Innholdsfortegnelse for 12 June 2025 i Chat

Welcome to this week’s Chat… The dieters we feature in Chat always impress me. Anyone who has tried to slim down knows how flipping hard it is. But this week, I’m equally impressed by Demi (p23), who did something just as challenging – she learnt to love herself just as she is. Following years of calorie-counting, she embraced her body rather than battling against it. And, guess what? She’s tons happier! And, if you ask me, she looks fab too. Have a great week,…

Stephanie Manifold, 33, Eastham, Merseyside Hand in hand as we strolled down Amsterdam’s canals, me and my partner Stephen took in the twinkling lights and town houses. It was July 2016 and we’d been together for two years when we took the chance for a romantic weekend away. Later, clinking glasses in a bar, we must have looked like the perfect couple. But in reality things were very different. Me and Stephen, then 29, started bickering about something silly. He flew into a rage before leaving me in the middle of Amsterdam, alone. Back at the hotel, I wasn’t sure what mood he’d be in when he returned. When he eventually did, he was still raging. Screaming and shouting as he threw my suitcase out of the hotel window. Hysterical,…

A major part of the diet of puffins and other seabirds, the fish known as sand eels are not eels but any of several species in what family? To find out, solve the puzzle… The three answers in this puzzle read the same across and down. The clues are given, but not in the right order. Read down the shaded squares to spell the prize answer. WIN 5× £20 Puzzle 3 ARTIST’S STAND ANIMATED BONE IN THE INNER EAR Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

AVIATOR STYLE TIP Aviators are trending this summer! Choose from thin, metal frames or make a bold statement in chunkier styles. Try a pair if you have a square, heart or oval face shape. OVAL STYLE TIP Oval frames suit square, heart, diamond and triangle face shapes best, as they help to soften features. Avoid them if you have a round face. FROM £2.50 CAT-EYE STYLE TIP Cat-eye styles can work for almost every face shape. However, rounder faces should choose sharp, more angular designs to add contrast. SQUARE STYLE TIP Want to channel a retro 70s vibe? Opt for oversized, square frames. The sharp angles will flatter soft, rounder features or balance out a wider forehead or heart-shaped face.…

Joanne Ward, 55, Nottingham True-life PATIENT CASEBOOK Laughing to myself, I bent down to pick up a peg. It was March 1999, and I didn’t seem to be able to hang the washing out without dropping things. I didn’t think much of it. But a few weeks later, the hearing in my right ear started fading. ‘Can you say that again in my good ear?’ I said to my husband Pete, then 28, whenever there was background noise. Something wasn’t right… I felt tired, too. I kept losing my balance. I had tests and an MRI at Queen’s Medical Centre. ‘You have a benign brain tumour,’ the neurologist said. It was nearly 5cm. Worse news was to come. The tumour was due to a rare genetic disorder. NF2-related schwannomatosis saw…

Jo Shaw Pyke, 48, South Shields, Tyne and Wear Dashing to the toilet, I winced as a burning sensation shot through my loins. My bits were constantly sore, itchy, dry… ‘The joy of menopause,’ I said to my partner Jef, then 54, as I left the loo. It was April 2022, and I’d been having issues down below for a while. A history of heavy bleeding, fibroids and polyps had led to a hysterectomy two years earlier. I hoped that’d be the end of my troubles. If only! Now, aged 45, my GP had told me I was menopausal. And this one symptom was driving me crazy. ‘It’s like passing razor blades,’ I said to Jef, crossing my legs. We’d been together for five years and he was so understanding.…

Hubby doesn’t want me Q My husband hasn’t looked at me – really looked at me – in years. He’s always glued to his phone, the telly or his weird hobby. I used to feel sexy, seen, wanted. I don’t even know who I am outside of being his wife. Is this just married life, or have I gone completely invisible? Janice, 47 A You aren’t the only one whose marriage has become habitual and complacent. It’s true for us all that sometimes life gets in the way. But it’s totally normal to want to feel wanted. Reignite the flame, flower. Suggest a date or a weekend away. Tell him you miss how things used to be – and to leave the phone at home! All mummed out Q I love my…

3 ways to… cut car costs Drive down how much you spend with these handy tips 1 Shop around An easy way to save cash is to shop around for the cheapest fuel; use petrolprices.com which covers over 8,000 forecourts around the UK. It has an app too. Many petrol stations run loyalty schemes so it’s worth signing up at the forecourts you use most to get a bit more back. And always fill up at least 50 miles before your tank runs dry so you have time to get to a cheaper petrol station rather than worrying about running out and using the nearest one. Find more information and tips at moneysavingexpert.com. 2 Stay serviced Regular maintenance and servicing improves the efficiency of your vehicle, and therefore can improve your fuel consumption, says the…

