In the summer of 1998, shortly after his 30th birthday, Nick Dawson was driving through Cumbria with his wife, when his phone started ringing. He didn’t answer but it rang again and again, so he eventually pulled over and picked up. It was Nick’s dad, he had something to tell him. His identical twin brother, Simon, had been murdered.
On an August night, Simon had been out at a nightclub in an area of Wirral he didn’t know well. At some point he lost his friends and asked two young passersby for help with directions to the home of a friend he was staying with. The two young men – aged 16 and 19 – agreed to help but instead tricked him, led him into a nearby nature reserve and stole his bank card.
They began to stamp on and kick him until he was black and blue and unconscious. Then, they threw him into a pond, where he drowned. Simon’s body was found floating in the water.
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
- The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
- This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
- We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
- Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
- Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
- Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
- Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.
Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery
Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.
The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars.
4 min read
A champion of EV efficiency
It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.
It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.
Priced from £37,400
2 min read
It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.
The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.
The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.
With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.
It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion.
All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.
- While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
- It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps.
- There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
- Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.
2 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Victorinox paring knife
It’s comfortable to hold, with a point sharp enough for scoring pastry.
ProCook cast iron pan
For unbeatable searing and heat-retention, cast iron is the top choice.
Tesco chopping board
Priced at just £22, I’ve yet to find another board that matches it for sheer value and quality.
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Pyrex jug
It is the perfect vessel for blending smooth sauces, melting butter, or warming stock. It won’t stain like plastic and the red measurements never fade.
Salter scales
“I’ve had my slim little set of Salter Disc Scales for over a decade, and I’m delighted to see they are still made to exactly the same reliable design today.”
Microplane grater
It uses photo-etched stainless steel teeth that stay razor-sharp for a decade, something the lookalike copycats simply can’t match.
Braun hand-held blender
It’s an essential for everything from making velvety soup to getting the lumps out of white sauce.
Bodum cafetiere
As well as delivering great results, cafetieres are easy to clean and there’s no ongoing filter paper costs or pod recycling to deal with.
5 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Oxo peeler
What truly sets it apart is the chunky, rubberised handle that absorbs pressure and stays completely non-slip, even if your hands are wet. It is inexpensive and incredibly durable.
Falcon pie dish
Made by fusing porcelain onto heavy-gauge steel for smooth durability, it is dishwasher, freezer, hob, air-fryer and oven-safe.
The golden rules for a happy, secure relationship
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Amir Levine, author of bestselling book , explains why we behave the way we do in love.
Golden rules for happy relationships
Start with your own behaviours
The foundation of a secure, connected life is being what I call CARRP: that means being consistent, available, responsive, reliable and predictable. All of these qualities can be enacted in small gestures every day.
Express your needs
People need consistency and connection to feel safe. This is not, ‘You hurt my feelings by never replying to me’, it’s more ‘this is the kind of contact that helps me feel secure’.
Golden rules for happy relationships
The appendix ‘inflammation’ rule
If a relationship repeatedly inflames your nervous system, you need to disengage and deprioritise it.
Lean on community
You don’t need hundreds of friends. You need people and places that regularly remind you that you belong.
Stop blaming childhood
Humans are much more complicated than: ‘this happened to you, therefore you are doomed to be anxious’.
Reach for a
secure script
When something unsettles you in a relationship, your first reaction is not always the most accurate one.
If you’re anxious, your brain may jump very quickly to: ‘this is the beginning of the end’. If you’re avoidant, your brain may say: ‘this person wants too much from me, I need to get away’. So one very practical thing you can always do is pause and ask: ‘What would a secure person do here?’
Loneliness elsewhere
When people talk about loneliness, they often assume it means you don’t have enough people in your life. But you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely if those relationships leave you feeling excluded, ignored or disconnected.
What to do
- Build a community that works for your temperament and gives you regular, reliable moments of connection.
- You can still be kind to people while not treating them as someone who belongs in your inner circle.
- Explain what you need. Sometimes people simply don’t realise how you are experiencing them.
- Check in with people: does this person actually feel that I’m reliable? Do they experience me as predictable? That’s the only way that you can start to become more secure.
Do some foods leave
you feeling hungry rather than satiated? Experts say there are…
Foods that leave you hungrier
A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice
More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.
Swap the orange juice for a whole orange, the cereal for oats and milk or serve it with Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. This would increase the fibre and protein content; two nutrients strongly linked with fullness.
