Table of contents for 14-Nov-2019 in Chat

Hours after arriving at hospital, Lori’s world was shattered – her beautiful little girl was gone (p10). Meet Wendy – at 77, her wanderlust shows no signs of stopping (p34). And find out why Zoe was shocked to learn her diet was a matter of life and death (p37). We’ve got great tips for wearing velvet (p12) and no-fuss recipes for perfect pies (p40). Plus we’re looking for women like YOU who’d like to model in the magazine. It’s not a competition, so don’t hold back. We’d love to hear from you (p50). Have a really great week!…

STYLE TIP A sleek suit is great for Christmas parties Team chunky knits with a bias cut skirt Black velvet trousers are a great introduction to velvet Team a simple shift with a statement jacket…

Michelle Davis, 50, Mountain Ash, Cardiff Standing on the bridge, I watched the dogs playing in the stream. It was summer 2018, and my partner Jason, then 49, and I loved walking in the forest with our American bulldogs, Roxy and Tonto. Stopping on the bridge had become our tradition. Then… ‘Michelle…’ Jason started. Turning around, I gasped. ‘Can’t wait to turn you down again!’ He was down on one knee! I knew what was coming next. ‘Will you marry me?’ Jason asked. Straightaway, I knew my answer. ‘No!’ ‘You’re joking, right?’ I laughed. Jason had been the man for me since we’d got together in June 1992. He loved rugby, like me, and was kind and caring. My two girls from a previous relationship – Anna, then 4, and…

Finding it hard to focus? The answer could be found in blueberries. A study from the University of Exeter found that blueberry juice helped to improve cognitive and memory function in the brain. In fact, blueberries can boost concentration and memory up to five hours after consumption. How so? It’s believed to be down to the beneficial effects of blueberries’ rich flavonoid and anthocyanin content (this gives them their vibrant colour). If you need a motivation boost, try Active Edge Blueberry Active Concentrate Drink 237ml (£11.99, Holland & Barrett). Each 30ml serving contains around 185 blueberries – that’s like two punnets!…

TEEN FOUND DEAD The body of 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins was found on 15 February 1997 by her foster father Sion Jenkins. She'd been beaten over the head with an iron tent peg while painting a patio door in the garden of her Hastings home. Nine days later, Sion Jenkins was arrested on suspicion of murder. Though he was originally found guilty in July 1998, his conviction was subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2004. After the juries in two re-trials failed to reach a verdict, Mr Jenkins was formally acquitted in 2006. The murder of Billie-Jo Jenkins remains unsolved. FASHION POWERHOUSE MURDERED Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot dead on the steps of his Miami mansion on 15 July 1997. It sparked America's biggest manhunt when a…

1 Whether it’s a smartphone or tablet, we’ve all got our nose in our gadgets too much. But if you want your kids or partner to put them down, it’s important to set an example. If they see you scrolling through Facebook, they won’t give it up themselves. So practice what you preach! 2 Give them an incentive. Tell them if they spend less than an hour a day on their phone, you’ll take them to the cinema or out bowling. Or encourage them to take up a hobby, like gardening or baking. Even if they do Instagram it after! 3 Set aside a time every day where everybody puts their phone down. At dinner, for example, tell everyone to leave all gadgets on the side for 30 minutes, so…

The very next day, I took Mum to see Jade. ‘If I can do it, so can you,’ I told her. Mum weighed in at 18st 1lb, and at just 5ft 1in, she had work to do. ‘I want to live to see my grandkids grow up,’ she said. So out went the junk food, and in came the balanced snacks, meals and shakes available on the plan. I watched in awe as Mum changed her diet overnight. Instead of slices of white toast for breakfast, she joined me for porridge or a smoothie. For lunch, we swapped sandwiches, crisps and cake for healthy protein and veg. At dinner, we avoided carbs, made fresh stir-fries or Bolognese. People are shocked when they see us We still caught up each night…

Millions of people are suffering from mobile phone signal blackouts because their area isn't fully served by full 4G, says consumer group Which? It found eight in 10 areas don't have consistent coverage from EE, O2, Three and Vodafone. Rural areas in Scotland and Wales have the lowest levels of mobile coverage. While parts of Sheffield, Essex, Brighton, Cardiff, Milton Keynes and Leeds were also shown as being short of comprehensive 4G from the main providers, in its analysis of Ofcom data. Did you know? More than three quarters of Brits admit that they don't attempt to repair appliances when they break and buy a replacement instead, according to research by spare parts retailer eSpares.…

