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Tasmania to cover travel costs in exchange for these "odd jobs"

<p>Tasmania has just opened applications for 10 "odd jobs" that you could do in exchange for a free trip to the state. </p> <p>As part of Tourism Tasmania's latest campaign to entice winter visitors, they are offering to cover travel and accommodation costs in exchange for a few odd jobs. </p> <p>While the work is unpaid and only lasts a day or two, the chosen Aussies will also get a hire car and a hamper worth up to $500 of local Tasmania produce and memorabilia. </p> <p>One of the jobs on offer is a wombat walker at East Coast Natureworld in Bicheno.</p> <p>The wildlife park is looking for an animal and nature lover, who loves going out for walks to lead the furry animals on their morning waddles as part of their rehabilitation program. </p> <p>Another job on offer is a “paranormal investigator” who will help Tasmania’s Most Haunted in New Norfolk capture and document any disturbances, spectral figures or unexplained phenomena at Willow Court Asylum.</p> <p>They are looking for someone who is “attuned into interactions with the otherworldly” and respects the controversial history of Willow Court. </p> <p>Other jobs include a “truffle snuffler” at The Truffledore, which involves truffle hunting with a canine companion, a “wine whisperer” at Clover Hill, a “puffer nut” at West Coast Wilderness Railway and  “soaksmith” at Little Things Farm. </p> <p>They are also looking for an “oyster organiser”, a “star seeker” and “sauna stoker”. </p> <p>Anyone interested in taking these odd jobs must explain in 50 words or less why they want to swap their day job for the odd job in Tasmania. </p> <p>Applications are open from now until July 8 this year. </p> <p>The total value of the prize pool is up to $25,000. </p> <p>“More and more, we’re all looking for remedies through experience that make life feel simpler and less stressful," Tourism Tasmania chief marketing officer Lindene Cleary said. </p> <p>“Watching ‘cottagecore’ videos of people gardening and building cabins in the woods. Hobbies like cooking and reading are even trumping digital hobbies like gaming.</p> <p>"So, we extend a warm invite to Australians to apply for an odd job in Tasmania and wake up from their cool weather coma.”</p> <p><em>Images: Tourism Tasmania</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Gen X dad’s odd punishment for four-year-old son sparks debate

<p dir="ltr">A self-proclaimed Gen X dad has sparked a furious debate after a video clip of him punishing his four-year-old son went viral on TikTok.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wisconsin-based dad Derek Longstreth said he had no other choice but to make his young son, Truman, heave massive jugs of water across the yard because he hit his mum.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All right little man, let's go, you've got all these jugs to carry,” he told his son, as he showed five water jugs.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He hit his mom today, so, spanking is out of the question because you liberals made it so we can’t spank our children any more,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">The father-of-one recorded his son struggling to carry the water jugs, but offered him words of encouragement as the boy tried to carry it across the yard.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Let's go, young man. I love you just so you know, but you're not going to hit your mom,” he said. “You can do it. I love you son but we don't hit women in this family.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Longstreth then explained why he chose to punish his son this way, and said that spanking your child is not allowed in Wisconsin.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He's four. We're not allowed to spank in the state of Wisconsin because some liberals are saying there are better ways.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“'Well liberals, what's the better way?”</p> <div><iframe title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7256440921728863530&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40hamburgerjones23%2Fvideo%2F7256440921728863530&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp19-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2Fc29492b9251f41139161e469b64b4d0e%3Fx-expires%3D1689789600%26x-signature%3DRnuVqM3A6bo1miOskT3JdYiBlWA%253D&amp;key=5b465a7e134d4f09b4e6901220de11f0&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">After the father complained about the liberals, he continued to try and teach Truman a lesson, despite the child complaining that he “can’t do it” multiple times throughout the video.</p> <p dir="ltr">At the end of the clip, Longstreth asks his son: “Are you going to hit your mom again?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“No,” the four-year-old responded.</p> <p dir="ltr">Longstreth also made his son apologise for hitting his mum.</p> <p dir="ltr">The nine-minute clip has racked up over 1.9 million views, while many applauded the father for his “gentle” ways of parenting and disciplining his son, others slammed him for “abuse”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Big respect to this dad. He gave the kid a hard job with encouragement and reassurance that he loves him as well as why the kid had to do it,” wrote one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is honestly probably the best and most effective way to discipline your child. Every moment they do this they are thinking about what they did,” commented another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Good dad, raising his son right, teaching him to never lay his hands on any women especially his momma. Very good,” agreed a third.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is like so gentle yet so disciplining in all the good ways,” wrote a fourth.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, other viewers disagreed with the father’s method.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is abuse.... I said what I said. I'm sorry he hit his mom though, talking it out is fine. He's too little for this,” commented one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Lol. When people ask what the next traumas will be, it’ll be every moment being a phone in their face. Did you need to post this? Pathetic,” wrote another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You don't want him to associate work as punishment. how about no tv, no sweets, something that is usually a privilege. work is something that is good,” added another user.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Family & Pets

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How ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables could tackle food waste and solve supermarket supply shortages

