Inhoudsopgave van 07-2021 - Best

It’s been 12 years since Piers Morgan launched Life Stories and, this Thursday, it bursts back on to our screens with one of the best known divas in Essex, Gemma Collins. There is no explanation why people like reality stars,’ muses Piers, ‘but there is something about the GC, rather like the KP (Katie Price) I’ve rather liked. I’m allergic to most reality stars but with those two, I like their bravado.’ Couldn’t have said it better myself, Piers. Both have an amazing knack for getting themselves talked about. In the past 10 years, Gemma has risen from a bit part on The Only Way Is Essex to become one of the most famous reality stars in the country with no obvious talent except one for self-promotion! Now that is…

Simon Cowell threw her a joke 50th party on BGT three years ago, insisting all celebs have a ‘work age’ – but whatever the truth about her ‘real’ age, Amanda Holden looks amazing. She doesn’t even let the side down when it’s freezing outside, as she struts into work in London’s Leicester Square for her Heart radio show. That’s dedication for you! As she approaches her 50th (we think!) on 16 February, next Tuesday, the stylish mum-of-two is a stark reminder that age is but a number… So, how does Amanda stay so incredibly youthful? Well, she works damn hard at it! Though she doesn’t believe in the word ‘diet’, Amanda eats healthily, and works out regularly – favouring boxing sessions and at least a one-hour run every week. She’s…

It’s a topic that has long been up for debate: does life go on after we die? Now, there is a new Netflix documentary series called Surviving Death that explores the concept. The six episodes cover reincarnation, near-death experiences, mediums and ‘signs’ from deceased loved ones. While scientists may argue there is no proof of an afterlife, what happens if you are clinically dead and come back to life? Or have a near-death experience (NDE), that science cannot explain? In episode one, we meet orthopaedic spine surgeon Mary Neal MD. ‘As a physician, I know that most people don’t think about death until they’re forced to,’ she says. ‘But 20 years ago, I was not only physically dead, I had been dead for a while…’ The mother-of-four explains that back…

WORKING MUM TO GLAM QUEEN I love the hair and make-up on this show. Look at Holly – she’s always gorgeous, but she rocks up to set low-key, in jogging bottoms and a sweater, coffee in hand, a busy working mum… and comes back out in one of those fairytale gowns! I know she’s loving being in the studio on a Sunday – it’s a break from home-schooling! BILLIE’S BACK! It’s so good to see Billie Faiers back on the ice, after missing a week because she lost her beloved nan. She was so missed behind-the-scenes and, despite a week off training, she did a great job with her contemporary skate to Harry Styles’ Falling. It’s a beautiful piece of music and was so emotional for her, you could see…

Coconut, cardamom and white chocolate cake This cake is rich, moist and crumbly. Serves 16 Prep time: 1 hour Cooking time: 25 mins 10 whole cardamoms275g unsalted butter, softened275g caster sugar5 eggs, beaten275g self-raising flour75g desiccated coconut3-4 tbsp milk FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM 400g white chocolate400g unsalted butter, softened4-5 tbsp raspberry jamRose petals to decorate YOU WILL NEED 3x7in round sponge tins, greased and base lined 1. Split the cardamom pods and remove seeds. Crush seeds with a rolling pin or in a pestle and mortar. 2. Preheat oven to 180oc/160oc fan oven/gas 4. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy then gradually beat in the eggs, adding little flour if the mixture begins to curdle. Add the flour, coconut and crushed cardamom together with…

HERE’S HOW TO CHECK IF YOU’RE ON TRACK: You will need: • Your National Insurance number (find it on your payslips or any official letters about tax, pension or benefits. If you can’t find it, you can ring the NI helpline on 0300 200 3500 or fill in an online form). • Your annual pension statement (from any/all companies you have a pension with). If you have a sneaking suspicion that you’ve lost track of a pension with a previous employer, or opened a personal pension but stopped contributing to it, you can track it down at pensiontracingservice.com. • An hour’s free time (sounds like a lot but it is worth it!). 1 STEP ONE Go to gov.uk/check-state-pension. This will tell you how much State Pension you could get, at…

