Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Choice

There’s an urgent demand in these islands to be able to travel abroad without restriction, or that’s what the newspapers and TV journalists tell us. Undoubtedly many people’s livelihoods depend on international travel for business and pleasure. You only have to see the pictures of all those British Airways jets parked nose to tail to imagine the situation. It reminds me of a trip to the aircraft graveyard in the Arizona desert where hundreds of planes are stored after they leave service. The air is so dry there that they deteriorate very little over the years. It’s all a bit spooky. I have been privileged to travel all over the world for Choice as well as on holidays with my family. Until we can all resume our globetrotting we can…

IT WAS once said of the late Sir David Frost that he had “risen without trace”. Well much the same could be said of Nicola Walker who, over the past few years, has established herself as one of the most recognisable faces on television thanks to high-profile roles in Last Tango In Halifax, The Split and Unforgotten. In actual fact Nicola has been around since the late Nineties, with glimpse-and-you’d-miss them parts in A Dance to the Music of Time, Dalziel and Pascoe, Jonathan Creek, Pie in the Sky, and Broken News, but it is only in the past few years that this talented, unassuming actress has started consistently picking up the high-profile roles. And it is ironic that, early on in her career, Nicola was warned by an older…

Email your poems to: (editorial@choicemag.co.uk) or post to Your Poetry, Choice, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6GX Summer Holiday There’s a train that runs on barren track, along the side & at the back,of the caravan. The children laugh & shout with glee,Summer’s here & they’ve ran & ran. We had ham & cucumber sandwiches,strawberry jam & fresh baked bread, for tea. Bathed & clean, quiet now, all spent out & ready for sleep;lulled by the drowsy hum of the homing bee. There’s a place I know down by yonder stream, where weeping willows,dip into dreams. I’d like to take your hand & walk, through their limped tendrils,we’d kiss and talk. You’d look in my eyes & see love so true,for I really was meant for no one…

EYE TO hand coordination is vitally important as we get older for our ability to perform even the most basic of tasks. This is because, as our accuracy and speed declines, so our dexterity and reaction times decline as well. This relates to everyday activities such as walking, driving, writing, cleaning, cooking, shopping and hobbies – essentially any activity that involves our hands doing what our brain is telling them. The biggest concern with reduced hand to eye coordination is an increased risk of a fall due to your hands not being able to reach out quickly enough to steady yourself if you lose balance. So here are three simple exercises: 1 Grab something you can hold in one hand like a ball of knitting wool, apple, orange, a soft…

WHILE THE inability to spend as normal during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns has meant some people have benefitted from additional saving every month, for many older people there have been added costs associated with staying at home – such as higher heating and water bills, and helping younger family members who have perhaps lost their jobs, or been furloughed. People over pension age may also have lost income from part-time or self-employment. Research by Age UK into the impact of Covid-19 on older people uncovered many examples of depression, loss of hope, low mood, lack of support for meal preparation, deteriorating physical health and increased pain due to untreated health conditions. A sizeable minority of older people also bemoaned their inability to gain pleasure from activities they usually enjoyed, and…

A LOT of gardeners hold dear memories of grandparents – or older aunts and uncles or another significant adult – teaching us how to grow plants, care for the soil, and sharing their tips and tricks. I used to follow my grandfather around his vegetable garden, which was at the end of the main garden, divided by a handmade wooden pergola, small pond and a hammock. I used to pull along a blue wooden truck that contained a blunt pair of scissors, some garden string and packets of seeds. My grandfather taught me the importance of looking after the soil, how to sow seeds, how to prick them out, how and why to tie in climbers and a whole lot more. This connection between an older person and a child…

It is the Silver Jubilee summer of 1977 and at Trent Bridge the third Ashes Test is under way, with England one up in the series. The match is notable for marking both the debut of the 21-year-old Ian Botham and the return of master batsman Geoff Boycott after a three-year self-imposed exile from the national team. Boycott at the time was a semimythical figure, much talked about in the sports pages but only glimpsed during Sunday afternoon John Player League matches on television. To me, a teenage cricket fan, Boycott came over as a bespectacled, distant figure, the nickname he was given by fellow players, Fiery, belying his slow, steady method of accumulating runs and grinding down the opposition. He was the very opposite of what a schoolboy sports…

