Pick Me Up! 15-Dec-2016

What An Achievement! This will be mine and my boyfriend Darren’s first Christmas in our new house. Since we bought it in the summer, it’s been all hands on deck doing it up. I think we deserve a tipple or two this December to celebrate! 22 That’s how many years ago Mariah Carey released All I Want For Christmas Is You . It’s my favourite Christmas track of all time. To test your knowledge of festive tunes, go to www. lifedeath   prizes.com/ www.lifedeathprizes.com/next-line-christmas-quiz www.lifedeathprizes.com/next-line-christmas-quiz next-linechristmasquiz. What A Tradition! My family loves dressing up at Christmas. Two years ago, we had a ‘tackiest Christmas jumper’ contest. And, last year, it was ‘most festive hat’. My nan Jean (at the back with the light-up Christmas-tree…

Little STAR My 10-month-old Benjamin looked rather worried when I put this big Christmas dinner in front of him a few years ago, until I realised I’d given him the wrong one... Lucy Travell, Gloucester Joining the jumpers My lovely mum Christine was reluctant at first, but she soon gave in and joined the Christmas jumper craze with my niece Katy. Ann Johnson, Runcorn Puppy pudding Here’s my merry little pudding Dinky, who’s getting excited for the festive season! Krissie Cope, Prestwich, Manchester Holiday headgear Meet my twin cocker spaniels Cherry and Blossom, both aged 6, who are getting festive by trying on their new Christmas hats. Gillian Jackson, Todmorden Festive family My cousin and I never have any trouble getting into the Crimbo spirit! Emma Matthews, Stockport Santa selfie…

‘I made a wish she’d be strong enough to come home soon’ As me and my boyfriend Chris, 30, got comfy on the sofa, I pulled out a bag of penny sweets - as exciting as Saturday nights got! Weeks before, in July 2015, we’d got engaged. We were saving every penny for our big day. I was two months pregnant with our first baby, too. We hoped to tie the knot before the baby arrived in February. It meant cutting back on nights out, saving for our wedding. By November, we had £2,500 but tightened our belts even more. Then, one night, I woke with excruciating back pain. We went straight to Poole Hospital, where doctors checked me over, and said I was fine - but then I started…

‘He’d use emotional blackmail so I’d feel like the baddie’ ‘Suddenly, his eyes were burning with pure hatred’ I’d never had a boyfriend before I started seeing Cain Donald. At just 14, we’d hang out at the park or at the cinema with friends. Cain was cute, funny and popular. ‘Your accent’s great,’ he told me. At 8, I’d moved from the USA to Oxford. My mum Julie, 61, is American, but had married my stepdad Colin, 66, after meeting him online, and I’ve always called him Dad. Cain and I were young, and never discussed the future seriously. But, three years on, Cain fell in with a bad crowd. Possessive and jealous, he’d regularly grab my phone to read my texts. If I protested, he’d say I must have…

‘If you’re being abused, leave as soon as you can’ Mum and Dad came with me as I was rushed to Horton General Hospital in Banbury. I became hysterical, asking paramedics if I’d survive. I’d never felt pain like it. At the hospital, doctors ran X-rays of my face and head. ‘The good news is there’s nothing wrong with your brain,’ the doctor began. ‘But your jaw’s broken in half on the upper right side, and you’ve a hairline fracture to the left of your chin.’ I’d need emergency surgery, and was transferred to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital. I wept the whole way, and spent Christmas morning on a hospital ward. Lost Christmas At 1.30pm on Christmas Day, instead of excitedly opening presents, I was undergoing two hours of surgery…

While some police forces see a spike in domestic-violence reports at Christmas due to high-profile awareness campaigns, charity Refuge sees fewer women seeking help over the festive period. Don’t suffer in silence. You’re not alone. Help is out there, every day of the year. Sandra Horley CBE, Chief Executive of Refuge, says, ‘Christmas is meant to be a time of joy, a time of generosity, a time of caring. But, for too many women and children, 25 December will be yet another day of living with fear, intimidation and violence. ‘At Refuge, we actually receive fewer visits to our website and fewer calls to the National Domestic Violence Helpline around Christmas than we do at other times of the year. There is no excuse She explains, ‘It can be hard…