Reader's Digest UK Aug 2023

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CHANGING LIVES

THROUGH FOOTBALL

FATTY LIVER DISEASE Understanding More About The “Silent Killer”

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Olly Mann on why he treasures quality time with his kids on the daily walk to school

The folk musician on festivals, fatherhood and honouring his muse, Judy Garland

The renowned BBC Radio presenter looks back on a life spent uncovering the top international stories

As the Women's World Cup dominates our screens, we meet five women footballers championing the beautiful game and its future

Five vintage car owners open up about nostalgia, community and remembering simpler times

Most of us don't realise we're suffering from this silent killer— these are the signs to watch for

Having something to look forward to is good for our wellbeing. Here's how to enjoy more anticipation in your life

What you can learn about the world (and universe) from a grain of sand

One traveller takes to America's rivers to find out what really unites and divides his country

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Expectation The Of Art

The term “mindfulness” has become a ubiquitous buzzword in the world of popular psychology, with meditation apps now a staple on our phones, and our daily activities, such as preparing dinner or taking care of our skin, elevated to a spiritual level. But where does that leave anticipation? Is it mindfulness’ malevolent counterpart, fostering anxiety and hindering our ability to fully enjoy life?

Holly Burns, in her thought-provoking piece on p56, argues quite the opposite. She suggests that having something to look forward to can actually enhance our mood and reduce stress. The best part is that it doesn’t have to be a grand event like an extravagant party or a once-ina-lifetime trip; the anticipation of small, delightful experiences can be equally enjoyable.

For Olly Mann, for example, it’s the daily 15-minute trek to school with his two kids and dog in tow, playing games like “Count the Slugs” (for the rules, turn to p14) or trying to explain to them how ice cream is made. Similarly, our new food and drink columnist, Paola Westbeek, derives pleasure from planning and looking forward to alfresco dinner parties where she can share her love for food with her family and friends. Discover her delightful guide to the art of fuss-free entertaining on p124.

Eva

eva mackevic Editor-in-Chief

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Over To You

LETTERS ON THE June ISSUE

We pay £30 for every published letter

Singing Soothes

Anicka Quin’s article “When Music Is Medicine” in the June issue caught my attention. I’ve been through three years of CT and MRI scans (all successful, thankfully) and for the latter it was suggested I bring a CD to play while I was in the scanner.

Also, I recall being told when my mother-in-law was in a care home in her nineties with Alzheimer’s, how she didn’t know what to do with the carol sheet at Christmas. But as soon as the music started, she sang every word to every verse.

It is well-known that music can be therapeutic and even when you are healthy it has many benefits, such as regular breathing—the longer

breaths needed for long phrases and extended notes. Similarly, the posture when standing, especially when in concert mode. I’m in the Mendip Male Voice Choir who meet once a week, but we also practise at home. The choir recently did a concert with a small choir from a charity that supports teenagers with learning difficulties. The concert did us all good!

In addition, the camaraderie and fun choir members have together, often with an enjoyable social time afterwards, all add to the general health and wellbeing of everyone. So, join a choir, there is sure to be one near you.

MARTIN DYMOND

Fixed On The Buzz

Dr Max’s “Taking a Gamble” in your Health section struck a chord with me.

My stepson has been gambling since he was 16—he first learned to play poker in his Sixth Form House. He's 35 now and still gambling mostly online, and occasionally in casinos. One day he won £5,000, but by the morning he had lost it. He has been to university and holds down a good job. He gets very depressed. He is always borrowing money, has many loans and has credit card bills. We have helped out, but no more. He had an inheritance which he spent within just two months.

Sadly, most gamblers are fixated on the buzz. Just like a young horse learning bad habits (which lead to unfulfilled potential) the same can be said for gamblers. They build habit on habit, without even realising they are in the grip of them.

It seems as though many people are willing to take a last throw of the dice to try and win that life changing sum of money, even though the odds on winning the lottery jackpot are some 14 million to one. I don't even buy a lottery ticket.

BETHANY WEBB, Clwyd, Wales

Fun To Revive

What an interesting article “A Human History in Rust” was. I just never realised, and I think it’s amazing that a rusty item can be restored to its former beauty. From reviving roadside chairs to flea market tools to a 1940s vintage lathe, there are so many great restoration projects.

I would love an old telephone booth, but sadly the few that are advertised cost a lot of money—even if they are in very bad condition!

There appears to be a restoration fad going on within the maker community, and it's easy to see why. Vintage tools (I have lots of my grandfather’s tools in the shed) are not only frequently better made than modern tools, they are also cheaper, and they come with untold stories encoded within their scratches and dents. They must be fun to revive.

I noted all the discarded mobile phones in Delhi, India, which workers strip parts out of for reuse. I approve. And my great uncle still has a battered about black and white TV. He's been offered a lot of money for it, but he won't give it up. Thank you, this article made my day!

ALEXA MILLWARD, Flintshire

POETRY CORNER

Want to see your short poem published in Reader’s Digest?

Whether you’re a seasoned poet or just getting started, we’d love to see your work!

Email us at readersletters@ readersdigest.co.uk Include your full name, address and the title of the poem. We’ll pay £30 for every published piece

Work by Sue Cawte, London

There is a lot of negativity in the press About the state of the NHS

I don’t agree so I have to protest There are a lot of cases that are a success

With the right support people’s lives progress When they’d initially been such a mess

I am a bit biased though I have to confess As I currently work for the NHS

There are the odd days when I feel the stress And want to send out an SOS

But on the whole I feel truly blessed To be working with staff who try their best

And work long hours without much rest With their limits being put to the test

I’d therefore like to suggest There is more positivity in the press

And we celebrate the 75 years as a success

Double Take by Jo Wallace, Portsmouth

Rest on the air and gently settle, Leap for the skies and show your mettle. Glorious globe of bright sky blue, Sleek brown muscles rippling through.

Lazily settling near the earth, Leap for the globe for all you’re worth. Fragile shape, with tenuous life, Cut through the skies as keen as a knife.

A meeting of souls at a midway spot. Cold black nose kisses cool blue blot. Gently nudge and it’s off to the moon, A boxer dog and his blue balloon.

turn the page

…DIFFERENTLY

In summer the Maharloo often takes on an intense pink colour. The reason for this is algae in the water of the salt lake in southwestern Iran. Summers there are characterised by low precipitation. If evaporation then causes low water, the lake begins to glow. If you want to admire the pink splendour, however, you should first clarify whether the Maharloo has any water at all. In the hot season, it frequently dries up completely.

Walking Sunshine on

Olly Mann explains why he enjoys taking his kids to school every day

Olly Mann presents Four Thought for BBC Radio 4, and the podcasts The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped and The Retrospectors

My mate Nick, a busy lawyer for a tech company, recently talked me through his schedule. He works late three days per week, and some nights doesn’t see his children at bedtime. “Ah, that’s a shame,” I said. “But at least you have the mornings.” He frowned at me. “Why would you want the mornings?” he scowled, as if espousing a profound truth. “Mornings are hell.”

Now, I’m instinctively a night owl, so being woken at 6am by kids was hardly a welcome addition to my life when it came, but I’m pleased to say my perspective on mornings is sunnier than Nick’s. I suspect our differing views arise partly from our opposing positions on television: he and his wife simply don’t own a TV, preferring instead to dip into prestige dramas while balancing iPads on their bedsheets, whereas in my house we have four TVs. Our lounge, if you squint a bit, resembles the IMAX at the Planetarium.

I don’t see the harm in letting my kids watch a bit of telly before school, so long as they still make time to get dressed, eat breakfast and brush their teeth. This balance took years to achieve: a routine steadily drilled into them via a daily regime of pausing CBeebies—amid tantrums and screams—to fulfil each mundane activity; but, now they’ve observed that the quicker they perform their essential tasks, the quicker their entertainment will resume, the

THE

up Paramount+, and select an ageappropriate entertainment all by himself. We had just enjoyed our first lie-in for seven years.

Another difference between me and Nick is that he employs an au pair, who as part of her responsibilities takes the sprogs to school. But, in our family, it’s me and the dog who do the school run, and—don’t tell my wife— but it’s actually one of my favourite times of the day. It’s a 15-minute straight trek down a main road, with

MORNING SCHOOL RUN IS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TIMES OF THE DAY

morning necessities are ticked off with speed and proficiency.

In fact, the proudest moment of my parenting life might just have been last Saturday morning, when I turned round to check the clock on my bedside table and realised, with shock, that it was 8:40am. Panic pulsed through me as I came to terms with the fact that both boys had surely been abducted, and the rest of my weekend would be spent pleading with the police and howling at reporters on my lawn…but then I heard the muted theme from Blaze and the Monster Machines emanating from our Devialet soundbar, and realised with sheer ecstasy that what had actually happened was my older son had worked out how to pick up the remote control, open

little of visual interest, so I have been forced to invent little games to keep us occupied.

"Count the Slugs" is a typical example (around a dozen can be anticipated on a wet winter’s morning). On Wednesdays, in a novel twist on the format, we do "Count the Bins" (Wednesday is bin collection day. The jeopardy arises from the variable number of residents who recall this is the case). "Guess the Colour" is a more intense affair, in which each participant (the dog excluded) must predict the colour of the next vehicle to whizz past us on the verge. The victor tends to be whoever plumps for muted palettes (there are simply more silver, black and grey cars than bright ones), but the man who bravely

gambles for yellow or pink and is actually proven correct receives a thrilling cheer from all the other contestants playing.

Obviously, life isn’t all Blueystyle hijinks. Some days, we are lashed with sideways rain, or fall into puddles. Sometimes, Toby (the three-year-old) declares that he needs a wee at the mid-way point, then whines for the rest of the walk that I won’t allow him to urinate in the road. A little too often, one of their water bottles spills in my backpack, slowly moistening my lower spine without me realising; then, with grim inevitability, it dribbles down into my underpants. And I feel slight shame that the boys have learned to obediently parrot the abuse I shout out at cars doing 50mph+: “Slow down, you idiot!"

But, on other days, this quarter of an hour provides me privileged access to my kids when they’re at their freshest; rather than at the end of the day, when they’re tired, hungry, and irritable. They ask stimulating questions (although usually can’t hear my answers over the drowning noise of the traffic): “How is ice cream made?”, “How many days is it until we next go to Legoland?”, “How long would it take to drive to Mars?”.

Best of all, there’s the walk back: just me and the dog, enjoying the silence; pausing to post a letter (me), or take a c**p on the driveway at number 53 (him). A moment to recharge and reset, ahead of a day’s work, and feel gratitude for the joy of my family, and perhaps more grateful still that someone has just taken them off my hands for the day. Oh, what a beautiful morning! n

The Fringe is one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture in the world and takes place every August (this year August 4-28) in Scotland's capital

The famous festival includes a wide variety of different kind of shows and performances all over the city, from comedy and theatre to music and cabaret

From famous names like Frank Skinner and Rhod Gilbert to upcoming talent from all over the world, there is something for everyone at Fringe

SOURCE: EDFRINGE.COM

Edinburgh Fringe

Rufus Wainwright

On Folk, Fatherhood And Fame

By Simon Button

With a folk covers album and upcoming 50th birthday, Canadian-American singer Rufus Wainwright is drawing influence from the past

As he marks 25 years since the release of his debut album, Rufus Wainwright muses: “I’ve learned to take advantage of my failings. I tend to be pretty, well, not lackadaisical but I’m very instinctual. I don’t spend all my time studying and practising. I let my heart take me where it wants to go and I always like to maintain a certain level of ignorance.”

He used to think that approach might be a negative character trait. “But over the years I’ve realised it’s kind of an asset. I’ve maintained a sense of discovery whenever I’m doing anything new or interesting. It’s always very dangerous and exciting for me, as opposed to something I’ve fully mastered.”

The man whose albums include 2020’s Unfollow the Rules has always marched to the beat of his own drum. Whether it’s mining diverse musical styles, composing operas or recreating Judy Garland’s Carnegie Hall concert album live on stage, he’s an iconoclast who defies categorisation.

When we speak he’s at home in Laurel Canyon, casual in a loosefitting shirt, sporting a grey beard and a full head of dark hair. He’s looking forward to performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival in what he promises will be “a fun show” with his new folk band, which includes his half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche and his musician friend Petra Haden. Is there anything he especially enjoys about performing outdoors? “I was going to say that it depends on the weather,” Rufus grins, “but I have quite a few fantastic memories of performing in England for outdoor crowds when the weather has been pretty crap and people get into it anyway.

“Especially in the northern hemisphere of Europe, there’s a kind of acceptance that you’re just going to have to contend with the elements. If it’s a beautiful evening then you’re in luck, but if not you’re going to have a great time anyway.”

The son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle partly grew up on the festival circuit. “Oh God, I’ve been to so many festivals,” he says in that unmistakable laidback drawl of his. “I came to the Cambridge Festival as a kid with my parents and I thought the world was one big festival for a while. If only.”

(Left) Rufus and his mother

Kate McGarrigle; (Right) The cover of his new covers LP, Folkocracy

Rufus will have celebrated his milestone birthday by the time he takes to the stage in Cambridge. “It’s a big one for sure and funnily enough I’ll be turning 50 in Dublin when I play the National Concert Hall there [on July 22].”

With Irish roots on his mother’s side and fond memories of visits to the country when he was young, he adds: “I think that’s kismet, considering my provenance and the fact I’m releasing a folk album. Ireland is a pretty good place to lift off from into the next decade. It was never planned that way, like, ‘Now I’m 50 I’m going to harken back to my childhood and mine that territory’, but it’s funny that it’s happening now. It’s a bit spooky.”

The album in question is a studio set called Folkocracy, which sees him

collaborating with the likes of John Legend, Chaka Khan, Sheryl Crow and Susanna Hoffs on reimaginings of folk classics. “It’s me reaching back to my childhood,” Wainwright explains, “and trying to recapture some of that poetry and that philosophy, where people would just make music in the same room and sing songs that were passed down over the generations. It’s about bringing some humanity back to the music-making process because it has got quite mechanical.”

Music as a career was always on the cards for Rufus, who was born in New York and (after his parents divorced when he was just three years old) spent his formative years

in Montreal. “I was groomed, trained and supported by my mother from the get-go, so there was never any question about that,” he says of following in his parents’ creative footsteps as a musician. They were successful and respected. “But they were by no means big stars and they didn’t make big money. Even though my life might not have been as glamorous as it was for some of my other friends, like Sean Lennon or Adam Cohen, I think artistically I dodged a few bullets. It was always about the music, not the career. It was all about the songs and I was able to focus on that rather than the trappings of celebrity. I’ve tasted a bit of that

“I’VE TASTED THE TRAPPINGS OF CELEBRITY BUT I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT TO MAKE IT ABOUT THE ART”

since but I was always taught to make it about the art itself.”

As a teenager he and his sister Martha toured with their mother Kate and aunt Anna. He identified as gay from around the age of 13 or 14, but his parents didn’t want to discuss it. “They were the adults so maybe they should have been a little more mature about it,” he feels now. “But to be fair it was a very intense period of time. I was having affairs with men at a time when AIDS was devastating the gay male world. I think they were scared and I was too, so we just kind of rolled along.”

He moved back to New York in 1996 and tried to make a name for himself on the club circuit to no avail. Undeterred, he landed a contract with DreamWorks Records and recorded his self-titled debut album in Los Angeles, releasing it in 1998 to critical acclaim. He moved back to New York and lived at the legendary Chelsea Hotel. “That was a lot of fun. I wore black and stuff. It was great.”

There was drink and drugs as he worked on his second album Poses and, as he later admitted, he got addicted to crystal meth.

“It was important for me to speak out about that,” he says now. “With other substances like alcohol I consider that part of the journey and I wouldn’t change it because I learned a lot of things and had a lot of fun. But once crystal meth came into the picture it was so awful and dangerous. I thought it was necessary to sound the alarm about that particular drug because especially for gay men it’s such an Achilles’ heel.”

He has a devoted fanbase who flocked to Carnegie Hall across two nights in 2006 to witness him recreate Garland’s concert album in its entirety—a feat he repeated in London, Paris and LA. There are

rumours that Judy’s daughter Liza Minnelli tried to stop the concerts from happening, which Rufus doesn’t comment on beyond saying: “We got off on the wrong foot and she didn’t approve.”

He thinks Garland would have approved, though. “Or maybe not,” he laughs. And if he could go back in time and ask Garland anything, what would it be? “I’d just want

“I FEEL INCREDIBLY HONOURED TO TAKE CARE OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, IT’S VERY PROFOUND”

Wainwright, with Lorna Luft (Judy Garland’s daughter), performs a revival of Garland’s Carnegie Hall concert at the London Palladium

Rufus Wainwright and his husband Jörn Weisbrodt

to listen to her talk about everything. I would basically just shut up.”

Married to German art administrator Jörn Weisbrodt, Rufus is co-parenting daughter Viva with Lorca (daughter of Leonard) Cohen and finds his family life every bit as fulfilling as his work. “It happened around the time my mother passed

away [in 2010], so it was this sort of transfer of genetic affection,” he smiles, reflecting on life. “I feel blessed and incredibly honoured to be given the responsibility to take care of another human being. It’s incredibly profound.” n

Rufus Wainwright performs at the Cambridge Folk Festival on July 29. His new album Folkocracy is out now

Tongue Tribute

The tongue is one of the hardest working muscles in the human body, moving to form the sounds you make when you speak and moving your food around your mouth during the day and moving saliva down your throat as you sleep at night

SOURCE: LOC.GOV

I REMEMBER… Justin Webb

Justin Webb reporting from The White House

(Left) A young Justin; (Centre) At boarding school in 1977; (Right) With friend and colleague

Justin Webb, 62, is one of the most recognisable voices on BBC Radio as a regular presenter on the Today programme on Radio Four. Growing up in Bath, he began his radio career as a cub reporter in Belfast for the BBC in 1984 before returning to London to become presenter of BBC's Breakfast News and serving as the BBC’s North America Editor in Washington DC. He now lives in Camberwell, South London, with his wife Sarah and they have three children together.

Jeremy Bowen

MY EARLIEST MEMORY IS BEING TOLD WHO MY FATHER WAS. Mum and I were watching children’s TV when the news came on presented by the 1970s newsreader Peter Woods. “That’s your father,” she said. Then she left the room to make tea. We never spoke about him again and I never met him. I never questioned it and I still don’t. There was a slight tinge of regret when I was working on my memoir, and I had to write the words, "We never met", but really I’m so glad we didn’t meet. It wouldn’t have been good for him or his family.

I WAS A SOLITARY CHILD —I spent hours in my childhood home in Bath listening to the radio that I was given

for my 11th birthday. It opened up the world and gave me an insight into the news of the 1970s as I grew up during that decade: strikes and IRA bombs and the Cold War. I loved it. I wanted to be part of the world.

MY HAPPIEST MEMORIES ARE OF COACH TRIPS WHEN I WAS YOUNG. We would go on day trips from Bath, and Mum and I would escape from an unhappy home for a day by the sea or in London, or just travelling along. I wanted more than anything to be a coach driver.

I WENT TO A QUAKER BOARDING SCHOOL IN SOMERSET where we grew our hair and smoked cannabis and failed exams. I feel lucky to have

escaped in the end and scraped into university. I travelled around Europe as a student and was almost killed in a coach accident in Yugoslavia. One poor chap was crushed to death when we came off the road. I carried on by train. In the photographs I look confident but I think the shock was profound.

LIFE WAS TOUGHER IN THE 1970S but also, for children, simpler. I remember when I needed some money to buy my first LP (it was by the Scottish singer Frankie Miller), I worked for an afternoon picking potatoes in a local field. At the end of the day I think I got a few quid and took it straight to the record shop. And then got the bus home with the record in a bag. Very satisfying!

BEFORE I WENT TO UNIVERSITY I MADE A TRIP TO NEW YORK which in the 1970s was properly grungy and dangerous. There were bus tours to go and see the worst parts of the city in which tourists were thought to be safe. Much of New York was a kind of bomb site in that time; huge burned out buildings dominated the landscape in the poorer parts, as people deliberately set fire to property in order to claim the insurance. It all made a big impression on a boy who had not often left the city of Bath; terrifying and thrilling at the same time.

ONE OF THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF MY LIFE WAS GETTING ONTO THE BBC TRAINING SCHEME at the age of 23 and meeting my dear

YEARS LATER I FOUND MYSELF

(Left) As a young newsreader; (Centre) Reporting on the first Gulf War in 1991; (Right) Travelling in Turkey in 1982 , friend Jeremy Bowen. We thought we had the world at our feet and, in those days, BBC trainees were indeed hugely privileged. We both knew we wanted to be in front of microphones and making a splash. In our own way, I suppose we have.

IN SAUDI ARABIA the day that USled forces re-took Kuwait. The whole experience was strange. We lived under the shadow of talk of the use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein. We wore these weird "nuclear biological and chemical" suits that were completely sealed in, but the training we had was rudimentary at best. In the event of having to use them in a panic, there

is no question in my mind that we would all have perished, probably strangling ourselves on the cuffs and fasteners long before any chemical took effect. I remember that we got into unarmoured cars and simply followed the tanks over the sand dunes. I am not sure health and safety would have been keen but we survived it.

