Table of contents for 27-Feb-2020 in Chat

Madeleine had a seemingly perfect life until a long-buried family secret emerged (p30). Crystal learnt the meaning of true beauty (p18). And there’s a raging debate about posting pics of your kids online, and Danielle has come down firmly on one side (p44). Where do you stand on this controversial subject? Move over, sugar and lemon. We’ve got three fancy takes on pancakes (p40). Plus, corduroy’s back and we’ll tell you how to rock it (p12). Not forgetting the prize puzzles you love. Hope this week’s a lucky one!…

Feeling my baby kick, I called out to my sons. ‘Quick!’ I said. It was January 2017 and Cian, then 10, Kyle, 7, and Reece, 6, ran into the kitchen. Taking turns, they placed their hands on my bump. ‘It feels like an alien,’ Kyle said, scrunching up his face. My partner Barry, 37, and I hadn’t planned this baby. With my boys and Barry’s daughter from a previous relationship, we were happy with our brood. Now we couldn’t wait. We agreed on the name Charlie for the new baby. The pregnancy had been textbook. But, on 9 February 2017, when I was 29 weeks, I noticed Charlie wasn’t moving. He was usually such a wriggler. ‘Something’s not right,’ I told Barry, worried. Arriving at hospital soon after, we were…

Checking my reflection in the mirror, I adjusted my top and assessed my face. My hair looked great, make-up on point. I was ready to leave the house and head to drama college. Age 17, I always made sure I looked the part, that my hair and make-up were immaculate. I loved standing out from the crowd, opted for the brightest clothes. An aspiring actor, I was born to be on the stage. Passionate about comedy, I dreamt of moving to London to star in West End shows or films. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a stutter. But during Drama classes, it got much better and I could talk clearly for hours. Life was going in the right direction. On Mother’s Day 2016, my sister Charlotte, then…

Use it or lose it?! Q My clitoris is shrinking and seems less sensitive – could it be because I haven’t had sex for three years? Danni, north London A Your clitoris varies in size, depending mainly on two things – blood supply and hormones. Just like a man’s penis, your clitoris swells by filling with blood when you’re sexually aroused. It does seem that regularly stimulating your clitoris through sex or masturbation can encourage the blood supply and help prevent shrinkage. Hormone changes resulting in a lack of the sex hormones oestrogen or testosterone can also lead to longer-term shrinkage, usually after your menopause or following a change of contraceptive pill. If shrinkage is a problem, regular stimulation through sex or masturbation, besides regular cardio exercise, can help boost…

Q I love camper van holidays, but struggle to find space for my products. Help! Sandra Nicoll, 62, Edinburgh A Beauty products can be bulky, especially skincare, but the latest ampoules can be crammed into the tiniest space in your beauty bag. L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Filler Hyaluronic Acid, £19.99, is a week’s worth of intensive hydration in individual vials, while Beauty Pie Superactive Capsules Essential Ceramides, £7.55, (members price) are 60 tiny pods that moisturise, protect and plump. For make-up, pick multipurpose creams like Boutique Eye & Cheek Jelly, £4, which could also be dabbed on lips, plus a do-it-all base like The Body Shop Fresh Nude Tinted Beauty Balm, £14, which offers light coverage, hydration and SPF30. Happy holidays! LETTER of the week! TRIED AND TESTED Melora Manuka Honey Face Moisturiser, £8…

Pulling up outside the church, I took a deep breath before unbuckling my seat belt. ‘Let’s get you inside,’ I smiled to my eldest son Joe, then 4. It was our usual Sunday routine – I’d drop him at Sunday school and sit in the pews. Only, this Sunday–in January 2001 – was different. I had a lump in my throat, tears threatening to fall. As I sat down, I found myself sobbing during the sermon. The truth was, I’d been feeling miserable for some time. Had spent months living with an overwhelming sadness inside. I couldn’t work out why. From the outside, looking in, I had a perfect life. I lived in a beautiful home with a wonderful family. Roger, 42, and I were happily married. And our three…

