Innehållsförteckning för 07-Jun-2018 från Chat

Sitting on the school bus, I pulled out my book to read. Suddenly I heard giggling behind me. A boy at the back of the bus was pointing at me, laughing. ‘You’ve got a moustache!’ he shouted. It was July 2004 and I was just 14. My face burned as all the other kids turned to look at me. Burying my head between the pages, I tried to ignore them. But I felt like a freak. When I got home that night, I couldn’t get the boy’s words out my head. Looking in the mirror, I realised I had a bit of dark hair growing on my lip. I’d never really thought about it before. Always assumed it was normal. But now I felt self-conscious. Heading straight to see my…

GUILTY It took jurors almost four days to find Dwayne Lindsey, 34, guilty of murdering Chayse. He’s due to be sentenced as Chat goes to press, and faces a maximum sentence of life. In a Press interview after the trial, Michelle told of the heartbreak at never hearing her innocent son’s giggle again. ‘It hurts so much, waking up knowing he’s not there any more. I’m never going to hear him say “mum” again. It just shouldn’t have happened. He was such a beautiful little boy, so happy.’…

Weird tan Q My holiday tan is ruined by lots of round pale patches. Can I get rid of them? Sienna, Basildon A Sounds like pityriasis versicolor, a fungus infection causing patches of skin to lose pigment. Often it doesn't show until the rest of your skin tans. Try applying antifungal shampoo to your skin every day, or ask your GP for antifungal cream. Knee op or not? Q I hurt my knee skiing and a scan shows I've torn my ACL. My GP recommends an op but it's settling down. Can I leave it? Claire, Huddersfield A Your anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, keeps your knee stable. A tear might not give many symptoms but, years later, could lead to arthritis. Older or inactive people could get away with…

It was a perfect autumn day, but my patience was wearing thin. Half an hour and still no bus, I thought, frustrated. I’d just had dental surgery and my mouth throbbed. Then a tan Volkswagen Beetle car pulled up. Rolling down the window, the driver smiled. ‘Where you going?’ he asked. He was cute! ‘Up to campus,’ I said. It was October 1974, I was 21 and studying Pharmacy at the University of Utah. ‘Me, too! Hop in,’ he beamed. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for strangers to offer lifts. Besides, he was a fellow student, clean-cut and handsome with curly dark-brown hair. My lucky day! I thought. Climbing in, I reached for the handle to close the door. It wasn’t there. Leaning over me, he pulled it shut by…

Fantasy Queen of Darkness Pink Instant Glitter Spray, £2.99, Superdrug Spritz this along your parting or all over your hair for a subtle shimmer that washes out easily. NYX Professional Makeup Glitter Brilliants in Teal, £5.50, Boots Wear this over eyeshadow or sprinkled on your face. A slick of Vaseline will help keep it in place. Collection Glam Crystals Eyeshadow Palette, £4.99, Boots Wear each of these highly pigmented shadows alone or blend them together to make a statement. Barry M Mystic Mermaid Face Jewels, £4.99, barrym.com No time for fancy make-up? Be festival-ready in minutes with these stick-on gems.…

Watching my son Mayson, then 4, tear around the living room, I felt exhausted. ‘Mummy, play cops and robbers with me,’ he begged. But just pulling myself up from the sofa was an effort. ‘Not now, sweetie,’ I said, making excuses. Seeing his face drop made me feel overcome with guilt. But I just didn’t have the energy to play. You see, at a whopping 19st 8lb, I was huge. I’d always battled with my weight. And after having Mayson, I’d piled on even more. I squeezed my bust and bum into size-24 clothes. I was so self-conscious – and, over the years, I’d suffered anxiety and depression. I just didn’t want to leave the house – terrified what people would think of me. My partner Allen, 29, loved me,…

Every mum thinks their baby is the most beautiful in the world. But my Isaac really was a cutie. Big brown eyes, sweet button nose... I was a single mum and Isaac was my second child, born in October 2007. His half-brother, Bailey, 5, loved him to bits. Everyone did. Then, when Isaac was 5 months, I noticed something strange. ‘Isaac seems to have a little hunch to his back,’ I said to my mum Jan, 63. ‘Maybe you should take him to the doctor?’ she said. So in late March 2008, I did. Doctors examined Isaac, insisted he was OK. But I wasn’t convinced. Something about the fleshy lump at the top of Isaac’s spine didn’t look right to me. So I kept going back...five, six times. But the…

Holding my newborn, I was instantly in love. Connor was my second child, with a big brother Grant, then 5. He was born premature at 31 weeks and weighed a tiny 4lb 13oz. Luckily, he thrived. Only, one day aged 5, he’d been eating some sweets when his lips started to swell. Panicking, I whisked him to hospital. Doctors ran tests. ‘Connor has a nut allergy,’ the doctor said. There must’ve been traces in the sweets. It was a worry – but it was manageable. Connor was discharged the next day with an EpiPen to use in emergencies. And despite his food allergy, Connor grew into a strapping young man –6ft tall. He and Grant were close, and both became caring big brothers when Ben came along in February 2000.…

