Bam! I’d fallen over for the second time wheeling down a small hill and I was starting to think maybe skating the length of Liechtenstein wasn’t the wisest of ideas as I surveyed my legs for damage and was relieved to find none. 

But, determined to see my wacky plan to transit the pocket-sized principality through, I continued wheeling along, with my friend Marjolein leading up the front. Her far more experienced on six wheels than myself.

I had originally planned to spend a few days in Liechtenstein to enjoy some fine alpine views, fine food and some fine hikes. 

But now a constant hazard in the times of Covid-19 my travel plans were scuppered, with the tiny country introducing a mandatory 10-day quarantine for visitors from high-risk areas.

Liechtenstein, which has a population of just over 38,000, has had 183 confirmed Covid-19 cases in total with one death.

The current rules for Liechtenstein, which follow Switzerland’s lead, state that any tourists entering the country from high-risk areas must report their arrival and stay in a hotel or rented apartment and self-quarantine for 10 days.

I am currently based in the Netherlands, one of the countries on the mandatory quarantine list.

Not fancying the idea of being cooped up for 10 days, plus the bill at the end of my stay in the notoriously high-priced country, a friend tipped me off that transiting through the place would still be possible.

I checked with the local authorities in Liechtenstein and was told this would be fine if we did not stop and were merely passing through. 

Determined to make the weekend a real adventure, I came up with a plan to make my transit on rollerblades, an activity I loved during my childhood and started to revisit during lockdown. 

Wheeling along on skates would enable me to soak up the mountainous scenery while maintaining social distance. I let the local authorities know of my plans and they gave it the green light.

My friend Marjolein and I found a route running the length of Liechtenstein. 

The course, just short of 18 miles, ran from Austria where we would camp to the southern tip bordering Switzerland. We would then arrange return transport from there. 

We drove some ten hours from the Netherlands to the Austrian-Liechtenstein border where we set up camp for the night.

The next day, we got up at 7:30 am sharp. Thankfully the weather was pretty splendid, with the sun peeping through and temperatures tipped to reach 18 degrees Celsius.

We were unsure what our skating route would be like and if the track would be navigable on wheels, but we set off to walk through the morning dew to the borderline and go from there. 

We were pleasantly surprised to find a finely tarmacked track, the smoothest I’d encountered in a while.

Another thing we were relieved about was the lack of border police, albeit we weren’t on the main road. The UK Government’s foreign travel advice website states that ‘inspections may be in operation’ but the coast was clear and we could start our transit without being quizzed.

With the skies clearing, and the snow-frosted mountains gleaming in the distance, we steadily started wheeling along. 

The great thing we discovered about the track, which is also used by cyclists and cars at certain points, is that it is very flat, making it perfect for skating.

There were only a handful of downhill bits where we had to wheel through underpasses and sweat our way back up again.

Passersby on bikes and foot gave us inquisitive smiles as we wheeled by on our bright pink and blue skates. 

Along with the mountainous scenery, the fast-flowing Rhine river that ran alongside us was another source of entrancement.

Occasionally we caught glimpses of Liechtenstein’s fairytale-like interior with breaks in the trees lining the other side of the track giving way to church spires and tiled rooftops. 

We also got a good look at Vaduz Castle, which dates back to the 12th century.

The grand building, perched 120 metres above Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, is the palace and official residence of Hans-Adam II, the current Prince of Liechtenstein.

Another historical feature we came across during our skating expedition was the Alte Rheinbrücke, a covered wooden bridge linking the municipalities of Vaduz in Liechtenstein and Sevelen in Switzerland.

Spanning 135 metres, it was completed in 1901 to replace a previous bridge and today it’s the only remaining wooden bridge spanning the Rhine. 

Eventually, we saw on our GPS that the end was in sight, and we upped our pace a little. 

After turning a corner, passing some cornfields and a picture-perfect farm with cattle grazing in the front paddock, we reached a small car park where our return ride was set to pick us up. 

We completed the 17.98-mile journey in 2 hours 34 minutes with an average speed of 7 miles an hour.

We hadn’t got to explore Liechtenstein as thoroughly as we’d hoped, but we’d had an awesome time transiting through the country soaking up the sights, smells and sounds.

It was a charming journey I’ll remember for years to come. I’m glad we didn’t let Covid-19 completely scupper our plans.

It was my first roadtrip since the pandemic hit, and it was interesting to see that none of the borders were monitored as I feared they might be.

There was nothing to stop people with Covid-19 driving in and out of places.

With it being impossible to contain people, I guess the most important thing as a traveller in today’s climate is to take responsibility for your own actions and not to put others in danger. 

But there is still lots of adventure to be had, even transiting through a country can be fun!

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A mum has shared disturbing photos of the inside of her son’s bath toys to reveal black mould growing where she couldn’t see.

After reading about another little boy who almost lost his eyesight after he squirted himself in the eye with one of his bath toys, she decided to cut her son’s toys open to check inside.

She was horrified to find that black mould was growing inside the toys, even though she washed them regularly.

She shared the pictures and a warning on Facebook, writing: ‘Please throw these bath toys away it’s disgusting – I feel sick looking at it.

‘For those of you who saw the post I shared the other day of the little boy who accidentally squirted himself in the eye with one of his bath toys and it got really bad infected, y’all…

‘I just cut my kids bath toys open and needless to say, they are all going in the trash and I will never buy another and I would suggest you all do the same!

‘They say mould grows in them because they’re never able to fully dry out! I’ve never been more disgusted in my life!!’

She then received backlash from some commenters, so added: ‘**DISCLAIMER FOR ALL YOU PERFECT PARENTS**

‘Yes I clean my kids toys but you cannot dry them out fully, therefore mold grows because it’s wet – I’m sure y’all don’t cook your kids Dino chicken nuggets either’ [sic].

If you want to look for bath toys that won’t get mouldy, you should try getting something that’s made of just one solid piece of material, which would indicate that there’s no place for water to get inside.

You should swerve any toys with holes in the bottom, as is common with squeezable plastic toys, as water can get trapped in there and not dry out.

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Between the devil and the deep blue sea now lies this swish new church barge.

The boat has been aptly christened Genesis after the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament (you know, the one with Noah’s ark).

The Genesis was designed by London-based architects Denizen Works and was commissioned as a mobile assembly space.

The wide-beam canal boat has a pop-up roof to allow for more head-room and can fit two vertical rows of benches with six rows.

There’s also a skylight to get in some natural light from the heavens.

It’s currently moored on the River Lee Navigation alongside the Here East media complex at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

It will be the home of new worshiping community St Columba East London, which is led by the Reverend Dave Pilkington.

The barge church is run in partnership with the churches St Mary of Eton and St Paul Old Ford, and serves areas around East London, Sweetwater, Hackney Wick, Eastwick and, of course, Here East.

Rev Pilkington, who was ordained in 2019, said: ‘The sight of Genesis on the banks of the River Lee Navigation is fantastic. With so many changes happening in Hackney Wick and Fish Island, we must constantly seek ways to help build community, so I am pleased to report that St Columba East is a community going from strength to strength.

‘With Genesis now in situ we can look forward to the next phase of growth, now with a space to support our desire for action, reflection and contemplation.

‘Despite the milestone of delivery being met, current circumstances require that we must take the necessary steps to manage risk and protect people by limiting access to the vessel.

‘Nevertheless, St Columba East met for the first time aboard Genesis two weeks ago and we can all look forward to a time when we the whole community can utilise this vessel to its full extent.’

Genesis will also be available to hire out for things like children’s theatre, interfaith celebrations, art exhibitions and business functions.

It’s due to stay on the Lee Navigation for three to five years before casting off in search of other places to park.

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The world of kink isn’t quite as simple (or uncomfortable) as 50 Shades of Grey might have you believe.

In fact, it encompasses a wide variety of human sexuality that’s slightly outside the ‘mainstream’ – aka missionary with the lights off.

While there are more hardcore and regimented parts of the kink community, you might find that you enjoy something as simple as being tickled in the bedroom or watching someone put on a lacy pair of stockings.

Absolutely none of this is anything to be ashamed of, and if you do have a predilection for the non-vanilla type sex, you can find a rich community online and at sex clubs who should help you understand everything from safe words to nipple clamps.

If you err on the side of vanilla instead, that’s also no problem. Never let anyone coerce you into doing anything you feel uncomfortable with – sex should be enjoyable and on your own terms.

For those who are somewhere in the middle – wanting to spice things up but not sure which way they want to go – this quiz might help.

It’s all a bit of fun, but it can show you where your personality lies in the kink sphere.

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Feelings of anxiety and dread over climate change are not uncommon and as global warming continues to worsen, the toll that it’s taking on our mind is likely getting worse too.

