Archive

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I can't imagine not being part of my sons' lives

Quite a heavy day - I attended training day on neuro linguistic programming. It's something I am quite interested in but it felt a little too heavy for the here and now of life as I'm living it. I had to go to a public meeting later where our team was

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Back on the beach - that was really a surprise

Today I decided to work from home so set myself up in bed with my phone, computer, document folder and diary all to hand. It worked really well. My kittens made me giggle as they kept climbing all over things and attacking my pen. Tom came home from

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I feel optimistic and enjoyed life this week

Two of Jacob's friends, Jessica and Harry, called for him to walk to school this morning. Jacob asked if we could show Jessica around the house. I thought it was a very grown-up thing to do and smiled as I heard him explain about the plan for our loft

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Quality time with my boys is so special

The devastating news about my friend Lesley had led to my excessive drinking during our trip to see the Lady Boys of Bangkok. I woke up with the world's most horrible and probably well-deserved hangover. Once the boys had gone to school I made a couple

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Ours isn't the only family to face concern

My first appointment after dropping the boys at school was with Margaret, my healer. She gave me a session including meditation. I don't really understand how it all works but I always come away feeling stronger and energised like a battery after it's

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Cocktails and good friends raise my spirts

It is fair to say it has been quite a difficult week for me emotionally. Friday was an amazing and bizarre day. I had lots of phone calls in the morning and, as a result, will be having tea with the Lady Boys of Bangkok, taking Tom and the boys to the

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I don't want to lose the quality time I cherish

Another hectic day. Jacob's school was closed so he was home today while Lewis begrudgingly went in. I have signed up to another contract with a women's magazine and agreed to do an interview with ITV. A woman who has set up her own production company

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I can't bear to think of my boys growing up without their mother

There has been lots of media coverage this week. I am beginning to feel more like a pop star than a cancer victim. I got up bright and early to do a radio interview with BBC Southern Counties Radio. I was quite nervous but it was really good to do it

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Terrible migraines ruined a weekend away

I am feeling quite healthy and happy with the world today. I walked the boys to school then chatted with some friends over a cup of coffee. We had a good natter and caught up on each other's news before going our separate ways. I cycled into Lancing

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I'll never forget the moment I first held Jacob - now he's 11

This week was Jacob's birthday sleepover. We had seven boys here. They had a really good Easter egg hunt by torchlight, played pass the parcel, decorated cakes and played football. They had lots of fun and stayed awake most of the night. They are a

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I felt like making it a great holiday for the boys

I went back to the hospital today and had more saline pumped into my right breast. Later they will drain some of it off and apparently it makes it look more natural. While I was at the hospital I thought about how I used to be fanatical about being punctual

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I'll suffer anything but dark roots!

Cancer has become such a way of life for me that I even find myself reading the star sign in a magazine. It is really bizarre - my sign is Virgo and I don't even follow horoscopes. On Thursday I visited my sister in Henfield. It was a great drive over

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My chance to reflect on our lives

School holidays are here and we are making the most of them. After a quick pack we were off to Portsmouth to catch our boat. The cabins were a bit of a squeeze - let's just say you would need to get on with your fellow travelling companions. Luckily

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My musical message to those I love

Things are looking pretty good at the moment. I had my treatment for my bones and saw an oncologist on Thursday and the check-up was very encouraging. The oncologist has asked to see me in four months time so that's really good. That makes me choose

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I want to do as much as I can while I can

It's been a very emotional week. My problems started with bleeding again. The swelling in my back turned out to be blood pocketing. A lot of it found its own way out, which is quite frightening. I had to have the rest drained out under local

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Is it worth getting more face cream? I'm not going to grow old

I'm trying to do a bit more and get a bit physically fitter. I'm due back at work on April 18 and I've got really mixed feelings - my whole life has changed so much. Friday was a very busy day and I had to go to the hospital. My surgeon seemed pleased

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Learning to sing is such a tonic, I could sing for ever