Staring intently at the hands on my watch, I took a deep breath. It was time. Looking down at the pregnancy test in front of me, I was ready for that familiar rush of disappointment. Negative. Yet again. Every single month of 2009 had been this same, depressing routine. And it was crushing for me and my hubby Al, then 33. We’d met on a night out in 2008 and fell in love so quickly. Talking about our future, we both wanted marriage and kids. A perfect life mapped out. We ticked off the wedding 18 months later. And we started trying for a baby straight away. See, being one of five myself, I longed for days spent running around after my own brood. And so did Al. ‘Mini you…

Crouching down in the garden, I looked through the camera lens. ‘Strike a pose!’ I called to my willing subject. Clicking away, I captured the perfect shot of my fashionista daughter. Hand on hip, a perfect pout, wearing huge sunglasses, she looked sensational. But Nuala wasn’t in her 20s or her teens. In fact, she was just 9. When the mini-shoot was over, she rushed to see the pictures that I’d snapped. ‘This one’s my favourite! Let’s put it on my blog!’ she squealed, pointing one out. Within minutes, I’d posted it on her Instagram page for her 10,000 followers. Not before a quick edit, though. I lightened it as it was too dark, but didn’t change too much else. I kept it as natural as possible. We watched as…

FEBRUARY SALE More than a million people are now dedicated to the REVITIVE Circulation Booster®, which is high-tech yet needs no specialist operation. REVITIVE is being shown to help with symptoms such as the feeling of tired legs and puffy ankles - as well as improving our feeling of health generally. The circular footrest is a dynamic hub for electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) technology, sending electrical pulses gently up through the feet and into the body. Few people realise it but the calves act as our ‘second heart’, pumping blood up from the body’s farthest reaches back to the heart. It’s no secret that things tend to slow through ageing or being less active. After we’ve been on our feet for a while, at best many of us suffer from…

WHAT’S THE ANSWER? Solutions to Chat issue 5 (30 January 2020) Puzzle 1 40,000 Puzzle 3 Brittany Puzzle 4 3C Puzzle 5 Born in Glasgow Puzzle 6 Ante Puzzle 7 Cannon Puzzle 9 Saxifrage Puzzle 10 Norway Puzzle 12 Bull Puzzle 13 Wales Puzzle 14 Splash Puzzle 15 Tooth Puzzle 16 Katherine Puzzle 17 Modena Puzzle 18 Sean Connery WE WON! Chat winners issue 46 (14 November 2019) £1,001 CASH G Jordan, Wirral £1,000 CASH M Freeman, Mansfield £500 CASH L Woods, March; G McGovern, Skegness £250 CASH M McLellan, Angus £150 CASH P Wright, Blackpool £100 CASH L Bateman, Whitchurch; A Buchan, Peterhead; C Jones, Powys; L Anderson, Crosby; D Rudling, Ditchling £60 CASH E Cheddy, Barry £50 CASH S Hunter, Shropshire; J Shimwell, Bakewell; R Davies, Mid Glamorgan £30…

Hello fellow curvy girls! Like me, I’m sure you’ll remember your first. No, not kiss. Diet! I was age 14 and a size 16. And that wasn’t the last time I vowed to slim and then quit. As I got older, and bigger, I hid away from the world. ‘Next summer, I’ll definitely come,’ I said to pals when I refused yet another girlie holiday. You’ve guessed it… I didn’t want to lay next to my skinny mates, feeling like a beached whale. As for dressing up in skimpy dresses and heels for a night out dancing? Not a blooming chance! You know as well as I do the tent-sized frock I’d be forced to wear. Every time I turned down another offer with friends, I told myself that soon…

What was the profession of Chesley Sullenberger, the subject of the 2016 film Sully: Miracle on the Hudson? To find out solve the puzzle, make three nine-letter words using all of these three-letter sections and enter them in the grid. We’ve given you three letters to start. Unscramble the shaded letters to find the one-word prize answer. CLO TED PRO ISH CKW JEL JEC ISE LYF WIN 4x £25 Puzzle 3 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

