Living with a chronic physical or mental illness can be incredibly overwhelming.

When your day-to-day routine is filled with medication reminders and hospital appointments, it’s often the simple things that make you smile.

Ruby Jones, 22, from Exeter, is determined to show people who are struggling with their health that they are loved.

Earlier this year, she set up Chronically Cute Cards, a project where she sends out free, personalised and handmade cards to chronically ill and disabled people.

But Ruby’s idea is particularly important because it was inspired by her own experiences of spending six months almost completely bedbound.

Second year university student Ruby lives with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

She was diagnosed in 2012 at the age of 15 after months of chronic pain.

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a condition that affects connective tissue, causing an increased range of joint movement, stretchy skin and fragile skin that breaks or bruises easily. It also means that she can easily dislocate her bones.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is a condition where moving from lying to standing causes an abnormal rise in heart rate.

Earlier this year, she suffered a cerebrospinal fluid leak, where the membrane that contains the fluid around the spinal cord tears, causing agonising pain when she stood or sat upright.

‘My Ehlers Danlos affects my collagen and soft tissue, meaning my ligaments struggle to keep my joints in place, causing dislocations and chronic pain. Other symptoms of my disabilities cause include fatigue, brain fog and dizziness,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.

The conditions meant that Ruby was confined to a bed for almost six months before having surgery in the summer.

She says: ‘I was forced to lie flat all day every day for around six months in total, and so I wanted something to give me purpose, whilst making other people happy.

‘After setting up a twitter account a year ago, I began to feel the love and joy that the disabled online community had to offer, and recently I have wanted to give back.

‘Being chronically ill or disabled can be so incredibly isolating, which is why I set up this project.’

And with that Chronically Cute Cards was born.

Ruby started making the cards in her bed and soon set up a website where recipients can use a request form to fill out their details and a bit about themselves.

She sends cards to anyone with a physical illness, mental illness or even people just recovering from surgery.

She says: ‘There is absolutely no criteria other than some form of illness.’

Ruby tailors each card for each person to make it extra special.

‘The reactions from recipients has been overwhelming. Many people have contacted me saying how much the card has meant to them or how much it has made them smile,’ she says.

I have also gained many pen pals through this project which has been fantastic.

‘One review on my Facebook page says “I received the most beautiful handmade card, with a lovely thoughtful message.

‘As someone who rarely receives post which isn’t from the hospital, it really brightened my day! Such a wonderful project.”

So far, Ruby has sent out over 300 cards and hopes to keep the project going, even though her health has improved slightly and she has been able to leave her bed since her surgery.

Her other conditions continue to affect her every day and there is no cure for either of them.

The project is funded through donations and Ruby hopes that other people will continue to help her send the cards to those in need.

She says: ‘I hope that this project will get more recognition, leading to more donations, in order to hopefully reach more chronically ill and disabled people across the world.’

To donate to Ruby’s project, visit https://www.chronicallycutecards.com/

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We know FOMO is the handy little acronym which tells us we’re not alone in our paranoia that everyone is having more fun than us.

Now there’s the equally fun FOMOMG – that’s fear of missing out on my goals.

Remember when you were young and thought by the time you were 25, you’d be married, have lived abroad for a year, and maybe even thought about starting your own business or owning your own home?

Well, chances are if you missed those things, you’ve been left with FOMOMG.

The term was coined by 25-year-old model Leomie Anderson who, despite having her own clothing line and being a top model, felt she was always chasing a different achievement.

‘Why do I feel like I am running out of time to achieve my goals?’ she wrote on the Lapp The Brand website.

‘At 18 I wanted a house by 23, at 23 I wanted to have yearly earnings of nearly a million by 25. By 26 I want my mum to be able to retire.

‘None of those things have happened for me, and every day I feel anxious wondering when my big modelling contract will come or when will that big brand decide to believe in me.’

Many others shared their experiences of FOMOMG, saying that it can be easy to get lost in chasing the next thing.

Job interviews which ask the question ‘where do you see yourself in five years time’ have also made the situation worse for some as it forces people to set (often unrealistic) goals in order to sound like a go-getter.

‘I’ve been asked ‘where do you see yourself in five years in some job interviews recently,’ said writer Martin.

‘As I answered, it’s a pointless question – you have literally no idea what’ll come up. Do interesting things well in the short term, and good opportunities tend to open up.

‘Which isn’t to say I don’t have general aims/goals. But when you start making rigid, inflexible demands on life then you’re crippling your ability to explore it.’

Life coach Felicity Morse said: ‘The first thing to making something real is stating it, writing it down, being specific. But use your goal as a carrot to help you become something – help challenge you, to be more skilled, kinder, connect more. Not just fixating on “this thing at any cost”.

‘The most important thing I’ll say about goals tho is don’t let fear drive you. It’s poison and it won’t be shut up or fed by anything external. Don’t be moved by lack of anything. This can be difficult. Sometimes ambition is merely low self-esteem dressed in a snazzy suit.’

If you have FOMOMG, you might want to speak to others for guidance, whether it be in your personal or professional lives. And remember, goals are always changeable.

After all, time is a social construct.

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Black Girl Fest is the UK’s only annual festival dedicated to celebrating black women of all ages, and from all walks of life.

The second annual event is returning to London this month, and attendees will be treated to workshops and panel talks led by black female creatives and entrepreneurs.

There will also be live music, poetry and a marketplace, but the tickets are like gold dust and the sought-after event sold out in just five days.

Creators Paula Akpan and Nicole Crentsil think the event’s popularity shows the need for more spaces dedicated to black women.

This year they have expanded to fill two venues across London. Co-creator, Paula, thinks it’s vital that black women are allowed spaces like this to exist, create and inspire.

‘There’s just something about being in a space with lots of successful black women,’ Paula tells Metro.co.uk.

‘Whether they’re in the marketplace, leading a panel, or running a workshop – seeing black women owning a space is hugely inspirational.’

Co-creator Nicole agrees. She thinks authenticity is the key to creating a space for black women that is wholly their own.

‘The intersecting identity of black women is one that is sometimes ignored and heavily scrutinised in society,’ Nicole explains.

‘We often find spaces being created without our consent and with an unauthentic lens. Creating a space by black women for black women is taking back ownership on exactly this.

‘We want Black Girl Fest to be a space for black women and girls to see themselves celebrated and acknowledged in all spaces. When we were creating the festival, we thought about all the things we wished we heard and saw when we were growing up.’

The first Black Girl Fest, which took place last year, came about after an inspirational meeting of black women. Nicole came home from a talk, lead by feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and ended up on the phone with Paula for three hours.

‘She described the energy of the event, and how inter-generational it was, there were younger and older black women – and there was such a good vibe,’ explains Paula.

‘Which is what happens whenever black women get together.

‘So I was just like, oh wow fam. We should work on a festival.’

‘The festival is full of stuff that we would have wanted to see when we were younger, conversations that we would have wanted to be privy to,’ says Paula.

‘For example, if I had gone to a workshop when I was younger on queerness, then maybe I would have felt more encouraged to talk about my sexuality, or explore that at an earlier stage.

‘Or a talk on beauty for black women. I was getting bullied at school for how I looked, and I think an event like this would’ve heartened me and made me realise I wasn’t alone, and that there were black women who looked like me who were beautiful, successful and incredible.’

There are other festivals that celebrate black culture – Afropunk exploded onto the London festival scene in the last few years – but nothing for black women specifically. Paula thinks that’s what makes Black Girl Fest so special.

‘We don’t have anything like this in the UK. This specifically caters to black British women.

‘It’s everything we would really like to see – all in one place. There are so many fantastic brands and organisations doing things for black women in this country. What this festival does is give people access to all of it in one go.’