Coronation Street Robert’s double life exposed? Robert’s driving back from the home of his pregnant fiancee Vicky when he gets distracted by a phone call from his other fiancee, Michelle, and crashes his car. Michelle rushes to his bedside in hospital, but is baffled when he asks about a baby and she finds a necklace with the words ‘big daddy’ on it. Is the game up for Robert? EastEnders Mel blows Sharon’s secret? Mel’s planned a surprise joint baby shower for mums-to-be Sharon and Louise, but she’s not doing it out of the goodness of her heart… She plans to reveal the secret that will tear the family apart. Will she tell Phil that Keanu is the father of his wife’s baby as well as his daughter’s? Emmerdale Charity’s kidnap…

Q I’ve got really thin eyebrows. How can I make them look thicker without being over the top? Laura Eddy, 39 A Try tinting - it's a great way of adding colour and definition to brows, it picks up even the smallest of hairs that you may not have even noticed before. It also gives the illusion of fuller, thicker hairs. Fancy giving it a go yourself? There are plenty of at-home dye kits on the market that are simple to use and really effective. And try introducing a brow serum before you go to bed - it helps with the re-growth. For everyday, a simple pencil or gel to bulk out brows goes a long way. TOP TIP Spritz hairspray on your hairgrips to help them stay put for…

Deena Dunne, 56, Oldham As I poured hot water from the kettle into the mug, I picked up my phone from the kitchen counter. Time for a game of bingo, I thought. It was July 2019 and I’d signed up to Chat Mag Bingo a month or so earlier. I’d always enjoyed bingo, and my daughter Theresa, 29, and I would often go to our local halls to play. But there was nothing quite like a warming cup of tea and your own sofa for playing in comfort, especially when my schedule didn’t always match up with Theresa’s. Tapping on the app on my phone, I decided to select Session Bingo and bought a bundle of tickets for £5. It meant I got 15 different games for one price, and…

Lori Mullen, 34, Bo’ness As soon as the first notes of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You started playing, she was up on her feet. ‘Look Mummy!’ my little girl Harper, 3, beamed, spinning around to the music. And I daren’t refuse! From the moment she was born in June 2015, Harper was a mini tornado. Always playing with dolls or outside with her big brother Cayden, then 12. Medics spent 50 agonising minutes giving her CPR Me and the kids’ dad Andrew, 41, had split when Harper was a baby, but we stayed friends. We all adored her, happy to make her the centre of attention as she danced. Only, a few days later, on 7 March this year, I noticed that Harper was warm. Her temperature was slightly high,…

On the night of her high school prom, Brooke Skylar Richardson looked every inch the all-American girl next door. Wearing a red, fitted, fishtail gown that flattered her slender frame, her long, blonde hair styled in bouncy curls, she put her arm around her boyfriend. The perfect couple posed for the camera. It was May 2017, and they had their whole lives ahead of them. But Brooke was hiding a secret behind her smile. The 18-year-old was pregnant. Yet nobody knew. Not her parents, her friends, or boyfriend. That was, until two months later. In July 2017, Brooke tearfully told her gynaecologist she’d given birth to a baby girl just a few days after the prom. She told the doctor she’d delivered the baby in the upstairs bathroom of her…

Tanja Chaudhry, 33, Luton Placing my kids’ hands on my tum, I laughed at their expressions. ‘Guess what’s in Mummy’s tummy?’ I asked my daughter Alisha, 7, and son Aliyaan, 4. It was September 2014, and me and my husband Shahzad, 34, were expecting our third child. The pregnancy flew by without a hitch. It was reassuring talking to other families Anayah was born in June 2015 at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. But as Anayah was placed on my chest, I realised that something was wrong. Her breathing was laboured, her skin blue. Then I spotted her hand. Anayah had not five, but six fingers. Seconds later, she was whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care unit. ‘She needs a ventilator,’ the doctor explained. Losing a lot of blood during…

Invasion of mites Q I’ve come out in itchy red spots in my armpits and breasts, and my doctor’s diagnosed scabies mites! How did I catch them? Anna, Scunthorpe A Scabies mites are less than half a millimetre long, often invisible to the naked eye. You usually catch them from skin-to-skin contact with someone who’s infested – generally intimate contact such as sex or living together in a family, but simply sitting next to someone on the bus can be enough. Catching them from infested clothes or furniture is rare. Female mites burrow into your skin to lay eggs, which hatch after a few days, then the young mites burrow back to the surface to mate. Symptoms are red spots – which are often intensely itchy – between your fingers,…

