Table of contents for 24-Sep-2020 in Chat

Michael Dippolito and Dalia Mohammed fell in love over a coffee. It wasn’t what you’d call a match made in heaven – both Michael and Dalia had a past. Several years before they got together, Michael had made his fortune through running a foreigncurrency investment scam. Dalia, meanwhile, was a professional escort. Not only that, Michael was married to another woman. But, head over heels, it wasn’t long before Michael divorced his wife. In February 2009, five days after the paperwork was finalised, Michael and Dalia got married. It was meant to be a fresh start for the couple – they began their new life in a beautiful town house in Palm Beach County, Florida. Things were going well. Money no object Michael even signed over a large percentage of…

Q Were you close to your grandma? A We had a very close bond. My parents separated a year after I was born, and my mum and I went to live with my grandparents. Mum went out to work, so Grandma cared for me. She taught me to knit and read, and made me feel so loved She gave me a sense of security, and I didn’t have a worry in the world. If I can do that for just one child, I’ve succeeded. Q What makes the gran-grandchild relationship so vital? A Life today is so different to when I was a child, but there’s still a need for oldfashioned grans. We can give something extra to kids that is different to a parent’s love. I spend time with…

About my ovaries… Q A scan has shown I have polycystic ovaries. What does it mean? Nada, Biggleswade A Possibly not much – up to a third of women have polycystic ovaries, meaning at least 10 fluid-filled cysts on your ovaries, though most have no symptoms. But in around a third of these, their cysts produce excess amounts of the sex hormone testosterone, leading to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This can mean excess facial hair or hair loss, acne, irregular periods or no periods at all, fertility problems and an increased risk of diabetes. Losing weight if you’re overweight is an important part of treatment. The diabetes drug metformin can help regulate periods and improve fertility, or the contraceptive pill will control your periods if you’re not trying for pregnancy.…

TRAGIC FIRE IN SOHO Flames engulfed two unlicensed clubs in Soho, London, on 16 August 1980. Firefighters were at the scene shortly after 3.30am, but little could be done to save those inside. Tragically, 37 people died. It later emerged that petty criminal John Thompson, 42, had been ejected from one of the bars that evening after fighting with a bartender. He’d gone to a 24-hour petrol station, filled a container with petrol and returned to torch the clubs. In May 1981, Thompson was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. He died of lung cancer on 16 August 2008, the 28th anniversary of the fire. RIPPER’S FINAL MURDERS NIGHT OF RIOTS IN BRISTOL When the police went into a cafe in St Paul’s, Bristol, on 2 April 1980, no…

Paul McCartney received a disc plated in which metal on being named Most Successful Songwriter by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1979? 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. Your answer: CIRCLE TIME In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which character interrupts the balcony scene? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the shaded circles to find the prize answer. 3 letters DEN EAR EEL ERA GIN GUN SAC SET SKI VAN 4 letters AIDE CUFF DELI FARM IDLE MENU REEK 5 letters GREEN SUGAR THIEF 6 letters CANYON INGEST REDUCE SAVING TASTES UNUSED 8 letters INFUSION WIN £100 Puzzle 15 TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details…

3 ways to… save money From buying food you end up wasting to being charged late payment fees, it’s all too easy to waste cash if you’re not careful. Here’s how to sort it… 1 Be savvy at the supermarket Being organised with your food shop will save you cash instantly. Write a meal plan each week; see what’s in your cupboards first and plan meals around what you already have in them. Consider which meals you can cook in bulk and make extra portions of them for the rest of the week. Then make a shopping list of what you need and stick to it at the supermarket. 2 Avoid making repeat purchases Have you ever been unable to find an item you know you own and ended up…

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! ITV Despite the pandemic, the show is going ahead, but the celebs won’t be heading to Oz this year – they’re staying in a ruined castle in Wales! Ant and Dec host, with the stars rumoured to include Jessie J and Piers Morgan. Behind Her Eyes Netflix In this six-part psychological thriller, Vanity FairÕs Tom Bateman plays David, who begins an affair with his colleague, Louise (Simona Brown). But things take a strange turn when Louise is also drawn into an unlikely friendship with David’s wife Adele (Eve Hewson). Pooch Perfect BBC1 Dog lover Sheridan Smith will present this eight-part competitive dog-styling series, which will follow 10 pairs of professional canine crimpers as they take part in themed challenges and doggy ‘transfurmations’…

