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The heartache behind the smile As the second series of Gino’s Italian Escapes begins on ITV, Italian TV chef Gino D’Acampo talks to Yours about what matters most

By Alison James f ever there were a competition for the world’s most charming man, Gino D’Acampo would be a serious contender. During our chat he insists on sending out for chocolate and constantly tops up my water glass. Then, of course, there are his blue, blue eyes, disarming smile and that wonderful accent.

“You think I’m charming?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm, you should have met my dad. He was a really beautiful-looking man, taller than me with longish hair. Women loved him and he was the coolest guy ever. A rock ‘n’ roll dad.

“We were great friends as well as father and son. At 60, he was only 22 years older than me. I lost him last summer. We went to see the Rolling Stones at the O2 and two weeks later he passed away. He had an incurable form of leukaemia.

“My advice to anyone is, if you’re lucky enough to still have your dad and mum around, don’t miss any opportunity to tell them how much you love them, because one day, all of a sudden, they won’t be here anymore. I still have my mum. I stay with her whenever I go back to Naples where I was born.”

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It is, of course, back to his native Italy that Gino travels for his TV show. Across six weekly episodes, we’ll see him experience a northern Italian summer – meeting the locals, experiencing the culture and, of course, cooking and tasting the food.

“It’s different for the British public to see Italy through the eyes of an Italian,” he says.

“It’s better, I think. In this series I head north to Moderna, Florence, Sienna, Bologna, Genova, Venice… I’d been to this area before but didn’t know it that well before we filmed there, so it was a learning experience for me.

“We show the viewers the best of the region and the bits that nobody else shows you.

Programmes about Italy and Italian cookery tend always to show the same scenery and a fat man cooking pasta. Ours doesn’t.

It’s alive and exciting.

“Venice has to be my favourite place we visited.

It is bella, bella, bella! The buildings and the water and the bridges… just magical. I actually lost a tooth in Venice. We had a toga party after our last day of filming

‘If you’re lucky enough to still have your dad and mum around, don’t miss any opportunity to tell them how much you love them’

and we all wore Venetian masks.

We were drinking Prosecco, a lot of Prosecco, and when I woke up the next morning one of my front teeth was broken. Don’t ask me how! I have no idea.”

Gino likes to party but also enjoys quiet time at his Hertfordshire home with his wife Jessica, their two sons Luciano (12), Rocco (9) and Mia (2½).

“I do miss them when I’m away,” he explains. “I especially miss my little girl because she’s so cute – she’s my angel. Once you have kids, they become your absolute priority.”

Gino’s been in the UK for 17 years and although he says he still feels Italian through and through, it’s living in Britain that’s made him the man he is today.

“Being here has allowed me to relax,” he says. “Italian men tend not to be able to do that – maybe because they’re surrounded by Italian women who can be very tense and very hard work.

You can’t really have a laugh with Italian women.

You go into an Italian bar, for instance, and the atmosphere is very tense.

People don’t talk to each other, nobody’s laughing, everyone’s

posing, looking each other over and being judgemental about what they’re wearing and what they’re eating. It’s not like that here.

“This is a great country. You can live and let live, and no one bothers you, no one cares. I wouldn’t have the career I’m lucky enough to have today if I’d stayed in Italy.”

British food has been much maligned on the Continent, so what does Gino make of our native cuisine?

“I adore British food,” he enthuses. “But I get really frustrated with your chefs – especially TV chefs. Why do they insist on cooking French, Italian and Oriental food instead of British dishes? They could be showing how to make the best British dishes – a nice steak and kidney pie the way it should be made. Or show me how to do a beautiful roasted leg of lamb with homemade mint sauce. Do we want British chefs showing us how to make pizza?”

As for Gino’s own favourite TV chef, there is only one contender.

“The late Keith Floyd is my role model,” he smiles. “Every telly chef wants to be Keith – don’t believe them if they tell you any different. He was relaxed, funny and entertaining, and that’s what you want. I mean, how serious do you have to be with food? Life’s too short!” ✢ Gino’s Italian Escapes is on ITV on Friday evenings.

