Table of contents for 49-2020 in Best

Last week, Meghan Markle opened up about an incredibly personal and painful loss – breaking the news that she had a miscarriage in Summer. Describing how, on an ordinary morning looking after her one-year-old son, Archie, she realised that something was wrong. ‘After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right. ‘I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.’ The Duchess, 39, goes on to describe how she was admitted to hospital. ‘Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and…

Christmas for Ruth and Eamonn – like for many of us – will be smaller this year, possibly with just their son, Jack, and their dog Maggie. But Ruth is a grand cook, Eamonn loves to eat – and Maggie? Well, whoever thought Eamonn Holmes would be the sort of man who likes to buy pressies for his pooch, but (shhh! don’t tell him you know) he is… Is time the best gift we can give each other this year? EAMONN: Yes. I’m always saying that anyway. But sadly, I can’t get the Christmas gift I want this year, because it would be time with all our family on both sides of the Irish Sea, but it looks like I will have to be in either Belfast or Surrey. If…

BACKSTABBING PAL GOT MY GOAT I had a falling out with a friend during lockdown as I found out from another friend that she’d been talking constantly behind my back – but the pal that told me is clearly still entertaining these conversations as she rather stupidly messaged me the other day saying that I was their topic of conversation, once again! I don’t want to fall out with this friend too, as I’ll have no one left. But we’re not at school any more and I’d rather, if she is going to stay mates with this vile woman, they wouldn’t talk about me at all. Jules, North London Unfortunately, you don’t get the chance to control what other people have to say and lockdown is the perfect breeding ground…

The festive show stopper s TERRIFIC TIPPLES CHAMPAGNE Waitrose Blanc de Noirs Brut NV Champagne, £23.99 per 75cl (waitrosecellar.com) Our winning champagne is extremely smooth and beautifully balanced. Delicate baked green apple and yeasty brioche aromas are accompanied by a crisp and refreshing flavour, consisting of notes of apple, tropical fruit, vanilla and marmalade. The bubbles are small, lively and super-smooth. This champagne would pair well with a fish-based starter or canapés. 84/100 PROSECCO Ocado Abbazia Fiorino Prosecco d.o.c., £9.99 per 75cl (ocado.com) This easy-drinking prosecco has a juicy pear and baked apple aroma, and a beautifully balanced flavour of refreshing green apple, lemon and ripe pear. The bubbles are lively but very smooth. A real crowd-pleaser. 90/100 FESTIVE LIQUEUR Tesco Finest Gingerbread Latte Irish Cream Liqueur, £10 per 70cl Our…

CAROL McGIFFIN THE WAY I SEE IT… Wise words from our feisty, fearless and funny columnist ‘So now there’s talk of a “Freedom Pass” from our dear leaders. A document that “proves” you don’t have Covid-19 by way of a negative test twice a week. It will “allow” you to live “a more normal” life, which they define as one that is free of the restrictions – masks, social distancing, etc, etc, ad infinitum – that others must continue to obey At the moment it’s just an idea, but as we know from past experience, the government’s ideas, especially with regard to controlling people, which they sell to us as controlling the virus, almost always become reality. What is most worrying is why anyone would go along with this madness.…

FESTIVE AND FLORAL! Roses, berries and decorative foliage are the perfect choice for a colourful design YOU WILL NEED • Oasis foam wreath• Florist pins• Flowers and foliage of your choice• 2m ribbon• Scissors• Fabric scissors TO MAKE 1 First soak the foam ring in water for about 10 mins. While it’s soaking, start cutting the foliage, which will form a base, into little sprigs. Strip any leaves from one end so each sprig can be easily pushed into the foam. Then work your way around the ring, inserting the sprigs to build up layers of base foliage. If you have any extra-long sprigs that stick out too much, gather and pin into place using florist pins. 2 Once the base is completely covered, start adding the roses, berries and…