From the ongoing pandemic to the atomic fear associated with the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, modern humanity is no stranger to living under the threat of large scale calamitous events.

But while other dangers have had defined end points where things will go back to ‘normal’, climate change has all of humanity living under the constant threat of eventual extinction.

What is living under this constant and ever-increasing threat to our way of life doing to our brains?

A survey by Gumtree found that, of 2,000 British participants, 74% said they feel climate anxiety. This anxiety is particularly strong among 18-24-year-olds, with 51% saying they felt they weren’t doing enough to be sustainable.

A relatively new branch of the mental health profession focuses on the impact climate change is having on our mental health and helps people cope.

Broadcaster and author Britt Wray has a PHD in science communication and is currently writing a book on the mental health impacts of climate change. She tells us ecoanxiety is ‘a kind of trauma that threatens our ability to feel safe in the world’.

‘It is a kind of existential pressure,’ she says. ‘It can manifest in many different ways, from very severe and chronic distress to fleeting feelings of worry and overwhelm that one cycles through.

‘It can affect one’s personal relationships, their ability to sleep or work, and the decisions one makes, like whether or not to have a child, or where to move to (in order to get out of the way of extreme weather events, like recurring wildfires, for example), what food to buy, and how to get around (no more flying or only electric cars).’

Seattle-based therapist Andrew Bryant manages a site called Climate & Mind, which seeks to ‘explore how climate change impacts our thoughts, emotions, and behavior’. He tells us: ‘Everyone, I think, experiences [climate anxiety] differently. For some it can be nervous avoidance; for others it can be manic action that can lead to burn-out.

‘Others experience it more as a depression about the world, a hopelessness and sense of defeat. Others get caught up in the news cycle and social media, constantly checking for the next piece of terrible news about the planet.

‘Many feel guilty for existing, for not doing more, for having kids, and so on. And many of us are simply in denial, which I think takes a lot of mental energy in itself.’

Counselling Directory member and eco-psychotherapist Tim McLoughlin tells us: ‘There seems to be a thread of powerlessness in clients who present as being the most anxious.

‘When someone feels powerless to stop what looks to be an impending catastrophe this arouses significant anxiety.

‘Some will become motivated to “do their bit” to help the situation. Though at first, this might seem laudable, it can lead to an even greater sense of frustration when they perceive others, including large corporations, not doing enough.

‘Some clients dread, almost continually, a so-called “tipping point” which they view as signalling impending disaster and causes a background anxiety over which they feel they have little control. 

‘The size of the problem seems to affect some people differently. Some are able to “bracket” their worries but readily talk about it as they are aware that, like an spp, it is running in the back of their minds all the time.

‘Others, who might choose to become more active in supporting green causes, often find the political aspects both cathartic and a source of camaraderie so that their feelings are useful and shared with many others in their work or social network.

‘To some, there is a real sense of disassociation. There is an unwillingness to engage with the issue, due to the sheer enormity of it and the existential threat it presents. This can sometimes manifest in a psychological shrugging of the shoulders, which can appear dismissive, though is perhaps more likely to be a defensive positioning.’ 

Britt, who also runs a newsletter all about ‘staying sane in the climate crisis’, tells us that ecoanxiety isn’t a disorder as much as an ‘appropriate type of distress’ given the current situation.

Counselling Directory member Kate Graham agrees, saying: ‘The challenge for our mental health is that while climate change anxiety is similar to other forms of anxiety, in terms of compulsive worrying, feeling powerless, frustrated and depressed, it is actually very different. 

‘Climate change is real, so while a troubled childhood, or greater sensitivity might increase levels of anxiety, they aren’t the cause of it: climate change cannot be argued away. For young people in particular this can lead to depression, despair, cynicism and apathy.

‘In fact feeling worried about climate change is essentially a positive, healthy thing to do. It takes courage to come out from the relative safety of denial to be willing to make contact with this very difficult reality. However some of us do find it harder than others to cope with such an apparently overwhelming fear.’

Andrew confesses to us that he experiences climate dread himself, but it’s still hard to know exactly how many people suffer from ecoanxiety.

He says: ‘I am hoping there are people doing research on that as we speak, because it would be great to know. According to the Yale Program on Climate Communications, in the U.S. at least, 26% of those surveyed express alarm and 28% express concern about the climate. This is up significantly since 10 years ago.

‘I also think that climate anxiety manifests in different ways, so is hard to measure. I think it manifests in overt ways – such as, people saying they are worried about climate change; and subtle ways – such as in people’s avoidance and denial of the topic.’

He adds: ‘I think we should all be more anxious. The fact that we are not is indicative of how hard it is to grapple with such a huge issue.

‘I don’t think we should be helplessly anxious, or panicking, but just seriously recognising the risk we are facing. The situation calls for fear because it raises questions about our existential safety and the health of our only home.

‘Hopefully fear, when dealt with, can lead to action.’

So what can people do for relief if they feel climate anxiety?

Andrew says: ‘I recommend that they allow themselves to feel their feelings, and not judge them or push them away.

‘Then I recommend that they talk with others about their feelings – it could be a friend, a therapist, a neighbor or co-worker. This tends to help people feel less alone. Then I recommend that they find a group of some sort – and climate activism group, a climate support group, an outdoors group.

‘If there are none around, there are online resources, or they can form their own local “Climate Cafe” or “Climate Circle” (our website, Climate & Mind, has templates for such groups). Uniting with others who have common concern can be inspiring.

‘Once people have gone through those steps, they are in a good position to find an action that is in alignment with who they are, their skills, resources, and so on.

‘I try not to give people suggestions for how to act, but help them go through a process so that they find what feels meaningful and effective for them. So the four steps are: Feel, Talk, Unite, Act (and back to feel – it’s a dynamic spiral).’

Britt agrees that connecting with others who feel similarly is a good way to go, telling us: ‘First and foremost, connect with others who are similarly awake to the severity of the threat humanity is now facing and can mirror your concerns.

‘Too often, people with climate anxiety feel isolated in their feelings since there are no social norms yet around how to discuss these psychological experiences of relating to what is happening to the earth (with family, friends, co-workers, etc). This sense of aloneness makes the distress much harder to deal with.

‘They can look for groups like the Good Grief Network, or emotionally intelligent friends and environmental groups where people know how to talk about – and sit in – these feelings.

‘When you connect with others who “get it”, you have more support in how you cope. Coping with climate anxiety involves finding meaning in the difficult feelings, and allowing the feelings to transform you into a more purpose-driven human being. This means finding the authentic role you have to play in bringing solutions forth, even if you can’t solve the problem itself.

‘And just know that when you first have your awakening to the full extent of the crisis that brings on the climate anxiety, it can be extremely painful and even fill you with grief, but you won’t always feel that intensely; it can get better once you learn how to mourn what is happening, build some new forms of resilience, and find some purpose from it all.’

Tim meanwhile describes various approaches which can be taken in therapy by saying: ‘Some will find taking direct action helpful, though others will need to deal first with the presenting anxiety. 

‘The anxiety, from a psychodynamic perspective, may have its origins earlier in the client’s life. Any unresolved difficulty may be triggered by talk of climate change where the role of parent, for instance, can be substituted by world government. Neglectful, unreliable and motivated by greed. 

‘Some clients will need some help overcoming their anxious feelings and perhaps even overtly challenging negative feelings through some form of self-talk and remaining mindful of their own internal processes.

‘Do they react to climate change in the same way as other aversive events? Working with the client’s preferred coping style can give rise to useful material as for some issues as big as this they may need to evoke more appropriate ones…they cannot do it alone! 

‘Clients whose family systems do not share their views feel particularly isolated. They may spend a significant amount of time and energy looking at source material to validate their feelings. This too can exacerbate the situation and simply incite others to prove them wrong and evoke feelings of shame in the client. 

‘Clients who are warm to a more Buddhist approach can find the idea of interconnectedness really helpful. This will help the client see that every small action an individual takes can have a lasting impact on those around them. Buddhist thinking can also help clients to realise that from a meta-perspective really nothing is in our direct control.’

When asked what the general public needs to understand about climate change above everything else, Andrew tells us: ‘At the most basic level, they need to know that it is real, and poses an existential threat to us (humans) as well as the ecosystem that sustains us.

‘They also need to know that it is not hopeless, and that there are things we can do collectively to slow the process down.

‘Once that is covered, I think it’s important to remember that climate crisis is on one level an issue of science – physics, chemistry, ecology, etc. – but on a very important level it is an issue of psychology; because how we respond, or don’t respond, will be determined by how we feel, think and act, individually and collectively.’

