I’m sure everyone reaches that age where suddenly you start worrying about your health.

In your twenties you think you’re invincible and I found my thirties flew by in a flash. It’s only really when hitting those forties that cracks – or rather creaks – begin to emerge.

That’s what’s happened to me over recent years with ailments creeping in here and there along with the realisation that I might need to consider some healthier lifestyle choices.

After reading an interview with Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page about how some health test results had inspired her recent weight loss, I decided to go for my own health MOT.

Randox Health offers an Everywoman or Everyman test which gives customers a full body health check – using a simple blood test to measure up to 150 biomarkers giving you a clear picture of how your body is really doing.

The idea is to check where you’re at and spot any potential risks early so you can make changes to support your long term health and also give yourself that peace of mind.

Based upstairs inside the Holland and Barrett store in Manchester’s Market Street, booking the test couldn’t have been easier and I was straight in for my appointment with Randox phlebotomist Myles Sutton.

After a brief chat about how much I’d missed my morning brew – you need to fast for 8 to 12 hours before the tests – we were straight into it.

He explained things every step of the way – taking my blood pressure, measuring my height and using a body composition analyser machine to see exactly what my body is made up of; breaking down my weight into fat, muscle and water, rather than just total mass.

It was then across to another seat to give the necessary amount of blood to be analysed in the laboratory. I don’t like needles, but even filling eight vials didn’t take long.

Finally, a urine sample is also taken while you’re there, so it’s a thorough job all round. The whole thing only takes less than 30 minutes and that’s including the time to fill in a questionnaire on arrival.

These Everywoman / man checks have soared in popularity over recent years. Driven by a growing public interest in understanding personal health data and taking a more proactive approach to wellbeing, the company has ‘seen a significant increase in demand for preventative health testing’.

“More people are looking to identify potential health issues earlier, monitor key biomarkers and make informed lifestyle decisions before symptoms arise,” says Randox.

The staff here are used to seeing people discover health issues they never realised they had – including a man whose results helped him catch his prostate cancer in early stages.

They also benefit from their own checks; with one of them discovering a thyroid issue that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

One of the big benefits is that there’s no waiting game. The fact that Randox Health operates its own extensive laboratory network – some clinics benefit from on-site laboratory facilities – and uses Biochip Technology, which enables multiple tests to be performed simultaneously from a single blood sample, allows for ‘highly efficient processing and fast turnaround times without compromising accuracy’.

Unlike the NHS, where it can take a while to get test results back, the first preliminary report is sent to you on the app or via the website within a few hours.

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This is basically the findings of the body composition analyser offering a first set of metrics.

It wasn’t really too much of a surprise to see that I’m overweight and with a BMI that’s out of the healthy range. I’ve not exactly had the healthiest diet and while I do a lot of walking, it’s not intense enough exercise to counter the calories being consumed and the amount of time spent sitting at my desk.

Which is probably why my metabolic age is showing as 52, when I’m actually 47 – not the news I wanted to hear.

My full report – all 68 pages of it – came through that very same evening, with even more concerning news. While 82% of my readings were ‘in range’ and 3% of them ‘in between’, 15% were ‘out of range’ and ‘in the red’.

It’s initially quite overwhelming to see so much detail about yourself, not all of it positive, but the report does break it all down into easy-to-read sections.

There’s a helpful list of ‘key findings’ at the beginning to save you having to trawl through the whole thing for a quick snapshot and there’s also some ‘results for your doctor’ pages so you can take those to your GP and follow up any concerns. If you want to, you can add on a GP consultation with Randox to go over the findings.

While mine flagged up a few areas of concern, including some hormonal issues to discuss with my doctor, such as high testosterone levels caused by polycystic ovary syndrome – which just this week has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) – it also revealed a genetic condition I didn’t even know I had.

I knew from previous tests that my cholesterol level is slightly raised, but I wasn’t aware that I have something called high lipoprotein (a) – a genetically determined factor, which is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. It basically makes it easier for fatty deposits to stick to artery walls, increasing the likelihood of blockages.

