Losin g M y Le g ...

B T GIF T EV E R !
! MBO CRAZY
D c 2017 £1.35
14 De WE’RE CRI
Issue 49//50

ST CHRISTMAS?

Italy €3.20 Spain €2.20 Greece €3.00 Australia $5.25 NZ $6.00

LA

5 0
My Lad’s Big Fight

771746 056149
Festive
Proposal
Ended In Taxi Rank Ter
ror 9

FUNERAL
XMAS EVIL THROAT
Bloodlust
Of A Baby
Killer... L A S H E D
SAFTER WORK DO
So Much For
A SILENT w Seat! We’ve Ch
NIGHT! Windo Death 4 Times
 Our Pick Me Ups!
Welcome To Your Thursday
On The Cover
6
10
12
Throat Slashed After Do
Proposal Ended In Funeral
The Best Gift: Losing My Leg
Feel…
jolly! Tanya Russell, Content Director – Real Life £ IN
PUZZLE
1
Can you unscramble
18
26
Xmas Evil...
Last Christmas?
What a ho, ho, hoot! this eight-letter word to
This fab Santa cossie is care of Great reveal something Tanya’s
48 So Much For A Silent Night! looking forward to
Ormond Street Hospital. Might
need to scoff a few more mince receiving? Enter on page 81.
More Real Life
32 Alive And Kicking
pies to properly fill it out, but
then I can work them SRENTESP
34 Britain’s Lost Children off on the London
42 Happy How lidays! Santa Dash. See gosh.
44 2 Bingo Winners! org/londonsantadash What a dud!
50 Santa’s Little Helpers! Remember loom
52 Eat, Drink And Be Heavy! and selfie stic bands
last Christmasks? So
58 Nice New Baubles! Check out som , right?
66 On The Naughty List What a big kid! s ap p ma kes my pr e
essies that ar other
68 Little Pick Me Ups! Every year, thi
to love? past their sell- e well
75 No Gobble Gobbling... Christmas. What’s not unts though they w by dates,
78 A Mummy At Last Sleeps To Christmas co long w er
anted at the ti e all we
co nd how
do wn to the se lifedeathprizes me! See
PMU Value you have to wait for the
big ma n to deliv er lists/6-christm .com/
as-
25 Our Bargains! presents-
your pressies! past-sell-
54 Genius Or Bonkers?
date-2626.
From You
4 Your Pick Me Ups
24 Your Brainwaves If you received all What a
Feelgood the gifts from the
song The Twelve
caring hug!
14 The Ultimate Gift Guide Days of Christmas, When Cheer Bear
20 Your Dilemmas you’d bag 364 popped in to the
presents come office for a hug,
21 Health & Happiness I think it’s safe to
28 Eat Me Up! Christmas Day.
Fine by me, though say (from the insane
36 Watch This! grin on my face) this
Santa might need
39 Ho! Ho! Ha! an extra sleigh! cuddly Care Bear
PHOTOS ALAMY, TIMEINCUKCONTENT.COM

40 The Jumbo Christmas Quiz! made my day!

55 Etc Etc Etc..! Lists, Facts
& 65 And Fun Stuff
60 Best TV In 2018
62 Gift Of Beauty
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How do you calm kids on
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How do I calm my kids?
I don’t! I join them!
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My kids get one present on
Santa on Christmas Eve and don’t open
the rest until everyone’s up.
the run Mandy Cooper
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Doesn’t my pug Evie

look so adorable all
dressed up in her Seasonal slippers
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Taunton our elf slippers. My sons, mum, brother
and sister wore them all over Christmas!
Natasha Douglas, Rainham

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If you
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ve got a story for these pages,
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Our little Tommy, 11
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LIFE! ATH! IZES Snow squid

Check out our website: There was barely enough snow to build a
snowman this year, so I made an octopus!
lifedeathprizes.com Angus, Penn, Buckinghamshire

4
 Christmas cuteness
My guinea pigs, Daphne and Frankie, can’t
wait to see what Father Christmas has left
in their stockings!
Caroline Palin, St Helens

Elf fun
Santa! It looks like you left two
of your elves behind on your last
visit! Oh wait, it’s only my kids!
Michelle Redman, via e-mail

Look who I met

How can you not love a big cuddly Santa? He
certainly won me over when I bumped into him!
Pat Holt, Prestwich

Big winner
Here’s me and my late mum
Margaret last Christmas. She’d just
won a medal for winning the bingo!
Sharon Carey, Runcorn

FUNNY
Of The Wisee– k! TO YOU Each week, we give
We love th a reader flowers.
To nominate someone,
hope you do, too... e-mail Pick Me Up! at
the address opposite.
Fancy seeing This week’s blooms
some guinea go to Anne Clinton.
pigs in Her stepdaughter
fancy dress Nicola wrote to say,
‘My stepmum has been a real
costumes?
Bring it on! Tinsel-tastic support ever since my mum
passed away in February. She is a

LIFE! ATH! RIZES!

We do love getting into the
Christmas spirit! Here’s my
friend Terri dressed up as
See our website a beautiful Christmas tree!
lifedeathprizes.com Gemma Wakeling,
fantastic wife, mother and nanny
to my 10-month-old little girl Mireya. She’s also just
celebrated 25 years of being married to my dad. I would
love for her to receive some flowers.’
All Bunches bouquets include free UK delivery and your personal greetings

and search ‘fancy dress Loughborough card. With gorgeous bouquets from just £14.99, along with plants and
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Visit bunches.co.uk or call their
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 LASWS
Attacker:
Josh Murphy

● Festive ‘do’ after sometoughyears

After The takeaway. ‘You wait at the taxi
rank, I’ll get some chips,’ I said.
As I queued at the takeaway,

● Brutal attack by a drunkenthug I heard a commotion outside.

Thinking it was the usual
Christmas chaos, I ignored it.

● Lucky escape from bombblast Race to hospital

A few minutes later, I emerged,
but there was no sign of Carl.
Mel O’Neill, that he would be OK. I really wanted to celebrate. Our friend Nic came rushing
I’d suffered major head Carl and I ran a hair salon over to me.
43, injuries and two bleeds and we planned to take our ‘Carl’s had to go off in a taxi.
Warrington on the brain. staff out on a festive knees-up. He’s hurt,’ she cried.

I
was like a cat with nine lives. ‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ the ‘After the last few years, we ‘What?!’ I shrieked.
That’s what my husband doctor said when deserve a bit of fun,’ I jumped in the next cab
Carl, 44, called me.
I’d had a run of bad luck,
I came round.
Over the next
There was Carl said.
We had a great
and raced to hospital.
What’s happened? Is
one thing after another. few months, a hole in afternoon, shopping Carl OK?
It started in 2011 when I
was diagnosed with incurable
I made a good
recovery, learning
his neck at the markets
in Manchester,
When I finally saw him
in the treatment room, I
inflammatory breast cancer. to walk and talk all ...and and then we hit a almost choked.
Just 37, I had two daughters,
Lois, then 5, and Darcey, 4.
over again.
I’d had another
so much karaoke bar.
Everyone was in
There was a gaping hole
in his neck, I could see his flesh
Cancer. So cruel. lucky escape. blood good spirits. and there was so
I had chemotherapy and a Life settled ‘Happy Christmas, much blood.
mastectomy on my left breast. down once more. darling,’ Carl said, pulling me So horrific,
But the cancer returned I even started a clinical trial in for a kiss.
in my skin and I had to to treat my cancer. By 10.30pm, we caught
have radiotherapy. Soon, incredibly, tests found the last train back
I knew my cancer would no more traces of the cancer. to Warrington.
never go away completely, but ‘Our luck’s finally changing,’ Next to the
I learned to live with it. I told Carl. station, I
Three years later, in 2014, So, in December 2016, spotted a
my strength was tested again.
My cousin Donna was
visiting from America, and Me after the
my dad Brian drove us to car crash
North Wales to see the sights.
But as I dozed in the back,
there was a huge smash.
Pain tore through me and
everything went black.
Turned out Dad had passed
out at the wheel due to a blood
clot travelling to his lung. My family: we’re
He’d veered off the road and hoping for a
we’d smashed into a tree. peaceful Xmas
Dad had fractured his spine,
but doctors were confident
6

SEDrt
Work Pa
I could barely look.
‘I’m OK,’ he croaked.
But he clearly wasn’t!
He explained that
BIG
STORY
a total stranger had
taken offence at one of
our group for laughing
at him throwing up.
He’d attacked Carl,
completely unprovoked,
ramming a bottle in his neeck.
Doctors told us that thee
bottle had missed a majorr
artery by just one millimetre.
If that had been cut, he
would likely have bled to death.
Thankfully, he’d make a
full recovery.
But realising how close
I had come to losing Carl
was terrifying.
After two days,
Carl was allowed
home, with 12
A special
stitches in his neck. gift –
But we both
struggled to put the
tickets
attack behind us. to see
Our lovely outing Ariana
had been ruined by
one violent brute. Grande...
I couldn’t let him
destroy the rest of our
festivities though.
I was determined to have a
good Christmas for the girls.
We had an extra-special gift
for them – tickets to see
Ariana Grande at Manchester
Arena the following May.
They couldn’t wait.
‘It’s going to be so cool,’ Lois,
12, grinned.
When May came around,
we were excited.
Carl was still suffering
flashbacks and anxiety, but
we wanted to forget our
troubles for a night.
And the gig didn’t
Terrifying REAL LIFE
My Carl:
shocking
injuries
disappoint –
the concert was
brilliant and the
girls were buzzing.
But, as we
gathered our
belongings to leave, there was angel watching over us,’ I said.
a deafening bang. In September, Carl’s attacker, that vicious attack.
The whole place Josh Murphy, 22, appeared at But, after everything we’ve
seemed to shake.
‘Probably just a
Liverpool Crown Court.
He admitted to wounding
been through, we’ve got a lot to
be thankful for.
blown speaker,’ and was jailed for 20 months, Life has thrown us some
Carl reasoned,
trying to be calm.
with the judge telling him that
if he’d hit an artery, he could
curveballs, but we just keep
batting them away.
Then we heard have faced homicide charges. As a family, we’re stronger
people screaming Carl still suffers from a dull than ever.
WORDS: ANN CUSACK. PHOTOS: CHESHIRE POLICE , FOCUS FEATURES
and falling over ache at the side of his face. And, after several years of
each other to The damaged muscles and rotten luck, we’re hoping next
get out. nerves will never fully repair. year will be our year.
Panic set in as we queued for And he’ll never forget So, here’s to 2018!
one of the exits.
Outside, there were police
cars everywhere.
‘Let’s get to the car,’ I told
Lois and Darcey
at the concert We♥Manchester
Carl and the girls.
O
n 22 May 2017, 22 people died –
including several children – after
Terror attack an explosion at Manchester
When we put the radio on, Arena, where Ariana Grande had just
we heard the terrifying news performed to a sold-out crowd.
that a bomb had exploded in Grande won the city’s heart for her
the foyer of the arena. support after the terrorist attack,
It was a terror attack and we including meeting and helping to raise
had escaped, unlike others. millions of pounds for survivors and
We’d cheated death again. victims. She’s a patron of the We Love
All I could think of were the Manchester Emergency Fund and has
22 people who lost their lives. been made an honorary Mancunian.
‘We must have a guardian
7
 WIN Foll
PUZZLE 2
Solve the puzzle to
spell out a term
related to the picture.
The arrows show you
where to put your
answers. The answer
is spelled in the
yellow squares.
Enter on page 81. £ 1 , 0 !
S
Farmiga, Work Bismarck’s Follower of Hand’s
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PHOTOS: ALAMY

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9
 Christmas
Without Daddy
later, Craig sent
a flirty message
Danielle and Craigwereplanning on Facebook.
‘He hasn’t changed,’
their future – thentragedystruck I thought, chuckling
to myself.
14, and his family had just But I replied.
Danielle moved in across the road. We started
Eyles, 26, A right Jack the Lad, chatting after that,
Southend-on-Sea, everyone knew him. then hanging out.
Essex I ignored him, rolled my Craig had the gift
eyes. I was two years older, of the gab – but he was

L
ocking my front door, with a boyfriend.
I heard someone give me a
wolf whistle.
‘Morning gorgeous!’
It was Craig Voyce – he was
WORDS: EMMIE HARRISON, TRACY GAYTON. PHOTOS: TRACY GAYTON
sweet and kind, too.
Not interested! Before I knew it, I’d
Still Craig winked, blew kisses. fallen in love with the
Boys, eh?! annoying boy across
Then one day, two years the road!
Months later,
I moved in with
his family.
‘I’m going to put a
ring on your finger and
a baby in your belly,’
Craig teased.
Charming!
Marriage and
kids hadn’t been on His surprise

my radar. Boxing Day

But now I’d met proposal!
Craig, it was all
I wanted.
In November 2011, ring?’ I laughed jokingly.
we had our first baby. ‘One day!’ Craig winked.
Rocky-Lee was a complete The house was hectic, but I
surprise to us. loved every second.
Craig was only 18 Especially at
but doted on his son. A right Christmas time!
And when Rocky-
Lee was 1, I fell
Jack On Boxing
Day 2015, all
pregnant again. the Lad, the families
We moved into
our own place
everyone were together.
After lunch, I
in Southend. knew noticed everyone
Soon, I had
Craig Junior, now 3,
him! was fidgeting.
My dad Tony
My love, my and then Summer- nudged Craig.
soulmate: Craig Rose, 2. ‘Go on, Son, do it now,’ he
‘You’ve put three babies whispered a bit too loudly!
my belly, so where’s my Craig stood up, pulling
10

I’VETOLDTHEM
HE’SASTARIN
I still wear my
THESKYNOW...
engagement ring
me to my feet, too. And
suddenly everyone whipped
out their mobiles.
Craig took my hand.
‘Marry me?’ he squeaked.
‘Yes!’ I screamed, and
everyone cheered.
Soon, every waking moment
was spent wedding planning.
I wanted every thing big.
Big dress, big buffet,
big bar…
And to be surrounded by
our family and friends.
‘It’ll be perfect,’ Craig smiled.
He could be a soppy devil.
Empty bed
On 28 October 2016, Craig
announced he was having
a night out with the lads.
‘I won’t be too late,’ he said,
dancing round the kitchen
with Summer-Rose.
‘Be careful,’ I said as he
snatched up his motorcycle
helmet and went out the door.
Earlier that year, he’d broken
both his legs in a crash.
‘Don’t worry,’ Craig said,
kissing me. ‘Love you.’
He still wasn’t back when
I went to bed...
The kids had worn me out!
But, at 1.30am,
I awoke suddenly.
The bed I waited
was empty. for him to
I looked at my
phone, which had wake up,
been on silent. tell me it
I had 20 missed
calls from my was all a
parents and Craig’s.
Just then, Craig’s
joke...
dad Robert called.
‘Craig’s had an accident,’
he said. ‘You need to come
to hospital.’
My stomach flipped as
he told me that Craig had
been in a collision with
a hit-and-run driver.
He’d been airlifted,
Devastating REAL LIFE
hair, holding his hand.
Craig was just 23 years old.
A daddy of three.
My soulmate.
Doctors turned off his life-
support, there was nothing
more they could do.
We’d had our whole lives
planned, together.
But later that day, I made my
way home.
Alone.
The kids asked where
Daddy was.
‘He’s in heaven now, he’s
the brightest star in the sky,’
I told them.
They were too young to
really understand.
Instead of a wedding, I
planned my fiance’s funeral.
More than 100 people
turned up, but it didn’t feel real.
Life’s on hold
Christmas passed in a blur.
Family rallied round and,
together, we did our best for
the kids.
But in the midst of the smiles
and gifts and Christmas songs,
I’d never felt so alone.
The pain didn’t ease, just
grew more familiar as the
following year moved on.
This July, the other
driver involved in the collision
admitted failing to stop at a
road traffic accident, but he
wasn’t to blame for the crash.
Craig had been driving too
fast. And paid with his life.
unconscious,
to London’s Royal
For us, life still feels on hold.
I still wear Craig’s
Free Hospital
– 90 minutes
away – with severe
engagement ring. Haven’t even
changed my Facebook status.
I’m dreading Christmas
head injuries. without him.
Frantic, I arranged for the This year it’s just me and
kids to go to my aunt’s house. the kids.
Then my mum Karen I’ll put on a brave face,
picked me up. shower them with love
An hour into the journey, and presents.
Robert called me again. But inside, I’ll be pining
‘He’s gone, Danielle,’ for the Jack the Lad who
he sobbed. stole my heart.
My world Their daddy.
stopped still.
‘No,’ I screamed.
I’d lost
everything. ALonelyTime
When we got
C
to the hospital hristmas can be
half an hour later, painful if you’re
I felt numb.
Craig’s family
grieving, whether
it’s your first year without
crowded around someone who has died, or
his hospital bed. you were bereaved long
He was battered and ago. For help coping with
bruised, wires everywhere. this difficult time
I waited for him to wake of year, contact Cruse
up and wink and tell me it Bereavement Care on
was all a joke. 0808 808 1677 or
But it wasn’t. visit cruse.org.uk.
I sat for hours stroking his
11

