The product is part of a quirky Easter range for 2019 that also includes a prosecco egg, an egg decorated with jazzies and a dark chocolate feather egg.
Other animal designs include the Rock Chick egg, which features a red crown and a pearl necklace, as well as an egg-shaped bull.
You can buy the new Easter range in M&S stores nationwide or online.
Rude comments aside, the £6 bunny treat is likely to be a hit with yoga lovers and people with a cheeky sense of humour.
If, like many of us, you’re counting down the days until warm weather well and truly hits, we can tell you when summer is expected to start…
When does spring end?
The end of spring, and subsequent start of summer, varies depending on which way you choose to look at it.
From an astronomical prospective – a method which determines the seasons based on the tilt of the Earth’s axis – the summer solstice this year is Friday June 21.
A solstice happens twice a year, and marks the day when one of the Earth’s poles is tilted most strongly towards the sun. The summer solstice happens when the result of this tilt is that the day in question sees the years longest period of daylight, and is therefore taken by many to signify the start of summer.
The other solstice occurs in December – this year it falls on 22 December.
Summer breeze making this good dog feel fine (Picture: Holly Hildreth/Getty Images/Moment RF)
On the other hand, meteorological seasons are split into four periods of three months, measured by the Gregorian calendar which we use today.
Spring months are March, April and May, while summer is clearly defined as the months of June, July and August.
Meanwhile autumn months are September October and November, and winter months are the remaining December, January and February.
Not long now! (Picture: skynesher/Getty Images/E+)
When was the first day of spring 2019?
Spring started, according to the meteorological method, on March 1.
Meanwhile the spring equinox, widely thought to mean the start of spring, fell on March 20 this year.
In contract to a solstice, equinoxes, which also happen twice a year mark when the Earth’s axis is vertical. The other equinox will fall on 23 September this year.
If you’re tired of your office job and want a creative challenge, you might want to consider this new position.
This married couple are looking for someone to take care of their twin girls in a part time nanny role, but there’s a catch – you have to do it dressed as a Disney princess.
The parents posted an advert on Childcare, where they describe – in detail – exactly what they’re after.
You’ll need to dress and play a new character every month, whether that’s Anna from Frozen, Moana, Rapunzel or Cinderella.
The chosen nanny will be asked to arrange ‘Disney-related activities’, such as ‘arts and crafts, baking, singing’, as well as perform regular nanny duties including picking the girls up from school, cooking dinner and putting them to bed if the parents are stuck at work.
(Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)
According to the couple, the twin girls are ‘obsessed’ with Disney princesses and their parents believe this is the ‘best way to communicate some important values’ to them.
The pair admit that it’s an unusual request, but want to use Disney princesses to teach the twins about ‘things like determination, compassion, fearlessness and ambition from strong yet relatable female role models’.
The ‘right candidate’ will take home £40,000 a year, working just four days a week.
The Disney costumes will also be paid for by the parents, and 25 days holiday is on the table (including bank holidays).
Do you have what it takes to be a part time Disney princess? Apply here.
The full advert:
‘I have a slightly unusual request that I’m hoping someone will be able to help me with!
‘Myself and my husband are looking for a part-time nanny to care for our twin girls during the week, but we want to hire someone to look after our children whilst in character as a different Disney princess every month, such as Princess Anna, Moana, Rapunzel and Princess Merida.
‘Like most five-year-olds, our girls are obsessed with Disney and we feel this would be the best way to communicate some important values.
‘We know this isn’t a normal request for nannies, however we think it would be a great way to teach our girls about things like determination, compassion, fearlessness and ambition from strong yet relatable female role models like Princess Tiana, Princess Anna, Belle and Cinderella.
‘We are looking for someone who can commit to a character and create a really fun atmosphere in our home, but also won’t be afraid to be a disciplinarian if the twins are naughty or act out – they can be little terrors at times!
‘The right person will have a real creative flare as well as a passion for all things Disney and will be able to share that love of those characters with our girls. The role involves picking the girls up after school, four days a week, arranging a variety of Disney-related activities (arts and crafts, baking, singing, etc.), cooking dinner and potentially putting them to bed if we’re late home from work.
‘The job is part-time, but the right nanny must be willing to work around our busy schedules. Candidates must be looking for a long-term job, as we want to keep the successful nanny in the girl’s lives for the foreseeable future.
‘We’re able to offer around £40,000 a year for the right candidate and will also be covering the hire of each Disney princess costume. You’ll be entitled to 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays, as well as the statutory sick day allocation, however you must be flexible in case of any emergencies.
‘Requirements include having a clean driving licence, first aid training and a minimum two years’ experience in nannying or a similar role. We think a trial shift would work best, so we can see how you interact with our girls and allow us to formally meet before hiring.
‘Again, we know this isn’t exactly a normal job offer, but we think it’s a great opportunity for someone to get really creative and add a little magic to our girl’s lives!
‘So, if there are any Disney-mad nannies out there who’d be able to help us out, please get in touch.’
