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Hello everyone

This month marks a special moment for Saga

Welcome to October

Hello, and welcome to another jam-packed issue of

Buying time

These cool clocks will ensure you’re never late again

Jenni Murray

As shoplifting incidents continue to soar, our columnist says it’s time to clamp down on the thieves plaguing stores

IN MY EXPERIENCE…

Felicity Kendal

This month we talk… tea

Each month our insight team conducts an in-depth poll of Saga customers to find out what you’re thinking. This month: cup of char?

Saga Magazine

From Charles and Diana to Dynasty and Dallas, package holidays to picket lines, Jenni Murray looks back on life in the Eighties – and, as we mark our milestone year, turns the pages of our very first issue

REBEL

In the past two years, Carol Vorderman has morphed from compliant presenter into a one-woman anti-corruption crusader. She tells us what prompted the change and why she doesn’t care what people think

A dog’s life

Sophie, the social media superstar rescue hound, famously spent her first few weeks in England trembling behind her owner’s sofa. Now she’s about to star in her own book

Keeping watch

The last lighthouse may have been automated in 1998, but these steadfast structures still need maintaining. We meet the new breed of men and women who spend their time looking after some of the UK’s iconic towers

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

Holiday at a lighthouse

Back to my roots

When Tina Shingler was a girl, her white foster parents had no idea how to properly care for her afro hair, so they shaved it close to her scalp. But, she learned to love her curls, as she explains…

The really wild show

For 60 years, entrants in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition have got up close to nature – with amazing results

‘First we’d discuss a cricket tour …then I’d probe for information’

Cricket has been a big part of our columnist’s life, and as he recalls, the sport also played a momentous role in Trinidadian history

Ask Annie

Our straight-talking, no-nonsense agony aunt tackles the problems troubling you

Back to the future

The 1970s – a decade that gave us shag pile, rattan and garish wallpaper – is groovy once again… though this time round, it’s slightly more restrained

Live like the 70s

PREFER THE ORIGINAL?

Country pumpkins

Chef John Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner, hosts of ITV’s John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, plate up two marvellous seasonal meat-free dishes

Tried & tasted

Garlic butter and chicken wrapped in golden breadcrumbs make for a tasty dinner. But which of these Kyivs is king?

Server’s suggestions

Want to drink like a sommelier? Wine waiters may pour us expensive picks, but at home they make canny choices on a more modest budget

The grass is greener

Calming oasis or wasteful indulgence? As a turf war breaks out over the great British lawn, splitting the nation into stripers and rewilders, two gardening gurus tell us why it’s vital for our back yards – and our health

Glean and tidy

It’s time to harvest the last of summer before the clear-up begins – but don’t forget there’s wildlife seeking hibernation spots

Bright ideas

Need light where there’s no mains electricity? Let our columnist enlighten you with his pick of ingenious battery and solar-powered lamps

The milky way

Milk-scented perfumes are all the rage – and our columnist knows which of these dairy-inspired delights really deliver on fragrance

Generation games

Turning 70, our columnist wonders if that makes him ‘old’ – especially as he’s now guilty of some of the habits his parents once displayed

ask DR MARK PORTER

Our expert answers questions on Achilles tendonitis, heartburn medication, fibromyalgia and which painkiller works the best

Magical mushrooms

In the Far East, fungi has been used to ward off illness for centuries – and now there’s a boom in Britain. But is it just the latest food fad, or are the benefits backed up by science?

Hung out to dry?

Age is the biggest risk factor for breast cancer, yet routine mammograms stop after 70. Is there a case for screening older women? We investigate…

Old age, young love

Attending a special event in Durham was the ideal opportunity for our columnist to take Miranda on a trip down memory lane

Paul Lewis

As ten million pensioners lose their Winter Fuel Payment, our expert looks at some of the flaws in the Chancellor’s money-saving plan – and suggests a few alternative, fairer solutions for all

Money news

October 2024

BEAR THRILLS

As the new Paddington movie arrives in cinemas next month, we follow in the paw prints of the marmalade-loving mammal on a hunt for Aunt Lucy – or a bespectacled cousin at least – in the Peruvian jungle

Go Dutch

Amsterdam is as famous for its culture as it is for its coffee shops – and its 750th birthday celebrations start this month. See the best of this canal-crossed city with our insider’s guide

Letter from America

SHUTTERSTOCK I’ve had a chance to peek into

Portraits of an artist

From an exhibition of Francis Bacon’s paintings to former Strictly pros uniting on the dance floor, there’s a host of talent to see this month…

DECADE BUSTERS

TURNING 50 Joaquin Phoenix actor Keith Duffy

ON THE BOX

A Jilly Cooper ‘bonkbuster’, a cheating husband with

staying in

PODCAST Happily Never After: Dan and Nancy In

40 YEARS AGO… FAMINE IN ETHIOPIA

©BBC, COURTESY OF APPLE TV On 23 October

World class reads

Renaissance Venice, Ireland past and present, a stranger on a plane Down Under, and a love letter to flint in the North Downs all feature in this month’s must-reads

letters

THANKS FOR WRITING TO US, WE LOVE HEARING WHAT YOU THINK

grey matters

PRIZE CROSSWORD / CRYPTIC CROSSWORD / SUDOKU / CODEBREAKER / WORD WHEEL / ADD A LETTER / SET SQUARE / WORDSEARCH / PUB QUIZ / ANSWERS

The pub Quiz

Crickets, cartoon characters and NY clubs all star in this month’s teasers

Suzi Quatro

The world according to…

Word to the wise

This month the Countdown lexicographer returns to one of her favourite subjects: the malaphor