Emma Willis – who recently delighted fans when she joined the Loose Women panel for the day (‘It felt good to be out of the house!’) – has a serious side. In 2019, the presenter, now 44, made it clear she still has the ‘baby bug’. Raised by her mum, Cathy, a midwife, she trained as a Maternity Care Assistant for the first series of Delivering Babies. Married to Busted singer Matt Willis, she is already a mum to Isabelle, 11, Ace, nine, and Trixie, four. Could there be a fourth baby Willis? Who knows. Here she talks openly about family life and the debt we owe the NHS… Emma, 2020 was quite a year (and 2021 isn’t messing about so far!). What will you remember most about it? Firstly, like…

‘It’s my birthday soon. I should be celebrating. I won’t be, though. I’m not in the mood. And anyway, it’s not a biggie, I had that one last year and I thank God every day that we were able to celebrate it properly. We went to Thailand and Australia for the whole of February and returned just three weeks before the world ended and life stopped on 23 March, when our leaders put the country into the first lockdown. So, I’m not that bothered about it this year. In fact, how can anyone feel upbeat enough to celebrate anything? I haven’t got the slightest desire to even taste Champagne, those happy bubbles will do nothing but depress me! We might, though, for the first time ever, have a little toast…

Carefully pulling the lace gloves over my hands, I stepped back and studied myself in the mirror. ‘Hmm… it needs something else,’ I thought. Rummaging through my wardrobe, I plucked out a wide-brimmed hat and fixed it in place. Voila! The perfect finishing touch. I looked like I’d stepped out of the Forties and into the modern day. But I wasn’t off to a fancy dress party, or special event. This is how I dress every single day! You see, I’ve always loved the romance of yesteryear. Growing up in Jamaica, I picked up traditional, homemaking skills at an early age. As a kid, I’d practise needlework after school, and learned how to sew by copying my mum. Then, aged 23, I decided to move to the UK. Having sold…

CAN’T LEAVE HIM DURING LOCKDOWN My boyfriend and I had only started dating just before the pandemic began – but we decided to take the leap and move in together during the second lockdown. Now I’ve realised, living in close quarters, that this is not the man for me, we’re on two different planets – but he has no flat of his own to go back to now! I can’t boot him out during a national lockdown, can I?! It is getting increasingly uncomfortable. Shall I tell him we can carry on living as friends until lockdown ends? He must have picked up on my feelings changing, but hasn’t said a thing… Help, Vanessa! Evelyn, Maidenhead I’m afraid you do need to tell him there has been a shift. Blame…

KEEP YOUR PET FIT! It’s not just humans who’ve succumbed to lockdown weight. Dr Jessica May, UK Lead Vet at video vet service FirstVet, give you her top tips on how to help keep your pets in shape: How can you tell if your dog or cat is overweight? The ‘Body Condition Score’, which can be found online at fristvet.com/uk, determines a pet’s healthy weight by physical characteristics. Your cat or dog’s waist should be narrower than their pelvis when looked at from above, and a fat pad under the abdomen is a sign that your dog may be overweight. This can help identify if they are overfed, or perhaps not getting enough exercise. It can also help you spot health issues early. Sudden changes can be an indicator of…

AQUARIUS 21 January – 19 February Group associations and volunteer efforts will prompt Aquarians such as The Night Manager actor Tom Hiddleston and Friends star Jennifer Aniston to grow and change. Several people will step forward to help support a worthy cause, so now is the time to get involved with a project close to your heart. PISCES 20 February – 20 March Your ability to put feelings into words is strong. You might take advantage of this with a heart-to-heart with your partner. It will be through keeping in touch with each other’s needs that you will go far together. If a colleague’s attitude is getting you down, make a game out of trying to find their good qualities. ARIES 21 March – 20 April Getting carried away with…

There were probably a lot of people at home nodding their heads in agreement when Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid revealed that she feels a tad ‘overwhelmed’ when she leaves her home. The presenter, who lives with her three sons in London, explained that it was due to the amount of people out and about, making it difficult for her to keep a social distance. Susanna shared her anxiety with co-host Piers Morgan on their morning show – and, no doubt, it’s something many of us can relate to, particularly those in crowded towns and cities. ‘I’ve found myself getting a little bit agoraphobic at the moment because when you go out, there’s so many people around, you’re trying to maintain your social distance and people are just too…