Foods that leave you hungrier
These pastries are made primarily from refined flour and butter, and are relatively low in protein and fibre.
Toast and jam
Shop-bought packs can contain a lot of white rice, which is digested quickly, and the protein content is often modest.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Vegetable soup
On its own, it is often very low in protein and calories, so hunger can return quickly.
Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.
Liquids are generally less filling as they require little chewing which may not trigger satiety signals.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Snack bars
They are ideal for a quick pick-me-up, but if reducing hunger is what you’re after, it’d be better to swap it out.
Low-fat yoghurt
A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.
On an empty stomach, it can actually increase your appetite.
What to eat instead
Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.
- Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
- Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
- Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
- Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.
How to age well
without pain
Will Harlow, a physiotherapist
for the over-50s and author of Independence for Life, shares
the key signs you’re ageing
badly – and what to do about it.
How to know
Ageing well is maintaining the ability to do what you want you want for as long as you want without needing help. Everyone is talking about longevity but what’s the point in living longer if the last decade is painful and you’re [totally] reliant on people?”
The signs to look out for
- The most obvious early warning sign of bad ageing is pain says Harlow.
- Another is losing confidence in doing daily tasks, which can quickly lead to a lack of independence.
- One call Harlow often receives is people calling after having a fall and struggling to get up.
4 min read
How to age without pain
Not just stopping
When people retire, they often put their feet up and stop. Your body really is use it or lose it.
Throughout our entire lives, Harlow says we need between seven and nine hours of sleep.
Social isolation
The lack of connection can increase the risk of premature death by
as much as 29 per cent.
Strength training
It really is the proxy for
overall independence.
The more muscle mass you have, the less chance of heart disease, diabetes, falls and even anxiety, depression and dementia.
The brain can be linked to muscle mass too, Harlow says. It’s not just about being able to lift things. It gives you more energy, better sleep and you’ll look and feel better.
How to age without pain
Daily habits
Do short bursts of exercise, between 30 and 60 seconds, in otherwise dead time during the day.
Stretch in bed
Take joints through a full range of motion for five minutes to loosen it before getting up.
Don’t crash diet
How to age without pain
Harlow advises 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight to stop muscle loss alongside resistance training.
Don’t wait
Harlow finds that many patients put off making a change to their lifestyle until their lives are consumed by pain.
For most people, it’s about reducing the number of times per week you’re exercising, not reducing intensity.
The three ageing tests to do
- Lie completely flat on the floor and get back up to a standing position using any technique. This should take less than 10 seconds.
See how many times you can sit on the chair and stand back up again in 30 seconds. Men should be aiming for more than 14 times and women 12.
The single-leg stand, which involves standing on one leg and balancing for 10 seconds. Everyone should be able to do that and for those under 65, Harlow asks them to do it with their eyes closed.
Despite the job market hiring fewer entry-level roles, employers are still looking for grads…
But you should be prepared to keep an open mind.
We’ve compiled the sectors hiring graduate roles, what degree is required, and what they pay.
The degrees to choose for a career
Hiring in the UK could
finally be on the up
47%
of employers offered entry-level
positions from July.
That is up nearly 15 per cent from the same period last year.
700,000
But graduate unemployment rose to six per cent in 2025 and 700,000 jobless graduates were claiming benefits.
Finance and insurance
- Around 42 per cent of UK finance and insurance employers say they will be open to graduate roles this summer.
- Business loan company Portman Finance Group has taken on 50 graduates over the past four years.
Portman graduates start on £36,000 for the two-year programme and the education you need to apply is a minimum “ABB” of A-levels, and a 2:1 or above university degree. But not in a specific subject.
Trade and logistics
What makes it particularly rewarding is that there’s always something to learn.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of trade and logistics companies will be giving graduates a go this year.
Salaries start at £30,000 with an uncapped bonus, rising to £50,000 plus a company car as a senior account partner.
Technology and IT
More than half (52 per cent) of UK tech and IT firms are actively looking for graduates.
Successful entry-level candidates can earn a basic salary of up to £35,000, with the opportunity to triple that within their first three years of working.
4 min read
Public sector, health
and social services
46 per cent of public sector, health and social services organisations are also ready to take graduates, according to a survey by Manpower.
- For example, Police Now runs a graduate programme into policing. They recruit graduates from any degree field, as long as they achieve a 2:2 or above. Starting salaries range from £31,164 to £42,210 depending on location and rising each year.
Can we treat guests without blowing our budget?
