My daughter, middle child, is eloping and has asked me along. To Las Vegas and the Little White Wedding Chapel. The grooms mum cant go so just me and my husband...her step dad (dad deceased) so I'm very honoured. Probs the only one of my 3 to get married looking ahead. She's wearing the attached. It's her in the dress and accessories just AI background. In the UK the mother of the bride would normally wear a pretty dress/jumpsuit and a fascinator of sorts. What would you suggest for LV for me that might compliment her aesthetic? It will be in May. I will be 54. A size 12-14. Mousey blond highlighted collar bone length hair. I prefer dresses to trousers. I have a tattooed left arm and I would like a covered back. I have some ideas I'm just not sure so i am open to what others might have as ideas! Thank you!

ITV sacked him from The Voice, then decided to reframe it as; hes some kind of super coach

Only they arent paying him properly

ITV is notably having money problems, we know that from them axing their studio audiences for shows like Loose Women and Big Brother

How amazing that we've still got celebs who can do this, without being 'media trained' aka dull

😬

(If you dont like celeb goss, thats fine, please do not bully me for your lack of sparkle and joy)

Just found out we are hosting this Christmas which Im pleased about. But for various reasons I dont want to do a full on roast with all the trimmings BUT I want to make it Christmassey. Has anybody done something like this? There be 7 of us.

I dont want something too different like a curry . Must haves are pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and stuffing but anything else is up for grabs. All ideas welcome - apart from fish!

I know that it’s obviously a good thing to have very staunch morals, but sometimes I feel people take it too far.

A couple of recent examples I’ve encountered:

We were recently on a reasonably long walk with mother in law. At the end of the walk she was visibly shaky and looked unwell. She said she probably needed something sweet and she felt like her blood sugars were a little low. We went to the snack van thing and they only had KitKats as a chocolate bar option. She point blank refused to buy one as it’s made by Nestle and she won’t support them.

Ordinarily i fully support her on this and think it’s good for her to stand up to a company she doesn’t support. But in this instance I thought she was bonkers. She felt unwell and it was her only option. I offered to buy it (so she herself wasn’t supporting them) and she declined. She then went very dizzy and had to sit down for ages and still refused. Eventually father in law remembered he had a can of pop in the car so she drank that and felt better but it was still quite an ordeal and she was still visibly unwell.

A second was a family friend who has refused to take her children to Universal as there is Harry Potter there and she doesn’t want to support JK Rowling. (As an aside, I don’t want to derail this into a thread over whether we should or shouldn’t support Rowling!). Her children are devastated and are begging to go but she’s point blank refused.

Let’s be honest, the visit one family of four make to a multi million pound theme park isn’t going to make a shite of difference. If she was so bothered they could avoid the HP section but she’s refusing to let her kids go to any of it in case Rowling gets any money.

Im sure i’ll think of others but it just seems like sometimes people will get so hammered down on something that they refuse to take the blinkers off and see the bigger picture.

i totally get that its good to have strong morals and something to stand for, but there’s times where you have to think outside of that and consider your individual needs rather than what is best in a completely ideal world! AIBU?

I'm pretty sure I already know what this means but I can't talk to anyone close right now because I don't have the energy.
Husband got asked to comply with a paternity test request from abroad. It was issued via a solicitor's office by post. I know the requestor, or at least have met her before some years ago. One of those times she was pregnant and she and her husband were so happy.

He denies everything and refuses to engage and says he doesn't have to.
I don't know why I am even writing this. I somehow already know that it's probably true and that he'll never admit it.

I detest AI and this isn't helping! AIBU to be a tad concerned?
More than 10% chance AI 'could kill all humans', Anthropic researcher says - BBC News
Not that there's anything I can do about it, apart from continuing to not use AI where possible...

Hi there,

We’re delighted to announce an AMA with leading doctor, broadcaster and presenter Xand Van Tulleken, on Thursday 10 September, 7-8:30pm.

