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Bumper value 2 mags in 1<br />
20 pages of festive brain teasers and puzzles<br />
Merry Christmas from…<br />
n ISSUE <strong>285</strong><br />
Christmas<br />
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✓ Christmas dinner update<br />
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Inside<br />
this fortnight...<br />
COVER PIC: ITV/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK<br />
Real life<br />
9 Animal Magic<br />
12 Bringing comfort and joy<br />
to struggling families<br />
16 ‘Our love for turtle doves’<br />
19 Making a difference at<br />
Christmas<br />
24 ‘I’ll never forget our last<br />
Christmas together’<br />
28 ‘The secret to true<br />
happiness’<br />
Star chat<br />
10 COVER Paul O’Grady<br />
14 COVER Stars reveal their<br />
festive traditions<br />
22 Looking back at a classic:<br />
Morecambe and Wise<br />
26 André Rieu chats to Yours<br />
162 Gareth Malone<br />
Your best life now!<br />
32 COVER Christmas Day<br />
style special!<br />
39 COVER Beauty gifts<br />
41 Lovely lips<br />
42 Beat festive health niggles<br />
44 COVER Boost your mood<br />
Good to know<br />
75 COVER 79 ways to make<br />
Christmas easy<br />
86 COVER Deck the halls –<br />
with a difference<br />
89 Keep your pets happy and<br />
healthy this season<br />
90 Yours Retirement Services<br />
93 Watching the pennies<br />
95 Your questions answered<br />
Nostalgia<br />
53 Winter chills and cheer!<br />
54 Santa’s grotto<br />
Leisure time<br />
59 COVER Festive food on test!<br />
64 COVER Christmas dinner update<br />
99 Plan on great fruit and veg!<br />
101 Out and About special!<br />
Your favourites<br />
47 Meeting Place<br />
56 Roy Hudd<br />
69 Friends of Yours<br />
107 Carers in touch<br />
115 COVER Bumper<br />
puzzles special!<br />
150 COVER Free perennials<br />
153 Short story<br />
161 Horoscopes<br />
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28<br />
Morecambe and<br />
Wise memories<br />
54<br />
Childhood<br />
Christmases<br />
Merry Christmas …<br />
...and welcome to our biggest <strong>issue</strong> of the year!<br />
164 pages packed with everything you need to make<br />
this Christmas extra special. As well as your usual<br />
Yours favourites we have two extra sections so there’s<br />
even more to enjoy. Our 8-page Make Christmas Easy<br />
section (p75) is stuffed with tips and tricks to take<br />
the stress out of the season and the 20-page Festive<br />
Puzzling Fun section (p115) is crammed with<br />
brainteasers that will keep you busy for hours.<br />
We also have gorgeous party looks (p32),<br />
tried and tested festive food (p59), seasonal<br />
mood boosters (p44), handmade decorations<br />
(p86), beauty gifts for every budget (p39) and<br />
lots of fun things to do for all the family (p101).<br />
But we also know that for some, Christmas<br />
can be a difficult time, especially<br />
those on their own. If you are facing a<br />
lonely Christmas, turn to page 69 to<br />
find scores of people looking for likeminded<br />
friends to spend Christmas<br />
with this year.<br />
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perfect lippie<br />
Ensure your lippie stays<br />
put with these three easy<br />
steps from Yours make-up<br />
artist Carl Stanley<br />
Lovely<br />
lips<br />
By Beauty Editor, Michelle Nightingale<br />
3 steps to success<br />
1<br />
Whatever your lipstick colour of<br />
choice, lining your lips first is a must<br />
if you want it to stay in place. Lining<br />
also helps enhance and define your lip<br />
shape, but don’t stray too far outside<br />
your natural shape. Carl’s top tip is to<br />
use a neutral lip liner, which will go<br />
with any lipstick shade and ensure lips<br />
look natural, rather than drawn-on.<br />
While applying your lippie from<br />
2 the tube is quick when you’re on<br />
the go, for lasting results a lip brush is<br />
essential. Look for one with a fine tip<br />
that’s firm, but not hard, as this will<br />
allow you to be more precise. Apply<br />
a thin coat of lipstick to your top and<br />
bottom lips over the top of your liner.<br />
This step is the key to a budge-proof<br />
