Table of contents for 31-Jan-2019 in Pick Me Up!

Driving back and forth from doctors appointments, I desperately wanted a diagnosis for my son Jacob, then 1. It was summer 2011 and he’d recently started showing classic signs of autism. I was scared, wasn’t sure what to do. That’s when Mum stepped in. ‘Everything will be all right,’ she’d reassure me as we waited to see specialists. I was thankful to have her by my side, was certain that I’d have crumbled without her. Especially as my husband Mark, 48, had to work all the time and, as my brother, also Mark, 44, had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. But despite the chaos in all our lives, Mum never wavered. She was strong for every single one of us. But within just a few short years everything in…

What is home? If you’d asked me aged 14, I’d have said home was family. Home was friends. Home was running through the playing fields of Ireland’s County Meath. Sun on my face. Laughter in my ears. Not a care in the world. But in the summer of 1986, home was about to become something else entirely... ‘We’re moving to London,’ my dad Jim announced. Bewitched by his words and charm, I believed everything he said Dad was a crane driver, and he had to move wherever the work came up. And this time, it was in London. Part of me was excited to explore a new city, see the bright lights, meet new people. But my heart ached for this little corner of Ireland. Moving into our new home…

Don’t go against the grain! The ready-to-eat pouches of grains from Merchant Gourmet are a new kitchen staple. From the hearty grain mixes to lesser-known, interesting grains like freekeh, to versatile puy lentils, you’re sure to find something you like, or try something new! Each pouch is just £1.35 at Sainsbury’s (usually £2) until 5 February. Mamma Mia… here we go… to Jamie’s! Treat yourself to 25% off your total food bill when you go to Jamie’s Italian with vouchercloud. See vouchercloud.com/ jamiesitalian . The vouchers are valid until 31 January. Tasty fish dish! The Saucy Fish Co makes flavour-packed midweek meals a breeze. Simply cook the fish as you like, either grill, bake or pan fry, heat the sauce in hot water for…

Mysterious flashes Q I’ve had sparky flashes in my eyes – they don’t happen very often and are only brief. My vision’s fine and at my last check, six months ago, they only needed to change my specs to bifocals. Milly, Birmingham A As we age, the jelly in the eyeball can shrink slightly and it tugs at the retina. This can progress to retinal detachment and should be checked by an optician within the next two weeks. Usually, no treatment is needed, but if your vision starts to be affected, see an ophthalmologist as you will need urgent treatment. Aspirin dangers? Q We have a family history of bowel cancer and I’ve been advised to take an aspirin daily to help prevent it developing. I’ve heard a lot about…

Give yourself a lift Enjoy a post-work treat We shouldn’t feel bad for allowing ourselves a biscuit or a small glass of wine after work, according to researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They found that late afternoon/early evening is when we burn off the most calories (albeit just an extra 10 per cent), so choose that time of day for a treat. Have you tried… Soft & Gentle 0% Aluminium Anti-Perspirant? This roll-on deodorant (£2.79, Boots) has 0% aluminium and 0% alcohol, and is clinically proven to prevent sweat for 24 hours. It contains natural plant extracts, so you’ll feel fresh and dry all day, while still being super-kind and gentle to your skin. 7% That’s how many US women have a sex addiction, according to the University of…

When the Brown family moved to Florida in July 2014, to be closer to relatives, they looked forward to happy times ahead. Gregory, recently retired, and his wife Margaret, both 52, hoped for a new start with their daughter Megan, 27, her boyfriend Adam Matos, 28, and their 4-year-old son. Megan and Adam had a volatile relationship, but they were trying again for the sake of their son, who had autism. Adam, raised by a single mum himself, wanted to be a good dad. As a child, he and his brother spent weeks apart from their mother, passed from one home to the next. He wanted a different life for his son and dreamed of a happy family of his own. But the Florida dream soon turned sour. Living under…

TOP TIP Designer look for less! Also available in green Comes with a detachable strap…

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT & MORE More fun in the chatrooms than ever! Combine fun chit-chat with fantastic entertainment in selected chatrooms with live shows, quizzes and plenty of cash prices to be won! Go to the Promotions page on Pick Me Up! Bingo to find out what’s on, when it’s on and where it’s on. T&Cs apply. MINI BUT MIGHTY FUN! You can now dab away in mini Sapphire Bingo while enjoying a spin on your favourite slots! Head any to of the selected slot games, such as Winstones or Sky Dogs, and simultaneously experience a game of mini bingo. You can even play mini Sapphire bingo while playing your usual bingo game – double the fun! T&Csapply.…

