Table of contents for 22-Feb-2024 in Pick Me Up!

Producing a red rose from his pocket, just like a magician, I watched as my son presented it with a smile. Sebbie, now 20, was on a mission to spread kindness, and what better way to do so than by giving 100 ladies a gorgeous red rose – all within one hour. ‘This is an act of kindness,’ he said, carefully taking his time with his words. Sebbie was born with a rare chromosome anomaly, so he struggled with his speech and learning. But that never held him back. The lady burst into tears as she accepted the rose. My heart swelled – he’d been spreading kindness for three years now, but his acts always amazed me. He wanted to make people smile In March 2020, when the Covid lockdown…

Cuddling up on the sofa, I pressed play on the remote. And on came Teletubbies – my son Jaxon, then 11 months old, was obsessed with it. His sister Jessica, then six, snuggled up to watch it, too. Giggling at the screen, he pointed at Po and the gang. But he didn’t have a favourite character. Instead, he was fascinated with something else. ‘You only like them because of their screens,’ I giggled. Jaxon loved screens – he preferred an iPad to plushies. Checking my phone after he’d played on it, he’d snapped a selfie and uploaded it to my social media. He always made me and my husband Andy, 30, laugh. Even when Jaxon fell ill with croup in August 2022, he was still a bubbly boy. He’d been…

Get the facts A new NHS campaign is urging people to get checked if they notice blood in their pee. Blood in your urine can be a sign of cancer. But it’s easy for us to ignore. The NHS initiative comes as a new survey found that nearly half of men thought blood in pee was not a symptom of cancer, while two-fifths surveyed said they would wait until they’ve noticed blood in their pee multiple times before seeing a GP. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England Clinical Director for Cancer, is here to explain the signs and symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer – both cancers where passing blood is a symptom. 1. How do you differentiate symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer from infections like UTIs? It can be…

Heaving heavy shopping bags in the front door, I called out to my husband John. ‘Hi, love,’ I sang. Back in July 2021, coming home from the supermarket, I barged through the door heading to the kitchen, to put all the groceries away. But one minute, I was standing in the hallway – and then everything went black. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed. And there was a man sat by my bedside. ‘Do you know who this is?’ a doctor asked, pointing at him. ‘His name’s John,’ I said, feeling confused. ‘But I don’t know who he is…’ I knew that he was someone important, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. ‘I’m your husband,’ John told me, looking worried –…

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT 52-BALL BINGO YET? It’s a bit of a mixture of 90-ball and 75-ball bingo, but using playing cards – hence ‘52’ in the name! For most 52-ball bingo games, you’ll get five cards (instead of bingo tickets) and your goal is to fill your cards as the numbers are called. We have two 52-ball bingo rooms at Pick Me Up! Bingo – Suit Up and Bingo Roulette. MYSTERY JACKPOTS BINGO Love a surprise? Then Mystery Jackpots is the Bingo room for you! Mystery Jackpots are selected at random from a range of prizes displayed in the room. The prize is then revealed 10 seconds before the game begins. Once revealed, the Jackpot becomes ‘fixed’. The game will then start and will follow the rules of the selected Jackpot…

Putting my controller down, I needed to use the toilet. In September 2020, I was catching up with my friends over lockdown through gaming. Only, I noticed blood in the toilet bowl. ‘Is it weird that there’s blood in my pee?’ I asked my friends, putting my headset back on. ‘I’d keep an eye on it,’ my friends advised. ‘Maybe get it checked out.’ But thinking it would clear up on its own, I carried on as normal for the next few weeks. Only, I continued passing blood in my urine and it was darkening in colour. Maybe it’s a UTI, I thought. Calling NHS out of hours, I told them my concerns and was prescribed some antibiotics. ‘It could be an infection like an STI,’ I was told. But…

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The pattern of the season, stripes are everywhere! Vertical or horizontal, they are a must for your transitional wardrobe. A staple to use when layering, they speak for themselves… £15 AND UNDER Pair stripes with monochrome accessories for a put together outfit. A pop of colour works well, too! £30 AND UNDER £50 AND UNDER TREAT YOURSELF FOR £60…

DON’T MISS Rob & Romesh vs F1, Sky Ahead of the start of the 2024 F1 season, motor-mouthed comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan are back in action with a two-part special that will take them into the competitive world of Formula One racing. Hanging out with Team Mercedes at the glamourous Monaco Grand Prix, they’ll meet superstar drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and spend time with the mastermind behind Team Mercedes’ success – team principal Toto Wolf. He’ll put them through their paces to see if they have what it takes to get a job on the team. Inside the Force: 24/7, Channel 5 Go behind the scenes at Middlesborough Police station – the busiest in Cleveland, and home to 500 officers who look after a town with…