With hubby
Andy, before
my accident
All Sandra
wanted was
an agony-free
Christmas
Sandra
Thomas, 51,
Telford, Shropshire
B
eing a mum of four
teenage girls is hard
work, for sure.
Puberty, exams,
temper tantrums…
WORDS: EMMIE HARRISON, CHARLOTTE PENKETH SMITH. PHOTOS: MEDAVIA
So in March 2004 I swapped
working in retail management
for a job at a petrol station,
three days a week.
It meant I had more time
with my girls.
On 1 April, just a month
later, I was opening up at 6am.
Each morning I had to move
two fire extinguishers to the
forecourt outside.
They were so
heavy they were
fixed to a trolley so
I could pull them.
But dragging the
canisters outside, I
went up a slight kerb.
Both of the rubber
handles came off.
The trolley
tipped and…
I yelled as it came
tumbling, crushing
12
YOUR L
my left foot.
The pain
was unbelievable.
With sheer
adrenaline, I managed to
YOU
dystrophy,’ a doctor said.
Turns out we all have
sympathetic and non-
sympathetic nerves.
The first kicks in after feeling
lug the canisters off me.
Crawling to the office I called
pain, and the second starts the
healing process.
my husband Andy, then 44.
‘Is this an April Fool?’
Basically, the accident
had damaged
he asked. the second. OnBoxing
‘No,’ I whimpered.
Taking my trainer off,
Hence the pain!
There was nothing Day,
I saw my foot was already
bruised and bleeding.
the
doctors could do,
I was
While my boss came to take except wait... measured
over, Andy drove me to
Princess Royal University
‘If it doesn’t
heal in three years,
for my
Hospital for X-rays. it never will,’ prosthetic
‘You’ve not broken any a doctor warned.
bones,’ a doctor said. I longed to get better – but,
A miracle! months on, I was still in agony.
The slightest touch to my
No better foot sent me writhing.
Sent home with crutches and Gone were the days of shoes
painkillers, I thought that was and socks.
the end of it. But a week on, my I limped on crutches, foot
foot had gone black and started bare to the elements!
to swell. If it was raining or windy,
I was in agony.
So I went back to hospital,
was put in a cast. But the Recovering,
pain just grew more and with
more severe. my falsie
Back at hospital, I got
a new diagnosis.
‘It’s reflex sympathetic
In plaster
as the pain
worsened
I wouldn’t go outside because it
would send my foot into a fury.
And I’m talking a drop of
rain, a breath of wind...
I never went back to work
at the petrol station.
Not only that, it affected
me as a mother, too.
My foot was
a constant irritant
in the house.
‘Don’t touch my
foot!’ I would warn
my girls.
Even when I
went to bed, my
foot stuck out of
the covers.
Three years on,
I was still no better.
I saw specialists, had
trial treatments.
Nothing worked.
Soon all the specialists were
suggesting the same thing.
Amputation.
‘I can’t,’ I sobbed to Andy.
I’d lose my freedom, as
well as a part of myself.
I vowed to put up
with the pain.
But in spring 2012
I developed cellulitis –
an agonising infection
under my skin.
That year, I spent
more time in hospital
than out – and had
seven operations.
One left me with an
abscess and a gaping
hole in my foot.
Surgeons tried to
drain the infection, but
it didn’t work.
That October, I got
bad news.
‘It’s your leg or your
life,’ they said. ‘We can
 Brave REAL LIFE

EG OR
R LIFE
arrange a prosthetic.’
This time I didn’t argue.
On 19 December 2012, I was
wheeled in for amputation
from below the knee.
I was terrified, but focused
hospital leg team
made measurements
for my new leg.
By early 2013,
I was hobbling on
prosthetics from my
on getting better for Christmas. knee downwards.
The recovery
Not the end process was amazing.
After my operation, the relief ‘I wish I’d done this
was instant. sooner,’ I told Andy,
The pain in my leg and foot now 57.
had disappeared. That year,
‘That’s the best Christmas I started a job as
present ever!’ I grinned. a health assistant in
Incredibly, I was home on a local hospital.
Christmas Eve. They didn’t even
The family rallied round for
dinner and presents.
know I had a fake leg!
But, unfortunately – after 18 just below my knee
NOMATTER
And, on Boxing Day, the months – the pain returned.
With a
to remove some
of the nerves and WHAT,IWON’T
vengeance!
I ended up in
my boss’ office,
tuck them in.
It happened
around my
LETTHEPAINWIN
crying and 25th wedding anniversary. forward to the festive season.
taking off After a couple of days I’m expecting my eighth
my leg. recovering in hospital, we grandchild at Christmas.
‘Sorry, but celebrated by visiting the beach So exciting!
I quit – the pain in Poole, Dorset. So, I’ll be raising a glass with
is too much,’ Everything was great for my loving family this Yuletide.
I cried. 3 months, and I was preparing Because I know – whatever
It turns for another prosthetic. happens, with their support –
out I had But the neuroma returned, I’ll take it all in my stride.
a neuroma – so I had high-frequency
a benign radiowave treatment to try
tumour,
reacting to my
and reduce it.
The pain hasn’t disappeared
AboutRSD
R
severed nerves. – and, because of it, I can’t wear eflex sympathetic
The nerves another prosthetic. dystrophy, also
in my stump Now, I whizz around in known as complex
were fighting a yellow wheelchair. regional pain syndrome,
to reattach Doctors can’t do any more. is a chronic pain
themselves Talks of removing my syndrome. Recognised
to my leg above the knee weren’t an by severe pain not usually
missing leg! option, as the risks were experienced following
Celebrating It caused too high. the original injury, it tends
our 25th chronic pain. I’m hoping to visit to worsen over time,
anniversary In July 2014, private consultants for accompanied by swellings
I had a second a second opinion. and changes in the skin.
amputation Now, I’m just looking
13
 T e tm e
OLOURS Brighten up
Christmas for
Earrings, £10,
Accessorize
family and Ghost mini set,
£8, Boots
friends with
a rainbow of
presents

Swizzels pouch, £4, Nivea Smooth Skin set,

most supermarkets £10, Superdrug

Orla Kiely Basil & Mint

scented candle, £7.99, Philip Kingsley Polished Perfection hair set, Nail polish holder,
cuckooland.com £10, philipkingsley.co.uk £9.95, cuckooland.com
COMPILED BY: ESME CLEMO

Pukka tea caddy, Pompom hat, £ Dapper Chap groomin Lily O’Brien’s Indulgence Star,
£9. 7.80, Waitrose and Debenhams

14
e ALL £1
0
UNDER &
!
Can’t
think!

Flamingo light, Mini football game, £6, Pinball game, £7, One4all gift card, from
£4, Tesco Flying Tiger Copenhagen Halfords £10, Post Office

Paddington backpack, £10, Socks, £10 for two pairs, Star Wars Tsum Tsum toys, Sipsmith gin gift set,
museumoflondonshop.co.uk originalpenguin.co.uk £3 each, Disney Store £10, Sainsbury’s

Pink purse, Winter Berries handwash set, Shnooks soft toy, £8, Lip balms, £3 for set
£5, Sainsbury’s £3.49, Home Bargains The Entertainer of three, Primark

Rock Star toy guitar,

£8.95, Tesco

One for
the dog!

Dog Joy Turkey Bacon er minis Shot glasses and

treats, £3.99, Tesco er, £7, Jo mixers, £7, Wilko

15
 e ae
METALLICS
Take a shine
to these gifts
Beard Survival Kit, in silver and Cocktail set,
£7, Tesco
rose gold £10, Wilko

hues

Fake-fur hot-water Baylis & Harding

bottle, £10, Tesco candle, £8.99, Argos

Giant chocolate coin, Leather headphones,£10, Alphabet purse,

£3.50, M&S Flying Tiger Copenhagen £4, Matalan

Cosmetic bag, £8, , £3, Bailey’s hot chocolate

Boux Avenue Mug, £9, Bhs hagen set, £10, Tesco

16
e
Sequin slippers, Coconut & Almond Lypsyl, Sensationail Peel-off Polish, Buttermilk fudge, £2.99,
£9, F&F at Tesco £1.89, Tesco £6, sensationail.co.uk Booths and Lakeland

Cartwright & Butler coffee caddy, Nibbles jar with

Nutty Nibble Liquid eyeliner trio, £4
£6.25, Waitrose peanuts, £10, Sainsbury’s Bird tealight, £4, B&Q for set of three, Primark

Jumping stag biscuit tin, A5 notebooks, £1.49 Giraffe eye mask, Star earrings, £5,
£6.99, Dobbies each, Home Bargains £10, Boux Avenue George at Asda

Prosecco cushion, £4.99, Pendleton bike bell, land Gol sk beard oil,
Home Bargains £8, Halfords £9.99, .99, Boots

17
 E VIL ON
X M A S EV E
What drove James Bigby to
murder three men and a baby
just before Christmas?
A
t 4am on Christmas
Eve 1987, Grace
Kehler returned
home from work in
Arlington, Texas, and made
a horrifying discovery.
Her husband Michael
Trekell, 26, was dead on the
kitchen floor.
He’d been shot in the head.
Terrified, she ran to look
for their 4-month-old son
Jayson. This was meant to be
his first Christmas.
But he wasn’t in
his cot.
Grace let out a
She found
blood-curdling her son
scream when
she found her
drowned
infant son in the
drowned in the
bathroom sink.
bathroom
Their first sink
Christmas as a
family had been violently
WORDS: JAMES HANMAN. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
ripped from her grasp.
Not far away, police also
discovered the body of Frank
Curtis Johnson Jr on his front
porch and Calvin Crane Jr on
a city street.
Both men had fatal
gunshot wounds.
A car at Crane’s home was
traced to James Eugene
Bigby, an unemployed
mechanic from the nearby
city of Fort Worth.
Police soon realised that
the three murdered men had
18
known each other, as well as
James Bigby, who’d worked
with them.
Two days later, an
anonymous tip told police
that Bigby had checked into
a nearby motel.
A SWAT team raced there,
where a stand-off ensued until
police hostage negotiator Bigby was
Larry Ansley approached the executed by
room door to convince Bigby lethal injection
to give himself up.
He eventually surrendered
and was arrested admitted to psychiatric wards
and charged.
In his room,
time for car theft and theft of
over $200 (around £150).
on two occasions and had
been diagnosed with
police found two A friend who used to help paranoid schizophrenia.
pistols, a sawn-off
shotgun, a flare gun
him steal cars said that he
took drugs with Bigby. Conspiracy theory
and ammunition. He added that, at the start of Around this time, he was also in
‘I know I’m
guilty, and so do
the 1980s, Bigby was taking
so many methamphetamines
the process of divorcing his wife.
‘He was under a lot of
you,’ Bigby coldly he had to use a calendar to pressure,’ said his father
told Ansley. remind him he needed to sleep. William, but he admitted
But why had these horrific Bigby had also been that he didn’t see his
killings happened?
What had driven this man
to go on a murderous rampage
on Christmas Eve?
Bigby was known as a
Boxing Day Horror...
O
moody, irritable and often n 26 December 2000, Michael McDermott – an
unpredictable man. employee at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield,
In his younger days, he Massachusetts – shot and killed seven co-workers.
had been a car thief and a Using an AK-47 variant, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .32
drug dealer. calibre pistol, he fired 37 rounds, repeatedly shooting his
In 1977, Bigby had victims in the back of the head. McDermott was found
served a short jail sentence guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder. He was
for burglary. sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without
He was sent to prison for the possibility of parole.
a second time in 1983, this

E the urge to kill struck him
Bigby: ‘I regret
killing the baby
but not the other’
son very often and he
never told him much
about his personal life.
But how had Bigby
gone from being a car thief and
petty criminal to a murderer?
Investigators soon learned
that Bigby had filed a lawsuit
for a worker’s compensation
case against the company he’d
previously been employed by,
for injuries he claimed to have
sustained while on the job.
Bigby was convinced that
Trekell, Crane and Johnson
were conspiring against
him on behalf of his old
Making
Of A
once he was inside the home
of a man he thought was
betraying him?
He later admitted that,
while he’d been thinking
about how to get back at
Trekell for a while, he didn’t
know why he murdered his
4-month-old son as well.
‘I regret killing the baby,
but not the other,’ he admitted
to police.
Consumed by bloodlust,
Bigby then left Trekell’s home
to seek his violent, fatal
vengeance against Crane
and Johnson.
Bigby never stood trial for
those slayings – but, in 1991,
confessed to the murders
of Michael Trekell and
Jayson Kehler while pleading
innocent by reason
of insanity.
However, psychiatrists
bosses, to discredit him in in a blaze of glory’ and was deemed him fit to stand trial,
the case. willing to kill a lot of people, as and even testified that Bigby’s
He also told well as any police mental disorder wasn’t
police that his old
company sent
He told officers who
attempted to
severe enough to interfere
with his understanding of
private investigators friends he stop him. right and wrong.
to follow him, and
that they were
wanted They never
expected him to
During a court recess in the
March, Bigby managed to
trying to kill him. to go out make good on his break free of the bailiffs and
Police quickly
realised they were
in a blaze promise, as he did
in the early hours of
tried to hold Judge Don
Leonard hostage at gunpoint,
dealing with a of glory Christmas Eve 1987. before being disarmed and
disturbed man. Bigby had first wrestled to the ground by
Days before the murders, gone to Trekell’s home as a Leonard and prosecuting
he’d reportedly told friends friend on the night of 23 attorney Robert Mayfield.
that he wanted to ‘go out December, and the pair The jury rejected Bigby’s
spent the evening together insanity plea and sentenced
watching television. him to death, deeming him
to be too dangerous to be
Murder in mind? reintroduced to society.
When Trekell went to the This verdict was
kitchen, Bigby pulled out a gun overturned on appeal in
and shot him in the forehead. 2005, but Bigby received
He told the police that he the death penalty once again
had then gone to little Jayson’s at his second trial.
room, where he suffocated In March 2017, James
the infant and left him face Bigby was executed by
down in the water in the lethal injection, aged 61,
bathroom sink. and sang Jesus Loves Me
Had Bigby gone there with to himself as he waited for
McDermott murderous intentions? Or had death to take him.
killed seven
co-workers
19
 Can’t make your mind up? Write to us at Pick Me Up! for good advice
mmas
Break
Alternative
Christmas
Rule?
Suzanne, 38,
Manchester

M
y partner and I spend
alternate Christmases
with our families. This
year, we’re meant
to be going to his mum’s.
Sadly my dad’s unwell and
it’s important for me to be
there, and to take our kids.
My partner has suggested
we go for New Year instead.
Should I put my foot down?

YES
Pick Me Up!
reader Michelle

Avoid Christmas Conflict?

McGrath says,
‘Yes. There are no rules when
it comes to health and your
gut is telling you that you
Claire, 59, need to spend time with your
Portsmouth
YES NO father. You need to explain

M
y three children are this to your partner, who
grown up and have Pick Me Up! Pick Me Up! can then explain to his family.
WORDS: MISHAAL KHAN. NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED. PHOTO: (POSED BY MODEL): GETTY

