issue 285

Bumper value 2 mags in 1
20 pages of festive brain teasers and puzzles
Merry Christmas from…
n ISSUE 285
Christmas
made
easy
✓ Tried & tested food
✓ Homemade decorations
✓ Christmas dinner update
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79 new ideas
8
jolly easy
mood
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Stars reveal their family
traditions… Linda Robson,
James Martin, Janet Ellis & more
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Inside
this fortnight...
COVER PIC: ITV/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Real life
9 Animal Magic
12 Bringing comfort and joy
to struggling families
16 ‘Our love for turtle doves’
19 Making a difference at
Christmas
24 ‘I’ll never forget our last
Christmas together’
28 ‘The secret to true
happiness’
Star chat
10 COVER Paul O’Grady
14 COVER Stars reveal their
festive traditions
22 Looking back at a classic:
Morecambe and Wise
26 André Rieu chats to Yours
162 Gareth Malone
Your best life now!
32 COVER Christmas Day
style special!
39 COVER Beauty gifts
41 Lovely lips
42 Beat festive health niggles
44 COVER Boost your mood
Good to know
75 COVER 79 ways to make
Christmas easy
86 COVER Deck the halls –
with a difference
89 Keep your pets happy and
healthy this season
90 Yours Retirement Services
93 Watching the pennies
95 Your questions answered
Nostalgia
53 Winter chills and cheer!
54 Santa’s grotto
Leisure time
59 COVER Festive food on test!
64 COVER Christmas dinner update
99 Plan on great fruit and veg!
101 Out and About special!
Your favourites
47 Meeting Place
56 Roy Hudd
69 Friends of Yours
107 Carers in touch
115 COVER Bumper
puzzles special!
150 COVER Free perennials
153 Short story
161 Horoscopes
£6,315
OF PRIZES
TO WIN
32
Festive
fashion
42
Eat smarter this
yuletide!
28
Morecambe and
Wise memories
54
Childhood
Christmases
Merry Christmas …
...and welcome to our biggest issue of the year!
164 pages packed with everything you need to make
this Christmas extra special. As well as your usual
Yours favourites we have two extra sections so there’s
even more to enjoy. Our 8-page Make Christmas Easy
section (p75) is stuffed with tips and tricks to take
the stress out of the season and the 20-page Festive
Puzzling Fun section (p115) is crammed with
brainteasers that will keep you busy for hours.
We also have gorgeous party looks (p32),
tried and tested festive food (p59), seasonal
mood boosters (p44), handmade decorations
(p86), beauty gifts for every budget (p39) and
lots of fun things to do for all the family (p101).
But we also know that for some, Christmas
can be a difficult time, especially
those on their own. If you are facing a
lonely Christmas, turn to page 69 to
find scores of people looking for likeminded
friends to spend Christmas
with this year.
See you next issue
Keep in touch...
We want to hear your news and views
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Yours magazine,
Media House,
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Email
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Sharon Reid, Editor
NEWSLETTER
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TRICKS
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Festive pet dos
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Keep your smile
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perfect lippie
Ensure your lippie stays
put with these three easy
steps from Yours make-up
artist Carl Stanley
Lovely
lips
By Beauty Editor, Michelle Nightingale
3 steps to success
1
Whatever your lipstick colour of
choice, lining your lips first is a must
if you want it to stay in place. Lining
also helps enhance and define your lip
shape, but don’t stray too far outside
your natural shape. Carl’s top tip is to
use a neutral lip liner, which will go
with any lipstick shade and ensure lips
look natural, rather than drawn-on.
While applying your lippie from
2 the tube is quick when you’re on
the go, for lasting results a lip brush is
essential. Look for one with a fine tip
that’s firm, but not hard, as this will
allow you to be more precise. Apply
a thin coat of lipstick to your top and
bottom lips over the top of your liner.
This step is the key to a budge-proof
3 pout. Start by blotting off excess
lipstick, using a tissue. Next, very
lightly dust lips with a translucent face
powder using a powder brush. Only use
a very little (once applied you shouldn’t
be able to see it) and this will help set
your colour. Lastly, apply another coat
of lipstick using your lip brush.