He’ll be discussing his new book Make Me Well: A Quest to Understand the Confusing World of Wellness

"There has never been a more confusing time to try to be healthy. In the past decade, the healthcare sector has witnessed a remarkable surge in innovation: drug design, genomics and diagnostic technology have all changed almost beyond recognition.

Simultaneously, there has been a significant expansion in consumer health services, including the supplement industry, blood testing, consumer genomics and wearable technology, which claim to improve “wellness” (emphasising physical and mental performance and longevity) rather than curing or preventing specific disease states.

For a typical consumer this is both confusing, as the health and wellness industries are almost indistinguishable, and expensive, as consumer health emphasises personalised products, often sold on a subscription basis. In Make Me Well, Xand van Tulleken investigates the new Wild West of the wellness industry, demystifying a landscape dominated by three products: supplements, blood testing, and wearable technology. In doing so, he shines a light on how people can take care of themselves better in this new and overwhelming world of wellness."

Please post your questions below and join Xand on the thread at 7pm on Thursday 10 Sept to hear the answers.

As always, please remember our guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil.

I have (an otherwise great) husband. He's lovely but he drives me insane! He plays stupid at the drop of a hat. He pretends he doesn't understand technology; he says he can't make/answer calls because he's not good at talking on the phone; he ignores emails and generally kicks the can on everything. In other words he just wants me to do it all. We've been married for 17 years. I've tried to make him change for years. Nothing ever changes!
For context, I'm the shy, less confident one of us (though I'll confidently speak on the phone and am very articulate in emails), he is definitely the more confident of the two of us.
I love him very much but I'm so sick of always having to do the admin of life. Anyone got any wise words? Please!

I am in a rut and am fed up. For years I have given up on trying to look nice. Now I just go about my life feeling and looking like an ugly slob. It’s been so long, I’m not even sure how to make an effort. What do you do that makes you feel like you look nice, put together, confident?

Thought I would start this year's thread as there are plenty of folk starting to chat about Christmas makes, bakes and crafts on the Christmas boards.

Wherever you are, Fellatio, here's to you. I hope you're brining a turkey and had crafting authentic organic woven tinsel somewhere!

Here is Fellatio's traditional thread opening:

"OK, first of all, I know it's still September by we need to start this thread now because as you all know, having a truly Poncetastic Christmas involves precision planning, strategy, bravery, heroics, and frequently martyrdom.

So, if you, like me, actually want to make the next twelve weeks of your life a misery by hand-crafting your cards, finding a huge bucket for Nigella's turkey in brine, pickling pears, shrivelling oranges in a low oven for those rustic au naturel decorations, dragging half a holly bush back from the woods, and just generally being a smug annoying jobs worth ponce, join me on this thread.

Feel free to post photos of previous tree-trimming, cake icing or table centrepiece triumphs, discuss this year's bauble colour themes, debate the merits of Delia versus Gordon, road-test a selection of canapés and cocktails, (all in the line of duty) and link to lovely inspirational photos/craft ideas for a truly Poncetastic Christmas.

Warning: If your idea of a good Christmas involves Pizza, ITV, gravy granules or anything with 'Aunt Bessie’s' on the packet, this is not the thread for you"

Welcome, all, and let the Poncing commence!

<cuts metaphorical christmas ribbon>

🎄🎄🎄🎄

Couldn’t see a thread on this, just been announced. Who do people think will replace him? My money is on Frances Tophill who I quite like but not sure she has her own garden. Adam Frost has recently moved to a bigger space but I’d be very surprised if it was a straight middle aged white male this being the BBC.

Welcome to Thread 7 🥳
A huge thank you to @ilovepond @OvaHere, @JoRaRaRa and @Thelifeofawife
for the previous threads, and to everyone who had been sharing spoilers, information. links, bargains, discount codes and enabling each other over the first 6 threads. ❤️
As agreed, we're taking it in turns to start each new thread this year. If this thread starts getting close to the reply limit, please post to let everyone know you're happy to start the next one so we can avoid duplicate threads.
🎅 A few festive housekeeping notes;
🎁 This thread contains spoilers.
🎄 Please be kind and respectful to one another.
💸 No judging anyone for their purchasing choices (or how many calendars they buy... we're all enablers here! 😂).
🎀 Feel free to share spoilers, offers, discount codes, GWPs, delivery updates and stock alerts.

