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Dear Mums, Let me guess. Every time you turn around, your teenagers are on their phones. Heads down, scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, liking, commenting and tapping away… I know – my daughter, Nicole, was just the same. She loved posting selfies. Snaps of nights out, snaps of me and her… Like most youngsters of her generation, she was glued to her phone and social media. But she and I learned – in the toughest way possible – how dangerous social media can be. That’s why I am writing this letter, to warn other mothers and grandmothers… to beg you, please don’t let what happened to our family happen to yours. I’m a single mum. Nicole, my eldest, was a special girl. Her mobile number was saved in my phone…

Time for a seasonal skin overhaul! There are ways to get rid of the winter blues and reveal a brighter complexion for spring. Here’s how to achieve that glow… BE A SMOOTHIE WITH A HI-TECH EXFOLIATION For a radiant complexion, your skin needs to reflect more light and, to do this, it needs to be smooth. Exfoliating plays a key part. To tackle a winter’s worth of dead skin, invest in professional microdermabrasion. The treatment gently removes the top layer of dead skin cells to improve texture, reduce pore size and generally rejuvenate, with no downtime. You’ll see the difference after a one-off treatment, or try a course of four weekly sessions from £80. PHOTO-REJUVENATE Photo Rejuvenation uses IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) to treat skin blemishes, age spots and broken capillaries,…

‘If ther e’s one thi ng I’ve learnt’ ‘You can still eat all your favourite foods and lose weight. You just have to cook differently and use healthier ingredients.’ Full of anticipation, I slid the disc of pictures into my laptop. Back from a great holiday in Turkey, where I’d visited a dolphin park, I couldn’t wait to relive the memories. But, as the images popped up on the screen, I felt sick to my stomach. The dolphins were sleek and beautiful – but me? I looked like a whale beside them. I knew my clothes had been getting tighter and I’d been buying bigger sizes, but I’d had no idea that my weight was so out of control. As a child, I’d been a fussy eater. My mum, Julie,…

THOUGHT OF THE DAY Read a book, and you'll never be alone… He hates the ‘work’ I get done My husband is great, but he detests the Botox and fillers I have been having since I turned 50. I feel that I look fresh-faced for the first time in ages, but he moans constantly about my procedures and says I should leave well enough alone. Is he worried other men will notice me and pay attention? Why can’t he just be happy I’m happy?Rachel, York I think you should be happy you’re feeling so good. As long as you’re not addicted to fillers, then I think, ‘Good for you.’ However, if I say to my own husband, ‘One of these days I am going to have a facelift,’ he always replies,…

1 MIA MANIA! Mia Tindall, four, made us laugh when she rugby-tackled her cousins to the floor on a family day out recently. Her technique was not unlike her 39-year-old father’s, former England rugby captain Mike Tindall, when he was in his prime! We wonder if she playfights the same way with Prince George, four, and Princess Charlotte, two? We can just hear the Queen now… ‘Jolly good fun!’ 2 Who wowed the crowd? Ever wondered what to do with your old Marigolds? Thanks to China Fashion Week, wonder no more. From rubberglove chic to a Chewbacca-like model holding a bunch of blooms, the wacky trends on the Hu Sheguang catwalk certainly had us gasping! Some people might g-love it, but we’re not so sure… 3 COBBLES IS BACK! CHARMER…

TOP TIP Invest in a tweed jacket or coat, and you’ll have a stylish cover-up that’ll look good for years. TOP TIP A versatile suit works dressed up or down. On a chilly day, swap a cami and heels for opaque tights and a polo neck. TOP TIP Play with proportions. A cropped jacket and longer blouse can create shape for boyish figures.…