You’ll need these…
n Revlon
Super
Lustrous
Lipstick in
Lovers Coral,
£7.49
n B. Lip
Brush,
£5.99
n Clinique Long
Last Lipstick in
Will You, £19.50
n Mac Pro Longwear
Lip Pencil in Oh Honey,
£15.50
n Rimmel
London
The Only 1
Lipstick in
Revolution
Red, £6.99
Fe stive
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Stockists: B. available from Superdrug 0345 671 0709;
Clinique 0808 281 0226; Mac 0800 074 6905; Revlon and Rimmel
available nationwide
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
41
pics: PHOTOGRAPHY RUTH JENKINSON,
HAIR AND MAKE-UP CARL STANLEY

Christmas
with Eric and
Ernie
A chorus line of TV presenters cast
dignity to the wind when they sang,
There is Nothing Like a Dame
As a new Morecambe and Wise
drama airs this Christmas,
we remember those brilliant
moments that brought us
sunshine, even on Christmas Day
By Katharine Wootton
It was hard to tell at the end
of Christmas Day whether
our bellies ached from the
mounds of turkey and trifle
we’d tucked into or – more
likely – fits of laughter from
watching the Morecambe and
Wise Christmas TV special.
From 1969 to 1980, with the
exception of 1974, Eric and Ernie
were regular Christmas guests,
welcomed into our living rooms
as predictably as charades and a
large tin of Quality Street.
This Christmas we’ll have
Morecambe and Wise on our
TVs again in Eric, Ernie & Me,
a biopic about Eddie Braben,
the scriptwriter who helped
shape the duo into the comedy
phenomenon viewers adored.
The film follows the pressure
and pain Eddie went through
while helping to make them
Britain’s best loved double act,
culminating in their iconic 1977
Christmas Show.
Who can ever forget that
festive special where a chorus
line of BBC presenters,
including Michael Aspel and
Barry Norman, abandoned
all newsroom solemnity to
high kick their way through
the show-stopping number
There is Nothing Like
a Dame?
This Christmas special
attracted a staggering 28
million viewers, making
it one of the top 25 mostwatched
programmes of all
time on British television.
Perhaps the most
memorable of all the
Christmas specials was
the 1971 show starring the
distinguished conductor
André Previn – or André
Preview, as Eric insisted on
From the top: André Previn dared to point out
that Eric was playing all the wrong notes while
newsreader Angela Rippon delighted viewers when
she revealed she was a hoofer at heart and Shirley
Bassey gamely sang on while the set collapsed
behind her and she had to abandon one of her shoes
Did you
know? When
Eric changed
his surname
to Morecambe
(he was born
John Eric
Bartholomew)
Ernie
considered
changing his
name to Leeds
after his own
home town.
But when
Eric pointed
out that
Morecambe
and Leeds
sounded too
much like a
cheap ‘away
day’ on the
train, Ernie
decided he
would stick
with Wise...
calling him.
We howled with laughter
as Eric (stepping in for
the indisposed Yehudi
Menuhin) proudly minced
his way to the piano for his
solo performance of Grieg’s
Piano Concerto, repeatedly
failing to make it for his
opening cue.
We laughed even more
hysterically when André
had to jump up and down
to cue Eric in from behind
the piano lid. When Eric
finally started to play,
André accused him of
playing ‘all the wrong
notes’, only to be told in
no uncertain terms that he
was ‘playing all the right
notes – but not necessarily
in the right order’.
Revealing a hitherto
unsuspected
flair for comedy,
Previn performed
the whole sketch
without a hint of
a smile.
André Previn
later appeared in
the 1972 special as
a bus conductor
in a feature called
‘I worked with
Morecambe and
Wise and look what
happened to me’.
Another star who
took Morecambe
and Wise’s gentle
mockery with
unruffled good
humour was
Shirley Bassey.
She continued her
rousing rendition of
Smoke Gets in Your
Eyes while her hosts
frantically tried
to keep the scenery from
falling apart behind her.
Even when her stiletto
got wedged in a polystyrene
step and she ended up
wearing Eric’s boot, Bassey
didn't miss a beat. She later
revealed that she couldn’t
stop laughing during
rehearsals and thought
she’d never be able to pull
the whole thing off with a
straight face.
