Innholdsfortegnelse for Best of 1 - 2016 i Pick Me Up! Special

This plump puss definitely looks like the cat that's got the cream! Although I'm sure she isn't the only one with a swollen tummy after the festive season! One lady whose belly also got the better of her was Victoria (p6). When her weight soared to 30 stone, she was paralysed by her own flab! I've been careful about where I put my hairdryer after reading Natasha's story on p54. After drying her hair extensions, she laid them too close to the still hot dryer and burnt her bedroom down! If it's an uplift you're after, Gerry's story (p18) is a must read. She tells how her lovely hubby, John, turned his back on his career to take his disabled daughter, Vicky, on trips all around the world. So, grab…

‘I tried to push myself up. But I couldn't move!’ ‘From my calf down to my toes, I couldn't feel a thing’ Burning the midnight oil was my speciality! ‘Oh, come on,’ my friend cajoled down the phone. ‘Just a few drinks and a bite to eat?’ Almost 10pm, my sensible side told me to head to bed and get a decent night’s sleep. But I’d never been one to turn down an invitation... ‘Why not! I can be there in 20 minutes,’ I grinned. Throwing on my coat, I dashed out of the house. After that, the evening passed by in a blur. A whirlwind of excited chatter with pals, flowing wine and delicious food. Eventually, I flopped into bed exhausted, trying to ignore the fact I had to…

Wow! My boy’s hair really was remarkable. ‘It’s getting so long,’ I gasped, combing my fingers through Harri’s luscious blond locks. ‘I like it, though,’ he grinned. ‘It keeps my neck warm in the cold!’ Months earlier, in summer 2014, Harri, 6, had broken up for the school holidays. With time, his hair had grown and got scruffy. But as he wasn’t in school, I’d decided not to take him to the barber’s. It can wait, I’d thought. Then we’d seen a video of a young girl who’d lost her hair while going through chemotherapy for cancer, and it had really pulled at our heart strings. Her parents had a wig made for her out of her own saved hair, and she’d looked so happy. I’d suffered partial hair loss…

‘I've received support from all over the world’ Hand hovering over the mouse, I could barely keep from shaking. I was waiting to see my A-Level results get posted online - and, with them, my future. Had all my hard work paid off? Would I be going to university? I hadn’t even allowed myself to think about the alternative. Taking a deep breath and clicking onto the results page, my heart pounded as it loaded. And... Wow! I'd done it! Southampton Solent University, had accepted me! Of course, exams time was tough for everyone. But I’d overcome more than most people. Born with the rare condition, cystic hygroma, my face was covered in fluid-filled sacs, called cysts. ‘It usually occurs early on in pregnancy, because of a malformation in the…

1 www.furniturechoice.co.uk In need of new furniture? Click on this website as they’ll be having January sales across all of their departments, including great sofa deals. 2 www.dotcomgiftshop.com Come January, this excellent website will be hosting their annual Winter Sale, with some products discounted up to 90%! 3 www.watchshop.com Until the end of January, there will be more than 1,500 watches and pieces of jewellery in the sales section on WatchShop.com – with reductions of up to 60%! 4 www.iceland.co.uk There will be offers galore at Iceland as their campaign Forgotten Freezer Fortunes will see them place lots of deals on products. The campaign will highlight the benefits of using your freezer. 5 www.maplin.co.uk Want some gadgetry? Maplin will be holding a large clearance…

Meet The Experts. Confidence coaches Bec Howard and Dannie-Lu Carr (aka The Good Witches of the North) provide life changing coaching and advice to help women rediscover their own magic. For more information and for a free Confidence Booster Pack, visit www.thegoodwitchesofthenorth.co.uk FORGET THE FAKES Is there a frenemy in your life? You know the type – people who turn to you when they’ve got a problem but aren’t there for you when you need them, or are always giving you backhanded compliments. If so, why not start the new year by saying goodbye to them? There’s no need for tears or drama. With tact, you can let them down gently – and set yourself free. The Good Witches say: ’We’re always on the lookout for toxic relationships, yet friends…

