Welcome to Thread 8 🥳

A huge thank you to @OvaHere, @JoRaRaRa and @Thelifeofawife, @solocat

for the previous threads, and to everyone who has been sharing spoilers, information. links, bargains, discount codes and enabling each other over the first 7 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:
www.boots.com/christmas/advent-calendars/advent-calendar-waiting-list
Luxe £150
beauty-detective.com/boots-beauty-advent-calendar-2026/
Fragrance £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). Now on 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 but appears to be completely sold out:
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. Withdrawn due to problems with the ingredients list. When/if it will return is unknown:
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. On sale 1/9:
https://beauty-detective.com/selfridges-beauty-advent-calendar-2026/

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/

Elle £197 or £187 if you joined the waitlist or with MissBoux’s code available on her unboxing video:

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. The calendar is either out of stock or withdrawn. It MAY reappear 21/9, (its original release date):

https://beauty-detective.com/john-lewis-fragrance-advent-calendar-2026/

Space NK £275 - available now in-store and online:

https://www.spacenk.com/uk/gifts/beauty-advent-calendars/beauty-advent-calendar-MUK200063764.html

Oh My Cream £195 with 20% off for new customers with code: WELCOME20:

https://ohmycream.co.uk//products/advent-calendar-lrnce-oh-my-cream?

YESSTYLE: $164.99 5% off with code: PAULAYES

Early access: 29/9 3am GMT
General access: 6/10 3am GMT

https://beautycalendar.com/yesstyle-advent-calendar-2026/

Sephora UK

Sephora Favourites: £235 available for pre order:

https://www.sephora.co.uk/p/sephora-favorites-advent-calendar?

Next £150 available now:
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/

Holland Barrett: £60 - available now:

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/beauty-advent-calendar-6101407249?

Diptyque: £420 - available now:

uk.diptyqueparis.com/en-uk/products/advent-calendar-25-scented-treasures-xm26advent?

Jo Malone: £375 - available now;

https://www.jomalone.co.uk/product/26322/107822/gift-sets/christmas-kist-advent-calendar?

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, and many more as they're announced:
👉 ^https://beauty-detective.com/category/beauty-advent-calendars^/ 👈

Boots 24 Days Of Skin Advent Calendar 2026 – Available now – Beauty Detective
UPD. Available now The waitlist for the Boots 24 Days Of Skin Advent Calendar 2026 (worth £307.18) is open now. Priced at £70. Launch date: 02/09 or 01/09 for waitlist signees. What’s inside: Hero Mighty Patch Original Spot Patches, 24 Hydrocolloid Pim...
https://beauty-detective.com/boots-24-days-of-skin-advent-calendar-2026/
504

I live in the south west. From October to March, our weather is 99% driving rain and howling wind. I’ve tried over the years to find a decent winter coat that keeps me warm and dry. I’ve found a few that work somewhat, including a lovely M&S rain jacket, but it’s a bit thin.

im considering just biting the bullet and buying a big waterproof changing coat from regatta and being cosy.

But does it look a bit wanky?! Is it okay?!

this is the one I have my eye on

https://www.regatta.com/adults-waterproof-changing-robe-dark-cherry/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaignname%7D_16108952393&utm_content=%7Badgroupname%7D_&utm_term=&utm_brand=regatta&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16097452002&gbraid=0AAAAADQdSE8zgQrK5ij4KWiKVriu-WZ3p&gclid=CjwKCAjwwrPVBhA1EiwAv_YO-URMzXzdUfe_4pedDIy1IwFhHmTq04jbmI2WidUesYp3VTPhi4AJvBoCfVEQAvD_BwE

YABU - accept the soggy legs and wear something more dignified

YANBU - stay warm and dry

48

Warning - DM link ahead...
Copies of Earl Spencer's sensational book about Princess Diana have been stolen from a lorry – just before its exclusive serialisation in the Daily Mail.
The memoir – Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – includes revelations about Diana's deeply unhappy marriage with the then Prince of Wales.
It also describes the crisis that engulfed the Royal Family after her death in a car crash almost 30 years ago.
Last night a publishing insider said: 'Earl Spencer has kept his silence for nearly 30 years and what he has to say about the King's reaction when Diana died is utterly devastating.'
But, in an astonishing development, the Mail can reveal that a truck packed with thousands of copies of the book was broken into after it was parked overnight in a lay-by in the Netherlands earlier this week.
Just four copies, which had been wrapped in black plastic to hide their contents, were stolen in what publishing sources believe could have been an audacious plot to steal the highly anticipated book of the year before it hits the shelves.

