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Happy Halloween!

Make your own summer tote

This pretty tote bag is perfect for your summer shopping or a day at the beach. Choose your fabric to suit the bag’s use and decorate the pocket with appliqué or a decoration of your choice.

You will need

1m main fabric
Contrasting fabric or webbing
Tacking/basting and matching thread
Fabric scraps Ribbon scraps

Preparation

Cut out two rectangles 41cm × 47cm from the main fabric for the front and back.
Cut a 13cm × 135cm strip from the main fabric for the gusset.
Cut two strips of contrasting fabric, each 10cm × 1.2m, for the straps.
Cut a pocket measuring 20cm × 25cm. You will also need two 20cm lengths of ribbon.

To make up

1 Stitch one piece of ribbon about 5cm up from the bottom edge of the pocket.

2 Turn under a double 1.5cm hem on the top short edges of the front and back pieces. Press and pin. Machine stitch in place. Place the pocket centrally on the front of the front fabric piece with the bottom edges lined up. Pin and tack/baste in place

3 Take the straps and fold each in half lengthwise, right sides together. Stitch, taking a 1cm allowance, trim the seam and corners. Turn right side out and press, with the seam in the centre on one side

4 Place one strap on the front of the bag, covering the raw edges of the pocket and with the outer edges 8cm from the side edges of the front. The ends of the straps should line up with the bottom edge of the bag. Pin and tack/baste.

5 Topstitch in place beginning at the bottom. When you get to the top, topstitch across the strap until you reach the opposite edge, then continue down the other side to the bottom. Attach the other strap to the back in the same way, positioning it the same distance from the side edges

6 Turn under a double 1.5cm hem on short edges of the gusset; press and stitch. Pin one long edge of the gusset around the raw edges of the bag front, right sides together. You will need to snip into the lower corners of the gusset to fit. Stitch taking a 1.5cm allowance. Stitch the gusset to the back piece. Finish the raw edges with zigzag stitch. Turn the bag right side.

From Sewing for the Absolute Beginner by Caroline Smith
(£12.99, searchpress.com).

Dare to bare… your feet

As summer approaches and we prepare to don slingbacks, sandals and flip flops, it’s time to give our feet the extra love they deserve. Here’s how to achieve a salon-like pedicure at home…

Enduring love

When faced with the worst of times, we each find different ways to get through. Heather Bishop meets three people whose love for their best friend or family member inspired them to do something truly incredible in their name

“IT HELPED ME TO BE DOING SOMETHING PRACTICAL FOR MY MATE”

When Kevin Sinfield’s friend and former Leeds Rhinos rugby teammate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, he was determined to do something to help.

We both eventually retired from playing. I became director of rugby at the Rhinos and Rob was the academy coach. In 2019, a few things were happening with Rob that didn’t seem right. He had a couple of bad shoulder injuries, but after noticing some issues with his speech, he went for tests.
In December, I was heading to Scotland for a charity bike ride when I got a text from Rob telling me he’d been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). I Googled it, which was the worst thing I could have done as the statistics were devastating – more than half of people die within two years of diagnosis; a third die within the first 12 months.
I sent Rob a message to tell him I was thinking about him and was there for him. He’s quite a private person, but he decided pretty quickly that he wanted to be honest about his diagnosis. I knew it was difficult for him to open himself and his family up to the media, but it was brave and courageous and I was proud of him. It inspired so many people and raised so much awareness around MND.
I tried to put myself in his shoes and think, if it were me, what would I need?
I decided the best thing was to take care of his family financially. So the club, some former players and I got together to try to raise money and awareness.
Covid delayed our plans, but in December 2020, I put together the ‘7 in 7’ challenge. A team of six of us were going to run seven marathons in seven days to raise £77,000. None of us envisaged the support we’d get from the media and the public and by the end of the first day, we’d already smashed our target.
It was gruelling, but it helped me to be doing something practical to help my mate. In the end, we raised £2.7 million. Once we’d helped out Rob, most of the funds went to the MND Association.
We did the ‘Extra Mile’ challenge in November 2021, running 101 miles in 24 hours from the Leicester Tigers stadium to Headingley Rugby stadium. Rob’s wife Lindsey and his daughter Macey did the last leg with us and this time we raised £2.5 million, split between the MND Association and Leeds Hospital Trust.
Rob is inspirational and our friendship hasn’t changed. He’s still the same funny Rob, always smiling. I’ll continue to show support and am planning a third challenge later this year.
Rob is humbled by what has been done for him. He says he’d do the same and I know he would. I’m just trying to be a mate. If something happened to your best friend, you’d be there. It’s not an option.”