‘My husband was inches from death!’ My hubby Stuart and our son, Callum, meant everything to me... It was 27 May 2015, and the usual hectic morning routine was carrying on around me. Breakfast first, then I had to drop Callum, 4, at nursery and go to my job as a veterinary nurse. ‘I’ll call you later,’ I said to Stuart, 47, as he scooped up his son for a hug before we left. Stuart, meanwhile, was at work as a spray contractor, dusting crops with pesticides. Previously a farmer for 20 years, working with dangerous chemicals and large pieces of equipment, both jobs were potentially life-threatening. But Stuart was massively experienced and sensible. So, I’d never really worried about the hazards he faced. And Callum, who doted on his…

‘All of a sudden, I heard a huge bang. Like an explosion’ ‘There's glass embedded in her face. She's in agony’ Strolling around Flamingo Land, my granddaughters couldn’t stop smiling. Abbie, then 9, and Lexie, 3, were in their element. But as usual, Abbie couldn’t stand still. She started cartwheeling, then back-flipped and landed perfectly. Lexie watched on in awe. Abbie was quite the gymnast. She’d first joined a local team back in July 2013, and really loved it. It’d helped to build her confidence and made the whole family so proud. Particularly her mum, my daughter, Clare, 30. We were a close family and I saw Abbie and Lexie most days. They lived two minutes down the road from me. Abbie would stop in at mine on her way…

We all had them... Cringeworthy memories of our teenage years - of bad clothes and awkward first kisses - that we’d sooner forget. Who didn’t look back on photos of their younger selves, proudly posing with a dodgy haircut, and wince with embarrassment? But what if I told you that I’d turned revisiting my teenage years into a career? And they had landed me a hubby in the process! It all started back in 2007. I’d popped over to my mum and dad’s house for a cuppa and a catch up. ‘Oh Sarah, you’ll never guess what I found the other day,’ said my mum, Pam, a glint in her eye. ‘What?’ I replied. ‘Wait there,’ she grinned, darting out of the room. Seconds later, she reappeared, clutching a box…

She drove to the lake and then watched as they drowned On the evening of 25 October 1994, a woman hammered on a door in Union, South Carolina. Frantically, she said that a man had hijacked her car with her two young sons inside. The desperate woman described how she’d stopped at a red light when the armed man jumped into her Mazda and ordered her to drive. Then he’d told her to stop and get out, and sped off… The woman’s name was Susan Smith and her sons – Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months – were now missing… Susan and her ex-husband David Smith – the boys’ father – were both given a lie-detector test. David passed, but when Susan’s was inconclusive, police were concerned. Susan had originally…

‘Getting match fit became like an addiction’ Slumped on the sofa, flicking through a stack of beauty magazines, I sighed. If only I could be like these sassy, confident girls, happy to strut their stuff. They really knew how to rock a look... As for me? No chance! According to the other kids at school, I was the ugly duckling of the class. ‘We’re going to egg your house, ugly!’ they’d shout at me. I never understood what I’d done to deserve being bullied. Maybe it was jealousy? Who knows? Whatever the reason, it knocked my confidence and my self esteem plummeted. Still, I longed to be like the girls in the magazines. There was no harm in dreaming... Then, in May 2014, I randomly spotted an advert for the…

Diet disaster Q I’ve tried every type of diet going and I can’t shift weight. What can I do? Lisa, Poole A Always avoid diets that begin with a capital ‘D. They exist to make someone money, usually with no scientific basis. Evidence is building for low carbohydrate approaches and the Mediterranean diet, while low fat/ low calorie diets are falling out of favour. But don’t forget the importance of physical activity, and if you still have no success, contact your GP. Hanging loose QI’ve lost more than 7 stone in the past two years, but now have loads of excess skin. Other than surgery, is there anything I can do to get rid of it? Theresa, Luton A An increase in physical activity and good skincare is important, but…

‘I've had modelling roles, with my vitiligo proudly on show’ Looking in the mirror, I focused on the pimple sitting just above my right eyebrow. It wouldn’t go away. In fact, it was getting bigger. It was 2012 and I’d never had any issues with my skin before. But, five months earlier, a pimple had grown into a big patch, where the skin pigment was much lighter than the rest of my face. ‘Have you started doing something crazy with your make up?’ My friends asked. I’d moved to Johannesburg from my South African village, Bizana, in 2006, to become an actress. But, going home, after the mark appeared, cruel rumours started. ‘What’s that on your face? It’s a symptom of HIV!’ people said. It hurt to hear people I’d…

