Two-year-old cat Goldie was diagnosed with cancer of the nose back in February (Picture: RSPCA Leeds, Wakefield & District Branch)
Do you have room in your heart and home for sweet two-year-old cat Goldie, who has terminal cancer of the nose?
Goldie is a ginger kitty currently living at the RSPCA Leeds, Wakefield, and District branch.
She’s in search of a foster home where she’ll be able to spend her final days.
The affectionate kitten was diagnosed with cancer back in February. There’s no treatment available to help her, but luckily she’s still feeling healthy – the only noticeable sign she’s poorly is her swollen nose.
Goldie is very affectionate and loving, and adores cuddles on the sofa, snoozing on people’s laps, and playing with her feather toys.
Aside from a swollen nose, Goldie is well – but there’s no treatment for her cancer (Picture: RSPCA Leeds, Wakefield & District Branch)
The RSPCA is urgently trying to find Goldie a foster home so she can relax and feel loved rather than being in a cattery environment.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said: ‘We are still urgently looking for a foster home for poor Goldie.
‘She has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the nose and we are so sad to say there is no veterinary treatment available.
‘Aside from her swollen nose, Goldie seems to be feeling well – she’s loving and playful, the same as she’s always been.
She needs a foster home with no young children or other pets, where she can relax and feel secure (Picture: RSPCA Leeds, Wakefield & District Branch)
‘It’s a real shame for her to be in the cattery while she still feels well and we want to get her settled into a foster home ASAP so she can enjoy the rest of her health for as long as possible.
‘As her health is inevitably going to decline, we are looking for a home with no other pets and no young children.
‘This is to ensure she stays safe when she becomes more fragile.
It’s not clear how long she has left (Picture: RSPCA Leeds, Wakefield & District Branch
‘In the time being, Goldie would enjoy a safe outdoors space to explore.
‘Goldie may be ill, but right now she is still a playful, affectionate young cat and she will make a wonderful companion for somebody in the time she has.’
While she’s in a foster home, all of Goldie’s veterinary care will be funded by the center, so potential fosterers don’t need to worry about spending a lot of money on treatment.
She’s in Leeds and will need a foster home near the shelter.
Swap your boiled chicken salad for a tempeh or tofu alternative (Picture: Ella Byworth)
Whether you’re an ardent meat eater or not, we know that loading up on fruit and veg is good for us.
Now, a new study has found that replacing a tiny amount of meat with a vegetarian substitute may have a dramatic effect on our life expectancy.
Replacing just 100 calories-worth of meat a day with plant protein has been linked to a 50 per cent decreased risk of death.
For context, 100 calories is one and a half rashers of streaky bacon, three fine slices of turkey or a very small piece of steak.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the diets of 37,000 American adults and got them to replace just 5% of their total meat calories a day with plant protein from nuts, beans and whole grains.
They collected 24-hour food diaries from eight cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2014. Causes of death over that period were noted and the researchers were able to compare protein sources in the diet to the risk of dying.
They found that those who ate the most plant protein were 27% less likely to die of any cause compared to those who ate the least plant protein, and were 29% less likely to die from coronary heart disease.
Swapping just a small bit of your meaty diet for nuts and whole grains can make a massive difference
Replacing 5% of daily calories from animal sources with plant protein was linked to a nearly 50% decrease of dying from any cause. In fact, replacing just 2% of daily calories with plant-based food was associated with a 32% lower risk of death.
Dr Zhilei Shan, who led the study, said it’s no longer enough to simply cut out red meat – it’s about what you choose to replace red meat with.
She said: ‘Healthy plant proteins… include other beneficial nutrients such as healthy fats, antioxidant vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (compounds derived from plants), which have been associated with lower risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.’
Last year, a major global study published in The Lancet found that poor diet kills 90,000 Brits a year – with a lack of whole grains, nuts and fruits being the biggest triggers.
Meanwhile, a 2017 study by Imperial College London found that eating more fruits and veg may prevent millions of premature deaths.
The results revealed that even a daily intake of 200g of plants was associated with a 16% reduced risk of heart disease, an 18% reduced risk of stroke, and a 13% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
Worried that 200g sounds like a lot? Don’t be – it’s the equivalent of two and a half portions. Scientists found that even eating that small amount was associated with 4% reduced risk in cancer risk, and 15% reduction in the risk of premature death.
Fewer than one in three Brits manage to meet the five-a-day target, despite experts now believing that we should actually be aiming to eat ten portions for optimum health.
But these studies prove that every little bit helps. So, why not try to factor in one plant-based meal a day?
My anxiety began when I was 16 years old and heading to college (Picture: Charleigh Morritt/Prince’s Trust)
If you started to suspect that you have issues with anxiety, how long would you leave it before you to talked to someone about it?
Would you wait until you’re finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning or when you start to fall behind in your studies or at work? How about until you can’t be bothered to spend time with anyone or even to eat?
As someone who lives with anxiety, and who has ticked off everything on this list and more, I know that taking the first steps to feeling better is easier said than done.
My anxiety began when I was 16 years old and heading to college.
I had to make a new group of friends, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. It made me panic, and the anxiety slowly started taking over my life.
Eventually, the day came where I became too anxious to leave the house. That day then became another, then a week and suddenly two months. When my friends were texting me because I was skipping college, I was too anxious to pick up the phone.
I would literally just sit in my room all day staring at four walls. Anxiety made me feel uneasy and worried about something at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t figure out what I was actually worried about.
Your mind won’t acknowledge that there’s nothing bad going on; it runs away with its thoughts and tells you to be paranoid, and then you lose control of your actual ability to think.
Because I have autism, it’s also hard for me to show my emotions to other people.
I knew that unless I did something to help myself – and quickly – things would soon get much worse (Picture: Charleigh Morritt/Prince’s Trust)
When I was going through this period, I didn’t confide in anyone until my mum forced me talk to her. She stepped in because parents want what’s best for their children, and it was hard for her to see me not being able to do anything on a day-to-day basis.
She then had a mental health team come out and assess me with a one-to-one conversation, and I was assigned a mental health social worker. It was an oddly pleasant experience, because they were understanding of my feelings and I was finally getting the help I hadn’t known I needed.
It was through the social worker that we heard about The Prince’s Trust; a charity that helps young people improve their confidence and develop the skills they need to get their lives back on track.
I knew that unless I did something to help myself – and quickly – things would soon get much worse. Mum persuaded me to join The Trust’s six-week Fairbridge course, which is a programme for 16 to 25-year-olds that involves a mix of group activities and one-to-one support to develop your skills and confidence.
At first, I was terrified, because I had to join a new environment – but everyone was so welcoming, and I couldn’t believe that others understood what I was going through. It was like a weight off my shoulders.
We did a lot of team-building and group activities, such as kayaking, rock-climbing, cooking dinner together and problem-solving, which helped me learn how to trust other people again, something that my anxiety had prevented me from doing for so long.
Law was my career inspiration (Picture: Charleigh Morritt/Prince’s Trust)
Having regained my confidence, I got a job at Primark, where I still work part-time, but more importantly, I decided to go back to college – because I wanted to make something of myself.
Law was my career inspiration; as someone who had struggled to find her own voice in the past, I wanted to learn how to be the voice for people who find themselves in difficult situations.
Starting a law degree did make me feel anxious, but it doesn’t feel like it did before, because this time, I am in control.
I now know how to deal with my anxiety. One of the most useful coping mechanism I learnt was writing down all my worries for the day, and then figure out which one I’m most worried about – and tackle that worry first. I like this structured approach to breaking down your anxiety.
It takes courage to tackle anxiety (Picture: Charleigh Morritt/Prince’s Trust)
Two years ago, I would never have thought that I’d be able to go to university and study for a law degree, but now I know it’s within my reach. I want to be a part of the Crown Prosecution Service one day – I love criminal law.