Ocean with David Attenborough DON’T MISS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC & DISNEY+ ● Now an amazing 99 years old, Sir David Attenborough takes a journey through the planet’s most awe-inspiring marine ecosystems in this one-off documentary. The legendary TV naturalist showcases a diverse range of underwater habitats and the creatures that live there, from bottlenose dolphins and colourful clownfish to majestic blue and humpback whales, reef sharks and rays. Examining the importance of our oceans and exposing the grave threats they face, he also looks at what’s already being done to restore the seas to full health and stabilise our climate. DON’T MISS The Gold BBC1 ● Inspired by the true story of the infamous 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery, the drama returns for a second series which follows the discovery that the criminals…

Chat winners issue 11 (13 March 2025) £1,001 CASH G Pinnell, London £500 CASH M Perry, Brierley Hill B Kite, Birmingham £250 CASH M Northend, Middlesbrough M Wilson, Hartlepool £200 CASH S Taylor, Preston £100 CASH M MacKarracher, Newbridge G Noble, Witham F Maclennan, Argyll & Bute £75 CASH A Pearce, West Molesey £50 CASH P Norris, Peterlee L Maclulskas, Sale A Gibbons, Worcester A Mills, Powys A Donkin Saunders, Dunstable A Javanbakt, Stourbridge £40 CASH L Heather, Worthing £30 CASH HJ Eden, Sudbury P Nudd, Penzance Anyone from your town in the list this week..? £25 CASH P Grant, Blyth J Mooney, Bathgte £20 CASH L Tinsley, Cardiff J Wheatley, Belper D Lamb, Battle C Davies, Rainham MC Ritchie, Preston M Bacon, Rotherham J Mill, Dundee J Downing, Bideford…

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WIN £1,001 Puzzle 4 What do actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman have in common? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the four-word prize answer. ACROSS 1 Type of syrup (5) 4 Cutlery item (4) 6 Looks for (8) 13 Copy (7) 14 Maybe (7) 15 Slice meat (5) 16 Nocturnal insect (4) 17 Cooks in an oven (6) 18 Job, profession (6) 20 Coral ridge (4) 21 Revises text (5) 22 Painter (6) 25 Gather together (8) 28 Makes fun of (6) 30 Bird of prey (5) 32 Least expensive (8) 34 Alter (6) 35 Rapid (4) 38 Tropical bird (6) 39 Red _, sci-fi TV series (5) 40 Handbook (6) 43 Slender (4) 44 Late morning meal (6) 45 Small…

Help! My eyes are in agony Q My eyes have been feeling very dry for the past year. But my optician said there’s nothing wrong. What can I do? Claire, Taunton A Dry eyes can be uncomfortable, but there are things you can do to help. Try using artificial tears or lubricating eye drops to add moisture and comfort – choose preservative-free drops if you plan to use them often. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, take regular screen breaks to reduce eye strain and use a humidifier in the room you spend most of your time in to add moisture to the air. If your dry eyes still don’t get any better, consider seeing another eye-care professional for a second opinion. Period panic Q I’ve not had a…

Which band had the bestselling single in the UK in 1983? To find out, solve the puzzle… Add a letter anywhere in each of the boxed-off words to fit the clue, eg, Flinch = WINE + C = WINCE. Write the added letter in the space provided. Read down the added letters to spell out the prize answer. WIN 2x £25 Puzzle 9 Flinch Reason Flower or shrub Village fairs Defeats decisively Tile adhesive Relative Treaties Doze off Soak through Holy book Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

This little piggy went to market… to buy hair clips, bows and pearls. After all, world-famous guinea pigs are the best dressed around. And Valentina is their proud owner. ‘These are my besties, Pearl Gray and Porcelain Doll,’ Valentina says. While most people might settle for a cat or dog as a pet, Valentina was always determined to become a guinea pig mum. So when she saw one being advertised on Facebook Marketplace, she had to have it. With silky grey hair, Valentina named her darling girl Pearl Grey. ‘Pearl Grey is named like Earl Grey tea, but then pearls, ’cause I love pearls,’ Valentina says. Driving to collect her, she was met with a surprise. ‘They had this little princess sitting in a basket on their lawn,’ she says,…

