If you find yourself not achieving the grades needed to get into university on A-level results day, don’t worry, there are still plenty of things you can do instead.

Though uni has its benefits, if you’re worried about long-term career options, then fear not; there are many jobs that don’t require a degree.

Job search website Indeed has listed 10 of the best well-paid jobs that you can do without ever having to step foot into a debt-inducing institution.

Ethical hacker – Average salary: £56,547

We know the word hacker doesn’t inspire much trust but if you know your way around a computer and are generally tech-savvy, why not capitalise on it?

You could be paid by large companies to penetrate their network in order to help them identify potential security threats.

A degree isn’t going to necessarily wow them, you just need to prove that you’ve got the skills.

Construction manager – Average salary: £53,118

You will need to work your way up to manager level by starting as a surveyor and then a site supervisor but you don’t need a qualification for any of it.

As long as you have adequate leadership skills and can pay attention to detail, you could be leading your own crew and getting paid some pretty big bucks for it (as far as average salaries go).

You need to be very organised for this role as you’ll be responsible for sorting the work on building projects and making sure it’s all done safely, within budget and on time.

Software Engineer – Average salary: £39,097

You can become a software developer and engineer without having to go to uni, as long as you’re tech-smart. Look out for freelancing gigs, apprenticeshops, and entry-level jobs to get some experience and knowledge.

Naturally, you’ll need to be interested in programming languages, frameworks and development methods.

If you become particularly skilled and work your way up, you could be looking at £70,000 a year.

Maintenance manager – Average Salary: £38,675

We know this one sounds a bit vague but leadership roles pay pretty well across different industries. You can be a property maintenance manager or in construction or retail (we know Greggs are looking, btw).

You will preside over site assets and facilities and make sure that everything runs smooth basically.

For some roles, night shifts may be involved and generally you’re expected to do 35-40 hours a week. The more you progress the higher your pay and you could be getting up to £60,000 per year.

Sales and retail manager – Average Salary: £37,991

If during your studies you’ve gained part-time work in a retail store as a sales assistant, you could ditch the hourly pay and move up the ladder.

Team leaders and managers have more responsibilities but also more perks, such as a comfortable salary.

More often than not, get away with all the same duties as being a sales assistant but with a few more expectations such as recruiting and managing teams. And you could be getting paid upwards of £37,991 for it.

Fitness manager –  Average salary: £34,374

If you’re at the gym most of the time anyway or fitness is your passion, you might as well get paid for it.

You can start by working at a fitness centre and gaining experience. If you eventually become a manager, which could mean looking after a solo gym or taking ownership of the brand, you’ll be in charge of making sure everything is in working order.

Executive assistant – Average salary: £33,150

If you’ve ever watched any work-based TV or films, there’s almost always one competent assistant who can take down notes at lightning speed who goes above and beyond for their manager.

So, you’ll be expected to take care of the schedule and needs of the senior executive or a company director. That could mean running their timetables, booking flights, and generally lots of different duties.

As long as you have the motivation and organisation skills you’re good to go. Or you could do a nationally recognised diploma to give you a leg up.

Pilot – Average salary: £32,691

You can become a pilot without burying yourself in books and uni deadlines.

That doesn’t mean it’s light work; you will need the Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL) qualification which takes 18 months to train full time.

Getting the qualification doesn’t come cheap, at an average price of £60,000 and £90,000. Alternatively, you can get on a pilot training scheme with an airline where you can train with the company to get your licence.

Once you have the qualification, you’ll be making serious dosh.

Chef – Average salary: £30,867

Who doesn’t love food? And if you know your way around a kitchen (and ingredients) then not only will you become your friends’ favop, you can make a comfortable living from it.

The more specialised you become, the more you’ll get paid for it. A head chef can be paid up to £50,000 per year, but your entry-level salary will be closer to £16,000.

Learn on the job in a restaurant kitchen or head to culinary school to learn tricks of the trade.

Mechanic – Average salary: £28,734

If you’re a bit of a fixer, you might want to consider becoming a mechanic. The traditional route involves becoming a trainee or getting hold of an apprenticeship.

Ultimately it’s all about the experience. You can get paid while you learn on the job.

Some extra tips

Data from Indeed indicates that job postings typically peak on Wednesdays, which makes Thursdays the best day to search and apply for a new job.

The highest number of job postings also appear around 11.30am and 2.3 pm on average. Coincidentally, the most search activity by job seekers also occurs between 1.30pm and 2.30pm, increasing a job seeker’s chances of coming across a newly opened vacancy.

Try to apply as soon as you see it, especially during these work hours as recruiters are more likely to see it.

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Do you ever feel like a sandwich bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?

If so, you can now live out that feeling with a fashion line from Japanese fashion label BEAMS Couture.

They’ve collaborated with Ziploc to create a range of sheer accessories embodying your childhood ham and cheese sarnies.

As part of the nine-item collection there are bags, hats and an umbrella.

The standout piece is the apron, though, because who doesn’t want to serve streetwear realness while serving lunch?

The most expensive item is a backpack retailing for ¥14,040 (£99.66) but you can get your hands on a little branded polka-dot pouch for only ¥1296 (£9.20).

Like the iconic lunchtime receptacles everything is clear, which does have the disadvantage of meaning everyone can see your stuff.

If you’re a certified hypebeast, though, you’ll probably only carry a designer wallet and cold brew coffee on your person, so no harm no foul.

BEAMS released a shopping channel parody video on YouTube to show off the range, which is silly and fun enough to make fun of itself while still seeming impossibly cool.

It also highlighted the fact you can drink water out of the bags. Multi-use, yo.

Ziploc x BEAMS Couture debuted at the brand’s store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, from yesterday, and will be available online from Monday 20 August.

Check it out here and make sure both your sandwiches and your ‘fit are fresh af.

Or – and we’re not suggesting this will have the same cachet – you could always grab yourself a few clear bags from the supermarket, and fashion your own knock-off version in the name of frugality.

Bringing your lunch to work is the first tip when it comes to money saving, so why not encompass it in your style choices too?

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Ah, the old wish list/ We know we’ll probably never end up buying or booking it but a person can dream.

And when it comes to dream homes or vacation homestays, we’ve got plenty of ideas about what we want.

In celebration of Airbnb’s tenth anniversary, the home-booking website has revealed the most wish-listed properties around the world.

From treehouses to mansions to villas, these are some of the most popular interiors.

