A man has asked his girlfriend to marry him while being on fire.
Riky Ash, 52, a professional stuntman, decided to get down on one knee while his back and legs were covered in flames.
Coronavirus nurse Katrina Dobson, 48, was left speechless by the stunt, but eventually regained her composure enough to say yes.
Katrina knew Riky, from Nottingham, would be set alight, but thought she was just taking part in a photoshoot and had no idea he would propose.
She was told the photoshoot was for a piece about an NHS nurse finding love and even turned up in her scrubs.
The A&E nurse said: ‘He sold it to me as a story on something that would make people smile.
‘When he was set on fire, I saw he had his hand in his pocket. I thought “what are you doing, get your hand out of your pocket” and all of a sudden he just took out this ring.’
After getting over the shock, Katrina eventually said yes.
That’s one way to propose (Picture: David Sinclair / SWNS)
Katrina, who works at the coronavirus unit at William Harvey Hospital in Kent, added: ‘It really was a lovely way to do it. He lives and breathes his job, so it was the perfect proposal.’
Riky, who played the ‘Tango man’ in the popular fizzy drinks adverts and did stunts in Tim Burton blockbuster Sleepy Hollow was thrilled to bring in his expertise to the proposal.
He said: ‘She couldn’t even get the word “yes” out because she was so shocked.
‘This is what I do day in, day out. I was so excited to do it. For me, it was like doing a big Hollywood blockbuster and I was proposing to my girlfriend at the same time.
‘We all know each other in the stunt industry, and no one’s ever proposed on fire before.’
She said yes (Picture: David Sinclair / SWNS)
Photographer David Sinclair, who had previously worked with Riky, had doused the stuntman before the stunt.
He said: ‘The accelerant causes a big whoosh of flame and then dies out immediately. The idea was for the flames to last just enough to say “will you marry me Katrina Dobson?”.’
The couple met online and went on their first date in March, just before the lockdown.
Katrina, from Sevenoaks, Kent, said: ‘It was a whirlwind romance. We went on a date and knew from the very beginning we wanted to spend our time together.
‘Then lockdown happened and we spoke on the phone every day for three weeks.
‘I love my job working in A&E. I love helping people, but I’ve never found that right person before. I’m pinching myself. I can’t believe it’s me.’
Katrina ais 6fy 3ins while Riky is 5fft 3ins(Picture: David Sinclair / SWNS)
Riky has been a stunt double for 27 years working on countless commercials, television programmes, and films, alongside A-listers including Richard Burton and Johnny Depp.
He also became the Guinness World Records ‘most versatile stuntman’ in 2000 after having doubled actors of all heights, ages, and genders.
Riky hopes that the dramatic proposal was a nice little surprise for hardworking Katrina.
He continued: ‘Katrina has worked so hard during these times and I know that this will make her year receiving my proposal of marriage rewarding her for her continued commitment to changing people’s lives for the better.
‘She is a very modest hard working lady, I am very fortunate to have met her and she has changed my life in so many positive ways.’
How wet is too wet? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
The latest Twitter scandal to grace our feeds is quite a head-scratcher, and it involves what constitutes a ‘too wet’ vagina.
After Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion released WAP (Wet-Ass Pussy), right wing commentator Ben Shapiro hinted that if anyone’s vagina was overly wet it was likely a sign of and STI or infection.
We’ve spoken about this related to bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis, but what about if you’re just worried at your WAP is a little too W?
Sex education had a lot of blind spots, and discharge and lubrication certainly wasn’t on the agenda for most of us at school.
And when you’re hearing from one side that it’s an asset to have a wet one and from the other side that it’s worrisome, who knows what to think?
Is there such a thing as a too wet vagina (either during sex or in day-to-day life)?
Well, first we need to examine the idea of normal, which is different for absolutely everyone.
The limit does not exist (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Vaginas produce different fluids, with vaginal discharge being the main one. This will be more viscous in some people, and smell and look slightly different from person to person (and at different times during your cycle).
This discharge helps clean and regulate your vagina, keeping it moist and free from infection.
There’s no such thing as ‘too much’ of this, but if you start producing a lot more than is standard for you for an extended period, and it changes texture, colour, or smell, see your GP.
In terms of how wet you get during sex, this is lubrication produced from your Bartholin glands and Skene glands (located at the opening of your vagina and your urethra respectively) in response to increased blood flow in the area.
This arousal fluid is designed to make things more slippery to allow for sex to happen, but different people have differing levels of arousal fluid and it isn’t always an indicator of how aroused you are.
Others ‘squirt’ which is a gush of fluid that happens during orgasm and is thought to originate from the Skene gland and be a clearer and more watery substance.
If you’re finding you’re not lubricated enough for sex to be comfortable, it could be due to a number of factors. In the short term it can be solved with lube or more foreplay, and in the long term it’s worth chatting to your GP to see what the underlying cause in.
In terms of whether you can get ‘too’ wet during sex, this is again more of an issue of how comfortable you are.
Some people find that, as they get wetter, the level of friction they can feel from penetration is reduced. If that’s the case, a soft cotton cloth or wipe every so often can be beneficial.
If it’s more a self-consciousness issue try your best to see that it’s a natural facet of sex, and your partner will likely see it as a testament to how they’re arousing you.
Our bodies are as complicated as they are unique, and anyone who’d shame you for having a WAP is absolutely not worth sleeping with.
(Picture: Andrea Murphy/Jessica Shackleford/Sharon Telford/Lorna Spencer)
Lockdown wasn’t like anything we’ve ever experience before.
Families were kept apart, life stopped and we were all forced to stay inside.
But throughout it all, we still took lots of pictures to remind us what we’d all lived through.
The Cartridge Save ‘A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words’ competition has selected the 25 of the best pictures from across the UK showing our experiences of this unique time.
From lonely graduations to honouring key workers, the public now has a chance to vote for the best picture in three categories – under 18s, 18-50, and over 50s.
