Adrienne Wyper

Having had something of a digital detox over Christmas and New Year (no work, more reading of actual books, even doing a jigsaw) I felt myself starting to go square-eyed again when life got back to ‘normal’. And earlier, while writing Christmas cards (some of which still haven’t arrived) I was a bit disturbed to find that it felt hard to make the pen make the right shapes for the words. Thinking about it, this is the most ‘hand writing’ I’ve done for months.

Happy New Year! And good news, now the days are gradually getting longer there’s more time for a beneficial, winter walk. The beauty of walking is it’s literally on your doorstep, we all know how to do it and it’s free.

We are in the middle of Menopause Month – it’s World Menopause Day, today – and current coverage (there’s a lot of it about!) of this phase in a woman’s life, is mostly focused on the misery of menopause. When menopause is so often presented as unrelentingly terrible, it’s easy to overlook the upsides.
Talking about menopause means more awareness and understanding, which is undeniably a good thing – especially for younger women wondering what lies in store. The symptoms of menopause can be ma...

Half of women and 20% of men over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis, where your bones become weak and break more easily, but you can help reduce your risk.

The conversation around menopause is getting louder. The recent Menopause in the Workplace report states that ’employers’ lack of support for menopausal symptoms is pushing highly skilled and experienced women out of work.’

Many of us are dissatisfied with how we look. But having a downer on what you see in the mirror can affect your wellbeing. As Emma Thompson bares all in her latest film, she’s won praise for her bravery, and many women are thinking about whether they feel comfortable looking at their own naked reflection.

Do you find yourself worrying a lot? Between climate change, Brexit, Covid, and the war in Ukraine – to say nothing of more personal concerns like ageing parents, the rising cost of living, young people’s housing situation, your pension… it would seem unnatural if we weren’t a bit disturbed.
During the Covid pandemic, our background level of anxiety rose, because of the fear of catching it, and the unpredictability of, and changes to, everyday life. The World Health Organisation recently rele...

Walking is absolutely the most accessible activity for most people, wherever you are, with no kit needed, and more of us did it during lockdown. During 2020 the number of miles walked per person increased by 7% to 220, the highest levels since 2002. However, now that life has opened up again, our motivation may have waned, but walking is beneficial in so many ways. If you’re walking less now here are some reasons to get back into the habit, for May, National Walking Month.
Boost your memory. ...

Plants and fashion have been linked for millennia. Plants give us natural fibres for fabrics: cotton, bamboo, linen from flax are obvious examples – less obvious is the nettle family, which gives us ramie, and has been used for at least 6,000 years. Colour has historically come from plants, until Victorian times and the invention of chemical dyes. And plants and flowers inspire fabric patterns, too. In our global world this traditional connection has been lost, and what we wear is likely to b...

The UK is home to half the world's bluebells, the sight and scent of which embody the essence of high spring…

On a natural terrace overlooking rolling Kent farmland sits Coldrum, the most complete of the early Neolithic 'Medway megaliths'…

This year, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show returns to its rightful place in the gardening calendar: the last week in May, this year from Tuesday 24 May to Saturday 28 May. Last year’s Show was postponed until September by the pandemic, the first time ever that the Show dates have moved in the Show’s 109-year history.

Out on a first date once, I knew there wouldn’t be a second when the seemingly nice man opposite me said, ‘I think friends are overrated, don’t you?’…

The cold winds of winter whipping across the country are harsh on exposed skin, drying it out and stripping it of its natural oils, resulting in chapped lips and cracked hands. Constant hand-washing and mask-wearing doesn’t help the situation.

During the stay-at-home season of the pandemic, I often forgot to apply antiperspirant or deodorant, which led me to discover that my armpits aren’t as sweaty as they used to be. And I’m not alone: a Mintel survey revealed that almost a third of us have been applying less deodorant...