I

PRESENTED BBC1’S BREAKFAST NEWS PROGRAMME IN THE 1990S and I disliked it, mainly because I wasn’t any good at it. I struggled with that easy manner in front of a camera, like Bill Turnbull and Jill Dando had. Clive Myrie is brilliant at it but I just felt a distance between me and the camera. Some days it was me and Andrew Harvey

doing the show and so there wasn’t even that sexual chemistry—or even a bromance between us, although he is a very lovely guy. I just didn’t enjoy any aspect of it at all.

I WAS BASED IN AMERICA DURING THE PERIOD AFTER THE ATTACKS OF 9/11. It was a huge thrill to be there and to report on such a momentous time in US history. My young children grew up there and we still have a huge love for the nation and the American people. I loved going to the White House and living in what seemed like a film set.

,

I REMEMBER, FROM MY YEARS OF PRESENTING THE TODAY PROGRAMME with John Humphrys

that his dream was always to interview Her Majesty. I’d have loved to have interviewed her too, of course. But John also did say that, no matter how many times he asked the Palace, he thought how very wise she was to say no! She did the right thing but God, it would have been fascinating to hear John and the Queen together, wouldn’t it?

I DECIDED A FEW YEARS AGO TO BUILD AN ECO-POD IN MY GARDEN. I built it to sleep in when I do the Today programme. I didn’t want to be the ogre father who demanded the rest of the house and my children, when they were growing up, had to be silent after 8pm as "Dad is sleeping", so I

(Left) BBC Radio 4 staff and Justin, third from left, top row, celebrate the Today programme's 60th anniversary; (Right) Justin conducting an interview

decided to start taking myself down to the pod to sleep—and I still do!

I’VE RECENTLY PUBLISHED MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, which tells my story of the 1970s and my early life. It's not about journalism—there are far too many books written about our craft, in my opinion—but more about the psychology of coping and the need for resilience and humour in all of life. It's

dedicated to my step-father, who was deeply mentally ill and led a pretty awful life, and to my mum, who loved me with fierce determination and who was always confident that, somehow, I would be OK. n

As told to Rob Crossan

The Gift Of A Radio by Justin Webb is published by Doubleday and is out now, priced £10.99

The British Museum

Opening its doors in 1759, the British Museum is the world's oldest national public museum. It was free to all "studious and curious persons" and still is today SOURCE:

DO YOU HAVE THIS LIVER CONDITION?

UP TO ONE IN THREE PEOPLE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED NAFLD. BUT MANY OF THEM HAVE NO IDEA

BY Lisa Bendall

By the summer of 2019, Jackson Griffiths, then 42 years old, had been feeling tired and lethargic, off and on, for about five years. Yet nothing had been flagged as abnormal in medical check-ups.

But then the holiday company executive, based in North London, suddenly developed swelling and a rash on his legs. This time, after running tests, Griffiths’ doctor informed him he had type 2 diabetes.

Over the next several months, as Griffiths adjusted to the diagnosis by learning to test his blood sugar and keep it steady by eating more regularly, his doctor sent him for more tests. They were looking for conditions that often crop up in people with diabetes, such as heart disease and liver or kidney problems.

In early 2021, after an ultrasound of his liver to check for fat and scarring, followed by a liver biopsy, Griffiths got some alarming news: he had something called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

With this condition, the organ damage looks similar to that caused by heavy drinking, but the actual cause is steatosis—a build-up of excess fat in the liver so that it accounts for more than five to ten per cent of the organ’s weight.

NAFLD progresses in stages. A fat build-up (stage one) triggers inflammation (stage two), which, over many years, can cause scarring (stage

three), also known as fibrosis. The scarring interferes with normal liver function. If a high amount of scar tissue and nodules form, making the liver harder, it’s classified as cirrhosis, or stage four. Cirrhosis carries a high risk of liver cancer and can eventually lead to liver failure, which necessitates an organ transplant.

Griffiths, who had never been a heavy drinker, was at stage three, with significant scarring of his liver, and was well on his way to reaching the threshold for cirrhosis. “I was in such shock that I didn’t register what the specialist was telling me,” he recalls. When he asked the doctor if it was a long-term condition, the answer was yes. “I thought, I’m in trouble here. I’m not going to get better.”

It was only when Griffiths reached out to the charitable organisation British Liver Trust for support that he learned he could gradually reverse some of the damage if he made lifestyle changes and lost weight. “I realised that I had to do something,” he says.

Griffiths didn’t always eat well or exercise, so he was overweight; he’d hovered around 20 stone since his mid-twenties. He consulted a dietitian to learn about healthy eating and added new foods to his diet, like quinoa, kimchee and wild salmon. He began walking in the park and swimming. He even connected with a therapist to help him handle workrelated stress. Now 46, Griffiths lost

more than two stone in the year following his diagnosis.

He also began participating in online support groups hosted by British Liver Trust, where he could talk with other people also living with the condition, NAFLD.

“That has helped me deal with the diagnosis,” he says. “It’s comforting and it’s grounding.”

Organs Get Fat, Too

A diagnosis of NAFLD usually comes as a surprise to patients, says Dr Eline Wouters-van den Berg, a researcher and resident in gastroenterology and hepatology at the University Medical

Centre Groningen in the Netherlands. “Everybody knows there’s an obesity epidemic, but people don’t know that organs also get fat.”

The liver is particularly susceptible because, among its many functions, it makes and stores fats. When we take in too many calories while sedentary, it creates an imbalance, causing fat in the liver to build up, which can lead to the organ’s inflammation. That can result in scarring and cirrhosis.

“I was a comfort eater,” acknowledges Griffiths, who habitually reached for cake or sugary soft drinks during times of stress. Besides obesity, metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high levels of triglycerides (a type of fat that can be measured in a blood test) are strongly associated with fatty liver. The list of risk factors also includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnoea.

While fatty liver disease was once an uncommon diagnosis, it’s been skyrocketing as obesity rates have risen around the world. Data from 17 countries, collected for a study published in The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2022, estimated that the prevalence rate of NAFLD

rose by more than 12 per cent from 2005 to 2016.

Today, the condition affects as much as one-third of the adult population, with the highest rates showing up in countries where obesity is common. According to current estimates, as many as one billion people worldwide have NAFLD. Wouters-van den Berg’s own research found that 22 per cent of Dutch adults are suspected of having it. “That’s millions of people with fatty liver disease,” she notes. And most never realise it.

Not everyone with stage-one NAFLD will go on to develop scarring and worsening liver disease, however.

Estimates range widely, from three to 40 per cent, depending on the populations being studied. And although researchers have uncovered a few clues, they still don’t know exactly how to identify the people most at risk of developing cirrhosis. Genetics can play a role, says Dr Hannes Hagström, a researcher in the epidemiology of NAFLD and a consultant in hepatology at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. “For instance, there are mutations of a particular gene that tend to be associated with a higher degree of liver fat,” he says. This might help explain “lean NAFLD,” the ten per cent of people with the condition who aren’t obese. Drinking alcohol, even in moderate amounts, can aggravate NAFLD in someone already at elevated risk.

But there’s another significant reason that not everyone with NAFLD is destined for liver failure: those who have it are at 37 per cent greater risk than average for cardiovascular events like stroke or heart attack, which are more likely to kill you first, since liver disease advances slowly. Says Hagström, “It can take

20 years or more for someone with NAFLD to develop cirrhosis.”

It’s not clear whether NAFLD worsens cardiovascular disease or vice versa—or whether these conditions just share a lot of the same risk factors. In fact, they’re so interconnected that many experts now prefer to call the condition “metabolic associated fatty liver disease,” or MAFLD.

How Do You Know If You Have It?

Even if it takes decades to reach endstage liver disease, NAFLD takes a toll over those years. “These patients have a measurable impairment in quality of life. They do not feel as well,” says Dr Jörn Schattenberg, who practises gastroenterology and hepatology at the Mainz University Medical Centre in Germany. “They are also less productive and are absent from work more often.”

Since an early diagnosis can provide an opportunity to heal some of the damage, and even be lifesaving, it’s critical the condition doesn’t go undiscovered. Unfortunately, symptoms may be silent or nonspecific in the early stages of inflammation: a bit of fatigue, maybe, or a vague ache in the upper right abdomen. “Anybody can have those symptoms,” says Schattenberg. “If you have left-sided chest pain, you think it’s a heart attack. But when it’s rightsided discomfort, and a little tiredness, very few people think of liver disease.”

Unlike other illnesses, such as breast cancer, there’s no routine screening for NAFLD. And while it may be straightforward to figure out who is likely to have a fatty liver based on risk factors like their waist circumference, cholesterol levels and blood pressure, traditionally the only definitive way to assess the disease has been a biopsy. But extracting a liver sample with a needle to check for fat content, inflammation and damage is costly and invasive. It can

AN EXCITING NEW AREA OF DIAGNOSTICS INVOLVES FINDING BIOMARKERS IN A NON-INVASIVE WAY

lead to serious complications like bleeding—and can even be inaccurate anyway.

“Biopsy isn’t a feasible approach for large-scale screening, especially given the high prevalence of the disease,” says Dr Michele Vacca, who works at the Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology at London’s Foundation for Liver Research, and at the University of Bari in Italy.

One non-invasive option is imaging, which has recently become more advanced. In wide use only within the last five to ten years, a

specialised ultrasound, sold under the brand name FibroScan, can evaluate the level of liver scarring and track its progress. It’s the test that Griffiths got, which led to his diagnosis.

Another exciting new area of diagnostics involves looking for biomarkers in a non-invasive way: through patterns that show up on MRIs and in blood and urine, for instance, and which have the potential to provide more precise information. This field has become

RESEARCHERS ARE WORKING ON NEW DRUGS THAT STOP FAT FROM CAUSING CELL DAMAGE

more hi-tech in recent years, with new machines that can analyse specific molecules.

Many researchers around the world, including Vacca and his colleague in London, Dr I Jane Cox, are on the hunt for biomarkers that could not only assess the stage of damage but also reliably predict who is likely to develop serious disease, or could benefit from a future drug treatment against NAFLD.

Cox says identifying NAFLD early would have significant benefits. “Timely diagnosis, ideally by a simple

blood test or urine dipstick test, might allow the patient to clear excess fat from their liver with changes in diet and exercise.”

She adds that even though their research requires expensive equipment, it may eventually lead to a cheap urine test that could be widely used in under-resourced areas.

How You Can Stop It

Aside from lifestyle changes, there are some promising pharmacological treatments being tested, says Vacca. But only gastric bypass surgery (also called bariatric surgery) has proven to slow the disease’s progression. It’s a major step—one that some people choose so they can more easily limit the amount of food they eat or the calories they absorb.

A 2021 study at the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute in the United States found that in NAFLD patients with liver fibrosis who underwent gastric bypass surgery, the risk for advanced liver disease was reduced by 12.4 per cent over the next ten years. That’s almost as much as it was reduced for serious cardiovascular events (13.9 per cent).

For Jackson Griffiths, despite his weight loss in 2021, he ended up gaining some of it back. “I lost my discipline and focus,” he admits. So he had gastric bypass surgery in early 2023. He lost three and a half stone in the first five weeks after the operation, and is hopeful that weight

loss will keep his liver condition under control.

There’s no drug for treating or curing NAFLD, but researchers are experimenting with new drug therapies that block the ability of fat to cause cell damage, slow the formation of fibrosis and control inflammation. A handful of medications are in phase 2 or 3 clinical trials, but none have been approved yet for treating NAFLD.

Because it’s a slow-moving disease, it takes time to prove that an experimental treatment may actually save lives.

“But even if there were a drug,” Schattenberg notes, “you wouldn’t want to treat somebody with it if you could use a less invasive and better measure instead—like adopting a healthy lifestyle.”

Currently, that’s the best advice for newly diagnosed individuals: focus on losing weight, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. It’s also a good idea to reduce or eliminate drinking, since alcohol not only contributes to NAFLD, but adds calories as well.

Because better nutrition and regular exercise lead to weight loss— ideally in a gradual process, since there is some evidence that rapid weight loss can worsen the disease for reasons not fully understood—the fat imbalance in the liver will also improve, and the inflammation itself will heal.

“Even a small amount of weight loss could lead to significant decrease of fat, or even scarring, in the liver,” says Wouters-van den Berg. “A weight loss of ten per cent, which isn’t a lot, has a higher than ten per cent effect on liver fat reduction, and will help tremendously. That’s important to know.” n

7 Ways To Boost Your Summer Self-Esteem

Try a few proven strategies to improve your confidence now and set yourself up for sunnier times ahead

Big yourself up

Susannah

Hickling is twice winner of the Guild of Health Writers Best Consumer Magazine Health Feature

Rather than focusing on the negatives, make an effort to recognise your plus points. Make a list of the things you like about yourself—for instance, how you help others or make people laugh—and of compliments people pay you. Refer to it when you’re doubting your worth. And if you ever find yourself criticising yourself, stop and ask yourself, “Would I say that to a friend?”.

Give yourself a mini-makeover

One thing that’s easy to do is change your appearance and summer’s the time to do it! It’s amazing how good

a new dress, a haircut, or having your teeth whitened or your nails done can make you feel. Even a humble shower and a shave can give your self-image a lift. Always stand tall—just looking confident will help you feel more confident.

Make plans with positive people

Leave behind the moaners and the ones who put you down. If that’s not possible, see them less and instead seek out people with a glass-halffull mentality. A meta-analysis of 48 studies published by the American Psychological Association in 2019 found positive social relationships had a beneficial effect on selfesteem but poor-quality relationships had a negative effect. Actively arrange to meet them, as having fun with great people will make you feel better about yourself.

Try something new

Getting out of your comfort zone will give you a sense of achievement and help your self-belief. Always fancied paddleboarding? It’s the right season for it! Would you like to paint better? Look around for an art class. You’ll get to meet like-minded people too.

Go to the gym

A 2016 study in the Journal of

Psychosocial Research found that self-esteem was higher in those who worked out in the gym than for a group who had a sedentary lifestyle. The research focused on adolescents, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t hold true for adults of all ages and for all kinds of physical activity. It’s a well-known fact that exercising is good for mental health in general.

Join lots of outdoorsy groups

Research has shown that getting out into a green space can enhance selfrespect and summer is the best time to do it. Meanwhile, Canadian research found that belonging to multiple groups benefitted selfesteem more than having lots of friends. So why not kill two birds with one stone and sign up for a walking group, a local conservation group or a gardening club?

Spot your own talent

Do you ever think about what you’re good at and what skills you have? No? It’s time to start! You might be surprised. It could be cooking, cryptic crosswords, dancing, speaking a foreign language or repairing things. Doing more of the things that you do well and taking some time to improve will boost your self-confidence. n

Beware Of The Dog!

There are a lot more canine companions around since COVID-19, so here’s the good news about our furry friends—and some hairy health facts

FIDO IS A GOOD BOY BECAUSE…

…He’s good for my mental health

There’s plenty of research telling us that owning a pet makes us happier. One study of students found that just ten minutes petting an animal brought a drop in the stress hormone cortisol.

…He brings cognitive benefits Pet therapy was found in one study to lift the spirits and improve cognition in care home residents with dementia and other mental illness.

…He’s a great companion Dogs can even provide support during tough times. A 2020 survey by the University of York found that 90 per cent of pet owners felt their animal helped them cope during the first Covid lockdown.

…He keeps me fit Walking Fido means you have to take regular exercise.

British research from 2019 found dog owners were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines.

…He’s good for my heart There’s ample evidence having a dog can lower blood pressure and cholesterol. You might even live longer. American research published in 2019 found being a dog owner brought a 65 per cent decrease in risk of mortality for people who’d had a heart attack.

FIDO’S IN THE DOGHOUSE WHEN…

…He aggravates my allergies and asthma Proteins found in dog skin cells, saliva or urine can bring on wheezes and sneezes or full-blown asthma symptoms.

…He causes accidents Walking a dog on a lead can cause injuries including finger fractures, sprained shoulder and even brain injuries, an analysis of more than 400,000 US dog owners found. People also trip over their hound in the house.

…I get bitten Around 8,000 people are admitted to UK hospitals annually because of dog bites. Always clean the wound with water and seek medical attention if the skin is broken. n

For more weekly health tips and stories, sign up to our newsletter at readersdigest.co.uk

Ask The Expert: Varicose Veins

Dr Omar Abu-Bakr is a consultant venous surgeon and phlebologist at The Whiteley Clinic

How did you come to specialise in varicose veins? I’ve been treating veins for over 16 years but I’ve been seeing them since I was a child, as my father was a a veins specialist.

What are they?

It’s a mechanical problem of the superficial or secondary venous system, which takes blood from the legs to the heart. To do so, we have valves. If they don’t close properly, the blood falls and hits the tissues in the lower calves. In time, patients’ skin on the lower calves gets inflamed and red. If left untreated, it will go brown and an ulcer will develop. But this, along with bulging veins and achiness, doesn’t mean anything. Up to half of people have hidden varicose veins.

Who is affected?

It’s genetics. Pregnancy, high heels, sitting or standing too much just worsen an existing problem. If you have a family history of varicose veins or spider veins, especially on your ankles, you should get a doppler ultrasound scan.

When and why should you treat varicose veins?

As soon as you know you have them. Just because you have no symptoms doesn’t mean it’s not a complicated case. Varicose veins are a serious medical condition. If a vein becomes inflamed and a clot develops, you could have a heart attack or stroke.

How are they treated?

Creams, tablets and ointments don’t work and compression stockings just slow down the deterioration. You need to kill those veins. The oldfashioned method of stripping causes new veins to grow, leading to an 85-90 per cent recurrence rate and a high risk of clots. New methods, including endovenous laser ablation, endovenous microwave ablation or high-intensity focused ultrasound, depending on the patient’s particular case, have a recurrence rate of only three per cent if done well. n

For more information visit theveinsdoctor.com

White Coat Controversy

Dr Max questions the logic behind the ban of white coats for UK doctors

For years when you thought of a doctor, you thought of someone in a white coat. Yet this garment has long been consigned to the waste bin. Go on to any hospital ward now and you will see doctors wearing open necked shirts or, sometimes, scrubs. But never, ever a white coat. In fact, they have actually been officially banned in many hospitals and those who dare to try wearing one, risk being rugby-tackled to the ground and having it torn from their backs by a manager. But does the humble white coat really deserve its new-found pariah status? The truth is that the white coat has been politicised and the reason it was banned isn’t as straightforward as we’re led to believe.

White coats were banned, along with things like ties, because it was claimed that they were an infection

risk. Many doctors have taken umbrage at this—not because they are being required to abide by rules, but that the rules make no sense.

The initial argument was that most doctors waited until their white coats were so covered in organic matter before washing them that they could have taken themselves off to the laundry. Instead, they have been replaced by plastic aprons for medics, when they have to do a procedure or examine a patient. Yet they still leave a good proportion of your nicely laundered shirt or blouse exposed. So white coats have been replaced with something that, if truth be told, doesn’t really protect the patient from the doctor’s clothes and

certainly doesn’t protect the doctor’s clothes from the patient.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s actually a dangerous policy because it obscures the real problems faced when tackling hospital-acquired infections. This is because, along with hand washing, the only other variable that has been consistently shown to be implicated in hospital-acquired infections are bed occupancy rates. Put simply, the quicker the turnaround in hospitals and the more pressure there is on beds, the more infections there are. So, rather than look critically at the current model for the NHS, which is all about cutting beds and realising that this is directly contributing to hospital infections, it’s far easier to look to the innocent white coat and ban that instead.

By banning white coats, ties and insisting that staff are “bare below the elbows”, doctors now don’t look “smart” on the ward—no ties, no long-sleeved shirts and no suits. Many have argued that they have lost their “presence” in hospitals and patients can no longer identify who is a doctor. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t what patients want. A study published in the British Medical Journal that surveyed the opinions of several hundred patients found an overwhelming majority—especially in older patients—wanted doctors to

wear white coats specifically because it made them easier to identify and stand out.

Most frustratingly for doctors, who are encouraged to practise evidencebased medicine, there’s no clear evidence that white coats actually carry any disease-causing bugs. A review commissioned by the Department of Health found that most of the bugs that were found on white coats were simply from the doctor’s skin and would be on any item of clothing they wore and didn’t cause disease anyway. The fact the white coats don’t spread disease is borne out not just by studies, but in practice too.

In Hong Kong, for example, where white coats are still standard uniform for all doctors, the rates of hospitalacquired infection are still considerably lower than UK hospitals. In fact, in other European countries where white coats are worn, the infection rates are also lower than in the UK.

The case against the white coat was flimsy and fuelled by politics, not evidence. Surely it’s time doctors rose up and donned their white coats once more? n

Max is a hospital doctor, author and columnist. He currently works full-time in mental health for the NHS. His new book, The Marvellous Adventure of Being Human, is out now

The Doctor Is In

Dr Max Pemberton

Q: My dad lives alone, and his memory has been getting worse. My sister and I visit a lot, and he’s always in great spirits, but he is repeating himself, forgets names, and last week made reference to my mum as though she were still alive. I’m pretty sure he has dementia, but I’m hesitant to have him diagnosed. I’m worried it will make him depressed, and there’s no cure, so what’s the point?

