Pick Me Up! 16-Mar-2023

Busting out dance moves to Janet Jackson in the mirror, I felt energy pump through my entire body. That’s the way love goes… Dancing made me feel alive. I’d been doing it since I was 12 years old, and walking into my very first dance class, I felt as if I’d been born for the very first time. ‘This is it,’ I remember telling my mum that evening. ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’ For me, dancing was an escape. Having grown up seeing my mum in a violent relationship, I soon realised that dancing was a powerful way to heal trauma – physically releasing emotions. Moving my body to music allowed me to free up my pain. Dancing allowed me to free up my…

Buy of the week This Mother’s Day, why not treat your mum to something really special? In collaboration with Burt’s Bees and the Bee Friendly Trust, jewellery brand Wild Fawn have released a limited-edition sterling silver charm necklace, featuring an adorable little nestling honeybee inside a traditional skep beehive. You can also pick up an iconic new look Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm Tin for £4.99 from your nearest Boots store, too. Spoil your mum and help out the bees – it’s a win win! • £96, available from wildfawnjewellery.com We’re loving Who doesn’t love a sweet treat? If your mum’s got a sweet tooth, surprise her with a gift from Cutter & Squidge. Based in Soho, London, and delivering nationwide, these dreamy cakes, ‘biskies’, afternoon tea and hampers are…

See me roar! This is my favourite picture of my little Phoebe- she’s adorable. Lisa Adams, Halesowen This is Ryan and me on my 60th birthday – we had a lovely Chinese with family and friends. Debb Hunt, Nottingham This appeared in the sky just as I was thinking of my late mum, who sadly passed away recently. I think it’s Mum watching over us, sending a kiss. Dawn Humphrey, Scarborough I no longer have my mum, but I want to shout-out my mother-in-law of 16 years, Pauline, who has been like a mum to me for a lot of my life. Cheryl Harvey, Kent I’ve just found the perfect biscuit to go with my cup of tea as I read my favourite Pick Me Up! Fiona Deans, Beith If your letter makes Star…

Waiting at the school gates, it wasn’t long before I saw a certain someone running towards me. ‘Mum, look what one of the girls has given me today,’ my son Oliver gleamed, showing off a shiny £1 coin in his hand. And it wasn’t the first time that I’d caught Oliver having a secret admirer. In fact, I’d constantly find notes and pictures in his school bag from people in his class – he was extremely popular with the girls, that was for sure! And it was pretty clear as to why… That’s something me and my husband Mark, now 60, had realised from the moment that he was born. With Emmerdale playing in the background as I gave birth on 21 January 1999, our boy Oliver came out weighing…

So, in April 2011, that’s exactly what he did. ‘Please don’t say that he is in a better place now, as there is no better place for him to be than in our arms,’ Mark admitted to the priest. For it was true, and there was no such thing as holding a perfect funeral – but we wanted to make it special as that’s what Oliver was to us. Mr Special – a nickname we had coined for him. Giving a brilliant eulogy, Mark stood in front of family, friends, Oliver’s classmates, teachers and fellow members of his sporting teams. With images of Oliver playing on the screen, as well as all of his achievements, it was true that in the 12 years that our boy was with us, he…

Plating up the final roast dinner, I turned my gaze to the empty place mat next to me. My partner Des, 37, wasn’t having a typical Christmas lunch this year – he was having a doner kebab. ‘Are you sure you’re going to be OK with that?’ I asked, pouring the gravy on our steaming dinners as my two boys Lewis, 16, and Ryan, 13, came running through excitedly. ‘Yep, don’t worry about me,’ he replied, licking his lips. ‘I’m more than happy with my doner and chilli sauce.’ Des was absolutely obsessed with kebabs. Ever since I had met him five years ago, him and kebabs had come as a package deal. I’m not a big foodie, but after a few months of dating Des, I’d learned to come…