Pick Me Up! Special July 2021

Summer is here! Whether you’re packing your bags for a long staycation, or planning short days out in the UK, you can find lots of inspiration in this month’s magazine. Explore our top campsites for food lovers (pg26), take a tour of London’s hotspots (pg52), and learn how to throw a glamorous picnic for your girl friends (pg12). Don’t forget to pack the tastiest treats in your picnic basket with the newest supermarket specials (pg9). Have you tried Marks & Spencer’s Coronation Chicken Scotch Egg yet? As well as lifestyle tips, we have plenty of stories to brighten your day. Read how shocked Sarah was when her two-year-old daughter Emerie-May surprisingly picked up life-saving CPR skills from her daddy (pg10). And follow Brad’s personal journey with leukaemia, as he channels his own experiences to support…

What did the air conditioning unit say to its owner? I’m your biggest fan. How funny! What did the pig say on the warm summer’s day? I’m bacon. How funny! Where do sharks go for their summer holidays? Finland. How funny!…

Weighed down with heavy shopping, I let myself into my parents’ house and carried the bags into the kitchen. ‘Only me,’ I called out to my parents, Josie and Alan. Busying myself by putting the shopping away, Mum made her way into the kitchen to speak to me. ‘I’ve made some stew for dinner,’ she smiled. ‘Sounds great,’ I replied. With Dad recovering after being poorly, I helped them out as much as I could. And now, just before my night shift as a paramedic, I thought I’d check in on them and make sure they were both OK. With all the shopping put away, we all sat down and tucked into Mum’s stew. Once we were done, we sat down in the living room and watched a bit of telly together. Only, as we sat on the…

Pushing the trolley through Asda, my partner Dominic Delavega, 26, and I were doing our weekly shop. Scouring the fruit and veg aisle, I picked up an avocado. Over the last few years, I’d become a bit of a lapsed vegan and called myself a flexitarian. I’d have the odd bit of meat after weeks without it. ‘Grab a bag of sweet potatoes,’ I said to Dominic, as we made our way round the aisles. Not being too strict on my meat-free diet made life easier when it came to cooking dinner for my kids, Ella, 14, Emmy, 13, Alesha, nine and our daughter together, Hallie, two. A few days later, the kids were upstairs while me and Dominic were pottering about in the kitchen. ‘What shall we have for dinner?’ he asked, browsing the…

Pushing his hands into the chest of a resuscitation doll called Annie, my husband, Brett, 43, was demonstrating what to do in an emergency. ‘Then you can do chest compressions to the tune of Baby Shark,’ he explained after planting his lips on the cold plastic and breathing out. With a crowd of kids all gathered round, they all seemed completely fascinated. Both Brett and I loved children. I worked as a childminder from home and Brett’s company ran children’s first aid courses. While youngsters can’t qualify as an accredited first aider, Brett helps to give them all the skills they need when it comes to a crisis. And that day, in August 2019, we were at a friend’s workplace showcasing the skills at a fun day, and had brought along our little girl, Emerie-May. But at…