There’s a naked brunch coming to London and to make it even more fun, it’s at a table suspended 100ft in the air.
The Naked in the Sky Bottoms Up brunch event will take place on 30 April outside the o2 arena.
The idea is you strip off and put on the robe provided for ladies or pants provided for men.
You’ll then find yourself a place around the 22-seat table, with staff in the middle, and buckle up as the whole thing is lifted into the air.
Once you are in the sky, you can lose the robe/pants and really let it all hang out.
The concept of eating in the sky has been around for about nine years at various locations in the city – but this time guests will be doing it without clothes.
A fully-clothed London in the Sky experience (Picture: London in the Sky)
There will be two sittings at the restaurant – one for men and one for women.
The ladies’ brunch will be to raise money for breast cancer charity Coppafeel! while the mens’ event will be in aid of Movember, a charity raising money for health issues faced by men.
Anyone who wants to take part needs to apply for a place. On 3 April the entrants will be drawn at random.
Guests must cover the £99 for the ‘flight’ and are encouraged to raise money for the charities through sponsorship.
The money raised from tickets and sponsorship will then be split between the two charities.
The menu hasn’t been released yet but it sounds like there will be plenty of buns and maybe a few pickles on the menu.
In a now deleted Facebook post, the company who fitted out the store posted pictures of arches in the shape of the famous Mickey mouse ears.
The details are being kept under wraps for now but the eatery will be the first licensed Disney themed restaurant outside the Disney resorts and cruises.
The cafe will be inside the new Birmingham store, the biggest in the world, which opens in three weeks time.
It’s one of three restaurants inside the store, which also has a beauty salon under the same roof.
The five storey 160,100 square foot megastore will employ nearly 1,000 people.
It’s due to open on April 11.
The store has collaborated with Disney in the past including on an Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo and Bambi range.
We’re hoping to see Disney based snacks and cute products everywhere.
If you aren’t a Disney fan, you might want to pick up some of their new Game of Thrones range ahead of the launch of season eight.
Earlier this month, we showed you these pyjamas fit for any Lannister.
The grey marl tops and bottoms are priced at £10 and you can chose between the logos of four of the main houses – Targaryan, Baratheon, Stark and Lannister.
Primark has been contacted for comment and we will update the article accordingly.
A teenager who watched porn for up to four hours a day has vowed she won’t even kiss before marriage now that she has conquered her addiction.
19-year-old Gracelyn Sorrell says she was 14 when an explicit picture on social media triggered her ‘impure desires’ and prompted her to start watching porn.
She lost her dad in 2013 and said pornography was a way for her to comfort herself and escape from the grief.
Gracelyn, from Chicago, Illinois, would secretly access the porn on her phone and regularly stayed up until 3am trawling through porn websites and apps.
The high school student would binge on porn for four hours every day but said her splurges of porn and masturbation left her feeling guilty and ashamed.
By 2016, Gracelyn was surviving on just three hours sleep each night which caused her grades to plummet.
The teenager finally confided in her mum Karen, an office manager, in August 2016 who encouraged her daughter to find healing through the family’s Christian faith.
Gracelyn said: ‘My phone was the easiest way I could access porn.
‘I could sneak around and do it in the afternoon when I got home from school and my mum was at work.
(Picture: Orel Chollette / SWNS)
‘I had my own room and my older sisters and brothers were usually at work.
‘After everyone went to bed I would turn off the lights and watch videos, sometimes until 3am.
‘I was watching about four hours of porn every day, one in the afternoon and then three or four hours non-stop at night.
‘When I watched the videos it gave me an adrenaline rush. It was like insulin to me, I needed it.
‘I was finding a place for my soul but it was an impure space.
‘The porn and masturbation was never fulfilling.
‘It was always a chase. It was dehumanizing. I felt guilt and shame afterwards.
‘I lost my focus on my schoolwork because my addiction was always on my mind.
‘I was always so tired because I would stay up until the early hours of the morning watching porn.
‘I was very stressed out.
‘I grew up in a Christian household. I basically grew up in the church my whole life.
‘I felt like I was leading a double life because I was this Christian girl in school but secretly I was addicted to this drug of sin.
(Picture: Orel Chollette / SWNS)
‘When I went on vacation with my family I was stressed because I should have been enjoying Thanksgiving with them but in the back of my head I was thinking, “I just can’t wait until night time when I can watch the videos”.’
After confiding in her mother, Gracelyn began expressing her feelings to God through journaling and got rid of all the apps which she thought might rock her ‘self control’.
Her mum was supportive and encouraged her to go to her for counselling whenever she was struggling.
Gracelyn said: ‘My mum was so supportive and she told me we had to pray about it.
‘From that moment on I started journaling.
‘I forced myself to have self control.
‘I stopped taking my phone to bed and I took extra precautions like deleting the apps and deleting Youtube.
‘When you’re addicted to something, it is all you can think about. You have this powerful urge to watch.
‘But I dedicated those urges to my journals and bible worship.
