It is finally here and we’re so happy (Picture: Godiva)
Few things make people as excited as when two tasty treats are put together into one, instantly creating a hybrid super-treat.
Reigning champion among the hybrid desserts has long been the cronut: a doughnut shaped pastry that is made from croissant-dough and was invented by Dominique Ansel, a pastry chef in New York City.
Earlier this year, a new contender for the hybrid crown arrived in Manhattan, courtesy of chocolate manufacturer Godiva. The croiffle – part-croissant, part-waffle – will make any foodie catch their breath.
The dessert gods have clearly found us worthy, as the croiffle has finally arrived in London.
Created by executive chef chocolatier, Thierry Muret, the creation will be up for grabs at the Godiva shop in St Pancras station, with a myriad of options to choose from.
For chocolate fans, there’s the option of dark or milk chocolate filling , but Muret has recognised that not everyone has a sweet tooth.
If you prefer a savoury snack, opt for the smoked chicken, tuna melt or the three cheese, made with cheddar, brie and gruyere.
Choose from sweet or savoury, like the three cheese with cheddar, brie and gruyere (Picture: Godiva)
‘I am incredibly excited to see the croiffle now available to our customers in the UK driving innovation and bringing food types together to create the ultimate mouth-watering combination is a hot trend, and the croiffle will not disappoint,’ Muret said.
‘Drawing on the craftsmanship, innovation and heritage of Godiva, I hope it offers guests a memorable new chocolate experience.’
But wait, it gets better.
The croiffle, which is part of Godiva’s new menu, will be rolled out to 2,000 locations worldwide, meaning you can have one before you jump on the Eurostar and another as you arrive.
In the UK, 70 per cent of flights are taken by only 15 per cent of people (Picture: Getty)
Going on holiday is meant to be the one time of year when you forget your worries and let your hair down – but not anymore, because flygskam is here.
The word, which translates as flying shame, refers to a growing movement in Sweden which highlights the shame and embarrassment of flying and how this affects the environment.
Those who choose alternative, greener forms of travel, also earn themselves the right to boast about it. The Swedes have a catchy phrase for this too: tagskryt (train-bragging).
If you want to be more environmentally conscious, not taking a flight is a big hitter.
Each plane journey includes considerable carbon dioxide emissions and planes also produce other greenhouse gases such as water vapour and nitrogen oxide. Compared to taking the train, emissions from a flight are somewhere around seven to 11 times higher.
What’s more, a return flight from London to New York has the same environmental impact as heating your home for a year or eating meat for two years.
After watching Race Across the World on BBC Two – a show about contestants getting themselves from London to Singapore without taking a single flight – I felt inspired to see how long I can go without flying.
So far, I’ve managed a year. Within that time, I’ve turned down various trips and friends’ weddings, and instead, I’ve explored Paris, the Alps and Brussels, all by Eurostar.
What flygskam has made apparent is that we don’t need to fly as much as we do, and hopefully the movement will incentivise airlines to get innovative.
However, it can’t be the only solution.
Flight numbers in the UK are growing and aviation is responsible for over seven per cent of current UK CO2 emissions. We need to reverse this trend, as limiting the increase in the pre-industrial global average surface temperature to 1.5C requires a 45 per cent reduction in global emissions by 2030.
Unfortunately, technology isn’t moving at a quick enough pace to cope with demand, which is expected to double worldwide in the next 20 years. But, there are ways to move forward.
Firstly, we need to tax jet fuel properly. The reason airlines such as Ryanair get away with cheap ticket prices is largely because they refuse to pay tax.
Furthermore, we need to reduce the demand for air travel and encourage people to fly less.
In the UK, 70 per cent of flights are taken by only 15 per cent of people, and a frequent flyer levy has been touted as a sensible idea to make those who fly the most pay for their emissions.
Carbon offsetting is another option that the Treasury is currently looking into and would mean travellers pay towards environmental projects when booking a flight. Although a nice idea in premise, I’m unsure how you can tell if someone has planted a tree for you in Mozambique without taking a flight there to check.
Another, perhaps better, option is for airlines to give customers a chance to donate to victims of climate change as a way of acknowledging their responsibility. This would get people thinking about the real consequences of their travel choices.
We could also go the whole hog and treat flying like smoking and put warning signs of travel consequences on the side of planes, like we do on cigarette packets.
Most importantly, the government needs to step up to the plate. The UK plans to enact a net zero emissions target for 2050, and the Committee on Climate Change’s advice is to include aviation in that target, which is the first step in the right direction.
Shame can only do so much.
Matt Winning is a comedian and podcaster of Operation Earth, who works by day as an environmental economist at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. His show It’s The End Of The World As We Know It will be at the Pleasance Below as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Should we leave wellies at the door? (Picture: Getty Images)
Some of us might remember our grandparents’ raised voices reminding us to take our shoes off at the door each time we visited.
The thought of trailing dirt around a seemingly clean house might make you shudder a little.
But what if wearing shoes in the house could help prevent asthma in young children?
It comes as a new study from the National Institute of Health and Welfare in Finland has found that wearing outside shoes inside the home might just contribute to countering the effects of asthma on young children.
Researchers from the National Institute of Health and Welfare in Finland analysed the range of bacteria in 1,400 homes in Finland and Germany.
Access to farm-like mircobiota might help reduces asthma in children (Picture: Getty Images)
Professor Juha Pekkanen said: ‘It is interesting to see how clear of a protective effect indoor microbiota can have against the development of asthma.’
His colleague, senior researcher at Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, Pirkka Kirjavainen, found that the presence of farm-like microbiota in an early-life home (a home with young children) seemed to also protect them from asthma in urban homes.
The study found that these microbiota in homes protecting from asthma contained a wealth of bacteria typical of the outdoor environment, including the bacteria in the soil.