‘It’s not unusual for me to wake up and think, “What day is it?” but lately, the whole meaning of that question has changed. The answer isn’t necessarily a weekday, but more likely to be in the form of a national day for some exciting project or issue that I need to become more “aware” of. Recently, I’ve been marking National Bed Month by, well, enjoying my bed. But that was March, while April has a whole new cornucopia of delights for us to get more clued-up on. Many are justified, being worthy causes that do need more exposure and publicity – especially when the subject is health-related and could help save lives. But why we need an International Pillow Fight Day (7 April) is beyond me. April is also…

HOW IT WORKS 1 Follow the menu on these pages. You can start on any day you choose, swapping days around if there’s a meal you really fancy or repeating days if there’s something you particularly enjoy. 2 Foods printed in bold are ‘Free Food’. Base meals around Free Food – vegetables, pasta, lean meat, fish, rice, potatoes, fat-free dairy, eggs and more. If you feel hungry between meals, snack on these foods, including fresh fruit, too. 3 As well as Free Food, stock your store cupboard with fat-free salad dressings, herbs, passata, tomato purée, soy sauce, spices and stock, which can be used freely to add delicious flavour to meals. 4 To make sure that you’re enjoying a fully balanced diet, Slimming World encourages you to enjoy measured amounts…

Chunky bean burgers with Cajun wedges Serves 4 Ready in 45 mins 400g can haricot or cannellini beans, drained400g can kidney beans, drained1 small onion or shallot, roughly chopped1 large garlic clove, crushed1 red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped1 small red pepper, deseeded and roughly choppedBunch of spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped1 egg, beatenLow-calorie cooking spray4 large baking potatoes2tsp Cajun seasoning100g fat-free naturalGreek yoghurt2 large tomatoes, roughly choppedSalad, to serve Place the beans, onion, garlic, chilli, red pepper and half the spring onions into a food processor and whizz to chop roughly. Transfer to a bowl, season to taste and stir in the beaten egg. Divide the mixture into eight equal portions and shape into burgers. Place on a baking tray sprayed lightly with low-calorie cooking spray and chill…

Double bubble e.l.f. Hydrating Bubble Mask, £17 An ideal complexion-brightener, this is great for those with dry skin. A little goes a long way. Sanctuary Spa Purifying Charcoal Bubble Sheet Mask, £5 There’s definitely no shortage of bubbles here! Leaves you feeling deep-cleaned, if a little squeaky. Oh K! Bubble Sheet Mask, £6 Slightly fiddly to unpeel, but it deep-cleanses and softens skin without drying it out Sheet cheat FACEINC by NAILSINC INC.redible 40 Winks Anti-Ageing Sheet Mask, £5 Provides perfect plumpness, with a quirky presentation. There’s nothing we don’t like about this! Soap & Glory Bright + Beautiful Radiance-Boosting Mask, £4 This one is on the wet side, so it can get a bit messy! Cheap and cheerful. Nip + Fab Dragon’s Blood Fix Plumping Mask Extreme, £7.50 A…

‘Parenting’s hard – as is growing up!’ Fern Britton, 60, is married to TV chef Phil Vickery and they share a daughter, Winnie, 16. Fern also has twins, Jack and Harry, 23, and Grace, 20, from her first marriage. She splits her time between Buckinghamshire and Cornwall. Your latest book, Coming Home, is about a very modern sort of family situation. What inspired this plot? I like to write about families, because I’ve never met a single ordinary, happy, problem-free family. Every family has its own stresses and conflicts – in this book, a mother has to atone for a serious mistake she made two decades ago. For some people, being part of a family is very difficult. Parenting is hard, and so is growing up. Did you travel to…

‘We were very poor growing up, but I have happy memories’ Soul legend Alexander O’Neal, 64, has enjoyed a music career spanning 40 years. Here, he reveals why he loves living in the UK, the late pop icon he owes so much to and how he will never stop battling his demons… You grew up in Mississippi in the 50s and 60s – how were those early days? It was a difficult time, but I had family around me, so that helped. My parents were very poor, we had no money but, despite the harshness of life, I still have some happy memories. Life’s not about where you come from, but where you’re going. So it was a happy childhood? It was. But it was mixed with a lot of…

