Table of contents for 16-Feb-2017 in Pick Me Up!

What A Cliffhanger Hooray! Broadchurch is back on the box this month. We could watch David Tennant and Olivia Coleman all day long! 20 2017 sees 20 years since the release of Titanic – and two decades of us being in love with Leo! What A Fact I just read that cows have best friends and they get stressed out when separated from them. Dairy me… I’m totally moooooved! What A Howler Bad news for werewolves… February is the only month that may not have a full moon… What A Wedding Naomi got upstaged by a stormtrooper on her wedding day. Out of this world! Read more at www.lifedeathprizes. com  and search ‘stormtrooper’. Ed’s Test £25! Can you unscramble…

‘I felt empty inside, grieving for our child…’ ‘Teddie was born by Caesarean – perfect in every way’ Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, I rubbed my tummy and sighed. I was eight weeks pregnant and my hubby Gary, 37, was taking me to see the midwife. ‘I hate hospitals!’ I moaned. ‘I know, babe, but we need to check everything’s OK,’ he said. Gary and I had been trying for a second child, so were over the moon to find out I was pregnant. We couldn’t wait for Summer, 4, to have a little brother or sister. After talking with the midwife and having my bloods taken, we were all set to go. But back in the car, I felt dizzy and my vision was blurry... Seconds…

Valentine’s Day Treat Leave this page lying around as a little hint to your loved one, as this gorgeous Ghost Eau de Toilette gift set is just £19.13 (normally £22.50) at The Fragrance Shop until 14 February. As Cold As Ice! Buy a Samsung RT46K6360SL Fridge Freezer for £680 from ao.com before 4 April and receive £75 cashback from Samsung within 30 days. It’s a great way to help ease the expense if your fridge has broken! Health Kick Packed full of multivitamins, Aspire drinks are designed to give you a healthy boost of energy. Head to the Co-op to bag two cans for £2 (normally £1.85 each) until 28 February. Sweet Stuff Pick up a pack of six Pasquier Pitch Choc Chip Brioche for just £1 (normally £1.72)…

‘He’s a fighter by name, and a fighter by nature’ Named after the Greek god of war, my little boy Ares was a fighter from the moment he arrived. It was February 2016. I was pregnant and started bleeding. My partner took me to hospital, and my waters broke. ‘We need to induce you now,’ the doctor told me. ‘I’m only 23 weeks!’ I cried. Giving birth was risky. Doctors said they might not be able to save the baby. But my daughter Aria, 2, had been premature, too - at 27 weeks. And now she was doing great. Ares was born inside his amniotic sac, and weighed 480g - about the size of a tin of beans! He was ventilated and rushed to Neonatal, where doctors fought to save…

Period problems QI have very heavy periods. Medication has made some difference, but not enough and it’s getting me down. I don’t want to have hormones, so is my only option a hysterectomy? Joanne, Burnley A You could consider ablation, where the lining of the womb is cauterised to prevent any bleeding. It’s a day-case procedure and can be effective for several years. See you GP and ask about this, and your other options. Hubby worries Q My husband has always looked after himself, but now he drinks alcohol, eats chocolate and his libido is hard to manage. He seems unaware of the change. Siobhan, Knebworth A Early onset, progressive dementia can affect the region of the brain controlling impulses. It can result in reduced inhibition in eating, drinking and…

OUCH ! These incredible stories of survival were dubbed miracles by the medics... In 1995, American Kenny Vaughan was shot by an angry neighbour. Roughly 20 bullets penetrated his body, but he recovered well. While under attack in Afghanistan in 2006, an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade became lodged in Private Channing Moss’ abdomen. Medics in body armour removed it, along with part of his large intestine. American rail worker Truman Duncan fell off a moving train, got caught underneath its carriage – and was almost cut in half. Unbelievably, after countless ops, he made it through. Poor Shannon Malloy suffered an internal decapitation in a car crash! Thankfully, doctors were able to reattach her skull to her spinal cord with screws. In 2000, chess champ Vladimir Bagirov was winning at the…

If you haven’t been there yourself, you’ve probably witnessed it - a mum with a buggy on a crowded bus. Her baby has finally stopped screaming and gone to sleep. The week’s shopping is carefully crammed on board, along with a nappy bag, a change of clothes, snacks, toys, books... She’s in a rush to get home before her littl’un wakes for his next feed. Then the bus stops and a wheelchair user wants to board...which means Mum has to move. Her options are to wake and somehow hold the baby while folding the buggy and juggling the shopping, or get off and wait for the next bus. In February 2012, one woman in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, was faced with just this situation. Only she decided to take a third…

