Dad writes brilliant letter to school after daughter was sent off for a makeover

December 8, 2017, 7:54 am

≫ Next: 9 things you only know if you’re a turkey farmer

≪ Previous: We’re calling it: Mulled wine hair is the best trend this winter

$

0

0

When 51-year-old Stephen Callaghan’s 12-year-old daughter, Ruby, came home to tell her dad she’d been split into a girls-only group at school for a makeover in the library, while all the boys had been taken to their local hardware store, Bunnings, he was understandably confused, and pretty damn annoyed.

Deciding not to just leave the situation, Stephen voiced his frustration in a letter to Ruby’s school, demanding to know why the school had seemingly reverted back to the olden days, when boys and girls were divided by gender.

‘I must draw your attention to a serious incident,’ his letter read.

‘When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017 but… Read the full story

---

9 things you only know if you’re a turkey farmer

December 8, 2017, 8:03 am

≫ Next: These powerful pictures beat thousands of entries to make you marvel at the world

≪ Previous: Dad writes brilliant letter to school after daughter was sent off for a makeover

$

0

0

Organic food and farming have always played a huge role in my life.

I grew up on a large farm in Northamptonshire and my passion for livestock farming developed from there.

13 ways to use up leftover turkey (that aren’t a club sandwich)

I have been working as a farmer for over 13 years and I am currently the senior farms manager at Daylesford Organic Farm – which is one of the most exciting, forward-thinking and sustainable farms in the country.

A couple of years ago I decided to introduce turkey rearing to… Read the full story

These powerful pictures beat thousands of entries to make you marvel at the world

December 8, 2017, 8:17 am

≫ Next: This 86-year-old grandma did a great job as her granddaughter’s flower girl

≪ Previous: 9 things you only know if you’re a turkey farmer

$

0

0

A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes the saying.

And if these photos are anything to go by, we would agree.

Snaps taken at this year’s Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) showcase everything from the brutal reality of war and protests to environmental conditions and festivals.

But it was a nature photo featuring cranes flying alongside flashes of lightening that received the highest accolade of the night

Randy Olson, who works as a photographer for National Geographic magazine, beat entrants from over 161 countries to scoop the much coveted SIPA Contest Photographer of the Year 2017 gong.

Out of a thousand entries, his snap,… Read the full story

This 86-year-old grandma did a great job as her granddaughter’s flower girl

December 8, 2017, 8:24 am

≫ Next: How many days until Christmas? Best apps to tell you how many sleeps left

≪ Previous: These powerful pictures beat thousands of entries to make you marvel at the world

$

0

0

When you think of flower girls, you probably think of toddlers.

But when Keely Crimando’s partner of three years proposed to her last year, she knew there was only one person she’d want as her flower girl: her 86-year-old grandmother.

And her dream became a reality when her grandma acted as her flower girl dressed as a fairy, clutching a sparkly wand and wearing wings.

It wasn’t a hard decision to make for the Michigan based resident.

‘When it came to picking people for the bridal… Read the full story

How many days until Christmas? Best apps to tell you how many sleeps left

December 8, 2017, 8:29 am

≫ Next: Today is Christmas Card Day – we should celebrate by never sending one again

≪ Previous: This 86-year-old grandma did a great job as her granddaughter’s flower girl

$

0

0

If you’re sick of getting your fingers and toes out every time you want to figure out how may days there are until Christmas, we are about to make your life a lot easier.

This 86-year-old grandma did a great job as her granddaughter’s flower girl

Your Christmas cheer will begin to exponentially grow when you get into single-digit days until the best day of the year.

But you don’t want to be left out of the ‘1 week to… Read the full story

Today is Christmas Card Day – we should celebrate by never sending one again

December 8, 2017, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: Mums and dads – here’s why you should let your children see you naked

≪ Previous: How many days until Christmas? Best apps to tell you how many sleeps left

$

0

0

Apparently today is Christmas Card Day, created to celebrate the invention of the season’s most annoying tradition, which began 174 years ago.

It must be one of the most pointless themed days in existence, lurking there in the background just in case one year, the entirety of the retail, advertising and media sectors collectively forget that come December, we must force everyone to waste their time, money and energy on posting random bits of paper to each other.

If we want to truly embrace the festive spirit, we must bring back public transport on… Read the full story

Mums and dads – here’s why you should let your children see you naked

December 8, 2017, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: 8 edible homemade Christmas gift ideas

≪ Previous: Today is Christmas Card Day – we should celebrate by never sending one again

$

0

0

I do not have body issues. This doesn’t mean I think I have a perfect body – it means I don’t care that I don’t have a perfect body.

I am covered in scars (courtesy of getting hit by a bus several years ago), I am not toned, I am pale-skinned and like all women, I have cellulite.