So, do any of your goal homes make it to the list?

Waterfront with a view (Kotor, Montenegro) – Wish listed: 52,964 times

Located next to the Perast museum, the studio apartment has a spacious terrace with a solid view of the area’s biggest attractions on the Bay of Kotor; Islands of Sv. Đorđe and Lady of the rocks.

The waterfront home accommodates four people and is suitable for families, with an outside table for al-fresco dining. It’s pretty cheap too, at £36 per night.

The Cozy Palace (Marrakech, Morocco) – Wish listed: 59,838 times

In this restored riad, you can expect to walk through vibrantly tiled archways on your way to the roof to sip mint tea.

You can enjoy the ‘coolness of the courtyard’ or rest in the powerful terrace, claims the owner.

It accommodates four people, has one private bath and is available for £45 a night.

Off-grid ItHouse (Yucca Valley, CA, USA) – Wish listed: 63,669 times

This off-grid property combines industrial aesthetics with a green design to provide a new kind of homestay in the sunbaked wilds of the California high desert.

Even though there’s no wifi, that hasn’t stopped potential guests putting the property on their list.

If you do book it, you’re encouraged to bring a telescope to look up at the night sky.

Placed in a remote location in Yucca Valley, the property suits up to four guests and prices start from £314 per night.

Bamboo Eco-cottage in rice fields (Ubud, Bali, Indonesia) – Wish listed: 65,644 times

You get a true Bali experience with this bamboo cottage. The secluded eco retreat is located near a quiet footpath nestled in the rice fields near central Ubud.

Up to four guests can stay at the hut, with prices starting from £51 per night.

Dreamy Tropical Treehouse (Fern Forest, Hawaii) – Wish listed: 66,336 times

Located on the outskirts of the Big Island’s Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, guests say the treehouse is far from danger but close to adventure.

Obviously, you won’t get wifi, or running water and the property runs on solar energy, but you and one other person can enjoy the tranquility of the secluded spot.

Prices start from £235 a night.

Luxurious Stone Villa in Crete (Crete, Greece) – Wish listed: 76,658 times

Carved from natural rock, this cave in Crete was once a family home. Recently rebuilt, the now stone-enclosed villa includes a balcony to show off the waters of Kissamos Bay.

Two guests can stay at the property from £45 a night and take in the breathtaking interior.

Hideout Bali Eco Bamboo Home (Bali, Indonesia) – Wish listed: 77,177 times

People really want to live in a bamboo hut. The second most popular one was in Bali.

The Hideout requires booking six months in advance. Guests say the two-story eco home exceeds the hype.

You’ll have to fork out £137 a night but you will also get a free scooter to use while you’re there.

Romantic Cabana with a view (Armenia, Colombia) – Wish listed: 99,622 times

Ideal for coffee lovers (you’ll be able to explore the Andean mountains where it’s made) the romantic cabana is made from bamboo.

You can hike down the bamboo forest which crisscrosses a five-acre organic farm, leading down to a stream.

It’s available for £31 a night for two guests.

Hector Cave House (Santorini, Greece) – Wish listed: 133,869 times

The Santorini cave house, carved into the caldera cliff, was originally used as a wine cellar.

Then it became a family owned complex of three different properties that opened its doors to travellers.

The home accommodates up to five guests and has a private veranda for sunbathing. It’ll cost you £223 per night.

I Sette Coni – Trullo Edera (Ostuni, Italy) – Wish listed: 164,444 times

The most wish-listed property, a conical Italian villa, is located close to the towns of Bari and Brindisi.

For just £62 a night, you and three other guests can enjoy the stunning Puglia landscape.

It’s the perfect place if you like nature. You can stay under an olive tree reading a book, you can take a walk in the small country streets or go to the nearest beaches.

We can see why it’s so appealing.

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In Tawain’s capital city Taipei, tourists and guests can head to the Shuangxi Park if they want an Insta-worthy pic of themselves floating on a giant water lily.

Taipei City’s Parks and Street Lights Office put on an annual event to promote this rare species and educate the public.

Most impressive is the The Victoria Water Lily leaf which can take on a maximum of 65kg. Smaller adults and children can hop aboard and pose away.

To protect the plant surface from being damaged, visitors are required to sit on a plastic wrap and only have 60 seconds before they have to get off.

Originally native to the tropical regions of South America, giant water lilies were introduced to Taiwan and are now cultivated in Tainan and Taoyuan.

Although they draw in crowds and are impressive to look at, they are difficult to grow.

Pests and high temperatures make it hard to let them grow into full-sized plants.

Parks and City Lights Officer Lin Chao-Chin said: ‘Currently, the challenge in maintaining the giant Victoria water lilies here at Shuangxi Park is that there are many snails and that we have to fight off pests, for example cutworms.

‘This means that cutworms and snails will eat the plants. If we don’t fight them, the leaves would be cut off while they are still small. There would be many tiny holes in the leaves, rendering them unable to grow.’

Visitors have described sitting on the huge leaves as the same as being on a boat that’s floating away.

Now in its fourth year, the show is expected to become bigger and better.

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A lesson we’ll never tire of learning: Make sure that when buying a mini-pig, you are in fact buying a miniature pig… and not just a normal piglet.

Marcela Iglesias is the latest person to share her story of falling for the ‘help, my mini-pig is now giant’ tale.

She was shocked when the mini-pig she bought five years ago grew to become a massive 18 stone pig.

Marcela had wanted a pet pig ever since she was a child. Five years ago she spotted an advert on Facebook for a mini pig for sale, and was overjoyed.

But within six months of adoption, the little dog Chuy had more than quadrupled in size.

Marcela had thought the pig would grow to be 3 stone 7lb at most. At age three, he hit 18 stone.

Thankfully Chuy’s unexpected size didn’t put a stop to Marcela’s love for the pig. He’s now considered part of the family, and has become Marcela’s therapy pet to help her deal with anxiety.

Chuy responds to his name, goes on walks, performs tricks, and warns Marcela when strangers enter the house.

‘When I saw the litter I started laughing, I saw them all running around like little podgy balls, I needed to get one,’ says Marcela.

‘I knew this was my chance, so I picked the fattest and biggest of the litter, at the time he was smaller than a pug.

‘I thought I was getting a mini-pig at around 50lbs tops, after seeing his mom and dad I thought that he would be small too.

‘But by six months he had quadrupled in size, he kept growing, I don’t know if it was because I overfed him at first.

