A woman who lost her husband to the novel coronavirus has written a frank obituary – and it’s now gone viral.

Stacey Nagy, from Texas, wrote about her partner David in local newspaper Jefferson Jimplecute.

After David, 76, became one of the more than 7,000 victims of the pandemic in Texas, Stacey put together the impassioned speech about how he died.

In the obit, she said David’s death was ‘needless’ and said ‘karma’ ought to get back at the people who didn’t take the virus seriously and those who didn’t wear a mask.

After another woman shared a screenshot of the obituary on Twitter, it soon went viral.

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More than 12,000 people liked the tweet and a further 4,000 commented on it.

Stacey shared the words of the obit on her Facebook where it was also liked by more than 1,000 people.

In the first few paragraphs, Stacey who has been married to David for 20 years writes, about his life – the fact that he spent most of his life in California before retiring in Texas.

She mentions that he is a father-of-three and also a great granddad.

But towards the last three paragraphs, the tone shifts where Stacey states the public need to be more careful.

She writes: ‘Also to blame are the many ignorant, self-centered, and selfish people who refused to follow the advice of medical professionals, believing their “right” to not wear a mask was more important than not killing innocent people.

‘Dave did everything he was supposed to do, but you did not, Shame on all of you, and may Karma find you all!’

Stacey said that the family had taken precautions to stay safe and were angry that others had not.

David was in a high-risk group as he had other underlining health conditions including diabetes, heart problems, and early signs of dementia.

After he had a fall earlier in the year, the family decided it would be best for him to go into a nursing home to recover.

Stacey was only allowed to see him through a glass door to limit the risk of the virus.

However, in July, David was hospitalised and diagnosed with Covid-19 and the family had to say goodbye through a transparent door.

Since the obit went viral, Stacey said David would be proud of her for fighting his corner.

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Alida Elizabeth Dreyer has had a number of issues to contend with in her life; from bullying at school, to PCOS, to a toxic relationship that shattered her self esteem.

Like many people who struggle with their weight, her mental state had a big impact on how she treated her body, which left her feeling unworthy and unmotivated to exercise and eat well.

Thankfully, Alida has now transformed her life and shed an amazing 12 stone. But for her, along with many people who lose a large amount of weight, it was more about how she regained her confidence and learned to appreciate everything her body does for her.

Alida, who lives in Sydney, Australia, but is originally from South Africa, was bullied over her weight from a very young age and began to skip school as her mental health deteriorated.

She would self-harm and suffered from suicidal thoughts for years before being diagnosed with depression at the age of 12.

Speaking to Jam Press, she explained, ‘I gained my weight steadily over the ages of 6-23. At the age of 10 I weighed 82kg (12.9 stone), I would eat a lot of snacks. I used to eat in secret, I would hide food in my room. It formed part of my eating addiction and poor mental health.

‘I was eating six slices of toast for breakfast with a hot Milo, and then would have a carb-heavy lunch such as pasta or Mac and Cheese. Dinner would be meat, vegetables and carbs such as rice or pasta again and my portions would be extremely big.

‘I also snacked on a small bag of crisps with some cheese and never drank water, just cordial and juice.

‘I was never tracking calories, but I would say anywhere from 2,500-3,500 calories in a day easily. There were days that I binged and I think I could have consumed 5,000 calories.’

The bingeing only continued when she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome after struggling to conceive with her then boyfriend.

She said: ‘I ended a toxic relationship with my boyfriend at the time, he did not dump me. I left him because the relationship was extremely unhealthy.

‘My boyfriend and I broke up 2 days after I saw the fertility specialist. Yes, the inability to naturally conceive at my size played a part but it was so much more than that.’

Simple daily tasks were a struggle for Alida, who was around 22.8 stone and couldn’t walk for more than 100 metres without stopping for breath.

After her unhealthy relationship, Alida radically overhauled her diet and exercise routine, and also has gastric sleeve surgery in March 2017 which she says helped her to control her portion size.

These changes saw her lose all of the weight over 12 months, and she has since maintained a healthy weight of 68kg (10.7stone).

Alida now follows a vegan diet and is focused on holistic and conscious eating which sees her eating to nourish her body and provide it with the nutrients it needs to work at it’s best.

The professional services worker has also signed up to compete in the WBFF (World Beauty Fitness and Fashion) competition next year in their transformation division which she says will entail ‘hard work and dedication both physically and mentally to make my body strong, fit and healthy.’

And it’s not just her body that has changed, it’s her mindset too, as Alida explains, ‘I am all about positivity, prior to my weight loss journey, I was extremely negative and I had a mindset that everything was too hard and that I was not worth enough to change my life.

‘Since going through this journey, I have spent a lot of time working on not only changing my physical body but also changing my mind. Re-setting my mindset and self-worth.

‘I am now very positive and have a lot of self-confidence and self-awareness. My mindset is focused around a healthy body and a healthy soul.’

After shedding the weight, Alida says she feels fantastic, noting, ‘I never understood how much I was missing out on when I was obese. I thought it was natural and normal to feel sore and tired all of the time. Now I have so much energy and I don’t just survive, I thrive!’