<p>The world is facing a significant food waste problem, with <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i4068e/i4068e.pdf">up to half of all fruit and vegetables</a> lost somewhere along the agricultural food chain. Globally, around <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ca6030en/ca6030en.pdf">14% of food produced</a> is lost after harvesting but before it reaches shops and supermarkets.</p> <p>Alongside food prices (66%), food waste is a concern for 60% of people that participated in a <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/research/food-and-you-2/food-and-you-2-wave-5">recent survey</a> published by the UK Food Standards Agency. <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">Other research</a> suggests that as much as 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are destroyed because they don’t look right. This means that producers’ efforts to meet stringent specifications from buyers can lead to <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">perfectly edible produce being discarded</a> before it even leaves the farm – simply because of how it looks.</p> <p>Aside from the ongoing environmental implications of this food waste, UK shoppers currently face <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsar-blames-shortages-on-uks-weird-supermarket-culture">produce rationing in some supermarkets</a> due to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/28/british-supermarkets-are-rationing-fruit-and-vegetables-amid-shortages.html">shortages of items like tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries</a>. Any solutions that increase locally grown produce on shop shelves could improve the availability of fresh food, particularly in urban areas.</p> <p>When imperfect fruit and vegetables don’t make it to supermarket shelves, it can be due to <a href="https://cases.open.ubc.ca/insistence-on-cosmetically-perfect-fruits-vegetables/">cosmetic standards</a>. Supermarkets and consumers often prefer produce of a fairly standard size that’s free of blemishes, scars and other imperfections. This means fruit and vegetables that are misshapen, discoloured, or even too small or too large, are rejected before they make it to supermarket shelves.</p> <p>In recent years there has been a growing trend of selling such “ugly” fruit and vegetables, both by <a href="https://my.morrisons.com/wonky-fruit-veg/">major</a> <a href="https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/sustainability/food-waste">supermarket</a> <a href="https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2021/wonky-veg-5th-anniversary/">chains</a>, as well as <a href="https://wonkyvegboxes.co.uk/">speciality</a> <a href="https://www.misfitsmarket.com/?exp=plans_rollback">retailers</a> that sell <a href="https://www.oddbox.co.uk/">boxes</a> of <a href="https://etepetete-bio.de/">wonky produce</a>. And research has shown that 87% of people say they would <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fruit-and-veg/nearly-90-of-consumers-would-eat-wonky-fruit-and-veg-according-to-new-survey/670155.article">eat wonky fruit and vegetables if they were available</a>. But other research indicates consumers can still be picky and difficult to predict. One study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329316302002?via%3Dihub">showed</a> consumers are likely to throw away an apple with a spot, but would eat a bent cucumber.</p> <h2>Getting ugly produce into baskets</h2> <p>So how can producers and retailers boost the amount of non-standard fruit and veg that not only reaches our shelves, but also our plates? <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221723000668">Our recent research</a> suggests a separate channel for selling ugly produce would increase profits for growers, lower prices for consumers and boost overall demand for produce.</p> <p>For growers, a dedicated channel – either independent or set up by a supermarket – to supply wonky fruit and veg creates a new line of business. For retailers, this provides an opportunity for further revenue over and above current sales of standard produce to shops. When selling both types of product to a single retailer, the ugly items might be undervalued compared with the standard-looking products. Our research also shows that selling the ugly produce through a dedicated channel is likely to increase total demand for fruit and vegetables, while also decreasing on-farm loss.</p> <p>Having two parallel channels for selling produce (the main one and the dedicated “ugly” channel) would increase competition. This benefits shoppers by lowering prices for regular and ugly produce, versus selling both types of products alongside each other in one shop.</p> <p>On the other hand, the growing market for ugly fruit and vegetables could be an economic threat to traditional retailers. It encourages new entrants into the market and could also limit the availability of “regular” produce because growers could become less stringent about ensuring produce meets traditional cosmetic standards.</p> <p>But there is a way for traditional retailers to add ugly produce into their product offerings alongside other produce without affecting their profits. By building on existing consumer awareness of the environmental benefits of ugly food, they could also compete in this growing segment. This would benefit their bottom lines and help consumer acceptance of misshapen fruit and vegetables, possibly leading to less food waste and shortages like those UK shoppers are experiencing right now.</p> <p>Boosting demand for imperfect fruit and vegetables across the supply chain will require all participants to get involved – from grower to seller. Here are some steps the various parties could take:</p> <h2>1. Educating consumers</h2> <p>Education about the environmental and economic impact of food waste could happen through marketing campaigns, in-store displays and even social media.</p> <h2>2. Reducing cosmetic standards</h2> <p>Supermarkets and other major food retailers could revise their cosmetic standards to accept a wider range of produce, including imperfect fruit and vegetables. This would help reduce food waste by making sure more produce is able to be sold.</p> <h2>3. Direct sales</h2> <p>Farmers and growers could sell non-standard produce directly to consumers through farmers’ markets or subscription services. This allows consumers to purchase fresh, locally grown produce that might not meet cosmetic standards for supermarkets but that is just as nutritionally beneficial.</p> <h2>4. Food donations</h2> <p>Supermarkets and growers could donate produce rejected for how it looks to food banks, shelters and other organisations that serve those in need. This would help reduce food waste while also providing healthy food to those who might not otherwise have access to it.</p> <h2>5. Value-added products</h2> <p>Produce that doesn’t meet cosmetic standards could also be used to create other products such as soups, sauces and juices. In addition to reducing food waste, this would create new revenue streams for growers and retailers.</p> <h2>6. Food composting</h2> <p>Anything that cannot be sold or otherwise used should be composted. This would help reduce food waste while also creating nutrient-rich soil for future crops.</p> <p>By implementing these solutions, the supply chain can reduce the amount of ugly or imperfect fruit and vegetables that are wasted, while also providing consumers with healthy, affordable produce, even in times of supply chain shortages.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ugly-fruit-and-vegetables-could-tackle-food-waste-and-solve-supermarket-supply-shortages-201216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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10 odd emotions you may have experienced

<p>We all experience a wide range of emotions each day. But did you know that there are actually names for some very specific feelings? See how many of these you identify with.</p> <p><strong>1. Opia</strong></p> <p>Have you ever had a feeling of arousal when you lock eyes with another person (even a stranger on the bus)? That’s opia. Naturally it depends on the circumstances, as a mutual gaze with someone who looks like they want to steal your wallet is not a good feeling. But when it is between two people who feel attracted to each other it can be very pleasant indeed.</p> <p><strong>2. Déjà vu</strong></p> <p>Many of us have experienced this one. It is a feeling that you’ve done something or been somewhere before, while you are doing it. It can be really specific too – for instance you might just be stepping off a train and see someone drop their coffee on the platform and this can trigger the feeling. 3 out of 4 people say they have experienced déjà vu so it’s a very common emotion.</p> <p><strong>3. Ellipsism</strong></p> <p>This is the specific sadness that comes from knowing that you won’t live to see what happens in the future. For instance you may feel sad knowing that you won’t live long enough to see your children start a family of their own.</p> <p><strong>4. Chrysalism</strong></p> <p>This is the feeling that you get when looking out the window at driving rain and feeling warm and secure inside your warm house. It’s based on the idea that you feel safe as you did inside the womb.</p> <p><strong>5. Adronitis</strong></p> <p>If you’ve ever met a new person who you’d like to be good friends with, and felt frustrated when you realised that it will take some time to develop the friendship – you’ve experienced adronitis. In order to get close to someone it takes time to share experiences and information, so it’s not something that can be rushed.</p> <p><strong>6. Liberosis</strong></p> <p>When you wish you could be a kid again, without all the rules and responsibilities of adulthood. In general it means you wish you could stop caring so much about things.</p> <p><strong>7. Enouement</strong></p> <p>We spend so much time worrying about the future, and more often than not it turns out just fine. Enouement is wishing that you could go back to your past self and tell yourself that everything will work out well.</p> <p><strong>8. Jouska</strong></p> <p>This is when you imagine a conversation in your head where things work out well for you – such as winning an argument or asking for a promotion.</p> <p><strong>9. Exulansis</strong></p> <p>If you’ve ever tried to talk about something important with other people and you give up on it as they don’t seem to understand – you’ve experienced exulansis.</p> <p><strong>10. Fugue state</strong></p> <p>Generally reserved for people who have had too much alcohol or drugs, this related to being able to move and speak without being consciously aware that you are doing it. The person has no memory (a blackout) of the time.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Mind

