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good to know<br />
Why it pays to have a<br />
credit card<br />
Make sure you get the most from your money every time you spend <br />
By Sarah Pennells<br />
When used sensibly, credit cards can be a shopper’s best friend,<br />
as you get useful legal protection if there’s a problem and the<br />
shop won’t help, and they’re a better option than a debit card if<br />
you’re worried about fraud. But which card should you choose?<br />
Cashback<br />
and reward<br />
credit cards<br />
0% interest<br />
on purchases<br />
cards<br />
Cards for<br />
travel fans<br />
to use abroad<br />
Cards to help<br />
build your<br />
credit record<br />
Balance<br />
transfer<br />
cards<br />
Cashback and reward<br />
credit cards give<br />
you money or points<br />
every time you<br />
shop with your card.<br />
The reward points<br />
may be linked to a<br />
supermarket, or give<br />
you travel miles.<br />
M&S Bank’s Reward<br />
Plus card gives you<br />
one point for every<br />
£1 you spend at M&S<br />
and one point for<br />
every £5 you spend<br />
everywhere else. All<br />
M&S credit cards give<br />
you preferential rates<br />
on travel money you<br />
buy at M&S using<br />
your card.<br />
If you’d<br />
prefer cashback,<br />
the American<br />
Express Platinum<br />
credit card gives<br />
you 5% cashback<br />
for the first three<br />
months, then<br />
1%. But beware,<br />
some shops<br />
don’t take<br />
Amex cards.<br />
You can get interest-free<br />
shopping for two years<br />
or more if you pick the<br />
right card. Post Office<br />
Money’s Platinum card<br />
charges 0% interest<br />
on purchases for 28<br />
months, but you have to<br />
apply for it online.<br />
If you don’t want<br />
to apply online,<br />
Sainsbury’s Bank has a<br />
similar card (also 0% for<br />
28 months) – and there’s<br />
a bonus of earning<br />
Nectar points on<br />
your spending.<br />
Regular credit cards<br />
charge a fee every time<br />
you use them abroad<br />
– typically up to 3%.<br />
You’ll also get charged<br />
for taking cash out<br />
on holiday.<br />
But some cards<br />
– like the Halifax Clarity<br />
credit card – don’t.<br />
There are no fees if<br />
you use it for spending<br />
abroad and no fee to<br />
take cash out – but you<br />
will pay interest.<br />
If you have a bad, or no,<br />
credit history, a credit<br />
builder card may be<br />
useful. It charges a much<br />
higher interest rate and<br />
the credit limit is set low.<br />
You must pay it off in full<br />
each month to improve<br />
your credit rating.<br />
Barclaycard Initial<br />
credit card charges<br />
interest at about 34.9%<br />
APR, but that should<br />
be reduced after<br />
12 months’ payments<br />
on time.<br />
Balance transfer cards<br />
let you move unpaid<br />
balances from your<br />
credit card(s) to one<br />
that charges 0%<br />
interest. You normally<br />
have to pay a balance<br />
transfer fee of between<br />
1% and 3%. Make<br />
sure you pay off the<br />
balance before the 0%<br />
deal runs out.<br />
Tesco Bank’s<br />
Clubcard balance<br />
transfer card charges<br />
0% interest for 32<br />
months, with a fee<br />
of just 0.99% on<br />
balances you<br />
transfer in the<br />
first 90 days.<br />
n All information<br />
correct at the<br />
time of going<br />
to print<br />
pics: alamy stock photo<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
49
The original<br />
Princess<br />
of Style<br />
With a fascinating<br />
new BBC<br />
documentary<br />
on the Queen’s<br />
younger sister<br />
just out and TV<br />
series The Crown<br />
returning soon<br />
we take a look at<br />
one of Princess<br />
Margaret’s greatest<br />
passions... fashion<br />
With her trademark cigarette<br />
holder and right, Helena<br />
Bonham Carter striking a<br />
similar pose in the Netflix<br />
drama The Crown<br />
The Princess<br />
shows off a<br />
sweetheart<br />
neckline in<br />
the Fifties<br />
By Katharine Wootton<br />
Decades before<br />
the outfits of<br />
Diana, Princess<br />
of Wales, were<br />
filling the<br />
fashion <strong>mag</strong>azines, there was<br />
another icon of style in the<br />
household of Windsor.<br />
Princess Margaret’s<br />
dazzling fashion sense and<br />
tumultuous life captured the<br />
attention of the world. Today,<br />
16 years after her sad passing,<br />
interest in the Queen’s sister<br />
is again at a height, partly due<br />
to the hit Netflix drama, The<br />
Crown. Back for a new series<br />
later this year, actress Helena<br />
Bonham Carter will take<br />
over the role of the Princess<br />
in her middle years. At the<br />
same time the BBC has<br />
recently shown a two-part<br />
documentary called Princess<br />
Margaret: The Rebel Royal,<br />
exploring how her life and<br />
loves influenced the times<br />
she lived in.<br />
Unlike her sister who<br />
was expected to maintain a<br />
diplomatic i<strong>mag</strong>e, all while<br />
showing her support for<br />
British designers, Princess<br />
Margaret was held by no<br />
such boundaries. And she<br />
took full advantage of that.<br />
So when the French<br />
fashion house Dior created<br />
the New Look in 1947, with<br />
its cinched-in waists and<br />
long full-bodied skirts,<br />
Margaret immediately<br />
became almost the poster<br />
girl for the look.
