Table of contents for 14-Jun-2018 in Chat

A scorned farmer's wife from near Cape Town turned detective when she became suspicious of her hubby's phone conversations. The woman, 54, had nursed him after two heart attacks and was caring for him after a cancer diagnosis. But it wasn't just one woman the farmer, 68, was playing away with. The wife recorded confessions from 10 prostitutes who all admitted being involved with him. She took her evidence to the police to bring charges against him for engaging in prostitution.…

NOT GUILTY On 22 February this year, the jury found Raymond Cormier not guilty of Tina’s murder. Speaking of the verdict, Tina’s great-aunt Thelma said, ‘I don’t know how to really feel about it, but I just know it was just like getting slapped. ‘All I thought about was Tina. I guess she just didn’t matter.’ The case ignited a request for a full inquiry into the number of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. In response to Tina’s death, a volunteer group known as Drag the Red was formed. It has begun to regularly trawl sections of the Red River, in order to uncover bodies or evidence.…

Asda Cornish Sea Salted Caramel Ice Cream, £2.86 A rich and creamy ice cream with swirls of salty caramel. Luxury for a great price! Co-op Sea Salted Caramel Ice Cream, £3.50 A smooth and indulgent ice cream with lovely swirls of caramel and a good hint of salt. M&S Dessert Menu Salted Caramel Ice Cream, £4 This had an authentic and luxurious texture, combined with the perfect balance of sweet and salt. NEW Sainsbury's Love Meat & Veg! Beef Burgers with Shitake Mushrooms, Soy, Ginger & Honey, £2.50 These succulent burgers are inspired by on-trend veg. A way to reduce your meat intake without cutting it out completely.…

Itchy rash  Q When my partner uses a condom, I come out in an itchy rash down below. How can I stop it? Natalie A It could be an allergy to latex in the condom. Switching to a latex-free brand should solve it, but take care as they can be more liable to break. More rarely, spermicide or lubricant on the condom is to blame. Try different types and brands. Bless me! Q I've started to leak wee when I laugh or sneeze, but I'm too embarrassed to tell anyone! Aggie A This sounds like stress incontinence. Weakened pelvic muscles, due to age or childbirth, lead to leakage in the valve controlling urine flow. Pads work for a small leak, but drugs, pelvic-floor exercises, or even surgery, might be a…

1 Heat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. Peel, core and grate 7 eating apples, and mash 2 ripe bananas. 2 In a large bowl, combine 2 free-range eggs, 100g ground almonds, 285g plain flour, 180g sugar, 2tsp baking powder and 2tsp ground cinnamon, then stir in the fruit. 3 Divide between 2 greased 450g loaf tins and bake for about 35 min, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 15 min, then turn out on to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold with some blueberries.…

I’ve always been close to my mother-in-law. Some of my friends and family joke I spend more time with Garnette, 65, than I do with my husband! But when I met Wayne, 30, both of my parents had passed away and Garnette became the motherly figure in my life – and a best friend, too. Garnette was the one to first introduce me to bingo. We’d go to the bingo halls together after I finished a hard day at work in my job as a quantity surveyor. Leaving Wayne at home making us dinner, we’d head to the hall and bond over a few games of bingo. Although we didn’t win lots, we had such a laugh. So that’s why, when we joined Chat Mag Bingo in March 2016, we…

Kevin turned to me and chuckled: here we go again! Pacing the bathroom, I waited nervously for the timer to go off. You can’t be pregnant, I thought. I was 43. It was February 2016. I’d been with my partner, Kevin, 47, for three years, and always on the Pill. Both of us had kids from previous relationships. I had Thomas, then 11, and Phoebe, 6. Kevin had Megan, then 19, and Emily, 17. More kids weren’t on the cards for us. Only, I’d started suffering stomach pains, a swollen belly. I’d felt a lump in my tummy too, worried it was cancer. Then I’d missed a period. Concerned, I’d booked a GP appointment. I knew they’d ask if I could be pregnant, so I’d done this test so I…

Tucking into a delicious curry takeaway, we both smiled. ‘To us!’ I beamed, shovelling another forkful in my mouth. It was January 1993, and me and my hubby David, then 25, were celebrating moving into our first home together. Falling onto the couch, we munched on chocolate in front of the TV. We’d met through mates at 16. Both been fit and healthy. Only, a decade on, and our love of fry-ups and takeaways was starting to show. My belly stuck out. I’d pile on the pounds with every greasy mouthful. But the tempting taste of takeaway was too much to give up. We were both addicted. And after I had our first daughter Imogen, a year later, the weight just wouldn’t shift. I’d hit size 18, weighed about 16st.…

