Table of contents for 12 May 2022 in Chat

Are you enjoying our new feature – Local Hero – celebrating the people in your lives who make a difference? It’s fab to read about the good that normal folk do – and a reminder that we can all make a difference, no matter how small. This week we have litter-picker Pippa who’s only 4 but making her mark. What a star! So nominate the local hero in your life. If we include them, we’ll send them £50! Enjoy this week’s issue,…

Bev Irving, 48, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hearing a clatter from the living room, I rolled my eyes. My son Lee, 9, was always karate chopping his way around the house! He was big brother to Joe, then aged 2. His younger brother Owen came in 2006, followed by Charlie in 2008. But Lee felt like the youngest, because he’d been diagnosed with severe speech and learning difficulties. He was sweet and sociable but his school reports called him ‘naive’ and ‘easily influenced’, and he didn’t speak until he was 6. Local kids teased him, not that he realised. It broke my heart. At 16, Lee got a bus pass and started going on his own into Newcastle. ‘I don’t like you going out without me, ’ I said. ‘Don’t worry, Mum, ’…

Clutching her giant cuddly Olaf from Frozen, 7-year-old Olivia Gant was tired. She’d endured five years of a thousand hospital visits and 25 surgical procedures. But now, in August 2017, her short life was coming to an end. Her mum, heartbroken Kelly, didn’t want her to suffer any more. Wearing a princess dress, she even tried to smile for photographs. But it was time to let her go. Olivia, 2, had moved from Texas to Colorado with her mum and two older sisters in 2012. She was already suffering from medical issues and Kelly took her to the local hospital. She said Olivia had a history of health problems, including seizures. She told the doctors that her daughter struggled to digest food, and that she was constipated. With minor intervention,…

Sick of pesky bugs! Q I dread the summer because I get insect bites that always get infected. What can I do? Jean, Grangemouth A Bites and stings can become infected – but that’s unusual – and if you always react with redness and swelling, that’s more likely an allergic reaction. A truly infected bite or sting might become swollen and painful and develop pus under the skin, a red line from the bite up your arm or leg, swollen glands in your armpit or groin and you might get a fever, in which case your doctor will suggest antibiotics. But if you suffer an allergic reaction, wash the area with soap and water, remove the sting if it’s still there, apply a cold flannel or ice pack and use…

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 Peter Burton, Hove, Sussex ACROSS 1 Talk about this mag 2 Strong twisted cord 3 Tip or point 4 Highest quality DOWN 1 Crustacean 2 Expectation 3 Copies 4 Send a message WIN 5 x £25 Puzzle 6 Your answer: CHAIN WORDS In January 2022, Jude Terry became the first woman to hold what general title in the Royal Navy? Get from Start to Finish, making words by joining boxes together eg: SP + OT, OT +... you decide! When you reach Finish, two unused boxes join together to give you the prize answer. WIN…

ARROW WORD I migongo, an artform that makes use of cow dung to create striking geometric designs, is a tradition preserved in which country? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers. Then read the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. WIN £1,000 Puzzle 10 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 The record for a salmon caught by rod and line in the UK was a 64lb fish landed by Georgina Ballantine from which river in 1922? The answer is…

FILL ME IN Frog Island and Bede Island are centrally located districts in which British city? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer. WIN £100 Puzzle 14 Your answer: CIRCLE TIME Since the 14th century, the presiding officer in the British House of Lords has been required to sit on a bale made of what? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the letters in the shaded circles. 3 letters AGO ARE BEE BUS EGO ERE ERR ORE PEA 4 letters DATA EBBS KNEE TAKE TRIO TWEE 5 letters EAGLE SHRUB SHRUG SIGHT 6 letters ABRUPT ABSORB ADVERB ARTIST 7 letters AIRPORT EIGHTHS WIN £100 Puzzle 15 Your answer:…

3 ways to... dodge online rip-offs Check out this advice from The Online Rip-Off Tip-Off campaign, launched by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA). 1 Watch out for creeping costs Unexpected compulsory fees, taxes or charges can often catch you out. The total amount you’re charged might creep up as you get closer to checkout, with extra costs added to the original price. So treat advertised prices with caution and check you’re happy with the final amount. 2 Be savvy about reviews Some businesses pay or reward people for positive reviews – so don’t believe everything you read. However, fake reviews are often difficult to spot. So read the negative reviews as well as the positive ones, check multiple sites and look for specific details instead of generic remarks such…

