Reader's Digest UK January 2023

For many of us, the beginning of a new year comes with the ubiquitous pressure to “start afresh” and draw up a list of life-changing resolutions. Fuelled by perceived shortcomings of last year, we decide to learn a new language, work out seven times a week, read 100 pages every day and never eat carbs again. It’s no wonder that when we fail to keep these resolutions, we end up feeling worse than when we started. And after a year of uncertainty and commotion, it’s the last thing we need. Good things take time. In this issue, we invite you to start small, practise gratitude and focus on attainable goals. Why not address something that’s right in front of you? On p126, we explain how to revive that long-neglected doormat of…

We pay £50 for Letter of the Month and £30 for all others LETTER OF THE MONTH ALL ABOARD! Chris Moore’s article on nude cruising brought back fond memories of our honeymoon at a naturist resort in the south of France. We were both naturism newbies, but any initial nerves evaporated on arrival. A naked receptionist welcomed us to our “non-textile” holiday. “No clothes,” she elaborated and beamed. We smiled back, feeling a very different sort of overdressed. Our delightful cabin had its own patio with barbecue. We stripped off and unpacked (mainly towels and gallons of suntan lotion). A knock at the door sent me scurrying for a bath towel. My husband instinctively hid behind the door as he opened it and peered gingerly outside. There stood a completely starkers delivery man offering…

IT'S ROBIN CALLING Here I am standing in the rain, getting quitewet through. And I hear you say, “Well, if itisn't him again.” The window opens and raisins appear, it'sabout time I say, and let's make this very clear. I always sing your favourite song not just atbreakfast time, but nearly all day long. So when I'm standing all alone, can you try andbe quick? I need to see the missus back home! Your raisins are delicious, I want more. Andremember I have a family to feed, that'ssomething I can't ignore. Now here's Mr Black looking for a treat. Ifhe comes near my raisins, I'll peck his bigbrown feet! ANNE PALMER, Derby Jacket Potato Jacket potato with butterand cheese— It doesn’t take muchto keep me pleased. A smile on my faceand one in my belly, As I sip on my teawatching the…

In Appenzell, Switzerland, people celebrate the turn of the year twice. Once according to the Gregorian calendar on December 31, and a second time according to the Julian calendar on January 13. During the so-called Silvesterchlausen, people go from house to house on both dates in the villages and small towns of the Swiss canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, wishing the inhabitants a happy new year. The “schöne Chläus” wear elaborately-decorated homemade headdresses depicting scenes from rural life.…

I THINK I MIGHT BE A NIMBY. This is rather hard for me to accept, because that acronym (Not In My Back Yard) is typically used as a slur; a pejorative label deployed to smear someone as selfish and two-faced. I even recall when I first heard the word—in a school geography class, some 30 years ago. The way my teacher explained, it was that UK property developers are frequently frustrated by hypocritical homeowners, who claim to be in favour of progress (new housing, wind farms, whatever), but then vociferously object when actual proposals emerge to develop such things in their postcodes. How parsimonious, I thought! How self-centred! As a young adult I lived in London, so never had cause to revise my opinion. Planning disputes were something I encountered only as…

ROD STEWART is at home in his Essex mansion, beaming in a cardigan and a Celtic FC necklace. His spiky hair is as you would expect and takes just moments to perfect. Apply product, dry upside down, add wax. I spot some model trains and ask if they are part of his famous replica of a 1940s US city. “Oh, that’s over yonder,” he says in full rasp, pointing to another part of his home. I call it a train set, and he interrupts. “I get offended if you call it a train set. It’s a scale model railroad, if you please.” But it started as a train set? “Yes,” he says, smiling. He began collecting as a boy in Highgate in the 1950s. “I wanted a station,” he says. “But…