Table of contents for 10 March 2022 in Chat

Are you hooked on TikTok? Even if your kids or grandkids haven’t got you dancing for the app yet, you’ll want to sign up to see Emma’s clever tricks. You won’t believe what she can do with her eye (p24)! I found Helen’s story about her milestone birthday really inspiring (p37). But you won’t find me jumping out of a plane for my 40th… And don’t miss Rambo – a precious pooch who joined in with a family tradition in an adorable way (p19). There are tons more gripping reads, shocking true crime, food, fashion and the prize puzzles you love. Stay safe and well this week. GET IN TOUCH! EMAIL chat_magazine@futurenet.com FACEBOOK facebook.com/ChatMagazine POST Chat, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR DON’T MISS CHAT MONTHLY MARCH OUT NOW!…

CO-ORDS STYLE TIP Go for top-to-toe emerald or wear individually. Break up the colour with neutral tones. DRESSES STYLE TIP Smock frocks are both comfortable and stylish. Add a belt to highlight your waist shape. TOPS STYLE TIP Green looks great with dark denim so team with slim-fit jeans or tuck into trousers. BAGS STYLE TIP If bright clothes feel daunting, ease into the trend with colour pop accessories.…

The jurors at Long Beach Superior Court deliberated for just over two hours. They found Edward Jacobs, 32, guilty of the first-degree murder of Guy Alford III. Jacobs, previously convicted of robbery and attempted robbery, had already been in custody on October 2019 on an unrelated incident when the police identified him as the suspect in Guy’s shooting. Jacobs was additionally found guilty of possession of a firearm. He was handed a life sentence, with no chance of parole. In the dock, Jacobs listened to Guy’s family members describing the terrible impact of his death. Guy was posthumously awarded a Nursing degree from Long Beach Community College. But that was small comfort to his grieving family. His mother April told the court that, every night, she re-lived the call that…

Emma Cousins, 35, Sheffield Rubbing my temples, I wondered why I felt so poorly. It was March 2018 and I was at my job as a carer for stroke survivors, feeling dizzy, nauseous. Strangely, my left eye felt weird, too. Like it was being stretched somehow. And throughout the day, I didn’t feel much better. ‘I’m going to have to go and get checked out,’ I told my son Bradley, then 12, that evening at home. My mum Karen, then 58, picked up me, Bradley and his younger sister Megan, then 5. Dropped me at A&E at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, before taking the kids home with her. I waited hours to see a specialist. And when I did, they asked the strangest question. ‘Can you show me old photos of…

FILL ME IN The Shay is a football and Rugby League stadium in which English town? 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. WIN £100 Puzzle 14 Your answer: CIRCLE TIME A Liverpool Tart is a dessert based around which fruit? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the letters in the shaded circles. 3 letters ARMASHEGOERAMOOSADSEESKAWAGWOO 4 letters AGESATOMDEEMDUELEVEROUSTSEED 5 letters EAGLEMARSHSIZES 6 letters DOMINODRAMASGHOSTSSEESAW SHADOWZIGZAG 8 letters MISPLACE WIN £100 Puzzle 15 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

3 way to... stop splurging Hey big spender! Are you prone to shopping sprees that you regret later? Read on. 1 Take your time If you tend to spend impulsively and want to curb the habit, why not commit to waiting for a period of time before purchasing anything over a certain price limit that you hadn’t already planned to buy? You could decide that’s a week or a month, depending on the cost. Having time to consider the purchase will help you decide if you really want it – and give you time to check if it’s the best deal too. And remember, the cost of small impulse buys adds up too, so always think twice before parting with your cash. To take it one step further, make a note…

Courtney Slater, 21, Manchester Bouncing my 2-year-old son on my knee, he pointed at the TV. ‘Mummy, look!’ Lekai giggled at PAW Patrol on the screen. It was June 2021 and life was good. I loved being a mummy, and things were going well with my boyfriend of six months, Brandon, 21. That night, the three of us were going out for a meal. At 5.30pm, I strapped Lekai into his car seat in my black Renault Clio and drove to Brandon’s. As we pulled up, he was walking down the driveway past his brother Matt, 24, who was working on his car. ‘I’ll be ready in a minute,’ he said. ‘Just waiting for someone to come and pick up these sunglasses.’ He’d been making some extra money selling his…

