Table of contents for 29-Oct-2020 in Pick Me Up!

Driving along the M4, my head was absolutely pounding. Deciding to pull over, everything went black. I don’t remember much of what happened after that, but when I arrived at the hospital, I was diagnosed with a rare brain syndrome called Cavernoma and told I had a tumour the size of a golf-ball. I was going to need major surgery, but it was the emotional side I really struggled with. There seemed to be very little information out there on Cavernoma and no one really understood what I was going through. I just wanted to talk to someone in the same boat as me. Despite 1 in 600 people having the condition, I could only find one charity dedicated to it. So, in November 2018, I set up my own…

Walking towards the local nightclub, I whispered to my friend: ‘Who’s that? I want to chat him up!’ He was a handsome police officer on duty, and his name was Chris. My friends and I used to call him ‘the copper that looked like Prince Harry’ whenever we spotted him around our hometown of Glenrothes, Scotland. With a few drinks inside me, I had the confidence to talk to him. I even complimented him on his luminous yellow police jacket. Not long after, when I was 19, Chris added me on a social network called Bebo. ‘Oh my gosh!’ I squealed. ‘He’s just messaged me!’ Chris and I made plans to go for a coffee, and I even took my sister Naomi with me because I was so nervous. But…

Staring at the monitor, I watched as my precious baby girl put her hand to her head. Seeing all five tiny fingers, I was in total awe. I was at my 20-week scan with my mum Pam, 54, and we couldn’t wait to meet the newest arrival. Although I was going to be a single mum, I was so excited for what the future held. The rest of my pregnancy went by in total bliss. I loved being pregnant and I didn’t have any problems. Then, in May 2018, I gave birth to my daughter Sophie via emergency caesarean. She was three days late, so I was super excited to meet her. ‘She’s got fused fingers and toes,’ the nurse said whilst performing the procedure. ‘And possibly a cleft palate.’…

Get the look for less Prada’s Re-Edition 2005 Nylon Shoulder Bag is trending. Celebrities, influencers and fashionistas are all loving this 90’s iconic style. Now, you can get the look for less at Primark! Pay £8 instead of £800. Scoop up these affordable dupes before they’re gone……

Subscription-based content services are becoming more and more popular in the modern day. With over 30 million users, OnlyFans is successfully leading the way. According to OnlyFans, the site saw a 74% increase in new users between March and April during lockdown, with around 200,000 new people subscribing every day. OnlyFans launched in 2016 as a digital content platform where creators can charge their viewers to see their photos and videos. The site calls itself ‘a very powerful and useful tool’ for influencers because it allows people to make money from sharing their personal content online. OnlyFans wasn’t created for adult material. Artists, chefs and fitness instructors can use the site to monetise on their exclusive, G-rated content. However, the site’s international lack of content restrictions allows creators to share…

Waiting for my little girl to arrive, I was beginning to get impatient. ‘Surely she’s got to be here soon,’ I said to my mum, Jacqui, 55, over Facetime. It was January this year and my due date - the 30th - had been and gone without so much as a peep from our baby. ‘She’ll arrive when she’s ready,’ Mum reassured me. But starting to feel uncomfortable, I hoped it was sooner rather than later. ‘Besides, she might be holding out to share our birthday,’ Mum joked, although that seemed highly unlikely. Me and Mum had both been born on the same day - February 8th - a rare coincidence but one we both loved. 26 years ago, when Mum went into labour, she was busy celebrating her 29th…

Good deed of the week Meet the 14-year-old engineer hoping to take over the world with his creation – FallAlert. Designed to help elderly people, particularly those with dementia, FallAlert is a wearable sensor that will automatically send an alert to the family or carers if the person falls. The device searches the house for the location of the individual. Inspired by his 90-year-old Great Aunt Pat, he created the device after she took a fall and was left there for hours. As a result of his creation, Freddie has won the Junior Engineer of the Year at the Big Bang Fair and has now been chosen as a finalist in the Tech4Good Awards. To bring his creation to market, Freddie needs your help! • Visit ‘FallAlert by Freddie Howells’…