Shuffling from one foot to the other, my daughter Dionne looked anxious. ‘Mum...’ she started. ‘I’m pregnant.’ The news was a shock. It was September 2006, and Dionne was only 17. The baby wasn’t planned, the father wasn’t around. But what was the point of telling her off? My girl needed help. ‘We’ll do this together,’ I promised. Dionne was my youngest of three and had always been a happy kid. She’d not been without her problems, though. She struggled at school, and always wanted to be on the move, couldn’t keep still. ‘Dionne’s dancing feet,’ I used to call it. I wondered whether she had ADHD. And now I worried how she’d cope with motherhood. Yet Dionne surprised us all. When her little girl Rebecca was born in May…

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common condition that affects how a woman's ovaries function. Symptoms include irregular periods or no periods at all, difficulty getting pregnant, excessive body and facial hair, weight gain, thinning hair or hair loss, and oily skin or acne. Symptoms usually become apparent in late teens or early 20s. PCOS affects around one in five women in the UK, yet more than half don't have any symptoms at all. If you think you might have the condition, speak to your GP.…

Blue? Then it’s you! Use brightly coloured paint-swatch cards as a colour-coded checklist for household chores - it's a great way of dividing all the tasks equally! Barbara Champion, Meadowfield, County Durham Access all areas A bath sponge fixed to a walking stick allows me to clean the walls above the bath without struggling or balancing on the sills. Lena Wattes, Chester-le-Street Heat’s off When my straighteners are hot after switching them off, I protect surfaces with a bamboo mat. You can buy them for about £1 - and they're light to carry, so you can take them away, too. Melissa Nuttall, Poole Not knotted  When I'm travelling, I use a coat hanger to keep my jewellery from getting tangled. Keeps it all tidy, and I can see everything. Margaret…

Cheering my students on, I felt a pulsing in my head again. A Performing Arts teacher at a primary school, I was helping out at the after-school talent show. Almost home time, I thought. It was March 2017 and I’d had a pounding headache all day. Certain it was nothing, I’d powered through. But as I stood there watching the kids perform, I collapsed. Everything went black. The next thing I remember is waking up in Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. A thousand questions raced through my mind. How did I get here? What happened? I looked around and saw my dad, Roger, 66. ‘Hey love,’ he said, relieved. I tried to respond but no words came out. What’s going on? I panicked. Sensing my fear, Dad placed his hand…

Makes: 16 Prep: 15 min Cook: 25 min Cost per serving: 72p 1 Heat oven to 170C/Gas 3. Melt 200g unsalted butter and set aside to cool. With an electric hand whisk, whisk 4 large eggs with 175g soft brown sugar until thick and creamy. 2 Mix 1tsp baking powder, 100g plain flour and 200g ground almonds until well combined. Set aside. 3 Alternately fold the ground almond mixture and melted butter into the egg mixture. 4 Very gently fold in 100g chopped white chocolate and 100g raspberries, then pour into a prepared tin and scatter over another 100g raspberries and 100g chopped white chocolate. 5 Bake for 25 min, until golden. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares. Drizzle over some extra melted white chocolate…

I’ve never blended in with the crowd. Moving from Gloucestershire to Essex at the age of 9, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Tall and skinny, big glasses, buck teeth and a noticeable countryside accent. ‘Lollipop, four eyes,’ school bullies would jeer. I retreated into music, it was an escape and my passion. By 13, I could play the piano, recorder, clarinet, bass guitar... By July 1983, I got a Music degree from Surrey University and dreamt of being a songwriter. ‘But love songs are 10 a penny,’ I told friends. And I was determined to be different. And so, over the years, I wrote quirky tunes like the Pizza Song, Fun to be a Fish, and Kevin’s Making Sushi. But my fave was my catchy Crumble Song, written…

Serves: 4 Prep: 15 min Cook: 5 min Cost per serving: 96p 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/ Gas 6. Brush 1 corn on the cob with 1tsp oil and fry in a nonstick pan until tender and charred, then cut away the kernels with a knife. Heat 4 corn tortillas in the oven, one at a time, until just coloured. Mould each one over an upturned jar or tumbler to make a ‘bowl' (you will need to protect your hands with a clean tea towel). 2 Shred 200g cooked chicken and put in a bowl with a handful of fresh coriander, 4 chopped jalapeños and the zest and juice of 1 lime, then season. Mix 2tbsp mayo, 1tsp sriracha sauce and the juice of another lime with a little…