Lockdown visit to new granddaughter (Picture: Sharon Telford)
Siblings. Of course there were daily arguments, but overall lockdown brought my two children closer together (Picture: Ginny Koppenhol)
Homeschool assistant makes sure the pupils don’t cheat (Picture: Hannah Oakes)
Doorstep photography (Picture: Carol Ann Langford)
Post-lockdown haircuts (Picture: Ruby Barnes)
Timer captures lockdown bubble celebrating 18th birthday (Picture: Andrew Finch)
Always look on the bridge side of life (Picture: Lorna Spencer)
Honouring our Heroes (Picture: Andrea Murphy)
Isolation in lockdown (Picture: Sarah King)
Lockdown with a newborn (Picture: Chelle Lundy)
Missing you (Picture: Jessica Shackleford)
A new baby is always a special event but a lockdown baby is bittersweet (Picture: Jacqui Ruddock)
Reflecting on life before lockdown – quarantine is hard (Picture: Nicola Nash)
When will it end (Picture: Leanne Vennard)
Lockdown with a newborn (Picture: Kim Healey-Dent)
Lockdown VE day tea party (Picture: Kate Garrett)
Sisters summer 2020 style (Picture: Lucy Keeling)
Surprising mum after a stressful shift (Picture: Lorna Lyons)
Being separated from friends (Picture: Lukas Keratis)
Social distancing (Picture: Michael Richardson)
Graduating during a pandemic (Picture: Clive Thompson)
Summer in Lockdown (Picture: Linda Silcock)
Shielding Sea Sew (Picture: Laura McIntosh)
Delivering Afternoon tea to the elderly (Picture: Morgan Clarke)
Quiz night to lift our spirits (Picture: Sarah Proud)
A public vote will account for 25% of the final judging, and then a panel of experts will choose a winner from each category, and finally decide an overall winner who will take home a cash prize.
Deborah Linton, a journalist and one of the judges, said: ‘What I love about this competition is that each image has an individual story to tell. It’s been great seeing what friends and families across the UK have been doing during lockdown and how they have pulled through together.’
Fellow judge and national press photographer Mark Waugh added: ‘We’ve had some fantastic entries to the competition and I’m really impressed with the images we’ve received from all over the UK.
‘From the good to the bad, lockdown has tested us all over the last few months, and these images really showcase that.’
Managing director of Cartridge Save, Ian Cowley, commented: ‘We wanted to create this competition to capture history happening through the eyes of regular people up and down the country. It’s important to remember these moments so that future generations can look back and see how we survived lockdown.’
I want you to consider this: weight is only one indicator of your overall health (Picture: Rose Stokes)
A few years ago I was minding my own business working out on a crosstrainer at my local gym, when a trainer approached me.
Nearing the end of my routine, I was moving slowly to get my heart-rate down, and was — I imagine — quite sweaty. We chatted for a while and then he asked if I’d like a complimentary session with him to assess my fitness plan. Not one to turn down the offer of free help, I agreed.
When I turned up a few days later, he insisted on weighing and measuring me — before putting me on a scanner that (apparently) assessed how ‘healthy’ I was.
As a UK size 14 and in the best physical shape of my adult life, I was shocked (but not surprised) when the results came back suggesting I was ‘unhealthy’.
You see, I’d lost a lot of weight. Five stone in fact, in 10 months. But, despite being fitter and thinner than I had ever been — or probably will ever be again — I was miserable.
The machine was right – I was unhealthy – but not in the way it measured.
At the time, I was overexercising — and teetering on the edges of an eating disorder. I’d cut out a lot of major food groups, was visiting the gym a couple of times a day, as well as cycling 20km a day in and out of work.
At night I was drinking like a fish to drown out how I felt.
But my trainer was too preoccupied with the physical to think about that. He assumed, by looking at me, that it was my fitness levels that were in need of some TLC.
When he put together what he thought would be a ‘challenging’ workout for me, he was surprised at every turn when I achieved everything he asked me to do with minimum effort.
The weights were far too light to require any strain, the cardio wasn’t fast enough or long enough to shorten my breath, and I could do all of the requested burpees and squats without breaking a sweat.
I say this not to brag about my herculean strength — as I mentioned before, I was not well. But more to make an increasingly urgent point.
Because when I asked the trainer why he had approached me that day, it soon transpired that it was because he’d noticed I wasn’t a size 10, and assumed I needed help getting fit.
You cannot judge how healthy someone is by looks alone.
I’m telling you this story because many of us will be emerging from months of hibernation in bodies that don’t look like they did in March.
Whether that’s because your work, family or living circumstances precluded your ability to maintain a regular exercise routine.
Whether it’s because you, like many others, ate more owing to the stress of the pandemic and being stuck at home, or simply because you were bored.
Despite being fitter and thinner than I had ever been — or probably will ever be again — I was miserable (Picture: Rose Stokes)
Or whether staying thin wasn’t — understandably — at the top of your priorities during an objectively stressful period both financially and emotionally for humankind.
What I do know is that for many of us, any unplanned change in the shape or size of our body carries a huge emotional toll.
And why wouldn’t it? There’s been a lot of chat in the media of late around obesity and the pernicious impact it has one our health and — by extension — our NHS. Lose weight! The Government says. Get healthy!
As if those two things are mutually exclusive.
Not hard, then, to see how people feel stressed by fluctuations in their weight. And that’s before we even consider the insidious fatphobia that exists in every area of society, which teaches fat people that they are not enough: not beautiful enough, not small enough, not healthy enough, not worthy enough….not lovable enough. That they are deserving of scorn, shame and worse — abuse.
In such a context, it’s not hard to see how this sort of messaging can erode someone’s confidence in themselves and — by extension — their motivation to pursue activities that might make them feel better in themselves. Like, I don’t know, maybe exercise.
In the years since my run-in with that gym instructor, the number that I read when I stand on the scales has increased fairly significantly. But I can still run, swim and cycle just as far. I still train just as regularly.
And while his machine may not agree, I am now much healthier than I was.
So if you are chastising yourself for gaining weight during lockdown, looking at your body with scorn, disgust or worse — feeling guilted by the Government’s recent messaging on obesity — I want you to consider this: weight is only one indicator of your overall health.
If you want to lose weight or get fitter, then the only way it’ll work in a sustainable way is if you do it from a place of love. I haven’t worked this all out myself just yet — but I’m trying.
At the same time, we as a society need to reconsider what we view a healthy body to be and how we talk about health and how to look after ours.
Because I can tell you that every single person who has ever considered themselves to be fat — either because they’ve been told it in a medical context, by a bully, or because they are suffering from a mental illness that tells them they are — knows only too well that the weight of other people’s opinions about their body is much more significant than anything that can be measured on a scale.
If you want to lose weight or get fitter, then the only way it’ll work in a sustainable way is if you do it from a place of love (Picture: Rose Stokes)
And that type of weight requires much more than a bit of exercise to shift.
Unfortunately, my trainer wasn’t alone in his narrow-mindedness. At my thinnest, friends, family members and strangers stopped feeling the need to give me unsolicited advice about how to lose weight, like they had done before.
But they queued up in their hundreds to tell me how much better I looked. How much more attractive. No longer did I hear the palpable absence of the words ‘at least’ lingering in the air when people would give me a consolatory smile when saying ‘you’ve got such a pretty face!’
The collective relief of many people in my life about my new appearance only added to the pressure to stay thin.