But Eric and Ernie didn’t
always resort to music to
send up their celebrity
news nostalgia
guests, as Glenda Jackson
found out when she agreed
to appear in the 1971
Christmas special. The duo
directed her in Antony and
Cleopatra, persuading her
to utter the immortal lines:
“All men are fools. And what
makes them so is having
beauty like what I have got.”
Even the Forces’
sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn
didn’t escape their legpulling
in the 1972 festive
special. When Eric gave her
a flamboyant introduction,
it gradually became clear
that he thought she was
another wartime legend,
Gracie Fields.
The Morecambe and
Wise Christmas specials
were undoubtedly a great
excuse to have fun, but
sometimes they revealed an
entirely different side to a
famous personality. In 1976
Angela Rippon gave viewers
a shock when she left her
news desk to reveal a pair
of shapely legs that could
high kick with the best of
them. Her turn proved to be
one of the most memorable
dance routines in the show’s
history.
The Morecambe and Wise
special was moved from its
traditional Christmas Day
slot in 1981 and ended for
good in 1983 – just a few
months before Eric died of a
heart attack after appearing
at the Roses Theatre in
Tewkesbury.
Nevertheless, their
festive specials gave us more
than a decade of hilarious
Christmases and left us with
memories that will keep us
chuckling for a lifetime.
Thank you, boys, for all
the laughs what you gave us
– you are truly much missed!
n Eric, Ernie & Me will air on
BBC4 this Christmas
22 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT 23
PICs: BBC

Stars reveal their
festive
traditions
We asked some of our
favourite celebrities to tell us
about the special Christmas
traditions they love …
James Martin
I tell you what I won’t doing and that’s
roasting a turkey for Christmas dinner.
People always ask me if I have any tips for
cooking the Christmas turkey and I reply, ‘Yes – buy
beef or pork’. My granddad always used to say, ‘Never
eat anything that’s ugly when it was alive’, and I couldn’t
agree more. No matter how much sage and onion you
stuff up a turkey, or how long you soak it in brine à la
Nigella, you’ll never make it taste interesting.
Janet Ellis
Easily our most embarrassing tradition (although
we are not embarrassed by it at all) is that after
the main course I always serve up the Christmas
pudding and when it’s steamed and ready, we
set fire to it and form a conga line!
The head of the household, who used to be
my dad but is now my husband, leads the
way, singing ‘Here comes the Christmas
pudding’ to the tune of ‘For he’s a jolly
good fellow’ and the family form a line
behind. We go all the way around the
house and if it’s nice weather we go
outside. When I was little, because
we were on army camps (Janet’s dad
was in the army) we’d go into other
people’s houses, but we’ve cut that
bit now. There’s on average about
20 of us. We have a few choruses
and it just settles everybody down
a bit and builds up an appetite. It
started in my mother’s family and
according to her it’s been going on
for generations. It’s something that
always happened when I was a child so
it has to happen now.
Alan Titchmarsh
I love Christmas carols. Call me an old
sentimentalist but my early memories
of carol singing are among the most
treasured moments in my childhood. I
was a choirboy from the age of about
eight through to 16 and went carol
singing every year. Angels from the
Realms of Glory, Ding Dong Merrily,
Hark the Herald Angels Sing, God Rest
Ye Merry Gentlemen, Oh, Come All Ye
Faithful. I still know them all by heart
and love them all. Carols and
Christmas music, I reckon,
are capable of connecting
us not only with the true
message and meaning of
the season of goodwill,
but also with each other.
Dame Eileen
Atkins
Christmas cards – I
hate the fact that
they’re going out
of fashion because
everyone’s sending
e-mails. I always
keep my cards from the
previous year so I can look at
the kind of card somebody’s
sent me and I’ll send one
back which I think they’ll like.
I’ll send a religious image to
a person who’s religious, an
animal image to an animal
lover and so on.
Jenny Agutter
My favourite tradition is that I’m
lucky enough to enjoy both a
traditionally Swedish Christmas
and then a British one. My husband
is Swedish so we do the Swedish thing first on
Christmas Eve with pickled fish, meatballs, Gravlax
and a delicious side dish called Janssons Frestelse
which is made from potatoes, onion, herring,
anchovies and cream. There’s lots of Schnapps to
drink and lots of singing. Then the day after we have
a traditional British Christmas lunch on Christmas
Day – we always have goose.
