Table of contents for 21-Oct-2021 in Chat

Claire’s story really touched me this week. After losing her lovely little boy, she didn’t know how to carry on. But what she did, in spite of her grief, is a real inspiration (p10). Just one foot at a time. Amanda’s paying tribute to the furry face who got her through a difficult year (p58). And there’s a terrifying true crime story of a killer who police thought had fled the crime scene – but he was closer than anyone knew… (p54) There’s loads of real life, plus all your usual faves and a free pendant for every reader (p14)! Stay safe and well this week.…

PUFFER STYLE TIP Brighten up grey days with fun colour and prints, that are as stylish as they are practical. SHACKET STYLE TIP A shirt-jacket is perfect for in-between weather days. Wear open over a T-shirt, or layer under a coat for added warmth. SOFT STYLE TIP Try a cropped design if you’re worried about the extra fabric overwhelming your frame. FROM £19.99 TAILORED STYLE TIP Double-breasted coats broaden narrow shoulders, while single-button styles skim over curves and elongate your figure.…

In August this year, Steven Wiggins, now 34, was found guilty of all 10 counts, including premeditated first-degree murder, criminal impersonation, theft, arson and abuse of a corpse. Prior to sentencing, Sgt Daniel Baker’s widow Lisa gave a statement, saying it had taken her ‘three long years’ of grieving to come to terms with the fact her husband wasn’t coming back. ‘I am prepared to spend the rest of my life making sure yours, Steven Wiggins, is miserable,’ she said. She told the court their daughter, now 5, believes her daddy is a hero, and that she calls him every night on her play phone. ‘He will never be here to hold her, kiss her, to watch her grow, to offer fatherly advice, walk her down the aisle, to meet…

And breathe... Take a deep breath – not too deeply, though. Pippa Campbell, a nutrition and weight-loss practitioner, recommends breathing in for four seconds, holding for one and then breathing out for six, for a total of five minutes. ‘Breathe so that you can see your belly filling with air. It can take practice to make your out breath longer than your in breath,’ she says, so be patient. Find time for your friends Even with massive workloads and family commitments, Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of Natural Alternatives to Sugar (£9.77, Lifestyle Press) says it’s important to maintain social engagements. ‘Make time to see a friend – go for a walk for 20 minutes and have a cup of tea together. Even an hour can make all the difference to your…

Emily Buxton Anderson, 24, Clay Cross Lying on the sofa, stroking my belly, I felt my baby kick. ‘Hello, little one,’ I giggled. It was Christmas Day last year and, as my new hubby Jordan, then 24, rested his hand over mine, I felt a rush of contentment. Discovering I was expecting soon after we were married had sealed our happiness. Now, with my little one happily kicking away and just nine weeks until I was due, my mind whirred with a birth plan. ‘I want a water birth and a playlist filled with Johnny Cash and the Eagles,’ I said, imagining chilled-out vibes soothing me as I breathed through each contraction. Jordan raised an eyebrow. ‘Anything else?’ ‘I want to call her Elsie, after my nan,’ I added, ‘And…

Kate Miles, 38, Wendover Sitting in the waiting room, I refused to give in to the cold feeling of hopelessness that was growing in the pit of my stomach. Everything will be OK, I told myself, feeling anxious. It had to be. It was March 2020 and I had two kids – Emily, then 8, and Macy, 6 – at home who needed their mummy. I’d found a lump in my left breast a month earlier. In 2009, I’d had a lump removed which was benign, and then another a few years later which turned out to be hormone related, so I was sure this was something similar. But when I was finally called in, and the sonographer ran the wand over my chest, her face tightened. ‘I’m going to…

Our Antonella tells it how it is Not feeling the love Q My boyfriend loves me more than I love him. We’ve been together for 14 months and I just don’t feel like I’m in love with him. Surely I should have fallen in deep by now? I can go days without texting or ringing him. I don’t think of him until he messages me, and then I do reply. Should I be patient or am I wasting my time? Holly, 27 A I don’t think you need to be any more patient, my love. I think you need to end it now. Any longer and you risk hurting him. If you know he isn’t the one for you, walk away. Part as friends and avoid resentment. It sounds like…

Aaron Carty, 36, London As soon as my teacher started chatting away about university, I began worrying. ‘What are your career goals, Aaron?’ he asked suddenly. Put on the spot, I just shrugged my shoulders. It was 2003 and, at 17, I’d almost finished sixth form. But, while classmates were excitedly choosing degree courses, I’d no clue what I wanted to do. Not wanting to be left out, I filled out university application forms. ‘I’m going to study Business and Media,’ I announced. Deep down, it wasn’t what I wanted, and making this huge life decision was daunting – especially as I’d not yet come to terms with who I was. Or my sexuality. So, secretly, I applied to Essex Police, thinking it’d be a steady career and imagining how…

