Lifestyle

A man who suffered a stroke so severe he almost lost his ability to speak has won a prize after he turned to photography to help him recover. Richard Raynor, 36, was even able to give a speech at his wedding with the help of slides he had taken. The former business consultant from Chilton, Oxon., developed aphasia - a communication difficulty with speaking, reading and writing - after his stroke in 2012. His sensational snaps have now won him...

We nortmally associate the sight of a one-armed bandit with a chance to pocket some extra dosh. Not so in this baffling puzzle, as a one-limb crim looks to make off with his swag bag. It’s chaos in the streets in this latest puzzle, and while a gang of thieves haul away their cash from the bank vault, only a single perpetrator has truly committed one-armed robbery. Can you spot the one-armed bandit in this bank-heist blowout? In a sea...

We’ve all been there. You’re laying in bed at 3.00 AM, staring at the ceiling and counting down the hours till you have to get up and function in the outside world. Struggling to get to sleep is frustrating at best, but it can even be damaging to our mental and physical health if it becomes a chronic issue. With this in mind, it’s no wonder many of us are seeking out solutions to this problem. But what if you’re...

There is something instinctual about dancing, an echo from our ancestors that calls to us like a forgotten song in early childhood. Dancing makes us feel ‘alive’. It can boost brain-power and allow us to overcome social anxieties, helping us form better social groups with workmates, family members, even complete strangers. And yet the health benefits of dancing remain under-represented and under-rated. As though it’s a practice restricted to either professionals on stage or, at the other extreme, to the...

The historic Trafalgar Square Christmas tree was today chopped down in Norway by the Lord Mayor of Westminster – 70 years after the first one was donated to Britain. Cllr Ian Adams the Lord Mayor of Westminster and the Mayor of Oslo Marianne Borgen took part in the tree-felling ceremony in Oslo. The Norwegian spruce is 21 metres tall and 70 years old. It will be transported to Trafalgar Square where it will be lit up during a ceremony on...

The average Brit spends the equivalent of almost nine months of their life bargain-hunting - saving more than £6,200 year, a study has found. The typical adult will spend two hours a week search for a good deal or cut price items – the equivalent of around four days and eight hours in total over the average year. As a result, through a combination of auctions, discount vouchers, price comparison sites, regular visits to the supermarket reduced aisle and more,...

Drinking coffee is "more likely to benefit health than to harm it" - with three or four cups a day conferring the biggest boost, according to a new study. Researchers brought together evidence from more than 200 studies and found that drinking three to four cups of coffee a day is associated with living longer and a lower risk of heart disease compared with drinking no coffee. Coffee drinking is also associated with lower risk of some cancers, diabetes, liver...

Guess what? A toddler friendly hotel really does exist. Our lifestyle writer and mum of two Clair Hart, took her family to a boutique hotel that offers family time with a difference... A toddler friendly hotel with a difference Anybody with children knows that going on holiday or for a weekend away isn’t relaxing. The moment you kiss your baby for the first time, you kiss goodbye to those luxurious Mr & Mrs Smith nights away. Or that’s what we...

A mum-of-two has hand-reared a fox cub which she lets play with her young children - despite it having a tendency to nip strangers. Natalie Reynolds, 35, keeps Jasper the fox with her three dogs, cat and horses at their home and even takes it out for walks on a lead. But despite her insisting the eight-month-old fox is domesticated, an animal charity argued keeping the wild animals as pets is wrong as they belong in the wild. The stay-at-home...