Q How can I get natural, thicker-looking eyebrows after years of plucking them? Elizabeth, 62, Aberdeen A As we mature, our eyebrows naturally become more sparse and the pigment starts to fade. This, combined with years of over-plucking or waxing, means our brows are bound to be a little on the thin side. But with a little help from some great products, you can recreate a full brow very easily. Use NYX Micro Brow Pencil, £9, to create light, hair-like strokes that mimic your natural hair. Fill in any gaps and use a light touch so you don’t end up with obviously drawn-on brows. If you’re unsure of how to create a flattering shape to your brows, try Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Stencils, £21, lookfantastic.com, fill in the stencil and…

TEXT Simply text CHATB followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 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 Join our Chat Comp Club now and enter…

GUILTY In 2011, Dalia Dippolito was found guilty of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. The judge, who called the murder-for-hire plot ‘pure evil’, sentenced her to 20 years in prison. But an appeal-scourt judge ruled in 2014 that the jury for her first trial was improperly selected and tossed out the conviction. At her second trial, in 2016, Dalia again faced the same charge. However, the jury couldn’t come to a decision and a new trial date was set. At her third and final trial in 2017, Dalia was once again convicted of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. This time, it took the jury just 30 minutes to come to their decision. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison. To this day, Dalia Dippolito, now 37, maintains her innocence and…

Watching my daughter Sophia, 4, race around the park, she looked like any other little girl. Clambering up trees, hopping on her bike and speeding around the park. It was always difficult to get her to sit still. ‘Be careful!’ I called out. While that sounds like a normal thing for a mum to shout, I have more reason than most to be worried. See, when Sophia was just 6 months old, I noticed strange red and brown stains on her sleepsuits and blankets. I thought it was dry blood at first. But neither my husband or I could find a scratch on her, so we were puzzled. Then I noticed if she’d wet the bed, her urine would be a different colour. Fearing the worst, I called our GP…

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 Tom Hardman, Bournemouth ACROSS 1 Put through your letterbox 2 Opposed to 3 Closing a door forcefully 4 Add traction DOWN 1 The lapse of time 2 Standalone 3 In the sky 4 The use of a watch Your answer: CHAIN WORDS Acts 18:18 is sometimes cited as the biblical authority for what Christian clerical practice? Get from Start to Finish, making words by joining two boxes together as you go, eg: CAR + ROT, ROT +… you decide! When you reach Finish, two unused boxes join together to give you the prize answer. Your answer:…

WIN £1,000 Puzzle 10 The Summer Triangle is the name given to the arrangement of Deneb, Vega and which other star? 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. 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 Your answer: WORDSEARCH Where in Wales was the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, born? The prize puzzle answer is the one missing from the grid. BANGOR BARRY CARDIFF CONWY FLINT HARLECH HOLT MOLD NEATH NEWPORT RHYL SWANSEA TENBY USK WREXHAM Your answer:…

My wife left me Q Six months ago, my wife ended things and I was devastated. I have our kids, 3 and 7, every other weekend. She won’t engage with me, other than brief texts about childcare. She won’t talk about our relationship or where we go from here. I still don’t know why we split up. I don’t think she knows what she wants and I think she could be depressed, but she refuses to get help. The kids tell me all kinds of stuff about her and their routine seems all over the place. How do I deal with this? Andy, 36 A Firstly, stop ‘thinking’–you’re assuming an awful lot. You may never get closure on why she ended things. Take the kids’ words with a pinch of salt,…

Balsamic-glazed sausage skewers A delicious meal that uses the leftovers from that fabulous Med tart below. SERVES: 4 PREP TIME: 5 MINS COOK TIME: 5 MINS • 200g couscous•400g leftover cooked sausages•125g cherry tomatoes•Leftover roasted veg•3tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 1Put the couscous in a large bowl, pour over 200ml boiling water, cover with cling film and leave for 5 mins before seasoning and fluffing with a fork. 2Cut the sausages into chunks and thread onto 8 skewers, alternating with the cherry tomatoes. 3To serve, mix the couscous with the remaining roasted veg and parsley. Spoon couscous onto four plates and top each with two skewers. Roasted Med veg and sausage tart This simple tart not only looks impressive, it makes leftovers for a tasty lunch the next day. SERVES: 4 PREP…

Aries 21 March-20 April You can be your own best friend or worst enemy, taking things to heart or getting involved with others’ problems. You can’t fix everyone, just relax. Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May You may find exploring new places and setting a fitness goal rewarding. You’ll enjoy the interaction with youngsters and take great pride in your projects. Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June You’re a great listener, but it’s time to look at your dreams and make plans with a new partner. You know how you feel, don’t let anyone tell you different. Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July A situation can prompt you to pull back from your goals. Reconnect by gaining a…

