“IVF has robbed us of enjoying our 20s – it’s taken over our life”
A couple who have spent years trying to conceive say IVF has “robbed” them of enjoying their 20s.
Megan and Ryan Lamour, 27 and 28, started dating at the age of 16, after meeting through friends two years prior.
They knew they were each other’s “one,” and Megan stopped taking her birth control pill in October 2020, after they moved in together.
But by March 2022, they hadn’t been able to conceive – and it was revealed by a GP that Ryan has a low sperm count, and they have a 0.5% chance of conceiving naturally.
Two subsequent rounds of IVF have failed, and despite being on the waiting list for a third, Megan and Ryan wish to go private so they can look into other options if it doesn’t work.
They say becoming parents would mean “the world” to them – and they want to be able to give their parents a grandchild.
Megan, a postal worker from Newtonabbey, Northern Ireland, said: “Our IVF journey has robbed us of enjoying the last few years of our 20’s as it’s all we can think about and stopped us from being able to go abroad on multiple holidays and even our honeymoon as we can’t leave the country and need to save our money for treatment.
“It’s taken all the excitement, fun and privacy of trying for a baby.
“It’s taken over our life, it’s stopped us planning anything and living our life, it’s given us darkness, it’s going to take all our savings amd it’s been all we’ve concentrated on.
“A baby would be everything – it’s all we’ve talked about for nearly five years.
“I’ve been seeing people I used to go to school with having kids, and it’s hard not to compare myself.
“We want to give our parents their first grandchild.”
The couple had already been together seven years, when they decided to start trying for a baby in late 2020.
Megan says they were “love’s young dream” – despite a few hiccups, and knew they would always be there for each other.
But after over a year of trying, nothing happened – apart from a chemical pregnancy Megan experienced in March 2022.
“Sometime in March 2022, I took a test, and it was positive,” she said.
“I was three-or-four days late – but a couple of days later, I started bleeding, and another test said negative.
“There wasn’t time to let myself get excited – it was gone, as quickly as it came about.”
Feeling like “enough was enough,” Ryan ordered an at-home test to measure his sperm count.
He says it worked similarly to a pregnancy test – in that a line would show up if he had enough sperm to conceive.
When the line didn’t appear, they booked in to see a GP – who confirmed in June 2022 that his count was low.
Ryan, a postal worker, said: “That was tough.
“I feel more guilt than anything else, because the issue’s on my side.
“You do feel guilty, because all I want is to be able to give Megan the gift of being a mother – and I can’t do it as easily as other people can.
“It’s taken a while to come to terms with that.”
In September 2022, the couple were added to the NHS waiting list for IVF – and were told it could take three-to-four months to receive an appointment.
Megan and Ryan got married in November 2023 – and in the same month, were called in for their first consultation.
“Here in Northern Ireland, we’re only entitled to one free cycle,” Megan said.
“But if you have frozen embryos, you can continue the round until you’ve run out.”
The consultant prescribed Megan with norethisterone, to take once a day for five days, in order to control her menstrual cycle.
For the following 10 to 15 days, she took one-to-two injections a day, to prepare her eggs for retrieval.
On March 7, 2024, Megan had the egg retrieval procedure – which was initially successful.
“We were able to get 10 [eggs] collected and six were fertilised,” Megan added.
“Five days after the procedure, one of the fertilised eggs was able to be transferred into my uterus, and two were frozen.
“But two weeks later, I got the call – the transfer wasn’t successful.”
On November 26, 2024, Megan and Ryan’s first wedding anniversary, they were told the second embryo transfer hadn’t been successful, either.
With one frozen embryo left, and an estimated wait-time of nine months, the couple have decided they want to continue IVF privately.
They’ve put the money they were going to spend on a honeymoon into a savings pot – and have started a GoFundMe in the hopes of reaching their goal.
Megan said: “There’s one private clinic we think we’re going to go for.
“It’s a bit dear but you get two unlimited tries – and a partial refund if you don’t have a live birth at the end of it.
“As far as further plans go, we’ll see how this journey goes for another two years.
“If we can’t do anymore, we’ll maybe look into adoption.”
Ryan added: “All I can do is hold Megan’s hand through this; it’s been horrible to watch.
“There’s still hope – with our NHS chances running out, it’s crazy money.
