in the UK, arguing that it ‘doesn’t even require debate’. ‘The people wearing fur for pleasure… I don’t know what to do with them. Just think! Why are you doing it? Why do you need that?’ Ricky asked. A joint letter calling for a #FurFreeBritain read, ‘It’s shocking to know that in fur farms and traps around the world, more than 100 million animals suffer and die… Their blood is on our hands for as long as Britain is open for business with the fur trade.’ An impassioned Ricky
Instagram/rickygervais
‘Enough with animal cruelty!’
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WORDS: WENDY GOMERSALL PICTURES: AVONVALLEYRAILWAY.ORG, BBC, GETTY, INSTAGRAM
From Bristol to Bath, Oxford to Paris – the brilliantly entertaining new BBC drama The Pursuit of Love features stately homes, fabulous gardens and luxurious hotels we all dream of staying in one day. Why not make that day now?
Step into Lord Merlin’s shoes at Badminton House
Charming Bitton is a must-visit
Beautiful Lacock Abbey stood in for a historic college
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD In episode one, Linda (Lily James) and Fanny (Emily Beecham) skip off to Christ Church college at the University of Oxford to go to a party hosted by Linda’s most recent admirer, Tony Kroesig (Freddie Fox). But Covid-19 restrictions meant the production team had to use Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire instead of Christ Church. The National Trust property has also featured in Harry Potter films, Wolf Hall and Pride and Prejudice. Visits to the Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village can be booked in advance. nationaltrust.org.uk 86 FACEBOOK.COM/BESTMAGAZINE
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ROMANCE IN PARIS Where else should Linda find tru gorgeous Fabrice de Sauveterre e love at last with the (Assaad Bouab) if not in Paris, the most romantic city in the world? Part of the third, and last episode, of The Pursuit of Lov e is set in the French capital, including street scenes and a caf é around the square of Place Dauphine on the Île de la Cité in the Seine. Shots of Linda walking along the rive r fea ture the iconic building, Quai des Orfèvres. The lov ers din e at the Ritz Paris, of course, though Bath’s fam ous As sem bly Rooms play both this hotel’s foyer and the tea roo m of the Ritz London. ritzparis.com, theritzlon don.com Bath stands in for Fabrice and Linda’s Ritz
MERLINFORD The exteriors of Merlinford, home of the Radletts’ eccentric neighbour, Lord Merlin, wonderfully portrayed by Andrew Scott (famously the sexy priest in Fleabag), feature splendid Badminton House in Gloucestershire. Private tours of the home of the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort are on offer for groups of 15-30; garden tours are available, too, as well as special events. Badminton House was also used for Alconleigh, the Radlett family home, and Dyrham Park gardens doubled as Merlinford’s grounds. badmintonestate.com
THE RAILWAY STATION To represent the Gare du Nord in Paris, a stunning period railway station was created inside Green Park Station, Bath’s former railway station. Originally Bath Queen Square, these days it’s home to a tempting range of independent shops, cafes and restaurants. greenparkstation.co.uk. Picturesque Bitton Station, which is part of the Avon Valley Railway in South Gloucestershire, stood in for London Victoria. avonvalleyrailway.org
Explore the grounds at 17th Century Rousham House
ALCONLEIGH Alconleigh, the fictional country home of the lively Radlett family, is ruled over by scary patriarch Matthew Radlett (Dominic West). On-screen, the look is created using more than one country house and specially built sets. But instantly recognisable is the magnificent façade of National Trust property Dyrham Park, a 17th Century Baroque mansion set in ancient parkland near the village of Dyrham in South Gloucestershire. The Great Hall at Dyrham was transformed into a ballroom for two eventful ‘coming out’ balls in the series, and the grounds were also a stand-in for London’s Hyde Park. Tickets to visit the house, parkland, garden, shop and kiosk must be booked in advance. nationaltrust.org.uk Rousham House, near Bicester, Oxfordshire, was also used as Alconleigh – notably in the scene when nutty Matthew waves two whips around one morning. Built in 1635, the elegant house has famous grounds which are open to the public – celebrity gardener Monty Don has even described it as one of the greatest gardens in the world. rousham.org
Step back in time at No. 1 Royal Crescent
Instagram/no1royalcre
scent
BRYANSTON SQUARE At another point in the story, Linda lives in Bryanston Square in London’s smart Marylebone area. However, the exteriors were actually shot in beautiful Bath, Somerset, outside No. 1 Royal Crescent Museum. Rooms have been furnished just as they would have been during the period 1776-1796, revealing what life was like for Bath’s fashionable residents. The museum is due to reopen on June 1. no1royalcrescent. org.uk
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