their own partners reader Debbie
and families. Hadden says,
Christmas has always been ’Ask them to resolve their
such a special time for me and problems in advance, or you
their dad, to have them all back don’t want them all together.
and spoil them. Christmas is a special time
But this year’s been difficult. for families, not for arguing.
My son and daughter have When they realise
fallen out so badly they haven’t
spoken for the past six months.
They’ve all agreed to come
the pressure this
is putting on you,
it may make them
for Christmas, along with my think twice about
third child and told me it will their actions.
be fine. But I’m dreading it. If nothing else,
I know what they can be like,
plus with a few drinks during
it will give you
a one-to-one
Yes
the day, I’m scared things with each family 95%
could get unpleasant. member, so
Should I tell them how I’m you can enjoy
feeling and ask them to stagger quality time
their visits? without issues.’
● Relate offers guidance
ADVICE LINES
● For advice on family
in all kinds of relationships.
Head to relate.org.uk or
matters, call SupportLine call 0300 1001234 to find
on 01708 765 200. out more.
20
reader Nicola You can always spend the
Green says, new year with his family
‘If the fallout was really and then go back to original
bad, tell them how worried rules as of next year. At times
you are, as you don’t want being adaptable is a must,
any ill-feeling at Christmas, and this is one of those times.’
or beyond. Suggest they have
a meeting now
to thrash out
any tension
that’s ongoing.
NO
Pick Me Up!
Christmas is reader Vivien
a special time of McLaren says,
year. Don’t cancel ‘It seems important for both
it – but if trouble
does start, send
of you to be with your families
at this time. Your partner
them home. This has made strides towards
might make them a compromise that sounds
realise just reasonable to me.
No how important If your father is very ill then
5% family is.’ you need to be with him, but
perhaps the visit should be
● If you have family issues, made only by yourself. Dad
Family Lives will listen and
support without judgement.
doesn’t need the pressure of
trying to put on Christmas for
Visit familylives.org.uk other people. I understand
or call 0808 800 2222. your need to be close to him,
but it is just another day.’
 H LTH
Home For My
DINNER
Naomi was out of hospital for the big day
Naomi
Toplis, 24,
Gosport
G
etting ready for a
holiday to Cyprus with
my friend in August
2012, I was so excited.
I’d been vomiting in the
WORDS: JAMES HANMAN, ANDIE HILL, MISHAAL KHAN. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
fortnight before the trip, but
my GP had cleared me to fly.
Once there, I got worse,
though – unable to keep
down water. Suffering from
severe dehydration, I had to
get an emergency
flight home.
My dad took me
The
pain and
to Queen Alexandra
Hospital, where I
was given IV fluids.
vomiting
I was terrified came back
that I was dying.
CT scans,
and I lost
weight
ultrasounds and
a colonoscopy all
pointed to Crohn’s disease,
a condition causing
digestive inflammation.
Doctors didn’t know why
I had developed it, but I was
relieved to know what it was.
Then reality sank in. I had
been a healthy 19-year-old and
now I had an incurable disease.
‘How am I going to live with
this?’ I wept to Dad.
But, with steroids and anti-
inflammatories, my symptoms
began to improve. I could go
out with friends, even got a job.
As the course ended, though,
I slipped again.
The pain and vomiting crept
back in and I began to lose
weight, so Dad took me back
to hospital on 14 December.
I spent 10 days on IV steroids
and had immunosuppressants.
Would I be home
for Christmas?
‘It’s unlikely,’ said
the consultant.
I had daily blood
tests and a drip with
a biological drug
to suppress my
immune system.
Resigning myself
to being in hospital
on Christmas Day was so
disheartening. But then, on
Christmas Eve morning…
‘We’ll need to get you some
medication to take home,’ a
nurse said.
‘I’m coming home!’ I
What’s Normal What’s Not!
Earwax
Earwax is normal and we all
have it. It actually helps keep
our ears clean and healthy,
but some people naturally
produce more than others.
It’s important not to poke
inside the ear with a cotton
squealed down the phone.
‘Well, I’d better get some
food in, then!’ Dad replied.
He’d planned to spend
Christmas Day at the hospital.
I was discharged – and the
next day our wonderful
neighbour Nicky knocked on
the door with turkey and veg.
Dad and I had a lovely day of
games and festive telly.
In 2014, I had the diseased
part of my bowel removed. But
I have to be careful as, although
milder, my symptoms remain.
Still, I don’t plan on
being in hospital for any
future Christmases!
bud – this pushes wax further
in and can lead to blockages.
Natural remedies for wax
build-up include eardrops
and olive oil, and it should
eventually disappear.
However, if you find
yourself with earache or mild
loss of hearing, see r
Me in Cyprus and
(left) in hospital
with my now-hubby
Ben in 2014
FACTFILE
Crohn’s disease causes
inflammation of the
digestive system.
Symptoms vary but often
include abdominal pain,
diarrhoea, fatigue, fever,
weight loss and anaemia.
The condition affects at
least 115,000 people in the
UK, but the exact cause
remains unknown.
Treatment cannot cure
it, but aims to reduce
the symptoms. Visit
crohnsandcolitis.org.uk
for more information.
Girvseelf
You
A Lif t
Asparagus is rich in
vitamin B6, calcium,
zinc and magnesium.
Adding it to your diet can
reduce the risk of diabetes
and prevent kidney stones.
21
 HEALT Happiness
INSTANT
Appointment
Disclaimer: Medical advice provided is for interest only and should never be substituted for seeing a doctor or seeking medical advice. If you have specific medical concerns please seek advice from a qualified medical professional.
With Dr Arabella
Onslow
Dr Arabella Onslow has been a GP for
11 years and was Rosemary Conley’s
Health Professional Slimmer of the
Year in 2012 after losing 10st.
Winter woes
Q
I hate winter! My feet
get so cold, they don’t
turn blue...they turn
white! I wear thermal socks
all the time, but it doesn’t
help. How can I keep warm?
Delia, via e-mail
A A
Raynaud’s syndrome is
poor circulation which
shuts down the flow of
blood to the feet and hands so
they become white and feel
cold. Keep the blood warm
down your limbs by wearing
leggings and tights under
trousers, as well as thermal
socks, and your circulation
won’t shut down.
Elderly mum
Q
I am worried about
my mum. She lives on
her own and usually
she manages to keep on top
of things, but if she gets
unwell over winter, she
can’t cope at all and then
CONTACT US
For advice, contact us via one of the methods below. Letters and
e-mails are selected randomly for publication. Sorry, Dr Onslow
can’t reply personally. WRITE TO: Pick Me Up!, 161 Marsh Wall,
London E14 9AP. E-MAIL: pickmeup@timeinc.com
Health
22
can get really sick.
What can I do to help
prevent it this year?
Katherine, Yeovil
A
When elderly people get
ill, they need help staying
hydrated, being taken to
the loo, and taking medication
correctly. Make an emergency
plan forhow youcanprovide
thatforhersoaminorillness
doesn’tturn into amajor one.
Continuous cough
Q
My toddler had croup
almost 2 weeks ago.
He was only ill for a
couple of days, but the cough
has persisted, especially at
night. Does he have asthma?
Hayley, Burnley
No, the croup virus can
cause a cough for up to
2-3 weeks. If he’s well
and not breathless, then
there’s no cause for concern.
Winter ishardforunder-2s,as
they get multiple infections.
ow me
TRUE E
or S
Vitiligo
1 Vitiligo is curable.
True False
2fromItsensitive
makes skin more
to damage
sunlight.
True False
3 Vitiligo is caused by
bad diet choices.
True False
4 Itcanruninthefamily.
True False
1 FALSE Vitiligo develops
aswhitepatchesontheskin,
caused by a lack of melanin.
The patches are usually
permanent. Treatment
– such as camouflage
cream and phototherapy –
can improve the
appearance of the skin, but
can’t stop it spreading.
2 TRUE Lack of melanin,
or pigment, makes the
skin more vulnerable to
the effects of the sun
and sunburn. A strong
sunscreen should be
used at all times.
3 FALSE Contrary to
popular myths (such as
having fish and milk
together), there is
absolutely no connection
between vitiligo and diet.
4 TRUE Vitiligo can be
caused by stress or
exposure to certain
chemicals. But it may
be more prevalent if
there is a
history of it in
ur family.
Week
Skye
Armstrong,
19, Darlington
P
regnant and sitting in
a cafe with my
partner Ryan and his
grandparents in early
December last year, I suddenly
felt something strange.
‘My waters have broken!’
I panicked.
The problem was, I was
only 33 weeks gone!
Worried, Ryan’s
grandparents drove us to
Darlington Memorial
Hospital, where I was given
steroid injections to help the
baby’s lung development, and
to boost her antibodies in case
of infection.
But it was too late to stop
the birth. My baby was
coming now!
‘She will be very small,’ a
nurse warned me.
But it was still a shock
when 4lb 1oz Eliza arrived
screaming the hospital down.
‘She looks like a little doll,’
I thought.
She was whisked away to
the Special Care Baby Unit,
where she was hooked up to
oxygen in an incubator.
‘Preterm birth increases
the risk of sepsis,’ a doctor
warned me.
I was scared, and knew the
infection could be deadly.
Eliza was given antibiotics,
just to be sure.
And though I longed to
hold her, I wasn’t allowed yet.
Instead, all me and Ryan,
21, could do was watch while
nurses did all her mummy’s
jobs, like nappy changes.
I couldn’t even feed her
myself, as she had a feeding
tube fitted.
Leaving our little girl at the
hospital every night was
1 9
million
...that’s how
many stones of
extra weight Brits
collectively gain
over Xmas, says
a British Heart
Foundation study.
The Best

WORDS: JAMES HANMAN/ CATHERINE COOPER, MISHAAL KHAN. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
PRESENT
Skye longed to have her
baby home for Christmas
heartbreaking, but docs said hugging
she should be home soon. me tight.
But then Eliza’s weight The nurses
began to plummet. Soon she at hospital
weighed 3lb 10oz... were
She was jaundiced, too. amazing, too, Smiles from
It was just a few weeks as were the Mummy
before Christmas, and I’d charity Bliss. and Daddy!
longed to have our little girl org.uk, which
home by then. supports
Now I was terrified that preterm In hospital...
Eliza wouldn’t
wouldn t be abies and
coming home at all.
‘Yes, she will,
and she’ll be
heir families.
It gave us so
uch encouragement.
getting her weight back up.
At long last, we were
FACTFILE
ours forever,’ After two weeks, allowed to bring Eliza home A birth is considered
Ryan insisted, iza’s condition finally on 23 December. premature if a baby is
urned around. Just in time for
Her jaundice Santa to spoil her born before the 37th week
vel was Now she’s rotten with plenty of pregnancy. It can occur
rastically laughing, of toys and for a number of reasons,
ecreased after baby clothes! ranging from infectionsto
hree days of rolling Eliza’s now nearly geneticissues.Babies born
hototherapy – over, and a year old – and,
early often aren’t fully
nd, when she was though she’s still
eady, the nurse she loves small, she’s developed and require
aught me how to her food laughing, rolling special care straight after
eed her in a more over, and she loves birth. Twin or multiple
atural position her food.
hat encouraged her to take We can’t wait for this
pregnancies usually carry
ore milk than she was Christmas, but it will be an increased risk of
aking before. difficult to top last year. premature birth. Visit
This increase in Eliza’s milk When we were a family bliss.org.uk for advice.
onsumption was vital for at long last.

Men’s MumKnowsBest
Health Screen time
M
y children have iPads
With Dr Arabella Onslow and iPhones, and I’m
happy for them to have

Q
Since my wife died,
A
This is a common
I feel so lonely. I had problem for retired older them, but they’re not allowed
friends when I was men who live alone. them in restaurants or when
working but now I’ve retired Many organisations can help we have family round. It’s
– try contacting Age UK for important to me that my
I see no-one. I’m reticent to local help yo ildren ha cial skills.
see my GP but I feel so low. beco ocially mma Ca Facebook
Thomas, Rock con in.

23
Your Brainwaves.. ’ve got it sussed! Earn £25 CASH fo
f r your brilliant tips!
Together, we
Ti
Tip
I cover a big box with of the
wrapping paper, so
everyone can throw Week
their rubbish in there
while unwrapping
w
ppresents on Christmas
morning. It makes
m
clearing up easy!
A Johnson,
Ann
Runcorn
R When you need gift bags,
try recycling cereal boxes for
something quirky. Just cut
off the flaps and make holes
Your Best for ribbon handles.
Irene Emerson, Grimsby
CHRISTMAS
DINNER Top
Tips Once you’ve
Mum’s
Back-up bird eaten your Tip!
1 Make sure you buy some
mince pie, don’t
£10 FOR TIPS WITHOUT PHOTOS. PHOTO (POSED BY MODEL): ALAMY

turkey breasts as a standby throw the case

in case of a disaster! We’ve away. They
all been there. make great mini
Michaela Lewis, Burnham- bowls
on-Sea, Somerset for nuts and
treats when
2Jolly jelly
If you’re feeling fancy,
add a few tablespoons of
you’re hosting
Christmas Day.
R Griffin,
redcurrant jelly to gravy to via e-mail
jazz up your festive feast!
Linda Cole, Malvern

3Very merry veg

Vegetables can be
cooked and cooled on
Christmas Eve and are
easily reheated on the day.
It’ll make preparing your
merry meal much easier!
Rachel Harrington,
Sidcup, London Making Christmas
costumes can be
nberry
4Cra
Chris mas
so much fun for all
the family! Here’s
one we made for
If you like your
cranberry sauce, my daughter Nia,
make it a week Revamp your placemats 4, to wear in her
before and and coasters for Christmas school play. She was
freeze until Day by wrapping them in delighted with it!
needed! your chosen festive paper. Mari Drury, Ewloe
Sally My dining table has never
Roper, looked so Christmassy!
Leeds Rebecca Oliver, via e-mail

24 hem ourselves
..Our Bargain !
If you’re stocking up for
Christmas, plan ahead. Look
for bargains to freeze for the
big day! Check cupboards,
too, so you don’t double up.
Snap Me Up! sh!
Margaret Anderson, We’ve done the research – you save the do
Sunderland
Sleepright
This gorgeous
SAVING
bedding is perfect
for winter and
under half-
price. From £25

PMU’s£££
(normally £85)
for a single up
to £45 (normally
£150) for a
king-size set,
get yours from
juliancharles.
co.uk before 6
EXPERT
January 2018.

Festive treat
I made this
Christmas vase
by wrapping
Pots of Jacobs
Treeselets
are now £1.50
1Pla ons
It’s overw elming
cooking for more than
Christmas paper (normally £2) usual, so plan ahead.
and lights around
a hard clingfilm
at Tesco until
6 January 2018. OFFER Make a list, so you
don’t buy too much.
roll. Add some Happy snacking!
blue and silver
beads at the
bottom and
Liftoff WEEK 2Go frozen
Head to the frozen
aisle – it’s cheaper than
place your
Indoor
skydiving
All fresh, and no need to
flowers inside! facility iFly thatglitters worry about short
use-by dates.
T Williams, (iflyworld. Treat your
co.uk) is littl’un to a
Beaufort
offering 40%
off its Kick-
pair of glitzy
new shoes 3Pick your bird
There’s no doubt
PHOTO (POSED BY MODEL): ALAMY

Start package for less this the turkey is the priciest

– it’s £28.99,
instead of
OUR Christmas from
thesparkleclub.
item. To save cash,
choose a small one or
£48.99. Centres co.uk. Enter the a chicken and pad the
are in Manchester, code PICK at meal out with extras.
Milton Keynes the checkout
COMPILED BY: JESS BEECH

If you give jars

of homemade
preserves as
and Basingstoke. for an exclusive
10% off all
purchases
4Shop around
Spend time
researching the best
Christmas gifts,
Onyourbike made deals. It’ll be well
In the run-up to Christmas, before 14
don’t buy pricey Halfords is offering up to December.
worth the time for the
jam covers. Cover 50% off selected kids’ bikes money you’ll save.
them with some - including this Indi Frogster,
festive wrapping
paper instead!
now £60 (normally £120).
Hurry, while stocks last! 5Scan cupboards
Check what you’ve
a ready got to save cash.
Sheila Beeby,
Ormskirk
It will e you to
have a t, too.

25
 Fighting To Fix
Our Boy
Cassie'sfamilyishopingforamiracle...
January, he started to and balance tests, the doctor
Cassie complain of double vision. at Craigavon Hospital said Cameron is
Finnegan, 29, Then, his balance was they wanted to do a CT scan. being so
unstable, speech slurred. My husband David, 34, and very brave
Waringstown, Something wasn’t right. Cameron’s dad Harold joined
County Down On 27 January, I took us at the hospital. found a mass on Cameron’s

U
s mums can pick up on
the tiniest of changes
in our kids, can’t we?
We’re the first to spot ifRinging the hospital,
they’re unhappy, or a little bit
under the weather.
Watching my son Cameron,
then 11, rip open his Christmas
presents last December,
I noticed he was squinting.
Odd, I thought.
WORDS: BESS BROWNING, JADE BEECROFT. PHOTOS: BELFAST NEWS AND FEATURES
Cameron to the GP. Three hours dragged as we brain. It’s a tumour.’
After examining his eyes, the awaited the results of the scan. They diagnosed him with
doctor paused, frowning. ‘What if he loses his sight?’ a diffuse intrinsic pontine
I fretted, unsure what all the glioma (DIPG) brain tumour.
he then described scans were about. Harold burst in tears, but
the symptoms. Taking us to a different I wanted to know more.
‘I’m referring room to Cameron, three
you for tests,’ doctors surrounded us. Inoperable
he told us. ‘I’m so sorry,’ one said ‘So, what are you going to do
After to us. ‘I’m afraid we’ve to fix him then?’ I asked.
numerous ‘I’m sorry but it’s inoperable,’

As he chatted away blood the doctor added.

with his sisters Courtney, Our whole world fell apart.
3, and Chloe, 9, I couldn't Uncontrollable sobs erupted
stop looking at it. from deep inside me.
‘Are you OK, love?’ ‘He could have between nine
I asked him. and 12 months to live,’ they
He’d had the explained gently.
odd headache My beautiful boy. My
of late, too. eldest. The first of my babies
Pulling a that I held in my arms.
face, he told Was it really true that
me to stop we’d just celebrated our
worrying. last family Christmas
So, as he all together?
seemed fine, Pulling ourselves
I forgot together to face
about it. Cameron, I
His dad couldn’t bear
Harold, 33, telling him
has a slight everything.
squint, so ‘The doctors
I just put it have found
down to something on
inherited genes. Us last Xmas your brain, but we
But, in the – then everything are going to fix it,
following changed... and we will always
26

THESQUINTWAS
ASYMPTOM
OFHISCANCER
look after you,’ I said, holding
him closely to me.
I never wanted to let go.
Cameron stayed in hospital
over the weekend so he could
be monitored, but he was
discharged after a few days.
Taking a week off school
after, soon he was back playing
footy, in lessons and spending
time with his friends.
It was just like nothing bad
had happened at all.
A question...
Only, he was far from fine.
At the end of January,
Cameron started radiotherapy.
His body reacted well, and
he didn’t suffer any side effects.
His squint disappeared for
a while, too, and he seemed
to be better than ever.
In March, the arrival of
my third daughter, Caitlin,
brought us some
relief from the
awful situation.
Over time,
Cameron found out more
about his condition, though.
‘I have cancer, don’t I?’ he
asked me one day.
‘Yes,’ I replied, because
I’d never lie to him.
The more he asked
about it, the more Soon he
I had to reveal.
Researching online
wasn’t
for any possible able to run
treatment, I found
the Instituto de or play
Oncologia with his
Intervencionista,
friends
in Mexico.
A specialist cancer
centre, it is one of the only
places in the world that is
showing improvements in
treating DIPG cancer.
Its results were amazing.
‘I’ve got to take him there,’
I told David and Harold.
Contacting the centre, it
Heartrending REAL LIFE
raised a massive £60,000,
we flew out to Mexico.
Brave Cameron was so
poorly on the plane.
An ambulance collected us
from the airport.
After two days of rehydration
and recuperation, Cameron
had his first round of
chemotherapy, which was
followed by immunotherapy.
‘The tumour’s shrunk,’ the
specialist announced after the
first scan following treatment.
It was the news we’d been
longing to hear.
Only, they found another
lesion on Cameron’s brain.
In Mexico
However, confident they can
treat it, too, we’re still in Mexico
now, waiting for the fourth
round of therapy.
Friends and family are still
fundraising like crazy at home.
But it’s working. Cameron’s
doing so well here. And the
tumour’s shrinking.
The therapies have made
him very sick, though, and
he often finds everything
completely overwhelming.
Sometimes, he just wants
to go back home.
We’ll be here until 18
December, just a few days
before Christmas.
With the enormous expense
of the treatment, we know we
won’t have much in terms of
presents this year.
But seeing Cameron
enjoying another Christmas
is all we really want.
To donate towards Cameron's
treatment, visit justgiving.com/
accepted Cameron as a patient.
But a miracle cure on the
other side of the world was
crowdfunding/cure4cam
never going to be cheap.
It’d cost £25,000 for each
WhatExactly
round of treatment, and we
already knew that Cameron
IsDIPG?
A
would need more than one. diffuse intrinsic
We shared pontine glioma
Cameron’s story (DIPG) is an
far and wide aggressive brain tumour
through a in children. It grows
JustGiving page, deep within the brain
and the donations stem in an area that’s
then poured in. responsible for critical
Generous bodily functions such as
strangers, friends breathing and movement,
and family helped which tragically mean
raise the cash. that it is inoperable.
But Cameron’s DIPG is one of the rarest
health was deteriorating. and most deadly childhood
Soon, he wasn’t able to run cancers – it’s thought to
around and play with his affect just 300 children
friends any more. worldwide each year.
That squint we now all For information on the
feared came back. condition, you can visit
Time was of the essence. thebraintumourcharity.org
On 20 September, having
27
 u and your family
!
Great grub and top foodie treats for yo

CaneBars 18p
Prep 20 min plus chilling Cook 2 min
Q 100ml double cream mixed with
2tsp peppermint flavouring
Q 450g white chocolate, plus 100g
to decorate
Q 100g sweet popcorn
Q 4 crushed candy canes, plus 4
more to decorate
Q 100g Christmas-coloured M&Ms
(or supermarket equivalent)
Q A few drops red gel colouring
Q 20 x 30cm brownie tin, lined with
parchment
Treat
of the
per
Week
serving
2 In a bowl, combine
the popcorn, crushed
candy canes and half the
M&Ms. Pour the melted
chocolate over the popcorn
mix and fold with a spatula
until everything is coated.
3 Melt remaining 100g
chocolate in microwave
and stir in red gel. Spoon

1 Heat the peppermint

cream in the microwave,
but don’t boil. Pour over the
450g white chocolate and
stir until melted. If the
mixture is too thick, heat
a little in the microwave.
Rec hatCak
popcorn mix into the tin and
spread out evenly. Top with
the remaining M&Ms, whole
or broken candy canes and
drizzle with the red
chocolate. Leave to set in the
fridge for an hour or two.
for Metcalfe’s Skinny Popcorn

IWANTONE
W
PUZ OFTHESE... Spar Touraine
Sauvignon Blanc,
£7.50 (usually £9)
Rose Gold Shimmer until 1 Jan 2018.
PopaBall for Prosecco,
7.49 (lakeland.co.uk).