And so inside, I was a mess. I became consumed by fear about putting the weight back on. I was exhausted, wracked with anxiety and panic, and worse — I felt guilty for the overwhelming sense of anticlimax that came upon reaching the thing I’d been taught to yearn for my entire life.
I soon realised as the weight began to creep back on that while it may have changed my appearance, I was as physically as able as I had been before.
But more importantly — much more importantly — I was so much healthier mentally. I found equilibrium in my relationship with my body the moment I began to use feeling good as a motivation for exercise — rather than a desire to fit into smaller clothes.
I was no longer having panic attacks all the time. I was much more relaxed in myself. I was comfortable in my own skin.
If our goal truly is to help people to be more ‘healthy’, we first need to reconsider how we define what ‘healthy’ looks like. Because the reality is that while we are living in a pandemic, we are also in the grips of a mental health crisis.
Teaching people to hate their bodies won’t make them healthier — it’ll just shift the burden onto mental health services, which doesn’t make logical or even good economic sense.
It certainly won’t ‘protect the NHS’ in a context of chronic underfunding. No amount of spin can substitute for a lack of Government investment.
But it will have a hugely damaging impact on many people’s mental health — and they don’t deserve it.
Do you have a story that you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
From the outside, this building doesn’t look like much.
Once it was a Victorian laundry, then a photography studio for a celebrated photographer who worked with the Rolling Stones.
Now, it’s been transformed into a two-bedroom house and is on the market for £1.35million.
Inside the unique property, situated in Battersea, south London, there’s a painting studio, which is where the name ‘House for a Painter’ comes from.
The description explains: ‘The remarkable property was created from a former Victorian laundry by Dingle Price, of Pricegore architects, in collaboration with his client and current owner, a contemporary artist and painter.’
The studio area (Picture:Zoopla)
The owner currently hosts a community of artists and makers in the studio but it’s a beautiful place to live too.
There’s an open-plan kitchen/dining/living room, a shower room and two large closets on the ground floor, with a small courtyard at the back.
The main bedroom (Picture:Zoopla)
Upstairs, there’s a large landing, a bathroom, another walk in closet and two bedrooms, each with stable door-style windows looking over the studio space below.
If you aren’t very artistic and don’t need the studio, the current owner has drawn up proposals including adding an office mezzanine or a third bedroom.
The property is on Haydon Way in Battersea, which is described as ‘a quiet cul-de-sac’.
But there’s plenty of hussle and bussle nearby as iit’s just around the corner from Battersea Old Town and Northcote Road with lots of independent shops and dining opportunities.
Clapham Junction station is also nearby if you want to head into central London.
It can all be yours if you’ve got £1.35million to spare.
Let’s take a look around:
The studio (Picture: Zoopla)
The bathroom (Picture: Zoopla)
The living area (Picture: Zoopla)
The kitchen (Picture: Zoopla)
The area currently being used for painting (Picture: Zoopla)
All the accommodation sits off the the studio (Picture: Zoopla)
Upstairs there is a bathroom and two bedrooms (Picture: Zoopla)
You can book a one-night stay in the last Blockbuster store (Picture: Airbnb)
2020 has been… not great.
So we’d understand if you want to dive straight back into the comfy, cosy nostalgia cocoon of the 90s.
Handily enough, Airbnb is here to help, as the world’s last remaining Blockbuster store has been turned into holiday spot.
The store’s manager, Sandi Harding, has listed the store on Airbnb for people to book a stay in Deschutes County, Oregon.
It looks comfier than just nestling in amongst the video-packed shelves. There’s a proper sofa and a fold-out bed, bean bags, and a big-screen TV where you can watch all your favourite 90s classics or play old-school games.
There are 90s American snacks, of course, with Raisinets, Doritos, and Nerds lining the shelves and available to grab.
A night in the store costs around the same as a movie rental at $4 (Picture: Airbnb)
You can take your pick of all the best 90s films on VHS (Picture: Airbnb)
The idea is that rather than just booking the store as a base for your holiday adventures, you use it to have the ultimate 90s movie night.
The stay is close to the price of an old video rental at $4 (£3.07) a night, but there is a catch: the Blockbuster Airbnb won’t be around forever.
The three nights available are September 18, 19 and 20.
Of course, the stays are all coronavirus-compliant. Only four people from a social bubble will be allowed to book a stay, and the property will be cleaned prior to your arrival in accordance with Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol.
Yep, that’s a pull-out sofa (Picture: Airbnb)
Guests will also be provided with face coverings, disinfectant wipes, and ‘endless’ hand sanitiser.
After the final guests check out, Block customers can check out the living room space during store hours for a limited time, then it will close back up again.
If you aren’t blessed enough to snag one of those bookings and aren’t able to swing by for a visit, there are other ways to get involved in the Blockbuster throwback.
The store has launched a service that they call the Callgorithm, which basically means if you call them up and tell them the films you like and don’t like, actual humans will give you a movie recommendation. Sweet.
With more of us working outside the office, virtual networking has taken on a renewed importance (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
It’s no secret that networking is fundamental to your success.
Strong connections can be the deciding factor for landing a new job, promotion, or finding necessary resources.
In order to stay ahead of the game, it’s best to incorporate this skill into your life and not to view it as a one-off task when you need something.
Attending events was always a safe option for meeting people, but following the global pandemic and subsequent new ways of working, we need to adapt to the new ways of networking too.
While it may appear tricky to network without meeting IRL, there are countless possibilities online that don’t only involve LinkedIn.
While there are certainly specific tips to in-person networking, the fact in any space remains: developing long-term relationships is key.
Here are some things you can do to up your game from the comfort of your home…
Create a networking spreadsheet
First things first — understand how wide/big your network really is. Think of your spreadsheet as an address book but with added fields, such as industry, important notes and when you were last in contact with them.
To get started, find that stack of business cards that you keep lying around and add the details of those you have a good relationship with to the relevant columns. Scroll through your emails and those people too. Think about close contacts at work who aren’t on your team, but with whom it may be worth maintaining contact.
If you are contemplating adding a person you met three years ago and you’d have to reintroduce yourself, there is probably no point.
Make sure you don’t only get in touch when you need something (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Decide how often you want to reach out to each individual — do you want to speak every three or six months? Your answer will depend on your relationship with the person, so check your spreadsheet periodically and when the time comes, reach out to them. It might be worth setting a calendar alert on your phone to make sure your connection stays fresh.
Stuck for ideas? Checking where they are with their work, sending a relevant news article or scheduling a virtual catch up are safe options.
The goal is to keep your relationships warm – just like friendships, you’d hate for someone to ask you for something when they haven’t messaged you in forever.