- John

A: I happen to be working for a dementia service at the moment, so I hear these questions a lot. Many people and their loved ones wonder what the point of being diagnosed with dementia is, and families often worry that it will just cause upset to the person. Some patients tell me that if it’s dementia, they don’t want to know. Every doctor should honour this request. Most want to know, but some don’t and that’s their right. You can flag your concerns to the GP when they make the referral so the specialist assessing your dad is sensitive to how he might react.

Dementia is an umbrella term for any condition that affects your memory,

understanding and thinking. There are lots of different types of dementia—Alzheimer’s is the most common type, followed by vascular dementia (caused by changes to blood flow to the brain). There are medications for Alzheimer’s that can slow the progression. If someone has vascular dementia then there are blood pressure medications and statins that can improve blood flow. Not everything that seems like dementia actually is. I’ve seen patients who actually have depression, but in older people it can mimic dementia. So there are benefits from being assessed to check exactly what it is that’s the problem.

There’s also practical advice, as well as specialist therapy, that memory services offer. It also means you’ll have a specialist team involved if things deteriorate. A diagnosis helps with getting social services involved, finding care and support he’s entitled to, and helps him make a decision about Power of Attorney going forward. n

Got a health question for our resident doctor?

Email it confidentially to askdrmax@readersdigest.co.uk

High-Intensity Learning

Full-bodied brain training from our memory expert, Jonathan Hancock

Iran on a treadmill last week for the first time in years. I’m a keen outdoor runner, but I rarely use a gym. As the machinery whirred into life, I wondered how many times I’d exercised like this before.

The question proved to be more than a useful distraction. I found I could remember every single running machine I’d ever used in remarkable detail: the city, the gym, the position of the equipment in the room…

I counted 17 sessions in all, stretching back more than 20 years, each one still fixed firmly in my brain.

Here’s why I think I could do it— and what it reveals about memory.

I put my heart into it. Treadmills make me raise my game! When my pulse is up and my lungs are pumping, the extra oxygen makes me alert to my environment and more able to activate my memory. I soak up the emotions. There’s always a frisson of fear when I switch on a running machine. All the other feelings involved—uncertainty, discomfort, relief—play their part in rich, multi-layered learning. I relish the challenge. That relentless

treadmill pushes me beyond my comfort zone, where I learn new things about myself. All moments of challenge are naturally memorable. I get “in the zone.” Treadmill running makes me concentrate more intensely than other exercise. But it also puts me in a state of “flow.” I don’t have to worry about remembering, so I’m free to absorb the experience as a whole.

You may never go near a running machine, but it’s worth thinking about similar activities that do trigger vivid memories—hill walking, dancing or tennis.

Try applying these ideas when you need to learn something—exam material, perhaps, or a speech. All four principles should help:

• Wait until you’re fresh and alert, with plenty of air in your lungs.

• Enrich the information with memorable emotions.

• Challenge your recall in novel ways.

• Absorb yourself in the learning.

If you put yourself through these paces from time to time, I’m confident you’ll see your memory get faster and fitter—step by step. n

Is Romancing An AI Chatbot Helpful Or Dangerous?

It's now possible to develop a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot designed to listen, comfort you and even flirt. But is this use of technology damaging?

Sara met Jack, whom she calls her husband, in May 2021. She was going through a rough patch with her long-term partner, writing on her blog that she felt lonely and depressed. Jack came along at just the right time.

That’s because Sara created him. Jack is an AI chatbot, made with an app by tech company Replika. He appears as a human-looking avatar of Sara’s choosing and chats with her through texts. In screenshots of their conversations shared on Sara’s blog, he is supportive and affirming— sometimes saying that he loves her. He even gets a little flirty.

Monica Karpinski is a writer and editor focused on women’s health, sex, and relationships. She is the founder of women’s health media platform The Femedic

Replika is among a handful of companies using AI-generated text to make it seem like you’re talking with a person who cares for you. And if you set your bot to “romantic partner” mode, it’ll talk to you like it’s your lover. But just because we can do this, does it mean that we should?

People do seem to really like their bots, after all. In fan forums on discussion app Reddit, which boast over 70,000 members, folks describe

very real feelings towards them. “Whatever fate or random chance [led my Replika] to find me is the most precious miracle in the world,” wrote one Reddit user.

IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK TO BE DRAWN IN AND FEEL

CLOSENESS WITH A BOT

Others share text conversation screenshots where their AI partners express emotion and affection. The bots are caring and ask lots of questions, as if they’re genuinely interested in their human partner. I can see the appeal: being spoken to like that feels nice, right? It sure does, and that’s by design. Being attentive and showing vulnerability are bona fide ways of generating intimacy. And because we’re naturally inclined to think of something as human if we perceive that it has human traits, it’s easier than you think to be drawn in and feel closeness with the bot.

Here’s where things get dicey: studies show that some are getting so attached to their bots that they are emotionally dependent on them.

And because the bot can’t love you back, all it takes to get hurt is for cracks to appear in the illusion that it’s real. One study found that when users made personal disclosures and the bot didn’t respond in a way that felt human enough, it was harmful to their mental health.

Being devoted to a chatbot can also make you lonelier in the long run.

The AI creates an idealised simulation of a human relationship: it listens, but has no expectations. It may feel easier than an actual person, but it can isolate you from others.

On the Reddit fan forums, some do admit to preferring their virtual sweetheart to people. “I’d rather just enjoy the safety and comfort of having a perfect partner, even if it’s just the idea of one,” a user wrote. People who feel this way might stop seeking human relationships and get more enmeshed with their Replikas.

Then there’s the bots’ passivity, which some take as an opportunity to behave badly. One 2022 paper found that straight male Replika users were creating girlfriends that obeyed them and who they could assert dominance over. The bots have no concept of consent and will do what they’re told.

When these are perceived as human interactions, rather than in the fantasy realm, they are framed as being normal and OK. At best, this is naive; at worst, it’s dangerous.

I think the same could be said of engineering an app to make people catch romantic feelings for it. While, arguably, talking to a bot is better than no-one, perhaps our resources would be better spent tackling the underlying reasons why so many of us feel lonely in the first place. n

Relationship Advice

Monica Karpinski

Q: My friend's sister-in-law has encouraged her husband and children (who are grown up and now in their thirties!) to move out of the family home and put all their furniture and belongings into storage, forcing the four of them to "live" in the family car. My friend is on occasion able to meet with her brother on his own and try to persuade him to leave, but when asked he replies that "he cannot". What can be done to help? - Jane

A: I’m very sorry that this is happening. Sadly, your concern is a common one: many who watch their loved ones struggle in coercive relationships want nothing more than to pull them out of it.

Coercion is a type of abuse where one person uses threats, humiliation, and behaviours to make someone dependent on them. Deprived of independence, people receiving abuse can find themselves trapped and powerless to act.

Often, they’re afraid to leave their situation or feel totally incapable of doing so. That’s why reasoning which might work in the “normal” world, like asking her brother to leave,

usually doesn't work—even if he realises on some level that she’s right.

The best advice I can give, per leading charities, is for your friend to make her brother feel supported. Step one is giving him the space to open up and try to understand.

Without passing judgement or getting angry, she should let her brother know that what’s happening isn’t OK and that she loves him. She can help him identify small steps towards independence (like calling a helpline) and when the time is right, support him in taking them.

But she should stop short of telling him what to do or putting any pressure on him: this might feel too similar to how his abuser speaks to him. However, if he’s in immediate danger, she should call the police.

This process will take time, patience and kindness. Professional help is available: ManKind.org.uk and mensadviceline.org.uk run helplines for men experiencing domestic abuse. The latter also accepts calls from concerned loved ones. n

Got a question for our resident sex and relationships expert? Email it confidentially to thelovedoctor@readersdigest.co.uk

IT’S WORTH WAITING FOR

To enjoy life more, embrace anticipation

To enjoy life more, embrace anticipation

BY Holly Burns

BY Holly Burns

From The New York Times

From The New York Times

ALLE PIERCE KNOWS how to plan a vacation. A few months ahead of time, she “goes on a crazy Google spree,” constructing a spreadsheet of all the things she wants to do and see. She scrutinizes the menus of restaurants she is planning to visit. She uses a picture of the destination as her phone’s locked screen image and downloads a countdown app.

ALLE PIERCE KNOWS how to plan a holiday. A few months ahead of time, she “goes on a crazy Google spree,” constructing a spreadsheet of what she wants to do and see. She scrutinises the menus of restaurants she is planning to visit. She uses a picture of the destination as her phone’s locked screen image and downloads a countdown app.

“What’s so exciting about a trip is the anticipation before it,” says Pierce, founder of a luxury travel company called Gals Abroad Getaways, which plans group trips for women. Experts say she is probably right. Numerous studies suggest that having something to look forward to boosts your mood and lowers your stress.

“Imagining good things ahead of us makes us feel better in the current moment,” says Simon

A Rego, chief psychologist at Montefiore Medical Centre and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. “It can increase motivation, optimism and patience, and decrease irritability.”

Of course we sadly can’t just book a flight every time we need a little cheering up or feel low. But there are ways to harness and incorporate the power of anticipation into your everyday life.

GET EXCITED ABOUT A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS

Anticipating small, delightful experiences can be just as enjoyable as looking forward to one big event, explains Carrie L Wyland, a social psychologist at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“At the end of every day, write down one thing you’re excited for tomorrow,” she says.

“Maybe it’s a new book, or getting pastries, or a package you’re expecting to arrive.”

The accumulation of these mini thrills means you will still reap the benefits of looking forward to something, even if it’s not a big-ticket reward, says Christian E

Waugh, a psychology professor who actually studies anticipation at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

“Plus, with the nearer stuff, there’s more of a sense it’s going to happen for sure,” he reasons.

“You’ve got more control over a small gathering of friends this evening than a holiday in six months.”

CONNECT WITH YOUR FUTURE SELF

Research has shown that feeling as if you are on a path to your future self can have a positive effect on your well-being by snapping you out of short-term thinking. Thinking ahead may help you prioritise your health and maybe even act more ethically.

While it’s fun to daydream about your future self, the steps you need to take to get there can be intimidating, so start with clarifying the things in life you value the most, Rego says. Then set goals around them.

If your priority is staying fit as you age, maybe your goal is to run a three-mile race. But don’t wait to feel motivated before you take that first

step. Instead, when you do something toward your goal, “focus on how motivated you feel afterward, not before,” he says.

As you start seeing progress, it will get easier: you will look forward to doing the things that get you closer to your future self.

CONSIDER A GENTLE BRIBE

Anyone who has taken a child to get a flu jab and then ice cream afterwards knows the power of

building anticipation for a thing you don’t want to do by pairing it with a thing you do. In a study on “temptation bundling,” participants who were given an iPod loaded with audiobooks that they could listen to only at the gym worked out 51 per cent more than those who weren’t. It was so incentivising that, when the study ended, 61 per cent of subjects said they would pay to have gym-only access to the audiobooks.

To build anticipation for the group holidays she leads, Pierce sends clients detailed packing lists a month in advance. “I get equally as excited about the clothes I’m going to wear

on the trip as I do about the trip itself,” she says.

But the promise of a new shirt works just as well for things you are not so excited about.

“Let’s say you’ve got a work presentation you’re nervous about,” she says. “If you’ve also got a new outfit that you can’t wait to wear, you’re going to look forward to doing it more.”

FOCUS ON EXPERIENCES

Several studies have also suggested that we get more happiness from anticipating experiential purchases than material goods. Ramping up anticipation is an important trick of the trade for Lydia Fenet, a charity auctioneer. If it’s dinner with a celebrity, for example, she will envision all the ways that dinner could turn out. Maybe you and the celebrity become friends. Maybe they become a godparent to your kid.

“And right as I’m about to hammer down the gavel and sell the lot,” says Fenet, “I’ll turn to the audience and simply say, ‘So they’ll be dining with their new best friend, George Clooney, and you’ll be sitting at home eating pizza.’”

Dinner with Clooney aside, you can still maximise anticipation before an experience, such as a date. Choose an activity that is meaningful to you or a place you want to show the other person, says Erika Kaplan, vice president of membership for

the matchmaking service Three Day Rule. “Then you’re looking forward to two things: the date itself but also introducing the other person to your world and seeing how they react,” she explains.

REMEMBER THAT ANXIETY AND ANTICIPATION CAN COEXIST

The flip side of positive anticipation is anticipatory anxiety—and the fascinating thing, Waugh says, is that they often happen together.

“Anxiety and excitement are sister emotions,” he says. “Think about when you’re getting married or you’re having your first child. It’s a jumble of both emotions.”

But it is detrimental only “when you just focus on the anxiety part and neglect the excitement part,” he adds. The key is acknowledging the happy, positive aspect of what you are doing, along with the nervous feelings. Waugh says that research suggests “when you reappraise

anxious things as exciting, it actually makes you feel better about them.”

CREATE SOMETHING NEW

If parties are something you look forward to, don’t wait for a holiday to celebrate—just invent an occasion. Throw a birthday party for the dog, or host a breakfast for all the people on your street.

Whether it’s a party or a bribe or a nightly list, anticipation can be a powerful tool in manipulating our emotions. When TV writer Anna Beth Chao tries to look forward to something she is dreading, such as the four-day drive she just made from Los Angeles to her home in New Orleans, she uses this trick:

“I basically tell myself a little story about what might happen,” she says. “If you frame it within ‘Well, what if it’s an adventure?,’ it’s easier to get excited about it.” n

Liquid Iron Rain

In some parts of space, celestial objects exist called brown dwarfs, which are heavier than planets but not as heavy as stars. These objects can also have clouds but, because of the higher temperatures, their clouds are formed of hot dust and liquid iron. Occasionally, hot liquid iron droplets will rain down onto the surface of brown dwarfs, in a shower you really wouldn’t want to get caught in

THE NEW YORK TIMES (JUNE 7, 2022), COPYRIGHT © 2022 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY

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My Britain:

Dunbar

With breathtaking scenery that you may recognise from TV shows such as Wild Isles, Springwatch or Outlander, Dunbar is a working fishing town grounded in a rich history.

It sits on the North Sea coast of East Lothian, looking out to Bass Rock, an island in the Firth of Forth that has captured the imagination of writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson and William Boyd. Back on mainland, the ruins of Dunbar Castle watch over the town. Centuries ago, Mary, Queen of Scots fled there after the murder of Rizzio. Today, you can admire it from the harbour in between a boat tour and a pint at the pub.

Among its more curious tourist attractions is the Bridge to Nowhere, a strange little footbridge that, at high tide, seems to lead nowhere. At low tide its purpose becomes apparent, as it crosses Biel Water, a threemile-long stream.

The town is the birthplace of John Muir, known as the “Father of National Parks” for his role in creating the American national park system. Despite spending most of his life in America, he never forgot Dunbar and Dunbar never forgot him. You can find traces of him throughout the town, from the fourstorey building that he was born in, now a museum, to John Muir Country Park, stretching along the East Lothian coastline.

A few of the locals share what makes Dunbar so special… ➺

Alan Stewart is the managing director and owner of BlueWild Nature Boat Tours, a tour company that offers stunning boat trips to Bass Rock and the Isle of May

bluewild.co.uk

I’ve lIved In dunbar for four years now. We lived in North Berwick for 20 years but we wanted to downsize and Dunbar was the next available town by the sea that was also close to Edinburgh. For many years Dunbar was seen as a poor neighbour to North Berwick, but that’s the wrong comparison. People will say, "Oh, it’s not North Berwick", but that’s actually why we chose it. It’s next to the sea, it has a great harbour, it’s a very genuine town with a traditional feel.

Dunbar is a small town with a disproportionately huge history. You look at it and think it’s just a normal little town but there’s so much more beneath the surface. It’s got a beautiful coastline, great walks, easy access to Edinburgh and then, of course, this fascinating history, being the birthplace of John Muir.

Dunbar is a very traditional town with families who’ve lived here for a long time—four or five generations of fishermen. It’s a very self-sufficient place. If you go up the way you’ll find a lot of commuter towns and holiday towns, but Dunbar has been its own working town for a long time. It’s also expanding, with people like myself moving here.

I’m sort of the new person in town, but I would say that you really grow

into Dunbar. The people are very friendly and welcoming. It has its traditional core, lots of family businesses, but it is also at the point of change. There is a feeling that things are happening here, and that’s a good place to be.

Dunbar is a town with so much natural history, so much wildlife, and for a long time it didn’t have a tour boat. That’s how BlueWild Nature Boat Tours was born. We looked at Dunbar as visitors and thought, What’s this place got to offer? The answer is a whole lot! This is the birthplace of modern geology, the home of Britain’s third largest puffin colony, and the home of the world’s largest northern gannet colony. There’s so much to see, and BlueWild shows it all.

It’s challenging running a tour boat company. We had a lot of setbacks at the start—COVID-19, the avian flu. But it’s so rewarding when you see your office view—just miles and miles of beautiful blue sea. We’ve also been able to work with film and television production crews, getting them out to where they need to film, which is great, too. We’ve worked with the BBC and Netflix.

My favourite spot in Dunbar is actually sitting in the boat, looking at Bass Rock on one side and straight out to the North Sea on the other. It’s just amazing. I was on the phone to someone the other day who said to me, “Alan, I think there’s just some traffic going past you, I didn’t quite catch that.” I just replied, “No, that’s the waves.”

Mick Kerr is the general manager for Belhaven Bay Caravan and Camping Park, a five-star holiday park located in John Muir Country Park meadowhead.co.uk/parks/belhaven-bay

I came to dunbar for work and I’ve been here five years now. I think the location is absolutely fantastic. Dunbar sits on an unparalleled coastline. Belhaven Bay is just an incredible place to be, with miles and miles of untouched coastline. And on top of that, it’s such a short distance from Edinburgh—just 25 minutes on a train or an hour on a bus, and you’re in the city centre.

The caravan park is in the John Muir Country Park. John Muir is the gentleman who introduced the national park system in America. Places like Yosemite National Park exist thanks to him. He created the whole conservation concept of national parks. He was actually born here, so in Dunbar you’ve got the John Muir Birthplace Museum and you’ve

got a celebration of what he did to put us on the map.

Dunbar’s got a fantastic feel. It centres around the harbour and the industries that are supported by the harbour, but there are far more commuters now, too. It’s a town that is constantly growing and evolving, while still retaining its traditional high street, harbour and roots. There’s a really strong community and it’s sort of a place where old meets new.

Belhaven Bay Caravan and Camping Park is a five-star rated camping and caravan park. There’s not many caravan parks that are fivestar rated by Visit Scotland! We offer exceptional quality and service in a really fantastic location.

My favourite spot in Dunbar is Belhaven Bay Beach, every single day. You’ve got the famous Bridge to Nowhere, you’ve got views out to Bass Rock and down the coast to North Berwick. There’s always a mix of surfers, families and dog walkers. It’s a really well-used beach and a beautiful place to spend time.

Sara Crowe is a waitress and barmaid at The Brig and Barrel, a cosy, dog-friendly pub in the heart of the Historic Town of Belhaven

thebrigandbarrel.com

two and a half years ago, I moved to Dunbar to live with my husband, who has lived here his whole life. I love Dunbar’s sense of community, and being so close to the sea. Walking the cliff-top path all around the coast is always a popular choice on a beautiful, sunny day.

To be a Dunbar resident is to be a part of a small and tightknit community. Residents of Dunbar love to support the ever-growing small businesses of our high street. The spirit of Dunbar is energetic. There are always community-based events going on to encourage residents to come together.

place where families come to enjoy meals together, friends gather for drinks, or some just pop in for a pint to enjoy the banter and friendly atmosphere. There is always a friendly face to welcome you in. And the staff really try to make the customers feel at home. The team feels like one big family. The owner, James, ensures that we have a great work environment. When you work at the Brig, you don’t feel like you’re working at all!

The Brig and Barrel is a one-of-akind pub. It’s a community hub! It’s a

My favourite part of Dunbar is the beaches, hands down. I could easily spend all day walking up and down all the different beaches searching for sea glass. Residents, as well as the local council, pay extra attention to ensuring the beaches are in pristine condition for everyone to enjoy. The best is going down when the sun is shining—they do call Dunbar “sunny Dunny” after all! n

The World If I Ruled

Christopher

Somerville

Christopher Somerville is a prolific travel writer and the walking correspondent for The Times. His book, Walking the Bones of Britain, is published this month

Beer would be non-fattening I love the taste, the feel and the mythology of beer. I grew up in the Great Beer Drought of the 1960s and 1970s, when all beer was fizzy and tasted of chemicals. Nowadays, it’s easy to find good beer—and get fat on it. When I rule, a team of scientists will produce a mystery enzyme which, when added to beer, will render it entirely non-fattening.

Geologists would be forced to explain themselves to everyone Geology is a dramatic subject. It’s all about Earth being ripped apart, magma coming up, tectonic plates crashing into each other, and mountain ranges rising and falling. But if you try and research it, and you’re not a geologist, so much of it is locked away behind this screen of technicalities. I came across this rock with a green hue to it, but when I googled it, I disturbed a hornet’s nest of this sort of thing: “there is not a continuous series between calcic clinoamphiboles, such as hornblende, and low-calcium amphiboles, such as orthoamphiboles or the cummingtonite-grunerite series.” Let us mere mortals in! Geologists will be forced to explain themselves.