It has been a mixed week of excitement, ruthlessness, sleep and sadness. Thursday was the first day I got up after the operation. I was feeling quite bright although I was still looking a funny colour and feeling very run-down. It seems a bit strange

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I should have had the surgery years ago. I feel like a different person

This week Sandra had been recovering from reconstructive surgery. Well I've done it and it looks like I've survived but I must confess I have been feeling pretty dreadful. I was so ill after the operation and had terrible sickness. Everyone tried to

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The girl I adore will bounce back soon

Last week Sandra went into Worthing Hospital for breast reconstruction so Tom takes over her weblog and reflects on coping as the husband of a terminally-ill woman. Sandra and I had a fantastic weekend in London before she had to go into hospital

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You make the most of every moment

In terms of work, I have had a very constructive week. I have been getting lots of reports finished in time for going off for my breast reconstruction operation next week. It's a really positive feeling to get everything done. I was

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Balancing work and home life

I have had a good week, although it has been mixed. I had an emotional blip halfway through the week dealing with conflicts of interest between work and home life. I feel terrible. It's just I want to help everyone and make everything right and I can't

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'Those clichés about life being too short mean so much now'

Nostalgic is the word to describe this week. I made the decision to make memory books for the boys to go with their memory boxes. I am putting different things in the boxes that mean something to Jacob and Lewis. For example, Jacob's box has a little

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I am sure I won't see my sister again-but never say never

We haven't stopped since we got back from New Zealand in the new year. We've celebrated Lewis's birthday, I've gone back to work full-time and been best man for one of my closest friends. We've been catching up with friends and family, watching lots

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I want to do everything I can to take my boys' pain away

It has been a tough week, dominated by ongoing discussions with the boys' father over their future and it's not been helped with us all having horrible colds and feeling rotten. The cold has gone to my chest. Everything hurts and it's hard not to attribute

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Cousin Dereck

Lesley Billings (nee Wren) would like to get back in touch with her cousin Dereck Pinnel. He went to school with her husband Richard at Longhill in the Sixties. He ran a couple of pubs in Brighton then moved to Eton. Lesley thinks he is now somewhere

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Missing Mitten

Mick Branch emails: "I am trying to find Ted Mitten, who emigrated to Canada about 30 years ago. "Before he left he lived in Wolverston Drive and worked as a TV repair man for Radio Rentals then as a driver for Streamline cars. "Ted was married to Doreen

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William Williams

Ivor Williams emails: "I am trying to locate relatives of my late uncle William Howard Williams, born December 13, 1921, late of 178 Blois Road, Lewes, and sadly passed away on October 14, 1994 at Victoria Hospital Lewes. "Would anyone with any information

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The parade

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Sole solution to your fat?

You have heard of MBTs, earth shoes and Chung Shi. At best they were ugly and at worst they left you looking like you had a serious medical problem. Realising no one wants to wear something which looks like an orthopaedic shoe, even if it can help

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Letter: The true meaning of a city

John L Hyde-Smith (Letters, June 21) rightly points out a lack of understanding about cathedrals. Unfortunately, there is a misunderstanding of the word "city" because it has two meanings. The first meaning concerns ecclesiastical definitions, which is

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June 24: Sussex have still got cutting edge

Yasir Arafat has taken little time in reassuring Sussex supporters that there is life after Rana Naved. The 24-year-old followed a sparkling 86 with the bat by taking two wickets in successive overs, including troubled England captain Michael Vaughan,

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Letter: Olympic dream

It was great to read in The Argus (June 21) how proposals for restoring the rail services between Uckfield and Lewes are looking their most promising for years. We all want to see as many journeys made by public transport as possible. Partnership working

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Letter: Special fares

I am 92 and horrified at the escalating cost of taxi fares, adding to Brighton and Hove's expensive reputation. Before the Second World War, it cost a shilling (about 2.5 new pence) for a journey which now costs about £12. I notice that most of the Brighton

