Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at You

“Sitting still kills.”  This rather startling observation from a scientist at Queen’s University Belfast follows research which found that couch potato lifestyles could be causing up to 70,000 deaths in the UK each year. More than 10 per cent of all deaths is due to sedentary living, which raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes...

One in six of us has posted photos of a stunning house which we claim to be ours (but which isn’t) in order to impress others on Instagram. One in four of us have been so envious of what we (think we) see of other people’s houses on social media, that we have been made...

Plug-in vacuum cleaners are still more effective than the latest cordless ones. So says Which?  In tests, corded models picked up an average of 70 per cent of dust on a carpet, compared to the cordless models’ average of just 41 per cent.  In fact, Which? found more than a third of the cordless models...

Do you have a matching three-piece suite?  Oh dear!  John Lewis is no longer even offering them ready made; customers must now specifically request them.  Nowadays just two percent of searches on the John Lewis website are for three-piece suites, as we increasingly choose mismatched furniture for our living rooms. And we are getting bolder...

Do you, or don’t you?  Many of us feel reluctant to admit that we would like to do it, even if usually we do not.  Have a snooze after lunch, that is. A 20-minute nap seems to work wonders – many studies find that people awake feeling refreshed, with their energy levels renewed and with...

Love the flowers in your garden just now?  Why not preserve them?  The art of preserving flowers was very popular in Victorian times, and it is still good fun. It is an inexpensive hobby, for all you really need are some small flowers, some paper and a weight. Start with something simple like buttercups, daisies,...

Waiting for your stuff to be delivered Why we are turning to soap bars Keep an eye on your teenage daughter Beware of dating fraud You are what you think about Mind the potholes! Will you become a victim of crime? Waste not, want not Get moving How to live longer Seen but not heard...

‘Harran, Kanneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Ashur and Kilmad traded with you.  In your market-place they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multi-coloured rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted. The ships of Tarshish serve as carriers for your wares. You are filled with heavy cargo as you sail...

It’s official: we are buying more soap bars these days.  And that is a good thing. It is all a part of the major consumer backlash against unnecessary plastic waste. More and more of us want eco-friendly versions of our everyday needs.  Thus, we have ‘bags for life’, loose fruit and veg, and now –...

If she is spending more than three hours a day on social media, she may well need your help.  A recent study has found that such girls are more than twice as likely to have depression as their male classmates. A government-funded study by UCL found that more than 25% of teenage girls who average...

Middle-aged women who are open to a bit of romance should be careful: they are in the age group which is most vulnerable to dating fraudsters. Dating fraud begins online.  You think you have met someone rather special on that dating website, app or social media.  But as your friendship develops, they suddenly hit a...

Negative thoughts can actually harm you, physically.  In a recent study by the universities of Exeter and Oxford, it was found that if you listen to that critical inner voice, you will end up with an increased heart rate, consistent with feelings of being under threat and distress. On the other hand, positive thoughts have...