With big name sponsors on board, including Microsoft and the NHS, it’s clear that the project has legs. And this dynamic duo aren’t anywhere near done – with plans to expand already on the cards.

‘We’re always trying to make it bigger, definitely. Capacity has already increased like three times. But with tickets selling out so fast, it’s clearly not big enough yet,’ says Paula.

‘We’re going to have to go even bigger.’

And they’re not content with dominating the London market either.

‘We’re really set on moving across the UK,’ explains Nicole.

‘There are amazing Black women all over the UK and we want to ensure their stories and experiences are being heard! We don’t want to stay too London-centric and would love to explore the rest of the country.

‘What I love most about the festival is the energy and vibrancy of people in the marketplace. The positivity and love that space is electric, addictive and powerful.

‘You’ll find me spending lots of money on lots of amazing products by Black owned business women.’

This year’s Black Girl Festival will take place on 27 October across both Shoreditch Town Hall and Protein Studios.

If you’ve missed out on tickets this time, keep and eye on Paula and Nicole because it sounds like it will be even bigger and better next year.

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Actresses Kristen Bell and Keira Knightly recently explained how they don’t like letting their children watch fairy tales.

The latter even went onto say Cinderella is banned in her home as the princess waits around ‘for a rich guy to rescue her’ and Keira doesn’t want her three-year-old daughter to get the wrong idea.

Other fairy tales have been criticised in the past; Sleeping Beauty for showing kissing without consent, Snow White for being passive, the Little Mermaid for giving up her voice for a man.

Now, I’m not a parent and I would never tell mums and dads what to do with their children but why are you looking at animations to inform your kids about social values?

I understand that children are impressionable and absorb information like sponges but if anything these animated films and fairytale books should become starting points for parents to initiate these often difficult conversations.

Ignorance might be blissful but banning these things in the home merely delays a child’s first encounter with the patriarchy and oppressive societies we live in. It does not prevent it.

Or equally, you should have those conversations with your children before they’re exposed to such stories, that way they know what to look out for and what to question. Make them inquisitive.

Children absorb more than we know. I have two younger siblings with a large age gap between us. I like to think that I’ve taught them a few things about having a social consciousness.

Diversity is one of them. I’ve taught them that the books we read often have white characters and that when we read them we imagine them to be white without question (unless specified). I’ve also explained that the majority of film and TV leads go to white actors and actresses.

Now they’re able to question a heteronormative, patriarchal and unrepresentative setup at the drop of a hat. They question why able-bodied actors play disabled roles or why straight actors play gay or trans characters and why period dramas are always white.

They know about the Bechdel Test and the Riz Test, and they’re just in their early teens.

Once you feed them a little bit of information and let them ask questions, you’ve got to trust that they’ll do the rest. Their moral compass will surprise you.

As a child growing up in an Asian household, I never had conversations with my parents about sex, consent or really any social issues. But I now discuss these things regularly with other people.

Granted, I am older and I have exposed myself to different mediums to learn new things. But even growing up and loving fairytale stories (I was quite the romantic as a pre-teen), I never once thought it was acceptable for women to be passive or wait to be rescued.

I inherited more of my my social consciousness from the conversations I had with people because I grew up in a female-led household, I went to an all-girls school and I consumed different mediums.

Grasping female empowerment and equality came naturally.

TV presenter Sid Sloane has read many a story on children’s channel CBeebies and performed pantomimes.

He told Metro.co.uk it’s about parents teaching children to question things rather than stopping kids from being exposed to it completely.

He says: ‘The problem with fairytales is usually to do with gender stereotyping, twisted morals or greed. It would be nice to promote equality and fairness for all, which are healthy moral principles for our children to extol.

‘Some parents will read stories and lead a conversation about questioning the morals within. I think teaching our children to question everything and discuss alternatives within every story is valuable.

‘When I was a child one summer we wore out the audio story of Puss in Boots, listening and acting out scenes with my brothers and sister to keep ourselves entertained. A morally corrupt character, full of falsehood, threats, and deceit extolled as virtues, but as kids, we just enjoyed acting out the narrative.’

Sid added that kids watching fairytales is the same as adults watching Shakespeare; we’re able to enjoy the narrative without taking away too much from it.

Mum-of-three Francesa de Franca who blogs on her website the Parent Social also told Metro.co.uk that letting their children watch them was harmless.

‘I let my children (three girls aged 9, 7 and 7) read and watch traditional fairy tales,’ she says.

‘However, this only makes up part of the range of books, programmes and films that we share. They are exposed to plenty of strong female characters and are as at home with Cinderella as they are with the female Justice League characters.

‘I understand their (Kriston Bell and Kiera Knightly’s) viewpoint to a degree and if passive female characters were the only ones that children were ever exposed, to then this would certainly be a problem.

‘However, I think we should give children more credit; they are not just passive consumers. If they are introduced to a wide variety of texts and characters, it gives them the scope to draw their own conclusions and challenge the idea of the passive princess etc. You can use traditional fairy tales as a springboard for discussions.’

Social consciousness is a multi-faceted, ever-evolving thing – expose your children to those who deal with it well and those who don’t.

Only in this way will they learn to identify the insidious ways these issues manifest in everyday society.

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It’s hard to feel stressed when the view from your balcony is the luscious, undulating hills of the Tuscan countryside.

Fields daubed with emerald green, burnt yellow and dusty browns, dotted with regal-looking cypress trees that look like a painting come to life.

But even though those feelings of anxiety have left me temporarily, I’m here at the ADLER Thermae Spa & Relax resort, near the village of Bagno Vignoni, to find out how I can calm my mind – one that is constantly overthinking and tripping itself. It’s exhausting. I’m exhausted.

I’ve booked myself in for a consultation with one of the doctors at the resort, a chic Italian woman named Dott.

She hooks me up to a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis machine, which takes a whole spectrum of measurements in a matter of seconds, like bone density and muscle mass.

Then, sensors are clamped onto my fingertips to monitor my heart rate and breathing via a Stress Flow machine. Both are quick and painless, but once the results are delivered, it’s not good news.

Dott confirms that I am indeed very stressed, and would be putting myself at risk of osteoporosis and diabetes if I continue the way I am.

Suddenly, I feel more stressed than before.

She takes one look at the the test results and announces: ‘You live inside your head.’

If I had any doubts before about a machine that’s not from a hospital diagnosing me, it’s dispelled by that eerily spot-on observation.

The machine susses out that I don’t drink enough water and that’s why my body is retaining much needed H2O.

It also picks up that I’ve been consuming far too many carbohydrates, especially at night. Yes, it’s somehow busted my late night habit of snacking on peanut butter crumpets.

My heartbeat is erratic and my bone density is low. On the plus side, my breathing is ‘fair to good’. Great.

While the detailed results, which are printed out for you to take home, look complicated, the advice that Dott dishes out is anything but.

‘Sun, sport and vitamin D,’ she declares. ‘Our bodies are made for movement’. She suggests that I exercise before breakfast to get the most out of my workout.

Before I leave, I’m hooked up to the Stress Flow machine again to do five minutes of deep breathing. The results are instantaneous.

My heart beat becomes more regular. ‘Deep breathing twice a day,’ Dott commands me. ‘Once in the morning and once at night.’

I leave determined to finally use that gym pass and to stop snacking before bed.

It’s funny how it takes a stranger telling you something you’ve always suspected you need to do to finally get round to it.

But it’s not all doom and gloom at ADLER. The whole resort is dedicated to helping you relax as much as humanly possible.

First off, there is the thermal pool, which is pumped from Bagno Vignoni’s spring.