Lp(a) is not included in a standard cholesterol test and must be requested separately, so it’s not something that would have been found and is not something my parents were aware of either.

Diet and lifestyle changes have limited impact on lowering Lp(a) itself, but what it means is that it’s more important to keep your LDL cholesterol low, using statins if necessary.

Because the condition is genetic, experts recommend that people with high Lp(a) inform their family members so they can be tested too. My daughter had already been told she had a slightly raised cholesterol level for her age so it’s probably the explanation for that and she and my son will now be getting their Lp(a) checked, as well as other family members.

It’s one thing receiving all these results, but it’s what I now do with them that matters most.

I’m hoping it gives me the incentive to make some long needed changes to improve both my physical and mental health, which I’ve also struggled with for many years.

Finding some exercise I enjoy doing and can fit into a regular routine will be key – padel seems to be taking over the world so perhaps that’s worth a go – and I’d like to give yoga or pilates a try to increase flexibility.

The Everywoman / man checks include a health and well-being discussion with a Randox Health scientist to review your test results and help to guide you on next steps. No specific medical advice will be provided, however lifestyle advice is provided.

They also include a return visit 6 to 12 months later to see whether readings have changed. I’ll keep you posted.

The full body health check costs £416 at Randox Health and can be paid for in four interest-free payments. Add-ons and upgrades include, priced from £65, include a GP consultation, a nutrition and lifestyle DNA test, tumour associated markers and food sensitivity.

For more details or to book a health check, visit the website here.

A cordon remains in place in the area

Three men have been arrested after a stabbing incident in West Belfast on Saturday morning.

Emergency services were called to a report of a man being attacked by a number of males on Lenadoon Avenue shortly after 3am on Saturday, 16 May.

A man was taken to the hospital with stab wounds in both legs.

Sinn Féin MLA for the area, Órlaithí Flynn condemned the incident and said that her thoughts are with the injured person.

“Police are at the scene of an ongoing incident in Lenadoon following a reported stabbing,” she said. “My thoughts are with the injured and I hope they make a full and speedy recovery. “I have been informed that arrests have been made. “The bottom of Lenadoon remains sealed off, and I would urge people to avoid the area until the cordon is lifted.”

Detective Sergeant Stevenson said: “We received a report at around 3.05 am of an ongoing fight in the Lenadoon Avenue area, where a man was being attacked by a number of males.

“Officers attended the scene, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, and one man was taken on to hospital, with stab wounds to both legs.

“Three men – a 42-year-old, 33 and 31-year-old – were subsequently arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent. They remain in police custody at this time.

“Our enquiries are ongoing and we would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time and has any information, including CCTV, ring-doorbell or other footage, to contact us on the 101 number, quoting reference 183 of 16/05/26.

“You can also submit a report or information online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

A train crashed into a public bus on Saturday in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, killing at least eight people.

Thai news reported that the crash happened in late afternoon near an airport rail link station in the central area. The city’s emergency services Erawan Medical Center said at least eight were killed and more than 20 people were injured.

Videos of the moment of the crash shared on social media showed a line of vehicles had stopped at a railway crossing when a cargo train struck an orange bus at the front. The impact also dragged several nearby vehicles along the tracks before the bus was engulfed in flames. Several motorcycles and their riders were also seen being thrown onto the road after the collision.

Later videos showed a group of rescuers going inside the charred bus after the flames were controlled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.

The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by President Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP.

In recent days, the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps to produce more GOP-leaning seats following the court’s voting rights decision.

But the Virginia situation was different, stemming from a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month.

The state court found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in Virginia’s general election last fall.

The Supreme Court typically doesn’t intervene in state court proceedings unless they present an issue of federal law. Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices that the Virginia court misread federal law and Supreme Court precedent that hold that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.

Virginia’s amendment had been intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law. Once the Virginia amendment passed, it briefly turned the nationwide redistricting scramble into a draw between the two parties.

