By Anna Penniceard

The other night I was invited for dinner with celeb chef Nancy Lam at her restaurant, Enak Enak. You might remember her multicoloured hair and crazy glasses from Channel 5's launch or her appearances on TV shows like Through the Keyhole and Light Lunch.

I spent the first 10 minutes gawping at Nancy's collection of photos of herself with celebs from Kylie to Russell Brand and a pic of Cynthia Payne with a note: Sorry I lost one of my best girls. Russell, she told me, had the whole restaurant in stitches.

Nancy's the perfect host. She ordered a selection of starters and mains to share and explained each dish as it arrived. She makes an amazing summer sorbet from fruit from her garden. The pork in her sweet & sour dish was amazingly tender and I kept a close eye on her 'bisexual prawns' (she cracked up laughing when she explained that you can't tell the sex of a prawn) hoping for seconds.

Other customers arrived to be greeted like long-lost friends. As a couple walked in, Nancy yelled: "So you're not f***ing dead then!" and flung her arms round them. There was such a friendly atmosphere that I spent way longer there than I'd intended.

Later Nancy and I snuck off for a chat about cooking, so watch out for all her tips, recipes and Christmas food ideas coming soon to goodtoknow. And if you've got any burning questions you'd like Nancy to answer, then write to me and let me know. - it'll be a great excuse to pop in and sample her food all over again!

Thanks to Uncle Ben's

By Beth Ivory

I can't believe Children In Need has already been and gone this year.

I'm also astounded at the generosity it's brought out - especially as there are so many people out of work and having a really hard time of it at the moment.

As well as the usual sponsored walks, jumble sales and raffles, some more adventurous types got really creative!

For example, Bournemouth University raised money by trying to break the world record for the most people in one room dressed as super heroes. Others have attempted to build the biggest sugar cube tower, get together the most ever people simultaneously belly dancing and create the longest teddy bear chain.

Totally and utterly barking - the lot of them!

Don't forget you can still donate - so dig deep...

By Charlotte Gunn

I'm starting to get a bit worried about how much I rely on technology. Some of my friends have got iphones and I'm starting to think that I need one too. Gone are the days of wondering what's on the telly later, or who was in that film with Kevin Bacon (it was Sean Penn by the way), because one of them will just look it up online - whenever, wherever.

This has started to impact on my life so much that I'm now convinced that I can't live without some kind of mobile internet. I'll be out at the shops and want to know where the nearest Topshop is and instead of just asking someone or having a wander around, I think to myself 'if only I had an iphone, then I'd know'. Or I'll want to find out what time the last train back from somewhere is - same again, I find myself cursing my crummy old mobile and longing for newer technologies.

Its so ridiculous. To think that 10 years ago most of us didn't even own a mobile phone and now we're not happy unless we're connected to the whole world all the time.

That said, as soon as my phone contract runs out I will be investigating just how much it'd cost me to own one of these pretty gadgets, and I'm praying it's within my price range!

By Jolene Akehurst

The best thing that's happened to Laura White is being voted off X Factor. It's almost irrelevant now whether she deserved it (personally I don't think she did) because what she's had since is as much, if not more, publicity than the eventual winner.

The one thing I don't think Simon and his cronies should do though it put her back in the show. For whatever reason, she didn't get as many votes on Saturday as the other contestants and ended up in the bottom two. Would Diana have been in there if she'd been fit to sing? Probably not.

Instead Laura has become the nation's sweetheart. Not only do 88% of you think she should've stayed, thousands more have petitioned to have her back this Saturday.

So Ms White, your star is shining bright right now. The best thing you can do now is rush out that debut single and see if you can make it to the New Year's No.1 after the X Factor winner's Christmas No.1. I'd say she's got a pretty good chance...

Interrupting someone's beauty shopping to stop them from making a big mistake is often met with a slap! So instead, Louise shares her anti-ageing tips with you...

While shopping recently I noticed a group of 40+ women huddled around a make-up counter looking very confused. I wanted to do an SAS-style beauty intervention and share my hard-won beauty secrets but I was distracted by another women in her 50s having a consultation by a 'professional' beauty consultant. The advice this beauty consultant was giving the customer was totally wrong.

Over the years I've worked as a beauty ed on some of the top magazines and newspapers. So, here are a couple of anti-ageing make-up tips that every woman needs to know:

Mascara - too much can create shadows around your eyes, so if you've already got dark circles just use two coats on your top lashes.

Curl your lashes - even if you don't use mascara, it'll help open up tired eyes and make lashes look longer

Forget applying loads of coats of lip gloss or eye shadow - get your base right instead - too much is ageing.

Always use a light reflecting foundation, it makes the skin look younger and avoid powder unless you need it on an oily T-zone.

If you like eyeliner avoid a harsh line, always smudge it with a brush or cotton bud, this makes it look softer and more flattering.

Swap your black or blue eyeliner and try grey or brown - you'll be amazed at what a difference it can make

Re-assess your lipstick, what suited you 5 or 10 years ago might not suit you now because everyone's skin tone changes. To find a good lip colour look at the colour of your inside lip and try to match this with a lipstick or gloss. For evening go for a glossier or deeper version of that lip colour.

Experts are always harping on about how water is good for you but it really is a brilliant beauty tool. Likewise, a good diet is essential too.