To donate go to giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfields-the-extra-mile-challenge or to take on your own challenge go to mndassociation.org/extramile

“I VOWED THAT SOMETHING POSITIVE HAD TO COME OUT OF EMILY’S DEATH”

When Tim Owen lost his daughter to suicide, he found comfort and support with two other dads who knew exactly what he was going through.

“My family’s world turned upside down when, in March 2020, my beautiful daughter Emily tried to take her own life. She died five days later in the hospital where she was born 19 years before. It was the thought of life under lockdown and the years of struggle before a late diagnosis of autism.
Because of lockdown, there were only six people at her funeral. ‘Tim, no one will remember Em in a year’s time,’ my wife said in tears. I had to do something.
A month after Emily died, my eldest daughter read about another girl called Beth from Manchester who had taken her life around the same time as Emily. She connected on social media with Beth’s dad, Mike, and suggested we got in touch. We exchanged texts at first, then started chatting on the phone. Whenever we felt down, we phoned each other and that support was massively helpful.
After Emily’s death, I found a note from her and two things stood out – don’t be ashamed and let others learn from what has happened to me. It reinforced the idea of doing something positive in Emily’s name. I also wanted to show my other three kids that we had to keep going. Mike felt the same and we started to talk about some sort of challenge.
Mike had connected with another dad through a suicide prevention charity for young people called Papyrus. Andy’s daughter Sophie had died by suicide a couple of years before and he’d already run a marathon to raise money. We met for the first time virtually in May 2021 and that’s when 3 Dads Walking was born. We plotted out the 300-mile route between our homes – Andy in Cumbria, Mike in Manchester and me in Norfolk.
When we met in person, we were three kindred spirits. None of us were ashamed of what our girls had done but we were all shocked that suicide was the biggest killer of under 35s and that 200 school children took their lives every year. We aimed to raise awareness and £3,000 each. Andy got in touch with a BBC reporter to see if she might cover the walk. A couple of weeks later, our interview was on BBC Breakfast and the donations rolled in. A week before the walk, we’d already raised £58,000.
I was on the train going up to Andy’s to start the walk when Papyrus contacted us to say they’d received a £10,000 donation from Daniel Craig. When we started
the walk on 9 October, live on TV, the donations went crazy again, and at the end of day one, we were at £200,000.
The main aim of our walk was to raise awareness about suicide and within 500m of the start, a woman came up to us with an order of service. Her daughter had died by suicide two months before and Mike promised to carry it all the way to Norfolk. All along the route people who had been affected by suicide joined us. One woman had lost her dad in 1953 when she was three. It was so humbling to hear their stories and felt like we were helping other people by doing this.
We walked 12 hours for 15 days. People beeped their horns and put money in our bucket. But we were determined it wasn’t going to end there. We thought, if all these young people are losing their lives to suicide, then why aren’t we doing more about it? Now we’re campaigning to the Government for suicide prevention to be on the PSHE curriculum in schools. We’ve got a syllabus that talks about drugs, knife crime and extremism but not suicide. If it’s done sensitively, we believe we can give our children the tools to cope.
3 Dads Walking is a way of keeping Emily’s memory alive and trying to stop this happening to another family. Thanks to the £700,000 we’ve raised, Papyrus is recruiting more professionals so they can open their HOPELINE 24-7. It feels like we’ve done something positive out of unimaginable tragedy.”

For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice contact the Papyrus HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org

“MY WAY OF COPING WAS BY MAKING A CHANGE FOR JACK”

When her son died, Lucy Herd wanted to create a lasting legacy in his memory.