Earl Spencer's bombshell new book is stolen: Several copies of Earl's explosive book about his sister Diana - and how King reacted to her death - are taken in raid on a Dutch lorry | Daily Mail Online

Copies of Earl Spencer's book about sister Diana are taken in raid
The memoir - Swan Song: Diana, My Sister - includes revelations about Diana's deeply unhappy marriage with the then Prince of Wales.
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16134057/Earl-Spencers-bombshell-new-book-stolen-copies-Earls-explosive-book-sister-Diana-King-reacted-death-taken-raid-Dutch-lorry.html
430

Just that really! For context he’s 43, and self employed so it’s a work trip that he’s organised himself. It’s long haul and they will be away for a few weeks. She works for him at his house everyday mon-Fri, they are set up in his dining room. Desks next to eachother. We don’t live together.

The whole thing is making me feel a bit weird but I’m not sure why! I know if I try to talk to him about it it will just go round in circles and will just result in me feeling like a terrible person/jealous insecure girlfriend. He sees the trip as essential to the business, I don’t want to be accused of being unsupportive as I do support him massively.

just wondered how others would potentially feel about this situation? Am I being an absolute areshole girlfriend?

161

Had a phonecall from my son's school today to inform me that he'd attacked another boy in the playground. Apparently there was an argument over a game (the other child said my son was no good at it and he didn't want him to play anymore) so my son pushed him to the floor and proceeded to punch him in the face before being pulled off him.

As punishment he'll miss his break times for the rest of the week and he's been banned from the school trip next week.

DH thinks this is a fair punishment and he shouldn't face anymore consequences from us at home and that he was being "wound up" by the other boy. Personally I think he should have further consequences at home because I don't want to make him think he can do things like that at school and we won't have anything to say about it.

He's in year 5 and about to turn 10 in a couple of weeks. This isn't the first time something like this has happened and I feel like we really need to come down quite hard this time.

He has no SEN.

Aibu?

282

I’m between jobs at the moment and have decided to use some of the time to basically snag my own house.

I’m going through every room and making a note of all the little things that have mildly irritated me for YEARS, but which I’ve somehow just accepted as part of life. You know the sort of thing - not actual problems, just things you regularly curse under your breath and then continue living with for another five years.

So far I have:

  1. Ruthlessly slimmed down the kitchen cupboards so I could lose one cupboard and fit a tumble dryer. Every winter I normally spend approximately 46% of my waking hours hanging damp clothes around the house and rotating them like prize livestock, so I’m disproportionately excited about this.

  2. Reorganised the Tupperware so every container now lives WITH ITS OWN LID. No more rummaging through 17 lids while slowly losing the will to live.

  3. Thrown out about 12 random, ancient, slightly raggedy towels that had been granted permanent residency in the airing cupboard. It now has SPACE. Things are FOLDED.

  4. Replaced the sieve that hasn’t had a handle since approximately 2020. Why did I just... live like that?

  5. Put bigger shoe storage by the door, so we no longer have the traditional hallway shoe landslide.

  6. Rewired a switch so it finally works the way you instinctively expect it to work rather than requiring a tiny moment of irritation every single time.

Honestly, none of this is exactly world peace, but the cumulative improvement to my quality of life is ridiculous. I keep thinking, WHY DID I PUT UP WITH THIS FOR SO LONG?

So humour me: what tiny, boring, seemingly insignificant thing have you changed/fixed/bought/reorganised in your house that has made you disproportionately happy?

I want the really mundane ones. The things nobody is putting on Grand Designs but which have genuinely made your day-to-day life better.

Basically, tell me what else I should be wandering around my house looking for 😂

576

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I took the family to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum today. It was spectacular and absolutely worth going to see.

However, be prepared for the queues! The experience is supposed to be 40 minutes but don't naively think that your timed ticket means your 40 minutes starts at that time. It took half an hour of queuing after being admitted into the exhibition to actually get to the start and a further 20 minutes before we got a glimpse of the tapestry (and only then because we pushed to the front of the queue past 40 other people - apologies if that was you!).

