Indholdsfortegnelse for 20-Jul-2017 i Chat

NICE SOWER? Let us spray! This cute piglet needed a little cooling down when it got really hot during the heatwave. It looks like it’s having a crackling good time! You can see loads of amazing animal videos at www.lifedeathprizes.com/animal-videos CELEBRITY SPIN Do you know which celebrity we’ve put in a twist? Here’s a clue to help: This Top Gun actor has taken on more than one mission impossible and plays ex-military man Jack Reacher in the films. Take a look at the picture on the right and see if you can work out who it is. Puzzle 1 £50 Your answer: TO ENTER Turn to page 60 for details. www.lifedeathprizes.com/win CASH for your story! Chat is your mag and we pay cash for your truelife stories. Contact us at 020…

I was appalled Dave’s killer would have his freedom ‘My world changed’ Mollie, 20, says, ‘l’ll never forget when Mum told me angels had taken Daddy to Heaven. My world changed forever. Family say I’m just like Dad, but I’ll never know. It’s hard to know his killer has been released and soon won’t be supervised. This must be changed so people like us can feel safe.’ Police returned Dave’s belongings – including his new cufflinks, now blood-splattered and scratched. After his heartbreaking funeral, I was bereft. In June 2003, Stuart Pickett went on trial at Chester Crown Court. Listening to the details was so harrowing. After leaving the pub, Pickett’s mum had told Dave he could call a taxi from their place. He’d known the family for years. But…

Too young to understand, my kids just smiled and hugged me Having two little boys means you never have time to yourself. ‘Can you watch the little terrors while I shower?’ I groaned to my partner Mark, 38. It was November 2015, and I was 28 weeks pregnant with our third. A girl. It was a complete surprise, but I was so excited. Hopping into the shower, I caressed my bump. Then, moisturising my right breast, I felt a hard, golf-ball-sized lump... Alarm bells rang. ‘It’ll be nothing, love,’ Mark soothed. But my mum Valerie had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. Thankfully, she was in remission, but I knew I had to get it checked. Next day, I saw my GP, who thought it was hormonal – but…

The soles of her feet crack and walking is agony My daughter Alicia has always been special. When she was born, in July 2010, I noticed her skin looked a bit flaky and dry. ‘Just a touch of eczema,’ my health visitor reassured me. But when Alicia was a year old, her skin was still flaking. I took her back and forth to see different doctors. At 18 months, she saw a dermatologist who prescribed various creams and lotions, but they didn’t work. Alicia looked like she had a patchy map all over her body. Aged 3, after blood tests at Hereford County Hospital, she was diagnosed with ichthyosis. The condition causes thick, fish-scale-like skin. I was told it was caused by a faulty gene, and there’s no cure. ‘A…

I was too scared to go home, was moved to a refuge He ticked all the boxes…Calum Taylor- Souden, 30, was charming, had bags of confidence. Friends with my cousin, he and I hit it off when we were introduced last October. ‘You’re a stunner,’ he told me, making me blush. Almost overnight, we became a couple. He made me laugh, seemed kind. And he was great with my daughter, 4, from a previous relationship. Things moved fast, but we just clicked. It felt right. Calum spent a lot of time at mine and just never left. But, within a week, I saw he had a jealous streak He’d ask who I was texting, demand to see my phone so he could check. He’s just protective, I thought, flattered. Calum…

That’s sandy! My little lad was a having a brilliant time on the beach in Majorca! Vicky Graham, via e-mail Welcome to the world… I’d like to introduce my new baby girl Nancy Pearl, born five weeks premature and weighing just 4lb. We’re already totally in love with her! Marie Shaw, Darlington It’s playtime! Here’s Ella running around the pear tree and having lots of fun in her grandad’s garden! Amy Davison, Gateshead…

As my cousin Kelly and I looked in the mirror, we burst into fits of giggles. We’d smothered our faces in luxury mud masks. ‘We look like something from a horror film,’ Kelly chuckled. Me and Kelly were really close, more like sisters. ‘Joined at the hip,’ my mum Dorothy, 61, used to say. As we washed off our face packs, Kelly suddenly started co ughing up thick mucus. ‘I’m fine,’ she told me, seeing my worried expression. But I knew she wasn’t fine. You see, Kelly suffered from cystic fibrosis. It’s an inherited condition in which the lungs and digestive system become clogged with mucus. A lot of sufferers don’t live past 40. Despite such a bleak outlook, Kelly was always so positive. She loved having a good time.…