Lips tend to become thinner with age, but this collagen-infused lip serum works to plump lines and boost your pout, while keeping dry, flaky skin at bay. If you have chapped, dry lips, but need a little glamour from your lip balm, this option is perfect. It contains a little colour and shine, but still keeps lips supple and soft. When the weather changes, your lips can turn dry and sometimes a great, basic lip balm is all you need. This trusty formula will calm redness, soothe and hydrate chapped, cracked skin instantly.…

HOW TO ENTER TEXT Simply text CHATA followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 63333 Texts cost 50p plus standard network charge (maximum 160 characters per text). When you enter by text, you may in future get SMS marketing messages from Future plc and Chat. If you want to receive these, please end your text with OPTIN. Texting tips • Don’t put any spaces in an answer that has several words: eg: CHATISTHEBEST not CHAT IS THE BEST. • If the answer is a name, you need only give the surname: eg: CLOONEY not GEORGE CLOONEY. • You can use capitals or small letters, but don’t use any commas, etc. • Leave out answers you don’t wish to enter. INTERNET…

Dear Molly, When you were dropped at my doorstep, my heart melted. ‘What happened to you?’ I gasped. Aged 15, you had a ripped ear, damaged eye, knotted fur and stained yellow paws. My tatty little stray. It was April 2020, and you’d been living at the Burford Blue Cross Rehoming Centre after being found on the streets. You’d clearly had a rough time. And, in truth, so had I. The previous summer, I’d been exercise mad, competing in triathlons with my boyfriend Garry, then 38. Dawn swims, cycling to the office, running at lunch. Until November 2019, when I’d woken up suffering from back spasms. I’d over-exercised, never warming down, culminating in agonising sciatica. Thanks to painkillers and physio, things were improving when… ‘Lockdown!’ I groaned. Garry lived an…

What connects US actor Teri Hatcher and British presenter Rachel Riley? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the four-word prize answer. ACROSS 1 Most bad (5) 4 Male pig (4) 6 Person with a degree (8) 13 US state (7) 14 Sheltered port (7) 15 Blood vessels (5) 16 Cinderella and Downton Abbey actor, _ James (4) 17 Make possible (6) 18 Guidance (6) 20 Charged particles (4) 21 Keen (5) 22 Threw (6) 25 Collection of information on a computer (8) 28 Paradise (6) 30 Inexperienced (5) 32 Not compulsory (8) 34 Make shine (6) 35 Metal (4) 38 Batman film from 2008, The Dark _ (6) 39 Punctuation mark (5) 40 Mend (6) 43 Be unsuccessful (4) 44 Students (6)…

Tough nut We’ve fancied this TV hardman since he was half of the follically challenged Mitchell brothers. Ross Kemp hasn’t been an EastEnders regular for 20 years, but we still adore his chrome dome. We wouldn’t go so far as one fan, who tweeted, I want to lick Ross Kemp’s bald head. Or would we..? Hairless hero No hot-bald-guy gallery is complete without Bruce Willis. We liked it when he was saving the planet in Armageddon, and we loved it the gazillion times he’s Died Hard. Smooth criminal Thank goodness one Mitchell brother is still thugging around Albert Square. Steve McFadden’s character Phil provides us all with a hunky-gangster fix. Action man Fast & Furious Hollywood heavyweight Jason Statham was only named third-hottest baldy, with 7.4 million internet searches containing…

What’s my lump? Q There’s a lump in my eyelid which my optician called a meibomian cyst. What’s that? Carla, Edenbridge A It’s simply a blocked gland and isn’t dangerous, though can be a nuisance. Inside your eyelid are glands which produce oil to lubricate your eye. When one gland blocks, either out of the blue or after becoming infected (a stye), fluid collects inside, leaving a swollen, roughly pea-sized lump inside your upper eyelid. A small cyst may cause no symptoms, but a larger one might irritate or rarely become painful, and can distort the front of your eye leading to blurred vision. A flannel soaked in warm water and held against your eyelid can relieve symptoms, and gently squeezing the cyst afterwards might reduce its size. Most cysts…