I do sometimes worry about my anxiety returning. But if I ever have a hard time again, I now know that it’s OK to ask for help – and that’s exactly what I’ll do.
It takes courage to tackle anxiety.
You have to give yourself a chance to be pushed, like I was by my mum, and by all the brilliant people at The Prince’s Trust. Sometimes, there’s nothing stopping you from moving forward except for yourself.
If you’re struggling, please remember that you don’t have to be alone in this – there is help out there, and it’s yours for the taking.
Charleigh is the winner of the Delta Air Lines Rising Star Award at The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx and Homesense Awards. She will receive her award at a ceremony at the London Palladium on 11 March.
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It’s not grim up north – Helskini is voted the world’s second best city for wellbeing (Picture: scanrail/Getty/Oleksiy Mark)
If you’re feeling harassed and a little run down, you may be interested to find out where in the world you can enjoy more wellness.
Estate agents Knight Frank have released a report ranking the world’s cities on a number of ‘wellness’ factors including green space, quality of healthcare, work-life balance, crime, air pollution, happiness, and sunshine hours.
40 cities were assessed and unsurprisingly, the UK failed to make the cut for a slot in the top ten.
However, you don’t have to go far to find the best places to live.
Norway’s capital Oslo took the top spot, followed by Zurich and Helsinki tying for second place. Vienna took number four, closely followed by Madrid and Stockholm.
So what’s so special about Oslo?
Well, according to the World Cities Culture Forum, nearly 70% of public space in the city is comprised of parks and gardens.
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that access to green space can significantly improve our happiness and mental health, with the World Health Organisation saying that access to green spaces and reduce health inequalities, improve wellbeing and reduce stress.
If you dream of having more holiday, it may be time to look east for inspiration. The report looked at the number of hours worked per day of vacation and found that Moscow had the lowest ratio, followed by Paris.
Edinburgh comes in at number 19 for overall wellbeing – the sole British representative in the top 20 (London was ranked at 24). Useful to know following Brexit.
Do you add oil to your pasta while it cooks? Stop it. (Picture: Getty)
We all have our own techniques for making the perfect pasta.
None of us can ever select the perfect amount for a single person, of course, but we all have strong opinions on the saltiness of the water, the correct cooking time, and the sauce to spaghetti ratio.
But one rule of cooking pasta you may have been following is all wrong, according to one expert.
It turns out that you shouldn’t be adding oil to your pot of pasta in an attempt to stop it sticking to the pan.
Guido Pedrelli, the founder of Nonna Box, says there’s no point in adding oil to your pasta’s water – and that this habit could actually do more harm than good.
Guido says: ‘There is a common myth that oiling the water your pasta is cooking in will prevent it from sticking, but this is untrue.
‘In fact, oil and water do not mix, so it is unlikely that any oil will transfer onto the pasta during the cooking process.
‘If any oil were to attach to the pasta, it would be after the cooking process when the pasta is being drained, which would prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta.
Are you committing crimes against pasta (Picture: Getty)
‘Ultimately, adding oil to the boiling water does more harm than good, and it is best to simply stir the pasta every so often during cooking.’
What you should be adding to your pasta as it cooks, however, is salt.
Guido recommends seasoning with salt throughout the cooking process.
He says: ‘While pepper is not commonly used in traditional Italian cooking, sea salt is incorporated at the start of the cooking process to ensure it dissolves and seasons the food throughout.’
Other pasta rules us heathens are breaking? Apparently we should never serve bolognese with spaghetti (tagliatelle is far better at holding the thick sauce), chicken should never go in a pasta dish, and we really should be grating our own parmesan rather than using the powdery stuff.
Oh, and Guido says you shouldn’t drench your pasta in sauce, but as someone who prefers extra sauce whatever the meal, I respectfully disagree. You load up on sauce if it makes you happy.
Sophie regained her hearing at 39 (Picture: Justin Munitz)
I started losing my hearing from the age of 18. I did not expect to go deaf, even though it runs in the family.
Bits of my hearing identity kept falling off as I lost another frequency. I was in denial for years until I began using interpreters and stenographers (a person who transcribes speech). I made a success of my life, developed a tough skin and numbed myself.
By my thirties I was almost totally deaf, with hearing aids no longer allowing me to follow speech. I avoided focussing on what I’d ‘lost’, but I often felt exhausted and excluded.
I worried about my future.
There was an option to regain my hearing through a cochlear implant, but like many in my situation I put it off. It involves having surgery to implant a high tech hearing device. The internal electrodes stimulate the auditory nerve directly, using digital signals generated by the implant. The brain registers the signals as sound.
I was scared of skull surgery and I didn’t see the point, thinking it wouldn’t work any better than hearing aids, lip-reading and sign language.
A cochlear implant user who’d gone deaf like me persuaded me to go for it when he said ‘All of my problems are gone’. I’d never heard anyone talk like this about implants and I thought he must be exaggerating. I was wrong.
Soon after my Advanced Bionics implant was ‘switched on’ in 2013, at the age of 39, I was able to have easy conversations with people for the first time since my 20s. It was like the surgeon and audiologist had rewound time.
I felt 21 again. I never thought this would happen to me. I went from hearing almost nothing, to being able to follow speech, with some added ‘cyborg’ perks that make my hearing friends green with envy.
My younger sister implanted soon after me, and we can chat on the phone or walk and talk without looking at each other
With the implant, I can bluetooth music direct to my processor. I can also switch to ultrazoom, which helps me hear the person in front of me in noisy places. And I can switch off sound whenever I want.
In the first few weeks after I was activated, I felt constantly euphoric. It was a bit like falling in love, crossed with time travelling. The sound was also heightened and hallucinatory at first. The sonic weirdness was intensely beautiful, profound and often intensely funny – all at the same time.
As well as nostalgia about being reunited with a recognisable sound world, ‘going hearing’ opened the floodgates on memories of the early days of going deaf, before I’d adapted.
Now that life was suddenly much easier, with strangers instantly treating me more warmly and respectfully, I felt even more proud of the way I’d handled becoming deaf. The liberating effect of the implant on my everyday life highlighted the barriers I had faced in the past.
My being able to hear made me more engaged and less withdrawn. Ironically, this transformation educated my hearing family and friends about how deaf I actually was. They realised, in hindsight, the impact that deafness and the dominant hearing culture had on every aspect of communication. I’ve bonded more deeply with loved ones and got to know my (hearing) husband better, even though he had always signed to me.
When I first started being able to follow speech again, I was overcome with imposter syndrome. I felt the urge to run away from conversations with friends and relatives. I didn’t know how to have a conversation like a hearing person. I soon found out no one else does either. I’ve learnt ‘active listening’ is key.
The life changing effects are huge and I still feel like I’m playing catch up. Meeting up with long neglected friends after I was switched on, felt a little like I’d got out of prison and everyone’s lives had moved on – and I felt ashamed. Have all my problems gone? It does feel like it. It seems easier to resolve problems because I can follow speech independently.
Crucially, at work, I’m no longer exhausted at the end of the day. My career mobility has increased, for many reasons, but partly because I can do small talk now. I also have an intensified sense of agency.
My younger sister implanted soon after me, and we can chat on the phone or walk and talk without looking at each other. We compare notes on the liberation and we process the past together.
When we’re with our deafened mum (who has not implanted) we sign and speak to each other, using Sign Supported English, same as we always did. Implanting is a personal choice. No one deaf person is the same, and we prefer different ways of life. And not all deaf people get the same results from implants.
The implant has made me feel free and happy in a way I’d forgotten was possible. It’s been life-changing in every way. I love being a cyborg because I have the best of both worlds.
Sophie felt like there were no shows that encapsulated her experience as a ‘deaf cyborg’ and so wrote Augmented, which is on tour from March to April.
