Sommaire pour July 2022 de Choice

My colleagues at Choice gave me a very special birthday present recently. As well as a 2022 shiny copy of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack they managed to track down a copy of the 1952 edition – the year of my birth. They may live to regret it, as I shall probably be using it to regale them with obscure cricket facts from yesteryear. I promise not to do that to readers in this column, well perhaps just this once The two chunky volumes show how much cricket has changed in the intervening 70 years, yet how it remains essentially the same. What the Wisden readers in 1952 would have thought of today’s 20-over games with players in all colours I can guess, yet there is strong debate in 1952 about making…

Soothing, relaxing and stress reducing, these CDs from GAP MuSic and it’s sister label Tantajo Records are a great addition to any music collection. Checkout the GAP website: (www.gapmusic.co.uk) for more wonderful music for relaxation and wellbeing. Star Letter Prize: £20 and a selection of five reflective music CDs from GAP MuSic worth£54.75 and a pen from GAP MuSic goes to the writer of our Star Letter each month The CDs are: Moments of the Heart music for the soul - Various Artists. From the soothing melodies of Peaceful Lament and Confidence of Hope to the haunting ambiance of Natural Elements and Awakenings, Moments of the Heart music for the soul is the perfect ‘friend’ to have by your side, to help ease away the hustle, bustle, and stresses of the…

If you are an animal lover a great way to earn some extra cash, and enjoy the company of someone else’s pets, is to petsit. Brian and Barbara Kennedy took early retirement when they were 50 and 52 respectively, and have been homesitting, and petsitting, ever since. The couple say their favourite part of the role is spending time with the pets, exploring new surroundings and meeting new clients. They especially enjoy walking dogs and believe they are fitter because of it. Brian says: “In our early days of homesitting, while out on a morning walk in fields with dogs cavorting in the sunshine, I would often think of my former work colleagues attending a team meeting in a windowless conference room. “I knew exactly where I preferred to be.…

Great Yarmouth has launched anew mini-golf event across nine of the resort’s courses. Running all summer until September 21, The Big Mini Golf Tour offers participants of this ever-popular holiday pastime the chance to be in with a chance of winning a series of prizes, including a family holiday in Great Yarmouth, each time they play a round. As well as the resort’s many Marine Parade and beach front courses, like Pirates Cove, other mini-golf locations in the competition line-up include Lost World Adventure Golf in Hemsby, Gorleston-on-Sea and Clippesby Hall. Participants simply need to enter their details via the QR code form available at the entrance to each course. Every course played qualifies as an entry to the prize draw, with the winner chosen at random at the end…

THE SOUNDS of thousands of heartbeats are being collected in the hope that artificial intelligence will be able to diagnose heart valve disease earlier and potentially save lives. Valvular heart disease (VHD) affects almost two million people in the UK and this is expected to double by 2040. The study, led by Royal Papworth Hospital and the University of Cambridge, is collating sounds of healthy and unhealthy hearts. It is hoped this could result in an app that could diagnose disease and be used by non-specialists. About half of those affected by VHD are unaware of their condition, because symptoms often do not develop until the disease has become severe. Cardiovascular Acoustics and an Intelligent Stethoscope (CAIS) is a clinical study aimed at creating a first-of-its-kind screening tool that couldbeused…

FEW THINGS in life are more essential than our water and sewerage services, and yet it can be easy to take them for granted – until something goes wrong. One of the things the past two years have taught us is that our lives can change unexpectedly, and we can suddenly find ourselves in vulnerable circumstances. This might leave us in need of extra support to access the services we rely on. Water companies understand this and offer a range of free additional support through their Priority Services Register (PSR). People can register for free support by contacting their water company. Being on the PSR enables your water company to tailor its services quickly to meet your additional needs. This is particularly important during emergencies when households may have suffered…