The Romans knew a good thing when they saw it. Bathing in thermal water was something they were crazy about. It has well known beneficial properties and helps with a whole host of ailments, including eczema, psoriasis and joint pain.

The hotel also has several different types of saunas, varying in temperature and humidity.

My favourite is one called Philosophers Cave, which is held in a candle-lit grotto. It’s bearably hot and brings you out in a deep sweat, which apparently will make skin velvety smooth.

The panoramic sauna has an incredible view of the resort, but at 90 to 100 degrees it’s one for hardcore enthusiasts – though there’s an ice cold plunge pool outside to cool you down.

There are spa treatments that are integrated with the thermal water too.

I have an anti-stress massage on a Vichy bed. You lie on a waterproof mattress as jets of thermal water are sprayed over your body while the therapist massages you with sea salt and almond oil. It’s like the most intense shower you’ve ever experienced, and afterwards my exfoliated skin is baby soft.

I also have a Haki treatment, which can be done in a private thermal pool.

The holistic method was created to help people get out of their heads with the therapist touching and kneading the body to relieve tension. It’s not quite a massage, it’s a lot gentler and slower, but it’s just as relaxing.

On my last day, I try out the Salt Grotto, a thermal bath that’s more like a tiny pool filled with salt from the Dead Sea that helps with skin conditions and improves circulation.

As I lie back in the water, adjusting to the sensation of floating weightlessly, I realise that sometimes you just need to stop thinking and trust that you’ll be supported no matter what.

Food at ADLER:

There’s no chance you’ll go hungry at ADLER Thermae.

We were on half board, which included a continental spread for breakfast (it’s worth staying for their marmalade croissants alone), dainty cakes for afternoon tea and a sumptuous four course dinner.

Each day, we were struggling to find the room to eat each meal. It’s a tough life sometimes.

The majority of their clientele are Italian, and you can tell by how authentic they keep their cuisine rather than adapting it for tourists as many other resorts do.

The main event each day is dinner, which is held at the hotel’s outdoor restaurant, modelled to look like a charming piazza.

You get a starter, soup and two mains – primi (pasta or risotto) and secondo (meat, fish or vegetarian). Not to mention the salad buffet with the sweetest tomatoes you’ll ever taste and the dessert buffet to finish things off.

This is proper fine dining, with rich courgette flower soup sprinkled with lightly toasted pine nuts, a creamy risotto with juicy scallops, delicate parcels of ravioli filled with prawn and flavourful bucanti with Culatello di Zibello ham being just a few of the dishes that I’m still finding it hard to forget about.

While you’re in Tuscany, you need to try pici, a type of hand-rolled pasta that looks like thick, squiggly spaghetti.

It originates from the province of Siena, which is an hour’s drive from ADLER. We try pici cacio e pepe, where it’s served up with a simple sauce of cheese and black pepper. It’s deliciously chewy and satisfying.

Other things to do in Bagno Vignoni:

The Tuscan countryside, with its film star glamour and stunning good looks, is right on your doorstep.

The ancient village of Bagno Vignoni is a short walk from the resort. It’s cute and quaint with the peaceful square dominated by a huge rectangular pool of thermal water.

You’re not allowed to bathe in it, but if you walk a little further, you’ll come to some ruins and a spectacular panoramic view of the hills. There’s a little stream that flows down to Parco dei Mulini below where you can take a dip.

If you want to to explore further, get on a e-bike for a cycle around the gorgeous Val d’Orcia region. It’s a bumpy trip thanks to the gravelly paths and those beautiful hills but largely traffic free.

We did a guided tour from the hotel – free for guests – which took on some steep roads to reach the exquisite city of Pienza, passing Podere Poggio Manzuoli, where the film Gladiator was shot, along the way.

Perched on a hill, it commands magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.

There’s an attractive square with a church, and you can walk through the small alleyways and stone arches. Stop off at Fortune Street, Love Street and Kiss Street (all parallel to each other) to maximise your chance of good luck.

For the most ravishing vista of the countryside, head to Vitaleta Chapel. A small yet alarmingly pretty church stands on a hilltop surrounded by a scattering of cypress trees and a dreamy panoramic view of the rolling hills. There’s no other word for it. Tuscany really is bellisimo.

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We’ve all harboured fantasies running along the same lines. Trading the cripplingly expensive flat for a houseboat. Stepping away from the mortgage, into something less constraining.

But one couple have actually turned the dream to reality, after spending £20,000 to craft their perfect motorhome out of an old bread lorry.

Martin Hill, 38, and Iona Stewart, 27, shared pictures of the project on Facebook and have been bowled over by the volume of responses.

The couple met while during a season in the French Alps, where they now return every winter to snowboard.

But their mode of travel will be different this year, with the old Hovis lorry taking over from more conventional means, with the pair saying they have no immediate plans to settle down yet.

The five tonne lorry also serves as a place to spend the night, being far cheaper than most accommodation.

‘We bought the lorry in May this year. We spent four months working on it full-time,’ said Martin.

Things have gotten serious since that point, with Martin selling his house and bar in Nottingham to go ‘full-time’ in the lorry.

The whole idea had its roots in a late night, four years ago, he says.

‘After a few too many beers I thought about buying a big American RV.

‘We are really lucky to not have to work and we did everything ourselves.’

While Martin did most of the labouring, it was Iona, a chef from Scotland, who designed the interior.

They picked up the lorry on eBay for just £3,600 and spent £20,000 on renovating the 28 feet box.

It’s since become something of a social media sensation, with pictures of the lorry shared thousands of times across platforms.

Many have commented on the surprising plushness of the interior, with the couple having created a split-floor kitchen and living area, bedroom and en suite, plus a fully serviced kitchen, complete with an oven and hob and a varnished wood work surface.

‘It’s amazing what you can do. We are not exactly slumming it,’ said Martin.

Still, it’s still comforting sometimes to have a home that doesn’t have the capacity to roll away.

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If, like us, you take great joy in being nosy about other people’s lifestyles, you’ll be into our What I Rent series.

Each week we take you inside someone’s rented property in London.

Yes, the series’ purpose is to take an honest look at what it’s like renting in London and question why we’re paying so much for places that never feel like home, but it’s also fun to dig around people’s bathroom cabinets while we’re at it.

This week we’re with Lee, who shares a two-bedroom flat in Holloway with a flatmate he found on SpareRoom.

Hey Lee! How much rent do you pay?

We pay £825 a month each in rent. The room sizes are equal so it’s pretty fairly down the middle.

This is for a converted Mansion with good space and an excellent location – I was looking for cheaper but this place was restored really well by the landlord and has that best feature – a killer shower – that makes the difference, that and amazing Parquet flooring.

We pay around £100 each in bills on top of rent each month. That’s for everything – council tax, water, electric, and TV licence.

What are you getting for what you’re paying?

Its a two bed flat shared with one other person – shared bathroom and living room and kitchen, but as there’s only two of us its more than enough to have space for.

I find it plenty large enough and with the good room separation you don’t feel that you are cramped or on top of each other.

How long have you been in the flat?

I just moved in at the beginning of September after a strenuous search.

How did you find it?

I found it on Spareroom as I was replacing a tenant who needed to move – it was  really convenient time crossover.

It was the balance between a nice place, close to work (13 minute cycle) and not hugely extortionate. The agents were very expensive and I would have pulled out of the fees if the tenant that I was replacing hadn’t split the cost down the middle.

Some charges are ridiculous at the moment especially as most fees like this will be illegal next year!

As I had never lived with someone I didn’t know before I set the parameter on Spareroom to be LGBT+ friendly so that at least one potential barrier would be removed.