news nostalgia<br />
Margaret was<br />
a regular at<br />
Dior’s fashion<br />
shows and even<br />
hosted the 1958<br />
presentation<br />
of Dior’s winter<br />
collection<br />
(pictured right)<br />
overseen by<br />
a young Yves<br />
Saint Laurent at<br />
Blenheim Palace<br />
Margaret poses for birthday<br />
portraits wearing her<br />
beloved Dior at ages 21 (left)<br />
and 26 (above)<br />
She loved the fe<strong>mini</strong>nity<br />
of the silhouette shape<br />
and even referred to the<br />
Dior dress she wore for<br />
her 21st birthday, with its<br />
off-the-shoulder sleeve,<br />
applique bodice and<br />
decadent, layered skirt,<br />
as her ‘favourite dress of<br />
all time’. Where Princess<br />
and later Queen Elizabeth<br />
wore clothes that were<br />
practical and fit for the<br />
occasion, Margaret loved to<br />
experiment with fashion.<br />
She opted for halter necks,<br />
where her sister chose<br />
more modest necklines,<br />
and explored detail,<br />
textures and sumptuous<br />
layers upon layers of fabric<br />
when Elizabeth preferred<br />
something plainer.<br />
Even in their wedding<br />
dresses – both designed by<br />
Norman Hartnell – there<br />
were differences between<br />
the two iconic outfits.<br />
Margaret opted for a fitting,<br />
shapely gown with a crisp<br />
V-neckline and Poltimore<br />
tiara, on trend for her Sixties<br />
nuptials, compared to the<br />
Queen’s demurer gown of<br />
the Forties.<br />
Dresses generally, though,<br />
were clearly where Margaret<br />
was most comfortable,<br />
as she was regularly<br />
photographed in a collection<br />
of glamorous ballgowns,<br />
matched with jewels, a fur<br />
stole and her trademark long<br />
cigarette holders. In evening<br />
wear, the dress that really<br />
caught everyone’s eyes was<br />
the pink one-strap gown<br />
with the diamond necklace<br />
that she wore on her 26th<br />
birthday in 1956, while<br />
her day wear was equally<br />
striking, such as the polka<br />
dot dress she wore with<br />
cat’s-eye sunglasses to the<br />
races in Jamaica in 1955.<br />
Moving into the Eighties<br />
and beyond, Margaret<br />
favoured big, bold colours,<br />
proving that just like her<br />
personal life, nothing was<br />
ever beige in the world of<br />
Princess Margaret<br />
On the beach,<br />
at a gala, at the<br />
races, Margaret<br />
always picked an<br />
outfit that differed<br />
from the royals’<br />
choices, a subtle<br />
curveball that was,<br />
perhaps, a tiny rebellion<br />
against the forces that had<br />
controlled everything in her<br />
life, down to the man she<br />
married.<br />
In the Seventies,<br />
Margaret’s style entered<br />
a new chapter as her<br />
clothes took a tropical turn,<br />
seemingly in response<br />
to her regular holidays in<br />
Mustique in the Caribbean.<br />
She even embraced the<br />
Seventies kaftan look, allying<br />
herself more with the hippy<br />
movement in a way the<br />
Queen could never do. Going<br />
into the Eighties and beyond,<br />
Margaret favoured big, bold<br />
colours, proving that just like<br />
her personal life, nothing was<br />
ever beige in the world of<br />
Princess Margaret.<br />
Interestingly, though,<br />
it was this final chapter of<br />
Margaret’s fashion story in<br />
which she picked brightcoloured<br />
two pieces for royal<br />
engagements that she most<br />
closely matched the fashion<br />
choices of her sister who<br />
has always favoured bold<br />
block colour ensembles.<br />
These sisters, previously<br />
so divided in their fashion<br />
choices, were now seemingly<br />
in harmonious sartorial<br />
agreement. But whatever<br />
she wore, throughout her<br />
life Princess Margaret proved<br />
herself a master of elegance,<br />
never looking less than<br />
pristine, even during the<br />
long period of illness before<br />
her death, making sure that<br />
upon her passing in 2002<br />
she was remembered then,<br />
and now, as the original<br />
princess of style.<br />
n Princess Margaret: The Rebel<br />
Royal is available to watch on<br />
BBC iPlayer<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
83<br />
PICs: getty i<strong>mag</strong>es, Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo,<br />