Breast Cancer Now’s Wear it Pink event on 22 October is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. To date, it’s raised £36 million to fund life-changing research. The charity also provides expert support and care to the thousands of people affected by breast cancer each year. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s never been more important to raise money for breast -cancer research and care. Join Kate by registering today at wearitpink.org.…

Excited teenagers gathered round a garden bonfire, chilling out and having fun. It was a November evening scene most 16-year-olds have been part of. Only, as the night wore on, the bonfire started to die down. Keen to keep the fire roaring and the party going, the teens decided to give it a little help. Poured a little petrol on the fading flames. But that’s when disaster struck. The bonfire – in a steel drum – exploded. Natalie Skye, then 16, and her school friend James were both badly burnt. Natalie says, ‘Everything just flashed white. I walked around and kind of dropped. ‘I saw the tree and the plants on fire and I was just laying there waiting for help to get here.’ In fact, Natalie, from Meridianville, Alabama,…

Chicken and barley soup A deliciously light but filling soup, this is chock-full of goodness to boot! SERVE 4 PREP TIME 10 MINS COOK TIME 45 MINS • 2tsp rapeseed oil • 1 onion, chopped • 1 carrot, diced • 1 garlic clove, crushed • 750ml chicken stock • 300g boneless chicken thighs • 1 bay leaf • 1 sprig of rosemary • 75g barley 1 Heat the oil in a medium pan and fry the onion and carrot over a low heat for 10 mins until softened. Add in the garlic clove and stock, then bring to the boil. 2 Add the chicken thighs to the pan with the bay leaf and rosemary and stir in the barley grains. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for 20-30 mins…

Aries 21 March-20 April You love to take charge, but it may be time to take a back seat while friends enjoy some good fortune and you get to share in their exciting news. • Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May You’re lucky enough to bump into an old friend while shopping. You haven’t seen each other in years, and it’s a joy catching up. Make plans to stay in touch. • Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June Venus in Scorpio prompts you to put time aside for friends and family. A free-time calendar might be a good idea to help you find the right balance. • Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July Take your family or partner…

Dominique Thomas, 25, from Cardiff Chatting to Connor, my boyfriend of two years, as we made dinner, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ‘You’re kidding?’ I blurted, as he explained again what my neighbour Jessica had said to him. It was May 2020 and I’d lived a few flats down from Jessica Verallo, then 27, for five years, since before my daughter from a previous relationship – Daisy, then 4 – was born. Me and Jessica weren’t close, I didn’t know her well at all really, but we went to the same gym, said hello. So as Connor, then 19, told me she’d propositioned him in the street a few days earlier, I was gobsmacked. ‘We’re both young and can have fun,’ she’d apparently said to Connor. ‘I…

When Daniel Baker, 32, awoke on 30 May 2018, it was a work-day morning like any other. His wife Lisa brewed a pot of coffee. He took a sip, kissed his 22-month-old daughter goodbye, and headed to work. A sergeant with the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee, Daniel was a well-respected police officer. That morning, Sgt Baker responded to a call that came over his radio at 6.45am. A suspicious vehicle was parked on the wrong side of the road. A man and woman were asleep inside. A vehicle-registration check revealed that the car had been reported stolen. ‘Open the door. Get out of the car,’ Daniel told the man in the driver’s seat. But the suspect insisted that the door was stuck. ‘It’s a messed-up door,’ the man…

OVER TO YOU Can you set a puzzle in this format? Send it with a photo of yourself, to the address on p3. There’s £20 for every one we use! This week’s puzzle was compiled by I Emerson, Grimsby, NE Lincs WIN 5x £25 puzzle 6 ACROSS 1 Final 2 Operatic song 3 Ring of bells 4 Identical DOWN 1 Circuits of a running track 2 Region or district 3 Previous name for Thailand 4 Fable Your answer: HALF & HALF Pores of Kohn and canals of Lambert are structures found in which organ of the human body? Cross out a letter in each square to get a grid filled with words. The uncrossed-out letters in the shaded squares give the prize answer. WIN £100 puzzle 7 Your answer: BRICK…

ARROW WORD WIN £1,000 Puzzle 10 Uvarovite, pyrope and grossular are all types of which gemstone? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers to the clues. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. Your answer: SUDOKU To solve the puzzle, each 3 x 3 box, each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9. Solve the puzzle and the numbers in the highlighted squares will give you the prize puzzle answer. WIN £60 puzzle 11 Your answer: WORDSEARCH WIN £50 puzzle 12 Thomas W Holley of Holyoke, Massachusetts, is claimed by some to be the inventor of which item of stationery? The prize answer is the one missing from the grid. CHALK CLIP COMPASS CRAYON…