Do you like where you live?

I used to live in North London in Harringay and it’s a great area that I feel comfortable in.

Knowing the bars and takeaways as well as having friends in the area and my mate with my goddaughter means that it’s my favorite part of London, and I have lived in most parts.

There are many shops on the door step so that you never have to venture too far for emergency pizza.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

I have a fair amount of clothes and kitchen stuff. The storage isn’t massive, but things like high cupboards and under bed storage more than make up for perceived lack of storage. I managed to get everything in without ruining the feel of the flat.

For example – the wardrobes are floor to ceiling so there is enough to really make sure that you can get the space that you need – especially considering the amount of clothes and jackets that I own.

Are there any problems with the flat you put up with?

As the flat is in a converted mansion on Holloway road there isn’t any parking, and the security is pretty tight on the building.

The place itself has been restored to a classic standard by the landlord and is a really comfortable and well designed place to live in. The main issue was the agent stress before moving in.

How have you made the flat feel like home? 

It has naturally worked well between the housemate and I that we are both really easygoing and are happy and open to the others’ design and living style so that has been the main way that I felt at home.

The flat also has high ceilings and good lighting (thanks to it being part of a former mansion) that really create a comfortable/spacious atmosphere.

In between books and belongings I quite like a simplistic and minimalist look.

Any plans to move again? 

We are here for a year contractually, but I hate moving so would like to stick around as long as is practical – so essentially until I started looking at buying or moving with a partner.

And what about buying a place? 

I am not in a position to do so with the deposit requirements these days in London – It’s of course the dream but is an ongoing one.

Right then. Shall we have a nose around the place? 

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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Travelling has become an essential part of life for all ages. Plenty of conversations start with ‘where have you been on your holidays?’ and a trip to good old Benidorm no longer cuts it.

Each year, Lonely Planet publishes a Best in Travel guide for the year ahead.

It’s the where’s where of top destinations, and paves the way for intrepid adventurers to explore the world (albeit with the guidebook leading you to the best spots).

The 2019 edition has just been released, so you better get your flights booked now if you’re ready to see the sights.

Top countries

The top spot on this list goes to Sri Lanka, with Germany and Zimbabwe in second and third.

Next are Panama, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Indonesia, Belarus, Sao Tome and Principe, and Belize.

Sri Lanka apparently won due to its unspoiled beached and religious diversity, with plenty of ancient temples to visit and wildlife abounding.

Zimbabwe may have seemed like an unexpected destination if newspaper headlines are to be believed, but it’s actually one of Africa’s safest destinations and Lonely Planet commend the friendly locals and ancient buildings.

Top cities

Copenhagen pips the others to the post this time, with Shenzhen in China and Novi Sad in Serbia as runners up.

The other seven winners are:

• Miami, USA
• Kathmandu, Nepal
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Dakar, Senegal
• Seattle, USA
• Zadar, Croatia
• Meknes, Morocco

Visit Noma in ultra-cool Copenhagen, or head to the Silicon Valley of China in Shenzhen for futuristic design and a burgeoning social scene.

Festival-goers will love the buzz of Novi Sad, which will be the 2021 European Capital of Culture.

Top regions

In at number one here is Piedmont in Italy; second is The Catskills in the USA, and third is Northern Peru.

Next comes The Red Centre in Australia, the Highlands and Islands in Scotland, the Russian Far East, Gujarat in India, Manitoba in Canada, Normandy in France, and Elqui Valley in Chile.

Natural beauty dominates this part of the list, with stunning landscapes reigning supreme.

You can stay pretty close to home with this one too, heading up to Ullapool to watch live music or Shetland to check out the ancient settlements.

Best value

1. Luxor, Egypt
2. Lodz, Poland
3. Great Smoke Mountains National Park, USA
4. Maldives
5. Houston, USA
6. Argentina
7. Bangladesh
8. Albania
9. Ecuador
10. Slovenia

Skyscanner have collated the average price for flights with Luxor at £492, Lodz at a more purse-friendly £96.79, then Knoxville to visit the Great Smoke Mountains at £768.37.

Of course, the best value category is decided on based on the price when you get there too, so the activities and accommodation might balance out the price of the flight.

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We don’t normally think of metal as an essential for a healthy body. Cars, yes. Transformers, absolutely. But the human body?

Turns out we’ve got loads of different trace metals inside us, and they’re pretty important. Experts say there are lots of ways to up your metal intake through your diet, but it can be hard to know if you’re getting enough.

Because these metals do so many different things, having a deficiency can cause a range of different symptoms and health problems.

The trace metals in our systems interact with our bodies on a molecular level. But what exactly do these metals do? Vitamin expert and founder of Vitamin Injections London, Bianca Estelle, explains it simply.

‘Although heavy metals within our bodies can be harmful, it’s important to point out that we do need some metals in our systems,’ Bianca tells Metro.co.uk.

‘These are trace elements – metals normally present in small but measurable amounts within cells, hormones and enzymes and an essential part of health maintenance.

‘Insufficient intake of trace elements, also known as minerals, can cause nutritional deficiency which can lead to other issues.

‘Our bodies use minerals for many different jobs, such as keeping our bones healthy and our muscles, heart and brain working properly. They also contribute to making enzymes and hormones. Examples include iron, zinc, copper, selenium and manganese, plus many others.’

Oh, iron. Familiar territory there. We all we know we need iron and that it’s found in abundance in leafy, green vegetables. But what about manganese? And did you know that calcium is also a metal?

So how do we get all these metals into our system? Luckily, it’s actually not too difficult, and doesn’t involve swallowing any pennies.

Rather boringly, the best way to do it is through a healthy, balanced diet. Plenty of foods contain high levels of essential trace metals, and can help keep your body ticking along like a well-oiled machine.

Copper is naturally found in shellfish, liver, and some vegetables. You can find selenium in Brazil nuts, liver, seafood, and whole grains like wheat, barley or rice. One cup of cooked spinach contains almost all the manganese you need per day.

But often, deficiencies aren’t picked up until a problem develops – and you might be best speaking to your GP to find out if any mineral deficiency is likely. That way you can tackle it before it becomes a problem.

One of the most common deficiencies comes from a lack of iron – which can lead to anaemia. This means either that your body needs more iron, or that it isn’t absorbing iron from the diet effectively.

It can lead to tiredness, shortness of breath and pale skin. The best way to spot and treat anaemia is to ask your GP for routine blood work.

Too much metal can also pose a problem. Our bodies function well with the help of trace metals, but too much heavy metal can build up in your body and cause unpleasant symptoms and long-term health problems.

And by heavy metals we don’t mean Iron Maiden. Metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic can be toxic in large amounts – and they can find their way into your body in all sorts of ways.

These nasty toxins can find their way into your system through food, water, industrial chemicals, medicines and even car fumes and pollution.

But it is simple to protect yourself from over-exposure to toxic levels of heavy metals. Experts say that awareness is the first step in prevention.

Take note of any local warnings on food products – sometimes fish and seafood have elevated levels of mercury. Wear masks and protective clothing if you work around heavy metals. And do what you can to limit our exposure to pollution and toxic air.

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A woman has tweeted the story of her heartbreaking journey from Northern Ireland to get an abortion in Liverpool after doctors told her that her baby has a rare birth defect that means it would die soon after birth.

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland, except when there is a ‘real and serious’ physical or mental health risk to the mother. There are no exceptions for cases of fatal foetal abnormality, meaning mothers must carry their baby to full-term and give birth, even if they know it will not survive.

Five years ago, Sarah Ewart travelled from Northern Ireland to England to terminate her pregnancy as her baby had anencephaly, which means the brain and skull doesn’t form properly.