Crayfish risotto The cheat’s way to make this flavoursome and warming dish SERVES 4 PREP TIME 5 MINS COOK TIME 15 MINS • 2 x 175g packets Riso Gallo Saffron Risotto Pronto • 200g broccoli, chopped • 180g crayfish tails in brine, drained • 50g freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve • 25g butter 1 Pour 900ml boiling water from the kettle into a pan. Add the packets of Risotto Pronto, bring to the boil and simmer for 6 mins, stirring from time to time. 2 Add the broccoli and cook for a further 4 mins. Stir in the crayfish tails and cook for 2 mins, until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed. 3 Stir in the Parmesan and butter, and serve with a little extra Parmesan…

Chloe Fewster, 21, Hull Sipping my drink, I locked eyes with the handsome stranger sitting opposite me in the pub. It was September 2020 and I was out with some mates in Hull town centre. With a cheeky smile and a confident swagger, the bloke came straight over to my table. ‘Fancy a drink?’ he asked. ‘Cider,’ I grinned back. And, just like that, I was under Allan’s spell. He was funny, chatty, and things were great for a while. Allan, 24, liked to know everything about me. Where I was going, who I’d be seeing… At first, I was flattered, but then I started to worry. ‘Oi,’ I said when he snatched my mobile off me to see who I was messaging. I knew he was insecure, and I…

PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS THROUGHOUT For back issues of Chat HOW TO ENTER TEXT Simply text CHATD 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.…

It’s no joke that my friend’s beautiful cocker spaniel Jester loves posing for a pic! Emma Smith, Barton-upon-Humber There’s nothing like a walk in the countryside, especially in the beautiful fields of Hitchin Lavender farm. The smell was incredible! Daniella Barry, Rushden Every week, my friend Cath and I attend a pub quiz and raffle. While we might not always win the quiz, we were more than happy to win some bottles of wine in the raffle! Janet Dandy, Burnley It’s hard to tell the difference between my lionhead rabbit Simba and his cuddly toy lion, with his magnificent mane! Angela Codling, Halifax It’s the mad hatter! My daughter Aliyah, 5, didn’t know which hat to wear, so she decided to wear them all! Gemma Clayton, Nottingham My daughter Erin,…

Kelly Turner, 43, reached a deal with prosecutors this January – weeks before she was due to stand trial. She pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse negligently causing death, theft and charitable fraud, but the murder charge was dismissed. District attorney John Kellner described her crime as despicable. ‘This defendant deserves to serve years behind bars,’ he said, adding that she ‘approved surgery after surgery and insisted Olivia was not getting better’. In February, Judge Patricia Herron sentenced Turner to 16 years in prison. She ordered Turner must never profit from Olivia’s death. ‘Whether that be because of a movie consultation or book consultation, or book deals,’ she said, and that money from any such deals be donated to the charities defrauded. A tearful Turner was silent as a…

1 Painful joints Explore some natural anti-inflammatory remedies, such as devil’s claw and arnica. Keeping a check on your diet is also important for reducing inflammation in the body. Caffeine, highly processed foods and those containing too much refined sugar or salt can irritate joints. Stay active, but don’t do too much extreme exercise. The menopause put tremendous strain on your body and if you push yourself too hard, it can cause exhaustion and irritate joints further. Try to do gentle but effective forms of exercise, such as swimming, yoga or tai chi. 2 Thinning hair If menopausal hair is getting you down, up your intake of protein and iron. This means a diet rich in leafy green veg, pistachios, cashews, lentils, chickpeas and prunes. Using a hair-thickening shampoo and…

Tesla’s Gigafactory 1, which the carmaker says will be the biggest building in the world by area when completed, is located to the east of which city? Solve the crossword, then read down the yellow squares. The yellow shaded squares will spell out the competition answer. ACROSS 1 Simple boat (4) 5 Peter _, Mysterious Girl singer (5) 7 Opposite of bad (4) DOWN 2 Total up (3) 3 Golf peg (3) 4 Pointed tooth (4) 6 Primary colour (3) WIN £50 Puzzle 13 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

He doesn’t love me anymore Q My husband has become distant after 14 happy years together. He said he may be depressed but very quickly gave up on the antidepressants he was given. Now, he never seems to want to spend any time with me. A few days ago, he told me he loved me but is not ‘in love’ with me anymore. I’m devastated. We’ve talked about couples counselling but is it even worth trying? Elise, 48 A Bless you, pet. Absolutely it’s worth trying. Try not to take this personally, as there’s clearly something deeper going on. Book a GP appointment and a counsellor together. Check out Relate in your area. Make sure he knows you’re there for him. Marriage vows say ‘for better, for worse’. I hope…