NO TRICKS, JUST TREATS! Soak in the Halloween spirit with new delights as well as returning favourites from Lush. With a range of bath bombs, shower gels, slime, soap and lip scrubs, you are sure to love this spooky collection. 1. Hey You Guys Knot Wrap, £5 This knot wrap is totally reusable. Fold it one way to have a pirate bandana, and fold the other way to have a spooky mummy head band. 2. Bat Art Bath Bomb, £4.95 Be spellbound by this mystic bat bath bomb. Full of bath art worthy surprises – deep glittery waters await with a fresh, herbal scent that lingers. 3. Very Very Frightening! £12 Embrace your sweet side with this bold, uplifting shower gel. Containing fresh lemon, fig juice, it’s bright yellow colour…

Complete the grid then read down the shaded squares to reveal the hidden answer. Clue: Feeling fruity. Answer on page 47. ACROSS 1 Little _-_, kid’s nursery rhyme (2-4) 4 Resign from a position (4,4) 10 Yelling (9) 11 Tribal badge or emblem (5) 12 Michael _, veteran actor born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr. (5) 13 Pure, not corrupted (9) 14 Common species of duck (7) 16 US space research agency (inits.) 19 Arabian country (4) 21 Abstract or general idea (7) 24 _ _ Washington, star of 2018’s BlacKkKlansman (4,5) 25 Donald _, current US president (5) 26 Artificial waterway (5) 27 School punishment (9) 28 Encircle (8) 29 Substance found in bread, potatoes, pasta (6) DOWN 1 Area used by mountaineers to prepare for a climb (4,4) 2…

Walking my two little Cavapoos Millie, eight, and Olly, two, I kept bumping into parked cars. ‘Why am I so clumsy today?’ I muttered. My legs were dragging a little, and it felt like I was walking drunk. Weeks later, in April this year, I suffered with bad dizziness and vertigo. Luckily, my husband Nick, 34, was on hand to help. ‘I must be run down,’ I said to him. After a week of being bedbound, A&E prescribed me with vertigo tablets. And quickly, all my symptoms disappeared. That was until June… I was working a night shift as a residential care assistant, when the left side of my body started to feel heavy. Suffering with double vision, I couldn’t drive home. ‘I’ll come and pick you up,’ Nick said.…

Eight years ago, I suffered from a horrendous headache. And it never ever went away After falling into a dark, painful rut for a while, I had a sudden realisation… I cannot let my thumping head get the better of me. I have a life to keep living. Now, I am a proud beauty queen, charity fundraiser and working mum. And I’m putting a middle finger up to my horrible headaches! In 2012, I visited my GP complaining of terrible migraines all the time. My doctor thought I had a sinus infection, then put it down to my eyesight. I’ve always worn glasses, but my optician confirmed my vision was fine. ‘There’s no reason your sight would bring on these major headaches,’ they said. I had a headache that never…

Shrunken apple punch Serves 8 □ Juice of 3 lemons□ 6 red apples□ 500ml of apple juice□ 1 cinnamon stick□ 2 star anise□ 1 litre of cider or ginger ale (for children)□ 100ml of spiced rum 1 Squeeze the juice of 3 lemons into a large bowl. Peel six red apples, core and halve lengthways. Using a small sharp knife and a melon baller, create different faces and expressions on the apples (the apples will shrink so don’t be afraid to carve large features). Once carved, make sure to completely coat and rest the apples in the lemon juice until you are ready to bake. 2 Preheat the oven to gas ½, 120°C, fan 100°C, and place your 12 ‘heads’ on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for…

Mr Kipling Grand High Witch’s Chocolate + Vanilla Slices and The Formula 86 Chocolate Tarts, £1.50, available in all major retailers. Inspired by the Roald Dahl classic - The Witches - these new spooky editions will join the already terrifying halloween range from Mr Kipling. New York Bakery Co. Pumpkin Spice Bagels, £1, Asda. Just in time for Halloween, these limited editon pumpkin spiced bagels from the New York Bakery Co. are perfect paired with cream cheese! Boo Boxes, £8 each or 2 for £14, Hotel Chocolat. They may look scary but these boxes contain 16 individually wrapped chocolate treats. Choose from milk, caramel or vegan-friendly 70% dark. Manchester Drinks Company Toffee Apple Gin Liqueur, £8 per 500ml, Home Bargains. This small-batchThis small-batch gin liqueur infuses crisp sharp apple and…