rex/shutterstock, netflix/sophie mutevelian
‘My secret to tr<br />
As This Morning celebrates its 30th birthday,<br />
presenter Phillip Schofield reveals what<br />
makes him happier than anything else<br />
He’s one of the most wellknown<br />
and best-loved<br />
faces on TV and could<br />
easily spend most nights at<br />
showbiz parties, but that’s<br />
just not Phillip Schofield’s cup of tea. His<br />
favourite thing is something we can all<br />
relate to – cosying up on the sofa of an<br />
evening with his nearest and dearest,<br />
and watching a film or TV programme.<br />
“My happiest moments are when my<br />
wife, Steph, and I are at home with our<br />
daughters, Molly (24) and Ruby (22), all<br />
watching a movie or a TV show,” he says.<br />
‘That, to me, is bliss.”<br />
Do they watch the shows he presents?<br />
“My interactive game show Five Gold<br />
Rings is on at the moment and when<br />
the girls are at home we do play as a<br />
family,” he laughs. “I’ll let you in on a<br />
secret now – Steph plays it online with<br />
Declan Donnolly. When the show is on,<br />
I’m normally tweeting and retweeting<br />
pictures that people have posted, but Dec<br />
will WhatsApp her and say, ‘Did you get<br />
that one? What’s your score?’”<br />
Five Gold Rings was recorded a few<br />
months ago, leaving Phillip and ‘TV wife’<br />
Holly Willoughby time to prepare for<br />
the 30th anniversary of This Morning,<br />
which falls on October 3. From the 1st,<br />
the flagship show will host special guests,<br />
items and surprises throughout the<br />
week. In addition, BAFTA will honour<br />
This Morning with a special award<br />
and tribute event in recognition of its<br />
continued success. And on October 2,<br />
at 7.30pm, ITV will air a documentary<br />
called This Morning – 30 Unforgettable<br />
Years, telling how it became a national<br />
institution. Narrated by Joanna Lumley,<br />
it features landmark moments from its<br />
archives, including its first transmission<br />
from Liverpool’s Albert Dock. Presenting<br />
duos Holly and Phil, Richard and Judy,<br />
and Eamonn and Ruth will all appear and<br />
18 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
exclusive star chat<br />
true happiness’<br />
will be joined by some of ITV’s biggest<br />
stars, including Amanda Holden, Bradley<br />
Walsh, and former TM presenter Fern<br />
Britton. Simon Cowell, Charlotte Church<br />
and David Gandy will reveal how the<br />
show gave them their breakthrough<br />
into show business, while Hollywood<br />
heavyweights Hugh Jackman and Kate<br />
Winslet also feature.<br />
“I first appeared on This Morning in<br />
1998 and only went in as a Friday deputy,”<br />
says Phillip. “I never intended to go fulltime.<br />
As any show, it’s had its ups and<br />
downs, and different bosses who’ve had<br />
varying ideas about the way in which<br />
they want it to go. The show has changed<br />
and adapted quickly, and has always been<br />
great fun.”<br />
Phillip sees himself as a custodian of<br />
This Morning. “It’ll always be Richard and<br />
Judy’s show, although I think I’ve been<br />
doing it longer. But if ever I were to leave,<br />
someone else would step in and it would<br />
continue. This Morning is like the galleon<br />
of TV. It sails on, so I would like to thank<br />
the viewers for being so loyal.”<br />
What are his most memorable<br />
moments from the show?<br />
“There are so many,” he replies. “But<br />
more recently, the difference and impact<br />
our Project 84 campaign had in raising<br />
Happy 30th This Morning!<br />
awareness of male suicide and mental<br />
health was phenomenal. That was one<br />
of our best campaigns. If we were to<br />
add up all the letters, or messages This<br />
Morning has received from people who<br />
have said, ‘You’ve just changed my life’ or<br />
‘You’ve just saved my life’, then it would<br />
be thousands. As a show, we are always<br />
adapting and moving with the times, and<br />
the fact we are winning awards for our<br />
mental health work or for the support<br />
‘I thrive on plans going<br />
out of the window. I<br />
actually quite like it<br />
when we’re left wondering,<br />