When asked the same question, Britt says: ‘The world we each grew up with is not the world that we are going to be able to hold onto. Everything is changing due to climate change: food and water availability, the frequency of heatwaves and other extreme weather events, infectious disease, mental health problems, international conflict, gender equality, you name it. It touches everything, and it deepens existing injustices.

‘Our job is to face up to this fact, mourn what’s being lost and use the power of those feelings to move us into action so we don’t forsake what can still be saved.

‘At this late stage in the game, we have an opportunity to plant new seeds for positive societal change that give us a chance to foster mutually beneficial relationships with each other, other species, and the planet.

‘Whether we like it or not, we must transform our economy, society, and way we see ourselves as humans in the world because the climate crisis has already changed what it means to be human, and we have to catch up.’  

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After hitting 40 and still finding herself still single, Jenny decided to adopt alone.

Throughout the process of applying, she always thought she’d have lots of support around her.

But the day before she was meant to meet her little boy for the first time, lockdown was announched.

The process was postponed but wanting to bring him home as soon as possible, Jenny (not her real name) isolated in June and was finally able to meet her son. A week later, he came to stay for good.

But with widespread restrictions still in place, adopting alone has been isolating.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk for Adoption Month, Jenny says: ‘Lockdown has really helped our bond and his attachment to me but the hardest part has not been being able to share him with friends and family like I had hoped to.

‘Social distancing and restrictions have made that hard, which takes away a little of the joy of becoming a mum.’

Jenny had always wanted to be a mum but relationships hadn’t worked out for her.

She explains: ‘I assumed I would meet a guy, get married and have children but life hasn’t turned out that way for me. I have done so much online dating in my time but relationships just weren’t right and I found as I got older that my desire to become a mum was greater than my need and want to meet a partner.’

Although she considered other routes, she decided that adoption was the right thing for her.

Jenny had some experience of the process as her sister and brother-in-law and some close friends had welcomed children into their lives.

She chose to go to an information evening with Coram Adoption Agency in November 2018, which was the agency her sister and friends had adopted through.

Jenny says: ‘I was the only single person there but they were very good at being very inclusive and focused on adoption being something for anyone regardless of relationship status, sexuality or ethnicity and I found that really encouraging.

‘I was also impressed that Coram offer lifelong support to adoptive families so I know that even when the legal parts of adoption is complete I will still have support as my little boy grows older.’

Just before Christmas 2018, she sent in the paperwork and was accepted onto Stage 1 in January 2019, which involved filling out more forms, a DBS check , a pet and home assessment and a full medical. By Easter, she was accepted onto Stage 2.

She explains: ‘Stage 2 is the more intense stage where I had weekly two hour meetings with my social worker and we spent time exploring EVERY aspect of my life.

‘It felt a lot like therapy and I am sure my social worker knows more about me than my closest friends and family.

‘I would need a good workout at the gym afterwards to try and let off steam or process what I had just explored during our sessions.’

In July last year, she finished Stage 2 and was sent to an approval panel in September 2019.  After that, it was about finding the right child for her.

She explains: ‘In early December I got a call from my social worker to say that the family finder had found a child who she thought I would be interested in. I knew straight away as soon as I read his profile that this was my child and tried not to get too excited.

‘Due to it being Christmas everything got put on hold until January 2020 when we had the link meeting and I was linked with my little boy by mid-January.’

In January, no one had any idea of the huge impact coronavirus would have and Jenny prepared for her son to come home in March.

The matching panel took place on 11 March and Jenny was given a unanimous yes, with 25 March as the date for introductions to begin.

Jenny explains: ‘I had left work, my adoption leave had begun and everything was ready to bring my little boy at home but the global pandemic had other ideas. 

‘Up until March 24 when lockdown was announced it looked like my introductions would go ahead but once the PM announced a lockdown, everything got put on hold. I was told that it was all on pause…indefinitely. 

‘I was mentally, emotionally and the house was ready to bring him home. To have everything on hold with no idea when things might proceed was just heartbreaking.’

As a teacher, Jenny was able to go back to work and taught online lessons until May half term, where she started her leave again.

She also spent the time trying to help her son understand who she was, even though she could now bring him home. Her son was still under one so it was more difficult to explain anything to him.

She adds: ‘I recorded videos of me singing nursery rhymes, reading stories and introducing myself and our cat so that his foster carers could play these to him and start introducing “mummy” virtually. 

‘I was sent photos of him clapping for carers, celebrating VE day, reacting to my videos and it was really lovely to be able to see him through videos and photos. 

‘These helped me to keep hopeful that I would meet him and I really do feel that when we did finally meet he had a recognition as to who I was (mummy from the phone).’

With lockdown restrictions easing slightly in June and a realisation that coronavirus was going to impact us long term, they decided to look at ways the adoption could go ahead. Jenny and her son’s introductions were the first the agency went ahead with during lockdown.

Jenny and his foster carers had to isolate for over a week beforehand and had to follow strict rules.

A week after the first introduction, he was able to come home and has been with Jenny every since. She is now waiting for his adoption to be finalised.

Although she was delighted to finally have her son, coronavirus and lockdown made it very different to anything she had expected.

She says: ‘In hindsight, I am very glad that my little boy didn’t come home at the start of lockdown because your support network is such a huge part of adoption (and any parenting). 

‘It’s been a struggle even with restrictions eased so it would have been incredibly lonely and hard without people being able to support.

‘A few weeks after my little boy came home, support bubbles were introduced which has been a godsend for me. Having friends around the corner who can be our extended household has been so needed. 

‘When my little boy came home his sleep was pretty bad and so I had numerous weeks where I was struggling to get through the day so having our support bubble to go to for help was the lifeline I needed. 

‘My support network of friends and family did provide me with frozen meals and were always at the end of the phone which has been amazing but not quite the same as having them visit in person. 

‘I had no options of soft play or swim lessons or taking him to groups so it has literally just been the two of us for the majority of the time.’

Due to the unusual circumstances, her adoption team have made sure to check in on her mental health in the months since her little boy came home.

She explains: ‘I was told that it is very common for adoptive parents to get the adoption blues after the excitement of bringing your little one home has worn off a little and this could be even harder when the support networks you were looking to for help are no longer around due to the pandemic. 

‘I definitely went through a few low patches, partly due to lack of sleep and missing family and friends. Single parenting is very lonely and life can feel incredibly monotonous when you are doing everything without many breaks.

‘I am fortunate that I have been able to exercise during the pandemic by working out in the local park with my PT and I was able to keep this up when my little one came home by taking him with me so I know that has helped me mentally and has been great for him to watch me and he loves being outdoors.’

Almost five months since her little boy came home, Jenny says it feels like he has always been with her.

She says: ‘He definitely knows I am his mummy and he gives the best cuddles…something I have really missed in lockdown.

‘We had a connection from the start but it felt odd referring to him as my son and my child. I definitely feel that now and I am in love with this little boy who has totally changed my life and completed me and my little family…our cat still needs a little more convincing but I think she secretly loves him.

‘I have submitted my paperwork for the adoption order and I cannot wait to legally be able to give him my surname, he is mine already but this will be the bonus.’

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You might think gingerbread is just for Christmas but with some decorative twists, it’s perfect to make with kids for Halloween too.

You can used traditional gingerbread people cutters and just round shapes, but decorate with skeletons and spider webs instead, or add some white teeth to the face to create Dracula biscuits.

This recipe, from Carr’s Flour, is really easy with just six steps and the ingredients are hopefully things you have in the storecupboard.

Ingredients

• 175g dark muscovado sugar
• 85g golden syrup
• 100g butter
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 350g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• Icing pens or an icing bag and icing sugar
• Any gory or goolish decorations!

Method

1. Over a low heat, melt the sugar, golden syrup and butter in a small pan. Set to one side, then in a large bowl, mix the spices and flour together. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 1tsp of cold water. Make a well in the flour and tip in the melted butter mixture, the bicarbonate and the egg. Stir well until all the ingredients are combined and create a smooth dough.
2. When cool, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge to cool for around an hour or until firm enough to roll out.
3. Preheat the oven to 190˚C (170˚C Fan, Gas Mark 5). Lightly sprinkle flour onto a clean work surface and knead the dough for a few seconds. Cut the dough into two pieces and roll out one half until aprox.3-5mm thick.
4. Cut out your chosen shapes using cookie cutters and lay onto a lightly greased baking tray. Make sure you leave room for your biscuits to grow in size! When all the dough is used up, repeat with the remaining dough or keep in the fridge for upto a week.
5. Bake for 12-15mins or until they are a dark golden colour.
6. Transfer to a cooling rack to harden up before decorating. Decorate with icing as we have or let your imagination run wild with spooky ideas!