‘I didn’t have professional counselling but my mum has a lot of experience and is spiritually in tune with God.’
Gracelyn is now a public speaker who travels around the US to share her experience with addiction.
The 19-year-old is also an advocate for abstinence and has made a vow not to kiss or have sex before marriage.
Gracelyn said: ‘I have had relapses. Not many, but I have had times where I just couldn’t fight it.
‘Some nights in bed I would cry afterwards and feel sorry I failed again.
‘I slipped back into it for short periods of time.
‘Whenever I had a relapse I confided in my mum.
‘She was never judgmental.
‘I felt like that transparency helped me get back on track. I haven’t relapsed since 2016.
‘I am waiting until marriage to kiss and have sex.
‘I always say it was my impurity that made me pure.
‘Right now I am not looking for a relationship. I believe it’s up to a man to find a wife so I’m not searching. If he comes into my life then great.’
Superdrug will now offer in-store consultations to check for breast cancer symptoms, as part of a new partnership with CoppaFeel!
The breast cancer awareness charity and Superdrug’s no-touch consultations will be carried out in the store’s health clinics across the country.
The new service went live yesterday, 19 March.
To have the screening done, you will need to pre-book a nurse appointment in any of the 56 clinics.
You’ll then be sat down with a trained nurse who will show you how to check your breasts properly for cancer symptoms.
You’ll be taught how to give yourself an examination, and also how often you should be doing it.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer:
According to Macmillan, signs and symptoms of breast cancer include:
a lump in the breast
a change in the size or shape of the breast
dimpling of the skin or thickening in the breast tissue
a nipple that’s turned in (inverted)
a rash (like eczema) on the nipple
discharge from the nipple
swelling or a lump in the armpit
pain or discomfort in the breast that doesn’t go away.
The appointments are completely free of charge, but must be booked in advance – with Superdrug hoping to carry out over 100,000 appointments in the first year.
Former Love Island star Olivia Buckland is fronting Superdrug and Coppafeel’s new campaign after she experienced a cancer scare herself.
Sophie Dopierala, Director of Education and Health Comms at CoppaFeel! said: ‘Our annual research shows for most women who aren’t checking their breasts, knowledge on what to look for remains the main barrier.
(Picture: PA)
‘We are delighted to announce our partnership with Superdrug. Using their trained nurses to encourage people on how to check their boobs or pecs will ensure we are reaching a whole new audience with the breast awareness message.’
Dr Pixie McKenna, Superdrug’s health and wellbeing ambassador, added: ‘Once you know how simple checking your breasts is, it can save your life.
‘I am so pleased to see Superdrug nurses will be taking this initiative to all patients, everyone should be able to check whether on themselves or a partner, or even talking it through with a friend – the more conversations the better.’
We’re waiting for the day when London venues run out of quirky brunch ideas.
The latest experience on the brunch scene features ‘Champ Train’ – a miniature train, filled with champagne glasses at Burger & Lobster in Soho.
Work on your reflexes and grab yourself a glass as the train passes by on the nine-metre long bar counter top.
As for the food, you can choose from the restaurant’s signature Nova Scotia lobster dishes or burgers, with sides like truffle chips, quinoa and avocado salad and regular fries.
(Picture: Burger & Lobster)
The menu also includes six sharing plates, including Norwegian king crab and rock oysters or lobster claws.
It turns out you can use the green stuff and make leather out of it that’s much better for the environment.
They’ve worked with Piñatex, a team of experts who make leather alternatives from the leaves of the pineapple plant, a natural and sustainably sourced, cruelty-free material.
And the team are calling the shoes the world’s first vegan sneakers.
So if you’re already on a plant-based diet, you might as well make sure your cosmetics, clothes and now shoes are vegan too.
(Picture: Mercer Amsterdam)
‘Pinatex is made from the fibre from the leaves of the pineapple plant,’ the brand explained on their website.
‘These leaves are discarded from the pineapple harvest, so the raw material requires no additional environmental resources to produce.’
The leaves are bought from farmers in the Philippines to support local economies and strengthen their exports.
The leather effect is bought on by a microfiber textile which gives the sensation of real leather.
Production of the trainers is low water and waste, the brand claims.
But all that doesn’t come cheap as you’ll need to fork out $250 (£189) for the trendy kicks.
You can pre-order them online until 31 March when it will be available to the rest of the public.
A pig has formed an unlikely friendship with a wonky-faced dog, and the pair couldn’t be happier.
One-year-old piggy Pax was rescued from a breeder when she was 12 weeks old, and has been raised with a pack of rescue dogs in Oregon ever since.
Rescue shelter owner Liesl Wilhardt, 50, had never considered owning a pig before but said Pax has fitted in perfectly, even learning dog commands and completing agility training courses.
Liesl’s dog Picasso, two, previously shot to viral fame for his twisted upper mandible, leaving him with a crooked face – and now the two’s adorable friendship is melting hearts all over.