GROWING UP near Liverpool in the Sixties, as The Beatles took the world by storm, gave Geoff Bibby a lifelong passion for rock ‘n’ roll. But his work as an electronics and computing lecturer in Merseyside meant there was little time to pick up the electric guitar – until he retired and his dreams of rocking out became a reality. Geoff is one of 430,000 members of u3a, the charity that enables people who are no longer in full-time employment to learn new things, laugh with friends and live life to the full. There are more than 1000 u3as across the country, with interest groups ranging from music to mahjong, kayaking to climate change. Like Geoff, many thousands of older people have benefitted from the friendships they have made through…

Supplies: ■ Fat quarter of mid-weight cotton fabric ■ Fat quarter of medium fusible interfacing ■ Small scrap of clear sew-in vinyl ■ Two sets of plastic snaps ■ Basic sewing kit Supplies: ■ Four 3.5in x 5.5in rectangles of cotton fabric for outer and inner panels ■ Four 3in x 5in rectangles of medium weight interfacing ■ One 2.5in x 4in rectangle of vinyl ■ One 2in x 12in rectangle of cotton fabric for the strap To create: (Use 0.25in seam allowance throughout unless otherwise stated.) 1 Adhere the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of all the outer and inner panels 2 Place two of the fabric panels right sides together and stitch all the way around, using a ¼in seam allowance. Trim the corners to remove bulk…

Finches Friend bird feeders have been created to stop the spread of fatal avian diseases in garden birds. These easy to clean feeders are designed to specifically reduce the transmission of deadly diseases, such as Passerine Salmonellosis and Trichonomosis, which has caused the Greenfinch population in the UK to fall by a shocking 60 percent since 2016. Cleaning feeders is critical to slow the dramatic decline of our feathered friends. Trichonomosis is transmitted by a parasite that is easily spread via contaminated food and water on bird feeders and drinkers in our gardens. Whilst worst affected to date are Greenfinches, which are now on the red list and facing extinction, other common garden birds are also susceptible, with Chaffinches now following the same path. Made in Britain, Finches Friend Feeders…

This week is a pure celebration of dragonflies – no surveying required. Run from July 16 to 24 by the British Dragonfly Society, all it asks is that you celebrate dragonflies in all their glory. This incredible creature was one of the first types of insects to appear on the planet 300 million years ago, emerging before the dinosaurs. They’ve made good use of that time, evolving to become arguably the most effective hunters on earth; 95 per cent of dragonfly attacks are successful. This is in part because of their huge eyes which take up most of their head, giving them panoramic vision and helping them to spot prey up to 12 metres away. Their four wings can also move independently, which allows them to move in any direction…

Apple Music, 98 songs 5 hrs 2 mins If you have a busy Saturday morning doing jobs around the house, this playlist is a perfect background and will also jog memories of some great moments on the big screen and some great artists of a remarkable decade. Gene Kelly opens with the title song of Singin’ in the Rain followed by Marilyn Monroe’s breathy rendition of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, then Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr and Marni Nixon with Shall We Dance? From The King and I. Brynner seemed an unlikely musical star at the time as did Marlon Brando, but he gave an excellent rendition of Luck Be a Lady from Guys and Dolls. It’s easy to forget Elvis Presley’s prodigious film output…

IN The Greatest Escape (Macmillan, £20), Neil Churches tells the story of his father, Ralph, an Australian prisoner-of-war, who helped lead the break-out of 106 Allied POWs from a camp in what is now Slovenia, and Jonathan Freedland tells the astonishing story of Rudolf Vrba, one of the first escapees from Auschwitz, in The Escape Artist (John Murray, £20). The Men from Miami, by Christopher Othen (Biteback, £20), is a real-life thriller, telling of the Americans who fought for Castro in the Cuban Revolution and ended up trying to bring him down, and The Microdot Gang (History Press, £20) is the strange but true story of the unlikely British gang busted in 1977 for supplying the drug LSD to Britain, Europe, the US and Australia. In Land Healer (Witness Books,…

The older generation (that is, people like me) have always counselled young people to look after their eyes, believing without any scientific evidence that overworking them by peering at screens for hours on end would do harm. Well, maybe the theory wasn’t just an example of geriatric fretting. It seems that the number of short-sighted people has surged in recent decades, soaring by almost 30 per cent among those born between 1965 and 1970. And screens are a likely cause, says the professor who led the research. Modern living involves much more close work, and as increasingly we live in urban communities where there’s less chance for ‘distance viewing’, the eyes seem to be taking the strain.…