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PINK sky at night?! Odd reason for unearthly glow over Aussie town

<p dir="ltr">Residents in the northern Victorian town of Mildura experienced an intriguing Wednesday night when the night sky was lit up with an eerie pink glow.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was very bizarre,” said Tammy Szumowski.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was on the phone to my mum, and my dad was saying the world was ending.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3af440d1-7fff-a4a9-13e4-3950847d9ceb"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Though it looked like aliens or a portal to another universe could be behind it, the explanation for the mysterious light is firmly within reality. Pharmaceutical company Cann Group confirmed that the lights originated from its local medicinal cannabis facility, which had left its blackout blinds open.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mildura?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mildura</a> and surrounds were treated to a spectacular sight tonight when a red light appeared in the sky.<br />Was it aliens?<br />An aurora?<br />No, it appears to have been the hydroponic lights from a medicinal cannabis farm reflecting off cloud which is somehow the most Mildura answer ever. <a href="https://t.co/Wfy63tRrng">pic.twitter.com/Wfy63tRrng</a></p> <p>— Sarah Tomlinson (@sarah_tomlinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/sarah_tomlinson/status/1549381096587964416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Cannabis plants require different spectrums of light in order to encourage their growth,” said Rhys Cohen, senior communications manager at Cann Group Ltd.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A red spectrum light is often used. Normally the facility would have blackout blinds that come down at night, and will in the future block that glow.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Anne Webster, the federal member for Mallee, was driving home in the dark when she noticed the pink light.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I thought that is weird. There is no city out there … What is it?” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“When I understood the Cann processing site is there – but it still was the first time I’ve seen that pink glow. It was quite strange.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-85425684-7fff-d79d-3524-30e809599a35"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Photos of the lights quickly spread on social media, with ABC Chief of Staff Sarah Tomlinson describing the fact it came from a medical cannabis facility as “somehow the most Mildura answer ever”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/JaneBunn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JaneBunn</a> any reports of this scary but brilliant sky over Mildura tonight ?? <a href="https://t.co/3WZ7FZj1zp">pic.twitter.com/3WZ7FZj1zp</a></p> <p>— Tim Green (@Tim_Green78) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tim_Green78/status/1549326548502970369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mildura, Australia: Is it a plane.. an UFO... Superman? Turns out someone forgot to close the blinds at a Cannabis farm. <a href="https://t.co/HaokIwJn2c">pic.twitter.com/HaokIwJn2c</a></p> <p>— Jürgen "jkr" Kraus (@jkr_on_the_web) <a href="https://twitter.com/jkr_on_the_web/status/1550201444699017216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">La Trobe University also joined in on the fun, tweeting: “We can neither confirm, nor deny, that the mysterious lights over Mildura were <em>Aurora marijuanis</em>.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Mildura facility gathered its first commercial harvest of marijuana crops in June, after Cann Group - the first Australian company licensed to grow the crop for medicinal and research purposes - acquired the site in 2019.</p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Webster described it as “quite an exciting site”, though its exact location is a secret and isn’t open to the public due to the nature of its business.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Propagation of cannabis is really interesting and the way they use lights … to increase the growth cycle and speed up the whole process is quite amazing,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I look forward to many other innovative producers coming to the region and bringing their glows with them.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2c7e2cfa-7fff-f9a3-9a9e-ee91cff6f50b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

Caring

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“Australia wanted us out”: 501 deportee defies odds to return to Australia

<p dir="ltr">A New Zealand man deported from Australia under the controversial 501 section of the Australian Migration Act will be allowed to return, in a victory that he hopes will be a source of hope for others affected by the same scheme.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gavin Doré was a successful motorcycle salesman in Australia until 2018, when he was convicted for drug offending after his life was upended by a relationship break-up and losing his job.</p> <p dir="ltr">Desperate to stay in his mortgaged home, the 33-year-old began accepting boarders to help him cover his bills, and who brought with them exposure to the drugs scene.</p> <p dir="ltr">He was sentenced to three years and three months in prison after his costly dependence on methamphetamine pushed him to start dealing, prompting his visa to be cancelled under Section 501, which then resulted in his deportation once his sentence was complete.</p> <p dir="ltr">By then, Doré had undergone much of a drug rehabilitation program and became the father of a baby girl to his former partner.</p> <p dir="ltr">He then worked hard to appeal his case and have his visa reinstated, with the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal only recently allowing his return and for his visa to be reinstated.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Four plus years it took,” he told <em><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/501-deportee-overturns-visa-cancellation-so-that-he-can-go-back-to-visit-daughter/XAQWP7DAJ363CPR6PV6ER3F4B4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Open Justice</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The tribunal said the combination of financial shock from losing his job and the emotional difficulty from the relationship break-up led to a “psychological malaise” and depression.</p> <p dir="ltr">It found that Doré had a “low to negligible risk” of reoffending in Australia and that it was in the best interest of his now four-year-old daughter that he be able to return.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A lot of 501s arrive (in New Zealand) without hope and, as a result, turn to crime,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’d like people to know that this is possible (to reinstate an Australian visa), and that there is a better way.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Doré added that he was “one of the lucky ones”, having joined a group in prison who were given advice on how to appeal the decision, including what to say and not say.</p> <p dir="ltr">“When I joined the group we were given the information that the process was possible, where to find the application, who to send it to,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We actually also got given the details of how to get in touch with an immigration lawyer.”</p> <p dir="ltr">With Australia tightening the rules since he started his appeal, Doré said people are “losing hope in the process” of appealing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I do a bit of work with a church here (in Auckland) … and do quite a bit of work with the 501s. Anyone beating it is unheard of, really,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Australia wanted us out, no matter what.</p> <p dir="ltr">“On the surface they wanted it to look as though there was a legitimate process for an appeal to occur, but … the process itself was so difficult for everyone, really, that a lot of people can’t see a way.”</p> <p dir="ltr">With most deportees arriving with “literally a backpack” and nothing else, Doré said he was fortunate to have the support of his parents when he arrived in New Zealand.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to <em>Open Justice</em>, 192 Kiwi deportees have applied to have their deportations revoked since July 2020. Out of those, only 61 people were successful.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-53a853dc-7fff-fe5b-93ad-838ab9b58209"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: NZ Herald</em></p>