(Picture: Caters News)
Liesl said: ‘Pax has never been around other pigs, so she might think she is a dog too.
‘I fell in love with her immediately, she is so intelligent and fitted in perfectly with my other dogs – who also aren’t your average looking pets.
‘She is completely unafraid of dogs, since she was raised with my 10 dogs and at a dog rescue facility, she’s spent her whole life around dogs.
‘Pax is most fond of my two rescued dogs – Picasso, who has a facial deformity where his upper mandible is twisted, and Wacku, eight, whose mandible has been sliced off in a cruel machete attack in the Philippines.
(Picture: Caters News)
‘Perhaps their unusual looks have brought them together.’
Liesl said Pax was picked up from a breeding farm where the animals were living ‘on top of each other’ and didn’t even have clean bowls to drink from.
She’s taken out for walks on a lead with Liesl’s gang of 10 dogs on her own pink leash.
Liesl, who has run Luvavble rescue centre since 1999 but has never had to care for a pig before, said: ‘I was disgusted to hear the breeder advised my friend who rescued Pax to feed her as little as possible if she would like her to remain small.
‘We were not sure how big she was going to be, but it didn’t matter to me how big she got.
(Picture: Caters News)
‘Pax loves the agility courses and has never shown any fear of trying anything new. You can see her brain working, as she tries to figure out how to do something for the first time.
‘She loves people and has never shown any fear or aggression toward anyone.
‘She is very gentle and affectionate and like all pigs. She also loves to be rubbed and scratched, especially behind her ears and on her belly like a dog.
Lady Kitt poses with artist Louise Brown (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
Student artist Louise Brown wants to get rid of the idea that having pubic hair is ‘gross, unsexy, or unhygenic’.
She’s protesting the pressure to get rid of our pubes by making up a model, performer Lady Kitt, to appear bald then wrapping a pair of fake legs around her neck.
Viewed from the back, Lady Kitt’s head is designed to look like the vagina, with the words ‘so you want this hairless?’ scrawled across the top.
Louise acknowledges that the artwork is pretty bold, and that it may offend some people, but she hopes the piece, called Stop Policing Our Hair Growth, will stop ‘censorship of the human body’.
Louise, from Highgate, London, says: ‘I think a lot of people are shocked by seeing the piece.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘Hair surrounding a women’s genitals has been deemed as gross, unsexy and even unhygienic.
‘Yet men have hairy legs and armpits and that’s not deemed gross or dirty in any way.
‘The porn industry has left generations expecting not only no hair but also no shaving cuts, ingrown hairs and all the other painful and, quite frankly, widespread results of hair removal.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘But if a woman [has a bald head], people might say she’s not feminine and is undesirable.
‘These double standards are ridiculous and should be demolished.
‘It’s resulting in eating disorders, body image difficulties and they impact the ability of a woman to go about her day to day life.
‘I want people to be more comfortable and love themselves.
‘We are worth more than our appearance.’
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
When performing the piece, Lady Kitt wears a pair of legs made from opaque tights, pillow stuffing, paint, and glue, around her shoulders with statements of protest written on her head.
On the soles of the legs’ shoes are the words: ‘do what you want to do. Reject the policing of our hair growth.’
So far, the piece has been shown in Newcastle and York, but Louise wants to spread her message further.
‘People find [the piece] sexualised and might be offended,’ says Louise.
‘But hopefully they will question their beliefs and realise there’s no standard for beauty.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘The concept behind this was challenging norms around the female body – specifically hair growth.
‘The stuff the tights around Lady Kitt’s neck with pillow stuffing and used paint on the vagina.
‘I’ve got quite a lot of pillow stuffing in my room from practising.
‘I used ladders in the tights and glue so the string from the glue gun made the veins.
‘It’s quite raw and rough – I didn’t want it to look a specific way.
‘I’m depicting someone out there. There’s no one standard when it comes to the female body.
‘I want to challenge perceptions and for people to stop accepting the status quo.’
A teenager fed up of people dismissing the agony of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) decided to ‘paint her pain’ on to her stomach so her illness would no longer be invisible.
Fay Harrison, 18, had spent over a year suffering with painful flare-ups of IBS which left her unable to go to college or spend time with friends.
When she experienced symptoms last week, she found a way to visually express what she was going through, by painting her pain in eyeshadow and lipstick on her stomach.
The end result, after an hour spent on shading, uses darker tones for the inflamed areas around her belly button, while the pink around the rest of her abdomen suggests just how sore and tender IBS makes Fay feel.
Fay shared photos of her painted tummy online to raise awareness of the invisible illness and show just how painful it can be.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
She wrote: ‘To anyone who struggles with IBS or any other digestive/stomach related disorder, maybe even chronic pain – this is for you.
‘Today my IBS started to flare up and instead of sitting in bed, crying because of the pain, I decided to visualise my pain on my stomach with makeup.
‘With health issues like this, people can’t always fully understand the chronic pain that comes with it. This is because it is an invisible illness.