🎁 Available Now:
Boots launch 01/09 for waitlist then 2/09 for general sale
www.boots.com/christmas/advent-calendars/advent-calendar-waiting-list
Luxe £150
beauty-detective.com/boots-beauty-advent-calendar-2026/
Scent £90
beauty-detective.com/boots-12-days-of-scent-advent-calendar-2026/
Skin £70
beauty-detective.com/boots-24-days-of-skin-advent-calendar-2026/
Liberty – £285 (Beauty Drop members receive £25 off). Full contents revealed. Beauty Drop member pre order has closed and those advents are being dispatched. The advent will go on general sale soon (BD members still qualify for the discount during the general sale)
www.libertylondon.com/uk/features/beauty/beauty-advent-calendar#
Unboxing
P. Louise – £250. Available to pre-order with payment instalments available.
^https://plouise.co.uk/collections/wonderful-world-of-p-louise-advent-calendar/products/what-glows-around-2026-advent-calendar^
John Lewis – £250. Available on pre-sale via the app for MyJL members.
^https://beauty-detective.com/john-lewis-beauty-advent-calendar-2026/^
Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar – £270. Now on sale online and in-store
^https://www.harrods.com/en-gb/p/harrods-of-london-the-harrods-beauty-advent-calendar-2026-000000000000284475^
Harrods 12 Days of Hair & Body – £99. Now on sale online and in-store
^https://www.harrods.com/en-gb/p/harrods-of-london-the-harrods-12-days-of-hair-and-body-advent-calendar-2026-000000000000284465^
Harrods Fragrance Advent Calendar – £225. Pre-sale sold out. Went on sale in-store 1/9.
^https://beauty-detective.com/harrods-fragrance-advent-calendar-2026/^
Vogue Festive Calendar – £355. Available to pre-order
^https://shop.vogue.co.uk/products/vogue-festive-calendar-2026^
Fortnum & Mason Beauty Advent Calendar - £275. Available now
^https://www.fortnumandmason.com/fortnums-beauty-advent-calendar-2026^
Fenwick 25 day beauty advent calendar - £250. Available now
https://fenwick.co.uk/products/fenwick-fenwick-beauty-25-day-advent-calendar-2026
Anthropologie 24 Day Beauty Advent Calendar – £98. Available now
^https://www.anthropologie.com/en-gb/shop/24-days-of-beauty-advent-calendar5^
The Fragrance Shop - Available for pre-order £120 members, £150 non-members
Women's Advent Calendar
^https://www.thefragranceshop.co.uk/the-fragrance-shop/the-fragrance-shop/gift-box-advent/p/76306^
Men's Advent Calendar ^https://www.thefragranceshop.co.uk/the-fragrance-shop/the-fragrance-shop/gift-box-advent/p/76307^
Selfridges
Beauty & Fragrance £250. Went on sale 1/9, but appears to be ‘sold out’ at present.
^https://beauty-detective.com/selfridges-beauty-advent-calendar-2026/^
Elle £197 or £187 if you joined the waitlist
^https://beauty-detective.com/elle-advent-calendar-2026/^
LookFantastic Beauty. Available for pre-order:
https://www.lookfantastic.com/p/beauty-box/the-beauty-advent-calendar-worth-over-665/17691363/
LookFantastic Fragrance. Available for pre-order:
https://www.lookfantastic.com/p/beauty-box/the-fragrance-advent-calendar-worth-over-530/17691405/
Glossybox. £90 or £75 for subscribers. Code: KAREN5 may give £5 off the £90. Available now:
https://www.glossybox.co.uk/p/beauty-box/glossybox-2026-advent-calendar-worth-over-645/17691528/
OK Beauty Box advent/Hannah Martin. Available now £109:
https://www.okbeautybox.co.uk/products/the-ok-beauty-box-advent-calendar?srsltid=AfmBOoppTH5x1vrf3PT8oCWpKiUj111T5PdA8IBPKCjA9SYOpugUFCBJ