Linda Robson
I love decorating the tree. For the last
few years, my kids have done it because
I’ve been busy doing panto. But I never
like the way they do it so I’ve come
home, taken the baubles off
and put them back on again
differently! This year, I’m not
working so I’ll be able to
supervise the tree decorating
from the off.
Olivia Colman
Christmas morning is the one morning
that I don’t mind waking up early. I rush
into my children’s rooms really
early on Christmas morning,
urging them to, ‘Get up ! Get up!
It’s Christmas! ’
star memories
Anton du Beke
n I love the Christmas tree. I
have to have a house full of
Christmas. I like a tree in every
room, Christmas decs and
Christmas lights – not outside
though. I can’t wait for the day
my little twins can help me
decorate the Christmas tree.
Jo Brand
n My favourite Christmas
tradition isn’t very well known.
In fact, I think I’m probably
the only person who’s ever
heard of it – let alone done it.
It’s shutting my husband out
of the house on Christmas Eve
and not letting him back in
till Boxing Day. I think it could
catch on! Er... I’m joking,
of course!
Craig Revel-
Horwood
n For me, it’s doing
panto. I just a-dore
it – it’s fab-u-lous,
darling. This year
I’m playing the
Wicked Queen in
Snow White at the
Mayflower Theatre
in Southampton.
Alison Steadman
n We have a tradition in
our house to always wait till
after lunch before we open
our presents – rather like we
did in the Gavin and Stacey
Christmas Special. You’re
always busy preparing
lunch in the morning
so we prefer to wait
until we’re full of
lovely food and can sit
back and relax before
we start opening gifts.
Dame Julie
Walters
n Lazing in front of the fire
with the family, everyone
talking at once and so loudly
you think your ears will burst,
and eating far too much!
14 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT 15
PICs: rex/shutterstock, itv, masterfile, angela spain
photography, alamy stock Photo, getty images

If you’re planning a
low-key Christmas this
year, it can be tempting
not to bother with a
tree – after all they take
up space and can make a
right mess. But just because
you’ve scaled down your
celebration, there’s no need
to feel ‘Bah, humbug!’. With a
little bit of creativity, you can
still have a festive focal point.
give
these
a go
Charmingly rustic
Make a simple wall-hanging structure using sticks and
string – it’s the cheapest tree you’ll ever own, but it looks
charming. Take two lengths of string, twine or wool (aim
for a third longer than you want your finished ‘tree’ to
be) and tie them together at the top so both hang down.
Then take five or so branches or large twigs and starting
with the shortest one, tie it in place with a loop of twine
– one on each side. Continue down, with the branches
getting larger. Then tie on baubles and other decorations
and use a drawing pin or Blu-tack to attach it to the wall.
Creative cuttings
Off on a ramble? Take your secateurs with
you and keep your eyes peeled for holly
bushes or loose branches in interesting
shapes. Then arrange them in a pretty vase
at home – bare branches look elegant when
decorated with baubles. (You’re allowed
to take a small number of shed branches in
woods for your own use.)
buy
it!
good to know
n Decorative
white twig tree
(76cm), £15,
Hobbycraft
n Gold twig
LED wire tree
(6ft), £45,
Homebase
Keep things festive – without the pine needles!
Decorations
with
a difference
Make a mini tree
One for floristry fans, this little craft
project will leave you with a tiny,
and oh-so-sweet, tree. All you need
is a green floristry wire, pliers, a
fallen autumn leaf, three circles of
newspaper (large, meduim and small)
and some fresh bay leaves.
Use the
1 pliers and
wire create a
sturdy circular
base then twist
round to create
a vertical pole
in the centre.
2Thread on
the large
newspaper
circle as a base
then add your
bay leavestrying
to make
them cover the
newspaper.
Add the newspaper and
3 leaves as photo above. When
you’re happy with your tree rip
the paper off.
Cut a star
4 shape
from the leaf
and glue to
the top of
your tree.