Born in the Philippines in 1929, Teresita Basa was known by friends and family as quiet, shy and unassuming. A member of the Filipino aristocracy, Teresita was a trained musician, welltravelled. In the Sixties, she left the Philippines to move to America. While there, she studied music and worked as a respiratory therapist at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago. Just as she had in the Philippines, Teresita lived a quiet, humble life as a single woman, alone in a small apartment in the city. For many years, she lived simply, with just a few close friends, including several of her hospital co-workers. But one night, around 9pm on 21 February 1977, neighbours saw smoke billowing out of her apartment on the 15th floor. A maintenance man and a team of firefighters…

THE BIGGIE £1,001 What is comedian Romesh Ranganathan’s favourite book? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the six-word prize puzzle answer. ACROSS 11 Horse’s fastest pace (6) 12 Building designer (9) 13 Late actor who played Batman, _ West (4) 14 Range of colours (8) 15 Gold bar (5) 16 US coin worth five cents (6) 17 A very young baby (7) 18 Basically (11) 20 Protect from the sun (5) 22 Period of two weeks (9) 24 European country shaped like a boot (5) 28 Small dense chocolate cake (7) 29 English county in East Anglia (7) 32 George _, author of 1984 (6) 34 All at once (8) 36 Friends character, _ Bing (8) 37 A revolt at sea (6)…

World health Research has revealed that 57% of people are seated for four or more hours a day when working, causing back problems and poor posture.* ‘Incorporating simple stretches into your routine will not only help prevent and ease back pain, but also reduce your risk of ill-health associated with inactivity,’ says postural alignment specialist Jan Keller Swap and see Give your sarnie a healthy boost with this new, nutritious loaf. Hovis Glorious Grains is baked with seven types of sprouted wholegrains and contains vitamin B1, copper, magnesium and phosphorus to support immunity, plus help maintain healthy heart, teeth and bones (£1.50, Sainsbury’s). Book a flu jab This year, more than 30 million people can get a free flu jab in a bid to ease pressure on the NHS as it…

After six long and confusing weeks in hospital, I finally started physiotherapy. ‘You’ll be back at school before you know it,’ one of the nurses smiled as I slowly struggled down the corridor with a walking frame. ‘Are you comfy?’ one would ask later, passing by my bed and fluffing up my pillows. ‘Yes,’ I smiled. When Mum or Dad weren’t around, the nurses on the children’s ward kept me sane. They’d help me dress, lift me into my wheelchair and take me around the ward. They’d read me a mag or sit on the end of my bed as I watched the soaps in the evening, or play memory games on pieces of paper. ‘Let me try to get these knots out,’ one nurse offered, gently brushing my hair.…

Creasing with laughter, my brother Frank cracked another joke. Me and our sister Valerie, then 50, looked on with amusement as Frank’s laughter rang out around the pub. A larger-than-life character, you couldn’t help but have a good time with Frank. Although there were seven siblings in our family, me, Frank and Valerie, all close in age, shared a special bond. We enjoyed nights out once a week and holidays abroad together. ‘The Three Musketeers,’ I joked drunkenly later, kissing them both goodbye. It was July 2018, and in just a matter of days, all three of us were jetting off to Ibiza for Frank’s 54th birthday. It couldn’t come quickly enough. When I still hadn’t heard from him, I started to worry… Frank had been through a rotten time…

CLOSING DATE FOR ALL ENTRIES IS 6 OCTOBER 2020 (Three days later for postal entries WHAT’S THE ANSWER? Solutions to Chat issue 35 (27 August 2020) Puzzle 1 1B, 2B, 3C, 4C, 4D Puzzle 3 Lemonade Puzzle 4 Horse Puzzle 5 Jennifer Aniston Puzzle 6 Mole Puzzle 7 Lychee Puzzle 9 Nightingale Puzzle 10 Calypso Puzzle 11 954 Puzzle 12 Guernsey Puzzle 13 Lola Puzzle 15 Maine Puzzle 16 Ginger Puzzle 17 Eraser Puzzle 18 Whale WE WON! Chat winners issue 26 (25 June 2020) £1,001 CASH G Lowery, Denton £1,000 CASH G Page, Hertford £500 CASH P Williams, Abergavenny; J Burke, Liverpool £250 CASH E West, Mablethorpe £150 CASH S Linderman, Skelmersdale £100 CASH S Kingsley, Lymington; K Whitton, Halesowen; K Williams, Bristol; Z Atherton, Virginia Water; S Burgess,…