Left, Gino with wife Jessica and their two sons. Right, his inspiration Keith Floyd

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PICS: KARWAI TANG/ALPHA PRESS, REX FEATURES,

❙ star chat ❙

By Valery McConnell hy was it that the sun always seemed to shine so brightly on the first day of the autumn term, making it seem doubly unfair that the summer holidays were over and so was our freedom!

These days, you may be either heaving a sigh of relief if you’ve been on childminding duty or glumly realising that, once again, the roads will be choked with traffic during the school run. The young ones themselves may be apprehensive as they start a new school or meet a new teacher, feelings we can all remember well. But there are a few things they will never have to contend with – or enjoy – that were part and parcel of the schooldays of yesteryear...

That school run for instance. In 2010, 43 per cent of primary school children were taken to school by car, but our mums and dads would have given us short shrift if we had asked to be driven to school – and anyway you were lucky if Dad had a car, never mind Mum. Of course, an argument these days

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As summer holidays draw to a close, we remember just what we could expect as the school bell rang out again is that parents don’t have the time to walk their children to school and then get to work, but again, in our day it was usual for even young children to walk by themselves. In 1971, 86 per cent of primary children walked to school alone, compared to just 25 per cent now. You teamed up with your nearest chum and away you went and when you came to a road you stopped, looked right, left and right again, before crossing!

While more than 90 per cent of today’s secondary school children wear uniform to school, unlike us, this is unlikely to involve a hat. And how lucky they are. In the autumn term, chances are it would be the dreaded beret complete with school badge. To minimise it we rolled the band under and wore it perched on the back of our heads. At least a beret or cap, once out of range of the school, could be stuffed into a school bag – not something you could do with a summer boater.

In our day it was usual for even young children to walk by themselves 20

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Either had the added constant risk of being either lost or stolen by a school bully and thrown somewhere irretrievable. The cost of replacing it could dent your pocket money for a whole year.

While we are on the subject of clothing, it was amazing that we would take our sports’ kit to school in September and only retrieve it for washing at the end of term!

Drink it up If you went to school post-war, you got free school milk, introduced in 1946 to help boost the health of the nation’s children. Those little bottles would sit in their crate in the classroom corner until morning break whatever the weather.

Which meant, in winter they could well still be frozen, but in summer they could

❙ happy days ❙

Six of the best You only got to be a monitor if you were well behaved. For transgressors there was punishment – and that often meant corporal. Until 1987, when it was banned by law, teachers could use a ruler, cane, plimsoll or just their hand, to administer justice at any age. And many did.

While we girls were more likely to get a detention or a telling off, being hit on the hand with a ruler wasn’t unusual. It was boys who got the cane – or occasionally thwacked with a plimsoll.

There was no asking your parents’ permission back then – which was how many of us preferred it. That way Mum and Dad didn’t know – and you escaped a second telling off (or another belt) at home.

Back then, parents sided with teachers. And many won’t be surprised to learn that a circular for teachers from 1987 explaining the new ban on corporal punishment, pointed out that throwing chalk at a child was also now against the law too!

We had our lighter moments though – and many of these came via the big wooden radio set high on the wall. Singing Together, broadcast by the BBC from wartime until (incredibly) 2004, saw classrooms joined together to

do just that. Presided over for many years by genial choirmaster William Appleby (a forerunner, in many ways, of Gareth Malone), all over Britain children would join together to sing folk songs.

Who else has only got to hear Marianina or Brennan on the Moor, to be back at their desk, shared booklet in front, belting out folksongs? And yes, of course, there was a booklet monitor!

The sme ll of d istant schooldays...

Carbolic soap and Izal toilet pap er Smoke-filled staff rooms Plimsolls!

Boiled cabba ge Varnished floo rs Pencil shaving s

PIC: REX FEATURES, ALAMY, MASTERFILE, GETTY IMAGES

be unpleasantly warm. Most schools were strict at enforcing every child to drink the milk, so it could often be a case of finding another child (usually a boy) willing to drink yours too, or else trying to gulp it down through the wide straw quickly while holding your nose so you didn’t get the taste.

