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Pam never dreamt that her years of dieting would have such a dangerous effect on her teenage girls (p10). A 5-year-old boy watched his father shot dead during a shopping trip to buy crisps and drinks – but why? (p54). And proud mummy Kym shares why her tiny baby girl is much tougher than she looks (p37). Check out our fab fashion (p12), find ideas to transform your store-cupboard staples into tasty treats (p40), challenging prize puzzles and much, much more. Stay safe and well this week. During this worrying time, we wish all of our readers good health. We hope Chat off ers some welcome distraction. If you’re staying in and don’t want to miss out on your copy, you can download an issue from the App Store or Play Store direct to your…

picture perfect

£25 for any photos that we use on Picture Perfect. They must not have been sent to any other publication and you must include written permission from a child’s parent/s or guardian/s. Post to Picture Perfect, Chat, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP, or email chat_magazine@ti-media.com Unfortunately, we can’t return photos without a SAE. And please don’t forget to include your full address and a contact number.…

danger in the shadows

Rosie Bradley, 49, Chatham Looking at the message on my phone screen, I blinked back tears. Sorry for your loss, it read. The sender was Blair Crittenden, who I knew through mutual friends. Sweet of him, I thought. I’d had so many kind messages of late. It was March 2019 and I’d lost my husband Nick five months earlier, to a sudden heart attack. Married for 25 years, five kids together, Nick was the love of my life. I missed him dearly. Typing a message back to Blair, then 31, I thanked him for his kind words. We got chatting, exchanging messages every couple of days. Truth was, I was lonely. Blair was struggling, too. ‘I’ve got no one else,’ he told me. So when he told me he was being made homeless, it felt right to offer him a place to…

number jig

What do you get if you multiply the number of different presidents of the US by the largest number of serving and former presidents to have been alive at any one time? Fit these numbers into the grid. One number doesn’t fit. This is the prize puzzle answer. WIN £250 Puzzle 1 3 digits 112 125 258 264 275 374 459 547 558 583 667 4 digits 2091 2258 2921 3813 5960 6752 7746 8077 8180 8640 5 digits 11113 18817 31038 31256 32501 48936 59391 59657 61286 73899 82655 88313 6 digits 170233 227150 371451 491955 564161 909003 953211 7 digits 1102615 1723212 6939264 8 digits 90845531 Your answer:…

spiral xword

Joan Benoit was the first female gold medallist in which Olympic event The answer to each clue (apart from the first) begins with the last letter of the preceding answer. The shaded squares will spell out the prize puzzle answer. WIN £150 Puzzle 2 1 Water bird (7) 2 French emperor (8) 3 Paper shop (9) 4 Young frog (7) 5 Lift (8) 6 Practice session (9) 7 Breed of dog (8) 8 Coloured arcs in the sky (8) 9 African desert (6) 10 African burrowing mammal (8) 11 Food preparation area (7) 12 Scandinavian country (6) 13 Sailing boat (5) 14 South American ballroom dance (5) 15 Belief, view (7) 16 + Crosses, BBC drama (7) Your answer:…

just genius

Hanging around We couldn’t find a replacement when the cover on our swing seat got damaged, so we decided to use a bed sheet instead. It did the job perfectly. Brian Hudson, Malvern Grate job Place foil in the bottom of your barbecue to catch drips and reduce mess. When finished and cool, just roll up and throw away. Margaret Peters, West Ewell On a roll The plastic part of an empty lint roller is perfect for holding garden string and feeding it out. And if you take another one apart, the handle makes a good dibber for planting seedlings and bulbs, too. Ann Johnson, Runcorn Play it by ear If you’re finding it difficult to put in an earring, simply rub a little Vaseline onto your earlobe and it should slip in easily. Judith Cairns, Colchester For…