Win EVERY WEEK WIN 1 X £200, 2 X £ 100 OR 3 X £50 PR I ZES STRAIGHT CLUES ACROSS 1 Listed numerically (8) 5 View, appearance (6) 10 Centred at (5) 11 Get rid of individually (9) 12 Painted, papered, etc. (9) 13 Meadow, pasture (5) 14 Large numbers of (4) 15 Fortunate (5) 18 Disturb, annoy (5) 20 Ice cream cornet (4) 22 Light-bending glass (5) 24 Working machinery (9) 26 Coming in consequence (9) 27 Vista, panorama (5) 28 Pointed hand-thrown missiles (6) 29 Schooled (8) DOWN 1 No one (6) 2 Band members (9) 3 Ageing, getting on (7) 4 A happening (5) 6 Talented, gifted (7) 7 Rub out (5) 8 Pancake Days, e.g. (8) 9 Savage, untamed (4) 16 Self-assured (9) 17 Gives…

THINK YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH? THINK AGAIN. Calum: I want to share with you some of my story of how I nearly lost myself on a road of self-doubt. And how, with the right strategy and belief system, I changed my life – and you could change yours. Self-doubt wasn’t an issue for me in my youth. For me, it was a tragedy in my family (the death of my dad, George) that pushed me into a cycle of insecurity. I was in my mid-20s when I became trapped in my negative thoughts. This isn’t a sob story – as I’m very blessed – but, through tragedy, my positive mind frame of ‘I can do anything’ changed to ‘I can’t do anything’. When you feel like that, you don’t have…

Fancy and floral Team two trends with sunshine blooms. Top trousers A wide-leg bottom is flattering for most figures. Time machine Pop back to the 90s with this quirky style. Suited and booted Don’t shy away from colour when it comes to tailoring. TAP THE APP If you work for the emergency services or NHS, Blue Light Card tells you the shops where you can get a discount!…

1x 18g Cadbury Freddo 24g bag Walkers Sunbites Pitta Bakes (any flavour) 25g peanuts and raisins 1 125ml glass white, red or rosé wine 15g Green & Black’s Milk Chocolate bar 17g bag Popchips Barbeque corn chips 20g bag Butterkist Crunchy Toffee Popcorn 35ml gin with slimline tonic 5x Haribo Strawbs 24g bag Jacobs Twiglets Original 1x poppadom and 1 level tbsp mango chutney 12g bar Cadbury Chomp 50g Nestlé Rolo Mousse 275ml bottle of Coors Light beer…

TOP TIP Shades of green work brilliantly in a beige room. Mix shades from deep to light to create a fresh new look.…

…filming the final series of the Hollywoodbased comedy It’s been an incredible experience. The writing has been so honest – really challenging and laugh-out-loud funny – so thank you, guys, it’s been great. I’ve stayed until the bitter end. Drag me out! …working on TV in Britain and America The process is pretty much the same, but I feel like you get more done in a work day here. There’s a little more team effort, with everyone on board. And there’s less food on set! …whether he was shocked by his saucy scenes Nothing shocks me. It hasn’t been an issue. I’ve actually pitched stuff to them and they’ve said, ‘No, that’s disgusting! We’re not doing that!’ …rumours of a Friends reunion You know, funny you should ask – I…

‘The news has sneaked out a little earlier than we had hoped…’ It’s been a dark chapter for hit TV duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. Following Ant’s arrest for drinkdriving in London, after a horrific car crash, his devastated telly partner has been forced to front Saturday Night Takeaway without him for the first time. And now, a question mark hangs over their other presenting gigs, such as I’m A Celebrity… But there’s always a silver lining and, in this case, it was the announcement – at the end of a few weeks from hell – that Dec, 42, was to become a dad for the first time. In a heartwarming tweet to confirm that wife Ali Astall, 40, was expecting, Dec said, ‘The news has sneaked out a little…