Lifestyle

Carol singing, sending Christmas cards and kissing under the mistletoe are among the traditions we miss most, a study found. A poll of 2,000 adults found many of us also yearn to go back to the days when going for a post-Christmas walk, making homemade mince pies and going to pantomimes were the norm. Other festive rituals we’d like to see make a comeback include making our own Christmas cake, drinking eggnog and setting the Christmas pudding alight. Those polled...

Ok, the title is weird, and the grammar is poor, but try this. Look at your friends who are in couples. Check out their heights (I’m talking hetro pairs here). How many gals are taller than the guys? That’s right! I thought so! As close to zero as you can get. The occasional one who isn’t, really stands out (think Mr Speaker in Parliament, the charming John Bercow, with his delightful missus, Sally). I’ve surreptitiously surveyed several chums that I...

A mum-of-two says she GAINED weight using a fitness tracker - but has now lost eight stone after ditching it. Fiona Benbow, 39, rewarded herself with huge sugary cakes and family-sized choc bars if the FitBit told her she had burned lots of calories. And in just a month her weight went up a stone to 19 and a half stone and her waistline expanded from a size 20 to 22. Fed-up Fiona stopped using the device and turned to...

A mum-of-three pretended to have CANCER to con her husband's family out of almost £50,000, a court heard. Claire Bain, 36, even made relatives take her to fake chemotherapy appointments. She stole most of the money from her father-in-law over a four-year period after she 'cruelly abused' trust he had placed in her while he was grieving for his own wife, who had died from cancer. Bain even made her husband and father-in-law take her to the Christie cancer treatment...

‘To be pacific, ‘an escape goat’ and ‘damp squid’ are the most misused phrases or sayings, according to new research. Commonly known as ‘eggcorns’, the phrases often mean something different to the original yet make some kind of sense. Someone may claim to be ‘lack toast and tolerant’ when they are lactose intolerant - rather than breadless and open-minded. Passing mustard rather than muster might lead to some odd glances, while a doggie-dog world sounds like a much friendlier place...

2017 has slipped through our fingers and you may be wondering where your annual leave went and wishing you had been a bit smarter with your breaks abroad now that winter is upon us and we are lacking in vitamin D. Here are our top tips as to how to get the most of your days off in 2018 and some job sectors which offer good packages when it comes to taking time off.   Do you research One of...

The average women spends FOUR months thinking about what to wear over her working lifetime, according to a new study. On a typical work day women will deliberate over their attire for approximately 14 minutes, which will be the equivalent of two and a half days a year. Over the average working lifetime of 47 years, that’s 119 days spent in front of the wardrobe. More than one third of women claim to feel pressured to look a certain way...

With the cold weather very much upon us, thoughts turn to dressing for the necessity of beating the chill. Yet even as the long nights draw in there’s nothing to say that we have to fall foul of the same common style mistakes. Smart layering is so much more than slipping a thick knit over the top of your regular jeans and t-shirt combination – and our five fast tips will keep you warm yet stylish until spring. Wear your...

One in five clueless Brits does not know that Jesus was born on Christmas Day, a study has found. Research revealed that - despite the prevalence of nativity plays and Christian teaching in schools - millions are still confused about why we celebrate Christmas. Almost one in 20 thought Jesus was born over Easter - the holiday which is actually held to mark his death and subsequent resurrection. Around one in 10 were unable to name Bethlehem as the town...