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With pints in the park the new summer staple, Lidl has launched its Craft Beer Festival 2020, with prices starting from £1.29.

And for those with a sweet tooth, there’s even a marshmallow flavour one.

The Marshmallow Milk Stout – which is on offer for £1.69 – has flavours of chocolate and vanilla with a subtle roasted coffee aroma and a touch of sweetness.

It also comes in a retro style bottle that looks pretty cool too.

Fans of something fruity can go for the Disco Forklift Truck Mango Pale Ale (£1.49), which promises to be juicy with bags of mango and tropical fruit flavours, or the Frute Shute Amplitude (£1.79), a hoppy pale ale with notes of pineapple. 

Also on offer is a Whitstable Bay Ruby Ale (£1.49) – a deep red coloured ale, brewed using the brewery’s own chalk-filtered mineral water.

The Craft Beer festival is launching in stores nationwide from Thursday 6 August, so be sure to check it out on your next trip to Lidl.

If you want the refreshing feel of a beer but don’t actually like the taste of it, then there are other flavoured beers you can get your hands on elsewhere.

Grab one of these flavoured beers next time you’re at the park or garden for that perfect summer feeling.

Recommendations include Jubel Beer Cut With Peach to Passion Tang by Lervig and Garage x Brewski Apricots Fruit DIPA.

Bottoms up.

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Richard Herefeld and Steffi Kay live a vintage lifestyle – but they met in a very modern way.

The pair found eachother through Instagram after they both shared snaps of their old-fashioned style.

After chatting online, they soon fell for each other and Richard, 29, made a 4,000 mile trip from Germany to Canada just 10 days later.

He had planned to spend just ten days with Steffi, 26, but ended up staying for one month after the lovebirds hit it off over their mutual passion for the 1930s.

Now they live together with everything including their home, their style and the music they listen to reflecting their love for the decade.

Richard said: ‘I had never met anyone I could get along with so easily before.

‘Usually people in the vintage scene like more well-known 1940s songs, but when we first met Steffi had a playlist on in her car with rare songs from the 1920s and 1930s.’

The couple have been living together in Steffi’s art deco apartment in Toronto’s Sunnyside district – known for its similarity to Coney Island in the 30s because of its amusement park – since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Steffi has decorated each room in a different retro style, from the 1940s entrance foyer to the turn of the century, pin-up themed dressing room.

She said: ‘I’ve been into vintage since I was a teenager.

‘I remember my aunt clearing out the attic in her childhood home where there were lots of my grandmother’s dresses from the 30s.

‘My Aunt was determined to get rid of everything and I tucked my favourite pieces aside because I knew I needed to have them.

‘My style is also inspired by Jean Harlow and the golden age of Hollywood. Films have a huge impact on how I dress.’

Usually, 30s vocalist Richard splits his time performing between his home country of Germany and Canada, which means he wears vintage clothing to work but he likes to wear the same pieces to relax at home too.

Richard has been into 20s and 30s style from as far back as he can remember and has always had a love of traditional menswear, having insisted on wearing his grandfather’s tie from the age of three to family gatherings, before beginning to wear dress shirts to school at the age of 17.

Over 70% of his wardrobe is now made up of original pieces and he has been dressing exclusively in a vintage style for almost eight years.

Richard said: ‘I take off my shoes when I get home but I’m still wearing the shirt and tie and trousers.

‘It’s how I feel most comfortable, and more importantly it’s what I like.

‘People during lockdown were asking if we dressed up for the grocery store because it was the only time we could go out.

‘But the truth is we dress like this all the time.’

Steffi added: ‘People will often come up to us in the street and say ‘that’s so 50s’ but what we be wearing will be from the 20s or 30s.

‘Those early decades of the 20th century are almost forgotten and eclipsed by later decades.

‘We don’t stick our noses up or correct them. We appreciate that people enjoy it anyway.’

The couple regularly share their enthusiasm for all things vintage on their respective Instagram pages @richardherfeld and @steffi_kay where they’ve amassed almost 19,000 followers between them.

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A pregnant mother is living in fear of losing her baby after the scar from her previous emergency c-section began to open up inside of her.

Anne McNally, 36, is currently 21 weeks pregnant with her fifth child – a baby girl – who is due in November 2020.

Anne’s other children Jack, 18, Macey, 10, and twins James and Millie, four, were all born through emergency caesarians.

But tests during this pregnancy revealed that school cleaner Anne, from Norris Green, in Liverpool, Merseyside was suffering from silent scar dehiscence – meaning the scar on her uterus from her last c-section was opening up.

With Anne’s placenta currently at the bottom of her uterus, doctors warned that it could move into the opening of the scar and cause placental disease.

The scar’s opening has grown throughout her pregnancy and is currently measured at 8cm.

If it keeps opening, Anne’s unborn baby could move into her stomach which could kill both her and her child.

The expectant mother will now undergo scans every four weeks as doctors monitor her progress and track the rate at which her scar is opening to protect her and her baby.

Anne said: ‘Hearing that my scar was opening up, I immediately started crying. It was really scary.

‘I was terrified because the doctors said it could be life-threatening to me and my baby.

‘It was very overwhelming, especially as I was on my own at the appointment as nobody could come with me because of Covid-19.