£7.50
1 2 4 Add a sprinkle of these
metallic flakes to your fizz
for added festive factor! 1.50
5 Save £

6 Bag A Bargain Greggs Turkey,

Bacon and
Cranberry
M&S Milk Chocolate Roll, £1.50
7
£ea2ch
Sprouts, £2 Their much-loved
Smooth Belgian sausage roll has
milk chocolate had a tasty
Across Down balls disguised Christmas
1 Night birds 1 Electrical as that classic makeover, and
5 Great resistance Christmas the festive flavour
warmth units side, Brussels combo of turkey,
6 Puzzle of 2 Delicate, sprouts! Great bacon and

£1.50
paths feeble
7 Awry, 3 Loaf around as a stocking cranberry
distorted 4 Cook in liquid filler or fun treat for a welco
t rin rt holida snac
Read down th
for the prize a
see 81.
 3 of the VALU
E
Best
We test 3 products so you don’t
per
servin

have to. This week: STUFFING

1
Aldi Specially
Selected British
Outdoor-bred
Pork, Cranberry &
Clementine Stuffing
Portions, £2.49
for 300g
Six individual
portions wrapped in
streaky smoked
bacon, with a light
sprinkling of sweet

£2.49
candied peel.

2
Asda Extra
Special
Pork and
Winter Fruit
Stuffing, £2.98
for 340g
A rich and flavour-
packed stuffing
that’s enhanced

£2e.a9ch8
with dried fruits
and spices.
How to whwipn
Makeityourself... up your o !
at home
3
Tesco
Family Serves 6 Prep 15 min Cook 30 min
Festive
Christmas Tree Q 1 large onion min until softened. Set aside to
Q 25g butter cool down.

2
Stuffing, £4.50
for 494g Q 100g breadcrumbs Once cool, mix the onion
Succulent pork, Q 10g fresh sage with the rest of the
apple and Q 1 cooking apple ingredients. Refrigerate until
Q 200g chestnuts ready for use.

3
cranberry stuffing
balls presented in Q 800g pork sausage meat Either use to stuff your
turkey or roll into balls and

1
a tear and share

£4e.a5ch0
Christmas tree. A Chop the onion, then heat the cook at 180°C for 25 min.
fun addition to any butter in a large frying pan. Recipe from M&S. For more
Christmas spread. Add the onion and fry for 3-4 ideas, go to cookwithmands.com.

Reese’s Peanut
Butter
Snowman,
£3, Tesco
This cool
character has
a smooth milk-
chocolate shell
containing the
peanut-butter Sling Shots Drinks, £2.99 for 3, B&M and Co-op Irresistible
filling. The sweet independent retailers Cheese Board Hand-cooked
and salty These unique, dual-flavoured shots will get Crisps, £1.50 for 150g
taste makes your festive parties started. Our favourite Enjoy the flavours of a luxury
these totally lazing rscotch s chees ll within
moreish. napps a eur. ing pack .
 <<<Continued
£1
g
WHILE WE TRY TO ENSURE ALL RECIPES WORK, WE CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR SUCCESS. WORDS: JESSICA FINDLAY. PHOTOS: TIMEINCUKCONTENT.COM
ScandiSalmon
Serves: 10 Prep: 20 min plus chilling Cook: 45 min
Q 3 sprigs of dill, plus extra for
garnish
Q 800g side of salmon
Q 75ml vermouth
Q Juice of ½ a lemon
Q 100g caperberries
For the pickle:
Q 1 cucumber
Q 4 beetroot, diced
Q 80g caster sugar
Q 100ml cider vinegar
1 Preheat oven to 200°C/
Gas 6. Line a roasting tin
with foil and scatter over the
dill. Lay the salmon on the
dill, skin-side down. Season
well, then pour over the
vermouth and lemon juice.
2 Roast, up to one day in
advance if serving cold,
for 30 min, until fish is
tender. If serving cold, let
cool, then chill. If serving hot,
make pickles first.
3 For the pickles, dice the
cucumber and put in a
bowl. Sprinkle with 1tsp salt,
toss and set aside for 15 min.
30
Rinse off
the salt
and pat
Enjoy
a tasty
Nordic
dry. Then
twist
put the
cucumber and
beetroot in separate bowls.
Sprinkle each with 40g
sugar and 50ml cider
vinegar. Chill for at least two
hours to pickle.
4 Serve the salmon hot or
cold, topped with the
drained pickles, caperberries
p
and sprigs of dill.
TOP TIP
This deliciously
flavoursome side of
Scandinavian salmon
is a great make-ahead
dish for a buffet. We’ll
be surprised if there are
any leftovers, but if there
are, they’re delicious
flaked through salads
or pasta dishes.
66p
g
FestiveWinter
Coleslaw colou
Make a
rful
Serves: 8 Prep: 20 min
side dish
Q 100g pistachios, plus extra
to garnish
Q ½ white cabbage
3 Gently
segment
the oranges over a sealable
Q ½ red cabbage box to collect juice. Add the
Q 150g Brussels sprouts segments to the box. Seal
Q 100g watercress and chill for up to one day.
Q 3 oranges
Q 50g pomegranate seeds 4 To serve, add the orange
segments and 100g
For the dressing:
Q 3tbsp rapeseed oil
Q 1tsp runny honey
of pistachios to the salad.
Combine the dressing
ingredients with the orange
Q 1-2tbsp sherry vinegar juice, seal and shake to mix.
Pour over the salad and
1 Gently toast the
pistachios in a dry frying
toss. Serve sprinkled with
the extra pistachios and
pan until lightly charred,
then set aside to cool.
pomegranate seeds.
2 Thinly slice the white
cabbage, red cabbage
and Brussels sprouts. Add
TOPTIP
If you can’t get hold of
to a large sealable box to pistachio nuts, toasted
llect any juice. Add the
tercress, removing any
ody stems. Seal and chill
alm
will
this
azelnuts
as well for
up to one day.
 .
per

Great per
turkey serving
alternative
Your
no-cookk
dessert
Cranberry and Chocolate
Port Glazed Ham Orange Pandoro
Serves: 10 Prep: 25 min Cook: 5hr Serves: 12 Prep: 30 min plus freezing

Q 3.5kg unsmoked gammon

Q 1 carrot, roughly chopped
Q 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
Q 1 onion, peeled and quartered
Q 2 bay leaves
Q 150ml port
For the glaze:
Q 100ml port
Q 150g cranberries
Q 2tbsp light muscovado sugar
and sugar until it becomes a
thick sauce, then set aside.
3 Remove the ham pan
from the heat and lift
the ham out of the pan and
into a roasting tin or on to
a heavy baking tray (keep
the cooking water and
vegetables for soup, if you
like). Cool for 10 min or until
cool enough to handle.
Q 1 x 750g Italian pandoro
Q 300ml coffee ice cream 3 To serve, pour over
warmed chocolate
Q 400ml vanilla ice cream
Q 500ml chocolate ice cream
Q 200ml chocolate sauce
sauce, top with chocolate-
dipped orange segments and
scatter over the glitter stars.
Q 6 candied orange segments,
dipped in melted chocolate,
to decorate (optional) TOPTIP
Q 1tsp edible silver glitter stars
The candied orange
segments we use in this

1 Tie extra string round the

gammon, so that it keeps
its shape while cooking.
Place in a large pan, add the
carrot, celery, onion, bay
leaves and port, then top
up with cold water until
covered. Bring to the boil
(about 15 min), then cover
and simmer as gently as
possible for 55 min per 1kg.
4 Set the oven to 200°C/
Gas 6. Use a sharp knife
to cut away the string and
the skin, leaving a thin layer
of fat. Score a diamond
pattern in the fat, then
spread a third of the
cranberry sauce over the
top as a glaze.
1 Trim the base of the
pandoro to make a 3cm
thick disc, then cut out the
centre. Allow each of the
ice creams to soften slightly,
then spoon in the coffee
flavour, followed by the
vanilla and then chocolate.
recipe can be quite
difficult to get hold of.
If you struggle to find
them, you can make your
own by boiling and
cooling slices of orange
(or satsuma or
clementine), then

5 Put the gammon in the

Cook for about 3½ hours.
oven and cook for 20-30
min, to get a little extra
2 Press the reserved disc
of pandoro back in place
on top of the ice cream, then
soaking the slices in
a syrup made by heating
water, caster sugar and
put the cake upside down orange juice together in

2 To make the glaze, gently

heat the port, cranberries
colour. Serve warm or chill
f wo days.
into the bag it came in, reseal
for up to
a saucepan.

31

Rushed
in for my
transplant...
Brave Lynette foughtback
fromdeathtohaveababy…
Lynette
Armitage,
26,
Fallin, Stirling
A
dding another bauble
to the Christmas tree,
I stepped back and
admired my work.
‘Not bad,’ my mum Diane,
54, smiled, impressed.
It was December 2012 and
I was looking forward to all
the festivities.
Mince pies, turkey, lots of
presents – I couldn’t wait!
And the big day certainly
didn’t disappoint.
I spent it with Mum, my dad
Robert, 58, and my brother
Robert Jnr, 24.
Spending quality family
time together during the
festive season was lovely.
WORDS: CHER HEASMER, LUCY LAING. PHOTOS: MIRRORPIX
But like every year, it
Tiny Ariana
was over too quickly.
weighed just
Before I knew it, it was over 2lb
2013 already.
A few months into the
year, I started to feel a bit
run down.
I thought it might be
a touch of flu.
But my symptoms got
more severe.
Fever, headache,
chesty cough…
‘You’ve got swine flu,’
a doctor diagnosed.
I was immediately
admitted to hospital.
See, as a baby, I’d been
32
Alive A
KICKI a lung transplant in the future,
born with cystic fibrosis (CF)
– a condition in which the
lungs and digestive system
become clogged with thick,
sticky mucus.
Any kind of flu could lead to
a serious lung infection.
Unluckily, over the next few
months my condition declined.
The flu damaged my lungs.
All a blur
I ended up on a breathing
machine, as my lungs were
struggling to cope.
I was so sick and weak, it
was all a bit of a blur.
But I kept hearing whispers
about a lung transplant.
‘It might be her only hope,’
a doctor told Mum and Dad.
I’d always known I faced
due to the CF.
But I’d always assumed it
was a long way off.
Hearing it discussed now
brought home just how sick
I was.
So I was put on the
transplant list.
Six months on,
though, I was still
I was
convinced
in hospital.
So I asked to be
treated at home.
that
It’d been adapted my time
for my needs, with a
walk-in shower and
was almost
breathing machine. up...
Doctors agreed –
but, with each passing day,
I got sicker and weaker.
I couldn’t breathe by myself,
my lungs were giving up on me.
I was convinced my time was
almost up.
‘For my funeral, I want
everyone to wear bright
colours,’ I told Mum.
She and Dad were in bits.
Before we knew it, Christmas
was approaching again.
Usually I looked forward
to it. But this year was different.
‘All I want for Christmas is
a new set of lungs,’ I told Mum
and Dad.
Then at 5am on
5 December 2013,
Mum came rushing
into my room.
‘Lynette!’ she
cried, waking me.
‘Doctors have some
lungs for you.’
With no time to
waste, I was rushed
by ambulance to hospital.
And, later that day, I was
taken into theatre.
When I came round after
the op, I took a deep breath.
My first words?
‘I can breathe!’ I smiled.
I just couldn’t believe
Now 3,
excited
for Xmas!

And
ING
how different I felt.
For the first time in months
I could breathe by myself and
I instantly felt stronger.
It was like I’d been given
a fresh burst of life.
After four weeks in hospital,
I was well enough to go home.
And able to spend Christmas
with my family.
It was an emotional day.
‘My lungs are the best gift
I could’ve been given,’ I said,
beyond thankful.
Guess what?!
Within weeks, I was even back
at the gym, working out.
I felt like a completely
different person.
Then in August 2014,
I realised my period was late.
I can’t be pregnant, though,
I thought.
I’d always been told that, with
CF, I’d struggle to conceive.
But I did a pregnancy
test, anyway.
Positive.
Surely it’s
I still have
wrong, I thought, to pinch
convinced there
must be a mistake.
myself to
It hadn’t been believe
long since I’d
broken up with
she’s
my ex. here!
We’d always used
a condom, but it
obviously hadn’t worked.
Then another test confirmed
the pregnancy.
I was having a baby!
And I was over the moon.
‘It’s a miracle,’ I laughed,
unable to believe it.
But when I told my doctors,
they were concerned.
They weren’t sure how
a pregnancy would affect
my new lungs.
‘Going through with it
could damage them,’ a doctor
warned me.
They advised me to
terminate the
pregnancy for
my own safety.
‘No chance!’
I said, without
thinking twice.
I didn’t care how
risky it was for me,
I simply refused
to abort my
miracle baby.
Mum and Dad
were worried sick, but they
supported me.
I continued with the
pregnancy, despite the
warnings, and doctors
monitored me closely.
And as my bump grew, so
did my excitement.
Luckily, the pregnancy
didn’t seem to affect my lungs
REAL LIFE
NEWLUNGS
ANDANEWLIFE
or my
breathing.
ASAMUMMY!
In fact,
everything was going well. up her strength.
But then, in February 2015, When she was allowed
when I was 28 weeks pregnant, home, I couldn’t stop admiring
I went into premature labour.
Ariana arrived, weighing a
just how perfect she was.
She’ll be 3 next February and
2lb 2oz. Remarkably, though, thankfully she doesn’t have
other than her size she was OK.
‘Hello, beautiful girl,’ I cried
cystic fibrosis.
I still have to pinch myself
when I had my first hold. to believe she’s here.
I loved Ariana more than
anything in the world.
Receiving life-saving lungs
in time for Christmas was an
‘I’ll be the best mum,’ unbelievable gift.
I beamed, proudly. And now that I have Ariana
She was kept in hospital too – well, it’s nothing short of
for three months to build a Christmas miracle!
Conceiving With CF
W
omen with cystic fibrosis have thicker cervical
mucus. This can make it harder for sperm to
successfully penetrate the cervix and can
increase the amount of time it takes to become pregnant.
33
WIN £ 5!
PUZZLE 4
Britain’
C
CHILD
Solve the puzzle to find a wo ack in the
grid and the letters in the highlighted squares spell out
the answer. We’ve put in one word to help.
Enter on page 81.
6 6 3
5 4

8 7 3 8
7

5
5 With 140,000 kids reported
8 R 8 missing every year, Christmas is
O
7
7
T
5
a painful time for some families
S
o many of us have and, as they gather together
6 O experienced it... this Christmas, there’ll be an
4 R 4 4
You’re in the park empty seat at the dinner table.
or the supermarket. Missing People is a
5 4
3 You turn your back for UK charity that not only
3 a moment and when you searches for those who have
look back your disappeared, but
6 4 child is gone. supports those
3 In the time The left behind,
before you
find them,
age group and provides
24/7 advice
3 letters 4 letters 5 letters 6 letters 7 letters 8 letters those most likely to and
Act
Fin
Arum
Gilt
Agave
Argue
Angler
Cruise
Gainful
Ragwort
Bodywork
Granular
seconds
feel like
go missing is support
directly
Gag Glum Cruet Octane Redwood Overview hours. youngsters to kids
Phi Numb Intro Rugged Surgeon Tayberry But what between children
Tar Open Rotor Squeak if your child and adults.
Sexy was missing 15 and 17. According
for hours, for to the charity,
days, for weeks? an estimated

5 !
What if it was 242,190 individuals were

£
even longer..? reported missing in England

WIN Sud
For some families, this and Wales in 2015 and 2016.
nightmare is a reality – Sadly, this figure continues

PUZZLE 5
WORDS: CHER HEASMER. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES, ITV

