Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Platinum

With this our April issue, we’re looking ahead to spring, which often means a wardrobe tweak here and there, or even an entire overhaul. I’ve been inspired by Fashion Insider Gail’s classic and timeless looks that effortlessly straddle that winter-spring season (page 22). I’ve also been noting your requests to see more mature models in Platinum; we’re doing our best to make that happen and may have an exciting reader collab in the pipeline (stay tuned!). For this issue, I wanted to include the inspiring story of two model friends who joined forces in their 50s and 60s to increase age diversity in the worlds of fashion and beauty (page 32). Spring is also a good time for a health reboot so we’re looking at the importance of digestion (page…

‘Quality time means going for walks, finding a lovely place to eat, or enjoying time with friends’ I wrote my new book Home Made because I have a huge admiration for crafts people. I did a series for the BBC a long time ago called Back To The Land, which was about rural businesses and people who had stepped away from the train tracks of “This is how you go about life” to do something different. Everyone loved that series so I wanted to find artisans that are proof that there is still value in what we think of as a slightly old-fashioned way of making a living. I made a list of 20 people and when I went to see them, every single one had an astonishing story. I…

LAURA’S STORY As a child living in London, I was signed with an agent (Elisabeth Smith Agency), where I worked for fashion catalogues. Growing up, I was intrigued by fashion, and having the chance to regularly try a never-ending variety of styles meant that through the decades I’ve kept my passion and interest for style. During those early years I was also a model for teenage magazines, when they would publish “photo stories”. When my parents moved, the distance from London prevented me from continuing my potential career as a model and reluctantly I had to put it to the side. As I got older, I was also very interested in health and beauty and trained as a complementary/beauty therapist, running my own practice for more than 20 years. This…

We’ve all heard the saying “You are what you eat”. And it’s not completely true. Yes, the quality and types of foods you put into your body matter. But if you’re only focusing on the foods you’re eating, you’re missing an important piece. In my experience, so many people fall short of their expectations of feeling better and having more energy on an organic, whole foods diet because they don’t understand that everything is food and that we must feed not just the body, but also the mind and soul. Nourishment or “food” for your body, mind and soul comes from all aspects of life, including the thoughts you think, the emotions you feel and the experiences you have. Every day we also feed ourselves through the relationships we have…

On the beautiful west coast of Cyprus in the town of Peyia, near Paphos, sits the luxury hotel and spa resort of Cap St Georges. Having only opened in 2022, this impressive hotel offers a comprehensive range of activities and experiences for individuals, couples or families. Designed in Cypriot stone, the expansive resort reflects the natural landscape and culture of this beautiful, historical island. Surrounded by olive trees, as well as overlooking the eastern Mediterranean Sea with Yeronisos and Manijin islands in sight, this quiet corner of Cyprus creates a perfect destination for those seeking a luxurious hideaway. Although costing more than a billion euros to construct, the hotel oozes understated luxury with natural light flooding in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, highlighting the white oak and Crema Marfil marble finishes…

‘The pandemic led me to embark on a journey to help others navigate their own stories’ At the start of a global pandemic, I watched as the script I had spent two years writing – a thriller about a deadly virus – became too real to continue as fiction. It led me to embark on a journey to help others navigate the unexpected twists in their own stories. My childhood dream was always to write stories, so becoming a screenwriter was a natural choice. My days were varied, with meetings and research, including an unforgettable trip to America learning how to profile a serial killer with the FBI. But most days, you would find me typing away at my computer or taking a walk on the beach when the story…

Upcoming events EDVARD MUNCH PORTRAITS EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY MARCH 13 – JUNE 15, LONDON (npg.org.uk) Widely regarded as one of the great portraitists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch consistently produced intimate portraits of family, friends, lovers, writers, artists, patrons and collectors, together with an extraordinary range of self-portraits. This new exhibition is supported by Viking Cruises (viking.com), whose ocean ships also feature one of the largest collections of Edvard Munch’s artwork outside Oslo, in line with the company’s Nordic heritage. CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL 2025 APRIL 30 – MAY 5, CHELTENHAM (cheltenhamfestivals.com) One of Europe’s biggest jazz festivals, featuring world premieres, brand new commissions, exclusive collaborations and one-off shows, this celebration of music will feature performances from high profile acts from across jazz,…