Relationship and wellbeing expert, Louise Cox, www.louisecox.com  says: 'This is bound to have wounded deeply, but if you stay together you both need to rebuild the trust. If you continue to be suspicious or angry, you will just remain in a place of suffering. There has to be a point where you accept what has happened and draw a line under the past. Family and friends will always have an opinion so it's best to seek out a good therapist who remains impartial, where you can both talk through your feelings and be open and honest. The fact you still love him and have children together tells me that with time, and the reassurance of your partner's love, the marriage could be salvaged, but ultimately the decision is…

‘The barking belongs to a troop of howler monkeys’ We're off to… Costa Rica Look for a ball of “moss” in a tree,’ says our guide, Arturo, as we float along the Rio Frio in Costa Rica. Bearing in mind we’re in a tropical rainforest, it doesn’t reduce the options much. But somehow, we spot one - a shaggy brown two-toed sloth, hanging casually from all fours in a cecropia tree. Thanks to its location, wedged between the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, Costa Rica has 20 microclimates and it’s packed with animals. There are 200 types of reptiles, 800 kinds of birds, 35,000 varieties of insects and, what excites me most, five species of sloth! I’ve always fancied coming to Costa Rica, and now Thomson has launched a near…

It all started in 2007... You see, our daughter, Olivia, then 10, has cerebral palsy, and it was hard to find fun stuff for the whole family to do together. It had to entertain our other children, Guy, 14, James, 7, Grace, 2, and be accessible for Olivia. ‘It’d be easier to build something ourselves,’ my husband, Nick, 45, sighed. So we decided that’s exactly what we’d do! Knowing we were onto something, we sold our house, left our jobs and bought five acres of land in Chipping Norton. Finally, after five years slogging away, in May 2013, Fairytale Farm opened to the public. We had animals, including pigs and rheas (like an ostrich!), wheelchair-friendly swings, and zones like Mermaid Garden and Weather Wonderland. Everything was sensory and adapted for…

VIRGO 24 Aug-23 Sept After all the excitement of the holiday season you may feel a little flat at the start of January. This can be partly down to Mercury, your personal planet, turning retrograde, swiftly followed by Jupiter in your sign just a few days later. This could see you feeling weary and in need of a little me-time. Fortunately, Mars zips into one of the most energetic of areas and will soon revive you! Also, Mercury rewinds on the 9th back into your most self-expressive of zones. This combination can keep you busy, particularly if you're involved with a creative strand. The New Moon on the 10th is great for showcasing your creativity. A family tie can seem strained yet can be rejuvenated by a fairer share of…

‘Going back in time has made me feel much healthier’ As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I felt like I was suffocating. Next thing, I was wide awake and gasping for breath. Opposite me sat Nicolas Aujula, a regression therapist. You see, he’d put me in a trance, after telling me how revisiting my past lives could help me overcome my health worries. I’d asked for help, because of my lifelong struggle with asthma. I had a dull ache in my neck and right shoulder, too. I’d had physio, but it hadn’t worked. In January last year, I’d booked more treatment. But before that, I went to see Nicolas. What did I have to lose? As he regressed me, I discovered I’d been a cavewoman. I can’t explain it,…

‘Surgeons were going to drill into my head’ ‘I would need help learning to walk, talk eat and write’ Running around doing errands, I jumped into the car and headed for the local butcher’s. You can imagine my disappointment when I saw it was closed! Turning around, I headed home. But I never made it... Instead, I woke up in hospital, surrounded by doctors. ‘Can I go home?’ I asked one. ‘No, sorry, you had an accident and you’ve been asleep a long time,’ he replied. Then I remembered, I needed to speak to my mum, Susan. Luckily, they let me phone her. ‘Hi Mummy,’ I said. ‘I love you. But where are you?’ With that, she burst in to tears. What was going on?! Shortly afterwards, Mum was at…

What’s orange, bouncy and totally mad? Me on a space hopper! But my reasons are much more grounded. In September 2014, my friend Louise, 28, told us her son, Benji, 3, had been diagnosed with leukaemia. It was devastating, but she said The Children’s Hospital Charity at Sheffield Children’s Hospital was amazing. ‘I’m going to raise money for them,’ I told Louise. I would’ve done a sponsored run, but running a half-marathon the year before, I’d torn a ligament. ‘You need to do something people will talk about,’ a friend who works at a charity suggested. ‘Like go around town on a space hopper.’ Genius! And in that moment ‘Bounce 4 Benji’ was born. ‘I’ll hop the length of a marathon on one,’ I told Louise. ‘You’re mad,’ she laughed.…

