Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Platinum

I think we can well and truly say that spring is here! Despite this being the May issue, it’s on sale March 22, which is two days after the spring equinox (depending on which website you consult). I love the lighter evenings as well as all the spring flowers and freshness in the air – it truly puts a spring in one’s step! But the warmer days will call for lighter clothing, meaning very soon I’ll have to relinquish my beloved tracksuits, which I’ve been wearing non-stop since autumn, plus my oversized grey jumper (left) that I throw on when I need to look slightly less slobby. Fashion took a complete back seat for me after my son was born, and now that I work from home, I can’t see…

‘If you want to keep young, keep an open mind and don’t feel like you know the answer to everything’ ‘What a load of absolute rot!’. That’s the response I get from television personality, broadcaster and journalist Vanessa Feltz when I raise the subject of a recent announcement from department store John Lewis that declared the floral midi dress – a beloved staple of many a wardrobe – to be out of fashion. But Vanessa has good reason to rubbish these claims. The astonishing success of her recently released fashion collection with new celebrity capsule clothing brand 4Love – which features many a beautiful floral midi dress – only goes to show us that as women, we know what we like and we’ll keep on buying and wearing what we…

New looks If, while aimlessly window shopping online on a dismal rainy day, you spot a dress that is possibly your idea of heaven, then my advice is to buy it immediately. Dresses that tick all the boxes: stylish, comfortable, versatile and sophisticated, yet practical, don’t come along that often. I have one long-sleeved navy midi dress that has taken me to Ascot, a funeral, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, a Coronation party, two weddings, lunch with girlfriends and myriad other events. It is probably the cleverest purchase I ever made eight years ago. But at the time, I wasn’t even looking for a dress. I was shopping for a jacket. Knowing that this dress is always hanging in my wardrobe removes all the inevitable “what to wear” stress. The other…

As the warmer weather arrives, neck lines lower, shirts open, and we show more skin. Attention is then put onto the neck and décolletage, so don’t let your skincare routine stop at your jawline. From the jaw down to the bust, the skin is very delicate and will show age more than the skin on your face. Similar in texture to that around the eyes, it is often prone to sun exposure, premature ageing, breakdown of collagen, sun spots, crepey skin, fine lines and visible blood vessels. After years of neglect on my part, I am pleased to say it’s never too late to rejuvenate the appearance and help restore the area back to its former glory – or at least improve the overall look by boosting firmness and texture.…

I have always been in love with art and design and was creative from an early age. I come from a family of artists and designers: my mother is an interior decorator, my three sisters are all artists, and my daughter, Chiara Stephenson, is a successful and well-known theatre set designer. I chose this career path because I find it fascinating seeing something beautiful unfold when I paint a picture or design something new. I love great design concepts, whether it is an ornate vintage object, an exotic interior, a well-cut piece of clothing, a fabulous sports car or some great engineering feat. I marvel at the incredible engineering and design concepts of the 18th and 19th centuries, like the Iron Bridge in Telford, the Royal Albert Hall, or even…

Take a trip to remember through one of the world’s most beautiful mountain ranges. The beauty of the Alps can be appreciated year round, whether in spring when wildflowers abound or in autumn as the trees change colour against snow-capped peaks. On this five-day, no-fly tour of the Swiss Alps, you’ll stay in a four-star hotel in Interlaken, visit Lucerne and Bern, and cruise across picturesque Lakes Thun and Lucerne. You’ll also travel on the Glacier Express for a day, enjoying a three-course lunch while you ascend into the mountains through the dramatic Oberalp Pass. Highlights Ride the Glacier Express After a short train journey to Chur, in Eastern Switzerland, you’ll join the iconic Glacier Express for one of the most unforgettable days of your tour. Known as the “slowest…

One of the things that strikes me when coaching midlife women is how resistant we are to making space in our lives for something we enjoy. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed, we feel that we are under the obligation of some invisible contract, one that requires us to be perpetually busy. If we are not engaged in work or household jobs, or caring for others or volunteering, we feel that we are somehow wasting time. And that is unacceptable, unthinkable, unforgivable. So, we soldier on in our designated roles, brittle with exhaustion and unfulfilled needs. When I asked one 50-year-old mother what respite looked like for her, she paused and replied quietly that all she wanted was this: to lock herself in…

LOUISE MINCHIN The TV presenter and author works on her strength to boost her health and longevity. SUZY GLASKIE Health coach Suzy offers a simple and effective way to create calm. It’s time to read a book! HEATHER JACKSON In her final column, the Gen-M founder invites you to seize the day, every day. ADELE PARKS MBE Bestselling author Adele rounds up her six favourite new reads for us this month. DOTTIE MONAGHAN Platinum’s resident make-up artist tells us why skincare shouldn’t stop at the jawline. GAIL ROLFE Fashion expert Gail shares her expert advice on finding the perfect dress. JANE MOORE The Loose Women presenter reveals the results of her recent online personality test. DR DAWN HARPER The author and GP offers her expert sleep tips to help midlife…

My daughters sent me an online personality test* recently, along with the accompanying prediction that my outcome from the 16 options would be “logistician”. I answered honestly – my logical brain tells me that, otherwise, there’s no point – and they were spot on. “Logisticians are practical and fact-minded individuals, whose reliability cannot be doubted”, the written conclusion informed me. PERSONA BY NUMBERS But just as my head was starting to swell, there were a few stats that were open to slightly less flattering interpretation. On the assertive-to-turbulent scale, I scored 90 per cent assertive. Now of course, this can be a good thing in certain circumstances, such as asking for a pay rise or refusing to tolerate someone’s bad behaviour. I have always been quite ballsy in both scenarios.…