She took the issue to the Supreme Court and in June, but they said the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to consider the case. Mrs Ewart is now seeking a judicial review of the current laws.

Last weekend another anonymous woman, known as Holly*, tweeting under @HomeRather, describes how she is left her home in Northern Ireland and flew to Liverpool with her husband.

They were told at the 12-week-scan that their baby also has anencephaly and there was no chance of survival.

‘I was aware of the law. I’ve always believed that it should be up to women to make their own choices but it never crossed my mind that I would find myself needing to end a pregnancy,’ Holly told Metro.co.uk.

Holly and her husband made the journey from Belfast to Liverpool to have an abortion a month ago but released the tweets over the weekend in real-time to coincide with a bill being introduced to Parliament on 23 October 2018.

There are also tabled amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Function) Bill on 24 October, which would allow the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, and provision for same sex marriage.

This Bill would decriminalise abortion meaning that it would be regulated as a healthcare issue, not treated as a criminal matter.

Despite knowing they did not want to continue the pregnancy to full-term, it was three weeks before they were able to arrange an abortion.

Holly says: ‘Making the arrangements was awful. I had to make so many phone calls and explain to strangers over and over again why we wanted a medical rather than surgical procedure.

‘I felt abandoned. Like we’d been given this awful news but once we expressed our wish to end the pregnancy we were just sent on our way on our own.’

At the time, Holly made notes throughout the journey that she has now turned into tweets.

Holly says: ‘I made some notes, just for myself really, as we went through the weekend and I thought that I would share our story at some stage, but because of the possibility this week that Westminster may be able to make a change to the laws, made me want to share sooner than I expected to.’

Starting her account, Holly described the pain of leaving their two-year-old daughter with her grandmother while they travelled from Northern Ireland to Liverpool.

The couple flew from on a Friday morning. Holly described her feeling as she took off and landed in the city where she used to live.

After arriving at Manchester airport, they travelled to Liverpool to attend the clinic, where she was assessed.

They discussed the risks of the procedure with a nurse and Holly described how she was given a pill to terminate her pregnancy.

They chose a late medical termination, where they take the first pill, wait 48 hours and then return to the hostel to receive more pills and wait to pass the pregnancy.

The couple then checked into a hotel to spend the night so they could return to the clinic two days later.

Holly described how they had planned to spend the 48 hours that it takes for the pill to work ‘cocooned in the hotel’ but they soon felt the need to leave.

She described the feeling of waiting and trying to get on with life while she knew her baby was going to die.

Two days later, Holly returned to the clinic, where she knew she would give birth to her baby.

Their baby boy was born at 2.03pm and they were able to spend some time with him before leaving the clinic.

The couple flew home on the Monday, three days after they had left, and as they prepared to travel to the airport, they had to let friends and family know that their baby was gone.

Finally, the couple travelled home to Northern Ireland.

Holly adds: ‘I decided to tell our story this way because I wanted people to really understand the impact these archaic laws have. To allow people to walk with us through it all in real time.

‘I hoped, would move people to support a change. I also want to remain anonymous because while this is our story, it isn’t unique. Families are going through this year after year after year. It’s time for change.

‘This story could be happening to your friend, your sister, your daughter, someone you love being put through this.

‘The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I am heartened by the warmth and support shown to us. So many private messages sharing similar stories, offering practical help and support and pledged to take action on our behalf.’

A spokesperson for Alliance4Choice said: ‘Women in Holly’s situation who receive a diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality (FFA) — often much later in the pregnancy — are faced with the options of carrying the foetus until it dies and having a stillbirth, or arranging to travel to England for an abortion.

‘In some cases of FFA, the foetus may survive the pregnancy but die shortly after birth.

‘Holly was left feeling angry about her experience.

‘She tweeted a real-time account of her journey and time in Liverpool, under the username RatherBeHome, in order to highlight the difficulties faced by an estimated 28 women per week who travel from Northern Ireland to England for an abortion.

‘If you want to help please email your MP and tell them to back the bill for decriminalisation for Northern Ireland abortion seekers, so no-one else has to go through what Holly has been through.’

*Names have been changed.

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Bear Grylls is known for his extreme survival exploits, from drinking his own urine to sleeping inside the hollowed stomach of a dead camel.

So, when my editor asked me to check out the former SAS trooper’s adventure academy, I took up the challenge with a spot of mild trepidation.

Bear now has a number of survival courses scattered across the UK, and I plumped for one running in Brecon Beacons, with it being an area I was familiar having grown up in South Wales.

On perusing Bear’s website, there was little information as to what to expect – just that the ordeal was set to last 24 hours and it would be ‘intense’ with a pair of ‘robust walking boots’ required.

The blurb noted that I would learn life-saving skills, like how to light a fire and the art of professionally wielding a knife. Gutting an animal and a spot of ‘dynamic river crossing’ would also be involved.

On the accommodation front, the website informed me that I would be spending the night in the Welsh ‘wilderness’ with no tent, and ‘limited supplies’.

Luckily, there are no camels in Wales, but the thought of spending the night inside a gutted sheep suddenly seemed likely.

Always up for an adventure, I invited my friend Jane to accompany me on Bear’s survival course.

Kitted out with a small bag of warm clothes – unfortunately we forgot our hip flasks – we drove from London to Wales on a Friday night after work.

The next day, we arrived at our course starting point for 11:30am sharp, following our military-esque set of instructions, which were emailed beforehand.

Jane and I were definitely in the minority as women. There was only one other lady in our group – a full-time mum – accompanied by her husband.

Going around our group – 14 people in total – there was a random mix of attendees; an accountant, a retired RAF catering manager, an architect, a banker, a psychologist, a father and son.

To a few people’s dismay, Bear wasn’t present himself, but we were in the hands of three very capable ex-military survival experts.

‘I once didn’t eat for 21 days,’ one of our instructors chimed, highlighting the necessity for water over food in our course briefing.

After a swift round of introductions, we filed into a van and drove to our starting point.

From there, the day was go, go, go. From shimmying on ropes over ravines to bounding over rocky terrain, the group was put through their paces with claps and cheers sounding in support.

We didn’t stop for lunch, which triggered a murmur of grumbles, but we were taught how to eat nettle leaves, hawthorn berries and wild sorrel.

Never did pieces of nettle look so appetising, and everyone swiftly stuffed their pockets with bits of vegetation.

I also had a tea cake from the village hall – where we started – burning a hole in my pocket, and the buttery treat was difficult to resist.

Come nightfall, we headed to our camp, which we worked in teams to build into a shelter using branches, twine and a tarpaulin.

Luckily, we didn’t have to gut a sheep to sleep inside, although dinner required us to channel our inner butchers and prepare some rabbit and fish to eat.

Feeling pretty famished at this point, the bony animals were much welcomed, and we boiled some vegetables to accompany the hotchpotch meal.

I slept pretty well in our twiggy lair and luckily it didn’t rain.

Come morning, we got up and were treated to a 7,000-calorie boil in the bag all-day breakfast, which we were told is commonly dished out in the military.

The foil packet featured a surprisingly tasty medley of baked beans, snippets of ham and bits of sausage with a powdered egg omelette lurking at the bottom.

In true Bear Grylls-style we were given a handful of wriggling mealworms as a ‘morning dessert’. I’ve eaten mealworms plenty of times – but when dead – and the prospect of grinding my teeth over the living grubs made me feel a little ill.

I sneakily dropped my mealworms in the soil.

The morning was full of adrenaline-pumping activities, which included me overcoming one of my biggest fears, jumping from a height into water.

Thanks to support from the group, I plunged from a 20ft ledge into the chilly river down below.