While it was the Labour government who stopped milk being served in secondary schools in 1968, the outcry came when milk was abolished for the over-sevens in 1971 by the then education secretary Mrs Thatcher.

Ironically, the current government will make it compulsory for all schools to give children access to semiskimmed milk from next January as part of healthy-eating rules. (But it won’t be compulsory to drink.)

Being milk monitor (or the lesser, straw monitor) was just one of many coveted ‘monitor’ roles. Remember the joy of being blackboard rubber monitor? This could mean not only being allowed to clean the blackboard (on a chair, if necessary) but also to take the rubber outside and bang it against the wall to get the chalk off.

You could be pencil-sharpener monitor, entrusted not to abuse the big whirly machine – or accidentally sharpen your finger – or even better, ink monitor, allowed to fill up the desk wells. Are there digital equivalents at schools today? The remote monitor?

The mouse monitor?

Style notes

2LAYER UP WISELY

✢ Knit, £12,10-20, George at Asda; dress, £29, 10-22, M&Co A fine knit or cardigan is the best option if you want a cover-up to layer over tops and dresses without adding unnecessary bulk.

secret w

6look Make the most of your shape

PHOTOGRAPHY ANGELA SPAIN; STYLIST JO WINCH; HAIR AND MAKE-UP SARAH JANE GREEN. ALL DETAILS CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS.

A SLIMMING DRESS 1CHOOSE

✢ Dress, £39, 10-22, M&Co; shoes, £24, 3-9, Next; earrings, £8, Next Look for dresses that have slimming details. Belts, gathers and wrap styles are really flattering and will help create a waist.

Plus, opting for a v-neckline and a slightly flared skirt will help balance out proportions, too.

with

By Fashion Editor, Michelle Nightingale

DON’T FORGET THE EXTRAS

✢ Pashmina, £15, Bhs A scarf is a great way of hiding a crepey décolletage and will also add a splash of colour to your look.

✢ Tote bag, £30, M&Co A colourful big bag will instantly help you look smaller – all the celebs use this slimming trick!

STOCKISTS: Damart 0871 423 0000 www.damart.co.uk; Bhs 0344 411 6000 www.bhs.co.uk; George at Asda 0800 952 0101 www.asda.com; Hotter shoes 0800 083 8490 www.hotter.com; Isme 0844 811 8112 www.isme.com; YOURS

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INVEST IN A CLASSIC JACKET

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✢ Jacket, £35, 10-22, Collection at Marks & Spencer; top, £22, 10-24, Savoir at Isme; trousers, £14, 10-20, George at Asda A classic blazer-style jacket is a wardrobe staple that won’t ever date. Stick to darker shades of black and navy, which are slimming and will look good all year round.

A WOBBLY TUMMY 4DISGUISE

THE RIGHT SKIRT 5CHOOSE

✢ Top, £26, 6-22, Next; skirt, £26, 8-22, M&Co; shoes, £69, 3-9, Hotter shoes If your legs are your biggest bugbear, choose a hemline that stops just below the knees to highlight the slimmest part. A flared hem will also help to balance out wider hips.

✢ Top, £14, 10-20, George at Asda; trousers, £49, 10-28, Damart, earrings, £6, M&Co A wrap-style top helps to disguise a round tummy and a v-neckline will flatter most bust sizes.

t ways to

k slimmer with these figure-flattering must-haves ✢ Necklace, £22.50, Collection at Marks & Spencer A statement necklace is great for distracting from problem areas and finishing your look. ✢ Court shoes, £29.50, 3-8, M&Co Classic court shoes with a bit of a heel will help you stand taller and look trimmer.

