Table of contents for 03-Aug-2021 in Woman's Weekly

GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH I loved your recent article about health apps [1 June], and how beneficial they are to monitor our health and wellbeing. The health-tracking apps give us peace of mind with regards to serious conditions like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. This is something I personally would consider using. The heart rhythm app is the most interesting because it uses the camera on your phone and can assist in detecting symptoms of heart problems. Thanks for the useful advice! Charmaine Richards, Northampton…

Helen Skelton doesn’t rule out having more children as she embraces rural living in her new Yorkshire cottage, but admits she’ll have to convince her mum to stop working before she can consider expanding her brood. The 38-year-old laughs as she confides, ‘If my mum retired, I would have more… but I‘m working on that!’ The mum-of-two, who moved into her 1850s home with husband Richie Myler and their sons, Ernie, six, and Louis, four, at the start of this year, has been loving family life recently. ‘What’s been nice this year for us is that I have worked from home a lot more and most of it – filming Channel 5’s On the Farm – has been from my garden. ‘It has been great to spend a lot of…

“I never thought I’d become a weather presenter in a million years. When I was 12, I wrote to Biddy Baxter, the then producer of Blue Peter, saying, I’d like to be one of its presenters, what do I have to do? And she said, get a degree and get back in touch with us. So that’s what I did. I joined the BBC as a secretary and worked on BBC Breakfast for a while, where I do the weather now. I eventually became a presenter and later, got an audition for The Weather Channel. I took to weather presenting like a duck to water. I love my job. It changes every day and it’s so interesting. And world weather is fascinating. ‘Weather is fascinating and I love it’ So…

HOT SMOKED SALMON, AVOCADO AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD Inspired by travels to Australia, this salad is full of flavour and crunch. SERVES 4 ✣1 small red onion, finely sliced ✣100g (3½oz) radishes, finely sliced ✣ Juice of 1 lemon ✣ ¼tsp sea salt flakes ✣2tsp fennel seeds ✣55g (2oz) sunflower seeds ✣120g (4oz) rocket ✣2 preserved lemons (optional) ✣250g (9oz) hot smoked salmon ✣2 ripe avocados, halved and stones removed ✣2 ruby grapefruits ✣20g (¾oz) flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped ✣ 2½tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 Place the onion and radishes in a small bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice, discarding any pips, then stir in the salt and set aside to lightly pickle. 2 Meanwhile, toast the fennel and sunflower seeds in a frying pan over a high heat for…

A Hydration guidance varies, so a consensus is still needed. The UK government/NHS Eatwell Guide advises drinking six to eight glasses of fluid daily – water, low-fat milk and sugar-free drinks including tea and coffee all count. However, there’s no formal advice for sportspeople. The British Dietetic Association says adults need 1.5-2ltr, equating to eight to 10 drinks daily. It states, non-specifically, that athletes may need regular fluid top-ups covering fluid loss by sweating. The European Food Safety Authority states that for adults, adequate intake is established at 2ltr per day for females and 2.5ltr for males, including water from moist food, assuming 70 to 80% of total dietary water intake is from beverages and 20 to 30% from food. The American College of Sports Medicine is non-specific, recommending ‘athletes…

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JULIE WEUNG, 45 Tell us about your look I think my entire outfit came from TK Maxx. I’ve layered a floaty linen jacket over a tunic top and loose cotton trousers. I like simple, easy shapes and pure white always looks so cool. I’ve added a floral-print hat from Hong Kong and my straw bag from China. I just love the gorgeous flower trim – they look so real! And the best bit of your body? My long hair. BEVERLEY MAYERS, 67 Tell us about your look I bought my dress at a beach shop while on holiday in Portugal. I love the mix of prints and colours. Both my sandals and bag came from Woolworths in South Africa – which is quite different from the old Woolworths stores that…

WHERE I’VE BEEN Wimbledon tennis. It’s great fun. It was fabulous and exciting, and nice to have a little bit of normality and familiarity back. WHAT I BOUGHT Plants for the garden, which I’ve now planted, and tomatoes. It’s so satisfying to see them grow from seedlings. WHO I’VE MET Sally Nugent, who’s a sports presenter on BBC Breakfast. We’ve worked together for years but I haven’t seen her in the flesh for ages because of the pandemic. WHO I’VE SEEN My old school friend, Carmel, whom I’ve known since we were 13. We had a meal and again, I haven’t seen her for the best part of 20 months.…

1 BE AWARE Recognise it’s simply an anxiety disorder, nothing worse, where anticipation can cause palpitations, breathlessness, sweats, dizziness or nausea. 2 SELF-HELP Lifestyle changes including exercise, sleep management and avoiding caffeine and other stimulants can all help. Look online for self-help groups to share experiences. 3 VISUALISE Look into visualisation, which combines relaxation and controlled breathing techniques with mentally visualising how you’ll cope with a situation that could cause anxiety. 4 CONSIDER THERAPY See a specialist psychologist about exposure therapy –gradually increasing the time you’re exposed to the source of your anxiety – or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).…