Take our showbiz quiz, and test yourself on tidbits about everything from I’m A Celeb… to Christmas movies, and find out how much of an entertainment fan you really are… 1 Which statement about Meghan Markle is untrue? a) She once did calligraphy as a side-gig, and believes ‘hand-written notes are a lost art’ b) Pre-Harry, English footballer Ashley Cole reportedly wanted to date her c) She married twice, before tying the knot with Prince Harry 2 The rift between which WAGs led to the coining of the phrase ‘Wagatha Christie’? a) Coleen Rooney and Nicola McLean b) Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy c) Coleen Rooney and Danielle Lloyd d) Coleen Rooney and Victoria Beckham 3 Which ex-partners of Johnny Depp supported him during his libel trial against ex-wife Amber…

Sick of the other half getting the wrong pressies? How about, instead of dropping heavy hints about what you do want, put this list under their nose so they know exactly what you don’t want?! All the unwanted gifts are hidden, except one… ANTI-AGING CREAM BUBBLE BATH CALENDAR FOOT SPA COMEDY APRON GLOVES JOKE MUG MICROWAVE REINDEER ONESIE SCARF SCENTED CANDLE SLIPPERS STEAM IRON TEA TOWELS UGLY CLOTHES UMBRELLA VACUUM CLEANER XMAS SOCKS SEARCH ME! SUDOK-GO! Fill the grid using the numbers from 1 to 9 only. Each number must appear once in every column, row and 3x3 square. Now, off you sudok-go! ALL SOLUTIONS ON THE NEXT PAGE FACE TIME Have a look at the motley crew below. Who are they and what connects them all? Solution on page…

SAGITTARIUS 23 November – 21 December While Sagittarians such as Hollywood A-listers Bette Midler and Julianne Moore don’t like singing their own praises, that means it is up to others to make the most of their natural creative talents over the festive season ahead, something which will benefit everyone. PISCES 20 February – 20 March When things go wrong, don’t spend too long looking for someone or something to blame. Instead, pick up the pieces and start all over again. If you keep going, you will get results. An old friend will need some advice on an old problem. You’ve already been through this with them. It might be time to step away. GEMINI 22 May – 21 June Now your relationships with those who mean most to you are…

best magazine, ISSN 0954-8955, is published weekly by The National Magazine Company Ltd, t/a Hearst Magazines UK, c/o USACAN Media Dist. Srv Corp at 26 Power Dam Way Suite S1-S3, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. All rights reserved. No part of best may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, either wholly or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Not to be resold, lent, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade at more than the recommended retail price (subject to VAT in Republic of Ireland) or in a mutilated condition. Printed by York Mailing Ltd, Brinkworth Rush, Airfield Business Park, Elvington, York, YO41 4AU. The publishers, editors and authors accept no responsibility in respect of any products, goods or services that…

Alfie Boe and Michael Ball first met when they starred in Kismet at the London Coliseum in 2007. The show was a flop – but it led to one of the best-loved partnerships in musical history. Handsome, charming and oh-so witty – the talented duo don’t take themselves – or each other – too seriously. Hi guys, we are now in lockdown 2.0 – but when did you two last see each other in the flesh? Michael: Two weeks ago! We had tests and stayed socially distanced but it’s important you are together when recording – it’s how ideas flow – and it was lovely to see him! The name of your new album, Together Again, is something we’re all hoping for right now. Until then we have music and…

Q Do I really need to change my skincare at night or will my daytime skincare work just as well? Phoebe, Bridgend A Yes, because you need to address different concerns. The big difference between creams is ingredients. Day creams are usually lighter, contain hydrating ingredients and some contain SPF to protect from UV rays. Night creams have a thicker consistency, and often include a larger concentration of ‘active’ ingredients to encourage skin to repair itself. While we sleep, our skin rejuvenates itself with collagen and cell regeneration. A night cream will support your skin during this process. Your skin loses around 25 per cent more water at night, so look for hyaluronic acid or urea, like Too Faced Hangover Pillow Cream, £32 (toofaced.com). On a budget? I love Nivea…