CHARLOTTE MORRIS, 32, FROM SHREWSBURY, SAYS: My daughter Pippa is only 4 but she’s a real community champ. She loves litter-picking in our village and making it tidy. In lockdown, Pippa started noticing all the rubbish on the streets, and said she wanted to do something to stop all the ‘naughty litterbugs’! I asked the council for some litter-picking tools, then took her out around the local area. Now, we try to do it at least once a month and usually collect at least one bin bag full of rubbish. Litter-picking helps Pippa understand how litter affects our wildlife, and gives her a sense of pride. She’s such a kind, caring and funny little girl. People in the community always comment on what a nice and helpful person she is.…

Sinking feeling I got frustrated with my towels always falling off the bathroom radiator. Instead, I use a trouser hanger, and hang it over the side of the sink for them to dry. Jen Elvin, Rotherham, South Yorkshire A clean sweep I struggle to lift my heavy bed to dust underneath. Instead, I use a hairdryer to blow the dust out, making it much easier to clean up. Debbie Bradley, Coventry, West Midlands On a roll Having arthritis in my fingers makes it tricky to squeeze tubes. Instead, I use a rolling pin – it’s so much easier than struggling with my hands. Audrey Tough, Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire Wallpaper wonder No matter what colour I painted my bathroom door, I just didn’t like it. So, I decided to wallpaper it instead,…

Who is British actor Alison Steadman’s dream dinner-party invitee? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the two-word prize answer. ACROSS 11 Small feature (6) 12 Hit back (9) 13 Roman robe (4) 14 Dinosaur film, _ Park (8) 15 Singer, _ Sande (5) 16 Bold (6) 17 Precious stone (7) 18 Horror writer (7,4) 20 _ Willis, Die Hard star (5) 22 Cate _, Australian actor (9) 24 Concur (5) 28 World’s highest mountain (7) 29 Takes on as staff (7) 32 Christmas door decoration (6) 34 Edible fish (8) 36 Comfortable seat (8) 37 Decayed (6) 39 Saved (7) 40 Cinema snack (7) 45 Begin (5) 47 Put in a trance (9) 48 One who makes bread (5) 51 Sensible and…

Georgia Morris, 28, Birmingham True-life PATIENT CASEBOOK Slathering fake tan over my legs, I noticed something wasn’t quite right. A rash covered the whole of my right leg and my foot was swollen. Within days, I could barely walk. It was November 2017, and about a year before, I’d started experiencing psoriasis on my scalp. Scaly, raised patches appeared, luckily hidden by my hair, but this rash on my leg seemed different. ‘You need to see the GP, ’ my mum Julie, then 51, said. Prescribing me antiviral cream, my doctor diagnosed me with shingles. I carried on as normal, even headed to the gym, but the cream didn’t cure the rash or swelling. My foot was agony, my toes ballooned and turned red. A trip to A&E still didn’t…

Keeley Shoup, 33 Chatting away to my friend over coffee, I couldn’t believe what she had planned for the weekend. ‘I’m going to a group-cuddle workshop,’ she grinned. ‘Come along.’ ‘Er, no thanks,’ I said. ‘It sounds a bit creepy!’ A bunch of complete strangers wrapping their arms around each other? Not my idea of fun! But a week later, in autumn 2013, my friend said she was heading back to another workshop. ‘Come with! If you hate it after 10 minutes, I swear we’ll leave,’ she promised. ‘I’ll buy you lunch afterwards, too.’ ‘Go on, then,’ I laughed, in it for the free sarnie. I expected to be pulled into a bear hug the second I walked through the door. Instead, we had to sit through a lecture all…

Dress for less Whether you wear a restaurant-branded T-shirt or you’re a fully uniformed police officer, you can claim a uniform tax rebate. If you have to wear it for work, you pay for it out of your own pocket and it’s your responsibility to wash it, it’s worth making an application. The standard flat-rate expense allowance for uniform maintenance is £60, so if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer, you’ll get around £12 back. Local councils offer help with the cost of school uniforms for some low-income households. For more info, search ‘uniform tax’ at gov.uk Rent reduced Are you an aspiring first-time buyer but struggling to save for a large-enough deposit? Look into intermediate market rent. Designed to help potential first-time buyers to save for a deposit within five years,…

Becky Turner, 33, Swansea As my mates lined up for the egg and spoon race, I stood alone, a few steps ahead. ‘Go!’ the teacher shouted. Parents applauded as I limped to the finish line. Even with the head start, I still hadn’t come first. But just getting to the end was an achievement for me. I was born with spina bifida, where the spine and spinal cord don’t develop properly in the womb. It came with a range of problems, from back pain to issues with my waterworks. But it was my left leg that gave me the most trouble. Two inches shorter than my right, I walked with a limp and had a stick. I had loss of feeling and poor circulation, too. When I was 12, I…