Pirkka said: ‘We now discovered that the presence of farm-like microbiota in an early-life home seemed to protect from asthma also in urban homes.
Might make a parent cry a little bit (Picture: Getty Images)
‘The effect was not based on the presence of a large number of different microbial species but rather differences in the relative abundance of certain bacterial groups.’
Being exposed to the farm-like microbiota in urban areas is typically hard to come by, so the idea is to try to expose the home to these bacteria by keeping outdoor shoes on and as a result seeing a reduction in asthma in children.
They also found children with more siblings were also less likely to get asthma.
Exposure to greater numbers of bacteria species which usually belonged outdoors made children’s lungs healthier.
The new study supports the view that children’s early exposure to ‘right cocktail’ of microbes may help their bodies to develop mechanisms protecting from asthma.
Pekkanen said: ‘The results suggest that asthma could be prevented in the future by modifying children’s early microbial exposures.’
Around 5.4million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma with the breakdown being 1.1 million children (1 in 11) and 4.3 million adults (1 in 12).
1.1 million children in the UK have asthma (Picture: Getty Images)
The rate of asthma deaths in the UK has increased by more than 20 per cent in five years, with figures showing 1,434 people died from an asthma attack.
The new study supports the view that children’s early exposure to ‘right cocktail’ of microbes may help their bodies to develop mechanisms protecting from asthma.
Although the condition can normally be controlled with medication, sufferers live at risk of having potentially deadly attacks.
The condition is caused by swelling in the tubes which carry air into and out of the lungs.
Allergies, smoke and pollution, exercise and colds or flu may trigger the condition.
Throughout her school years, Sophia Wilcox would read the hand-written motivational post-it notes on her door from her stepdad Brian Sandusky.
It became tradition between them but Brian had no idea Sophia was saving every single one.
After finishing school, she framed them all and gave them back to the 46-year-old for Father’s Day last weekend, reducing him to tears.
Sophia’s tweet sharing the sweet moment went viral racking up more than half a million likes and 112,000 comments and likes.
Sophia, from Maryland, US, said: ‘He was overwhelmed with emotion. He had no idea I even kept the notes so when he realised what the gift was, it threw him for a second.
‘I kept all of the notes because I was going through a hard time when he left them and I valued how important the notes made me feel.
‘They reminded me that I was loved and that my stepdad cared for me so much.
‘I think at that moment he had a deep realisation of the profound impact he has had in my life.’
Brian opening the gift (Picture: Sophia Wilcox)
Sophia said she’d lost count of the number of handwritten messages Brian left for her but favourites included ‘Today’s word is STRONG!! ILY’, ‘Have a day as beautiful as you are!!’, and “YOU ARE AWESOME. BE IT, LIVE IT, + IT WILL BE!!’.
Sophia said: ‘Pretty much everyone who has seen the video has said it has brought them to tears.
‘People have been so moved by this video and I hope it emphasises the importance of kindness.
‘I hope this shows people the importance of family and that family does not [just] mean blood relative.
‘I want this to bring some positivity for everyone who sees it.’
Rebecca Woody only got into weightlifting in her 30s (Picture:MDWfeatures / Rebecca Woody)
At 33, Rebecca Woody developed rheumatoid arthritis.
Doctors said it meant she would no longer be able to take part in her passion – bodybuilding.
But that didn’t stop her – she’s now 70 years old but she’s still going strong.
Rebecca says that her impressive physique and lifestyle has even improved her sex life with her younger husband who is 14 years her junior.
She has won various national weightlifting contests, often winning in the over 35s category as the oldest contestant.
Rebecca pictured in her 30s participating in a bodybuilding show (Picture:MDWfeatures / Rebecca Woody)
She started out following the birth of her third child, when she asked the owner of her local gym to help her understand the equipment and to create some meal plans.
But at 33, doctors warned Rebecca that she had RA – along-term condition, which causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints.
They said it meant she would never be able to participate in bodybuilding competitions and she ought to stop lifting weights.
Instead of listening to the advice, Rebecca decided to continue at the gym.
She said: ‘Once, I was told by my doctor “I wish you just planted flowers because you will never compete in bodybuilding,” well I did, and I’m still competing, I still have rheumatoid arthritis.’
‘Basically, I have never stopped lifting weights. I competed in the late eighties and early nineties in powerlifting, which in turned bulked me up.
‘I realised pound by pound that I was strong.’
She said working out has helped alleviate her arthritis symptoms (Picture:MDWfeatures / Rebecca Woody)
Between 1980 and 1990, Rebecca has competed in three NPC National bodybuilding competitions and she has won each one.
In 2015, at the age of 66, she came first place in the NPC Muscle Mayhem Master’s BB contest.
Rebecca said the sport has improved her symptoms from her rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Despite how ripped she is, Rebecca is a mere four feet (Picture:MDWfeatures / Rebecca Woody)
‘I realised I can’t lift what I could in my late thirties or forties, but I still lift and with my RA I’ve learned to balance this as well. I have good days and bad days, but I believe if “you don’t use it – you lose it”.
‘It has kept me in shape, and I feel it has added spice to my marriage – after all my husband, Steve is fourteen years younger than me; we met when I was thirty-six and he was twenty-three.’
Despite her achievements, Rebecca has received hateful comments from some people who tell her she’s too masculine.
But it doesn’t bother Rebecca who said the lifestyle came naturally to her as eating or brushing her teeth. Though she follows a strict diet and excercise regime, she does have some downtime too, enjoying eating pizzas and drinking margaritas.
‘People are much kinder than they were years ago,’ she added.
‘I believe out of respect for my age, they feel I’m an inspiration- they tell me “you’re the reason I go to the gym or do cardio or take Zumba classes”. It makes me feel good.’
