Innehållsförteckning för Best Of 3 - 2016 från Chat Specials

Hopefully, you will have enjoyed your fair share of summer loving over the last few months. But beware! Some romances can turn toxic, as our fab 13-page Twisted Love minimag reveals. It features terrifying tales of everything – from a brainwashing bully who flipped after persuading his girlfriend to get new boobs (p34), to a murderous serial wife (p38) and even a violent ghost! (p36). Our fab Best Of Chat also has some amazing stories of courage. Take Michael (p18) who, after battling gender issues since he was 8, finally came out as Michelle at 54! And read about poor Mel (p4), who suffered horrific childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her foster family. Now an adult, she bravely found the strength to report them. We also have cash…

Now here's a sight you don't expect to see when popping out for a pint! Liverpool locals were in for a shock when their streets were taken over by giant puppets. Dressed in bright waterproofs and scuba gear, with droplets spraying in the air, it looked like the mighty marionettes had emerged straight from the ocean! Indeed, they were part of the Sea Odyssey Festival, and tell a love story that's centred around the sinking of the Titanic. A worried uncle stride's through the crowd is search of his niece… But will he find her? Well, from those lofty heights, he certainly has a good (sea) view!…

We don’t just love camels. We live camels! Camels are pretty easy-going creatures. They have hairy ears, long eyelashes, two toes on each foot and they can grow to 7ft tall! And their favourite song is Hump-ty Dumpty. Well, I’m joking about that last bit! See, there’s really not much me, my husband Joseph, 55, my daughter Daisy, 17, and my son Leo, 14, don’t know about camels. One lump or two, dromedary or bactrian, we love them all. Which is why Daisy decided she’d arrive at her school prom riding one. ‘I’ll be like the queen of the desert,’ she said, excitedly. ‘But which one will you choose?’ I asked her. There was Ruby, Sahara, Sophia, Kokoso, Kazak, Berty… All living in a block of stables behind our house.…

For the first time ever, I felt like me. There’d be no going back It’s probably morbid – and, hopefully, a long way off, but I’ve already decided what I want on my gravestone. She died trying. Because I’ve spent my life trying. Trying to build strong relationships, run successful businesses, even become an inventor. But the most important thing I’ve tried to be is myself. From the age 8, I knew I didn’t fit in and, when my parents were out, I’d try on Mum’s clothes. ‘You’re not Michael, you’re Michelle,’ I said to myself. Of course, I never told anyone. But I knew other boys didn’t put on women’s clothes. It felt naughty, but right. To the outside world, I was Michael. Inside, I wasn’t so sure. Take…

I've always had issues with my weight and, back in 2008, I decided to try a diet of three meal replacements a day in the hope of shifting the pounds. I lost 6st 7lb in six months, but with terrible repercussions - at only 23, I suffered with hair loss and dizziness. After coming off the diet, I gained 8st 7lb! I tried various other diets to try and lose the weight, but nothing worked for me. Then, in June 2014, when I weighed 15st 3lb and was a dress size 18/20, I signed up with my local slimming club. By changing my habits and making lots of small changes to the way I cook, shop and eat, I started losing weight. Now I've lost almost 5st, I weigh 10st…

Pack of 8 Gel Pens, £6, Paperchase These gel pens from Paperchase come in blue and black, as well as a slightly jazzier red, purple and pink so you can take notes in whatever takes your fancy. Also comes with a handy pouch. Top of the class! Pencil case, £1, Poundland Available in pink, green, orange and blue, these bright little pencil cases will be impossible to lose. Spacious enough to hold all your pens, the case is see-through, so you can see exactly what you’ve got, making them ideal for exams! Highlighter pens, £1, The Works Make important notes stand out with these highlighters this fun set of five is decorated with adorable little animal face designs. A6 Notebook Set of Two, £3.99, Amazon These notebooks come with an…

‘I’ve been inside. I slit someone’s throat’ He recited my postcode back to me. My blood ran cold Struggling to put my case in the overhead rack, I saw a guy looking at me intently. With broad shoulders, dark hair and designer stubble, he was ruggedly handsome. And he knew it. ‘Let me,’ he grinned, lifting my bag up effortlessly. ‘Thank you,’ I smiled, sliding into my window seat. He sat opposite me, buried his nose in a paper. An author, tired from a work trip to London, I relished a bit of peace and quiet on the 90-minute journey from Waterloo station to Portsmouth. After that, I’d catch the ferry to the cottage on the Isle of Wight I shared with my hubby Doug, 64, and daughter Sophie, 20.…