1
To solve the
puzzle, each 3 x 2
box, each column
2
and each row must
contain the numbers 3 2 1
1 to 6. Solve the
puzzle, then read 1 2 6
down the numbers
in the highlighted
squares for the
2
prize answer.
Enter on page 81. 4 5
34
 ’s LOST
DREN
to rise. And while it’s often
assumed most of those who go
missing are adults, apparently,
it’s more usually children.
The charity claims that 60
per cent of missing incidents in
2015-2016 related to under-
18s.Ashockingtotalof148,050.
It’s believed people are most
likely to go missing between
the ages of 15-17. But, there are
also significantly high numbers
in the 12-14 age group.
And although adults are
believed to go missing for
longer periods than children,
there are thousands of kids
who’ve been missing for
more than seven days.
The charity says 53 per cent
of kids go missing for less than
eight hours, but two per cent of
people go missing for longer
than a week.
But why do people go
missing? Especially children
so young? It’s often impossible
to identify one reason.
People can go missing on
purpose or unintentionally.
However, the majority of
A Special
Service...
Britain’s Got Talent 2017
f nalists The Missing
People Choir is made
up of individuals and
families of people who
have vanished. This
year, the choir will
feature in Missing
People’s annual carol
service on 11 December
at St Martin-In-The-
Fields, London, to
remember all those
who are missing
t is Christmas.
HOT
people who go missing are
vulnerable in some way.
Research suggests that up to
every year it launches an
appeal to help find some of the Get In Touch
80 per cent of missing adults thousands missing. If you’re missing and
have mental-health issues. The charity urges everyone want to talk, if you
And the most common to get involved to spread know a missing person
reason for children awareness and raise vital funds and need emotional
going missing is a for their services. support, or if you want
relationship with a Chief Executive
to report a sighting,
parent or carer When Jo Youle says,
contact Missing People.
breaking down. ‘Every year,
However, a young we’re blown Call or text: 116 000,
shockingly, person returns away by the or e-mail: 116000@
12 per cent of support of missingpeople.org.uk
missing child
from being the general
cases are due missing, it’s public and
to abduction,
eight per cent
not the end of the number
of high-
story. It’s an opportunity for
learning and understanding
are drug and the story... profile what happened while they
alcohol related, and celebrities were missing. It is a time for
six per cent are due to re-tweeting our care and support.
anxiety and depression. appeals, sharing ‘Each and every missing
The charity also believes that messages that can help us find incident gives us an
it’s more common for boys to missing children. opportunity to reach out to
go missing than girls. ‘When a young person a young person, to find out
Missing People aims to find returns from being missing, what’s going on, and to offer
and bring home the nation’s
lost kids. And
this is not the end of the them the help and support
they desperately need.’
‘As a mum of
four, I’m glad
Here’s What You Say... ‘It is
heartbreaking
to say I’ve ‘My son was
to think there
never had 14 when he
any of them disappeared are so many
people
go missing. for two days
I cannot after a row. missing in
imagine the Luckily, he the UK. I’m a
worry it was safe at supporter of
brings to a friend’s the charity
parents, who must be going house, but I was worried sick. Missing People,
out of their minds. I’d urge I wish any parents missing I think the work they do
anyone who is missing to get children all the strength they is great. Awareness is key
in touch so their families need to get through each day, – the more people we can
help find, the better.’
know they’re safe.’ especially over Christmas.’
Gemma Davies, Gloucester Michelle Underwood, Surrey Samantha Jones, Dartford
35
 tc s
The Crown
Netflix
The second series of
this hit royal drama,
featuring Claire Foy and
Matt Smith as the Queen
and Prince Philip, kicks
off with the Suez Crisis
in 1956 and ends in 1964
with Harold Wilson as
Prime Minister. Philip’s
traumatic background
is explored as he goes
on a world tour, while
the new season also
introduces Princess
Margaret’s future
husband, photographer The X Factor
Antony Armstrong-Jones
(played by Matthew ITV
ITV
Goode), along with US
President John F Kennedy T he marathon singing competition closes
with the grand final on Sunday 3 December,
where viewers can vote for their favourites to
and wife Jackie (Michael
C Hall and Jodi Balfour). win, sign that big record deal and release a
single. Dermot O’Leary will announce the lucky
WORDS: NICK CANNON. PHOTOS: BBC, AMAZON PRIME, FOX, ITV, NETFLIX, SKY

Other new cast members

include Clare Holman,
playing Princess Marina
of Greece and Denmark,
and Anton Lesser as
Harold Macmillan.
winner, while Sharon Osbourne, Simon Cowell,
Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger learn if it’s
their prodigy who will take the crown…

The Tunnel: Vengeance Hatton Garden

Sky Atlantic
Anglo-French detective
duo Karl Roebuck (played
by Stephen Dillane) and
Elise Wasserman (Clémence
Poésy) reunite for one
last time in a third and final
series of this critic
acclaimed crime thriller.
The pair must battle threats
from both terrorism and
dangerous far-right groups,
and they’re faced with one
criminal pair who push
them to some dark and
erate me
ITV the Easter weekend of 2015.
Timothy Spall and Kenneth Dubbed the crime of the decade,
Cranham play pensioner criminal they were finally captured in a
masterminds in this four- art com lex olice sting. David
tells the f ex Norton, Ian
ng of eld avies, Geoff Bell and
to pull o ous arzia play the other
en responsible for the raid.

36
!
Here’s our rou
of the best tell ats Tour
to savour over the
next fortnight… Amazon Prime
Expect more epic cars
and daredevil stunts as
Richard Hammond, Jeremy
Clarkson and James May
return for a second series
of The Grand Tour. The trio
will be travelling across
Croatia, Mozambique,
Switzerland and New York
as they try out driving
through wheel-deep mud,
sliding down icy mountains
and manoeuvring around
some of the world’s hairiest
hairpin bends!

TheHairyBikers
HomeFor
Christmas
BBC1
Dave Myers and Si King whip
All the up some of your favourite
Christmas dishes. Each day,
pre-Xma they’ll be joined by special

televisio s
guests who’ll share their
festive memories while

highligh n
they’re cooking up delicious
feasts to get us into the
ts Christmas spirit – and all
with the Hairy Bikers’
signature twist. There’ll also
be inspiration for fabulous
foodie gifts that are certain
to impress friends and family.

The Orville The Real Marigold on Tour

Fox
Inspired by Star Trek, this sci-fi
comedy drama is set 400
years into the future aboard the
USS Orville, which is travelling
through outer space while
dealing with the familiar and
often humorous problems of
humans – and aliens – in a
faster-than-light workplace.
Seth MacFarlane stars as
the ship’s commander, Ed
Mercer, who is shocked to
discover that his ex-wife Kell
Palicki) has been
s first officer.
BBC1
Stars of the previous series
The Real Marigold Hotel will be
heading to four new pensioner-
friendly destinations around
the world for this four-part
ies. While the like
holas and Dennis
checking out Chiang Mai in
Thailand, other celebrities
including Miriam Margolyes,
Bobby George, Sheila
Ferguson, Jan Leeming and
Wayne Sleep are exploring
e life in a
eland.

37
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Your
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weekly
round-up
Amazing Real-life
videos stories
True
crime
Great
prizes Don’t miss out! Sign up today at
LifeDeathPrizes.com/
newsletter
 !
These funnies will have your belly shaking
like a bowl of jelly!

T his year I’ve got

my girlfriend
a wooden leg
for Christmas.
It’s not her main
present –
it’s just a
stocking-
filler!

How do we know
Q Santa is a man?
No woman with an Q What’s the best

A ounce of dignity would

wear the same outfit for so
way for kids to get
a puppy for Christmas?

many years running! A Beg their parents

for a baby brother!
Mary:
Why won’t

T
hree men meet Saint Peter outside Heaven on Christmas Eve.
you put the ‘In order to get in you must each produce something
rubbish out? representative of Christmas,’ he says.
Joseph: It’s The first man digs a matchstick from his pocket. ‘This represents
Christmas – ther
e’s a candle,’ he says. He gets let in.
no room in The second man produces a tangle of keys which he says
the bin! represents bells. He’s allowed in, too.
The third man pulls a pair of red, lacy knickers out of his pocket.
‘What do these have to do with Christmas?’ Saint Peter asks.
‘They’re Carol’s,’ the third man winks.
WORDS: CHER HEASMER. PHOTOS: ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES

A‘Doiaske
t Christmas, the judge was in a merry mood as
he
d the prisoner, ‘What are you charged with?’
W hen I asked my wife
what she wanted for
Christmas, she told me
ng my Christm
the defendant.
as shopping early,’ replied

nothing would make her ‘That’s not an offence,’ said the judge. ‘How earl
were you doing this shopping?’ y
happier than a diamond.
So I bought her nothing! ‘Before the store opened,’ the prisoner replied.
Why did the Grinch
Q Why is Christmas just like your job? Q rob the off-licence?
Q Why did the A You do all the work and the fat guy
A He was desperate for
some holiday spirit!
snowman want with the suit gets all the credit!
a divorce?
A Because his wife
was a total
flake!
Q What did the
stamp say to
the Christmas card?
Q What’s the difference betwee
snowmen and snow women?
A Snowballs!
A Stick with
me and we’ll
go places!

39
 e mo r
When it comes festive facts,
are you a Santa or a Scrooge?
Food & Drink Movies
1
Which festive,
dairy-based
W

alcoholic drink was

first consumed in a
4 hich of these
actors has
never play
Ebenezer Scro ed
og
Virginia settlement in a) Michael Ca e?
ine
the USA in 1607? b) Peter Capa
ldi
c) Jim Carrey

2
A whopping 87%
of Brits feel their
Christmas dinner
wouldn’t be complete
without what?
5 In Home Alone
which America ,
city did Ma
Culkin find him caulay
self
2
n Poor Macaulay
was Home
Alone again
stranded in? in 1992!

3
Which festive
treats were
once known as
wayfarers’ pies? 6 In Elf, Will Ferr
played a huma ll
who was raise
elves. But wha d
e
n
by
t was his Around History
When

10
character’s na
me?
The World was the
Christmas

7
Which European
country considers cracker invented by
St Lucia Day, on Londoner Tom Smith?
a) 1647 b) 1747 c)1847
WORDS: JAMES HANMAN. PHOTOS: ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES

13 December, to be the
official beginning of the
What day did
Christmas season?

11 the Tudors
exchange

8
The tallest living
Christmas tree their gifts on instead
is believed to be of Christmas Day?
161ft tall and growing
The Christmas
and can be found in
which American state?
a) Idaho
b) Pennsylvania
12 truce between
British and
German soldiers
c) Alaska happened during
which war?
In Ukraine, Poland
and Germany, it’s
meant to be good When did these
first explode on
What festive ck to find what on yo the festive scene?
tipple is this? ri tma tree?

40
 !
General Classic Songs
knowledge!
22 In 1939,
Robert L May

19
The same action created which
figure was the beloved Christmas
UK’s bestselling song character?
How many times toy in 1996 and again in
has this topped the 2010. What was the toy?
Christmas charts?

20
What do Annie
Lennox, Dido
23 One Horse
Open Sleigh
was the
original title of which
ChristWmhichasgirlNgroou1psscored and Shane
MacGowan all have
classic Christmas song
?

13 for three years in

ngle
a Christmas No1 si w?
a ro
in common?

24 On the
11th day of

21
Which plant’s
Christmas
has Do They name means
How many times what did my true

14 been a ‘poo stick’ in

Know it's Christmas Anglo-Saxon?
love send to me?
Christmas No1?
e was NOT
Which one of thes ber one?

15 Ever yone,
b) Merry Christmas tmas Is You,
r Ch ris
m
a UK Christmas nu as, Mud
tm
a) Lonely This Chris akin’ Stevens
Sh
c) All I Want fo
Mariah Carey

Telly
16
Which
Christmas Day
special got the
most ratings in 2016?
a) Mrs Brown's Boys
b) Call the Midwife
c) Strictly Come Dancing

17
What time is
the Queen’s
Christmas
message always on
the box? Make a
date with

18
Den and the Queen
Angie’s
divorce row Christmas Day 21. Mistletoe CLASSIC SONGS 22. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 23. Jingle Bells 24. 11 pipers piping
on EastEnders got over 13. Spice Girls 14. Three 15. c TELLY 16. b 17. 3pm 18. 1986 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 19. Buzz Lightyear 20. Born on

30 million viewers in
THE WORL . 8. a 9. Spi . c 11. New . ld War CHRISTMAS NO1S
ANSWERS INK 1. Egg Mince pie ork 6. Buddy AROUND
which year?

41
 HAP
You probably can’t
Dogs Trust at Chris
be
tm
lie
as
ve
,
th
but
es
ha
e
pp
ad or
ily
ab
th
le
ey
pu
no
ps
w
en
all
de
ha
d
ve
up with the
new homes
HO
New Year
gift
Abandoned
at just four
months old
last Christmas,
gorgeous little
WORDS: SARAH FINLEY. PHOTOS: BRIAN YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHY, CLIVE TAGG, GETTY IMAGES, HUW EVANS AGENCY

Mella got
snapped up
by new owner
Mandy in the
new year. Just
pawww-fect.

Whole Lola
Ted-dy love
happiness When Nicola heard about Ted’s Christmas last
Lola was pining year, being abandoned at Dogs Trust Bridgend,
for a new home she knew she had space in her heart and home
last Christmas, for him. A Christmas miracle for this lucky pup.
after spending
five months
at a Dogs
Trust centre.
Thankfully,
her Christmas
wish came true
when David and Box-ing Day
Maxine arrived
to adopt her. Betty
Abandoned in
a cardboard
box outside
a betting shop
last December,
Give a dog a home! Betty’s now
enjoying long

T
he Dogs Trust has centres all over walks on the
the UK. At any one time, they care beach and regular
for over 1,500 dogs who need new belly rubs from
homes. To adopt a dog or to donate to her new owner.
the charity, go to dogstrust.org.uk.

42
OWLI Santa’s helper
Abandoned last Christmas time,
with six of his brothers, Dasher
can’t wait to celebrate with his
new family this festive period.

All wrapped up
Billy began his life as an
unwanted Christmas present.
But thankfully, Nick and
Amanda gave him a new shot
at happiness and affection
when they rehomed him.

Christmas
cracker
Who would leave this adorable face?
Alice was abandoned on Boxing Day
2015. She has a birth defect affecting
her front paws, so new mum Sharon
is helping with her recovery.

Crimbo companion
Spike, a 12-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, was
found wandering the streets in the New Year. Happily,
Lynn and Douglas had been searching for a new canine
companion after their dogs had passed away.

43
 We Both H
DOUBLE WI
Theresaspent
I Won £1,000 Twice! herwinningson
aluxuryholiday
Karen got her
Bingo. I’d even had a big win on
it in February 2015, when I’d
scooped the £1,014 jackpot!
some driving lessons, too?’
I asked her.
It was only fair, after I’d
withherfriend
girls driving
WORDS: CHER HEASMER. PHOTOS (NOT ACTUAL HOLIDAY): GETTY IMAGES

I’d put the money towards spent my last win on her

driving lessons for our eldest sister’s driving lessons. Theresa
lessons… daughter, 19, and spent the rest
on bits for the house.
‘Brilliant!’ she grinned.
‘And it’ll mean that Mum’s
Feve, 54,
Scunthorpe
Now, as I waited taxi service can
I still
T
to pick up my finally go out of o be honest, I couldn’t
Karen daughter, I bought business!’ I teased. help but wonder what all
Carder, 45, tickets for Tiki can’t I think I’ll put the fuss was about.
Woking and let the games believe the rest of the cash A friend of mine was
play out while towards a few chatting away about a bingo
that I’m

T
his April, it was just
after 10pm, and I was
going to pick up our
daughter, 17, from
her chip-shop job.
I had time before I had to
leave, so I had a few games
of Pick Me Up! Bingo.
The site has so many great
games and my favourite was
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I also enjoyed Diamond
I watched telly.
When I looked a double
at my laptop a bit
later, Winner winner!
was flashing!
I’d scooped another £1,000!
But I didn’t have much time
to celebrate, as I had to dash
out to pick up my daughter
from work, as promised.
She was so happy for me.
‘How about I buy you
I’ll treat myself
to a few nights
out, too!
nights out and I’ll site she’d just joined.
treat my other two ‘It’s so much fun,’ she smiled.
kids, aged 14 and I used to play bingo with
12, to something my mates years ago. But life
nice as well. as a mum of four was busy
I still can’t believe that and over the years I’d found
I’m a double winner! So, less time to play.
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‘Pick Me Up! and see what Try a few
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So I did – you’ll have a
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There were lots to choose
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Then, one day in May 2016,
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Great, I thought, buying
BEACHBREAK! she took
a picture of
But I quickly got the hang myself a few tickets for holiday,’ I said. me holding the cheque.
of things. Sapphire Bingo. Meanwhile, I still played ‘Say bingo!’ she laughed,
Sapphire became my And, before I knew it, I was bingo every now and then, snapping away.
favourite game. in the lead to win. when I had time. I was so pleased, I couldn’t
And I loved the slot game Suddenly, I only needed one In August this year, I bought stop smiling.
more number. myself some tickets for My friend and I had been
Then, when I saw Sapphire. chatting about going back

UK BREAK!
it get checked off, But, while the to Tenerife.
my heart burst from It finally games played out, So I used my winnings to
my chest.
‘Bingo!’ I shouted.
sank in I started pottering
about the house.
pay for that.
We jet off this month and
Where When I realised when I forgot all I can’t wait.
I’d won £900, I did the giant about them. Sun, sea and sangria, here
would a little dance around
the room. cheque
Then, a few hours
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I come!
When I sip cocktails on the
you go? I’d just a booked arrived my tickets and had beach, I’ll raise a glass to Pick
a holiday to Tenerife a quick check to see Me Up! Bingo.
with a friend and if I’d won anything. Cheers!
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I’ll treat myself while
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I’d actually scooped the TURN OVER
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‘No way!’ I gasped.
Sure enough, the money
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We had such a lovely time,
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‘Maybe next year,
we’ll book another
cheque arrived in the post
that it finally sank in.
I told my daughter and
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Susanne Bingo the year before after my the screen,
Westwood, 50, daughter, 29, recommended it. telling me
Powys ‘It’s fun,’ she told me. I was the
And she was right. winner.