Noughty The Hero Bath & Shower Gel, £6.50, lovenoughty.co.uk Using sweet almond oil, this moisturising gel leaves limbs feeling silky smooth, with no need to follow up with a body lotion and wait forever for it to sink in. We love anything that speeds up our routine! Maybelline Tattoo Brow Lift Stick, £9.99, Superdrug Sculpt your brows into shape with this two-in-one buy. One side will brush up and tame the hairs, while the other adds a tint of colour. The result is sculpted, defined arches that won’t budge all day. It’s available in six shades, so you’re sure to find your perfect match. L’Oreal Paris Elvive Hydra Hyaluronic Moisture Boost Shampoo, £5.99, Boots Limp, dry tresses? This hydrating shampoo will breathe new life into your locks. It uses hyaluronic…

Some people’s lives are so tragic, they almost sound like a soap opera. But Jose Luis Calva’s was more like a horror story. Born in June 1969, his father died when he was just 2 years old. And he later complained his domineering mother Elia Zepeda liked to dole out what he described as harsh discipline. When he was 6, he earned enough money shining shoes on the street to buy himself a toy truck. But when his mum found out, she beat him and broke his new toy. Worse was to come for the youngster, though. Calva claimed he was raped, aged 7, by a 16-year-old family friend, although no one was ever charged. By the time he became an adult, he described himself as having ‘sick lungs, a…

Talk about a photobomb! This pair of doves couldn’t resist posing with me for a selfie. Brian Zamyslawski, Eastbourne My dog Lily is always on the lookout! Now, where’s the neighbour’s cat gone? Charlotte Primrose, Lawford I reckon my son Amari, 4, has found his calling in life. He’s a little police officer in the making! Sian Salsbury, Cradley Heath Yee-paw! Our puss Binks is giving The Cat In the Hat a run for his money in his new hat! Frances Rutherford, Southbourne Yum! Even after a big dinner, my sweet girl Constance, 3, always has room for dessert. Holly Skavydis, Romford My dad Brian, now 80, was really feeling the love a couple of years ago when my sister Nicola and I gave him a birthday kiss! Lisa Best,…

Nailed it! Do you ever get stuck trying to open a stubborn bottle of nail polish? Wrapping an elastic band around the top makes it much easier to grip. Ginette Hughes, Broxbourne A-peeling idea! Tackling the orange in your lunch box can be tricky for little fingers. But chopping off both ends makes it easy to roll out – no peeling necessary! My kids love it. Sophie Undrill, Branston Easy squeezy! Make sure that you don’t waste any of your expensive skin creams – simply cut off the top of the tube and use it as a new lid. You’ll be able to reach every bit, plus this also stops it from drying out. Pat Hyde, Chester-le-Street Cling while you’re winning… To make tricky cling film easier to use, just…

THE BIGGIE What connects actor Kim Cattrall and singer Mel C? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the three-word prize answer. Across 1 Very bad (5) 4 Newborn child (4) 6 From a hot, exotic region (8) 13 Menacing comments (7) 14 Shirt parts (7) 15 Tiny particles (5) 16 Fantastic _, superhero film (4) 17 Charlotte _, author of Jane Eyre (6) 18 Where an artist works (6) 20 Fossil fuel (4) 21 Afterwards (5) 22 Most pleasant (6) 25 From the United States (8) 28 Cruel or vicious (6) 30 Sound (5) 32 Styling one’s hair (8) 34 Tune (6) 35 Walk with difficulty (4) 38 Almost (6) 39 At no time (5) 40 Fully developed (6) 43 Ballet skirt…

Ruth Ellenberg, 44 Stretching out his paws, my Havanese dog Rambo curled up on my lap. We’d had him since he was a tiny puppy. Now, in July 2021, he was a big part of the family. ‘Can you believe our little Rambo is going to be 13 in September?’ smiled to my husband Craig, then 52. ‘An important age!’ You see, Craig had been brought up Jewish. In his faith, at the age of 13, families held a ceremony called a bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for girls. It marks the start of adulthood, and usually involves a big celebration, with friends and family, food and gifts. Craig and his two daughters had all celebrated with the ceremony. It got us thinking. Always a pampered pooch, Rambo…