She was the product of an affair between her mum and the milkman Nancy plunged the knife into his back We’ve all heard of the seven year itch. In Nancy and Michael Anderson’s case, that itch had become a septic sore. But, married for the fourth time, US school nurse Nancy wasn’t giving up without a fight. So, she turned to relationship counselling when her seven-year marriage hit the rocks. Nancy’s terrible track record with husbands wasn’t surprising. Now April 2007, she had some serious baggage. The product of an illicit affair between her mum and the milkman, she claimed her mother had hated her. She also alleged she’d been abused by a family friend. Forced to leave home at 18, she wed husband number one, James Miller – the…

I looked like I was smuggling a beach ball under my top Even the doctors were baffled by my swollen tum Shopping bags bursting, I squeezed onto the bus. ‘Here you go, love,’ urged a young lad, giving up his seat. My cheeks flushed bright red. ‘Erm, thanks,’ I replied. Not again! My swollen stomach was hidden beneath a pair of size-12 maternity jeans. It was easy to see why he thought I was expecting. Only, I wasn’t pregnant. I hadn’t been for over a year! Since my youngest daughter, Isla, arrived in October 2013, I’d looked like I was smuggling a beach ball under my top. After having my first three, Colby, 10, Tamzin, 9, and Reegon, 6, from a previous relationship, my body had soon snapped back to…

Most couldn’t wait to attend our wedding in the trees When it comes to weddings, I’ve never been a fan of traditional big days. ‘Let’s do something fun and different,’ my partner Martyn, 37, and I agreed when we got engaged. We’d met at a house party in February 2011, and had been inseparable ever since. But just a few months after we’d got engaged, in March 2013, I found out I was pregnant. ‘Best put the wedding plans on hold then,’ I said. I didn’t fancy squeezing my blossoming bump into a fitted wedding dress. When our daughter Alice was born in December, we got back into wedding mode. ‘It would be great if we could get married outside,’ Martyn suggested one day. We both love the outdoors, so…

Aries 21 Mar - 20 April Precision is going to be very important this month, a time when the planet of dreams, Neptune, continues to potentially cause mischief in terms of your sensitivities and sense of reality. Yet if you have a clear plan of what you want to achieve, a radical new direction can prove incredibly exhilarating. • Call 0905 817 1760* for more. Taurus 22 Dec - 20 Jan You can find yourself idealistic as this month begins, when a potent Solar Eclipse urges you to follow your dreams. But life has a habit of provoking us out of our cocoons and everyday realities can bite home. So, set your hopes high, but find a sensible way around the nitty-gritty of your finances. • Call 0905 817 1761*…

I gouged out its eyes and ripped open its podgy tummy By the time I was done, they looked truly evil Teddy bears – soft, fluffy, adorable, cuddly children’s toys. Well, not mine! My teds are a bunch of scare bears. Zombies, demons and evil blood-soaked monsters, designed to frighten the living daylights out of you! ‘But why?’ you might ask. Because ever since I was a little girl I’ve been totally hooked on horror. Dressing up at Halloween, watching zombie movies and slasher flicks. The gorier the better! When I was 15, I got together with my partner, Simon Braithwaite, then 17. He soon got used to my horror habit. Simon, now 31, got a job as a rail engineer. And in between having kids, Brian, now 6, Megan,…

I’d lie there wondering which brother was going to abuse me Looking back now, I call it the ‘Hellholehouse’. But when I arrived at my new foster home, aged around 4, I thought it might be a new start for me. My parents had separated when I was about 3 and Dad struggled to cope with me and my siblings. So I’d been passed around before being sent to live with the Dixons in Belle Isle, Leeds. I just wanted safety and to be loved. But from the off, I was singled out. ‘Nobody wants you here,’ Reginald Dixon told me. He was a stern man with a temper. He got angry if his wife didn’t have dinner on the table in time. Reginald had two sons – Paul, 10,…

In his hotel room, we tore at each other’s clothes It wasn’t the sort of thing my partner asked me every day. But, with Tony, I’d come to expect the unexpected. ‘How would you feel about having sex with other men?’ he asked, crunching down on a custard cream. It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon eight years ago. We’d been sitting in front of the telly watching the rugby and eating biscuits when Tony had come out with it. It hadn’t come as a big shock. We’d met back in 1998 when we’d been part of the same residents’ committee. ‘I’m not one to beat about the bush,’ he’d said to me after one meeting. ‘I like you.’ Upfront, but I loved it. He was 16 years older than me,…