HOW DO I BUILD OUR IMMUNITY? I’m in fairly good health but, at 59, want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to protect myself and my other half, who’s 64 and has high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, now we’re in this second wave of Coronavirus. What are the best supplements and vitamins we can take? Would you suggest we have the flu jab – is this offered as normal this year? Jean, Glasgow DR HILARY SAYS: You are being very sensible in taking care as, I’m sure you know, age is associated with an increased risk of suffering more severely from Coronavirus. You should certainly get a seasonal flu jab as soon as possible as this gives good protection against the most virulent Winter flu viruses…

As I cleared away the Christmas dinner plates, my stomach groaned. Me, my daughter Ellie and my partner Chris Woodcock had just indulged in a huge Christmas dinner. A baked Camembert and garlic bread to start, turkey, roasties, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings… and that’s not to mention the two bagels with cream cheese and salmon we’d had for breakfast. But my stuffed stomach wasn’t going to hold me back. ‘Anyone for Christmas pudding and cream?’ I called from the kitchen. After all, it was the festive season and surely that was all about spoiling yourself? The problem was, I didn’t wait until Christmas to treat myself. It was all the time – and that was why I was a size 20. I hadn’t always been big, though. No, all…

Over the next eight pages the Good Fairy, Gloria Hunniford, narrates the story of Christmas in the land of best… TURN OVER FOR MORE… Best celebrity writer Dani Southwood couldn’t attend any red carpet events this Winter, so she was set to work in the garden, alongside best celebrity chef Theo Michaels, her very own Buttons Who sent them to work? The best of Wicked Queens, Linda Lusardi, who was never going to allow anyone to dress better than her (in the garden anyway) Dani’s ugly step sisters – Lady Anastasia Ofoedu and Lady Drusilla Biggins – had both received invites to the only party being held in the kingdom – Prince Sam Kane’s garden ball. But there was no invite for poor Dani… Meanwhile, her stage father, a handsome…

FINANCIALLY Fabulous Join our campaign and get your finances sorted at hearstmagazines.co.uk/ffbest for money-saving tips and brilliant advice on being financially savvy. 1 SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES Many of us want to support small businesses to keep our local shops running. ‘There’s something that seems more authentic about knowing the name of the person who made the products,’ Kate Kitney, artist and founder of Stitch and Wild, says. Shopping online? Start by asking your local independent shops if they have websites, or use Etsy or Depop. For book lovers, bookshop.org allows you to buy from local bookshops. Social media sites, like Instagram and Facebook, are also full of small businesses showcasing their work. 2 MAKING YOUR OWN GIFTS OWN GIFTS If you have some spare time or need to keep costs…

WIN 1 X £200, 2 X £100 OR 3 X £50 PRIZES Use the anagrams, straight, cryptic, quiz and picture clues to solve the crossword. When completed correctly, the pink squares, reading top to bottom, left to right, will reveal the answer to the question below: PICTURE C was the 11th studio album by the Beatles – what was their 12th and final one? (3,2,2) This is your prize answer. Enter by using the numbers at the top of the grid or at hearstmagazines.co.uk/bestcross4920 ACROSS 1 & 16D PICTURE A Who is she? (6,7) 4 PICTURE B This is French president, Emmanuel who? (6) 7 Hawaiian garland (3) 8 Minor technical problem (6) 9 See 15A 10 Farewell for now (5) 11 Computer geek, eg (4) 13 Can you see…

As families across the UK are preparing for Christmas, there are many for whom the toll of Coronavirus is casting a dark shadow across the celebrations. Among them, of course, is Kate Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper is still severely ill in hospital eight months after he was rushed in. Although the virus has now left his body, and he is breathing without a ventilator, he has been ravaged by its effects. So severe was the former political advisor’s illness, he nearly died six times in total, has lost 8st in weight and, heartbreakingly, has only been able to utter one word since coming out of a coma: ‘Pain.’ So, for the first time since they fell in love, Kate, 53, will be facing Christmas without her beloved husband. ‘I…

‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned’ ‘Things that Mike and I have taken for granted, are a luxury to these children. You wonder if you could love someone else’s kids like your own… well, believe me, you can!’ My husband, Mike, and I couldn’t wait to start a family. We’d always wanted lots of kids, and we longed to be a mum and dad. We’d met when I was 17, at high school and became sweethearts, before marrying in 1983. We started trying for a family straight away. It was almost two years later that I gave birth to our first baby, Ryan, now 34, and he was followed by three more kids, Blake, 30, Jordan 27, and Micah, 22. We were thrown into the chaos of family life –…

TOP TIP! The perfume shop.com offers personalised engraving and ribbon services online.…

PANDEMIC POUNDS I said on the show that I needed to lose a bit of lockdown weight – and darling it’s true, like everyone else I have been lounging around too much and watching too much TV and the size 36 waist is getting a little tight. But hopefully, once I am in panto prancing around three times a day, it will drop off, or at least allow me to eat my way through Christmas the way I intend to. IT TAKES TWO The tongues are wagging about Ranvir and Giovanni and their red-hot chemistry – but you don’t have to be in love to get a decent rumba out of someone. Giovanni is a great teacher, he goes into the emotional side of routines and that really comes across.…

In most households, if a bag of flour had been dumped on to the floor, the last person anyone would suspect would be the grandma. But not in my house. And here I was, in my elf suit, ready to lie down amongst the white powder and make, of all things, a snow angel, right there on the wooden floor. And my husband, Jason, rather than berating me, was laughing along, ready to film me. To be honest, it wasn’t the first wacky thing I’d done and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. After working as a nurse To be honest, it wasn’t the first wacky thing I’d done and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. After working as a nurse in a trauma unit for 14 years, I liked…

Donning her new red coat, Ally’s tail thumped the floor happily. ‘What a clever girl,’ I beamed. Ally had only been with us a couple of months and already she’d made the most wonderful difference to our lives – and we’d just discovered she was ours to keep and I was ecstatic. My delight wasn’t just because I was a ‘dog-person’, who loved dressing up her furry friend. No, Ally was a talented chocolate Labrador, who’d already potentially saved both of my children, Kia and Nial’s lives hundreds, if not thousands, of times. And now, in December 2019, she’d just passed her probationary period and was a fully-fledged medical alert assistance dog. She could stay with us forever. Talk about a wonderful Christmas present! My husband, Andrew, now 43, and…

I was born on Christmas Day, so my mum called me Carol. Holly or Joy might have been better, but my mum liked to sing, with gusto and the insistence that a rapt audience reward her song with applause. She loved Christmas; every window in our house was bedecked in something sparkly, glowing or snow-covered. Mum always began singing Jingle Bells at the end of November. By January, she had added a new verse. Now, 10 years after her passing, I ignore this toojolly season. I split up with my boyfriend Josh last year because he wanted a life-sized Santa installing on the roof. ‘You Feng Shui the house with windchimes and crystals,’ he said, ‘but you won’t entertain a cubic zirconia reindeer.’ Josh was gone by December the third.…

Singer-songwriter Ben Ofoedu took the pop charts by storm as part of Nineties band Phats & Small. Now he’s back with supergroup Boyz on Block and hoping to grab this year’s Christmas number one with a new version of the East 17 hit Stay Another Day. Ben tells best how music kept him going during lockdown, and why his fiancée and best columnist, Vanessa Feltz, is already planning a Christmas party for him to celebrate topping the charts. Stay Another Day is such a great idea for a Christmas single. Yes, it is. It’s been such a weird year, we just thought this song, which everyone loves, could really touch people. Nineties music is huge now and Stay Another Day is one of those songs that people remember, so I’m…