If you don’t feel like you have many people to add, that’s okay! You’re just getting started and will have loads of new people to add soon. But this will help you keep your relationships warm in the long run.
Reach out to someone you admire
If you are looking for a mentor, this may be the best time to find one. Senior professionals – who often feel inaccessible – are aware that people feel disoriented about their career in the middle of a pandemic, but also may have more time to give without a daily commute and multiple face-to-face meetings.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so it’s worth reaching out to that person you want to have as a mentor. But you must have a plan first.
Networking is a lot like courting; you wouldn’t message someone you don’t know and ask them to be your partner without any preamble. It’s not advisable to ask someone you don’t know to be your mentor either.
Here’s a smarter strategy: research your potential mentor and understand their work, expertise and read up on their latest thought pieces. Settle on one thing you need advice on, that will likely provide them the opportunity to give a concise answer.
Reach out to them and tie what you’ve seen them work on to the reason you are messaging them and explicitly state how much time you are asking for – 15 to 30 minutes should do. Once you’ve had a successful meeting, apply the advice they gave you to your issue – and let them know how it went! You must give feedback to them to keep the communication going.
Next, repeat the process with them. If you form a genuine connection, you’ve found yourself a mentor without needing to ask.
Advice can be found at all everywhere so if you are looking to connect with someone at the same level of seniority the same rules apply, but these encounters tend to be more of an informal exchange of information.
Ask someone you admire for advice (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Revamp your social media profiles
Social media already played a huge part in your branding before the pandemic, but at the moment it has taken on renewed importance. Take time to ensure your personality shines through on your platforms and you are being more intentional about image to make the right connections.
This doesn’t only apply to LinkedIn. If your platform is public, then you need to spruce it up.
Re-do your bios, upload that new display picture, and think about what you want to post. If you want to be viewed as a thought leader, create resources that people can learn from and share with others. If you want to be booked for a photoshoot, make your platforms your portfolio. If you want to find a new job, document your achievements to show how hardworking you are.
People will only spend seconds on your profile before they decide to follow or connect – ask yourself: what do you want them to take away in that time?
Attend virtual events
Virtual events may not be the same as sipping on wine and quickly fostering relationships, but there are people aplenty online who still want to network while working from home.
The advantage of attending these event sonline is that you aren’t limited to those based in your hometown and gives you something to talk about with your other contacts.
The events you decide to go to will depend on the industry you are a part of, so check Eventbrite and use Linkedin to find out what’s happening.
Alternatively, signing up to industry-groups and attending webinars is time well spent learning about different trends and insights. If possible, ask your warm contacts what groups they are a part of and if anyone can join – see, you’re improving your virtual networking game already.
Are you a doomscroller? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
You’re in bed, having fully intended to get to sleep early and have a decent night’s kip, but instead of closing your eyes and drifting off to sleep, your screen is glowing and your thumb is scrolling, scrolling, scrolling in a never-ending motion.
There’s nothing there for you apart from misery – breaking news alerts, reports on coronavirus death rates, features highlighting the devastating mental health impact of living through the pandemic – and this repetitive act is in no way relaxing or enjoyable. But you can’t seem to stop.
This is doomscrolling, also known as doomsurfing, and it’s wrecking your mental health.
Doomscrolling describes the act of endlessly reading through gloomy news updates and bad-faith takes online.
It’s a strangely unconscious act. If you paused to ask why you’re scrolling Twitter and your newsfeed when it only serves to make you angry, sad, and scared, you probably wouldn’t have a reason – other than perhaps that urgent need to be informed and a fear of missing out on what’s going on.
So why do we do it? And perhaps more importantly, how can we break free of the endless doomscrolling cycle?
Dr Daria Kuss, Associate Course Leader of Cyberpsychology at Nottingham Trent University, tells Metro.co.uk that doomscrolling has become even more irresistible in the pandemic because our worlds have ‘shrunk’ and we’re in need of any form of social connection.
Doomscrolling can overwhelm us with bad news and bad faith takes (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
‘We have become conditioned to use social media more during the pandemic,’ she explains. ‘We reach for social media to connect socially, to feel a sense of community and belonging.’
But of course, while social media might feel like a way to connect and feel less alone as a concept, the reality is very different. We can end up feeling even more isolated and miserable, drowning under a barrage of bleak news.
Despite that, though, the act of scrolling has inbuilt mini ‘rewards’ to keep us going, even when what we’re actually seeing isn’t making us happy.
Daria says: ‘When engaging with social media, we receive rewards in the form of comments and likes, and over time our brains learn to associate social media use with a rewarding experience, which explains why the behaviour is maintained.
‘Doomscrolling may be a side product of this conditioned social media engagement.’
Basically, even if the content of our feeds is making us miserable, it’s gamified enough to keep us hooked. The bright colours, the interspersion of bad news with funny jokes and reposted TikTok videos, the promise of engagement and recognition – that all reels you back in before you can properly consider whether social media scrolling is actually bringing you joy.
Then there’s the element of habit, whereby we’re so used to doing something that we’d need to consciously break the habit to stop it – even though the act makes little logical sense.
You can tell your doomscrolling is having a negative impact by checking in with how you actually feel after a session.
Do you actually come away feeling more informed and ready to right the world’s wrongs? Do you feel energised and engaged?
Or do you feel exhausted, demotivated, alone, and miserable?
We know that excessive social media use is linked with increased anxiety and low mood, and that if the majority of news you read online is negative, that will likely have a greater impact.
Clinical psychologist Dr Roberta Babbtold Metro.co.uk previously: ‘The amount of information on the internet and social media about the coronavirus is overwhelming, relentless and a lot of it is from a negative/distressing perspective.
‘Frequent exposure to this adverse online environment can have a significant impact on your mental health.
‘Excessive use of, and passive engagement with social media can fuel feelings of difference, anxiety, guilt and anger/frustration, depression, isolation as well as the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and Fear of Other People’s Opinions (FOPO).
It’s a tough habit to break (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
‘It can also exacerbate low-mood, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts.’
The World Health Organisation has warned of the negative impact of constant news consumption and social media scrolling during the pandemic, advising us to ‘try to reduce how much you watch, read or listen to news that makes you feel anxious or distressed’.
Basically, doomscrolling can have a damaging effect on your mental health… which you likely knew, deep down.
It’s worth looking at the lesser side effects of a doomscrolling habit, too, and weighing up whether they’re worth the imagined benefit of staying in touch with the world. Are you unable to sleep after the blue light has blared against your eyeballs? Have you developed a permanent wrist ache or thumb cramp? Are you experiencing the telltale signs of tech neck?
Once you bring yourself back to reality and actually look at how doomscrolling leaves you feeling, you’ll likely want to put a stop to the damaging habit… but that’s easier said than done.
