Table of contents for 15-Aug-2019 in Chat

Do you believe in fate? It seemed to have a hand when Geraldine met her future hubby. He proved to be the perfect match for her in more ways than one (p52). Monique hated her flabby mum tum, but she feels differently now, after it saved her life in a surprising way (p10). And check out Danielle – isn’t she a glamour-puss? You won’t believe what she looked like before… (p29) As well as some sunshine yellow fashion ideas (p12), your weekly favourites, and the prize puzzles that you love, this week we’ve got 20% off at clothing store Curvissa. Treat yourself, you deserve it!…

Monique Matthews, 30 Gripping the microphone on stage, I sang my heart out. My singing partner for a couple of months Berna swayed beside me. Back home in September 2018, I flicked through photos of the night. Grimaced at the pics. ‘I look so fat,’ I groaned to my husband Lee, 35. As a pop- rock singer performing at parties and clubs all over New Zealand, I was full of confidence on stage. But at 5ft 2in and 15st, I needed to lose weight. Sighing, I poked a rippling roll falling over my jeans. Long gone were my youthful days when I’d been slim. Having three kids – Lucas, 12, Alex, 9, and Charlotte, 1, had left a hefty spare tyre around my middle. ‘I’m going to lose it,’ I…

Inkredible! Remove ink spots on your clothing by squeezing toothpaste on the mark. Then scrub and rinse thoroughly, and the ink should be gone. Kelly Martin, Leeds Take that, tangles!  My necklaces are forever getting tangled up in my jewellery box, so I got a load of tiny zip-lock bags for 99p on eBay. Now things never get tangled, and they're so much easier to see! Amie Sandell, Norwich Brush up Trim a plastic milk carton to make a holder for thinners to clean paint brushes or to hold paint! Marie Jamieson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Eco-storage I'm trying to use less food wrap so, if I'm storing food overnight in the fridge, I put a plate over the top, instead of using foil or clingfilm. Christine Williamson, Workington Waste not…  Don't waste…

Vaginal ring? Q My doctor says I need to wear a ring inside my vagina to stop me from leaking urine. Why's that? Joan, Liverpool A You have a prolapsed (dropped) womb or bladder, which can interfere with the valve controlling urine flow, leading to leakage. Your doc's suggested a ring pessary, a plastic ring which sits snugly at the top of your vagina. Sex side-effect Q When I orgasm, I suddenly feel light-headed and faint. Is that normal? Gill, Barnet A Just like pain, shock or any sudden emotion, orgasm can stimulate your vagus nerve. This slows your heartbeat, widens your blood vessels and drops your blood pressure, leading to faintness. See your GP if you have palpitations, chest pains, actually pass out or feel faint at other times.…

Marilyn Wisbey, 65, north London As my little sister Lorraine, 7, counted to 10, I sneaked into the airing cupboard and hid under some bedsheets. There, I found a dark-green, woolly hat and put it on. It went over my entire head, with holes for my eyes and mouth. Moments later, Lorraine – a year younger than me – opened the door. ‘Found you!’ she squealed. I showed the strange hat to my mum Renee, 31. ‘One of Daddy’s hats, collecting moths,’ she shrugged. Then I recognised one of the mugshots in the paper It was the summer of 1962 and our dad Tommy Wisbey, then 31, wasn’t around much. A bookmaker, he was always at work, watching horse racing, or out with the boys. But, on Saturdays, he’d take…

Over the next few days, an idea blossomed. I’d come so far in the last year. But just think where you could be in another 12 months, I thought. It was something I’d been planning to do for years, already knew what cosmetic procedures I wanted. ‘I’m going to get one surgery a month for the next year,’ I told Claire and Kimberley. ‘And the last one will be my designer vagina!’ I was finally ready to be the woman I was born to be. My friends did have their reservations. I’d be putting my body under a lot of strain. Still, I knew I could handle it, and when I assured them I wouldn’t cut corners when it came to the procedures, they threw their support behind me. I’d…