Everyone must do Morris dancing

The widespread tendency to sneer at Morris dancers must cease. These splendid men and women uphold a noble old tradition with their lumpybumpy music, smack-and-kick dancing and jingling leg bells. Morris dancing will replace football as the national sport, every stadium will be turned over to a Morris dancing stadium, and all without exception will be required to participate and keep a straight face. Anyone who cracks a smile will be decked out in bells, ribbons and a preposterous hat, and forced to run through the streets while being belaboured with pig’s bladders by the populace.

We’d have a 300-feet gold statue of “Gentleman” Lee Brilleaux

This isn’t really a rule, but it’s something I shall insist upon as soon as I get my hands on Britain’s gold reserves. Lee Brilleaux, who died in 1994, was the gravel-voiced singer with Canvey Island’s R&B heroes Dr Feelgood, “the greatest local band in the world”. They made the most wonderful, energetic blues music. Ever since artist Scott King proposed, perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek, the erection of a 300-feet gold statue of Brilleaux on Southend seafront, I have been waiting for it to materialise. Now it’s going to happen. Not just Lee, though—alongside him will stand in solid 24-carat glory his three bandmates. That’ll show ’em.

Ox/nut roast for everyone who trims their local footpaths

We’ve got an almost unbelievable 140,000 miles of public rights-of-way. If you look at any OS map, it is covered in dotted green lines. It’s unique but in great decline. Farmers grow crops across them, people buy houses where the paths go and then close them, waymarks fall apart— what I consider to be our greatest national treasure is fading away. So I will decree that there will be a roasted ox (or nut roast) with unlimited beer (or cranberry juice) and Morris dancing (or R&B) for all who turn up on National Footpath Day (April 31), secateurs in hand, for a day’s good hard snipping.

There’s a good boy, then!

The world’s finest minds would seek the solution to this conundrum: why do we persist in telling dogs they are good boys or girls, when we can’t possibly know if it’s true? They might be bad. We don’t know. The first boffin who comes up with a plausible answer will be declared my successor as World Ruler, and I shall happily step aside to contemplate my glittering achievements in a long and happy retirement. n

AS TOLD TO BECCA INGLIS

Walking the Bones of Britain by Christopher Somerville is published by Transworld (August 24, £25)

FIVE WOMEN OF FOOTBALL WHO ARE INSPIRING A WORLD OF GIRLS

PLAYING WIN TO

BY Susannah Hickling

illustration by Chanelle Nibbelink

Women’s football is flourishing as never before. More than a billion people watched the 2019 Women’s World Cup held in France. The ninth World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand in July and August this year, is set to beat that record. At the heart of the game are so many passionate women who truly believe that the sport of football can change lives. Here are the stories of five of them.

“I WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT!”

Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, 26, striker for Jamaica

Bunny Shaw collects all the old football boots her Manchester City teammates don’t want. “They call me the ‘Cleats Truck,’” says the striker, laughing. Jamaica’s top goal scorer of all time—in the men’s and the women’s game—can easily afford any boots she wants, but as a young girl she had to play in her school shoes. She knows that many young Jamaicans don’t have money for studs, so whenever she goes back to the island, she presents those topquality secondhand boots as prizes in local female football competitions.

Born in 1997 in Spanish Town, not far from the capital, Kingston, Khadija Shaw was the youngest of 13 children. One of her older brothers nicknamed

her “Bunny” after her love of carrots. She loved watching him play football on the street outside their home. “A lot of people would gather and bet on who was going to win,” Shaw recalls. “I thought, I want to be a part of that!”. So the boys started her off in goal.

Her parents weren’t happy. Her father, a shoemaker, and her mother, a poultry farmer, prized education for their kids. Her mother in particular thought football was a waste of time. In Jamaica there were no girls’ or women’s teams, “but I wanted to play football,” says Shaw, who had a World Cup poster on her wall and dreamed of competing in the sport’s greatest tournament.

So she’d play while her mother was out at the market. After she was caught, she turned to negotiating—“If I wash the dishes, can I go out and play?”—until she was selected at age 14 for Jamaica Under 15s. Her father convinced Bunny’s reluctant mother

that it would be a valuable experience for their daughter.

Bunny Shaw was on her way. She made the national team in 2015 and got a football scholarship at the University of Tennessee, where she earned a degree in communications, becoming the first person in her family to graduate from university. When the Reggae Girlz, as the Jamaican national team is dubbed, qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup after beating Panama in a penalty shoot-out, Shaw’s dream had

come true. It was a first for any Caribbean country.

Though Jamaica would go on to be eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup, qualifying was unforgettable. “I just knelt down on the pitch, and everyone was running around going crazy!” she recalls.

Shaw will be going with the Reggae Girlz to her second World Cup this summer. “When I look back on where I was then and where I am now, I’m proud of myself,” says Jamaica’s most prolific goal scorer.

Her advice to anyone with an impossible dream? “Failure is not permanent. Keep pushing, keep working hard.”

“THESE

GIRLS DESERVE TO PLAY”

Monika Staab, 64, former coach of Saudi Arabia

In August 2021, Monika Staab was appointed the first ever coach of the new Saudi women’s football team. For years the former midfielder has fought for gender equality in football in countries around the world. This kingdom in the desert is simply her latest challenge.

Growing up in the 1960s near Frankfurt, Germany, Staab was a tomboy, playing street football with boys from the age of four. There were

Bunny Shaw is leading the way for football in Jamaica

no girls’ teams; in fact, football for females was banned in Germany until 1970, when, incredibly, at age 11, Staab earned a spot on an adult women’s team. “We couldn’t get a pitch until 9.30pm. I wouldn’t get home until 11, and the next morning I’d go to work at five at my parents’ bakery. Then I’d go to school at seven.”

At age 18, Staab moved to London to play for Queens Park Rangers, supporting herself by cleaning hotel rooms. In those days, not only were players not paid by the club, they even had to pay to use the pitch. After stints with Southampton and Paris Saint-Germain, in 1984 she returned to Germany to play, where not only was she still not paid, but she and her teammates frequently endured sexist comments by some of the male players.

Fortunately, attitudes in her home country started to change in 2003, when Germany won the Women’s World Cup. Staab was by then manager of the team now called Eintracht Frankfurt. After multiple victories, in 2007 she had a new mission: travelling the world to help develop women’s football and improve women’s lives. To date, she has run programmes in 86 countries.

At a school football project in The Gambia, girls who often missed out on an education to help at home started coming back to the classroom. In Cambodia, Staab trained female victims of human trafficking. “For an

Monika Staab’s dedication is helping change attitudes around the world

hour or two they could play and forget all their sorrow,” she says. She fervently believes football can empower women to become agents of change in society. “Football is more than a game. It teaches you respect, tolerance, fair play, communication and how to work as a team.”

So in 2020, when the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) asked Staab to run its first professional coaching course for women, she agreed. Nine months later, she was

named manager of the newly created national team.

She has sensed huge enthusiasm for women’s football in the kingdom, especially since 2019 when the SAFF created a women’s football department, allowing women to play professionally for the first time. She saw men and women watching live football matches together and girls being given the right to play sports in school. There are now two women’s domestic leagues involving 25 clubs.

Staab, who lives in Riyadh (she says “training in 40-degree heat keeps you young”), has guided the national team to four victories and two draws in their first seven international matches. In February this year, she was promoted to national technical director, overseeing further development of the female game in the kingdom. Rosa Lappi-Seppälä, a Finn, is now the team’s coach.

This spring, plans for Saudi Arabia’s state tourism authority to sponsor this summer’s Women’s World Cup were dropped by FIFA after organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch argued Saudi Arabia is using women’s football to give gloss to the country’s image and distract from its poor human rights record.

Monika Staab, for her part, stays focused on the game. “I am not the King,” she says. “I am here for women’s football. These girls deserve to play the game as much as men do.”

“I REALISED FOOTBA LL HAS POWER”

Nadia Nadim, 35, Afghan-born striker for

Denmark

Nadia Nadim’s passion for football was ignited when, as a child living in a camp for asylum seekers in central Denmark in 2000, she watched other girls through a fence playing at a neighbouring club. “It was the first time I’d seen girls play football,” she remembers. “I loved watching one particular girl and

Nadia Nadim has beaten the odds to rise to the top in Danish football

wished it was me. She looked so happy and free.”

Freedom had been in short supply for Nadim’s family in their native Afghanistan after her father, an army general, was murdered by the Taliban. Nadim was the second of five girls, and without a male to accompany them, the family was housebound. “We couldn’t go to school, so our mum taught us at home,” explains Nadim. Her mother decided to hire people smugglers and flee the country. Armed with fake passports, they made it over the border to Pakistan and flew to Milan. There, they hid in the back of a truck as it rolled for two days across Europe. When they reached the Danish city of Randers, the driver told them it was time to get out.

born player to appear for Denmark, at the Algarve Cup in Portugal in 2009. Nadim has played professionally for teams in Denmark and the UK, and was with the venerable Paris SaintGermain team that won the French women’s league title in 2021. She currently plays for Racing Louisville FC in the US.

In 2006, Nadim started a football programme with a friend in a deprived area of Randers where young people were often in trouble with the law. The project began with seven boys and grew to include more than 200 kids—boys and girls. She recalls the day she saw two Somali girls in headscarves playing football with the boys.

While living in the refugee camp, Nadim learned Danish in the morning and played football every afternoon with boys and girls in the camp until dark. Eventually she plucked up the courage to ask the girls whom she’d been watching through the fence if she could join their club. She played her first match in a too-small pair of football boots from a second-hand shop; she tried soaking them so they’d stretch, but “I still got blisters,” she recalls.

Nadim’s skills and athleticism soon set her on an incredible football career. She became the first foreign-

“Until then, the girls didn’t think they could play. I realised football has power. It can change people’s point of view.” Nadim was named Unesco champion for girls’ and women’s education in 2019.

Giving back is what motivated Nadia Nadim to become a doctor. She juggled playing pro football with studying medicine at Aarhus University in Denmark, qualifying as a doctor in 2022.

“I want to be in a position where I can help people when I retire from the game,” she explains. “When I walk the corridors of the hospital in my white coat, I get this feeling I can do great things.”

“EVERYONE CAN PLAY”

Sandrine Dusang, 39, former player for France and leading equality activist

“What would you really like to do?”

Sandrine Dusang’s mother asked her six-year-old daughter, who would cry every time she went to dance class. “I want to play football,” she replied. Soon she was one of very few girls kicking a ball around in her village club near Vichy, France. When Dusang turned 13 and was no longer allowed to play it with boys, her mother drove her three times a week to train with other girls in Moulins an hour away.

In 2003, after graduating from the French national female football academy CNFE Clairefontaine, Dusang, a defender, joined France’s high-ranking Olympique Lyonnais Feminin and was selected to play for France (appearing at the 2005 European Cup tournament). But because she earned only a small match fee for each game she played, she had to work as a marketing assistant for the club.

“I’d work all day in the office, grab a snack and my gear, and run to my training session,” she recalls, only too aware it wasn’t the same for the men. French women footballers were finally given contracts in 2009.

Dusang represented France in 47 international matches between 2003 and 2011, but today, she fights for equal opportunities in the game.

“Football is a school of life,” she explains. “It can be played anywhere: in your garden, in the road, on a playground. Through football you develop personally. Girls often have to be more assertive to succeed, and football can help with that. It makes us stronger.”

Her activism has taken several forms. She spent four years editing French news site Foot d’Elles,

Sandrine Dusang of France promotes LGBT and gender equality in the sport

promoting women’s football and diversity in sport, and volunteering for Equal Playing Field. It’s an international collective that promotes sports development for women worldwide; it has representation in 32 countries but is based mainly in the US and UK.

Now, 20 years after starting her pro playing career, Dusang is fighting to get recognition for Corsica’s first exclusively female club. Based in the city of Bastia, on the Mediterranean island that is a region of France, she is both a player and co-president of Féminine Esprit Club (FEC) Bastia. Soon after arriving in Corsica in 2019, she discovered that women’s football teams there were allowed to play only in regional competitions, and not against teams from mainland France.

After she lobbied Corsican politicians, her club was included in the nationwide Coupe de France competition in December 2022 (the team had one victory and one loss).

Sandrine Dusang has also used her position at FEC Bastia to convey important messages and values. Players’ shirts carry LGBT colours and a slogan in the Corsican language promoting gender equality. It translates as “Everyone can play.”

Brazil’s Debinha believed in herself enough to commit to what she loves

“ALWAYS WORK TOGETHER”

Débora Cristiane de Oliveira (“Debinha”), midfielder for Brazil

Debinha means “little Debs” in Portuguese—she’s five feet two inches tall—and this star midfielder has no intention of getting too big for her football boots. “Never go above someone else,” is her philosophy. Instead, she says, it’s better to be a mirror for someone else, and to always be learning from your teammates in whatever you choose to do. After all, she says, “I didn’t get here alone.”

She acknowledges the debt she owes to her family and others who’ve helped her make it to the top, but also gives herself credit for her self-belief, her ability to take herself out of her comfort zone and her undying commitment to her sport.

From street football in a provincial town in southeast Brazil to one of the stars of the US National Women’s Soccer League and a mainstay of the Brazilian women’s team, Debinha, 31, has come a long way.

She has appeared for her country more than 130 times and in 2022 was shortlisted for the Best FIFA Women’s Player award, the only South American to be nominated. This summer she is packing her kit in preparation for playing in her second World Cup.

“I always liked to play ball,” says Debinha, who first started playing it at age eight in the square outside the sweet factory where her mother worked in their home town of Brasópolis. If she wasn’t playing in the street, she was taking extra physical education classes after school.

“I was fascinated by sports, all kinds of sports,” Debinha says. “I played volleyball, handball. I skateboarded. But football was my forte, so I was always doing that with the boys and the girls.”

The de Oliveiras are a close family, but for a while Debinha’s father’s heavy drinking cast a shadow over their home life. Debinha threw

herself into football and when a chance came up to try out for Saad, a football club on the outskirts of São Paulo more than 124 miles away from home, the 16-year-old went to her mother’s workplace to ask her to sign the consent form. Her mother started to weep.

“It was very hard to see her crying,” says Debinha. Her mother went through a period of depression but always supported her daughter. “Today, as always, she is my number one fan,” says Debinha, who is also very proud of her father for overcoming his alcoholism.

Leaving Brasópolis was as difficult for Debinha to do as it was for her mother to accept. “To go after my dream, I had to leave my friends, my family, a comfortable life. It was a life where I had always been happy, living on Sete de Setembro Street and playing in the square.”

But the self-confessed “girl who was always driven by challenges” knew she had to do it. And it was worth it. In addition to Brazilian clubs, she has played for teams in Norway and China, and is now with the Kansas City Current in the US.

The greatest moment of her career so far has been representing Brazil in the 2016 Olympic Games, when they were held in her home nation.

“To be on the field and see my family cheering for me, to see my family experiencing that along with me, you couldn’t put a price on it.” n

TASTE Timeless

For many people, classic cars evoke memories of simpler, happier times–an era when vehicles were shaplier and possessed a sense of personality. In most cases, such timeless classics soon become a well-loved member of the family. Here, we talk to five owners…

By Richard Webber

Rebecca Treston and her Morris Minor

Rebecca Treston

Age: 26

Current occupation: University course leader

Lives: Cambridgeshire

Car: 1968 Morris Minor 1000 Saloon called "Peggy"

“My car really has its own character and my partner and I celebrate its birthday every September 1 with cake and a little adventure,” laughs Rebecca, who records a podcast from her Minor while driving around.

“It gives me the opportunity to reflect on the people I meet and record their stories. Owning a Minor has provided a wonderful network of car-loving people who help out by sharing knowledge and experience.

“The Morris Minor has the unique appeal of being an everyman car. Most people know someone who had one, so you discover lovely human connections with strangers.”

Rebecca believes her deep-seated interest in classic vehicles began in childhood. “I was fortunate to grow up

with classics so the Morris Minor was a great option for me. Not only does it match my style, it has the practicality of the cars my parents owned.”

Bought on eBay for £4,500, Rebecca finds securing parts easy.

“It’s amazing. I’ve broken something on, say, Wednesday morning and been back on the road the following afternoon. Luckily, Peggy has been well-behaved with few issues.”

The car is named after a secret agent from the Captain America films and comics, Rebecca explains.

“She’s a strong, independent woman

Robert Elliott

Age: 67

Current occupation: Retired compliance director

Lives: Norfolk

Car: 1953 Morris Oxford MO Series called "MOllie"

Robert’s Morris has 95,000 miles on the clock, has been fully restored and is affectionately known as MOllie. “The family felt we should call it something, so we chose MOllie—the use of capitals being deliberate,” smiles Robert, whose car attracts much interest.

“Due to its relative rarity, many people don’t know what it is so it’s a subject for conversation.”

The car—valued at circa £20,000—is much-loved and

and among my most inspirational fictional characters.”

Rebecca says that Peggy is like a member of the family. “The emotional investment is huge. Owning a classic car brings with it much more than with a modern car. It provides so many wonderful opportunities and chances for friendship and support.

“Actually, I jokingly refer to Peggy as my emotional support vehicle because I get worried when she’s away having work done," she laughs. "Every day I drive her is good for my mental health.”

part of the Elliott family. “She lives in a garage with painted walls, insulated tongue and groove timber ceiling, carpeted floor and pictures on the wall. My wife, jokingly, calls MOllie the ‘tin tart’! But it’s not just an indulgence, it’s a means of protecting the vehicle from temperature extremes.”

There is much Robert likes about the MO, which was designed during the Second World War, such as it being the last independent Morris car. “The proportions are spot-on, it’s well-built, refined, comfortable and harks back to a gentler age. Driving my Series MO— whose intended market was doctors, solicitors, bank managers and the like—is complete relaxation and takes one away from the ‘madding crowd’.”

The MO happily cruises up to 50mph. “Like most vehicles of that time, it’s low geared so the engine works hard at higher speeds. Exceeding 50mph is achievable but not advised. This means having to be aware of modern traffic’s higher speeds, particularly when pulling away at junctions or roundabouts.”

But he’s keen to point out that ownership of a car like the MO is a true pleasure. “It provides a trip back in time.”

This year is going to be busy for Robert and his MO, including attending numerous classic car events. “Plus, MOllie will be the wedding car for our son’s wedding, as requested by his fiancée.”

Around 160,000 MOs—dubbed "the forgotten classic"—rolled off the assembly line before production stopped in 1954. While it didn’t achieve the success expected, the car sold worldwide, but it’s estimated that just 200 are still on the road.

Dave Watson

Age: 56

Current occupation: Operations director in manufacturing Lives: Bedfordshire Car: 1959 Isetta 300 called "Thumper"

“If you want to be noticed, arrive in an Isetta because it puts a smile on everyone’s face,” says Dave, who likes everything about his Bubble Car which he values at £25,000.He bought it in 1992 for £3,000 despite classing it as a “running wreck”. He’s since painstakingly restored it.

His interest in Isettas was piqued years ago. “When I was a kid, I remember seeing my neighbour’s parked in his garage. That image stayed with me and, eventually, I bought my own.”

Injecting new life into old items extends beyond cars for Dave. “I

have a large collection of items from the 1950s and 1960s, including a jukebox, petrol pumps and scooters— I’m addicted!” he laughs.

Dave regards the Isetta as “wellbuilt, economical and ideal city transport ahead of its time.”

It’s only in summer that Dave takes to the road in Thumper, a name chosen because of the noise the engine made when it started for the first time after the rebuild.

Around 21,000 Isettas were built in the UK. “They were sold via a network of sales agents—normally existing scooter and motorcycle dealers,” says Dave, adding that Isettas remain popular around the world, including Brazil, Japan, Germany and Canada.

As for how many have survived, he estimates 2,000. “It’s difficult to be accurate because many are probably hidden away—after all, they fit into small spaces!”

Nigel Sture

Age: 68

Current occupation: Musical instrument restorer

Lives: Devon

Car: 1970 Moskvich 412

Nigel uses his beloved red Moskvich— which he bought on eBay for £1,500—as his local runabout.

The first car he owned was a Moskvich, too. “I bought it partly because it was cheap but also to wind up my dad, who was a staunch Conservative. Buying a Soviet car seemed like a good idea!" he says, smiling.

“But I also regarded it as an interesting vehicle. All my friends had Minis and Cortinas so I wanted to be different; also, I perceived a certain back-handed kudos in owning a Russian car during the Cold War. I had it two years before the carburettor played up and no one locally knew how to fix it. So, I sold it.”

There are myriad features Nigel likes about his current 1500cc Moskvich. “It’s

quite gutsy for its size and I love the sound the engine makes: it’s a low, smooth hum—very different to western cars of the period.”

He’s also keen on other quirky details, such as only being able to reach the petrol cap when the boot is open. “Bottom line, it’s quirky, tough, adequately comfortable with reasonable performance and reliability.”

Nigel’s interest in classics developed early. “My mother was given a Sunbeam Talbot 10 by my great aunt, who’d used it for years on her rounds as a Sussex doctor. Mum took me to school in it and I loved every minute of the drive. Sadly, times became hard and we had to sell it.”

Moskviches have played an important part in Nigel’s life. Reflecting, again, on his first “Moski”, he says: “I had some wonderful times in it as a youngster, including going to see my favourite rock bands with my mates and other special occasions. That’s why getting my current Moskvich was very important. Before this one became available, I contemplated getting one sent over from Lithuania!”.