“But I can’t put into words how much it would mean to have this baby – I’d give anything to be a dad.”
Megan and Ryan’s GoFundMe can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/journey-to-baby-larmour
Dad’s hilariously bad paintings go viral – now he’s flooded with portrait requests
A dad’s hilariously bad portraits have gone viral and now he’s flooded with paid art commissions worldwide.
Jamie Matthias’s wacky side-hustle started by accident after he painted a “terrible” portrait of his wife Kate as a wedding gift.
Kate thought the artwork was so funny she posted a picture of it on social media and within days it racked up thousands of views and comments.
Jamie, 41, has since been inundated with requests from people desperate for him to create funny versions of their own photographs.
The dad-of-three, from Alsager, Staffs., now juggles his art business which his full-time accounting job.
He said: “I actually don’t mean to paint badly and I’m doing my best to recreate the photos I get sent but it’s just the way they turn out.
“I try and create an alternate universe where proportions have no meaning. I’ve painted for years but I had no idea they were so bad until people started telling me.
“We’ve always painted, it’s like a family activity.
“At half-term we’d get the mats and canvasses out and paint something with the kids.
“Kate was making a comment about how bad mine were and I said I would paint one for our wedding day, as a joke.
“It was brought out by the kids during my wedding speech and everyone loved it, it was hysterical.
“I find painting really relaxing so I did some for the friends and family over Christmas.
“The reactions were priceless. I thought I’d stick one out there and see if anyone wanted one.
“I made a joke, because of the poor quality of my art, that I might start trying to sell it to make money.”
Jamie said he was stunned by the reaction online to his artwork.
He added: “As a bit of a joke set up a Facebook and Instagram account called Terrible Art by Jamie Lee, we
sent out the picture, the reaction and a bit of a blurb and it just kind of blew up.
“We’ve got orders all over England, Scotland, Wales and even Northern Ireland, people all over the country
seem to be really enjoying it.
“We’re at 71 orders now, and we put it up on January 2.
“We joke Kate is head of financial distribution and her bridesmaid Kate is head of marketing.
“It seems to be getting a lot of noise on social media, we’ve got just over of 1,800 followers.
“Some of the pictures they ask me to paint are amazing, they clearly get the humour.
“It’s acrylic on canvas and it’s priced from £25 plus postage, it’s very cheap.”
Jamie spends around two hours every evening painting his commissioned work on 10 x 12 inch canvases.
He said: “I do it at the dining room table, I haven’t got a space, I don’t have a studio.
“For me it’s just about the reactions and people have been loving it.
“We’ve said to people there’s a three to five week waiting list but they all understand.
“I’ll keep forgetting to paint someone’s nose and have to keep mixing paint and add it later. It adds to the comedy value.
“I’ve been drawing this way since I was a child, if anything some of the paintings have got a lot worse.
“This is my standard, there’s no risk of it getting better. I am absolutely not an art teacher.
“We just do it as a family, I actually didn’t like art at school.
“I think everyone has seemed to appreciate them in some way. They are terrible but Kate just said it’s so much fun, she appreciates it.”
His wife Kate, 40, added: “It’s just the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen. We’ve had so much fun laughing at his inability to paint.”
Amateur baker finds fame online – making hilarious celeb caricature cakes
An amateur baker has found fame online by making hilarious caricature cakes of famous faces including Ant and Dec, the royals – and Claudia Winkleman.
But Keith Scovell, 55, admits he had no idea his creations had made him a viral sensation – until it was pointed out to him.
He first began baking his Spitting Image-esque cakes after his sister Helen requested a crocodile cake for her birthday around seven years ago.
The resulting “horrendous” creation drew a crowd of onlookers who found the cake hilarious and encouraged him to explore his talents further.
Mr Scovell, of Kentish Town in north London, later went on to attempt a cake creation of Taylor Swift for his niece’s 18th birthday which racked up thousands of views on his social media pages.
However, the HR consultant says that, not being social media-savvy, he had no idea how big a response the cake had received until people pointed it out to him.
Mr Scovell has gone on to recreate the faces of Ant and Dec, King Charles and Queen Camilla, Liam and Noel Gallagher and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in his cakes.
Some of his creations – including his latest of Traitors host Claudia Winkleman – have been featured on national television and brought him adulation from across the globe.