‘I was in denial that he would get that big, everyone thought at six months that he would stop growing, but he only stopped at three years old.

‘Despite this fact that he kept getting bigger, I never thought of abandoning him or taking him to a shelter.

‘He’s very special to me, I have unconditional love for him and he helps me with my anxiety.

‘I was also able to teach him to sit down, give me his paw, he knows his name and also I have opened the minds of a lot of people who can’t believe how very clean they are.

‘I treat him like a young child, I clean him, sing him songs and give him massages – no one takes care of him like me.’

In 2014 a neighbour called animal control due to regulations around the types of pets people are allowed to keep in the area.

Marcela fought the restrictions by getting Chuy a permit to officially register him as an emotional support animal, meaning he couldn’t be taken away from the home.

She later moved to a new area where pigs are allowed to be kept as pets, so adopted two more pigs named Bella and Stella.

Now, Marcela works with The Little Angels Project to help other animals in need, providing surgical procedures and medical treatment and finding homes for animals who need them.

If you’d like to keep up with Chuy, you can follow him on Facebook.

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Ahhh, the ‘90s – a simpler time when our biggest worry was who was going to get to Number 1 every Sunday.

It was a world of Brit Pop, dial-up, lager-loving ladettes and plastering dragons and flames on all our clothes.

We hogged the landline all evening (sorry mum and dad), spoke in American slang, zig-zagged in our partings and naively passed notes in class.

Our first cars were iconic (bonjour to the chic Renault Clio!) and we knew every word on road trip singalongs thanks to that little lyric book in the back of tapes. This here, teens of the ’90s, is the ultimate reminder of your youth culture…

1) A way with words

’90s teen were famously depicted as a baseball cap-clad, grunting amoebas but we actually had a vast array of words which could cut a moaning parent off mid-sentence – with ‘WHATEVER’, ‘LOSER’ (with ‘L’-forehead slap accompaniment) and ‘AS IF!’ being just a few faves.

2) Dial-up dilemmas

While we immediately roll our eyes if our 4G flicks off these days, there was a time when we didn’t have immediate Internet access at our fingertips. All 90’s teens will remember turning on the dial-up, going downstairs for dinner, returning after an hour and seeing the page was STILL only part loaded.

3) Video shops

That Friday night feeling wasn’t fulfilled without a trip to the nearest video shop, perusing the shelves, seeing that all the new releases had already been rented out and choosing to watch E.T. for the 7,000th time.

While the late Nineties brought mobile phones to the masses, we had to deal with the landline. But what if your mum was gabbing on the phone all night? Well, a dash to the nearest phone box with a hand full of coins was called for – how else would you know what your mates were wearing for mufti day?

5) Answer machines

We can still remember that thrilling feeling when you saw that flashing red number (the higher the better) on the answer machine when you got home. The drama, the mystery, the excitement!

6) Très chic first car

The ultimate rite of passage for the 90s teen was passing their test and having a chic and shiny new Clio waiting for them on the driveway! As iconic as the ‘Nicole? Papa!’ adverts, you felt the bees knees cruising around town in this French number.

7) Mood rings

Proof that we loved a bit of hocus pocus in the ’90s, these dubious fashion accessories were roundly accepted as being windows to the soul. Not great seeing as they rarely changed colour…

8) Novelty pencil cases

We were OBSESSED with stationery; smelly gel pens, fancy fountain pens, pens that erased pen ink – it was all we could think about the week before school. Obviously we needed an obnoxiously large case to keep it all, preferably in the shape of a drinks can/crisp bag.

9) School shoe wars

Forget your hair cut or which backpack you had, nothing was more important when wandering the school halls than what shoes you wore. Period.

10) Dear diary

We were a sensitive lot before social media – and a lot more private. At some point all 90s teens kept a diary. Preventative sibling-snooping lock optional.

11) Teen mags

From some seriously questionable sex tips to what lip glosses went with your hair mascara, teen mags were our first step into the world of adulting.

12) IM mania

Hours were spent constantly messaging chatrooms and asking ASL (age/sex/location) to people on the other side of the world for no particular reason.

13) Taping the radio

Sunday afternoons were stressful. You had to have superhuman reactions to ensure you recorded the songs on the Chart Show without missing the beginning. We were basically unpaid DJ’s in our bedrooms.

14) Lyric booklets in albums

No one needed to make up their own words to the hottest songs. All albums came with handy lyric booklets which we could obsessively learn off by heart.

15) Passing notes in class

Before the constant filming and snapping we do these days, we passed notes to our pals and crushes in class. The fear of the teacher grabbing it and reading it out was part of the thrill.

16) Looooooong landline chats

We may have spent every lesson, break, lunch and bus ride with our school mates but that didn’t mean that we didn’t need in-depth four hour phone calls to them on our landlines when we got home.

17)

Nineties’ kids will never be able to look at a flame or a dragon without remembering that they were emblazoned on 80 per cent of clothes on the high street.

18) Gunge goals

You knew you’d made it in life when you got gunged on Saturday morning TV. Where DID our bizarre obsession with being publically humiliated come from?

19) Bedroom posters

Blue Tack, teared corners and repeated sticking attempts were life in the ’90s. The less wallpaper you could see, the nearer you were to your pop/rock gods.

Andrew Graf, 26, is a man who doesn’t like to sit on the fence when it comes to food.

He was overweight, unhappy, and had tried numerous diets to try and lose weight and reduce his anxiety levels.

The one he settled on was meat and only meat… Oh, and it’s raw.

Andrew, from Texas, says, ‘I tried veganism, high carbs, calorie restriction, and excessive exercising but nothing was doing it. When I heard about the carnivore diet I thought it sounded nuts.

‘But I gave it a try I could not believe the difference.’

Each day he eats between one and two pounds of raw meat, and that’s it. This is usually eaten in one sitting at dinner time so Andrew doesn’t have to eat his meals of raw liver, mince, bone marrow, and steak in public.

His weight dropped from 21st 4lbs to 13st 5lbs, and Andrew even claims that it has resulted in ‘reduced inflammation, blood pressure and increased libido and mental clarity.’

Most doctors recommend a balanced diet with protein, fruit, vegetables, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. They also say that this sort of carnivore diet can cause higher cholesterol, artery disease and heart disease.

Although Andrew does admit he has had constipation, foul breath and rashes due to his food choices, he prefers that to the ‘bloated, constipated, and lethargic’ way that he felt during his stint as a vegan.