A deafening blast of air broke the calm, making us stop in our tracks.
Our kayaking group fell silent as a giant humpback whale surfaced 10 metres away from us, rearing its blowhole and distinctive dorsal fin out of the water.
We were just off Petermann Island in Antarctica, where humpbacks are regularly sighted.
A lady next to me, from the UK, shed tears of emotion as the mysterious mammal slowly glided away.
Our kayaking group at a stop as a humpback whale passes by (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
In the distance, I could see it flick its beautiful fluke before it dived down back into the blue.
The whale encounter was an emotional experience. These creatures have such majesty and make the onlooker feel so small.
It was just one of many magical moments during our kayaking trip that will stay with me forever.
To get to Antarctica, we’d boarded Oceanwide Expeditions’ newest ship, the 170-passenger Hondius ship which launched last summer.
The polar cruise company runs kayaking programs on its boats – for amateurs and experts alike – and these are worth doing if you have a thirst for adventure.
The ice in Antarctica is mesmerising (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
For me, it’s a wonderful way of exploring these remote icy landscapes, with no sounds disturbing you, just the gliding of your paddle.
For the Oceanwide Expeditions trips, I recommend booking the kayaking option early, as there are limited places and these fill up quickly.
During our 10-day Learning and Discovery voyage to Antarctica, kayaking trips were running in the morning and afternoon, weather permitting.
As part of the kayaking package, we were kitted out with all of the appropriate gear including wet suits, waterproof jackets, neoprene booties, spray skirts and life jackets.
After a two-day crossing of the Drake Passage – one of the world’s most ferocious stretches of water – we finally got to the Antarctic coast and activities got underway.
On the water with fog on the mountains (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
For the passengers onboard the Hondius who weren’t kayaking, there were hiking and zodiac cruising options.
We, as kayakers, could also choose to do these if our arms weren’t feeling up to it.
Being out of the kayak is also better for getting photographs as cameras can get wet and GoPros aren’t as effective when it comes to close-up wildlife shots.
Our first paddle in Antarctica was unreal.
Nine of us set out with two guides to navigate the icy waters around Detaille Island, which is located below the Antarctic circle at 66°33’S.
The outcrop is home to an Adélie penguin colony and a now-defunct British base which dates back to 1956.
We travelled to Antarctica on Oceanwide Expeditions’ Hondius ship (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
What to pack for an Antarctic adventure
I visited Antarctica at the beginning of February. The temperature hovered between 10 and 3 degrees Celsius while we were navigating the continent.
In Ushuaia, the Argentinian port town where we boarded the boat, it was around 16 degrees Celsius and in Buenos Aires, where I transited through to the UK, it was just below 30 degrees Celsius. Here are some of my top picks for what to pack:
Canada Goose Elmwood Parka £1,050 – An amazingly warm coat with lots of pockets for storage and a longer length to protect your legs from the cold. A wired peak on the hood and built in glove-like sleeves. A worthy investment to prolong your time outside, suitable for -25 degrees Celsius
Columbia Women’s Heavenly Shorty Omni-Heat Boot £70 – Easy-to-slip-on faux fur-trimmed boots, with gripped soles and a thermal-reflective lining. Great to wear out on deck, with heavier duty boots provided by Oceanwide Expeditions for onshore excursions
Canada Goose Hybridge Mitts £125 and Training Beanie £95 – Both items extremely warm, windproof and fared well while kayaking
Lululemon Snow Warrior Park £298 – A warm goose down insulated parka which is more budget-friendly. Covers the thighs and has a pocket to store phone
The North Face Trevail Jacket £190 – Perfect jacket for wearing on board and keeps you warm for limited periods out on deck for any wildlife sightings
Osprey Transporter 95 Duffel £130 – A roomy and waterproof piece of luggage, also very comfortable to wear as a backpack. Easy to store away in your cabin
Boardies from £60 – Bikinis and swimming shorts with funky prints that add a splash of tropical to the chilly shores
Merrell Bare Access XTR Sweeper £70 – A vegan-friendly shoe made from largely recycled materials. Extremely lightweight and easy to pack with a slim sole
GoPro Hero 7 £319.99 – Suitable for 10metres underwater without casing. Great for filming while kayaking with smooth 4k video.
While we bashed our way through the fragments of ice, we came across seals sunning themselves and penguins plopping into the glassy waters for a dip.
The cold water was unbelievably clear, with weed, rock and alien-like plant life within view.
One thing you can’t imagine before a trip to Antarctica is how enthralling ice can be.
In this part of the world, the frozen chunks of water are completely mesmerising.
Some icebergs are like works of art, glistening sculptures carved by Mother Nature with ripples and dimples delicately catching the light.
Others mimic monstrous skyscrapers, with their giant white bodies casting a shadow over the tiny humans below.
A chinstrap penguin takes a leap into the water (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
While kayaking, you really can admire the ice in all its glory.
Some of my favourite ice appeared around Petermann Island, where we also saw the whale.
Here, we spent a good couple of hours checking our some beautiful bergs and a lively swell meant it was quite an exhilarating paddle.
Things got even more exhilarating when we attempted to kayak close to Dobrowolski Island, a tiny outcrop in the Palmer Archipelago named after a Polish meteorologist who explored the area in 1898.
The skies were grey and there was a thunderous feeling in the air.
With jagged peaks looming above, the winds started getting violent with gusts blowing up to 20 knots / 23mph.
I was already in the water at this point but my kayaking partner and I were swiftly called back to the zodiac boat and made to return to the ship as the conditions were too unstable.
While at Deception Island, I went for a polar plunge (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
It took quite a bit of effort to paddle against the brutal Antarctic breeze.
Luckily we got to do a landing instead, and it was great hiking a small hill next to Dobrowolski with dozens of seals, including a juvenile elephant seal, dotted around.
Unfortunately, the rain came down pretty hard here and we scooted back to the Hondius ship to warm up with a happy hour beverage at the bar.
The wet theme continued the next morning when we arrived at Deception Island.
The gusty conditions here meant kayaking was cancelled again but those who were brave enough went for a polar plunge instead.
Stripping down to my bikini, I ran and submerged myself in the frigid waters which hovered around 4 degrees Celsius.
When kayaking was cancelled, I set foot on Dobrowolski Island (Picture: Sadie Whitelocks)
It felt like my body was suddenly freezing with an icy sensation popping and snapping all over my skin.
A hot chocolate spiked with rum back on the boat helped revive matters.
We finished our Antarctic kayaking trip off on a high, with an outing around Half Moon Island, which is where the Argentine naval station Teniente Camara is located.
Here we spotted gentoo penguins straddling the stony shore and the sun made a fleeting appearance.
Giving my kayaking gear a final wash in my cabin shower before handing it back filled me with a sense of sadness it was all over.
Antarctica has a way of getting under your skin and paddling around this magical continent propelled my appreciation for its beauty even further.
Planning your own Antarctic adventure:
Oceanwide Expeditions’ Antarctica – Discovery and Learning voyage aboard the Hondius starts from €5,550 (£4,600) excluding flights.
Flights with British Airways run between London Heathrow and Buenos Aires. From there, direct flights to the port town of Ushuaia run regularly with Aerolineas Argentinas. To use lounge facilities during extended stopovers, use PriorityPass.
In Buenos Aires check into the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center for a convenient location close to the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery domestic airport and great views of the city from the bedrooms and outdoor swimming pool.
To get around the city and for airport transfers, Uber is the cheapest option.
Start your Antarctic adventure in true style with a stay at the Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa, which overlooks the port town. Perks include an infinity pool, hiking trails and a restaurant serving up local delicacies including King Crab, trout and braised lamb.
Regular shuttles run back and forth to the town centre.