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Letter: Annual problem

As soon as the summer traffic jams kick in, Brighton and Hove City Council again trots out the discredited storyline that a park-and-ride would help. Would someone please point out to Simon Burgess that concreting over most of the South Downs still would

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Strangers On A Train, Theatre Royal, Brighton, June 26 - July 1

Double crossing, finely tuned character studies and an air of homoeroticism: Patricia Highsmith's first novel had all the hallmarks of a Hitchcock thriller so it was small surprise when, in 1951, it became one. More surprising is the decision to turn

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Cliff walk boys rescued from danger tide

Walkers are being warned about the dangers of tides after a group of stranded teenagers had to be rescued. The party of five boys was half-an-hour from being engulfed by the sea at the foot of Beachy Head, said Eastbourne Lifeboat coxswain Mark Sawyer

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Letter: They are a monster Eurovision hit

When I hear the words Eurovision Song Contest, I think of cheesey wannabe pop acts, generic beautiful-looking females and the terrible UK entry. Granted, not all of our entries have been bad, we have won the contest a number of times, but the thought

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Fiery Elton rocks the city

They both kept the crowds waiting but in the end it was a win for Elton and for England. Sir Elton John wowed the crowds in his first concert in Sussex for 24 years last night while the national football team dribbled to a win over Ecuador to ensure their

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Letter: Blind stupidity

I cannot believe our short-sighted Brighton and Hove City Council has been so fantastically stupid to approve plans to build the waste transfer centre at Hollingdean. Are they so blind they do not realise there are two schools within 30 metres of the

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Letter: This is too much to ask of one local community

When I read that the application for the Waste Transfer Facility at Hollingdean had been passed by Brighton and Hove City Council's planning committee, I felt like crying. I confess I came rather late to the Dump the Dump campaign, allowing the first

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Cricket: Sussex to face Lancashire in final

Sussex are relishing a Lord's showdown with fierce rivals Lancashire in the final of the C&G Trophy at Lord's on August 26. The county had already booked their place but Lancashire joined them yesterday after a three-wicket win over Warwickshire at

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New bus route to go via leisure centre

An extra bus route is to service a popular leisure centre in a bid to ease demands for parking. The multi-million pound K2 centre has been a huge success since it opened in Crawley last November. From next Saturday, the 2 Metrobus service will include

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The Electric Strawbs, Komedia, Brighton

The line-up of Strawbs is the same as it was 30 years ago when they recorded their classic album, Hero And Heroine, and many of the songs in this set were taken from that or the previous album, Bursting At The Seams. They opened with the single, Lay Down

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Planners back tower

A 40-storey skyscraper which could soar above the seafront has been backed by planners. The 420ft tower is the centrepiece of a £235 million proposal for 853 new homes in 11 buildings at Brighton Marina. The development, dubbed the Roaring Forties, is

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Letter: NCP prices putting off shoppers

I am intrigued to see the claim by NCP that the latest price increase is "in line with inflation". Sorry, but a 10p rise on 60p is a 16.6 per cent increase and, while not being an expert, I don't think inflation has quite reached that level yet. As to

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Beach cleaner cheers for stardom

Football fanatic Anita Wiewiora is within striking distance of being part of World Cup final night after she re-enacted a goal celebration. The 20-year-old, of Chichester Close, Hangleton, Hove, has been short-listed in the EDF Energy search for the country's

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Stop this pier jump madness

An artist has pleaded with thrill seekers to stop leaping from the roof of a pier's historic bell tower. Faye Whittaker uses the 126-year-old tower on Brighton's Palace Pier as a gallery. She says the dangerous annual craze is damaging the ornate roof

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Safety plea to 'danger' swimmers

Three swimmers who jumped off structures into the sea were seriously injured in separate incidents on Saturday. Coastguards said "tomb stoning" into water was extremely dangerous. A man suffered suspected head and neck injuries after jumping from the

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Pete is still the centre of attraction