1 Set a budget  It can be easy to lose track of how much you're spending if you pay for things at different times, such as train tickets one month, and a gift the next. Work out your budget in advance and note what you spend. If you go over budget, trim costs elsewhere, by foregoing a new outfit, for example. 2 Plan early  If you're travelling by train, get organised. Cheap advance tickets are often released around 12 weeks ahead. Sign up at thetrainline.com/ ticketalert to get notified as soon as tickets for your journey go on sale. For more ways to save, visit railcard. co.uk/cheap-train-tickets. And book accommodation ASAP - the cheapest options usually get snapped up first. 3 Gift as a group  It's easy to overspend on a…

1 Mediterranean Style Vegetable Quiche, 400g, £2.59, Waitrose Big chunky veg and not overly cheesy, this quiche had a good balance of pastry to filling and a lovely overall flavour. 2 Scrumptious Summer Courgette & Feta Quiche, 400g, £3, Waitrose The mint really made this quiche stand out. We loved the fresh flavour combination and thought the filling had a good texture. 3 Vegetable Quiche, 400g, £2, M&S Packed with vegetables, this wholesome quiche is the perfect way to brighten up a summer picnic. Serve with salad for a comforting but fresh dinner.…

Coronation Street Emma’s family bombshell Emma is devastated when she visits her dad Alan in hospital and finds out that he has terminal cancer. As he slips in and out of consciousness, Emma’s stunned when Alan reveals she’s not his biological daughter. Later, when a call comes through on Emma’s phone, Audrey spots a picture flashing up on the screen and gets a blast from past. It turns out that Emma’s mum is Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin) who left the Street in 1998! Emmerdale A blast from the past for Ellis There’s a man lurking in the shadows when Jessie, Marlon, Billy and Ellis walk home from The Woolpack, but who is he? All is revealed when the mystery man pulls up outside the family home honking his horn, as…

Q Had you tried BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission and sadomasochism) in past relationships? A I've always been quite open to trying new things, which has been a great move where my career's concerned. Now, if anything, I'm more open and experimental in the bedroom. Q Do you worry what your daughter will think about your job? A Right now, she's only a few months old, but when she grows up and asks me, I won't lie. I hope she'll understand - and, if anything, it'll bring us closer when she's older. Q Is there anything that’s totally out of bounds for you? A I only have one thing I won't do and that is actually have sex. Otherwise, I do pretty much anything my clients ask. One…

Geraldine Chingosho, 23, Leicester My heart didn’t race when I first got Aldo Cataldi’s Facebook message in April 2017. Can I take you out to dinner? he’d written. We’d met working in a care home that January. Me as a healthcare assistant, Aldo, then 25, a nurse. He seemed sweet, but I didn’t really fancy him. I was so focused on training to be a nurse, I didn’t have the time or energy for a boyfriend. ‘Still, it’s a night out,’ I thought, and agreed to go along. Aldo took me to an Italian restaurant, and there were still no fireworks for me. I spent the evening tapping away on my mobile. But shortly after our first date, I fell ill. Vomiting, nausea, exhaustion. ‘Let’s get you checked,’ my mum…

Tony Zambrano was only a teenager when his mum was murdered. Guadalupe Apodaca, 46, disappeared after a night out in Los Angeles, in September 1989. Her half-naked body was later found dumped – strangled. For years, Tony and his siblings were desperate to know who’d done this to their mother. But the police investigation drew a blank. And so – 23 years later in 2012 – Tony was truly shocked to hear from Los Angeles Police Department cold-case detectives. After all this time, there’d been an arrest. A drifter named Samuel Little, then 72, had been extradited to Los Angeles after being arrested at a homeless shelter in Kentucky for drugs offences. It seems this wasn’t Little’s first brush with the law. He’d previously been convicted of multiple crimes across…

Lucy Chillery-Watson, 43, Market Lavington My baby girl wriggled as I dressed her in her tiny swimming costume. Carmela was 7 months old and we were about to go for a dip in the local pool. As I lowered her into the water, she started crying. ‘Come on now, sweetheart, you normally love it,’ I soothed. But her cries became louder. Her legs couldn’t seem to catch up ‘I don’t think she likes it any more,’ I laughed nervously to the instructor helping us. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘It takes time for some babies.’ So we agreed to try again in a few months. But, even then, Carmela screamed as her legs touched the water. Maybe she just didn’t like getting her hair wet – she never liked that in…