“My life changed forever one day in August 2010. My 23-month-old son Jack was drawing, when I took a phone call. I turned around a few minutes later and noticed the back doors were open and Jack and the dog were missing. When I ran outside and saw the dog sat by the pond, I just knew Jack was in the water. I tried to resuscitate him, but there was nothing I could do.
My heart broke into a million pieces; the pain was like nothing I could ever have imagined. Jack was such a happy little boy who loved animals and would blow kisses and say hello to everyone.
There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I had to carry on for the sake of my other children – Josh, 13, and Elle, nine. I needed people around me, but my immediate family members were only able to take three days of paid leave from their jobs – one of which had to be the funeral. The same thing happened to relatives and friends who lived over 300 miles away in Berkshire. They were all in shock, but they had to return to work – some within 24 hours. If they wanted more time to grieve, they had to take it as holiday or unpaid sick leave. It felt inhumane and I was shocked that there was no legal requirement for employers. Most people had sick leave, maternity leave and holiday in their contract – why not bereavement leave?
Twelve weeks after Jack died, I arranged a meeting with my local MP.
‘I want to create a law,’ I told him. ‘How do I do it?’
‘With great difficulty,’ he told me honestly.
I needed 100,000 signatures on a petition for it to be debated in Parliament. These were the days before social media and petition websites.
I did everything I could, from standing in the street with a clipboard collecting signatures to doing interviews with the media. Twitter had just started, so I shared my story on there and it quickly gained momentum. People shared my petition and contacted me with their own experiences.
One man told me how his wife had died at 5pm and he was called to a sales meeting at 8am the next day by his employer. I felt like I had to be a voice for all those people who couldn’t take time to grieve for a loved one.
For me personally, there was a sense that I had to make some good come out of such a horrendous situation. I had to create something positive and make
a change in Jack’s memory. I felt like he was walking with me every step of the way, holding my hand and telling me, ‘Mummy, you can do this.’ It gave me something to focus on and helped me to move forwards.
Within two years, I’d reached 100,000 signatures, and in 2012, I sat in the gallery as my petition was debated in Parliament. To hear David Cameron talk about Jack was just magical.
I was constantly being warned about how long it takes to create a new law, but I always believed that it would happen. It took eight more years and countless meetings and bills. There were times that doors were closed on me and things went quiet, but I refused to give up.
In January 2020, I finally succeeded – parental bereavement leave was going to become law. Parents who suffered the devastating loss of a child would be entitled to a minimum of two weeks’ statutory leave. It was only when I was invited up to London for a meeting that I was told it was going to be called Jack’s Law. I had no idea and when
I heard that, I cried. The little boy that I loved and missed was going to be remembered forever – this law was his legacy and he was going to help so many people.
It was wonderful, but I refused to stop there. Now I’m hoping to extend Jack’s Law to include all immediate family members. What happened to Jack has shaped my whole life. I’m now a grief recovery specialist helping other people with their own grief and loss, and when I think of Jack, my eyes light up and I smile. I’ll always love and miss him, but I can think about him and talk about him without pain. Hopefully, everyone will know about Jack’s Law – I’m so proud to be his mum.”

facebook.com/TheGriefEducator

Top tips to help you pack

Britain is in the midst of packing panic, with one in ten finding packing so stressful they don’t even want to go on holiday. Add to this the current chaos in UK airports and you have the perfect storm for travel anxiety – just as we’re able to finally get away.

Coming to the rescue, MSC Cruises has assembled a team of super packers. You’ve had holiday reps before, so now it’s time to meet the ‘Holiday Preps’. The team, who are sharing their top tips, comprises of: Emily Norris, the resident family packer; Jeannine Williamson, pro-cruiser and travel writer; Yaya & Lloyd, travel influencers AKA Hand Luggage Only, and Nicola Lewis, the professional organiser. Between them, they are helping hopeless packers prep for their holidays, eliminating the stress so they can get back to focusing on fun. What’s more, guests who book a trip on MSC Virtuosa sailing from Southampton have the chance to book 1-2-1 video consultations with a Holiday Prep for bespoke advice and guidance on what and how to pack for their cruise.

Jeannine Williamson, The Pro-cruiser, top tips:

• Don’t pack lots of books and magazines – at most, download them to a device. The busy daily programme of activities, shore excursions, entertainment and never-ending food and drink means there is hardly time to read a newspaper, let alone War and Peace!  
• It’s very easy to over-pack and end up taking away far too much. Lay out all the clothes, shoes and accessories you plan to take before you go, rather than getting things straight out the wardrobe and putting them into a suitcase. Try to stick to two or three main colour schemes. Put them together as ‘whole’ outfits – and take photos of them a reminder – so you can easily see which tops can be worn with different skirts and trousers and how outfits can be mixed and matched, and accessorised with scarves and jewellery, so they can be worn several times but still look like a different outfit.
• Even if you’re travelling in the height of summer take a variety of clothes that can be layered over T-shirts and shirts, such as long-sleeved jumpers, cardigans, a jacket and lightweight raincoat. Temperatures can fluctuate and it gets cooler at night if you want to sit out on deck with a cocktail. Shrugs or shawls for ladies are also a great idea and the latter take up little room and are easy to roll up in your suitcase. For summer cruises take a sunhat or baseball cap and pack a beanie or similar for winter sailings.
• For Mediterranean cruises take loose-fitting clothing that will be comfortable in hot climates. Natural fabrics such as cotton or moisture-wicking tops are best. Don’t forget wide-brimmed sunhats, sunglasses, sunscreen and insect repellent.
• If you like writing postcards from different ports of call get a sheet of peel-off address labels and before you go write the names and addresses of the people you’re going to send postcards to. This saves time writing them on the cards when you’re there, or remembering to take an address book with you.
• If you have a fabric suitcase then line the bottom with reusable plastic bags and pop one or two on the top to cover your clothes when you have finished packing. This will keep your clothes dry if bags are left outside in the rain at the airport or before you board your ship. Once you’re aboard and unpacked they can double up as laundry bags for dirty clothes that you bring home and separate them from other items.

