Pick Me Up! 22-Aug-2019

Quitting my job as a hairdresser, I knew I had to do something more meaningful. It was 2009 and I wanted to help others. I just felt empty. That’s why I decided to get involved with charity work. I ended up travelling to India to work on a project caring for street children. Our aim was to educate families and get the children into school. It was tough, but it was totally worth it. In 2015, I went back to India, and that’s when I met seven-year-old Angeli. Her feet were twisted, and she couldn’t walk. With the permission of her family, I raised £1,500 so she could have the operation she needed in 2016. Her feet were turned around and now she can even walk. We’ve also got 61…

UNUSUAL BUY Giving the cocktail sausage a whole new meaning, Aldi have created a mojitoflavoured pork sausage. Made from British pork and smoked bacon, the sausages have been infused with white rum, mint, red chilli, lime zest and spices to create this boozy banger. And at just £1.89, what’s not to love? HOW CLEVER! Meet the globetrotting cat, Banjo Robinson, who’s got mums raving! Banjo explores the world all whilst sending real, personalised letters to children aged four to eight. When you sign up, you’ll receive an introductory pack explaining that he’s going on a world tour, and that he’ll write again from his visits. Twice a month, Banjo will write to your little ones from his exciting destinations about his trip! Once they’ve stuck the letter against the world…

Doreen, Elaine and Lyn weren’t going to let a drop of rain stop them watching the Tour de Yorkshire! Shiela Seymour, Doncaster This is me and my new hubby Antony at our wedding. A&S forever! Sian Salsbury, West Midlands I can’t believe my baby is 5! Look how stunning she is all dressed up for her princess party. #ProudDad Richard Adams, West Midlands I don’t like fruit much so this is the best use I can think for it. On an all-inclusive buffet on holiday. Trout pouts to die for! So cute! Joanna Dick, Pitlochry, Scotland Having a cuppa and a tiny little butterfly landed on my husband. It sat there for five minutes – as if it was sunbathing! Margaret Anderson, Sunderland If your letter makes Star Letter of…

As the music blared at my friend’s house party, I finished the last of my drink and leapt up from the beanbag I was sat on and headed to the kitchen for a refill. Popping a few cubes of ice out of the tray, I turned to replace it in the freezer when out of nowhere, a hand reached over me. ‘I could use a few of those,’ a friendly voice said, gesturing to the ice tray. ‘OK, where’s your glass?’ I shouted back over the music. I’d seen him around before - we often went to the same gatherings on a Friday or Saturday night. He had dark eyes, a beard, and was pretty good looking. His name was Nathan Major-Newell, 25, and although I’d heard he could be…

Nathan ran outside into the night with my bag. I chased him outside and caught him tipping out the entire contents all over the grass in the pitch black. ‘What the hell!’ I fumed, scrambling about to try and collect my things. As I was scraping about in the dark, he was taunting me. ‘You deserve it, you’re a slag, that’s all you are!’ he screamed. ‘You can’t treat me like this, you cheated on me, remember,’ I told him bluntly. I waited for a reply, but got none... until out of nowhere, a fist landed square on my cheek. Before I’d even had time to recover or find my balance again, another blow struck me. I staggered back and tried shouting for my friends. ‘Jess...’ I called, but I…

I took my nine-month-old son Hughan, to a paediatric check-up in Johannesburg in 1989. I grew up in Zimbabwe, where I met my husband Willem, now 62, and had our two sons, Vil and Hughen, then we all moved to Botswana. Whilst the paediatrician spoke to me, he scratched the surface of the bed next to Hughan’s ear. But Hughan didn’t turn to face the noise - instead, he carried on staring at the ceiling. ‘I’ve got a feeling your boy might have a hearing problem,’ he said suspiciously. He can’t be right, I thought. Hughan’s been babbling away for months, and communicates by shaking his head and waving. The next day, I decided to test his hearing myself. As I banged the spoon he didn’t react at all I…