Cult Beauty £245 - £20 gift voucher back when buying at launch 03/09 early access.
^https://www.cultbeauty.co.uk/c/advent-calendar/^
Harvey Nichols
Due to the recent takeover, it’s unclear if these a/cs are still going ahead for 2026. Details TBC.
Beauty:
^https://www.harveynichols.com/harvey-nichols/harvey-nichols-beauty-advent-calendar-2026-75896-258491/^
Fragrance:
^https://www.harveynichols.com/harvey-nichols/harvey-nichols-12-days-of-fragrance-advent-calendar-2026-75906-258490/^
John Lewis Fragrance £99 - appeared briefly for sale 1/9 online but this seems to have been a glitch.
^https://beauty-detective.com/john-lewis-fragrance-advent-calendar-2026/^
Space NK £275
^https://www.spacenk.com/uk/gifts/beauty-advent-calendars/beauty-advent-calendar-MUK200063764.html^
Unboxing video
Sephora UK
Spoilers:
^https://beauty-detective.com/sephora-uk-advent-calendar-2026/^
Waitlist: ^https://www.sephora.co.uk/c/beauty-advent-calendar-waitlist^
Fragrance - current thinking is that this will cost £225 and launch around 30/9-1/10
^https://beauty-detective.com/selfridges-fragrance-advent-calendar-2026/^
Next £150 launching 3/9:
^https://beauty-detective.com/next-beauty-advent-calendar-2026^/
Debenhams £120
^https://www.debenhams.com/pages/beauty-advent-calendar^
PURESEOUL £140 (first year they are doing an advent)
beauty-detective.com/pureseoul-advent-calendar-2026/
Jo Malone Waitlist:
www.jomalone.co.uk/advent-calendar-signup?
Jo Loves Waitlist:
https://www.joloves.com/pages/a-jo-loves-advent-calendar?
💄 More Calendars & Spoilers
Rather than making the opening post a mile long, here's a brilliant roundup of lots more advent calendars and the latest spoilers, including Charlotte Tilbury, Elemis, Lancôme, Tatcha, NEOM, Neal's Yard Remedies, Holland & Barrett, YesStyle and many more as they're announced.
👉 ^https://beauty-detective.com/category/beauty-advent-calendars^/ 👈

AIBU to think that the majority of people in the UK don't have any confidence in the current government, with an unelected Prime Minister at its' helm?

Would people be willing to vote on a petition to have a parliamentary debate on this matter, to encourage this government to have a snap General Election? This would give the people - the tax payers - as say in who is running the country. Democracy in action, if you will.

AIBU - people are happy with Labour and the unelected PM

YANBU - people have a democratic right to vote for who they want to run the country and right now, the majority don't have confidence in the current government.

My son is 4 and has just started school. He has been in for two days, but today he absolutely refused to go in.
He hid under his bed, screaming and crying, saying that he hates school and begging me not to send him. The last two mornings have also been incredibly difficult. On both days, he was crying and clinging to me, and the teacher eventually had to pull him off me while he was screaming. It was absolutely heartbreaking.
When I collected him after his full day, he looked so pale and exhausted. He complained of a headache and honestly looked like a shell of my usual happy boy. I spent the entire day worrying about him and found it really difficult to function.
He did attend preschool for around five months. Before starting preschool he was always a very sociable, confident little boy. He loved being around other children. But something happened one day at preschool where he said that a girl/friend had left him out, and after that he completely changed. He started refusing to go and would cry for the entire day while he was there. I eventually took him out because he never seemed to settle back into it.
Since then, he has essentially been at home with me and his little brother for the last few years. He is still a very sociable child. He has friends outside of school, goes to the park every day and sees his friends there, and also sees his cousins regularly. So it's not that he doesn't enjoy being around people – he seems to struggle specifically with being separated from me and being in a school environment.
The teacher has suggested that if he refuses to get dressed, I should just bring him in his pyjamas, but I honestly don't know if I can go through another morning of him being physically pulled away from me screaming and crying. It feels absolutely awful.
I'm now wondering whether homeschooling might be the right option for him. I had hoped to start picking up some of my self-employed work again, but at the moment that doesn't seem possible. Obviously I also worry about whether taking him out would make things worse in the long run.
I know some people will say that because I took him out of preschool previously, he may have learned that if he refuses enough, I'll eventually take him out, and that I'm not helping him build resilience. I completely understand that perspective. But at the same time, I don't want to force him through something that is genuinely causing him this much distress and potentially break his confidence or spirit.
He keeps saying things like, "Please don't send me, Mummy. I'll be good. I hate it." It absolutely breaks my heart.
Has anyone experienced anything similar with their 4 yo?
I'm feeling completely overwhelmed and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through this. I don't know what the right thing to do is.