Cheryl Montague, 59, Epsom Speaking to my sister Sandra, 57, on video chat, I wanted to magically teleport myself to her side. She’s lived in Florida since the 1980s and I still miss her every single day. The States always felt so far away and, while I tried to visit as much as possible, I wished I could see her more often. ‘I’ll see you soon,’ I said, waving to her and taking one last look at the beaming sunshine as I returned to the rainy-day reality in England. This February, I was playing my favourite game – Blox Bingo on Chat Mag Bingo. I’ve been playing bingo on the site for 13 years now, it’s been a lot of fun and surprises over the years. ‘In shock, I couldn’t…

2011: London riots When Mark Duggan was shot dead by police, it sparked a gathering of 200 protesters. What started as a peaceful demonstration, descended into chaos throughout Tottenham, in north London, and beyond. Shops were looted, buildings and cars were ransacked and set on fire, and police officers were injured. The carnage began on 6 August 2011 and didn't finish until 11 August. It was one of the worst riots seen since those in Brixton in 1995. In total, nearly 4,000 people were arrested. 2007: Killed for being Goths? Sophie Lancaster was just 20 when she and her boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, were set upon by violent youths in a park in Bacup, Lancashire, on 11 August 2007. Why? Apparently because the couple  were dressed as Goths.…

Q I can’t be bothered to colour my hair every few weeks. Is there anything I can use to spread out my dye jobs? Anne Fleming, 62 A You need a root concealer – think of it like make-up for hair. If you’re really pressed for time, a spray offers the quickest route to seamless touch-ups. Powders and crayons are great at targeting patches of grey along your parting and around the hairline, but if you don’t want to fork out for a new product, you can get a similar effect using eyeshadow. Find a shade that’s as near to your own hair colour as possible and use an eyeshadow brush to colour in the greys. Q I’m back from holiday and I really want to keep my tan for…

Ellie, 19, Ipswich Walking home from school, questions zoomed through my mind. It was spring 2011, I was 11, and we’d been given a class project to write about our parents. I’d been adopted when I was 6 and, for the first time in years, I thought about my birth mum Paula. ‘What did my mum do for a living?’ I asked my adoptive parents that night. ‘We’ll tell you when you’re older,’ they promised me. I felt frustrated. Happy memories of Mum still floated in the back of my mind. Sitting under the stairs, aged 5, wrapped in blankets while scoffing a bowl of rainbow-coloured cereal for supper. Begging for more time with Mum before bed. ‘OK, five more minutes,’ she’d agree, laughing. Life with Mum was pretty chaotic…

Whether you want to channel your inner beach goddess, or dancefloor diva, Curvissa.co.uk has something for everyone this season! From striking swimwear and day to night separates to trendy accessories and jewellery – Curvissa.co.uk is a one-stop-shop for all your fashion needs. Therefore, we’re delighted to offer Chat readers a special 20 per cent discount across the Curvissa.co.uk collections this August. Curvissa offers a range of clothing in sizes 14-32, designed to flatter a curvy silhouette. As well as the main Sheego collection, Curvissa is also home to many great brands, including Levi’s, Adidas, Converse, Curvy Kate and more. • To find out more, head to curvissa.co.uk Terms and conditions The offer code is for single use only and cannot be used in conjunction with other offer codes. The offer…

Danielle, 31, Tameside Flicking through profiles on the dating app, I groaned. None of these blokes were my type. It was June 2016 and I’d been single for 18 months, after splitting up from my daughter’s dad. Now I was ready to find love again. Not that it was easy... I’d been signed up for a few days, swiping away every bloke I came across. But then, spotting Ryan, 35, my thumb froze. Good-looking, with tattoos and blue eyes, I fancied him instantly. He punched me to the floor, kicked and stamped on me And when I swiped for Yes, we matched. Hi gorgeous, he wrote once we’d connected. Heart fluttering, I sent a flirty reply. We met up the following week in a local pub. Ryan seemed a real…