Legal

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5 household jobs to do over summer

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though Christmas may be over, many still on holidays have a chance to not only spend time together, but to finally tackle some of those niggly jobs around the house that you have been meaning to get done.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether the pool is looking a bit murky or you’re looking to make some small improvements, here are five odd jobs around the house to tick off your to-do list this summer.</span></p> <p><strong>1. Treat your garden to a little TLC</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While mowing the lawn and edging the driveway are done on a more regular basis, the summer holidays are a perfect chance to tidy up your garden and show some love to your plants with some pruning.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In particular, the start of the year is a good time to prune gardenias and other plants that have finished flowering, cut back herbs that have run to seed, and inspect plants for mildew, petal blight, or signs of being eaten.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For help with your garden, Stuart Tucker, the Chief Customer Officer at hipages, recommends using the Yates My Garden app.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Consider it your ‘personal trainer’ of the garden world. The app gives you access to qualified horticulturalists that can talk you through anything that’s happening in your garden,” he told </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bhg.com.au/summer-household-jobs?category=garden" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Better Homes and Gardens</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You can take a picture and share via the live chat and the team will help ID and provide further details on what you need to do.”</span></p> <p><strong>2. Refresh your interiors with paint</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For a cost-effective way to change the look of your home, a fresh coat of paint can refresh your interiors and make your walls look cleaner without costing an arm and a leg.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, it’s recommended that you put the paintbrushes down on especially </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://trimaco.com/blog/5-tips-for-interior-painting-in-the-winter/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">humid days</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> as the heat can affect how the paint dries.</span></p> <p><strong>3. Get your pool in tip-top shape</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maintaining a pool during winter months can seem like an unrewarding task, so the summer break can be a perfect time to give it some of the attention it may have missed during the rest of the year - especially so you can finally enjoy it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If your pool filter or equipment needs attention, see to it now before your friends and family start commenting on the murky pool water,” Stuart said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re in need of a helping hand, Stuart said there’s an app for that too.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Try using an app like Blue Connect - Pool Care to track and analyse your pool water by measuring the temperature, pH, the disinfectant concentration and salinity,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The app will also notify you in case of any problems.”</span></p> <p><strong>4. Service your air-con unit</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A must for staying cool when the mercury rises, air-conditioning units often work their hardest during summer - meaning it;s important to check that they’re still in good shape.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If you have an internal unit, clear any dust to prevent it (from) performing poorly,” Stuart said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“External units need to be cleared of leaves and other debris.”</span></p> <p><strong>5. Tidy up</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With many of us visiting and receiving family during most of the holidays, it can be tricky to keep our homes clean. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, giving your home a deep clean can make maintaining it that much easier - though you don’t have to do it all on your own.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Before you welcome any visitors, consider hiring a local on-demand cleaner who can give your home a deep clean from top to bottom, including all floors, surfaces and windows,” Stuart said.</span></p>

Home & Garden

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Never been done before: Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi reveal odd choice for best man

<p>Princess Beatrice and her fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have made royal history after revealing their unlikely choice for best man in their upcoming wedding.</p> <p>It has been confirmed that it will be Edoardo’s three-year-old son Christopher, whom he shares with ex-partner Dara Huang, who will take on the massive role as best man for his dad’s wedding to Princess Beatrice.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B23ycotot3y/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B23ycotot3y/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Beatrice and Eugenie (@beatriceandeugenie.ofyork)</a> on Sep 26, 2019 at 3:50am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>A spokesperson for the couple first confirmed the news to the <em>Daily Mail</em>, citing that the couple wanted the three-year-old to know how important he was to his stepmother.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B23zE1yn7Ky/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B23zE1yn7Ky/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by •Cambridge•Sussex•York• (@aboutcambridgesussexandyork)</a> on Sep 26, 2019 at 3:56am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The Palace has also confirmed the exciting nuptials will take place on May 29, at The Chapel Royal in St James’s Place, London.</p> <p>Edo and Beatrice got engaged in September 2019 after the property developer proposed while they were holidaying in Italy.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvsUhHjhJAK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvsUhHjhJAK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dara Huang (@dara_huang)</a> on Mar 31, 2019 at 5:17pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The pair spoke about their exciting news in a statement, saying: "We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can't wait to actually be married.</p> <p>"We share so many similar interests and values, and we know that this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness."</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's engagement pictures. </p>

Relationships

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“Pretty rank”: Karl Stefanovic slams odd request from French tennis player