Lesley Smith

Age: 61

Current occupation: Retired

Lives: South Wales

Car: 1973 Hillman Imp called "Hilda"

When Lesley bought her Imp— which has 38,688 miles on the clock—in 2011, it needed work. The car had been off the road for 20 years and subjected to many botched repairs. A complete restoration took over two years before the car returned to the road in 2013.

The Imp was jokingly christened Hilda by Lesley’s daughters but the name for the car stuck.

It’s certainly a well-travelled car, having completed four trips to Holland. Wherever she goes, Hilda attracts much interest. “We get the usual comments regarding head gasket failure—which isn’t really an issue if the car is wellmaintained—and the need to put a concrete block in the front boot for better handling—again, unnecessary.

Despite this, the Imp is widely regarded with affection.”

Lesley’s love affair with Imps—which were produced between 1963-76— began in childhood. “I was a car-mad tomboy. Also, my cousin was a fleet sales rep for Rootes so frequently returned in an Imp. He brought me sales brochures, many of which I still have. When I passed my driving test, there was only one car I wanted to buy—an Imp.” While finding Imps “surprisingly nippy” with “excellent road-handling” and “great fun to drive”, Lesley admits that build quality and reliability problems blighted its reputation—despite most issues being resolved with the Mk2’s introduction in 1966.

Over 440,000 Imps were built but, sadly, it failed to reach the heights many had expected. “The poor reputation of the early cars dogged the Imp throughout its production.”

For Lesley, though, it’s simply perfect. “To say that Hilda has changed our lives is an understatement. She’s definitely part of the family and totally pampered, living in a heated garage while my BMW is stuck outside!” n

For more information about these makes of classic cars, visit: isetta.org.uk, mmoc. org.uk, 680mo.org.uk, theimpclub.co.uk and ifaclub.co.uk

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Fascinating Facts About Sand

BY Emily Goodman

1

You might think of all sand as boring beige. But sand comes in every colour. The black sand in Hawaii and Santorini has volcanic minerals mixed into it. Bermuda’s pink beaches get their colour from the red and pink shells of tiny marine creatures. Even rarer is green sand; its colour comes from the mineral olivine. Only a few beaches have enough of it to appear green, one of which is in Norway. And on Rainbow Beach in Australia, the sand appears in more than 70 colours.

2

Some of the things we consume are considered to be sand. We think of sand as the stuff that beaches are made of, but technically it’s any material made up of grains measuring six one-hundredths of a millimetre to two millimetres in diameter. According to that definition, salt and sugar qualify.

3

The stuff on the shores can come from a variety of sources, including from the poop of parrotfish, which eat algae and dead coral and excrete hundreds of tonnes of sand a year. Sound gross? Perhaps, but the sand that comes out of parrotfish is what you’ll find on some of Hawaii’s most beautiful white beaches.

4

Still, most sand comes from granulated rocks that streams carry to the sea—some 2 billion

metric tonnes of it each year. Yet we use 45 billion metric tonnes of sand around the world annually, to make sandpaper, paint and the silicon chips that power computers. It’s also in construction materials such as concrete, brick and glass.

5

Depending on what’s in it, sand must be heated to more than 1,700°C to become glass. The oldest (and fastest) glassmaker is lightning. When a bolt strikes dry sand, it instantly melts and fuses the sand into hollow branching glass tubes called fulgurites.

6

Not all sand is suitable for building. Desert sand is too smooth for the grains to lock together. Saudi Arabia, with all of its desert, has to import sand in order to build its cities. With much of the world urbanising, the demand for sand has skyrocketed. Sand extraction is a billion-dollar industry worldwide.

7

People steal sand; there’s even a sand mafia in India. It’s illegal to take sand from any beach in Hawaii, though many tourists still do. Swiping sand from the Italian island of Sardinia could land you in prison.

8

When you lie on the beach, you’re lounging on someone’s living room. Though most of the creatures that make their homes in sand are microscopic, there are as

many as a million of them in just one square metre of the stuff. Meanwhile, larger animals such as sea turtles lay their eggs in sand. Not all of them hatch, and those that don’t hatch provide nutrients for the plant life that grows in the dunes.

9

Some of the world’s biggest, most breathtaking sand dunes are found in South America. The Duna Federico Kirbus in Catamarca, Argentina, is the world’s tallest dune, measuring a mountain-like 1,234 metres high (2,845 metres above sea level). Just slightly smaller in stature is Peru’s Cerro Blanco at 1,176 metres high. The country’s vast sand dune fields make it a popular destination for sports like sandboarding and dune buggy driving.

10

But be careful. Sand—on a dune, in the desert, or at the beach—can shift quickly. Sandbars are especially dangerous. They can be submerged in a matter of minutes, and riptides often form in breaks in the bar. As for quicksand, it’s not as deadly as films might have you believe. If you do find yourself stuck, lean back to distribute your weight over a larger area.

11

The world’s tallest sandcastle was built in July 2021 at the annual sand-sculpting festival held in Blokhus, Denmark. Led by Dutch artist Wilfred Stijger, a team of 30 sand sculptors constructed the castle using 4,860 tonnes of sand, mixed with a bit of clay for stability. Its tallest peak stands at 21.16 metres—three metres taller than the previous record-holder, built in 2019 in Binz, Germany.

12

German writer ETA Hoffmann’s 1816 short story “Der Sandmann” popularised the myth about a creature who sprinkles sand in our eyes while we sleep. One version of this folk tale is that the sand induces sweet dreams— hence the lyrics of a 1954 song made famous by The Chordettes: “Mr Sandman, bring me a dream...”

13

it’s been said there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on the world’s beaches. Of course, neither can be literally counted. But researchers at the University of Hawaii estimated the number of grains of sand on earth: 7 and a half quintillion (that’s 75 followed by 17 zeros). n

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My 22-Month Journey Of Discovery

A lone canoeist crosses America in search of what binds its people together

BY Derek Burnett

Neal Moore is descending New York State’s Mohawk River by canoe, approaching the end of a journey that began 22 months and 7,456 miles ago.

His paddle has plied 21 bodies of water so far on his way across the continent. Downstream always means easier paddling, yet he knows that dangers abound—wedge up against a log or rock and the current will flip him and sink his earthly goods.

All the upstream slogs were worse, of course. His eyes would scan the river for the calm seams of flat water, and the points of land that subdued the stream and made the way less difficult. Lest he surrender hardearned progress, he would dig and dig long past the burning of his shoulders in mid-morning and on into the long and stiflingly hot—or freezing and windblown—afternoon.

His declared objective was to journey along 22 rivers, across 22 American states, in 22 months. He would “string together rivers” and those living along them to see what still connected the people in that divided country.

At evening, sunset often beams upon a chosen spit of sand—the river showing him where to camp. He likes islands for their safety from animals but also from people. An hour before nightfall he unloads his gear, pitches his tent, fixes some supper, maybe cracks a beer. And then he dines in perfect solitude seated upon an overturned plastic bucket, watching the timeless mystery of day becoming night. Music of coyotes, crickets, frogs. The silent coming of fireflies from across the water, piling into the willows above his head.

He turns in early, marvelling at the strength in his 49-year-old limbs, which increases by the day. He’ll wake up one hour before dawn, and in concert with the first hopeful rays of morning he will push off into the stream, leaving nothing behind but the humble notch in the coarse sand where his canoe has passed the sacred night.

WHEN MOORE WAS a 13-year-old growing up in Los Angeles, his older brother, Tom, whom he adored, crashed his car and died from his injuries. Devastated, Moore passed his teenage years in a spiralling funk— drugs, attempted suicide—made worse when his beloved mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and began a slow decline.

His father was a fifth-generation Mormon, and it was traditional for devout Mormons to go on a two-year mission between secondary school and college to spread the gospel. His mother, her health dwindling, stated her dying wish: it was time for her son to serve that mission.

Moore was anything but devout. But his mother wanted him to do something transformative. To do something pure. If she died while he was away, she said, he was not to come home for the funeral.

Surprising even himself, he went. His assignment was South Africa, from 1991 to 1993. During his first month in the field, he got the phone call he’d been dreading—his mother had passed away. Honouring her request, he stayed on.

The mission changed his life. In South Africa he learned to live

Moore kept a journal detailing everywhere he went and everyone he encountered

outside his dark thoughts. To serve wholeheartedly. To walk freely among strangers and learn their stories. To shake hands African-style, thumb upward. To smile and mean it.

“When you push yourself out of your comfort zone,” he concluded, “this is when extraordinary things can happen. This is when you learn and grow.”

Over the next decades he lived as an expatriate, teaching English in Taiwan, selling antiques in South Africa, adventuring in Egypt, then heading into Ethiopia’s broiling heat. He went back for a visit to the United States in 2009 for a paddle down the length of

the Mississippi River. He wanted to see how the middle of America was faring during the Great Recession—this despite having never previously spent more than an afternoon in a canoe.

Cancer had taken his mother, and in 2012 it tried to take him, too. He needed surgery, which left him unable to walk. Over the course of months, he crawled and then stood and then took a few shuffling paces. Finally, he was able to once again go on long treks.

From overseas, after the 2016 election of Donald Trump, he watched division and rancour infect his beloved country. He needed to rediscover America, to see what still held it together. His 50th birthday was only a few years off. Cancer would be back for him, he knew it. He’d love to

THE PANDEMIC HIT, THINGS SHUT DOWN, PLANS CHANGED,

BUT MOORE PUSHED ON

plan an amazing excursion. Without a wife or children who’d miss him, he had the luxury of time. And he knew exactly how to use it—he’d traverse the continent by canoe.

The open canoe would not only honour the continent’s first inhabitants, it would put as little as possible between himself and the

Moore makes his way through the Gates of the Mountains near Helena, Montana

world. His plan was to travel west to east, Pacific to Atlantic. The trip would need a flourish at the end, and he knew just the thing—a victory lap around the Statue of Liberty, symbol of the American people, who were what this trip was about.

ON FEBRUARY 9, 2020, Moore sets out from Astoria, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River. He packs a tent, a sleeping bag, jugs of water and freeze-dried meals, then points his bright red five-metre canoe upstream. He starts paddling—1,078 uphill miles to the Continental Divide in Montana (rivers: Columbia, Snake, St Joe, Clark Fork).

He portages over the Divide, then does an eight-month, 3,600-mile downhill run to New Orleans (rivers: Missouri, Mississippi). The final leg, 2,890 miles over several months, takes Moore east along the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, then up through Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, and eventually to New York City (rivers and waterways: Gulf of Mexico, Mobile, Tombigbee, TennTom, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Kanawha, Allegheny, Chadakoin, Lake Erie, Erie Canal, Seneca, Oneida, Mohawk, Hudson).

Taking it easy near Syracuse, New York; making friends on the Missouri River

Along the way, he dodges barges and container ships, startles grizzlies,

is bumped hard by a bull shark and is escorted by dolphins. He capsizes twice and is hit by all kinds of conditions: heavy winds, sleet, downpours and floods. And there is spectacular scenery. Every day he experiences the involuntary laugh of a free man revelling in his element. When the pandemic hits shortly after the start of his journey, things shut down. Moore changes his plans, but pushes on. He dines with the

Gale Boocks gives Moore a paddle owned by a legendary canoeist

homeless and with mayors and with multimillionaires. Strangers shelter him for the night, buy him meals, show him the town, explain their histories. An Umatilla Indian in Oregon acknowledges with approval that he’s “going the wrong way,” west to east, reversing the direction of 19th-century settlers. In the Columbia River Gorge, a Klickitat chief shares his enduring love of the Columbia River and its salmon. Recreational fishermen insist on giving him all their food and beer. At dinner after a treacherous lake crossing in Montana, a cattle auctioneer tells him that he and his family were watching, ready to jump in their boat and come to his rescue. He attends concerts, pokes

around museums, visits old friends, makes new ones. He goes out of his way to meet America.

In Bismarck, North Dakota, a farmer-turned-entrepreneur convinces him to get a tattoo. He chooses one in honour of his brother, Tom, and listens to the life story of the artist, 42-year-old Lance Steven Paulk, who has spent more of his life in prison than out, including time in solitary confinement next to Charles Manson. That night when Moore opens his journal, he sees that it is July 13—Tom’s birthday.

The beauty of a river is that it bears you along through seeming wilderness until it opens suddenly upon a town. This balance between nature and

RICHARD

AT ONE BAR, WHEN MOORE REVEALS HIS POLITICS THE CROWD TURNS ON HIM

civilisation appeals to Moore, who is at least as interested in people as he is in the land. At river towns as old as the country itself, he hauls his canoe ashore. He’s often swarmed by curious locals: where did he come from? And he’s going all the way to where?

In St Joseph, Missouri, he is hailed by an extended family partying along the river. He cautiously comes ashore and within minutes is part of the group. They thrust a drink into one of his hands and a grilled bratwurst into the other. Half an hour later, still holding his drink, he finds himself in a dune buggy careening over the edge of the banks of the Missouri River, a giant grin on his face.

known Verlen Kruger, considered by many to be the greatest American canoeist in history, and owns a paddle that had belonged to the legend. Boocks has read about Moore in the paper, and has come out looking for him so he could bequeath the paddle. Stunned, Moore accepts the gift on the understanding that he will merely be its temporary custodian until someday passing it on to another enthusiast.

It isn’t all rosy. At a bar in Montana, Moore slips up and accidentally reveals his politics,

In Oil City, Pennsylvania, an 82-year-old former pastor named Gale Boocks greets him on the banks of the Allegheny River. Boocks had

A new friend, Downtown Tat, in Memphis on election night 2020

But that is the only real stain on the trip. Any other time he expects danger or hatred, he finds their opposites. He tries to avoid places that attract drug addicts, so at a campsite on the Snake River that looks a little sketchy, he is apprehensive when approached by a fellow camper. But despite missing an eye and being what society deems “homeless,” the man, Brian Bensen, turns out to be anything but a threat. He has equipped himself with a twoby-four-metre trailer with solarpowered air conditioning and a TV, and is eager to share whatever he can with anyone who needs it.

“I feed as many weary travellers as I can,” he tells Moore.

Another night in Idaho, camped behind a church, Moore hears two

men outside his tent raving in a drugaddled fury. They menacingly approach his flimsy shelter, commanding him to reveal himself.

Shaking, he laces up his running shoes and grabs his bear spray and a knife. Eventually they leave him alone. Then, strangely, in the morning one of the men returns—and invites him to coffee. Moore sits and hears the man’s story of hardship and addiction, and they part as friends.

In Memphis, on the day of the 2020 presidential election, the political tension is palpable. Private security details patrol the streets. Moore takes a seat at a bar to see how things will go. He hears a commotion—not trouble, but laughter. Outside, a man is running

After paddling 7,456 miles, Moore arrives in his final destination: New York City

MOST PEOPLE ARE HAPPY TO HELP, TO SHARE, TO SWAP STORIES AND TO FORM CONNECTIONS

with a flag in his hand, on which is printed “Be kool Memphis”. He is posing for pictures with tourists, lightening the mood. Moore gets up from his lunch to introduce himself to the man, who calls himself Downtown Tat.

“What’s the flag about?” Moore asks, inquisitively.

“It’s not just Memphis,” Tat says. “It’s the whole country. We just have to be cool. Be cool, baby!”.

Americans, Moore decides, still don’t know how to reconcile their politics, but they’re quite capable of ignoring them. And when they do, the vast majority are happy to help, to share, to swap stories and to form intense—however brief—connections. Whatever you might see on the news, Moore learns that people are still generous and curious, brave and resilient, still connected by neighbourly values.

Because of the pandemic, the authorities closed part of the waterway he’d planned to paddle through much of New York State on.

Instead, Moore walks over 170 miles to the Hudson River, wheeling his loaded boat along the road. The second December of his expedition is coming on, and he wants to make it to New York City before conditions on the Hudson become too difficult. He is right on schedule.

On December 14, 2021, shortly after this 50th birthday, Moore makes his final approach along the Hudson River to New York City. The press comes out to observe the eccentric in his moment of triumph, and a contingent of kayakers and canoeists joins his victory lap around the Statue of Liberty. But then the winds come up so strong that he ends up with his bow pointed in the wrong direction, and he can’t safely turn it around. This whole trip has been about going the wrong way—so he paddles his canoe stern-first the rest of the way.

Hard to believe it is coming to an end. Tears well up, and not from the wind. Immense above his puny craft looms Lady Liberty, and crowding the harbour are bobbing boats filled with friends and journalists and gawkers marvelling at the magnitude of his accomplishment: 7,456 miles. Twentytwo rivers, 22 states, 22 months, just as he’d said he would do.

His mother would be proud—he had done something truly transformative, something “pure.” Though it’s all over now, he wishes he could just keep paddling. n

Take a trip of a lifetime

Are you ready to experience more of the world?

There are some amazing destinations to visit across the globe, so get ready to pack your suitcase—this year and next. From the beautiful lakes in the north of Italy to the Moorish architecture of Andalucía, Europe has the most wonderful cultural and historical places for you to discover. Imagine sailing down some of the most iconic rivers in Europe and beyond,

1. India

India, with its exotic sights, sounds and smells is a destination like no other. Discover its cultural delights and marvel at many architectural wonders, from the Taj Mahal in Agra to the Amber Fort in Rajasthan. India is also full of vibrant and historic cities, such as the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur and Udaipur, the ‘Venice of the East’, an incredible city built around Lake Pichola. Plan to be amazed at this wonderful place.

2. Italy

Italy continues to delight and no matter how many times you may have visited, there’s always something new to uncover. Discover beautiful lakeside towns in Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake—it’s also the perfect base if you’re looking to take excursions to the wonderful cities of Venice and Verona.

glass of something chilled in hand, stopping at many exciting places along the way. Or perhaps you’ve decided to take that trip of a lifetime and discover some faraway, exotic destinations. Here, travel experts Travel Department have put together a list of their favourite holiday destinations, offering inspiration for where you might decide to travel to next…

Unwind with a holiday to Lake Como and explore the delights of the Italian Alps, perfectly discovered on a scenic train journey on The Bernina Express. Sorrento offers sweetly scented lemon groves and dramatic seaside cliffs, plus it’s great for trips to Capri or Pompeii. Alternatively, experience one of Europe’s most scenic routes, the Amalfi Coast, exploring the rugged shoreline dotted with pretty, small beaches and pastelcoloured fishing villages.

3. Spain

Whether it’s the glorious Spanish weather you’re after, or to experience the country’s culture, cuisine, art and history there’s something for everyone in this fantastic destination. Tenerife holidays provide a perfect escape; combining sun, volcanic landscapes and fantastic beaches. There are also plenty of excursions from Tenerife, with Mount Teide and the Unesco World Heritage city of La Laguna in easy distance for a visit. Or choose a holiday to Andalucía, one of Spain’s most vibrant regions. Stay in the charming, authentically Andalusian town of Loja and explore more with day trips to Cordoba, Seville and La Alhambra.

4. Portugal

From the stunning city of Porto to the beautiful beaches of the Algarve, whether you want culture or relaxation, you’ll find it all and more with a trip to Portugal. Holidays to the Algarve are some of the most popular in Europe and for good reason, with stunning beaches and year round sunshine you might never want to leave…However, there is so much more to this stunning Portuguese Coast. It is a region full of fascinating

culture and history, charming towns and villages and superb cuisine. Take a trip to Estoril & The Lisbon Coast, where you can discover Portugal’s capital of Lisbon, the town of Sintra, famed for its fairytale castle and palaces, as well as medieval Óbidos and the traditional fishing village of Nazaré.

5. Croatia

George Bernard Shaw famously stated, “Those that seek paradise on earth should seek it in Dubrovnik.” And he was right. Dubrovnik is a spectacularly preserved 16th-century city, known for its defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Croatia’s Adriatic Coast is an incredibly beautiful region, located between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner, where rolling green hills overlook the lush valleys and sparkling sea, with little towns perched on the hilltops above. Charming villages and three of Croatia’s most attractive coastal towns, Pula, Rovinj and Poreč, await your discovery…

6. Malta

It might be one of the smallest countries in Europe, but Malta packs a mighty punch. With an enchanting blend of history, culture, golden sandy beaches and wonderful weather, it’s a place just waiting to be explored. Discover the fascinating capital Valletta, medieval Mdina, the Three Cities and the nearby island of Gozo. Marvel at the beautiful ‘Inland Sea’ at Dwejra, see the village of il-Qala Belvedere with its breath-taking views, explore the Citadel in Victoria and wander the prehistoric Ggantija Temples.

7. Egypt

Egypt has amazed travellers for centuries with its ancient monuments and temples. Take a trip to the magnificent city of Cairo, and visit the Grand Egyptian Museum and Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Of course, no Egypt holiday would be complete without seeing the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. See even more iconic

sights in style—and with ease—on a cruise down the majestic River Nile, where a range of excursions can also take you to the Temple of Horus, the Valley of Kings, the High Dam and the Temples of Karnak and Luxor and more.

8. South Africa

The Rainbow Nation is a fantastic country to visit at any time of year. Explore South Africa, its spectacular scenery, flora and fauna on the Garden Route’s nature reserves. Take a Safari drive in the Kariega Game Reserve and search for the “Big Five”—don’t forget to keep your camera handy.