Honky Tonk Essentials Apple Music, 49 songs, 2hrs 9mins Edgy, drink-fuelled and hormone-laden, the rather disreputable bars of America, especially in rural areas, were known as honky tonks, and in the Forties and Fifties gave their name to the style of country music usually heard live there. The music was tighter and harder than the pre-war sound. The songs were about drinking, fighting, loving and cheating, mirroring the main preoccupations found in the bars themselves. This selection brings a whiff of the beer, the cheap perfume and the smoky atmosphere without the danger of getting into a scrapor being subjected to the over persistent attention of a pick-up cowboy. Instrumentally, the honky tonk sound showcased the pedal steel guitar and the fiddle, ranging from understated backing to the soaring lead…

Triple Cross by Tom Bradby Published by Bantam Press Price £12.99 Pages 368 ISBN 9781787634251 After her husband’s betrayal and her own enforced departure from MI6, Kate Henderson is attempting to get her family life on track. After an unexpected and unwanted visit from her old adversary the Prime Minister, Kate agrees to undertake a top-secret investigation. It seems the PM has been central to a massive KGB disinformation campaign and the source, known as Agent Dante, is a Russian mole at the top of the British intelligence service. It’s a complex and dangerous mission that takes her from political chicanery in London to Istanbul, Prague and Moscow, keeping the tension high and the pages turning. HARDBACK BOOK OF THE MONTH Hardbacks BIOGRAPHY Going With The Boys by Judith Mackrell…

BY HEATHER DHONDY Before reading on, cover the East and West hands on the deal below. NORTH-SOUTH GAME; DEALER SOUTH Playing teams, South opens one heart (playing five-card majors), and West overcalls two diamonds. What call do you make with the North cards? Cue bid three diamonds, showing a sound raise in hearts (since you know partner has at least five), and South cue bids three spades. North’s four diamond cue-bid is doubled by East, and after using Blackwood, South settles for five hearts. West leads the jack of diamonds, won with the ace, and a heart to the ace drops West’s singleton queen. How do you plan the play? If the clubs divide, you are home, however you can also guard against a three-one break if you are careful.…

Sizzling summer of ’76 scorched on my memory DON’T YOU just love this time of year, and the sounds of early summer? Tinkling back-garden fountains, chimes from ice cream vans. The hypnotic drone of a distant lawnmower, the creak of a deckchair being opened after a long winter… The world warming up and the crackle of ice being dropped in a glass and the fizz of a can being opened; the hum of bees around the flowerbed. But for many of us who were around in 1976, the heartwarming joys of the British summer – often unreliable and snatched between showers – proved too much of a good thing. Flaming June turned into a 12-week swelter, transforming offices and shops into saunas and making it a hot hell for all…

My grandson, like most teenagers today, has more ‘stuff’ than I would have even dreamed of at his age, including bits of technology that have me gazing in puzzlement, like a caveman happening upon a Rubik’s cube. Curious as to what he valued most in his daily life – and remembering that I had a penknife that was priceless and a favourite fountain pen, and marbles I couldn’t bear to swap – I asked him to think about it and name the things he really couldn’t do without. Guess what – no technology in his top three. Pen and paper were seen as essentials of life, along with the favourite posters that surround him in his room and his CDs (yes, CDs). Somehow reassuring……

ONE TRAVELLER, the family-run specialist in holidays for mature single travellers, has launched its new 2021/22 brochure. The programme features a range of holidays, covering not just summer and autumn 2021 but also the festive period and early months of 2022. All holidays begin in late June when restrictions are due to be lifted, and all guests in the target age range will have had both vaccinations. There are ten-day touring holidays of Wales and Scotland and longer-duration single-stay holidays to restart travel dreams. Guests will have their own double room in a good-quality hotel, with private transfers and tours included throughout. All are escorted by dedicated tour managers. A deposit guarantee adds flexibility to travelling plans, and complete financial security is assured through ABTA and ATOL protections. One Traveller…

AS WE start to emerge (torn lockdown, one way of coping With our changed world is to write about our memories, especially for those who are still having to endure the pain of isolation and loss. And for older people it can provide a perfect project to help occupy their time and give them some company. With time to think about life experiences and more time in which to document them, it’s a great way to look back and reflect, to take our minds off what is going on in the world and to provide a lasting treasure-trove of memories for future generations. A LifeBook autobiography or memoir is one such therapeutic project that provides a permanent record of a person’s life, preserved forever for their family, in handmade volumes.…

FROM THE mature, natural grey tones to those ‘want to be greys’, there’s plenty on the market now to ensure you evolve from dull, to dazzling in just a few washes – and some fantastic products to help keep your hair in perfect condition. Grey hair is a growing trend, and more popular now than ever. Embrace those grey tones, love them, look after them and show them off with confidence. Trichologist Eleanore Richardson tells us that grey hair coincides with the ageing process, but there is still no conclusive explanation as to why hair turns white. Hair dye options leave hair weathered, particularly when repeated regularly and combined with other hair processing procedures, resulting in limp, brittle hair strands. Lockdown has been a game-changer in allowing people to grow…