Bruce was covered in blood when he was found (Picture: SWNS)
This is Bruce right after he was attacked and left for dead.
Bruce, who’s a bull-lurcher was found dumped in a sleepy village on the outskirts of Carlisle on 30 August, 2018, after being beaten so badly he had to be rushed to hospital for life-saving surgery.
His skull was fractured so badly that he couldn’t open his mouth, he was so underweight his ribcage was visible, and he had an infection from the splinters he’d gotten after being beaten with pieces of wood.
Bruce had also been burnt to the point his hair had singed off on parts of his body.
It was touch-and-go, with vets not sure that Bruce would make it due to his severe injuries.
Bruce was rushed to surgery for his injuries (Picture: SWNS)
RSPCA Inspector Sam Morris said about finding him: ‘I was absolutely gobsmacked at what I saw.
‘I’ve worked for the RSPCA for 10 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that awful.
The happy dog began wagging his tail right after surgery (Picture: SWNS)
‘We know Bruce had been in that condition for a number of days before he got the vet treatment he needed.
‘The pain that he must have been in is unimaginable. He was losing the will to carry on. You really question what kind of person could do this.
Despite everything, he has bounced back (Picture: SWNS)
‘Vets said the side of his face had been caved in and described the damage to his skull as dramatic.’
Little fighter Bruce has, however, made a miraculous recovery, and has since found his forever home.
His turnaround has been a miracle (Picture: SWNS)
Marie Coleman, who was working at the vet surgery where he was taken for his treatment, adopted him, and has helped him bounce back to his usual happy self.
She said it was ‘love at first sight’ and initially fostered him before adopting him permanently after helping him on his long road to recovery.
His ribcage used to be visible as he was so underfed (Picture: SWNS)
But he now looks like a completely different dog (Picture: SWNS)
She said: ‘He has settled in very well. He loves home life. His wounds have healed very well. You can hardly see his scar at the top of his head.
‘He lost all of his hair on his bottom from being burnt and all the way down the inside of his legs, which has healed up beautifully.
‘He is so special. Bruce is 100% happy in life and he’s made our lives 100% better.’
Bruce’s story is a horrifying one, but thankfully it does have a happy ending thanks to the RSPCA and Marie.
The relationship between Muslims and the rest of society in some European countries has been a complicated one.
To explore the connection, photographer Marwan Bassiouni visited more than 70 mosques in the Netherlands – his adoptive homeland.
Born in Switzerland, Bassiouni said that the project was a response to the ‘many terrible events of recent years that have damaged the image of Islam’.
While his beautiful images may look photoshopped, the mosque interiors do actually look into the views pictured.
‘Between January 2018 and February 2019, I travelled across the Netherlands to photograph the Dutch landscape from inside Dutch mosques,’ explains Bassiouni.
‘My choice of which mosques to photograph was based on the views that their windows had to offer and the access I was granted.
‘I physically visited more than 70 mosques in order to produce a total of thirty New Dutch Views,’ says Bassiouni.
(Picture: Marwan Bassiouni)
(Picture: Marwan Bassiouni)
‘All photographs are composites and representations of actual Dutch mosque interiors with their views on the local landscape. Each mosque is depicted in its actual surroundings.’
His series, which is going on show at the Photography Museum of the Hague, is all about showing the diversity of Islam and highlights the emergence of what he calls a ‘new Western Islamic identity’.
The world fell in love with Olly back in 2018 (Picture: Crufts/Channel 4)
Jack Russell Olly, who found fame when competing in rescue dog agility at Crufts 2017, yesterday did his final run before retiring from the world’s greatest dog show.
Back when he was five, the pup went viral at the dog show after getting a little over-excited during a jump and taking a tumble.
At the time, he attempted to jump the A-frame obstacle and went flying over the top, the video of which swept the internet.
Peter Purves, who was commentating on the event chuckled: ‘Wrong way through. Oh well, doesn’t really matter, does it?!
‘Oh, what a nose dive! And he couldn’t care less. Here we go, wahey! That’s one of the best shots I’ve seen in a long time!’
The video of his fall from back in 2017 has now been viewed over 13 million times, and the world fell in love with the little rescue dog who was simply excited to be at the competition.
It’s now time for Olly to kick back and enjoy his retirement, but not before making one last run around the stage at Crufts for 2020.
Along with his owner Karen from Blue Cross – who rescued him back when he was abandoned outside the Kimpson Rescue Centre at 10 weeks old – he completed the agility course in style – with no falls in sight.
That said, he did have his trademark mad energy, and made his own rules when it came to which parts of the course he was willing to complete.
Olly and Karen on stage this year (Picture: Crufts/Channel 4)
Life hasn’t always been easy for Olly, who was left in a cat carrier outside a Blue Cross Centre as a puppy.
However, he’s been allowed to flourish into the naughty and loveable boy he is now by Karen, who says it was love at first sight.
Speaking to Blue Cross, she remembers: ‘He humped my foot, he completely ignored me and I thought ‘this is my naughty dog’! I love him so much.’
People often think of porn stars as distant beings, far away from their normal day-to-day lives.
They’re super glammed up, have perfect bodies, and we’ve seen them naked and doing all sorts of sexual acts. It’s easier to process all that if we pretend they’re not regular people, just like us.
But porn actors have lives outside the moments we watch on our screens.
They’re more than what they do.
Porn Moms is a photo series by Mary Beth Koeth that captures porn actresses’ lives outside of their work, documenting their everyday moments with their children.
In autumn 2017, Mary Beth rented a car and drove from New York City to Edison, New Jersey for the Exxxotica Expo, an erotic arts convention, to meet women who work in the adult film industry and also have children.
She wanted to explore a reality entirely different from her own.
‘I was intimidated by this project because I didn’t know how I would find subjects, or if these women would be open to sharing their stories,’ says Mary Beth.
At the Exxxotica Expo, she met an actress named Emily Mena, who had a three-year-old daughter and a son on the way. Emily was immediately on board with the photo series and helped put Mary Beth in touch with other porn actresses who also have kids.
Together with writer Lauren Lee Huttanbach, who transcribed the interviews and wrote captions for each photo, Mary Beth set about capturing the complex lives of mums who work in porn.
‘Their lives are just as complicated as the rest of ours,’ says Mary Beth. ‘I’m grateful to these women for trusting me with a piece of their lives that, professionally, they prefer to keep secret.’
Emily Mena, 25, pregnant and with her four-year-old daughter, from Phoenix, Arizona
Emily Mena, pregnant and playing with her four-year-old daughter (Picture: Mary Beth Koeth )
Emily doesn’t want her work in porn to affect her children.
‘Being in the adult industry kind of hurts you a little bit, so who knows,’ she says.
‘I don’t care what people say about me. I just don’t want it to affect my children. That’s all I care about.’
Her hope for her children is that ‘they’re genuinely happy, successful, healthy, and that they know the world is theirs. They can do anything they set their minds to. And that they’re safe. There’s so much bad stuff out there.’
Makayla Cox, 35, and her seven-year-old daughter, from Las Vegas
Makayla, 35, plans to be honest with her daughter about her work (Picture: Mary Beth Koeth )
Makayla plans to be honest with her daughter about her work.
‘She’s going to grow up knowing,’ says the mum. ‘It’s going to be common knowledge. Oh, okay, mommy does porn for a living.’
Makayla’s dream is to move with her daughter to Los Angeles and buy a house close to the beach, where they can live like hippies.
Tiffany Brookes, 31, and her one-year-old son, from Dallas, Texas
As a single mum, Tiffany realised she would need to return to porn after the birth of her son (Picture: Mary Beth Koeth )
Tiffany wasn’t planning to return to work in porn when her son was born, but quickly realised that as a single mum, it was the best way to earn money.