That was unraveled by the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision.

The state’s attorney general, Democrat Jay Jones, slammed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, saying it was another example of what he described as a national attack on voting rights and the rule of law.

“Let’s be clear about what is happening. Donald Trump, Republican state legislatures, and conservative courts are systematically and unabashedly tilting power away from the people for Trump’s political gain,” Jones said in a statement issued late Friday night.

The state’s top Democrats had disagreed about whether it was even too late for help from the Supreme Court. “Time grows short, but it is not yet too late,” lawyers for the Democratic leaders of the legislature as well as the state told the justices in a brief filed Friday.

A day earlier, the office of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger already had confirmed that the state will hold this year’s elections under the current districts established in 2021. Last month, Virginia Commissioner of Elections Steve Koski said a court order was needed by this past Tuesday to set the district lines for primary elections on Aug. 4.

Spanberger reacted to Friday’s decision by saying both courts had nullified the votes of the more than 3 million Virginians who cast ballots in the April 21 special election.

“These Virginians made their voices heard — casting their ballots in good faith to push back against a President who said he’s ‘entitled’ to more seats in Congress before voters go to the polls,” she posted on her X account.

The leader of the state Republican Party said the justices made the right call.

“Wisely, the Supreme Court of the United States has confirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia,” state party chairman Jeff Ryer said. “This should once and for all put to rest the Democrats’ effort to disenfranchise half of Virginia.

___

Associated Press writer Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

“Don’t put me in the same category as those two!” says Jay Lovell, taken aback as his name is mentioned in the same breath as Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.

The defender, 33, is set to join the former Liverpool and Manchester United captains in the history books on Sunday, by leading out a team at Wembley.

Lovell will captain Cockfosters, from Enfield in north London, in the FA Vase final against AFC Stoneham, based in the Hampshire town of Eastleigh.

The father-of-two always had plans to be at Wembley this weekend, though not quite like this.

Lovell is an escalator engineer from Hertfordshire and works for a company that has been responsible for installing, maintaining and upgrading the escalators at the national stadium.

It means he and his colleagues are required on site on the day of events in case there are any problems or issues.

Cockfosters beat Kent-based Punjab United 3-1 on aggregate over two legs in last month’s semi-finals to book their place in the final.

It means Lovell will no longer be reporting to Wembley as an engineer this weekend, but instead will be looking to help his team lift the FA Vase for the first time in the club’s history.

“Now that I have actually reached the final, no-one is working,” Lovell tells BBC Sport.

“All of the lads are coming to watch me. We’ve passed the job on to someone else.

“One of my bosses actually turned around and said: ‘Having a two-hour break to go and play football, are you?’ He’s had a good bit of banter with me about it.”

Fire crews are still dealing with the incident at the landfill site.

A blaze at a waste facility and fife has continued into a fifth day, as firefighters remain at the scene.

Fire crews are still dealing with the incident at the landfill site near Ladybank as of Saturday morning. The alarm was raised at about 1.35pm on Tuesday.

At the height of the incident, 12 appliances and specialist resources were dealing with the blaze. On Saturday, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said two appliances and specialist resources remained at the scene.

A spokesman said: “There is still firefighting ongoing.”

There were no reports of any casualties. Fife Council said the waste transfer and processing facility remains closed while emergency services deal with the incident.

The council said earlier: “We understand this has been a worrying incident for residents and disruptive for people travelling through the area or trying to use Ladybank Recycling Centre. Smoke is still coming from the site as the fire is brought under control, residents should continue to keep windows and doors closed if they can see or smell smoke.

“Bin collections are currently going ahead as planned and people should continue to present bins and bulky uplift items as normal. The household waste recycling centre at the site is closed due to the fire and will remain so while firefighting activity continues.

“However, the Ladybank Recycling Centre area is unaffected and will reopen as soon as the fire is out and safe access can be reinstated.”

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My nine-year-old son, Leo, hates losing. 