Teenager Hanna Kouba loves watching Animal Planet so much, she has picked up a special skill from watching the American TV show.
The 17-year-old from Minnesota, has started leaping like a horse over some impressive heights whilst on all fours.
Hanna, who works at a doggy daycare, has leapt over stacks of laundry baskets, desks, and towers of pillows.
She also has her own pet horse, Sassy, who she rides and watches for inspiration.
Hanna was just 13 years old when she first became fascinated with the show Animal Planet. She began impersonating the animals on the show including cheetahs, leopards and horses.
Now she impresses her friends at school and her family with how high she can jump.
Hanna is fascinated by the way horses, leopards and cheetahs move (Picture: MDWfeatures / Hanna Kouba)
‘I loved impersonating all the different animals I saw, especially the cheetahs and leopards,’ Hanna said.
‘As I started playing with the horses at a farm I live close to, their gracefulness and beauty just swept me off my feet and I had to look into it more.
‘Jumping was the first thing I started doing since that’s what everyone seems to connect horses with, but as I learned more that’s when I started running the patterns or in horse terms it’s called, gymkhana games.
‘I definitely think it’s a lot more fun than jumping.’
She often practices on stacks of pillows and laundry baskets (Picture: MDWfeatures / Hanna Kouba)
Hanna often stacks pillows together and jumps over the height which measures to about three to four feet tall.
‘I experience adrenaline when I do this. I always feel like I need to perform the best I can; it’s nerve-wracking looking at a tall jump and thinking “I need to jump that”.
Hann rides her horse for inspiration (Picture: MDWfeatures / Hanna Kouba)
Hanna says that she has received an overwhelmingly positive response for her horse jumping, even from her teachers and peers.
‘It helps release the stresses that I have in life. For the most part, I get pretty supportive and inspirational comments.
‘When I was fifteen, I got my horse Sassy and she really inspired me to start jumping and running patterns and my high school teachers loved watching me jump the desks.
‘I love inspiring people to not be ashamed of their talents and to never give up on them even when people put you down.’
From heavy metal to drammer kings (Picture: Slipknot.com)
Heavy metal band Slipknot are entering into the spirits industry by launching their own brand of bourbons.
The band created a range of bourbons called No 9 Iowa Whiskey in collaboration with family-owned distillery Cedar Ridge Distillery in their home state of Iowa.
According to Forbes the blend is ‘good’, featuring notes ranging from honeysuckle, corn, and apple butter to chocolate, which is an intriguing taste for a whiskey.
Band member Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan said: ‘Slipknot and Cedar Ridge Distillery – two groups of people born and raised in Iowa and committed to the quality and hard work.
‘We collaborated on No 9 Whiskey, which in addition to Iowa corn, gets some extra spice from its rye content.
‘I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Live life and always be safe.’
Born and raised in Iowa, it is unsurprising that they joined an Iowa-based distillery to honour their roots.
Iowa is known for its vast corn and rye fields, and leads in the United States production of corn with every county in the state growing the product.
When asked why they went back home, Shawn told Forbes: ‘Number one, they’re the only whiskey company in the state of Iowa using Iowa corn for whiskey.
A classy drink (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, and we’re from Iowa.
‘Cedar Ridge is family run and feels like home.’
In order for whiskey to call itself a bourbon its ‘mash’, the mixture of grains from which the product is distilled, must contain at least 51% corn with the rest of the mash usually filled out with malted rye or wheat.
The spellings vary geographically and involve specific rules for their barrelling process.
For example, Scotch whisky (spelled without the ‘e’) must be produced in Scotland and is made from mostly malted barley and aged in oak barrels for three years or more.
Tennessee whiskey, such as Jack Daniels, is different to Bourbon because in the distilling process is filtered through sugar maple charcoal, known as the Lincoln County Process to differentiate from the average Bourbon such as Jim Beam.
The distillation process is important (Picture: Getty Images)
The No 9 Whiskey will be available in all 50 states on 10 August for $39.99 (£31.78) with a reserve version for $69.99 (£55.63).
Whiskey is usually served on the rocks (with ice) or neat (without). Many connoisseurs add water to bring out the flavours.
Shawn said: ‘I like a couple ice cubes, small glass and just sip. I take my time, but definitely like it cold.’
Dad shames daughter for denim shorts (Picture: Jason Hilley/Facebook)
Parents aren’t always fans of their children’s style choices.
One dad who didn’t agree with his teenage daughter’s short shorts decided to wear a pair himself to ‘teach her a lesson’.
Jason Hilley, a father-of-two from Florida, U.S, cut up his own jeans and strutted into 14-year-old Kendall’s room.
He shared a video of himself donning the daisy dukes on Facebook where it’s racked up more than four million views and been shared more than 200,000 times.
In the post, he wrote: ‘You wear yours out in public? I will wear mine! Parenting 101’, which resonated with many other parents online.
You wear yours out in public? I will wear mine! Parenting 101! Alison Wasson Hilley
Marching up to Kendall’s room wearing his own jeans that he cut to the top, exposing his legs, Jason annouced: ‘We have to have a talk. Get your shorts, [let’s] see whose fit better.’
He revealed to Today that earlier he saw Kendall had bought a pair of daisy dukes that he deemed too short.
So he asked her to buy another pair.
When she still went out with the original, Jason decided to take matters into his own hands and cut up his own jeans to resemble hers.
‘Kids will be kids and try to push the limits,’ he said. ‘That’s when I step in and try to correct the behaviour with a little bit of humour. You don’t have to yell and scream and punish to get a point across.’
Other parents enjoyed his brazen disciplinary behaviour, saying Jason was ‘the best dad ever’, and it was ‘parenting done right’.