Hopefully just teething issues at the start of such a major exhibition but I would have preferred to enjoy the tapestry without constantly looking at my watch for fear of missing our coach home.

Allow at least 2 and a half hours inside just for the Bayeux exhibition so you're not stressing!

But it was amazing!

60

Hope I'm not tempting fate with that thread title Grin
This is intended as a friendly, kind, safe, warm and fuzzy place for people to share discounts, bargains and Christmas gift ideas both online and IRL. Please note the tone and intention of the thread and join with spirit as generous as DC helping themselves to the Christmas chocolate celebrations Smile .

Here’s some useful information about how to save the thread or a specific post so you don’t need to have a message to check in for every thread so you have the thread saved:

To watch the thread - click on the little bell that has ‘watch’ under my first message. This adds the whole thread to your ‘watched threads’

You can also bookmark a specific post by clicking on the ‘bookmark’ under the specific post. This saves your exact place in a thread but doesn’t alert you to new replies.

If you have any referral links or codes, please share them on the referral thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/5577375-bargain-referrals-thread

A reminder that we don't use affiliated links on here please (I think that's the term, let me know if I got that wrong).

If there’s anything you think would be useful or good to include in this post then please do tag me and let me know here (or DM me).

You are all wonderful and I’m now going back to my mince pie and stollen (never too early!).

Bargain referrals thread | Mumsnet
This thread is for you to post any referral links you have for websites etc for discounts. If you're using a discount link from the thread, do pick a...
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/5577375-bargain-referrals-thread
564

Not for Facebook use.

Dd is late 20s. She's been working in a govt department for a few years. Has moved up slightly.

She's applied for lots of promotions and had a few interviews. No joy. It's really getting her down. She wants to move from the area she's in but can't afford it. She doesn't live with her dp.
Had anyone experienced this in gov jobs? Does your face have to fit?
She won't want to move back home and tbh commute would be difficult.

92

I can't help feeling annoyed but unsure if I'm being irrational.

I recently suggested to my partner of 5 years we apply for UC to see if we may get some financial support. We both work but have reduced our hours to care for our one year old until she starts pre-school.

I also have 3 other children. I work slightly more hours a week. I do 31. He does 26. We have managed but it's always paycheck to paycheck like everybody else I suppose.

I work more because I earn more. When I suggested it he became annoyed and basically came up with excuses as to why it was a bad idea. In amongst that he said his savings would make it difficult alongside the CMS he pays for his son.

I didn't think much of the savings comment, thinking it wouldn't be that much but have come to realise it's £10000.

I get that's his money. He's saved etc, but I feel annoyed. I feel annoyed because his £500 contribution a month doesn't pay half the basic bills but I've never minded as I earn more than him and he pays CMS etc. He also usually pays half of the shopping but recently he hasn't. When I say half the shopping I mean half the Aldi bill. I am always topping up in between at Asda/Tesco and these little shops often equate to £40-60.

When I was pregnant I worked a lot for overtime to buy all the big things for the baby like the pram/car seat etc. I also did it to bump up my maternity pay and save £3000 for the last three months of my maternity as the payments went very low. I went back to work when my daughter was 9 months old even though I was entitled to a year. I couldn't afford it. I had to stop breastfeeding and really didn't want to go back at that point. I feel like he could have supported me financially at this time. I also stopped my pension contributions for a year (I work for he NHS I'm a nurse). I did all I could to be financially ok. To add, he only started paying £500 when out daughter was born. It was originally £300.

I accept i have three children that aren't his and they're not his responsibility but at the same time I feel I can't work as much as I could because WE have a child together and she needs caring for obviously. Two of my children are self sufficient teens and my 9 year old was always with his dad on my work days so it wasn't an issue working full time before.

I don't get CMS payments for my children as their dad is just hopeless and works cash in hand. I feel I could be entitled to some UC Which could help but he's preventing me from applying, clearly because he doesn't me to know I found out he has all this money. He moans at me for things like the garden fence being broken and the sofas need replacing as if it's my problem, yet he's sat on £10000?

Am I just in perimenopause rage or is this a bit wrong?