Over the years, there have been tears when he hasn’t won at a board game. He has threatened to quit cricket – his favourite sport – because he wasn’t the best on the day. And he is not above levelling cheating accusations at a rival team who has won fair and square. 

And in those moments, I’ve forced myself to go against the instinct every parent has: to smooth it over, tell him he’s a winner anyway, or agree with him, as a way to rescue him from the disappointment. 

Instead, I’ve always told him the truth, because it’s an important lesson for children to learn.

You won’t always be the winner. Sometimes you are the loser.

So when I saw commentator Michelle Dewberry’s viral comments about not wanting her five-year-old son to get a runner-up sticker at football training, I found myself somewhat reluctantly agreeing with her. 

Dewberry wrote on X: ‘My 5 year old boy does football training. At the end of the session they do a ‘man of the match’ type thing. My boy is always desperate to win it. He often doesn’t.’

She went on to say, ‘One of the other mums heard me & was aghast at what I said. She told me she is going to get ‘runner-up stickers’ for all the kids who don’t make it.

I said no thanks, not for my son,’ commenting that, ‘Kids need to learn that they can be the best, but they must apply themselves & dust themselves off when it doesn’t go their way. 

Dewberry isn’t wrong. Children do need to learn how to lose. 

They need to learn that things won’t always go their way – to understand that someone else might be faster, stronger, cleverer, or simply better at something than they are. 

Dewberry is also a GB news presenter and Brexiteer who is in favour of capital punishment, so as you can imagine, she’s not the first person I’d expect myself to agree with.  

I strongly feel that every child should be encouraged to take part in sports and team activities, regardless of ability. They get taught so much more than how to kick a ball or run fast. They teach teamwork, discipline, and resilience.  

Sometimes there is a player of the match.

And the other children need to learn how to support that child, congratulate them and be happy for them. That’s all part of being in a team. Not receiving a sticker or ‘runners up’ prize – I think that takes away from the child who was determined the best. 

And five isn’t too young to start learning that lesson, either.

Because if children grow up believing they should always win, or always be rewarded regardless of effort, the real world eventually becomes a very confusing place.

You won’t always get picked. You won’t always succeed. You won’t always be exceptional at everything you try. And that’s ok.

In fact, I’d argue it’s healthy.

Children should learn that effort matters more than ego. That trying your best is something to feel proud of, even if you don’t come first. That if your best isn’t good enough on one occasion, it doesn’t make you a failure as a person.

We cannot all be brilliant at everything.

But where I started to part ways with Dewberry was when the conversation drifted away from teaching kids about resilience and coping with disappointment towards something much harsher.

Her message became more about mocking sensitivity and dismissing her child’s feelings, and she suggested that people sometimes use defeat as an excuse to play the victim.

Dewberry topped her post off by stating that the country would be ‘in a better place’ if more people aligned with her worldview.  

It was once she took that turn that I think she crossed a very important line.

There is a difference between teaching resilience and demonstrating to your kids a complete lack of empathy – between saying ‘You lost, try harder next time’ and making kids feel fundamentally rubbish or weak for struggling.

Because while children absolutely need boundaries and honesty, they also need compassion. 

The healthiest adults are usually not the ones who were taught to suppress every emotion or ‘toughen up’ at all costs. They are the ones who learned how to process disappointment without feeling ashamed for having emotions in the first place.

It’s ok to lean into how children feel when they lose. It’s ok to say: ‘I see you’re disappointed,’ ‘I know that hurts,’ and ‘I understand that you wanted to win.’

That isn’t creating weakness, and it’s certainly not playing the victim. It’s teaching emotional security.

Kids need cheering on. They need support. They need to feel valued, whether they came first or last. But they do also need honesty.

The important thing about defeat is what comes next. Helping children overcome that disappointment in a healthy way rather than pretending it doesn’t exist or shaming them for feeling it.

More than 6,500 well-preserved Bronze Age items were discovered in the village

There have been many historical discoveries across Cambridgeshire, marking the importance of the county in periods of history. There are remnants of the Romans, but also from the Iron Age.