Searching through the rails of bikinis, I felt like screaming. ‘There’s nothing!’ I cried, frustrated. It was June 2012 and I was about to jet off on holiday. But I couldn’t find a bikini. ‘I love this one,’ I said to my older sister Lucy, 32. It was a beautiful, pink polka-dot, halterneck two-piece. ‘Be prepared for pain, then,’ Lucy sighed, looking at my 32G boobs. As a size 32H herself, she knew that, for big-busted women, a halterneck bikini meant only one thing. A horrible pain in the neck! ‘But they’re so flattering,’ I said. ‘Not comfortable, though,’ Lucy said, grabbing the bikini and putting it back on the rail. She was right. The bikini would look fab but, after a while, the weight of my breasts would cause…

As I popped my head around the office door, I saw an unfamiliar face. Wow! I thought. Sitting inside was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. It was October 2006. I was a software analyst and sometimes helped out at my local church’s office. ‘Anything I can do to help?’ I stammered as the woman turned and smiled at me. ‘No thanks, Kayode,’ someone else in the office replied. But I barely heard them. Her smile had made my heart skip a beat. I found out the gorgeous stranger, Maria, 30, was the church secretary. After that, I was desperate to ask her out. But she’s way out of my league, I thought. Thankfully, Maria was friendly and she soon introduced herself. She was kind, caring, had time for…

CHILLER DRILLER Ouch! A new trend has seen some extreme body-modification fans get holes drilled into their skull, which heal to leave a doughnut-style dent. The risky procedure is said to expand the mind, but is, thankfully, illegal in most modification shops. Doughnut try this at home..! ONCE BITTEN… Meet the unluckiest man in the world - or the luckiest?! American Dylan McWilliams, now 20, has survived a rattlesnake, a bear and a shark attack. Aged 17, Dylan was bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking. Then, last year, on a camping trip, he needed nine staples in his scalp after being mauled by a bear. And this year, while working as a survival instructor, an 8ft tiger shark bit his leg. Dylan says his mum and dad are grateful he's…

As I fussed with my hair in the mirror, nerves fluttered in the pit of my stomach. ‘Here goes nothing,’ I muttered, pulling on my coat. With one last glance at my reflection, I set off to the pub to meet my blind date. I couldn’t quite believe I was going through with it. But when my mum Julia, now 55, had passed me the number of a local farmer she’d met while horse-riding, I’d been intrigued. ‘His name’s Andy,’ she’d said. ‘He’s a lovely lad, you two would get on so well.’ It was January 2011, and I’d been a single mum to my twin boys James and Lewis, then 5, for a few years. I was usually far too busy to meet anyone, but I did miss being…

Watching my son Jayden with his older siblings, I beamed with pride. Jessica, then 11, was humming the Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune. It was her baby brother’s favourite show. Jayden, then 1, giggled as he lay on his back, wiggling his little legs in the air. ‘He’s so cute,’ Dylan, then 15, cooed as Daniel, 7, tickled Jayden’s belly. As a single mum, nothing made me happier than watching my kids together. But it hadn’t been easy for us over the last year. All my older kids had been healthy babies. And my fourth pregnancy went smoothly. But when Jayden was born in August 2014, things were different. ‘He’s having trouble breathing,’ the doctor said. Jayden was whisked to a specialist unit, leaving me terrified. I had to…

Stop the rot  To help stop the legs of my favourite bench from rotting, I raised it, using bricks. At my age, it also helps with sitting down and getting up! Aniko Ring, Exmouth, Devon Top off! If you can't get the lid off a plastic container, turn it upside down and submerge it in a bowl of hot water for a few seconds. The heat expands the lid and you'll be able to get it off easily. Rose Wooldridge, Stourbridge, W Mids Romantic dinner…  My husband was impressed with the pasta I made using a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Try it - your hubby will be putty in your hands, too! Fiona Ogunjimi, Coventry Sort your earrings  I bought a pill box and put earrings into each compartment. They're always…

Inflamed eyes  Q My eyes are always sore, and my GP's diagnosed blepharitis. Isn't there a cure? Katlina A Blepharitis (inflamed eyelids) is usually due to a bacterial or yeast infection. It's tricky to cure, but cleaning your eyelids with diluted baby shampoo or bicarbonate of soda can ease symptoms. Your GP might suggest tablets or antibiotic ointment for flare-ups. I can’t walk  Q On the ball of my foot, a bone sticks out just behind my second toe. I'm getting a corn over it, and it's painful to walk. Hayley, Liverpool A It's called a prominent metatarsal head. You have five long metatarsal bones in your foot. At the end of each is a swelling, the head. If you're born with one head lower, then it can lead to…

