Pick Me Up! 11-Jan-2018

What Total Bananas! I had a great time seeing 80s songsters Bananarama at a gig in London recently. Their hit version of Venus was definitely the highlight for me! 1982 …was the year that Bananarama had their first Top 40 hit. Blimey, I feel old! What A Scoffer! I’ve put my New Year’s diet on hold till next month. There’s still far too much Christmas chocolate in the house to be virtuous… What Fun! Look at me, having fun out the back on my space hopper! You can check out the seven best toys from the 1970s at: lifedeathprizes.com/70s-toys What A Spectacle I’m not entirely sure that these crazy sunglasses suit me, but they’re so darn cool, I don’t care!…

Monkey business I’m not sure who was cheekiest, the gorilla or my 3-year-old daughter Harriet! Rebecca Law, Colne Caught in a trap Here are my daughters Olivia, 10, and Ruby, 7, making a plea for freedom during our family day out! Stephanie Cullum, Chatham Batdog Nananananana Batdog! Our lovely pooch Jenko loves dressing up, especially as her favourite superhero! Lisa Savery, Reddish High flyer It looks like I’m flying this small sightseeing plane, but I’m just a passenger! Beautiful views of Ireland’s Sherkin Island, though. Amie Yetton, Burwell Greedy guts!  don’t think my cousin wanted to share any of her afternoon tea with me! Emma Matthews, Stockport Look who I met I was thrilled to bump into I’m A Celebrity’s Joe Swash at Center Parcs! Karen Wells, Gravesend Breakfast of…

Flicking through a photo album, my nan Maureen stopped at a snap. ‘That’s your auntie Angie,’ she smiled, pointing to a pic of a girl with a cheesy grin. Nan had three daughters - my mum Joanne was the eldest. Mum still saw her sister Michelle, but they’d lost touch with Angela, the youngest. ‘Angie has always been independent,’ Mum explained. Growing up, me and my brother Daniel, now 26, were often told stories about our long-lost aunt. ‘She was always having a giggle,’ Nan, 70, would recall. I longed to meet my eccentric aunt. Over the years, the family tried to find her. But Angie moved around a lot. ‘Why doesn’t she keep in touch?’ I asked Mum. She explained Angie led a chaotic life. She had no children,…

Looking back, I can hardly believe how easily I was duped by credit card scammers. But at the time, I had no reason to think anything was wrong. That’s why I want to share what happened to me - so that other people don’t fall victim to fraudsters in the same way. The problems began with an email from my credit card provider. I opened it, wondering what they wanted - and felt quite excited when I read that they wanted to increase my credit limit. Not that I’m a spendthrift. Quite the opposite - I’ve always been careful with money. In fact I didn’t have a credit card at all for years, because I didn’t want the temptation of overspending. But having eventually applied for a card, I made…

1 Unexpected call, email or text? A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or to move money to another account.Only give out your personal or financial details to use a service that you have given your consent to, that you trust and that you areexpecting to be contactedby. 2 Ifyoufeeluncomfortable about the information you’re asked for, it’s likely that something is wrong. Take five to say, ‘My money? My info? I don’t think so!’ 3 Even if the number or text on your phone looks authentic, it may not be. Criminals can fake real telephone numbers to appear on your handset. 4 Never click on linksin an unsolicited email or text, or agree to tap your card…

Waving furiously at the computer screen, my daughter Lisa, 22, laughed. ‘It’s so good to see your face, Mum!’ she beamed. Lisa was almost 7,000 miles away in Singapore, working as a physiotherapist. She loved to travel. So when she’d landed a job in Singapore in 2014, it was her dream come true. Yet, despite how busy she was and how much fun she was having, she always found the time to Skype me. ‘Mmm, I can smell the gravy for your roast dinner, Mum,’ Lisa joked. It was a Sunday and she knew I was cooking. ‘We’ll have one when you’re back,’ I promised. Lisa chatted away about work. Then she told me she was planning a few days in Indonesia with friends. ‘I want to climb Mount Bromo…