Susan is a woman who grew up on a farm and met the guy of her dreams when she was just 14 years old. At 18, they got engaged and shortly after had a child together.

To celebrate their love, she wanted a blowout fairy tale wedding on the tropical island of Aruba, Venezuela. But the lavish affair came up to $60,000 (£46,729.20).

Naturally, she asked all the guests to donate $1,500 (£1,168.23) each.

Understandably, majority of the guests refused and her relationship with all of them, as well as the one she had with her fiancé quickly deteriorated.

The wedding was then called off.

Anyway, Susan is now planning to go backpacking around South America and doesn’t give two hoots about the ‘c*nts’ and ‘snakes’ who ruined her wedding.

In an epic Facebook post which has now gone viral, the jilted bride explained how everything fell apart.

‘So our request for $1,500 from all other guests was not out of the f*cking ordinary,’ she said.

‘Like we made it clear. If you couldn’t contribute, you couldn’t make it to our exclusive wedding. It’s a once and [sic] a lifetime party.

‘I mean seriously people, what is $1,000? What is $1,500? Clearly, not a lot. It would be quite manageable and within budget. I’ve heard of people asking for worse.’

As convincing as her pleas were, people didn’t quite warm to the idea of giving away a load of dosh. So she set up a Go Fund Me page to secure fundraising, but that also fell through.

Though she initially had some backing from her future husband’s family and her best friend, they eventually dropped out.

‘Suddenly more people backed out. Including the c*nt made of honour. My best friend since childhood. My family.

‘I was so shocked and tearful. To make matters worse, it was only a month before the wedding. To cancel everything would be more than $5,000.’

Susan’s partner still wanted to get married despite not being able to afford the grand wedding they had envisioned, so he suggested eloping to Las Vegas.

‘I laughed in his face but he was dead serious,’ she said.

‘He wanted those cheap, raggedy, filthy, whore-like Vegas weddings. I mean what the f*ck, was he out of his mind? Am I some Hooch piece of f*cking trash, a hooker?’

‘My ex left the room and didn’t apologise for his horrid suggestion. I then called my maid of honour and cried my eyes out.

‘Instead of sympathy, I was told I was asking for way too much and I should stick to my budget.

‘I just wanted to be a Kardashian for a day and then live my life like normal. I called her a filthy f*cking poor excuse of a friend and hung up.’

Susan’s bridesmaids and maid of honour then asked for their money back but she refused to hand over the cash until she was compensated for her emotional distress.

She ended the self-described ‘mini-novel’ by saying: ‘Friendly reminder to you c*nts. Don’t think you own me. I am cutting all you snakes off.’

We’re not sure where Susan is now, but she’s probably not missing her ex, her family, friends, or best friend.

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I’ve always wanted to be a woman who achieved something wonderful.

I could have been the first female journalist under to 30 to report from the front line of the conflict in Yemen. Or I could have eaten 150 chicken wings in one hour and set a world record.

Instead, I have had my expectations limited.

The sad reality hit at the age of 21, when I was diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder – a severe form of PMS that’s diagnosable as a mental illness – that’s limited my life in many ways since.

PMDD affects 3%-8% of menstruating women, and in my years as a sufferer – pre and post diagnosis – I have only ever seen one published essay on my condition.

I was embarrassed by it, and shamed into silence by the lack of recognition towards it.

Pre-diagnosis, I trialled a lengthy catalogue of remedies for depression, assuming I was mentally ill. Having been offered no explanation for my drastic, often dangerous mood changes, I had no reason to believe that I had anything other than depression.

The inconsolable sadness, and the compulsive desire to commit to ritualistic practices in order to soothe the internal itch within my mind, all contributed to this.

I was panic stricken at night, riddled with fear during the day, mentally exhausted, and physically unable to get out of bed before 5pm.

I noticed, after months of following the same wretched pattern, all of these symptoms would subside following the arrival of my period. During day one or two of bleeding, when my hormones would balance out again, I would feel more like the woman I recognised.

I battled myself for six more months, accusing myself of being weak because I couldn’t cope with my premenstrual symptoms when my female friends all seemed to manage just fine.

I fought that internal battle until December 2010, when I became so overwhelmed by the things I was going through – that I didn’t have the courage to talk about – that I attempted suicide.

When I was finally diagnosed with PMDD by my GP, I felt a small sense of relief at the idea that I would soon be offered some long term, effective treatment that would give me respite.

But it was short lived.

PMDD is not like regular PMS. Most of us get a bit grouchy and a bit bloated before our periods. It’s something we’re taught to expect when we’re young girls.

I can handle two or three days of having sore boobs and a bad attitude, but the reality of having PMDD is that I begin to experience severe symptoms between 10-14 days before my period even arrives.

PMDD is commonly described as ‘medically severe PMS’, and it has as many physical symptoms as it does mental ones.

As well as feeling emotionally detached, riddled with anxiety and hopeless, my body temperature rises a whole degree higher than the average 37 degrees Celsius, and my bladder swells so severely that it becomes painful to urinate, walk, or even sit.

I tried several different diets. I tried exercise and meditation. I wrote a diary, as a means of documenting the ways in which my mood would ebb and flow. I have tried every oestrogen-oppressing contraceptive, anti-depressant, and anxiety-suppressant.

None have been successful.

Living with PMDD is incredibly lonely and isolating.

Month to month, I would find myself unable to correctly identify my emotions – because I have no way of compartmentalising what I am actually feeling and what my demons are suggesting that I feel just because I am in the luteal phase of my menstrual cycle.

Now, at 27, I find it impossible to trust myself to feel emotions at all because I cannot guarantee that those emotions are real, and not simply a part of my monthly descent into a deep and unforgiving state of sadness and anxiety.

When no medication and no cognitive behavioural therapy succeeded in helping me, I returned to fight desperately for the only thing I believe will: A hysterectomy.