Do you have an easy recipe to share?

Get in touch at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.

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I’m proud to be HIV positive. 

I was diagnosed with HIV this time last year, at age 25. At first, my diagnosis was almost too hard to handle. I wrote suicide notes and planned my funeral via my notes app, fuelled by my belief that I wasn’t strong enough to cope with HIV, that I deserved this.

I never thought I’d be comfortable enough to tell people that I was positive, but I have not only accepted my situation, I’ve embraced it.

This hasn’t always been easy, and is a journey that has taken a whole year.

I’ve been the boy who hid for months from his family, refusing to visit home because I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to keep my diagnosis a secret and be judged (when really, I knew I wouldn’t be). 

I’ve served as the messy, complicated raver who would hit up the warehouse every week just to pop a pill or two and forget all about reality for a few hours – a habit that would ultimately lead me to love, and show me just how much more to life there was than continual, and dangerous, drug usage. 

I’ve been the new boyfriend, sat anxious and scared at the end of the bed, knowing that I have to tell the guy I’ve been seeing for two weeks that I’m HIV positive, because we’re both gay men and PrEP, which prevents HIV infection, just came up organically in conversation.

And I’m my current self: the man who has shared his story publicly, to family, friends, and the internet. A man who wears his heart, and a quite ironic seven-year-old ‘+’ tattoo on his sleeve (which I got on a whim one day, because I was going through a bad spell of mental health and I wanted a physical reminder that I possessed all the positivity I needed within me), discussing the path he’s found himself walking down and how living with HIV affects him on a daily basis. 

The fact is that, at this point, it kind of doesn’t.

I now wear my status as a badge of honour. It’s my super suit. It’s not about the cavalier nature in which I got it (I slept with somebody unprotected one time, and waited a few days before getting an STI test… haven’t we all been there?), but how I have reacted to its presence in my life. 

I’m undetectable, which means that as long as I’m taking my daily medication, there’s zero risk of passing on the virus to anybody, even through unprotected sex. That’s not like those Dettol adverts, where there’s a 0.01% chance… there is effectively a 0% possibility.

I’ve used HIV as motivation to find out and understand more about my body, and keep better track of my sexual health. 

In early June, I was moved by stories of LGBT+ support and community during Pride Month, and so I made a PDF document containing a summary of my journey and understanding of HIV, accompanied with verified facts from trusted sources, and threw it onto my social media channels, waiting for the influx of messages. I’m not sure where the courage came from, but I knew I was ready to begin telling my story.

It seemed an easier way, to just drop a booklet and allow people the time to read it, rather than have a hundred of the same conversations with everybody close, or semi-close, in my life. 

The support I received was overwhelming. I have cried with happiness, too, and I feel so accepted in my circles, which is something I once feared I would never be able to say.

The most surprising outcry of strength has been from straight friends; lads, who, quite maturely, realised far sooner than I did that a HIV diagnosis does not mean what I thought. They all became accustomed to my new reality instantly, and even though their educational knowledge was limited, proved themselves pillars of strength to lean on, and pledged to be as open and willing to educate themselves, so that they could better understand my experience.

My education on the matter has been very, very limited until last year, when I researched for myself, and I think that, especially for gay people, we need to address this further. I assumed that HIV would never stray close to my circles, given that it originated in the eighties.

The truth is, it can be anywhere. You cannot tell. 

I’m undetectable, which means that, as long as I’m taking my daily medication, there’s zero risk of passing on the virus to anybody, even through unprotected sex

As long as you are taking your medication as required, and following the advice of your doctor, while maintaining your check-ups to monitor your diagnosis, then you can stay healthy. It’s so important to stick to your medication. 

My physical health has never been better; I frequent the gym, eat well, and, despite some kind of clinical depression that I’m currently fighting, try at all times to stay in a balanced headspace.

The biggest impact HIV now has on me is mental. 

Catching my reflection in the mirror when I was just diagnosed, and still not yet virally suppressed, I imaginined the virus running through my body, swimming in my veins and underneath my skin.

There was one night this year, back up North, when I was ridiculed by someone who was one of my best friends, called a number of horrible names, and had my face spat on repeatedly as I was told that I should have killed myself as soon as I’d found out.

That one has been a little harder to deal with, and I think I might need therapy for it, to be honest with you.

I know, though, that a lot of the backlash I have received, which has truthfully only been from one person is from fear or miseducation. 

I know that as soon as I told my mother some facts, her tears stopped and she has since become the biggest advocate for me, proudly telling people of my diagnosis, and using her influence in the pharmaceutical industry to educate others, too. 

I know that my little brother, who is just 17, has used me as an example to his friends, to open up a dialogue about their own sexual health, something I would never have dreamed of possessing the confidence to do at his age. 

I know that people who follow my social media channels tell me that my journey is inspiring them, and they’re sharing my resources with others who can benefit from knowing that one unfortunate event does not need to throw a spanner into the rest of your life.

HIV came to me masquerading as a demon, and has since walked with me, hand-in-hand, as a mentor, a guide and a teacher, for me and many others in my life.

If somebody has a problem with HIV, that’s not about me, it’s about them. If somebody doesn’t want to sleep with me because of my status, I’m not going to argue; I’ll just say that I’m willing to have open discourse when they’re ready.

I went on a first date last night, and he sat across from me in the booth, as we both sipped on pretty disgusting-tasting cocktails. He told me that he was unfamiliar with specifics, but that he was looking forward to learning, and understanding it from my point of view.

Reader, I later took him home.

I don’t just survive with HIV. I thrive with HIV.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing platform@metro.co.uk.

Share your views in the comments below.

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Halloween will look a little different this year as social distancing rules means kids turning up at the door to trick or treat isn’t ideal.

Not wanting the children in her neighbourhood to miss out completely, one mum came up with a genius plan – a candy garden.

Wendy Reeves Winter has been attaching sticks to lots of sweets and ‘planting’ them in her front garden to look like flowers.

Kids are then able to walk by and pick a few sweets from the garden.

Wendy, from Denver, Colorado, was worried about kids sticking their hands in the same bowl, potentially spreading germs but this method means they only touch the things they want.

Posting on Facebook, she explained: ‘I experimented a little more with Candy Sticking for trick or treating this year and learned a few things.

‘You can use any kind of stick. Popsicle sticks work great if you are worried about impaling children. (yep, I got comments on that!) Plastic spoons, glow sticks, plastic straws, etc. work great too.

‘You can use regular tape and do all of the work ahead of time to affix your candy to sticks. It’s a fun activity with a glass of wine and doesn’t take long at all!’

Lolly sticks or plastic spoons are good as using something sharp like skewers could be dangerous.

But Wendy did warn to be careful of squirrels who might be keen to grab some treats themselves.

She added: ‘Don’t put your candy out too early. Squirrels apparently love to trick or treat and will take advantage of any candy forest if left unattended for too long.’

Wendy tried to space them out in her large yard to ensure children didn’t get too close if a few came together.

She plans to keep an eye on the sweets from the front porch on Halloween so she can monitor what’s happening. It also means she can safely see all the costumes, which she said is one of her favourite things about Halloween.

Wendy finished her post: ‘People have awesome ideas for Halloween and safe trick or treating, so get on board with trying something new for 2020. I’m imagining my yard as a Willy Wonka candyland, and think it will be fun to watch kids experience something new.’

Do you have a parenting tip to share?

Get in touch at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.

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A teenage chef has shared how to make chips at home that are supposedly better than fast-food giant McDonald’s.

Morgan Hipworth might know what he’s talking about as the 19-year-old founded his own food business – Bistro Morgan Bakehouse – in Melbourne.

The teen has now gone viral for his tips on how to get the crispiest and fluffiest home-made French fries.

Morgan also claims that his fries are healthier than McDonald’s as they don’t need to be deep-fried.

Revealing his four-ingredient recipe on TikTok, Morgan said you only need red-skinned potatoes, olive oil, salt, and herbs.

To begin, Morgan cut the potato into sticks, to resemble skinny chips.

He explained: ‘First up, we need to peel and cut the potatoes into fries. Add the fries to a pot with cold water and sea salt.’

After leaving the potatoes in water for a few minutes, Morgan then boiled it for a further two minutes.

This process of parboiling means the potato will need less time in the oven to roast and the insides of the chips will come out fluffy.

@morganhipworth

you can’t beat french fries, what should I make next? 🤤 #foryou #cooking #food #yum

♬ original sound – Morgan Hipworth

The next step is to drain the potatoes and transfer them onto a baking tray.

Morgan added: ‘Bake with olive oil, salt, and your favourite herbs at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes.