Running at the back of the pack, I was not a speed queen. Taking my first steps into running 14 years ago, I wasn’t confident, so I tried joining a couple of clubs in London. However, after being made to feel like I was inadequate, even after ‘running’ a half marathon, I hung my trainers up. Running wasn’t for me. Only in 2017, after years of unsuccessful fertility treatment and having suffered multiple miscarriages, I discovered that I wasn’t able to carry a baby to full term. My therapist suggested that I take up running to channel my complex emotions and grief. So I booked my place in the 2018 Brighton Marathon. With nine months to train, I was turning 40, too, so completing a marathon was going to be…

Sat on the beach in Ölüdeniz, Turkey, all we could hear was the hum of paragliders. On holiday with my wife Ladda, 31, and our daughter Mary, then four, we were having the perfect time. Stretching out on the sand, Mary wanted more than paddling and sandcastles. Mary had her sights set high up in the clouds! The beach in question was a particular hotspot for paragliding, and there were businesses everywhere promising to take you up to the skies. ‘Can I do it?’ she asked. Mary had always been quite outgoing – she’d already started jiu jitsu classes. Always curious, she had an eye for trying new things. And while I liked a bit of adventure, Mary was about to take it to a new height. So, we went…

However, I had to be clever instead. I can’t die tonight. The kids need me. ‘We can work this out. We can go to counselling together,’ I pleaded – trying to be persuasive. I would have said absolutely anything to get him to stop. ‘Let’s just go to bed now,’ I suggested, squeezing my eyes shut as tears streamed down my face. The throbbing pain in my head was getting worse – Anthony had been at it for hours. ‘Can you take me to hospital?’ I asked. By this point, my head was really bad and I knew I needed medical attention. ‘What are you going to say happened?’ Anthony quizzed. ‘I promise I won’t say anything – I had a fall, that’s it,’ I confessed. I didn’t dare say…

Vibrating on the spot, tingles started climbing all over my body, from my head all the way down to my toes. With my legs and my thighs clenched together, a sudden wave of euphoria started rumbling through me. As the heat within me started gradually building, growing more intense with every passing second, a bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. And then… ‘Ah!’ I exclaimed, stifling the urge to let out a moan. Instead, I grit my teeth and let the feelings of ecstasy my orgasm brought ripple through my body. We can do this for a little longer, I thought to myself, riding out the sensation. Only, reality quickly came crashing down. After all, I wasn’t in the privacy of my own bedroom, having a moment of self-love.…

Verdict: GENIUS! Spick and span Boss It Rapid Dryer Ball, £9.99, B&M You may avoid wanting to put your tumble dryer on due to rising living costs. That’s where the Boss It Rapid Dryer Ball comes in. Made from HeatBounce technology, this clever ball device can save you up to 40% on your bill. Simply place the device inside your dryer, where it will distribute heat evenly throughout your laundry, speeding up the drying process. It’s safe to use on all types of fabric and in all types of dryers. Verdict: BONKERS! Don’t try this at home! Spinning around… If you’ve ever had to move a washing machine, you’ll know that they are a heavy piece of kit. Yet, Johan Espenkrona knows how to throw them instead. Achieving the Guinness…

Susanne Tomlinson was exactly the sort of kind, cosy grandmother anyone would want in their life. Well known and well-loved in her local community of Troy, Illinois, she preferred to go by Sue. And Sue, 69, was often out taking her young granddaughters on fishing trips. Sharing a birthday with one of the girls – 17 July – you can see the pair on Facebook blowing out the candles on a joint cake. And when she wasn’t doting on the grandkids, Sue also loved gardening and hanging out with her girlfriends – a group who referred to themselves as The Mermaids. Sue was incredibly close with her only daughter, Courtney, too. Living near to each other, Courtney would describe her mother on social media as her rock. Mum and daughter,…

Bitesize! pg 3 Book Strike it! pg 13 Comical (Cross out: 7, 15, 22, 44, 50, 56, 62, 77, 83) Crack it! pg 23 Honeysuckle Fill it! pg 13 Novelist Sudoku pg 36 6,5,4 Cross it! pg 36 Pupils Number fit! pg 4461 Spot it! pg 24 Follow it! pg 9 Ribbon PLEASE NOTE Pick Me Up! will still be bringing you great puzzles to pit your wits against, but will no longer be offering prizes. Don’t forget, you can do puzzles for big cash prizes every weekin our sister magazine, Chat.…