I’ve got no gums! Q My gums are disappearing! They seem to be receding – is there a way to make them grow back? Danielle, Bonnyrigg A Receding gums, which have pulled back to expose the root of your tooth below, might not grow back, but it’s important to stop them receding any further or you could be in danger of losing teeth. Often the cause is simply overenthusiastic tooth brushing, and a softer brush, or electric toothbrush, might help. Or maybe you’re not brushing and flossing often enough, and gum disease or infection is to blame. Smoking makes receding gums much worse, too. Not smoking, and regular brushing and flossing, are the best treatments. A repair toothpaste for sensitive teeth will help if your exposed roots have become sensitive…

Tapuy and pangasi are types of alcoholic beverages made in the Philippines by fermenting which foodstuff? Solve the crossword, then read down the shaded squares to spell out the prize answer. ACROSS 1 Type of bread (3) 3 Home improvement, inits (1,1,1) 5 Soft wet earth (3) 6 Very cold (3) 7 Be in debt (3) DOWN 1 Juliet’s beloved (5) 2 _ Redmayne, actor (5) 4 Child’s toy (2-2) WIN £50 Puzzle 13 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 56 for details or visit comps.lifedeathprizes.com/puzzles…

He hasn’t supported me Q I was sexually assaulted twice during my childhood. My dad didn’t do anything about it when I told him so I blocked it out. I didn’t tell my husband about what happened to me until a couple of months ago. But he didn’t show any empathy towards me. He didn’t even hug me as I cried. I don’t know what to do, or how to feel about this. Steph, 53 A I’m so sorry that this happened to you, sweetheart. It must have been hard to open up after you felt so let down by your dad. If he’s normally a good, loving man, try not to write off your husband. Some people just don’t know what to say in sensitive moments. But that’s no good…

Q I’d love to learn another language but can I do it for free? T Warner, Stoke A Check out Duolingo (duolingo.com), which offers lessons in dozens of languages for free. You can either start as a beginner or, if you already have some knowledge of the language you can take a test to assess your ability and you’ll be moved to more advanced lessons. Also, OpenLearn (open.edu/openlearn/), a free learning platform delivered by The Open University, offers some free online language courses too.…

The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil, £8.50, The Body Shop It’s hard to beat this classic buy, which uses purifying tea tree extracts to help shrink spots. It’s a bestseller for a reason – it’s frill-free and just works. Dab it on to the blemish, and it will heal, vanishing within a few hours. Dots For Spots, £6 for 24, beautybay.com Spot patches are a bit of a game changer. They’re tiny little stickers that are infused with zit-zapping ingredients that you apply directly to spots, helping to speed up the healing process and – crucially – stopping you picking at them. These are a brilliant bargain. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, £16.25, cultbeauty.co.uk This hard-working formula is much loved by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow. It uses clay to draw out…

PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS THROUGHOUT HOW TO ENTER TEXT Simply text CHATC followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 63333 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…

Heather O’Brien-Evans, 44, Liverpool Unloading shopping bags from the car, I handed them to my daughter Halle, then 19. It was January 2019, and Halle, my eldest of four, was in her first year at uni. Thankfully, she was only 10 minutes away, so I could pop round with supplies. She was independent, but as far as I was concerned she was still my little girl. ‘Thanks, Mum,’ she smiled, pulling out cracker breads, her faves. We unpacked while she told me about her plans for the weekend with her fiancé Eddie, also 19. We’d always been more like best friends. She was really close to her brother Louie, 15, too. And, while she and her sister Isabel, 14, bickered, they spent girly time bonding, too. Things hadn’t worked out…