‘Boom, there you have it. The perfect French fries.’

That’s all there is to it, folks.

You can see why it went down so well on TikTok. On the video-sharing app, one person wrote: ‘OMG, I want them,’ while another said: ‘Perfect’.

Others said, even though the process is about 30 minutes, that it was too long and simply ordering McDonald’s is easier.

One person commented: ‘That’s too much work,’ while another said: ‘Just be lazy and order some McDs’.

But then where would your sense of achievement come from?

Do you have a recipe you want to share?

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Adele has always been a lauded British talent and beauty, shattering records left and right with her heart-wrenching albums. And lately the singer has wowed fans by revealing a slimmer physique –something which she addressed last night, cracking jokes about the fascination with her weight loss journey as she hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time.

Hosting on the iconic US show SN, she quipped: ‘And I know I look really, really different since you last saw me but actually, because of all the Covid restrictions and the travel bans, I had to travel light and only bring half of me – and this is the half I chose.’

But what is the diet the Grammy winner is said to have followed to achieve her results?

What is the Sirtfood diet?

Launched in 2016, the Sirtfood diet is rumoured to be the diet Adele has followed.

She appears on the official website for the diet, alongside Connor McGregor.

The diet essentially involves adopting a diet rich in ‘sirtfoods’, which according to the dieter’s founders are special foods that activate specific proteins in the body called sirtuins.

Sirtuins are believed to protect cells in the body from dying when they are under stress and are thought to regulate inflammation, metabolism and the aging process.

The founders claim sirtuins shape the body’s ability to burn fat and boost metabolism, resulting in a seven-pound (half-a-stone) weight loss a week while maintaining muscle.

What are some foods to eat on the Sirtfood diet?

Ten of the most common staples of the Sirtfood diet include:

• Green tea
• Dark chocolate (that is at least 85 per cent cocoa)
• Apples
• Citrus fruits
• Parsley
• Turmeric
• Kale
• Blueberries
• Capers
• Red wine

Is there a Sirtfood diet recipe book?

There is an official Sirtfood diet book available, written by the diet’s founders Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten.

Both pioneers of the ‘modern day medicine movement’ – a blurb for the book reads – the pair advocate the need to complement medical intervention with nutrition and lifestyle changes.

Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten both hold Master’s Degrees in Nutritional Medicine and are recognised authorities on nutrition and health.

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If you’re selling something online then you might get asked to try it on so potential buyers can see what it looks like.

But, usually, this doesn’t happen with pieces of clothing such as underwear or swimwear.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for one woman. Tess Wright was trying to sell a bikini two-piece when a male stranger asked to see her in it.

Deciding to ignore the creepy message, Tess, from Georgia, vented to her brother Kade.

When Kade heard, he had some fun with the guy.

The brother decided to wear the bikini himself and took pictures in hilarious poses showing it off.

Tess then uploaded the photos on Facebook, replying to the man’s message.

Not so surprisingly, the man in question didn’t reply to the pics.

Tess wrote on her Facebook: ‘So, I’m selling a bathing suit on a Facebook yard sale and a man comments and asks me if he can see a picture of it being worn before buying… of course, I was going to ignore the comment but Kade just couldn’t resist.’

She also wrote ‘brothers are the best’ on the post, which received more than 25,000 shares.

Tess shared a few more images of Kade styling the two-piece in various poses, which look all the more hilarious with his six-pack and muscles.

Facebook users had a laugh with the whole thing, tagging their own siblings on the post.

One person commented: ‘Your brother just became my hero,’ while another said: ‘Such a darling brother.’

A third wrote: ‘Super brother. The bikini suits him well. I hope that scared that creep. Probably I would have done the same for my sister, but without those muscles.’

One person joked: ‘Your brother’s bikini bod puts mine to shame.’

Try this next time a stranger on the internet wants to see pictures of you.

Do you have a story you want to share?

Email metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk to tell us more.

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After seeing a TikTok trend, model Alexas Morgan decided to put her phone in her back pocket so she could film as she walks.

The idea is that the video captured shows how people, mostly men, stare at the person filming as they walk around, getting on with their lives.

The 24-year-old, from Miami, Florida, found that various men craned their necks to get a look at her behind.

In some of the shots, men turned their heads 180 degrees or even moved positions to get a better look at Alexas.

Others gave her a nod of approval as she walked past.

One man crouched on the floor and turned his head sideways to watch Alexas, and two men eating in a restaurant had their mouths agape while watching.

The optimist in us hopes they were just admiring her jeans.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGm_z2TBCBQ/

Alexas then brought the trend to her Instagram, where she has more than four million followers.

The model also played parts of the clip in slow-motion to get a real good look at the men staring at her.

And she added voiceovers to make fun of the whole thing.

In the clip, Alexas says: ‘I’m gonna see how many stares my booty gets, and I’m gonna put the camera right here [in my back pocket].’

In the post – which has now received more than 112,000 likes – Alexas asked followers to rate their fave reactions.

One person wrote: ‘I’m crying the last one,’ and another said: ‘Dude stepped out of the isle.’

Another said: ‘Bro cracked his spine to look,’ while a third person wrote: ‘I’m the dude at the bar, in the black hat, all smiles.’

It’s all fun and games until you see your dad or partner in one of these videos.

Do you have a story you want to share?

Email metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk to tell us more.

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If you happened to catch the Duchess of Cambridge’s latest public appearance, you may have noticed she has swapped her customary brunette hair for a lighter look.

The hue – dubbed bronde, or blondette – is the look of the season and a neat way to get a golden glow without looking brassy – just take a look at Khloe Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen or Cara Delevigne for more examples of brilliant brondes.

The key to a good bronde is to let your natural colour shine through, giving the hair an uplifting all-over lighter shade using multiple blonde notes, only using 40% blonde to your natural brunette. The colour is created using highlights, but they are ultra-fine microlights that give the golden halo effect we want.

So, what does it take to get hair like Kate?

We asked hair stylist to the stars Edward James (who also knows a thing about styling royals – it’s rumoured he used to do the hair of Fergie, Bea and Eugenie at Windsor Lodge) how to turn a drab brunette (me) into a glossy bronde.

He says: ‘Creating the perfect bronde (or blondette) is about getting the proportion of blonde tones to brunette right, and also knowing where the placement of the colour needs to appear for it to look flattering and for it to grow out seamlessly.’

Edward is aiming for ‘seamless colour transition’ from brown to blonde to create a natural look that blends the multi-tones without lines or an obvious ‘stripey’ look. To get the natural appearance, he uses freehand balayage technique to paint a blend of lighter blonde tones through the hair.

He adds: ‘Around the hairline and parting, super-fine micro-highlights create a natural-looking shimmer that grows out softly but allows you to inject some blonder tones in a subtle way around the face.’

Why go bronde?

Bronde is the perfect way for brunettes to add a new dimension to their colour – and it is also the easiest way to blend away grey hairs, should you want to. ‘You may only have a couple of grey hairs, but on dark hair they stand out in stark contrast, whereas on lighter shades of hair the greys are not as noticeable,’ says Edward.

‘Taking your dark locks to a slightly softer multi-tonal colour distracts the eye, gives the illusion of more shine in the hair and also allows you to add a bit more excitement to your brunette mane.’

How much blonder do you need to go?

Edward says: ‘As a general rule of thumb, the proportion of blonde tones to brunette is 40% blonde, 60% brunette, and depending on how much of a ‘pop’ of colour you want, the colour placement should be staggered down the hair seamlessly so that it creates natural blended tones that are more pronounced around the edges of the hair and around the front of the hairline.

But beware of going too heavy on the blonde. If you take the proportion of blonder tones higher than 40% of your hair, you will edge towards being more blonde than bronde, so this relies on your colourist assessing how much they are lightening your hair.

You could also do it gradually, going lighter with each visit. This is what Khloe Kardashian did – over the course of a year she went lighter bronde. It will give you more control over the finished result.

Across four hours in the chair, Edward added dozens of microlights in foils across the full head using 3 different shades of blonde to suit my skin tone and avoid enhancing the pink notes. He used a sand tone through the mid-lengths and ends, a muted caramel further up the hair and around the face and a soft, mid-golden brown on the mid-lengths and fringe to soften the contrast with my natural dark base colour and the blonde highlights.

The maintenance

Most of us do not have the time, team or budget for high maintenance hair – especially given the current restrictions. With that in mind, I ask Edward how much work it will take to maintain a high-end hairdo.

While the initial look took 4 hours – thanks to dozens of microlights that take just a few strands of hair at a time – ongoing maintenance of bronde is much simpler and less time-consuming.