A continuation of the shenanigans of our favourite non working royals! 😁

I’m on my first day back at work after 10 days annual leave.

I was walking down the road this morning when I rolled my ankle and fell, I have horrific grazes on my knee and elbow, and my ankle is swelling up hugely and is painful even at rest.

AIBU to turn up, explain what’s happened and go home? When I’m cleaned up I could probably work but I’m in so much pain at the moment I feel sick, I have two fresh grazes that are about to bleed through my clothes and I don’t know whether the adrenaline carried me to the bus or if I can walk.

Some details changed privacy reasons

I just need some perspective here please.

So, a few months ago, my sister texted me and told me that she was holding a 1st birthday party in May for my nephew, Reeson, and that she would love for me to be there, but that my partner and our stepdad weren't invited. For context, our stepdad has been in our lives for 15 years...
She said that she decided to make it a joint function with Reeson's nan (my brother-in-law's mother) at the last minute, and that there was "no room" for too many other guests. Mind you, she and BIL invited SEVERAL of their friends, but the only people on her side of the family that were invited to Reeson's birthday party was my parents and I.
I am not familiar with R's grandmother at all, and we have only ever made polite small talk if we've ever been at a function together. My BIL in law and I also do not have the greatest relationship, though I believed it was starting to improve until this happened.
Now, it also happened to be my anniversary with my DP in May anyway, so we had made plans well in advance of the invite. I politely and respectfully advised her that, whilst we had already made plans for our anniversary, I wouldn't feel comfortable attending the function without my partner in any case, but that I was grateful for the invite, and that I hoped they had a lovely day.
He is my life partner and as much a part of Reeson's life as I am, whether she sees it that way or not, so I would assume that she would have understood my position, however, clearly she didn't because she simply responded "Lol". I replied and asked her to clarify what she meant, but she did not.

As a result, we then didn't talk for several weeks. To be clear, she did not make any effort to contact me, to ask how my family and I are getting on, nothing whatsoever, just radio silence.
A mutual friend then intervened, and told us both that we were being childish, and that we just needed to talk and clear the air of any misunderstanding. I took the feedback on the chin and subsequently texted my sister on 3 separate occasions and I told her that I loved her and Reeson. I invited her round for a cuppa and a chat and to see if we could sort it out, but I did not receive any kind of reply for several weeks.
She then contacted me out of the blue in August and said that she believes we could rectify the situation, but that she was hoping I "had something to say". In retrospect, it's easy to see now that she was waiting for me to profusely apologise for refusing to attend without DP...
I replied and told her that I didn't have much to say as I had already had time to process the event and move on from it, but that I do believe our wires had been crossed and that there was a communication breakdown. Again, I invited her and Reeson to my home for a chat because I was off work, but it seemed that my response was still not satisfactory enough, because she simply responded that she wasn't prepared to move past the issue, and that was that.
I have since texted my brother-in-law to ask how they're all getting on. He received the message but did not respond.
My sister and I have not talked since.

