Good Housekeeping UK

One passion that Good Housekeeping readers universally share is the joy of reading. I know this from all the letters and emails that are sent in each month (for which I thank you!). While you may not agree with every article in GH, you clearly appreciate delving into your favourite magazine and devouring our contents, finding them at different times thought-provoking, inspirational, informative and even challenging. I also know that you are passionate book lovers from the enthusiastic response we get to the recommendations made on our Bookshelf pages (on page 146 this month), our author interviews (such as Jojo Moyes on page 148) and from the 41,000 of you who are members of our Facebook Book Group. What’s better than losing yourself in a story, getting to know the characters…

INSPIRING ROYALS ✶ STAR LETTER What a fabulous edition of GH, especially the interviews with The Queen Consort, The Princess of Wales, The Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal, The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra (Thinking Of Others At Christmas, Christmas and New Year). These women understand their great privilege, work hard and give back to our country. JUDITH GORDON-NICHOLS BE MORE FORGIVING As I read the Christmas and New Year edition, with lots of positive messages from members of The Royal Family and others, my wish is that we could all be nicer and more forgiving. Let’s make 2023 the year of forgiveness; not the year of recrimination. LYN WOOLMER LOOK OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER The Art Of Spreading Kindness (Inner You, Christmas and New Year) really resonated with me. I joined the St…

COMPILED BY: GEORGIE D’ARCY COLES, BECCA GREEN, PHOEBE LEE, AMANDA MARCANTONIO, ALICE SHIELDS…

When Kirstie Allsopp did a screen test for a pilot of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, she assumed she was auditioning for a short segment. Little did she know that more than two decades later, the show would be a worldwide hit – and she’d be one of the faces of it. ‘It’s astonishing,’ she laughs, at the GH cover shoot. Now 51, Kirstie has her hands full, filming new episodes for the show’s upcoming 39th series, as well as Kirstie And Phil’s Love It Or List It. But she’s also making time for her passions outside of work – a new fitness regime and quality time with her partner, Ben Andersen, their sons, Oscar, 14, and Bay, 16, and her stepsons, Hal, 20, and Orion, 23. ‘I don’t have big ambitions…

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY? My mother lifting me underneath the net curtains to wave goodbye to my father as he went off to work. HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? Frankly, I dread to think! WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED? That children grow up far faster than you can imagine, so you have to hold on to every moment. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY, AND WHY? The other day, on a plane, watching Downton Abbey. I cry every time I watch TV on a plane – I was once asked to stop watching something because the other passengers were worried about me! WHO WAS YOUR TEENAGE CRUSH? Ralph Macchio, the original Karate Kid. He began following me on Twitter, which was a thrill. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT? At…

Q I’ve heard that house prices are likely to fall. As a homeowner, should I be worried? A Don’t panic. The UK is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe and there’s a shortage of homes so, although there will be dips that are regional, the drops are very unlikely to be big numbers. For most people who have owned a property for the last 10 years or so, it’s not going to come down in value much more than it’s gone up in those years. Q Are there any steps I can take to hold on to the value of my home? A Yes – maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. It’s so important to keep everything up to date. Check the gutters, check the roof lines and make sure that you ventilate,…