I've was in the supermarket doing my weekly shopping when I decided to put my lottery on. Stood in the queue which seem to take ages I spotted on the shelves a magazine called Chat. The headlines looked gruesome!
"Devil Dog ripped off my arm and ate it….." "This creep was lurking in my loft" "Raped by the man I called Dad" Etc...
It was the one about the dog what got me intrigued as I have 2 Westies and they wouldn't dream of hurting anyone or would they? Reading this story made me realise you can never be too careful with animals.
In a nut shell the lady worked in a boarding kennel's, one of the dogs that was friendly followed her around everywhere, one particular day she turned her back to go get a coffee when he grabbed her arm. Mandy thought he was playing but Diesel the Rottweiler all 12 stone of him meant business!
Mandy had no chance against him. Diesel shook her about like a rag doll. Without giving you the other gory details the poor woman got out of this horrendous ordeal alive however her left arm had to be amputated. Her injuries were so bad the doctors didn't think she would make it.
~~~~~~~ SO WHAT'S IN IT ~~~~~~~
There are certainly plenty of features and stories in this magazine.
I start by turning the pages and on the first two pages I'm met with the contents page and lots of funny photographs of people and pets - best of all if you post in your pictures and Chat use them, they will pay you £25.00.
There are 67 pages in the magazine and from start to finish it is packed with true life stories, quite a few adverts, lots of competitions where you can win big prizes both money and items.
Want to sell your story? Chat will pay up to £500.00 for true life stories.
As with all magazines no magazine is complete without the fashion pages. 2 fashion pages with clothes, shoes, bags, makeup and accessories.
Prices are very reasonable too. The advertising shops are Tesco, Primark (my favourite), Debenhams, Boots & Superdrug etc.
~~~~~~~ TIPS ~~~~~~~
In Chat the tips page is known as 'Blimey! That's clever. This page made me laugh. Some of the things people write in about and you actually get paid £65.00 per tip (with photo) or £15.00 per tip without. One of the tips was "When it's nice outside, hang kid's paintings on the washing line to dry". (In the meantime the paint runs down the paper and spoils the child's painting).
~~~~~~~ BARGAIN PAGE ~~~~~~~
Cor what a bargain pages consist of two pages full of cheap goodies. This week Chat are advertising items for under £2.99 the best piccalilli from just 42p and the best products for home from £2.50.
~~~~~~~ PSYCHIC AGONY AUNT ~~~~~~~
I really believe in psychic's and the afterlife but sometimes in these magazines I am not convinced that someone can actually tell things from a photo or does the reader give the psychic too much information when they write into them to ask for advice?
For example - one lady has asked Ruth
"We have damp on our kitchen wall - Can you see the cause of this and will I have to move"
Ruth replies
"I am no structural engineer but I sense the problem stems from underneath the building and the drainage. I suggest you get a professional in to view this. As for moving, I don't see this in the near future but looks more likely after three years"
So on that basis is Ruth really physic? (sorry Ruth) - I'm sorry but I could have told the lady that about damp - What do you think?
~~~~~~~ YOUR HEALTH ~~~~~~~
I always like to read the health pages because I don't care what anyone says but you always learn something.
On this section we have diet secrets before and after photograph of a lady who has lost weight and how she did it.
We have ask the doctor section and the ooh matron bit giving you tips on your health and answering your letters.
~~~~~~~ BONUS PAGES ~~~~~~~
This is a good page for all parents who want to get their kids to eat healthier. Fantastic 50p meals - yes I'm telling you the truth. There's about a dozen recipes or so where Chat claim they cost 50p per head.
The recipes include
Sausages and colcannon. Cabbage and cheese pasta Easy chilli beef Liver and onions Chicken liver pasta Spaghetti carbonara Fishfinger pie Pea and tuna fishcakes Quick pizzas
Etc.
So if you're on a low budget these fun recipes will cater for most people.