According to Waitrose, a dinner party revival is underway led by younger people trying to reduce the cost of getting together.
Always have bread
People will feast on the
ELLA RISBRIDGER, AUTHOR OF THE KITCHEN BOOK – GOOD FOOD FOR EVERY DAY
bread, and then need less fish/steak/expensive whatever. All small plates restaurants know this: this is why the first thing on the menu is always artisan bread and butter.
Use vegetables as centrepieces
Add pantry items
Graham’s recipes include a braised cabbage with a preserved lemon sauce, a roast cauliflower with saffron, and harrisa roast carrots with mango labneh.
How to host on a budget
Improve the everyday
Guests will always appreciate a stellar interpretation of the ordinary. Think lasagna or curry.
Cooking dinner for your guests is spoiling them – you’re being generous with your time, your effort, and your home. So don’t feel the need to go overboard elsewhere.
Ask for help
Ask friends to bring a contribution, be it a nibble or a pudding.
Big platter energy
[Presentation] can be the key to elevating something . Spaghetti and tomato sauce suddenly looks like a feast when tumbled on a lovely big plate, dressed with olive oil and parmesan and placed in the middle of the table.
Food writer and editor Eleanor Steafel
How to host on a budget
Taco party
Have one expensive filling, like shredded chicken, and two cheaper options, like refried beans, says Ella Risbridger.
Shop-bought ice cream is so easily zhuzhed up with the help of handy toppings, says Eleanor Steafel.
Nearly 30 years later, Nick is now 58, and has long been haunted by the final moments of his twin brother’s life. “The pathologist at the trial said Simon had been alive when he was thrown in the pond. If they’d left him on the bank, he might have survived. I’m sure he would have been utterly terrified. I sometimes think, did they enjoy what they were doing to him? What was going through their minds? They were utterly over the top and he didn’t stand a chance. They were high on drink and drugs, and perhaps had they not been so high, they might not have been so psychotic”.
The impact on his family is, understandably, profound. “I can now talk about it without crying, but my poor mum, she still can’t,” says Nick. His dad, who has since passed away, would spend the remainder of his life writing to prime ministers and home secretaries, telling them what had happened, so immense was his parental grief. He described the offenders as having “tortured and executed my son”.
Nick and his brothers were brought up in a rural village on the west coast of Cumbria, in a big house with a huge garden in which they made dens, rode their bikes and ran around. “It was a lovely childhood,” says Nick. “Simon and I were best mates growing up, we were almost one single unit.”
Nick and Simon went to different universities and settled in different parts of the UK, with Simon working for his dad’s printing business in Cheshire and Nick working in the South of England for BP. But the twins were still very close. Just a few weeks before Simon’s murder, he and Nick had a joint birthday celebration with their parents and older brother – everyone together and happy.
“[At my wedding] Simon was in buckets of tears,” remembers Nick. “He was very happy for me, but it’s that twin thing where he felt he was losing me a bit, too. Since Simon’s death, I have a very different, complex sense of loss as the lone twin.”
The killers were caught soon after Simon’s murder, just as Nick was getting ready to go on to appeal for information. There was a murder trial during which both of the accused pleaded not guilty (“A deeply upsetting, horrific time”, says Nick). But the verdict was unanimous. Carl Harrison was 19, and he was given a life sentence of at least 12 years. Craig Roberts was 16, and he was sent to prison for at least 10 years. “A life sentence doesn’t usually mean life,” says Nick, “so we knew they’d come out at some point, but we forced ourselves to put that painful idea to the back of our minds”.
For the first few years after the murder, Nick says he became isolated and withdrawn. “I was torn between being there for my wife Julie – we’d only been married six months – but also wanting to support my parents. They were, of course, so devastated that they clung on to me and for the first five years of our married life, they were always at our house, coming on holiday with us and my mum would be crying. There was huge collective grief. I had huge bouts of anger towards the killers, and this hatred would flash through me at unpredictable times. At times, I wanted to kill them.”
Nick had a lot of therapy, and after four years, he and his wife had their first child. Given what happened to his twin, did Nick feel extra layers of worry about his own children? “What happened to Simon makes it easy to fear the worst,” says Nick. “When my daughter was 15 and out with friends, I’d have panic attacks that something horrible was happening to her, especially if she didn’t call me. The call from my dad [in 1998] was so shocking, that that shock is always on my mind. It’s not normalised, the shock is still there now, 28 years later.”