Alongside chocolate souffle, what has Blake Lively claimed is her favourite food? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the two-word prize answer. ACROSS 11 Road (6) 12 In disguise (9) 13 Space (4) 14 Conifer (4,4) 15 Type of dance music (5) 16 Cuban capital (6) 17 Adult (5-2) 18 Don’t give up! (5,3,3) 20 Female fox (5) 22 Endurance (9) 24 Common viper (5) 28 War and Peace author (7) 29 Savings (4,3) 32 Go round (6) 34 Became aware of (8) 36 Brawny, fit (8) 37 Tooth covering (6) 39 Fashionable (7) 40 Leaping (7) 45 Catches one’s breath (5) 47 Exciting quest (9) 48 Pictures used to see bones (1-4) 51 Temporary or conditional (11) 53 Greet (7) 55 Idea…

Growing up, I had the sweetest tooth. Snacked on cake, hid penny sweets in my bedroom. But that all changed when I was 10. I’d been up and down to use the loo, or constantly drinking, and I’d lost weight, too. Concerned, my mum took me to hospital for tests. ‘She has type 1 diabetes,’ a doctor confirmed to my parents in December 1980. It meant my sugar levels had to be closely monitored and I needed daily insulin injections. The worst part was giving up my sugary treats. I just thought being denied a can of Coca Cola was unfair. But I soon learned to deal with my condition properly. It was only when I fell pregnant at 21, my life changed. At four months, I miscarried. And 18…

Sitting in the middle of a crowd of wagging tails, I tried to decide which was the perfect dog for me. I was 18 and, ever since I was a kid, all I’d wanted was a Border collie. I loved their sharp minds and affectionate nature. It was October 2014 and I was at a Border collie rescue centre in Hampshire. The owner had been caring for five or six dogs and now they were looking for a forever home. ‘I’m spoilt for choice,’ I said happily. Then I saw Myst. She was the only pup to happily bound over to my little brothers, then aged 7 and 4. But she wasn’t bothered about me at all! ‘It takes her time to warm to some people,’ the rescuer explained to…

YOUNGEST FEMALE KILLER Sharon Carr became Britain’s youngest female killer when, aged 12, she murdered hairdresser Katie Rackliff, 18, in June 1992. Katie was stabbed 27 times in a random attack in Camberley, Surrey. Carr went on to wound a student exactly two years on, but was only convicted of Katie’s murder after police found a diary in which Carr confessed to the killing. She was sentenced to life in 1997. ANARCHY IN THE UK Riots around Britain resulted in hundreds of arrests in the summer of 1992. Fires were started, petrol bombs thrown, shop windows smashed and police attacked during uprisings in Bristol, Blackburn, Burnley, Coventry, Huddersfield, Salford and Stockton-on-Tees. There were also smaller scale clashes in Luton and London. DEATH ON THE COMMON On 15 July 1992, Rachel…

Coronation Street Ray’s indecent proposal! When Abi found out that bistro owner Ray is a sex pest, she got revenge for all the women he’s harassed in the past by stealing his car and torching it. The trouble is, sleazy Ray’s got incriminating footage of Abi’s criminal damage so he makes her an indecent proposal – either she sleeps with him or he’ll go to the police… What will she do? EastEnders Whitney’s under arrest! Following last week’s boat party on the Thames, Leo is dead and Whitney has been arrested. Maintaining that she acted in self-defence, though, Whitney asks Gray to defend her, but as more information comes to light, the lawyer eyes his client with a certain amount of suspicion… Emmerdale Rhona to the rescue? Rhona’s horrified when…

Every morning was the same. Rushing out the door with minutes to spare… ‘Kids, get your skates on,’ I shouted. It was February 2016, and life was hectic. A few months before, I’d split up with my long-term partner. Now a single mum to Reuben, 9, Frankie, 3, and Dellah, 2, I barely had a second to myself. But when they stayed with their dad every other weekend, I was lonely. Then, one week, a pal introduced me to Kelly. We hit it off. I enjoyed occasional nights out together in a big group with her mates. Then, in June 2016, one of my new friends started dating Carl Robinson. A Jack the Lad, but he seemed nice enough. I found myself confiding in him about my break-up. ‘It’s been…