Except, why would a medically healthy, fertile, unmarried, 27 year old woman be offered an elective procedure on the basis of a disease a doctor can’t see?

So my GPs would either ignore my requests, or dismiss them with nonchalance, like my requests weren’t serious.

My only push towards reaching a conclusive end to what I feel has been infinite suffering is by opening up positive, welcoming discourse with other women like myself, both online and offline.

I don’t believe my battle is a personal one, or one that I am fighting alone.

There is a small catalogue of rising voices on Twitter in The Vicious Cycle Project, for example, which is run by and for sufferers, who seek to increase the visibility of an otherwise invisible disorder.

We can, among other things, offer each other support.

However, for me at least, the first step towards making proper treatment available is to blow the words up into big, colourful and unavoidable letters, raise awareness, and highlight the seriousness and severity of such a debilitating mental illness – and that starts with articles like these.

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Children get excited by all kinds of things, some as simple as a trip to the supermarket.

Hannah Sewell’s four-year-old son Caden jumps up and down when he finds his favourite apples.

But when she popped to a local Aldi store with her son in tow, the fun was cut short by a rude customer who didn’t appreciate his enthusiasm.

The woman scolded Caden for the noise and told Hannah to control her kids.

She has since written an open letter to the stranger, explaining how her usually upbeat son was left heartbroken and lost his appetite, even after she took him to his favourite restaurant to cheer him up.

‘I’m sorry you felt that my son being excited about getting a bag of his favourite apples and jumping up and down beside me, was such a big deal that you needed to ask me to “control my kid because people are trying to shop”,’ she wrote in the Facebook post.

‘When I told you that he can’t help it and was just excited, and even apologised to you, you decided to roll your eyes and cut me off.

‘And then you did something I really wasn’t expecting. I’m not sure if you noticed it when you bent down, but Caden got excited again thinking you were coming to say hi.

‘He used to be afraid of strangers. We’ve been working on that.

‘But instead of saying hi, you got close to his face and asked him “what is wrong with you, does your mommy never take you anywhere?”‘

‘Then you pointed out that he didn’t say anything back to you.’

Hannah continued by saying she had explained to the stranger that her son wasn’t able to talk, but the woman continued her tirade.

‘When I informed you that he is unable to talk, you laughed and said “no surprise there, he can’t even walk through a store” before walking away.

‘I’m not sure if you can tell, but you broke his f*cking heart and mine when you did that.’

In her post, Hannah also made it clear that the stranger wasn’t an Aldi team member, but a random customer.

The post has since gone viral and amassed over 300,000 likes.

Plenty of people, many of whom are parents, expressed their sympathies and slammed the shopper.

One user advised Hannah on how to deal with the situation if it were to happen again: ‘I can understand why that might hurt you and your baby,’ she wrote.

‘But please don’t let that one person bring you down and feel defeated. Don’t run away from the situation next time.

‘Because you don’t want to teach your son to run away in defeat when he finds himself in those situations.’

‘Your son is beautiful and I’m so sorry that people made him feel like that,’ wrote another person.

‘Tell him to be himself and the people that matter will never make him feel like that.’

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If you’ve got £12,495 to spend, you might fancy staying at this country house located in Petworth, West Sussex.

The luxury staycation villa sleeps up to 14 people with seven en-suite super-king double bedrooms, as well as two shower rooms located on the ground floor.

Gather up 13 friends and split the nightly cost of £4,165.

Like stepping into the setting of an old English novel, the picturesque property called Cornucopia also features a swimming pool, bowling alley, cinema room, tennis court, trampoline and private lake with rowing boats.

The price includes a welcome hamper with fresh produce, a selection of regional sparkling wines and chocolates.

And OK, it’s a hell of a lot of money for a weekend stay, but if you’ve got it, why not treat yourself?

Plus, £2,500 of the total cost is a cautionary deposit.

‘Alongside the word sublime in the dictionary a picture of Cornucopia house wouldn’t be misplaced,’ reads the listing.

‘This large self-catering luxury country home near Petworth in West Sussex exudes luxurious awe-inspiring grandeur and will have guests’ jaws dropping from the moment they glimpse this bounteous home at the end of the sweeping drive.

‘There’s even an elevator which ensures zipping between all four floors is a breeze. Work out in the gym, recline in the hot tub, or enjoy a game of ten pin bowling down in the lower ground floor relaxation zone, before riding the lift back up to discover the delights on offer within the rest of the house.’

‘Cornucopia is set in 40 acres of exquisite parkland with a private lake and jetty, outdoor swimming pool (heated from May-September) and manicured lawns all surrounded by majestic oak trees to ensure complete privacy.’

If for some reason you’d like to leave Cornucopia during your stay, there is plenty to see and do nearby.

Take a stroll through South Downs National Park, an area steeped in history and traditional English culture with green rolling hills and river valleys.

The nearby town of Petworth has an international reputation as being a leading antiques centre with over 30 art and antiques dealers.

Meanwhile the home of British Polo, Cowdray Park, is just a short drive away.

Cornucopia could also provide an ideal base for anyone staying near the annual Goodwood festivals including Goodwood Revival, Goodwood Festival of Speed and Glorious Goodwood.

Explore other parts of West Sussex where you’ll find the seaside resort of Littlehampton or the county town of Chichester, where you can catch a show at the Festival Theatre.

The house is already booked up for the rest of August, but September has both week and weekend stays available.

Time to start a WhatsApp group and get your mates together.

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Tabitha Frost, a mother of three, has a rare breast milk condition, hyperlactation syndrome, which means she produces three times more milk than average mum.

In order to deal with the excess supply, the California-based blogger has to pump every three hours.

She makes about 90oz of breast milk every day, but only 25oz go to her eight-month-old daughter Cleo.

So as to not waste it, she donates the rest of it to babies who are allergic to formula or those born prematurely, in cases where the mother may not have formed her own breast milk yet.