In Isleham near Ely, one of the largest ever Bronze Age discoveries was made. The Isleham Hord was a discovery of more than 6,500 pieces of worked and unworked bronze. It was found in 1959 by William Houghton and his brother Arthur. It’s thought to be the largest Bronze Age hoard ever discovered in England, as well as one of the finest.

The hoard included swords, spear-heads, arrows, axes and palstaves, as well as knives, daggers, armour and decorative equipment mainly for horses. The items are believed to date back to the late Bronze Age, which was around 1,000 BCE.

With the find being so precious, the thousands of items were handed over to different authorities. They were entrusted to St Edmundsbury Borough Council Heritage Service and the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village near Bury St Edmunds. Other items are held by the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.

Besides important Bronze Age discoveries, Isleham has much more on offer. There is another standout historical site in the village – Isleham Priory Church – which is a rare surviving Norman priory church from the 12th century. The church is “surviving in a surprisingly unaltered state despite later conversion into a barn”, as stated by English Heritage.

There is also lots going on in the village, making it a great place to visit. There are a number of old pubs, including The Griffin, The Rising Sun and The Merry Monk. The village has also been the inspiration for a book. Fenwomen, written by Mary Chamberlain in 1975, is a look at the lives of rural women in the Fens during the 1970s.

Like many other villages in Cambridgeshire, Isleham has a name that is hard to pronounce. People may think it’s pronounced like Is-le-ham, however it’s pronounced like Eyez-lum.

The medical drama won’t air during its usual slot this weekend as it’s been replaced by another show.

Casualty enthusiasts face disappointment this weekend as the cherished BBC drama undergoes a scheduling shake-up.

Typically, devotees tune in on Saturday evenings, but this week there’ll be no episode on Saturday 16 May. The reason? The BBC is broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest grand final instead.

The yearly musical extravaganza goes live at 8pm with Graham Norton providing his trademark commentary, while supporters rally behind the UK’s Look Mum No Computer in hopes of securing valuable points.

While Casualty devotees will miss out on an instalment due to the programming conflict, the wait won’t be lengthy – the show returns to its usual Saturday evening slot the following week (May 23).

Presently, the enduring series has launched its fresh ‘Lethal Legacy’ boxset, which delves deeply into Flynn Byron’s (Olly Rix) military past, reports Wales Online.

Meanwhile, potential complications loom for Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) following a near-catastrophic mistake in the latest instalment.

While the popular character has been relying on opioids to cope with intense physical discomfort, she mistakenly gave a patient an excessive dose of morphine.

Yet when Matty Linlaker (Aron Julius) discovered the error, he shouldered responsibility when his father, Dylan Keogh (William Beck), confronted him about the mishap.

Subsequently, when Matty invited Stevie for a meal, she turned him down, despite mutual romantic interest between them. Right from the opening episode, the duo shared a passionate kiss behind an ambulance while discussing the death of Kim Chang (Jasmine Bayes).

However, viewers were far from thrilled by the budding romance, swiftly flocking to social media to voice their opinions on the plotline.

One viewer commented: “Can the writers stop doing this to Stevie! Sorry, but not feeling it, plus this is going to completely screw up Dylan big time, especially as he opens up to Stevie.”

Another posted: “Honestly, the worst storyline they could’ve run with.” Someone else expressed: “I’m sorry, but I don’t see this ending very well!”

One fan exclaimed: “This was just awful. Why…. WHY?!” As another remarked: “NO STEVIE ANYONE BUT HIM.” Someone else shared: “Why are you pushing these two? Nobody likes them together.”

While one person wrote: “Definitely not liking this relationship, he should have said it was Stevie, which was likely down to the meds. If she doesn’t know, then she may make a similar mistake. I hope we aren’t going to see a pain med reliance/addiction storyline. Feel like that’s been done several times now.”

Casualty is available to watch on BBC iPlayer