It was a terrible moment for the signalman half a mile north of Peterborough station as the magnificent streamlined A4 locomotive left the tracks and ploughed towards his box. The accident occurred on September 1, 1955 as the 3.50pm King’s Cross to Leeds express left Peterborough station. Fortunately, the loco was pulling away from the station and only doing around 20 mph when it derailed. Because of the low speed the A4 didn’t reach the box and only four passengers suffered minor injuries and were released after an overnight hospital stay. The Gresley A4 loco (the more famous Mallard was a similar model) didn’t fare so well. It was badly damaged and although repaired it was eventually scrapped in 1959. Luckily the service had a scheduled stop at Peterborough. It…

THROUGHOUT HUMAN history, death is something that has been held in high regard, observed with reverence, and feared with spiritual significance. Death is a focal point for many spiritual beliefs, and long-held traditions are central to many cultures around the world. From the first tender and delicate human burials almost 100,000 years ago to present-day practices of cremation or tree-burials, it has been central to our civilisation. However, it seems as a modern society we shy away from talking about death and any subject around it. This puts loved ones in a challenging position, where they are forced to make difficult decisions without knowing what you would have really wanted. The pandemic has also urged all of society, young or old, fit or vulnerable, to confront the possibility of death…

THE BIG Lunch is the UK’s annual big date to celebrate and give thanks for our neighbour and communities – a time when people can come together, expand their local connections and get to know one another a little better. The idea is simple. In June each year, The Big Lunch encourages people to spend a few hours getting to know their neighbours, celebrating community spirit and food right across the nation. In recent times, this hasn’t always been easy to do. Lockdown measures have meant that picnics, street parties and large get-togethers have been off the menu, but that didn’t stop more than four million people taking their Big Lunch online last year. This year the event is on June 5/6. Bringing people together Sarah Boniface from the Eden…

JUNE IS one of our most colourful months, as flowers bloom, the grass is lush and green and – best of all – the days are longer for us to enjoy more time in our gardens and to make the most of this energy burst. Listen to nature’s orchestra One of the best things to do in the garden at this time of year is to just sit, soak up a little sunshine and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the outside. Listen to the wonderful orchestra of wildlife, from birdsong to buzzing bees and insects, and take in the wonderful aromas of honeysuckle and jasmine, which seem particularly fragrant on a warm evening. Water life Your garden pond will no doubt be literally humming with life this month.…

I was sitting on the boundary grass at the County Ground in Northampton with sandwiches, bottle of squash, mini cricket bat and tennis ball in my duffle bag ready to start an impromptu game on the outfield at every break. Then a Kent batsman came to the wicket and started to show an unhurried display of what the commentators of today’s limited overs games would call ‘proper cricket’ shots. The player was Colin Cowdrey, later Sir Colin and then Lord Cowdrey. I was stunned by the way he despatched the ball to the boundary, along the ground all the way, seemingly without effort. Part of Cowdrey’s appeal to me was that he hadn’t a lithe and lean figure but was still one of England’s finest ever Test players, scoring more…

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2021 (Bloomsbury, £55) has everything the cricket lover needs to know about the past year and forthcoming season. Inevitably this edition is dominated by the toll the Covid pandemic has taken on the sport but also celebrates some extraordinary performances, not least from its leading world cricketer award winner, Ben Stokes. In Not For Me, Clive (Headline, £20) Clive Tyldesley, one of the most articulate of football commentators over the past 40 years, recalls his encounters with some of the giants of the game, Kiernan Cunningham eulogises the healing power of climbing, even in the middle of a lockdown, in Climbing The Walls (Simon & Schuster, £14.99), and Evita Burned Down Our Pavilion, by Timothy Abraham and James Coyne (Constable, £20) is the fascinating, largely untold, story…

Sacré Bleu by Matthew Spiro When France lifted the World Cup for the first time in 1998 they appeared invincible, but it soon unravelled for Les Bleus and it was another 20 years before they scaled those heights again, thanks in no small part to Kylian Mbappé. France’s rise, fall and rise again is told here, refracted through their young star’s remarkable story. Published by Biteback Price £9.99 Pages 352 ISBN 978-1785906602 Teenage by Jon Savage Originally published in 2007, this fascinating study traces the idea of the teenager from the writings of Rousseau and Goethe, the coining of the word adolescence in 1898 and the emergence of a distinctive American youth culture in the early 20th century to the full blossoming of what we now call the teenager after…