3 pout. Start by blotting off excess<br />
lipstick, using a t<strong>issue</strong>. Next, very<br />
lightly dust lips with a translucent face<br />
powder using a powder brush. Only use<br />
a very little (once applied you shouldn’t<br />
be able to see it) and this will help set<br />
your colour. Lastly, apply another coat<br />
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YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
41<br />
pics: PHOTOGRAPHY RUTH JENKINSON,<br />
HAIR AND MAKE-UP CARL STANLEY
Christmas<br />
with Eric and<br />
Ernie<br />
A chorus line of TV presenters cast<br />
dignity to the wind when they sang,<br />
There is Nothing Like a Dame<br />
As a new Morecambe and Wise<br />
drama airs this Christmas,<br />
we remember those brilliant<br />
moments that brought us<br />
sunshine, even on Christmas Day<br />
By Katharine Wootton<br />
It was hard to tell at the end<br />
of Christmas Day whether<br />
our bellies ached from the<br />
mounds of turkey and trifle<br />
we’d tucked into or – more<br />
likely – fits of laughter from<br />
watching the Morecambe and<br />
Wise Christmas TV special.<br />
From 1969 to 1980, with the<br />
exception of 1974, Eric and Ernie<br />
were regular Christmas guests,<br />
welcomed into our living rooms<br />
as predictably as charades and a<br />
large tin of Quality Street.<br />
This Christmas we’ll have<br />
Morecambe and Wise on our<br />
TVs again in Eric, Ernie & Me,<br />
a biopic about Eddie Braben,<br />
the scriptwriter who helped<br />
shape the duo into the comedy<br />
phenomenon viewers adored.<br />
The film follows the pressure<br />
and pain Eddie went through<br />
while helping to make them<br />
Britain’s best loved double act,<br />
culminating in their iconic 1977<br />
Christmas Show.<br />
Who can ever forget that<br />
festive special where a chorus<br />
line of BBC presenters,<br />
including Michael Aspel and<br />
Barry Norman, abandoned<br />
all newsroom solemnity to<br />
high kick their way through<br />
the show-stopping number<br />
There is Nothing Like<br />
a Dame?<br />
This Christmas special<br />
attracted a staggering 28<br />
million viewers, making<br />
it one of the top 25 mostwatched<br />
programmes of all<br />
time on British television.<br />
Perhaps the most<br />
memorable of all the<br />
Christmas specials was<br />
the 1971 show starring the<br />
distinguished conductor<br />
André Previn – or André<br />
Preview, as Eric insisted on<br />
From the top: André Previn dared to point out<br />
that Eric was playing all the wrong notes while<br />
newsreader Angela Rippon delighted viewers when<br />
she revealed she was a hoofer at heart and Shirley<br />
Bassey gamely sang on while the set collapsed<br />
behind her and she had to abandon one of her shoes<br />
Did you<br />
know? When<br />
Eric changed<br />
his surname<br />
to Morecambe<br />
(he was born<br />
John Eric<br />
Bartholomew)<br />
Ernie<br />
considered<br />
changing his<br />
name to Leeds<br />
after his own<br />
home town.<br />
But when<br />
Eric pointed<br />
out that<br />
Morecambe<br />
and Leeds<br />
sounded too<br />
much like a<br />
cheap ‘away<br />
day’ on the<br />
train, Ernie<br />
decided he<br />
would stick<br />
with Wise...<br />
calling him.<br />
We howled with laughter<br />
as Eric (stepping in for<br />
the indisposed Yehudi<br />
Menuhin) proudly minced<br />
his way to the piano for his<br />
solo performance of Grieg’s<br />
Piano Concerto, repeatedly<br />
failing to make it for his<br />
opening cue.<br />
We laughed even more<br />
hysterically when André<br />
had to jump up and down<br />
to cue Eric in from behind<br />
the piano lid. When Eric<br />
finally started to play,<br />
André accused him of<br />
playing ‘all the wrong<br />
notes’, only to be told in<br />
no uncertain terms that he<br />
was ‘playing all the right<br />
notes – but not necessarily<br />
in the right order’.<br />
Revealing a hitherto<br />
unsuspected<br />
flair for comedy,<br />
Previn performed<br />
the whole sketch<br />
without a hint of<br />
a smile.<br />
André Previn<br />
later appeared in<br />
the 1972 special as<br />
a bus conductor<br />
in a feature called<br />