Nip + Fab Exfoliate Glycolic Fix Jelly Mask, £14.95, Superdrug Don’t let the word ‘acid’ put you off – glycolic acid will brighten your skin and banish breakouts. It dissolves the ‘glue’ that binds dead cells, revealing the new skin below. Use once a week for a quick fix. Rimmel Maxi Blush in Sweet Cheeks, £5.99, Boots Skin can quickly become dull in winter, especially if you have naturally yellow undertones. So swap your bronzer for this superfine powder. It won’t cling to dry skin, and is easy to blend. Dr Organic Shea Butter Body Scrub, £7.99, Holland & Barrett Perfect for dry winter skin, shea butter is packed with essential fatty acids to protect against the elements. This gentle scrub is suitable for sensitive skin, using natural ingredients to…

Catfish, Amazon Prime This true-life story follows New Yorker Nev who falls in love with Megan over Facebook. But is she all she seems? If you’ve seen the MTV reality series that Nev launched after this documentary, you can probably guess the answer. Nevertheless, the twists and turns in this gripping film will captivate you. Moving, heartfelt...and strange. Life and Death Row, BBC 3 This series takes an unflinching look at those sentenced to die by the state after being convicted of terrible crimes. The episode Love Triangle is a good place to start. Filmmakers interview Emilia Carr from prison, where she denies the kidnap and murder of love rival Heather Strong. When you’ve seen the evidence for yourself, will you believe her? My Multiple Personalities…

Suddenly, I felt devastated and brokenhearted, and I realised the strong hold Frank had on my life. When I fell into a deep depression, my parents thought I was going through a phase. I wasn’t. I missed what I thought was Frank’s love. Banging my head against my bedroom wall one night, I wanted to end it all. His abuse had made me suicidal. As time went on, I pulled myself together, but still never spoke a word of what Frank had put me through. It was only when I was 18, starting a relationship with a man my age, that it hit me. The hours Frank had spent making me feel special - it was all part of his plan. The days out, the compliments to make up for…

1 Connect with nature This doesn’t mean doing a Prince Charles and chatting up the petunias, but just taking a bit of time to stroll outside – feeling the breeze and the sun on your skin can be enough to reduce stress and anxiety. 2 Have a cuddle Oxytocin is a calming, feel-good hormone released when we feel love, comfort and trust. So whether you feel love from your man or your pooch, give them a good old cuddle when you get home. 3 Smile! As bizarre as it sounds, smiling at yourself in the mirror can trick the brain into releasing soothing chemicals. If you’re not into this, smiling at others and having them smile back has the same effect.…

1 Glandular fever only affects children. ■ True ■ False 2 Symptoms can include a very high temperature, a severe sore throat and swollen glands. ■ True ■ False 3 Glandular fever can often be a recurring illness. ■ True ■ False 4 As it is avirus, antibioticsdon’t work on glandular fever. ■ True ■ False 1 FALSE It is more common in teenagers and young adults, but can affect anyone of any age. 2 TRUE As well as extreme tiredness and tonsillitis that isn’t getting better. 3 FALSE You don’t usually get it more than once, but it can often last around three weeks and some sufferers can feel tired for months. 4 TRUE It usually gets better by itself, but it is very infectious so it is important to take the time…

1 Join pickmeupbingo.com  with promo code PMUL5 2 Deposit and play £10 on any game 3 Grab 200 Free Bingo Tickets worth up to £50 *T&Cs: 18+ UK only. New members only, registration and opt in required. Min £10 deposit and wager. Bingo game restrictions apply – £50 value on 25p tickets. 30 day expiry from deposit. Rules apply. Offer in this issue ends 31 January 2019. See full T&Cs at pickmeupbingo.com. Pick Me Up! Bingo is part of the Jackpotjoy.com network. For 24-hour support, freephone 0800 458 0770. Please play responsibly. BeGambleAware.org JOIN NOW AT pickmeupbingo.com…

I have two children with invisible conditions, including hypermobility, autism and incontinence. I have spent  years being judged by people who believe we are not entitled to use disabled toilets or other services. If you give me a dirty look, expect one back. Ask me nicely what the problem is, I will happily educate you. Caroline Stratfull, Wolverhampton I think if there isn’t a visible illness, then people are judged wrongly when parking in disabled  bays or sitting in the reserved seats on buses and trains. It could also be a mental illness, which wouldn’t show. We shouldn’t judge other people because we really don’t know what could be wrong with them. Colleen Brunton, Enfield My daughter is 12 and has Asperger’s, IBS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Society is so…

My post-baby belly sagged like a punctured balloon. Along with my self-esteem. ‘I really want to get back into shape,’ I told my husband Rory, 28. ‘I feel so fat.’ I was 24 and, three months earlier in February 2012, I’d given birth to our second child Lola. We had a 2-year-old son Patrick, too - and, although I adored being a full-time mum, I didn’t love what motherhood had done to my body. I wore a size-14, but before falling pregnant I’d been really active, playing in a women’s football team. The thought of running around a muddy field now just felt exhausting. But the thought of staying at this weight felt far worse. I wasn’t alone. Many of my mummy mates had struggled with weight gain, too. ‘Why…