The common claim that nowadays some people will steal anything if it isn’t nailed down is turning out to be true. The latest proof comes in reports of thieves not just stealing mail but scarpering with the mailbox itself… The target seems to be old ‘heritage-style’ mailboxes in villages. Angle-grinders and chainsaws are being used to cut them from their supporting posts. Police believe that the thieves, who work at night, either sell the boxes for scrap, or more likely as collectible items. There were seven thefts of this sort in ten days in Suffolk. An obvious consequence of the new trend in thieving is that the mail inside the boxes, including urgent and important letters and documents, is lost. It would be good to see the law jumping on…

Property purchasing specialist, House Buyer Bureau has revealed the main problems facing Britain’s home sellers when it comes to tackling the property market, even in a period of unprecedented buyer demand. The YouGov survey commissioned by House Buyer Bureau asked home sellers, when selling their last property, what were the main problems they faced? There were two prominent issues and both related to the speed of the overall process. The biggest issue facing today’s home sellers was the frequent delays faced during the transaction period, which meant that the overall process was far slower than they anticipated. They also cited the speed of their solicitor or conveyancer as an issue, saying they were slow to get things done during the final stages of the transaction. In fact, these two issues…

Email your poems to: (editorial@choicemag.co.uk) or post to Your Poetry, Choice, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6GX Fallen Elm I remember the tree from my youth,the way its leaves hissed in stormsweeping tears in driving rainand casting a long shadow like a ghoston glorious afternoons in July.The tree has fallen, gone like the old stileWhere on immortal days I watched her smile. In winter it was adorned with snowas robins perched on branchesa transient white and in autumnthe leaves turned an alluring gold.The saw dissects it into circular pieces,it had stood proudly for so many a year,how sombre to see the view disappear. Guy Fletcher, Cardiff For my love This earth is wonderful indeed,With warmth and love and beauty hereA comfort for our every need,A word from those…

Gail Willis is an exponent and teacher of Hatha Yoga. She brings Choice readers a new exercise every month. Gail, who is a full-time yoga instructor in Kettering, Northamptonshire, has recruited her mother Janet Rogers to help demonstrate the exercises. In each picture Janet now in her 80s illustrates the basic position for each exercise – the easiest one for the beginner. Gail illustrates the maximum position for each exercise. You should start following Janet’s position and try to increase gradually towards Gail’s advanced level. “Only build up to a level that you are comfortable with, ” says Gail. “Some exercises you will be able to do the maximum level of stretch. Others you will achieve only the basic move or just a little more. It doesn’t matter because even…

Your guide to the best financial advice I HAVE mentioned before that I am often sent research into our changing lives. This month experts at mobility specialist Middletons apparently crunched the numbers on life expectancy and retirement, the average age people buy a house, pay off a mortgage and become grandparents; then collated the data to determine when “old age really starts in Britain”’ and have declared 70.2 as the “new gateway to old age”. Their conclusion is partly based on the fact older people are working for longer and life expectancy has increased by almost ten years in the last 50. Half a century ago, the average age someone in the UK became a parent for the first time was 28.1, now it’s 32.2, and the average age at…

Can we split rental income? Q I own a house with my son as tenants in common, 50 per cent each, owned outright. We started renting it out last year, and the rental income goes to a joint account. I am retired and don’t need the money and would like to split the profit (income minus expenses) 75 per cent for him and 25 per cent for me, and we aim to put these relative values in our tax returns. Can we split the money unequally in this way? My son will be completing a selfassessment tax form for the first time, and as well as paying tax on the rental income, he wants to make National Insurance contributions. Will the relevant NI payments be requested automatically once he completes…