“They showed Ant & Dec their cakes on This Morning,” Mr Scovell said. “I just do them for family and friends. I don’t sell them, I just give them away to whoever wants to eat them.
“The very first one was the crocodile cake. My sister Helen wanted a cake but she didn’t want a Colin the Caterpillar one.
“I did a crocodile and it was horrendous… But it was funny and that’s where it all stemmed from. Other people in the park came over to look at it.”
Mr Scovell explained that given this positive reaction to his initial attempt, he began crafting similar cakes for family occasions.
He said: “For my niece’s birthday we were going to see Mary Poppins, so I made a cake – but it turned into Scary Poppins because of the teeth.
“I got engaged last year and did an engagement cake as two Victoria sponge hands with sponge fingers and almonds for nails.
“They were pretty awful – but they were pretty funny. The one that went crazy was for my great-niece’s 18th birthday.
“I gave her a Taylor Swift cake. That was the first one that went viral. Obviously, it looked nothing like her but it was funny.”
Mr Scovell revealed that he tries to toe the line between being funny and offensive with his cakes and never intends to upset the subjects of any of his cakes.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful,” he continued. “But something has happened in the past few months where the cakes are beginning to look like the people.
“With the Claudia Winkleman one, I was watching her on TV and sculpting the cake. I looked down and thought, ‘This could actually look like her’.
“They’re kind of like [the puppets from] Spitting Image. People say I’ve captured her essence.
“I just use what I see in them and bring that to life in cake. If someone doesn’t like it, the cake takes the hit, not me.”
However, the now-famous baker admits that he had no idea he was gaining such an online following until friends began pointing it out to him.
Mr Scovell’s creations, which take him around three hours to complete, have now grown so popular that people from all over the world message him to ask if he can send them one of his cakes.
“I had no idea people were viewing them,” he said. “Someone said, ‘Do you know your cake has 60,000 likes?’.
“I was learning the social game and that’s not my world. It was all about the cakes. But I’ve had some really great comments, like somebody saying, ‘How dare you’, and I thought, ‘Oh God…’.
“[They said:] ‘How dare you put a picture of Claudia Winkleman on here and pretend it’s a cake’. People call my cakes artworks. I didn’t think they were, but I guess they are.”
But despite his plaudits, Mr Scovell admits his cakes are artworks first and food second – meaning that though they’re edible, he’s in no rush to sign up for the Great British Bake Off.
“It’s all about the icing,” he said. “It’s edible, but it’s basic cake. I’m never going to go on Bake Off or anything.
“After some of my latest ones, people were messaging saying, ‘Where can I get one?
“People were asking me to ship them across to America, but I don’t think I could ship one across London. It’s just purely for fun.”
However, due to his rise in popularity, Mr Scovell says he may need to think about selling his cakes or offering a cake-making kit in the future.
“Maybe it’s something I’ve got to start thinking about,” he said. “I just didn’t think people would be that interested in it, but maybe there’s a gap in the market.”
On his upcoming creations, Mr Scovell says he’d like to bake alongside anniversaries and events occurring over the next year – including the 40th anniversary of Eastenders next month.
Cancer survivor pays tribute to friend Linda Nolan who “saved her life”
A cancer survivor who “owes her life” to friend Linda Nolan said star was beautiful “inside and out” and “taught her to make the most of life” despite having cancer herself.
Gail Jones, 59, grew up obsessing over the Nolan Sisters, going to every concert, every meet-and-greet, and buying every album.
Gail ended up being diagnosed with breast cancer herself in 2020, ten years after the late Bernie Nolan had encouraged her to check her breasts, as a result of the singer’s life-saving advice.
Gail ended up developing a close friendship with Linda, who also had cancer, and Linda supported Gail through her treatment until she was given the all-clear in November 2021.
They last had a call two weeks ago where she said “I’m still here and I’m still going, so I’m going to live every day”.
The mum-of-four, from West Bromwich, West Midlands, credits both Linda and sister Bernie for saving her life – and said the news of Linda’s death is “absolutely devastating”.
Gail last spoke to Linda on the phone two weeks ago, and knew her health was deteriorating – but it didn’t make the news of her death any less of a blow.
She said: “I’m heartbroken. Linda got me through some very dark times in my life and my cancer treatment.