He also asserts that ‘people on this diet have a lower mortality.’

The carnivore diet was popularised recently, as media personality and psychology lecturer Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaila revealed they’re fans of a high-meat regime.

They claim it helped ‘cure’ Mikhaila’s rheumatoid arthiritis and made her depression ‘disappear’.

For Andrew, he believes that the effects he’s experienced are because he’s training his body to run of fat rather than carbohydrates.

His choice of raw meat over cooked is apparently because, ‘cooking reduces the bioavailability of nutrients, so eating raw means you eat less.’ He also prefers the taste of rare meat.

Eating uncooked meat can increase your risk of contracting salmonella, e. coli, and other foodborne infections, but Andrew says it’s ‘like living in a new world.’

He’s now teaching his family how to follow the plan.

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When your daughter is diagnosed with cancer aged just eight years old, it’s fair to say that panic is one of the emotions that sets in.

It did for me and my husband Darren.

We panicked as soon as we had an inkling that something was seriously wrong, when hearing the word ‘leukaemia’ for the first time, through to being blue-lighted with our daughter Lily to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for urgent treatment.

The roller coaster of ups and downs, of good news and bad, throughout cycle after cycle of chemotherapy is relentless.

Add into the mix that you’re in a place full of some of the most poorly children, and it’s an intense environment for anyone.

But despite counting down the days until Lily’s treatment was finished, I was struck by how I felt as I watched her ring the ‘end of treatment bell’ on the Elephant ward at GOSH, and heard her little voice reading out the moving poem that is on the plaque next to the bell.

I was bursting with pride, and with hope for the future.

Ring this bell / Three times well / Its toll to clearly say / My treatment’s done / This course is run / And I’m on my way.

I had watched Lily deal with four gruelling chemotherapy cycles; during the first cycle alone she spent about 50 days in hospital and I stayed with her while my husband was able to stay in the family accommodation across the road from the hospital.

I had seen my little girl lose her long blonde hair, and as I counted down the days until the end of her treatment, there were moments I tormented myself by wondering whether I could have spotted that she was poorly sooner.

But her doctors reassured me that acute myeloid leukaemia comes on so quickly and moves fast. By the time we got to the hospital, Lily’s leukaemia cells had already matured, which is why it was so important that she start treatment as quickly as possible.

I don’t think that any parent could ever really be prepared for an experience like this and I have immense gratitude to the kind and caring, expert staff.

From the play specialists who helped us break the news of Lily’s diagnosis and got her used to everything from having blood taken to having her dressings changed.

To the nurses, who calmed us down when we arrived on that first night, distressed and scared, and who have been by Lily’s side every day of each cycle since.

To her consultant who explained the diagnosis in simple, gentle terms to us.

If nothing else, this experience has taught me that my daughter’s unbelievable spirit and bubbly personality will shine through no matter what.

She’s been on her scooter in the hospital’s corridors and outside, and when comedian Paul O’Grady visited to film his new ITV series, Little Heroes, she put him through his paces too.

They had such a giggle together and she showed Paul her ‘beads of courage’ – one for each part of her treatment.

She also met James McAvoy during his visit to the hospital, and she nicknamed him Jamie Macaroon, which made us smile.

We were honoured to have the chance to be involved in his programme and we tuned in together as a family to watch as Lily’s story and bravery unfolded to the viewers.

I can’t ever really describe how proud we are of Lily, she has handled everything so well and is so brave, bouncing back after every setback.

Her positivity and sense of humour is what has saved us – it’s Lily who has kept us going.

We now look forward to a happier future, hugely pride at how she, and her sister Ruby too, have coped with what life has thrown our way.

To us, Lily really is a little hero.

Watch Paul O’Grady’s Little Heroes to follow the stories of amazing patients like Lily who come through the doors of GOSH everyday. 

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Trying to lose weight generally means counting calories, and if much of the media around this is to be believed, limiting your joy of food.

You’re told to stay away from certain food groups, avoid sweets and alcohol, and generally give up certain things altogether.

Graeme Tomlinson – also known as The Fitness Chef – is trying to change that attitude, and he’s using his platform on Instagram to do it.

On his page, you’ll find loads of handy infographics that dispel the jargon around dieting (including the notion that changing your lifestyle is a diet at all).

What he urges people to do, instead of starving themselves or fostering unhealthy attitudes to food, is make informed choices.

So, you can pop onto the Fitness Chef Instagram when you’re at Starbucks, McDonalds, or the supermarket, and have something tasty to eat while staying within your calorie goal.

There’s booze, there’s pasta, and there’s biscuits – just all within reason and as part of a balanced diet.

Graeme tells Metro.co.uk about how the page began. He says, ‘I got into the fitness industry about 5 years ago as a PT, I’d always had an interest in nutrition.

‘I started my page a few years ago posting recipes, but my page has exploded recently because I’m educating people with simple information which is easy to understand.

‘I started making these graphics because I was getting frustrated about the mass misinformation regarding basic nutrition on social media. I want to provide factual information to help people instead of pseudoscience.’

It’s certainly a no bullsh*t zone on Graeme’s Instagram, and it’s not focused on vilifying people for their choices, rather making them aware that no fad diet or quick fix really works long term; it’s up to you to hold yourself accountable, and make it fun so you don’t feel the need to ‘cheat’.

Graeme continues, ‘My approach is simple. Follow evidence based principles, be rational and above all; be aware of what your choices actually mean for your goal.’

He gets around 50 direct messages every day from people thanking him for ‘improving their relationship with food and providing them with a no nonsense education which helps them achieve their goal.’

He says, ‘I think I’ve made them realize how simple losing fat actually is.’

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Remember Nadia Bokody, the woman who said she stops being friends with people when they have kids? Oh, and then she said it’s unnatural to have sex with the same person over and over again?

Now she’s opened up about how she ‘broke her vagina’ after getting addicted to one of her vibrators.

She told Metro.co.uk how she was left with severe pelvic pains after using it up to six times a day.

Don’t worry though, that hasn’t put her off the odd bullet or rampant rabbit session.

‘I was going through a divorce at the time, and, like most people coming out of a marriage, it had been a long time since I’d had sex,’ she told Metro.co.uk.

‘Needless to say, I was very frustrated. So I decided to do a bit of self-care and invest in a vibrator. It occurred to me when I was purchasing it, that in all the time I’d been writing about sex, I hadn’t actually used one before!