‘There is a chance the scar could open up fully, resulting in me dying or my baby dying or even both of us but I don’t even want to think about that.

‘Now, I’m just taking every day as it comes and trying not to move around too much which is extremely hard with four kids including twin toddlers!’

Anne was surprised when she found out that she was pregnant in February 2020 despite regularly taking the contraceptive pill.

She and her partner were excited for a new sibling for their children.

But in April, Anne suddenly started bleeding.

Terrified, they went to the doctor who found the baby was healthy but there was a surprising amount of fluid in the stomach and they eventually found it was because of the scar opening.

Now, Anne is staying positive and trying to move as little as possible but has found it difficult, especially with going to appointments on her own due to the pandemic.

She said: ‘I’m still scared now, especially when I get pain.

‘The doctors have said as long as the scar doesn’t fully open up, they will take me as far as possible and hopefully everything will go ok.

‘I won’t be able to go to full term so I’ll be getting booked in for an early c-section.

‘We could still both die and there’s a chance I could bleed too much as my scar tissues are so bad that I could basically bleed to death.

‘I am trying to stay positive because thinking about it all the time was making me feel sick and that wasn’t good for the baby or for me, it was just making it worse.

‘The pandemic has made it all ten times worse as I have to do it all on my own without the baby’s dad there to support me.

‘I just want the best for my baby and I have to just take every day as it comes – I’m hoping for the best and doing all I can to look after us both.’

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Forget using home security systems to make sure parcels got delivered or to detect burglars. This one was used to help bring a family pet back home, after she she jumped into a TV repair van.

Darcy, a three-year-old cat owned by Matt Ryder and Katya Aleksic, didn’t come home one evening, causing Matt and Katya to a Facebook and poster appeal to find their beloved pet.

Incredibly, they managed to get a better idea of her whereabouts after a neighbour’s CCTV camera spotted her jumping into a van.

Software developer Matt, 31, said: ‘The driver had no idea she was in there and just drove off after leaving our house.

‘We contacted the driver who told us where he’d been after coming to our house and we were able to follow in Darcy’s footsteps.

‘It was a huge long shot but we didn’t give up. Eventually we received a message from someone saying they had seen her in Knighton in Leicester.

‘We drove over to the area and searched everywhere until I just dropped to my knees and shouted her name and she jumped into my arms.

‘It was like something out of a movie. It was so amazing. I was speechless and overwhelmed. I was so happy we had found her.’

She was found just 200 yards from the van driver’s Knighton stop.

Primary school teacher Katya, 27, said: ‘Matt went over straight away but by that time Darcy had run off.

‘About 30 minutes later Matt then spotted a shadow and he called out to her and she ran up to him and put her paws up on his arms.

‘When I saw her again it was the best feeling in the world and I still don’t believe it’s really happened.

‘She was quite thin but apart from that she was fine. We’re so relieved.’

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Eat Out To Help Out is in full flow across the UK, offering diners 50% discounts on meals eaten out in participating venues from Mondays-Wednesdays in August.

The Government-backed scheme was announced by Rishi Sunak at last month’s mini-budget, in a bid to give the economy a boost following coronavirus lockdown – with people getting the chance to save up to 50% food and non-alcoholic drinks up to a maximum of £10 per head.

Over 72,000 venues across the country are taking part, with many of the UK’s major chains also offering the discount to diners.

But are Pret, Starbucks and Costa among them?

Are Costa, Pret and Starbucks taking part in Eat Out To Help Out?

The good news for fans of Costa, Pret, and Starbucks is that all of the above are taking part in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

The scheme applies to meals and non-alcoholic drinks eaten in participating venues, and does not apply to takeaway and delivery orders.

There’s no need for you to do anything either, as the discount will be applied automatically to your bill.

You can find out which branches of Pret are taking part at their website, while you can use the locator tool on Starbucks and Costa websites to find your nearest branch.

You can also use the official Eat Out To Help Out website to find your nearest participating branch, by using the website’s postcode checker.

What are the discounted menu prices at Starbucks, Costa, and Pret?

Starbucks’ food and drink will be 50% cheaper than usual on the relevant days – meaning a cappuccino or latte will now cost you just £1.38 instead of the usual £2.76.

A caramel macchiato will now cost £1.77 instead of £3.54 while a flat white will be reduced from £3.12 to £1.56.

And if it’s food you’re after, their All Day Breakfast Roll is down from £4.32 to £2.16 – or for a sweeter treat their blueberry muffin is reduced from £2.39 to just £1.19.

Meanwhile, Costa has gone even further, with its filter coffee starting at the knockdown price of just 32p if you take in a reusable cup – or 59p in a non-reusable cup.

As far as food goes their vegan ham and cheese toastie and sausage bap are both down to £1.29 from £2.95, while their salted caramel brownie is 99p (previously £2.25) and a croissant will set you back just 59p instead of £1.35.

In Pret, meanwhile, you can snap up one of their ever-popular tuna mayo baguettes for £1.57 instead of £3.60, a ham and cheese croissant is now £1.05 while a cappuccino is reduced from £2.75 to £1.20.