No matter where Tabitha is, she has to pump as the milk doesn’t stop flowing. In her eyes, it’s like a full time job.

‘My routine doesn’t stop whether I’m on vacation, I’m not feeling well or if I’m lacking in sleep,’ she says.

‘I’m always doing it. I’ll pump wherever I am.

‘I’ve pumped at concerts, I’ve pumped at baseball games. I pump in the car, I pump at museums.

‘You name it, I’ve pumped there. I don’t let life get in the way.’

Tabitha pumps the liquid into sterilised containers which she sends off to a donation service known as Prolacta, based in America.

So far, she has donated almost 1,000 pints.

‘I recently donated milk to a pair of twins who were born prematurely,’ she says.

‘They have a condition that requires them to be fed through feeding tubes.’

Husband Nick, a property developer, is very supportive, though Tabitha says the constant pumping does get in the way of their relationship.

She also has to get rid of milk during the night so often wakes him up while doing so.

‘It’s definitely a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding,’ she continues.

‘I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.’

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A hotel in Norwich will be putting on the most magical Harry Potter-themed afternoon tea this Christmas.

Muggles can line up at the Assembly House to fill their plates with Hogwarts-inspired delights from 28 November until 2 January next year.

Nicknamed the School of Magic Afternoon Tea, the experience will offer a ‘spellbinding selection of cakes, sandwiches and Philosopher’s Scones’ – and apparently you should most definitely get dressed for the occasion (which means cloaks and wands, people).

Guests can also munch on Slytherin’s finger sandwiches and sample drinks such as the Draught of Living Death and the Elixir of Life.

The cakes include the Boy Wizard’s Gateau Opera: the hotel’s signature cake with a scarlet and gold twist, topped with a tiny sugar scarf.

Or try Dudley’s Knickerbocker Glory drizzled with Exploding Lemonade: A glass filled with chocolate syrup, strawberry compote, vanilla cream and scattered with lemon sherbet, freeze-dried raspberries and popping candy.

There’s also A Bolt out of the Blue Macaron – stuffed with a butterbeer flavoured filling and decorated with a glitter lightning bolt – and The Wizard’s Choosing Hat; a solid sugar hat to take away, placed on top of a chocolate-dipped mousse cake that hides a colourful vanilla secret.

Vegans need not be sad, because Assembly House presents vegan versions of The Wizard’s Choosing Hat and Dudley’s Knickerbocker Glory, as well as other vegan cakes such as ‘enchanting’ glittered shortbread and a chocolate wand.

Yum.

The afternoon tea costs £20.95 for one or £40 for two.

A smaller Mini Wizards’ School of Magic Afternoon Tea is available for children under 12 and features The Boy Wizard’s Gateau Opera, The Wizard’s Choosing Hat, Dudley’s Knickerbocker Glory and a Magical Wand, plus a scone and a sandwich for £12.95.

If you’d like to get your wizard on, you can book it here.

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A woman has dedicated her life to caring for thousands of rescued guinea pigs – she says the furry little creature is her ‘spiritual animal’.

For the past 20 years, 49-year-old Saskia Chiesa has been running Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue in Chatsworth, California.

She decided to open the rescue after finding there was no place in the area for rescued guinea pigs to go.

‘I decided to rescue guinea pigs because it’s my spiritual animal,’ Saskia says.

‘The memory of my first guinea pig, I picked it up and I was just so taken. I was just totally mesmerized, it was just this beautiful creature. Ever since then, you know, my whole life’s gone to the pigs.’

Saskia expected the rescue to start slowly but found herself with 20 guinea pigs within the first month, all of which were suffering from health problems.

Since then, the rescue has become home to 250 guinea pigs at a time – and Saskia is always taking in more.

She says that understandably, life at the sanctuary is ‘very hectic’.

‘I was expecting one or two to start with but there were 20 of them. They all had skin diseases so I was thrown in the deep right away.’

Due to how busy it gets, Saskia has taken on volunteers to help run the sanctuary including Melissa Brown, who says the pigs have changed her life.

‘I just love this place. I call this pig paradise, this is my home away from home,’ Melissa explains.

‘I love when kids and families come in here, and they’re just so excited and overwhelmed because there’s a lot of guinea pigs.

‘They’re life-changing – I have suffered with anxiety, depression, just a lot of emotional problems growing up, and I feel now that the therapy that they give me, I definitely could have benefitted in my earlier years and I wish I could’ve known that.’

Alongside a roof over their tiny heads, the rescue centre also provides health checks for the guinea pigs, and services such as manicures and hair styling to give them a touch of luxury during their stay.

‘We do health checks where we just do a little scan, a nail clip and of course, we do adult matchmaking services,’ says Saskia.

‘So, if we have a guinea pig who’s lonely then you can bring the guinea pig and we’ll just have a few play dates. Same-sex of course because we don’t breed here.’

The sanctuary puts all the guinea pigs up for adoption and Saskia is passionate about educating people on how to give them the best care possible.

She says that the tiny animals require lots of space, which most definitely does not include the small cages you can sometimes see them be put into at pet stores.

‘It’s cruel actually, to have them in the smaller cages because they do want to walk around,’ she says.

Moving across the pond and want to adopt a furry little buddy of your own? Find out how to rescue a guinea pig here.

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On Saturday 1 September, Marks & Spencer is launching a limited-edition Colin the Caterpillar cake in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support’s flagship fundraising event – the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

Colin will get a makeover with brand new purple feet as well as green and purple sprinkles, and he’ll be joined by his mini Colin pals, decorated in a similar fashion.

The cake will cost £7 and M&S will be donating 10% of all sales to Macmillan.

An additional 10% of sales from other selected cakes and sweet treats will also be given to the charity, such as the Mini Coffee Morning Colin the Caterpillar, a brand new Macmillan Doughnut, a Teatime cupcake selection and classic delights including Victoria Sandwich, Chocolate Fudge, Coffee and Walnut and Lemon Drizzle cakes.

