Pick Me Up! 12-Jul-2018

My husband Michael, 69, is the most selfless and kind man that I’ve ever known and so deserves a bunch of flowers. Known as Zak, we met and married 46 years ago. By our fourth wedding anniversary we had two lovely children - Genevieve and Simon. Our family was complete. Time passed and, in 1995, I became ill with the rare illness dermatomyositis. I had to retire early and Zak became my full-time carer. In 2016, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer. During the 12 days that I was in hospital, Zak made the 20-mile journey to see me daily. Thankfully I was diagnosed early and after the op I didn’t need further treatment. Zak still brings me breakfast in bed every morning with a smile on his face. He…

My boys had to take a little rest after bouncing about all day at our local trampoline park. Sian Walker, Halesowen, West Midlands My son was having loads of fun running around the park, but my husband looks like he’s ready for bed. Natalie Ahmed, Nottingham We absolutely loved Ibiza last year. It was a proper girls’ holiday and we can’t wait to go again. Rebecca Blower, Rossington, South Yorkshire I loved taking my e-bike out for a spin on a rare sunny day! I was definitely having great fun. Nina Steer, Fivehead, Somerset My husband and I took our dog to the top of the Conic Hill Walk. What a view from the peak! Samantha Mckibbens, Pollok, Glasgow Looking back at my son Lucas’ first kiss…with a dolphin. Now…

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Showing off my sparkling engagement ring to my friend Tina, she squealed. ‘It’s beautiful!’ she agreed with me. ‘You’re so lucky.’ She wasn’t wrong. I’d bagged myself a keeper in my fiance Alan Bowes , then 28. It was May 2016 and we’d been together a year, after meeting via a well-known dating app. At the time, I’d been a single mum to my son, then 17 months. Tired of immature blokes, I was at the stage where I was looking for something serious. Alan, with his charm and quick wit, had swept me off my feet. Things had moved quickly between us - and on our one-year anniversary, he’d pulled out all the stops. He’d treated me by paying for me to have my hair and nails done. Then,…

Don’t lose your bottle! Cut off the top of an old, clean lotion bottle and slide in your phone, keys and cash. No-one will know your valuables are inside and it’ll keep them safe on the beach! Louise Cooper, Torrington Pot luck Keep mini pots from takeaways, especially those from dips. You can reuse them as snack pots for your kids’ lunches. Lisa Marshall, West Wickham Cool case To bling up my daughter’s old phone case, I stuck on sparkly gems. It looks great and cost half the price of a new one. Lee Hall, Sittingbourne Straw blimey! Stop straws from floating out of a can of drink – just thread them through the ring pull. It keeps them firmly in place. Angela Clifton, Felixstowe Tangle tamer Use a cocktail…

My legs trembled as I made my way up the gangplank to the yacht. But it wasn’t the gentle bobbing of the ocean waves that was making me wobbly. It was pure awestruck shock. ‘Wow!’ I hissed to my husband Jim, 57, as we entered the boat’s plush dining room, complete with glittering chandelier. ‘This is like something from a movie!’ Only, this was very real. It was April this year, and me, Jim, and our boys, Jamie, 14, Shane, 12, and Kyle, 9, were visiting my brother Peter, 51, in Miami. He’d been living there for 20 years, worked as a sea captain out of one of the ports, but this was our first time visiting from rainy Edinburgh. Talk about a holiday of a lifetime! So when Paul’s…