I joined Pick Me Up! Bingo in January 2015, and Sapphire and Emerald - 90-ball bingo games were my favourites, though I played slot games, too Last April, I entered a competition on the site to win VIP passes to Epsom Downs Racecourse. You had to think up a name for a horse. I entered with Hot To Trot and won! That June, me and Roger my husband went to Epsom Downs and had the most fantastic day. Weeks on, I bought tickets for three Emerald Linked games and let my games to play out while I unloaded the dishwasher. I returned and a message said I’d one number to go. Winner! then flashed up. I’d won £1,250! It was my 65th birthday in July and we’d already booked a…

Poo-Pourri, £7.95, www.prezzybox.com Spray this blend of essential oils into the toilet before you use it so that, whatever you do, you’ll end up smelling of roses – well, lemons! Then ask the men in your life to do the same… Verdict: GENIUS! One for your handbag in case of emergencies. Garden Igloo, £699, www.cuckooland.com Come rain or shine, this amazing waterproof igloo will transform your garden into the coolest spot around! Looking at that price tag, though, we might just have to dream… Verdict: BONKERS! But brilliant! Like an easy-to-build conservatory! 24K Gold Champagne Lollipops, £29.99 for six, www.firebox.com A plain old strawberry lollipop just won’t cut it any more! Instead, get a taste of how the other half live with these Champagne-flavoured…

As my daughter Holly, then 9, thirstily gulped water, I couldn’t help but be concerned. A symptom of type 1 diabetes, it’s a serious condition if left unmanaged, as the body can’t break down sugar. I know - I was diagnosed with it on Pancake Day 1992, after splurging on sugar and ending up hospitalised. Neither Holly, her brother Max, then 7, and sister Gemma, 5, had shown signs before August 2013. ‘Test her blood,’ my wife, Janet, 42, suggested to me. Sure enough, Holly’s sugar levels were sky high. But she’d seen me inject insulin, and my brave girl wasn’t fazed when she got an official diagnosis. In 2015, Holly attended a Diabetes Summer Camp in Virginia, USA. There, Sebastien Sasseville, a diabetic, gave a speech. ‘He’s climbed Everest…

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‘Clothes hung from my frame, my hair became brittle’ ‘I want to help other people battling eating disorders’ Holding up my T-shirt, I scrutinised every inch of my stomach. I’m so fat, I fretted, pinching a bit of skin. It was May 2013, and I wanted to shed a few pounds. But I was far from overweight. In fact, I was a petite 8st. Yet, for some reason, I was convinced that I needed to lose weight. I can’t explain why. I just hated the way I looked, was really self-conscious. Starving myself was my way of making myself feel better. Every pound I lost felt like an achievement. I limited myself to just a few carrot sticks a day. And I’d weigh myself every hour, obsessing over how heavy…

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‘The tumour hadn’t spread to the rest of my body’ Clutching my stomach, I groaned. The pain was back again. It was December 2015 and, for weeks, I’d had terrible indigestion after meals. Tablets would help the pain at first, but it’d come back. I thought it was something I was eating that disagreed with me. But the agony soon spread to my shoulder, and I started feeling sick all the time. ‘You need to see a doctor,’ my fiance Matt, 27, insisted. ‘I’m going to refer you for an ultrasound,’ said the doctor at my appointment. Three days later, I went to Ipswich Hospital for a scan and finally got a diagnosis. I had gallstones. Normally, they’re harmless - tiny stones made of cholesterol were blocking my bile duct,…

Mandarin Cake Serves: 10 Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 20 min Filling: 1 Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Grease and base line three 20cm sandwich tins. 2 Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add sugar, marg, eggs, milk, vanilla and zest, and beat together. Divide mixture between tins, level tops and bake for 18-20 min. 3 Cool in tins for a few min, then peel off paper and leave to cool on a wire rack. 4 Beat together butter, icing sugar, zest and juice. Spoon a third into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and set aside, with 8 mandarin segments. 5 Spread remaining butter icing over remaining…

‘Even as a tot, Emily naturally took on a very caring role’ As soon as I brought my baby girl Emily home from hospital, I knew instinctively there was a special bond between her and her big brother Peter. There was just over two years between them, and Peter would peer over Emily as she sat in her little rocker chair, and stroke her arm to soothe her to sleep. But it wasn’t long before the roles were reversed. Peter had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was 14 months old. It’d left him unable to talk, feed himself or walk. My husband Eddy and I had been warned Peter would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. ‘We’ll cope,’ I said to Eddy. Of course, the…