PLATINUM EXPERT Adele Parks MBE Adele Parks MBE is the author of 24 bestselling novels, including number one Sunday Times Bestsellers Just My Luck and Lies Lies Lies. Her latest, First Wife’s Shadow, is a twisty psychological thriller about love, obsession, jealousy and greed. Her novels are popular all over the world and have been translated into more than 30 different languages. She is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and is a proud ambassador of The National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency. She loves hearing from readers so keep in touch with her via X @adeleparks or instagram.com/adele_parks. LIFE HACKS FOR A LITTLE ALIEN by Alice Franklin (£16.99, Quercus Publishing) If you have had an Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine gap in your life for a while,…

Having an adventurous spirit has helped me make friends in all sorts of places – during expeditions, on long hikes, training for triathlons or shivering after a dip in the sea – but I never expected to make a new friend in a hot tub in the mid-Atlantic. Swimming on a ship riding a swell when the outside temperature is seven degrees, is not for the faint-hearted. I realised that belatedly, as I headed out onto the deck of the Queen Mary 2 dressed in a swimming costume, a woolly hat and a pair of slippers, and tip-toed my way gingerly into the bracingly cold pool. Even though there were around 2,000 passengers on board the ship, I was the only one to go for a dip at midday on…

LOUISE MINCHIN The TV presenter and author finds friendship on the high seas with our own Adele Parks. SUZY GLASKIE Health coach Suzy shares the benefits of ditching negative chat for a more positive life. VALENTINA HARRIS The cook and author on the foodie traditions she continues at Easter. ADELE PARKS MBE Bestselling author Adele rounds up her top new reads, plus an extract from her latest novel. NICK HAMILTON Gardening guru Nick sets out his checklist of outdoor jobs for the month of April. GAIL ROLFE Our fashion expert shares the best pieces for a less-is-more approach. JANE MOORE The Loose Women presenter on the prep she underwent for her stint in the I’m A Celebrity... jungle. DR DAWN HARPER The author and GP takes a look at bowel…

Thick, fine, curly, straight, short or long. Maybe you’ve embraced the grey or gone bold and pink. Whatever your hair type or style, I believe we should have a good hair day every day. While it’s a myth you have to cut your hair short once you reach a certain age, it is possible to give your age away by not updating the finish to your hairstyle or giving it a more current feel. The choice has never been bigger when it comes to the products and tools out there offering everything you need to achieve your desired look, and discovering the right ones to help you can make all the difference. Products and the understanding of hair needs have definitely moved on a long way since I started my…

Let’s be honest, gossip and negative speech are everywhere. Everyone does it, so it feels completely normal to bitch about your irritating relatives, or click on that juicy article about a celebrity’s messy break-up and then dissect it gleefully with a friend. Our society actively encourages us to gloat over others’ shortcomings. Their weight gain, their hair loss or their divorce. It seems like an entertaining, harmless way to pass the time. But is it really harmless? You might pay a lot of attention to what goes into your mouth when it comes to your wellbeing – but have you ever thought about the effects of what comes out of your mouth? As a health coach, one of my focuses is helping to wean people off the sugary, ultra-processed foods…

This month, we’re going to talk about wonderful wines made in the world’s so-called Blue Zones. American author Dan Buettner studied people living in areas he dubbed Blue Zones – where longevity among humans is at its current peak – to try to find the formula for a long, healthy life. His research suggests that only 10 per cent of how long the average human lives is dictated by our genes – and that the other 90 per cent is dictated by our lifestyle choices. But what does all of this have to do with wine? Well, the good news is that evidence from Blue Zone regions suggests that you can consume alcohol and still live to a happy 100. People in four of the main Blue Zone areas drink…

At this time of year there is so much to do in ornamental, as well as productive gardens, that there are times when you just don’t know which way to turn! I love being busy, so this is a time of year to relish for me, particularly seeing all that growth that promises so much of what is to come later in the season. I have my plan of jobs that I want to carry out this month but I’m also adaptable, as well as vigilant, because these warmer April days increase the probability of pest attack. Here’s what you should be doing in April to help keep your garden in check. CONTROL APHIDS With all that young and juicy growth on ornamentals as well as your veg plants, combined…

SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 120 CODEWORD Each letter of the alphabet has been replaced by the same number throughout this grid. Use the decoded letters given to work out the identity of other letters and fill in the grid. The alphabet list and reference grid will help you to keep track of the letters you’ve decoded. CELL BLOCK Fill the grid by drawing blocks along the gridlines. Each block must contain the number of squares indicated by the digit inside it. Each block must contain only one digit. WORDWHEEL You have ten minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters in the wheel. Each word must be three letters or more and contain the central letter. Use each letter once, and no plurals, foreign words or proper nouns…

SATURDAY, 20TH APRIL I can’t face going straight home to Jake. I’m not ready to deal with this. I need to try to process it first. But how? Where do I start? I have no idea. The blankness in my mind terrifies me. I always know what to do. I always have a solution, a way of tackling something, giving it a happy spin. I’m Lexi Greenwood, the woman everyone knows of as the fixer, the smiler (some might even slightly snidely call me a do-gooder). Lexi Greenwood, wife, mother, friend. You think you know someone. But you don’t know anyone, not really. You never can. I need a drink. I drive to our local. Sod it, I’ll leave the car at the pub and walk home, pick it up…

At the start of 2024 a friend pledged to cut her shopping sprees to just five items in the coming year. By the end of May, she had to admit that she had failed, already exceeding the number of purchases. It was so much harder than she thought. But it made me think: would I be able to succeed in this challenge? As a fashion editor whose love affair with clothes and shopping is well known, it seemed impossible. But an article from Hot Or Cool Institute (hotorcool.org) stated that if we want to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees our limit should be to only buy just five new garments a year. So I switched off the style radar, hit the pause button for online shopping, and took a…

My husband is not a medical person and recently received his NHS bowel screening kit, which stayed on the shelf in the bathroom for several days before he was finally nagged into sending it off. I was surprised it took him so long, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. The kits are completely free but almost a third of people eligible for bowel screening do not return these kits at all. We all know how much pressure the NHS is under. It certainly isn’t in the market for sending out invitations for the fun of it. It is thought that the bowel screening programme has prevented 20,000 cases of bowel cancer in a decade. The kits are issued every couple of years to everyone between the ages of 60 and…

Every year, the Easter celebrations take me back to my Italian childhood and the various family traditions that brought us all together. As often happens with tender memories that are buried in precious nostalgia, the sun always seemed to be shining brightly. I’m sure there must have been occasions when it was cold, grey and rainy, but I don’t recall any of those! In my memory, the sky seemed to be brilliantly blue, the ground was covered with fresh white daisies and the air felt so fresh and sweet. FAMINE TO FEAST Growing up in Italy, Good Friday was always a day laden with religious significance, which meant we had to “eat lean” (mangiare magro). In our case, that meant a slice of bread slicked with olive oil for breakfast;…

NORFOLK TULIPS DATES ANNOUNCED APRIL 2025, KING’S LYNN (norfolktulips.co.uk) Celebrate the arrival of spring with a visit to this 28-acre field adorned with millions of tulips in every colour imaginable. If you saw the new Wicked movie, you may even recognise the floral wonderland from the opening shots of Munchkinland. Open for just two weeks every year – depending on when the flowers are ready – this wildly popular attraction, which raises money for The Norfolk Hospice, sold out in just 90 minutes last year. Keep an eye on their website and social media channels this April to find out the exact dates and secure your tickets!…

‘Make more time for the people who matter’ Sue, 67, Isle of Skye ‘In my 20s and 30s I lacked confidence and I was a worrier. Leaving university and embarking on my chosen vocation with the RSPCA I felt a lot of pressure as I entered a male-dominated work environment. I felt I had a lot to prove and that it was all still to do. The consequence for me was that I was work focused and made little time to nurture friendships. Even when I progressed in my career I still felt the need to prove myself every day almost. ‘On retirement, I wrote a memoir about my working life during my 20s and 30s (here I am holding a copy of it). The chance to reflect on what…