Nicola Lewis, the Professional Organiser, top tips:

• Start off by using a collapsible clothes rail, this will allow you to plan your holiday wardrobe and coordinate what shoes and accessories to pack with your clothes.
• Always use packing cubes. You can organise in category order, save space inside your case and make unpacking so much easier at the other end.
• On the way home, pack your dirty clothes in colour order inside the cubes, this will make the laundry a lot smoother and less stressful upon your return.

Yaya & Lloyd (AKA Hand Luggage Only), The Travel Guys, top tips:

• Block pack instead of layered packing; don’t just pack all of one item (eg t-shirts) all along the base of the suitcase. Fill up your luggage in blocks. This stops you from rummaging through your suitcase when on the road.
• Shoe space; don’t pack shoes in cumbersome boxes that fill up your suitcase. Use shower caps (placed on the base of the shoes) to be more efficient with space and keep your packed clothes clean.
• Pick the right luggage for you and your packing style. Some people like to pack everything in one space. Others like to segment and section off things (e.g. toiletries separated from electronic, in case of leakage). It’s best to buy a piece of luggage that suits the way you like to pack rather than trying to make the wrong suitcase work for you. 

Emily Norris, The Family Packer, top tips:

• Jewellery can be a tricky thing to pack! A great hack is to store your jewellery in a hard sunglasses case or a pill organiser box to separate them and thread necklaces through straws to keep them from tangling.
• When we go on a package holiday with no laundry facilities, I take two thin mesh laundry bags. One for lights and one for darks. This makes doing laundry for the family so much easier when you get home!
• Sun hats are so easily squashed inside suitcases! To avoid this, pack the head of your sun hat tightly with clothes so that it keeps its shape.
• Sort out your and your family’s heaviest items so you can pack them at the bottom of your suitcases. This will help to distribute the weight, making it easier to pull and stopping it from falling over!
• Mini products are cute but they are more expensive and not great for the environment, especially when you’re packing for the whole family. Decant your and your family’s favourite products into mini reusable containers so that you can travel with everything you need.

For more information or to book now visit www.msccruises.co.uk, see your local travel agent or call 0203 937 7570.

MSC Virtuosa sailings depart from Southampton this summer, meaning no airports and no baggage stress – ideal for the 35% who worry about those extra charges. 

Which is the best complexion cream for your skin?

There’s a plethora of base make-up products on the market these days: BB, CC and tinted moisturisers to name but a few. Here, we decode these complexion creams, explaining what each type accomplishes and which one you should use based on your skin type.

Tinted moisturisers

With less pigment and lower coverage than a foundation, tinted moisturisers are suited to those with non-problematic skin. They come in most shades and offer sheer coverage to brighten and hydrate, giving a natural look. Most contain a good sun protection factor to protect the skin without clogging or weighing it down with numerous products.

Sculpted Aimee Connolly Tint & Glow Skin Enhancer

This skin-brightening cream’s blend of hyaluronic acid and niacinamide creates a wonderfully glowing finish. It illuminates and evens out skin tone for dewy results. It also has an added infusion of SPF 30.

£23 for 45ml sculptedbyaimee.com

Clinique Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator

This cream professes to give 12 hours of hydration and protection and we can concur with that. It has the added benefit of SPF 25 and glides on beautifully to give a youthful, natural glow.

£32 for 40ml clinique.co.uk

Cetaphil Pro Tinted Moisturising Day Cream

Designed to gently moisturise and soothe sensitive skin, this cream helps to even out redness, much the same as a foundation, but lighter and fragrance-free. It has good SPF 30 protection and is easy to apply.

£24.99 for 50ml boots.com

W7 Just Tinted Natural Skin Tinted Moisturiser

This super-light coverage is perfect for when you want an almost no make-up day but need a little colour. It is rich and creamy and gives a gorgeous, dewy glow. It’s also great value for money.

£5.95 for 48ml w7makeup.co.uk

Dr Hauschka Tinted Day Cream

Suitable for dry, sensitive skin, this cream balances the skin’s oil and moisture levels.  for mature skin, it’s easy to apply and blends well with your own skin tone for an even look. It also smells glorious.