R
ubbing the hair dye into It kept me entertained and I couldn’t
a lather on my head, was great for passing the time. believe it.
I sat on the toilet seat Just like now. £1,000,
while it set. Perched on the just like that.
It was November toilet seat, I bought I was so
2015 and I was I played a few tickets for desperate to run We bought
giving my dark
locks a bit of
while Sapphire – my
favourite game.
downstairs and
tell Julian the
a brand-
a colour boost. waiting I watched as the good news.
new cooker
My partner
Julian, 45, was
for my games played out.
Then I realised
But by now it
was time to wash the just won
downstairs hair colour I only needed one dye out of my hair. £1,000 on
watching TV.
So to pass
to set number to win the
£1,000 jackpot.
As soon as I’d washed it off,
I threw my hair up into a towel
the bingo.’
That certainly
the time in the A few minutes and ran downstairs, taking got his attention!
bathroom while I waited passed, and then… them two at a time. ‘You what?’ he laughed,
for the colour to set, I decided ‘Bingo!’ I shouted out as my ‘You won’t believe it…’ his eyes suddenly on me.
to enjoy a few games of bingo I began, as I showed him my phone
Julian carried on and his jaw dropped.
watching TV. ‘I’ve ‘That’s amazing!’ he grinned.
With Christmas just around
the corner we decided to spend
the cash on even more presents

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We bought them all sorts
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After such a lovely win,
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in for another surprise.

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 NO T SO
SILENT
NIGHT!
Abbey and her familyhadaluckyescape...
Abbey my legs turn to jelly.
Claybrook, Dear God, was our house
about to blow up?
21, Screaming, I scooped Elliot
Pwllheli up into my arms, clutching

I
t was 18 September...just an
ordinary day.
My partner Danny, 25,
had just gone to bed, while
I was in the bathroom about
to have a shower before
joining him.
But as I’d just got undressed,
I heard our 1-year-old
Elliot-Ray crying from
his room.
‘Do you want me
WORDS: JAMES HANMAN, HATTIE BISHOP. PHOTOS: DAILY POST WALES, SWNS
him to my chest.
Suddenly I heard violent
thumping, like someone was
trying to kick the front door in.
‘Abbey!’ I heard Danny
scream at the top of his voice.
He’d been sitting in bed
when the house-shaking bang
had literally thrown him from
the bed onto the floor.
Hearing my scream, he’d
thought I was still

Holey night?!
to get him?’ I heard
Danny call from
Theteeth- in the bathroom.
But when The terrifying
our bedroom. jangling he’d tried to open damage...
‘It’s OK, I’ll go!’
I called back.
screech the bathroom
door, it was
Wrapping a of metal wedged shut. Elliot, I scampered downstairs road, only to plough into our
towel around
me, I closed the
scraping So that violent
thumping..?
after Danny.
Elliot was still in my arms,
bathroom window!
Neighbours rushed out to
bathroom door on metal That was Danny screeching his head off. see what had happened.
and padded along trying to kick the When we made it outside, ‘Are you OK?’ they asked.
to Elliot’s bedroom. bathroom door in. we found the front of the house Too shocked to speak, I
But just as I walked ‘I’m here,’ I yelled from in ruins, water spewing from couldn’t stop tears from falling.
towards him... Elliot’s room. the broken pipes. Then, suddenly, we heard
KABOOM! Running in, Danny threw a sound above us.
I suddenly heard an his arms around us. You OK?! Glancing up, I suddenly
ear-shattering bang that shook ‘We’ve got to get out,’ When I looked up, I couldn’t realised the driver of the car
the whole house, then the he panted. believe what I was seeing. was still at the wheel. He
teeth-jangling screech of metal Neither of us knew what was A car was wedged between looked elderly...and in shock.
scraping on metal. going on. We were living on our first-floor bathroom So shocked that he started
It was coming from the pure adrenaline and instinct. window and the flyover that smiling, and tried to open the
bathroom where I’d been And our instincts were runs parallel to our housing- door of his car.
standing just seconds earlier. screaming, You’re in danger! association home. ‘No, stay there!’ yelled a
‘A bomb!’ my mind raced. Quickly grabbing some The car must have gone out neighbour, ‘Help’s coming!’
I felt my throat go dry and warm clothes for me and of control and veered off the The same neighbour had
48
 Explosive REAL LIFE
coming and
Ruined beyond we’re still in
repair – but at temporary
least we were safe council housing.
It’s been almost
three months
now. I just want a
new home where
me and my family
can feel safe.
New toys
If we’re still not
housed in time,
we’ll have to spend
Christmas Day in
our temporary
accommodation.
But we’d love to
be in our home,
building fun
festive memories
and shaking off
the bad ones.
So, we’re trying
to be positive, and
waited at my dad’s house. splashing out on toys to make
It was only then that I little Elliot smile.
realised little Elliot had saved And to get us in the mood,
my life. we’re planning to see Danny’s
If he hadn’t started crying, daughter from a previous
I would’ve been in relationship in her Christmas

JUSTMOMENTS that bathroom

when the car
came crashing
school play, as well as taking
Elliot to visit Santa Claus.
A freak accident might
BEFORE,IWASIN through the wall.
If it wasn’t
have ruined our home but
I’m determined it won’t ruin
THATBATHROOM! for my baby,
I’d be dead...
‘Mummy’s little
our Christmas.

hero,’ I cooed as I hugged

Elliot tight.
‘Iknowwe’ll
Danny reported that £1,000
worth of our belongings were
getoverthis’
D
ruined beyond repair. But anny says, ‘We’re
that’s the least of our worries. still struggling with
dialled 999 and the police, through the long night, I felt I still can’t sleep properly, the after-effects of
ambulance and fire brigade overwhelmed by a crippling jump whenever I hear cars go our ordeal. If Elliot hadn’t
soon arrived. sense of fear, as if another past the house. started crying, then
Firefighters secured the crash was only moments away. And I freak out when I have Abbey could be dead or
wrecked car before rescuing ‘I can’t go back to to use the bathroom of severely injured.
the old man from his seat, that house, a night. Healing physically
while we were checked over I won’t feel Poor Danny and mentally will
by medics. safe there,’ is still taking take some time,
I told Danny. painkillers for but together
Ambulance The next his injuries. we’re
While I was fine physically, day, Danny Worse, confident
Danny had internal bruising returned to Christmas is that we can
in his right hand, back and check the pull through.’
bottom, but hadn’t noticed due damage,
to the adrenaline rush. while I
My dad Neil soon arrived, as
did Danny’s parents Chris, 49,
and Mandy, 50.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Dad as
he came running over to me.
‘I don’t know,’ I whispered,
still reeling.
As an ambulance took the
old man off to hospital with
minor injuries, me, Danny
and Elliot went to stay with Thank goodness
my dad. But it was impossible for our little
to sleep. hero Elliot!
Sobbing repeatedly
 SA N TA'S
Little Helpers!
Yousharedwith us what your elves have
been doing in therun-uptothe ho ays!
What A Sweetie!
When kids Jack, 10, Josh, 8, Alfie, 6,
and Annabelle, 1, are sleeping and
when mum Emma, 37, from Somerset,
isn’t looking, cheeky elf Tarquin likes
to tuck into some sweet treats!

Flying Picket?
Elfie is currently on strike. He and mum Kim, 33,
from Taunton, Somerset, have told children Junior,
13, Kaine, 10, and Benjamin, 7, not to be naughty.
Who knows if they’ll get a visit from Father
Christmas this year? Better be good, kids!

Just Bananas!
Hang About…
COMPILED BY: MISHAAL KHAN

Cracker McStocking helps

Sophia, 10, and Teddy, 4, from out mum Emma, 30, from
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, by making sure
always have fun looking for Jack. Alfie, 11, and Libby, 8, eat
His favourite hiding place is hanging all their fruit and veg. They
off the tree, and he drives mum often find him hiding in
Isabelle, 43, crazy with his antics! the fruit bowl!

50
 Cheeky REAL LIFE
Cheeky Chums Surprise, Surprise
Holly & Elvin are always getting
up to no good. Sometimes they’re Mum Sarah, 39, from Taunton,
caught under the mistletoe. Or Somerset, has Jeff and Twinkle to
trying to steal chocolates off the help make sure Maey, 10, and Libbi,
tree. But they’re great fun and 6, are being good. If they're really,
always help mum Lisa, 42, from really well behaved, they’ll get a
Swansea, make sure Malacai, 8, and very special treat on Christmas Day!
Lucian, 11, aren’t making mischief.

All Aboard
Bradley, 3, and Emelie,
1, will no doubt get
spoilt this Christmas
by Granny Faith, 42, at
home in West Sussex.
Elf Emmet loves to
watch them play
with their train set!

Team Elf
Harrison, 11, and Jaspyr, 7, from
Essex, must be keeping mum Zoe,
36, happy with their good behaviour.
Here's elf Harry Jay Twinkle Toes
dropping off a special delivery of
matching elf tops for the family.

WhatTheElf..?
T
he festive toy began as a children’s book in the
US in 2005. And now the viral ‘tradition’ has spread,
And Relax! with the first editions of the The Elf on the Shelf
arriving in UK shops in recent years.
When Elfie McJingles The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition tells the tale of
Scout Elves, sent from the North Pole to help Santa manage
isn’t busy helping his ‘naughty or nice’ list. In the run-up to the festive season,
mum Leah, 26, keep families can adopt their own Scout Elf.
an eye on Chloe, Once home and named, the elf gets its magic, and can fly to the
7, he’s relaxing and North Pole each night to report back to Santa. Every morning,
listening to some it returns to the family home to land in a different place.
Christmas songs at The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is at stores
home in Hampton, across the UK (£29.95 RRP). For more info, visit
West London. elfontheshelf.co.uk.

51
 Eat, Drink And
B E H E AV Y ! scared to look in the mirror. and we followed that with

The Christmas photothatmade I fell pregnant again in

August 2014, and vowed to
eat healthily.
cakes and chocs, then leftovers
in the evening. All washed
down with glasses of wine.
Sharon transformherlife... But nine weeks later,
I suffered a miscarriage.
‘Everyone say cheese,’ Leo’s
Aunty Phillipa said as she took
Sharon 2013, I’d ballooned to 13st. Devastated, I turned to food a photo of us having a ball.
Months passed and I was for comfort. And soon I put all I was so merry and enjoyed
Douglas, 39, still wearing maternity clothes. the weight back on again. the day so much.
Gateshead, I felt fat and frumpy. I told myself that Until I received
Tyne and Wear I have to do something about my size wasn’t Lovely? a Facebook

A
s I crept gingerly onto my weight, I thought as I stood important when notification
the scales, the needle in front of the mirror and I fell pregnant in I looked that night.
shot to 17st.
‘It’s all your nice food,’
looked at my wobbly reflection.
I’d always believed having
January 2015.
Having a
more Someone has
tagged you
I wailed at my husband Leo, 40. PCOS meant I couldn’t lose healthy baby was like an in a picture.
I was lucky to have a hubby
who was a great cook, but
weight, but I was so miserable
I had to at least try.
what mattered.
So, with Leo’s
overstuffed As I stared at the
photo, I barely
eating pasta and help, I carried on turkey! recognised myself.
potato-filled
dishes had
Myhubby Celebrate eating for two.
Finally, baby Matty was born
‘Do I really look
like that?’ I cried to Leo.
its consequences... cooked So I started the
Cambridge Weight in October 2015. ‘You look lovely,’ he said.
I’d been a size-10,
right up until I came
up a Plan, eating their That Christmas, it felt
like we really had something
Er, no.
I looked more like an
off the Pill to try for feast with shakes,
and bars.
soups
to celebrate. overstuffed turkey!
children in 2011.
Soon afterwards,
all the And over the
next six months,
‘Another wine?’ my mother-
in-law Patricia said as I sat
I was mortified – and,
even after I untagged
I was diagnosed trimmings I lost 3½st. down for a family meal on myself from the offending
WORDS: HATTIE BISHOP, SARAH FINLEY. PHOTOS: MEDAVIA, ALAMY

with polycystic
ovary syndrome.
It meant that conceiving was
a struggle.
Another symptom was
suddenly piling on the pounds.
When I finally fell
pregnant in May 2012, Leo
and I were ecstatic.
‘One more mouthful for the
baby,’ my hubby would say
every mealtime, as he spooned
spag bol or shepherd’s pie onto
my plate.
Throughout my pregnancy,
I gained more than I should.
I’d a huge appetite - it wasn’t
unusual for me to eat an entire
trifle by myself.
By the time I gave birth to
baby Johnny in January
52
Finally, I could Christmas Day. photo, I spent the entire festive
get back into all my old Leo cooked up a feast of period feeling rubbish.
clothes again and wasn’t turkey and all the trimmings Worse, I knew it wasn’t
doing my health any good.
With two kids to look after,
I knew I had to do something
about it.
Slinky size-10
So, in January, I cleared
the cupboards of carbs, sugar
and wine.
And once again,
I embarked on the Cambridge
Weight Plan.
No, it wasn’t easy.
But it was worth it.
I lost nearly a stone in the
Leo’s a first week, then at least 5lb
great cook! every week after.
Hitting 11st, I started to go
 Sparkling REAL LIFE

NOW!
WHEN I SAW
THIS, I KNEW I
out running.
By August 2016, I’d shed an HAD TO CHANGE
incredible 7st.
‘Didn’t you just have a baby,
how do you look this good?’
friends would say in awe.
Seconds,Any
R
I loved the reaction my esearch suggests
weight loss got. that the average
Now a slinky size-10, I feel Brit will eat a
like a different person. massive 5,906 calories on
I still do the Cambridge Christmas Day alone.
Weight Plan occasionally and That’s the same as...
watch what I eat.
And if I want a drink, it’s a ● 91 stuffing balls
slimline G&T.
But this Christmas, I’ll
● 118 candy canes
definitely let go a bit. ● 45 glasses of Baileys
I still cringe when I look at ● 738 Brussels sprouts A cracker
of a
that turkey of a picture, but ● 285 Advent figure!
now I look fantastic. calendar chocs
I think yule all agree!
53
 Genius Or
Totally
Bonkers?
Weputsometrulyoriginal
productstothetest…
WIN PUZZLE 6
£ 3 0 0!
Cr ack It!
Work out which letter each number represents.
Once you’ve filled the grid, put the correct letters
into the Prize Answer boxes at the bottom to spell
out a word. Enter on page 81.
13 12 4 12 13 26 9 12 12 15 24
Verdict: R
BONKERS! 11 19 23 9 21 12 7 12 15
Butyou’llsave I
Read My Lips oncalories! 1 24 6 2 11 20 11 2 5 12 23
Christmas P
Dinner Lip Balm, 12 22 15 20 12 15 8 9 13 12
£1.50, Primark
Instead of enjoying Christmas E
dinner once a year, why not 13 12 7 16 23 3 12 13 5
carry the taste around in
your pocket every day with
R
this weird-flavoured lip balm. 12 22 19 15 12 23 5 12 15
There’s a Christmas pudding
variety, too, for afters… 20 23 13 23 25 23 6 23 2 15
Chocolate Brussels Sprouts,
£9.99, choconchoc.co.uk 9 14 20 19 23 2 2 11 20
These delicious, Belgian-choc
sprouts look just like the real
deal. Pranksters could slip 2 5 13 23 1 1 6 12 15
them on to someone’s
Christmas dinner 22 18 9 4 22 22 5 23 10 12
plate…
2 20 13 12 12 15 19 9 5
Verdict:
GENIUS! 13 20 19 22 9 5 5 9 10
Eatwithyour
eyesshut… 7 23 20 23 15 5 13 19 12 11

Retro Nutcracker Knitted 5 16 9 15 11 4 22 13 14 12 8

Twosie Jumper, £44.99,
truffleshuffle.co.uk 24 11 19 19 13 2 22 1 8
Grab your partner or mate
and prepare to get cosy in this
wacky knit. (Just watch out 20 12 17 12 20 5 3 11 5 5 6
for that spare hand!)

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
P I E R
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Verdict:
BONKERS!
Doublycrazy… PRIZE ANSWER
Butitcouldmake 2 24 23 8 25
Twister a bit
more fun!

54
 !
In 1994, a man

ETC c e .. (
was found dead
in Australia’s
Hawkesbury River.r
Over 20 years, late
’t been
..) heidstenilltifihaedsnan
simply labelled as
d is
Did you kknow Un nown Human
Remains E48293.

Strange
5 Uses... FOR
1 PREVENTING
RUST FORMING
The tannins in tea
can help keep your
TEA M uch Do You
How ber About...
pots and pans
rust-free. Dab a
used teabag around 3BLOCK BUGS rated in
Remem
FOUR WEDDINAGLS?
the pan – it will form entin g Place teabags satu nd the
a protective layer, pruseves rust. peppermint oil arouers, ants
oxidation, which ca house to keep spid bay.
2 MARINATE YOURblMack tea
Use freshly brewed ur
EAT and other nasties at
4 SOOTHE YOUR SK IN ANDyearAwasFthUe fiN ER
and a selection of yo m ak e a The he aling prop er ties of the
What lm released?
favo urite herb s to
marinade. Add beef an
d pop
m ino
tannins can soothe as insect
skin irritations such
r
1 hat is Duckface’s real name?
1992, 1993 or 1994?

WORDS: SARAH
for a
in the fridge overnigmhtouth bites, sunburn and acne
.
melt-in-the- W
supper treat.
5 FRESHEN BREATH ed,
Gargle strongly brew
2 ow many weeks was theme song Love
Harriet, Helena or Hen
rietta?
H ber 1 in the UK for?
cooled tea to help redu
ce
3
FINLEY. PHOTOS:
fe cts of ba d br eath . Is All A roun d at num
the ef
13, 14 or 15?
H ugh G rant and Charlotte
SIGNS YOU HAADSTTONOIGHT
ha t ca r did
4WColeman drive to the first wedding?
lkswagen Beetle?
ALAMY, GETTY IM
MUCH TO DRINK LO Your wallet Morris Minor, Mini or Vo
Where was the first wed
ding held?
is to ally empty 5 London, Norfolk or Som
erset?
AGES

ANSWERS: 1. 1994 2. He
nrietta 3. 15 4. Mini 5.
O Your mouth is
Somerset

dryer than the ert

proverbial des
UBE FACTS
OYour friends YOUT old,
keep asking hgow The site is 12 years
you’re feelin so how has it ? ged
chan
er since it launched
OYou vow nev of
n OThe very first videowed
to drink agai YouTub e cofounde r Ja
e zoo was uploaded
OYou’ve got a Karim on a day trip to the site was even made public.
in April 2005, before th the second most-visited website.
feeling you told OYouTube has become is Fonsi
people some video is Despacito by Lu
OThe most watched . It has a whopping 4.3billion views.
home truths featuring Daddy Yankee ers… one in seven peop
le worldwide!
OIt has one billion us

55
WIN 100!
PUZZLE 7
On your bingo card, cross out all the
appear on the balls. Read the letters
remaining numbers on your card fro
that
e
right
Let It Snow
L T IT
to spell out your answer. To enter, complete the
coupon on p81.