Jason’s wife Alison and eight-year-old son Walker could also be heard in the back of the video giggling at watching him strut around in his makeshift shorts.
Though it won plenty of support, some did say it was a failed attempt at parenting, for shaming her choices.
Hugh and Angela are passionate about healing the environmental damage they say their generation caused (Picture: Hugh Walker)
Today is National Refill Day – a day dedicated to encouraging the public to ditch single-use plastic for good.
Rather than buying bottles of water, people are being urged to use refillable ones instead – which could save tonnes of damaging plastic waste.
One married couple are so passionate about the ‘Refill Revolution’ that they have decided to cycle the length of the UK to raise national awareness about the campaign.
Hugh Walker, 64 and his wife Angela, 62, have set out on an epic challenge to cycle along the entire UK coastline, encouraging cafes and restaurants to stop selling bottled water and offer refill points for customers to fill up their bottles.
‘Our planet is the only one we have,’ Hugh tells Metro.co.uk.
‘We have to look after it and sadly we are hell bent on wrecking it right now.
‘I feel acutely aware that it is my generation who have presided over this explosion in use of plastics and combustion engines to name only two major contributors to the damage done.
‘I must do something to help raise awareness of the damage we are doing.’
The couple also manage to find the time to clean up the beaches on their journey (Picture: Hugh Walker)
Hugh’s challenge hasn’t been easy.
This trip is actually Hugh’s second attempt at cycling the length of the UK. The first time around he was forced to abort when his wife Angela – who wasn’t with him on the first journey – called to tell him she had had an accident.
‘I was in Bawdsley in Suffolk when I rang Angela at lunch time on Sunday,’ explains Hugh.
‘She didn’t sound right and soon broke down in tears. She was cycling and a car door was opened by a car passenger and she cycled into it. She had hurt her hand badly and bruised a lot.
‘She went to hospital and fortunately no breakages but she was very shaken up.
‘She had had another bike fall only two weeks before and broke two ribs – she has osteoporosis following ovarian cancer in 2003.
‘This was too much for me. I had to get home to her, so cycled straight to Ipswich and got a train to London.
‘We have been together for 36 years so not being there when she is hurt is not happening if I can possibly avoid it.
‘The silver lining is that having stopped then and resumed this year, I asked her to join me which of course she has. She is very fit so I was confident she’d be able to.
‘Camping every night was her worry as she had not camped before, but six weeks in and she’s loving it!
‘It has been very different having Angela with me. I don’t have any lonely moments which I did last year.
‘I do worry for her on the road so that is a new concern, but gladly she is enjoying it and I have been very impressed by how well she has done.
Last year Hugh had to abort his mission to rush home to be with his injured wife (Picture: Hugh Walker)
‘It has been very hard what with the wet weather and the hills of Devon and Cornwall being excruciatingly hard to cycle, and I say that having done the West Highlands of Scotland. So what she has done is a real achievement.’
Three out of four British people in a OnePoll survey said society should move towards single-use plastic being socially unacceptable, with the research also revealing that an overwhelming majority of the public (86%) are now worried about the impact of plastic pollution in the environment.
Despite the public wanting to take action on plastic pollution, sales of bottled water continue to grow.
Sales in the UK hit a record £558.4m in the year to last November, an increase of 7%, according to the latest figures from the market analyst Kantar.
According to the Environmental Audit Committee consumption of bottled water has doubled over the last 15 years, with over 7 billion plastic water bottles used each year in the UK.
This is why Hugh and Angela know that what they are doing is so important.
‘I got involved with a project set up by London Zoo called Oneless in 2016; it’s aim to rid London of the single use water bottle,’ explains Hugh.
‘At a workshop I met Gus Hoyt who runs the Refill project. I thought the Refill app was a brilliant way to quickly and cheaply spread the word nationally and internationally about the virtue of using refillable bottles.
‘As a cyclist, I only use refillable bottles and as a family we never buy bottled water. The notion of buying water in our country with great tap water seems ludicrous to me.
‘I wanted anyway to do some thing significant to help spread the word of the damage plastic is doing and the water bottle is a good way into that conversation.
‘We are cycling the coast because it is the ocean and it’s inhabitants which are the victims of our misuse of plastic.
‘The real value for me has been being able to talk to lots of people on the coast, daily about plastic and how to avoid using it.
‘The conversation, post Blue Planet, is now of course not just about water bottles. The agenda has moved on swiftly.’
National Refill Day was launched last year by City to Sea, as part of the Refill campaign, with the support of Water UK, the organisation representing the main water companies in the UK.
The UK public can support National Refill Day by switching from single-use to a reusable bottles and sharing their commitment on social media, by telling the world they’ve #GotTheBottle to prevent plastic pollution.
‘What I want to achieve is simply the knowledge that I have spent time and a lot of energy going to people and talking to them about this problem.
‘We’ve met lots of lovely people, something we do not always do in our normal lives.
‘I’ve also seen just how beautiful this amazing island of ours is so it inspires me to do more to help our environment.’
You can use it for breakfast or dinner (Picture: Lidl)
We’ve had the Cronut (croissant/muffin), the Cruffin (croissant/muffin) and the Croiffle (croissant/waffle) but now it’s the Croll (croisstant/roll)
The trend for croissant hybrids continues.
This time, budget supermarket Lidl has launched the Croll to get in on the croissant mashups.
The store claims that the Croll is a unique hybrid combining the delicious taste and texture of a croissant with the structural hold of a bread roll, making them easier to slice and fill with your choice of sweet or savoury filling.
The innovation launching in store this Thursday and it will cost just 49p.
Apparently the Croll means less mess, which is great for anyone who ends up with half the croissant down their top every time they have one.