When We Were Young by Richard Roper (£14.99, HB, Orion) Lessons learned the hard way are never forgotten – and, for Theo and Joel, the past is full of shared highs and solitary lows. Now 30 and at critical crossroads in their lives, they reconnect after years of bitter disputes to fulfil a boyhood pact to walk the Thames Path. Along the way, they navigate battered emotions and many secrets, while complex grudges rise to the surface. This is a heartbreaking yet uplifting story about the turmoil of learning truths and still being prepared to give your all for friendship. The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (£14.99, HB, Cornerstone) When teenage mum Tallulah heads out on a rare date night with her boyfriend, she leaves her baby at home…

This is a photo of me (on the right) with my cousin Heather, taken in Clacton, when we were aged 17 and 18. We had made our dresses – as many of us did in those days. Mine was a sundress with a separate top. ✢ We’d love to see how great you looked in any era up to and including the 1980s. Please send a good-quality photo with your name, address and daytime phone number clearly written on the back, to: Fashion Dept, Woman’s Weekly, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP. Photos will be returned.…

Aim for 100% sleep efficiency That means being asleep for 100% of your time in bed, so save your bed for just two things – sleep and intimacy. Don’t use your phone there, watch TV or do anything that stimulates your brain and prevents sleep. I’d even avoid reading in bed unless it’s an ingrained wind-down habit that works for you. You want your brain to be hardwired to associate getting into bed with going to sleep. Kick pets out of the bedroom too – they’re one of the worst culprits for disrupting sleep. ✣Dr Irshaad Ebrahim, consultant neuropsychiatrist in sleep medicine at Harley Street’s London Sleep Centre Keep cool I see countless hormonally driven sleep issues in my menopause clinics – insomnia is one of the most common and…

I was devastated when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2018. I’d been feeling dreadful for months – no appetite, upset stomach and trouble with my periods. Then I found a lump. My daughter, Ilani, was only six years old and I was a single mum. After my diagnosis, I wanted to be open and honest with Ilani. I needed surgery, radiotherapy and six months of chemotherapy. I was going to lose my hair and look pretty sick – be pretty sick. She would know something was going on and I wanted her to know about it from me. So I explained gradually, because I really believed I wouldn’t be here. I didn’t want her to think that one day Mummy was here and the next she was…

✢AS pain improves with exercise, worsening on resting, so it’s vital to maintain your flexibility and activity levels with a range of exercises. ✢The National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (nass.co.uk) has information on living with AS and different types of exercise to help you manage it. ✢Lifestyle is important. Weight management if overweight, reducing cardiovascular risks by stopping smoking or drinking, and regular exercise all help you cope in AS. ✢Ask your GP or specialist for a physiotherapy or hydrotherapy referral so you can discuss the exercises that suit you best, as you’re more likely to maintain activity you enjoy.…

YOU WILL NEED ✣ Rolling pin ✣ Air-dry clay ✣4cm diameter circular biscuit cutter ✣ Skewer ✣ Alphabet stamps ✣ Watercolour paints ✣ Fine paintbrush ✣ Fine sandpaper ✣Green floristry wire ✣Transparent matt varnish 1 Use a rolling pin to roll out your air-dry clay until it’s about 4mm thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out discs from the clay and then make small holes in the tops with a skewer. 2 Decide what herbs (or plants) you want to label in your garden and select the correct letters from the alphabet stamps. In the centre of the discs, gently press the alphabet stamps into the clay to reveal the herb. Leave the discs to dry and harden for at least 24 hours. 3 Once dry, flood the stamped…

Difficulty level TESTED BY US so they work for you STRIPED CASE CUPCAKE Sides: With 2.75mm needles and White, cast on 12 sts. With White, k 2 rows. Change to Pink. K 2 rows. Repeat last 4 rows, 23 times more. With White, cast off, but do not break off yarn. Top rim: With right side facing, using 2.75mm needles and attached yarn, pick up and k49 sts evenly along row-end edge. K 1 row. Next row: K1, [place st on right needle back onto left needle and k2tog] to end. Fasten off. Base: With right side facing, using 2.75mm needles and White, pick up and k49 sts evenly along other row-end edge. P 1 row. 1st decrease row: K1, [k2tog, k4] 8 times – 41 sts. P 1 row.…

“Remember how badly we did at the Eurovision Song Contest this year? And pretty much every other year, come to think of it. Well, I think I have the answer: Mr Dear should represent us in the 2022 contest. I came to this conclusion after finding him in the sitting room, beating up the piano and torturing some ABBA songs. Even if he didn’t win, he’d give Europe a jolly good laugh. Actually Mr D is quite a good pianist, all things considered. It’s true that he’d probably get ‘nul points’ in any BBC Old Musician of the Year contest, but he’s the life and soul when it comes entertaining family and drunken friends. The problem is that his voice has known better days. For a handful of songs, the…