‘You do what you gotta do,’ she says. ‘After having my son [I realised], I’m a single mom and oh shit, what can I do that’s going to bring in income now?
‘It enables me to be a hands-on, stay-at-home mom. He literally is my everything.
‘The minute the camera is off and I’m off set, it’s back to being a mom.’
Cameron Canela, 24, and her newborn son, from Las Vegas, Nevada
Cameron Canela watches over her newborn son (Picture: Mary Beth Koeth)
‘All my friends and family knew I was adamant about not wanting children’ says Cameron.
‘I didn’t want to be a mom. I actually didn’t like kids at all.
‘I thought it was going to be like, what is this leech in my body? I don’t want it. But I immediately felt connected.
‘I just felt like I became a whole new person in the coolest way. As cliché as it sounds, your heart just grows immediately.’
Becoming a mother has changed Cameron’s view of her career.
‘Before, I definitely embraced who I was in the adult industry and didn’t really care how people thought about it,’ she says. ‘I was like, this is what I am, this is who I am, this is what I like to do.
‘Now I like having more of a conservative image and being a mom. That’s been the biggest transition for me, just realising that there’s still a whole other side of me.’
Nickey Hunstman, 26, with her nine-year-old daughter, from Colorado Springs
Having a daughter changed everything for porn star Nickey (Picture: Mary Beth Koeth)
Nickey says she was made to be a mum.
‘I was very clingy and protective of her for the longest time when she was itty bitty,’ she says.
‘When I had her, it came automatically with mothering skills. Sometimes you just know that you’re made to do something.’
People thought I was selfish for wanting a baby and claimed that I wouldn’t be able to cope with the responsibility (Picture: Emma Matthews)
When I first discussed the possibility of having children with a doctor, I left in tears. The GP laughed in my face and said, ‘My wife’s pregnant and she is struggling so you will never be able to manage’.
This judgement was made because I have spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative muscle-wasting disease, and scoliosis, a significant curvature of the spine. I have been unable to stand or walk since I was 13, and am wheelchair bound.
People generally didn’t understand why I, a disabled person, would want to have a child.
They thought I was selfish for wanting a baby and claimed that I wouldn’t be able to cope with the responsibility. It made me feel so angry because there was no way of proving them wrong.
I have taken care of my nieces and nephews since I first became an auntie, aged nine, and have never thought that my wheelchair would make it harder for me to take care of a child. But sometimes, on a very bad day, I would believe my critics were right, and that I should try to be happy without becoming a mother.
I have always wanted children but because of the medical advice I have received, I was convinced that it wasn’t possible. Not only were there questions about how my body would cope with pregnancy, but doctors also thought I couldn’t conceive as my health issues had delayed puberty.
When I met my partner, Jak, we discussed having children as most couples do. Once we were settled and had a house together we felt ready for a baby and so I started researching into the possibility.
By the time my doctor’s appointment came my period was late but the pregnancy tests I had taken were all negative.
Normally my dog is obsessed with my boyfriend but one day he was being clingy with me and, as strange as it sounds, I felt like he knew something. So I said, ‘Come on then let’s go and do another negative pregnancy test’.
My pregnancy was physically perfect, but I was so anxious that I ended up hating every minute of it (Picture: Emma Matthews)
I didn’t really want to look at the test results, as I was sure it was going to upset me all day but took a peek – when I saw the plus sign, I was nearly sick.
I called my doctor with so many questions, but she hadn’t dealt with anyone with my disability before and so couldn’t advise me on how the pregnancy would progress.
It put a big confusing blemish on a day where my partner and I should have been ecstatic.
Due to my spine curvature, my torso is squashed and pregnancy further reduced the room in my chest, making me breathless. The additional weight of being heavily pregnant also made moving about difficult and I got pressure bruises on my knees from crawling.
Despite this, my pregnancy was physically perfect, but I was so anxious that I ended up hating every minute of it.
My son was born by caesarean section on the 17 June 2019. I had to be put to sleep for the operation because my spine is too crooked to fit a spinal anaesthetic.
I woke up in the intensive care unit four hours after the surgery and my baby boy, Oscar, was fighting fit.
The way we do things may not be conventional, but they work for us (Picture: Emma Matthews)
My partner, Jak, had taken a month off work to help me as I recovered and during that time I began to have doubts about how I would cope on my own. It took two weeks for me to be able to pick Oscar up properly. I blamed my disability but all mothers who have had a c-section need time to heal.
I had become used to being able to just ask Jak to fetch things for me and every time I did this it proved that my doubters were right, I would struggle on my own.
When the day came, I just sat there for the
first hour, holding Oscar and looking at him. When he stirred because he was
hungry I did panic a bit. But I popped him into the buggy, pushed him through
into the kitchen and made him his bottle of milk.
My family and friends had told me to call them if I couldn’t manage, but by the end of that day I wasn’t just coping, I was enjoying it.
Now Oscar is seven months old and I am so grateful that I get to be with him in the day.
I have been forced to adapt every aspect of my life to care for him – but it’s no different from what any other mother does. The way we do things may not be conventional, but they work for us.
I simply put Oscar on my lap and we shuffle
down the stairs in the morning, and I use a baby carrier when we head out to
the shops together. When we are about the house I sit him on my knees and use
arms to slide us across the floor.
Disability equipment is very expensive so we have made a few adaptations ourselves. My father in law added a hinged side door to the cot so I can slide Oscar out onto the floor.
And just like all new mothers, I have good and bad days – but it is not because of my wheelchair.
When people see us out together they do a double-take and I have noticed people whispering about me. But the majority of people are overly positive and comment on how inspirational I am. They mean well but I just want to be treated like everyone else.
If you’re disabled and want to have children, trust your instincts. Only the inhabitant of a disabled body truly knows its limitations.
I knew my disability wouldn’t affect my ability to be a good mother. And when the time is right, I will have another baby and do it all again.
It’s coming up fast! (Picture: Eleonora Galli/Moment/Getty)
Mother’s Day is swift approaching, which means the time is right to start looking for the perfect gifts and cards for your favourite maternal figure(s) in your life.
If you need a reminder of the date, why it changes, and the origins of Mother’s Day, then read on, because we’ve got what you need to know right here.
When is Mother’s Day 2020?
Mother’s Day falls on Sunday 22 March this year.
The date changes every year because, in the UK, Mothering Sunday first began as a church tradition, and it takes place three weeks before Easter on the fourth Sunday of Lent.
Since the dates of Lent and Easter are beholden to the lunar calendar, the date of Mother’s Day is as well.
It used to be that Mothering Sunday was the day on which Christians would travel to visit the church they were baptised in, also known as this ‘mother church’, and then end up meeting up with their mothers along the way.
Using Mother’s Day as a day to celebrate mums began in the US after Anna Jarvis campaigned from 1905 for Mother’s Day to become a national holiday in the wake of her mother’s death.
In 1914, it was declared a national holiday by then-President Woodrow Wilson, and in subsequent years, the tradition of celebrating Mother’s Day has spread far and wide.
Celebrate every inspirational woman today (Picture: Getty/AP)
Today is International Women’s Day, a perfect opportunity to celebrate how far women’s rights have come and support the need to keep fighting for more equality around the world, with the theme for 2020 being ‘#GenerationEquality’
From Rihanna to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Madonna to your Mum, IWD is a great day to acknowledge every woman who has broken a glass ceiling, encouraged, inspired, uplifted, struggled, survived and much more.
For everyone who identifies as a woman, today is for you. Let these quotes, sayings and memes help and inspire you along the way.
International Women’s Day quotes
‘A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.’ – Coco Chanel
‘No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor’ – Betty Friedan
According to the United Nations: ð Women make up 2/3 of illiterate people in the world ð Less than 20% of the worldâs landholders are women ð Only 22.8% of all national parliamentarians are women
‘When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the people who were jerky to you’ – Tina Fey
Upgrade your gym kit with a yoga collection made by women for women – at no cost to the earth (Picture: PYRATES/ASICS)
Environmentalism and feminism may seem like two unrelated concepts.