Lidl suggests some interesting uses for the Croll – with a nod towards the roll part, they suggest serving them up at your BBQ for burgers.
More traditionally, they suggest filling with breakfast food to start your day, or if you want to keep it sweet, you can match one with strawberries and cream.
Richard Inglis, Head of Buying at Lidl said: ‘This summer we want to help our shoppers get Big On BBQs, whilst remaining Lidl on price. The Croll is a deliciously versatile creation, which is sure to add the WOW factor to summer entertaining.’
Laure after surgery and Laure now (Picture: PA Real Life)
When she was younger, Laure Seguy loved sunbathing but she would never wear sun cream.
But after having the tip of her nose removed because she developed skin cancer, the 35-year-old wants to warn others of the danger.
Laure, who lives in Toulouse in the south of France with daughter, Ayla-Rose, three, and husband Tom, 33, said: ‘When I was younger, I never used to wear sun screen and I was in love with the look of having brown, tanned skin.
‘But now I am so careful about protecting myself from the sun and I wear factor 50 and a hat, because you really don’t realise how damaging the sun is, and I never want the same thing to happen ever again.’
She first noticed the 5mm spot on the tip of her nose last summer but she assumed she had scratched it somehow.
But the mark remained for months and it would intermittently bleed, then scab over again.
Finally, in October 2018, she decided to tell her GP about it, recalling: ‘Initially, the doctor thought it might be bacterial and so put me on a course of anti-bacterial creams.
‘When they did nothing though, the doctor told me I should see a dermatologist, so I rang up to book an appointment.
‘They told me that the next free slot was not until the following February and asked me what was the problem.
Laure before her cancer (Picture: PA Real Life)
‘I told them I had a spot on my nose that bled every now and then and had been there for five months.
‘I remember hearing a blank on the other end of the line before the dermatologist said, “OK, we have an appointment for you in 15 days.”
‘That’s when I knew it was really serious.’
A biopsy of the pimple in November 2018 revealed that she had basal cell carcinoma – a slow-growing form of non-melanoma skin cancer, making it more common, but less dangerous than melanoma skin cancer, which spreads more quickly to other parts of the body, according to the NHS.
Laure three days after her second surgery which grafted skin from her forehead to her nose (Picture: PA Real Life)
Told she would require surgery to remove the cancerous cells, Laure decided to wait until the following May for her operation, as she was in the middle of doing a yoga teacher training course in Paris.
She explained: ‘I was obviously a bit concerned about leaving it so long, but the doctors said that because it was very slow growing it was OK to wait.’
When May arrived, Laure had the first of three procedures, cutting 11mm off the end of her nose, removing both cancerous and healthy cells, to make sure all the carcinoma had gone.
A week later, having analysed the cells, surgeons were confident Laure was cancer free.
Laure following her final surgery with her new nose (Picture: PA Real Life)
Next, a week later came the second two-hour surgical procedure to cut a piece of skin from her hairline and pull it down, attaching it to a hole in her nose, called a reconstructive skin flap.
Laure was shocked at seeing her new face as she said it looked “utterly bizarre,” and initially, she was so self conscious, was reluctant to leave the house, while the transferred skin knitted into her nose.
Then came her final operation, on 3 June, this time to remove the flap which had been feeding the skin graft, by keeping it connected to her bloodstream through a vein running from her forehead to her nose.
Her nose has now greatly improved, but Laure said her traumatic experience has made her completely reevaluate her attitude to the sun.
What are the signs of melanoma?
The ABCD system tells you some of the things to lookout for.
A melanoma may show one or more of the following features:
Asymmetry – the two haves of the area differ in their shape.
Border – the edges of the area may be irregular or blurred, and sometimes show notches.
Colour – this may be uneven. Different shades of black, brown and pink may be seen.
Diameter – most melanomas are at least 6 mm in diameter.
Dr Bav Shergill, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson, warned against the danger of exposing unprotected skin to the sun.
He said: ‘Basal cell carcinoma is a non-melanoma skin cancer and it’s the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for over 80 per cent of all skin cancer cases in the UK.
‘The commonest cause is too much exposure to UV light from the sun or from sunbeds. BCC can occur anywhere on your body, but is most common on areas that are often exposed to the sun.
‘It’s always important to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. As many as four out of every five cases of skin cancer are preventable.’
She said: ‘My face was swollen for a little while after my last procedure, but gradually it got back to normal.
‘My new nose is certainly much rounder than my old one at the tip and the texture and colour is different too.
‘I also have scarring and a bump on my forehead where they pulled the skin flap down.
‘It isn’t like my old nose, which was quite slim and narrow, but it’s a lot better than when I had a skin flap covering my face.
‘Still, my experience has completely changed my attitude to the sun, which I will have far greater respect for in future.’
Laure’s experience has also reaffirmed what really matters to her and she is now considering a change of career, so she can spend more time with her husband and daughter.
She said: ‘It has reaffirmed the fact that life is short and currently, in my job as a yoga teacher, I usually work at the evening, which means I don’t see my family as much.
‘So now I want to change path and find work that lets me see my loved ones, because really that is all that matters.’
Football really felt like it was going to come home last year during the men’s World Cup but alas we’re still waiting.
We’re hoping the women will have more luck.
With the tournament underway in France, the waistcoat – made popular by Gareth Southgate – is back.
Head coach Phil Neville has adopted Southgate’s waistcoat look in the hope that it will bring luck to his team, who have won their last two games.
Last year, mobile phone brand Huawei tweeted an image of a photoshopped waistcoat with the famous ‘It’s coming home’ slogan stitched over it last year, and they made it a real thing.
So, now they’re making another one for Phil Neville, ahead of England women’s clash against Japan.