<p>Tennis fans and Karl Stefanovic watched on in shock as French tennis player Elliot Benchetrit was told off by the umpire for asking a ball girl to peel a banana for him.</p> <p>The World No. 228 was taking part in qualifying for the first grand slam of the year when he requested a banana for some energy.</p> <p>However, with his hands bandaged heavily due to blisters, he asked the ball girl delivering the banana to peel it for him.</p> <p>This was met with a scolding from the umpire, John Blom, who told him to peel it himself.</p> <p>Stefanovic has since let his thoughts be known on the matter.</p> <p>“That is pretty rank isn’t it, asking a ballgirl to peel a banana?” Stefanovic said on Tuesday.</p> <p>“Asking a ball-person to do that is disgusting. I think it’s terrible.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">French tennis player Elliot Benchetrit has been told off by an umpire after he asked a ball girl to peel his banana for him. Thoughts? 🚫 🍌 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9Today?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9Today</a> <a href="https://t.co/VWiTHeffjB">pic.twitter.com/VWiTHeffjB</a></p> — The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1219349644498612225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Sydney Morning Herald<span> </span>columnist Jessica Irvine agreed, saying that ball kids should not be given “outrageous” tasks.</p> <p>“It’s rigorous training to be a ball-person, you’ve got to be very professional, and I really don’t think that peeling bananas is part of the division of labour,” Irvine said on the Channel 9 program.</p> <p>“If she did it, she should get a pay rise. That is not the point of having ballgirls and ballboys around, their job is to get the ball. That’s outrageous.”</p> <p>It appears that the banana gave the Frenchman the strength he needed as he managed to win the match and qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open.</p> <p>He will now face Japanese World No. 91 Yuichi Sugita in the opening round and has earned himself a nice $90,000 payday by qualifying for the Open.</p>

Food & Wine

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One eyed mare defies the odds and gives birth to twin foals

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A horse stud owner has been left stunned after discovering that his one-eyed mare had defied the odds and given birth to live twin foals.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The chances of twin goals being born alive are considered 1 in 10,000.</span></p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fabcnews.au%2Fvideos%2F933297287036597%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=476" width="476" height="476" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Spurrs Stud owner Kevin Spurr said that the birth was a complete surprise.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My first thought was ‘don’t tell me another mare has had a foal and run away and left that’,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A bit after that I realised she’d had twins. I was a little bit stunned, actually, I didn’t know what to think.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Katanning Regional Veterinary Hospital owner John Maxwell has been practicing as an equine vet for more than 50 years and has said he has never seen the successful delivery of twin goals that go on to survive.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m surprised, very surprised,” Dr Maxwell said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I have had a breeder in Wagin that I’ve [aborted] twice because the chances of both surviving were considered almost zero. So this is an exceptional occurrence.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The twin foals, named Snip and Drop, are being well looked after by Mr Spurr and his farmhand Nicole Kumpfmueller. Round-the-clock care is needed for the foals as their mother has one eye and needs to make sure she does not tread on them. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We get out here and they're already waiting and know the routine," Ms Kumpfmueller said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"And you have to give them antibiotics twice a day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Every now and then we give them an extra milk bucket as well to make sure they have enough milk because we currently don't know how much she can produce for them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I think it's worth it. If you look at them, they're just too cute not to get up."</span></p>

Family & Pets

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Against the Odds: Surviving the world's worst tsunami and overcoming trauma