‘I worked with<br />
Morecambe and<br />
Wise and look what<br />
happened to me’.<br />
Another star who<br />
took Morecambe<br />
and Wise’s gentle<br />
mockery with<br />
unruffled good<br />
humour was<br />
Shirley Bassey.<br />
She continued her<br />
rousing rendition of<br />
Smoke Gets in Your<br />
Eyes while her hosts<br />
frantically tried<br />
to keep the scenery from<br />
falling apart behind her.<br />
Even when her stiletto<br />
got wedged in a polystyrene<br />
step and she ended up<br />
wearing Eric’s boot, Bassey<br />
didn't miss a beat. She later<br />
revealed that she couldn’t<br />
stop laughing during<br />
rehearsals and thought<br />
she’d never be able to pull<br />
the whole thing off with a<br />
straight face.<br />
But Eric and Ernie didn’t<br />
always resort to music to<br />
send up their celebrity<br />
news nostalgia<br />
guests, as Glenda Jackson<br />
found out when she agreed<br />
to appear in the 1971<br />
Christmas special. The duo<br />
directed her in Antony and<br />
Cleopatra, persuading her<br />
to utter the immortal lines:<br />
“All men are fools. And what<br />
makes them so is having<br />
beauty like what I have got.”<br />
Even the Forces’<br />
sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn<br />
didn’t escape their legpulling<br />
in the 1972 festive<br />
special. When Eric gave her<br />
a flamboyant introduction,<br />
it gradually became clear<br />
that he thought she was<br />
another wartime legend,<br />
Gracie Fields.<br />
The Morecambe and<br />
Wise Christmas specials<br />
were undoubtedly a great<br />
excuse to have fun, but<br />
sometimes they revealed an<br />
entirely different side to a<br />
famous personality. In 1976<br />
Angela Rippon gave viewers<br />
a shock when she left her<br />
news desk to reveal a pair<br />
of shapely legs that could<br />
high kick with the best of<br />
them. Her turn proved to be<br />
one of the most memorable<br />
dance routines in the show’s<br />
history.<br />
The Morecambe and Wise<br />
special was moved from its<br />
traditional Christmas Day<br />
slot in 1981 and ended for<br />
good in 1983 – just a few<br />
months before Eric died of a<br />
heart attack after appearing<br />
at the Roses Theatre in<br />
Tewkesbury.<br />
Nevertheless, their<br />
festive specials gave us more<br />
than a decade of hilarious<br />
Christmases and left us with<br />
memories that will keep us<br />
chuckling for a lifetime.<br />
Thank you, boys, for all<br />
the laughs what you gave us<br />
– you are truly much missed!<br />
n Eric, Ernie & Me will air on<br />
BBC4 this Christmas<br />
22 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT 23<br />
PICs: BBC
Stars reveal their<br />
festive<br />
traditions<br />
We asked some of our<br />
favourite celebrities to tell us<br />
about the special Christmas<br />
traditions they love …<br />
James Martin<br />
I tell you what I won’t doing and that’s<br />
roasting a turkey for Christmas dinner.<br />
People always ask me if I have any tips for<br />
cooking the Christmas turkey and I reply, ‘Yes – buy<br />
beef or pork’. My granddad always used to say, ‘Never<br />
eat anything that’s ugly when it was alive’, and I couldn’t<br />
agree more. No matter how much sage and onion you<br />
stuff up a turkey, or how long you soak it in brine à la<br />
Nigella, you’ll never make it taste interesting.<br />
Janet Ellis<br />
Easily our most embarrassing tradition (although<br />
we are not embarrassed by it at all) is that after<br />
the main course I always serve up the Christmas<br />
pudding and when it’s steamed and ready, we<br />
set fire to it and form a conga line!<br />
The head of the household, who used to be<br />
my dad but is now my husband, leads the<br />
way, singing ‘Here comes the Christmas<br />
pudding’ to the tune of ‘For he’s a jolly<br />
good fellow’ and the family form a line<br />
behind. We go all the way around the<br />
house and if it’s nice weather we go<br />
outside. When I was little, because<br />
we were on army camps (Janet’s dad<br />
was in the army) we’d go into other<br />
people’s houses, but we’ve cut that<br />
bit now. There’s on average about<br />
20 of us. We have a few choruses<br />