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Property raffles are popping up everywhere, giving owners the chance to raise the money they need and people struggling to get onto the ladder the opportunity to get a house at a bargain price.

Back in June, Daniel Twenefour was one of those owners who successfully raffled off a house he’d bought but couldn’t sell because of the stalled market.

Daniel managed to surpass his target of selling 200,000 tickets for £2 for a three-bed house in Mitcham, south London, worth around £400,000.

The lucky winner now owns 6 Tramway Path completely mortgage free.

And now after the success of his first property, Daniel has teamed up with his brothers to do it all again.

Daniel tells Metro.co.uk: ‘After the first raffle, I received a lot of emails and messages praising the opportunity and how the raffle was run – some made references to the bad experiences they had with other house raffles.

‘I also had people mentioning that this was an easy route for them to get on the property ladder as they struggled to get the finances together for the traditional route.

‘Most of these messages and emails ended with “when are you going to do it again” so I spoke with my brothers about it and we decided to give it another go.’

Now, Daniel and his brothers Jason and Will have teamed up to help a home owner with his property in Whyteleafe, Surrey, worth £425,000.

He was told about the owner struggling to sell during lockdown after the last raffle so he reached out and they agreed a plan to help.

Daniel had learned a lot from his first experience and felt he could make this one a success too.

He adds: ‘Even things slow down you have to keep pushing. The raffle doesn’t take care of itself, you drive the momentum. I also learnt about the fees involved in setting up and running a raffle – they are significant!’

This flat has a 122 year lease, with a rental value of around £2,000 a month.

You’ll get 1100 square foot of space, with three bedrooms, an open plan kitchen, family bathroom and en-suite shower room.

There’s also a private balcony and allocated parking space.

There are at least 250,000 tickets available at £2 each, covering the cost of the property for the owner and any fees.

Some of the money from the raffle will also go to mental health charity Mind.

The closing date is 25 September 2020 at 11:59pm and the draw will be done electronically in the presence of a solicitor three days later at 7pm.

And if you aren’t lucky enough to win this one, the brothers plan to do more going forward.

Daniel adds: ‘We do have more plans. Ideally we’d like to do one after this before the end of the year (like a Christmas special).’ 

You can find the details on how to enter the raffle on their website.

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Recently there’s been something of a wave of interest in hatching eggs at home.

People have been buying supermarket duck eggs and incubating them until they hatch, ready to be welcomed into the family as a brand new pet.

But incubators don’t come cheap, so one woman who wanted to hatch a duck egg decided to get innovative – by stuffing the egg in her bra.

Betsy Ross’s children found an egg with a crack on it in a park near their home in California and they begged her to save it.

She called a local wildlife centre but unfortunately they couldn’t help, so took matters into her own hands.

Betsy found a way to reseal the crack and after doing some research she realised that she would need to buy an incubator to keep the egg as warm as the mother duck would have done.

However, she could not afford one so got creative and carried the egg in her bra for over a month until a duckling hatched.

Betsy shared images of the various stages of the egg’s development and wrote on the Reddit: ‘Saved a cracked egg! Carried it in my bra for 35 days. It was born prematurely he was still attached to the yolk and it was not absorbed so I got a wet paper towel and applied antibiotic on its cord and tummy twice a day. Surprised he didn’t die.

‘I was off work for the summer. That’s why it was in my bra and not in an incubator. I couldn’t afford one at the time. I am plus size so it fit snug.

‘I am an independent contractor doing sign language interpreting and most of the time I get odd jobs in summer but took time off to hatch this baby.’

The other question you may have is ‘how is it possible to carry it in your bra for that long?’

Betsy also had an answer for that question. She wrote: ‘They can be without warmth for a few minutes or even hours at a time.

‘What do you think momma duck does when she has to eat? Incubators even have auto timers to simulate this.’

Betsy also revealed her husband carried it while she showered. Once she held up a light and saw the foetus in the shell, Betsy was encouraged and kept on carrying it, nurturing it every day until it was ready to hatch.

The devoted mum then set up a makeshift box for the duckling – with a bowl of water, lamp and tape. Soon, a baby duckling emerged and they decided to call him Thawne.

Once he was big enough, the family parted ways with him and found him a nice place he could roam and be free.

It seems eggs are tougher than they look. Other Redditors commented on Betsy’s post saying they had similar experiences.

One person wrote: ‘You remind me of my mum’s adventures with chickens when she was young. I can’t quite remember what the problem was, but I think did some sort of resuscitation of a chick that hatched in similar circumstances and also tried to do surgery on a punctured crop of an adult chook.

‘I recall another story about her gluing cracked shell back together and still hatching the chick.’

We’re just surprised Betsy managed to wear a bra for 35 days in a row.

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Eat Out to Help Out launched earlier this week and people have been enjoying the discount.

The scheme means you get 50% off (up to the value of £10 per person) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August at thousands of restaurants across the UK.

Until now, you had to find your local restaurant through a list created by the government which listed all those taking part within a five mile radius of a particular postcode.

Although it meant you could find places to eat near you, it wasn’t particularly user friendly as you had to scroll through the list and it only showed the first 100 results, so if there were more than that near you, you missed out.