<p>Over60 spoke with prolific author John Maddocks about his book <em>Against The Odds</em>.</p> <p>What exactly is <em>Against the Odds</em> about? Well, on Boxing Day, 2004 I was smashed by the Indian Ocean tsunami in southern Sri Lanka. I survived - I'm not entirely sure how - but the resort I was staying at and others nearby were destroyed. In fact, thousands of people died all around me in what turned out to be the worst hit part of Sri Lanka. There was nuclear-level destruction right across the area. The disaster was sudden, violent, catastrophic.</p> <p>Getting out of there was a challenge, but when I managed to return home, I was haunted by apocalyptic dreams and terrifying memories. The whole event kept running through my mind like a movie on a loop. I didn't know it, but I had classic symptoms of severe traumatic stress. </p> <p>Luckily, a friend mentioned a trauma psychologist who had treated Thredbo landslide survivor Stuart Diver, and seeing him became the first step in a race to avoid PTSD that involved using approaches at the cutting edge of neuropsychology.</p> <p>I'm a travel writer, so there's nothing I love more than heading off on new adventures. But sometimes travel can go horribly wrong. In my case it meant facing the immediate, unexpected prospect of sudden death. But despite that, surviving against the odds, overcoming trauma and living on borrowed time has turned out to be liberating and exciting. '<em>Against the Odds</em>' is available on <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07CZCHX8S/">Amazon</a></em> and Smashwords as an ebook or in print at <em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/against…/prod9781925739947.html">Booktopia</a>, <a href="https://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Against-Odds-John-Maddocks/9781925739947">Fishpond</a>, <a href="https://www.angusrobertson.com.au/books/against-the-odds-john-maddocks/p/9781925739947">Angus and Robertson</a> or <a href="https://themoshshop.com.au/products/against-the-odds-by-john-maddocks?_pos=1&amp;_sid=ee08cd75c&amp;_ss=r">The Mosh Shop</a></em>.</p> <p>You can also listen to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/the-writer-john-maddocks/10017398"><em>ABC Radio Nightlife</em></a> program interview I did.</p> <p><span>The following is a harrowing extract from "</span><em>Against the Odds: Surviving the world's worst tsunami and overcoming trauma</em>".</p> <p>Miriam and Preethi were the owners of Mangrove Garden in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, where we were staying.</p> <p>I walk out of our cabana into the quiet pre-dawn of Boxing Day. Low lighting spread throughout the gardens allows me to distinguish the outlines of the other cabana rooms and the new two-storey building workers have been rushing to complete over the last few days. It is due to be occupied by tourists for the first time tomorrow.</p> <p>The sky is clear and there is no wind. As I walk on the sand I see a lone fisherman strolling along the edge of the lagoon near the point where water sometimes overflows down the beach.  </p> <p>The sunrise is as spectacular as Miriam described. Colours change from red to gold as the sun’s orb slowly rises above the horizon, enlivening the colours of the sand and the trees.</p> <p>I walk further to photograph a small fishing boat that has been pulled up onto the beach. A European man passes me on the beach, stopping occasionally to pick up shells. A local dog appears from behind some coconut trees and straggles behind him. Waves lap the shore and the ocean seems to be calmer than usual.</p> <p>When the sun is well above the ocean I return to the resort and notice that the light is perfect for photographing the restaurant, which is attractive because of its thatched roof and open design. Half-a-dozen tables and chairs are spread along the front and there is a bar in the corner. Timber panelling conceals the kitchen at the rear of the building.</p> <p>While composing the photo I am delighted to see a squirrel dart across the roof. The sun behind me is still so low that I have to avoid my shadow creeping into the foreground. As I take the shot, I have no way of knowing that in exactly two hours both the restaurant and my camera will be destroyed.</p> <p>As it is approaching 8 am, I sit in the restaurant and order a pot of tea. One of the young male staff members is cleaning the tables. He looks tired from staying up all night at the wake for his uncle who died several days earlier.</p> <p>The temperature is already in the 30s. Miriam walks past the restaurant on her way to the beach, and we exchange greetings. I ask for another cup and saucer and take tea back to Cheryl in our room. The sun is highlighting the orange bagged-brick of our cabana and even the corrugated asbestos roof appears brighter in the early morning light.</p> <p>Inside there is a timber-lined 5-metre-high cathedral ceiling. The bed is a queen-sized polished concrete base 60 centimetres high with a latex mattress on top.                                                                               </p> <p>While walking to the cabana I have no idea how significant the design, building materials and position of our room will be to my survival that day.</p> <p>I wake Cheryl and give her the tea. Then I lie down on the bed and fall asleep.</p> <p>“John, wake up! Wake up!” Cheryl shouts.  “Something terrible is happening!”</p> <p>She is already out of bed and rushing to the window. The extreme urgency in her voice jolts me out of my deep tropical sleep and into full consciousness in seconds. I hear a roaring, rumbling, hissing sound outside that is as loud as a low-flying jet plane.</p> <p>As I reach the window I see water half-a-metre-deep tearing across the ground in front of our building. One of the boys on the staff is running frantically in front of it.</p> <p> “We have to get out of here,” Cheryl screams above the noise as she opens the door of our room. “I’m going!”</p> <p>We have seconds in which to make vital decisions. There is no time to deliberate.</p> <p>“No, no! Don’t go outside! Shut the door!” I shout back and Cheryl slams the door closed.</p> <p>Now the water of a second wave is up to our windowsill and is pouring in under the door. Thinking that perhaps this is as high as the water will reach, I try to close the window. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse a massive, 10-metre-high wall of water. A surge of gut-wrenching, fear-induced adrenaline races through my body.</p> <p>“Quick, get on the bed, get on the bed,” I shout above the deafening roar of water.</p> <p>We jump onto the bed, which is the highest point in the room. As we turn to face the front window, the glass smashes in and the window frames break away. The door of our room is snapped off its hinges by the enormous pressure of the water, then flicks up onto a torrent and comes flying towards us. I deflect it with my shoulder just as the mass of water slams me against the back wall and knocks Cheryl off the bed.</p> <p>Cheryl has her eyes open under water and looks out through the space where the front window used to be. Strangely, the water is perfectly clear and she sees trees and building debris racing past.</p> <p>As Cheryl surfaces she screams “We are going to die! We are going to die!” I have never heard this chilling tone in her voice before.</p> <p>“We are not going to die!” I yell, trying to overcome my feeling of terror.</p> <p>Cheryl can barely swim, so I grab her as the torrent surges higher and try to keep her head above the water. I push off the bed towards the ceiling, holding Cheryl up in front of me. When I surface we are less than 30 centimetres from the apex of the cathedral ceiling and the water is still rising. I can’t avoid gulping down some seawater as I struggle to keep us both afloat. </p> <p>“Please, please – no more! No more!” Cheryl gasps. She knows at that moment that this is how her life will end. She remembers reading that drowning is a pleasant way to die. She even visualises her floating body being retrieved later and identified by our children.</p> <p>“We are NOT going to die!” I shout again. “It’s not my karma to die now!”</p> <p>For some reason I don’t think about dying throughout the disaster. Pumped with adrenaline, I focus entirely on survival. The tsunami is so powerful, and the situation so fast moving and chaotic that I lose any sense of self. I am simply acting on instinctive, primal responses to fear that must be embedded in the human nervous system. But some recess of my mind seems to be ice cold, diamond hard.</p> <p>I desperately try to keep our heads above the ocean swirling in our room. I think that if it gets any higher I will try to swim out the window underwater with Cheryl.</p> <p>Time slows. We cling to each other near the ceiling for what seems like long minutes. We wait for the inevitable surge of water that will fill this air pocket and drown us. At any moment the cabana could collapse and bury us under tons of bricks and timber. </p> <p>But miraculously the water doesn’t rise further. It subsides slightly and I grab the latex mattress that has floated up. We hang onto it as we swirl around. The door, a cupboard and a travel bag are whirling around the room with us. Then the water subsides a little more and, shortly afterwards, all the water drains out of the room in a rush and we are on the floor.</p> <p>We look at each other, dazed. We are surrounded by a soggy mattress, some broken cane furniture and a few items that have been dislodged from our open bags. I notice my medical kit in its distinctive green and purple container. The door of the room is lodged on the concrete bed base but all the windows, including the frames, have gone completely, torn out by the force of the water.</p> <p>The roof of the building gives a threatening creak, as if it’s about to cave in on top of us. I follow Cheryl quickly out the door onto our veranda. The steps have been washed away and the veranda roof is leaning at a sharp angle, as if poised to drop. I look down the veranda to the room adjoining ours, but instead of seeing bricks I look through a cavernous space where the end wall had been and see the receded sea in the distance. Then I notice that the restaurant, which had been in front of and to the left of our building, has gone. The only indication that it had ever existed is a concrete slab.</p> <p>I glance towards a nearby cabana built in line with ours and some 20 metres away. A concrete slab and some ornate concrete veranda posts lie where the building had been. A middle aged German man has been staying there and I briefly wonder what has happened to him.</p> <p>As I try to comprehend the level of devastation I turn towards the lagoon at the rear of the property and see that the small ayurvedic clinic behind our cabana is also gone. But further back a new two-storey brick building, which was completed only a few days ago, is still standing. The bottom has been gutted, with the doors and windows gone, but there are half-a-dozen young guys who work at Mangrove Garden on the roof. God know how they got up there.</p> <p>I take a welcome piss off the end of the veranda. My heart is thumping in my ears and I have a lifetime’s worth of adrenaline pumping through my body. As I’m urinating I hear someone calling to me, and look up to see Preethi sliding down a tall coconut tree behind our cabana. The tree is 15 metres high, but he is wet and has lost the sarong he usually wears around his waist. As Preethi reaches the bottom dressed only in his shirt and underwear he looks at me and asks “how are you still alive? The water went metres over the roof of your room.”</p> <p>         “If I’d known the fucking waves were so big here I would have brought my surfboard,” I tell him.</p> <p>         “What was it? What was it that happened?” he asks in disbelief.</p> <p>         “It’s called a tsunami,” I say. “We all have to get out of here now, because it could come again.”</p> <p>Preethi is in shock, having just watched the destruction of nearly everything he has worked for in the last five years. I don’t know it then, but when Preethi was clinging to the top of the coconut tree for dear life he watched two of the resort staff get washed into the lagoon and then swirled out the lagoon mouth into the Indian Ocean.</p>