Jones Bootmaker 0800 163 519 www.jonesbootmaker.com; M&Co 0800 031 7200 www.mandco.com; Marisota 0871 984 6000 www.marisota.co.uk; Marks & Spencer 0845 609 0200 www.marksandspencer.com; Next 0844 844 8000 www.next.co.uk

DENIM WORK FOR YOU 6MAKE

✢ Top, £29, 10-22, M&Co; cardigan, £18, 10-20, Next; Magisculpt flat tummy jeans, £45, 12-32, Marisota; shoes, £49.50, 3-9, Jones Bootmaker; necklace, £12, M&Co Dark jeans are always flattering and many styles have clever slimming panels. Choose stretch denim for a better fit.

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Good to KNOW... | IT’S A FACT |

29

Budget beaters

Parents and grandparents who

minutes a drive children to school could save £642 a year by ditching the car. week is how Primary school children typically long we spend in live 1.8 miles from school, which is a 25-minute walk or 15-minute bike ride, queues waiting to says charity Sustrans, campaigner pay. The nation’s for safer streets. For safe walking and cycling tips see most-loathed waits are www.sustrans.org.uk/ supermarkets, petrol safetoschool stations and coffee shops, says Barclaycard

ENERGYWATCH Five cooking cash savers to try Try a slow cooker or a pressure cooker – more energy-efficient than the traditional oven Stagger dishes in the oven and avoid using foil on the racks which stops air flowing Use the microwave more as it’s the most energy-efficient cooking method, remembering to switch off after so you’re not powering its clock The cleaner the surface, the more efficiently it can transfer heat, for both heating and cooling Use less liquid and fat to speed up cooking time.

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WATCHING

PENNIES ✁

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SAFARI SAVER EXTRA £2.50 off admission to FOR YOU Woburn Safari Park Go on a safari adventure with more than 800 wild animals at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire. Enjoy unlimited repeat circuits of the Road Safari and extraordinary animal encounters in the Foot Safari. To find out more, call 01525 290407 or visit www.woburnsafari.co.uk

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Source: Zenithhome.co.uk

| DID YOU KNOW? | of homes have been damaged by pests, from bees blocking chimneys, to rodents chewing through cables.

Check what’s covered on your home insurance and call in the experts!

✁

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T&Cs: Present this voucher to receive a £2.50 discount per person. Applies to each single adult, child or senior ticket purchased on the gate between Sept 2-Oct 24, 2014. No photocopies accepted. Cannot be used with any other discount or promotion.

One voucher per transaction.

Ask Michael Best buy The Post Office will enter

Meet our expert

Cash in the attic Conrah vases, candleholders and bowls were designed by Ronald Hughes in 1967 and produced in Wales during the Seventies. Their futuristic look, bright colours and sparkling faceted patterns make them typical of the late Sixties and Seventies.

Interest has begun to rise over the past three years and prices have risen. This 1970 rare T ED A green colour vase U L A V 25.5cm/10in high is valued at £100 to £150.

£10500 - £1

| IT’S A FACT | Properties on streets called Prince George are 16 per cent more expensive than the local average. Buyers pay a £11,000 premium for a road with the little prince’s name, says Placebuzz.com

Cash Saver More of us are ditching the traditional weekly shop in favour of topping up supplies as and when, meaning we overspend by nearly £30 a week – or £1,514 a year. Consider new Click & Collect services that supermarkets such as Tesco offers, to help you budget, says George Charles at VoucherCodesPro.co.uk

Q I took out car insurance through one of the comparison sites. When I claimed following the theft of my car it was rejected. When I contacted the comparison site they said it had nothing to do with them. Is this right?

Michael says: Some sites are not all they seem. They give the impression they are impartial, yet some are owned by insurance companies.

Their regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently been very critical of some of their practices.

The FCA complains that, far from explaining things fully, some sites are adding confusion to an already complicated transaction. Some do not ask all the questions they should at the outset. This leads the customer to assume the policy will meet their needs. It is not always clear that, when choosing a policy, you are being transferred to someone else’s site where there should be a further list of questions. Only once they have been answered can you feel the policy will match your requirements.