Huawei unveiled the ‘it’s coming home’ waistcoat revamped for the Women’s World Cup (Picture: Ben Queenborough/PinPep)
The new waistcoat also has the initials PN stitched into it to show love to the boss.
The trendy top has been pictured around iconic French landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, and the Louvre.
The slogan written on the case reads ‘break in case of it coming home’ (Picture: Ben Queenborough/PinPep)
At the moment, it’s encased in a glass display with the words ‘break in case of it coming home’.
‘With the Huawei waistcoat capturing the magic of the Three Lions World Cup journey last summer, we felt it was only right to give our Lionesses the same support,’ explained Justin Costello from Huawei UK and Ireland.
‘With Phil Neville proving himself to be just as dapper as Gareth Southgate we’ve brought the waistcoat back with a minor adjustment just in case football does indeed come home.’
The waistcoat has travelled around various iconic French locations (Picture: Ben Queenborough/PinPep)
Who knows, if the women do bring it home, maybe we’ll see everyone don the waistcoat.
England face Japan in their final group game this evening. Ladies, let’s bring it home.
This could be you (Picture: St Katharine Docks London)
If you didn’t get a chance to watch some of the year’s biggest films in the cinema, fear not – you can now enjoy them on the big screen and you don’t have to do it in a dark room.
That’s because the Floating Film Festival is set to return to St Katherine Docks in London and will be featuring some absolute bangers.
You could be sipping on an Aperol Spritz under the sun, floating on a pontoon while swooning over the likes of Jason Mamoa, Hugh Jackman and Lady Gaga.
St Katharine Docks announced that it is welcoming back its hotly-anticipated festival, which will run for a fortnight on the floating pontoon as part of the company’s vibrant summer programmes.
Some of the films you can feast your eyes on include Oscar-winning faves such as A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, as well as musical numbers like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and The Greatest Showman.
It’s the perfect summer date.
The festival is only two weeks long (Picture: St Katharine Docks London)
But what about sea sickness? Could watching a movie while floating give you a funny turn? The organisers think not.
‘The floating pontoon can float around the Docks as it is on the water,’ they told Metro.co.uk.
‘During the screenings, the pontoon is moored so visitors will experience a floating sensation whilst watching the film as it will be bobbing slightly in the water but will be attached to the dockside so won’t be physically moving around St Katharine.’
Screenings will begin at 7pm throughout the week, with two additional screenings at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, for those who want to bring their families to the marina or enjoy the fun on the weekend.
Guests are invited to relax on bean bags and deckchairs while Benugo will provide drinks and snacks.
The folks at the docks are encouraging people to book early as slots go quickly due to the popularity of the festival.
Tickets are £12, and the full programme can be found below.
According to reports the Hello singer – who was seen thoroughly enjoying herself at the Spice Girls’ final show at Wembley over the weekend – has been reaping the benefits of the exercise, which has also seen her lose weight.
‘Adele has been out enjoying herself and she sees that as her priority at the moment, along with being a mum to Angelo,’ a source told The Sun.. ‘She has been loving her new workout regime and it really works for her.
‘It’s a bonus that she has shifted some weight. Her mates are glad she’s letting loose and there’s nothing but good feelings towards her. She’s got a new lease of life.’
So just what is Reformer Pilates and how does it differ from other forms of the exercise?
Here’s what you need to know…
What is Reformer Pilates?
The machine is good for toning all muscle groups (Picture: Amazon)
While regular Pilates is done using a mat, Reformer Pilates is done on a frame with a platform attached – known as the carriage – which is on wheels within the frame, and is attached to one end of the contraption by a set of springs – which can be adjusted for levels of resistance.
A footbar is also attached to the end of the device.
How is the Reformer used?
The Reformer can be used for a wide variety of Pilates exercises which involve pushing or pulling the carriage – or even holding it during a move – which are designed to aid strength, length, balance and flexibility, and tone muscles in the whole body.
It’s particularly versatile because exercises can be done sitting, standing and in a variety of different positions – allowing different parts of the body to be trained using just a single piece of kit.
Adele is said to be taking the classes along with pal Ayda Field (Picture: PA)
The Reformer dates back to the 1920s and was invented by Pilates founder Joseph Pilates – and is a pretty different experience to mat-based Pilates.
‘The Reformer experience is maybe the most fun you’ll have in a Pilates class,’ New York Pilates founder Heather Andersen told self.com.
‘The machine gives you added resistance and a sliding surface that challenges your workout, so it often feels like you’re flying or gliding.
The pair got married in 2017 and have been traveling ever since (Picture: Jam Press)
An Instafamous couple are on a ‘never-ending honeymoon’ – and it’s making everyone really jealous.
Jean Hocke, 34, and Camille Demyttenaere, 32, are aiming to make their post-wedding holiday last a lifetime – and they have already been travelling for two years and visited 52 countries.
The Belgian pair have set up the Instagram account @backpackdiariez to document their adventure – and they have already racked up 240,000 followers.
The countries they have been to include the Maldives, Jaipur, New Zealand, India and Ecuador.
The couple tied the knot in Santorini in September 2017, and they set off on an ‘extended honeymoon’ to Asia and just decided to keep going.
They quit their London jobs and decided to ‘live their dream’ – now they travel full time, staying at luxury hotels for free.
They get paid by brands to show products on their Instagram page – charging up to 1,000 EUR (£892) per post.
The couple quit their London jobs to live their dream full-time (Picture: @backpackdiariez/Jam Press)
Camille says this new lifestyle is exactly what they have always wanted.
‘We are not tied to any “number of holidays” you can take every year,’ says Camille.
‘We travel whenever wherever we want, and we are super flexible with schedules, e.g. when we like a place we can decide to stay longer without having to answer to anyone.’