Bear in mind that doomscrolling is a habit, and one that may have become heavily entrenched in your existence not only in the pandemic but long before that (although the Covid-19 news cycle has likely intensified it).
Psychologist Dr Helen Rodwell says it’s tough to just break a bad habit cold turkey – instead, you need to replace a bad habit with a good one, sneakily distracting yourself from the lack of something with a new way to fill your time.
Then it’s key to work out when doomscrolling occurs, whether it’s part of a regular routine or in response to a certain trigger, such as boredom, isolation, or frustration, so you’re prepared for when the temptation will arise and will be able to quickly swap out the urge with a healthier habit.
Ask for support when you need it (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
That might mean that bedtime doomscrollers put their phone in another room overnight (which has the added bonus of making you get out of bed to turn off your alarm) and create a new routine of reading a book – yep, an actual paper one – before lights out instead of mindlessly scrolling.
Filling your time is important, as well as filling that need for social connection in ways other than the superficial feeling of being involved that just perusing social media can bring.
Rather than having to ditch social media entirely, Daria recommends reassessing how you use it to make it work in a more conscious way.
‘Limit exposure to websites that invite doomscrolling,’ she advises. ‘Engage in more focused social media use, e.g., to connect with family and friends, rather than scrolling through negative news stories.’
Daria also suggests making special time for social media use rather than using it to fill a spare moment (which can quickly turn into hours disappearing into a doomscrolling black hole). So you might say that you only use social media for half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening, and learn that you’ll still be kept abreast of what’s going on in the world even if you’re not constantly online.
‘Outside of this time, focus on other things,’ she adds. ‘Work, family, friends, hobbies.
‘Engage in self-care practices as routine – spend time in nature, exercise, eat healthy food, have chats with family and friends.
‘Unplug and enjoy the summer sun!’
You can listen to episodes of our mental health podcast, Mentally Yours: Coronavirus through Audioboom, Spotify, and iTunes.
Ship ahoy: Owain Harris and his partner Rosie Clements-Gander (Picture: Daniel Lynch)
Whether to put down roots in the city or move somewhere greener, further out of town, is a dilemma many homebuyers face.
When graphic designer Owain Harris and his partner, art teacher Rosie Clements-Gander, decided they wanted both the urban thrill of living in central London and the peace of wildlife-filled open spaces, they found a way to have the best of both worlds.
Their bespoke widebeam houseboat not only has more living space than your average inner city flat – 505sq ft and two bedrooms, plus two huge entertaining decks – but operates on a special ‘continuing cruising’ licence.
The permit, issued by the Canal & River Trust and which costs about £1,000 a year, stipulates they move mooring every two weeks, covering a minimum of 20 miles.
With the 8.6 miles of the Regent’s Canal a firm favourite, the pair can moor at Limehouse, Little Venice or Camden when they want a city buzz, or, when they want to spot buzzards and kestrels, make for the River Lea and Hackney Marshes.
‘The contrast in landscapes is striking and keeps every day exciting,’ Owain, 37, says.
‘One minute we are in the sticks, the next we’re surrounded by towering skyscrapers.
There’s an abundance of living space in the boat, more than an average one-bed city flat (Pcture: Daniel Lynch)
‘The change in seasons always offers up a lot of romance, and we’re very in tune with the nesting cycles of the local wildfowl, and where we might spot a terrapin or two.
‘Plus there are enough canals in London to ensure you’re always near a Tube or Overground station.’
The 60ft by 12ft vessel is no quaint canal boat, however. When Owain and Rosie, 35, first discussed the appeal of life on the water – over a few drinks in a pub in Hackney Wick – they decided they wanted something both practical and sculptural, that would be a dramatic sight in and around London’s waterways.
The boat relies on solar power for electricty and its tank can hold water for two months (Picture: Daniel Lynch)
‘We’ve lived on narrowboats before, and maintaining and constantly repainting the wood is incredibly labour-intensive, as well as toxic,’ Owain says.
‘We both love Antony Gormley’s contemporary sculpture, the Angel Of The North, so we thought, why not have a boat built from corten weathering steel, which will age beautifully?’
With a budget of about £80,000, they took their innovative idea to Nottinghamshire-based boatbuilders, The Sailaway Boat Company, ‘who thought we were crazy, but humoured us’, Rosie says.
‘The steel, which starts out looking like grey sheet metal, then turns bright orange like a Cheeto before slowly mellowing, was a great idea.
‘We are never terrified of marking it, like we were with paintwork – in fact, the more aged it is, the better it looks, as the rain and natural elements give it beautiful markings.’
Most of the furniture has been reclaimed and upcycled (Picture: Daniel Lynch)
The pair, who had been living as property guardians, moved onto the boat in 2017, naming it the Kathleen Alexander, after Owain’s sailing-mad grandparents.
Camping out with their Romanian dog Azur, they kitted out the boat with the help of some handy friends, with their main goal to create a floating home with high eco cred.
Electricity is provided by solar power, for example. A vast water tank holds enough for eight weeks, and their multi-fuel stove burns recycled wood pellets from local joineries.
They only use non-polluting soaps and detergents, and they have a composting toilet, which uses no water – ‘It really is absolutely fine, not unpleasant at all,’ Rosie insists.
‘Boat life is far more environmentally friendly anyway than living in bricks and mortar,’ Owain says.
‘We cover a small space, and use much less energy to heat up and keep warm. We are far more conscious of resources we use, and waste we produce, as everything has to be transported on and off the boat. We have a real awareness of our immediate environment as we meander through it.’
The main bedroom is ideal for drifting away at night (Photo: Daniel Lynch)
All of the wood used in the fitout is FSC certified, and the wooden floors are of reclaimed boards, now repainted in a fresh chalky white.
Although the couple are proud to have furnished the boat almost exclusively through reclaimed and upcycled goods, compromising on style was never an option.
For the main living space, Owain trawled eBay and found some slimline teak furniture made by Liverpool-based manufacturer Guy Rogers in the 1960s.
Vintage chests and cabinetry were salvaged by Rosie during her school’s refurbishment, along with a retro coffee table, and the roomy kitchen has contemporary handleless teal units with solid bamboo worktops and a full-size, 1950s-style Smeg fridge.
As for the bedrooms, ‘we designed spaces that would suit our needs’, Owain says. The main bedroom fits a king-size bed, and has plenty of built-in, clean-lined cupboard space. The second, smaller bedroom was built to fit a handy Ikea sofabed.
In the high summer, however, many prefer simply to make a bed out of the huge Thai rollout cushions, on the beautiful front or rear deck.