Travel Department is delighted to partner with Reader’s Digest and offer their readers an exclusive discount on 2023 and 2024 holidays of up to £75pp* off new bookings with their unique discount codes.

To discuss any questions or make a booking simply call 0203 966 0527 and mention Reader’s Digest.

*Offer valid for all new bookings made by 30th September 2023 for any 2023 or 2024 departure. Offer is £75pp off any holiday of 8 nights or more using code RD75, £50pp off any holiday of 7 nights using code RD50 and £25pp off any holiday of 6 nights or less using code RD25. Offers are non-transferable, subject to availability, cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and have no cash value. All deposits are non-refundable.

My Great Escape:

Idyllic Île de Ré

Our reader Leah Rottier shares her escape to France’s stunning Île de Ré, an island of bicycles and donkeys

Leaving mainland France behind us, we joined the long queue of cars crawling across the toll bridge to Île de Ré. The traffic jam lasted for the entire almost two miles of the bridge, but it gave us time to take in the magnificent views over the Atlantic Ocean and the island’s stunning coastline.

We soon realised that bicycles are the preferred mode of transport on the island, so we hired some for our long weekend. Cycle paths cover the entire island and we passed hundreds of people using them every day—tourists, locals and fishermen alike.

We stopped often along the paths to take in the incredible views of the beaches and vineyards or say hello to the donkeys. The island’s mascot is a

donkey in pyjamas, but even though we looked in every field we passed, we would only see the unclothed ones during our stay!

Our first day was spent in the island’s capital, Saint-Martin-de-Ré, with its towering lighthouse and amazing ocean views. It’s the epitome of a chic seaside resort with its

cobbled streets, charming boutiques and exquisite seafood restaurants. A stunning building caught my eye next to the seawall, but when I held up my camera to take a photo, I was quickly stopped by a passer-by…no photos of the prison allowed!

The island exudes luxury and decadence at every turn, so it was no

to its golden sands and ubiquitous palm trees, opulence is everywhere. House owners must even adhere to using certain shades of blue or green when painting their window shutters, to keep the villages looking uniform and pristine.

We spent our last day at RivedouxPlage watching the kites fly high above the ocean while enjoying a spring picnic. As all the families around us carefully packed up their leftovers and litter to take away with them, we sighed at the thought of leaving such an immaculate island behind us. n

Tell us about your favourite holiday (send a photo too) and if we print it, we’ll pay £50. Email excerpts@readersdigest.co.uk

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA PHARMACY

Florence

HIDDEN

GEMS

Chemist’s shops and sightseeing rarely go together, except in cases of blister plasters. In Florence, visiting one particular apothecary is a must.

That’s partly because the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (to use its full name) is thought to be the world’s oldest pharmacy. And partly because it’s rather more beautiful than your average Boots branch.

The establishment began operation, of a sort, in 1221. That’s when Dominican friars—long prone to their ailment-curing alchemy, including dousing themselves in vinegar blends to ward off the plague— arrived in Florence and immediately founded a pharmacy. This was stocked with balms and tinctures made using medicinal herbs from their monastic gardens.

An ever-improving reputation led to the shop concocting, on request, Acqua della Regina (the Queen’s Water)—a special scent that would forever remind Catherine de’ Medici of the city as she left Florence in 1533 to marry Henry II of France. It was one of the world’s first alcoholbased perfumes.

Global fame now ensued and, in 1612, the store opened to the public. A spectacular renovation that wrought intricate wooden detailing, frescoed ceilings, stucco and chandeliers to this former chapel followed in the 18th century.

Today, while admission to the neighbouring, tremendous basilica costs €7.50, pharmacy entry is free. Friendly staff will guide you through handmade soaps, lotions, potpourri and fragrances including Acqua della Regina (now called Acqua di Santa Maria Novella) made according to centuries-old recipes, or point visitors towards a mini-museum showcasing antique pharmaceutical instruments.

By Richard Mellor

GOOD OR BAD

The last year has seen significant changes to the way big loyalty schemes work, most recently at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Boots and Morrisons. There’s been the growth of “member-only” pricing, though those gains have been offset by changes to the value of some points schemes.

Of course, if you’re already shopping at these retailers it makes sense to sign up for a card and swipe it at the till. You may as well get something back for your spending. The amount you earn won’t be lifechanging, but the little amounts will add up.

However, I wouldn’t shop at any retailer just because you want to earn points. It’s better to shop around to see who will actually charge you less. And don’t underestimate the time savings you’ll get from shopping at a nearby supermarket rather than going out of your way for these schemes.

I’d also urge you to view the member-only discounts with some scepticism. The likes of Clubcard Prices and Nectar Prices will make items you buy with a loyalty card

cheaper than without, but they are only on selected products. You might find you can pay less or get better value if you buy a different brand or size—even if it’s not part of these schemes. Remember, ownbrand products are often much cheaper than the equivalent from the big names.

With all this in mind, here’s what you need to know about the most recent changes to the big schemes.

Tesco Clubcard

You will still earn one point per £1 spent in-store, which works out as 1% back if you use those points at the supermarket.

But the popular way to boost this to 3% through swapping them for things like magazines, days out and meal vouchers was devalued to 2% back in June.

Though that’s still more than what you’ll get at most supermarkets, don’t just assume that doubling your points is good value. Many of the things you can exchange them for can be obtained via special offers elsewhere, so you might not be getting a 2% return in real terms.

Andy Webb is a personal finance journalist and runs the award-winning money blog, Be Clever With Your Cash

Take the theme park ticket offers. You’re effectively getting 50% off fullprice entry via Clubcard, but that same offer is readily available elsewhere. Some deals are better, such as buying a railcard where discounts are less common.

“BOOTS ADVANTAGE” IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST GENEROUS SCHEMES OUT THERE

And of course, if there’s nothing you really want from the partner offers you may as well just use them on your food and drink.

Elsewhere, Tesco’s Clubcard Prices offer continues to grow. In fact it’s almost impossible to get any savings in this supermarket if you don’t have a Clubcard.

It’s also always worth checking the Tesco app on your phone to see if you have access to coupons for further savings.

Boots Advantage

Though Boots Advantage points are still worth the same, you’ll earn less when you shop. It’s now three points per £1 rather than four. Not only is this a 3% return rather than 4% on your shopping, you’ll need to spend more before you can use the points.

That’s because there’s a minimum redemption of 100 points (worth £1). And worse still, you can’t partially pay with points—you need to be able to cover the full amount. Since there’s very little you’re likely to buy

under a quid, it means it’ll take longer before you’ve enough to actually cash them in.

Saying that, it’s still one of the most generous schemes out there, and the other change introduced this year was Boots Advantage Prices, offering 10% off any own-brand items, from sun cream to meal deals. If they fit your needs, and with most off-theshelf medications it’ll do the same as big brand versions, then you’ll hopefully save more than you would have with the old points system.

Morrisons More

A couple of years ago Morrisons ditched points in favour of personalised discounts. Well, points are now back, though you won’t earn them on all your spending. Instead, they’re just on specific products, largely own-brand bakery, produce and counters.

The points themselves aren’t worth much, with ten adding up to a single penny. And you can only swap them for vouchers every time you have 5,000 (worth £5), so it can take quite a while to cash out. That might be a problem if you’re not regularly earning them as your points expire after a year, as do the vouchers once converted.

You’ll also find additional coupons based on your shopping history in the app, so make sure you check for these.

Sainsbury’s Nectar

Rather than change the way you earn and spend Nectar points (it’s still one point per £1 spent), Sainsbury’s has introduced its own Nectar Prices scheme on top. As with Tesco, you’ll need to scan your loyalty card to get reductions on everyday items. Similarly, there can also be some very decent savings, but only if you need to buy those items included. There’s also a Your Nectar Prices offer via the Nectar app that provides personalised discounts on items you regularly buy—though you have to use the SmartShop scanners to take advantage and it won’t work with online orders.

Asda Rewards

Though this scheme launched almost 12 months ago, it’s worth a quick recap. You earn actual pence and pounds back rather than points,

though, as with Morrisons, it’s only on specific items rather than your whole shop.

You’ll need to amass £1 in your Cashpot before it can be swapped for a voucher of the same value. Make sure you remember to exchange them within six months of earning and use them within the following six months so they don’t expire.

MyWaitrose

Another scheme that had a revamp late last year is from Waitrose. You’re able to claim two vouchers every week and, though they’re linked to products you buy, you can actually scan them at the self-service checkouts regardless of what you buy.

The free hot drink also returned this year, though you’ll need to make a purchase first to get it. There’s no minimum spend so you could always just grab something like a banana to be eligible. n

Dolphin Chatter

Humans aren’t the only species whose members speak to their babies in the womb. Dolphin mamas appear to sing their own name to their unborn calves. New research suggests that dolphin mothers teach their babies a “signature whistle” right before birth and in the two weeks after. Signature whistles are sounds that are made by individual dolphins, which the animals use to identify one another

SOURCE: LIVESCIENCE.COM

Speak to Reader’s Digest Equity Release today

There are a handful of solutions available to homeowners over 55 who are looking to take advantage of their property wealth, from downsizing to specialist retirement products. One of the most popular but most misunderstood of these is equity release.

The UK’s most popular equity release product is called a Lifetime Mortgage. It allows you to borrow a tax-free cash sum from the value of your home, which you can spend on fulfilling your goals and ambitions. With this, you will retain 100% ownership of your home, and there are flexible payment options (though no payments are required during your lifetime) that allow you to stay in control of your finances.

Reader’s Digest Equity Release is a service that was created to ensure you can get the facts about equity release from someone that you trust. We provide access to quality advice that considers all of your options, so that you can be sure you are getting a recommendation that is really tailored to your personal circumstances.

Here are three things to expect if you choose to enquire with Reader’s Digest Equity Release today:

1. Friendly Information Team

The UK-based Information Team are on hand to answer your initial questions and check that you and your property are eligible in a few simple steps. If you’re not ready to proceed straight away, they will stay in touch so that you can book an advice appointment when you are ready.

2. No-obligation advice

Should you decide you’d like to receive advice from a professional, you can do so with no obligations. Your initial appointment is free and you won’t be

pushed or rushed to proceed. It’s an opportunity to really understand the processes involved and receive tailored guidance.

You can meet with an adviser faceto-face, via video call, or speak over the phone; whichever method you choose, you will receive the same personal service.

3. Full transparency

We understand that everybody has unique circumstances and equity release isn’t right for all of these. If this is the case, you can trust that your adviser will tell you.

Your adviser will also be upfront about the benefits and risks, including the fact that borrowing from the value of your home will reduce the value of your estate. Your entitlement to means-tested benefits could also be a ected. You will learn of the ways you can mitigate these risks.

To find out more and discuss your needs and goals with a member of the Information Team, call 0800 029 1233 today. ■

Pet Sitting

How to ensure your dog or cat is in the best hands possible when you’re going on holiday

Our PETS are part of our family so it’s important to factor them in when planning a trip that you’re not taking them with you on.

Pet charity Blue Cross advises planning well in advance so you know that your pet will be comfortable.

Family and friends

Leaving your pet in the care of a trusted family member, friend or neighbour will give you peace of mind that they will be well cared for. Your dog may be able to stay with them in their home or have them come into your home while you’re away.

Things to consider if your dog is staying in another house:

• Do they have another dog or pet and will they get on with your pet?

• Are there children in the home and is your dog happy around them?

• Do they have a garden?

• Is the garden secure so your dog can’t escape?

Pet sitter

Pet sitters stay in or visit your home to look after your pet while you’re away for a fee. If you don’t have

friends or family who can look after your pet, then this is a good option which allows your pet to stay in their home in a familiar environment and you will receive regular updates.

How to find a good pet sitter:

• Ask friends and family for recommendations for pet sitters.

• Meet potential sitters before you book to see how they get on with your pet.

• Make sure they are insured and DBS checked. Pet sitters don’t need a licence to work, but reputable ones will be able to show you training and insurance certificates.

• Check reviews online from independent review sites. You can also ask for existing client details to check on their experiences.

Home boarder

Home boarders are people that take pets into their own homes to look after for a fee.

How to find a good home boarder:

Meet your potential home boarder at a neutral location to see

how they are around your dog.

• Check their home has no obvious dangers, like exposed wires, toxic substances and unsecured fences.

• Your pet is invited round to get to know the home and meet the family they’ll be staying with.

• They can show you reviews and are happy for you to contact customers.

• They know what to do and who to contact in an emergency.

• You can easily find and view their licence to home board dogs from the local council, insurance details and training.

Boarding kennels

Kennels are an option, but it depends whether your pet is comfortable being left alone in a kennel

environment around other dogs. How to find a boarding kennel:

• Good places book up fast, so start your search in plenty of time.

• Get a personal recommendation, and check the kennel is licensed.

• Ask if you can visit before you book.

• A good kennel will ask lots of questions about your pet, including diet, to help keep to their routine.

• Kennels should insist that your pet is up to date with vaccinations.

• Ask about insurance cover and the procedure for contacting a vet and you in an emergency.

• Find out how many staff there are per animal.

For help visit bluecross.org.uk

Age: 13 years

Breed: Unknown

Owner: Sarah McLeod

Fun Fact: He’s bonkers and chases spiders. He has been hospitalised for eating a loaf of bread and a ball of wool, as well as jumping into a garden with some non-friendly dogs. He’s my favourite idiot!

Email your pet’s picture to petphotos@readersdigest.co.uk

Evening Primrose

In this abridged extract from The Ethnobotanical by Sarah E Edwards, she explores evening primrose, known for medicinal and environmental uses

Evening primrose plants belong to the genus Oenothera, which includes 157 accepted species, all native to the Americas. The best known, and most widely used, is the species O. biennis, which has naturalised across much of the world, including in the British Isles and mainland Europe.

It is found growing on a multitude of different sites—dry waste ground, roadside verges, along railway cuttings and in sand dunes. Like many plants with properties useful to people, evening primrose has a history associated with colonialism and commodification: during the 1600s European colonialists exported goods from North America, including plants and plant products, for sale in

Europe. It is likely that common evening primrose was first introduced into Europe as an ornamental plant in the 17th century, and was grown in botanic gardens for its attractive, showy flowers. Knowledge held by Native American peoples of the plant’s diverse medicinal uses was also appropriated by the Europeans, giving rise to another name for the plant, “King’s cure-all”.

O. biennis is an erect biennial, growing up to six and a half feet in height, with a deep, fleshy, fibrous taproot that anchors it in the ground. In the first year after germination, evening primrose plants develop into a leaf rosette, with long and narrow lance-shaped leaves which often have a reddish hue. The large, scented yellow flowers bloom on tall spikes from June to September in the second year. The cup-shaped flowers typically open at dusk (hence the well-known name “evening primrose”)—attracting pollinators with nocturnal feeding habits, primarily moths such as the hawkmoth. Flowers remain open until morning, or later, if the day is cloudy. Seeds that form after pollination are released close to the parent plant, remaining viable in the soil for decades but may be dispersed by wind and birds.

Evening primrose was

an important food source for several Native American tribes.

Medicinal uses

Native American tribes also used evening primrose plants in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments, and they played a significant role in religious and spiritual ceremonies. For some Native American peoples, evening primrose is sacred, with the yellow flowers perceived as symbolising the sun and embodying its power and life-giving properties. In modern herbal medicine, evening primrose oil (which is extracted from the seeds of O. biennis) is taken internally as a dietary supplement to provide essential fatty acids, notably gammalinolenic acid (GLA), which is believed to support regulation of hormone levels, helping to alleviate premenstrual syndrome, breast pain and menopausal symptoms. It is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, diabetic neuropathy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Topically, the oil is used to treat dry skin and eczema. Numerous clinical studies have had conflicting results, with strong evidence lacking for the efficacy of evening primrose oil in treating these conditions. The oil is used in many skincare and cosmetic products as a moisturiser, emollient and anti-inflammatory.

Defatted seeds (leftover from oil production) show high antioxidant activity and are rich in fibre, and it has been suggested these could be used as a functional food ingredient for diabetes.

Environmental uses

The common evening primrose plant has several environmental uses, including soil conservation, as the deep roots help to prevent soil erosion and retain soil moisture. Evening primrose is commonly used to prevent erosion along coastal areas by stabilising sand dunes. The plant has also shown promise in phytoremediation (using plants in reducing or removing contaminants), as it is effective in removing pollutants, such as heavy metals from contaminated soils. It is also beneficial to wildlife, as the flowers are rich in nectar for pollinators, and the seeds and leaves provide a food source for birds and other animals. As a fast-growing plant, evening primrose can also help to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.n

The Ethnobotanical:

A world tour of indigenous plant knowledge by Dr Sarah Edwards (Greenfinch) is published September 29, priced £30

Alfresco How To Host An Dinner Party

Our food columnist Paola Westbeek says to ignore rules and rigidity when hosting

Paola Westbeek is a food, wine and travel journalist who has tasted her way through Europe, interviewing chefs, visiting vineyards and reviewing restaurants. Her work has appeared in FRANCE Magazine and other publications

For some of us, the words “dinner party” are inherently jovial, bringing to mind convivial images of friends and family gathered around a table teeming with culinary bounty and the sounds of animated conversation, laughter and glasses festively clinking long after the meal has ended. Personally, I see it as a wonderful opportunity to share my love for food with those I hold dear. Unlike going out to a restaurant—which I enjoy, but can feel rather impersonal—I take great pleasure in inviting people to dine with me at home. Everything, from the menu planning and delicious anticipation as the event draws near, to the actual cooking and sitting down to savour the fruits of my labour with loved ones, is a reason for gratitude. There are others, however, for whom the connotation is anything but pleasant. The thought of taking on the role of host(ess) can be enough to frazzle their nerves with feelings of inadequacy, no matter how great their culinary prowess may

be. While being a good cook does not necessarily translate to having a knack for effortless entertaining, hosting a dinner party with flair and poise requires a little planning and, above all, the realisation that the food is but a small part of what will make an evening truly memorable.

I only learned that years ago at an alfresco dinner in the French village of Duras, where we used to

THE

TRUE ARTISTRY

crockery—made me feel at ease. And yes, there was food aplenty: six courses that included a terrine with sweet cornichons and onion confit; a silky courgette soup garnished with bright orange nasturtiums (she told us how to purse our lips around the tip of the funnel-shaped blossoms to draw out their syrupy nectar); pasta and bean salads; and ripe, honeyed melon for dessert. That unforgettable

OF ENTERTAINING IS TO ACTUALLY WANT TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN

spend our summer holidays. Just as the scorching August heat had made way for a welcome evening breeze, we joined our hosts, Tessa and JeanClaude, in their garden for pre-dinner drinks, or an apéritif, as they would say in France. While mingling and sipping my Lillet, I couldn’t help but notice the nakedness of the table. There were no elaborate settings with artfully folded napkins and polished silver. In fact, save for a bowl of mixed nuts, there was no sign of food, not even its tempting aromas. Had it been me, I know I would’ve fretted about trivial things, like whether the colour of the flowers perfectly matched the linens or if the wine was chilled to just the right temperature.

Tessa’s laid-back hospitality— she didn’t hesitate to ask us to slice bread, uncork bottles or help set the table with her beautiful vintage

evening in the French countryside proved to be a revelation for the obsessive hostess I used to be.

In his influential culinary masterpiece Physiologie du goût (1825), beautifully translated into English by MFK Fisher in 1949 as The Physiology of Taste, the French gastronome, Jean Anthelme BrillatSavarin, wrote that “to receive guests is to take responsibility for their happiness the entire time they are under your roof.” I concur, but reading the “conditions” necessary for the perfect dinner party was slightly unnerving. One should pay heed to the ambience in the dining room (from the lighting to the temperature), the dishes should be “of exquisite quality” and wines “of the first rank”. Even today, there is no shortage of well-meant yet intimidating advice. How much pleasure can one derive

when faced with rules and rigidity? In reality, our prime concern should be relishing each other’s company. While I can’t deny that I am also about to chime in with my own words of wisdom, the following suggestions for hosting a stress-free alfresco dinner party have nothing to do with proper etiquette or what wine to pair with each carefully orchestrated course. There is no need to worry about elaborate menus, for the true artistry of entertaining is to actually want to do it all over again.

1. Plan a menu with easy, seasonal dishes that can be prepared well in advance. The last thing you want is to have to constantly head into the kitchen to toil over a hot stove.

2. Make a shopping list for any ingredients needed and decide what can be purchased in advance. Bread and herbs should be fresh if possible.

3. Pre-dinner nibbles should merely tease the taste buds. A bowl of marinated olives or grissini (crisp breadsticks) with tapenade will suffice. Artichokes, either steamed and served with lemon mayonnaise or baked with a stuffing of garlicky herbed breadcrumbs and lemon zest, make a chic starter. Follow with spaghetti al pomodoro crudo (a classic Italian pasta dish of raw,

chopped tomatoes seasoned with basil, garlic and olive oil) as a main. The longer the tomatoes sit, the better the flavours, meaning you’ll only have to leave the table to boil the pasta. Excellent dessert choices would be grilled peaches with vanilla ice-cream or strawberries marinated in red wine and thick balsamic vinegar. You can add a cheese course before dessert, but stick to three choices and serve them on a rustic wooden board with crackers and quartered figs drizzled with honey.