To make it easier, someone has created a map version – and it includes integrated reviews.

It means you can have a better idea of what will suit your tastes by easily reading other people’s recommendations.

The map is also able to list more than 100 results so if you live in a city centre with lots of options, you’ll be able to see them all.

You can check it out at eatouttohelpout.cc and then enter your postcode to get your results.

Of course, you can use the scheme as many times as you like so the map means you can create a route for three meals a day, three days a week for the rest of this month if you want to maximise the discount.

You don’t need a voucher to use the scheme but you do need to sit in – it won’t be available for takeaways.

Best of all, you can use the scheme alongside other offers so have a look online for other vouchers before you go.

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Aldi has launched a robot vacuum cleaner that’s far cheaper than big-name versions.

If you’ve ever shaken your fist at your bulky vacuum cleaner for leaving you with a sore back, a robot might be the best option.

You can charge it up then sit back as your robot pal does the hard work for you, no pushing required – apart from prodding the remote control buttons.

The problem with a lot of robot vacuum cleaners, though, is the price.

The Roomba S Series – the brand’s top model – starts at £1,199.99, while their cheapest edition is £249.99.

There are cheaper options out there – we’ve tried out the Eufy RoboVac, which comes in at £189.99 – but now Aldi has stepped into the ring with an even more budget-friendly option.

The Aldi Easy Home Robotic Vacuum Cleaner is available now as a SpecialBuy for £129.99.

The product description claims that the product will let you ‘step into the future of easy fuss-free cleaning’, working automatically or by remote control, cleaning up to corners and easily going underneath hard-to-reach furniture.

While the Roomba has smart navigation logic, creating a memory map of your home and thus allowing you to ask it to only clean your kitchen, for example, Aldi’s version works by using anti-collision sensors and anti-fall sensors, so it will bumble around your place, cleaning as it goes.

Other key features are the vacuum’s four cleaning modes, HEPA filter, and a self-charging setup that means it can race back to its port when it’s low on battery.

But even though it’s cheaper than many competitors, £129.99 is still quite a bit of money to be spending – so is the robot vacuum cleaner worth it?

Which? says yes… sort of.

They note that the charging time of four to six hours for 90 minutes of cleaning is on the slow side, and points to competitors’ smarter app navigation systems that offer a more ‘set and forget approach’.

There are cheaper robot vacuums available. A quick search on Amazon reveals one for £27.99, although we can’t verify whether that’s up to the job of cleaning up pet hair, cereal spills, and so on.

The Aldi version might be an easy first option for anyone who fancies trying out a robot vacuum without spending a load of money, and who wants to stick with a brand they know and trust.

As Which? says: ‘The price is certainly appealing and you do get a lot for your money. If you want to dip your toe in the world of robot vacs, or take the edge off between weekly cleans, it could be worth a go.’

If you do fancy buying the Aldi robot vacuum cleaner, you can get it online from today.

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The Duchess of Cambridge has a real knack of making whatever she wears a must-have item.

So we’re not at all surprised to see the first face covering she has worn getting a load of hype.

Kate Middleton showcased a face mask for the first time during a visit to Baby Basics UK in Sheffield on Tuesday, then wore the same printed option to Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff on Wednesday (we imagine she either has multiple of the same print, or she had time to wash the mask in between outings).

That face mask is a £15 reusable floral printed version from kidswear brand Amaia.

There’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that you can actually still buy other face masks from the brand Kate has given her stamp of approval, and you can buy a matching one for your kids.

The bad news is that the Kate effect means all sizes of the adult mask in the exact print she wore are sold out. So you’ll need to wait a while if you have your heart set on an exact match.

Amaia sells a number of £15 adult masks and matching £12 kids’ versions, all with an adjustable nose wire for the best fit, five filter refills included, and a double layer of 100% cotton.

Kate appears to be wearing the Pepper Liberty print, which, as we say, is sold out. But the Hannah Blue Liberty print is pretty lovely too, right?

It’s not surprising Kate picked this particular brand for her first photographed face mask outing.

Amaia has long been a favourite of the royal family, with Charlotte and George wearing items from the brand on multiple occasions.

Plus, 30% of the proceeds from all Amaia masks are going to NHS Charities Together.

If you’re dead set on having the exact face mask Kate wore, we’d recommend patience while Amaia restocks – while stocking up on plenty of other face masks in the meantime, of course, as you need to wear one when you’re out in shops or on public transport.

But if you just want to pick up the Duchess of Cambridge’s general mask vibe, there are plenty of options you can buy right now – you just need to open your mind to other floral and Liberty print options.

You wouldn’t be the only one jumping on the trend. According to Lyst, after Kate showed off her face covering, searches for ‘floral face mask’ rose by 185% in less than 24 hours.

Here’s our pick of some similar options.

Adult Reusable Liberty fabric face mask – Hannah Blue Liberty, Amaia, £15

Same brand, different print – and you can get a kids’ version too.

Cotton Floral Face Mask, Etsy, £6

Gardenia Face Mask, Wolf and Badger, £33

Floral Face Mask, Revolve, £14

Liberty of London Face Masks, Etsy, £14.72

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Children – there’s no turning your back on them, even for a minute.