It has been suggested by your company that you failed to declare your car had been modified from the manufacturer’s original specification but it will be difficult for you to remember what answers you gave on the internet. Start your complaint with the comparison site, then possibly the broker which is likely to be next in the chain. For further guidance, call the Financial Ombudsman Service on 0300 123 9123. ✢ If you have a query about your finances, write to Michael at the address on p3. We love to receive your questions, but can’t promise to reply to all correspondence

✢ NEXT ISSUE Flexible home insurance and the top five money tips for women

Deal of the day bes t Our pick of the bies on offers and free the internet

Deal of the day!

For the latest offers...

Visit

www.yours.co.uk

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WORDS: SARAH JAGGER. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, IT’S ALWAYS WISE TO CONSULT AN AUTHORISED PROFESSIONAL ADVISER PICS: ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; ISTOCKPHOTO; SHUTTERSTOCK

Michael Wilson is a consumer champion and runs the Insurance Complaints Bureau. He can be contacted on mjw@ insurance-complaints.co.uk

the mobile market this autumn in a tie-up with EE. It plans to compete with well-established rivals by offering simple tariffs. It will launch in 50 Post Office branches before a national roll-out, but you’ll also be able to apply for the service using www.postoffice.co.uk

❙ short story ❙

The bucket list

Her sister’s wish list makes Jenny realise how different her own dreams are

By Susan Wright

enny didn’t know what to say when her sister handed her a piece of paper and told her that it was her bucket list.

“But you’re not going to die, are you?” she blurted out.

“Well, not just yet, hopefully,” Elizabeth replied as she sat down next to her on the sofa and took a sip of tea. “But we’re all going to die eventually so I thought I’d make a list and get started on it while I’ve still got plenty of time.”

“Oh, right,” Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. “You had me worried for a minute there.

I thought you were trying to tell me you had bad news.”

Elizabeth put her cup down and reassured her sister. “No, I’m as fit as a fiddle, but there are lots of things I want to do and as the girls at school were making bucket lists of things to do on their holidays, I thought I might as well join in.”

Jenny looked puzzled. “Bucket lists are supposed to be for people who are about to kick the bucket, surely?”

“Yes, I know that – it’s one of the many terms that are being misused,” Elizabeth said. “Come to think of it, I ought to join one of those bucket list

ILLUSTRATION: KATE DAVIES

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forums and point that out.”

“I don’t think you’d be very popular if you did that,” Jenny replied, glancing down the list. “And I don’t think you’d be very popular if you did some of the other things on here!

You’re not really going to go on forums to tell people that it should be ‘should

‘I thought I’d make a list and get started on it while I’ve still got plenty of time’

have’ and not ‘should of’, are you?”

“I certainly am. It drives me crazy when people get it wrong.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t really matter,” Jenny said, reading further down the list. “Any more than it matters if people use apostrophes wrongly.

I know it’s a bit annoying – especially when you’re a teacher – but it’s not the end of the world, is it?”

“It’s disgraceful!” Elizabeth snapped back.

Jenny sighed and rubbed at a stain on her jeans. “But you’re not really going to march into shops to tell people they’ve written their signs

wrong, are you?”

“They’re not going to know unless someone tells them, are they?”

“No, but they’re not going to take it very well if you…”

Elizabeth interrupted her. “But they need to know, Jennifer! I’m always seeing apostrophes in the wrong place or left out altogether and I’ve kept my mouth shut up until now.”

Jenny smiled. “And that was probably for the best. I mean, it’s one thing teaching your girls about apostrophes and quite another telling complete strangers. You’ll get bopped on the nose if you’re not careful.”

“Of course I won’t,” Elizabeth scoffed.

‘But I don’t want to go sky diving – I’d be terrified…’

“Anyway, be that as it may, I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick with this bucket list. People usually write down things they have always wanted to do, like sky diving.”

“But I don’t want to go sky diving,” Elizabeth replied, smoothing an imaginary crease out of her immaculate skirt. “I’d be terrified – and it wouldn’t do anybody else any good, would it?”

Jenny frowned. “What on earth do you mean?”

“I mean it would be selfish. If I did have cancer, for example, I certainly wouldn’t want to be hurling myself out of aeroplanes. I’d want to help people if I could.”