‘Much like the hilarious, iconic Sex & The City episode where Charlotte gets addicted to her new rabbit vibrator and the girls eventually have to come and confiscate it off her so she’ll go outside and socialise again, I became pretty hooked on my new adult toy very quickly!

‘One weekend I honestly used it about a half a dozen times in one day. As a new user though, I didn’t realise I’d set it onto the highest setting, so after a couple of days of very vigorous use, I began experiencing dull pelvic pain.

‘Not yet making the connection that is was due to my new vibrator, I went to the doctor and ordered STD tests. When the tests all came back clear and the doctor asked me a few more questions about my sex life, she came to the conclusion my overzealous vibrator use was the most likely cause and recommended a week’s rest from it. It was equal parts embarrassing and hilarious!’

So Nadia took a break from her toy for a few days and was able to go back to using it again, in moderation.

She now regularly spreads the message of sex positivity on her Instagram and shares the toys that she uses.

‘It’s all about exploring female pleasure,’ Nadia says.

‘The experience absolutely hasn’t turned me off of using my toys, or recommending sex toys and vibrators to others in my sex columns,’ she added.

‘Sex toys are one of the safest ways to learn your own pleasure zones on your own and they’re great for taking your partnered sex life to another level.

‘I still use my vibrator regularly – mainly when my boyfriend isn’t available! – and have since tried a huge range of toys.

‘For anyone curious and new to adult toys like me, my recommendation is to start low and go slow. And there’s no such thing as too much lubricant, particularly with anal play toys.

‘My sex toy collection today is comically large. It’s become a bit of a party trick these days when girlfriends come over for drinks, I’ll open my dresser drawers and reveal all the weird and wonderful things inside.’

So go forth and enjoy your sex toys responsibly, people.

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Who could see that happy little face and not want to take four-year-old lurcher, Blue, home?

It turns out, over 3,000 could, as that’s how many people have rejected him at the shelter he currently lives at.

Dubbed Britain’s unluckiest dog, Blue has now spent over 300 days at his RSPCA kennel in Suffolk.

He had originally been given up in May this year as his owners couldn’t look after him.

Although he was rehomed six months later, Blue returned not long after as his new owners also felt they couldn’t handle him.

Since then, he’s seen 49 kennel-mates taken to their fur-ever homes before him, and only one person has shown an interest in adopting him since November last year (and this unfortunately fell through).

Far from being a problem pup, kennel staff say that Blue is the one they all go to for cuddles and that he is a ‘real favourite’ among those who work there.

Branch manager Zoe Barrett even took special photos of poor Blue and made them the cover photo for the RSPCA Martlesham Animal Centre Facebook page.

As well as that, contacted local media and asked other animal shelters to get involved, but it seems like the little lurcher just can’t catch a break.

Blue, like many dogs of his breed, has a high chase drive, so will need an owner who has a big, enclosed garden.

He’s picked up some commands and is muzzle-trained, but needs to be the only dog in the house.

Oh, and his favourite food is Primula cheese, so you’ll need plenty of that to keep him happy.

Barrett says, ‘We absolutely adore him and just want to see him settle into a long term home…

‘He is a gorgeous dog I know there will be someone out there for him, there always is, but we just need that special person to come forward.’

Do you think you could be that special person for Blue? Check out his adoption page here.

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While many love Stormzy for his music, others including myself admire the musician for using his star power and bank account to help those from marginalised backgrounds fulfill their hopes and dreams.

Earlier this year, the internet unanimously praised him as he launched his own publishing brand #Merky Books in collaboration with Penguin Round House, with the aim to ‘form a home for a new generation of voices’.

Back in 2017, the artist generously gave Fiona Asiedu, a young woman from South London, £9,000 so that she could afford to study for her masters at Harvard University.

So, when Stormzy announced that he was launching his very own scholarship, one that would cover tuition and maintenance fees for two black students to study at Cambridge University, no one was really that surprised.

It seems like a logical step in his mission to ensure young people have every possible chance to thrive.

While no one can criticise Stormzy’s latest good deed, the question is, should he have to provide a scholarship so that black students feel they can study at elite universities?

Cambridge has long been condemned for its racial bias when it comes to admitting students who are black or mixed race.

The proof is in the statistics.

In June, the university revealed that six Cambridge colleges admitted fewer than 10 black or mixed race students between 2012 and 2016.

Downing College received 37 applications between 2014 and 2015 but made no offers.

St Edmund’s College failed to accept any black students despite 31 to 35 applicants, and Hughes Hall received 74 applications but only made between five and seven offers.

The truth is that Cambridge has failed to adequately make prospective black students feel like they would be accepted in the admissions process, or that their cultural backgrounds would be accepted if they managed to secure a place at the prestigious university.

While Stormzy leads the charge on helping black candidates get into Cambridge, starting with the two students for this year’s scholarship, the university need to do more to help other students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Disability, race and class affects the predicted grades some students are likely to receive.

So elite universities like Cambridge need to look beyond predicted grades and take into account these social factors, and how teachers unconsciously and unfairly judge these students when looking at their applications.

By creating this scholarship, Stormzy is telling black students that they have every right to attend the university.

That Cambridge is a place where they can thrive and achieve their goals.

While his message is appreciated, the truth is it shouldn’t need to come from Stormzy.

Cambridge University needs to do more.

It may be through a combination of professors and students going into schools that have high percentages of black students and encouraging them to apply.

Or maybe, they should improve their online and offline presence and ensure it’s diverse and inclusive.

It should not be left to black power players like Stormzy to take the first steps with institutions to ensure black people have the same opportunities as our white counterparts.

If we cast our minds back to 2017, Lola Olufemi started a campaign for Cambridge to decolonise its curriculum and include more non-white writers.

The result? Lola made national news and was portrayed as racist.

While nearly 100 professors signed a petition to stand in solidarity with Lola and condemn the press for its vilification of the innocent student, Cambridge University released no official statement in support of her efforts to make the curriculum more diverse, nor did they criticise her mistreatment by the British press.

This is rather telling, and screams that the university won’t protect its students against racism.

It’s not up to Stormzy to fix this issue, but we should be incredibly grateful that he has taken on this responsibility.

He is tackling a problem that will help inspire black people to apply to universities that have up until now seemed off limits to us.