‘I’m excited to be able to contribute’ Katherine Rawlings, 52, director at Coutts Bank from Oxford. I read my first issue when I located it in the reception of my hotel in Santorini this summer and was instantly hooked. I subscribed immediately as I find the articles so relevant to my lifestyle. I am in the process of changing careers from having worked at Coutts Bank for 15 years as a director to transitioning to a naturopath, as I have found that this way of living has really helped my chronic health conditions become manageable. I travel a lot so I’m happy to share those experiences. Last year a month in Nepal at a yoga retreat and this year Australia, plus a girls’ trip to Turkey and a trek to…

Denim…

Over the past few months I have shared a range of natural approaches to combat myriad menopause symptoms. I’m sure you have invested in some cooling nightwear to ease hot flushes, added magnesium to your diet to aid sleep, tried out an oatmeal bath to lessen the itching, and I feel certain you have enjoyed a glass of wine to combat brain fog. As you now know, the majority of your symptoms are linked to fluctuating levels of oestrogen. Oestrogen has many roles, one of which is to control levels of the stress hormone cortisol. As oestrogen starts to wane, you can find yourself feeling constantly in “fight or flight” mode. What you need is something to calm everything down and activate your parasympathetic nervous system, your “tend and befriend”…

SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 126 CODEWORD Each letter of the alphabet has been replaced by the same number throughout this grid. Use the decoded letters given to work out the identity of other letters and fill in the grid. The alphabet list and reference grid will help you to keep track of the letters you’ve decoded. WORDWHEEL You have ten minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters in the wheel. Each word must be three letters or more and contain the central letter. Use each letter once, and no plurals, foreign words or proper nouns are allowed. There is at least one nine-letter word. AVERAGE: 30 wordsGOOD: 35 wordsEXCELLENT: 39 words CELL BLOCK Fill the grid by drawing blocks along the gridlines. Each block must contain the…

Adele Parks MBE is the author of 23 bestselling novels including Just Between Us, Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck. She writes compelling, twisty, psychological thrillers that are popular all over the world, with five million English language editions sold. She is dedicated to spreading the joy of reading and is a proud ambassador of the National Literacy Trust. She loves hearing from readers so keep in touch with her via X (formerly Twitter) @adeleparks or at instagram.com/adele_parks. DAY ONE by Abigail Dean (£16.99, HarperCollins) Dean courageously tackles storylines that other writers might avoid. Her astonishing debut, Girl A, is about familial abuse and became a huge bestseller. Deservedly so, as it is beautifully written, compassionate and not at all gratuitous. Dean has used the same deftness to write…

The Big Debate Making your own clothes was a way of life for many women until the 1970s, my own mother included, who made 60s mod-style mini-dresses in fabulously patterned fabric that still look marvellous today. The average wardrobe contained far fewer clothes than today but they were well made, well taken care of and made to last. Then along came fast fashion and suddenly almost everyone could access an overwhelming choice of clothes. While at first this seemed to open up fashion, it gradually unravelled like an old spool of yarn into a throwaway culture of landfill sites stuffed with discarded clothes, exploitation of workers and a sharp decline in quality. Nobody’s suggesting you need to pick up a needle and thread, but there are other options besides fast…

When I was 16, I sat in a ward that smelled of disinfectant and cabbage with squeaky trolleys rolling by every 10 seconds and I gibbered at the bedside of my dad who was dying of stomach cancer. He was helping me revise for my O Levels and he was testing me on chemistry equations. ‘How many did I get right?’ I asked. ‘Two out of 37,’ he said. ‘I’m going to fail,’ I wailed, as only a self-obsessed teen could do, sitting at the bedside of her dying father. ‘It doesn’t matter, baby, none of it matters,’ he would say to me, trying to hold my hand but failing because his energy had run out. He died not long after that conversation. Then three years later, my mum died…

While Louise Pitman’s first career very much revolved around men, her second has been all about supporting women. Initially starting as a volunteer, she went on to complete her training and over the years progressed to becoming a senior probation officer and member of senior management. However, when the probation service was privatised, everything changed. Louise found herself working in the private sector, in a highly pressured environment, managing unhappy staff ‘who were leaving in droves’. She was constantly delivering bad news and chasing KPIs, in what was becoming a toxic environment. She was the only woman on the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel, and being paid considerably less than her male counterparts. She also fundamentally disagreed with privatisation. ‘I didn’t think it was a safe way to manage people,’ she…

I have been a GP for nearly 30 years and during that time I have seen literally hundreds of menopausal women – some of whom have had a really tough time of it – so I know my own experience of menopause was relatively easy. The main thing I struggled with was sleep disturbance, and as I sit down to write this column, I have just finished a busy NHS surgery where I saw several people with sleep problems. So, I thought this month, it would be a good subject to consider. The science of sleep and its importance is becoming an increasingly interesting field of medicine – which has to be a good thing. For too long we have celebrated those who can work long hours and remain apparently…

If you are a regular Platinum reader, I imagine that you are already aware how important it is for us all to be strong, especially going into our later life. Recently I had a stark reminder of this when my 81-year-old father had a nasty fall. He tripped over the kerb and ended up in hospital for a week with several broken bones. Thankfully, after impeccable treatment by the NHS he is back on his feet and back at home recuperating. Until his fall, my father has always been incredibly fit and mobile for his age, even up to a couple of years ago he was still hiking with me up hills in North Wales, so to see him so badly injured has been a big shock and a timely…