With every cake bought and each slice cut, customers will be helping to support the growing number of people living with cancer in the UK.

Perfect for anyone going to a Macmillan Coffee Morning this September and who doesn’t have time to bake.

Opportunities to give to the cause don’t stop there.

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is taking place on Friday 28th September and M&S cafés will be donating 5p from every hot drink and slice of cake sold on the day of the charity’s event.

The new Coffee Morning Colin and his mini friends will be available in M&S stores across the country until Saturday 30th September.

Macmillan Cancer Support helps people with cancer live life as fully as they can and the charity is relying on the public to raise awareness and funds. 

If you have the morning free on this date, head on over to M&S to show your support (and munch on a delicious classic British cake).

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We’ve seen some bizarre fashion trends over the past few months.

This includes those strange double shorts, Fashion Nova’s bum-flashing trousers and Pretty Little Thing’s thong shorts – which looked incredibly uncomfortable.

But it seems Farfetch is out to win the title of ‘the weirdest piece of clothing’ competition, with its new Unravel Project Inside Out-effect jeans.

The jeans look as though they have a random pair of tights stitched to them and are, as described, inside out.

All of the seams are visible and the fabric features the lighter colour found on the inside of your denim jeans.

But they’re not very helpful if you want to carry something; due to their style, the jeans don’t have functioning pockets.

In fact, the only thing that’s not actually inside out is the buttons – because that would just be idiotic.

To make matters worse, there’s also a weird mesh-like material hanging from the right side and back of the jeans.

All in all, we declare this is one a total fashion disaster.

Seriously, who started making these jeans and actually wanted to carry on?

It’s almost as if they made them inside out by accident and decided to just go with it so they could leave work early.

Oh, and worst of all is the price.

To wear the jeans that say ‘I got dressed in the dark and accidentally fell into a bundle of tights in the process’, you’ll have to fork out £368.

Which is a surprisingly good deal if you consider they’re 60% off, meaning they originally cost £920.

Despite the deal (can you even call it that?) we think we’ll pass on these ‘jeans’.

Though if you like them you can always recreate them for yourself on the cheap; just turn an old pair of jeans inside out and stitch on a few pairs of tights.

And hey, if you’re feeling super entrepreneurial, maybe you can even start flogging them to your friends – if Farfetch can do it for nearly £400, we’re sure you can too.

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We know Milan is a revered fashion capital. But sadly, as an ageist world, we don’t often associate style and glamour with older women.

But Instagram account Sciuraglam is changing all that and celebrating the fashion savvy grannies, or nonne as they’re known in Italian, who roam the streets of Milan.

The account profiles the Mediterranean’s most fabulous grandmothers voguing for the camera and just going about their fabulous lives.

Prepare for some serious style envy.

The man behind the account is dental student Angelo from south Italy, who wishes to hide his identity from the rest of the world.

‘Nobody knows my real identity apart from some of the women I photograph, and I would love it to stay this way,’ he tells Teen Vogue.

‘I didn’t start this to be famous. I want the account to be focused on the women, not me.’

‘I didn’t have a real reason to start it, I just fell in love with these iconic women in Milan,’ Angelo says.

He started snapping some of the fashionistas he came across in his daily life on his camera phone in December 2016.

Now he’s archived the pics into the account, which has 126,000 followers.

Angelo still wants to pursue dentistry full-time but photography is his passion.

For now, he’s happy to have a chat and take shots of his glamorous subjects.

And they love it too.

We can only hope to be as stylish as these women in the future.

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This summer our Instagram page is on a road trip across the UK.

Through your pictures, we’re travelling to every county and hunting out the best beauty spots, shareable shores and like-worthy landmarks.

So far we have ventured around the south of England, giving you inspiration from the lavender fields of Kent to crystal clear waters of Cornwall.

Here are a few of our most liked images so you can keep up.

Use #MetroRoadTrip share your pictures for the next stage of our journey to Wales.

Hampshire

A stunning chocolate box cottage from the village Jane Austen lived in, captured by @ttiblog.

Wiltshire

On our trip through Wiltshire we stopped at the mysterious Stonehenge two miles west of Amesbury, taken by @jonnybernardino.

Oxfordshire

Gloucestershire

Bristol

The balloon festival is a spectacle every year in Bristol and was captured brilliantly by @perkspectivephotography.

Dorset

Forget the white cliffs of Dover, it is all about the white cliffs of Dorset – shown here in this picture by @greenograph.

Somerset

Bath is of course famous for its Roman baths, with this stunning picture by @veronicaushanaeva showing the beauty of the city.

Devon

A city on the coast of the Med? No it is a beach in Devon, captured by @edavies92.

Cornwall

You don’t have to go on holiday for crystal clear waters, as shown in this shot taken by @kernow_shots.

The next stage of our #MetroRoadTrip will see us heading to Wales.

You can follow us at @Metro.co.uk where we regularly post the best pictures from London using #MetroLDN.

Do you drift off to sleep while watching an episode of the latest binge-worthy show on Netlix?

Or do you reach for your headphones and tune out the world with your favourite beats?

If it’s the latter, you might want to make sure you’re tuning into some relaxing yoga music rather than a headbanger.

That’s because new research suggests this type of tranquil music allows people to wake up less anxious than other types of audio.

Anxiety levels dropped significantly after participants listened to yoga music, as opposed to pop or no music, showed the study that was presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, Germany.

Listening to meditation sounds also resulted in feeling more positive than when drifting off to pop music.

The research, carried out in India, included 149 healthy people who participated in three sessions on separate nights.

Heart rates were measured at every session for five minutes before the music or silence started, and then again during the music / silence, and five minutes after it had stopped.