Lola was trembling. Something must have spooked her As she raced downstairs, my excited daughter Madelaine’s face lit up. ‘A puppy!’ she squealed, delighted. Lola, a little 8-week-old poodle-spaniel, sat by the tree, tail wagging. It was Christmas 2011, and Madelaine, then 7, had begged me and her dad, Gavin, 30, for a dog. ‘Merry Christmas, sweetheart,’ I beamed. Lola was gorgeous. A friendly fluffy, white ball of fur, with big brown eyes. Best pals, Lola followed Madelaine everywhere. Our son Harry, 3, loved her, too, and she soon became part of the family. And, in April 2014, Lola joined us all for a weekend camping in Whitby, North Yorkshire. My mum and dad – Lynn, 48, and Mark, 50 – joined us, along with my sister, Lisa, 28. We…

The IVF failed. With it, I felt my dreams die Having your leg amputated. Losing your life... It’s hard to think of anything worse. Except, to my mind, there was something worse… Never having kids. And that’s exactly what I was facing on 20 April 2009. ‘How about we delay chemo?’ I said to the doctor, desperately. ‘Then I could harvest some eggs.’ ‘I’m not sure you’ve understood,’ the doctor said, gently. ‘If you don’t start chemo now, you could be facing an amputation… or death.’ I’d just been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma. For weeks, I’d had searing pain in my left leg. A scan had shown what was causing it – a cancerous tumour on my femur. I’d need surgery to remove it,…

From my teens, I got bigger every year, and, by 2013, I weighed 22st 12lb - a size 28. But, with my 40th birthday looming, I didn't want to be overweight any more. I'd been given a Slimming World magazine, and decided to try it. I joined in the June - and never looked back! I started the Food Optimising programme, and was surprised to find that nothing is off limits. I started to lose weight straight away, which really spurred me on. Now I've lost 11st 2½lb - almost half my previous weight! Happily, I've been at my target weight of 11st 9½lb for several months now, and I'm a slinky size 12 for the first time in a quarter of a century! The family…

Whoosh, my nightdress went up in flames I was so excited, I was up at the crack of dawn. We're going camping today, I thought, excitedly. Aged just 9, I just couldn’t wait for the family trip with my mum Anne, dad John, and three siblings Ryan, then 15, Michaela, 14, and Natalie, 4. It was a Sunday morning in July 2004 and, as I was awake before everyone else, I crept quietly downstairs. Then I noticed a stray thread hanging from my teddy bear nightdress. I tugged at it, but it didn’t come off. I spotted a cigarette lighter. Picked it up. I know, I thought. I'll burn the thread off with this. I must’ve seen a grown-up do it before. But the next thing, I’d flicked the lighting…

In a flash of fury, he punched me in the throat Peering at my shapely bum in the mirror, I smiled at my reflection. Blue jeans hugged my size-14 figure perfectly. A sexy, sleeveless top and slick of lippy topped off my ‘date look’. Butterflies fluttered in my tummy at the thought of finally having coffee with the handsome Denis Self, 46. We’d met a few weeks earlier on the dating site Oasis.com and hit it off. Now, arriving at the cafe in Blackheath, south east London, I wondered if we’d have a spark. ‘Nice to meet you Lisa,’ Denis said, pecking me on the cheek. What a gent, I thought. With his charming smile and old-school manners, Denis swept me off my feet. I fell for him fast –…

Staring at the CCTV images of the raid, my blood ran cold Hot and bothered with aching feet and smelling of beer, the last thing I expected was to be hit on. So, when Lee Sullivan, all blue eyes and sexy stubble, asked me on a date, I thought he must have been joking. ‘I’m too busy for a night out,’ I laughed, handing him his pint. ‘I have three kids!’ ‘Go on,’ Lee wheedled. ‘You deserve some fun.’ I was flattered. A single mum juggling uni with a part-time bar job, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d hit the town. Especially with such a handsome stranger like Lee. Five years younger, a real cheeky chappy, I couldn’t help fancying him. So, in August 2010, I left the kids…

I felt a wet grip on my nose as he sank his teeth in I was used to handling the odd troublemaker. Working as a doorman at a club in Leicester for two years, I enjoyed it. Me and my colleagues looked after each other. We had a good laugh most nights. The hours suited me, too. Each day, I trained at the gym for my other passion – boxing. I’d done some amateur bouts and, in February, I’d signed a contract with a promoter to fight regularly. ‘I want to see how good I can be,’ I told my mum Carla, 48. On Friday 20 June 2014, I started work at 10pm. Just a normal night. Until, at 2.40am, the DJ radioed for security – there was a ruckus…

