Pick Me Up! 09-Apr-2020

This week we’re recognising the work of Dawn Williams, 56, from Gloucester. She wrote to say… On 1 June 2000, my husband Simon, 59, retired from the Royal Navy. He’d served for 24 incredible years and I was so proud of him. I loved our life with our two sons, but just three short months after he’d retired, Simon was sadly diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. And to make matters even worse, the cancer had been caused by an exposure to a radioactive substance down in the submarines. So, with two young boys and no financial income, things were hard. As part of his treatment, Simon was undergoing a new drug trial, but it was tough. During the second week of his chemo his mouth blistered, his neck started to burn…

Don’t miss this The British Heart Foundation have launched a brand-new podcast, The Ticker Tapes, with Guardian and Stylist columnist Lucy Mangan interviewing three women about their experiences of a heart attack. In the wake of the BHF’s research which revealed that women are 50% more likely to receive a wrong initial diagnosis when having a heart attack, The Ticker Tapes explores the real-life stories behind the headlines and statistics to find out what life is actually like during and after a heart attack for females. The Ticker Tapes is a series of four raw, emotive yet humorous episodes where listeners meet three inspirational women who have all experienced a heart attack in very different ways. The conversations explore all parts of the women’s experiences, from emotional trauma to sex…

Peering through the kitchen door, I caught sight of my fiancé Steven, 48, with his fingers in his mouth. ‘Will you stop chewing your nails!’ I bellowed at him from the kitchen. ‘Alright, I’m stopping, I’m stopping,’ Steven promised, but I could see through the door crack that he was still having a cheeky little nibble while staring at the TV. Although we’d known each other for yearsfrom our school days, we’d only got together in 2016 after a chance meeting in a local pub. Later that evening, after we’d polished off our dinners, I noticed Steven was looking nervously at his hand. ‘Everything OK?’ I asked him peering over my armchair. ‘Oh it’s nothing, my finger is just a bit sore,’ he said, laughing and shooing me back to…

Only the best wheat goes into Carr’s specialist flours and they are trusted by Britain’s best artisan bakers. They’ve been milling in the UK for 200 years and can help you create some awesome Easter bakes! Easter Simnel muffins INGREDIENTS: 250g mixed dried fruit 1 orange, zest and juice 175g butter, softened 175g golden caster sugar 3 eggs, beaten 300g Carr’s Self Raising Flour 1½ tsp mixed spice ½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated 5 tbsp milk 200g marzipan 200g icing sugar 1 lemon, juiced Mini chocolate eggs 1 Tip the fruit into a bowl, add the orange zest and juice and leave to soak for 1 hour. Line 12 deep muffin tins with muffin cases. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. 2 Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour,…

Tucking into a slice of pizza, I listened on as my friends started discussing their latest appointments at the fertility clinic. ‘We’re so lucky that we have each other to talk to,’ one of the girls mused. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you all,’ another chimed in. Between myself, Micki, 34, Amie, 36, Kristen, 45 and Celeste, 37, we all had our problems when it came to having children naturally. In fact, our fertility troubles were what brought us together in the first place. About a year and a half earlier in 2016, me and my husband Greg, 37, sought the help of reproductive specialists in our home in New Jersey, after discovering his sperm count was low, due to having radiation treatment for testicular cancer years earlier.…

ACROSS 1 Lithe (6) 4 Blameworthy (8) 10 Judicial reviews (7) 11 Traditions (7) 12 Danny _, actor whose credits include Mean Machine and The Football Factory (4) 13 Bank notes (5,5) 15 Winnings (6) 16 Highly skilled musician or conductor (7) 20 Cooperate or contribute (5,2) 21 Fictional butler (6) 24 Academic period (6,4) 26 Elm, for example (4) 28 Eccentric (7) 29 Coastal barrier (7) 30 Tortures (8) 31 Banquets (6) DOWN 1 Pop stars Alvin or Ziggy (8) 2 Spicy pizza topping (9) 3 Fibber (4) 5 The US government personified (5,3) 6 Royal Mail official (10) 7 Colour (5) 8 School writings (6) 9 Indian state famous for its tea (5) 14 Voting body (10) 17 Backward movements (9) 18 Very small allotment (4,4) 19 In…