and it just settles everybody down<br />
a bit and builds up an appetite. It<br />
started in my mother’s family and<br />
according to her it’s been going on<br />
for generations. It’s something that<br />
always happened when I was a child so<br />
it has to happen now.<br />
Alan Titchmarsh<br />
I love Christmas carols. Call me an old<br />
sentimentalist but my early memories<br />
of carol singing are among the most<br />
treasured moments in my childhood. I<br />
was a choirboy from the age of about<br />
eight through to 16 and went carol<br />
singing every year. Angels from the<br />
Realms of Glory, Ding Dong Merrily,<br />
Hark the Herald Angels Sing, God Rest<br />
Ye Merry Gentlemen, Oh, Come All Ye<br />
Faithful. I still know them all by heart<br />
and love them all. Carols and<br />
Christmas music, I reckon,<br />
are capable of connecting<br />
us not only with the true<br />
message and meaning of<br />
the season of goodwill,<br />
but also with each other.<br />
Dame Eileen<br />
Atkins<br />
Christmas cards – I<br />
hate the fact that<br />
they’re going out<br />
of fashion because<br />
everyone’s sending<br />
e-mails. I always<br />
keep my cards from the<br />
previous year so I can look at<br />
the kind of card somebody’s<br />
sent me and I’ll send one<br />
back which I think they’ll like.<br />
I’ll send a religious image to<br />
a person who’s religious, an<br />
animal image to an animal<br />
lover and so on.<br />
Jenny Agutter<br />
My favourite tradition is that I’m<br />
lucky enough to enjoy both a<br />
traditionally Swedish Christmas<br />
and then a British one. My husband<br />
is Swedish so we do the Swedish thing first on<br />
Christmas Eve with pickled fish, meatballs, Gravlax<br />
and a delicious side dish called Janssons Frestelse<br />
which is made from potatoes, onion, herring,<br />
anchovies and cream. There’s lots of Schnapps to<br />
drink and lots of singing. Then the day after we have<br />
a traditional British Christmas lunch on Christmas<br />
Day – we always have goose.<br />
Linda Robson<br />
I love decorating the tree. For the last<br />
few years, my kids have done it because<br />
I’ve been busy doing panto. But I never<br />
like the way they do it so I’ve come<br />
home, taken the baubles off<br />
and put them back on again<br />
differently! This year, I’m not<br />
working so I’ll be able to<br />
supervise the tree decorating<br />
from the off.<br />
Olivia Colman<br />
Christmas morning is the one morning<br />
that I don’t mind waking up early. I rush<br />
into my children’s rooms really<br />
early on Christmas morning,<br />
urging them to, ‘Get up ! Get up!<br />
It’s Christmas! ’<br />
star memories<br />
Anton du Beke<br />
n I love the Christmas tree. I<br />
have to have a house full of<br />
Christmas. I like a tree in every<br />
room, Christmas decs and<br />
Christmas lights – not outside<br />
though. I can’t wait for the day<br />
my little twins can help me<br />
decorate the Christmas tree.<br />
Jo Brand<br />
n My favourite Christmas<br />
tradition isn’t very well known.<br />
In fact, I think I’m probably<br />
the only person who’s ever<br />
heard of it – let alone done it.<br />
It’s shutting my husband out<br />
of the house on Christmas Eve<br />
and not letting him back in<br />
till Boxing Day. I think it could<br />
catch on! Er... I’m joking,<br />
of course!<br />
Craig Revel-<br />
Horwood<br />
n For me, it’s doing<br />
panto. I just a-dore<br />
it – it’s fab-u-lous,<br />
darling. This year<br />
I’m playing the<br />
Wicked Queen in<br />
Snow White at the<br />
Mayflower Theatre<br />
in Southampton.<br />
Alison Steadman<br />
n We have a tradition in<br />
our house to always wait till<br />
after lunch before we open<br />
our presents – rather like we<br />
did in the Gavin and Stacey<br />
Christmas Special. You’re<br />
always busy preparing<br />
lunch in the morning<br />
so we prefer to wait<br />
until we’re full of<br />
lovely food and can sit<br />
back and relax before<br />
we start opening gifts.<br />
Dame Julie<br />
Walters<br />
n Lazing in front of the fire<br />
with the family, everyone<br />
talking at once and so loudly<br />