John Thompson is the chair of the u3a Stour Valley Kayak and Canoeing group, which operates on Ardleigh Reservoir and Manningtree. He says: “There are so many benefits. Firstly, it gets you into the outside world. It’s a very social activity. “Being out on the water has a very calming effect. At first, a lot of people have to overcome nervousness because you’re dealing with something that is never completely still. But generally, those fears are conquered pretty quickly.” John says canoeing and kayaking is great for working on your balance, which, unfortunately, is one of the first things to go as you get older. “People come off the water with a big smile on their faces, ” he says. “It gives you a tremendous sense of achievement and it’s…

Summer berry tart Raspberries, loganberries, strawberries, blueberries – all work well atop this colourful tart with an easy-to-make, rich and citrussy filling. Preparation: 30 minutes, plus chilling Cook: About 1 hour Sweet pastry ■ 250g (9oz) plain flour ■ 125g (4½oz)butter ■ 50g (1¾oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting ■ 1 egg, beaten ■ Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon Filling ■ 250g (9oz) Greek-style yoghurt ■ 400g (14oz) can condensed milk ■ 4 eggs ■ Grated zest and juice of 2 limes Topping ■ 20g (1¾oz) Greek-style yoghurt ■ 250g (9oz) seasonal berries 1 To make the pastry, put the flour, butter and icing sugar in a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg, lemon zest and juice…

THERE’S NO shortage of wildlife in July. Bats are on the wing, toadlets and baby lizards are taking their first steps, and roe deer are charging into their breeding season. But we’ve decided to home in on our local insects and birds, and how we can help them – through Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, Dragonfly Week and the SwiftMapper app. Big Butterfly Count Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count is now the world’s largest survey of butterflies, with 107,000 people counting more than 150,000 butterflies and moths last year. All this data helps Butterfly Conservation to learn how these beautiful pollinators are doing, and where the most active conservation work might need to happen. There are 59 species of butterfly in the UK, all regulars apart from two migrant species,…

TAKING THE form of a diary covering the years 2016-2021, Old Rage, by Sheila Hancock (Bloomsbury, £18.99) finds the actress raging against the dying of the light as she faces up to Brexit, bereavement, a challenging diagnosis and family illness, but still finding joy in the everyday as she reaches the end of her ninth decade. The act of clearing out his loft unleashes a flood of memories of a difficult early life growing up in recession-hit Sheffield for the broadcaster Jarvis Cocker, and the resulting sort-of autobiography Good Pop, Bad Pop (Jonathan Cape, £20) is a joy. And The Stone Age, by Lesley-Ann Jones (John Blake, £20), is an excellent up-close-and-personal account of the Rolling Stones, a band that, 60 years on from their first gig, remain the very…

Bridge Before reading on, cover the East and West hands on the deal below. NORTH-SOUTH GAME; DEALER SOUTH Playing teams, South reaches three notrumps after the auction one notrump, three notrumps. West leads the king of hearts. How do you plan the play? If the diamonds divide, or if the jack falls, there are plenty of tricks, however the danger is that the defenders will gain the lead and cash you down in hearts. What can you do to prevent this? You could try ducking the first heart, and hoping that East began with just two, however you can improve on that. If you win the first heart, you will not mind losing the lead to West, so if he holds the long diamonds you will still make your contract.…

How’s your general knowledge? Here’s a chance to test it out. (The answers are over the page.) 1 What was the nickname of the famous Fifties tennis player Gussie Moran? 2 Name the fashion designer who opened her first shop, called Let It Rock, in the King’s Road, London, in the Seventies. 3 Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are associated with which rock band? 4 Where in Britain was the world’s first iron bridge built? 5 What is the popular, abbreviated name for St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London? 6 What was the Christian name of Basil Fawlty’s wife in the TV sitcom Fawlty Towers? 7 Name the radio comedian who, in his show, would read a magazine called Railway Cuttings. 8 Which stadium was specially built for the 1908 London…

Just a reminder… … that in the summer of 1972, the England and Stoke City goalkeeper Gordon Banks was considering his future after his eyesight was damaged in a car crash … in July 1978, an explosion at a campsite in Spain killed 200 people, including British tourists. The blast involved a liquid gas tanker. Some victims were thrown 100 yards into the sea by the blast, which injured 200 … and in this month in 1981, in what was described as ‘Britain’s night of anarchy’, police in Toxteth, Liverpool, faced a barrage of missiles as rioting, looting and arson broke out as part of the worst outbreak of civil unrest of the century. Today’s gleaners give away what they gather Will you be gleaning this month? I doubt it,…