‘The initial session takes a while, but you won’t need to come back for two months, and even then it will be quick,’ he says (music to my ears). ‘I am a huge fan of softening highlights in at the roots so that there is no obvious colour demarcation line.’ For that, Edward uses a root shadow technique so that the blonder tones seem to gradually appear through the hair.

That means it not only looks natural, but you don’t get a root line when it grows out – so you can go longer between salon visits.

Styling at home

This is where it usually all falls down for me. I leave the salon with my influencer hair then can never recreate it again. Edward has the answer.

‘Keep it simple,’ he says. ‘Blowdry with a round brush then take straighteners and just bend back the longer layers around the face.’ He demonstrates with small straightening irons – it is admittedly a simple move and one I have managed to do at home in less than a minute.

If you are keen to use a gadget at home to make life easier, Edward recommends the Remington heated brush which rotates and dries your hair simultaneously or at the more expensive end of the market, the Dyson Airwrap, which he says does a ‘great job’.

Get Kate’s gloss

Let’s talk about Kate’s glossy locks – how does she get her enviable shine?

First, let’s not forget that Kate has a professional team to tend to her hair before she steps out in public, which helps with the finish.

Meanwhile, I am even more low maintenance than usual having just had a baby – Edward is shocked to hear I’ve been using a 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner for the past three months – so I’m all for a cheat’s way to get gloss.

In the salon, to help get Kate’s shine, he ran a keratin smoothing treatment through my hair after the colour. This smooths the cuticles and helps them to sit flat, which gives the light-reflecting quality needed to promote shine.

At home, Edward advises using Olaplex No.6 leave-in conditioner on the ends of the hair even if I do nothing else – a shortcut to shine if I don’t have access to Kate’s follicle SWAT team.

For a more lasting shine, Edward James offers a British Blowdry, a treatment that smoothes the cuticles for weeks at a time without affecting volume.

Maintaining the perfect shade

Edward says: ‘It is easy to lose track of the level of blonde tones in your hair, especially if you have more than 50% white hair, so colour retouches will require a balance of brunette and blonde tones being added back into your hair each time.

However, avoid alternating between being blonder and darker as your colour will fade out more with increased colour processing and colour fade will become a bigger issue.

Edward warns that clients who tend to change their hair colour too frequently often end up with more brassy tones (orange and yellow) as their hair colour fades more quickly. To assist with colour fade, a good colour-balancing shampoo and conditioner which adds subtle ash tones back into your hair will work a treat, as well as using products that offer UV colour fade protection.

Another word of warning, this time for Kate: Edward says that while Kate’s bronde is softer and works with her golden complexion, she has to be careful of orange brassy tones in her hair and will need to use a maintenance shampoo and conditioner to balance brassy tones.

He recommends Aveda’s Color Conserve Shampoo and conditioner to prevent colour fade and Redken’s toner shampoos and conditioners to balance colour.

The cost:

How much silver hair you have will determine whether you need a base colour as well as your lightening shades. Obviously that will require more work and cost more, but generally some face-framing balayage to create bronde will start from around £100 while follow-up appointments will start at around £75 to refresh.

The result:

I have gone from mirror avoidance to mirror addiction and can’t stop watching the video of my hair – which looks like it belongs to some else far more groomed than me.

The best bit? Since getting my royal warrant bronde I’ve been let into the biggest beauty secret out there: I thought going bronde would be high-maintenance when actually the opposite is true. Spend just one session in the salon to go glossy bronde and you look like you’ve made an effort every day. So now (sorry Edward!) I really can just wash and go.

Kate and her fellow blondettes are right: brondes really do have more fun.

Edward James has salons in Putney, Balham and Battersea. Find more information at edwardjameslondon.com

If you have a question for Edward on going bronde, drop it in the comments below and we will do out best to get you the answer.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.

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Bangladeshi cricketer Sanjida Islam has wowed everyone, not just with her sports prowess but with her wedding look that’s now gone viral.

The 24-year-old recently got married to fellow cricketer Mim Mosaddeak who plays for the National Cricket League.

To honour her love for the game, Sanjida took to the field in Rangpur Stadium in Bangladesh wearing traditional wedding attire.

People couldn’t get over Sanjida’s look which included a saree and traditional jewellery around her head, neck, and wrists.

Sanjida even had time to bat a few bowls for a stunning wedding photoshoot.

The pictures have since been shared widely on social media, including by the International Cricket Council.

Many said the young cricketer was inspiring and added she looks amazing.

Husband Mim also shared the images on his Instagram, where his new wife’s sporty wedding look received thousands of likes.

Mim added that the look was part of a ‘holoud special’, referencing a pre-wedding event for South Asians.

Called the gaye holoud, the event is celebrated by Bangladeshis and in neighbouring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam’s Barak Valley by Bengalis regardless of their religion.

The gaye holud can be a joint event for the bride and groom’s families, or it can consist of separate events for the bride’s family and the groom’s family, usually celebrated with henna.

In Sanjida and Mim’s case, it was celebrated together and commemorated with a bit of cricket.

Social media users loved the photoshoot, commenting in their droves.

One person wrote: ‘Huge respect for this passion. I think Bangladesh is the most passionate country for cricket.’

Another said: ‘Never before seen cricket being played wearing a saree!’ while a third added: ‘Awesome and inspiring. Passion is identity’.

Congrats to the happy couple.

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Holly Henton thought she’d just got her period when she started experiencing cramps.

But later that day, the pain got much worse and she collapsed, meaning she had to go to hospital.

The 23-year-old coffee shop worker, from Market Harborough, Leics, was rushed to hospital – and she was shocked when doctors told her that she was actually 41 weeks pregnant and about to give birth.

She had no idea she was having a baby as she’s had no symptoms and was still having regular periods.

Stunned Holly was rushed into theatre where her son Theo was born weighing 7lb 14oz by emergency C section.

Now a proud mum to seven-month-old Theo, Holly says she can’t imagine her life without him.

She said: ‘I was still getting my periods as normal and there was nothing unusual going on.

‘I’d put on a little bit of weight but it was just after Christmas and nothing that you would make you think I’m having a baby.

‘I’d put on a couple of pounds but it was around my bum and thighs so I thought it was just from overindulging on chocolate over the festive break.

‘I hadn’t had any of the normal symptoms, no cravings, sickness or nausea either.’

Because she didn’t know she was pregnant, she’d been smoking, drinking and having lots of caffeine throughout.

She said: ‘When they told me I was 41 weeks pregnant I went into shock.

‘I knew I wanted kids one day but further down the line when I was in a happy healthy relationship and older.

‘I was 22 and had no idea I was pregnant so I had still been smoking and going out drinking every weekend with my friends.

‘I used to cover the early shift at Costa so I would get there for 5am and have four coffees before we’d even opened and another two or three during the day.

‘I wouldn’t have done any of that had I known but luckily Theo was still perfectly healthy.

‘It’s been emotional and stressful but it’s also been amazing watching him grow and seeing my bond and connection grow with him every day, I wouldn’t change anything for the world.’

The Costa Coffee barista, she had just helped to shut up her shop for lockdown when she started getting cramps, but dismissed them as pre-menstrual pains.

When normal painkillers did nothing, she became more concerned but it wasn’t until she collapsed on the toilet in the early hours of the morning that her mum, Joanna, 54, decided to ring an ambulance.

Eventually, Holly was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary for initial checks before she was transferred to Leicester General, where a gynaecologist confirmed she was 41 weeks pregnant, but as her waters still hadn’t broken she would need an emergency c-section.

She said: ‘I started getting pains but I was due on my period so I thought it was just cramps and took some paracetamol.

‘That didn’t touch it and the pain was getting steadily worse.

‘I woke up at 5am in excruciating pain and went to the toilet but I couldn’t get back up, the pain was so bad.

‘When I got to the hospital they were asking about my periods but they said it was probably just water retention.

‘When I saw the gynaecologist he told me I was pregnant but I was just stunned, I didn’t even believe him at first.

‘After that it was all kind of a blur, it didn’t even feel real, everyone was rushing around me and I just remember shaking and feeling like I was going to pass out because I was so scared.’

After the c-section, they gave him to Holly and she realised she was a mum. She’s broken up with her ex, Theo’s dad, in August, with no idea she was having his baby.

She said: ‘I broke down in tears and said I’m not ready for this, I’m going to be a single mum, how are we going to manage.

‘There wasn’t that instant connection you have when you’re planning to have a baby and looking forward to it, but I told myself I needed to get on with it and look after this baby.’

Giving birth just as lockdown hit, Holly was able to have her mum there for the birth, she was forced to spend the majority of her four days in hospital alone.