you think your ears will burst,<br />
and eating far too much!<br />
14 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT 15<br />
PICs: rex/shutterstock, itv, masterfile, angela spain<br />
photography, alamy stock Photo, getty images
If you’re planning a<br />
low-key Christmas this<br />
year, it can be tempting<br />
not to bother with a<br />
tree – after all they take<br />
up space and can make a<br />
right mess. But just because<br />
you’ve scaled down your<br />
celebration, there’s no need<br />
to feel ‘Bah, humbug!’. With a<br />
little bit of creativity, you can<br />
still have a festive focal point.<br />
give<br />
these<br />
a go<br />
Charmingly rustic<br />
Make a simple wall-hanging structure using sticks and<br />
string – it’s the cheapest tree you’ll ever own, but it looks<br />
charming. Take two lengths of string, twine or wool (aim<br />
for a third longer than you want your finished ‘tree’ to<br />
be) and tie them together at the top so both hang down.<br />
Then take five or so branches or large twigs and starting<br />
with the shortest one, tie it in place with a loop of twine<br />
– one on each side. Continue down, with the branches<br />
getting larger. Then tie on baubles and other decorations<br />
and use a drawing pin or Blu-tack to attach it to the wall.<br />
Creative cuttings<br />
Off on a ramble? Take your secateurs with<br />
you and keep your eyes peeled for holly<br />
bushes or loose branches in interesting<br />
shapes. Then arrange them in a pretty vase<br />
at home – bare branches look elegant when<br />
decorated with baubles. (You’re allowed<br />
to take a small number of shed branches in<br />
woods for your own use.)<br />
buy<br />
it!<br />
good to know<br />
n Decorative<br />
white twig tree<br />
(76cm), £15,<br />
Hobbycraft<br />
n Gold twig<br />
LED wire tree<br />
(6ft), £45,<br />
Homebase<br />
Keep things festive – without the pine needles!<br />
Decorations<br />
with<br />
a difference<br />
Make a mini tree<br />
One for floristry fans, this little craft<br />
project will leave you with a tiny,<br />
and oh-so-sweet, tree. All you need<br />
is a green floristry wire, pliers, a<br />
fallen autumn leaf, three circles of<br />
newspaper (large, meduim and small)<br />
and some fresh bay leaves.<br />
Use the<br />
1 pliers and<br />
wire create a<br />
sturdy circular<br />
base then twist<br />
round to create<br />
a vertical pole<br />
in the centre.<br />
2Thread on<br />
the large<br />
newspaper<br />
circle as a base<br />
then add your<br />
bay leavestrying<br />
to make<br />
them cover the<br />
newspaper.<br />
Add the newspaper and<br />
3 leaves as photo above. When<br />
you’re happy with your tree rip<br />
the paper off.<br />
Cut a star<br />
4 shape<br />
from the leaf<br />
and glue to<br />
the top of<br />
your tree.<br />
Book tree<br />
If you don’t believe a house is a home<br />
without a bookcase or two, this is the<br />
“tree” for you! It couldn’t be simpler –<br />
just pile books in a pyramid shape on a<br />
table or cake stand and decorate with<br />
fairy lights, pine cones, baubles<br />
or anything you<br />
like. For a festive<br />
feel, choose<br />
books with<br />
green covers, or<br />
simply wrap in<br />
brown paper.<br />
n Wooden<br />
Christmas tree trio<br />
(biggest 40cm), £29.99,<br />
Lakeland<br />
n Snowflake<br />
Christmas tree<br />
wall sticker,<br />
£32.95, Not on<br />
the High Street<br />
STOCKISTS<br />
Hobbycraft 0330 026 1400 www.hobbycraft.co.uk;<br />
Homebase 0345 077 8888 www.homebase.co.uk;<br />
Lakeland 01539 488100 www.lakeland.co.uk;<br />
Not on the High Street www.notonthehighstreet.com<br />
pics: gAp gardens, loupe images/emma mitchell/penny wincer<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
87
jolly<br />
By Rebecca Speechley<br />
Happy people live<br />
longer, they have<br />
lower stress levels,<br />
healthier heart rates,<br />
get ill less often,<br />
recover faster and<br />
hold on to their grey<br />
matter for longer.<br />
If you want to reap<br />
all the benefits of<br />
being chipper but are<br />
struggling to see the<br />
light at the end of the<br />
dark days of winter,<br />
we have a few expert<br />
tricks up our sleeves<br />