Running across the football pitch, chasing the ball, I suddenly lost my footing and fell to the ground with a thud. ‘Ouch!’ I yelled, grabbing my right hip in agony. It was May 2010. I was 19 and playing football for my college women’s football team The West Suffolk Football Academy. I was used to tough tackles and falls. But I’d never hurt myself this badly before. As I limped off the pitch, my coach checked I was OK. ‘It’s nothing,’ I said, hating a fuss. Only, hours passed and the pain just got worse. I went to see my GP and was sent to hospital for an X-ray. But it didn’t show anything. ‘I probably just fell funny,’ I reasoned to my identical twin sister Louise. I tried to…

Baffled, I recounted the cash – but it was still wrong Settling down in front of the telly, I flicked on my favourite show. Caught on Camera on Channel 5. It was October 2016, and I loved the action-packed documentary series. Showing criminals get caught using the latest technology and surveillance cameras. ‘It’s incredible,’ I told my son, Brian, 58. Technology had certainly moved on since my day! At 86, I’d had a wonderful life. But growing old wasn’t easy. The aches and pains, losing life-long friends... With my husband for 23 years, our marriage eventually broke down, so I lived alone. And, while my brain was still sharp as a razor, my joints and bones were crumbling with arthritis. I relished my independence, loved living alone in my two-bedroom…

Sustainable Beauty Wipes, £5.99, Holland & Barrett For every product in the Seahorse range sold, Beauty Kitchen donates a percentage of profits to The Seahorse Trust. Burt's Bees Strawberry Lip Balm, £3.99, amazon.co.uk Burt's Bees plants 5,000 bee-friendly wildflower seeds for every limited-edition lip balm sold. EcoTools Sculpt Buki, £9.99, ecotools.com All EcoTools brushes are made from vegan-friendly fibres and materials - so you can put on your make-up guilt-free. Unicef Solidarity Soap, £4, L'Occitane All profits from this soap will go to help Unicef stop children across the globe from going blind due to a lack of vitamins.…

Serves 1Prep: 5 minCook: 5 minCost per serving: 78p 1 Butter the outside of two slices of sourdough bread. On one side, spread 1tbsp Branston. On the other, spread 1tbsp mayonnaise. 2 Top the pickle with 100g grated Cheddar, two slices of tomato, a little cress and two slices of ham. Close the sandwich. 3 Heat a frying pan to a medium heat and dry-fry the sandwich. Press down with a spatula - after about 3 min, when the cheese has started to melt, flip the sandwich over. 4 Cook for another 2-3 min, ensuring the sandwich is golden on both sides and the cheese has melted inside. Cut in half and serve. RECIPE FROM BRANSTON, FOR MORE VISIT BRINGOUTTHEBRANSTON.CO.UK/RECIPES/…

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I read on... She’s pregnant. I’m so sorry. Pregnant?! In a heartbeat, my whole world collapsed around me. I felt numb. Then angry. You’re a coward. Come home and tell me this to my face, I wrote. To my surprise, Andy returned with his tail between his legs. He admitted he’d been cheating on me. Throughout my entire pregnancy. He’d been having an affair with a woman he’d met through friends. Bile rose in my throat as Andy told me that he’d found out she was pregnant just three days after I’d given birth. And his excuse for keeping quiet? He didn’t want to risk upsetting me when I had a new baby to look after. ‘Rubbish!’ I spat. Ellanore was happy, healthy –…

The case RUNAWAY TEEN Tina Fontaine didn’t have the easiest start in life. Tina and her sister – from the First Nations people, indigenous to Canada – were raised by their great-aunt Thelma Favel, because their alcoholic mother and cancer-sufferer father were unable to care for them. In October 2011, Tina’s dad Eugene was beaten to death in an argument over money. His death had a huge impact on Tina and, in June 2014, she left her home in Sagkeeng First Nation for Winnipeg, to reconnect with her mother after years apart. Concerned when she didn’t hear from Tina over the next 10 days, her great-aunt Thelma called Child and Family Services (CFS). Tina, 15, was found and taken into care. But, over the next few weeks, she went missing…

Standing in front of the mirror, I wondered who I looked like. Did I have my mum’s ears? Dad’s nose? I was only a little girl but I’d never met my birth parents. You see, in February 1951 I was adopted for 12 shillings. That’s 60p in today’s money! I’d always known I was adopted. My adoptive parents Mary and Arthur Hobbs kept my adoption papers in a drawer, as well as my birth certificate, with my birth mother’s name on it. Mary Matilda Jones. But that’s all I had. I didn’t even know my birth father’s name. ‘We chose you at the town hall from a group of other children,’ my dad Arthur told me. He said I’d been born in a workhouse, a place where unmarried, pregnant women…