WIN £100 puzzle 14 Which is the only element other than mercury which is a liquid at room temperature and pressure? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answer. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. Your answer: FILL ME IN CIRCLE TIME Which country sold the management rights to its internet domain name to US company VeriSign in 2001? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the letters in the shaded circles to find the prize answer. 3 letters AGO ALL EGO HUG OWL PUG SAG SKI SUN USE 4 letters CROW NEAT OPAL STEW TUBA URGE WASH 5 letters BRASS PLUSH REVUE 6 letters ADVICE BUREAU ENOUGH NACHOS OBLONG PHASES 8 letters WALTZING Your answer:…

3 way to... save on your mobile If you’re in the market for a new mobile phone deal, here’s how to avoid paying over the odds 1 Think carefully about your needs ‘Snapping up the very latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone is an exciting prospect, but do you really need to get the latest device as soon as it comes out?’ says Catherine Hiley, mobiles expert at Uswitch. Buying the newest premium smartphone as soon as it’s released will usually mean paying a larger up-front fee, or a hefty monthly bill. ‘Why not consider a slightly older model to save money? They often come with similar features and serve you just as well for a lower cost,’ she adds. 2 Consider buying second hand ‘You could also save money…

Impeachment: American Crime Story BBC2 After telling the stories of the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace, Ryan Murphy’s anthology series focuses on the impeachment of President Bill Clinton (Clive Owen) following his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein). The cast also includes Nurse Jackie’s Edie Falco as First Lady Hillary Clinton and Ratched’s Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, who began recording the illicit couple’s phone conversations, which would eventually result in the 42nd President being impeached. Invasion APPLE TV Sam Neill stars in this sci-fi drama which explores what might happen in the event of an alien invasion. The 10-part series tells the story from the perspectives of different people around the globe as they deal with the deadly threat…

Mavala Scientifique K+ Nail Hardener, £8.95, feelunique.com If your nails are constantly thin and breaking, try using this nail hardener. This prokeratin formula strengthens the nail, allowing it to repair itself and grow without flaking or splitting. Tresemmé Colour Enhancing Mask, £6.10, Boots Blondes, brunettes and redheads, both natural and dyed, can refresh their colour with these vibrancy-boosting masks. Leave them on for a few minutes to see your shade go from dull to rich and glossy! Botanics Pure Botanicals Snow Mushroom Serum, £7.99, botanics.co.uk Bring dull, dry skin back to life with this lightweight serum. It’s non-sticky and full of the naturally hydrating benefits of snow mushroom. Apply it under your moisturiser for an extra layer of radiance. Barry M Fill and Shape Brow Kit, £5.99, barrym.com Define your…

With its marble staircase crystal chandeliers, the lobby of the Radisson Edwardian Hotel at Heathrow Airport is grand, to say the least. Behind the reception desk, a smartly uniformed team are ready to greet guests. And in August 2011, three of those receptionists were Attila Ban, 32, Tibor Vass, and Alice Adams, both 20. Alice had only joined the company three weeks earlier. She was saving for the trip to see her aunt get married in Hawaii. Alice and Tibor had bonded over music. But Attila, who’d developed a crush on his fellow Hungarian Tibor, was jealous of their friendship. Back in February 2011, Attila had been made employee of the month. He’d even been offered staff accommodation close to the hotel as a reward for his good work, and…

Chat winners issue 29 (22 July 2021) £1001 CASH C Oxford, Bolton £1000 CASH C Foster, Bedford £500 CASH M Masters, Aylesbury J Brown, Calne £250 CASH S Lander, Leicester £150 CASH G Wilson, Hornchurch £100 CASH M Halstead, Preston; A Walker, Castleford; A Cooke, Milton Keynes; K Casbolt, Crawley; L Grimmer, Nuneaton £60 CASH C McKenna, Coventry £50 CASH E Penman, Castle Douglas; S Lovatt, Ellesmere; J Rees, Ammanford £30 CASH R Gluth, Redruth; M Rich, Honiton; E Farley, Maesteg; V Waddoups, Southend-on-Sea; A Tibbs, Glasgow £25 CASH P Drage, Corby; G Wilcox, Sleaford; J McRobb, Inverurie; C Howard, Hitchin; S Samuel, St Helens; S Karstens, Harlow; P Vallence, Westcliff-on-Sea; V Pearson, Lymington Chat PUZZLE 1 917 chat PUZZLE 2 BELFRY Chat PUZZLE 11 228 Anyone from your town…