‘We pretty much live outside at this time of year,’ says Rosie, who generally handles the canal locks while Owain takes the helm.
‘Being out in the open allows you the opportunities to forage where possible, or grow your own food on the roof.’
It all sounds idyllic. But Owain admits that life on the locks is not for everyone.
‘It is incredibly hard work,’ he says.
‘It’s a bit like having two jobs. You have to lug everything you need along tow paths, and always be ready to move on.’
The pair have now decided to sell the Kathleen Alexander, for £149,950, and rent a home on land to be nearer their families on the south coast.
They are feeling quite daunted by the change of lifestyle, but are craving stability and routine.
‘We’ll make sure we live close enough to the water to get our sailing fix, but are going to miss the amazing freedom we have had,’ Owain says.
‘Unfortunately, there aren’t any canals where we are from.’
She pleaded Twitter users to visit the joint and since the tweet went viral, Mahaboob has seen a rise in customers – but he still needs your support.
The Halal Restaurant has been open since 1939 (Picture: Mahaboob Narangoli)
‘We are a restaurant at the gateway to the city,’ Mahaboob tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Almost all our lunch trade (which is our main trade) comes from city clients, insurance brokers bankers, etc. Evening and weekend trade came mainly from the local residents and tourists.
‘It was a real shock when we were told to shut the restaurant due to the lockdown, at that time we thought it might be just for a few weeks.
‘Who would have thought that it would last this long and it has still not gone away?’
Mahaboob explains that his dad took over the restaurant in 1972. The family had a few other Indian restaurants in the area but Halal Restaurant remained the main business.
When the restaurant reopened as lockdown measures began to ease off, business was off to a slow start.
Mahaboob said: ‘We reopened in July, it was busy on the first two days as we had few bookings from our regulars who missed us, since then, it went so quiet. [I’m] not sure how long I can go on like this.
‘We have changed our opening times, some days we don’t even open for lunch as there is no one around here.’
Lucy with her husband, David, left, and with their twins on the right (Picture: Mercury Press)
Three years after David, 45, died from throat cancer, his wife Lucy Kelsall, 27, has welcomed their twins.
She was able to bring his children into the world thanks to IVF, using sperm David had frozen before he passed away.
The new mum, from Bristol, married David in 2012 and made a promise to him before he passed away in 2017 that he would be a father no matter what.
Despite being told by doctors that her chances of getting pregnant were slim, due to her cycle beginning before the embryo had been transferred, Lucy gave birth to two health boys, named David and Samuel, after her second round of IVF.
‘He would have been an amazing father,’ Lucy said.
‘It was so emotional at the birth and I still can’t get my head around the fact that I have a bit of David with me forever.
‘One of them has David’s long legs and big feet – he had size 15 feet – and one has his green eyes.
‘The doctors said my womb wasn’t the right environment and the IVF wouldn’t work due to my womb being inhabitable I insisted they gave it a chance.
‘When I found out there were two heartbeats the doctors were amazed.’
David was diagnosed with throat cancer after developing a cough that wouldn’t budge. He eventually lost the ability to spealkMercury Press & Media)
Just two years after they tied the knot, the couple received the devastating news that David, a mental health worker, had a secondary tumour in his throat.
Over the next three years he underwent 99 rounds of radiotherapy, had his voice box and part of his neck removed, and used an electronic device to communicate.
The couple, who had dreamed of starting a family since they married, had started trying for a baby before David became too ill in 2014 and eventually made the decision to freeze his sperm before treatment made him infertile.
Just days before he passed away, Lucy made a promise to him that she’d use it to have his baby. leaving David’s mum, Wilma, 85, from Preston, Lancs, delighted.
David eventually passed away in 2017 when the tumour wrapped itself around an artery in his neck and doctors were unable to remove it.
Lucy said: ‘He came home from the hospital and I was really looking forward to getting snuggled up and watching Netflix because we were always so happy to see each other.
‘He went to have a shower and when I went to check on him he was bleeding from the mouth so we went to hospital then to a hospice where we spent some time together.
‘David was amazing, such an inspiration and an intelligent and caring man.’
Now the twins have been born, Lucy is overjoyed to have a piece of David with her after his death.
After her second round of IVF with the sperm David froze before his death, Lucy fell pregnant with twins (Picture: Mercury Press & Media)
Wilma, the grandma to the twins, said: ‘It’s a double-edged sword because I’m devastated about David but also so happy and so pleased for Lucy.
‘When he died I did think that my chance to be a grandma to David’s children had gone but I knew it was in the back of Lucy’s mind and that they’d saved the sperm.
‘David would be so happy and feel so blessed, he would just look at them in amazement.
‘She’s given me the chance to be a grandma to David’s babies.
‘We were so shocked when we found out it was twins because we’d be lucky just to have one and it was Lucy’s last chance.
‘I prayed it would work and I prayed for them a lot before they were even born.
‘They’re an added gift and they are lovely, David looks like my David and Samuel looks like his mum.’
Lucy plans to tell her sons all about their amazing dad (Picture: Mercury Press & Media)
Lucy added: ‘Neither of us wanted children but as soon as we got married that changed.
‘We thought it would be selfish not to when we had the opportunity to bring up people who could be a good influence on the world when there’s so much bad out there.
‘We kept trying but looking back now because he was so ill and it took up so much of my time it just wouldn’t have worked.
‘It was an incredible marriage, it was so amazing. We didn’t have one argument in six years.
‘I couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving this earth without passing his genes and the hope of having his child kept me going.
‘Now I see a future again.
‘I will tell the boys about their dad every day so that he’s still a part of their lives and I have some photo albums to show them of mine and David’s life together.
‘We’ll visit David’s favourite places as a family, he loved the sea and Penarth pier where I scattered his ashes and I’ve saved some of his ashes for the boys to scatter when they’re older.
‘Having these boys was a way of making sure David is never forgotten.’
Lina says that the modifications help her feel more like herself (Picture: @cigno.sg/Jam Press)
Lina L., originally from Germany but living in California, looks unrecognisable from her teen years – and not because she’s ditched a dodgy perm or learned to properly draw on her eyebrows.
The tattoo model, who goes by the name of Cigno on Instagram, ditched the rat race to focus on her body modifications, and now has over 81,000 followers on Instagram.
Over the years she’s spent over $50,000 (£38,000) on these changes, with the procedures getting more and more extreme.
After ditching her corporate job in the Bay Area earlier this year to become a full-time tattoo model and artist, she has undergone three more extreme body modifications in the past month, adding to her transformation in a quest to achieve a ‘city cyborg look.’
Speaking to Jam Press, Lina explained, ‘I got 3D-Art Implants for my forehead (silicone ribs/spines) and chest (silicone circle) which were installed by Ian Bell with implant grade silicone designed by Steve Haworth, who invented the 3D-Art implant.’
