Lifestyle

By Alice Weightman, Founder and Managing Director of Hanson Search and The Work Crowd More and more of us are now deciding to leave the security of a permanent job behind, opting instead for the freedom of freelancing, self-employment or contract work. However, these feelings of independence can suddenly feel very restrictive when it comes to planning a family. This needn’t be the case: freelancing and family really can go hand in hand. Working on a project basis can help...

By Amy Sharpe Over the last eight years I have veered between two hairstyles: overly-straightened, and a Russell Brand bird nest. Despite many a woman telling me they ‘would kill for curly hair’ all my life, I’ve yet to embrace my curls. Mainly because I haven’t got a clue what to do with them. But, sitting in Lee Stafford’s apartment as he flexed his fingers through my spirals, I sensed I was about to be made to embrace them. “Do...

By Zoe Sinclair The new offer of shared parental leave looks simple enough. New mums take the first two weeks off after the birth, but the remaining 50 weeks can be shared between mum and dad. Finally the UK has caught up with Scandinavia, where shared leave has been working well for decades. But what does it really mean for you, your partner and your jobs? Despite all the supportive noises from employers, a major worry is what their real...

Justin Bieber prepares his Blue Steel Presumably, by now, you’ll have seen that Zoolander is making its return soon. This was announced in excellent fashion (deliberate pun) at the end of the Valentino Autumn/Winter 2015 show, which was closed by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in character from the movie, complete with resolute Blue Steel gaze at the end of the catwalk. The original Zoolander movie has, rightly, amassed a huge following since its release in 2001 and its return...

by Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor The general election is now only weeks away and the parties have all been clamouring for your votes. The economy, welfare, housing, immigration, the NHS; all have featured heavily in the debate. However, when they want to attract the female vote, top of the list for discussion through the window of a pink bus is that old chestnut; childcare. Yes, childcare is a key concern. It’s hideously expensive, inflexibility can cause huge problems particularly for...

The decision to relocate to another country for work and take on the life of an ex-pat is unlikely to be a straightforward one for anyone, but it’s particularly nerve-wracking when you have children to consider. Annabel Kantaria, author of novel Coming Home, gives us some tips to make the move as smooth as possible for your kids; both when relocating abroad and when the time comes to move back home. By Annabel Kantaria While moving abroad – or back...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  A new study has been released revealing the top 50 most boring things of modern life. Party Political Broadcasts, Fifty Shades of Grey and shopping channels have been hailed as life’s biggest bores according to a study which asked 2,000 adults about what causes them to switch off. Even with the election on the way Party Political Broadcasts were rated as excessively boring by over half of the adults polled, with ad breaks, queueing in the Post...

By John Locke ( Warning!- Do not read this if you are of a squeamish personality) We leave the train on Sunday at Manchester Piccadilly after the lad has barked at every train stop on the journey, ( he also tried to eat a huge lurcher in the next compartment, and scared a Polish cyclist somewhere outside Runcorn ) unless I offered him a Polo mint or let him stand on my legs like a panting mountain goat with the...

By Dr Joanna Helcké I have the privilege of living in what many consider to be the UK’s sporting capital; Loughborough. With a University that attracts top athletes from across the UK, physical activity and sport is to be seen quite literally everywhere as people jog, run and bike their way around the area. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that as an expert in pregnancy exercise I find myself on the receiving end of lots of pregnancy fitness questions and...