You never know what surprises they’ll have for you (especially where Sudocrem is involved).

One mum who had nipped downstairs to make a coffee was shocked when she found out her son had managed to get a toilet seat stuck on his head.

Mum Kirsty Smith from Bristol realised that son Callum Slouch was taking longer than usual in the bathroom.

The two-year-old had only just started using the toilet independently – and appears to still be learning how it all works.

Callum emerged from the bathroom with the child seat firmly wrapped around his neck.

Kirsty, 30, called the fire service, who said they would send an engine but, realising that would be overkill, she decided to march him to the station on foot instead.

Friendly firefighters removed the seat with a large pair of pliers before letting Callum sit in the trucks and play with the lights.

Kirsty said she plans to frame the pictures of her son’s mishap and give them to him for 18th birthday.

The mum-of-three said: ‘I was making a cup of coffee when Callum said he needed the toilet. I said: “Go for it, little man”.

‘He was taking a lot longer than usual – and then came out with the toilet seat around his neck, looking like he had won the lottery.

‘We tried to get it off but it was really hurting him, so we called the fire service.

‘They were originally going to send out a massive truck but I said that wasn’t necessary, so we walked.’

Though it was probably not the most fun walk for Callum, luckily the Bedminster Fire Station was only five minutes away.

Kirsty added: ‘We saw our neighbours on the way – they laughed!

‘The firefighters were lovely. They made a couple of jokes, but they made him feel so welcome.

‘There’s no forgetting this. His first boyfriend or girlfriend will see these pictures. They’re going to be on the wall for his 18th.

‘We are now getting him one that’s fitted to the toilet seat – but knowing Callum something will happen again.’

Good luck, Callum.

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Lush is a store known for taking a stand in a big way, and a recent storefront update has shown just that.

After reports of a ‘transphobic’ sticker being placed in the window of the Princes Street store, staff responded by putting up a sign that spelled out – in no uncertain terms – how they feel about the issue.

The sticker, according to pictures that have surfaced online, read ‘keep prisons single sex’, and was placed on the window after a small gathering of ‘gender critical’ protestors met on the Mound.

In response, the new sign in the shop’s window read: ‘Please do not enter our store with signs of Covid-19, racism, homophobia, sexism or transphobia’.

On a (now deleted) post on Facebook staff clarified: ‘Anyone passing our store this morning you may have seen that our storefront had been targeted by a transphobic group, because of this we have a new window graphic.

‘Our store is a space for compassion and respect for all, and we will not condone or support acts of hate.

‘If you are showing signs of Covid-19 please follow government guidelines to isolate and get tested, if you are showing signs of any of racism, homophobia, sexism or transphobia, we recommend you isolate and educate yourself.’

This sign has been put up in some other Lush stores in recent months, with Lush Wimbledon also having bore the slogan.

The response from the public has been mixed, with some groups proliferating the hashtag #BoycottLush.

Conversely, one LGBT+ charity wrote on Twitter: ‘Wonderful work by LUSH Edinburgh. Clear, visible, brave.’

After a barrage of comments on the original post announcing the decision on Facebook, Lush Edinburgh have since taken it down.

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Many of us have spent lockdown so starved of outside space that anyone’s Instagram post of their garden fills us with rage.

Prepare for that feeling times ten now it’s boiling hot and we’re looking at photos of fancy swimming pools rather than a nice swinging chair on someone’s lawn.

Brad Walls, also known as Bradscanvas, has taken a load of aerial photos of swimming pools from above, for a series appropriately named Pools From Above.

He explains that the photos serve as an ‘ode to the beauty found in the shapes, colours, and textures of swimming pools’.

But for us, the pictures just make us desperately need to take a dip.

Brad was inspired by his travels throughout Southeast Asia and within his own home country of Australia, along with the Annie Kelly coffee table book Splash: The Art Of The Swimming Pool.

‘As I turned each page of Kelly’s book, a wave of childhood nostalgia washed over me, spending hours in the pool over summer,’ said Brad. ‘I fell in love with the lines, curves and negative space of the pools, which – without alternate perspective from a drone – would have been lost.’

As lockdowns across the world ease, Brad plans to keep the project going and capture photos of swimming pools in Palm Springs, Mexico, and the Mediterranean.

If all goes well, he hopes to release Pools From Above as part of a book release in the ‘not-too-distant future’.

In the meantime, let’s all look at photos of pools and wish we were there.

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After a fortnight of meticulously planning the perfect proposal you would think it unlikely anything could go wrong.

But what Albert Ndreu, 26, didn’t foresee when he filled his home with 100 tealights to ask girlfriend Valerija Madevic to marry him was that he might set his flat on fire.

He spent four hours preparing the room, blowing up 60 balloons and lighting the candles, getting things perfect before he headed out to pick Valerija up.

But while he was out, the candles started a fire in the flat in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, destroying everything inside.

They returned home and Valerija noticed smoke billowing out of their door so ran back down to the ground floor. However, despite as their worldly possessions burned and sirens blared in the background, Albert got down on one knee and popped the question.

He said: ‘I put balloons and candles everywhere, I had to go all out. I was so worried about everything going wrong I never imagined I could set the house on fire.