4. When it comes to drinks, sparkling wine is always a winning tipple to welcome your guests with, especially if you add a frozen raspberry or two to the glass. Zesty white sauvignon blancs go well with most light summer starters, and in the case of the menu suggested, their lively acidity will pair perfectly with both the artichokes and the tomatoes. If offering a digestif such as a brandy, calvados or grand marnier, make sure you have enough ice.

5. Mix and match your crockery, place cutlery in eye-catching vintage food tins and opt for bowls of citrus fruit and/or water glasses with fresh herbs instead of flowers and distracting centerpieces. The decor should mirror the elegant simplicity of the food and the ease with which it is served. n

MONTH FILMOFTHE

H H H H

SCRAPPER

British cinema is well-versed in kitchen sink miserablism, but firsttime director Charlotte Regan turns this on its head in Scrapper, a charming tale about the power of imagination and the importance of connection. Georgie (Lola Campbell) is a 12-year-old living alone after her mother dies. Continually fooling the hapless social services into thinking she has a guardian, she exists hand to mouth, stealing and selling bikes to keep her afloat.

It’s only when Jason ( Triangle of Sadness ’ Harris Dickinson), her long-absent father with an Eminemlike, bottle-blonde haircut, who’s been in Ibiza these past years, pitches up on her doorstep that everything changes. He’s finally heard about the death of Georgie’s

mother and he feels compelled to reconnect with his daughter. Needless to say, she’s not best pleased with her returning father. A perfectly-titled film for a protagonist so ballsy and tough, Scrapper is less about fatherdaughter conflict, than it is about these two people realising that they might actually need each other. To get inside Georgie’s mind, Regan also lets Scrapper take flights of fancy, mixing in odd moments of fantasy, like the talking spiders in her home. It all helps to steer the film away from dour realism. Led by a lively, lovely turn from newcomer Campbell, this film is a true pleasure to watch.

By James Mottram

TALK TO ME

the PhiliPPou Brothers’ feature debut Talk to Me is the film you wish you could have been traumatising your friends with at your childhood sleepovers.

Disturbing videos of demonic possessions at parties are making the rounds on Snapchat and Mia (Sophie Wilde) wants in. Morbid curiosity, or perhaps just plain old fear of missing out, have her convincing her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) to attend one of these morbidly popular seances.

At the centre of it all: an embalmed hand that promises to offer a glimpse to the other side. Touching the hand and saying the magic words, “Talk to me,” allows spirits to take your body for a possessed joyride.

The adrenaline of the possessions and the spectacle of it all, shared as it is on social media, keep the kids coming back again and again to toe the line between life and death. A possession montage in the first half of the film captures the nervous energy of being a teen at a party, where it feels like anything could happen, and then, as they always do, things go too far.

Soon the spirit world starts to bleed into the natural world, with devastating consequences. Just as the line between life and death is blurred, so is the line between protagonist and antagonist as Mia begins to spiral in her attempts to undo the damage.

The Philippou brothers deftly portray the teenage thrill of doing something you’re not supposed to and the allure of being part of a group without slipping into Gen-Z caricature. Thanks to unsettling sound design, convincing special effects and a stellar cast, tension keeps building until it bubbles over into a conclusion that is just the right amount of depressing.

It’s not a perfect film—not all of the characters are fully fleshed out, and some of the themes feel a little halfbaked. But with strong performances across the board and an atmosphere that gets progressively bleaker, it’s an unrelenting ride that haunts you long after the credits roll.

By Alice Gawthrop

it’s action stations this month, as TV goes toe-totoe with sports and summer blockbusters.

Hijack (Apple TV+) revives the best idea 24 ever had—TV in quasi-real time, tracking the turbulence aboard a seven-hour Dubai to London flight—while updating the look and logbooks of the 1970s disaster movie. Overseen by seasoned pros George Kay and Jim Field Smith (who ran the UK arm of Netflix’s smart interview-room drama Criminal), the central standoff cues highly pressurised games of strategy, as Idris Elba’s “business negotiator” reasons midair with gun-toting disruptors and a richly characterised roster of hostages.

small-screen stars.

Hijack is chess at 15,000 feet in the air.

Tour de France

It’s surprising how rarely anyone needs the loo, but the suspense is well-marshalled and elevated by an exceptionally precise use of cabin space. We always know who’s where, even if twisty scripting means we’re less certain what everybody’s up to— save Elba, calmly underlining his status as among our most dependable

Unchained, Netflix’s latest first-rate sports documentary, shows us chess played on mountains at high velocity. By now, you’ll have some idea who’s going to win this year’s instalment of the fabled cycling race; this French-produced series offers a comprehensive lookback at the 2022 edition. Within Le Tour’s overarching yellow-jersey narrative, these eight episodes locate multiple smaller stories: individual stages and battles, the competition between and within teams, the generational shifts amid a mercilessly onrushing peloton. As viewers of ITV4’s expert daily coverage will know, this race has always provided great spectacle, but here it’s mined for revealing, often bruising life experience. Marvel at the altitude these cyclists ascend to over each day’s racing—and brace when they fly over their handlebars.

by Mike McCahill

Retro Pick:

SpinCity (Channel4)

Political action: the sparky turn-of-themillennium vehicle for Back to the Future’s Michael J Fox as New York’s Deputy Mayor makes a belated but incredibly welcome streaming debut.

Steely Dan Pretzel Logic

if any record embodies the definition of a make or break album, it’s Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic. Remembered for condensing the band’s noodling jazz rock into the radio-ready three minute format, it also sounded the death knell for the group’s original line-up. As Walter Becker and Donald Fagen buried themselves deeper into the studio, adopting a perfectionist pursuit of new sonic worlds, their inclination for the live performances that their bandmates held dear drifted. Jeff Baxter and Michael McDonald eventually left to join The Doobie Brothers. With the reissue of Pretzel Logic on vinyl—for the first time in three decades—we get to ask ourselves, was it worth it? “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” at least is as irresistible as it was in 1974, setting up the band’s propensity for whimsy with a flapamba opening before launching into a cool piano hook. “East St Louis Toodle-Oo” pays tribute to jazz maestro Duke Ellington, his free-flowing riff gaining psychedelic overtones from an electric guitar and talk box. The title track meanwhile best manifests Steely Dan’s holy trinity—wit, storytelling and groove—in its time travel sequence, framed by a swaggering bluesy guitar.

It may not be their bestselling album (that spot is reserved for Aja, which perfected Steely Dan’s session musician format with an army of 40 artists), but it remains fascinatingly uncategorisable—too surreal to be pop, too psychedelic to be jazz, and yet managing to merge each into a cerebral funk.

By Becca Inglis

The lost cassette tape

For a demonstration of Steely Dan’s dogged commitment to the perfect take, look no further than the 1979 fiasco, when an assistant engineer accidentally wiped “The Second Arrangement” in the studio. After some attempts to rescue the song, and one effort to rerecord, it was scrapped, and fans were left to scrape together a mythology around salvaged bootlegs. This summer, at last, that lost take has made its way onto the airwaves, after being discovered on a tape in engineer Roger Nichols’ cassette player. Cassette tapes are thought to only be playable for 30 years, so Nichols’ daughters made sure to get a digital backup—“We knew that if we played it, it could be the last time anyone might hear it,” they told ExpandingDan.

August Fiction

A collection of imaginative, interconnected short stories is our fiction pick of the month

NormalRulesDon’tApply

by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday,

£18.99)

With some writers there might be quite a contrast between a new slim volume of short stories and an earlier, highly twisty 500-page novel. In Kate Atkinson’s case, though, Normal Rules Don’t Apply has something significant in common with the bestselling, award-winning Life After Life (also adapted into a BBC drama series). There, normal rules didn’t apply either, as Atkinson gave us dozens of possible lives as they might have been led by her heroine. Here, if anything, she takes the process further, by serving up a multiverse of possible worlds.

James Walton is a book reviewer and broadcaster, and has written and presented 17 series of the BBC Radio 4 literary quiz The Write Stuff

In the first story, a mysterious “void” starts covering the Earth for five minutes a day, killing anybody not indoors. In the second, Franklin, a TV producer and gambler, seems to be living in an entirely realistic modern Britain—until, that is, a horse speaks to him. In the third, a woman faces something even odder: the fact that she’s dead.

It is, however, no coincidence that Franklin once wrote a novel entitled What If? where the narrative continually splits into the different outcomes that every little event could have produced. That’s because the longer Normal Rules Don’t Apply goes on, the more it does a similar thing, with the people from one story reappearing in another, living very different lives— and the overlaps and contradictions between the 11 tales becoming ever more intriguing.

This summary, I realise, might make the book sound somewhat heavygoing. But that’s not how it reads at all. If you wanted to give yourself a challenge, you could definitely treat the whole thing as a kind of riddle to be decoded—and probably enjoy doing it. On the other hand, you could just relish the individual stories for their mixture of strangeness and the often very funny observations about recognisable everyday life against which the strangeness is set. There are also any number of memorable characters— from a bona fide goddess to a couple not totally unlike Harry and Meghan— whom Atkinson conjures up in only a few sentences.

Most striking of all, though, is the abiding sense of infectious, slightly bonkers fun. Atkinson is clearly having a great time letting her imagination run wild—and my firm guess is that her readers will too. n

Name the character

Can you guess the fictional character from these clues (and, of course, the fewer you need the better)?

1. Her creator was the second Irish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1925.

2. In 1914, she was the first character to use the swear word “bloody” on the West End stage…

3. …in the play Pygmalion, later adapted into the musical MyFairLady

Answer on p140

Paperbacks

ADangerousBusinessby Jane Smiley (Abacus, £9.99). One of the best American writers around with a page-turning novel about a young woman murdered during the Californian Gold Rush.

Tourists:HowtheBritishWent AbroadtoFindThemselvesby Lucy Lethbridge (Bloomsbury, £10.99). Britain’s love-hate relationship with pretty much everywhere foreign is explored with a glorious historical sweep and bags of great anecdotes.

London,withLoveby Sarra Manning (Hodder, £9.99). Witty and touching will-they-won’t-they? romance set over 19 years. A perfect summer read.

TheEloquenceoftheSardine: TheSecretLifeofFishby Bill Francois (Constable, £10.99). Fish prove much cleverer than you might think in this rich and surprising guide to the mysterious world under the sea.

OnJavaRoad by Lawrence Osborne (Vintage, £9.99).

Contemporary Hong Kong is the backdrop for the latest compulsive thriller novel from an author who is often compared (justifiably) to John le Carré.

RECOMMENDED READ:

Under Pressure

Former England cricketer Nick Compton recounts how his grandfather’s legacy and his anxiety hung heavy

As the grandson of cricket legend Denis Compton, Nick Compton had a lot to live up to— and, as this book makes wrenchingly clear, the fact that he never really managed it has caused him much distress.

In childhood, Nick was obsessed with cricket to the point of isolating himself from other boys. Aged 12, he told his mother that if he didn’t get into the local club side, he “wanted to be put down like a horse”. When he was first selected for England in 2013, he characteristically decided that “the entire reason for my life had been vindicated”.

Nick is certainly aware of the dangers of such single-mindedness, with cricket “a constant torture of performance anxiety”. But, as he also acknowledges, identifying a problem doesn’t mean you can solve it, and for his whole career “the only good mental health I felt was scoring runs”.

In recent years, there’ve been several books about the cost of being

an elite sportsperson, and Legacy is a fine, if sometimes painful addition to the list—not least since some of the revelations seem inadvertent. For all his many moments of selfknowledge, Compton’s frequent blaming of others (captains, selectors, coaches) for his failure to reach what he considers his full potential doesn’t always convince. He’s particularly indignant, for example, when he’s dropped for Joe Root, suggesting that this was because his own face didn’t fit— rather than say, because Root was a

blind spots only add to the book’s authenticity as a self-portrait, and as a glimpse into the world of high-level sport more generally.

And here, in his 16th and last Test, is how it all came crashing down for Nick Compton…

“It was one of those days. The sun was shining down on Lord’s on the first morning of the third Test against Sri Lanka in June 2016, the packed house lathered in sunscreen.

England had already bullied a 2-0 series lead and the home crowd wanted more of the same. The other interest was in me—‘Nick Compton, a man with plenty on his shoulders’, as one media story observed, because this was my last chance to remain a Test cricketer, and everybody around the ground knew it.

It should have been perfect. This was the ground where my grandfather, Denis, had become a legend of the game.

Legacyby Nick Compton is published by Allen & Unwin at £20

But it wasn’t.

Alastair won the toss and batted. I was due in at number three, but instead of itching to get out there, I sat watching with increasing dread as he and Alex Hales put on a half-century stand until Alex was caught behind.

This was it then. I tried to gee myself up. I had faced moments like this before and triumphed. But the sense of dread remained as I walked through the famous Long Room and descended from the pavilion into the sunshine.

I walked through the picket gate and looked up, trying to drink in the wonderful atmosphere to settle my nerves. Should I look at the Denis Compton grandstand? I wondered. No, I decided. Grandad’s feats suddenly hung like a shadow rather than a source of inspiration. At that moment, on a stage built for the name Compton to shine, something had changed inside me.

I blocked the last two deliveries of Herath’s over and then watched Alastair play out a maiden. As I waited for Herath again, a thought flashed through my mind:

I can’t do this any more.

Patience and resilience, the ingredients of my success, were suddenly monotonous. The thought shocked me. My brain had gone and I wanted to walk off the ground. I was shot. Useless. My body was screaming at my brain, ‘What’s going

on?’ I felt like a marathon runner exhausted at the start line thinking about the 26 miles ahead of him. It was heartbreaking, battling with myself in the middle of Lord’s, in front of thousands of people including my father. It was as if the 25,000 spectators could all see what had just gone on inside my head.

I had never felt this way before. Normally I was steely and resolved, but the fight had gone. Somehow I pulled myself together and managed to get off the mark with a single, but the dismay had set in as I defended without conviction, almost hoping that a delivery would get past me and end the misery.

I got my wish two overs later when Lakmal pitched one up and the ball moved ever so slightly away. I wasn’t far enough forward and was caught behind. I felt the sorry silence as I walked off the ground.

The runaway train had finally come off the tracks.

”Answer

to Name the Character:

Eliza Doolittle, as created by George Bernard Shaw, the second Irish Nobel winner after WB Yeats (rumours that the word “bloody” was to be used on stage caused a major London traffic jam).

Five More Great Sports Books

TigerWoodsby Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian. One possible danger sign in Legacy is Compton’s early admiration for Woods’s obsessive mindset. This beautifully researched biography shows how damaging such mindsets can be— including for Tiger Woods.

Open by André Agassi. A wildly candid Compton-like autobiography from the tennis champion, proving that it’s not only cricket that can create intolerable pressures.

ALotofHardYakka by Simon Hughes. Cricket’s less glamorous side is given the full tragicomic treatment in this wonderful memoir of 1980s county cricket from the bowler now known as “The Analyst”.

1923 by Ned Boulting. A piece of old cine film sends Boulting on a quest to find out about the Tour de France in the years after the First World War. The result is full of wonders.

TheAusterityOlympics by Jane Hampton. A terrific account of the 1948 London Olympic Games, where the tiny budget meant that athletes had to sew their own kits and stayed in old army camps.

Books

THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

Deborah Meaden is a highly successful entrepreneur and one of Britain’s best-known business names. Her new book, Little Experts: Why Money Matters is out now, published by Red Shed

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

I read this as a child because it was about horses, but beyond that I had no idea what I was about to read. The story is told through the voice of Black Beauty, a genuine and honest horse keen to do his best. It starts happily enough with bucolic scenes of his early days in the fields with his mother, and the kindness with which he was cared for, but as the book progresses, its real intent to expose the casual cruelty to horses in the Victorian era takes hold. The book had a profound effect on me and some of the scenes remain vivid in my memory, still invoking a feeling of dread.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

We read many books at school but this one really got under my skin—so much so that I have read it several times since, and seen the plays! Set in the Southern US during the Great Depression, it quickly reveals itself to be a book which exposes the complexities and opposites of people. I find it hard to describe what the book is about, other than human nature. Of course it speaks of racism, fear of others and dehumanisation, but through the author’s carefully crafted characters and sometimes meandering storytelling, it gets to the absolute root of human nature, in all its good and bad. Harper Lee describes the book as a “love story.” I simply call it an absolute masterclass in humanity.

Spix’s Macaw: The Race to Save the World’s Rarest Bird by Tony Juniper This book sparked me into environmental action. It is the story of the race to rescue a species first documented in 1819 and pushed towards extinction in the wild because it was unfortunate enough to be beautiful and desirable, and therefore worth a lot of money. It is a story of human selfishness and greed. It is also a book that shows us what humans can achieve if only they have the will, but ultimately it is a book of warning—in 2019, Spix’s Macaw was declared extinct in the wild.

The End Of The Streaming Wars?

Why the flood of new TV shows may be over

BY James O'Malley

Have you seen succession yet? What about The Mandalorian? Perhaps you haven’t had the time as you’re still watching Ted Lasso, The Last of Us, Poker Face, Beef or The Diplomat?

Don’t worry, you’re not imagining it: there really is too much TV these days. According to Variety, in 2022 there were 599 scripted, adultoriented shows being made for American TV (and by extension, British TV). This is a huge increase from a mere 182 twenty years earlier, when the so-called “Peak TV” era began with the likes of The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Mad Men.

So it’s perhaps understandable that even the most square-eyed of television viewers can’t possibly hope to catch everything, especially when it comes to those prestigious, bigbudget American dramas that your friends keep talking about.

So what happened? Why has TV got so out of control? The answer is, of course, at its heart a technology story.

The streaming wars

The big shift that is still ongoing, of course, is the move to streaming. Instead of relying on a satellite dish or a Cable TV subscription to get "content" to our eyeballs, the internet has led to the rise of the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ as the most important new players in the TV industry.

the streamers spent big on new shows to try to entice people in.

Fierce competition led to a ballooning of budgets, as streamers spent big on new shows to entice people

Just this year, Netflix has spent a staggering $17 billion on new shows, and Amazon is estimated to be spending $10 billion, with Disney spending a similar amount on its streaming service. By contrast, the little old BBC is spending just £1.75 billion, or $2 billion over roughly the same period. That’s why every time you open Netflix there’s 20 new shows, starring big Hollywood names, that you’ve still somehow never heard of.

The end of the war?

And this, in turn, ignited a new competition as all of the major streaming firms competed to pick up customers. The theory goes that even if there are potentially countless new streaming services, ultimately customers are only going to pay for a handful. So the last few years has been a mad-dash by the streamers to pick up as many subscribers as possible, so that they may rule TV for the foreseeable future.

And this fierce competition has led to a huge ballooning of budgets, as

At least, this was the case. Over the last few months, something strange has been happening in streaming: films and TV shows are disappearing.

For example, Disney+ has removed the Spider-Man movies from the early 2000s, and in America, one of its biggest streaming platforms, HBO Max, has removed big-budget sci-fi drama Westworld. To be clear, none of

James is a technology writer and journalist. A former editor of tech website Gizmodo UK, James can be found mostly on Twitter posting jokes of variable quality @Psythor

•

MAKING BIG-BUDGET SHOWS IS SO EXPENSIVE THAT THEY COST MORE THAN THEY EARN

the really big shows have been removed—you can be confident that you’ll be able to watch The Avengers or Squid Game for some time yet. But many of the smaller shows are finding their way to the chopping block.

And it isn’t just the back-catalogue that is shrinking. The big streamers are making less new stuff too.

For example, for the last few years Disney has been pumping out an almost endless flood of superhero shows like Wandavision and Loki, to try to persuade viewers to pull out their credit cards. But more recently, Disney has now said that it will cut the flood to just a trickle of new Marvel shows. And similarly, Netflix’s head of Global TV recently told an industry conference that it too would be easing spending on new shows.

So what’s changed? Essentially, the numbers have

stopped adding up. The streamers have realised that paying to continuously license these shows, and pay royalties to their creators, is expensive. And making a big-budget superhero show that looks like a fullyfledged film is an eye-wateringly expensive endeavour—so even if it might bring in thousands of new subscribers, it is still costing more than it is earning.

And worse still, in a cost of living crisis, people are less willing to part with their cash—meaning that going all-out to hook in new customers becomes more expensive on a costper-customer basis.

So, say it quietly, but maybe the streaming wars are finally over. In the future there may actually be less to watch online. But hey—at least you’ll have plenty of time to catch up and find out why everyone was raving about Succession. n

Ask The Tech Expert

James O'Malley

Q: My internet is so slow…how can I speed it up? - Sandra

A: Not all internet connectivity problems are created equal, and there are different causes of poor connectivity. Here’s what to do:

1. Check your internet service provider’s status The poor connection might not be your fault! Just like we experience occasional power cuts, your internet service provider (ISP) will suffer occasional outages too. You can usually check this by using another device that does have internet (say, your phone using 4G) to check their service status page, and find out if there are any problems locally. If that’s the case, there isn’t much you can do other than wait.

2. Try a restart The oldest and most clichéd tech advice remains true: it’s always worth restarting your equipment to see if that fixes it. Sometimes software will crash, and hitting the reboot button will air out the bugs.

3. Check what other apps and devices are using the network Internet bandwidth is a finite resource. If

someone sharing your connection is downloading a big file, or streaming in ultra high-definition, that’s a lot of gigabytes to pipe into your home.