‘Hopefully these photos will make people aware that a flare-up isn’t just a minor ‘tummy ache’.
‘It’s a massive burning sensation, it’s a sharp, excruciating pain that lingers. It’s heartburn. It’s stomach cramps. It’s a pain so severe that any small movement is difficult.’
The post resonated with many, receiving more than 5,600 likes, comments, and shares.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
One person said: ‘I’ve just seen this on a friend’s profile and I’m so glad you have done this.
‘I also suffer from an invisible illness (U/C) and I am currently sat here with hot water bottles to try and alleviate the pain so know just how your feeling [sic].’
Another wrote: ‘This is accurate! IBS can be so painful.’
Fay, from Colchester in Essex, said: ‘I basically had a bit of a flare-up that day. Normally whenever I get a flare up I just end up sitting in bed because it’s so painful it just hurts to move.
‘Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I thought I would just try and visualise it so that other people could understand how painful it is.
‘Flare-ups are so difficult to describe. I get heartburn with it. They’re basically like stomach cramps where it feels like you’re constantly being punched in the stomach.
‘Sometimes it will feel like a stabbing pain in places. It feels like a burning pain. It’s across the whole of my abdomen. It’s mainly in the centre of my stomach.
‘It took me about an hour [to draw]. I just used eyeshadow and lipstick. It did distract me from the pain because obviously I was focusing on something else.
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘I had darkened the bits that were hurting me the most. Going over that was quite painful because it was tender, but it did take the thought away from the pain.
‘If I hadn’t been doing that I would have just been sitting around.’
Fay was first diagnosed with gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach lining, but when medication failed to help doctors said she was actually experiencing IBS, which got worse due to stress.
The teenager now says she experiences symptoms nearly every week.
‘IBS is common, so it makes me feel like it’s not as bad in a sense,’ says Fay. ‘At the beginning I got flare ups quite often.
‘I had to stop going to college for a few weeks. Even just simple tasks such as emptying the dishwasher, I really struggled with that.
‘Nowadays I don’t get them as often, but when I do they’re still really painful. I had a flare up on Monday and I’m feeling a lot better now, but still a bit tender.
‘Whenever I get a flare up, it’s really difficult to eat healthily. Anything seems to [make me] hurt. I had a sandwich meal deal with fruit in it and I just couldn’t eat that.
‘It’s upsetting seeing everyone [my age] be able to go and get a McDonald’s or whatever for their lunch and I just can’t.
‘I just try and make my food as bland as possible and avoid all the spicy food. I know that’s definitely a trigger for me.
‘I think with most people they are able to identify what foods hurt them but for me it’s quite random.’
It’s easy to ignore sun damage when you can’t see it.
That sweet tan tends to quiet any lingering concern about not wearing the highest SPF.
But a new series of photos will give you the reminder you need to actually wear sunblock, day in, day out.
In the series, called RAW, photographer Pierre-Louis Ferrer took ultraviolet, close-up portraits of 20 people to show the reality of sun damage invisible to the human eye.
He used special camera equipment to show the spots, marks, and freckles hidden on the skin and caused by exposure to UV light.
Pierre says: ‘Each model offers the viewer an intimate view of his own being, which he cannot even perceive by himself.
‘This relationship of intimacy and trust is the opposite of our society where selfies and social networks project an idyllic vision of our lives.’
We think that’s artist-speak for ‘these photos are more honest than selfies on social media, where longterm sun damage is hidden by tans and pretty filters’.
‘I wanted to build a portrait series in UV to offer a more sensitive way to see people,’ says Pierre.
‘This series illustrates the raw and natural character of the human being, revealed by the technique of ultraviolet photography.’
Take a look at the photos below, consider the wreckage hidden on your skin, and remember to wear sunscreen every single day. It’s important.
Warning signs of skin cancer:
Asymmetry: An irregularly shaped mole
Borders: Ragged edges instead of a defined line could be a sign of skin cancer
Colour change: If a mole changes colour or is different colours in different parts, talk to a GP
Diameter: Any changes in size should be checked out
Elevation: Raised moles that become more or less raised may need to be checked
My identity as Asian means a lot to me, but the label also represents just a small part of who I am.
For starters, it does not acknowledge that I am ethnically Chinese but was born in Malaysia. It also denies my British upbringing.
I moved to the UK when I was 13, when my parents sent my sister and me to boarding school. My parents, both Anglophiles, had spoken to us in English at home, so we could already speak the language.
This meant that by the time we came to England, the cultural shift wasn’t too hard – in fact it was really exciting.
But it was in moving to the UK that the question of my label was raised. Arriving at boarding school, it became clear to me that being Asian in the eyes of others wasn’t quite how I perceived it to be.
There were brief moments in my youth where I wished I had blonde hair and blue eyes (Picture: Matthew Chattle/ Metro.co.uk)
I was told that in the UK, being Asian meant being dark-skinned, so I couldn’t possibly be Asian.
It was implied that I had to find myself a new way to define myself just because I didn’t suit their interpretation of ‘Asian’.
