Cat-kicker Kurt Zouma needs to realise his cruelty is so disgusting, no one understands it.
I couldn’t watch the video of him booting and slapping his cat because it would upset me too much.
Just hearing about it sickened me.
I’m glad his cats were seized for their own safety. I really like and respect Zouma’s manager, West Ham boss David Moyes.
He said he played Zouma on Tuesday night because it’s his job to give his team the best chance of winning. But many things are more important than football scores.
I wouldn’t have played him. I wouldn’t have even spoken to him in the dressing room.
There’s no point fining footballers because they have so much money, it’ll mean nothing to them.
Their passion is to play so I’d have deprived him of that for starters.
Then he’d be packed off to muck out at an RSPCA rescue centre until he understands how it feels when sad animals look straight into your eyes – and he is truly sorry.
Judi deserves every accolade
Dame Judi Dench is an incredible inspiration to me and my friends. At 87, she’s the oldest actress to win an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Judi shows we don’t need plastic surgery and extreme diets to age gracefully. She proves that we can keep honing our talents way beyond the traditional retirement age.
But how she can remember her lines is a marvel when I can’t remember what I’ve written on my daily calendar.
Soppy Kirstie doesn't live in the real world
Kirstie Allsopp should live for a month with someone who survives on benefits.
For Kirstie, money is no object. She has never seen the side of life where every penny counts. This week she was chopsing on about how young people could all afford to buy their own homes if they gave up small treats like coffee and gym memberships.
When Colin and I bought our home before it was built, we needed £25 for a deposit to put a red pin on the plot. We didn’t have it so borrowed from my dad.
Paying it back took a lot of sacrifice. Our only furniture was garden deckchairs in the living room and anything our aunts donated to us.
I’d bought Mum a fridge when I first started working and she gave it back to me because she said I needed it more. And it took us years to fully get on our feet.
We were the last in the street to have a video recorder. It was a big luxury.
Now, young people face paying an average of £59,000 for a deposit. And with all the rising living costs, their mortgages and bills will rocket.
I have no idea how they’ll manage it. And Kirstie has no idea what it’s like to struggle.
Friendship is the sweetest present
When my late husband Colin and I were young, we made all sorts of fuss over each other on Valentine’s Day.
In later years, because Colin was sentimental, he bought me three red roses and said they were from the three men in my life: Him and our two sons, Jonathan and Robert.
He’d spend ages reading all the messages in cards until he found one that was just right, and I’d do the same. But we were never extravagant enough to buy padded satin cards.
There wasn’t the money to go out for meals, but I made more of an effort. I’d say: “It’s eggs and chips for tea tonight, Col.
"And because it’s Valentine’s Day, you can have it with tinned peas or beans… your choice.”
That’s the thing about long-lasting love: You no longer need to impress each other because you become best friends.
My friends have all been with their husbands for decades – some even met at school.
We often talk about how no one’s marriage is all sweetness and light.
We all have to work at it.
And I’d say that if you can find someone who’s happy with tinned peas or beans for their Valentine’s gift, they’re a keeper.
Snow in love with the Olympics
The Beijing Winter Olympics has me hooked on sports I didn’t know existed, such as the biathlon, when athletes compete at cross-country skiing and shooting.
I’m also glued to Four in a Bed and Heartbeat re-runs, so know I’m watching too much telly.
To keep my brain sharp, I’m playing an hour of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? on my iPad each day. It teaches me all sorts of things like: what is the mountain on a Toblerone packet? The Matterhorn.
It’s a cracking question but made me crave a Toblerone, even though each triangle piece of chocolate pierces the roof of my mouth.
Anyway, I’d racked up £64,000 of winnings when my eldest son Jonathan rang. I’d run out of lifelines but was desperate to see what happened if I’d scored higher. So I asked Jonathan to Google some answers since I don’t know how to Google.
Within minutes my iPad was shooting with stars, dancing and singing as I conquered the
million-pound question.
I cheated and didn’t win a penny. But it still felt good.
Why are they doing it the Vard way?
Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy are still fighting, which is helping no one but the well-paid lawyers on both sides.
If ever I’ve had words with anyone, I pick up the phone and arrange to meet for a cup of tea and a chance to speak our minds.
Once both sides thrash out what we really think, we move on and the fall-out’s forgotten.
Why can’t Coleen and Rebekah do the same?
Tena time
In B&M with a trolley full of Tena Ladies, I saw the till operator’s eyes widen.
I was too embarrassed to say they were all for me, so I said, ‘I buy these for a lot of old ladies’.
They must think I’m the manageress of the local care home.
Not for me, TBH
Modern technology is making everyone lazy when it comes to spelling and grammar.
In text speak, you becomes u. To be honest is crunched to TBH. And lots of love is LOL (or is that laugh out loud?). I CBA.
* If you’d like to contact Val, please email features@ mirror.co.uk or write to Val Savage, PO Box 7290, E14 5DD
* The Mirror makes a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society in lieu of payment. alzheimers.co.uk