For years, Nick wanted the killers to rot in prison. Lock them up and throw away the key, let them suffer forever – they’re monsters. A decade later, there was a parole hearing [a meeting where a panel decides if a prisoner can be safely released back into the community before finishing their sentence] for the offenders.
Nick and his parents were invited to go and give a victim impact statement. “I spoke from the heart, and you could see they were both really quite shaken by it, particularly, I think, my mum’s statement, which was heart-rending. I’d imagined them to have the faces of evil monsters, but here were just human beings who had murdered my brother.”
That parole hearing sparked Nick’s curiosity, particularly about Craig – the younger killer – because he was in therapy at HMP Grendon, a prison which tries to rehabilitate violent criminals through group therapy. “He was clearly doing a lot of work to look at his behaviour,” says Nick.
So, when Nick was offered the chance to meet and talk to Craig face to face, he decided to say yes. This was the process of restorative justice, where a victim and perpetrator voluntarily meet and discuss what happened, and how the crime has had an impact. “It’s a risky process,” says Nick, “because you can go in there to meet the offender and it might knock you back many years of recovery and acceptance. I went home and thought about it for weeks, and talked to my wife. I decided to do it.
“Craig was ready, and I was ready, and though it took 17 years for that to happen, in most murder cases it never does. My parents were adamant they didn’t want to do it, and didn’t want to know much about it, but they were supportive of me. I had a lot of unanswered questions about Simon’s death, and strangely felt that Craig could help me bring Simon alive in those last few moments. I was clinging on to knowing how, exactly, Simon died, and I think some of that is down to being a twin. I also wanted to know who this man was, how he had become a killer at 16.”
When the day of the meeting came, Nick sat on the verge of tears in the prison chapel with Julie and waited for his brother’s murderer to walk in. “Craig – who was now 33 – sat down at the chair opposite me. Initially, he couldn’t look at me, as he was very nervous.
“The success of the meeting is critically dependent on the facilitator, and ours did it brilliantly. I’m friends with her to this day. She said, ‘Craig, why don’t you tell Nick how that day [of the murder] began?’ Craig quite quickly got into a zone where he wanted to talk, and help. He was gentle, but honest, and he didn’t shirk responsibility. He didn’t remember everything, as he’d been drunk, but obviously something like that you never forget.”
Nick felt the most powerful moments were when Craig looked him properly in the eye, and took him through everything step by step. He also said sorry. “He was very sincere, and it’s quite something to get that apology, face to face.”
There were some painful details that Nick couldn’t bring himself to broach, like how when Craig was arrested he was wearing Simon’s watch, and how when he and Carl killed Simon they stole £500 from his bank and bought new clothes. “The loss of life and the immense destruction that act of violence has caused… all for a new pair of trainers,” says Nick.
What was also helpful, though, was for Nick to hear about Craig’s childhood. He’d been abused by his alcoholic father, there was sexual abuse, he’d been in foster care. He was a deeply angry teenager, and in the meeting he referred to himself as having been “evil”. To Nick, Craig was now a victim, too.
“I didn’t shake his hand, I vowed I wouldn’t do that, as it didn’t seem right. But the meeting was transformational. It’s helped me live with what happened, and the hatred is by and large gone.”
Craig was released in 2019, and Carl was released in 2026. Nick went to the last parole hearings for the offenders. “I said words along the lines of, ‘I believe that you’re ready to come out and I want you to live a positive, peaceful life, and come back to prison’. Where once I’d have been furious and pained to think they were having any sort of life, I now wanted that for them’.”
Nick is now a champion of restorative justice. He was part of a West End post-show panel in 2025 for , James Graham’s play which tells the true story of Jacob Dunne, a Nottingham teenager whose single punch on a night out killed a stranger. Nick goes into prisons to talk about restorative justice, and tell prisoners about the impact that violent crimes have on families like his.
Recently, he was walking through a prison when he bumped into a prisoner who he’d told his story to six years earlier, at a different institution. This offender told Nick that his story had changed his life, and would live with him forever.
“He was now working really hard on himself, and on getting out of prison. It was good to hear that, because most perpetrators never hear first-hand the devastation they cause. If talking about my brother helps even one family avoid this pain and grief, then it’s been worth telling this story.”
‘Face to Face; Finding Justice for My Murdered Twin Brother’ by Nick Dawson is available in paperback now. For more information about restorative justice, visit Why Me?, a national charity, for which Nick is an ambassador. You can contact them on info@why-me.org or call 020 4591 1970. More information can also be found via the Restorative Justice Council.