Write to Your views, Choice, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6GX, or email us at: (editorial@choicemag.co.uk). (Views expressed are those of the individual correspondent and not necessarily those of the magazine) Gleaming Britannia… That was a sad picture of the ex-Royal Yacht (Choice, May). While at sea in the Sixties, Britannia docked the other side of the dock in Montreal, along with its escort HMS Hampshire on a visit to Expo 67. Despite an Atlantic crossing the hull was gleaming; during its time there the ratings polished it like a car. Those times and a night on board Hampshire still remain in my mind. Michael Durrans, by email Shropshire memories, and a mystery solved Your stunning pictures of places to visit are a real joy, especially when they…

PETS PLAY a large part in their owner’s lives and more than half of UK adults own a pet, providing a host of wellbeing benefits. Playing with a pet gives us all an outlet to express ourselves and can help strengthen our social and problem-solving skills. Research also indicates that pet therapy can provide a boost to those who live with dementia, depression, or have had a stroke. The joys of brushing and caring for an animal have been discovered by many of Bupa’s care home residents across the UK. Twice a year, Mount Hall Bupa Care Home, in Cheshire, welcomes a host of eclectic creatures from nearby Buxton’s Animal Magic, including a chinchilla, owl, Madagascan Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec and Giant African Snail. Senior Activities Coordinator Janine Holmes says: “We…

THERE ARE more than 1800 locks on the 2000-plus miles of navigable waterways in England and Wales, all enabling boats to travel up and down hills. Some locks are operated by boaters, others by lock keepers. There’s no mystery to using locks – just a series of step-by-step tasks. Drifters Waterway Holidays (drifters.co.uk) offers more than 550 boats for hire from 45 locations across England, Scotland and Wales. Tuition is included in all Drifters’ canal boat holiday packages. To celebrate these marvels of canal engineering, Drifters has put together a guide to the top seven lock flight destinations for 2022 narrow boat holidays. They are not just good for boaters but interesting for spectators without the hard work: Caen Hill in Wiltshire Caen Hill, on the Kennet & Avon Canal…

SAMUEL TAYLOR Coleridge knew a thing or two about dehydration, judging by his lines in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water everywhere and all the boards did shrink. Water, water everywhere Nor any drop to drink.” Coleridge’s Mariner wore the carcass of an albatross around his neck, not a classic sign of dehydration, but he may also have been suffering from weakness, low blood pressure, dizziness, confusion, and even premature wrinkling of the skin, due to lack of drinking water. Yet unlike the Ancient Mariner, we may not actually realise we are becoming dehydrated. Warns physician Arnaldo Liechtenstein: “People over 60 generally stop feeling thirsty and consequently stop drinking fluids (see ‘Why do we forget to drink?’). “When no one is around to remind them to drink fluids,…

Two weeks to go Now’s the time to get a haircut and top up your colour. Celebrity stylist Lisa Shepherd says: “Taking off the ends of hair will give it a style refresh, making it easier to manage on holiday.” Going blonde? Try a shade or two darker than usual as the sun will lift it, or opt for caramel or toffee lowlights to add depth and shine. Chlorine and sea water could affect the colour if you have it done too close to your holiday, so pack The Hair Boss Blonde Brightener Detox Spray to help bring back shine, £7.99 at Superdrug. Ten days to go Buff your skin, removing any dead cells that can make it look dry and dull. This will also prepare your skin for the…

WE HAVE a right to expect, when paying for goods or services, or usingtaxpayer-funded services such as the NHS, that the experience is satisfactory at the very least. Often, however, we are left feeling unhappy and let down or, worse still, that we have been ‘ripped off. In such circumstances, it isn’t always easy to know how, or to whom, we should complain for the best chance of achieving a resolution. Our guide tells you how and where to complain, what powers the regulatory bodies have to help you, and how to take legal action if all else fails. If you have a complaint, your first port of call should always be the company or organisation that has let you down. Official Ombudsman services, for example, won’t investigate a complaint…