Have you ever had that moment, when you freak out about getting older? For me, that time came back in 2014. At 35, I had an amazing husband, Steve, then 30, and two gorgeous kids, Thomas, 3, and Kayleigh, 1. But with just five years left until I turned 40, there was still so much I wanted to do. ‘I’ve never done a skydive or even been to Cadbury World!’ I sulked. ‘You can still do all of those things,’ Steve chuckled. ‘But I want to do them before I turn wrinkly and grey,’ I moaned. I wanted to see out my 30s having a whale of a time. So I bought myself a notebook. Then, I filled it with things I wanted to do before the big 4-0! ‘Is…

ZOOMED IN! Puzzle 20 £100 We’ve got up close and personal with a food item you’d find in a chop suey, and can use in a stir-fry. If you can make out what it is, that’s your prize answer. Your answer: WHAT'S ON TELLY? As you can see, our TV’s gone on the blink and we can’t make out what programme’s being screened… If the show looks familiar to you, that’s your prize answer! Puzzle 21 4X £30 Your answer: WHAT'S WRONG? You may well recognise this US legal drama starring Craig Bierko and Candice Bergen. But something about this still from Boston Legal isn’t as it should be. If you know which item doesn’t belong, that’s your prize answer. £100 Puzzle 22 Your answer: HOW MANY? Can you work out how…

What’s that saying? It never rains but it pours... Tears streamed down my cheeks as I fell into my husband Can’s arms. ‘It’s breast cancer,’ I sobbed. I’d been for a routine mammogram just a few weeks earlier. I hadn’t been expecting it to show anything. After all, I’d not found any lumps and there was no history of breast cancer in my family. But it’d picked up a small lump in my right breast. Now, in March last year, a biopsy had confirmed I had triple negative breast cancer – a very rare form. I had a lumpectomy followed by chemo. My hair fell out and I felt terrible, but I was determined to look on the bright side. I called myself Baldy McBald Face. It made my daughter…

CRAWLING TO VICTORY Think your baby can move fast now it’s crawling? Not as fast as little Mykolas Pociunas, who’s been crowned Lithuania’s fastest toddler – after his mum shook a box of Lego to encourage him over the finish line. He beat 24 other babies on International Children’s Day, along a five-metre track. EXTREME CLEAN Daredevil Paul Antoine Gauchon, 28, hangs his smalls out to dry – on a line higher than the tallest building in the world. While in harness, the fearless Frenchman pegs his undies to the 3,215ft high rope. Our heads are spinning! SNORE NO MORE This sleeping mask from Silent Partner will ensure you never have a bad night’s sleep again because of someone’s snoring! It senses irritating sounds, then emits a counter noise to…

THE BIGGIE Phwoar – it’s a whopper! Enjoy your puzzling What links Aussie actress and singer Kylie Minogue and US actor Tobey Maguire? To find out, solve the crossword then read down the shaded squares to find the four-word prize answer. ACROSS 1 Leafy salad vegetable (7) 5 Female member of royal family (8) 9 Reading material (4) 13 Laid down the law (5) 14 Case in point (7) 15 Scare badly (7) 16 Spread across (5) 17 Goods for sale (5) 18 Spud (6) 20 Rodeo rope (5) 21 Outside (4-3) 23 Goad into action (4) 26 Board game (4) 27 University department (7) 30 Pharaoh’s tomb (7) 34 Lack of attention (7) 36 Huge river that runs through Budapest (6) 37 Backhander (5) 39 Plank on wheels, basically…

FROM £4.70 Footner CoolActive Massager, £24.99, Boots Perfect after a long day, it gives instant, cooling relief for sore and tired tootsies. Top tip: Avoid shoes that are completely flat, as they can cause pain in your feet. Flexitol Heel Balm, £4.99, Boots Just a couple of applications are enough to leave cracked heels super soft. Top tip: Pop on socks after applying for extra nourishment. Carnation Hard Skin Remover Pen, £4.70, Amazon Great for targeting specific areas, this pen uses glycolic acid to soften skin. Top tip: With more than 100 applications, it’s worth investing in! Scholl Velvet Smooth Electronic Foot File with Marine Minerals, £39.99, Tesco Gently buffs away hard skin for really smooth results. Top tip: Much cheaper than a salon pedi!…

FROM £1 Morrisons 8 Cheese & Garlic Bread Slices, £1.68 The garlic overpowers the cheese on these, but the bread’s still toasty, crusty… and moreish! Sainsbury’s 8 Cheese & Garlic Slices, £1.40 Lovely melted cheese aroma, crusty flavourful slices – perfect for dipping into a bowl of tomato soup. Chat choice Asda 8 Cheese & Garlic Baguette Slices, £1 Good cheese and garlic taste on big slices of crusty bread. Perfect with any pasta dish –and such great value. NEW Tyrrells Toasted Marshmallow Poshcorn, 75g, £1.59, Co-Op With the flavours of creamy marshmallow and smoky woodfire, this fluffy snack’s only here for a limited time. Perfect for a sweet summer treat.…