Jar too tight to open? Break the vacuum seal with a tin opener and the lid will be easy to unscrew. Simple! Gayda Jackson, Canada I bought plastic dummies from a bead shop and added them to silk ribbons to make these fun necklaces for my friend’s baby shower. Nicola Thistle, Sutton Annoying water-drip noise? Tie a piece of string around the tap and dangle it in the plughole – the drips will run silently down the string. Dave Nicholson, Australia Cut strips from patterned tissue boxes to make nice, sturdy bookmarks. Lilian Smith, Preston Save unpopped kernels from microwave bags – then reheat them in a saucepan (lid on tight!) with sunflower oil and you’ll get another bowl of popcorn! Joanne Campbell, Whitehead Treat your partner to a full…

1 Stop those draughts Is it particularly cold around doors and windows? If so, invest in some draught excluders! 2 Keep them closed If you have radiators on in a room, make sure the door is closed, otherwise the heat will escape into other areas. 3 Keep them open It works the other way too - if you're cooking in the kitchen and it's warm in there, open the door so your sitting room feels the benefit! 4 Stick the kettle on Forget putting the heating on all night, go back to the old trusty hot water bottle! 5 Chim-chimney Do you have a chimney but don't use it for fires? A chimney balloon will sit inside the chimney hole and stop draughts getting in. 6 Grab that jumper When…

‘He grabbed my hand and put it on his crotch’ It was a Monday night - 31 March 2014 - and I’d only popped to a Wetherspoon’s for a bite to eat with friends. Famous last words! Excited, I made an effort, slipping into a fitted black dress. As the conversation flowed, so did the drinks. Soon it was 3.30am and I was stumbling out of Oceana nightclub, buzzing from a brilliant time. I joined the taxi queue with my friend, James. ‘I don’t have any money,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry, you can stay at mine,’ James offered. Students at Nottingham University, we’d been housemates before, so I knew my boyfriend, Sam, 23, wouldn’t mind. Plus, James lived much closer to the club than me. So James climbed into the…

‘The naughty nookie had us both intrigued’ Kissing each other on the lips, we giggled, as we enjoyed a romantic stroll. Jurgen and I had always prided ourselves on being experimental and broad minded. And, believe it or not, a full-on smacker on the lips was considered pretty racy in the Netherlands, where we came from! But now we were on holiday, staying in a picturesque village in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. It was nine years ago and we’d found the perfect place for peace and quiet in abundance. Then, one day, we decided to check out the local town, expecting to find a traditional French seaside resort. But, walking along the beach, hand in hand, in the late afternoon, something ahead stopped us dead in our tracks. There…

3 of the Best We test 3 products so you don't have to. This issue MALTED MILK DRINKS 1 Horlicks Light, £3, Asda You can't go wrong with a warming cup of Horlicks. While this is a light version of the original, it tastes just as nice and, if you add a bit of milk before the water, it makes it nice and frothy. 2 Morrisons Instant Malted Drink, £1.50, Morrisons Make this up with semi-skimmed milk and you'll have a really lovely, creamy drink that's a perfect night-time treat. 3 Ovaltine Chocolate Light, £2, Tesco Combining hot chocolate and a lovely malted milk drink, this provides a perfect sweet-fix that you can have instead of a pudding! Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding Serves 10 Prep Time 15 mins Cook…

Human statue Ashley Kurpiel suffers from a rare condition that’s turning her muscles to bone. The illness, called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, affects about 800 people worldwide. The incurable disease has already cost Ashley her right arm. But, while the disease can leave sufferers immobilised, Ashley has vowed to live life to the full. ‘When I was about two and a half, doctors diagnosed me with cancer,’ says Ashley. ‘They went in to remove what they thought was a tumour – and told my parents that it had spread and that my arm needed to be amputated. ‘Five months later, doctors called and said cancer was a misdiagnosis and that I had a rare disease that affects one in two million. ‘I’m growing a second skeleton in a sense, becoming a…