Travel Trouble

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The odd detail you probably never noticed about Duchess Kate

<p>Although the Duchess of Cambridge is known for her sense of style, she can sometimes be seen sporting a less than appealing accessory with some of her outfits.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp8sP56AtjO/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp8sP56AtjO/" target="_blank">The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the 6th Annual Tusk Conservation Awards 💙 8 November 2018</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/katemiddletonphotos/" target="_blank"> Kate Middleton</a> (@katemiddletonphotos) on Nov 8, 2018 at 9:44pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Can you see it?</p> <p>It’s a band-aid on her hand.</p> <p>It’s not the first time she’s been spotted in public with a plaster on her hand either.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNJGeeQj70Q/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNJGeeQj70Q/" target="_blank">Catherine, Duchess of Cambridges arrives at the National History Museum to join Oakington Manor school for a special tea party to say goodbye to Dippy, The Natural History Museum’s world famous Diplodocus before he embarks on a nationwide two-year tour on Nov 22,2016.</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/katemiddletonphotos/" target="_blank"> Kate Middleton</a> (@katemiddletonphotos) on Nov 22, 2016 at 10:14pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Duchess Kate was spotted wearing one when she arrived at the National History Museum back in 2016.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6HOBYHEYM/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6HOBYHEYM/" target="_blank">The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Henry Fawcett Children’s Centre on March 12, 2019 in London,England.</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/katemiddletonphotos/" target="_blank"> Kate Middleton</a> (@katemiddletonphotos) on Mar 12, 2019 at 5:19am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>However, it’s not all the time. This was just the other day on May 12, 2019.</p> <p>Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the issue, especially when <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kate-wear-many-plasters-duchess-9521028" target="_blank">The Mirror</a> </em>reached out and inquired about the plasters.</p> <p>Buckingham Palace insisted: “We have no comment on the plaster.”</p> <p>For now, many tend to believe that the regular wounds that have appeared over the years is due to the Duchess of Cambridge’s well-established green-thumb. This has been highlighted with her Back to Nature Garden in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London that begins this week.</p> <p>“I believe that spending time outdoors when we are young can play a role in laying the foundations for children to become happy, healthy adults,” she said in a statement.</p>

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"You will literally wait for hours!": Frustrated woman vents about husband's odd bathroom habit

<p>A woman has been left wondering whether she was in the right to complain about her husband’s odd bathroom habit.</p> <p>The wife and mother has been left frustrated by her partner, who would take over the house’s bathroom for anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours at a time.</p> <p>Writing on <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/bbvgh2/aita_for_getting_pissy_about_my_husbands_bathroom/" target="_blank">Reddit</a>, the woman said the long bathroom breaks often kept her and her young son from using the loo when needed. </p> <p>“Fortunately, my son has a private little corner of our backyard where he can go relieve himself in emergencies, but it can be torture for myself or any other women stuck waiting to tinkle,” she shared.</p> <p>Explaining that the situation had been going on for years, she said the wait would be longer if her husband decided to take a shower after relieving himself. </p> <p>“You will literally wait for hours! I have finally got him to where he will unlock the door before he jumps in the shower so we can at least get in to relieve ourselves.”</p> <p>She suspected that her partner has not been using the bathroom for anything related to bodily functions. </p> <p>“I have to go in after him and a lot of time it doesn’t even smell! Zero evidence that he was ‘using the facilities’,” she vented.</p> <p>“I really don’t want to know what he does with his bathroom time, I just want him to be more respectful of the fact that other people have needs too!”</p> <p>Many people jumped in to reassure the woman that her concerns are valid. </p> <p>“That sounds excessive and rude. Is he reading? Needs a quiet place?” one commented. “Something is up!”</p> <p>Another wrote, “He’s being really inconsiderate ... and honestly it kinda sounds like he’s just chilling in there to avoid his childcare responsibilities.”</p> <p>The woman was also encouraged to address the issue with her husband. </p> <p>“I think you really ought to ask the reason,” one advised. “It’s possible he has a condition he’s embarrassed about that you could help him with. Or it’s possible he needs alone time and tries to get it this way. In any case, I don’t see this getting better without you insisting on getting the reason.”</p> <p>Another user chimed in, saying, “The fact that your son has learned to pee in the yard because daddy monopolizes the bathroom is shocking. That isn’t normal … What you are dealing with is really terrible and this isn’t going to be easy to fix. Counselling would be a good idea.”</p> <p>What do you think of the bathroom dilemma? Share your thoughts in the comments.</p>

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Mum defends child’s unusual name after being mocked by critics