Doctors discovered a golf ballsize tumour on my spinal cord I stayed home to avoid the horrified stares from strangers We all have a part of our body we’d rather cover up – the spare tyre round our tum, bingo wings, bags under our eyes… All easy enough to hide with clothes and make-up. Except, my twisted back is hard to miss. Not that it stopped me trying to conceal it – by barely ever leaving the house. I was born with the genetic condition neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). My mum, grandmother and my greatgreat- grandmother all had NF. It meant tumours grew on my nerves, little brown lumps bulging like hard, frozen peas under my skin. But it wasn’t until I was 10 that I began to feel them…

THE BIG QUIZ Puzzle 11 £ 500 The answers to all these general knowledge questions – except one – are in the grid in various directions. To be this week’s Chat Big Quiz champion, work out which answer is missing. This is your prize answer. Answers are in alphabetical order in each section. THE SILVER SCREEN – MONEY 1 Which actor played the ‘greed is good’ trader Gordon Gecko in Wall Street in 1987? (7, 7) 2 What’s the surname of the American comedian and actor Eddie ..., who played street hustler Billy Ray Valentine thrown into the world of high finance in the 1983 movie Trading Places? (6) 3 What’s the surname of the actor Paul ..., who played pool hustler ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson in the 1961 movie The Hustler…

As Amber stroked his neck, Shocks was almost smiling! Curled up under the covers, I was fast asleep when I suddenly awoke. Immediately, I clutched my baby bump and groaned. ‘I think I’m in labour!’ I said, nudging my husband Julian, 44. ‘No chance, go back to sleep,’ he replied. It was June 2010, and I was only 26 weeks pregnant with twins. So I tried to relax and, eventually, dozed off. But, an hour later, I awoke with even stronger tummy pains. Worried, we headed to hospital, where a midwife confirmed I was in labour. ‘I have to warn you, both babies will have a fight on their hands,’ she said to us. ‘I know,’ I sobbed. Twelve hours later, our girls Hope and Amber arrived, weighing just 1lb…

How to enter TEXT Simply text CHATD followed by a space and your answer/s (spaces between answers please) full name, door number and postcode to 85010 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 Time Inc. (UK) Ltd and Chat. If you don’t want to receive these, please end your text with TINOINFO. 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…

I was trembling with horror. How could this have happened? My hubby Dave, 30, smoothed down his new shirt. ‘Very smart,’ I smiled. It was December 2002, and Dave was off to a sportsman’s dinner at a local pub. ‘Hold on a minute – I’ve got just the thing,’ I grinned. I fetched a wrapped pair of cufflinks I’d bought him. ‘An early Christmas present,’ I beamed. ‘They’ll look lovely with your outfit.’ I’d fancied Dave since I moved down the road when I was 15. When I was 22, he’d finally made a move. The following year, in August 1996, we married. And, in April 1997, our daughter Mollie was born. Dave was a wonderful dad, he adored Mollie. He was my best friend, and a real comedian. We…

Advances meant Lee could have erections at the squeeze of a button! Flicking through my fave mag, one story immediately caught my eye. My todger’s bionic! screamed the headline. How could I ignore it? It was this February and, intrigued, I read all about Lee Carter, 49. He’d been born a woman, Lisa, and had struggled for 40 years in the wrong body before finally completing his genderreassignment surgery in 2012. And, thanks to medical advancements, he even had a real working penis. Silicone implants were used for testicles and an inflatable pump system was inserted. It meant that Lee could have erections at the squeeze of a button! Only, five years on from the surgery, he still hadn’t lost his male virginity. I want to fall in love first,…

They're YOUR tips!! Boot-iful plants For a slightly quirkier approach to gardening, I had a few spare plants, and planted them in some old boots! We can’t wait for ours to bloom. Dale Steer, Beer Rack ’em up! Hang an old handbag from a picture hook to make a funky magazine rack! Jennifer Shelden, Leicester Pasting stains Toothpaste gets rid of fake tan from places you don’t want it to be! Joanne Hasson, via e-mail Helping H2O As my grandchildren wanted to help me water my garden, I filled empty washing-up bottles with water. They had a really great time watering all my plants! Rosemary Janes, Monmouth Door-some My husband made this screen for the caravan door using widgets in beer cans. He washed them, painted them, drilled holes to…