to help you turn<br />
your frown upside<br />
down.<br />
the colour cure<br />
“Every colour and shade emits a different signal that can<br />
impact your mood,” says colour therapist Sarupa Shah<br />
(thesoulagentblog.com/). “Red makes you feel alive, strong<br />
and bold, pink helps you feel calm and kind, orange can lift<br />
your spirits, yellow can give you a more positive mindset,<br />
green makes you feel balanced and blue makes you feel<br />
contemplative and calm.” You don’t have to wear the colour<br />
on the outside – even a pair of pink knickers could help to<br />
influence your mood. “Colourful food helps, too – a banana<br />
gives you the same positive signals that wearing the colour<br />
yellow would,” says Sarupa.<br />
feet first<br />
“Magnesium is very important for supporting your<br />
mood,” says nutritional expert Catherine Jeans<br />
(thefamilynutritionexpert.com). “Not only is it nature’s<br />
natural tranquiliser, helping you to feel calm and<br />
relaxing your muscles, it may also help support<br />
serotonin production and lift your spirits. Pop a handful<br />
of magnesium-rich Epsom salts<br />
into a large washing-up<br />
bowl of warm water<br />
and soak your feet while<br />
you watch TV. For an<br />
added boost, team with<br />
a mug of warm milk, spiced<br />
with cinnamon, nutmeg,<br />
turmeric and a dash of honey to<br />
stimulate a good night’s sleep.”<br />
Be generous<br />
Donate to a food bank, bake some<br />
mince pies for a neighbour, buy a<br />
coffee for a homeless person or just<br />
smile at a stranger. Selfless acts of<br />
kindness and generosity have been<br />
proven time and again to trigger the<br />
happiness centres of our brains and<br />
make us feel good.<br />
Judgement day<br />
“Switch off your ‘judge-ometer’,<br />
that nagging inner critic that makes<br />
assumptions about everyone and<br />
everything,” says happiness expert<br />
Andy Cope, author of Happiness –<br />
Your Route to Inner Joy (£12.99, John<br />
Murray Learning). “It doesn’t help<br />
you feel better about yourself, it’s<br />
actually wearing you out. Switch it<br />
off and instead, take four seconds, in<br />
your head, to think something nice<br />
about everyone you meet.”<br />
Hug for<br />
happiness<br />
“The average<br />
hug lasts just 2.1<br />
seconds. In order<br />
for the love and<br />
happiness to<br />
transfer, a hug<br />
needs to last<br />
seven seconds or<br />
longer (but don’t<br />
count out loud<br />
as it spoils<br />
the effect),”<br />
says Andy.<br />
Soak your troubles away<br />
“Let the blues float away by adding four<br />
drops of lemon and four drops ylang ylang<br />
essential oils to a warm bath just before you<br />
step in for the ideal, quick pick-meup,”<br />
says wellbeing expert Liz Earle,<br />
author of the ebook Aromatherapy:<br />
how to use essential oils for beauty<br />
and wellbeing (£1.99, Orion Spring).<br />
“Or if you need a little extra get<br />
up and go, try adding four drops<br />
of mandarin together with four<br />
drops of bergamot to the bathtub<br />
to feel wonderfully refreshed and<br />
rejuvenated.”<br />
happy & healthy<br />
Eat<br />
your<br />
greens<br />
Tuck into Brussels sprouts, satsumas,<br />
cranberries and parsnips if you want a<br />
mood boost. Eating more fruit and veg could<br />
substantially increase your happiness levels,<br />
according to research from the University of<br />
Warwick. Your happiness levels increase<br />
with each extra portion you eat and<br />
you should try to eat up to eight<br />
portions a day. Researchers<br />
believe the mood boost<br />
could be linked to the<br />
antioxidants found<br />
in fresh fruit<br />
and veg.<br />
Think fast<br />
Shift the blues quickly<br />
by making your brain<br />
race. If festive family<br />
time is driving you crazy,<br />
give yourself 30 seconds<br />
to make a list of all the<br />
positive things about<br />
spending time together.<br />
Researchers believe rapid<br />
thinking helps to release<br />
feel-good brain chemicals<br />
and dispel<br />
gloom.<br />
44 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT 45<br />
PICs: masterfile, shutterstock, alamy stock photo