At midday, we made our way back to where we started, looking a little more bedraggled but all with smiles on our faces.

The Bear Grylls Survival Course certainly makes for a fun 24 hours.

For those who haven’t had much experience in the outdoors, it promises to get you out of your comfort zone and teach you an array of bushcraft tricks.

From eating nettles to skinning rabbits and sleeping under the stars, it certainly makes a change from the typical Saturday night in front of the TV.

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Labradors are Labradors, right? Surely since they’re all the same breed they’ll have similar characteristics, problems, and quirks? Apparently not.

A study by the University of Sydney has found that Labradors of certain colours have shorter life expectancies, and also suffer from more health problems.

They looked at 33,000 Labradors in the UK, assessing their electronic patient data as part of the university’s VetCompass program.

Chocolate Labradors had a 10% shorter life than their golden and black counterparts (who lived to 12.1 years on average).

Those poor little brown boys also had double the chance of developing ear inflammation, as well as being four times more likely to suffer from a condition called pyo-traumatic dermatitis.

Professor Paul McGreevy, of the university’s science department said:

‘The relationships between coat colour and disease may reflect an inadvertent consequence of breeding certain pigmentations.

‘Because chocolate colour is recessive in dogs, the gene for this colour must be present in both parents for their puppies to be chocolate. Breeders targeting this colour may therefore be more likely to breed only Labradors carrying the chocolate coat gene.

‘It may be that the resulting reduced gene pool includes a higher proportion of genes conducive to ear and skin conditions.’

As we know from a number of overbred pedigree dogs, keeping any gene pool small makes dogs more susceptible to diseases and health issues.

Given that labradors as a breed are prone to obesity, ear infections and joint conditions anyway, it’s not a good idea to prioritise colour over health when getting a pup.

There are plenty of dogs at rescue homes needing someone to care for them, but if you do insist on getting a dog from a breeder, take the proper precautions

Make sure your dog is vet-checked from birth, and then regularly as it grows up, which seems like obvious information but is often overlooked.

A whopping 8.8% of labs are overweight, so perhaps invest in some special food too!

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Poverty isn’t one-dimensional.

But few of its strands are as insidious and all-consuming as the issue of food.

That’s why Jack Monroe has spent the last six years as a tireless campaigner for the the accessibility of good, nutritious food – no matter what your budget.

And the award-winning author of A Girl Called Jack and Cooking On a Bootstrap has announced a brand new book, filled with 75 recipes using tinned food.

Appropriately named Tin Can Cook, it’s set to be released next year.

Monroe said its partly for ‘[the] food bank user and the work I do with people in poverty, partly as a post-Brexit cookbook, and partly as a tongue-in-cheek fu** you to food snobbery and elitism’.

‘I’ve been writing recipes from tins for around six years now; and it is frequently met with amusement and disdain from my peers,’ Monroe told The Bookseller.

‘But I’m fascinated by our relationships with tinned food, and what those tins say about us. Our abilities, our fears, our emergencies, and our comfort zones’.

‘[Currently] there are around 400 registered food banks in the UK, feeding 1.5million people, and those parcels are made primarily of tinned goods’.

The various unexpected joys include beef stews; anchovy mayonnaise; Cacio e Pepe with spaghetti hoops; chicken, olive and mandarin tagine and even creme brulee.

And don’t say you’re not intrigued by the fruit cocktail cake?

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I still remember the whistling in my ears.

A sudden sense of the world being unsteady and the ground coming up to meet me. Landing hard, I was knocked out.

Moments later, my eyes opened as several feet walked away. ‘You showed him,’ said an excited voice.

The thing was, he hadn’t shown me anything. I still don’t know what I was punched for.

It was my first day at secondary school, and a sixth former (aged 18) had decided to attack this clumsy, naive 11-year-old, excitedly chatting about comics to some mates.

My only crime seemed to be being bigger than my aggressor. But, though the size of a man, I was very much a child.

This incident was the first of many.

Persistent bullying became the background narrative to my school years.

At over six feet tall, sensitive and incredibly young for my age, I became an easy target for any older boy wanting to show their bravery against a ‘gentle giant’ they knew wouldn’t, couldn’t, didn’t fight back.

Like many, when I became a parent, I began to analyse my own character.

What became impossible to miss was that so much of my personality was formed as a reaction to this bullying. Bullying taught me to keep my head down – literally – so that I blended in with crowds.

Bullying taught me to keep contentious opinions to myself, to avoid being mocked.

Bullying made me a perennial self-deprecator, to say the worst about me before someone else had the chance.

Bullying also made me angry, an emotion I supressed, leaving me with lifelong anxiety and stress.

I am, I was shocked to find, what bullying made me. I developed a Teflon personality, avoiding any hinterlands of experience that might call back past woes.

Bullying has actually made me see the best of my son’s attributes as potential weaknesses.

As a father, I see such joy in my son, vivaciousness, enthusiasm, a keenness to live in the moment. He’s so full of life, so close to the way I was pre-bullying.

These traits are wonderful, yet I can’t help but see them as making him vulnerable – in the same way they were for me. Let’s linger on this for a moment.

Bullying has actually made me see the best of my son’s attributes as potential weaknesses.

The long shadow of my own experiences at school still gives me the overwhelming desire to protect my son. And how does it recommend I do that?

By toughening him up.

By limiting him.

By reducing him to less than he is. The sheer terribleness of this impulse shocks me.

Please have no fear, those who bullied me some 20 years ago, will not find another victim in my son.

Far from it. I will not allow the damage they did to my psyche affect him. I will forever encourage my son to be himself, to live in the moment.

To be a little boy, not an adult in waiting. I refuse to let the malignance of my own experience dampen the joy of childhood for my son – even though I have the strong feeling doing so might make him more visible to schoolyard miscreants.

Instead, the change has to be within me.

As a father, I’m learning to step beyond my self-imposed emotional prison.

I’m treating myself with the respect I deserved back then (and now). School can be tough, and perhaps my son will encounter some of the trials I did during these years.

Of course this worries me – if you’ve been mauled by a lion, you wouldn’t like your child to become a lion keeper. Yet my wounds can’t, won’t, impede my son’s experience of life.

Rather he’ll know that his parents will help him face, and overcome, any issue in life.

As a nation, we must stand up to bullying, so that our children will never be expected to be anything less than themselves. It’s the very least we can do.

Chris McGuire is a writer and stay at home dad. For more from Chris visit his blog, Twitter or Instagram.

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Identical twins Jack and Jace Grafe, 23, started life as Jaclyn and Jennifer and grew up in a conservative Christian home in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Unbeknownst to each other, they cried themselves to sleep as children and prayed they would wake up as boys.

At the time, they didn’t know what being transgender was. At age 16 they came out as gay to each other.

A few years later, Jack wrote on a Facebook post that he was going to transition from female to male. Jace immediately reached out to Jack saying he felt the same way.

And after starting their testosterone treatment and having top surgery, they’re now living as the men they always wanted to be.

Now the criminal justice graduates, who both work in law enforcement live in Monroe, Georgia, where they still get their fair share of ignorant comments.

‘I am the happiest with myself that I have been in my entire life. That uncomfortable feeling we had before has completely gone,’ said Jack.

‘Our parents had never seen anything like it. They have never experienced gay or transgender people and my dad is a pastor.

‘At work, people still refer to us as female. Whenever I hear ‘she’ or ‘her’, it is like a kick in the stomach.

‘It hurts. There are times when I wish I was just born – and I don’t mean this in a negative way -but “normal”, and that I was biologically male.

‘People say, “you will never be able to change your chromosomes, you can only change the outside”.’

‘There are still times when I come home and break down.