“When I was diagnosed, I was so scared but Linda was so strong and positive, and she taught me to make the most of life.
“She and Bernie literally saved my life. I didn’t want to be here at times, but Linda kept me going and reminded me what I have to live for.
“She was funny, she was strong and inspirational. She was beautiful inside and out.”
Gail found a lump in her breast in July 2020, a decade after the late Bernie had reminded her never to forget the checks.
She was diagnosed with a grade-three tumour as a result and reached out to Linda, who supported Gail through her journey while also living with incurable cancer herself.
Gail, who lives with wife Susan Jones, 60, maintained a friendship with Linda even after going into remission a year later.
They would meet up and keep in contact on the phone, and last spoke two weeks before Linda’s death, which was announced today (15).
Gail said: “Linda hated the word ‘brave’ – she would tell me ‘it’s not about being brave, I don’t have a choice!’
“But I still think she was so brave.
“My God, she was inspirational too. And such a beautiful soul, inside and out.
“She always had time for you.
“The last few weeks, she hadn’t been well at all, but she’d say ‘I’m still here and I’m still going, so I’m going to live every day’.
“I’m heartbroken because I knew how much she wanted to live.”
Gail said she could tell Linda was deteriorating when they last spoke by phone two weeks ago.
She said: “She told me she wanted to live longer, but that she wasn’t frightened to die.”
Gail said Linda had helped her to see the light when she was going through her own mental battles as a result of cancer.
She said: “Linda made me feel like I wanted to enjoy every single day and be happy to be here.
“I like to think I can be as tough as she was, if anything happened to me.
“I hope the crowds line the streets in Blackpool like they did for Bernie.
“I hope the people of Blackpool give her a good send off. She definitely deserves one.”
“I was raised Amish – I didn’t wear jeans or get my hair cut for 26 years”
A young woman has told how she has fled the Amish community and had her haircut and wore a pair of jeans for the first time.
Alisha Green, 26, was a generational member of the Amish and Mennonite community after her parents and grandparents were born into it.
She claims that the community was restrictive as it was recommended that you didn’t have contact with anyone outside of the group.
Alisha claimed that being raised within the Amish community meant she was expected to get married and raise a family instead of going out to work.
She claims that people are kept in the community by fear after being told that bad things will happen to them if they leave.
After going for her driving test when she was 18, Alisha realised that life outside of the community wasn’t what she was told and in May 2024, Alisha packed up and has not had contact with her family since.
Since leaving last March, Alisha has had her hair cut and put on a pair of denim jeans for the first time.
Alisha, a delivery driver, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said: “It got to the point where I was either going to leave or stay for the rest of my life.
“I was 26 years old, I was tired of the expectations put on me.
“I was expected to get married and have a child, that is what my parents wanted.
“I didn’t feel like I had the freedom to have a career or live life how I would have wanted.”
Alisha was born in the Amish and Mennonite community, she was homeschooled as a child.
She claims there were a lot of “faith restrictions” and she was warned to stay away from people outside of the Amish community as they didn’t follow god.
Alisha said: “I didn’t even realise how restricted it was until I left, I was able to get my hair cut for the first time and I was able to wear jeans.
“There was an understanding that if you had friends you couldn’t be close with them if they were outside of the community.
“It was encouraged not to have friends outside of the community.”
Alisha claims that religion was law and if you wanted to do anything within the community you would need to get your parent’s permission first.
She said that the teachings of god were misleading.
Alisha said: “For me, it meant that I had to report back to my parents for a lot of my decisions, they were seen as the authority and I had to follow what they said.
“It is the whole community idea that you follow rules and you get your parent’s blessing.
“The main reason I left is because of the faith restrictions.
“I was tired of the expectations as well as I knew that my relationship with god was not supposed to be a legalistic one.”
Alisha said the first time she realised that life outside the community was different to what she had been told was when she went for her driving test.
She said: “Taking the driving test was really eye-opening for me.
“There is a lot of fear within the Amish community that if you leave, bad things are going to happen to you and that is what I feared.
“Seeing other people who weren’t part of Amish culture doing good things was a shock for me.
“In a lot of ways, it made me feel like I was living in a bubble.
“It helped me to see that things weren’t normal in my community.”
In May 2024, Alisha was home alone for a week while her family were away.