For a 13-year-old, at a new school, who was exploring a new country and culture, and who was trying to find and figure herself out, this was pretty tough to handle.
Being told that everything I knew was wrong felt as if someone had ripped part of me away. After this, I tried not to let the ‘Asian’ label define me, but that didn’t mean no one else did.
There were brief moments in my youth where I wished I had blonde hair and blue eyes, rather than having to deal with the negative assumptions about me.
People have assumed I’m an escort (but a premium kind, apparently), and I have been asked if I give happy endings at the end of a massage (Picture: Matthew Chattle/ Metro.co.uk)
As I have grown older, I have fully embraced both cultures and I have learned to love who I am.
But I also learned quickly that many people can be ignorant about my culture. With the Asian label comes the inevitable frustrating, irritating and degrading stereotypes. I constantly get incredulous looks when I open my mouth and speak perfect English without any accent.
‘Better than the Queen,’ according to an ex-colleague of mine.
People have assumed I’m an escort (but a premium kind, apparently), and I have been asked if I give happy endings at the end of a massage.
At least I’ve not been asked if I would be a Thai bride yet.
I have two Masters (Asian box tick) but in Classics and Organisational Psychology (Asian fail) (Picture: Matthew Chattle/ Metro.co.uk)
For Asian people, responsibility and respect for elders and family are very much part of our DNA. Towing the line, not breaking rules and honouring one’s family are of vital importance.
But despite assumptions, that doesn’t mean that all Asian people are quiet, subservient and are in ‘serious’ professions such as law, sciences, medicine, financial services.
This stereotype doesn’t particularly apply to me: I am not particularly scientific, my thinking style is one more filled with chaos, as opposed to being organised and efficient.
I have two Masters (Asian box tick) but in Classics and Organisational Psychology (Asian fail).
Being placed in just one box not only makes me feel claustrophobic, but it doesn’t capture who I truly am (Picture: Matthew Chattle/ Metro.co.uk)
School teachers assumed I would choose the sciences. Employers assumed I would be demure and sit quietly and not push back if I disagreed. Yeah right!
Not only did I have to deal with the shock of breaking the stereotype, I then had to work extra hard to prove myself.
Fortunately, I now know who I am, where I am from and where I grew up, so being labelled does not really have much of an effect on me anymore.
Since I have settled in the UK I consider myself to be as much British as I do Chinese and Malaysian, and fully embrace all three cultures.
Being placed in just one box not only makes me feel claustrophobic, but it doesn’t capture who I truly am, or who I believe myself to be.
I have never been a fan of labels, and though they have impacted me throughout my life, I refuse to let them actually define who I am.
I am so many things and of the many, I am Asian, and I am proud of that fact.
Labels
Labels is an exclusive series that hears from individuals who have been labelled – whether that be by society, a job title, or a diagnosis. Throughout the project, writers will share how having these words ascribed to them shaped their identity — positively or negatively — and what the label means to them.
Whilst I’m happy to tell my friends things, I don’t want them to have that much input (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Welcome to Lean On Me – a weekly agony aunt style column from Metro.co.uk where Kate Leaver answers your friendship woes.
Hi Kate,
All my friends are in relationships, and most are married or engaged. I’m only youngish still, 26, and have been single for just coming up to a year.
I used to date but stopped because of my friends. They wanted to know every little detail and it sort of felt like they were dating vicariously through me. It put a lot of pressure on me to find someone they’d approve of.
I’ve recently started dating again and whilst I’m happy to tell my friends things, I don’t want them to have that much input.
I know they’re just being protective because I’ve made some awful choices in the past, but I don’t think I need that much control.
They’ve guilted me into not seeing a guy again if he was 10 minutes late, or I wasn’t 100 per cent on whether I liked him after meeting him for an hour.
Is there a polite way to remind them it’s my decision at the end of the day?
Carla, 26
They’re behaving like they are entitled to infinite details about your dating life (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.u)
Hi Carla,
There is nothing more thrilling to a seriously committed person than scrolling through someone else’s Bumble options.
The monogamously engaged love nothing more than to collect juicy details from their single friends about dating. I’ve been guilty of this, I know it.
It’s primarily because they miss it and the version of themselves they were when they were single.
It’s a nostalgia thing, plus it’s fun to talk about love and sex and romance. But it’s also because they feel entitled to their single friend’s life as entertainment. A distraction from their own relationship, which may or may not be less exciting than those early dating days.
It sounds like this is happening with you and your friends. Sure, they’re protective of you, I get that. It’s lovely to have people who look out for you.
And if something were seriously wrong or you felt unsafe with a man, I’d want you to feel like you can tell your friends and ask for their help. But it doesn’t sound like you’ve reached that point.
It sounds like your friends are using you for gossip and being pickier about your suitors than they probably would be about their own partners.
They’re behaving like they are entitled to infinite details about your dating life – and they seem to have reserved the right to judge you and the men you’re seeing, too.