29

I'm trying to get my cat ready for some outdoor walks and I'm stuck deciding between an H-style harness and one of the over the head vest style ones. I've read that H-style harnesses are usually more escape proof since there's less chance of a cat backing out of them, but I've also seen people say the vest ones are comfier for longer walks. Has anyone actually tried both? Which one worked better for you, especially if your cat is on the nervous or wiggly side. Trying to figure out the best setup before we start actual hikes and outdoor adventures.

12

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I'm a cat sitter and having the worst week ever.
I love cats, I have cats and my job is cats.
And for the first time one of my clients has gone missing :(
He's an indoor/outdoor cat with catflap microchip and lives in a rural location (think orchards,stables etc) and I have not seen him for 5 days. His brother is there every time I visit (twice a day) . I have varied the visit times and even gone back three times in the evening but no sign.
The owners are away for several weeks.
I've called all the vets and no cat of his descritption has been brought in, which is good but I'm so worried and sad... I've never had a cat go missing on me before.
All the food is being eaten so maybe he's just coming in when I'm not there, but if I can have some cat returning vibes please...

32

Just back from a few days in the countryside and the Airbnb was absolutely full of spiders. Most were small but I came down the first morning to two giant thick whoppers and barely slept after that.

I tell myself they can’t hurt me, they’re more scared of me etc. but it just doesn’t make any difference. Completely irrational, and hard when you live alone.

Has anyone tried any therapies to get over the fear? I’ve heard of the spider programme at London Zoo but there doesn’t seem to be any availability, it’s a bit of a journey and not sure if it truly works

53

I know children do wake up early but like a lot of things the actual reality of it is somehow different and it’s hitting me hard.

Is it likely to improve? I thought maybe with the dark mornings it would but if anything it’s getting worse - 455 today!

82

Need help, I’ve been with my husband 7 months, it’s been perfect, and I believe he really loves me and I love him to bits, I’ve done everything to try and make him happy.

He mentioned when we met he sometimes goes for cupping therapy by a Muslim guy, and it’s above board and asked how I would feel if a woman did massages to him and I said it wouldn’t make me feel comfortable, he agreed he wouldn’t allow a man to massage me, a few months after he came hope with cupping marks and said he went to his usual guy, then he’s in the shower and a notification pops up from an Eastern European woman’s name I’ve not heard him mention, I questioned it and he admitted it was a new place, a woman near a site he was working at, I said that’s wasn’t ok to not tell me, he said she was sending him stretches on Watsap because he asked for them, I said that was a bit odd but he showed me the messages.

Months passed and I thought he wasn’t going for anymore massages, our sex life is great and I massage him daily! Massage has always been part of our foreplay and he likes his nipples to be kissed and down below. This week I booked him a surprise massage at a fancy spa for his birthday, then on Thursday I had suspicions when he left site late and sent me a satnav screenshot at a residential address he was driving slowly down, I looked it up and low and behold there was a Polish massage place at a private house, I could smell the oil on him when he came home and confronted him, he freaked out, said I was controlling for accusing him, that night I managed to hack his pin and saw the transactions on his phone, one £50 the one I suspected and one £55 the previous day to a Thai place at a different address where he was was working (he’s a site engineer on the road all day at different sites) I didn’t admit I knew this about the payments I’d seen and tried to give him chance to own up but he just kept lying about it.

That night I got into his iPad and his work watsap and found the whole story, he’s been going regularly to massage places, mainly Thai, some of which also run as ‘hotels’ he swore blind he never would go to backstreet Thai places as they offer happy endings and he said he did that once before he met me and felt disgusted and was only after proper deep tissue massages. I then admitted I had seen it all on his phone and he hit the roof, accused me of being controlling. I’ve since gone on his iPad again after guessing the changed pin and his satnav history, he’s searched or called massage places 27 times in the last 2 months, all different places near the sites he works at, he also showed me multiple payments some of which aren’t even legit names like a woman’s name then ‘beauty’ there was 2 payments to a woman’s name followed by ‘beauty’ registered on company house to a hairdresser in a block of flats in the city centre, I messaged the woman and she said she was a salon but there were massages at a different flat, and I’ve since found out via messaging she is an escort.