Pete's in-house Big Brother fan club is increasing after both Lea and Nikki confessed they had the hots for him. The pair gossiped in the kitchen after a night of failed advances towards the in-demand Daddy Fantastic singer from Brighton. Lea said: "I

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Letter: Stick to rules

One can't help but be amused at the thought of cyclists using the road for their intended purpose: "Cyclist uses road, shock". However, more seriously, why don't they use the cycle lanes provided? It's because pedestrians keep abusing them when they ride

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New hope in battle to save beauty spot

Campaigners hope a planning victory can save a popular beauty spot from proposals to let it flood. Cuckmere Estuary, near Seaford, is threatened by plans to remove sea defences. But Nigel Newton, whose home overlooks the nature reserve, has successfully

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Letter: Simple solution

The London-to-Brighton bicycle ride is a great event. So great, that it brings problems of traffic congestion. This problem is increased by Southern and First Capital Connect refusing to carry bikes. But you can see their point. They would have to have

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Gay youngsters turn to sleeping on the streets

About 20 per cent of homeless young people in Brighton and Hove are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), according to a new report. A report on rough sleepers in the city shows a link between their sexuality and their homelessness. It shows how

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ME verdict seen as a milestone

A coroner's decision to record chronic fatigue syndrome as a cause of death has been hailed as groundbreaking by campaigners. It is the first time the illness has been given as an official cause of death in the UK. Brighton and Hove coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley

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Letter: Talking 'bout my generation

I read Bella Todd's story about The Who playing Brighton in the good old days (The Argus, June 17). From 1967-74, The Who gave many free shows on the seafront. I'm not surprised Pete Townshend said in 1972: "What most impressed me about the Mod phenomenon

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Letter: Killer traffic

So Brighton and Hove City Council is aware Hollingdean residents have concerns (The Argus, June 21) and assure us these issues have been thoroughly investigated and it is not in their interest to put anyone's health at risk. I am a Hollingdean resident

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Letter: Think again

As a councillor in Preston Park Ward, I deplore the decision of Brighton and Hove City Council's planning committee taken on Monday, June 19, to grant the application by Veolia to build a waste transfer station and materials recovery facility in the middle

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Tennis: Henin-Hardenne triumphs at Eastbourne

Justine Henin-Hardenne hopes her debut triumph at the Hastings Direct International Championships will help her live up to expectations and lift the Wimbledon title for the first time. Henin-Hardenne created history when she emulated Martina Navratlova

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June 26: Sussex target Tahir

Sussex are looking at a like-for-like replacement if they lose Mushtaq Ahmed for the rest of the season. Imran Tahir, a 27-year-old leg-spinner who has county experience with Middlesex, will play against Kent at Horsham in the Second XI trophy today.

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£10m scheme for train yard

Planners have recommended the final stages of a £200 million development are given the go-ahead. Proposals for Block G of the New England Quarter, near Brighton train station,will be considered by Brighton and Hove City Council on Wednesday. Work on the

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Mascot on top of Spanish restaurant roof is ordered down

When the owners of a Spanish restaurant decided to celebrate the legendary Running of the Bulls, they had no idea their own Taurean mascot might be making his own quick getaway. For three months Toro the bull has enjoyed pride of place above newly-opened

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Fat Freddy's Drop, Old Market Theatre, Hove

Fat Freddy's Drop are the ultimate festival band. Their fusion of deep summer dub, mellow soul and smooth reggae is best soaked up under scarlet sunsets and among rolling hills. With so many fields and beaches lying empty across Sussex, it felt sad that

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Device makes teens buzz off

Police will force teenage loiterers out of a shopping area by bombarding their eardrums with a piercing noise only young people can hear. Dubbed the "chavbuster" but officially called a Mosquito, the electronic gadget acts like a dog whistle, emitting

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46 Circus Acts In 45 Minutes, Pavilion Theatre, Brighton

