Pick Me Up! 20-Sep-2018

Growing up, Mum had always been outnumbered. There was my older sister Katy, now 32, me, and my baby bro Joe, 23. We were a ragtag trio. Always up to mischief and driving Mum nuts. Katy was always the protective older sis. And Joe and I were best of mates, even if we were always arguing. And no matter what, we always had each other’s backs. Especially when, at the start of this year, my brother was diagnosed with a brain tumour causing cancer to spread throughout his body. It broke my heart to know that we might lose him. And Mum was devastated. Joe was her little prince. So when Joe finally passed away in April 2018, aged just 23, we were all bereft. But amid her grief, Mum’s…

My daughter Mia had had enough of shopping so she decided to have a lay down on this display bed in the middle of M&S, bless her. Richard Adams, Halesowen We treated the girls to a trip to Disneyland Paris recently and they were so excited to see Minnie Mouse. It was a wonderful trip! Katherine Lawrenson, via e-mail This beauty washed up on shore on a sunny beach in Cyprus – turns out mermaids love to read Pick Me Up! too. Who knew?! Lisa Durrant, Dromore, Co. Down Matt turned 18 recently and you can see from his face just how beery happy he was with his birthday cake! His sister looks ready to tuck in, too… Carol Firth, Burgess Hill My husband Robert and I loved our visit…

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My heart banged as I raced into the stockroom. How was it possible to be so busy yet so bored? I was 16 and a Saturday girl for a homeware store. Instead of being out with friends, I was running round after customers, dealing with complaints. All for minimum wage. Even after work, I couldn’t relax as I had studying to do. ‘You need to pass your exams,’ my parents said. I was at college, hoping to go to university. That was until I met Becky in 2003 through friends. Becky was 25, gorgeous and confident. She had her own car and house, and always wore the sexiest outfits. Becky told me she was a stripper. ‘I party all the time,’ she said. ‘Everything in my world is free.’ She…

Got a screw loose? It can be easy to lose pieces as you assemble furniture. Keep everything in one place by pouring what you need into a muffin tin. No more missing screws! Zowie D’Souza, Southampton Pool prowess Keep your children’s paddling pool free of bugs and debris by covering it with a fitted sheet. No need to empty and refill every night now. Ria Spilling, Cosby Perfect for puzzlers For your friends who love to enter magazine competitions, fill a hamper with pads, pens and stamps. They’ll think it’s the perfect comper’s present. Karen Baker, Watford No sweat! Dissolve sweat stains from T-shirts by simply crushing some aspirin in a few drops of water to make a paste. Spread on stains, let it dry and see them disappear. Margaret…

Sitting on the couch with my two sisters, Louise, 25, and Jessica, 17, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was early 2015, and my mum, Stephanie, 54, had called us over to her house. I’d left my two girls, Lilly, 4, and Indie, 1, with my partner Lloyd, on my mum’s instruction. And it was obvious from the look on her face when we arrived that something was very wrong. ‘I’ve been to the doctor and they’ve found something,’ Mum said, ‘Not again!’ I cried. Mum had already beaten breast cancer twice and had had a double mastectomy. ‘I haven’t got cancer again,’ Mum reassured us. ‘But they’ve found a gene mutation called BRCA2.’ She explained the gene increases the chances of getting breast…