Under the microscope
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS? IT feel VARIES. like a corpse Some days but, I recently, wake up and before I can persuade myself otherwise, I’ve been rolling out of bed and straight on to a mat to follow a YOGATX video. Thankfully, I’ve got joint hypermobility, which means I’m pretty bendy. Otherwise I’m hugely lazy. GET YOUR FIVE A DAY? YES, my diet is good — at least I’ve managed to persuade myself that it is. Breakfast is melon with a poached egg and toast. For lunch, I like a salad with lots of greens and butternut squash. Dinner will be some chicken or a fish dish. ANY VICES? SINCE quitting smoking 15 years ago, I’ve developed evil crisp hands. I’ve also got a terrible low-fat mayonnaise habit and have at least two glasses of white wine a night — I might as well just sit there eating sugar cubes. ANY FAMILY AILMENTS? DAD died at 90 of organ failure, but he’d been plagued by heart problems for 20 years. Mum is still alive and kicking at 89. She won’t even look at an aspirin, she thinks it’s a bit Class A. WORST ILLNESS? RECURRENT mouth ulcers. I first experienced them as a child and they came back with a vengeance in my 40s. How can something so innocuous be this painful? A steroid cream called Adcortyl In Orabase helps. POP ANY PILLS? I’M ON a diuretic and beta-blocker for my high-blood pressure — and HRT because I got very, very angry when I turned 52 and it was basically HRT or HMP Holloway. I was becoming a danger to myself and HRT controls my mood swings. I also developed dry eye disease a year ago and now take omega-3 as it helps reduce symptoms. COPE WELL WITH PAIN? I’M PRETTY good. I have a theory that if it gets too bad, I’ll faint and put myself out of my misery. I occasionally get migraines, but I have Migraleve for that, which knocks me out. My dad was ex-Army and my mother is very stoic, so I’m not really wussy. HANGOVER CURE? THE only solution is swimming. Cold water flushes it out. SLEEP WELL? YES, and I love my sleep. My husband, Geoff, just extended our bed, so I can’t wait to get back into it at night. I have two medium bolsters along the bed, and a soft pillow on top. ANY PHOBIAS? OCTOPUSES — they may be tasty, but I wouldn’t want one brushing up against my leg in the sea. LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER? ONLY if I can bend down to unroll my yoga mat and I’ve got enough money.
JENNy EClaIr is the ambassador for Vagisan MoistCream, a treatment for vaginal dryness.