Pain spread across my tummy Staring down at the positive pregnancy test, I think I was in shock… It’d come as a complete surprise, but I was thrilled to be expecting. My partner was, too! ‘I’ll start looking at prams,’ my dad said, when I’d told my parents in June 2012. And I was fortunate that I didn’t suffer any sickness. At my 20-week scan at Peterborough City Hospital, the sonographer smiled. ‘It’s a girl,’ she said. ‘Wow!’ I grinned. I’d always seen myself with a daughter. I bought cute clothes and some bits for her pram. Only, on 31 October, 2012, I started feeling sick. ‘I’m going to get an early night,’ I said to Mum and Dad, as I was living at home. I wasn’t too worried, assumed…

Walkies or Walkers? Get stuck in! Our dog Jinx won’t stop until he’s got the last crumb out of the crisp bag! Rebecca Howells, Newport High-class hound My Chihuahua pup Maisie was tickled pink with her carrier made out of an old handbag! Alison Blackler, York My gymmy pig! Battling it out to be ‘World’s Strongest Guinea Pig’, Frankie is trying the full-body lift! Caroline Laytham, St Helens Feline fixated When my cat Ben settles down to watch the TV, he becomes slightly mesmerised! Lee Hall, Sittingbourne Find new shell-ter Why doesn’t this guy get a move on?’ I think our Labrador Milo is trying to tell us that Tortie the Tortoise has overstayed his welcome... Tracey Pascoe, Illogan…

Months turned to years. I realised Gemma must be dead Being the eldest, I was very protective. Especially since my little sis Gemma, three years my junior, was outgoing, headstrong and always spoke her mind. Not surprisingly, like any sisters, we argued. But we were close, always made up after any silly row. At 15, she’d introduced a friend – Martin Bell, then 22. Gemma had loads of mates, but Bell was different. Posh and geeky. Not Gemma’s usual ‘type’. See, two years earlier, she’d confided she was a lesbian. As long as she was happy, so were we. So, knowing her relationship with Bell was platonic, despite their age difference, I didn’t worry. And he seemed harmless. But after a few years, their friendship dwindled. I didn’t question it,…

NO-ONE CAN BERT ME! Bertie the tortoise, aged around 15, can reach speeds of about half a mile an hour. Positively sprinting round an 18ft course in Durham in 19.59 secs, he thrashed the previous record of 43.7 secs set in 1977. HEAD OVER HEELS Li Longlong, from China, thrashed his 2012 record of scaling 34 steps on his head, topping it with an extra two. Batty for Batman Over the past 45-odd years, Kevin Silva of Indiana has put in super-heroic effort to amass 2,501 Batman-related items. The first piece of memorabilia he owned is a lunchbox that he was bought as a young child. Buzzin’! King of the so-called beebearders, Ruan Liangming, from China, achieved the heaviest mantle of bees and the longest duration with head covered in…

My massive backside was stuck in the seat! My 5-year-old daughter Megan soared through the air on a swing in the park. ‘Higher! Higher!’ she giggled. But I wasn’t the one pushing her. That was her dad Peter, 35. Me? I was too puffed out from the walk to the park. Instead, I fell into the empty swing beside her. The metal chains creaked and dug into me. Peter and I were both really out of shape. I was a size 36, while Peter wore an XXXL shirt. Too many takeaways were the main culprit – especially our favourite, sweet-and-sour chicken balls from the local Chinese, scoffed with a hefty portion of egg-fried rice. If it wasn’t that, we’d tuck into pasta ready-meals with cheese. No wonder both our tummies…

Septicaemia had spread through my body Waking with a start at 5am, I felt awful. My chest hurt, breathing was tough and I felt sick. ‘I don’t feel well,’ I said, waking my boyfriend Matt. Seeing it was serious, he drove me to A&E at East Surrey Hospital. I had blood tests, was put on a drip, given painkillers. ‘We think it’s a stomach bug,’ the doctor said, before discharging me. A friend dropped me home, as Matt had to go home to look after his kids. She was concerned. ‘Your eyes are yellow,’ she told me. ‘I just want to be in a dark room,’ I said. I fell asleep on the sofa. When I woke, I was disorientated, couldn’t move. Then I was sick. Matt got me some…

We’d gone to Australia to celebrate my 50th, but while the day should have been one of the happiest, behind my fake smile I was miserable. Getting on for 16st and a size 22, it was so hot my legs were rubbing together and starting to bleed. Later that day, we went to a theme park and the log flume had to close. I saw a boy tell his mum, ‘That fat lady broke it!’ I’d heard that the NHS was offering a six-week pass with Scottish Slimmers. So, in February 2014, I joined. The Positive Eating Plan is all about eating healthily. With a wide choice of foods, I found it easy to stick to. I lost a couple of pounds each week, attended the weekly class – and…