Cambridge University should know that while Stormzy’s initiative is a great start to help diversify its student body, they now owe him a debt for doing the work they should have started years ago, back when they first realised their half-hearted attempts to get non-white students to apply was failing miserably.

Yet, maybe that is the problem.

Stormzy genuinely cares about getting black students into Cambridge – unlike the university itself.

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The heatwave may have subsided but whether they’re puddle reflections or moody skies, our Instagram is bursting with outstanding images.

Never mind the damp days, we’ve still shared some stunning photos.

Our Instagram feed @Metro.co.uk champions amateur photography from London and across the UK and shares your images on a daily basis to our thousands of followers.

Here’s some of our best photos from the beginning of August.

The City of London from below, taken by @sarahlaurenphotos.

Moody clouds over the Thames as taken by @engr.nelson.ph.

An alternative tube shot from @nandan.prabhu.

What an incredible shot captured by @chrisjdalton.

Puddles can transform a picture as shown by @igorzerajic in this shot.

And what a spectacular sunset in the city, captured by @jetaime.07.

Remember to use the hashtag #MetroLDN to have your images feature on our Instagram feed and website!

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Rich Osborn was living the dream teaching scuba diving on the sun-soaked Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

But on one deep dive, he and some other instructors ran out of air at a depth of 30m.

After reaching the surface, Rich, 30, was rushed to a decompression chamber but was left with permanent damage to his spine.

That was nine years ago. Now the paraplegic diver is back in the water to help disabled people.

After spending a week in a decompression chamber, he was told he couldn’t walk again. Rich had to attend six months of rehabilitation classes.

Despite his spinal cord injury, he’s remained positive and has devoted his life to helping others, insisting the ‘sky’s the limit’.

‘Scuba diving was my life and I’m very lucky I could do that but I still want to travel and challenge as much as possible what I can do with a disability,’ he said.

‘Just because you have a spinal cord injury doesn’t mean you can’t get out there and achieve.

‘A disability shouldn’t stop you doing what you want to do.’

Rich said he has found a new lease of life scaling mountains and helping other people with a spinal cord injury.

He has scaled Snowdon – the highest mountain in Wales – in a specially adapted wheelchair with help from charity Back Up, who support people affected by spinal cord injury to get the most out of life.

Rich is not afraid to head back into the water despite the life-changing accident.

During the dive, experienced divers used their fins to swim deeper to a depth of 40m – 10m deeper than the instructors would take their clients.

Two of the divers signaled that they were out of air and the group was forced to pool their resources, ascending slowly while taking turns on the remaining air tanks.

But when they reached the surface, Rich knew something was wrong.

‘As I reached the surface it felt like my back had stiffened up and from there my coordination went,’ he explained.

‘I was struggling to catch my breath and tried to swim back to shore but my legs slowed down so I had to use my hands.

‘I knew what had happened to me when I reached the surface as nitrogen in your body attacks your joints and my legs felt stiff.

‘The nitrogen also got trapped in my spinal column and the bubbles in my spine expanded and crushed my spinal cord.

‘Afterwards nausea and vomiting ensued, I had decompression sickness.’

The divers rushed Rich to a decompression chamber where he was sealed in, replicating the pressure applied to his body under water.

The pressure was slowly reduced while pure oxygen was administered to aid the healing process.

Rich initially received treatment six hours a day for a week in Cyprus before being transported via air ambulance to Aberdeen for more decompression there.

He hasn’t let all that stop him enjoying diving now and thanks Back Up for allowing him to enjoy all the adventure he’s used to.

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Vogue is calling on the industry to stop hiring models under the age of 18.

And they’re leading the way by refusing to book underage models for the magazine.

Vogue and the CFDA announced that they will no longer book models under 18 in an effort to make the fashion industry less exploitative.

In an article in the September issue announcing the move, Maya Singer explains that the fashion industry has developed an unhealthy cycle of hiring young, vulnerable models who will fit tiny sample sizes, failing to give them adequate support for the pressures and temptation (drugs, alcohol) they’ll face, then dumping them once they’ve grown too large for sizing that’s supposedly marketed at adult women.

This is damaging to the young models themselves, who all too often face long, exhausting hours, pressure to undertake extreme diets, and exploitation of their lack of knowledge of the industry, and to fashion lovers who are subconsciously told that the beauty ideal is someone underage.

‘No more: It’s not right for us, it’s not right for our readers, and it’s not right for the young models competing to appear in these pages,’ writes Maya. ‘While we can’t rewrite the past, we can commit to a better future.’

Vogue recognises that the magazine was absolutely part of the problem. Back in 1980, a 14-year-old Brooke Shields appeared on the cover.

But they’re committed to making a change.

The decision follows Condé Nast’s announcement of a global vendor code of conduct in response to the #MeToo movement, which established harassment-free zones, private dressing rooms, and allowances for models to approve poses and clothing.

‘Another set of provisions addresses the age of models,’ explains Maya. ‘In recognition of the unique vulnerability of minors thrown into a career where they have little control and where abuse has been all too commonplace, the vendor code of conduct stipulates that no model under the age of eighteen will be photographed for editorial (unless he or she is the subject of an article, in which case the model will be both chaperoned and styled in an age-appropriate manner).’

So that means you’ll no longer spot young teens modeling haute couture in Vogue. Even Kaia Gerber, who’s walked the runway for Chanel and Calvin Klein, will need to wait two more years before she’ll be booked by Vogue.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is on board, so Vogue’s choice may push the rest of the fashion industry into action.

‘Young models are still developing,’ said CFDA president Steven Kolb. ‘There can be a lack of the confidence, strength, experience, and maturity it takes to deal with the pressures of this work.

‘The CFDA supports the recommendation of raising the minimum age – we want young models to have the time to come into their own so they feel safe and in charge in the workplace.’

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Don’t ditch the potatoes.

Diets that cut out carbs or replace them with protein or fat aren’t the healthiest choice, and could shorten your life, suggests new research.

For a longer, healthier life, it’s best to eat carbohydrates in moderation.

The study, published in the Lancet Public Health Journal, observed the diets of 15,428 people in the US and found that diets both low and high in carbohydrates died younger than those who ate carbs moderately.

These findings were confirmed by a meta-analysis of studies of over 432,000 people from around the world, so the findings seem pretty legit.

After a follow-up of 25 years, researchers found that 6,293 of the 15,428 people had died, and that there was a U-shaped association between carbohydrate consumption and life expectancy.