After all, you can be a single-plastic-using, steak-loving, 4×4 driving fiend and still believe that women deserve to have the same rights as men.
That’s until you take a closer look at the fashion industry.
Fast fashion not only takes a toll on the planet by clogging up landfills and using virgin resources that we can ill afford, but it’s also often the product of poorly pain female labour.
That’s before you get to who the stuff is marketed towards; who is guilt-tripped and shamed into believing that they need to continuously buy new clothes to look and feel better? Women, of course.
So it’s not that surprising to find that a sustainability revolution is being headed by women.
Take Regina Polanco, for example. She’s the founder of PYRATES – a smart fabrics label shaking up the fashion industry by creating properly sustainable textiles.
She started the brand back in 2014, inspired by her ‘world-travelling millennial friends who are non-conforming young PYRATES, who lead borderless and adventurous lives’.
Regina tells Metro.co.uk: ‘In a pre-athleisure world where you had to choose between comfort and dressing well, I collaborated with a designer to offer my friends multi-functional clothing, suited for a number of activities such as travelling, business meetings or having drinks with friends.
‘When researching new materials for PYRATES, I became dissatisfied with what the market had to offer – functional but synthetic fabric or natural but less-functional fabrics.
‘I felt strongly that clothing had to evolve with our current standards of innovation.’
So, she went off to do three years of textile research in the lab and came up with PYRATEX® – a sustainable, naturally sourced and multi-functioning fabric. A luxury knit fabric, PYRATEX® is made in Europe from either vegetal, upcycled or biodegradable fibres.
After her first collection was released, Regina quickly found herself inundated with requests from brands looking to make their clothes from the same luxurious, high-functioning fabrics.
Sustainable fashion is here to stay, she tells us – we’ve just got to be patient.
‘Sustainable fashion is still very new and at first, it seemed like another hype trend,’ she says, ‘but we predict it will become the norm as the demand for more eco-friendly alternatives is taking over in many industries, not only the fashion industry.’
PYRATES and other sustainable brands straddle the tech and fashion industries – two notoriously brutal businesses that up until recently, haven’t exactly been renowned for being too female-friendly (despite their clientele).
But the idea of breaking into a traditionally male-dominated industry shouldn’t put women off, Regina says.
‘There is an equal level of opportunity for female entrepreneurs in both the tech and fashion industries. Both are hard to break into because being an entrepreneur is hard-work whatever industry; saying that, both are certainly equally rewarding and welcoming to female entrepreneurs.’
Her main piece of advice for women thinking about starting their own businesses?
‘Go for it! Building a business is hard, but if you are willing to fight for it and put on the hard work, there is no reason why you shouldn’t start your own business.’
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2020 (8 March), Regina has teamed up with ASICS to develop a special yoga capsule collection.
The seven-piece collection has been made from natural fibres coloured with natural, biodegradable dyes derived from plants and minerals like pomegranate, as part of a process which uses a reduced amount of water.
Its packaging is also made from natural and reusable fabrics to further help reduce the adverse impact on the planet and encourage the reuse of the fabric bag.
‘This collection in collaboration with ASICS has been created by women for women,’ she explains.
‘International Women’s Day is very important and sadly still necessary, until the day comes where there is full equality achieved worldwide. Every day is women’s day and we have to keep supporting and celebrating each other as women. Launching a yoga collection with ASICS, who share our vision, is another way to mark women’s strength on International Women’s Day.’
The ASICS and PYRATES environmentally-sustainable yoga collection is out now at asics.com
The three ingredient banana bread (Picture: Slow Cooker Recipes and Tips/Facebook)
If you’ve got a few slightly overripe bananas left over at the end of the week, this recipe is perfect.
You can create banana bread with just three ingredients and bake it in your slow cooker, making it almost effortless.
Melissa Lee revealed that she had created the cake by combining bananas, flour and condensed milk.
Posting on the Slow Cooker Recipes & Tips Facebook page, she said she used five bananas, one 397g tin of condensed milk and 2.5 cups of self-raising flour.
It takes a few hours to cook, but you can just leave it in the slow cooker (Picture: Slow Cooker Recipes and Tips/Facebook)
She mixed the ingredients together, poured them into a lined cake tin and put around 3cm of water in the bottom of the slow cooker.
She then placed the cake tin inside the slow cooker and cooked it on a high setting for two hours.
She added a tea towel under the lid of the slow cooker to absorb some of the moisture.
On the post, she added: ‘So yummy with butter and golden syrup.’
Other people loved the idea and said they couldn’t wait to try it out.
They suggested adding chocolate or nuts to the mix to add another flavour.
One person said: ‘I made this last week it was amazing.’
Another added: ‘I’ve done this, just not in slow cooker, and I’m in love, doesn’t taste much different to a recipe that has a lot that goes into it.’
‘Oooh this is a good one I’ve used it from another site :-) & added crushed Walnuts,’ someone else said.
Can you biohack your way to a better period? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
A few years ago, most of us had never heard of ‘biohacking’. Then Twitter’s Jack Dorsey admitted that he went for days without eating as a means of ‘biohacking’ his way to better health and productivity and tech bros around the world went on a voyage of DNA-altering discovery.
At its most basic, biohacking is the practice of changing your DNA. And while that used to be the reserve of labs and scientists using the most advanced technology, it’s something that has trickled down into the mainstream thanks largely to our phones.
You can now use food, exercise, sleep and supplements to modify the way you function and to bring you to better health. Society has (mercifully) moved away from seeing scales as a measure of health; instead, we rate our mood, gut health, skin and sleep quality as key indicators.
And now biohacking is being used to help women track their periods too.
Author of In The FLO, Alisa Vitti, claims to have reversed her polycycstic ovarian syndrome via biohacking after spending ‘thousands of dollars on an array of products’.
She goes on to say that you can manage heavy periods, severe PMS, bloating, PCOS, fibroids, missing periods and migraines by biohacking ‘your way to fewer symptoms and better health…but to get the best results, you have to biohack for your unique female physiology.’
Biohacking isn’t a universal set of rules – it’s different for men and women.
‘In the case of men, they are trying to maximise energy, concentration, and stamina during their very short 24 hour circadian hormonal pattern. For women, you are already maximally efficient by design, so you simply need to nurture your cyclical patterns and endocrine system’s nutritional needs, and you will feel the benefits quickly,’ she explained on her website.
So, what exactly do we have to do for better period health? Alisa sets out ten rules in her book, including:
Ditch the coffee
It’s a devastating blow for most of us but Alisa says that caffeine is a no-go for women in their reproductive years who want to improve their hormonal health.
For women with PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and fibrocystic breasts, caffeine is apparently a guaranteed way to make more cysts, despite the fact that coffee has a tonne of health benefits.
And over 50% of the population have a mutation of the CYP1A2 gene which stops the body from breaking down caffeine – meaning that you could have the substance circulating around your body for hours after consumption.
If you’re having period problems, it might be worth going cold turkey.
Track your cycle
Tracking your cycle is important because without knowing when you’ve had a period, you can’t tell if there are any glitches.
But Alisa says that tracking involves more than simply charting when you’re bleeding.
It’s about noting symptoms over the course of your entire cycle and then learning about why you’re having them and what you can do with food, supplements and lifestyle to resolve them naturally.
She recommends using the MyFLO app but other trackers are available too.
Don’t bother with fasting or keto eating
Intermittent fasting has received a lot of good press over the past few years but this is an example of male and female biology requiring different approaches, Alisa says.
While long periods of going food-free may benefit some guys, it can actually make insulin and cortisol responses worse in women.