Kirsten Laycock, 28, Coventry, West Midlands My boyfriend Elliot, then 27, downed the thick green liquid and scrunched his face up in disgust. ‘Gross,’ he grimaced. ‘Sorry,’ I giggled. It was January 2022 and I’d made us a smoothie with as many green veggies as I could think of. Cucumber, kale, spinach… The results were vile. As well as our smoothies, we’d completely ditched chocolate. It wasn’t easy, but we had a worthwhile reason. Suffering from severe endometriosis since I was a teen, tests had revealed my reproductive system was in a mess. I’d recently been told I had hardly any eggs left at all. More like a woman in her late 40s than a 25-year-old! I’d just finished an architecture degree at uni, and Elliot was focused on his…

WIN £500 Puzzle 16 The answers to all but one of these quiz questions can be found hidden in this wordsearch grid, reading forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally. To help you, we’ll tell you that the answers are in alphabetical order in each section. However, one answer can’t be found in the grid. This is your prize answer. LUCY 1 The fossilised skeleton of Lucy, a female from the Australopithecus afarensis species, was discovered in which country, in 1974? (8) 2 Historian Lucy Worsley oversaw the £12 million refurbishment of which royal palace and gardens, completed in 2012? (10) 3 Scarlett Johansson, who plays the eponymous character in 2014’s Lucy, made her debut aged nine in which 1994 comedy-drama adventure film? (5) EDMUND 4 Which Jesuit priest and martyr,…

BEHIND THE BIG CRIME Rooms 111 and 112 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, were filled with laughter and learning. The teachers who taught in these interconnected rooms, Eva Mireles, 44, and Irma Garcia, 48, encouraged their pupils’ passions. Layla Salazar, 11, loved to swim, dance and run. Nature lover Maranda Mathis, 11, was at her happiest outdoors. Fashion-mad Xavier Lopez, 10, enjoyed dancing to Colombian tunes. Tess Marie Mata, 10, had a jar of pennies in her purple bedroom, which she was saving for a family trip to Disney World. And Jose Flores Jr, 10, had one ambition – to grow up and be a policeman so he could protect others. We have a wonderful year ahead of us! Eva wrote on the school’s website at the start…

Alison Payne, 63, from Rugby What’s your earliest happy memory? When I was 3 or 4, playing for hours in our garden on a tall climbing frame which had a swing attached. I would play with my brother and sister, my cousins who lived two doors away, and friends. If you could be famous for anything, what would you choose? I’d love to discover a cure for diseases, especially cancer. I was a nurse, so it’s close to my heart. Sadly, I lost my dad and my cousin to cancer so even more reason. What was the last good film you watched? I would have to say Conclave. It was so well done. It’s about the election of a new pope and stars Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci. WE PAY…

Lorne Coltart set a Guinness World Record when he threw what item 66 metres in 2011? The number next to the clue tells you which line the answer’s in. We’ve put a section in to start you off! There may be two Across answers on one line. Down words fill themselves in. The shaded squares spell out the prize answer. WIN £100 Puzzle 2 1 Net • Nautical pole 3 Designating, appointing 5 _-and-spoon race • Mineral spring 7 Scathing, bitter 9 Unsightly • The _, painting, dance, music etc Your answer:…

Kirstie Gabriel, 32, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire Growing up, all I ever wanted to do was work in a hospital. I’d play doctors with my dollies, lining them up on the carpet and pretending my bedroom was a ward. When I finished school, I studied healthcare. And by the time I was 20, in 2013, I was working as a healthcare assistant at Bedford Renal Unit, caring for outpatients with kidney failure. There, I fitted IV needles and checked dialysis machines that filtered blood for patients whose kidneys weren’t working. I loved chatting with the patients. I saw the same faces at least three times a week for treatment. Most were over 50, as the risk of developing kidney failure increases with age. Talking to them about their families and lives outside…

1 Keep cool Keep the bedroom cool, quiet and dark. Aim for it to be thermally neutral so your body doesn’t have to shiver or sweat to keep warm or cool down. Keep electronic devices out of the bedroom – use an old-fashioned alarm clock as your wake-up call – and use blackout blinds. 2 Blink blink Exercising the muscles around your eyes can help you drop off. ‘Lie comfortably in the dark, eyes open, and begin counting backwards from 300 in your mind until you feel you can’t keep your eyes open any longer,’ says hypnotherapist Ailsa Frank. ‘Then blink rapidly, as fast as you can, for 30 seconds, or until your eyelids feel heavy. When you can’t blink your eyes anymore, close them and feel yourself let go as you…