‘He lunged at me, biting my bottom lip’ Ever read a story about an abusive relationship and find yourself thinking, Why doesn't she just leave him? It can be hard to understand. But, if you’re asking that as you read mine, I’m glad for you. It means you haven’t lived the hell I have. When I met Noel Forrester, in January 2000, he was charming. At our local, he sauntered over, had me laughing all evening. About 6ft 3in, with big, green eyes, I couldn’t believe my luck. Single after a long relationship, my confidence was low. So, when Noel asked for my number, I was flattered. We became an item and, for three months, I was so happy. One night, Noel was drinking rum. The mood darkened... We were…

THEY SAY ‘This new product can be used pre-sport to loosen and soften muscles, and post injury to help realign muscle fibres and break down adhesions and scar tissue.’ YOU SAY ‘Muscle rubs can often really smell, but this has a nice herby aroma. Result!’ June, St Albans WE SAY Around a third of us suffer from muscle soreness after exercise or a work-out, so this is a really handy little product to keep in your desk drawer or your sports bag.…

Start pumping Any exercise that gets your blood pumping will improve your circulation. And the good news is, there’s no need to go crazy (unless you want to!). Just two hours each week will make a difference. Go for a walk or a leisurely swim – or, if you work in an office, try a few (discreet) stretches. Get toasty Cold tootsies and frozen fingers are a typical sign that blood’s not flowing round your body easily. Stay warm by layering up. Wear gloves and hats and an extra pair of socks. Take hot baths (add Epsom salts) and inhale the steam! When you breathe deeply, oxygen flows round your body better and your organs get ‘fed’. Hands on Book a massage – and enjoy it! A rub down increases…

‘Her head and legs had been chopped off’ Carting heavy bags into the terminal building at Scotland’s Cairnryan Port, Philomena Dunleavy’s appearance was unremarkable. It was only the 66-year-old’s dazzling smile that set her apart from fellow travellers. You see, the slight 5ft 4in mother-of-five had a gleaming set of teeth, after splashing out on extensive dental work in Hungary. The cosmetic work was a well deserved treat for Philomena, who’d had a hard life. It was April, 2013, and she’d just travelled to Scotland from her home in Marino, Dublin, to visit her son, James Dunleavy, 40 - also known as Seamus. She missed James, who lived in Edinburgh, terribly. She also wanted to see him and talk to him about her recent decision to leave her husband, James…

As I packed the bags, I heard my son, Kenzo, then 2, getting ready upstairs. It was the middle of 2014, and we were preparing to pop to town. My partner, Chris, 25, works until lunchtime so, with my 7-month-old daughter, Shelby, we were going to meet him. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my left side. Maybe I'd pulled a muscle. I took a couple of painkillers, but it quickly got worse. I called Chris. 'Sorry, we probably won't come into town,' I explained. I was sure the pain would pass. But, next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor with Kenzo stroking my face. 'It's going to be OK, Mummy,' Kenzo was saying. I must've blacked out again, as when I woke next, my mum and…

Donna Dawson was born in Boston, USA, and is a psychologist specialising in personality, behaviour, relationships, social issues, stress and depression. • For more information, visit www.donnadawson.co.uk WORK OR PLAY? Gemma, Cornwall Donna says: This person is creative and artistic, using icons to help reinforce her individual list items. She thinks and writes quickly (skipping or slurring letters), which makes her appear slightly scatty and disorganised (putting number two before number one, numbering some things and not others, ticking things off in no particular order). Separating out people's birthdays with a curvy arrow indicates that she enjoys her friends and her social life, and can't wait to finish her chores - she likes to keep work and play completely separate. Gemma says: I’m a doodler and do write quickly as…

Walking into the house, my Jose, 28, was drenched in sweat. We'd been together four years, and he'd always been a gym bunny, but he'd stepped things up to train as a bodybuilder. He was working all hours as a sales assistant – and working out all the rest of them! Plus eating lots of chicken and high-protein suppers. I loved his new bod! It was his dream, and I was proud. And, a few months later. 'I entered a bodybuilding competition,' he grinned. So we headed to the Jersey Opera House in February 2013. 'Are you nervous?' I asked. He'd barely said a word all morning – hardly surprising, as it was his first performance. As Jose went backstage, the organiser came up to me. 'Jose's the only person…