Anxiety levels were also assessed before and after each session by using the Goldberg Anxiety Scale (a test which compares your results against that of your peers).

Respondents measured how positive they felt using a visual analogue scale.

‘We use music therapy in our hospital and in this study we showed that yoga music has a beneficial impact on heart rate variability before sleeping,’ said author Dr Naresh Sen, consultant cardiologist at HG SMS Hospital in Jaipur, India.

‘Science may have not always agree, but Indians have long believed in the power of various therapies other than medicines as a mode of treatment for ailments.

‘This is a small study, and more research is needed on the cardiovascular effects of music interventions offered by a trained music therapist.

‘But listening to soothing music before bedtime is a cheap and easy-to-implement therapy that cannot cause harm.’

Dr Sen noted that holistic therapies such as music cannot replace evidence-based drugs and interventions, and should only be used alongside them.

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Forget everything you know about couple goals, because one elderly man and his wife have proved just how wonderful love can be.

The man who became a viral sensation when he learnt how to do his wife’s makeup after she started losing her sight has just released his own online tutorial on how to apply foundation, and we’ve fallen in love with him all over again.

Des Monahan, 84, from Ireland, took makeup lessons at his local Debenhams store after his wife Mona, 83, began struggling to apply it herself.

He wanted to make sure he knew how to do her makeup so that she would always feel her best, even when she started losing her sight.

Des’s makeup tutorial was created in the style of popular YouTube vlogs, and was produced in collaboration with EX1 Cosmetics.

He was filmed telling his wife of 57 years that she looked ‘flawless’, saying that ‘even Michelangelo would be jealous’ as he applied makeup to her face.

However, he was careful not to apply too much, as he says there’s not much to conceal on his wife’s face, because she’s ‘perfect’.

Alongside actually applying the makeup, Des took the time to explain how he went about selecting the perfect shade of foundation for Mona’s skin tone, and demonstrated how to best apply it –even using a beauty blender to do so.

One day, Mona will go completely blind, but she’s thankful to her husband for learning how to apply her makeup, as having her face made up is something she absolutely loves.

It makes her feel ‘ready to face the world’.

Not only was Mona left with a stunning look at the end of the makeup application, but Des also revealed that the pair would be going on a date that night.

And now, of course, we’re hoping that everyone one day finds their own Des.

He’s wonderful.

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Alexei, our driver, maneuvered the jeep onto the ice and hit the accelerator. As we passed 70 kilometres an hour, our guide, Yulia, chimed in from the back seat.

‘Take your seatbelt off,’ she said with a broad smile. ‘It is for safety’.

Everything is a bit different in Lake Baikal, a place of superlatives and records.

It is the deepest lake on the planet, more than a mile down at one point. It holds one fifth of the unfrozen fresh water in the world, which is more than the five Great Lakes combined. And its water is of such extraordinary purity and clarity that one can see as far as 40 metres down. In fact, swimmers and divers have reported vertigo.

But I won’t be swimming on this trip: I chose to visit in March and it was still frozen down to the depth of a metre, which was why our jeep could travel its entire surface area – equivalent to that of Belgium – without alarm.

Baikal in winter is peaceful, spiritual and exquisitely beautiful. It is the jewel of Siberia.

The particular segment of Baikal we visited was just a slice, a gap between the western shore and the island of Olkhon.

Between the mainland and Olkhon were lots of smaller islands. Many have beautiful ice formations on them, remnants of high waves that crashed against the sides during early storms and frozen solid.

They were weird and smooth and wonderful, shining in the late afternoon sun and dripping as they began to melt. Often, the bottom 20 centimetres or so have thawed away, leaving them hanging above the ice.

On another island, we climbed a hill to see two different forms of worship. One was shamanic, a totem pole covered in ribbons; the other Buddhist, a white stupa at the top of the hill.

At the first, one wished for something; at the other, it was for something unattractive about yourself to be taken away. The norm was to leave a coin at both, eagle-side up, looking at the sky.

Baikal is spiritual. It is home to five different cultures around its considerable perimeter, with the shamanic forms of the Buryat people most visible. But in truth, everyone has their own relationship with it.

Yulia said she thinks of the lake as a grandfather: wise, revered, loving. She communicates with it, makes offerings to it, reasons and makes peace with it.

We stayed in a rustic wooden guesthouse on the shore where we ate hearty Russian food – salads, borsht, lamb, and the local fish omul.

Yulia brought out some local, home-made hooch. There was some uncertainty about what this contained, but pine nuts and ‘old jam’ were among its ingredients, alongside some herbs and possibly something to do with a birch tree – all of it distilled to around 50%ABV.

The effect was like a whiskey or sherry, and it went down with a splendid burn.

I was taught a number of rules about Siberian drinking.

First, I had to hold the glass in my left hand and use the ring finger of my right to dab into the drink and point upwards to the spirits in the sky. A second dab went to the spirits all around, in four directions; then a third, for the spirits underground. A fourth, to the heart, for family. And then you made a toast; and finally, you downed the shot.

The first toast was to happy travelling. The second was to our meeting. The third was to love and women, and apparently if a man got this wrong, any woman nearby would be entitled to cut his tie in half. A fourth was family, and by the fifth, with bracing enthusiasm, we’re on to grandmothers.

By the eighth toast, it was necessary to put one’s finger in a spirit and throw the people around you into the air, then drink the floor. Or to put a spirit in your drink and eat the person next to you before pouring the sky into your glass and drinking a grandmother.

Or something like that.

Next morning, we headed onto the ice again for Cape Khoboy, the northern tip of Olkhon Island.

Our guide phoned other drivers and residents to ask about conditions ahead and was warned that a new gap had appeared in the ice somewhere; it’s something to look out for.

In practice, what we found was not a crack opening, but the opposite.

Like plate tectonics, the ice sheets moved towards each other and then buckled upwards. The result, while a hell of a thing to drive over, was wonderful: long lines of ice rose in cluttered white and blue chunks that cascaded, dripped and froze again into endless unique forms.