‘But it will always be an unforgettable day for us and a story which will be amazing to tell our children.’

Albert and Valerija have been together for just over a year after meeting on a dating website.

He said: ‘We spoke for hours and hours and talked about anything and everything. We got on like a house on fire, but maybe we took that a bit too literally.

‘I hope this serves as a warning for others that maybe there is such a thing as too much love or too many candles.’

Albert said: ‘I was planning the proposal for over two weeks – I kept struggling to find the right thing to do to mark the special moment. I wanted to do something from my heart even if it didn’t go exactly as planned.

‘Valerija always says the most important thing is the small gestures every day – but I wanted to do something special for the proposal.

‘I bought the most important thing, which was the ring, and I just needed to make sure the day was perfect.

‘It didn’t go exactly as I thought it would but she said yes, so I think the day took an unexpected turn but ended up exactly how I wanted it to.’

Valerija says her fiancé greeted her at her work with flowers, which led to her being suspicious that he’d done something stupid and was groveling.

She said: ‘When I got the flowers I thought he must have broken something or destroyed something in the house. Little did I know he had destroyed our entire living room.

‘We walked up the stairs to the flat and there was smoke everywhere, I told him to call the firefighters because our house was on fire. I was in total shock, I was shaking because it looked like it was really bad.’

But Valerija was about to get an even bigger shock after she walked down the stairs to find Albert down on one knee.

Valerija said: ‘He pulled out a box from his pocket and I was just speechless. He said that he messed up – our house was literally in flames – but asked me if I would marry him. And I said yes.’

The pair are currently staying with Albert’s cousin and are waiting on more information relating to their insurance in the flat they moved in just a month ago.

Thankfully only a laptop, a speaker, and some books were lost in the fire.

They’re not sure when it will be safe for them to return to the flat but said the most important thing was that they were together.

Valerija said: ‘You can replace things in the house, but not our love for each other.

‘In the end we’re in good health and we’re together, and that’s all that matters.’

‘But Albert is banned from candles and balloons for a while, even with his birthday coming up.’

The pair hope to tie the knot on the anniversary of the fire and said they’d invite the fire brigade as a special guest – both to thank them and as a preventive measure.

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The coronavirus pandemic has made travel pretty complicated this summer, with quarantine measures in place for those who travel to certain countries.

The pandemic has also caused trouble within the travel industry, with Tui previously announcing it will close 166 stores in the UK and Ireland.

The company’s bosses said the closures have been ‘accelerated’ by the Covid-19 pandemic, but are mainly due to changes in customer habits.

On top of that, while the company has resumed flights as of 11 July, they are only flying to a limited number of countries as the pandemic drags on.

Here’s what you need to know about where Tui is flying to at the moment and whether or not you’ll have to quarantine on your return.

Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live

Where can you travel to with Tui?

At the time of writing, the company is arranging third party flights to Malta and Venice, while both Tui and third-party flights are running to:

• Greece – Kos and Rhodes, Heraklion in Crete, Corfu, Zante, Chania, Kefalonia, Skiathos, Santorini and Thessaloniki 
• Turkey – Dalaman, Antalya, Izmir and Bodrum

From 24th August, Tui will also offer flights to Naples.

At the time of writing, you don’t have to quarantine on your return from any of the countries the airline is currently flying to.

However the list of countries on the Government’s quarantine-free ‘travel corridor’ list is subject to change as the pandemic continues, with Spain and Luxembourg both having been removed from the exempt list in July.

This means that people will now have to quarantine for two weeks on their return from either country.

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When Richard Ripley was a child, he and his brother were put into foster care.

His brother went to a family called the Ripleys while he was less fortunate, having to move around four different homes, where he experienced physical abuse.

The people who had fostered his brother would also take Richard out for McDonald’s every once in a while.

One day, Ms Ripley noticed scars on Richard. Immediately, she enquired about his foster home and made arrangements for Richard to stay with the Ripley family.

Reunited with his brother, Richard was overjoyed to finally have a happy home.

But shortly after, Ms Ripley lost her husband and Richard wondered whether a widow could look after two foster children.

Ms Ripley took them down to court and adopted the brothers, officially making them family.

30 years later, Richard is now a dad and is so thankful to the woman who took him in as a child.

The dad shared an emotional post about her on viral Facebook page Humans of New York.

In the post, Richard wrote: ‘Ms. Ripley would take us for lunch at McDonald’s, and that’s when she first noticed the scars all over my body. She immediately made arrangements for me to join their family.

‘Back then the word family didn’t mean much to me.

‘But the Ripleys made me feel welcome in their home. Whenever I did something wrong, Ms. Ripley would sit me down and explain why it wasn’t okay.

‘But then she’d say: “You’re not going anywhere. Because you belong to us now”.

‘Shortly after I joined the family, Mr Ripley was diagnosed with cancer. And later that year he passed away.

‘Ms Ripley’s entire world fell apart. They’d been high school sweethearts. And now she was alone with two foster kids. Nobody would have blamed her for taking us back. But instead, she took us to court and made it permanent.’

The family of three then moved to Mississippi, to a wide trailer where Ms Ripley worked hard to raise the boys alone.