“By correcting their grammar?”

“Well, yes – but I’d give money to charity as well.”

“But isn’t there anything you would really like to do, like spending a week in New York or swimming with dolphins?”

Elizabeth pulled a face. “Why would I want to do that? You know, I sometimes reckon this whole bucket list business was dreamed up by people who own dolphinariums – or the New York tourist board!”

Jenny laughed. “That’s a bit cynical!”

“Possibly, but would you have even known that you could swim with dolphins if you hadn’t read it in people’s bucket lists?”

“Probably not, but I think you would have more fun doing that than trying to teach people about semicolons,” Jenny said. “What does number eight on your list mean?”

“Read it to me.”

“It says ‘tell people about can I get’,” Jenny said.

“Oh yes,” Elizabeth sighed. “You must have heard people walking into a pub and saying, ‘Can I get a drink?’.”

“So?” “So it’s wrong! Of course they can’t get a drink. They can’t climb over the bar and help themselves to a pint, can they?” Elizabeth cried.

Jenny laughed. “But that’s not what they mean.”

“So they should say what they mean,” Elizabeth said crossly.

The expression ‘Can I get’ is an Americanism. I’m going to stand in a bar somewhere and point out to people that they should be saying, ‘Please may I have a beer?’.”

Jenny gasped. “You will definitely get bopped on the nose if you do that!”

“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth frowned.

“Oh, I think you will,” Jenny assured her. She wondered, not for the first time, how two sisters could be so very different. She wouldn’t dream of correcting a stranger on their use of English. Neither had she ever considered drawing up a bucket list, but suddenly it seemed like a great idea. Number one on her list was going to be swimming with dolphins.

About our author Susan writes novels as well as short stories and is delighted

by the success of her recently published crime thriller, In the Kitchen With a Knife (available from Amazon.co.uk).

The Yours team Editor: Sharon Reid Editor at Large: Valery McConnell Deputy Editor: Claire Williams Associate Editor (Production/News Editor): Jenny Cripps Admin Manager: Karen Pasqui Yours tel no: 01733 468000 NEWS Reader Care Editor: Rosie Sandall Senior Contributing Writer (News): Carole Richardson News Writer: Alex Frisby ART Art Director: Christine Curtis Art Editor: Della Smith Senior Designer: Karen Booth Designer: Rebecca Redden PICTURES Picture Editor: Davina Dunn Picture Researcher: Joanne Brooks FEATURES Features Editor: Rebecca Speechley Fashion & Beauty Editor: Michelle Nightingale Features Writer: Lizzy Dening Contributing Money Editor: Sarah Jagger Contributing Fiction Editor: Marion Clarke PRODUCTION Production Editor: Sam Thorpe Deputy Production Editor: Kate Hardy YOURS WEBSITE www.yours.co.uk MARKETING Marketing Manager: Jade Martin Marketing Assistant: Lizzy Phillips Direct Marketing Manager: Geraldine Wilson ADVERTISING Brand Director: Sam Howard samantha.howard@bauermedia.co.uk Regional Advertising Sales: Katie Kendall, Sarah Bell 0161 877 7455 Ad Production Manager: Zoe Bellamy Advertising Production: Emma Harwood Classified Group Head: Karen Gardiner 01733 468288 Senior sales (classified): Maz Dann 01733 366369 Sales executive (classified): Bronte Naylor 01733 366387 Art Directors (Promotions): Ian Swain Tel nos: For advert bookings email samantha.howard@bauermedia.co.uk Yours Readers’ Champion (advert/ofer queries): Angela Whenman 01733 468444 COMMERCIAL Head of Commercial: Jennifer Candilio Commercial Manager: Leila Palmer Project Manager: Rhiannon Newson Commercial Assistant: Lauren Reed PUBLISHING Group Managing Director: Abby Carvosso Publisher: Liz Martin Marketing Director: Anne-Marie Lavan Print Production Manager: Rebecca Stone Printer: Polestar Syndication: 01733 468000

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y your stars y

horoscopes ght

Astrologer Lynne Ewart predicts what’s in store for you

this fortni

Between Sep 2 and Sep 15 We’ll hear some longawaited news about a mysterious situation in this fortnight, very likely around the full Moon of September 9, which connects quite strongly to events back in March. Look to September 10/11 for news of international agreements and treaties.