We set up for lunch on a gravel moraine on the shore, where temporary fishing shacks have been formed from corrugated sheets and old vehicles.

Alexei, looking his happiest when wielding an axe, chopped wood for a fire, and then placed a metal box on top of it; within it, he smoked local fish. In 20 minutes, they were ready and delicious.

On the way back, Alexei brought out a lethal-looking corkscrew device that he used to drill a hole into the metre-thick ice.

Water rose to fill the tunnel he made, and we scooped it into a cup and drank it. It was good, refreshing and, unsurprisingly, brain-freezingly cold.

When we got back to the guesthouse, I walked down to the shore, stepped onto the ice, and started walking.

There were no paths, no topography in the way and an infinite range of routes and directions I could take.

I walked a good kilometer off the shore, headed for one island, changed my mind and found another.

There, surrounded by those melting old waves again, I found an ice-free rock and laid flat on my back. Looking at the sky and a crescent daytime moon, I marvelled at the serenity.

I reached for my camera then decided against it. My phone, too, could wait. For once I didn’t want to check my email, nor the cricket. This was a place to be peaceful.

(Top picture: Chris Wright)

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Trying to find a place to rent in London, but have no idea what a ‘normal’ (by London’s standards, anyway) amount to pay is?

Take a look at What I Rent, our weekly series that aims to demystify the world of renting by taking you inside a different person’s rented property each week, showing you the good bits, the expensive bits, and the state of the bathroom.

This week we’re hanging out with Emmie, 25, who shares a one-bedroom flat in Dalston, Hackney, with her fiancé Jethro, 24.

Hey, Emmie! How long have you and Jethro lived in the flat?

We’ve lived in Dalston, Hackney, for ten months now. Before we lived on Caledonian Road for a year – which was grim.

How much rent do you pay? 

£1,450 per month.

What about bills? 

£98 for council tax, £30 for gas and electric, £25 for water, £30 for internet per calendar month.

And what do you get for that money? 

One bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, kitchen.

How did you find the place?

I was a bit skeptical as it had been on Zoopla for two weeks so we thought something was wrong with it. Instead it had just got lost online – we were very lucky as everything else we liked got snapped up in days.

We even risked going through an expensive estate agent which we’d never usually do as the fees are through the roof. We managed to get £50pcm off the price since it’d been online for so long.

You’ve got to haggle with these people. As my nanna always says, shy bairns get nout!

Are you happy where you live? 

We’re very happy where we live. It’s bright, airy, so much quieter and not on a busy road.

There’s great access to bars and restaurants on Kingsland Road and Dalston.

Hackney Downs green space is a four minute walk away, there are great transport links and the neighbours are lovely. We’re surrounded by cute kids!

Oh and we have a bath. Result!

Do you feel like you’ve got enough space? 

Yeah – except when we have guests. The camping chairs and air beds come out!

Our last place had two beds but we found it was just a place to store our crap so we sacrificed a room.

Annoyingly our storage space is a bit rubbish now, we had to ask for a new freezer and wardrobe since the landlord didn’t have one.

Their stuff is in our cupboards and under our bed – obviously we’re not allowed to touch it or know what it is. Feels like we’re paying for their storage sometimes, really.

What’s it like living with Jethro? 

Amazing. I’ve hated every flatshare I’ve been in – I’ve lived with druggies, hoarders and a doctor who padlocked her bedroom. It’s nice to finally be living with my best friend.

I do the cooking, he does the washing and we sit in our pants drinking beer and watching The Walking Dead.

We’ve only lived together for 18 months as we were long distance for 2.5 years – I travelled from Glasgow to Bristol every six weeks which was horrendous.

All sounds grand. Are there any problems with the flat? 

Nothing too major. There’s a bad leak in the kitchen and bathroom which does seem to be getting worse. It’s a little cold in the winter but Jethro’s tight with the heating.

Generally the estate agents are great which is refreshing. I’d still love to throttle every motorbike that goes past at 4am but every Londoner has that problem.

In our last place we had mice, an ant invasion and the biggest flies you’ve ever seen. This time round we found a fully intact mouse skeleton under the fridge. I’ve never heard Jethro scream like it – but it means we don’t need to get the place professionally cleaned when we leave.

How have you made the place feel like your own? 

Jethro’s a great photographer so we’ve put his photos of places we’ve been together on the wall. We have my sister’s artwork, ‘Lady and the Trump,’ up too.

Jethro has a ‘man section’ full of Lego and vinyl and I have my books. He has his own special duster for his shrine…

Would you move again? 

We’re both planning on staying in London for the foreseeable future so it’s unlikely we’d move again as we’re so happy here.

Hopefully we won’t have to as the landlord is great and lets us be.

Have you thought about buying a place?

Never, ever in London! We’re marrying next year and then it’s time to think about kids and we simply couldn’t afford to start a family here.

We’re only in London with the nature of our jobs, when I think about it.

I’d like to buy a place up North with the savings accounts we’ve set up but it won’t be for quite a long time.

Our pipe dream would be moving to Scandinavia but we will see what Brexit brings, won’t we?

A Scandi flat does sound lovely… shall we take a look at Emmie and Jethro’s current spot in Dalston?

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property in London. 

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Notting Hill Carnival is one of the most exciting and colourful events in the world.

Even the rain didn’t dampen the party spirit as revellers dressed to the nines in vibrant costumes, dazzling headpieces and feathers.

The annual festival celebrates West Indian and black British culture and began in protest to race riots in Notting Hill and Nottingham in 1959.

That history is now remembered by taking to the streets and proudly showing off food, dance, and fashion from Afro Caribbean communities.

So if you missed out on all the fun over the Bank Holiday weekend, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Here are some of the best pictures from the spectacular scenes.