Aries 21 March - 20 April A mate is encouraging you to do something you’ve already said no to. Maybe with two of you, it would work out better. Or maybe not. One thing is certain, though - if you say no again, that’s that. Call 0905 817 0690* for more Taurus 21 April - 21 May Little things have a habit of leading to bigger ones. What seems like fun now could have huge consequences - legal, personal, and more. If you’re still up for it, then fine. But be aware of where it’s taking you. Call 0905 817 0691* for more Gemini 22 May - 21 June You usually try to keep two options open at once, so if one goes wrong, you’ve got the other to fall…

Dominic Wallis, 28, and Elizabeth (Libby) Ellis, 20, denied murder. And Kingsley and Karen Wallis, both 55, pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice. Dionne’s dad Gary sat through the trial every day. On day three, I took the stand. I told the jury about my girl and her struggles. At the trial, I was sickened to learn the horrific details about how Libby had taken Dionne to visit Dominic, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. They’d all been drinking, taking drugs. At some point, a row broke out, and my beautiful daughter was savagely beaten. The pair sprayed ammonia in her eyes. Instead of calling for help, they returned to the scene... One of the police officers who found Dionne said she looked like ‘someone who had been…

Typing up a report at work, I barely noticed my phone ping. It was January 2017 and I was busy catching up on admin. It was a message from my daughter Clarice, then 17. Mum, I’ve got something to tell you,the message read. I’m pregnant. As I read and reread it, I could barely take it in. I’m going to be a grandma, I thought. I was only 35! Still, having kids young was nothing new for our family. My mum Jo, 56, got pregnant with me at 17, and I fell pregnant at the same age. That was back in June 1999. I’d accidentally missed taking a few contraceptive pills. So when I started feeling sick, I was pretty sure why. I took three pregnancy tests. Even though I’d…

Watching my hubby whizz across the finish line in his wheelchair, my heart swelled. He’d just completed his first marathon, raising a whopping £2,000 for charity. ‘Anson is so selfless,’ our friend Joanne Colclough said as we clapped and cheered. ‘We should raise some money to get him a proper racing wheelchair.’ ‘Amazing idea,’ I said. When I’d first got together with Anson, now 46, he didn’t need a wheelchair. In fact he’d been really active. He’d spent years in the Army and then worked on an oil rig, going for runs every night Only, he’d struggled with back pain. In October 2015, he had surgery to help relieve it. Months afterwards, he was still in agony. Then, in January 2016, he collapsed. As I rushed him to hospital, the…

Dangerous dogs: correction In Chat issue 20 (17 May 2018), we stated that the RSPCA is calling for more dog breeds to be banned. In fact, the RSPCA’s #EndBSL campaign called for an inquiry into Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act, known as Breed Specific Legislation. The RSPCA’s position is that there is no robust evidence to demonstrate that these types are more aggressive or dangerous than any other type of dog and that the current law is ineffective at protecting public safety. Chat is happy to clarify this point and apologises for the error. For more information about the RSPCA’s #EndBSL campaign, visit rspca.org.uk/endbsl. 3-D thrill! On a hen do, we saw this outside a Manchester pub. We followed the arrow and enjoyed not having to swipe left…

Dressed in my Sunday best – mainly clothing from the charity shop – I joined the line-up outside my care home. Trembling, eyes to the floor. I was one of dozens of children waiting for inspection by potential foster parents. I’d got used to the routine. If picked, we’d be taken away forever. But I never wanted to leave my home in the countryside. It was all I knew. Only, one summer day in 1959, aged 5, I was picked. A couple named Rose and Leonard wanted to be my parents. Before I knew it, I was in the back of their car, watching my home disappear. I’d never been in a car before, and I felt sick rise in my throat. Terror overwhelmed me and I threw up. ‘You…

1 Stylish accommodation  Nestled among vibrant shops and artists' studios is Moon Shadow, a beautiful holiday cottage for two. This one-bedroom wonder is a stone's throw away from Porthmeor beach. 2 It's a dog's life  Out of season, St Ives becomes a haven for dog owners. The beaches are open to man's best friend between 30 September and the last Sunday before Easter. 3 A work of art  Painters and enthusiasts flock to St Ives for its art galleries. The largest is Tate St Ives. Enter through the iconic rotunda and wander through the exhibitions that celebrate the talent of once-local residents like Alfred Wallis and Peter Lanyon. 4 Make a splash  Porthmeor beach is a popular destination for surfers looking to catch their next wave. Join in the fun…

THE CRIME On 25 March 2015, Brittney Gargol had been out drinking with her best friend Cheyenne Rose Antoine. But, instead of waking up with a hangover, Brittney wound up strangled to death and left on the side of the road. Cheyenne claimed she knew nothing about it, but a selfie she'd posted online told rather a different story... THE STORY Arm slung around her best friend, smiling Cheyenne Rose Antoine snapped a selfie and uploaded it to Facebook. The girls then headed off for a night out. But while Brittney Gargol, 18, and Cheyenne, 19, were best of friends, they came from totally different worlds. Brittney grew up with a loving family. She studied hard and dreamed big – planning to open her own hotel one day. Seemingly unlikely…