Samuel Little was convicted of the murder of Carol Alford, Audrey Nelson and Guadalupe Apodaca. He was sentenced to three life sentences without parole. ‘The obsession with labelling me a serial killer without any proof was a legal lynching,’ Little said in a statement during his sentencing. However, in November last year, Little finally made a confession – and the extent of his depravity became clear. For he admitted committing 93 murders across 16 states, between 1970 and 2005, potentially making him the most prolific serial killer in the US. Detectives have so far matched half to previously unsolved murder cases. Prosecutor Michael C O’Malley said, ‘There are no words to describe the pure evil that exists within Samuel Little.’…

Unattractive legs Q My ankles are itchy and turning brown. My GP says it's caused by my varicose veins... Pamela, Biggleswade A Varicose veins can often reduce the blood supply to the skin of your lower legs, leading to varicose eczema. The brown colour is iron from blood leaking under your skin. Treatment includes exercise, creams or surgery. Not pregnant Q I stopped taking the Pill to try for a baby, but with no success. Should I see my doctor? Jana, Chichester A The contraceptive Pill (not the mini Pill) replaces your sex hormones with its own, so it may take three to six months to re-establish your cycle. See your GP if you don't have regular periods after this time, or are not pregnant within a year. Why blisters?…

A rare disorder, affecting one in 5,000 females, Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome mainly affects the reproductive system. It causes the vagina and uterus to be underdeveloped or absent, although external genitalia are normal. Often, the first noticeable sign of MRKH syndrome is that menstruation does not begin by age 16, although sufferers normally have functioning ovaries. They also have normal breast and pubic- hair development. While women with this condition are usually unable to carry a pregnancy, they may be able to have children through assisted reproduction.…

Aries 21 March - 20 April At last, the job offer you were waiting for. It’s a bit late, and you’d have been a lot more enthusiastic had it come a few weeks earlier, but it’s there if you want it. Give it another look and see if it still appeals. Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April - 21 May Your heart says yes, your head says no - but if you don’t take this chance you may not get another. Go for it, and give it until the end of the year. By then, you should know if it’s going to work out. Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May - 21 June You know movies where the hero has to step over infrared…

Roasted cherry tomato tart Serves: 6 Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 1 hr • 23cm fluted flan tin • 250g shortcrust pastry For the filling: • 500g cherry tomatoes • 1tbsp olive oil • 2tbsp torn basil, plus extra to garnish • 300ml whipping cream • 2 medium eggs 1 Set the oven to 190C, Gas 5. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up. 2 Line the flan tin with the pastry. Prick the base and chill for at least 20 min. Place the tomatoes in a roasting tin and drizzle over the oil. 3 Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Place on the hot baking sheet and put the tin with tomatoes on the shelf below and cook both…

These colour-pop lippies look great with a tan and instantly perk up your face! George Matte Lipstick in First Date, £4, Asda This velvety number is the perfect shade of peach to illuminate a tired, dull-looking complexion. Kiko Smart Fusion Lipstick in 419 Baby Pink, £3.99, kikocosmetics. com A suits-all pink that really goes the distance, and the creamy texture gives a buttery, luminous finish. Mark. Epic Lipstick in Luv U, £8, avon.uk.com With a built-in primer and SPF15, this lippy gives more than just electric colour. Sleek Lip VIP Lipstick in Flaunt It, £5.49 A warm red looks great with a tan. This one has vitamin E and coconut oil to plump your pout with moisture. Collection Intense Shine Gel Lipstick in Pinata Pink, £4.99 Combines the shine of…

Strawberrayyy, 23 Slipping on my uniform, I got ready for work. Just perfect! I thought, zipping myself into the skin-tight bodysuit. It was August last year – and five years earlier, my work uniform had been a ketchup-stained apron. Now I was dressed head to toe in leather! Grabbing my handcuffs and whip, I was ready. See, I was a dominatrix. I’d change out of my maternity clothes into a lacy thong Most of my clients were powerful men who came to me to be belittled, shouted at, spanked. And I was happy to oblige. It’d started in July 2014, when a friend set up a naughty social-media channel. ‘It’s like Snapchat but for... fun,’ he winked. People subscribed to it anonymously, for access to sexy photos and videos. Women…