Pick Me Up! 12-May-2022

Staring at my ring finger, I couldn’t believe it. ‘We’re married!’ I cried, to my hubby Chris, 37, watching as the gems glistened in the light. After meeting at a local bar in 2009, we got on like a house on fire and we couldn’t wait to build a future together. ‘I want to have kids after marriage,’ I insisted and so did Chris – it was perfect. However, after experiencing a lovely Christmas with one another in 2019, our dreams seemingly came to a halt. ‘I’ve found a lump,’ I confessed to Chris after examining myself. I was in shock. The following day I attended a GP appointment. ‘We are going to fast track you to the Nightingale Centre at Wythenshawe hospital so they can run some further tests,’ the doctor confirmed, gently. So, five days later, I…

HAVE YOU HEARD OF? Have you ever come across a sleepy little bumblebee, struggling to buzz away? Helping them to the nearest flower or giving them a sugary snack is the best thing to do, but it’s not always practical. Enter Beevive – the original bee revival kit! When Faye Whitley, Jake Powell and sausage dog Leo were on holiday in Cornwall in 2018, they met an exhausted little bee – with no flowers nearby, they went on the search for sugar and water and after a few sips, he flitted away. Knowing our black and yellow friends are in decline, it inspired them to create Beevive. The keyring provides an emergency solution to revive tired bees, so they can continue their pollinating mission. Now, Faye and Jake visit schools, host workshops and work with businesses to…

If your letter makes Star Letter of the week, you will receive some beautiful blooms from Flying Flowers. With over 30 years’ experience of helping celebrate life’s special moments and FREE delivery by post, a gorgeous bouquet by Flying Flowers is a lovely way to celebrate sharing smiles and happiness. See flyingflowers.co.uk for more details.…

Sitting in the doctor’s office, my 15-year-old daughter Riszka looked confused. ‘Polycystic ovary syndrome?’ she said. ‘What does that mean?’ ‘It’s a condition that affects how your ovaries work,’ the doctor explained. ‘It’s why you haven’t been having periods.’ ‘But now you’ve diagnosed her, can you treat it?’ I asked. ‘Going onto the pill should help to regulate Riszka’s hormones,’ the doctor smiled. I was relieved. Along with irregular periods, Riszka had been suffering with mood swings – we’d put it down to just being a teenager. But now she had a diagnosis, we could get it sorted. ‘You’ll need to have regular check-ups,’ the doctor said, writing a prescription for the combined contraceptive pill. ‘So we can keep an eye on your blood pressure and weight.’ As soon as she started taking it and her hormones got under…

Have you ever found yourself sipping on a brew that just doesn’t taste right? BRITA water sommelier Samantha Stokes spills the tea on how to make the perfect cuppa… • Fill your kettle with freshly filtered water Using a BRITA filter removes unwanted tastes and odours from water, to let the taste of the tea shine through. • Fill a pot with the boiled water Measure the temperature using a kitchen thermometer – it should be 95-98C for black tea. If it’s too hot, leave it to cool for a minute. • Pop the teabag in When the temperature is right, pop the tea bag or loose leaves into the pot and steep for three to five minutes. Pour into a mug or cup, and enjoy!…

Hearing a knock on the front door, I checked on the stove before heading to answer it. ‘Hi Mum,’ my son Billy, 16, said before coming in with his then girlfriend. ‘You’re just in time for dinner,’ I laughed, plating up the food in the kitchen. It was July last year, and Billy made a conscious effort to come over for dinner a couple times a week, after he had been living with his girlfriend just around the corner. We had always been really close, and it was nice to see him, even though I knew he was safe living a few streets away. Billy was comfortable in my company, but he had always suffered socially and with autism he wasn’t always so confident in public situations. So much so, when things got too much, he…