Being different is the last thing you want when you’re a child. ‘Hey peg leg!’ a boy shouted as I hobbled across the playground. My face flushed red with embarrassment as I tried to ignore the taunts. It was true, I did have a funny walk, but that didn’t mean their comments hurt any less. When I was born in 1980, my right leg was covered in what looked like bruises. Dark black and purple splodges covered the entirety of my limb and were of huge concern to my poor parents, Rebecca, now 73, and John, 75. Doctors told them not to worry, and that the markings would likely disappear by the time I was six – but there was nothing they could do to help. Stumbling through my early…

A good night’s sleep According to a new study, how well people sleep can help predict their likelihood of getting Alzheimer’s disease in the future. Researchers in America looked at the sleep quality of 32 healthy adults in their 60s, 70, and 80s. They found that getting a good night’s rest can delay the onset of dementia later in life. Making sure that you have plenty of deep sleep was found to be the best way to delay the onset of dementia. This is because it slows the build-up of a toxic plaque in the brain called beta-amyloid. 6 in 10… That’s how many of us have pledged to take better care of our overall health and wellbeing since coming out of lockdown, according to new research by yourzooki.com Have you…

My phone pinged as Jeff, 39, texted me a message out of the blue. How do you fancy going to see the remake of Halloween II? my phone read. I knew Jeff through friends of friends, but we’d never spoken one-on-one, so I was surprised to hear from him. However, anyone who knows me knows how much I love the spooky holiday, so Jeff couldn’t have suggested a better film. Great movie choice! I texted back. I’m in. Having been single for a while, I was excited to be going on a date, and if he was mates with my mates, we were likely to get on as friends even if nothing romantic came of it. Jeff and I met outside Southgate MJR Cinema, Michigan, US, in August 2009, and…

Sitting on the train to Stratford-Upon-Avon, I was a complete ball of nerves. As a medieval town with a rich history, plus a beautiful riverside, my partner Sam, 29, had always wanted to go there. ‘I can’t believe you booked this,’ he said to me with a huge grin on the train. Up until we boarded in late February of this year, he had no idea where we were going. You see, this wasn’t going to be any ordinary day out. I was going to propose. My mum Debbie had proposed to my dad, Andy many years ago, and I intended on keeping up the tradition. ‘What have you got to lose?’ Mum encouraged me a few days earlier. ‘He’s a great guy.’ Me and Sam had been together just…

THRILLER BOOKS There’s nothing better than getting lost in a good book! Stannah has compiled 10 contemporary thriller and crime books guaranteed to give you chills… The Collector by John Fowles Psychotic Fredrick Clegg develops an obsession with art student Miranda Grey. He kidnaps her in the cellar of his country farmhouse to add to his collection of pretty, preserved objects. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver The story of a fictional school massacre committed by a 15-year-old boy called Kevin, in the eyes of the teenage killer’s mother Eva. 11.22.63 by Stephen King A schoolteacher turned time traveler called Jake tries to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy in a potentially lifesaving adventure. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley Old friends reunite in a remote…

After a relationship break up, there is always the awkwardness of returning personal items left with ex-partners. Rachael Hilyard, 38, phoned up the mother of her recent boyfriend and insisted she come over to her home in Wichita, Kansas, and collect his things now they’d split. Micki Davis, 63, was always helping out other people, or doing random acts of kindness, so she agreed. On April 9, 2017, Micki arrived at the house with her nine-year-old grandson. It should have been a quick and simple handover of belongings, but something went very wrong. Police were called to the scene by a 911 call from Micki’s grandson, who had fled the house in absolute fear. Officers quickly rushed to the scene. When they went into the garage to assess the situation,…

www.theastrologyroom.com ARIES 21 March–20 April There was a time when you thought you could forgive and forget a close one’s faults, but it’s easy to see that recent events have tested you to the limit. These events however pleasantly surprise you. All you have to do, is give them the chance to do so. Something you weren’t able to do, but now can, if you put pride to one side. Call: 09058 170 710* LEO 24 July–23 Aug You may find yourself having to run around for family who can’t manage to do the things they want to on their own. Love is also on your mind and it’s time to ask for more, isn’t it? You realise you’re ready to take your life to the next stage and if…