Sammi scooped £1,250 hours after joining… Sammi Evren, 31, Hull I used to go to bingo with pals ,and we’d have a right laugh but, over the years, with two kids I had less time to play. A friend said she’d won £1,000 playing Pick Me Up! Bingo, so last May, I decided to join. I checked out the games and thought Sapphire - a 90-ball bingo game - was a lot of fun. I bought tickets and had a couple of games. Then a few hours later, I had game of bingo. Soon I needed one number. Then...it came up! Congratulations!flashed a message saying I’d won £1,250. I couldn’t wait to tell my hubby, so I called him and yelled down the phone, ‘I’ve won £1,250 on bingo!’ ‘I…

Jess’Beauty Hero Carnation Silky Nails Nail System, £14.99, Savers, is perfect for shiny, salon-worthy nails for a fraction of the time and price! ASK JESS Q I like to moisturise in the morning, but it’s never dry by the time I get dressed – is there a quicker way? Jasmine Greenwood, 32, Harrogate A Try Aveeno Daily Moisturising After-Shower Mist, £7.50, Boots. The super-fine spray is absorbed quickly by your skin, to nourish in a flash. Just be careful – it can make the floor slippery! Want the perfect...Pore-perfecting product? Try one of these… Clarify: Formula 10.0.6 Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mud Mask This tingly mask gets to work as soon as you apply it, to draw any impurities from your skin and unclog pores. Use three times a week…

‘The whole world became obsessed with Foxy Knoxy’ ITALY: MEDIA CIRCUS The murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher, 21, in Perugia, Italy, on 2 November 2007, sparked a media frenzy. Meredith’s body was discovered under a blood-soaked duvet on her bedroom floor. Half-naked, her throat slashed, she’d been sexually assaulted and had 47 injuries. For two days, headlines focused on the kind, innocent student from Coulsdon in Surrey, but then the international media spotlight turned on her housemate Amanda Knox. The speculation was that US student Knox, then 20, her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, then 23, and a third man forced Meredith to take part in a violent sex game. The whole world became obsessed with the angelic-looking young woman, dubbed Foxy Knoxy, who stood accused of the murder.…

Gavin Pepper, 37, was a fellow regular at my local pub, The Weston Arms, but we’d never spoken. Then, in March 2016, a Facebook message from Gavin popped up, asking me out. He was charming and attentive and we got serious quickly, started living together six months on. On 17 November 2016, Gavin revealed he had a VIP dinner at Chelsea FC’s stadium. ‘Let’s shop first, so it’s not all about me,’ he suggested. Always thoughtful! Hitting London’s Westfield shopping centre, Gavin suggested a final look upstairs. At the top of the escalator, a lad was performing magic tricks and asked us to volunteer. ‘We’re in a hurry,’ I said. ‘We’ve got time,’ Gavin grinned. The magician asked us to write our names on a playing card, then folded it…

‘Naive and confused, I became convinced I must be special’ Skipping, playing tag, riding bikes... As a kid, the summer evenings seemed endless. I was 10, my sister Amy was 7, and we’d enjoyed a carefree childhood in our quiet, suburban cul-de-sac. That year - 2004 - Alan Goodwin, then 45, and his wife moved into the house opposite. I’d taken no notice of the couple until my parents became friendly with them. But, soon, Amy and I tagged along to theirs most Friday nights. I trusted him At first, it was fun. Alan was funny, always joking and friendly. Sometimes, he’d pick me up, give me cuddles on his lap. I trusted him. Alternating weekend gettogethers, our place was always bustling. The house full, you’d often bump into someone…

1 Keeping cakes  Store your cakes and baked goods in an airtight container with half an apple to keep them fresh for much longer! Sharon Turner, Felixstowe 2 Plant protection  Once you’ve eaten half a gr apefruit, plac e the shell in the garden to deter cats from using your plants as a toilet. Heather McEwen, Norwich 3 Peel-y clever  If you’ve run out of shoe polish, just rub the inside of a banana skin over the leather, and your shoes will come up shiny and clean. Pat Gorman, Brist ol 4 Treat your dry skin For a rich moisturiser, gently rub the fleshy part of an avocado peel on your face. Georgia Hill, London…

‘He’d scream in pain from the moment he woke up’ ‘If the infection reached his brain, it could kill him’ As I heard my alarm going off, all I wanted to do was hide under the pillow. I knew that getting up meant starting the routine of misery all over again. ‘Wakey, wakey,’ I said gently to my sons Oliver, 5, and Owen, 3. As always, Oliver woke up happy and chatty. But for Owen it was a different story. As soon as he opened his eyes, he winced in pain. Ever since he was just a few months old, he’d suffered with eczema. Heartbreaking As the months went on, the symptoms got worse and worse until Owen’s whole body was covered in red, oozing patches. It was so itchy…