Jace added that being twins helped him transition as they had a religious upbringing and went to a strict school.

‘Being a twin means I don’t feel alone. Somebody else is experiencing the exact same things as I am going through and that made me stronger.

‘We talked to each other about everything but this was the one subject we were awkward about.

‘I was scared because I held my twin’s opinion higher than anybody else so if he didn’t accept me I would be devastated.

‘At one point I even tried to date a guy to see if the feelings would go away but they didn’t.

“I found out Jack was transgender through a Facebook post on his profile, which was specifically for our cosplay friends and had no family.

‘After that we decided to refer to ourselves as brothers and asked our cosplay friends to refer to us as male.’

Recent studies suggest identical twins are more likely to simultaneously experience gender dysphoria than non-identical twins.

Of 23 monozygotic or identical twins, 39% were concordant for gender identity disorder, according to a literature review published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

None of the 21 non-identical twins were concordant, suggesting a possible genetic or biological link with being transgender.

As well as identifying as men at work and home, the twins have been legally recognised as male by the state as of September 29.

They were permitted to change the gender marker on their driving licenses after undergoing chest surgery side by side in August at Georgia Plastic Surgery.

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There’s nothing quite like it, is there?

Of all the potential treats and snacks on this island, few set the pulse racing quite like the humble Creme Egg.

Improving the magic formula is like trying to improve on perfection, an impossibility. Right?

Wrong, as it turns out. It’s just been announced that Oreo Creme eggs are about to hit the shelves as of this coming January. That means Oreo biscuit stuffed into the classic filling. That’ll do it.

It’s not technically the first time, with last Easter bearing witness to the mini egg version. But it does mark the dawn of the full sized Oreo Eggs.

You’ll be able to grab it in the shop until April, which is a fairly solid four months of indulgence.

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Twitter can be a great place to connect people all over the world. The social media site also acts as a good lost-and-found platform.

Dad Jonathan Hopkin, from Nottingham, has decided to use it to return a ring he found to the couple that it belongs to.

The 38-year-old took to Twitter to describe the ring his wife Anna found in the centre of Arnold, on the outskirts of the city.

According to the date ‘1955’ inscribed on the ring, it would mean that the couple whom it belonged to are now at least 80, if they are still alive.

‘Right, need your help Twitter folk. My wife has found this wedding ring and it has the date 15.9.55 and the initials A and P inscribed on it,’ he wrote, attaching three pictures of the gold bands.

‘I know it’s a long shot but we’d love to get it back to who it belongs to. We live in Nottingham if that helps.’

So far, Jonathan has not heard from any potential owners. The trouble is, he told Metro.co.uk, that Anna found the ring three years ago but the family’s personal circumstances stopped them from trying to find the owners.

‘The reason it took so long to do this is my wife was heavily pregnant at the time with my son Harry and went into labour not long after finding it. Harry then had to have an operations after six days for a twisted bowel. We spent a week in hospital after this and it got forgotten about.

‘On Sunday, we found it in my wife’s jewellery box and wanted to see if we could get it back to its owners or their family.

‘I put it up on Twitter as you just never know who is reading. I didn’t for one second think it would start to get this amount of coverage and it just goes to show there is a positive side to social media, that often gets forgotten about.’

Jonathan added that he also lost his wedding ring once and panicked so giving this ring back to its original owners would be hugely fulfilling.

‘My wedding ring means a huge amount to me and I recall when I thought I had lost mine. I felt a mixture of sick, gutted, disappointed in myself and when it got handed in at the restaurant I was at, I was so relieved.

‘The date means the couple is going to be pushing on 80 and it would be lovely to get it back to them or their family.’

If you know an A and P who lost their ring then please get in touch with Jonathan or email faima.bakar@metro.co.uk.

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It’s coming to the end of the month and you might be short on cash.

But what would you do for an extra £200.

Would you be willing to spend the night in a graveyard on the scariest night of the year?

Well, if the answer is yes, this is your chance.

A paranormal investigator is looking for people to take part in a graveyard ritual experience at Halloween to prove it’s haunted, according to an online advert. And you’ll be paid to complete the challenge.

Those chosen for the experience will need to meet the investigator at a secret location.

He will then take his guests to the graveyard, where food and drink will be provided.

The PI will perform rituals throughout the night and needs people to ‘engage with them with him’.

The request states that five people are needed so they can lie in an ‘inverted pentagram’.

The PI has requested that everyone brings their own camping equipment but if it is a dry night, tents will not be used.

Participants will need to spend the full night in the graveyard. Anyone who decides to leave at any point will not be paid.

Those who are chosen will need to provide written feedback of their stay, with a focus on their feelings and experiences, as well as whether they felt a supernatural presence during the night.

Applications will close on 30 October. The PI will then phone the people he chooses and tell them where to meet the next morning.

The location is being kept secret so only invited people attend as ‘more than the chosen five, and more importantly, anyone not susceptible to the supernatural, will ruin the conditions needed for the experiment’.

Those chosen for the experience will need to meet the investigator at a secret location, from which he will take everyone to the graveyard, the request states. Food and drink will be provided, but participants must have their own camping equipment. If it’s a dry night, tents will not be used.

Kai Feller, Bark.com co-founder, said: ”Halloween is a strange time of year, and I’m not sure people are going to be jumping at the opportunity to spend it in a graveyard. We’re excited to see if anyone actually puts themselves forward for this.”

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A 70 year-old man is raising his three year-old twin sons alone after their mom died of sepsis eight days after giving birth aged 56.

Mike McLaughlin has cared for Dylan and Jordan since his late wife Lisa died in agonizing pain shortly after returning from hospital with her newborns in December 2014.

The couple conceived their long wished-for children through IVF, with Mike describing Lisa as the happiest he had ever seen her they day they brought the boys home.

But Lisa, who worked as a Red Cross executive, fell ill soon after, complained of ‘level 10’ pain and stayed in bed, according to WUSA. 

Her doctor told her to get up, move around and drink water, but she collapsed on the floor as Mike helped usher her to the bathroom.

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He recalled: ‘She turned to me and said “Help me Mikey.”‘

Tragically, Lisa died shortly after being rushed to hospital

It later emerged that the surgeon who performed a Caesarian section on Lisa at Holy Cross Hospital in Maryland had twisted or nicked her bowel, with that injury subsequently developing into sepsis.

Mike, who now lives in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, spoke out amid worrying statistics showing an increase in pregnancy-related deaths in the US.

Centers for Disease Control statistics show black women, like Lisa, are three to four times more likely to die after giving birth than white women.

CDC spokesman Dr William Callaghan said: ‘When we talk about what is the reason for the disparity, I can’t tell you what that reason is except for the fact that the only thing that we conclude with any kind of reasonable certainty is that the experience of being black in America is so fundamentally different from the experience of being white in America that it translates to health outcomes.’

And Dr Barbara Levy, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agreed that both endemic racism and sexism were to blame.

She said: ‘People are now talking about the stressors, the micro-aggressions in life that may increase stress hormones, cause high blood pressure, and we talk about people not having a voice and not trusting our system.

‘We often put the blame on the women who are disadvantaged and that’s completely unfair. No wonder they don’t trust us

Mike says his late wife was ‘energetic’ and ‘would have been really good’ with her sons, had she lived to see them grow up.

He moved home to be closer to relatives who now help care for Dylan and Jordan.

Mike says he hopes to live long enough to see his sons graduate college, and feels that they will be able to live independent lives without him from that age onwards.

The devoted dad explained: ‘I’m just trying to make it to 88/90 some place in there.

‘They’ll be able to handle themselves then.’