Peter wanted to control me. His temper scared me Looking between my newborn son and his proud dad, the twinkle in their eyes was unmistakeable. It was that same sparkling twinkle had won my heart, when I first spoke to Peter Dunnell at a local bus stop, two years before. Not long since I’d split with my hubby, our morning chats as I travelled to work as a private care nurse and he went into town, put a spring in my step. Peter lived around the corner. One day, when he had a problem at home, he looked uneasy. ‘I know it’s a massive ask, but could I sleep at yours?’ he asked. ‘Erm, I suppose so,’ I nervously replied. Fast forward two years and now, here we were, a…

The dark figure of a man ran across the road ahead I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t utter a sound As the confetti floated down around me, I beamed as I clutched my bouquet. I was finally Mrs David Mountstephens! David, a bar supervisor, and me, a biomedical scientist at a local hospital, had met online in 2011. Just 12 months later, we cemented our love before 19 close friends and family in our hometown of Weston-super-Mare. ‘Ready to go, Ruth?’ David got into our car and roared off. ‘Can’t wait,’ I smiled. Instead of an expensive honeymoon, we’d booked a romantic night away at the Jamaica Inn, on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. I’d visited it with my friend Craig a few years previously. The famous old smuggler’s hangout…

We’d a jukebox and quiz machine in our lounge! Me and my hubby Simon first bonded over beer. ‘Can I get you a drink?’ he’d asked back in April 1989, when we met on a night out. ‘Pint of ale, please!’ I replied. He was impressed. Well, beer’s not just for the boys! We became a couple, and always enjoyed a night out. Not at a trendy club or cocktail bar, though, but a good, old-fashioned boozer. Only trouble was, they seemed to be dying out, and we were spending more evenings in. We had a games room in our attic, filled with Simon’s ‘boys’ toys’. He had an old, arcade-style Donkey Kong tabletop game up there, a dartboard and pool table. So instead of a night at the pub,…

The doctor said faecal transplant had worked for others My parents were enjoying their retirement. Happy and healthy, my dad Len, 75, and mum Thelma, 81, were very independent. Always off on long, leisurely holidays together. Well, they had the time to take the scenic routes! So when Dad had a fall and was admitted to the University Hospital of North Tees in November 2014, I wasn’t too worried. ‘He’ll be right as rain in no time,’ I told Mum. But when he came home a couple of days later, Dad wasn’t his usual self at all. He was lethargic, couldn’t eat. A couple of weeks on, Mum called me in a panic. ‘It’s your dad, love,’ she told me. ‘He’s really ill.’ I rushed round to theirs straight away.…

I’ve been to A&E over 100 times You know what kids are like, always messing around. And, at 12 years old, I was certainly no different. I was playing with my mates at school one day, when I grabbed one of their coats. Pain shot through my left thumb, and it throbbed. My mum, Rosemary, 51, took to me to A&E at Medway hospital. There, I was X-rayed and given painkillers. ‘It’s dislocated,’ the doctor told me. I had it relocated and set in a cast. Just weeks later, I did the same thing to my other thumb. That was put in a cast, too. Mum had to help me wash my hair, cut up my food. ‘It’s so frustrating,’ I said. Turns out it was just the start… That…

Thanks to Chat Mag Bingo, we had a ball! As the credits of my favourite soap started rolling, I decided to have a few games of Chat Mag Bingo. I’d joined the site a few years earlier and really loved playing. Although I’d played online bingo before, I found this so much more fun and really easy to use. Bingo was my favourite, especially the 75-ball game – I’d even had a couple of wins of £400 and £500 on that one. But I also enjoyed the Winstones slots. This time, I decided to buy some 10p tickets for the linked game in Tiki.They’re played across a number of rooms, meaning bigger jackpots can be won. Steadily my numbers began to pop up, and were automatically dabbed off my card.…

Our disabled pup was up and running again As soon as I picked up the dog leads, my pooches’ ears pricked up. ‘Walkies!’ I called out. Seconds later, they came bounding over, wagging their tails. I’d had 12-year-old Chester, a Jack Russell-cross, and his brother Scooby since they were just young pups. Scooby was always the top dog, whereas Chester was a lot quieter. But I loved them both to bits. ‘Come on then,’ I said, leading them around the park. They charged round it, just as they normally would. But, a few days later, my hubby Stuart, 42, suddenly called me in a panic when I was away visiting my mum. ‘Chester’s collapsed on the kitchen floor,’ he said. ‘One minute he was fine, the next he completely lost…