She reached out to Theo’s dad to tell him the news and now the pair have decided to stay friends, working together to raise their surprise son.

She added: ‘I didn’t tell people for a few weeks because I was still coming to terms with it myself, but when I did tell people everyone was amazing, they were coming round with nappies, clothes and all sorts for Theo.

‘My mum was amazing, she was running around getting everything ready for us coming home and was teaching me and showing me how to do things.

‘After a while I started to feel like I was falling in love with him because he was always so happy and content.

‘I would pick him up and he would start smiling and I realised maybe this baby is exactly what I need.

‘I’m so happy now, I can’t imagine my life being any different.’

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When Alan Leek’s health started to deteriorate, the 93-year-old had to give up his beloved dog Cap.

The sheepdog was adopted by SallyAnn Fisher, 51, five years ago.

Since then the widower, who has no close living relatives, hasn’t seen his beloved canine but SallyAnn, an NHS nurse, has kept his phone number.

When the Covid-19 tier system was introduced last week she thought of Alan.

SallyAnn said: ‘I just thought about how lonely he must be, what with everything that’s going on.

‘He was a very active man, a farmer, and now he spends all his time at a care home not able to see many people at all.

‘I just wanted to bring him a little bit of joy.’

So SallyAnn decided to travel 300 miles from her home near home near Marlborough, Wilts.,to Kendal, Cumbria, so Cap could visit Alan at his care home.

She said: ‘Seeing the look on Alan’s face when he saw Cap made the whole trip worthwhile.

‘He was so happy and Cap was too, I definitely think he remembered Alan, it seemed like they had an amazing bond.

‘Cap spent the whole time nuzzling up while Alan gave him a stroke.

‘It was a really emotional experience for us all.’

They were able to stay for an hour with him before leaving to travel 300 miles home.

She said: ‘As Alan got to the door he turned around to give us a wave.

‘I held up Cap’s paw and gave a little wave back and Alan just broke down, it was utterly heart-breaking.’

As Cumbria is currently under tier one, groups of six from different households can visit indoors and outdoors and care home visits are permitted.

SallyAnn said Alan’s wife died some years ago and that he has no children and very little remaining family so he rarely has visitors.

She added: ‘It’s devastating to think that a man like that who worked in the fields all his life is now cooped up.

‘It must be very difficult for him to deal with.

‘Hopefully our visit up there brought him a little bit of joy.’

‘All it took to give Alan a great day was picking up the phone, I hope more people do that as this pandemic goes on.’

Alan said seeing Cap was ‘wonderful’ and left him in tears as it reminded him of his younger days.

Alan said: ‘My visit with Cap was wonderful, I was so pleased and I cried.

‘It was so kind of SallyAnn, I missed Cap – I missed all of my dogs.

‘Cap’s father Glen lived in the house up until he was 17.

‘I can’t walk anymore but seeing Cap reminded me of my younger days when I used to shepherd the fells near Crosby Garrett with him and walk miles.

‘The visit made me feel so happy, pleased and touched by the kindness shown to me.

‘I look forward to another visit from Cap and hope next time he’ll be able to come into the house where it’s warmer.’

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Get in touch at metrolifestyle@metro.co.uk.

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Contains graphic images.

An adorable kitten who suffered horrific burns in a fire has made a miracle recovery after being adopted by the veterinary nurse who saved him.

The seven-week-old animal was rescued by police officers who spotted him lying in the road near a bonfire.

He was taken to Pride Veterinary Centre in Derby where he was given a slim chance of survival last month.

But after an operation to save his eye and dress his wounds, the kitten survived.

Veterinary nurse Jenni Gretton was so taken with him, she started an online campaign to raise money for his treatment.

After just six hours of launching the campaign, wellwishers donated £2,000 to cover his vet’s bills.

Jenni, 32, has now adopted the kitten, who she has named ‘Fire Cat’ after no one came forward to claim him.

The mum-of-one has to cover Fire Cat’s feet in cling film to help them heal and moisturises his eyes several times a day so they don’t dry out.

Jenni, from Mickelover, Derby, said: ‘He smelled of burnt hair because he was singed. All of his fur was charred and his ears and whiskers were burnt.

‘All of the skin on his face was burnt and his eyes were really quite singed. His ears were clinging over the top and he was really sore.

‘He looked worse a few days later when the skin started to peel off – the skin on his face peeled away after a few days.’

Fire Cat was put on fluids and vets were unsure whether he would survive.

‘It was difficult to know whether to carry on with treatment or not. We decided to try,’ added Jenni.

‘We were really unsure at that point what to do because we had never seen a kitten that had been so badly burnt before.

‘We knew there was a high risk of him getting an infection or not being able to breathe properly and we knew how much pain he was in.

‘But we wanted to give him a chance, so we started treatment starting with pain relief.

‘His eyes were really burnt. I flushed his eyes out and cleaned his face to see how bad his injuries were.

‘His lips were burnt away right to his teeth.’

Over the next few days, Fire Cat started doing better. But after no one came forward to claim him, Jenni adopted him.

She added: ‘We still don’t know who his owners were, what happened to him or whether it was malicious or not.

‘I took him home after seven days and his hair started falling off.

‘I was bathing him throughout the day and putting vaseline on his wounds. His skin fell off his face, nose, and nostrils.’

The cat now lives with Jenni, her husband Phil Gretton, 42, and their two-year-old son Jude who gave the kitty his name.

‘Fire Cat fitted in straight away at home and plays with our Cavalier cross breeds, Harvey and Ringo,’ said Jenni.

‘He is really happy and really bright. He is just like a normal kitten except that he looks different.

‘I didn’t think he would get his hair back but it is growing back. He’s too young to go outside and won’t be going out for a while.’

Do you have a story you want to share?

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Do you buy free-range eggs and organic meat, but never question whether your pension is funding factory farming? If so, it might be time to think about whether your money choices should be as ethical as your shopping basket.

New research from Triodos shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has made us more conscious of wanting to invest ethically, not less.

The bank says awareness impact investing is higher than ever, with more than a fifth of investors saying Covid-19 is motivating them to explore investing in sustainable funds.

Nearly four in ten (39 per cent) Brits think ethical investments are the key to addressing the climate issues to avoid future pandemics.

‘It’s clear that many people want a green and fair recovery and are prepared to invest in making it a reality,’ says Gareth Griffiths, Triodos’s head of retail banking.

‘We hope that as society recovers, more people choose to support companies that are prioritising the environment and behaving responsibly to help create a better future for all.’

Whether you are just starting out in investment, or already have stocks and shares Isas, pensions or other investments, ensuring your nest egg is sustainable can be daunting.

So many different types of investments are called ‘green’, ‘ethical’ or ‘sustainable’, and there’s currently no one standard they all adhere to.

Amy Clarke, chief impact officer at Tribe, Britain’s first wealth manager aimed entirely at impact investing, acknowledges it is difficult to find your way through all the labels on so-called green funds.

‘It is an alphabet soup out there, and that makes it difficult for people to invest in the values and the things they care about,’ she says. However, she says investing in companies that are able to generate returns without harming the planet ‘is just good investment sense’.

How to invest ethically

If you are looking to invest ethically, there are a huge variety of different types of product to help you. A good place to start is with your ‘tax wrapper’ – either a pension or an Isa, depending on when you might want to use the funds you are putting away.

A stocks and shares Isa allows you to put up to £20,000 a year into investments without paying capital gains tax if they rise in value, while if you invest in a pension there are significant tax breaks available.

The 20 per cent you pay in basic rate tax on your income is usually added back into your pension pot as you invest, while you can also claim any higher or additional rate tax on that money through your tax return. Most people can pay £40,000 a year into their pension and get this tax relief.

Many of us have a pension through work, and it is often possible to switch your employer pension to a greener fund.

For example, Nest, which was set up by the Government (nestpensions.org.uk) to support the requirement for employers to automatically enrol new joiners into pensions, has an ethical fund with the same charges as its other funds, 0.3 per cent.

The most recent factsheet for the Nest funds showed that the ethical fund has outperformed all but the pension group’s Sharia fund in the five years to June 2020, including its high-risk fund, which is supposed to provide the highest growth.

Making an ethical choice

Those with an employer pension may have few ethical fund choices, but for those of us with a DIY pension such as a Sipp (Self Invested Personal Pension) or Isa, there are many more ethical funds to choose from.

These funds are typically run by an expert fund manager, who will choose investments using a range of criteria, although some might track an index of so-called ethical stocks, such as the FTSE4Good indices.

As mentioned above, there’s no one criterion that makes a fund ethical, although the EU is working on some common guidelines that may be adopted elsewhere in future.