I'm really hurt that she has made no effort to contact me whatsoever. She hasn't once asked about how myself and my family are getting on because she clearly doesn't care, and I'm not sure if I do anymore.
The irony of it all is that she hasn't asked me ONCE how my son is doing either 😂

I’ve seen some stuff about the government advising us to get a few weeks of food in the cupboards but I can’t fathom how it’d come to that in the present or near future. If we do need it, can someone tell me why? Is there seriously a concern that we won’t have food, electricity or water between now and Christmas? Aibu to think that just won’t happen?

The BBC correspondent Laura Scott was wearing a white blouse on the news tonight. Does anyone know where it’s from?

A bit of advice need to how to handle this situation. So dd is 15 and walks to and from school. It’s about a 10 min walk so not far and dd has a group of friends, including one of our neighbours dd, who all walk together. Today we have had torrential rain all day so I dropped her this morning and said I’d pick her up. Messaged my neighbour (who works until 7pm) and asked if she’d also like me to pick up her dd. She said yes please so I’ve rocked up outside school to pick the two of them up. While there I see dd’s friend who lives about. 20 min walk but only a 7 min drive away and offered her a lift too and it was genuinely pouring down. She was very grateful and I know her mum so I knew she’d have no problem with it. All in all the extra drop off took me an extra 15mins and we were home at 3.10pm instead of the usual 2.55pm. Neighbour has completely kicked off that I didn’t tell her I was picking up and dropping another child while her daughter was in the car. She said we’ll be chatting about it tonight when she’s back home. Not sure what I’ve done wrong tbh

My DD has asked for a choker necklace like this pic. I've found a couple of very cheap ones but does anyone know where I can get one that's made of proper gold?

So my dh is older and I knew he would retire first obviously.Im not jealous in fact I think I would find it difficult as I get bored v easily and need the structure of work.
He hasn't been retired long and he has let me come in to a clean home.
I appreciate this and know adjustment takes time.
However he just is there at all times.He doesn't know anyone else who retired and will pick up golf occasionally.
I need free alone time as a neurodivergent person.I also work full time and exercise daily.
I have explained to him but it doesn't seem to sink in.
Free time to potter.Get odd bits done.Be alone with my thoughts.
Cook with some lovely music on.
I understand that this is new to him too.
Anyone else relate to this what works for you.
Years ago I used to go out on my days off but I no longer drive.

My house backs onto a council-owned car park. The council has contractors working there, and they have equipment stored on site.

I’ll keep this brief, but while they were working through the night, it appears that a piece of construction equipment went through the council fence and knocked over my brick garden wall, causing damage.

I have CCTV which clearly establishes the timing of the incident, but not the equipment going into the wall. There are also marks on the ground/floor which appear consistent with construction equipment having been moved across the area.

I have contacted the council, but they are saying that the damage is the contractor’s responsibility. However, the contractors have now ignored my communications, leaving me with no clear route to resolve the matter.

Does anyone have any advice on where I stand or what steps I should take?

It’s not so much the cost of repairing the wall that concerns me. What concerns me is the reckless behaviour of what looks like the contractors- if we were out in the garden late it would have been very serious and, importantly, the council’s apparent lack of accountability in dealing with the issue.

thank you

So a few weeks ago, there was what I perceived as a jokey conversation going on and another mum said her stepson was as gay as they come. I jokingly said that she wouldn’t be getting any grandchildren from him any time soon then. To me, i was just joining in on the jokey conversation and that’s all it was. I have now been ostracised and reported to the safeguarding lead officer at the sports club this happened at. People who were my friends have taken her side because she’s made it far more of a thing than it was and my children have even been told things that are far from true. I almost feel that this person is now trying to bully us out of the club. Adult bullying is by far the most horrible situation I’ve ever experienced.

After reading a few threads on the cost of living I wondered if we could share tips for living a like that feels luxury on a bit of a budget?

My tips are home baking, even simple easy to make cakes are much nicer than even expensive store bought and served with a nice pot of tea or a coffee at home is more affordable and enjoyable than paying for a dried out, bought in cake sold in most cafes for 4 times the price.

Also instead of expensive candles I either use a little portable essential oil diffuser with essential oils or wax melts. I burn them in the hall and they seem to fragrance he whole house really nicely without being too strong.

Any other tips?