It was then she decided to pack up and leave with the help of some close friends.
She said: “That time I had alone was really good for me.
“That is when I packed up, I mentioned to my family that I was going to stay somewhere else and I just never went back.”
Alisha said she has not had any contact with her family since and they believe she has been influenced by the devil.
She said: “They think it is a false teaching and think the devil has got hold of me.
“It is sad and I wish they knew that was not the case.
“They are well known within the community and people have been telling them where I have been staying so I have had to keep moving.”
Alisha said that she doesn’t regret leaving and is looking forward to her future.
She said: “Life has been really interesting, there are so many sweet people that I was not expecting to meet.
“In general, I am so glad that I am not in the Amish community anymore.
“I would say life outside of the community is scary, when you have a lot of rules you know what to expect.
“Outside you don’t have any rules so it can be scary and uncomfortable.
“Overall, it has been refreshing that there are people outside who care for me and it is not what was portrayed to me.”
Woman unable to walk in straight line because of brain condition is running ultramarathon
A woman who was left unable to walk in a straight line because of a rare brain condition is now running an ultramarathon.
Mel Sykes, 42, was diagnosed with a Chiari malformation – where the lower part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal – after losing her balance and slurring her speech.
Mel, who has previously took part in 100 mile races, had surgery to reduce the pressure on her brain but was told there was a chance that she could never run again.
However, she’s now taking part in the Spine Race – where participants have seven days to run 268 miles from Edale, Derbys., to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland.
Mel said: “I was able to stop wearing my glasses about three months ago as my vision is back to normal.
“Sometimes I’m a bit wobbly on my feet still but I’m doing great.
“I never thought I’d be up and about again – let alone doing crazy things like this.”
Mel first started suffering with double vision in 2023, but went to the opticians and the GP who both “didn’t seem too concerned” about it and prescribed her some glasses.
She then struggled to drive because of her double vision and then started suffering from having pins and needles in the left side of her face, arm and hand.
Mel was then unable to walk in a straight line because she was losing her balance and then she started to slur her speech.
She said: “I began with double vision in the summer which my optician and GP didn’t seem too concerned about at the time.
“I was prescribed some glasses, but these didn’t really help and I was starting to struggle with my work as a specialist podiatrist.
“Everyone kept asking me if I felt tired.
“At this point I had a full-time job and was running 100-mile races – I didn’t know what was normal tired or poorly tired.
“My colleagues were so supportive throughout all of the investigations but it became too difficult to manage my work with the double vision.
“I had to stop driving, so then I had to go off work.
“As soon as I did, all of the other symptoms came on pretty quickly.
“I was losing my balance, my left hand, arm and the left side of my face had pins and needles constantly, and I had a strange tremor in my head.
“In just a week, I couldn’t even walk in a straight line and was starting to slur my speech.”
Mel, of Holmfirth, West Yorks., was initially treated at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust but was then referred to the specialist neurosurgery team at Leeds General Infirmary.
But after having surgery, she asked doctors Ian Anderson and Emeka Okorie if she could ever do an ultramarathon again – but they said she might not even be able to run now.
Mel, a specialist podiatrist, said: “I asked them if I’d ever be able to run an ultramarathon again.
“They told me that they couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to run at all, let alone to the extremes I’d been doing.
“I had to accept it and concentrate on my recovery.”
After Mel’s surgery, she started walking small distances with a friend but just four months after the operation, she took part in an 18 mile race.
She said: “I was up on my feet quite quickly but walking small distances at first, to the end of the street and back was all I could manage as long as a friend was with me.
“By the end of December I was able to start some slow running again.
“Then in February, I ran an 18-mile race – just four months after brain surgery.”
Mr Anderson said: “Melanie is an inspirational patient.
“We see patients with Chiari malformation not infrequently but hers was one of the most substantial that I have come across and her symptoms were so severe that I knew that she needed her surgery urgently.
“It’s humbling to see how courageous and determined our patients can be.
“I feel sure that her fantastic recovery is due, in no small amount, to her positive attitude.”
The Spine Race left Edale yesterday (Sunday) and competitors have a week to reach the finish line in Scotland.
Shocked family find their car windscreen smashed – by a meteorite
A shocked family found their car windscreen had been smashed – by a METEORITE.