YOU'RE THE JUDGE! When a friend called at Dr Teresa Sievers’ home in June 2015, he was horrified to find the bloodied and battered body of the 46-year-old mother-of-two on the kitchen floor. Mark Sievers, her husband of over 20 years, and their daughters, aged 8 and 11, were devastated, as was the community of Bonita Springs, Florida. Photos released from the scene showed blood splashed on the fridge, a bloodstained hammer on the floor. Helping others Tributes to the caring, hard-working doctor flooded in. Along with running a well-being centre with Mark, Teresa volunteered at a shelter for teen mums and human trafficking victims. But a month after her death, as friends and family gathered in Missouri for her funeral, family friend Carrie Kain, 46, noticed something odd. Mark…

Slipping a piece of card beneath a glass, I gave my younger daughter Carley a reassuring smile. ‘Don’t worry, darling, Incy Wincy won’t hurt you,’ I soothed. Neither Carley, 8, nor her big sister Caitlin, 12, were fans of creepy-crawlies. If they found a spider in our house, they always shouted for me. ‘Mummy! Spider!’ they’d scream. I wasn’t bothered, used a glass and a piece of card to chuck them into the garden. My eldest, Jamie, 14, wasn’t squeamish, either. One day, in March 2019, I was weeding in the garden when I spotted two spiders among the flowers. They were funny-looking, with big, bulbous bodies. ‘That looks like a skull and crossbones,’ said Jamie, pointing to the pattern on the spiders’ backs. Something about those markings rang a…

Time to cut the apron strings? Q Our daughter, 19, recently started a new job, but she won’t go unless I take her. She says she doesn’t feel comfortable on public transport, so I’m having to get up at 6am to make sure she’s up, washed, dressed, eaten and ready to start work at 7.30am. My husband refuses to take her, so it’s all on my shoulders. I’m exhausted, but if I don’t take her, she won’t go, and will lose her job. How can I make my daughter more responsible without an argument? Lindsey, 45 A You don’t have to argue about this. Your daughter is 19, and you need to cut the apron strings. If she’s not comfortable on public transport, she needs to learn to drive and save…

Caramel apple pancakes This delicious combination of warm caramel sauce and sweet apples is an absolute classic and hard to resist SERVES 4 PREP TIME 10 MINS COOK TIME 10 MINS 1 Heat a generous knob of the butter in a frying pan and fry the apples for a few mins until tender, set aside. 2 Put the remaining 60g butter in another pan with the sugar and gently warm to melt. Stir in the milk. Simmer for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened slightly. 3 To make the pancakes, put the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the eggs, milk and 3tbsp water and whisk until smooth and combined. 4 Heat a knob of butter in large…

Aries 21 March-20 April There’s scope for progress this week, as the wheels turn in favour of a new job offer or career move. Enjoy your high levels of energy and step up the pace now. ● Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May Good times are coming as you benefit from time spent with family and friends. Monetary matters are favourable and you may be able to afford a treat. ● Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June A good week for dreams and schemes all coming together. You’ll find yourself climbing the ladder of success at work, impressing those who really matter. ● Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July Acting on an urge to get things done will…

TEXT Simply text CHATD followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 84988 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 TI Media Limited and Chat. If you want to receive these, please end your text with TIOPTIN. Texting tips INTERNET Join our Chat Comp Club now and enter your puzzle answers directly online at our website address comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles Existing puzzlesandprizes members may need to re-register, just click on the ‘Join now’ button once you are on the website. PHONE Simply call 0906 470 7003 For every call to our competition Lucky Line, we’ll donate 10p to The Brain…

3 ways to… get your money back 1 The basics Each situation is different so you should always try to contact the company to ask what’s happening and ask for the item or a refund. If the company has gone out of business, you should apply to the administrators dealing with the company and register your claim, explaining exactly how much money you are owed and what it’s for. However, unfortunately there is no guarantee of getting all or any of your money back. 2 How can I protect my self It’s all about how you pay; if you buy goods or services on your credit card you have more protection if things go wrong than if you paid by cash or cheque. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you…