Demi Lynch, 29 Panting on the treadmill, I looked at the timer. I’d been running for 10 minutes and was exhausted. Enough, I thought. Other gym goers looked at me, smirking, as I switched the machine off. And I felt even worse about myself. It was May 2018, and I hated how I looked. I’d always battled with my weight, counting calories. And I’d become obsessed with exercise, no matter how hard I found it. Now, aged 22 and a size 22, I was still judgemental about my body. ‘My bum is too big,’ I moaned to my mum Michelle later that day. ‘You’re perfect as you are,’ she assured me. Wanting to feel better about myself, I started following body-positive influencers on Instagram. These women celebrated their curves, lived…

Tia-Leigh Streamer, 21, Dorset Taking off my make-up before bed, I inspected my right eye in the mirror. It’d been so itchy all day. Now it was swollen. I put it down to hay fever. It was May 2023, usually the time of year I started getting symptoms. It always passed, so I wasn’t worried. But the next morning, when I woke up, I couldn’t open my right eye at all. It wasn’t painful, just heavy and stuck shut. I booked a GP appointment for that afternoon, hoping for some eye drops, then got ready for my job as a trainee accountant. But at my desk, I couldn’t focus on my computer screen. So annoying, I texted my boyfriend Callum, then 23. Like me, he thought it was just an…

Salami and cheese toastie An Italian-inspired sandwich with a sneaky helping of veggies. SERVES 1 PREP 10 MINS COOK 8 MINS ● 1tsp olive oil ● 20g kale, chopped ● 2tbsp pesto ● 2 slices sourdough, or bread of your choice ● 2 slices Jarlsberg, or other good melting cheese ● 2 slices salami ● 1 tomato, sliced ● 2tsp butter ● Cornichons, to serve (optional) 1 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the kale and cook for 2 mins. 2 Spread the pesto over both slices of bread. Top 1 slice with the kale, cheese, salami and tomato, then cover with the second slice. 3 Melt the butter in a frying pan over amedium heat. Cook the sandwich on both sides until golden and the…

Aries 21 March-20 April With Saturn in your sign for the next year, you can begin making long-term plans. What do you want to commit to? And what do you need to release? ● Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May Venus moves into Taurus on 7 June, helping you increase your income and confidence. You could be in for a surprise in both your romantic life and career. ● Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June With the Sun in your sign, you can re-evaluate your most important goals. Find new ways of approaching a dream – you’ll be shocked at your rate of progress. ● Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July On 9 June Mercury arrives, then the…

Q How can I hide the veins on my legs? Sarah Murray, Devon A Veins become more visible as we age due to skin thinning and changes to the cardiovascular system. It’s very common, but if you’re worried about painful or pronounced varicose veins, see your doctor. But while visible veins are perfectly normal, we understand that many people find them unsightly. Fake tan, in particular, can come to the rescue, helping to conceal a multitude of imperfections. Bondi Sands GLO Mist Matte, £10.99, lookfantastic.com, provides a believable glow while making veins and blemishes look less prominent. If your veins are particularly dark, following on with some body make-up will help hide them. First, use a colour correcting concealer like E.l.f Colour Correcting Concealer, £4, elfcosmetics.co.uk, to help counteract purple…

TEXT Simply text CHATC followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 63333 Texts cost 50p plus standard network charge (maximum 160 characters per text). When you enter by text, you may in future get SMS marketing messages from Future plc and Chat. If you want to receive these, please end your text with OPTIN. Texting tips ● Don’t put any spaces in an answer that has several words: eg: CHATISTHEBEST not CHAT IS THE BEST. ● If the answer is a name, you need only give the surname: eg: CLOONEY not GEORGE CLOONEY. ● You can use capitals or small letters, but don’t use any commas, etc. ● Leave out answers you don’t wish to enter. INTERNET Join our…

Your muscles glistened under the bright stage lights. Even the pounding music couldn’t drown out the cheers from the crowd. Women and men, some a little tipsy, all out for a good time. But no one was louder than my daughter Jade, then 31. It was September 2022 and for years she’d been begging me to take her to one of your shows. ‘Please Mum,’ she asked, spotting another poster in town. ‘I want to see the Dreamboys.’ I’d always resisted before. See, Jade had been born with Down’s syndrome. Jade’s confidence has grown. She feels accepted The second eldest of five, she was cheeky and mischievous, loved dancing. From the moment she learnt to walk, she’d swing her arms around and jiggle her hips. Happy and full of fun,…