Caroline Docherty, 40, Edinburgh Watching my daughter Amanda search for the perfect prom dress was a truly magical thing. She skimmed past floaty chiffon numbers, and barely glanced at dazzling mermaid cuts. But when she found a pink ballgown, she practically fainted. ‘This is the one!’ she squealed, pulling it off the rack. And as soon as she tried it on, I had to admit – it was perfect. With tiny diamante jewels sewn into the tulle fabric, it shimmered in the light. ‘You look stunning,’ I beamed. But mine weren’t the only pair of eyes fixed on Amanda, then 11. My youngest daughter Sophie, 4, was staring in awe at her big sister. It was July 2012, and we were preparing for Amanda’s primary-school prom. As we bought the…

Wendy Mills, 77, here, there and everywhere! Tucking my passport into my rucksack, I walked out of the airport and breathed in the icy Canadian air. Shivering and zipping up my warm winter coat, I smiled. This is the life! I thought. Having mostly lived in sunny Australia, I loved cold weather. Which was just as well, as chilly Canada was going to be my home for the next few months. It was January this year, and despite having four grown-up children and seven grandchildren, I’d spent the last 19 years travelling the world. And I’d done it on a shoestring, too! Well, I was a pensioner after all. Me and my husband Garry had always talked about travelling. But we were always waiting for the ‘right time’. Even after…

3 ways to … Help you manage your money with an app  Make staying on top of your finances easier with these FREE apps 1 Emma  This app (emma-app. com) lets you view all your  bank accounts and credit cards in one place and categorises your spending so you can see where your cash is going. It has loads of great features, like finding subscriptions you're signed up to which you may have forgotten about. And it tracks any fees your bank charges you such as overdraft charges. (Available from the App Store and Google Play.) 2 Yolt  You can connect Yolt (yolt.com) to  your bank accounts and credit cards; it analyses your spending and offers useful tips on how to cut back. It also has a tool that lets…

Spiced mince with rösti topping SERVES 6 PREP 5 MINS COOK 40 MINS • 500g lean beef mince • 1 onion, chopped • 2 cloves garlic, crushed • 2tbsp madras curry paste • 1tbsp mango chutney • 400g can chopped tomatoes • 450g frozen rösti cakes 1 Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Dry-fry the mince in a large non-stick frying pan until browned. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 mins to soften. 2 Add the curry paste, chutney and tomatoes, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 mins. 3 Pour the mince mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with the frozen rösti cakes, slightly overlapping them. Bake for 25-30 mins until the top is golden and the dish is piping…

Aries 21 March-20 April Faraway places are looking attractive. It could just be the lure of blue seas and sand, but if you can’t get what you want from where you are, go to where you can. • Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May Stop-gap answers to problems are never very satisfactory, and this week is full of them. But they’re better than nothing and for now at least, they’ll do. • Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June What you hear this week may not be the news you wanted, but at least you have the full story now. You can also start thinking about how you’re going to turn things around. • Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23…

Call 999 or go straight to A&E if a baby or young child has any of these symptoms: • Blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue • A rash that doesn’t fade when you roll a glass over it • Difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast • A weak, high-pitched cry that’s not their normal cry • Not responding as they normally would, or not being interested in feeding or normal activities • Being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake Visit nhs.uk/conditions/sepsis…

In September 2019, 20-year-old Brooke Skylar Richardson, was found not guilty of murdering baby Annabelle. However, she was convicted of gross abuse of a corpse. ‘I’m forever sorry. I have hurt a lot of people’ Brooke sobbed in the dock as the verdict  was delivered. Soon after, she was sentenced to one week in prison, but she was credited for the time she had already served, and walked free that day. During sentencing, Judge Donald Oda slammed Richardson for her poor choices, which may have resulted in the stillbirth of the baby. ‘I believe if you had made different decisions, Annabelle would still be here,’ the judge said. ‘I think that your choices before birth, during birth and after birth show a grotesque disregard for life.’ During the hearing, Richardson…

A study from the Journal of Vitamins and Minerals has shown that our intake of 10 key micronutrients has fallen in the past two decades, so we’re not providing our bodies with adequate fuel to support good health. These nutrients include vitamin A (which has reduced by 21%), vitamin D (22%) and riboflavin (11%). Furthermore, the research also showed that more than two thirds of us still don’t get our five a day, despite the campaign being launched 16 years ago, and our oily fish and fibre consumption is still below par. ‘There’s a never-ending parade of popular diets that people try – either to better their lifestyle or to lose weight,’ says Dr Emma Derbyshire. ‘However, the problem with many of these is that they involve removal of whole…