I went on his satnav history again and found the address and name of the place, it takes you to a directory of masseuse on a site called ‘deluxe massage’ and there’s pics of beautiful women, one of which looks like a pornstar, in tight dresses showing her rear like a PLT model, it says she does ‘Swedish and relaxation’ massage, I text her but she said to only contact on watsap for full details. She offers happy endings and shower for £120, normal massage is £60, u know he paid £60 after him showing me the payment.

She even sent me his watsap message saying he was after a 30 min sports massage back in feb which I couldn’t believe she went it, he says ‘nothing sexual just sports masssge’ she then sends the sordid prices saying £60 for relaxation massage and £120 for ejaculate where you want and have a shower. He swore blind it was just a massage and she was wearing ‘pyjamas’

I confronted him, he said he’s been to her twice but just for massage, he swore on his daughters life nothing sexual has happened at any of these massage places and he just goes to relax when he’s stressed, he’s spending a small fortune at these places. I told him he has a serious problem he needs to get help with, and kicked him out of my house, he’s gone back to his ex wife’s house where his daughter lives. He’s now blaming me for accusing him and saying I ruined it.

While I was doing the dinner for him and washing his clothes thinking he was working on sites he was also fitting in massages at all these seedy places on his lunch breaks or when finishing work early, some right on my doorstep.

I’m shocked to the core, I don’t know what to do, I’ve not eaten for four days straight, we rang eachother and cried and he asked if I want him to come back and I gave in because I’m weak and needy and he’s been here since and we’ve back and forwarded.

Would anyone put up with this? Could it be innocent? He says if it were sex or extras the payments, but to me £50-£65 is prob enough and we don’t know the massage duration it’s prob 30 min and a HJ or BJ or worse! And there was the one place he’s paid 2 lots of £50 and swore blind they must of charged him twice in error! God I feel so sick and still feel like I don’t want to leave this man! How?!

Update-last night I got all my evidence and confronted him, I asked him 3 questions based on the lies he told me before ‘did you know the escort was a sex worker, did you go after your dad died because you felt so low, did you contact her more than once? He’s swore all of these things to me for days on end, he swore to me there on then on his daughters life that all this was the case; it was a one off innocent mistake because he was distraught and needed a massage and was shocked when he got there and she was in ‘pyjamas’. I calmly told him I had evidence otherwise, I showed him the video she sent me of his phone showing he watsapped her in feb before his dad died, that he knew what she offered because she sent him the full details and even said she didn’t know what a sports masssge was but she can do ‘relaxation massage’ yet he still went along! And that he contacted her feb, july (unfortunately there watsap timer had deleted the July chat! And he also made an outgoing call to her in June, he looked shocked and admitted ok he lied but it was JUST a massage. There’s 3 payments this year £65,£60 and £61.50 and I think they’re all her, one I can link to her address on 1st July; other 2 are random thai sounded names that don’t come up alone, but on both dates he’s also contacted this woman but then again he’s also contacted about 10 different Thai places across the midlands so could be any! And what does it even matter!

I also asked him last night if he ever paid for extras before me and he said yes once he went to a massage place in Derby and payed for a HJ and regretted it. So he’s obviously ok with doing this in these places, so how can I believe he now just keeps his pants on and battles these gorgeous young women off his boner when they are making advances for extra money?

So he’s hid this all from me for 7 months, frequented the most seedy back street Thai massage parlours in the Midlands including one that my friend said is a well known brothel that runs also as a hotel, after saying he would never go to those places and only ever goes to reputable sports masssge places, and put himself in a position where women touch his body and try sell HJs and BJs and probably worse and every times he’s kept on his boxers and said ‘oh no sorry love! I’m married! Just the deep tissue massage please!’ And done this twice monthly! Sometimes 2 times a week! He even had one on a Friday and one on a Monday one week!

Im so broken! I honestly feel like this might kill me, and I’m worried how safe he’s been and if I’m just riddled and my life is over.

He says it was a mistake, won’t happen again, and if I have a big heart I will forgive him.

And this is a man who due to his religion won’t pay 5p a month interest on his savings; but will happy pay £200 a month maybe more to known sex workers.

Please help.

67

I have felt like crap for years. I have tried everything to feel well and I live as healthily as I can. I have been back and forth to various GPs and have had several hospital tests, everything has returned 'normal' but I still feel dreadful most days.