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A single mother who had her large intestine removed due to ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, is aiming to become Britain’s first national beauty pageant winner with a stoma bag.

28-year-old model Rachael Kin was hospitalised for six weeks and had her colon removed after ulcerative colitis caused severe inflammation of her colon.

Since having surgery she has faced ‘discrimination’ due to her appearance and has ‘for a long time felt isolated’.

But after winning a regional round of a beauty contest she is now aiming for the national title, and wants to become a role model for other people with the condition.

The funeral care worker said: ‘I want to be the first contestant with a colostomy and hope to inspire anybody struggling with body confidence issues.

‘If I can help to prevent one person from going through what I did mentally then that for me is the real crown.’

Rachael, from High Wycombe, Bucks, was training for the London Marathon when she was rushed to hospital in July last year, leaving her nine-year-old daughter Maja in the care of her family.

She said: ‘I went from being fiercely independent to totally vulnerable. I couldn’t walk unaided, couldn’t brush my teeth or have a shower independently.

‘The IV steroids made my body unrecognisable and I lost all confidence.’

The former lingerie model said she didn’t know anyone her own age who had an ileostomy, where a hole in the stomach is made and the end of the small bowel is brought through to the outer surface of the abdomen to divert waste from the intestine into a stoma bag which is attached daily to your abdomen.

Rachael said: ‘I’d lie awake at night questioning myself. Could I wear the same clothes? Could I eat the same food? Could I swim in a bikini? Would I ever model again?’

The mother-of-one, who volunteers for a food bank charity, said she experienced discrimination, including from an acupuncturist who refused to treat her because ‘it wasn’t hygienic’.

She added: ‘My partner of four years struggled to accept what had happened and discouraged me from embracing the change, seeing my ileostomy as something that should be kept private.

‘It was heartbreaking to watch my relationship come to an end.

‘My mental health deteriorated rapidly and from a once confident young woman, I found myself hiding away from the world outside.’

But Rachael said she realised her recovery depended on being able to be open about her body.

This month, she won the regional title of Miss Divine Buckinghamshire 2018 and will take part in the grand finals of Miss Divine UK in Newport on 15 September.

According to its website, Miss Divine UK is a platform for strong, ambitious and inspiring females who want to make a difference.

Rachael said: ‘I want to be able to support people in my position. I want to reach out to young women with disabilities and change the way people view beauty.’

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Terminally ill pensioner Veronica Leaning is a Harry Potter superfan.

The 78-year-old was immersed in the world of Hogwarts wizardry 10 years ago and now wants a magic-themed funeral for herself.

Veronica, from Coventry Avenue, Grimsby, has even had her coffin decorated with all her favourite characters and of course, the house crests.

JK Rowling herself and members of the esteemed cast have even signed Veronica’s copies of the books and the author has also written to her on three occasions.

Now with months to live as a result of a terminal cancer, Veronica is preparing to make her final send-off a very special affair, asking all the mourners to come dressed in Hogwarts attire.

Her Potter-themed coffin was made five years ago and is painted in the colours of each Hogwarts house; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

The superfan has shown how much she loves the stories of witches and wizards which saw her invited to three of the film premieres in London where she got to meet all of her beloved stars.

Professor Snape and Dobby the house elf are her favourite characters.

‘I just think that JK Rowling is amazing and she has put together one of the most fabulous stories that I have ever read,’ she told Grimsby Live.

‘There were many times that I queued up at midnight outside the bookshop waiting for the books to be released.

‘I have read each book so many times and have lost count of how many times I have watched the films.’

When Veronica’s husband died five years ago, JK Rowling handwrote a letter of condolence which she said meant the world to her.

Her home is also decorated with all sorts of Harry Potter memorabilia which includes a welcome sign saying ‘wizards welcome, muggles tolerated’.

The rest of her prized possessions are kept in a special room to be used at her funeral.

‘I don’t want my funeral to be a sad and boring occasion,’ she said.

‘I want people to have a nice time and enjoy some of the things that I loved in life and I can think of nothing better than everyone coming in dressed as wizards and witches.’

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I’m standing in the middle of the main street in Charlestown, the tiny capital of Nevis, with my apron on, facing a frying pan and a collection of ingredients. Curious locals are wandering past, intrigued by what’s going on.

Fortunately I’m not alone, and New York Chef, Seamus Mullen, is directing eight of us to cook mahi-mahi with mango.

We’ve already made the salsa – a mixture of shallots, coriander, chilli, garlic and ripe mango – so all that remains is to sear the fish quickly on both sides and then top it with this exotic mix. We then get to eat it, right there in the square.

This is just one of the events at the Nevis Mango and Food Festival, which takes place over four days every year, when the fruit ripens.

Officially, there are over 40 different varieties on the island, although locals say it’s more like a hundred. Even the shape of Nevis looks like a mango.

Two other celebrity chefs, Korean-American Judy Joo from London and Michael Harrison from Barbados, are also giving master classes, and all three offer special dinners. Every dish they cook must contain Nevis mangos.

Sunday has the big event with local chefs showing what they can do, a cook-off competition and, best of all, a tasting of over 10 varieties. I would be lying if I said I could identify every one, but I liked the (easy to remember) long mango.

Nevis is tiny, just 36 square miles, and is one of the Caribbean Leeward Islands, a 10 minute water taxi ride from its big sister St Kitts.

They say Christopher Columbus named it Nuestra Señora de las Nieves because he thought he saw snow on the peak, although it could also have been Scottish sailors evoking their own big mountain – Ben Nevis.

For such a small place, Nevis punches above its weight. The young Horatio Nelson was stationed here and married a plantation owner’s widow Fanny Nisbet under a cottonwood tree.

Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers, was born in Charlestown, and got his education from a local Jewish teacher.

For me at least, feasting on mangoes is a pretty good excuse in itself to visit Nevis.