Book tree
If you don’t believe a house is a home
without a bookcase or two, this is the
“tree” for you! It couldn’t be simpler –
just pile books in a pyramid shape on a
table or cake stand and decorate with
fairy lights, pine cones, baubles
or anything you
like. For a festive
feel, choose
books with
green covers, or
simply wrap in
brown paper.
n Wooden
Christmas tree trio
(biggest 40cm), £29.99,
Lakeland
n Snowflake
Christmas tree
wall sticker,
£32.95, Not on
the High Street
STOCKISTS
Hobbycraft 0330 026 1400 www.hobbycraft.co.uk;
Homebase 0345 077 8888 www.homebase.co.uk;
Lakeland 01539 488100 www.lakeland.co.uk;
Not on the High Street www.notonthehighstreet.com
pics: gAp gardens, loupe images/emma mitchell/penny wincer
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
87

jolly
By Rebecca Speechley
Happy people live
longer, they have
lower stress levels,
healthier heart rates,
get ill less often,
recover faster and
hold on to their grey
matter for longer.
If you want to reap
all the benefits of
being chipper but are
struggling to see the
light at the end of the
dark days of winter,
we have a few expert
tricks up our sleeves
to help you turn
your frown upside
down.
the colour cure
“Every colour and shade emits a different signal that can
impact your mood,” says colour therapist Sarupa Shah
(thesoulagentblog.com/). “Red makes you feel alive, strong
and bold, pink helps you feel calm and kind, orange can lift
your spirits, yellow can give you a more positive mindset,
green makes you feel balanced and blue makes you feel
contemplative and calm.” You don’t have to wear the colour
on the outside – even a pair of pink knickers could help to
influence your mood. “Colourful food helps, too – a banana
gives you the same positive signals that wearing the colour
yellow would,” says Sarupa.
feet first
“Magnesium is very important for supporting your
mood,” says nutritional expert Catherine Jeans
(thefamilynutritionexpert.com). “Not only is it nature’s
natural tranquiliser, helping you to feel calm and
relaxing your muscles, it may also help support
serotonin production and lift your spirits. Pop a handful
of magnesium-rich Epsom salts
into a large washing-up
bowl of warm water
and soak your feet while
you watch TV. For an
added boost, team with
a mug of warm milk, spiced
with cinnamon, nutmeg,
turmeric and a dash of honey to
stimulate a good night’s sleep.”
Be generous
Donate to a food bank, bake some
mince pies for a neighbour, buy a
coffee for a homeless person or just
smile at a stranger. Selfless acts of
kindness and generosity have been
proven time and again to trigger the
happiness centres of our brains and
make us feel good.
Judgement day
“Switch off your ‘judge-ometer’,
that nagging inner critic that makes
assumptions about everyone and
everything,” says happiness expert
Andy Cope, author of Happiness –
Your Route to Inner Joy (£12.99, John
Murray Learning). “It doesn’t help
you feel better about yourself, it’s
actually wearing you out. Switch it
off and instead, take four seconds, in
your head, to think something nice
about everyone you meet.”
Hug for
happiness
“The average
hug lasts just 2.1
seconds. In order
for the love and
happiness to
transfer, a hug
needs to last
seven seconds or
longer (but don’t
count out loud
as it spoils
the effect),”
says Andy.
Soak your troubles away
“Let the blues float away by adding four
drops of lemon and four drops ylang ylang
essential oils to a warm bath just before you
step in for the ideal, quick pick-meup,”
says wellbeing expert Liz Earle,
author of the ebook Aromatherapy:
how to use essential oils for beauty
and wellbeing (£1.99, Orion Spring).
“Or if you need a little extra get
up and go, try adding four drops
of mandarin together with four
drops of bergamot to the bathtub
to feel wonderfully refreshed and
rejuvenated.”
happy & healthy
Eat
your
greens
Tuck into Brussels sprouts, satsumas,
cranberries and parsnips if you want a
mood boost. Eating more fruit and veg could
substantially increase your happiness levels,
according to research from the University of
Warwick. Your happiness levels increase
with each extra portion you eat and
you should try to eat up to eight
portions a day. Researchers
believe the mood boost
could be linked to the
antioxidants found
in fresh fruit
and veg.
Think fast
Shift the blues quickly
by making your brain
race. If festive family
time is driving you crazy,
give yourself 30 seconds
to make a list of all the
positive things about
spending time together.
Researchers believe rapid
thinking helps to release
feel-good brain chemicals
and dispel
gloom.
44 YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT 45
PICs: masterfile, shutterstock, alamy stock photo