I have ended up having to reduce my work hours dramatically over the last few years due to how I feel so money is now very tight and I can not afford to see anyone privately but I was so desperate a few months ago I paid privately for some blood tests. I had my iron profile, thyroid, folate, Vitamin D, HbA1c and B12 tested. All came back ok apart from my active B12 and Transferrin satuation.

The Active B12 and the transferrin satuation came back as out of range but my GP said it was nothing to be concerned about. She re-checked the tests for me, the B12 came back as within range but I notice she had ordered Serum B12 not Active. The transferrin saturate came back the same as the private company, she wasn't concerned and said I can have it re-checked in 3 months, if I want to. I have no idea why it would be higher than normal as I don't take any supplements. Also my folate was just 3.3 ug/L last summer but has leapt to 10.2 this summer and no idea why - again GP not concerned about this.

I feel just awful, every day and don't know who to go to for help anymore. I am exhausted every day, I wake up tired and could sleep all day if I let myself. I have a long history with IBS but my guts are upset every day (acid, nausea, bloating, burping, pain, upset tummy and swinging between loose stool and diarrhoea, flatulence etc), I have had colonoscopies, gastroscopes, scans for BAM, Gallstones and tests for H Pylori, Coeliac, infections etc. They all return as ok which is great but no amount of careful eating, avoiding foods that upset me etc is helping one little bit and no IBS meds help me anymore.

I regularly suffer from a sore tongue, tinnitus which drives me insane, my head feels fuzzy when I stand up, I ache all over and every day, I just can not relax. I am depressed with such a very low mood, irritable and anxious all the time. My vision is always kind of fuzzy but I can't quite explain that one as sight tests are always ok.

And I am so so tired all the time, I really could sleep all day. I wake up exhausted despite sleeping 7-8 hours all night. I just can not get anyone to take it seriously, it's been going on for years now and I just don't know what to do anymore.

I don't know what else to try, do I just accept feeling like crap and just live out my life like this? Does anyone know if these out of range bloods hold any significance to how I am feeling? No doctor seems interested so maybe I am grasping at straws here?

I know I shouldn't use AI but I did ask ChatGPT and it said although my B12 wasn't screamingly out of range it still shows something and should be looked at but who is going to take this seriously?

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I’ve got a black tie birthday bash coming up in early November.
I want to look really fabulous as my friend has had a tough year and this is a big do for her. But I don’t really like dresses and skirts- what’s an alternative to still look like I’ve hundred percent made the effort and respect the dress code?
I also hate polyester..
anything stylish and beautiful you lovelies can recommend?

6

DS14 gets eczema sometimes, it’s pretty mild but he cannot stop scratching. I usually get simple shampoo, but it’s not always easy to buy from the shops, and it’s expensive to order it. Are there any gentle shampoos that you would recommend?

My nephew is 24 and has been working full time for about a year after finishing university. When he first started working full time, my sister was charging him £500 per month to live with her and her partner. She has now told him he needs to pay £800 per month which he isn’t happy about as he is trying to save for a house deposit as well as having other costs and wanting to socialise. He spends a lot of time at work or with his girlfriend and friends so I do think £800 is a lot.

Our children are similar ages and my nephew has asked if he could live with us, paying £400 per month. We are happy for him to live here but it is causing a huge problem with my sister and her partner. They don’t think we should allow him to stay with us.

On the one hand I can see why my sister thinks we shouldn’t get involved, but on the other, he’s our nephew and an adult and if we’re happy for him to live here, he should be able to.

My sister has accused us of trying to make money from him which is untrue as we don’t charge our own children anything to live here and IF we take anything from our nephew, it won’t be £400 per month. This isn’t about money for us. I agree with my nephew that £800 is too much and want him to be able to have a life and save like my own children.

AIBU to say he can live here?