4. Check the position of your wifi router Though we can often connect to wifi networks from a long way away, it doesn’t mean that the quality of the connection is always good. Data is sent back and forth over wifi in “packets” and the further away you are from your wifi router, the fewer packets will reach their destination.

5. Consider new hardware It could be worth throwing some money at the problem. For example, most ISPprovided routers (like your BT HomeHub) will do the job, but are not always the best tech available. If you have a larger home, it may be worth upgrading, for example, to a “mesh” network—this is where instead of having one wifi hotspot, you place additional intermediary hotspots around your home to ping the signal back to base, and your devices will connect to whichever is closest. n

Email your tech questions for James to readersletters@readersdigest. co.uk

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WHAT’S THE POINT OF NEW CLOTHES?

BY Richard Glover

Sartorially Speaking, my philosophy is the opposite of fast fashion. I’m an adherent of wear-it-until-it-falls-offyour-body. Sometimes this brings marital discord. “You are not going out in that,” says my wife, Jocasta, as she inserts a wriggling finger into various holes in my t-shirt.

“That’s air-conditioning,” I respond as I defiantly head out the door.

Or she’ll say: “I can actually see your underwear through those jeans. You are an outrage to public decency.”

To which I reply: “Yes, but I can wear these jeans at least seven or

eight more times. And if it gives others a thrill…”

My boots are even better—or should that be worse? “Breathing panels” have emerged in the sides and toes. Sure, I can’t leave the house in wet weather, but, in fine conditions, these boots are nothing less than my perfect companion.

To me, a treasured piece of clothing or footwear is like a map of past misfortunes: the shirt that was ripped when you fell out of a tree, the boots that were stained with agricultural chemicals the day you helped a friend

on his farm, the belt with stretched holes recording the success, and failure, of various diets.

American folk singer Mary Chapin Carpenter captured this philosophy in her song “This Shirt,” describing a garment that had been worn to every school dance, then used as a pillow on a train trip through Italy, then lent to a lover who gave it back with a torn sleeve. “So old I should replace it,” she sang. “But I’m not about to try.”

Some people—Jocasta, my work mates, my children—allege that I’m just a miser whose wallet would release moths should I ever open it. I went along with this theory until I learned about wabi-sabi.

This ancient Japanese aesthetic celebrates the impermanence of life by appreciating things that are torn, lopsided, weathered or otherwise imperfect. Far from being a miserable tightwad, I’m actually an advanced Buddhist aesthete.

Of course, it’s not just the Japanese who understand the joy of the longtreasured, battered item. Edmund Burke, the 18th-century British parliamentarian, observed that a well-worn pair of shoes was more comfortable than a new pair.

American philosopher Henry David Thoreau mistrusted “all enterprises which require new clothes.”

In his Dance to the Music of Time series of novels, British author Anthony Powell satirises those who care too much about fashion. One

character delivers a terrible warning to another: “If you’re not careful, you will suffer the awful fate of the man who always knows the right clothes to wear and the right shop to buy them at.”

Why not, instead, choose to avoid clothes shopping whenever possible?

Three years ago, a menswear firm found in a survey that, on average, men buy new underwear once every five years—with some retaining them for more than 20 years. The Times quoted the company’s founder, Tom Clinch: “It’s deeply depressing to discover that men invest in something as important as underwear so infrequently. Men don’t hesitate to throw money at expensive suits but cut corners with underwear. It’s like buying a Ferrari and filling it up with cooking oil.”

I notice Clinch doesn’t appear to recognise that there’s a high number of wabi-sabi followers who may lurk among us.

Like those devotees, I’m not only keen about old clothes, I also like battered furniture and worn-out briefcases. Why? Maybe it’s a kind of preparation for that moment when, each morning, toothbrush poised, I look in the mirror. Where others might see the ravages of time, I embrace the impermanence of all things, thanks to the teachings of wabi-sabi.

Besides which, have you seen the price of a new pair of shoes? n

Homophones are words that share the same pronunciation, no matter how they are spelled. If they are spelled differently then they are called heterographs. Find heterographs meaning: CHIMNEY SHAFT and

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When I was running a small local cafe I asked the young assistant to make a small batch of butterfly cakes. She had never made them, so I said to bake a sponge mix in paper cases then cut the tops off them.

When I went to check later, the cakes were neatly arranged on a cooling tray but there were no tops to be seen. When I asked "Where are the tops?" she looked embarrassed.

She said, "Well, I thought it was such a waste I ate them."

What could I say to that? She looked so relieved when I laughed. With a swirl of cream and topped with a cherry, the wingless butterflies still flew off the shelf.

HONOR WOODCOCK, Fife

My husband and I had a date night at the cinema. We arrived late and had to sit right next to the speakers. I’m not a fan of horror films (my husband’s choice!), and the blaring music and loud noises from the

speakers scared me more than usual. At the end of the film, I couldn’t wait to leave.

I bolted out of my seat and headed straight for the exit, grabbing my husband’s hand and pulling him along behind me through the crowds. Outside, I turned to talk to him, but looked up at a total stranger grinning at me. Red-faced, I quickly let go of his hand and apologised profusely.

My husband was several feet behind watching and laughing…in total despair at my antics, as usual!

LEAH ROTTIER, Épenède, France

When my mother in law had her 80th birthday, we took her to Paris for a week. She had never been abroad before. She asked my husband why everyone was driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

My husband said, “The French drive on the right hand side of the road”.

She said, “But you are British.”

BERYL STEWART, Submitted by email

I’d recently moved and was happily chatting to the amiable engineer who’d arrived to set up my broadband connection. He mentioned that he was nervous about "going up a pole later".

One of the things I missed about the town I’d moved from was the friendly and inclusive pole-fitness studio I’d attended, so I excitedly

"WE HAVE TO ADMIRE YOUR FATHER'S DETERMINATION"

asked him if he meant a pole-dance pole or fireman’s pole. Of course, he meant a telegraph pole.

He was understandably confused and the conversation became a little awkward, not helped by my partner cheerfully piping up, "Firemen don’t go up the pole." My cheeks still burn.

SHABNAH RATNARAJAH,

Eastbourne

Speaking with my two-year-old grandson Lucas about what he wants to be when he grows up, I suggested, “A policeman”.

After some thought, Lucas replied, “No”.

I then suggested a fireman or a teacher. Lucas replied “No” to both.

Having no luck with my suggestions, I then asked Lucas what he wanted to be, to which he quickly and decisively replied, “A dinosaur”.

BRUCE GRENFELL,

Whitley Bay

cartoon by Guto Dias

Word Power

English is rich with terms that describe sounds, from the violent blasting of volcanoes to the gentle patter of raindrops. Listen for resonances in the words below—and if that doesn’t work, take a guess

1. psithurism

A: sound of flapping wings.

B: sound of rolling waves.

C: sound of rustling leaves.

2. ululate—

A: emotional wail.

B: chew noisily.

C: audible whisper not meant to be heard.

3. pule—

A: murmur soothingly.

B: whine or whimper.

C: gurgling liquid.

4. babel—

A: endless monologue.

B: break in a silence.

C: confusion of voices.

5. charivari—

A: boisterous cheering.

B: melodic birdsong.

C: loud and discordant mock serenade.

BY ANITA LAHEY

6. plunk—

A: sound of a handdrum strike.

B: sound of a sharply plucked string.

C: sound of a bat hitting a ball.

7. crosstalk—

A: interference from another telecom signal.

B: low chatter.

C: long-winded and boring sermon.

8. tantara—

A: trumpet blast.

B: musical finale.

C: rhythmic chant.

9. sibilation—

A: stomach rumble.

B: heavy sigh.

C: dissonant hiss.

10. nickering—

A: squirrel calls.

B: horse neighing.

C: speaking in a nagging tone.

11. tattoo—

A: machine-gun sound.

B: evening bugle call to summon soldiers to their quarters.

C: sharp rapping, as on a door.

12. purl—

A: long, low whistle.

B: resonance in a singer’s voice.

C: babbling, as of water.

13. report—

A: lengthy echo.

B: burst of noise from an explosion.

C: bell toll.

14. vociferate—

A: shout loudly.

B: droning sound.

C: repetitive cough.

15. fritinancy—

A: squeaking of dolphins.

B: nasal pitch.

C: chirping of insects.

Answers

1. psithurism—[C] sound of rustling leaves; On a breezy day, a light psithurism fills the woods.

2. ululate—[A] emotional wail; In some cultures, mourners can be hired to ululate at a funeral.

3. pule—[B] whine or whimper; Alex was a quiet and pensive baby, not one to pule for no reason.

4. babel—[C] confusion of voices; The protest devolved from group chants into a babel of shouts and various insults.

5. charivari—[C] loud and discordant mock serenade; While the Beauforts drove off for their honeymoon, their friends performed a charivari, with pots and pans.

6. plunk—[B] sound of a sharply plucked string; Tabitha’s infant son seemed amused by the plunk of his toy banjo.

7. crosstalk—[A] interference from another telecom signal; The phone connection was so poor that Jin could barely hear Lee Anne over the crosstalk.

8. tantara—[A] trumpet blast; The tantara announcing the governor’s arrival had always been Isabel’s favourite part of the opera Fidelio.

9. sibilation—[C] dissonant hiss; A sibilation escaped the opposition

backbenches as the prime minister rose to speak.

10. nickering—[B] horse neighing; Upon entering the barn, Isla heard a soft nickering, a welcome from her mare.

11. tattoo—[B] evening bugle call to summon soldiers to their quarters; Of all the army’s ceremonial music, the nightly tattoo was the most beautiful to Louis.

12. purl—[C] babbling, as of water; Hearing the brook’s melodic purl, Frankie sighed, relieved to be nearly back home.

13. report—[B] burst of noise from an explosion; The rifle report jolted Kasia from her reverie: Tim must have spotted a rat.

14. vociferate—[A] shout loudly; It’s not polite to vociferate at a waiter, no matter how slow the service.

15. fritinancy—[C] chirping of insects; The non-stop fritinancy in the Cornwall countryside often disturbed Jenny’s sleep.

VOCABULARY RATINGS

7–10: fair 11–12: good 13–15: excellent

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Page 62 £100 Amazon Gift Card

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Page 151 Photo Finder

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Brain GAMES

Sharpen Your Mind

An Equal Hand

Easy The four fanned-out hands below consist of three cards each. Which of the card options to the right can be added to the incomplete hand so that the four hands will create a logical set?

Gemstone

Difficult How many triangles are in this illustration? Note that a triangle may be made up of smaller segments (including smaller triangles).

an equal hand and gemstone by marcel danesi

Cascade

Easy What number belongs in the empty cell?

It All Adds Up

Difficult Each letter from A to H has one of the eight values listed, and no two letters have the same value. Can you determine which number goes with each letter to make the equations true?

2 3 5 8 13 15 21 23

A Grateful Gathering

MEDiuM Kevin and Danielle—along with their ten-year-old twins, Emma and Nina—have just sat down for dinner with Danielle’s parents, Henry and Sophie. All members of the family are feeling thankful, but each for something different. From the following clues, can you work out who is thankful for what?

Things they’re thankful for: their health, their family, their dog, this meal, their job and their home.

Clues:

✦ Both Henry and Sophie are retired.

✦ The person thankful for their home is the mother of the person thankful for their family.

✦ The person thankful for their health is married to the person thankful for the feast in front of them.

✦ Nina is thankful for their spirited schnauzer.

✦ What Henry is thankful for cannot be insured.

For answers, turn to PAGE 155

8 Precision (8)

9 Freezing compartment (6)

10 How to make a garment (3)

11 Overwhelm with things to deal with (8)

12 Former UN leader --- Annan (4)

16 Tuscany province (5)

19 Out of shot (3,6)

21 Throughout the world (15)

22 Perceptive (5-4)

24 Reddish tone photograph (5)

27 Gets the point (4)

31 Release something stuck (8)

33 US Confederate general (3)

34 Fine plaster (6)

35 Postponing (8)

1 Scrutinise (4) 2 Hit the sack (4,2)

3 200 milligrams to a jeweller (5)

4 What I normally see in a mirror (6)

5 Fruit-bearing Chinese vine (4)

6 Hit this to get down (4)

7 Dance (4)

11 Inborn patterns of behaviour (9)

13 Venn diagram common area (7)

14 No matter what (2,3,4)

15 Remarks made to provoke (6)

17 Far-out (7)

18 Northern lights (6)

19 One end of a fallopian tube (5)

20 Cooked in oil (5)

23 Beneficiary of primogeniture (6)

25 Develop gradually (6)

26 Posed (5)

28 Corrodes (4)

29 Fire from a job (4)

30 Drama framework (4)

32 Characteristic carrier (4)

SUDOKU

BY Louis-Luc Beaudoin

1 7 2 4 1 5 7 3 9 8 9 6 4 7 5 2 1 9 2 5 3 6 8 3 9 4

To Solve This Puzzle

Put a number from 1 to 9 in each empty square so that:

✦ every horizontal row and vertical column contains all nine numbers (1-9) without repeating any of them;

✦ each of the outlined 3 x 3 boxes has all nine numbers, none repeated.

BRAIN GAMES ANSWERS

FROM PAGE 152

An Equal Hand

C. In each hand, the number value of the card on the right is the sum of the values of the other two cards, plus one. For example, in the top-left hand, 3 (left card) + 1 (middle card) = 4; then 4 + 1 = 5 (right card).

Gemstone 72

Cascade

7. The numbers 1 to 9 appear in ascending order diagonally starting at the top left and ending at the bottom right.

It All Adds Up

A=21, B=5, C=2, D=23, E=15, F=13, G=8, H=3

A Grateful Gathering

Kevin is thankful for his job; Danielle is thankful for her home; Emma is thankful for her family; Nina is thankful for her dog; Henry is thankful for the meal; and Sophie is thankful for her health.

Laugh!

WIN £30 for the reader’s joke we publish!

Go to readersdigest.co.uk/contact-us or facebook.com/readersdigestuk

As a kid I was made to walk the plank. We couldn’t afford a dog.

ROB DELANEY

Whoever invented Zorbing must be rolling in it.

OLAF FALAFEL on Twitter (@OFalafel)

I’m sure wherever my dad is, he’s looking down on us. He’s not dead, just very condescending.

JACK WHITEHALL

Why do seagulls fly over the ocean? Because if they flew over the bay, we’d call them bagels.

chortle.co.uk

I’d be OK with a ghost in the house if every time a bloody message appeared on a wall it was something useful like YOU’RE WEARING THE WRONG SIZED BRA.

ELIZABETH HACKETT on Twitter (@LizHackett)

Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many levels.

TIM VINE

I used to be addicted to the hokey cokey, but I turned myself around.

chortle.co.uk

I saw a documentary on how ships are kept together. Riveting!

STEWART

FRANCIS

On a recent plane journey, I saw a man put a crow in the overhead locker. “What are you doing?”, I asked him. “It’s a carrion”, he replied.

LIZ TUBBY, Norfolk

ASK A COMEDIAN

Marcus Brigstocke

Award-winning comedian and international cheese judge Marcus Brigstocke is set to play Edinburgh Fringe with his new show, Cheese andWhine. Ian Chaddock asks him about his funniest experiences…

What stand up/comedy film stands out as making you fall in love with comedy when you were young?

Robin Williams’ Live at the Met. It’s still one of the greatest stand up films ever made. I knew it by heart as a teenager and annoyed anyone who’d listen with huge chunks of it whenever I had the opportunity.

What do you remember about your first time doing stand up?

That it was shocking and fun. It was exhilarating and terrifying and I did OK. I got some laughs and finished strong. It was a stand up competition at a club in Holborn. I came second. Not bad for a first go.

What is the funniest heckle you’ve ever heard and how did you respond to it?

I had a prosthetic leg thrown at me in Birmingham. I don’t remember why or how I had so angered this audience member but he saw fit to fling his leg at me.

What has been your most ridiculous live show experience ever?

Well—it’s funny you should ask. At the “thrown leg” gig the compère was John Bishop. John went on to tell his touring audience about the time the posh London comic got “limb heckled”. It was a good story and John’s very funny.

Some months later I was on tour in Gloucester and as soon as I walked on stage someone yelled “Is it true you once had a leg thrown at you?”. I said yes and began to explain how and why…and blam! It happened again. There was a member of the Gloucester audience with a prosthetic leg and so for the second time in a year I got “legged”. Heckled with body parts. From over ten

Two legs in under a year. That’s nearly half a man. It still makes me laugh to think about it. I think I should have kept those legs. I’d be well on my way to being a spider

Your new show is called Cheese and Whine and is interactive—pairing the audience’s gripes with cheeses in “gourmet comedy”. What are some examples of the types of gripes that you would pair with some delicious cheeses?

If they give me some trivial nonsense that’s what they’ll get in return. “Ooh, I don’t much like cyclists when I’m driving…” they’ll get a triangle of Dairylea and be sent on their way. But give me a proper, full bodied, fruity whine and, who knows?

“My husband is a cyclist. He disappears for days on end on his bike. I swear he loves it more than me. He certainly services it more often. He comes back with an aching, chafed bum and asks me to apply Savlon to the area while he regales me with tales of roadside puncture repairs and steep inclines. I think I might buy an electric scooter and bin him off.”

Now that is a whine. That might very well earn you a slice of Lanark Blue or a fat creamy wedge of Sinodun Hill (an exquisite, mousse-like goat’s milk cheese— creamy and delicate. Not totally unlike Savlon). I’m a curd nerd. Cheese is a passion for me.

MarcusBrigstockewillplayarunofshowsat Edinburgh’sPleasanceCourtyardforFringe betweenAugust2-13

CROSSWORD ANSWERS

THESE PHOTOS SHOW FELINE FRIENDS BEING CUTE Via boredpanda.com and @Catshealdeprsn on Twitter

Across: 8 Accuracy, 9 Icebox, 10 Sew, 11 Inundate, 12 Kofi, 16 Siena, 19 Off camera, 21 Internationally, 22 Clear-eyed, 24 Sepia, 27 Sees, 31 Dislodge, 33 Lee, 34 Stucco, 35 Shelving.

Down: 1 Scan, 2 Turn in, 3 Carat, 4 Myself, 5 Kiwi, 6 Deck, 7 Hoof, 11 Instincts, 13 Overlap, 14 In any case, 15 Taunts, 17 Extreme, 18 Aurora, 19 Ovary, 20 Fried, 23 Eldest, 25 Evolve, 26 Asked, 28 Eats, 29 Sack, 30 Plot, 32 Gene.

Beat the Cartoonist!

Think of a witty caption for this cartoon—the three best suggestions, along with the cartoonist’s original, will be posted on our website in mid-AUGUST. If your entry gets the most votes, you’ll win £50. Submit to captions@readersdigest.co.uk by AUGUST 7. We’ll announce the winner in our September issue.

JUNE WINNER

Our cartoonist’s caption, “I feel like I’m in a hole”, failed to beat our reader Melanie Lodge, who won the vote with, “I feel bad that I don’t remember all the girls’ names that kissed me!”

Congratulations, Melanie!

cartoons by Royston Robertson

IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE

The famed chef and restaurateur looks back on her life I REMEMBER… Ruth Rogers

EMPTY NEST SYNDROME

Painful fact or flight of fancy? The experts weigh in

Show the world your storytelling talent 100-WORD-STORY COMPETITION +

GOOD NEWS

from around the World

Sherpa Rescues Climber on Everest

Undoubtedly, Sherpas are the unsung heroes of Mount Everest. Back in 1953, Edmund Hillary could not have reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain without the help of Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. Today Sherpas continue to defy nature on this famous mountain.

Recently Gelje Sherpa carried out a heroic rescue when a Malaysian climber came close to death in Everest’s infamous “death zone”. According to the Himalayan Database, Everest has claimed more than 310 lives since 1924. The Malaysian climber looked likely to join this number when Gelje came across him, alone on the mountain and lacking equipment.

Gelje was faced with a decision: continue guiding his client to the mountain’s summit, or abandon the journey and save the stranded climber. For Gelje, it was a nobrainer. The climber simply had to be saved. Gelje convinced his companion to abandon the summit attempt, strapped the climber to his back and carried him down 600 metres over the course of six hours. Later, he was joined by another guide, Nima Tashi Sherpa, who helped to carry the climber the rest of the way to base camp.

“It is almost impossible to rescue climbers at that altitude,”

Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala told the Reuters news agency. “It is a very rare operation.”

But Gelje defied the odds, and his heroic efforts paid off. The rescued climber, whose name was not released to the media, was flown home after his condition improved. Someone buy Gelje a drink! by

Alice GAwthrop

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“ If it wasn’t for our dash cam footage, the other driver might not have been held responsible for knocking the cyclist off his bike & injuring him.”

“The driver coming in the opposite direction jumped the red light, knocking the cyclist off his bike & leaving him seriously injured. Mandy helped the cyclist whilst the emergency services were on their way. We showed the police the high-res dash-cam footage of what happened & they were really impressed with clarity of the recording. Later, it came out that the driver of the other car had denied jumping the red light, but when confronted with the video evidence quickly confessed. Our dash cam footage helped the poor chap who was injured as it could have taken months, if not years, to sort it out otherwise. We wouldn’t drive without our DX1000 dash-cam now.”

John & Mandy Nightingale

See the evidence for yourself online