Paul Butler, 55, and his family were watching TV at home when they heard a loud bang outside.
They dismissed the noise as fireworks being set off on Boxing Day night and went to bed.
The next morning, Paul went outside his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks., and noticed his parents’ car windscreen was shattered.
His son Nathan, 12, discovered a small black shiny rock measuring around 2cm in length near the car which didn’t match with any other stones.
The eagle-eyed schoolboy put a magnet next to the rock which revealed it was magnetised which is a tell-tale sign the stone came from outer space.
Online research revealed it was most likely to be a piece of meteorite which plummeted to earth.
Nathan said: “I was looking around on the ground near the car and right by the front wheel was a black rock that stood out from all the others.
“I wondered if it could possibly be a meteorite but wasn’t sure until we used a magnet and researched it online.”
Paul, who runs a firm providing forensic science equipment, added: “We all heard a loud bang in the night but didn’t think anything of it.
“We assumed it was probably someone letting off a firework.
“It was only when we came down for breakfast the next morning that I saw my parents’ car windscreen was smashed.
“I went outside with Nathan and he was looking around and found this strange black rock.
“It had a strange shape and looked like it had been burned.
“After Nathan tested it with a magnet we looked online and it looks like it was meteorite.
“It is the only logical explanation for what caused the damage because it wasn’t there when my dad drove into the driveway.
“It must have happened on the driveway. The glass was inside the car and was covering the dashboard and driver’s seat.
“The impact looks like it splintered the glass and made a fair bit of damage but it’s very lucky no one was inside at the time.”
Paul’s parents Graham and June were forced to drive their Toyota to a nearby garage where they had to explain the billion-to-one cause of the damage.
Paul added: “We found out it was about a billion-to-one chance of a meteorite hitting the car in our driveway so we’ve started buying lottery tickets.”
Nathan plans to take the space rock into Myton School in Warwick where he attends, to show off to his classmates.
Diver fulfills dream by snapping CUTEST sea creature ever
Is this the cutest sea creature ever?
Keen diver Yusuke Fukami fulfilled a personal dream by snapping a cartoon-like Costasiella sea slug while in Bali.
He says: “One of the diving points was in Tulamben, a small fishing village on the north-east coast.
“Meeting this creature was the biggest purpose why we visited Tulamben, so when we finally found one I was really delighted to have achieved my purpose.”
Yusuke, from Kanagawa in Japan, went on his trip in December with the local Noble Bali Tulamben diving resort.
He adds: “It was so cute that I was like “Ahhhhhhhh it’s cuuuuuuute” when I was taking photo of it in the sea.”
Discovered in 1993 off the coast of the Japanese island Kuroshima, Costasiella kuroshimae are also found in waters near the Philippines.
UK’s longest serving barber still cutting hair after 65 years
Britain’s longest serving barber says he has no plans to hang up his scissors yet – after nearly 65 YEARS of cutting hair.
Melvin Eley, 76, is at the barber shop he joined in 1961 and still charges old-fashioned prices more than six decades later.
He started working at the shop on Richmond Road in Stetchford, Birmingham, as a Saturday boy aged 13 and has remained there ever since.
The great-grandad-of-six works 20 hours a week and says he’ll keep going for as long as he physically can – despite pleas from his children to retire.
Melvin started as a teenager under the leadership of the shop’s previous owner Tony East before buying out the business in 1982.
He has gone on to trim hundreds of thousands of fringes at Melvin’s Gentleman’s Hairdresser, including those of footballers, politicians and musicians.
Melvin prides himself on keeping things traditional – as well as a timewarp interior he’s kept his prices at just £8 per trim and only offers haircuts, no beard work or shaves.
And the dad-of-four says he’s had no formal training and learnt all he knew from his old boss.
Melvin said: “I started part-time at 13. I went to another local hairdresser first and he told me that he had too many in the shop.
“I went to another barbers run by a chap named Tony as I knew him through my brothers and he asked me if I wanted a job.
“Tony owned it for 24 years and I’ve owned it for 43 years now. We’re the last shop standing on the road.
“It is the same shop it has always been. I put a bit of emulsion on it now and then.
“I just picked up hairdressing off Tony when he took me in. He’d only had the shop about 12 months when he took me on.