People with low carb diets (meaning less than 40% of their calories came from carbohydrates) and high carb diets (more than 70% of their calories came from carbs) had a higher risk of mortality than those with a moderate carb intake (50-55% of calories).

Those who had a moderate carb intake had four years added to their life expectancy compared to those with very low carb consumption, and one year more than those with high consumption.

So essentially, cutting the carbs could cut four years off your life.

The researchers recommend that rather than ditching carbohydrates, people should have around half of their calories coming from carbohydrates.

But if you do want to cut down, swapping carbs for plant-based proteins and fats from foods such as vegetables, legumes, and nuts, is a healthier choice than replacing them with beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and cheese. The findings suggest that replacing carbs with animal-based proteins is linked to a greater chance of mortality, while replacing carbs with plant-based proteins lengthens life expectancy.

Dr Sara Seidelmann, clinical and research fellow in cardiovascular medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, who led the research, said: ‘We need to look really carefully at what are the healthy compounds in diets that provide protection.

‘Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy.

‘However, our data suggests that animal-based low carbohydrate diets, which are prevalent in North America and Europe, might be associated with shorter overall life span and should be discouraged.

‘Instead, if one chooses to follow a low-carbohydrate diet, then exchanging carbohydrates for more plant-based fats and proteins might actually promote healthy ageing in the long term.’

Dr Ian Johnson, emeritus fellow at the Quadram Institute Bioscience in Norwich, said: ‘The national dietary guidelines for the UK, which are based on the findings of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, recommend that carbohydrates should account for 50% of total dietary energy intake.

‘In fact, this figure is close to the average carbohydrate consumption by the UK population observed in dietary surveys. It is gratifying to see from the new study that this level of carbohydrate intake seems to be optimal for longevity.’

In short, don’t feel bad about that generous serving of potatoes. It’s good for you.

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You might have seen recent reports on how the number of public loos in the UK is declining drastically.

In fact, a recent mapping released by BBC showed that in 37 areas, major councils do not have any public toilets. In places like Isle of Wight and North Aryshire, the number of public toilets being maintained has been cut by as much as 92% and 80% respectively.

Most media headlines reported this with indifference.

I even watched a BBC presenter laugh her way through a segment on the topic.

While this might be a bit of toilet humour for many, for people like me, public loos are a lifeline.

I am one of 115,000 people living in the UK with Crohn’s disease.

And these cuts can be the difference between feeling confident enough to leave the house and staying at home.

Like many who suffer from digestive disorders, I struggle with toilet issues daily.

My condition makes it hard to plan ahead; some days I’ll be fine, other days I’ll have difficulty leaving the house.

A flare-up can strike from nowhere.

It could be something I’ve eaten or the sheer stress of being away from home and on the go.

And with public toilets disappearing, these attacks become even more stressful.

Let me give you an example.

The other day, I visited London.

I’ve recently started on new medication and felt stable, but there I was – in the middle of the Tower of London’s execution tower of all places –  and I felt those familiar pains.

If you have a digestive disorder, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

The type of pains that indicate that unless you find a loo sharpish, things are going to get ugly.

Queuing up with hoards of tourists, I felt despair: it was getting worse but all I could do was wait.

It’s not easy to explain to people that you have a condition that means you need to push ahead.

Especially to a group of strangers, many of whom were foreign tourists and probably had no concept of Crohn’s disease.

An hour later, as we walked around London, I faced a similar dilemma.

There were no public toilets and the nearest loo was in Starbucks, with a queue a mile long and an sign that demanded you make a purchase if you wanted to use it.

Unfortunately, closing loos to non-paying visitors is common.

Putting aside the fact that it would be extremely expensive to buy something every time I needed the loo, my bowels don’t always have time to wait in a queue to buy something and then stand in another queue for the toilet, too.

Some might argue I could just use the disabled toilets (as if they’re in plentiful supply), but that’s a whole different issue.

Some Crohn’s sufferers require disabled toilets urgently or might need space to change a stoma bag.

Personally, I don’t often consider myself in need of a disabled toilet specifically and don’t want to take them away from the many who do.

What we need is simply more public toilets.

But what can we do about it?

Firstly, we need to raise awareness that public loos are worth investing in.

Cutting them can have a huge impact on the mental health of people like me and those across the UK who battle with digestive disorders.

Businesses can do their part too.

Why do giant corporations require a receipt before a toilet can be used?

Do they really believe that passersby nipping in to use their facilities will have a serious impact on their profits?

A new Use Our Loos campaign from the British Toilet Association, Unilever and the Great British Toilet Map holds promise, though.

The campaign is encouraging local businesses to let people know that they can use their toilets free of change.

Something so simple could be a real solution, but everyone needs to get involved for it to work.

We need to stop reporting on the number of toilets being cut and start reporting on the many individuals who will be affected by these cuts.

Let’s stop talking about numbers and start talking about people.

Jenna Farmer has Crohn’s disease and blogs about it here.

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People with penises, prepare to instinctively shield your crotch from harm.

Yep, there’s another broken penis story doing the rounds, and this one is especially traumatic.

The case study, published in the British Medical Journal, details the story of a 36-year-old man who arrived at hospital with complaints of swelling, pain, and a deformed penis for two days.

He revealed that he had taken Viagra, which gave him an erection that wouldn’t die down after having sex.

The man tried ‘vigorous masturbation’ to get rid of the erection, but it didn’t work, so he went to bed.

While he was asleep, his child came into the room and jumped on to the bed to wake his father up, and ended up falling directly on the man’s penis, causing it to break.

Ouch.

The result was something called an ‘eggplant deformity’ (yes, really), which caused swelling and discolouration on the right side of his penis. An ultrasound revealed a tear. There’s a picture of that tear that we haven’t included in this piece because it is pretty, um, intense, but you can look at the journal if you’re desperate to see a man’s poor, torn member.

The man required surgery to clear a swollen blood clot and repair the tear, then had to face recovery for a few weeks.

Thankfully, six weeks later the man was able to have normal erections and sustained no lasting damage.

Now, while you’re cringing, it’s probably a good time to note that while breaking your penis can happen, it’s not a particularly common injury.

A penile fracture typically occurs during vigorous sex (most often during cowgirl position), and you’ll know it’s happened if you hear a loud pop, then experience a lot of pain, swelling, a loss of erection, and sometimes bleeding.