1 This condition affects the arteries. 2 Headaches are a common symptom. 3 Surgery is the main treatment. 4 It can’t lead to any further problems. 1 TRUE In GCA, the medium and large arteries usually found in the head and neck become inflamed. It’s one of the most common types of artery and vein inflammation. 2 TRUE Sufferers experience a sudden headache, with the temporal arteries becoming visibly swollen. Other symptoms include jaw pain, vision problems, fatigue, depression, weight loss and mild fever. 3 FALSE Steroid medication, such as prednisolone, are the main treatment. Alternatives include low-dose aspirin or immunosuppressants. Follow-up appointments are also required. 4 FALSE GCA can lead to multiple complications, such as loss of vision in one or both eyes, abdominal aortic aneurysms, or even cardiovascular…

1 Heinz Spaghetti Bolognese, 400g, £1.07 This may well be the market leader but, in our blind taste, it fell well short of the mark. We were disappointed with the soft pasta in a very thin sauce that reminds us of oxtail soup. 2 Morrisons Spaghetti Bolognese, 395g, 64p There are only tiny specks of minced beef in the strong tomato-flavoured sauce. But, with nice soft pasta, the kids’ll love it for tea. 3 Tesco Spaghetti Bolognese, 410g, 40p Head and shoulders above the others – you could almost pass this off as homemade! A thick, rich sauce with a great meaty flavour. And, with chunks of tomato and nicely cooked pasta, this is really good. Make it yourself... Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 45 min…

‘It’s always a real giggle in the chat room’ You can’t beat quality family time. Me and my partner Mike, 29, love to have fun with our kids. This July, Mike took a week off work and one evening after a day out, I did some housework. After, Mike was watching telly, so I put my feet up with a cuppa and logged into Pick Me Up! Bingo. I’d joined in March 2012, and won a few times - including £800 a couple of months after joining! I played a couple of games in Sapphire, a 90-ball bingo game. Then I played slot games, including Double Bubble. And I went in the chatroom. We always had a giggle in there. Then I logged out. Later that night, I had a…

‘The lumps were so painful, I could barely sit down’ Deep crevices, rough, bumpy...red skin. No-one wants a bottom like that. ‘ Like mine... ‘It’s a reminder of how strong you are,’ my mum Janet, 55, said. ‘Still ugly, though,’ I sighed last September. ‘Crisscrossed with puckered, raised scars.’ However, it was better than the bottom I’d had before. Aged 12, I’d been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease - inflammation of the digestive system. Symptoms include tummy pains, diarrhoea, tiredness, weight loss... Mine was so bad, I’d needed my large intestine and colon removed. I was fitted with a stoma bag instead. But it’s better than suffering a life of constant stomach pain. I was young, I learned to live with the bag. And my symptoms disappeared. Then, when I was…

‘Fed, safe and watered, Gloria is flourishing now’ I’ve been a vegan for over 25 years. But many folk are surprised to learn my dad’s a butcher in my home town, Sault Ste Marie, Canada. I understand why people choose to continue eating meat - my parents included. While I respect others’ dietary choices, I’m firmly against animal cruelty. Moving to the UK at 22, I’ve worked for animal-rights campaigners, including PETA. And, in 2013, I completed my PhD in Animal Behaviour from the University of Exeter. In January 2016, I became Director of Animal Equality, UK. Many people don’t realise the activities involved in factory farming. In April 2016, I joined the team on an investigatory visit to an intensive chicken farm. There, we discovered bins overflowing with dead…

ARIES 21 March–20 April As you go through life this week, you’ll notice a great chasm. Jump! It’s really not as wide as you think. Of course, what I’m trying to say, Aries, is that you and I both know that you’re scared, but you also know what you want. Embrace change now! Call: 09058 170 710* TAURUS 21 April–21 May Be open to any new solutions this week. They’re the answer to your old problems. A new addition to the family changes the dynamics. Don’t feel put out, but embrace the newfound freedom such events can, and inevitably will, bring. Call: 09058 170 711* GEMINI 22 May–21 June News this week could change the way you view certain people in your life. You’ve grown so much as a person…

‘The kittens have given me the chance to be a mum at last!’ I hate to sound like a bitch - even though , technically, I am one -but some cats can be right pieces of work! I mean, this one had gone off and left her three newborns. ‘Luckily, they were found and brought in to us,’ my owner Louise Taylor, 29, explained. It was November last year. Louise had just got in from her job as a canine behaviourist and training advisor at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. And she had three kittens with her... ‘Meet Conker, Pickle and Pumpkin,’ she smiled cheerily. She’s always bringing home animals that need a bit of extra attention before finding a forever home. And it’s never been problem, as far as…