Helen Grant

I had a boyfriend when I was a teenager who I thought I was in love with. He was gorgeous. You know how some people have features that compliment each other, like a full mouth and sparkling eyes and good teeth? That was him, but he was much more than his looks; it was his charm that set him apart from other boys. He was funny and attentive, and he put others before himself.

That, I believe, is the key to a magnetic personality; humour, charm, attentiveness and the ability to give without any expectations. Give, give, give without any thought of receiving in return and your life will be transformed. Those magical ingredients when mixed together have the power to turn mundaneness on it’s head, and continue to do so for anyone who is open enough to accept that their problems are their own doing. The path to change is within all of us.

I much prefer to give than receive. It’s how I try to live my life. There’s no feeling quite like making someone else happy and helping others to achieve their goals. For those of you who like surprises, try it, because magical things happen to those who put others first. Call it a coincidence, a reward from the universe, or whatever else sits comfortably with your beliefs. If you prefer to receive than give, trust me when I say you’ll receive far more if you make giving your priority.

On a musical note, I’m loving the new Robert Plant and Alison Krauss CD, especially a song titled ‘Please Read the Letter that I wrote’. Discovering Robert and Alison has been one of the musical highlights of my year. Their voices have a lovely countryish, hypnotic flavour to them that reminds me of floaty dresses and high heel boots. Bewitching.

We are very excited because we have a new kitten coming to stay. He’s very little, not even a week old, so he’s with his mum for a few more weeks. But it’s very exciting knowing that he’ll be part of the family soon. His name is Ozzy and he’s gorgeous, dark grey and fluffy with a white bib and paws. I promise not to mollycoddle this one, but don’t hold me to that.