12 things you shouldn’t do if you’ve been up with a baby all night and 3 things you really should

I am not ‘perfect’… Read the full story

8 edible homemade Christmas gift ideas

December 8, 2017, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: The top 7 presents all parents fear their children getting at Christmas

≪ Previous: Mums and dads – here’s why you should let your children see you naked

$

0

0

At Christmas time we all love to give and receive gifts and nothing says ‘I love you’ more than a homemade Christmas gift from the heart.

10 Great British Bake Off inspired products you need in your life

No we are not talking about sock puppets and a knitted hat, but a homemade present that you can eat. Because who doesn’t like to receive an edible gift?

Here are some super easy homemade Christmas food gift ideas that don’t take long to make, but truly capture the meaning of giving at Christmas:

1. Reindeer hot chocolate

Read the full story

---

The top 7 presents all parents fear their children getting at Christmas

December 9, 2017, 12:00 am

≫ Next: A new Peaky Blinders themed spirit range is here and it features gin and whiskey

≪ Previous: 8 edible homemade Christmas gift ideas

$

0

0

Christmas is coming.  

As parents, we can control what presents we buy our children.

The 9 best UK outdoor ice skating rinks to visit this winter

There is no hope, however, when it comes to others.

Wrapping paper can barely be ripped off the toy before joy turns to tears: ‘What do you mean no batteries come with it?’

And parents need a degree in unboxing to get into some of the plastic toys now, many of which require a screwdriver to undo each attachment.

Here are the presents that parents most fear receiving for their children.

Lego

Read the full story

A new Peaky Blinders themed spirit range is here and it features gin and whiskey

December 9, 2017, 12:25 am

≫ Next: A twelve-year-old has released a photography book to give children new smiles

≪ Previous: The top 7 presents all parents fear their children getting at Christmas

$

0

0

Just a few days ago we wrote about a new Peaky Blinders-inspired bar opening in Liverpool.

If you’re unlucky enough not to live in Liverpool, nor have the time to head over there, don’t worry, because you can now bring the Peaky Blinders bar to your home. Well, sort of.

Fans of Peaky Blinders can now enjoy a taste of the show with a new range of spirits as uncompromising as Tommy Shelby in the gangster epic.

The craft spirits are produced by Black Country-based family business, Sadler’s, who own some of the public houses the Peaky Blinders gang used to frequent.

The spirits are inspired by flavours from… Read the full story

A twelve-year-old has released a photography book to give children new smiles

December 9, 2017, 12:29 am

≫ Next: Research reveals when couples go through each stage of dating

≪ Previous: A new Peaky Blinders themed spirit range is here and it features gin and whiskey

$

0

0

If you’ve collected dubious travel photos over the years, get ready to feel a bit rubbish.

A 12-year-old has put you to shame by releasing a photography book to raise money for children with clefts for Christmas.

Ameya Kulkarni from London was inspired after his travels with his family.

After supporting various charities through his photography, he decided to create a photography book.

Pictures were taken in various destinations, from Iceland to South Africa, Belgium and at home in England.

Snaps include a peacock in India, sheep in Iceland and an elephant mum and baby in South Africa.

Read the full story

Research reveals when couples go through each stage of dating

December 9, 2017, 1:12 am

≫ Next: Research suggests there are five types of anxiety and depression

≪ Previous: A twelve-year-old has released a photography book to give children new smiles

$

0

0

Fancy seeing a reassuring roadmap for your relationship?

It’s nice to know that relationships are, in essence, pretty predictable. They all lead to the same thing: You stay together or you split up. There won’t be too many surprises.

It’s nice, right? Not at all bleak and uninspiring. It’s not at all unsettling that our relationships all follow the same basic pattern, likely determined for us by our early childhood experiences.

So onwards we go with that roadmap.

Dating website eHarmony surveyed more than 1,000 people from Australia to find out the stages each major relationship goes through and when they happen – from the first time couples… Read the full story

Research suggests there are five types of anxiety and depression

December 9, 2017, 2:08 am

≫ Next: Surgeon says that smoking a month before or after a boob job could make your nipples fall off

≪ Previous: Research reveals when couples go through each stage of dating

$

0

0

Ah, anxiety and depression – the magical, miserable combo.

When you’ve got anxiety and depression, your thoughts and emotions can play out in all kinds of fun and exciting ways.

You simultaneously have no motivation to be bothered about anything, and yet care about absolutely everything.

Your thoughts don’t just tell you that you’re the worst person on earth, but also that something terrible is going to happen to you, always.

I could go on about the joys of having both anxiety and depression, but frankly, it the constant worrying combined with lethargy has left me too bloody exhausted.

That’s the situation for a lot of… Read the full story

Surgeon says that smoking a month before or after a boob job could make your nipples fall off

December 9, 2017, 2:32 am

≫ Next: We desperately need to visit this Wes Anderson style cafe

≪ Previous: Research suggests there are five types of anxiety and depression

$

0

0

Today in news that is definitely going to haunt your dreams for the next week: Did you know that smoking just one month before or after you get a boob job can make your nipples turn black and fall off?