what’s going on here?’<br />
Phillip and Steph, with<br />
daughters Molly and Ruby<br />
A few of the show’s most memorable moments<br />
n Husband and wife Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan present the very<br />
first show from Albert Dock, Liverpool, on October 3, 1988, promising<br />
‘something for all the family’. This Morning moved to London in 1996.<br />
It was felt the show needed to be in the capital to attract big names,<br />
plus, according to Richard, ‘shoppers would sometimes wander onto<br />
the set during filming wanting to know where Habitat was!’<br />
n Richard oversees the first live examination for testicular cancer on<br />
British TV.<br />
n During the Fern and Phillip years (2002-09), the two were famous for<br />
being helpless with laughter while on air.<br />
n Guest Katie Hopkins and Holly Willoughby come to verbal blows<br />
over the former’s prejudice against certain children’s names.<br />
n After success at the 2016 National TV Awards, Phillip and Holly<br />
appear in their glad-rags from the previous night.<br />
we have shown the LGBT community,<br />
makes me so proud. But there are also<br />
so many funny moments I remember.<br />
The time Holly and I were dragged all<br />
over the place by our Guide Dogs in<br />
training, the time Holly was laughing and<br />
slowly crouched down beside me to try<br />
to control herself! I thrive on stuff going<br />
pear-shaped or plans going out of the<br />
window! I actually quite like it when it’s<br />
a little bit ‘Woah, what is going on here?’<br />
It’s like a beam of focus. Sometimes your<br />
focus is at a normal level and that’s your<br />
usual presenting style and other times it<br />
changes a gear and you think, ‘Right, now<br />
we have to really centre ourselves here’ to<br />
cope with whatever it is.”<br />
Holly’s taking leave of absence from<br />
This Morning this autumn to stand in<br />
for Ant McPartlin and co-present I’m A<br />
Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here with Declan<br />
Donnelly. Would Phillip continue if she<br />
were to leave for good?<br />
“I can’t say what I’d do<br />
until it actually happened.<br />
Whether I’d decide to<br />
stay or go, whether there<br />
was another ‘TV wife’<br />
out there to take Holly’s<br />
place permanently. She<br />
would, I have to say, be<br />
extraordinarily difficult to<br />
replace.” As indeed would<br />
you, Phillip.<br />
n This Morning celebrations<br />
start on October 1.<br />
n The Unforgettable<br />
Years is on ITV at<br />
7.30pm on October<br />
2. Five Gold Rings<br />
is on Sunday<br />
evenings<br />
19<br />
words: Alison James. PICs: rex/shutterstock, itv
take a trip<br />
From squirrels to stags, nothing beats the thrill of<br />
seeing wildlife thriving in its natural habitat<br />
– many of which can be found right here in the UK<br />
By Gabrielle Albert<br />
Best breaks<br />
for<br />
wildlife lovers<br />
Sealife sightings<br />
in Norfolk<br />
Norfolk is easily the best place for seal spotting.<br />
Home to Europe’s largest colony of grey and<br />
common seals, its shallow waters and wide<br />
beaches are perfect for these special creatures to<br />
thrive. For the best views, head to Blakeney Point<br />
Nature Reserve – a four-mile stretch of coastline<br />
with a fantastic spectrum of wildlife, varying<br />
landscapes, salt marshes and sand dunes. Take<br />
a boat trip and watch large numbers of seals<br />
lounging around. Visit between<br />
November and December<br />
and you may even see<br />
adorable baby seal pups<br />
shuffling along the sand.<br />
n Beans Boats offers daily<br />
trips to Blakeney Point from<br />
£12. Call 01263 740505 or visit<br />
www.beansboattrips.co.uk<br />
Hawks in the Highlands<br />
Scotland’s wildlife scene is amazingly vibrant and much of it can be<br />
explored in The Cairngorms National Park. The breathtaking landscape of<br />
high mountains, ancient forests, fields, moorlands and rivers provides an<br />
important habitat for 25 per cent of the UK’s endangered animals, birds<br />
and plants. Take your binoculars and head to the uplands where, if you’re<br />
lucky, you can see buzzards, falcons, goshawks and (if you’re lucky) golden<br />