Meanwhile, the keto diet has long been promoted as a go-to for those of us with PCOS and other metabolic disorders. However, low-carb eating can mess with thyroid health which has a direct impact on your menstrual cycle.
Eat whole foods, a well-balanced diet and leave the dramatic dietary changes for your GP to prescribe…should you ever require them!
Dial down the intensity
Daily HIIT workouts may work for guys but it really doesn’t do women any favours.
As our bodies move through our hormonal cycle, so too do our metabolic, temperature and stress responses.
That means we have to change up our exercise routines; it doesn’t work sticking to the same intense routine all month. Go hard in the first half of your cycle (HIIT, spin, sprints, heavy lifting) before swapping yin for yang for the second half (yoga, pilates, walking).
Start your day right
Although Jack Dorsey’s routine sounded slightly bonkers to many of us (fasting for 22 hours a day, doing seven-minute workouts, taking daily ice baths, meditating twice a day, using a standing desk under a near-infrared bulb), his kind of early morning habit stacking has been used as a golden example of how to biohack your way to success.
Again, women aren’t made like men; men are the same every day, every month which makes it easier for them to commit to a solid regime.
Women on the other hand are subject to an ‘infradian rhythm’ (that’s your cycle).
At one point in your cycle, your stress hormone levels will increase – making you feel more anxious and less productive. At some points, we need more sleep than at others.
Alisa says that the bonus is women are more efficient users of energy and therefore don’t need to crowd all of their productivity into the morning (which can actually disrupt our hormones at certain points in our cycle).
We actually need four different morning routines based on the four different shifts we go through each month. To work those shifts out, why not keep a journal charting how you feel in the morning and evening for a month – keeping a note of energy levels, concentration abilities and reactions to food and exercise.
Is biohacking…real?
We asked Dr John Babraj, lecturer in exercise physiology from Abertay University whether biohacking was really a ‘thing’ and he said that in a fitness-setting, it was ‘probably little better than a placebo effect where if you believe in it, then it will have good results’.
‘It really depends if the thing being hacked into has previously been shown to work in population studies.’
While Alisa’s points may be salient for working specifically on menstruation, John says that in terms of biohacking your way to generally better health, you’re best off ‘focusing on cardiovascular fitness as this can alter gut microbiome (reducing inflammation caused by high-fat diets) and improve sleep quality.
‘There’s also evidence of changes in mood with cardiovascular fitness (depending on the intensity of the training).’
Today marks International Women’s Day, an annual celebration of women’s rights, and the social, economic, cultural and political achievements that women are making in the world.
In the UK, it is also a day when sex workers across the country close their bedroom doors in protest against the lack of laws and regulations that surround sex work.
In England, Wales and Scotland, prostitution is partially legal; money can change hands for sexual services, but aspects of sex work such as working together with someone else (and by doing so, protecting yourself from danger) or soliciting in public places, as well as owning and managing a brothel are all crimes that women can be convicted for.
This is why sex workers, along with supporters, are calling for reform of the law. A recent study by the human rights charity RightsInfo revealed that 49% of Brits would be happy to decriminalise brother-keeping, which can currently see someone go to prison for seven years.
Making sex work fully legalised would not only provide sex workers with more rights, but many claim that it would improve safety issues.
To find out more about the concerns that face this line of work, we asked three sex workers to share their personal stories – what it’s like to have sex for money, the negative experiences that they’ve had and the violence they’ve faced, but above all: why they want the law to change.
Charlotte Rose, 39, works in London
Charlotte has been in the industry for over two decades and is fighting for sex workers’ rights (Picture: Charlotte Rose)
Charlotte Rose has been a sex worker for two decades, and is a well-known name in the industry.
The 39-year-old has been a vocal campaigner for sex workers’ rights for years, and today she will be joining the English Collective of Prostitutes in Soho Square at 5pm, for their protest march.
‘Today, we’re coming together to show strength, unity, and solidarity for our community,’ she tells us.
‘Before I moved to London, most of my sex work was predominantly in Devon. It’s much harder to sell sex in the capital, mainly because we’re not allowed to do so on the street and property prices are sky-high – and because my daughter lives with me, I use rented accommodation for sex work, such as hotels.
‘Working from hotels is one of the big fears for all sex workers, because it’s a double-edged sword; we do have the safety against rape, but we’ve also got the penalisation and fear of arrest. And frankly, I’d rather be arrested than violently raped.
‘I remember a few years ago, a working friend and I booked a session with two guys. We played with them both, but one of the men had trouble finishing within the hour they had with us.
‘They were quite burly and broad men, so my colleague and I were left with two options: do we carry on with possible violence, or do we just give them the money and let them go?
‘I was polite at first, but after another 15 minutes we told them that we had to leave for another booking. That’s when they got angry; he started grabbing our things, including the money, the pair of them threw stuff off the shelves in the hotel room and one of them tried to pull the TV off the wall.
‘They were quite burly and broad men, so my colleague and I were left with two options: do we carry on with possible violence, or do we just give them the money and let them go?
‘In the end, we did – because I was afraid that they would tell the hotel manager about our activities, and because of how the law currently operates, I would be the one arrested.’
This isn’t the first time – nor is it likely to be the last – that Charlotte has had to choose between her safety and giving in to an angry customer’s complaints.
‘As long as it’s done professionally and safety, people’s perception of sex work can be what they want it to be’ (Picture: Charlotte Rose)
Because she wants to make the service accessible to those with disabilities, who might be on lower incomes, Charlotte charges £170 per hour and hasn’t changed this fee in years.
She says: ‘I do a lot of work with disabled men. For people with disabilities, I am their sensory therapist, providing them with skin-on-skin body movements and a naked body against their body, which is a beautiful thing.
‘However, once again, because there aren’t any laws looking after sex workers, this also comes with its own concerns.
‘I once had had a disabled guy who couldn’t finish, so I extended the time for him.
‘He’d lost the use of his arm and shoulder, and wanted us to have a bath together, so I drew one for him – but he was angry that I didn’t have a cast iron bath (which was what my photos showed) and said that this was a breach of consumer rights.
‘He wanted his money back and said that if I didn’t comply, he was going to cause me problems as he believed he had the law on his side because he was disabled.
‘After our session, I did some digging and found out that he’s a serial complainer.’
To help protect themselves against creepy and aggressive clients or serial complainers, sex workers do their research when approached by a new client.
For many, including all of the women interviewed here, this includes apps and websites like Smooci, Clients Eye and Ugly Mugs, where they can track their own whereabouts, leave reviews and share details about bad experiences, as well as warn fellow sex workers.
Charlotte also has her own security measures in place.
She says: ‘Before I let new bookings into the property, I will always call them.
‘You can’t hear their voice in a text; in a call, you can hear where they are (in the street or in their car), the sincerity in their voice and if anyone’s with them.
‘Once they’re parked, I’ll also ask them to confirm their car model and the last letters of the registration plate, so that I have these but also so I can check through my window to see if they are who they say they are.
‘Once that’s done, I’ll wave them up.’
One guy I used to see took me trawling through the moors to find mud so that we could wrestle in, and even got me a wet suit
Like most sex workers with an online profile, Charlotte will tell them her ‘do’s and don’ts’ beforehand.
For instance, she won’t do anal play, hates having her ears kissed (because she frequently loses earrings) and doesn’t want her hair pulled.
‘As long as it’s done professionally and safely, people’s perception of sex work can be what they want it to be. I, for instance, love food sploshing – baked beans in particular feel really nice on the skin.
‘One guy I used to see took me trawling through the moors to find mud so that we could wrestle in, and even got me a wet suit.
‘To me, the “girlfriend experience” is glamourised so much in the media, that sex work is seen as either dirty hooking of it’s a pornstar experience. But it doesn’t really matter what people want, because it’s a professional service.