PIC: REx FEATURES

If it’s your birthday this fortnight…

…you are Virgo like actress Jacqueline Bisset born September 13, 1944.

Virgoans are meticulous, picky, methodical and analytical characters who need to know the details.

They are also earthy, sensual and very thoughtful, kind beings. Jacqueline is a busy bee and at heart, very much an independent lady, also typical of Virgo, winning awards as she turns 70, too. I suspect another fine accolade will find its way onto her mantelpiece within two years.

VIRGO

CAPRICORN

TAURUS

Aug 24-Sept 22 It’s time to shine! Something you’re doing for another or others could be the focus of a welcome development, maybe at an official level.

Thought for the fortnight: A long-distance trip beckons.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705705

December 22-Jan 20 Wanderlust might be nipping at your heels, or perhaps you’re finally feeling that bit freer to commit to certain arrangements.

Thought for the fortnight: The full Moon on the 9th marks a liberating decision.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705709

Apr 21-May 21 Affection ties are under the cosmic magnifying glass as September is unfolding, with a significant milestone circling the week of the 9th-16th.

Thought for the fortnight: The bonds that truly matter will only grow stronger.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705701

Sept 23-Oct 23 Mercury sees you chatting about what’s best for a relative, possibly involving education, mobility or transport. A new approach to an old dilemma is needed.

Thought for the fortnight: A break around the 10th does you good.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705706

AQUARIUS

GEMINI

Jan 21-Feb 18 Financial matters are prominent, as is official paperwork. Venus just might bring a small boost around a settlement, too.

Thought for the fortnight: You may be tugged between two locations.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705710

May 22-June 21 A turning point comes around the 9th, when things could shift onto a more settled footing. A team or class could also feature.

Thought for the fortnight: Something lost could be rediscovered.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705702

SCORPIO

PISCES

CANCER

Oct 24-Nov 22 You could turn a stuck situation around thanks to past experience. Reviving an old skill, or tapping into an ancient memory could mean a lot to others.

Thought for the fortnight: A group event brings out the best in you.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705707

Feb 19-Mar 20 You are centre stage on the 9th, as a partnership or shared arrangement reaches a decisive point, with a beneficial development following soon afterwards.

Thought for the fortnight: Be sure of what you want, be a team player, and aim high!

B For a weekly update call 09044 705711

June 22-July 22 You’re about to get very busy, cracking the whip and making things happen, after a lengthy chapter where all focus seemed to have to be on one main issue.

Thought for the fortnight: Security linked news favours you around the 10th.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705703

SAGITTARIUS

ARIES

LEO

Nov 23-Dec 21 As Mars will begin his invigorating journey across your sign from the 13th, the lead-up days are ideal for doing your homework on an ambitious new project.

Thought for the fortnight: A ‘pass’ will delight you!

B For a weekly update call 09044 705708

Mar 21-Apr 20 Work, on any project, goes well when you are part of a pair or team, as little Mercury scoots across your partnership sector. From the 14th, you’re feeling dynamic.

Thought for the fortnight: What’s official is beneficial.

B For a weekly update call 09044 705700

July 23-Aug 23 There’s a sense of closure around a certain process, with relevant paperwork looking set to be tied up by midmonth. Then, get ready for a new adventure!

Thought for the fortnight: Little ones will keep you busy!

B For a weekly update call 09044 705704

LIBRA

Calls cost 66p per minute from a BT landline. Calls from other operators and mobiles may vary. Weekly readings last approx five minutes, monthly readings approx nine minutes, year ahead readings approx 13 minutes. For entertainment purposes only. Users must be over 18. Service provider: Spoke. Customer services helpline: 0800 0673 330(Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm). www.lynneewart.com YOURS

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