eagles soaring around ridgelines in search of prey. With a careful eye, you<br />
might also spot white hares, pine martens, wild cats, deer and badgers<br />
– plus the UK’s only herd of wild reindeer which resides at Loch Morlich.<br />
102<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
Go nuts in<br />
Yorkshire<br />
Head to the heart of the Dales to<br />
get close-up views of the rare red<br />
squirrel. The Widdale Red Squirrel<br />
Reserve in Hawes has a purpose-built<br />
feeding area, which can be reached by<br />
following the nine-mile Snaizeholme<br />
Red Squirrel Trail, starting and<br />
finishing at the Dales Countryside<br />
Museum. The viewing area offers<br />
great opportunities to see this<br />
shy native species in its natural<br />
woodland home. Autumn is<br />
when they are most active,<br />
gathering nuts and preparing<br />
their drays for the winter. Keep<br />
your eyes peeled and you can<br />
also expect to see deer, rabbits,<br />
other small mammals and<br />
numerous species of birds.<br />
Have a whale of<br />
a time in Iceland<br />
There are few travel experiences that have<br />
the power to move people to tears – but<br />
whale watching is one of them. The sight of<br />
a whale’s fluke, or the sound of it spouting<br />
water, can be a <strong>mag</strong>ical experience. Iceland<br />
is the perfect location for seeing such a<br />
spectacle, as its cold waters off the coast<br />
play host to a diverse mix of marine life.<br />
During the summer the shores become a<br />
feeding ground for multiple species of large<br />
marine mammals, giving visitors a chance<br />
to observe these <strong>mag</strong>nificent creatures<br />
in their natural habitat. From April to<br />
September, more than 20 species of whales<br />
– including the orca, minke, humpback,<br />
and blue whale – can be seen in the North<br />
Atlantic and Arctic oceans on either side<br />
of the island. Visiting in winter? Orcas and<br />
dolphins are still around, but wrap up!<br />
n Hauganes whale-watching tours<br />
start from around £72<br />
per person.<br />
Call (354) 867 0000 or<br />
visit www.whales.is<br />
A stag do in<br />
Somerset<br />
Exmoor National Park has<br />
been home to the regal red<br />
deer since prehistoric times,<br />
with more than 3,000 of them still<br />
residing here today. Visit between<br />
late September and November to<br />
observe testosterone-filled stags charge<br />
across the landscape, locking antlers to<br />
defend territory during the rutting season.<br />
Better still, book a seat on the Red Stag Safari for<br />
an exhilarating off-road experience as a local guide<br />
takes you deep into the moor to see these gorgeous<br />
russet red animals up close. Soak up the combination<br />
of spectacular moorland, rich oak woodland, clear<br />
streams and dramatic coastline and, with luck,<br />
you’ll also get to see buzzards, herons, kingfishers,<br />
otters, foxes, hares and<br />
semi-wild ponies on<br />
your travels, too.<br />
n Red Stag Safari tours start<br />
from £38 per person. Call<br />
01643 841831 or visit<br />
www.redstagsafari.<br />
co.uk<br />
The sound<br />
of whales<br />
spouting<br />
water can be<br />
a <strong>mag</strong>ical<br />
experience<br />
– and Iceland<br />
is the ideal<br />
location to<br />
see them<br />
Go whale spotting off<br />
the coast of Iceland and<br />
you’ll be in for a treat<br />
Animal antics<br />
across the pond<br />
For a close encounter with Yogi Bear, book a trip of a<br />
lifetime to America’s Yellowstone National Park, which<br />
boasts nearly 300 species of birds, six species of reptiles<br />
and 67 species of mammals. Its lakes, valleys, canyons<br />
and snow-capped mountains are truly awe-inspiring.<br />
Take a wildlife safari and you’ll have the<br />
best chance of seeing bears, wolves,<br />
elk, moose and bison as well as the<br />
legendary landmarks. The erupting<br />
geysers, which shoot hot water as<br />
high as 300ft, should not be missed!<br />
n Brushbuck wildlife tours start<br />
from £183 per person. Call (001) <strong>307</strong><br />
699 2999 or visit www.<br />
brushbucktours.<br />
com<br />
PICs: alamy stock photo<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
103