Ask our Doc Don’t be shy – Chat’s Dr Martin Edwards is a family GP who’s seen it all before… Fibroid fears Q A scan has shown a fibroid in my womb. Should I get it removed? Yvonne, 42 A Fibroids are common as you grow older – around three-quarters of women have them by the age of 50. They’re lumps of muscle cells, which can cause heavy periods, or problems with fertility and childbirth. But most cause no symptoms, and shrink after menopause, so are safe to ignore. Hernia surgery? Q I have a lump in my stomach below my ribcage. I’ve been told it’s a hernia and I need surgery. Is it necessary? Jess, 36 A It sounds like an epigastric hernia. A piece of fat or bowel…

LETTER of the week! Inspirational fundraiser I enjoyed reading about Sara Cutting (16 March issue). She’s amazing. Despite battling cancer, she posted photos of herself in a different wig online every day to raise money for research. She’s raised over £22,000 so far! I went to her JustGiving page (www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/ChemoSnoodHead) to make a donation – it’s the least I can do! Amber Jacobs, Helsby CASH WE PAY One of the lads When my hubby Alan is watching the football on TV, I always shout, ‘Get in, you beauty!’ at the screen. He sighs and remarks, ‘There’s no hope for you.’ Perhaps he’s right! Christine Bartram, Heanor Falling clouds Recently we woke up and it was foggy. Having never seen weather like it, Bailey, my 4-year-old son, cried, ‘Mummy, the…

£1 Meal Deal 1 Lightly crush 500g cooked potatoes and 150g cooked peas in a bowl. 2 Heat 1tbsp rapeseed oil, add 2 finely chopped shallots, 1tbsp curry paste, 2tsp cumin seeds, 2tsp chilli flakes and gently fry, stirring, for 1-2 min. 3 Off heat, stir in 150g cooked spinach, cool slightly and add to potatoes and peas, along with 100g crumbled feta cheese and a small handful each of fresh coriander and mint. 4 Mix in 50g cornflour, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, season with salt and black pepper. Knead slightly, divide and shape into small patties. 5 Cook patties in batches in a little oil over medium heat until golden and crisp on both sides, turning once. Serve with a minted yogurt (stir 1tbsp mint sauce into 4tbsp…

Sweet treat Serves: 6 Prep: 15 min Cook: 25 min 6 slices of brioche (or use brioche buns and slice open) 175g marzipan, grated 300g strawberries, hulled and sliced 1 lime, halved Sprinkle of sugar Handful of flaked almonds Icing sugar to dust Creme fraiche or Greek yogurt to serve 1 Preheat oven to 190C/Gas 5. 2 Put brioche slices on a baking sheet and evenly scatter over grated marzipan, then sliced strawberries. Squeeze over lime juice and sprinkle with sugar and almonds. 3 Put in oven for about 20-25 min or until brioche is golden and topping is bubbling. 4 Out of oven, dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or Greek yogurt.…

6 reasons to visit... 1 Butlins Enjoy a Big Weekend at Butlins and we guarantee you’ll rebook while you’re there! With three hotels and different apartments to choose from, you’re spoilt for choice. For space and luxury, try a Seaside Apartment and relax on your terrace before heading to the pavilion for live music or a silent disco. 2 Beautiful beaches Bognor’s beaches are pebbly, but the perfect place to lounge in the sunshine, or take a paddle in the sea 3 Sen Restaurant & Tapas Bar Head to this Spanish gem for a few glasses of sangria and some delicious tapas. And if you can bear to share your grub, give the paella a taste. You’ll soon be imagining you’re on the Costa Brava! 4 Splash Waterworld Butlins’ own…

People saw a column of blue light across the sky They told him it was a place of evil. Where trees refused to grow. Where no animal would go, and over which no bird would fly. The Nest of the Fire Eagle. It was 1949. Russian geologist Vadim Kolpakov was on a study expedition in Irkutsk, Siberia, where he met the local Yakut people. They warned him not to visit the Nest of the Fire Eagle – the Patomskiy crater – as those who did sometimes didn’t return. But Vadim was intrigued. He journeyed on, deep into the woods. And then he found it. When I first saw the crater, I thought that I’d gone crazy, he wrote later. A perfectly shaped mount the size of a 25-storey building sitting…

13-19 July 2017 Aries 21 March - 20 April You were doing so well, but in the final stages come some unexpected upsets, and you feel your efforts were wasted. But you’ve come too far to give up and whatever it is, it can be sorted. Soon all will be well. • Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April - 21 May Easy job, easy money – what’s not to like? There are probably hidden downsides you haven’t seen yet. Nothing’s perfect, after all! But the benefits on offer are real enough, and certainly worth thinking about. • Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May - 21 June A bit of tension in a working relationship must be resolved. There’s no big disagreement as you’re on…