But she says it’s not always an easy ride: ‘There are no weekends as we work every day of the week! So we do not have that “yay it’s Friday feeling”, and we actually work much more than what we did when we were working in strategy consulting.
‘It’s not easy to make money out of it. Yes we get a lot of stuff for free, but actually monetising your Instagram account is an entire different story.
The pair say they struggle with people assuming they don’t have ‘real’ jobs (Picture: @backpackdiariez/Jam Press)
‘Being a travel blogger is not always accepted as a “real” job by some people.
‘Many people, including some of our family and friends, think we are just always on holiday and don’t understand the work and effort we are putting into it, so we end up having to explain what we do every time.’
Being a refugee in Britain, you can sometimes feel like an outsider. It is all too easy to get drawn into the sensationalist media headlines about division and hatred.
When I first arrived I felt misunderstood, with some people not understanding my situation at home or why I had to escape. For many people, including myself, your label as a refugee can follow you around and can make you feel different from everyone else.
However, I am proud of my background and have worked hard to both settle here in the UK, where I have found my refuge, as well as holding onto my Syrian heritage. I came to Britain eight years ago, scared and nervous as many others are when they come here; it was my dedication to exposing the Assad regime and supporting other refugees that kept me focused and determined.
I came to Britain eight years ago, scared and nervous as many others are when they come here (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)
Unfortunately, I am all too used to labels. As a journalist from Damascus, Syria, I felt it was my duty to cover the unfolding violence between Syrian civilians and the Assad regime. I was often framed as an enemy to Assad as I exposed his increasingly tyrannical and vindictive reaction to unrest. For years, the Syrian Intelligence services detained me so they could interrogate me about my articles.
They constantly threatened my family and me with physical violence. At one point I was interviewed by a Western journalist about the ongoing violence in Syria, exposing how hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians were being threatened and tortured. Following the publication of this I was detained for hours.
On another occasion, the Syrian Intelligence mistakenly identified me as the author of an article exposing the brutal treatment of political prisoners, during the resulting interrogation they threatened to sever my hands if I continued to attack Assad.
It’s no surprise that I feared for my life and my loved ones. I left Syria with my five-year-old son, leaving behind the psychological torture, threats to my life and constant intrusion by Syrian intelligence services. Of course, even when you leave those years of living in fear, painful memories of the past can stay with you.
Even when you leave those years of living in fear, painful memories of the past can stay with you (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)
My experience is not unusual; many people are forced to leave behind their family, their lives and their homes. Moving to a country with a different language and a different way of life can feel daunting.
However, it was also an opportunity to break the shackles of a perilous life, people that come here shouldn’t take that for granted. I am one of the lucky few from Syria who have reached a safer country and built a new life. Due to my work as a journalist, I often came to London to deliver training courses for human rights organisations on reporting war crimes and the warzone in Syria. Not only was I welcomed with open arms, my knowledge was respected and appreciated.
However, for other refugees like myself, I understand how it’s difficult to have the confidence to embrace what is offered here. Though there is a sense of relief of being safe from extreme danger, navigating life and settling in is not as easy at first.
Tabloid sensationalist headlines and ignorance from small minorities didn’t bother me anymore (Picture: Susannah Ireland/Metro.co.uk)
It was hard to be without my family and friends. Syria was where I grew up and initially I found it difficult to connect with people. After a while I became more involved in volunteering with charities and at my son’s school I met other parents and made friends. This only built up my confidence and kept me busy so my mind wouldn’t focus too much on the tragedy occurring back home.
Over time, tabloid sensationalist headlines and ignorance from small minorities didn’t bother me anymore. Beinghere shows me how lucky I am to be alive. Living here means I can write freely, continue my education and have more freedoms here as a woman than I ever had at home.
People seeking refuge here should not be scared of being labelled, or feel isolated; there are many people out there willing to help. There is no easy solution and it’s an ongoing process for communities to unite, but Britain offers us a safe haven some people can only dream of.
Bahia Mardini is the founder of Syrian House, which helps other people who have escaped the war with English classes, counselling and advice on how to settle here.
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.
Just be mindful of how much time you dedicate to one person (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Every time we get into a new romantic relationship, we lose an average of two friends.
That’s according to Oxford University evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, who’s done extensive research on how friendships – and our brains – work.
Every time I relay that statistic to a new person or a roomful of people, there’s a little glimmer of shame and recognition in their eye and I can tell they’re tallying up who they might’ve lost in their pursuit of romantic love.
It’s shocking but so true, that we tend to accidentally lose friends when we fall in love with someone and start making them our first priority.
It’s perfectly natural, but then, romantic relationships often break and we have a 42 per cent divorce rate in this country, so it’s best not to alienate all our friends when we fall in love, just in case we find ourselves in need of consoling.
That’s not being cynical about love – I love love! – it’s just being sensible.
So, let’s talk about the art of maintaining friendships when you’re in a romantic relationship.
Here are my best tips for holding onto your friends when you’re the literal embodiment of the heart eyes emoji over someone.
Make time in your schedule for friends, even when you’re falling in love
When you first start falling for someone, you wish you could spend all your time together. Holding hands, making extended eye contact, canoodling.
Candlelit dinners, picnics, weekends away. Love has a beguiling way of making you forget everything else. It’s tempting to lose yourself in that glow – and to a certain extent, go for it.
That feeling of being head-over-heels for someone is gorgeous and I’m not suggesting you skip on it.
Just be mindful of how much time you dedicate to one person and therefore how little time you might spend with other people i.e. your mates.
That’s not being cynical about love – I love love! – it’s just being sensible (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Be wary of the sort of love that demands all your time and have a proper think about your schedule. If your entire life gets swallowed up by one person, it’s probably not healthy.
For every date you have, book in some time with your friends to debrief.