Richard added: ‘She worked whatever odd jobs she could find. We never had much, but we went to movies. We had family game nights. She kept us busy with little league and Boy Scouts.

‘She must have been super stressed, but that’s not at all what I remember. I just remember the affirmation that she gave me. It was always: “You’re smart” and “you’re handsome.’ And “you survived all that stuff because you’re strong”.’

Richard ended up joining the Marines and getting a college education, graduating in law.

As of last year, he is also a dad.

He continued: ‘Last year I had a daughter of my own. And that really put me into an emotional tailspin. Because I realised how every little choice I make is going to affect her future.

‘And then I started thinking about how different my life could have been. Because my early development had been the opposite of what a child’s should be.

‘I should be broken, but I’m not. Because thirty years ago my mum decided to keep me. And somehow, despite all her sadness and heartbreak, she poured enough love into me so that I could heal.’

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If you’ve managed to make it through the months of lockdown without developing a serious online shopping habit, we applaud you.

Whether you’ve gone for food deliveries, interiors upgrades, or loungewear wardrobes, the temptation to buy a load of stuff to deal with lockdown boredom has been immense – especially if said stuff is tailor-made for how our needs and wants have changed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Indoor plants have been a major trend, as has a rise in passions for gardening, with forced confinement to the home giving us a new appreciation for the importance of curating our environments.

Throw in our desperate need for outdoor space and it’s not surprising that brands are reporting massive sales of products related to gardening.

Over at GardeningExpress.co.uk, for example, millions of plants have sold during lockdown.

They’ve revealed the plants that have been most popular, so we can get inspiration from other people’s gardens (or know which plants to avoid if we want to be cool and unusual).

Here are the best-selling plant varieties on their site for the last three months.

Dianthus Plants

Better known as ‘pinks’ (yes, because they’re pink), these plants include carnations and Sweet Williams.

They’re pretty easy to grow, whether you get seeds or some readily grown ones to pop in pots and borders.

Ornamental Willows

You might not have space in your garden for a full on weeping willow tree, but it turns out there are mini varieties of willows you can add to your garden.

If you’ve got super limited space or no garden at all, look into getting some fluffy catkins to pop in a vase.

Japanese Maples

Also known as acers, these plants are low maintenance and work best in a shady spot – just make sure to do regular pruning.

Honeysuckles

As well as looking pretty, honeysuckles smell wonderful. They’re a climbing plant so do the trick to cover up fences and gates.

Alpine Plants

Succulents, basically. Purple-flowering Aubretia were big sellers, but we reckon any and all succulents will have been popular – we love low-maintenance plants that work indoors and out.

Clematis

Super pretty flowers that are easy to care for.

Hostas

These work brilliantly if you’ve got a load of shady spots in your garden.

Dicentras

These plants produce pretty pink heart-shaped flowers, perfect for brightening up your garden.

Potted Spring Bulbs

Think daffodils, in pots for indoors or as bulbs to go outside.

Sempervivum Houseleeks

Another type of succulent, this time producing flowers in spring and summer, too.

Keep them indoors as potted plants or add to rock gardens and borders.

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If you’re the proud owner of a cast iron pan, you’ll know they take a lot more upkeep than a standard skillet.

But they’re the cooking utensil du jour right now, as people look for more professional and authentic ways to bring their dinners to life.

But this chef doesn’t think they’re the best pan for most people, and has said you’d all be much better off with a simple copper one.

Frank Prisinzano, who runs a number of critically-acclaimed restaurants in New York, took to Instagram to share his views on the super popular cookware.

On his stories, he spoke to those cast iron loyals, saying: ‘This is really comical to me because we’re way past cast-iron now.

‘This is really something from history here. I understand the nostalgia around it, my grandma had a cast-iron, I have her pan, I took it from her.

‘She used it for certain things, she used it mostly for batter and frying potato croquettes and that’s the only thing she used it for and she kept it seasoned and she took care of it.

‘But the problem is nowadays, who has the time to be seasoning cast-iron pans all the time?’

Seasoning is a method used to clean and prepare your cast iron pan for their next use, and involves using oil and heat.

Typically, you’d wash the pan after each use with warm, soapy water before drying extremely thoroughly so no water is left. Then, you rub the pan all over with a form of oil, and pop in the oven (empty) to get that grease soaked in.

This is to reduce rusting and help the pan stick less – something these heavy skillets are ubiquitous for if not taken care of.

Frank poo-pooed the idea that this rigorous process was all worth it in the end, and added that the ‘coating tends to come off into the food’ and that the pans are ‘way too heavy to handle, way too hard to clean and way too corrosive.’

He also criticised the dark colour of them, saying this makes it harder to see how brown your oil or butter is getting as you cook.

In short, he says: ‘There’s no real benefit.’

Instead, Frank recommended using any old cast iron pans you have as beautiful decorations to hang in your kitchen, perhaps getting them out every so often for a special meal.

If you are ditching that high-maintenance cast iron, he states you should opt for aluminium or copper, which is ‘just as good’.

Given how staunch the cast iron crew are on the internet, all we ask is that you don’t shoot the messenger. We’re only passing the message on.

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