They say pregnant women glow during their second trimester – and Meghan Markle is certainly living up to the old wives’ tale on the royal tour in Australia.

The Duchess of Sussex has showcased a string of stylish outfits over the course of their first week Down Under, changing from beach wear to city chic to ballgown and diamonds.

And, to the delight of royal fans, her baby bump can be seen underneath her outfits, making them all the more exciting to marvel over.

Harry and Meghan are currently on their first overseas official tour as husband and wife, taking in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, and Meghan has been sailing through it in a variety of stylish and plain gorgeous outfits.

Oh to be a Duchess.

In fact, it’s getting us ridiculously excited about Meghan’s maternity wardrobe.

To help us all keep track and refer back to these joyous and stylish times, we’ll be updating this post with every outfit Meghan wears during her trip to Australia. Buckle in.

DAY ONE:

Meghan wears a white Karen Gee dress at Admirality House

For a visit to the official Sydney residence of the Governor-General of Australia, Peter Cosgrove, and Lady Cosgrove – and her first appearance since announcing her pregnancy – Meghan opted for a sleek white shift dress by Australian designer Karen Gee.

The dress, known as ‘The Blessed Dress’, promptly sold out and crashed the Karen Gee website. It costs AUD1,800 (£971.99)

Meghan completed her look with Stuart Weitzman nude suede pumps.

Meghan wears a Brandon Maxwell khaki shirt dress for an afternoon reception

Meghan did a quick change for the afternoon reception at Admiralty House, swapping her white shift for a khaki shirt dress by Brandon Maxwell.

Brandon Maxwell is a favourite of Meghan – she previously wore their design, a yellow shift dress, at the Commonwealth Youth Event in July.

Just like the white shift, the green khaki dress has already sold out, but we know it cost £1,728. Whew.

The Duchess accessorised the dress with Dior nude heels and jewellery previously owned by Princess Diana – a bracelet and butterfly earrings.

DAY TWO:

Meghan goes casual for a visit to Mountain View Farm in Dubbo

For a rainy visit to the Mountain View Farm in Dubbo, the Duchess of Sussex kept things casual in a shirt, blazer, and jeans.

The blazer is the creation of Meghan’s pal Serena Williams, from the tennis champion’s Boss collection. It features a red and blue check, has an oversized fit, and costs $145 (£110). Naturally it has already sold out.

If you’re keen to wear the same jeans as Meghan, you’ll need to head to Outland – she’s wearing their Harriet style in black, which cost £140.

That crisp white shirt is the work of Maison Kitsuné. It’s still in stock through Matches for £192.

Meghan completed her outfit with J. Crew’s Sadie ankle boots, earrings by Sydney-based designer Natalie Marie, a Natalie Marie initial necklace with the letter M, and the Pascale Monvoisin Cauri necklace.

She wore her hair in an excellent ponytail.

DAY THREE:

Meghan wears a blue Dion Lee dress to visit Melbourne

Arriving in Melbourne, Meghan topped her Folded Sail navy dress by Australia designer Dion Lee (already sold out, of course) with a Martin Grant trench coat.

Her bag is £850 by Gucci, her navy shoes are Manolo Blahnik, and she’s wearing a gold cuff bracelet by Shaun Leane.

Those necklaces you can spot were a gift from some children.

Then swaps to a Club Monaco dress and flats for a trip to the beach

Honestly, if the Duchess of Sussex had gone to the beach in Manolo Blahniks we would have suspected she’s super-human, so we’re glad she made a quick change to flats.

While Meghan kept on her trench coats, bag, and jewellery from earlier in the day, for a visit to the beach she swapped her navy dress for a £325 black shift by Club Monaco and traded in heels for the same flats she wore when she arrived in Australia; Rothy’s The Point Black Flats.

Could this mean ballet-style flats are making a comeback? We hope so.

DAY FOUR:

Meghan wears a striped Martin Grant maxi dress to Bondi Beach

Keeping with the beach theme, Meghan wore a striped maxi sundress by Martin Grant  – an Australian label – for day four of the royal tour.

The dress is still available to buy and will set you back £1,080.

It’s not the first time she’s worn a Martin grant piece, opting for a trench coat from his collection on day two of the tour.

She wore Castañer espadrille wedges, costing £90, with the dress and kept things relatively simply with her hair in a ponytail.

Then switches to a two-toned Roksanda Athena dress for a school visit

Her second look of the day, for when she and Harry visited a school was a Roksanda Athena dress in navy, costing £1,400, with a blue border.

She swapped the sandals for Stuart Weitzman The Legend Pumps in being, costing £280, and had changed her ponytail to a soft up-do.

DAY FIVE:

Meghan wears a black custom Emilia Wickstead dress to honour Australians who died during the First World War

She wore a custom black version of an Emilia Wickstead dress, which is still available to buy in ivory and costs £1,595.

Meghan completed the look with a black straw Philip Treacy hat, Givenchy clutch bag and Tabitha Simmons black slingback heels.

Later, Meghan changed into a more casual outfit to attend the Invictus Games

Meghan wore a black Invictus Games shirt with a custom Altuzarra white blazer, a style she also owns in black.

She added a pair of black Mother denim jeans, costing $196 (£149) and the same shoes she was wearing earlier in the day.

Meghan goes for a third outfit change as she finishes the day at the Invictus Games opening ceremony

For the third and final engagement of the day, Meghan wore her hair up for the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games at the Sydney Opera House.

She dressed in a navy Stella McCartney cape dress, with a navy Gillian Anderson swing coat, which costs £395, to stay warm.

She added a bespoke Dior clutch bag and Stuart Weitzman ‘Legend’ suede heels in Haze Beige, which cost £280. She had worn these the day before during her time in Sydney.

DAY SEVEN:

After taking Sunday off to relax, Meghan gets back to business in a sharp blazer

On Monday, Meghan attended a reception hosted by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, wearing a white L’Agence pinstripe blazer, which costs £510, over a black turtleneck.

She added black high-waist jeans, a £171 Oroton ‘Avalon’ zip top crossbody bag and a Ralph Lauren suede belt, which costs £385.

She completed the look with Aquazzura ‘Denzure’ black suede bow pumps, which cost £490.

Meghan swapped her blazer for a windproof jacket to watch the Invictus Games sailing finals

Next on the agenda was watching the Invictus Games sailing finals, which Meghan swapped her blazer for an Invictus Games windproof jacket.

She also switched her heels for Veja lace-up trainers, which will set you back £120.

DAY EIGHT:

After a morning off for more rest, Meghan met Harry head to Kingfisher Bay Jetty on Fraser Island.

Meghan arrived in a casual Reformation dress, which is on sale for $218 (£167).

She accessorised the look with Karen Walker sunglasses and flat Sarah Flint sandals.

DAY NINE:

Meghan touches down in Fiji

As they arriving in Fiji, Meghan stepped off the plane wearing a pearl white dress by Zimmerman, with a matching hat by Stephen Jones.

The shoes were her trusty Aquazzura ‘Denzure’ black suede bow pumps, which cost £490, while the earrings were given to her as a gift by Queen Elizabeth II and the bracelet was a gift from the Prince of Wales.

She teamed her outfit with a black Anna straw clutch by Kayu, which sells for £173.

And then gets dressed up for an evening ball

Meghan later switched into a stunning blue SAFiYAA dress for a state dinner hosted by the president of the South Pacific nation Jioji Konrote at the Grand Pacific Hotel.

She teamed the dress – which is considered to be her take on ‘Fijan blue’ as a nod to the state – with diamond earrings and a very clear view of her baby bump.

Meghan and Harry’s tour kicked off on Tuesday 16 October and will culminate on Wednesday 31 October.

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