Pick Me Up! 24-Feb-2022

Studying graphic design at university, I loved being creative. Drawing fonts was just my thing. And doing so was quite a therapeutic process. Falling pregnant with my first child in 2015, I had a chance to sit down and enjoy drawing before I had to change nappies and survive on very little sleep. Swirling F’s and dotting I’s gave me time to do something for myself. Drawing the alphabet seemed like a great idea. Before I knew it, I had created a poster of the entire alphabet in print. Pinning it on the wall, I was proud of my masterpiece. When, Otis, now six, finally arrived he loved it, too. I would find his eyes fixated on the poster. Having a newborn baby, I didn’t have a lot of time…

BOOK OF THE WEEK Did you love Gone Girl and Big Little Lies? Well, you’re going to love For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing. Teddy Crutcher is a happily married teacher. He’s brilliant and everyone adores him. Only, things aren’t all that they seem. When a shocking murder grips the school, you’re sure Teddy is hiding something. However, always one step behind, there’s no worse place to be. In this twisting thriller, you’ll be desperate to know how it ends. • For Your Own Good, £7.99, Waterstones GET IN TOUCH Send us your stories and photos, including all names and ages, a daytime phone number and full address. E-mail hello@pickmeupmag.co.uk WRITE TO Pick Me Up! Media Centre, Emma-Chris Way, Abbey Wood Park, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7JU PHONE 01174400607 FACEBOOK facebook.com/pickmeupmag SEE…

Hand in hand with my sister, we headed to the shops on the hunt for the perfect dress. The daddy-daughter dance was coming up and I wanted to look perfect. ‘I remember mine,’ my sister Kimmy smiled. Just seven-years-old, I idolised my big sister. Eight years between us, I thought she was so cool. And she always had time to take me shopping. Finding the perfect white dress, I couldn’t wait for our dad to see it. It was February 1997, and as I slipped on the dress, I looked myself over in the mirror. Walking down the stairs, he stood at the bottom in a handsome suit. ‘You look beautiful,’ my dad Robert, now 60, beamed. I felt it, too. Dad and I were so close. He took me…

For years, I just accepted my dad’s behaviour. Only, when I was 13-years-old, the reality of what was happening finally hit me. Kimmy had moved out by this point, but she came around almost every week. In a way nothing had changed, but it suddenly dawned on me that nothing was right. One evening, family friends had come to visit, and I was forced to sleep in the same bed with my dad to make space. No one blinked an eye lid. Why would they? Only, in the middle of the night, I woke up to his fingers penetrating me. He hadn’t done that since the night of the dance, but I leapt out of bed, determined to make my escape. ‘I need some paracetamol,’ I told him. Running out…

Opening my bedroom door, I headed straight for my bed and collapsed onto it. I felt knackered. I was a few weeks into my international relations degree at King’s College London, and I loved it, but it was full on. It was hard being more than 200 miles away from my family, too. Feeling homesick, I picked up my phone and called my mum Nicola, 52. We spent ages chatting and when I hung up, I felt much better. Feeling tired, I closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, I’d woken up on the floor. I What on earth? I thought. How did I get here? I assumed I must have fallen asleep, then fallen out of bed. Then over the next few weeks, I started getting regular pounding headaches.…

This week, our tip of the week will receive a great product from Addis! Create order and maximise your storage space with two under the bed shoe organisers! With viewing windows to easily identify shoes and a built-in pull out handles for ease of access, the show bag holds up to nine pairs of shoes or high heels. You can simply wipe clean with a damp cloth. For more ways to make your life easier, visit addis.co.uk Sole-mates! My wife’s makeup remover is always a winner to get my trainers back to white. For tougher stains I use a whitening toothpaste, let it soak in and then rinse! Richard Adams, West Midlands. Clean and tidy… Use an ice cube tray to store stationery on your desk! The small sections are…