‘I ignored discharge from my breast for nearly two years. I was thrilled when the doctor said there were no lumps – I didn’t realise I had a brain tumour,’ writes @daynamcalpine_

🧵 trib.al/tslqh7f ‘‘So it’s all OK then, there’s no lump’ I beamed.

‘‘Well, yes and no. We need to send you for a scan of your brain as soon as possible.’’

‘Some people think the magic of a relationship and the adventure in a marriage fades when you have children, but it brought my husband and I closer together,’

✍️writes Sarah Whiteley

🧵 trib.al/Y9IPI36 ‘It’s something everyone wants to know.'

‘The key to a happy and long-lasting relationship.’ 🤔❤️️

‘I know what it’s like to work throughout my childhood – and it’s not something I’d ever want for my children’

✍️writes Julie Cook

🧵 trib.al/RQo4bWp ‘When I list it back, my teenage job record reads rather like a Dickensian novel.' 📚

‘I used to be fully nocturnal, sometimes sleeping until 6pm – until I found an unexpected way to change my sleeping pattern for good’, says @daynamcalpine_

🧵 trib.al/K31wC5i ‘I started destroying my sleep routine when I was 18 years old.'

‘I’d taken a job in a nightclub, met the people who’d still be my best friends now, almost 11 years later, and staying up until the sun was blazing was way more fun than being tucked up in bed at 10pm.’

'As a British Muslim, I was brought up consuming media that perpetuated harmful stereotypes about my community,' writes @najourno

🧵 trib.al/FxC1QL8 'I remember sneakily watching EastEnders through a crack in the front room door as a child when my mum thought I was in bed.

'I saw the character of Shabnam Masood (played by Zahra Ahmadi) whip her hijab off at the turn of her parents’ back and go clubbing.'

'Men often approach me to discuss their bisexuality, I'm happy to be out and proud,' writes Megan Barton Hanson #BiVisibilityDay

🧵 trib.al/Fn9Msp2 'On a night out with a female friend of mine, a man came up to us and said we looked cute.

'So I turned to her and semi-jokingly asked if she wanted to have a threesome with him.'

When I found out I had ADHD at 48 everything in my life started to make sense

🧵

trib.al/baxk7Wq I read the list of symptoms out to my husband.

‘Always late, easily distracted, impulsive, struggling to focus, prone to emotional dysregulation. Who does that sound like?’

‘I used to struggle to admit to others how important my faith is to me, but now my main goal is to serve.’

✍️writes Sophie Mei Lan

🧵trib.al/qpK30Qc ‘Stepping off the stage, I hurried to the dressing room and started taking off my skimpy belly-dancing costume.'

‘’Fancy a drink?’ one of my fellow dancers asked.’

‘People might think it’s ‘weird’ or ‘unfair’ to leave one child at home whilst holidaying with another, but it’s so important to stay in tune with who your children are’

✍️ writes Julie Cook.

🧵 trib.al/UAf7FZ8 'Recently, David Beckham made the headlines when he took his daughter Harper to Venice for a bonding holiday without Victoria or her brothers.’

‘I’ve done this twice myself.’ 🇮🇹

In Focus 🔎

‘Everyone’s Invited was created that survivors of sexual-wrong doing could tell their stories safely - but the scale of the problem shocked even the founder.’

🧵 trib.al/qRTMjZ7 ‘In just two years, over 50,000 people would log their harrowing, sometimes life-changing experiences, of sexual wrong-doing to Everyone’s Invited, reveals creator Soma Sara.

‘We began to realise that incidents of sexual harassment and violence were entrenched into our lives.’

‘Just because things were different ‘back in your day’ doesn’t mean we can’t adjust to a new way of living now - it’s probably more beneficial for younger generations’, writes Sarah Whiteley ✍️

🧵 trib.al/1YmrR2s Ever since I’ve become a parent, I’ve come to hate the phrase, ‘back in my day’.

Although I am worried about raising children in a world with social media and Amazon and Netflix, I’m still not convinced we should be looking at the past with such rose-tinted glasses.

‘Every blind date I had was terrible, and I wanted to blame the dating agency, until I realised I didn’t even know what it was I’d been looking for’, writes Katherine Busby.

🧵 trib.al/EoOjK94 'It looks expensive here. You can buy us a drink or we can go somewhere else.’

It was the first date my agency had set up for me - I should have walked away, but, as a people pleaser, I didn’t.

Owami Davies went missing on the streets of south London in early July.

The 24-year-old student nurse vanished without a trace – so why aren’t we hearing more about this tragic and terrifying case?, asks Natalie Morris.

🧵trib.al/jXEr1QT Here’s what we know so far: the last confirmed sighting of Owami was in West Croydon on July 7, just after midnight, three days after she left her home in Grays, Essex.

An unconfirmed sighting placed her in nearby Clarendon Road later that morning, at around 7am.

'Scotland has made huge strides on period health, but a man as a Period Dignity Officer feels like the ultimate mansplain,' writes @nicolathorp_

🧵 trib.al/fAUXYzA 'It must’ve been a weird old week for Jason Grant.

'He’s the man who unwittingly found himself at the centre of a media storm when it was announced that he – a cisgender man – would become the first ever Period Dignity Regional Lead Officer in Scotland.'

'Kanye West's eccentricities have always defined him, but his latest attack on Pete Davidson has gone way too far,' argues @theothercoogan

🧵trib.al/EPVrnJQ 'To say that Kanye West is no stranger to controversy might be an understatement, but he may still have caused some shock with his latest Instagram post.

'The image, since deleted, depicted a photoshopped newspaper bearing the headline ‘Skete Davidson Dead At Age 28.''

'At first I barely reacted when a home DNA kit told me I was at risk of cancer, but my family history made me take action,' writes Nova Cobban

🧵 trib.al/BRovkot 'I excitedly clicked ‘post’ on Facebook and told everyone about purchasing a DNA testing kit, with the immortal headline: ‘A whole new set of insights awaits!’

'How right that was — just not in the way I expected.'

'At 59, I'm thrilled with the rise of mid-life influencers like, but I wish people would stop saying I look good for my age,' says Jacqueline Hooton

🧵trib.al/8uqFOjr 'As a personal trainer nearing 60, I know people mean well in their attempts to compliment me.

'But I wish they’d just say I look good… full stop.'

‘I may not have family connections there any more, but visiting Jamaica - at last - changed my life’, writes @Nmozz

🧵trib.al/vypXsQl ‘’Where are you really from?’

‘Wherever I encounter this question, I know that the person asking is always trying to find out where my grandparents are from.’

'Plans for Amazon's Alexa to speak with the voices of the dead will inflict more pain on those who are grieving’, says Flora Baker

🧵 trib.al/dOSwsLR ‘I dialled the voicemail number again, panic rising in my throat.

‘‘Your mailbox is empty!’ the jaunty disembodied voice repeated.’

‘My wife and I sobbed about the difficulties our daughter would face after finding out she had Down’s syndrome; but now we can’t wait to see what life holds for her’, says Peter Gibbins

trib.al/cSXi6t8 ‘My little girl, Jasmine, is gorgeous.

‘She loves feeding ducks, petting the animals at the local farm and going to the swimming pool.’

Taking my parents to their first Pride was one of the happiest days of my life’, writes @itssophieperry 🏳️‍🌈

🧵 trib.al/95BqvH6 'As the Dykes on Bikes rumbled past, my mum and dad – sporting ‘Proud LGBTQ Parents’ T-shirts – were whooping, clapping and enthusiastically waving their flags.

‘When I looked over and saw this all unfolding, I felt a unique sense of euphoria.’