Carolina Fenner, 36 Screaming in pain, I squeezed my husband Thiago’s hand for dear life. I’d had 48 long, agonising hours of labour. I’d had to be induced after tests at 37 weeks, when my blood-sugar levels rocketed. Since then, it’d been one thing after another. Two epidurals, problems dilating, every moment had been fraught with issues. ‘We don’t know what the mark is – it could be cancerous’ But when little Luna arrived in March this year, weighing 7lb, all that pain fell away. But as my baby made her appearance, I saw my mum Mara’s expression drop, tears welling in her eyes. ‘What’s that on her face?’ Mum, 59, asked the doctor. As Luna was placed on my chest, I was confused, and overwhelmed after two days in…

He loves me? He loves me not... Q It feels like my partner of two years is pulling away from me and becoming distant. He closes up whenever I try to talk to him about it, or ask how he feels, whether he’s stressed or worried about anything. It doesn’t help that his daughter says she hates me and has become difficult. I leave any parenting to him, but where do we go from here? I just need to know he still loves me and is committed. Kathleen, 37 A You need to be straight with him, rather than looking for little signs and torturing yourself. Perhaps it’s all down to the struggles with your stepdaughter? You need to ask him directly if he still loves you, and if he…

Check out Barclaycard's repayment calculator (barclaycard.co.uk) which shows how much quicker you'll clear outstanding credit card balances by paying off a bit more each month. Using the example of a £2,500 credit card balance with a 19.9 per cent annual interest rate, by making the minimum payment, which would be £63, it'll take over 26 years to clear. But if you fix your payments at £63 — so the amount you pay won't reduce as your balance goes down - you'll pay it off in five years, two months. And by upping your monthly payments to £93, it shows you'll clear it in two years, 11 months; you'll pay much less interest too. Visit moneysavingexpert.com for more info.…

Children in Need BBC1/BBC2 The fund-raising telethon returns on Friday night with another fun-packed extravaganza as a host of famous faces pitch in to help Pudsey Bear raise money for a good cause. As well as musical performances and comedy skits, other highlights include a Strictly special with stars from EastEnders taking to the dance floor, a pop stars edition of Martin and Rochelle Humes’ music quiz The Hit List and a performance by the cast of West End musical Big, with Jay McGuiness, Kimberley Walsh and Matthew Kelly. Look out for a special edition of DIY SOS with Nick Knowles and co earlier in the week, too. Gold Digger BBC1 This six-part drama full of twists and turns stars Hollywood actress Julia Ormond as divorcee and mother Julia Day,…

Jenna Goddard, 34, Oldham Reading the name that’d just popped up in my Facebook inbox, I actually gasped. That’s a blast from the past, I thought. It was an evening in March 2018, and I’d not given Richard Wilson a second thought in years! We’d dated briefly 10 years earlier, before it’d fizzled out. How are you? Richard had asked. He was charming, funny, really easy to talk to... I fell for him A lot had happened since we’d last spoken. I’d had five kids for a start! I was a single mum to Ella,16, Cobie, 14, Antonia, 10, Anya, 7, and Gino, 3. Long time, no speak, I typed back. As the messages flew back and forth between us, I remembered what I’d liked about Richard, 31. He was…

Burt’s Bees Lavender & Honey Lip Butter, £4.99  I love the buttery soft textures these come in! They deliver lightweight, lasting hydration – no top-ups are required. Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera, £1.95 Suffer with dry lips? Pop on a generous layer of this wonder balm before bed and let it get to work. Also great for softening dry cuticles. Glossier. Berry Balm Dotcom, £10, glossier.com This adds a barely there sheer berry tint that not only looks gorgeous but smells delicious. Need I say more?…

Beautiful Maria Jose Alvarado should have been flying off to London for the trip of a lifetime. It was 19 November 2014, and the 19-year-old had just been crowned Miss Honduras. With glossy, dark hair and a dazzling smile, Maria wasn’t just a pretty face. She had dreams of working as a diplomat. Maria lay in a shallow grave, her sister Sofia by her side And she had been preparing to compete in the Miss World finals in London. Instead, now she lay in a shallow grave, her sister Sofia, 23, by her side. By the time Maria and Sofia’s bodies were found, they had been missing for almost a week. It was clear that this was no shocking accident. The two women had been buried in a field next…