Many circus-style performances begin with the easiest act first, gradually building up the wow factor to the finale. But dancer Chelsea, of three-strong Australian company Circa, started as she intended to go on by climbing on to fellow performer David's

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How the right diet helped give me the baby I wanted

Isabel Ikeson had resigned herself to the fact she would probably never be a mother. As the result of the disease endometriosis, her fallopian tubes were damaged and she was told the chances of having a baby were non-existent. Yet after years of her

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Get the ball in the net for fun and better health

If netball conjurs up memories of a school gym skirt which was too short and being picked last for the team, think again. You're a woman now - so cast away those stereotyped images and hit the courts for a game of netball, joining the growing number

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It's good to kiss

Whether you're on a sandy beach, in a grassy meadow or just relaxing at home, pucker up and get kissing this summer for good health. A one-minute kiss burns about 26 calories so for every ten minutes you smooch, you'll get rid of six chocolates. When

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Topsy-turvy way to good health

Hanging upside down isn't just for children playing on climbing frames or acrobats in the circus - it can also be good for your health. Known as inversion therapy, it can help back problems, posture and your brain. There are two types of this therapy

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The damaging sun

The warnings about sunbathing have become a familiar feature of the summer season as doctors renew their appeals for people to cover up and stay in the shade. And yet with the return of scorching temperatures the temptation to bronze is enough to get

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How much of a vata, pitta or kapha person are you?

Thousands of years ago in India, a medical system called ayurveda was revealed to the people in the sacred scripture Vedas. According to ayurveda, everything in the universe, including ourselves, is a manifestation of the elements of space (air, fire

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Heart op could cure migraine

Kevin Pickering is a changed man. After decades of severe pain and sickness he is getting on with his active life without having to worry about being struck down by a migraine. When doctors discovered Mr Pickering had a hole in his heart, it was closed

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Get into your stride with power walking

It can burn up to 300 calories an hour, help you lose weight and anyone from mums with buggies to fitness fanatics can do it. Power walking is the latest fitness craze to grab the imaginations of people who want to get fit and into shape but are bored

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Viking Hiking

It works your upper body, arms and trunk, as well as your legs and burns 20 per cent more calories than normal walking at the same speed. Nordic walking, which was developed as a sport in Finland in 1997, originated from cross-country skiers who used

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Strict machine

The Gyrotonic Expansion Machine could be something from the dark ages but it is the key to long, lean muscles and good posture. It looks like a medieval instrument of torture with its weights, ropes, pullies and straps. But this training machine is taking

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What men need to know about prostrate and testicular cancer

One man every hour dies from prostate cancer in the UK and the figures for testicular cancer cases have risen by 70 per cent in the last 20 years. The most frightening aspect of Tim Staple's story is he had no symptoms to suggest he was suffering from

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Don't let sleep problems keep you up at night

Britain is a nation of insomniacs with up to 15 per cent of the population suffering from the chronic sleep complaint. And with each person spending on average 29,000 hours of their lives on bed, that makes up a lot of sleepless nights. New research

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A close look at homeopathy

More of us may be turning to complementary therapies to help our illnesses and ailments but recent research has challenged the effectiveness of homeopathy. A study published in the medical journal The Lancet found there is no convincing evidence that

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My constant struggle with restless legs syndrome

Imagine trying to relax but being overcome by an uncontrollable need to move your legs. Your sleep is disturbed and it can be difficult to sit still for any length of time without twitching or jumping. This is what life can be like for people with

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Why I pulled my hair out

It is so easy to do. You sink into the sofa after a long day at work, switch on the TV and absent-mindedly start playing with your hair. Examining it, tugging it, pulling the odd strand out. It becomes a habit. A bad habit. But when does a bad habit

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The day half my hair fell out

A photo in an old passport is the only reminder Alison Thomas has left of her once long, shiny, auburn hair. She has got rid of every other picture of the woman she used to be ten years ago. For Alison, 38, has now only half a head of hair left due