Good Housekeeping UK

If you’re a regular Good Housekeeping reader, you’ll know that we love to feature national treasures on our cover – familiar, well-loved faces; usually highly respected leaders in their fields. It’s especially wonderful when we recognise that somebody has reached national treasure status and feature them for the first time – as it is with this month’s cover star, BBC News presenter Reeta Chakrabarti. My mother and I often watch the news when we’re together and are something of a Reeta fan club; we’re always blown away by her calm, measured delivery of world events. She has an almost magical ability to relay serious, sometimes heartbreaking, news with empathy and composure. It was, therefore, lovely to get to spend time with the real, off-screen Reeta on our cover shoot and hear…

BRIDE AT 56 ✶ STAR LETTER I enjoyed Jenny Holliday’s account of her midlife wedding (Love And Relationships, April). Last May, I got married for the first time, aged 56! My partner, Tim, was 58 and it was his first time, too. I’d had a few boyfriends and never thought I was the ‘marrying type’, but with Tim, it felt right and I’ve discovered being married suits me. SARAH-JANE LEE YES TO ADVENTURE I’m in my 80s and was inspired by the Editor’s Letter (April) about ‘saying yes to adventure’. I thought it would be an out-of-the-ordinary experience to do a skydive in aid of our local hospice, where my late husband was so wonderfully looked after. I’m doing it in July! BRIDGET CHAPLIN A JOB WELL DONE I love Jojo Moyes’s books and found her interview refreshing…

COMPILED BY: BECCA GREEN, AMANDA MARCANTONIO, ALICE SHIELDS, BECKY TOPPING…

From politics to royal events, Reeta Chakrabarti has spent the past three decades bringing us stories from across the globe. She has anchored the BBC’s coverage of the 70th anniversary of the partition of India, presented live from the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and reported from war-torn Ukraine – delivering the headlines with equal parts heart and aplomb. At the GH cover shoot, Reeta, 58, remains the epitome of professionalism, but we’re also introduced to her fun-loving side. She laughs at memories of her three grown-up children telling her: ‘You have your BBC voice on, Mum,’ confesses her love of clothes (‘I have far too many and yet I’m always looking for more’) and reminisces on her ‘carefree’ days at Oxford University, where she was known as the ‘disco queen’. Here, Reeta, who…

1 THE CLASSIC-BUT-COOL BRETON The first thing to pack? A Breton top, of course! The beauty of this wardrobe icon lies in its versatility. Worn solo, styled beneath a crisp white shirt or paired with tailored trousers or a tulle skirt, the result is always effortlessly cool. Denim jacket, £195, 6-18, Wyse London. Shirt, £69, xs-l, Cos. Breton, £29.95, 6-24, Seasalt. Trousers, £45.99, xs-xl, Zara. Clogs, £159, 3-8, Penelope Chilvers. Suitcases, stylist’s own 2 THE LIGHTWEIGHT JUMPER For those moments when you’re caught off guard by a chilly spell or overzealous air-con, a soft knit is always a must-pack, as is a layering top. These are different to long-sleeve T-shirts: they’re ultra-thin, often with a fancy collar or cuffs, and designed to be worn under jumpers, shirts, tops and dresses. 3 THE WEAR-WITH-EVERYTHING JEANS What gets…

TIP Wedges offer the elegance of a heel with the comfort of a flat TIP Think of cork like raffia’s cooler cousin TIP Give your heavy wooden clogs a break and switch to lightweight cork TIP Neutral-coloured soles make cork sandals endlessly versatile TIP Designed with bunions in mind TIP A wearable heel that won’t sink into the grass – ideal for garden-party season…