*Shudder*.

That’s according to plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn, who recently took to his blog to describe his experience treating a patient who’d lost her nipples thanks to smoking before she had breast surgery.

‘In my memoir In Stitches,’ he writes, ‘I told the story of a smoker whose nipples turned purple while undergoing a breast lift surgery.

‘Purple is the precursor to black. Black is the precursor to… Read the full story

We desperately need to visit this Wes Anderson style cafe

December 9, 2017, 3:43 am

≫ Next: Missing your past pets this Christmas? You are not alone

≪ Previous: Surgeon says that smoking a month before or after a boob job could make your nipples fall off

$

0

0

In our happy place, every little thing is decked out in pastel tones.

Our daydreams look like the inside of a Wes Anderson theme, so when real-life places look the same we get more than a little excited.

Take that Wes Anderson themed Airbnb, for example. That’s shot to the top of our ‘need to go there’ list.

Joining it up there is Café Congreso, a café in the Philippines opened this year by Joseph Malabanan.

It’s got all kinds of fancy menu items: breakfasts, burgers, mini pies, cake pops. The specialty coffees and lattes look glorious.

But what we’re most keen on is the interiors.

Seriously, take… Read the full story

---

Missing your past pets this Christmas? You are not alone

December 9, 2017, 4:00 am

≫ Next: Christmas baking recipe: Bangladesh-inspired almond and cardamom biscuits

≪ Previous: We desperately need to visit this Wes Anderson style cafe

$

0

0

There are emotional flashpoints throughout the year when you’re grieving the passing of a loved one. The first birthday, the first anniversary, the first anything.

And Christmas is of course a huge hurdle if it is your first without a familiar face.

It’s OK to grieve at Christmas, and honour those we have lost

For animal lovers who have said goodbye to beloved pets this year, the… Read the full story

Christmas baking recipe: Bangladesh-inspired almond and cardamom biscuits

December 9, 2017, 4:00 am

≫ Next: There’s a competition going that’ll get you free sex toys for a year

≪ Previous: Missing your past pets this Christmas? You are not alone

$

0

0

I almost always include spices in my baking, but during the festive period, spices takes centre stage in the array of puddings, cakes, and biscuits that surrounds us.

Who doesn’t love a well-made gingerbread biscuit, rich with warming ginger, earthy nutmeg and sweet cinnamon?

Here’s what you need to know about the six seasons of Bangladesh and its food

Baking, as we all know, is responsible for the most delicious smells wafting through the kitchen and home. It signifies cosiness and comfort, and often, memories of times spent baking… Read the full story

There’s a competition going that’ll get you free sex toys for a year

December 9, 2017, 4:23 am

≫ Next: If you want to break up with someone, do it before Christmas – here’s why

≪ Previous: Christmas baking recipe: Bangladesh-inspired almond and cardamom biscuits

$

0

0

You may remember LoveWoo as the company that was offering people £28K to become sex toy testers.

This time the sex toy brand isn’t giving you any money to have orgasms (sorry), but they are offering you the chance to have a buzzing start to 2018.

Yup, LoveWoo is running a competition with a prize of free sex toys for a year.

Not unlimited sex toys, to be clear. One free sex toy delivered to your door every month for a year. Twelve sex toys in total to try out over the next twelve months.

You won’t get to pick which sex toys they are, but the company… Read the full story

If you want to break up with someone, do it before Christmas – here’s why

December 9, 2017, 6:00 am

≫ Next: Simple ways to make the festive period less awkward for people who aren’t drinking

≪ Previous: There’s a competition going that’ll get you free sex toys for a year

$

0

0

The dilemma: you’re in a relationship, it’s not really working and you’ve been thinking about leaving.

But Christmas is coming up, with all its warm, fuzzy feelings and songs about robins and togetherness.

12 people reveal their worst ever break up stories

Half of you does want to end it; the other half worries that you’ll be out-Scrooging Scrooge.

But those pesky doubts just won’t go away – so is it OK to dump someone just before Christmas?

The answer is yes. Yes it is.

Look, I get it: you… Read the full story

Simple ways to make the festive period less awkward for people who aren’t drinking

December 9, 2017, 7:12 am

≫ Next: Model Sonny Turner shares a glorious reminder that people of all sizes are allowed to love the way they look

≪ Previous: If you want to break up with someone, do it before Christmas – here’s why

$

0

0

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this, friends, but I’m really trying not to drink alcohol at the moment.

This is for a few reasons.

First off I’m taking antidepressants and recently learned that mixing booze with meds can be a very, very bad idea. Drinking significantly rose my anxiety, made me have fun suicidal thoughts, and resulted in me feeling so sleepy I’d curl up in corners at a party.

The other reason is a bit more complex. I don’t drink a lot, but the reasons I drink make me a little uneasy. For a long time I’ve dealt with feeling awkward, nervous, or sad… Read the full story