DAWN NEESOM MIND OF MY OWN

The Woman's Own columnist has her say on health checks and mispronounced words

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KISSY KISSY

We kiss under the mistletoe, and we kiss everyone from babies and partners to nans and grandads and friends. But did you know that kissing has been around for 21 million years - and even now, no-one knows why? Scientists at Oxford University have been pondering this one, and reckon that while apes do it and Neanderthals did it, it has no actual point. It doesn't make babies, it doesn't help with survival, and there are easier ways of passing food to one another. Guess it's just good old-fashioned fun.

(Note to self: it will be another 21 million years before the husband thinks kissing is a good idea. All a bit slurpy for him!)

HOW DO YOU SAY...?

When it comes to pronunciation, there are 'probly' many words we are saying wrong.

Hardly surprising that at this time of year, we all struggle with pronunciation. The word 'no' seems to be particularly hard to articulate, especially applied to festive food and drink. In my world, the word 'no' is pronounced 'no... oh go on then, one more won't hurt' in the run-up to Christmas.

And the word 'calorie' is just so impossible to even think about, let alone say, I tend to give up. But the one time I shine, when it comes to saying fings proper-like at this time of year, is being able to pronounce the drink you have at breakfast. Nah, not tea, but a nice glass of bubbly – Moët, to be precise.

Thanks to a previous birthday trip to the amazing Champagne region of France, I know that, as the name is Dutch in origin, it is pronounced with a hard 't' at the end. 'Mo-ett', not 'Mo-eh'.

Now, according to the magazine