You can simply say out loud these words next time they try and take away your agency here: ‘This is my decision, please respect that.’
This is not great for you, obviously, and you will probably have to pull them up on it. They may not even know they’re doing it.
I know you love them, I’m sure they’re great, but you do not owe them saucy anecdotes to distract them from their own relationship status.
Your dating life, and the decisions therein, belong to you. It is up to you and you alone whether you like a guy enough to see him for a second date.
Your standards are the ones that matter here – so if you want to forgive someone for being 10 minutes late to a date, you go right ahead.
If you weren’t sure about someone after an hour in their company but you’d quite like to give them a second chance, go for it. Do not give your friends permission to treat you this way, or to make you feel guilty for being autonomous in your dating life.
Yes, you must remind them that it’s your decision. You can simply say out loud these words next time they try and take away your agency here: ‘This is my decision, please respect that.’
You’ll just have to gently but sternly remind them that this is your life, not theirs. Your heart, not theirs. Your body, not theirs. And if they don’t change their ways and back off a little bit, you’ll have to ration the details you tell them about your dates.
They do not deserve to hear your stories if they’re just going to judge you, berate you or boss you around on this.
Do you have someone else you can debrief on dates with for a little while? Another single friend? A sibling? A work buddy? It’d be great if you had someone else you can whisper and WhatsApp with after you’ve been on a date, so you still have someone to talk to while you give your nosy friends a little time out.
Next time your friends try to tell you how to live your life, kindly put them in their place.
Remind them whose life it is. Ask them to please respect your decisions. And do not feel like you owe them stories or anecdotes just because they go fishing for them. Remember that it’s your opinion that counts here, so go forth and date whoever you like.
I hope you meet someone wonderful. I hope you fall in love. I hope you tell your friends as much as you want to and I hope they learn to behave themselves.
This is your life, babes, do not forget it.
About Lean On Me
Kate Leaver is the author of The Friendship Cure and she will be answering your friendship woes in her weekly Metro.co.uk column.
If you’d like to submit a question or problem, email LeanOnMe@metro.co.uk with ‘Lean on me’ in the subject line.
Submissions are anonymous and you can follow the discussion on Twitter #LeanOnMe.
World Poetry Day is the perfect opportunity to soak up some words that are so good that just reading them feels indulgent.
Poetry might not always be the most appreciated of literary art forms, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of people’s appreciation.
World Poetry Day, which was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1999, aims to promote poetry reading, poetry writing and poetry publishing all over the world.
It’s celebrated on 21 March every year, and to mark the occasion and inject a little loveliness into your day, we’ve put together some beautiful quotes written by world famous poets…
From Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by William Butler Yeats
‘But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.’
From Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
‘I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.’
From Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
‘Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?’
From Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden
‘He was my North, my South , my East and my West
My working week and my Sunday rest
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.’
From Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath
‘Herr God, Herr Lucifer, Beware. Beware.
Out of the ash I rise with my red hair And I eat men like air.’
Recognise this guy? (Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
From Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
‘Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken.’
From Every Day You Play by Pablo Neruda
‘I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.’
From Howl by Allen Ginsberg
‘I’m with you in Rockland in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-journey on the highway across America in tears to the door of my cottage in the Western night’
From Money by Benjamin Zephaniah
‘Money has a habit of going to the head
I have some for a rainy day underneath me bed
Money problems make it hard to relax
Money makes it difficult to get down to the facts
Money makes you worship vanity and lies
Money is a drug with legal highs’
From ”Hope’ is the thing with feathers – (314)’ by Emily Dickinson
‘Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without words,
And never stops-at all.’
From Tithonus by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
‘Thy cheek begins to redden thro’ the gloom,
Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine,
Ere yet they blind the stars, and the wild team
Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke, arise,
And shake the darkness from their loosen’d manes,
And beat the twilight into flakes of fire.’
From I carry your heart with me (I carry it in) by E.E. Cummings
‘here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)’
From Bright Star by John Keats
‘Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever—or else swoon to death.’
From To My Wife by Oscar Wilde
‘And when wind and winter harden
All the loveless land, / It will whisper of the garden,
You will understand.’
Events planner Laurie Williams has had eczema since childhood. What started out in her arms and legs has now spread to 70% of her body, including her face.
The 26-year-old from Birmingham says before eczema took over her life, she could treat minor flare-ups with E45 cream.
But after being put on steroid creams she started experiencing severe itching that didn’t let her sleep at night.
Earlier this year she decided to stop using steroids to treat her skin but this led to extreme dryness and flaking skin. At one point, her skin would even flake off and fall onto fellow travellers while she was on the train.
To help deal with her symptoms, Laurie has gone vegan and stopped wearing makeup. She also takes oat baths as bathing in normal water made her skin feel like it was burning.
Laurie also wears acrylic nails to stop herself from scratching her body.
(Picture: MDWfeatures / Laurie Williams)
‘I’ve had eczema since I was little, but it’s always been manageable with flare-ups mostly in winter,’ said Laurie.