And although peak mango season on Nevis is early to mid-summer, other varieties ripen at different times of the year so you’re always guaranteed a succulent hit.

6 other things to do on Nevis:

1. Relax on its sandy beaches

Nevis is one of the most unspoilt and relaxing islands in the Caribbean.

Vividly green with blue skies, clean air and long, empty beaches with romantic names like Oualie Beach, Paradise Beach and Lovers Beach.

Palm-fringed Pinney’s Beach has several miles of glistening white sand, and a cluster of beach bars serve their own versions of killer rum punch.

2. Visit Charlestown

The capital is a sleepy little place where a handful of Georgian stone buildings with breezy balconies and wooden upper floors, and wooden gingerbread shacks sporting tin roofs.

Here, you’ll find two museums, each devoted to Nevis’s historical figures – Nelson and Hamilton; the latter in the building where he was born in 1757.

The Bath Hotel dates from 1778 and was once a playground for the rich and famous, who came to Nevis for the therapeutic hot springs. Although the hotel is long closed, you can still dip your toes in the thermal pool outside.

There’s also a Jewish Cemetery with graves dating back to 1679, piled with pebbles left by visitors, the last symbol of a thriving Jewish community, which played a part in the sugar cane plantations.

3. Hike

More of a climb than a hike, you need loads of stamina to reach the top of the 3,232 ft Nevis Peak, actually a long dormant volcano.

It’s a tough two-hour scramble up its steep slopes to the summit, and in places you have to pull yourself up by ropes, clinging on to roots.

If it’s clear, you’ll be rewarded with fantastic views of St Kitts and Montserrat.

4. Go to church

Nevis has around 50 churches to supply the spiritual needs of only around 12,000 people.

The 1643 St Thomas Church, on a hill in the outskirts of Charlestown, was the first church in Nevis and the oldest Anglican church in the Caribbean. The cemetery has many tombstones bearing names of Nevis’s early settlers.

Cottle church was built in 1824 for his slaves by John Cottle, a onetime president of Nevis and a plantation owner. It was never consecrated, since it was illegal for slaves to worship. All that remains is a shell, damaged by earthquakes and hurricanes, although it’s still a popular site for weddings.

5. Take a Rum Shack Tour

Various hotels arrange Nevis bar crawls, seeking out the places where tourists don’t normally go, where you get to sample the rum and hang out with the locals.

Nisbet Planation Beach Club has five locations on its tour, but you can drink beer or soft drinks, if you’re worried about staying upright.

6. Eat

Nevis food is a blend of European and American, with hints of African and Asian.

Fish is plentiful, mahi-mahi, wahoo and snapper are favourites. Local delicacies include breadfruit, coconut jelly, tamarind and of course fresh mango.

If you’re looking for restaurants, here are a few to try:

The Hermitage is the oldest wooden house in the Caribbean, serving traditional dishes. Don’t miss their weekly hog roast.

Montpelier Plantation Inn’s garden was where Nelson got married and it offers stylish cuisine with an Asian twist.

At Nisbet Great House, the menu changes daily and offers a mixture of Caribbean and international cuisine in the stylish settings of the 1778 Great House.

Gin Trap is a great location for sampling 101 different gins, while watching the sunset from their terrace.

Golden Rock Inn is famous for its lobster salads and sandwiches and its beautiful lush gardens.

Caribbean Flavorz offers authentic local food in the Cotton Ginnery Mall, Charlestown.

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With Great British Bake Off returning to our screens, many will no doubt discover a sudden urge to bake.

As those in the know will tell you, when it comes to baking, a well stocked store cupboard truly is the key to baking hundreds of recipes with ease. And we are not talking about lots of obscure, hard to find or expensive ingredients.

In fact, with just 10 key ones, you will be on your way to baking up a storm!

But while we all know about the essentials like egg, flour, butter and sugar, what else do you need and how do you get the most out of them?

Here, I’ve enlisted the help of some of my celebrity baker friends to give you their top tips for getting the best out of your essentials.

1. Flour

Nadiya Hussain, who has a new BBC Two series, Nadiya’s Family Favourites, says: ‘The most common flours used in baking are plain flour and self-raising flour (which has added raising agent).

‘You can actually turn plain flour into self-raising flour by adding 2 teaspoons of baking powder for each 150g/6oz/1 cup plain flour. Just make sure you thoroughly mix in the baking powder!’

2. Eggs

Eggs have a very important function in baking.

The egg whites add volume, and the egg yolks add fat and help to bind ingredients.

TV Chef Rosemary Shrager advises that you should ‘always check the size of eggs that are required in a recipe. You can’t substitute medium eggs for large eggs and vice versa.’

3. Butter

I use butter in most of my recipes and I would that say that the majority of recipes call for unsalted butter.

Some people prefer using Stork or other margarine, but for me, you can’t beat the taste of butter in a cake or cookie.

Just make sure you don’t use salted butter unless the recipe calls for it. A salty cake is one of life’s biggest disappointments!

4. Sugar

Bake Off – The Professionals judge Benoit Blin certainly knows his sugar.

He says: ‘Sugar might not be the most popular of ingredients at the moment, especially when it comes to healthy eating and looking after your body lines. But the sweet treat in baking and desserts is often what makes quite a difference in a successful result.

‘So if I was to keep few different variations of sugars (other than the classical caster and icing sugar) in my cupboard, there would be…

‘Demerara sugar; golden in colour with a light liquorice taste, it is particularly good when caramelising a beautiful vanilla creme brulee or a rice pudding.

‘Soft brown sugar gives a moist texture to sponges and makes a great Speculos biscuit.

‘Muscovado sugar, or a dark brown sugar, adds a powerful treacle/liquorice flavour to your sponges and desserts.

‘And finally, let’s keep a little space for palm sugar. With a very low glycemic index and many good things for your body, it does bring a beautiful caramel note to your exotic and coconut desserts.’