Sometimes you will see funds described as ‘light green’ or ‘dark green’, depending on whether they screen out companies with certain characteristics – such as tobacco or gaming – from their portfolios, or actively choose companies with a good record for sustainability.

If you are confused about how ethical the funds you are looking at are, Interactive Investor (ii.co.uk), is an investment website that allows you to pick your own funds and has a selection of rated ethical funds called the ACE 30.

ACE stands for ‘Avoids, Considers, Embraces’, which describes whether the fund avoids harm, considers environmental and social issues or actively invests in ‘positive impact’ solutions to the world’s problems.

Dzmitry Lipski, head of funds research at Interactive Investor, says, despite a volatile year for equities, the ACE funds ‘shown great resilience’.

‘This is most likely because these funds have little or no exposure to sectors such as oil and hospitality and leisure, which have tanked during the pandemic,’ he says.

The top performer for the ACE 30 over the past year is a fund called iShares Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF which is up nearly 63 per cent since last month.

The fund tracks an index of clean energy stocks across the globe. Ethical funds in the UK have grown less well, as the UK stock market has struggled with economic uncertainties surrounding Brexit on top of the pandemic.

Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at investment platform Willis Owen, recommends several ethical funds for beginners, including Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund, which applies a strict ethical filter to its investment process, excluding mining and energy stocks, tobacco, and banks with investment banking operations.

He also likes ASI UK Ethical Equity which he says follows a ‘strict ethical process’, excluding companies that cause environmental damage, animal testing, genetic engineering, intensive farming, alcohol, pornography, gambling, tobacco and weapons.

It actively chooses companies with environmental technology, companies that promote equal opportunities, that donate to charities or are strongly involved in the community, and companies with good principles of business behaviour and ethics.

Alternative providers

As well as buying ethical funds through a standard fund provider, there are some specialist companies where you can invest directly.

Triodos Bank offers three types of ethical Isa – a cash one, which has a rate of only 0.45 per cent APR, and two investment Isas.

The first is a stocks and shares Isa that invests in a portfolio of ethical stocks, while the second is an innovative dinance Isa, which allows you to invest directly into early stage ethical companies.

Innovative finance Isas (IFISAs) mean that you take on more risk, as early-stage companies are more likely to fold, so you might not get your money back.

Essentially, they are a form of crowdfunding.

Triodos’ IFISA investments include a YMCA in Newark-upon-Trent, that wants to raise money to build a new community centre and is offering a six per cent bond.

Previous offers included a four per cent bond from the bank, and a five per cent bond aimed at raising money for a sustainable supermarket in Worthing, West Sussex.

You could also invest through Abundance (abundanceinvestment.com), which offers the chance for investors to put their money into their local councils to develop green initiatives.

The first ever council green bond – for West Berkshire – raised £1m this month, which will be used to fund projects with the local Wildlife Trust to protect and enhance the natural environment, to update traffic signals to LED, and to build cycleways to promote sustainable transport. In turn it pays investors 1.2 per cent.

It is worth noting these bonds usually require you to tie up your money for a certain period, though they can be bought and sold. The West Berkshire bond lasts for five years.

While this bond is now closed, there are others in the pipeline in Warrington and Leeds. Bruce Davis, co-founder and managing director of Abundance Investment, says: ’We’re excited that the UK’s first Community Municipal Investment has had such a positive response and fully expect these will become as well known and integral to people’s investment portfolios as National Savings and Investments is now.’

‘Our bonds offer investors the ability to invest for a low risk and receive a fixed return while knowing their money is working to accelerate the UK’s progress to Net Zero.’

Will I make money?

Of course there is always a risk with investments, whether bonds or shares, that you may not get back what you invested and it is wise to only invest money you know you won’t need immediately.

However, recent figures from Willis Owen, an investment platform, indicate that over the last ten years, ethical indices have outperformed their non-ethical peers in the UK and US over one, three, five and ten years.

The FTSE4Good UK Index, an index of UK companies with strong Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) ratings, has risen 125 per cent over ten years, compared with the FTSE All Share index at 118 per cent. The FTSE4Good US Index has risen 373 per cent over a decade, compared with the benchmark Standard & Poor 500 at 321 per cent.

Adrian Lowcock, at Willis Owen, says that this is partly to do with falls in the oil price, mining and tobacco sectors. ‘Many ethical funds have no exposure to these areas and therefore have protected investors.’

There is growing evidence that companies with strong ESG principles in all areas do better than their counterparts.

‘Companies that behave responsibly and incorporate environmental, social and governance principles into their businesses are better custodians of capital, and in turn provide better long-term returns for investors,’ he says.

Good for your finances and good for our battered planet, too.

CASE STUDY: ‘I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem’

Louis Velati, 19, a student in Manchester, received a small inheritance this year, and over lockdown he decided to put it into an ethical stocks and shares Isa.

‘I had a bit of time to research,’ he says. ‘I looked at cash interest rates but they were really poor, whereas with stocks and shares I thought that although there has been a bit of an economic meltdown, it could only go up from here.’

Louis had been involved in school strikes and other climate campaigning, so he wanted to make sure his investments were also as ethical as possible.

‘I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem,’ he says.

‘I try to be conscious of what I am consuming and I want my money to do that, too. I did a bit of research into different green funds and went with Triodos because it had good performance and there is a focus on climate change, which a major concern for me.

‘I do think my generation is more interested in this, but we do not have as much money to invest as older generations, so it might be a while before behaviour is changed more broadly.’

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In this week’s edition of On The Road, our series all about life’s journeys, we chat with Jodie Kidd about her favourite travel experiences, from swimming with dolphins to seeing the llamas while walking the Inca Trail.

The model and broadcaster, 42, shares her best travel stories about mind-blowing Botswana, sleeping in rowing boats and eating pigeon brain in Morocco.

What has been your favourite moment on-the-road moment?

A photo shoot for American Elle magazine. I went to the Bahamas and swam with dolphins. It was just myself, the trainer and the dolphins. It was a really magical moment.

I was only 17 and to be able to swim with them while being photographed by one of the world’s best photographers was just an amazing experience.

And your favourite city?

Cusco in Peru. I went there to walk the Inca trail. It’s a beautiful place, so high up in the Andes, and from the centre of the city it’s just a five-minute walk to all these fantastic Incan ruins.

The food was great, and I loved walking around and seeing all the llamas and the villagers coming into town in their brightly coloured clothes.

When have you been most frightened when travelling?

In Mexico City. I was transiting through the city prior to a photo shoot. I was quite young, didn’t speak a word of Spanish and was booked into this dodgy hotel on the outskirts of the city.

There were cockroaches everywhere and a huge storm came in. The roof collapsed and water was literally pouring on to my bed.

Have you ever pinched anything from a hotel room?

I think everyone has a pair of slippers. The most ridiculous thing was the time I took a small teddy bear from a Monte Carlo hotel room.

It was my first trip without my son and they had a little bear in the room. I took it but when I got home I discovered the hotel had added a charge to my credit card for the bear – around £400!

What is the best souvenir you’ve come home with?

I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2016 to raise money for Help For Heroes and I took a small chunk of stone from the top. It’s on my windowsill.

Don’t worry – it’s not tanzanite [a rare mineral] or anything like that. It’s a very boring, small brown stone but it’s just a reminder of the incredible moment when I made it to the top.

What has been your most life-changing moment while travelling?

That was the first time I went on safari in Botswana. As someone who’s been brought up in the countryside, I was blown away by the magnitude of it all.

It was so beautiful to see all these animals roaming wild.

What has been the worst meal you’ve had abroad?

I was in Morocco and bought so many rugs from a rug shop that the family who owned the store invited me to dinner.

I was quite fussy as a youngster but at one point a plate of chicken came out. I ate it all and was telling everyone how delicious it was.

I then found out I’d eaten the brains of a sheep and a pigeon.

Where’s the strangest place you’ve spent the night?

I’ve just completed this new TV show [Don’t Rock The Boat, due to air on ITV in November], which required me to row from Cornwall to Scotland – from Land’s End to John O’Groats – which is over 500 miles.

I had to sleep in the rowing boat’s tiny cabin in the middle of a storm. I’m over six feet tall and I was thinking, ‘What am I doing?’

Where are you hoping to go next?

We had so many trips planned, all of which have been cancelled! We had plans to see family in Barbados, Spain and France.

One thing I’d like to do when all this is over is to spend some time exploring the western side of Scotland – islands like Jura and Islay.

Jodie Kidd is teaming up with Tyrrells Hand Cooked English crisps to support British pubs following the Covid-19 crisis.

5p from special edition packs will be donated to the Licensed Trade Charity. Donate via tyrrellscrisps.co.uk

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