I N
I C O

15 30 42 67 83
D D E
R R O
51 68 85
4 18 24 L D
M S
C
9 37 56 76 87
Building snowmen,throwing
men
59 87 snowballs andwarming up with
72 hot chocolate… We’re dreaming
56 4
27 of a white Christmas – and it
89 46 37 looks like you are, too!
83
12 77
15 34 In the deep
68 I couldn’t stop laughing
COMPILED BY: EMMIE HARRISON

2 when my daughter
Lauren’s whole leg
disappeared into the
snow, climbing 3,409ft-
high Meall Ghaordaidh.
Helena McGowan,

WIN £
Kilwinning, N Ayshire

PUZZLE 8
Which one of the listed
numbers won’t fit in this
mini grid? Enter on p81.

609 709 Snow angel

This was my little man
670 796 Carson’s first time in the

9
snow at 5 weeks old.
697 He took it in his stride…
and promptly fell asleep!
Lynne Dunn, Nitshill
56
 Cool REAL LIFE

w, Let It Snow,
T SNOW... Chilly willy?
This is my daughter’s dad Leigh in Center
Spec-tacular!
This is the scary snowman my fiancé
and I made in our communal garden.
Parcs, Sherwood Forest. We got snowed Not sure what the neighbours th
in and had a right laugh! Karen Hobson, Sheffield
Sarah Jefferson, Burnley

Baby’s first brrr…

My baby boy Cameron was literally
knee-deep at 18 months. The first time
he saw snow, it was a big deal – literally!
Jade Shephard, Southend-on-Sea

Nice and icy!

Here’s my daughter Aimee, 15, making
a valiant attempt at building an igloo...
Jill Barlow, Eastbourne

Starry fright
I think I was in too deep when trying to
make a snow angel a few years back...
more like a starfish!
Caryl Williams, Dolgellau, Gwynedd

C-old pals
Frosty friends
My son Liam, 4, made a new best
Aw, doesn’t my son Logan look chuffed friend – Barney the snowman!
with his first-ever snowman? Jennifer Russon, Oldbury,
Nicola Pike, Newcastle-under-Lyme West Midlands

57
 NICE NE
With my
kids, Jacob
and Amber
AUBL but then Angelina Jolie hit
the headlines…
Turned out she, too,
carried the gene, and had
had preventative surgery.
I wanted to help raise
My first awareness, so I put a link
night out to Angelina’s story on
since the op
my Facebook page.
I explained I was going
through the same thing.
Afterherlifesavingop, I even tweeted former
Liberty X singer Michelle
therewereonlytwothings Heaton, who’d also spoken
out about being a carrier
Gemmawanted of the gene.
I was thrilled when she
tweeted me on the day of my
fromSanta… surgery saying, Good luck.
I spoke to my surgeon
Gemma Griggs, 36, just before the mastectomy
Crawley confirmed to me. and reconstruction.

I
’d heard it a million times...
‘Always make sure you
check your boobs,’ my mum
Denise would say.
And I did, religiously. I was
forever having a feel in the
WORDS: KIRSTY ENGLISH, CHER HEASMER. PHOTOS: KIRSTY ENGLISH
days,’ Mum reassured me.
And they did.
Mum had a mastectomy,
and all was well.
Eighteen months on, my
beautiful daughter Amber
Such a relief.
The doctor offered to test if
I was a carrier of the BRCA2
gene, which increases the risk
of breast and ovarian cancer.
Taking action
‘I don’t mind if you make
my boobs a little bit bigger,’
I winked.
I was joking but, as a C-cup,
I quite fancied a bigger bust!
‘I may as well go home with

shower, making sure there arrived, in April 2008.

were no lumps. Life was busy. Both Mum and I had the test,
See, breast cancer
has plagued
Terrified, But, in 2009,
I split with
and our results were positive.
‘I think you should have
Mum’s been
through
my family. I went for my partner. a preventative mastectomy,’ it, too
When I was 6,
my nan Mary
a test at Being a good
mum to the kids
Mum said gently.
I couldn’t risk developing
lost her battle the breast was my priority. breast cancer.
with the disease.
Then, when
clinic the That’s why
I worried so much
‘I’ll do it,’ I decided.
I knew Amber may have
I was 24, Mum, same day about ever finding inherited the gene, too, and
then 48, faced a lump in my boobs. would need tests in the future.
a fight of her own. I was on I really needed to be around I wanted to set a responsible
honeymoon when she phoned for the kids. example for her.
to tell me she had breast cancer. Then, in 2011, my fears But, as the date of my
I was newly married with became a reality. surgery crept closer, in June
a 6-month-old baby, Jacob. I found a pea-sized lump 2013, I started feeling nervous.
But in that moment, my in my left breast. It was a big operation, and
happy bubble burst. Terrified, I went for a test at I worried about what I’d look
‘It won’t be like Nan. Doctors a breast clinic the same day. like after.
can work wonders these ‘It’s just a cyst,’ a doctor I was tempted to postpone,
58
 Uplifting REAL LIFE

EW
LES!
the perfect pair,’ I laughed.
But, when nurses unravelled
the elastic strap holding my
new boobs in place afterwards,
I was gutted.
One was the size of a head,
the other tiny.
I had new boobs all right, but
they were far from perfect!
‘They’ll even out in time,’
EXACTLY WHAT
a doctor reassured me.
Smiling again
I WANTED
In May 2014, I underwent
a hysterectomy, to further
UNDER THE TREE!
cut my risk of ovarian cancer.
Going into early menopause,
I was given HRT to ease I laughed to my mum. surgery, my dad George, then
the symptoms. I didn’t even want bigger 62, was in a hospice, seriously February of this year.
It was a relief knowing I was boobs this time. ill with emphysema. ‘He was so proud of you,’
at a significantly lower risk of ‘Mummy just wants Santa I wanted him to see how Mum tells me often.
developing cancer. to give her old ones back,’ happy I was. So, But I want to
But something still niggled. I joked to the kids. the following day, make him even
My boobs hadn’t evened It took surgeons four and a I went to visit. I was prouder, and raise
out, and I felt so insecure.
So doctors booked me in for
half hours to reconstruct them.
But it was worth it.
‘I’m just glad to
see you smiling
thrilled awareness of the
BRCA2 gene.
a corrective procedure on the When I came round, I was again,’ he beamed. with my It really is
NHS in December 2014.
‘New baubles for Christmas,’
thrilled to bits with my new
C-cup boobs.
We celebrated
Christmas as
new C-cups worth sacrificing
your boobs to
But, while I’d been in a family, and, when I save your life.
amazingly, woke up I couldn’t be
Dad clung on. happier with my
My nan Despite doctors new knockers!
died of believing he didn’t have They’re one Christmas
cancer long left, he survived for present that’s given me
aged 52 another two years. a huge confidence boost.
My brave dad passed away in And to me, that’s priceless.

WhatTheGenesMean
I
n the UK, a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast
cancer is 10-12%. Having a fault in one of the high-risk
breast cancer genes raises the risk of developing
breast cancer to between 40% and 85%. If two or three
women in your family have had breast cancer and you're
worried about your risk, see your GP about the possibility
of having the BRCA2 gene blood test.

59
 T n
We look ahead
to the brand-
new TV shows,
comedies and
dramas that
WORDS: JENNY COCKLE, NICK CANNON. PHOTOS: ALAMY, BBC, ITV, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
are set to
entertainyou
nextyear…
Vanity Fair
ITV
Newcomer Olivia Cooke stars
alongside Suranne Jones and
Tom Bateman in this version
of Thackeray’s classic tale,
where commoner Becky
Sharp claws her way out of
poverty to reach the heights
of English society. In this
seven-part drama, Becky will
find her way to the court of
King George IV and through
the Battle of Waterloo,
breaking hearts and losing
fortunes along the way.
Lavish
period
drama
60
McMafia
BBC1
In BBC1’s new thriller
McMafia, James
Norton plays Alex
Godman, the son of
Russian exiles with a mafia
past, raised as an Englishman.
Although he tries to tread the
right path, both in business and
in love, Alex finds himself drawn
into his Russian family’s shady
world. The action soon becomes
Hold The Sunset
BBC1
John Cleese returns to his
comedy roots to star in this
sitcom about widow Edith
(Alison Steadman), whose old
boyfriend Phil (Cleese)
desperately wants to mar
her. But when her son Ro
(Jason Watkins) turns up
threa
Britannia
Sky Atlantic
David Morrissey, Mackenzie
Crook, Zoë Wanamaker and
Kelly Reilly are among the
cast of this historical epic
about the Roman occupation
of Ancient Britain. It’s set in
43AD, as the Roman Imperial
Army attempts to crush the
Celtic tribes of our mysterious
land. But they
weren’t
expecting
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Frances O’Connor, Jonas
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 A Very English
Scandal
BBC1
This three-part drama tells the
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accused of conspiring to
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ex-lover Norman Scott (Ben
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Others in the cast include Jason
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Next of Kin
ITV
A fast-paced thriller series
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ITV
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Su Pollard, Anita Harris, Bernie in a series of
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61
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PHOTO: ALAMY

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62
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63
 e !
Get Moving! Take 3...
It’s no secret that
Christmas is the
Festive
busiest time of
year, and exercise
is at the bottom
Puds £1.50
2 for

(normally
£1
of most people’s at Asda u each)
nti
to-do list! Instead 31/12/17 l
of heading out
for a lengthy walk
or going to Tesco Chocolate Yule
a gym class,
burn calories
with a speedy
Log… 123 cal
Flattering fashion
five-minute The vertical pleats on this
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Running on the high-shine jumpsuit
spot, skipping, Tesco Mince Pies… create the illusion of
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jumping lunges
217 cal
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ark
a longer, leaner frame.
Layer over a plain black
and squats are all
fantastic ways to top if you’re shy about
burn calories fast. showing off your arms.

Tesco Christmas
Pudding... 364 cal THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS
NAME: Andrea Rose
Swap Waugh, 18, Edinburgh
AUNT BESSIE’S VITAL STATISTICS:
HOME BAKE I’ve always struggled with
YORKSHIRES… my weight. I was bullied as
78 CAL PER a child for being bigger
PUDDING than the other kids, but
or that caused me to comfort
AUNT BESSIE’S eat. By age 14, I weighed
GOLDEN YORKSHIRES… 16st 8lb and wore a size 22.
52 CAL MY MOTIVATION:
Save 26 cal PER PUDDING After my dad was
diagnosed with diabetes, I knew I had to
WORDS: JESS BEECH. PHOTO: ALAMY

change my lifestyle. But being told

Try this… Skinny Brands Ready

to Drink Cosmo,
I was too heavy to ride a horse
was the wake-up call I needed.
MY ACTION PLAN: My doctor or
£1.80, Tesco told me that his brother lost
Contains 90 calories weight with Scottish Slimmers.
and 2.7g of sugar – far I joined my local class and the
less than your average change was almost immedia
cocktail. Stock up I quickly learned how to
for party season. cook proper meals from
scratch, control my eating
and reduce portion sizes.
LOOK AT ME NOW: N
Forza Bake It Slim Mug Cake Mix in am 10st 2lb and wear a size
Chocolate Chip, £9.99, amazon.co.uk uch more confident
Designed as a meal replacement with 225 and I feel so much healthier. e
calories per serving, this mug cake mix is ready secret is, but having never di ,I
in just 90 seconds. hat taking baby steps has been t m.

64
 ..!
When baby
rhino Ringo was rejected
by his mum at just
two weeks old, staff at
Ol Pejeta Conservancy
stuff to impress your mates...) in Kenya nursed him

you know..?! (Random lists, facts and back to health.

Did
Who are

4
ANSWERS:1.KimWilde 2.R
3 Ringwald 4.Michael JFo ob Lowe3.Molly
2 x
1

Tearjerking
3 TV Deaths

WORDS: SARAH FINLEY. PHOTOS:

ITV, PA IMAGES, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
CAN YOU KEEP UP WITH THE Lady Sybil in
The 10th Doctor
– Doctor Who

KARDASHIANS
Rachel in Downton Abbey
Cold Feet As an ancient trap
Lady Sybil gives closes around Earth
Rachel and Adam birth to a healthy
had finally found in The End Of Time,
1. Noel girl but the joy is The 10th Doctor
hey’re one of happiness in Cold short-lived… as Sybil
2. Kris Feet, but we didn’t (David Tennant)
America’s most 3. Mary see that truck
dies from eclampsia, sacrifices his life to
famous families, but leaving her husband e Moott.
coming… and neither, and fans devastated. l ed
save Wilfr
how well do you know Who was Kim’s sadly, did she!
the Kardashian clan?
Who is the
first husband?
1. Kris Humphries Dedicated Fan
fourth-born 2. Damon Thomas a ker actually
3. Reggie Bush Jessie J s teenage stal
Kardashian child? broke her own leg to im
itate her
oke her
1. Khloé The Kardashians idol, after the singer br
wn the
2. Robert are part American, foot in 2011. Tracking do
e fan
3. Kendall ?
part… what nationalitityy? s ar’s private details, th
st
J with
t en bombarded Jessie ,
th
Do you know 1. Egyptian ying
texts – including one sa
what Kim’s 2. Persian be just
3. Armenian ‘I will do anything to
middle name is?
ANSWERS: 1. Robert 2. No
el 3. Damon Thomas 4. Arm like you.’ Apparently so
.
enian

65
 On The
Christmas… It s the sea
of peace and goodwill.
Perhaps someone shou
have told this bunch of
festive-season felons! WANTED:
BRAZEN BIKINI
BANDITS

Scott legs it – as
Dupree makes a
miracle recovery! kidding!

UP IN FLAMES
TROLLEY ROTTEN
TRICK FROM
WORDS: CHER HEASMER. PHOTOS: ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES, SWNS.COM

HOLIDAY HEISTERS
F
or two men in Florida, fact, all wasn’t what it seemed…
it seems the stress and As Dupree lay on the floor,
cost of the holiday season his friend Tarus Scott, then
all became too much 30, swiftly left the shop with
back in 2014… the trolley full of
While out
shopping for
He left Barbie bounty.
Dupree
a Barbie Dream with a then jumped up,
House and
Barbie car in a
trolley full seemingly fine.
His ‘heart
supermarket, one of Barbie attack,’ had just
of the men, Gerard
Dupree, then 27,
bounty been a distraction
to steal the toys.
fell to the floor But luck was
suffering a heart attack. not with the larcenous pair –
But it wasn’t the whopping the whole thing was caught
$369 (around £300) bill for on CCTV and they were
his shopping that caused it. In later charged with theft.
66
 Grinch-y REAL LIFE
Not
down the

ST
chimney…

It’s pants
(and tops
and hats)!

December 2015,
fast-food restaurant in
erbyshire received a visit
om Father Christmas.
t, instead of coming down
himney, he climbed
ugh the …but
-through through the
ow. window…
d,
r than
ding
e

an –
sed
d
suit –
demanded
cash from staff
and threatened
them before fleeing.
The robber’s Father
Christmas disguise made it …and NOT
hard for police to identify him, for mince pie
and the bad Santa still and sherry!
hasn’t been brought to justice!

STUCK IN T
E
very year since 1966, the
town of Gavle, Sweden,
has erected a 43ft model
straw goat to celebrate
CHIMNEY Ho, ho, no!
In 2009, a 6ft man in full Santa
suit with beard and dark glasses,
sprang a less-than-festive surprise at a

the festive season.
The figure is supposed
to represent the Christmas
spirit – but that spirit has
been lost many times over
the years, with the goat
meeting a blazing end.
Arsonists have set the
unfortunate goat alight 34
times, burning it to the ground.
In fact, seeing it in flames has
become nearly as old a tradition
as the Crimbo straw goat itself…
I
n 2010, a man from Seattle,
USA, was nicknamed The
Santa Claus Burglar after
he tried to break into a house
by climbing down the chimney.
Hapless Shon Shanell, 23, got
himself firmly wedged and had
to be rescued by fire fighters.
Tight fit for When he was freed from the
bungling chimney after nearly six hours,
burglar his surprised rescuers found
that Shanell was completely
naked. He claimed that he got
bank in Nashville, US. He pulled out a
gun and demanded money – and
escaped with handfuls of cash after
telling staff he needed it to pay his
elves. No-one was hurt,
but police are still hunting
for Santa.
stuck after trying to retrieve
his rucksack, which a friend
had thrown into the chimney.
However, the jury didn’t buy
the bare burglar’s blarney, and
Shanell was jailed for 17 months.
67
 Our wedding
- merry
and bright!

Plenty of
drama!

YULE-BRIDE! e oo e a . appy an re axe – per ect!