‘I now have small scars all over my body from where I’ve scratched, and the cut has been so deep and was scratched so many times in the same spot that I’ve scarred my skin.
‘I went the doctors I was concerned about using steroids and was given different plans each time, each continuing the use of steroids. I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I stopped applying the steroids completely in January.’
Steroid creams can become addictive. Once people who use them stop, they can develop Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW).
Although it’s difficult to endure the symptoms of TSW, which include flaky skin, skin thinning, pigmentation, stretch marks, and burning of the skin, Laurie prefers this over using steroids.
Laurie has turned to healing her eczema with veganism and natural products after doctors continuously gave her steroids (Picture: MDWfeatures / Laurie Williams)
‘I’ve stripped everything back to basics and I’ve become vegan, I have oat baths every two days and no longer slather my body with moisturiser,’ said Laurie.
‘When I first came off steroids, I couldn’t get warm. I’d sit at work with a cup of tea, my coat on all day and a heater by me and I’d still be cold and shivering. My skin was so broken, so it wasn’t retaining heat. I’d also feel weak and my legs would shake.
‘People double take when they see me now, but that’s only natural, and some ask me what’s happened to my face and skin.
‘I was a lot more self-conscious at the beginning than I am now, partly because my face is better and partly because I’m so used to looking the way I do.
(Picture: MDWfeatures / Laurie Williams)
‘I want to raise awareness for TSW and urge anyone who thinks they may be experiencing it to look into it.
‘There’s a huge support network for everyone going through it. It’s been great to hear people say they used to look like me because it means there’s hope and I can one day have skin like them.
‘I’ve learned that time is the biggest healer.’
Are steroid creams addictive?
Topical steroids can be prescribed to those with eczema or psoriasis, who are usually instructed for use them for a week or two to treat flare-ups.
But if stronger creams are used for longer without medical guidance, people may become addicted, putting them at risk of harmful consequences, especially where there’s a risk of creams being absorbed into the bloodstream.
As the body becomes used to the steroid it may become resistant to it, so once the steroid is taken away it can cause flare-ups mimicking an eczema breakout.
Some of the symptoms of withdrawal include skin thinning, cracked skin, pigmentation, stretch marks, and burning of the skin.
Wonderland Eurasia, the biggest theme park in Europe, has opened in the Turkish capital Ankara, and the rides look amazing.
With 26 large rides and 2,117 smaller rides, all housed in 13 giant tents and a huge outdoor area, there will be hours of fun for the adrenaline junkies and for those who are just there to hold the coats.
If white knuckles are your thing, you’re not going to be disappointed. The park boasts roller coasters that rival the biggest and best in the world that will dip you, spin you and flip you until you’re sufficiently nauseous and terrified.
Owners say have the roller coasters have some of the sharpest twists in the world. There is also a 75-meter high tower ride, the Digital Dark Ride, a huge multidimensional theater, hologram shows and interactive animations.
(Picture: Getty)
As well as the thrills and spills, the park also has the world’s second largest fountain, which can reach 120 metres in height, more than two million species of plants and trees and a canal that gives visitors the chance to see models of Turkish landmarks via boat trips.
The park has more than 6,800 parking spaces, which is a good job really, because the attraction expects to welcome around five million domestic and foreign tourists every year.
(Picture: Getty)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had the honour of opening the park to the masses, praising the venue as ‘one of symbols of pride for Turkey.’
Rather bizarrely, the park has gone really big on robots and dinosaurs – with animatronic dinos featuring prominently in the grand opening of the site.
(Picture: Getty)
The ‘Dinosaur Jungle’ covers 20,000 square meters and hosts a 70-meter-long animatronic dinosaur – which owners hope will be included in the Guiness Book of Records as the largest of its kind.
Slightly weird flex, but we’re kind of feeling the futuristic Jurassic Park vibes.
It goes without saying your Mum deserves a treat this Mother’s Day.
And when it comes to shopping around for gifts for Mother’s Day (which, FYI, falls on 31 March), few things are more beautiful and thoughtful than a bunch of fresh flowers.
There are plenty of places to choose from and with same-day delivery options available, she’ll be non the wiser if you leave it until the last minute.
So whether she likes roses and freesia or adores oriental lilies, we’ve selected 11 blooming lovely bunches perfect for this Mother’s Day.
Here’s the best of the bunches…
(Picture: Moonpig.com)
This bouquet showcases cerise germini, pink roses, eucalyptus and lilies hand arranged by Moonpig’s florists.
It’s pretty and a well-priced option that’s sure to wow your Mum this Mother’s Day.
Next have made Mother’s Day gifting easy, as this luxury bouquet of carnations and pink blooms, comes complete with a jug and chocolates – the perfect added touch.
For a bunch presented in a box, how about the Turner Bouquet from Prestige Flowers?
These luxury flowers are inspired by Turner’s Fighting Temeraire housed at The National Gallery, making these flowers perfect for those interested in fine arts.