COVENTRYHAS launched its UK City of Culture 2021 programme with an engaging and diverse cultural line-up and exciting commissions in the city, which will be also welcoming some new properties such as the acclaimed Telegraph Hotel. The 365-day Coventry 2021 cultural programme will reflect Coventry as a diverse, modern city, demonstrating that culture is a force that changes lives, moving the city and the region forward. Highlights of the first few months of the UK City of Culture 2021 programme include: ■ Small Bells Ring (July). A specially designed canal boat housing the largest collection of short stories in the UK. ■ Terry Hall Home Sessions (July). The legendary frontman of The Specials returns to Coventry to curate anew three-day music event in the heart of the city. This is…

It didn’t seem odd at the time but as a keen young snooker player, to make sure of a game, I went to the town’s biggest tailor’s shop – then called Montagu Burton. There, up some stairs beside the shop doors, was a man at a desk allocating tables and logging the times games started and finished, while below young blades would be trying on clothes and selecting ties. Of course, I never connected the two activities of potting and shopping but I’ve just discovered that the two businesses were very deliberately linked, and that suits and snooker went together in other towns. Reading an article by a man with the delightful name Harry Wallop, about the decline of the high street, he mentions his great-grandfather who as a penniless…

Recently I witnessed a debate started by a claim that there was a delicacy called Welshman’s caviar. It turned out he was glorifying laver bread, the seaweed concoction that was (and sometimes still is) an accompaniment to a fried breakfast in the principality. I gather that the fancy title was dreamt up by one Richard Burton, actor and proud Welshman. He would have been pleased to know that you can now buy it in a dried form so you avoid the problem of transporting the slippery stuff home. The claim about laver bread’s status rattled the cage of a Yorkshireman (you know how they can be!) who went into print championing a rival gourmet dish – Yorkshire caviar. On questioning, it turned out that it wasn’t the roe of sturgeon…

The CDs are: Moments of the Heart music for the soul- Various Artists. From the soothing melodies of Peaceful Lament and Confidence of Hope to the haunting ambiance of Natural Elements and Awakenings, Moments of the Heart music for the soul is the perfect ‘friend’ to have by your side, to help ease away the hustle, bustle, and stresses of the day. Spiritual Incantations-Stephen Rhodes. Stephen Rhodes is a genius of his craft returning with an outstanding new album, the best part of an hour of serene and relaxing music. With tracks such as Peaceful Lament, Seeds of Empathy, Eternal Compassion and Softly Speak, Spiritual Incantations is an album full of hope, charm, and sensitivity. selection two-Terra del Sol. Alberto Hauss, the master of Chill-out, has created another gem of…

SINCE THE Covid-19 pandemic took its grip on the nation some 3.2million households have introduced a pet into their household. With the proven benefits to wellbeing that owning a pet brings and with 41 per cent of people stating their mental health is worse than this time last year, it is perhaps no surprise that pet ownership is at an all-time high. According to a recent survey 90 per cent of people said their pet had helped them cope emotionally during lockdown; not only do pets help to combat stress, they also help to reduce loneliness. Petting an animal for just ten minutes a day has been proved to reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, and 80 per cent of pet owners say their pets make them feel less lonely. In…

A COMPANY is offering those over 65 discounted access to a wide variety of activities that support their physical and mental wellbeing. The Joy Club is a membership website with a mission to help older people afford a more active retirement by connecting members to exclusive deals from independent businesses and retailers. Partners such as mature beauty company Look Fabulous Forever, fitness provider MoveBetter.TV and online learning platform New Skills Academy provide deep discounts, allowing members to enjoy a range of products and activities without breaking the bank. The Joy Club is the brainchild of 29-year-old adventurer and entrepreneur Hannah Thomson, who is on a mission to help recently retired people stay physically and mentally active in a bid to improve healthy life expectancy. “Everyone deserves a happy and healthy…

As an executor, can I dispose of unwanted assets? Q I am the executor of my brother-in-law’s Will and I foresee a problem with a clause which leaves the contents of his home to be divided between three nieces. He was unmarried and lived in a rented home on a residential park. The contents do not contain any items of particular value and much of them would be unusable. I am keen to clear the property as soon as possible so as to cease paying rent on it. Two of the three nieces are the cause of much ill-feeling in the family and have earmarked a few items. The third has indicated, understandably, that she would be willing to have nothing and avoid conflict. My concern is that I shall…