~~~~~~~ PRIVATE DICK ~~~~~~~
This section had me in hysterics! Private Dick answers your letters by giving you advice on if you think your better half is cheating or worse. He gives you advice on both yes he/she may be cheating and he/she may not be cheating. The advice he gives does make sense however the only way you're going to find out these things is if you catch your partner at it or he/she admits it.
~~~~~~~ OOOOOOO SPOOKY! ~~~~~~~
Another one of my favourite pages - this is short stories of true ghostly stories and features. I'm not so sure about the bit on Stella's spell of the week or the Mystic Mutt bit but again if you believe that type of thing you will enjoy reading them, the rest of the pages are very interesting reads.
~~~~~~~ DENISE NO NONSENSE ADVICE ~~~~~~~
No magazine is complete without an agony aunt. Chat's agony aunt is Denise Robertson (the one who stars on ITV's This Morning). Denise gives all kind of advice on these pages from drowning in debt to parenting solutions, help on single men and advice on drinking and gambling. The page also contains useful helpline telephone numbers.
~~~~~~~ ON THE TELLY ~~~~~~~
If you're like me and work shifts I tend miss a lot of television soaps so if I forget to skyplus it you can catch up what's going to happen here. Chat gives you an inside glimpse of the weeks TV soaps and other dramas such as Casualty, The Bill & Holby City.
~~~~~~~ YOUR HOLIDAY ~~~~~~~
What better way to start your holidays, have a read of Chat's recommendations or should I say what a customer has wrote in. To say there is only a page and half on the beautiful country Slovenia there is a few photographs, advice on where to stay, what to eat and drink, the best bits, the worst bits, what to do and where to go. If you like call it a mini review with lots of information.
~~~~~~~ YOUR LETTERS ~~~~~~~ If you want a moan, or compliment someone - here's the page to do it. What's more if your letter is published you get £25.00
~~~~~~~ YOUR STARS ~~~~~~~
Bernard Fitzwalter is Chat's astrologer, unfortunately he's not going to make me a millionaire this week and he hasn't predicted I will get a diamond either so maybe I should ring his phone line and get charged £1.50 per minute for him to tell me my future and destiny.
~~~~~~~ CHAT COMPETIONS ~~~~~~~
As mentioned earlier throughout the magazine there are loads of competitions for you to enter if you wish, the prizes range from as little as £50.00 cash right up to £1001.00 pounds in cash, most of the puzzles are pretty simple to do such as arrow words, cross words, spot the difference and wordsearches etc, some take you no time at all to complete, however one or two can take you some time to complete.
~~~~~~~ CLASSIFIED ~~~~~~~
Finally we have the classified section where there are lots of advertisements - you know the ones like the Tarot Line, Free Chat, Dating Section, Wacky Wind ups etc. I personally don't even bother looking at these pages but I suppose it is each to their own.
~~~~~~~ CONCLUSION ~~~~~~~
This magazine is defiantly worth investing in, a little dearer then some magazines you can purchase but this is priced at 78p so it doesn't break the bank and its near enough the price of a can of pop so if your like me who sometimes uses public transport its great to sit and read it as it makes your journey go by quicker. Great if you only have 5 minutes or half an hour.
The magazine is packed with a lot of information and is very colourful throughout.
The only thing I couldn't find in the magazine is if you wanted to subscribe so you can ask your newsagent to save it or get it delivered every week therefore I'm not sure if this option is available through the magazine.
To clarify - This magazine is available weekly.
You can purchase the magazine through Chat's website at
3 monthly direct debit £12.50 1 year direct debit £50.00 2 years direct debit £100.00
I will certainly be purchasing this magazine again as it well worth the money, I will also have a go at the competitions too to see if I win - if I do I will let you know!
~~~~~~~ PRICE ~~~~~~~
78p - Available from most Newsagents and supermarkets
~~~~~~~ CONTACT ~~~~~~~
Want to get in touch with Chat?
Phone: 0870 880 4567 E-mail: chat_magazine@ipcmedia.com Post: Chat, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU Text: Just text CHATMAG to 86611
very helpful
very helpful