54

A bit of advice please as beginning to doubt myself. I have no relationship with any family except my DB. complicated and very hard childhood but me and DB are happy now and both in a good place. However we were contacted by a family member a few years ago. ( who we didn’t known but had done an online DNA test ). We both choose to ignore this person. Too much has happened and too many awful memories to even think about. We are both happy with our choice. However my friend who I would consider my best friend has started discussing our choices with her new partner. No idea why but he is very vocal and Opinionated in my mind and he has convinced her that we are wrong to dismiss a new family member. This has escalated to it becoming our only conversation and this morning I told her if she didn’t drop it she can’t forget our friendship. She has taken it hard. I feel awful. We have been friends for 15 years and it hurts so much. But my childhood was truly traumatic and she is just bringing it all up again. My DB agreed with me as she also was going on at him to. But was I being unreasonable

85

My (supposedly) best friend has dirt on my husband, I’ve seen messages to confirm this, husband said at the time that revealing said dirt “would make me ill”. implored her not to tell me. This all happened at a very stressful time. Two ish years ago. I buried it, it was an awful time. Now it’s all I can think about.

wwyd?

65

this is a bit of a long tale, so please hear with me. I'm single and I've been doing a hobby for the past 5 years. During this time I've become friends with 2 guys whom I've met through it.. I became friends with one guy as he used to give me a lift home afterwards, as I don't drive and he lived on my way home. The three of us often went for a drink after, we all got on great, just as mates.

However, recently it's all got rather complicated, all behind my back

So, in June, one of these guys, let's call him Pete, told me that his girlfriend
( whom I had met 7 times, and we'd always got on great ) had banned him from seeing me outside the classes/ group that we went to, as she was jealous of me. I was really shocked as I had no idea she felt like this. He only told me as if asked him if he was interested in going to an event related to the hobby and he was being a bit non committal about it. He said he was starting to feel controlled and suffocated by her demands. It just felt so stupid to me, as there was never anything between us, at all. It almost broke them up, but eventually they did reconcile. She admitted she had trust issues, due to her having been cheated on before. I've tried to be a good friend to him and help him work through it, but tbh I feel pretty pissed off with her for affecting our friendship, over nothing.

So tonight, we went out for a drink and he tells me that the wife of the other guy in our hobby group is ALSO jealous of me. This shocked me even more, as this is the guy that used to give me a lift home. Apparently, she didn't like the fact that other people in the pub that the 3 of us used to go to, would see him with another woman, which is the reason why she then started joining us in the pub after our weekly group.

I've just never experienced anything like this before, I've always had male friends and to me they were just mates. I now feel in a really awkward position knowing how the partners
both feel about me. I don't want to give up my hobby and I'd like to somehow sort it out with these women, but I don't know how.

I've never flirted with these men, as I said, I never saw them as anything more than mates. This only came out tonight as if found out the 4 of them had gone out for a drink without me, whereas before, we'd all have gone out together. Pete very reluctantly told me about how this other woman was feeling about me and then it all made sense.

I feel upset, excluded and most of all, feel like I'm being penalised but I haven't done anything wrong! I don't know how to make this situation any better. I have no romantic interest in these men whatsoever, I like them as people and they're the only people I have to share this hobby with, which I don't want to give up.

I don't really know what I'm expecting from this thread, but any advice would be gratefully received.

217

Background: I’m a single mum on holiday with my parents and 2 year old, a one hour flight away from where we live (not in the UK). My relationship with my mother has deteriorated steadily in recent years, especially since I became a mum. I see how toxic her behaviour to me and my brother really was (brother is now no contact with her) but she sits there and criticises my parenting. This morning at breakfast buffet DD dropped her croissant on the floor. I picked it up and told her I’ll get her a new one, go sit with grandparents. She’s 2 so she had a mini meltdown because she wanted to carry the croissant herself. My mother tells me I shamed DD, not realising the irony in saying that statement to her own daughter!

I could go on but it’s been a lifetime of her criticising me, not taking accountability and every time I stick up for myself she compares me to her abusive older sister. I’m so over this. I’m a worse person when she’s around.

I’ve booked a flight home for me and DD this morning leaving in a few hours. Currently sitting in our adjoining hotel room waiting until it’s late enough for me to leave for the airport with DD and not hang around there too long.

I am in my late 30s and feel sick inside at the thought of “defying” my mother. But I’m also sick of her and I’m a worse person when I’m around her.

I don’t know what I’m seeking here, I’m not a dramatic person, I have never “defied” my mother before but AIBU for deciding I’m an adult with free will, mother to my own child and I can make decisions that upset my mother? She’s done a real number on me.

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