A silicone implant is implanted fully under the skin using an incision made with a scalpel and creates a dramatic sculptural change. It can be performed on any part of the body and takes up to three months to reach the desired effect.
She looked very different in her teen years (Picture: @cigno.sg/Jam Press)
Lina said the procedure took around 1.5 hours and ‘wasn’t cheap’ but admits she has spent far more on body modifications, tattoos and plastic surgery in the past.
The model, who already has over 100 tattoos, is currently working on a complete tattoo bodysuit and altering existing tattoos as well as adding new designs in order to complete her ‘cyborg armour.’
The plan next is to get her tongue split and have her ears pointed.
Lina wants a full body covered in tattoos (Picture: @cigno.sg/Jam Press)
Lina had a love for tattoos since she was a teenager, and was always fascinated at how the body could be transformed and wanted to become a ‘living canvas’.
‘I wasn’t happy with myself and I decided I don’t have to accept something if it doesn’t contribute to my overall happiness,’ she explained.
‘There are many ways to transform yourself. Technology, medical advancements as well as the art of body modifications make it possible to pursue my transformation – which for some people may seem extreme.’
The silicone implant were ‘not cheap’ (Picture: @cigno.sg/Jam Press)
Through her body modifications, Lina felt she was able to express herself freely and confidently without fear of judgment, and said she now feels more herself than ever.
She added: ‘I am feeling more myself in my daily life. The day I was able to let go of any fear of judgment for my individuality, it felt like I was finally able to express myself freely and confidently.
‘I am part of a generation who teaches society to change their thinking, especially under the light of diversity. I do feel that I have to prove myself more so than others, but I have no problem doing so.
‘It means I can contribute to our collective capacity to let go of and move past judgment, stigma and prejudice, and celebrate individuality with all its shades and colours.
‘Self-expression means something different for any individual – the closer one comes with being who they truly want to be – the happier they are with themselves and the more accepting they will be of others.’
The country’s first recession in 11 years was declared on Wednesday after the economy shrank 20.4% from April to June when compared with the first three months of the year.
The health of the economy has a far-reaching impact on all our lives, especially those looking to make big financial changes.
That’s why we talked to an expert to figure out whether now it is the right time to buy a new house.
Ross Counsell, Chartered Surveyor and Director at Good Move, tells us how a recession can actually make buying a house easier, especially for first-time buyers.
He says: ‘For anyone looking to buy a home during the recession, there’s a lot to weigh up before making the decision.
‘Because recessions lead to job and income losses, there are consequently less people looking to invest in something as expensive as a new home, meaning house prices generally fall during a recession. Although this can cause issues for sellers, lower prices mean it can be easier for people to get on the property ladder and buy a home, especially first-time buyers.
He adds: ‘You may also find current homeowners are willing to lower their asking price to sell their home as quickly as possible, which also means you can get a great price on a property during a recession.
‘Many homeowners may also do a short sale to get out from under their mortgage and some properties will sell through foreclosure, which altogether makes them cheaper too. Again, this is a great draw for anyone looking to get on to the property market and buy a property for less than it would be before a recession.’
However Ross also warns that you should be careful with bargain houses, as all might not be as it seems.
He says: ‘Although it may seem like you’re getting a bargain, not every home selling for cheaper will be a good deal.
‘Generally, the lowest-priced homes will require many repairs that will cost buyers in the long run, so be wary of this when looking to buy a cheaper home in the recession as you may end up spending thousands on big repairs later on.’
He adds that it’s important to look before you leap, saying: ‘Ultimately, if you’re looking to buy a home in the recession, we’d advise thoroughly checking out the property before you commit to it, and ask important questions to determine how much work the property needs.
‘Don’t get swept away in a low house price or jump at the first rate a mortgage lender offers. This is a big decision and one that needs to be thought about carefully.’
Pets aren’t always conducive to an efficient work environment.
Your cat might sit on your keyboard, a dog might want to play fetch, or they might just distract you with their cuteness.
One teenager, however, found that she can’t even enjoy her downtime and watch a bit of TV – because her rabbit keeps throwing the remote away.
The adorable bunny rabbit appears to have a big problem with his owner watching television.
Thumper the one-year-old rabbit repeatedly throws the TV remote on the floor when his owner Isabell Taylor, 13, is trying to watch her favorite shows.
The furry pet likes the limelight and doesn’t enjoy his owner’s attention to be divided.
Isabelle, from Oregon, has just had to get used to the naughty rabbit’s antics.
Off he goes (Picture: Kim Taylor / SWNS)
Isabelle said: ‘He likes a lot of attention so he was probably moving the remote to make me pet him.
‘He also likes to pretend to dig in the couch, and I think the remote gets in his way.’
Isabell’s mum Kim said that Thumper is always getting up to mischief in their home.
Like butter wouldn’t melt (Picture: Kim Taylor / SWNS)
She said: ‘He’s a fun little bunny, he’s super sweet, he likes to be cuddled all the time, so if you stop cuddling him he’ll find a way to get your attention.
‘Every time Isabelle makes his bed he rips it apart immediately.
‘He makes us laugh a lot with all his little stunts.’
We’ve all experienced the shame of shoes that make farting sounds (Picture: Kmart/Metro.co.uk)
Summer fashion is a nightmare, from finding clothes suitable for the office and a heatwave to trying to tackle chub rub.
One of the most irritating summer bothers has to be the squeaking or farting sound that emerges from sandals as you work.
One Australian woman is here to save us all from the shame of walking around and knowing everyone can hear your noisy shoes, with a simple trick that stops the squeaking in its tracks.
Posting to the Kmart Mums Facebook group, Vivian Maple shared a trick specifically for some particularly squeaky $8 sandals from Kmart, but that should work for all noisy shoes.
To silence the squeaking, Vivian simply pierces the arch of each shoe a few times with scissors.
Simply pierce the arches a few times with a pair of scissors (Picture: Vivian Maple)
‘It will leave holes in your shoes but no one will see them anyway once you wear them,’ she wrote.
‘Afterwards I did a few laps around the house and no more farting noises.
‘I’m glad because I was going to throw my sandals out. Now I can wear them this summer. Hopefully this trick helps others here.’
It turns out that trick did the, well, trick for many members of the group, as plenty commented to thank Vivian for her wisdom.
Others commented tagging in their friends and family members, which seems like a not-at-all-subtle way to let someone know their shoes are excessively loud.
Disneyland is probably going to be off the table for most this year, as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements continue to change.
For fans of the franchise who aren’t able to indulge as part of their vacation, though, this Snow White cottage in Wales could very well be a close second.