‘I want people to understand that, at the end of the day, sex work is just work.’
Jenni, 42, works in Liverpool
Jenni was previously a glamour model and cam model, but now works as an escort three days per week (Picture: Jenni)
Jenni has been an escort for just over a year, having previously worked as a glamour model and cam model.
She is a high-class escort and works around three days per week. Like Charlotte, she will talk to her clients over the phone before agreeing to meet them.
She says: ‘To make sure there’s no misconception before they arrive, we’ll discuss everything and I’ll only book someone if they call me, so we can have a bit of a chat first.
‘I entertain both men and couples, but so far, it’s mainly been men who approach me.
‘Once we start talking, I’ll find out where they come from and their age – I only book clients over a certain age anyway – as well as check out their email address and phone number.
‘But I don’t actually need to screen too much, because if they’re from my area, you get a good sense of the kind of person they are.
‘If a guy is coming into town to see me I normally do a more in-depth screening process and if the booking is in advance I will require a deposit, which is always 50% of whatever length of time they spend with me.
‘My services cater for many individuals and I offer various services depending on requirements.
‘I also offer “elite services” for the discerning gentlemen who requires me to spend more time with them or for me to travel to them, usually they fly me to them.
‘In Liverpool, I have a private apartment for in-calls with an intercom system and there’s also CCTV in the area, but obviously not inside the apartment.’
Thankfully, Jenni hasn’t had a bad experience that turned violent, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced other issues.
‘You get a lot of time-wasters and fantasites who mess girls about,’ she says.
‘I have had guys who requested bookings and requirements have been discussed along with screening, then they don’t show up.
‘I’ve only ever felt scared when I first started; the first time I met a companion, I was petrified – it was a surreal feeling, I can’t even really explain it.
‘But more often than not, the guys are more nervous than I am. When they first arrive, I’ll offer them a drink and a shower, and they can also shower before they leave. It’s about getting to know them and making them feel relaxed.
‘All requests are different, but many of them want the girlfriend experience; kissing and cuddling, that kind of sex.’
‘The government needs to recognise how sex work in other countries, like Germany for instance, is far more legalised than it is here
Jenni wants a law reform because she believes it would build a better community for sex workers and give them the same rights as other professionals in the UK.
She says: ‘When I first started, I had lots of questions and I got a lot of support from girls online who are really good friends of mine now, and who gave me lots of safety tips.
‘But I want the law to recognise sex work as an industry and a profession; we pay our taxes, we pay our national insurance and then they don’t give any kind of support when something actually happens.
‘The government needs to recognise how sex work in other countries, like Germany for instance, is far more legalised than it is here.
‘A law reform would allow us to form a better community where we can share advice and details like we do on existing platforms, because you have to do the research – it’s not like I woke up and just became an escort overnight.
‘I don’t really want to glamourise my job, it’s not just sugar daddies and everything else that people imagine.
‘A while back, there was a man who called me up and told me he was in the city for work, but had a horrible hotel and he was just having a bad time all around. So he got in a taxi, came to my apartment and we sat and watched TV for two hours.’
There are sometimes very generous men who spoil the women, too.
‘A gentleman I’m meeting soon has bought me a pair of Jimmy Choos,’ she says.
‘Gifts are not expected, but gratefully received.
‘It took a couple of months, but I feel a lot more secure and relaxed in my profession now. I work three days per week, and have around four clients per day, I know other girls may meet more but it’s just my preference.
‘I chose this line of work to give myself more time and I can choose my own hours and days I work.’
Jessica*, works in London
Jessica, not her real name, is an escort in London (Picture: Jessica)
Jessica* considers herself a ‘luxury traveller’ sex worker, but is now permanently based in the UK, where she works as an escort.
‘Overall, I find my job to be very fun and exciting,’ Jessica tells us.
‘My experience with clients is always one of heartfelt honesty and consideration, and the financial aspect is an added bonus.
There are gangs and drug abusers in London who will be quick to take advantage
‘Just like anyone in the adult industry, I don’t like the time-wasters. The intolerance of companions is also very disappointing, but you’ve got to expect it in this line of work.
‘I haven’t personally experienced any situations that put me in danger, but I know of others working in this industry who have.
‘There are gangs and drug abusers in London who will be quick to take advantage.
‘I hear a lot about gang leaders in London wanting to rob, and encourage others to rob, vulnerable girls working in the adult industry for their own financial gain. ‘
Sex work is a business, and a successful prostitute with a high turnover faces danger from people who may want to steal their hard-earned cash or scam workers by using their services and then getting their money back through shady means.
‘Someone I knew had their Rolex stolen, as well as designer handbags and jewellery,’ Jessica says.
‘When you present yourself online as a gorgeous model, this often attracts some questionable characters. I know of some girls that have been monitored or tracked to see how busy she is and how much money she’s making.
‘Staying sober is my number one rule, and I expect the same from any client as I put my safety before anything else’ (Picture: Jessica)
‘If a vulnerable girl was to make friends with someone like this, she can become reliant on him and he could steal from her or even become her pimp.
This is a negative experience that I know many girls in the industry have faced.
‘Someone I knew was using the escort booking service Adult Work, and accepted Adult Work credits as a form of payment. She used the client’s card, with consent, to top up her credits as the client didn’t have his own account to gift them to her.
‘This led to her account being given a lifetime ban as it was seen as a fraudulent card payment, and the client reportedly told his bank that his card was being used fraudulently and he got all his money back.
‘It’s important to be aware of this kind of thing as one wrong move can ruin your livelihood. I wish there was more of an open community where girls could speak together and discuss their experiences, but unfortunately, the stigma attached to the industry can make it hard for people to be open about their profession.’
As for her do’s and don’ts, Jessica has one golden rule.
‘I’m not a party girl and don’t do any drugs,’ she adds.
‘Staying sober is my number one rule, and I expect the same from any client as I put my safety before anything else.’
These are the women we should celebrate this IWD (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
There is no one way to be or look like a womxn. But in images we often see advertised online, it’s usually conventionally attractive, able white women.
This International Women’s Day, a modelling agency which represents those with disabilities and visible differences is celebrating all kinds of women.
Zebedee Management has made headlines as they represent children with Down’s syndrome who have appeared in advertising for big name brands.
But they also represent adult women from different races, sizes, and abilities.
So they’ve come up with a stunning photoshoot featuring women who use wheelchairs, who were born with different conditions, the old, the young, those with large birthmarks, with skin conditions, hair loss, and others who look different.
The agency reports that disabled people are the most underrepresented minority in the media and that there are more fashion lines for pets than there are for people with disabilities and 8 in 10 disabled people feel underrepresented.
Zebedee says their models are different, ‘no ifs, no buts, no excuses’.
‘Talent and beauty don’t care how many legs you have or what condition you were born with,’ they say on their website.
‘As a specialist modelling agency, we’re passionate about redefining the perception of beauty, disability and diversity. And with the right opportunities and support, we believe amazing things can happen to amazing people.’
Here are some of the women we should be celebrating this International Women’s Day:
Monique has Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type 3, aka brittle bone disease which means her bones can break very easily (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Maya has genetic nerve condition and scoliosis on her back. She is also a manual wheelchair user (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Gemma was born with born with congenital melanocytic naevus which means she has hundreds of birthmarks of different sizes around her body (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Niamh, 20, has ectodermal skin dysplasia which has several symptoms and has also affected her hair (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Clara has an inherited connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
20-year-old Kathleen has Down’s syndrome (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Cara has functional neurological disorder which affects all aspects of how her body should function and means she often uses a wheelchair(Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Lindy, 65, has a hearing disability (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Georgina, 20, has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
Renee has paraplegia which means she is in a wheelchair full-time (Picture: Shelley Richmond)