Boily bottom  Q I keep getting a boil at the top of my bum crack, with hairs in it! What's going on? Ozzie A Probably a pilonidal sinus. Stray hairs fall down your back, lodge in a dimple at the base of your spine, work their way into your skin and cause infection. Antibiotics and pulling out the hairs may treat a small sinus, but if it's large or recurring, it means an op. Write to Dr Martin Edwards at Chat , 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP. Or e-mail chathealth@timeinc.com Sorry, he can’t reply personally.…

‘I’m here for you – we are going to beat this’ Staring up at my mum Amanda, my eyes widened with surprise. She’d chopped off her lovely long dreadlocks. She doesn’t look like Mum, I thought. It was around 1996, and I was only 10 years old. Mum, then 35, had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. In truth, I don’t remember much about it. Just that she had to go to hospital, lost her signature hairdo. Despite being a single mum of seven, Mum made sure our lives carried on as normal. She juggled chemotherapy and surgery with the school run and supermarket trips. She had a single mastectomy – and, thankfully, the treatment was a success. We soon had our happy, healthy Mum back. I went on to…

Now, that’s cold! Couldn’t help giggling at a story in my son’s book at parents’ evening. He’d written about swimming at the seaside, but said the cold made his ‘private parts’ really small. Bet his teacher laughed, too! Justina Lloyd, Dinbych Happy hunt Pre-internet, when Ninja Turtles were first around, my son wanted the Party Van. I went to 11 shops and drove over 280 miles to find it. I still remember how thrilled he was when he opened it! Kayla Maddocks, Waltham Cross Bargain mums! Seems mothers are going cheap nowadays! Saw this and had to take a snap. Charlotte Primrose, Lawford Why not get in touch! See page 4 for details on how • All contributions to Chat must be original, not copies or duplicated to other editors.…

As the fuzzy black-and-white picture came into focus, my heart skipped. It was March 2014, and me and my hubby Adam, 29, couldn’t wait to see our growing baby. ‘Hey there,’ I whispered. In that moment, everything seemed perfect. But as the sonographer zoomed in on our baby’s right arm, she stopped. At 12 weeks, we should’ve been able to see a hand, but we couldn’t… ‘Your baby is missing a hand and will likely have a short forearm, too,’ she told us. She said it was amniotic band syndrome (ABS). ABS is where stray bands of tissue wrap around the limbs of an unborn baby, cut off blood flow and stop it growing. ‘We don’t know why this happens...’ she trailed off. My heart broke. But it didn’t change…

1 Parklife Singapore is the world's greenest metropolis and, with the airline Norwegian now flying there from Gatwick, it's even more accessible. Windsor Nature Park has a network of walking trails, including a 150m-long sub-canopy walkway. Spot turtles, lizards, dragonflies, pangolins, deer and snakes. 2 Take the family The kids'll have just as much fun as you. Sentosa Island resort has great, child-friendly attractions, such as iFly (indoor skydiving), Universal Studios and the Skyline Luge. 3 Incredible architecture From the ‘starchitect'- designed Marina Bay Sands hotel and the ‘shophouses' of Chinatown, to the grand National Gallery Singapore, its buildings are awe-inspiring. 4 Garden of dreams Gardens by the Bay park, with over 250,000 species of plants, is just a five-minute walk from the central business district. Highlights include the Flower…

THE STORY Cassie Bjorge was a troubled teenager. In 2016, she was sent to live with the parents of her mum Amanda – Wendy and Randall, both 63 – in Lawrenceville, Georgia. To an outsider, Cassie looked like a sweet and innocent girl. But, behind closed doors, she was starting to rebel. Between October 2015 and March 2017, the police were called to the Bjorges’ home 31 times for a number of reasons, including domestic disputes. At just 16, Cassie was charged with assaulting her grandmother. The teen was reported missing a number of times, leaving her grandparents sick with worry. Cassie’s aunt and uncle, Sylvia and Chris, were concerned about the situation, too. In April 2017, Wendy texted her daughter Sylvia. I’m going to bed soon, she wrote. Maybe…

Aries 21 March - 20 April Some journeys take longer than others. Looking back, you can still see where you started, which isn’t what you’d hoped for. But ignore those who say you should go back - keep going and all will be well… Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April - 21 May Twice in the next few days you may be asked to contribute to something you don’t want to be part of, or to buy something at a bargain price from a mate. It’s your money, not theirs - if you want to say no, say so! Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May - 21 June Asking for permission is about choosing the right moment. Ask before the weekend and you’ll see…