Located near the Swansea coast, this picturesque little holiday home is available on the last-minute rental site Snaptrip.
One for people who want to sit and relax but have the option to head to the great outdoors, this place is a romantic getaway from the stress of the everyday.
Stay indoors and watch the world go by looking at the views of the Swansea countryside and beaches, or hire some bikes or go hiking when you feel a bit more adventurous.
Spot the resemblance? (Picture: Snaptrip)
It comes complete with a log-burner, mezzanine floor, and tiny details to replicate Snow White’s home including a staircase aligned with cute wooden heart shapes, traditional wooden beams, and a grandfather clock.
True to the fairytale, it also is located on its own 200-acre garden grounds and woodland, home to roaming sheep, alpacas and emus.
The fixtures and fittings are fit for a fairytale (Picture: Snaptrip)
Now you just need to train the local wildlife to sit on your shoulder and help you do the cleaning and you’re golden.
A previous guest commented: ‘We spent three nights here for my girlfriend’s birthday and it was perfect! The owners of the property are extremely friendly. The cottage itself is beautiful and definitely one for the Disney lovers, it makes for a magical getaway.”
The TV isn’t quite Snow White adjacent, but the wood burning fire sure is (Picture: Snaptrip)
Another guest wrote: ‘This was a anniversary present for my wife and she loved it it was something different the place it was situated in was an escape from the noisy polluted town life pure peace and views were fantastic and it made extra special after asking the owner what was the story behind building it.’
You’ll have to be quick booking, as last minute dates tend to be snapped up quick.
In the video, which has received more than two million views, Caitlin tells the man: ‘What am I supposed to do when you’re yelling at a random woman about your dick?
‘You’re sexually harassing her. You clearly think it’s right when it’s not right’.
The man replies: ‘What are you, a feminist?’.
The man had been touching himself on the train (Picture: @lilbluzipoo/TikTok)
Caitlin expertly responds: ‘If that’s what I have to be, bro, to tell you to stop bothering a human being.’
The man went on to justify his actions by saying he doesn’t normally do things like that and it’s his first time.
Other TikTokkers commended Caitlin for speaking up against the man.
More than 2,000 people left comments, with one person saying: ‘Thank you for being a voice for her, you are brave and did the right thing’.
Another wrote: ‘You probably made her feel safe,’ while another said: ‘It’s so easy to be a bystander and the fact that you spoke up probably gave the woman some safety in a moment of trauma’.
Take care of your leafy pals (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
We may be wilting under the oppressive heat of the current weather, but how are our plants doing?
Do we need to worry about the houseplants we’ve so carefully cultivated passing away in the heatwave? Should we water them more, put them in a shaded spot, or pop them outside so they can soak up the summer sun?
All these questions are enough to keep us up at night – and we’re struggling enough to get sleep in the heat as it is.
So to soothe our plant parent concerns, we chatted to expert Chris Bonnett from GardeningExpress for his wisdom on helping houseplants survive and thrive in the heat.
Here’s what you need to know.
Consider your houseplant’s individual needs
Like humans, houseplants are not one big homogenous mass who appreciate the exact same treatment across the board.
Some will be loving the heat while others will be like many people, absolutely hating the heat.
Have a Google of each of your plant types rather than taking a blanket approach.
‘Some sun-loving plants like succulents and cacti are well adapted to high temperatures, but – like humans – a lot of houseplant species don’t cope well in heatwaves,’ says Chris.
‘Leafy tropical plants prefer cool, humid air rather than hot, dry heat, so as temperatures climb, they can suffer.’
Every plant is different (Picture: Getty Images/Image Source)
Adjust your plants’ placement to tweak their light
While your plant might usually love bathing in the sun, prolonged exposure to intense sunlight can damage their leaves, leaving them looking unhealthy and causing problems long term.
When it’s this hot and sunny, it’s worth moving your plants out of your windowsills and out of the rays of direct sunlight.
Don’t overwater
It’s tempting to think that, like us, plants need to drink a load more water when it’s hot outside.
But please, don’t overreact to the hot weather by drowning your poor plants.
‘Overwatering is the fastest way to kill a plant,’ says Chis. ‘Instead, stick a finger into your houseplant soil every few days. When the soil is dry 1-2 inches down, then you should soak the soil until water runs out of the holes in the bottom of the plant pot.
‘Never let your plants sit in water. Doing so can damage the roots.’
Take care not to overdo the watering (Picture: Getty Images)
Consider humidity
Many of the houseplants we love – Swiss Cheese Plants, those stripey calatheas – thrive in humid, tropical atmospheres.
That means they like heat, but it’s not just about raising temperatures – keeping the air humid will help, too.
Try moving plants to the bathroom (where there’s steam!), mist your plants every day with a spray bottle, or get a humidifier.
‘You can also fill a shallow dish with pebbles, fill with water, and set plant pots on top to create a mini microclimate,’ says Chris. ‘It will provide the humidity needed to help your plants survive summer temperatures.’
Don’t plan any plant-based projects
Now is not the time for a repotting spree.
Chris advises: ‘You should never re-pot or fertilise plants during a heatwave. Plants have their work cut out for them simply trying to survive intense heat, so you don’t want to add further stressors!
‘And when your plant is in summer survival mode, it’s not looking for extra nutrients and isn’t prepared to make use of them.’
One Japanese company has had a brainwave to feed people’s wanderlust.
Tokyo-based carrier First Airlines offers two-hour virtual reality ‘flights’ through Japan’s popular sights.
Holidaymakers can experience first-class travel in the mock jetliner cabin where they are served in-flight meals and drinks and can enjoy views of passing clouds.
Customers can also ‘disembark’ and explore different cities through virtual tours.
There are two types of journeys available: Plan A allows you to enjoy beautiful scenery in Japan while Plan B allows you to learn about Japanese history and culture.
When you’re sitting next to each other but cities apart (Picture: Reuters)
Of course, as the ‘flights’ are based in Tokyo, the option to check the experience out is not open to most of us due to the pandemic (unless you’re already living in the capital).
But it might be one to jot down if you’re in the country as it offers a wide variety of cities and prefectures if you want to experience Japan but don’t have the time or budget.
We wonder where she is (Picture: Reuters)
On the website, First Airlines states: ‘The plan is for customers to enjoy beautiful sceneries of Japan, from superb mountains which change the color from season to season, the sound of a rushing creek, to awe-inspiring and breathtaking shrines and castles.’
There are also three types of meals to choose from; you can opt for a standard freshly-made meal, high-quality plates with seasonal flowers to depict four seasons of Japan, or ‘ichiju sansai’ which includes a soup, one main dish, and two small side dishes.