Hello and welcome to my Craft Corner! Every month I share two new projects with Choice readers – one for those who enjoy hobbies such as papercrafting, upcycling and decoupage, and one for those who are fond of sewing and needlecraft, where I focus on simple, everyday stitched fabric accessories. I’ve lived and breathed crafting for as long as I can remember. I have very fond memories of cake decorating, cross-stitching and candle-making with my mum, and in my late teens I discovered the joy of cardmaking. I was fortunate enough to turn my favourite pastimes into my career by setting up Crafter’s Companion out of my university bedroom, and it’s been an amazing journey seeing my business develop into what it is today. I love experimenting and using our…

Our local birds may need some help staying cool and hydrated this time of year, so putting out some water in a bird bath, or even a plant saucer or an upturned bin lid, will do wonders. Just remember to add some gravel or stones to the bottom of the bin lid to make sure the birds don’t slip. And finally…swifts. These migratory birds only join us in those warmer months, spending most of their lives flying over the tropical forests and savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. Their numbers are sadly on the decline, however, and we’ve lost more than half of UK swifts in the past 20 years. You can help by recording where you see swifts on the SwiftMapper app or website. Any information will help scientists to find…

DVDs Elizabeth Taylor In London Sophia Loren in Rome (Network, Blu-ray) Unseen for decades and highly sought after, these early Sixties TV specials showcase two Hollywood stars travelling through and reflecting upon the cities they love. Elizabeth Taylor was born in London and lived there as a child. In her special she returns to the city and gives her impressions of, and reactions to, the mosaic of London and Londoners she encounters during her visit. It’s a fascinating period piece, as is Sophia Loren’s visit to Rome, in a show never seen in the UK. It follows a similar format to the Elizabeth Taylor special as Sophia meets up with her friend and frequent collaborator, actor heart-throb Marcello Mastroianni, as well as affectionately commenting on the sights of the Eternal…

Would It Surprise You To Know…? by Ronnie Archer-Morgan Published by Century Price £16.99 Pages 320 ISBN 9781529135879 One of the most popular experts on the Antiques Roadshow, Ronnie Archer-Morgan’s life has been complicated, often painful. Brought up in children’s homes, and by his mentally-disturbed mother, his varied career has included technical model maker, celebrity hairdresser, boutique manager and DJ, while his flair for spotting hidden gems led him to working for Sotheby’s. It was his first visit to the V&A Museum in London that sparked his lifelong fascination with art and antiques, culminating in opening his own renowned Knightsbridge gallery. Told with warmth and candour, this “memoir of finding life’s treasures”is involving, surprising and memorable. HARDBACK BOOK OF THE MONTH Hardbacks THRILLER Yesterday’s Spy by Tom Bradby Harry Tower’s…

When our lives were lubricated by lard... “YOU DON’T know what’s good for you!” Granddad said as he prised off another slice of raw Spanish onion with his penknife. He popped it into his mouth and chomped it, with not so much as a grimace, let alone a tear. Nothing better, he said, as we – fickle nippers – looked on and marvelled, just as we did when he devoured other foods we considered inedible. “That’s the stuff to give the troops!” he would say, the hanky coming out to dab the forehead as he polished off another heavily seasoned unmentionable. In retrospect, my grandparents’ lives seem to have been lubricated by lard. They would not recognise half of what goes on to our table today. Home-cured bacon, so fatty…

Gents, do you find it difficult to buy a birthday gift for the lady in your life, something that is so appropriate it endows you with Brownie points galore? When I was faced with the challenge recently, scanning newspapers and magazines for ideas, I came across an offer for what I thought was just the job, and at a bargain price. It was ‘£403 worth’ of luxury beauty products for just £85 (not that the lady in question really needs what appeared to be a van load of potions, you understand). It was when I read the descriptions of the 13 concoctions included that I dropped the idea, fearing that if she used them all it would be like living with a scientific experiment. Would I even recognise my life…