If you break your penis, head to a doctor ASAP, as they’ll usually be able to remedy things quickly. Don’t worry about embarrassment, the awkwardness is far less painful than the actual breakage, and your doctor has likely seen it all before.

Recovery often requires abstaining from sex and erections for a few weeks so your penis can get back to its normal happy state.

To avoid penis breakages, be careful when it comes to vigorous thrusts, go to a doctor if an erection won’t go down, and dear lord, do not let children jump on your bed.

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Standing in a group of men recently I raised the subject of vasectomies. (I am such fun at parties.)

‘They’re so great!’ I said, ‘No hormones, worry free shagging!’* As I said the word, a groan went up around the assembled company. It was like I’d raised that scene in Casino Royal where the dude who cries blood goes at James Bond’s crotch with a knotted rope.

*Apart from STIs, a vasectomy will not prevent you from catching STIs.

‘Absolutely not’ one friend said. ‘No way.’

Which got me wondering. If you’re someone who has finished having kids, or who never wants kids, why wouldn’t you want to have a vasectomy? It’s pretty much bullet proof as a method of contraception (99% effective), which means you don’t have to worry about hormonal methods such as the pill, or spend time and money using condoms. To me, a non penis owner, it seems like the perfect form of contraception.

And yet, only 11,113 were performed in 2014/15 – down from 31,216  in 2004/5.

So, in the name of jizz journalism, I asked a load of men why they wouldn’t have the snip.

‘It just feels weird’ David, 28 from London told me. ‘I don’t want to not be able to come.’

(Just as an FYI, having a vasectomy doesn’t mean that you’re unable to orgasm…)

‘I don’t want to come and have nothing coming out’ said James. I explained that after a vasectomy there is still ejaculate when you orgasm, but that it’s not filled with sperm.

‘Yeah’ he replied. ‘But I’d know. It’s just different.’

Thus far, I wasn’t getting much in the way of information. I spoke to Carl, 35, who told me: ‘I realise that it’s probably not logical, but I don’t like the idea of it. It’s weird to take away my own power to reproduce. Maybe it’s a male pride thing, but it just really freaks me out. Plus, I know it’s not as invasive as a woman having her tubes tied, but it doesn’t sound like a nice operation.’

Fair enough. After all, we all want autonomy over our own bodies, and it feels counter intuitive to have a medical procedure that isn’t strictly necessary. But it does sound like there’s some misinformation about what a vasectomy really involves.

Of course, there are lots of reasons, not based on a lack of information, that a man might not want to have the snip. One man, who shared his story anonymously with Metro.co.uk, said:

‘My partner and I have a 4 year old son. In March we found out we were pregnant with twin boys. We spoke then about me having a vasectomy and I planned to see the doctor but didn’t make the appointment. Last week we lost the twins at 28 weeks which means at this moment we are going through the hardest time in our lives. Seeing your tweet made me think that you never know what can happen and what is around the corner. What if I’d seen the doctor and jumped into a cancellation? Now we may never try again but at least I know that we can.’

And Greg, 43 told Metro.co.uk: ‘I thought I was done with having children, but after my wife left me I was glad to have the option to have more children, otherwise my inability to could stop me from forming a relationship with someone I like who has kids.’

But, not all men are so anti the snip. Rafe, 38 told Metro.co.uk: ‘Once my wife and I have had the number of kids we want, I would have a vasectomy.  It seems logical and it would be great to be able to have unprotected sex without the worry of an unplanned child.  I think men who are a bit squeamish about the idea probably haven’t done the research and understood how the operation works.’

So, if you’re in a long term relationship and either done with having kids, or don’t want kids, it can be great option and a very reliable form of contraception. But it is invasive, and can cause problems in how a man feels about his masculinity, so it’s not a decision to be taken lightly.

If you’re considering a vasectomy you should consult your GP. The procedure is free on the NHS. Some names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the men who gave their thoughts to this piece. 

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Up until last month, there was no law stating parents could take time off work for the death of a child – you were completely under the discretion of your employer.

This is why the new Parental Bereavement Leave Bill is such a positive step forward in ensuring parents have a little more time to grieve the death of their child.

From September 2018, parents will be able to take two weeks statutory leave from work, which is a huge step forward from no leave being granted in some circumstances.

Over the past few weeks, I have been full of mixed emotions. I never imagined that eight years of sharing my story about Jack’s death would have such a huge impact, not only on my own life but on other bereaved families’ lives, too.

Children aren’t supposed to die before their parents – it’s not the natural order – so when Jack tragically died just two weeks before his second birthday, my world collapsed around me. I had no idea how I was ever going to survive without him around anymore.

Jack was a beautiful little boy; he was my miracle baby. I didn’t think I would be able to have any more children after his sister, but on September 16, 2008, Jack came into this world weighing 8lb 8oz with lots of fair hair.

He was loved by everyone that met him, with his infectious laugh and chubby cheeks and friendly temperament. I think of him every day, and sometimes wonder what he would have been like today.

When Jack drowned, his death destroyed me. I couldn’t see light for a long time; I had never experienced pain like it. When you hear of people dying because of a broken heart, I understood how this could be possible.

So how did I become a campaigner? Well, I had no idea of how to go about it but knew it was something I had to do.

After Jack’s death, my family and friends all had to return to work – some three days later and some just 24hrs after.

I was shocked that there was no law to ensure people had time to grieve – if your employer told you that you couldn’t take time off then there was nothing in place to protect you.

I felt passionate about changing this, and knew I had to find some sort of focus to recover from my tragedy. I believe I was supposed to start this campaign as I truly think that I would not have found peace within myself otherwise.

My whole campaign revolved around Jack, and creating something positive out of a negative experience has always been my focus.

I had to decide Jack’s legacy and ensure no other parent would be told they couldn’t have time to grieve their child.

In the beginning, it was about creating bereavement leave for anyone that needed it – but politics is a difficult subject to tackle, so I began with the death of a child. I hope I can eventually ensure all bereaved families can have time to grieve their loved ones, but I had to start somewhere.

Some studies suggest up to 90% of relationships fail after the death of a child, and I think if parents had time to grieve together, the number would be a lot less.

Becoming a campaigner and a speaker about grief was never my intention, but it’s a career that I couldn’t imagine ever stopping.

This new bill will hopefully enable parents to take the time to grieve together. It’s far from perfect, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

I am so pleased that Jack’s legacy will allow other families to have the peace of mind that they can take the time off work to grieve.

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