No couple is more famous for falling head-over-heels on a film set than Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. In 1963’s epic, Cleopatra, the pair brought the love story between the Queen of Egypt and Mark Antony to the big screen – and their stormy love affair, which led to marriage, divorce and remarriage, would continue throughout their lives. But they weren’t the last couple to meet on a set – check out these love stories that began with the words, lights, camera, action! JENNIFER SAUNDERS & ADRIAN EDMONDSON Where they met: The Comic Strip Presents A beautiful example of a collaborative, creative couple, Ade and Jen met on the London comedy circuit in the early Eighties, most regularly at a club called The Comic Strip. Brand-new at the time, Channel…

JOIN THE CONVERSATION Should we really be drinking our way through lockdown? With cinemas, restaurants and pretty much everything else closed during lockdown, a little (or large) glass of your preferred tipple seems to be the only thing getting us through the dark, dreary days. We thought that we were all on the same page – that alcohol units during a pandemic (similar to calories on your birthday) don’t count. However, Katie Piper has recently announced that she has quit drinking during lockdown and will ‘keep her drinking sociable’ by remaining sober until she can chink a glass with friends when we’re allowed to. It’s got us thinking – are we drinking too much these days? Or are we doing what we can to get ourselves through a really tough…

HOW IT WORKS 1 As we get older it’s harder to shift the stubborn fat that clings to our waist, we can help ourselves by avoiding refined sugar and starchy foods that set up sugar spikes in our bloodstream, which our hormones then find hard to control. 2 Switching your diet to foods with a low glycemic index (GI), which are naturally lower in sugar, will help to stimulate the release of the sugar you’re already storing so you can starting the fat-burning process. 3 Avoid white bread, white pasta, rice, all refined sugar found in cakes and sweets as well as starchy fruits and veg such as bananas and potatoes. And say no to fizzy drinks and alcohol. 4 Fill up on low-carb foods like turkey, eggs, avocadoes, tomatoes…

THE LOWDOWN What is it? CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is a safe and naturally occurring chemical compound found in the cannabis plant, from which marijuana also stems. But it’s totally different from marijuana – and won’t make you high, as it’s from the non-psychoactive part of the plant. The high happens with a sister ingredient, THC, which is found in hemp but not used in skin care. What’s the difference between hemp and CBD? Cannabis and hemp are varieties of the same plant species, Cannabis sativa. Because they share the same species name, confusion often arises around their differences. Cannabis, which contains the psychoactive THC component, is derived from the flowering tips of the Cannabis sativa plant, while hemp seed oil (Cannabis sativa seed oil) is cold-pressed from the…

SON’S TERRIBLE ACNE  My son, 16, has the most terrible acne, which actually seems to be getting worse. He has tried over-thecounter remedies, but none seem to really work. I want him to see his doctor, but he says he is too embarrassed. I am getting worried that all this will have a bad effect on him mentally and that lockdown is only going to make it worse. What can I do to help him? Sacha, Birmingham DR HILARY SAYS: Rest assured, acne is extremely common and very normal at your son’s age. You can start by assuring him that it is also very treatable. Many teenagers have issues with self-esteem and low confidence without acne – and so yes, his appearance will certainly not be helping. It is well…

WIN 1 X £200, 2 X £100 OR 3 X £50 PRIZES Use the anagrams, straight, cryptic, quiz and picture clues to solve the crossword. When completed correctly, the pink squares, reading top to bottom, left to right, will reveal the answer to the following question: In what city did PICTURE A win his first Olympic gold medal? (7) This is your prize answer. Enter by using the numbers at the top of the grid or at hearstmagazines.co.uk/bestcross721 ACROSS 6 Turn the REMIT into something you deserve (5) 8 ANAGRAM SHEIK 10 Hospital worker (5) 11 Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor were regular main cast members in what series of British films? (5,2) 12 No score (3) 13 Italian cured belly of pork (8) 15 PICTURE A What…