E-mail pickmeup@ti-media.com CALL 020 3148 6460 WRITE TO Pick Me Up!, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP FACEBOOK facebook.com/pickmeupmag SEE OUR WEBSITE lifedeathprizes.com TI Media Limited reserves the right to reuse any submission sent to Pick Me Up! magazine, in any format or medium. Unfortunately, we can’t return photos without a stamped sae. Letters/photos must not be sent to any other publication.…

Digital pictures are OK...but there’s something about old photos, isn’t there? The feel of the paper. The musty smell. And the bittersweet nostalgia. Maybe that’s what had me digging out my old school photos one day in June 2016. It was sunny, but my heart felt cloudy. Longing for a more innocent time. And perhaps for something else... Flicking through the pictures, I laughed at the retro hair and baggy clothes. Then my heart gave a little leap as my eyes rested on the image of a tall, slender lad. With his head tilted to one side, the pose he pulled in every photo, it could only be Ryan. My childhood sweetheart. So cool, Ryan was one of the hippest boys at my school in Bristol. A graffiti artist and…

As my bedside alarm beeped, I struggled to peel open my eyes. Just five minutes, I told myself. But minutes later, I still didn’t feel right. And I suddenly realised this wasn’t just a simple case of waking up tired. In fact, I couldn’t feel much from my chest down. My hands and feet were numb and fuzzy, like extreme pins and needles. It was May 2006 and I’d had back problems for a few years, thought it could be linked. Frightened, I called my doctor at The Chiltern Hospital, and was told to come in to see if I needed surgery. But after an initial MRI scan, I was told they wouldn’t need to operate. ‘Why not?’ I asked. ‘Because you have multiple sclerosis,’ the surgeon replied. I listened…

Bag, £5, Primark We’re sure it’s a big trend, and it might be handy when trying to fish out your keys, but surely a see-through bag is asking for trouble? We prefer to keep our valuables not quite so on display, thanks! Verdict: BONKERS! We do like the shinyfinish, though. Never Mind The Detox Chocolate, £6.99 for three, firebox.com Say a gigantic ‘NO!’ to clean eating with this delicious trio of sassy slogan chocolate bars. Each one has a different flavour, so you can choose from honeycomb, chewy brownie or chunky fudge as you wave goodbye to your detox. Verdict: BONKERS! Butwe absolutely love them. Polaroid Pop in Yellow, £199.99, argos.co.uk Thiscute digitalcamera comes with a built-in printer so you can print full-colour photos, wherever you…

Humming happily along to the radio, I chopped carrots for tea. A mum of two boys, I was whipping up a quick shepherd’s pie. ‘Now, should I add peas?’ I was musing when I heard a ping from my laptop. Ooh, I thought. I wonder what’s happening on the bingo. Earlier, before starting cooking, I’d logged into Pick Me Up! Bingo. A member since December 2008, I liked to play before I started cooking the evening meal. That way I could let the games play out while I got dicing and slicing. Not that I often had the chance, mind! Being a mum meant juggling lots of family responsibilities. It was something I loved. But I realised how important a bit of me-time was too. So that evening in March…

RED SQUIRREL IN WINTER COAT Winterwatch, BBC2 Chris Packham (main image), Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke pitch up in the Cairngorms National Park to observe how animals, such as pine martens, red squirrels and golden eagles, get through the coldest months of the year. It’s also the new home for all Watches so we’ll get to see how the wildlife lives throughout the year and also witness seasonal landscape changes. Pure, C4 This new comedy tells the story of Marnie, who has an obsessive compulsive disorder where her mind is filled with unwanted intrusive thoughts that are often sexual. But, when she escapes to London, she makes new friends, who are equally troubled. They include Charlie ( Peaky Blinders’ Joe Cole, right), who’s in recovery for porn…

Chicken and olive rice Serves 4 Prep: 10 min Cook: 55 min ◻ 8 skin-on chicken thighs ◻ Olive oil, to fry ◻ 1 large onion, finely chopped ◻ 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced ◻ 1 pinch saffron (optional) soaked in 10ml water ◻ 100ml sherry ◻ 450g chopped fresh tomatoes ◻ 500ml chicken stock ◻ 250g paella rice ◻ 125g Spanish green olives 1 Season the chicken and fry in a little olive oil to brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the onion for 10 min, then add the garlic and fry for 5 min more. 2 Add the saffron and the water it was soaked in (if using), then add the sherry and allow…

ARIES 21 March–20 April Think before you speak this week, or you could end up saying things to those you love that you will not be able to easily take back. A lie is uncovered but go gently as there is far more to this story unfolding than first meets the eye. Call: 09058 170 710* TAURUS 21 April–21 May Family prove more difficult than usual to deal with this week and you may find yourself telling white lies in order to get yourself out of arrangements that you no longer wish to be involved in. Patience however, with a work contact pays substantial dividends by Monday. Call: 09058 170 711* GEMINI 22 May–21 June I know you have felt as if you have had to cope with everything alone…