Consciously make time for your friends, even at the beginning of that new relationship, even when you’re in that dopey, starry-eyed phase.
Start as you mean to go on and deliberately build space in your life for the people who adore you platonically; not least because they will remind you of who you are and help you decide whether this new person is right for you.
You need to be talking about your new relationship with your confidants and checking in with them for any red flags (one of which being that they expect you to spend all of your time with them).
You also need to actively be there for your friends and listening to their thoughts and dilemmas and fears and stories.
Friendships thrive on emotional investment, so continue to give your time, energy and love – so that you deserve it in return and so that you remain a good buddy to your beloved allies.
If you don’t think they’re important now, try to imagine your life without them if your relationship breaks down and you find yourself in desperate need of someone to talk to, a sofa to crash on or a cuddle.
Get your priorities right
Knowing when to prioritise your partner or your friends is really about being compassionate, discerning and smart.
Go first to the person who needs you. If you’re happily ensconced in a Netflix binge with your beloved, but your friend has just had a family emergency/ work problem/ revelation about their life and they need you, go to them.
Be wary of the sort of love that demands all your time and have a proper think about your schedule (Illustration: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Being in love does not release you from your duties as a friend. Speak to your friends openly, regularly and with vulnerability, so you know what’s going on in their lives and when you’re needed for emotional backup, commiseration over wine, stern life advice, distraction or simply company.
The same goes for your beloved; if they need you, go to them. If you have competing tragedies and suddenly everyone needs you, make sure you’re taking care of yourself, too, and only giving as much as you have to give.
If life is normal and people are generally self-sufficient and content, then distribute your time healthily and evenly.
Of course, I know how glorious it feels to be at home in your pyjamas watching telly, but sometimes you need to push past that, leave the house and socialise. Otherwise, prioritise using common sense.
Anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions matter, so try and keep your attendance record high for both friends and your beloved.
Notice your own needs, too, and behave accordingly. Sometimes you need private romance time, others you need bonding friend time.
Work out what you need at any time and try to put plans in place to get it.
Hang out together
Love your friends? Love your partner? Great. So, integrate. Combine your responsibilities as a romantic partner and a reliable buddy.
You should always introduce your beloved to your friends fairly early on anyway because you value their opinions and you can get a very good sense of someone by how they treat your loved ones.
Meet your partner’s friends too and try to establish genuine bonds there; it’ll make the whole thing easier.
If you can spend time in the company of your friends and your partner, then you’re successfully multi-tasking and you can tick ‘quality time with friends’ and ‘quality time with partner’ off your To Do list in one swoop.
Ideally, they all get along and you can be the very best version of yourself in the company of all your favourites, together, in one place. You can bask in the loveliness of both romantic love and friendship love and know that you’re helping maintain both.
It’s much harder to lose those two friends we spoke about if they’re an important part of your life with your partner.
1 in 5 have actually quit the gym because of harassment (Picture: Getty)
Have you ever been made to feel uncomfortable by unwanted advances, flirting or touching in the gym?
If so – you’re not alone. 71% of women are being harassed at the gym on a regular basis – according to a new study.
82% of women changed their gym routine because they were being followed around and 54% said they avoid certain areas in the gym because of harassment.
As well as being totally unacceptable and gross behaviour – harassment is also affecting women’s ability and desire to workout and achieve their fitness goals.
One in five women have actually cancelled their gym membership because of this very reason.
The study, conducted by FitRated, also found that more than 90% of women said they don’t appreciate being stared at while exercising, nearly as many don’t enjoy being flirted with and nearly 80% of women don’t enjoy being talked to while working out,.
So even if your intentions are admirable and you genuinely want to ask a woman out on a date – the gym is not the place to do it.
When faced with an uncomfortable situation, 88% of women ignored the attention, and almost 83% wore headphones.
More than two in three women also changed their facial expressions to be more off-putting or wore clothes that covered or hid their body shape.
Less than a quarter of women who had experienced harassment at the gym and reported the issue to staff members, nearly half chose to leave the scene, and 39% did nothing about the experience.
The figures are worrying when you take into account that 40% of women aged 16 and over are not getting enough exercise – so we definitely don’t need any extra deterrents.
The boy wrote the letter as part of a persuasive writing exercise (Picture: Getty)
Remember at school when you had to do persuasive writing?
One little boy decided to use this task to write to his local police station to convince them why he’d be a good police officer.
Primary school student Harcharan wrote to Sawston Police Station in Cambridge, listing the qualities he thought he had that would make him a good crime fighter.
The handwritten letter stated that seven-year-old Harcharan would be a good addition to the team as he could help solve ‘diamond heists and bank robberies’.
The youngster also boasted to the station about his ability to dodge objects.
They should probably just sign him up right now.
‘I would be good for the job because I am good at climbing’ (Picture: SWNS)
The letter read: ‘Dear Cambridgeshire Constabulary. I would love to be a police officer to stop diamond heists and bank robberies.
‘I’m good at dodging objects and I got good eyesight. I am good at jumping from high places and I got lots of stealth.
‘The job needs lots of focus and eyesight. To be a good police officer you need to check stuff. I am good at guarding places.
‘I would be good for the job because I am good at climbing.’
He then signed off with his name.
Cute (Picture: SWNS)
The pupil at Morley Memorial Primary School, Cambridge, wrote the letter as part of a persuasive writing exercise.
Policing Cambridge City’s Facebook page posted a photo of the letter as well as words of encouragement to others hoping to join the force.
They wrote: ‘We are definitely persuaded! If, like Harcharan, you believe that you’ve got what it takes – we are currently recruiting Special Constables.
‘[Although] jumping from high places not strictly necessary.’
Unfortunately for Harcharan, he has more than ten years to wait before he can become a member of the team as you have to be 18 to apply.