AFTER A life-changing medical experience, Joanne Wood decided to have a complete overhaul of her diet. Through this process she discovered a love of food, and food photography, and documented her journey on her blog, and Instagram page, The Balanced Kitchen. Joanne’s love of healthy food, and passion for photography, has led to her now working with companies as a recipe designer and photographer. Joanne says that, for her, food is about much more than sustenance and she believes it can bring creativity, colour, health and happiness to our lives. Here she shares some of her recipes, more of which can be found at: (thebalancedkitchen.co.uk). Turmeric, thyme and tomato with red onion vegan quiche This showstopper of a tart doubles up as a nutritional powerhouse of a main course. BASE…

DVDs Line of Duty Series 6 (Acorn Media International) Blu-ray and DVD The big reveal of what may or may not be the final season of the police corruption drama almost inevitably divided fans. Some saw it as a cop-out, others a work of genius, but you have to give the show’s creator, Jed Mercurio, credit for at least not leaving any loose ends dangling, well not many anyway. And in ratings terms this series even exceeded Mercurio’s other major water cooler hit The Bodyguard; almost singlehandedly he has re-invented the event television drama, thought to have been long deceased in the age of multi-channels, streaming and the box set. That said, this sixth series was one of the weakest of the lot; too much of the actual detective work…

AFTER A successful year of sales at its Bicester Heritage base – with a 93 per cent sale rate – Bonhams Motorcycles is returning to Stafford for the first auction of 2021. The Summer Stafford Sale takes place on July 3 and 4 at the Staffordshire County Showground, Weston Road, Stafford. Early confirmed lots include two important collections, one of Italian sports bikes and the other a selection of classic Vincent-HRDs, the world’s fastest motorcycles of their time. Well-known in MV Agusta club circles, the late Ron Cody, a former sports car racer and engineer, turned to his passion for building up and restoring his collection of Italian machines as a retirement hobby. This collection offers 48 motorcycles, with many examples of MV Agustas as well as other Italian marques.…

IT MAY lack historical detail but Gyles Brandreth’s gossipy but revealing Philip: The Final Portrait (Coronet, £25) captures the complexity of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a man whose sense of honour, duty and decency seemed to belong to a lost age. And, although overtaken somewhat by the sad events of recent weeks, Matthew Dennison’s The Queen (Head of Zeus, £25) is an engaging retelling of a remarkable life of selflessness and service. Joe Biden, American Dreamer, by Evan Osnos (Bloomsbury, £9.99) is an admirably concise and informative biography of the US President, and Beautiful Things (Simon & Schuster, £20) is Biden’s son Hunter’s candid memoir, charting his journey from addiction to sobriety and contentment against a backdrop of family tragedy. The Frontiers or Knowledge, by AC Grayling (Viking, £20)…

Actor and writer Henry Dawe has released a song, Two Paces Back, as a tribute to the life of the Duke of Edinburgh and also to raise funds for Esther Rantzen’s charity Silver Line. The song had been originally planned to celebrate the Duke’s 100th birthday. Henry explains: “Following His Royal Highness’s death on April 9, I adapted the lyrics to make the song a tribute, a celebration of his life. “It was released on my website with a video giving the background story. It is still raising funds for the same charity, The Silver Line, in light of older people’s struggles in the pandemic.” ■ The link to the song’s page is: (www.henrydawe.co.uk/two-paces-back).…

Fill in the words missing from the following proverbs (the answers are over the page). 1 You can’t have it……. ……… 2 You can’t make a……….. out of a sow’s ear. 3 You can’t have a rainbow…….. 4 You can’t….. with the.….. and hunt with the hounds. 5 You can’t sip……with a knife. 6 You can’t….. an old……new tricks. 7 …….. ……. butter no parsnips. 8 You can’t……. all or the people ……of the time. 9 You can’t win arguments by…….. speakers. 10 You can’t tell which way the …….……by looking up the track. ANSWERS: 1 both ways; 2 silk purse; 3 without rain; 4 run, hare; 5 soup; 6 teach, dog; 7 Fine words; 8 fool, all; 9 interrupting; 10 train went.…

Just a reminder… …that in June 1979, the pound sank like a stone, losing 25.2 per cent of the value it stood at four years before. This news was accompanied by the release of inflation figures showing that in the UK it had reached a record 22 per cent …in this month in 1982, President Ronald Reagan, well used to riding while playing cowboys in Hollywood, saddled up and with his hostess the Queen, also on horseback, enjoyed a dawn canter in Windsor Home Park …and in this month in 1976, Lester Piggott proved himself to be the greatest rider in Derby history by winning at Epsom for a record seventh time Rumours of a musical comeback You can’t beat the old tunes, it’s claimed by those of a certain…