Eccles Cakes Serves 12 Prep Time 25 mins Cook time 10-15 mins 1 Preheat the oven to 220¡C/ Gas Mark 7. Grease two baking sheets. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a thickness of ½cm and cut out 12x10cm circles. 2 Mix the currants with the butter and demerara sugar and put teaspoons of the mixture in the centre of the pastry circles. 3 Dampen the edges of the pastry and fold into the centre, pinching together to encase the filling. Flatten slightly, making sure they are of a similar size. 4 Place onto the baking sheets, make three small slits in the tops and brush with a little milk and then sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes until…

‘Docs told us she had a 10 per cent chance of survival’ ‘A great cuddler, she feels like a daughter to me’ Life and love can work in mysterious ways. That was certainly the case for me and my hubby, John, 55. Both in top jobs when we met back in 1987 through work, I was in charge of personnel at Allders of Sutton - then a major department store; John had a recruitment agency nearby. He had a wife and I was married to my career, so our relationship was purely professional. Our paths crossed several times though, and by 1995 when he was separated and I was divorced, things changed. Frequently thrown together through friends, we got on brilliantly, always making each other laugh. And in July 2000…

It’s family that makes a house a home, so when my husband, Kenny, 58, and I bought a house with our daughter, Lorna, 35, and her family, I couldn’t have been happier. It meant I’d see my grandkids, Kayleigh, 8, Kian, 6, and Kaitlin, 4, every day. We moved in on 11 June 2015, and the house is noisy and full of life! Every now and then, for a bit of relaxation, I like to play a few games of bingo. I’d been a member of Pick Me Up! Bingo for years - I used to go to the local bingo hall - but in the winter I didn’t like driving in the dark. ‘Try Pick Me Up! Bingo,’ my sister had suggested. She said it was lots of fun.…

1 A fishy death In Ohio, a silly young man gobbled down a live 5in goldfish. As the fish fought back, the man gasped for breath. Paramedics were called and arrived to find a fish tail still protruding from the victim’s mouth. It resulted in the death of the man, and also the fish. 2 Glass act A Canadian lawyer charged at the windowpane on the 24th storey of his office block to show off the strength of the glass. But he crashed through the window to his death. 3 What a mug! In South Africa, a mugger fled after pinching a mobile phone. Spotting a fence, he scaled it thinking he’d made his escape. Instead he’d climbed the fence to the tiger enclosure at the zoo – where he…

Rachel, 40, West Midlands Towards the end of last year I discovered my husband had been cheating on me. I was absolutely devastated. As far as I was aware, things were as good as they’d always been and what hurt most is that we have two lovely children together. By cheating he was not only destroying our marriage, but our family too. He pleaded for forgiveness but I knew straight away that we’d divorce. However, we decided, for the sake of the kids, he’d stay through Christmas and we’d put on a united front so they wouldn’t associate the festive season with our break up. Now though, I don’t know what to do. My family and friends believe I should definitely go ahead with the separation but - and I…

‘I'd left them too close to the hairdryer’ All teenagers like to break the mould. Which is why I’d dyed my hair purple. Only, it’d gone a sort of bluey-green. Back at school after the hols, my teacher wasn’t happy... ‘I’ll dye it back, Miss,’ I promised. ‘I knew you shouldn’t have done it,’ my mum, Svetlana, now 54, tutted later. Even bleaching at the hairdresser’s hadn’t got the green out. ‘Don’t fuss,’ I sighed. ‘I’ve got it sorted.’ ‘Well, as long as you’re not green tomorrow,’ Mum said. ‘Trust me,’ I said. Mum said she was popping to the shops. Perfect, now I could sort my hair out. I rooted in the back of my wardrobe. ‘Hair extensions will save the day,’ I smiled to Bastet, my sphynx cat.…

Hanging over the Humber Bridge, holding a banner, my friend took my picture. Snap! There was another pic for my fiancée’s surprise. I’d met Amy Hindhaugh, 28, six years earlier at work. We’d got chatting and I’d thought she was pretty and funny. ‘But why would she be interested in me?’ I’d sighed, deciding to keep my feelings secret. Then, two years on, in March 2012, I accepted a job 150 miles away, and prepared to say goodbye to my crush. So, I was amazed when Amy made a confession. ‘I like you. I didn’t want to say in case you didn’t feel the same,’ she said. ‘But I do!’ I grinned. And we started dating. Chatting each night, we missed each other loads, although, at weekends we’d meet up.…