Bonnie’s fabulous, It was love at first sight and Although, looking back,
we kissed all night. I suppose we probably shouldn’t
festive nuptials The rest, as they have had the
say, is history! wedding the week
After eight We before Christmas...
Bonnie Barry, months, Steve
marriedon It was manic!
39, moved in. It was as Still, we jetted off
London if we’d known each awinter’s to Antigua for a
other forever. relaxed honeymoon.
day,the

I
t’d got to the point in my Then, in 2012, Now we’ve
life where the wheels just I accidentally weekbefore bought a house –
weren’t turning any more. fell pregnant and Olivia, 5, has
It was 2010, I was 32 – and with our Christmas been joined by Sam,
I still hadn’t met the right man.
‘Why not try online dating?’
daughter Olivia.
It was a shock, but it made
2. Life’s wonderful.
Who’d have thought online Christmas came
my mum Vanessa, then 63,
said to me.
Steve and I realise just how
much we loved each other.
dating would bring me the
man of my dreams? early for Mary
So I logged onto the dating He proposed to me on I really do have all I want Mary
site eHarmony – and got some a Norfolk beach in for Christmas.
fruity messages at first! October 2014. Okusanya,
WORDS: EMMIE HARRISON. SEE WWW.EHARMONY.CO.UK

And, yes, some people I met ‘Yes!’ I whooped. 22,

were lovely, just not for me. I threw myself Cardiff Bay
So I’d almost given up on the straight into

whole dating thing...when I got
a message from a man named
Steve, aged 35.
I love your smile, it read.
My heart melted as
I blushingly read his words.
Steve was tall, dark and very
handsome. But his messages
had lots of spelling mistakes…
Still, that was no big
deal, really!
He was in Essex, not that
far away from my home.
After a week of messaging,
we met for a gig, went to see
68
wedding planning.
‘I’d really love
a winter wedding,’
I announced.
We loved red wine,
log fires, Christmas…
He had to agree!
On 20 December
2015, we got married
in Greenwich.
It was a beautiful,
crisp winter’s day.
There was hearty
food, fairy lights,
and everyone was
B
eing a mum is a wonderful
feeling, isn’t it? It just
takes nine long months to
get there!
I had a traumatic labour with
my first baby, my little boy
Diamond, now 3.
It was the day before my due
date when I was induced, in
December 2015. Doctors had to
My lovely use forceps…
family I couldn’t walk for months!
So, when I fell pregnant again
in March 2016, I was nervous.
‘You’ll be fine,’ my hubby
 REAL LIFE

h Yes,
went off to the loo, but he was
Sammy ages. Was he lost, or ill..?
Then a cast member came
Edwards, 22 on stage and wished happy
Burnley birthday to kids at the show.
met Paul, now 25, ‘Anyone else got something
at a December to say?’ he finished.

HE DID!
wedding in 2015.
We hit it off at once,
hatted as if we’d known
ach other for years.
‘My favourite film
s The Lion King!’
laughed, after he’d asked.
Then a rather tipsy
l got on one knee.
t’s my favourite, too, let’s
be together!’ he slurred.
Silly beggar!
But I liked him, and we
swapped numbers. And, the
next day, he texted me.
It wasn’t long before
And Paul appeared on
the stage.
What the.?!
‘I’d like to invite my
girlfriend Sammy up!’ he said.
Shaking, I made my way up.
Paul was shaking, too, and
got down on one knee…
‘You’re my best friend…
marry me?’ he asked.
Happy tears pouring
down my face, I said yes
and kissed him.
I forgot we had an
audience – everyone cheered
as we returned to our seats!

WORDS: EMMIE HARRISON, ANN CUSACK. PHOTOS: FOCUS FEATURES

I’d fallen in love. Paul was I could hardly concentrate
funny and caring. on the rest of the show!
We talked from the start We’re planning the
about marriage and wanting wedding for 2019.
kids. After six months, we Now I really can’t wait
moved in together. to say, ‘Oh, yes, I do!’
And, that December,
Paul had a surprise.
‘We’re off to the
pantomime!’ he grinned.
I was over the moon
– he knew me so well.
I’d been performing
on stage since I was 8, in
musicals, plays, pantos...
So, a year to the day since
we met, we went to see
Dick Whittington at King
George’s Hall, Blackburn. And we’ll
Halfway through, Paul live happily
ever after

Miracle On
Olayemi, 40, said.
The midwife
agreed, and
encouraged me to go
for a natural birth.
WORDS: EMMIE HARRISON, JANE COHEN. PHOTO: MEDIA WALES

‘It’ll be OK thi
time,’ she said.
Like
Diamond, this
baby was due at
Christmas time.
‘I’m praying
for a miracle,’
I joked.
!
Everything went well – but he hopped out to get me in.
then, on 22 December, I woke at I couldn’t do it! The pain
2am in agony. was so bad, I fell to the floor. Dreaming of
Olayemi was on a night shift. Feeling the urge to push, a quiet one
I called him to say the baby I pulled down my PJs – just a push Hospitalof this year!
was coming and he said he’d as a police car came past! and Wales.
meet me outside, then take Officer Lianne Rees rushed our Thankfully,wewerebothfine.
Diamond and me to hospital. over, helped me lie on the beautiful Princess Baby Princess will turn 1
I went out. It was freezing but pavement. Olayemi ran to arrived. Then, before I had time three days before Christmas...
I felt clammy. Such agony! check on Diamond, get towels. to panic, the ambulance came, Let’s hope this birthday’s a
Olayemi’s car pulled up and After 10 minutes, I gave whisked us off to University little less dramatic for us all!
69
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 Talkin’-turkey REAL LIFE

No Gobble
Gobblin
ALLOWED!
Barbara saves an acre, so they had plenty
of space to run around.
birds from the ‘There are so many more
birds that need rescuing,
slaughterhouse though,’ I told my mates.

Barbara
So I set up my own charity,
called Nut House Hen Rescue BREADSAUCE?
'Mama-Hen'
Mladek, 53,
and Re-homing.
And, over the next couple
of years, I went from hens to
too late to save some of
them. But what about
GETSTUFFED!
Moira, County Down saving all sorts of farm animals. the others? that they were all sick

I
t’s that time of year again. Goats, pigs, geese… ‘I’m after some that are and malnourished.
Everyone’s on the hunt for In December 2013, I rescued alive!’ I told him. Sadly, most of them died
the perfect festive bird. my first turkey. A bit taken aback, he agreed within six months.
I’m no different. It was just weeks before to sell me some. It’s made me
But instead of searching for Christmas and I couldn’t bear I got two bronze more determined
a plump, juicy turkey to stuff the thought of them ending up birds and named They to help more
and season, I’m looking for live on a festive dinner table. them Merry and like being turkeys, though.
birds to save. So I contacted a local farmer. Eve, and two white I’ve become
See, I’m a turkey rescuer, ‘Have you got any turkeys turkeys called sung to, known as
saving these birds from their ready for Christmas?’ I asked. Cranberry and Tofu. follow me Mama Hen in the
fowl fate. ‘Loads,’ he replied. They really loved local community.
It all started in 2010. It was staying with me. around like I love it, and even
An animal Turkeys are dogs! had it legally added
lover, I’ve actually very to my name.
always kept affectionate I’m vegetarian
cats, dogs
and rabbits.
SAFELY and like to be sung to.
And they follow me
and against eating animals.
But I know people will still
But, next,
UNDER around like dogs. be buying big birds for their
WORDS: MISHAAL KHAN. PHOTOS: JUDE RANKIN PHOTOGRAPHY

what I really This year, I saved Christmas dinner.

wanted was
some feathered
friends...
MYWING 14 more.
I try to rescue them
from farmers at the
My only advice would be
to source your turkey from
a local farm and try to
So I got end of October – check the bird’s
a chicken from before they’re living conditions.
a local farmer. prepped and It’ll help you
By March fattened up to pick one
2011, I had for Christmas. that’s been
my very own Last year, treated well.
hen party, with I went to a Or
five more. farmer who perhaps
And my had 9,000 you’ll leave
flock just grew turkeys. with a live
and grew. I bought feathered
By that 22 birds friend...
December, I had from him. Now,
dozens living in But that
my garden. It’s back home, would be
three-quarters of I discovered clucking amazing!
75
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 A Mummy
Thisyear,
Christmaswill
beextraspecial
forLaura
Laura
Margetts, 22,

AT LAST
Plymouth

A
bsolutely besotted.
That was me and my
boyfriend Luke.
We’d met at 15, got
engaged a year later.
‘Puppy love’ some
people said.
But we knew better.
We may have been young,
but we were no fools.
This was the real thing.
‘Let’s be together forever,’
we agreed.
At 18, we moved in together
– and, straight away, we started
trying for a baby.
Quick perhaps. But we knew a molar pregnancy.
we wanted to spend the rest of
our lives together.
So why wait around?
Only, Mother Nature had
different ideas.
A year later, we still hadn’t
managed to conceive.
Tests confirmed that
I wasn’t ovulating.
A month later, a fertility
specialist diagnosed polycystic planned a future with, had
ovary syndrome
(PCOS).
‘So it’s my fault.’
I wept.
In May 2014,
we got married.
And, two
months on – in
July – I was put
on Clomid to boost
my circulation,
and we kept on
WORDS: JO WILLACY, NICOLA MOORS. PHOTOS: HOTSPOT MEDIA
back a week later to make sure.
But still, nothing.
Doctors gave me a D&C and
suggested I may have suffered
‘It’s when abnormal cells
grow in the womb instead of
a foetus,’ I was told.
Shattering news
Thankfully they weren’t
cancerous, but I was
absolutely devastated.
The little ‘baby’ in my
tummy that I’d talked to,and
never been a baby at all. when a doctor told me it was
I was told to wait a year a cancer and said I needed
before trying again, as my chemo to shrink the tumour.
hormone levels needed to Without it, it could spread.
settle down. It meant I’d have to spend
But I was desperate, Christmas in hospital
impatient – and, by undergoing chemo.
November 2014, I Luke ‘I’ll be with you,’
Luke told me. ‘We’ll
was pregnant again.
I was excited, was there still make it special.’
but nervous too. when a On Christmas
I went to hospital to Eve, we ordered a
get checked out. doctor told takeaway pizza and
And days later, my
local hospital, in
me it was had a feast in the
hospital lounge.
Treliske, Cornwall, cancer Then, on
called to say I had Christmas Day,
another molar staff gave us a roast dinner.
pregnancy. It wasn’t how I imagined
‘But this one has spending Christmas – but we
formed a tumour,’ made the best of things.
I was told. From December 2014
‘It’s cancer then?’ until February 2015, I had
I stammered. chemo treatment every
Luke looked other day.
over, startled. I was moody, and when
The doctors couldn’t doctors advised not to try for
say, said I’d need to a baby for a year, heartbroken.
go to Charing Cross Reluctantly I went on the

trying for a baby. Hospital in London for Pill. And when I came off it, I
Our best emergency treatment. fell pregnant straight away.
wedding gift? Luke was there And this time, at five
Not a toaster... holding my hand weeks, a scan showed it was
but a positive
pregnancy test
two months later.
‘At last!’ I
whooped to Luke.
But our joy
was short-lived.
Just seven weeks
on, I started to
bleed and needed
a scan.
The sonographer
frowned. Puppy love? No Our much-
‘I can’t find way – Luke and wanted baby
anything,’ they said. I knew better Lillie Rose
We were called
78
 Overjoyed REAL LIFE
LOOK!WE’RE to discover the gender.
‘A little girl,’ I squealed,
APROPER clapping my hands together.
I was so excited, but

FAMILYNOW terrified too.

Especially when I went
eight days past my due date.
On 11 July this year, I had to
be induced.
It was a traumatic,
36-hour labour.

T
On 13 July, our longed-for
baby got stuck and as soon
as she was born she
needed oxygen.
Time stood still.
I was terrified.
Please don’t let me lose
her now.

So cute
Waiting to hear that first cry
felt like forever.
Then the most blissful wail
rose from her chest!
And Luke and I sobbed like
babies ourselves. At last, we
had our baby girl, Lillie Rose.
‘She’s beautiful,’ Luke
whispered in my ear. ‘I’m so
proud of you.’
Now we can’t wait to
celebrate our first Christmas
with Lillie.
I’m going to dress her in
a cute reindeer outfit and
take hundreds of photos to
embarrass her with on her
18th birthday.
I can’t wait to spoil
her rotten!
Every Christmas since
spending it in hospital in 2014,
I’ve looked back with sadness.
This year, I’ll look back and see
just how far I’ve come.
I love being a mum. It’s
everything I’d imagined
and more.
We’re a proper family now.
Lillie makes us complete.

a proper pregnancy.
Luke and I wept with joy to adopt?’ I said. our chance to have a baby?
More About
when we saw our baby’s
heartbeat on a scan two
We weighed up all our
options – adoption, fostering,
‘Let’s try not to get our hopes
up too much,’ Luke said gently.
Molar
weeks later. using a surrogate. He was right. Pregnancy
But, after only two days, But then the Waiting But hope surged

M
I started bleeding... charity Tommy’s when a scan at olar pregnancy
As soon as I heard those referred us to for my five weeks showed is a rare
words ‘I’m so sorry’ from
the sonographer, my world
Birmingham
Women’s Hospital.
baby’s there was a baby.
Seven weeks,
complication.
There are often no
caved in. There, a specialist first cry a heartbeat... symptoms and it may
Why me?
‘The only thing that can fix it
prescribed a
progesterone
felt like I had more
scans at nine,
not be detected until the
12-week scan. However,
is another baby,’ I wept to Luke. pessary to help forever 10 and 12 weeks. symptoms such as
So we started trying again. support an early Our baby irregular bleeding, severe
But, over the next six pregnancy, and was still alive! morning sickness and
months, I lost five babies. I was told to take it as soon as At 16 weeks, we actually tummy pain can occur.
I became obsessed, would I fell pregnant again. dared to believe. Around one in 10 women
look at pregnant women... That time came just weeks ‘We’re going to be a mummy need chemotherapy
Why them? Why not me? later, in November 2016. and daddy,’ I beamed to Luke. drug treatment.
‘Maybe we should try Could this finally be We paid for a private scan
79
 30 Nov – 13 Dec 2017
Your
Stars!
In Your
BUM

THE PRESSIE
I Didn’’t Know
7 days of hope & happiness with Claire Pe
I Wanted
ARIES
21 March–20 April
Mercury is at last on hand
to give you the gift of the
gab. This is great news,
especially after the emotive
few weeks you’ve just been
through. A surprise face
is forecast to come back
into your life over Christmas
and changes your New
Year plans dramatically.
tulengro
TAURUS
21 April–21 May
Nobody can do everything,
but everyone can do
something. You know you
want to put things right in
the family, so make that call
before someone else makes
it for you. You’ll feel like the
bigger person if and when
you do. Geminis link to
happy news in the family.
GEMINI
22 May–21 June
The stars line up to help
you see the difference
between right and wrong.
October and November
saw you reeling over events,
but from here on in you
pick yourself up, dust
yourself off and move
forward. New attractions
surprise even you!

I Pulled The Call: 09058 170 710* Call: 09058 170 711* Call: 09058 170 712*

Gasman & CANCER

22 June–23 July
LEO
24 July–23 Aug
VIRGO
24 Aug–23 Sept
SPPARKS FLE Don’t forget to love Look out for old admirers Jealousy is evident in your
yourself, Cancer. You’ve coming back for seconds. chart over the Christmas
spent far too much time in Just remember, Leo, there period, and you may be
recent months looking after was a reason you moved on thinking of cancelling
everyone but you. Time the first time round (wasn’t events just to make a
you spend on paperwork there?). Children bring good statement. Don’t be so
(and, yes, that even means news and those who have stubborn. You of all signs
your spare time) can save been misbehaving see the should know how good it
you a small fortune as you error of their ways with feels to end the year on
enter the New Year. a one-on-one from you. a high. You can do this!
Call: 09058 170 713* Call: 09058 170 714* Call: 09058 170 715*

LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS

24 Sept–23 Oct 24 Oct–22 Nov 23 Nov–21 Dec

Ideas you have at this time Too much time spent New ways to get on with

Will This Be are set to be the basis for

a great future. Don’t rush
conversations over the
listening to what other
people think you should
be doing – and not enough
difficult people makes
it hard to say no to time
they ask to spend with you

MY LAST coming days. This festive

period can help you to turn
friendships into business
making up your own mind –
is having a knock-on effect
on your mental wellbeing.
over Christmas and New
Year. Careful, Sagittarius.
Remember why you
Christmas? links and vice versa. Talk
about your dreams. The
Break out, be bold, be you
this Christmas. Life is
distanced yourself from
them. Give a little time, but
stars are listening! waiting to be lived again. don’t be made a fool of.
Call: 09058 170 716* Call: 09058 170 717* Call: 09058 170 718*

CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES

PHOTOS: PA IMAGES, MEDAVIA, PHOENIX FEATURES

22 Dec–20 Jan 21 Jan–19 Feb 20 Feb–20 March

This is a really good time
for you to start to shape
up your life and make new
plans about what you want
and where you are going.
You’ll be the sign who will
enter the New Year with a
firm idea of where they’re
On Sale going. Big things await in
2018 for you, Capricorn.
Thursday Call: 09058 170 719*
You feel like you’ve been
let down over Christmas
plans, but the opposite
is actually true, Aquarius.
The person/s concerned
have actually done you
a favour! You discover
this from the plans that
take their place in the
lead-up to 2018.
Call: 09058 170 720*
Try not to be annoyed if
you’ve been delayed and
had plans changed at the
last minute, as Saturn has
taken away the structure so
many of us rely on. What’s
taken its place is impromptu
changes that see you make
friends with alternative
people this festive season.
Call: 09058 170 721*

14 Dec *Starlines updated every Thursday. Calls cost 80p per min plus your telephone comp
Callers must be 18+. You must have bill payer’s permission.
access charge and last ap
3 202 3390.
Puzzle Entry Issue49/50,14Dec2017Closing
dateforallentries:27Dec2017(three
working days later for postal entries)
PUZ
ssue 47, 2 ovember 2017
NSWERS
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WA S T AGE W C R I T C T

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OUR READERS! T E

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WIN Win out
PUZZLE 9
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0!
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£ 1 , 0
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send the whole
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1 2 3 4 5 6 19 Become the
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18 19 20 a snake (4)
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17 North American game
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24 25 20 Old-fashioned
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22 Strong, sharp
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