£29.50 for 30ml drhauschka.co.uk

BB creams

Also known as beauty balms, BB creams save time and money because they can prime, moisturise and provide light coverage in one easy step. Best suited to an even skin tone, BB creams will hydrate and add a luminescent glow for a natural look.

Nude by Nature Sheer Glow BB Cream

This glides on to the skin giving a lovely luminous finish and is best applied with a patting motion, not to be rubbed in. It’s perfect for those who prefer light coverage. With SPF 10, it’s 100 per cent natural, gluten and cruelty free.

£19.99 for 30ml superdrug.com

Catrice Cosmetics Clean ID Hydro BB Cream

Containing shea butter, this cream covers well and gives a natural radiance. A foundation can be applied on top for a more polished look. It’s fabulous value for money, vegan friendly and available in three shades, fair to medium.

£5.99 for 30ml justmylook.com

No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream

This cream and has a 3-in-1 formula to enhance the complexion and even the skin tone. It gives enough coverage without added foundation. The shades are perfect for fair to medium skin, it’s hypo-allergenic and has SPF 15 and 5* UVA technology.

£13.95 for 40ml boots.com

CC creams

Standing for ‘colour correcting’, these are BB creams but offer more coverage. If you have areas of hyperpigmentation or redness, then a CC cream will do the job of a primer and concealer without the need to multilayer products. They have colour correcting pigments and are moisture-based to calm and hydrate the skin.

Osmosis CC Cream

This luxury product has True Tone Technology and Light Lifting Effects, which means it colour- matches and enhances your natural skin tone and visibly brightens your complexion. It’s botanically infused and offers light coverage that glides on to the skin and won’t clog pores. This top-of-the-range cream reduces the appearance of redness and age spots, resulting in healthier-looking, radiant skin.

£45.50 for 40ml harveynichols.com

Embryolisse Complexion Correcting CC Cream

This cream can be used on bare skin or after your daily moisturiser and has SPF 20 to protect the skin from premature ageing. The cream has a velvety, smooth texture, and is suitable for all skin types. It works well to conceal fine lines and open pores, leaving skin hydrated, soft and flawless.

£29.99 for 30ml lookfantastic.com

Olay Total Effects 7-in-One CC Cream

This dynamic cream certainly packs a punch with 50 per cent more of the anti-ageing complex VitaNiacin, a blend of vitamin E and pro-vitamin B5 and vitamin B3. It glides on to the skin and absorbs evenly, offering light coverage for when you want a little colour but nothing too heavy. With antioxidants and good broad-spectrum sun protection, it smells lovely, is non-greasy and is excellent value for money.

£14.99 for 50ml superdrug.com

Applying your chosen skin product

Use the five-dot technique
Put five even dots of cream on your face – on your nose, chin, cheeks and forehead. Using your fingertips, make-up sponge or brush, blend evenly all over your face or pat gently on to your skin as required. Don’t rub or pull on the delicate skin around the eyes as this can cause fine lines.

Gut health made simple for only 30p per day

There are trillions of bacteria living in your gut, it’s essential to remember the importance of these bacteria to help your family maintain a healthy lifestyle. Despite what you may have been told, not all bacteria is ‘bad’ bacteria, ‘good’ bacteria in your gut can help with immunity (around 70% of the body’s immune system resides in the gut), sleep, mental health and cognition. Bimuno is the most studied prebiotic of its kind – supported by over 100 scientific publications, helping support your family’s health and wellbeing by feeding the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut.

Bimuno is a daily prebiotic supplement designed to make everyday gut health simple for only 30p per day. Easily incorporated into your daily routine, Bimuno’s gluten-free and vegetarian, taste-free, soluble powder can be added to any food or drink. Our handy and convenient daily sachets provide an easy way to increase levels of ‘good’ bacteria in your gut, helping support your overall health and wellbeing.

At Bimuno, we always recommend a food-first approach to support your gut health and feed your ‘good’ gut bacteria, however it’s not always easy to get your recommended fibre-intake through diet alone – with only 9% of adults in the UK consuming the recommended daily intake. Bimuno is here to help your family bridge that fibre-gap for when diet alone isn’t enough.

Interested in trying Bimuno for yourself?

There’s never been a better time to introduce Bimuno to your daily routine, get 25% OFF Bimuno® DAILY when you ‘Subscribe & Save’. Click the link below to learn more about the benefits Bimuno can bring to your wellbeing for only 30p per day and make a small change to your daily routine, kick-starting your gut health journey today!

Learn more here: https://www.bimuno.com/bimuno-daily-triple-pack