He was a star footballer who lit up the pitch with his talent. A music fan who loved dancing to Michael Jackson tunes. Guy Alford III was known for being hard-working, humble, compassionate, caring, respectful, always wearing a smile. Teammates and coaches admired him for being a real team player, who always made good choices in life. He was a loving son to his mum April Roby, and dad, also named Guy Alford. And a caring big brother to his young half-siblings on his dad’s side. Described as an all-round class act and a rare light with a bright future ahead. At the age of 20, Guy managed to combine his studies at Long Beach City College, California, with leading the football team there – the Vikings. He dreamt of…

Sophie Howes, 33, Shaftesbury True-life PATIENT CASEBOOK Holding my daughter in my arms, I smiled down at her. It was March 2018 and I’d just given birth to our first child. Naming her Anouk, my husband Mike, then 31, and I were smitten. Only, when she was just a couple of days old, a nurse gave us some news. ‘Anouk has hip dysplasia,’ she said. She explained her hip joints weren’t connected as they should be. A relatively common condition, Anouk was fitted with a harness for 18 weeks to hold her joints together. After the harness was removed, she had regular check-ups with a specialist. And as our baby grew, she hit all her milestones. But in June 2019, when she started walking at around 15 months, I noticed…

OVER TO YOU 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 Ann Walker, Leeds ACROSS 1 Noteworthy information 2 By mouth 3 Grape-producing plant 4 In a different way DOWN 1 A bright star 2 Literary name for Ireland 3 Become weaker 4 Veered over WIN 5x £25 puzzle 6 Your answer: HALF & HALF Aired after Super Bowl XLV in 2011 and watched by 26.8 million people in the US, The Sue Sylvester Shuffle was the most-viewed episode of which TV series? Cross out a letter in each square to get a grid filled with words. The uncrossed-out letters in the shaded squares give the…

ARROW WORD What rodent takes its name from a native Brazilian word for ‘one who eats slender leaves’? 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. WIN £1,000 Puzzle 10 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. WIN £60 Puzzle 11 Your answer: WORDSEARCH Which of these materials derives its name from an alternative term for the port of Quanzhou in China? The answer is the one missing from the grid. CORDUROYCOTTONDENIMFELTFLANNEL GAUZELACEMUSLINNYLONSATIN SERGESILKTWEEDVELVETWOOL WIN £50 Puzzle 12…

Keralan curried salmon slice You can’t beat this for easy entertaining and it’s less stressful than a roast for Sunday lunch when friends and family are popping round. SERVES 8 PREP TIME 25 MINS COOK TIME 50 MINS • 2 x 320g sheets ready-rolled puff pastry • 850g piece skinless salmon fillet • 1 onion, peeled and quartered • 2 garlic cloves, peeled • 1 red chilli, deseeded • 50g fresh coconut pieces • 1tbsp sunflower oil • ½tsp coarsely ground black pepper • 1tsp black mustard seeds • 6-12 fresh or dried curry leaves • 1tsp ground turmeric • 227g can chopped tomatoes • 150ml coconut milk • 1½tbsp polenta • 1 egg, beaten 1 Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Unroll one sheet of puff pastry on an…

4-10 March Aries 21 March-20 April Dedicated and determined, you’ll soon reap the rewards of your hard work. A family member will ask for some household help and book a theatre trip in return. • Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April-21 May If at first you don’t succeed, try focusing directly on your career goal. An online chat could change the direction of your fate and will help you to succeed, too. • Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May-21 June If you’re trying to sell a kitchen appliance online, add a photograph to the ad. You will reach a much greater audience, enabling you to sell your item faster. • Call 0905 817 0692* for more Cancer 22 June-23 July Your coupon collection could…

Dear Brody, How I wish I could forget your tears as you ripped off your uniform and refused to go to school that day. It was November 2017 and since you’d started primary school a year earlier, it’d been rocky. You struggled to make friends and settle in. The bullies had targeted you from day one. Calling you names, pushing, shoving, once forcing you to hide under a bench at lunchtime. You were such a quiet boy, sensitive and curious. I’d spoken to your teachers, hoped they would put a stop to it. But at times, I had to carry you kicking and screaming to school. It was such a struggle, especially when your little brother Romeo was born in October 2016. For a while, I tried homeschooling you. Aged…