“I was cutting hair when I was about 14, customers would say ‘come on, have a go’, so I did.
“I had no interest in hair before he took me on. I was just happy that I had a job doing something I enjoyed when I left school.
“I’ve always been one of those chaps who was happy enough stopping where I was. I’ve never had another job, this is my only job.”
The ‘old school’ barber has become somewhat of a local legend and many of his clients have been regulars for the last 30 to 50 years.
His longest serving customer, John, has been visiting the shop from his home in Shirley, West Mids., for a staggering 66 years.
Melvin said: “All my customers are now regulars. There’s two chaps who have been coming for around 50 years.
“I’ve been cutting most of my customer hair between 30 and 50 years.
“I don’t do beards, I just keep it traditional. All I do is haircuts, I don’t do shaves. It’s just traditional, and that’s the way I like it. I’m happy, it gets me out of the house.
“I only charge £8 per customer. I’ve had to up the senior citizen price to £7.
“I do 9am to 1pm now, five days a week, Monday to Saturday with Tuesday off.
“I’ve had John, a customer, for 66 years. He was coming there before I had the shop. He still comes in from Shirley. which is a good half hour away.”
Some of Melvin’s famous customers include musician Ranking Roger, from The Beat, and a string of former Wolves players.
Melvin’s partner Eileen passed away in 2023 and he recently recovered from prostate cancer, but he says he has no plans to slow down.
Melvin added: “The thing is with what’s happened to me, I’m just waiting for my body to get well, I’ve had prostate cancer and a new hip.
“I’ll carry on until my body allows me to. I’ll be alright to carry on for a few more years I reckon.
“A couple of my family want me to pack up and slow down, but what am I going to do with myself?
“I still enjoy my job so I will keep going for as long as I can.”
Meet the real-life Dr Doolittle – pet psychic whose ‘spoken’ to 700 animals
Meet the real-life Dr Doolittle – a pet communicator who says she can talk to animals.
Cynthia Okimoto, 44, says she discovered her unusual skill when she suddenly realized she could hear the thoughts of her friend’s pet rat eight years ago.
She went on to practise and now she says she can tune into the thoughts of any animal – including cats and dogs.
Some 700 pet owners have enlisted her to help them understand their furry friends – and now she’s a full-time pet psychic and has helped deliver pet messages about everything from the food they like to if they are happy and whether or not they like their owner’s partner.
Cynthia charges between $35 to $75 for a session – telepathically facilitating a conversation between pet and owner.
And she says she can often find answers for owners that vets or trainers can’t.
Cynthia, a pet communicator and trainer, from New York City, said: “I feel that in a way it is beyond seeing a dog trainer, nutritionist or a vet.
“During the session, people feel really connected to their pets.
“People will also ask me to tell their pets that they love them.
“They will tell their pets that all the time, but through me they feel like the message is connecting.”
Cynthia was on a spiritual retreat in Russia where a High Priestess told her that she had the ability to speak to animals but she didn’t believe her.
It wasn’t until her friend’s rat, Max, started communicating with her about her business she believed she was able to.
When she realised that Max was communicating her with Cynthia said she was “curious” and found it “interesting”.
“I was at work, it was late, and he started to talk to me about what she should do for her business,” she said.
“I told her and she thought it was really cool, I told other friends who had pets and it evolved from that.”
Cynthia says she then realized she could do the same with poodles her mother was rescuing and fostering for a dog rescue – and used her skills to help them find homes.
“I would communicate with them and ask them where they want to live and what sort of lifestyle they would like,” she said.
From there, friends and family would ask her to do readings with their pets.
In 2023, Cynthia approached her local pet store and told them how she could communicate with animals.
She started hosting pet readings in store – and said they sold out immediately.
Cynthia mainly communicates with dogs but has also communicated with cats from time to time.
She said that most owners will ask her whether or not their pet is happy and ask her to tell the pet that the owners love them.
Cynthia said: “Almost every question people will ask me is whether or not their pet is happy.
“They want to know what they think about their food, or how the pet feels about their partner.
“I also get asked if there is a problem or if their dog barks they will ask what the trigger is.”
Cynthia said people are often excited when she tells them what she does for a living and says she’s never encountered criticism or scepticism “to my face”.
“A lot of people who do readings with me say they have been looking for a pet psychic for a while,” she said.