Every parent remembers that first tiny baby smile. It’s one of those magical memories that last a lifetime. But for Tayla’s mum Nicki, that moment never came. Because Tayla can’t smile. She was born with a rare neurological disorder called Moebius syndrome, which is so rare that it only affects one in every 3-4 million people. Around the age of 11, Tayla had an invasive operation that was supposed to be able to make her smile. Sadly, it was unsuccessful. ‘Getting the news was really heartbreaking,’ Nicky explains. ‘I thought, well what’s going to happen down the track? What will her teenage years be like?’ ‘When I owned who I was, my world opened up’ It was a difficult time for Tayla and her family. ‘The syndrome affects my sixth…

Remembering Dad’s words on positive mental attitude, I stayed away from the old foods I’d been hooked on. But depression seeped through me and Dad’s loss was so raw that I couldn’t sleep at night. Desperately, I tried to channel his mantra. I had a well- paid job as a regulator in health care, a lovely partner, and I’d brought myself back from a dangerous health precipice. But I wasn’t happy at work. The hours were gruelling and I knew I had no proper work-life balance. I’d even gone back to work the day after Dad’s funeral. I sank deeper, and 12 weeks after his death, I had a mental breakdown and spent time in a psychiatric unit. I was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. I began to take antidepressants…

You can pick up 100% natural and vegan skincare products from Skin Academy ZERO at Tesco for less, as the entire range is half price for Clubcard members – including this Skin Academy ZERO Eye Cream (25ml), a deeply nourishing eye cream infused with shea butter and coconut oil, which was £10, and is now £5 (Clubcard price). Offer available until 17 May 2022. Subject to availability. Offer correct at time of going to press.…

Aries 21 March-20 April You’ve always been interested in TV and films. Maybe make your own short film. Give the family starring roles – you’re the director, of course. • Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May If you’re planning a family holiday think about booking a self-catering apartment or villa, but make sure you all enjoy the activities your destination has on offer. • Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June If your best friend’s moving home and you’re worried you won’t see them as often, make an effort to plan your days wisely, so you can create extra free time. • Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July As the new moon moves towards Gemini your caring nature makes…

Q I’m looking for a new affordable perfume for summer, but I’m not sure where to start! Chantelle, Yorkshire A You can’t go wrong with a floral scent. Your sense of smell really has the power to transform your mood, and notes of flowers and blossoms will really put a spring in your step for the new season. We’ve been really impressed by Morrisons’ new beauty range, September – everything’s really affordable, and the scents are the real stars. September Scent Rose Bloom Eau De Toilette, £6 for 50ml, Morrisons, has a romantic rose fragrance but with a fruity twist, for a more modern take. Don’t underestimate celebrity fragrances. Jennifer Lopez One Eau de Parfum, £23 for 30ml, Superdrug, is fabulous. It smells rich and luxurious, thanks to the combination…

Rimmel Kind & Free Clean Nail Polish in Whirlpool, £5.99, Superdrug This is everything we want from a nail polish – a nice chunky brush for quick application, a high-shine formula and it dries quickly. It’s a bonus that it’s kind to nails and veganfriendly, too. John Frieda Vibrant Shine 3-in-1 Spray, £6.99, Boots Give dull, frizzy hair an instant hit of gloss with this 3-in-1. Just a few spritzes will boost shine, nourish dry strands and also offer heat protection. Catrice Glow Vit C Power Shots, £6.99, justmylook.com Vitamin C will help to brighten up skin and leave it glowing. These concentrated shots use the ingredient to help skin look radiant and plump. Apply in the mornings, after cleansing and before moisturising. Andrew Fitzsimons Nourishing Shampoo for Curly Hair,…

She was a shy little schoolgirl with shiny, dark hair and a gap between her front teeth. Marise Ann Chiverella, 9, attended a church school and dreamt of becoming a nun. At home, she’d play the pipe organ with her siblings – Barry, Carmen-Marie, Ronald and David. On 18 March 1964, Marise left the family home in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, carrying a parcel of canned food for her teacher. She was seen at 8.10am, hurrying to get to St Joseph’s Parochial School for morning Mass. But Marise never arrived A frantic search ensued and then, at 1pm, came a devastating discovery. Marise’s body was found in a pit two miles away from her home. The little girl had been raped, beaten and strangled. Her horrified parents were heartbroken. They were pictured,…