<p>A mum has defended her baby’s name after trolls made fun of the parent’s decision.</p> <p>Jade Jeanes told <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/disney-belle-beauty-and-beast-2669541" target="_blank">The Bristol Post</a></em> that herself and her husband Joshua, both 27, wanted something extravagant for their child’s name as they had been waiting for seven years to conceive.</p> <p>After some debate on whether their child should be called Belle after Jade’s favourite Disney heroine in Beauty and the Beast, the couple settled on Disney.</p> <p>Despite making her choice and having nurses in the delivery room recognise that the name is unique, Jade decided to share her baby’s name with a Facebook page created for parents.</p> <p>She was devastated when mums mocked her baby’s name on the page.</p> <p>Jade couldn’t understand the criticism, saying “it’s just a name.”</p> <p>Jade said:</p> <p>“Friends and family love the name, and I do too. It’s no one’s business what we decided to call her.”</p> <p>Jade also said that Disney loves Disney films, as she’s been described as “transfixed” whenever there’s a Disney movie on TV.</p> <p>“It was more of a fun post that I assumed people would be okay with. In the end, people just either hate it or love it.”</p> <p>What do you think of the unique name? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Family & Pets

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10 Aussie places with odd names (and why you should visit)

<p>Don’t let a strange name scare you off!</p> <p><strong>1. Dismal Swamp, Tasmania</strong></p> <p>The largest sinkhole in the Southern Hemisphere is more magical than dismal. It’s filled with ancient blackwood trees and you can ride a curvy 110-metre slide right to the bottom, where you’ll find dreamy sculptures and local artworks.</p> <p><strong>2. Dump Beach, New South Wales</strong></p> <p>It’s doesn’t sound very appealing, but dog lovers will love this stretch of sand close to the town of Yamba on the NSW north coast. It's quiet and unpatrolled, and the local doggy community has claimed it as their own. The perfect place for your furry friend to have a roll in the sand.</p> <p><strong>3. Success, Western Australia</strong></p> <p>This suburb in southern Perth is named for Captain James Stirling’s ship the HMAS Success that explored the region in 1827. Now, it’s a sleepy, safe suburb that’s surrounded by some lovely parks and is just a short drive to the beach.</p> <p><strong>4. Mount Misery, Tasmania</strong></p> <p>There are a few Mount Miseries to be found around Australia, which suggests that early explorers must have had a pretty difficult time. This one overlooks Huonville in southeast Tasmania and its slopes are covered in tall eucalypts and small pockets of rainforest. The climb to the summit takes about three hours.</p> <p><strong>5. Stinky Bay, South Australia</strong></p> <p>This two-kilometre curve of sand on South Australia’s Limestone Peninsula gets its name from the large piles of seagrass that frequently wash up on the beach, giving off a distinctive odour. If you can get past that, lots of inshore holes and gutters make it a great spot for fishing right from the beach.</p> <p><strong>6. Eggs and Bacon Bay, Tasmania</strong></p> <p>Tassie seems to have more than its fair share of strangely-named places, and Eggs and Bacon Bay is the next one on our list. It’s actually named for the distinctive yellow and red flowers found all over the shore, rather than breakfast, and has gorgeous scenery, deserted beaches and lots of fresh Tasmanian produce.</p> <p><strong>7. Promised Land, New South Wales</strong></p> <p>With a name like this, you know it’s going to be good. The Promised Land is a delightful valley near the Dorrigo National Park and the bohemian town of Bellingen. Spend your days discovering hidden waterfalls, lush rainforest and crystal clear swimming holes.</p> <p><strong>8. Yorkeys Knob, Queensland</strong></p> <p>Ahem, take your mind out of the gutter! This picturesque beach village just north of Cairns was named for a Yorkshire fisherman who built his homestead here and the ‘knob’ part refers to the peninsula jutting out from the beach. It’s a charming family holiday spot and famous for kitesurfing.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qNZIJmEZ91g" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><strong>9. Teddy Bear Gap, Victoria</strong></p> <p>If you go down to the Grampians today, you’re sure of a big surprise… No word if any teddy bears have been known to picnic at their eponymous gap, but the walk itself is quite lovely and well worth the effort.</p> <p><strong>10. Edge of the World, Tasmania</strong></p> <p>The name here is pretty self-explanatory. The Edge of the World is a desolate, windswept spot in the Tarkine Rainforest on the northwest coast of Tasmania. From here, there’s nothing else to the west except 20,000 kilometres of raging ocean. The nearest landfall is in Patagonia, South America.</p> <p>Have you been to any of these places?</p>

International Travel

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The reason wine tastes odd on planes

<p>If you’ve ever asked for a glass of red on a plane to relax (or perhaps calm your nerves) you might’ve noticed how it tastes a little bit different when you’re in the plane cabin.</p> <p>Well, there’s a good reason for this.</p> <p>Writing for <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff</span></strong></a>, travel expert Michael Austin explains why this is the case.</p> <p>“That air is being recirculated, and it carries provocative notes of jet fuel, upholstery and carpet, all of which tend to fade the longer you spend in that tube, and maybe that's a good thing for those of us who don't particularly love those smells,” Austin writes.</p> <p>“But the problem is that even the stuff we do want to smell eventually fades. And when the aromas go, the flavours go too. It's all caused by your own aircraft-induced dehydration – the drying-out that afflicts you every time you go wheels-up.</p> <p>“You don't get entirely stripped of your ability to smell and taste, obviously (you can taste well enough to know that you're not wild about the over-salted yet still-kind-of-bland food resting on the tray in front of you), but your senses very quickly begin to operate at a fraction of their normal capacity - and they go downhill from there.</p> <p>“You gradually lose your ability to smell and taste the subtle aromas and flavours you might have been easily able to identify and name in the most creative ways on the ground.”</p> <p>So, there you have it, that’s why wine tastes a little odd on planes.</p>

Travel Tips

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The odd detail on Donald Trump’s personal cheque to dead soldier’s family

<p>The family of a fallen US soldier has received a US$25,000 (AU$32,000) personal cheque from President Donald Trump a week after media reported that the money hadn’t arrived.</p> <p>Chris Baldridge and his wife, Jessie, said that Trump had promised a cheque in a phone call after their son Sergeant Dillon Baldridge, 22, was killed in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan in June.</p> <p>However, it wasn’t until a Washington Post article reported that the promise was still unfulfilled that White House officials announced the cheque was in the mail.</p> <p>And sure enough, the cheque is dated October 18 – the same day the Post article came out.</p> <p>“The cheque has been in the pipeline since the President’s initial call with the father. The President has personally followed up several times to ensure that the cheque was being sent. As stated earlier, the cheque has been sent,” White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said last week.</p> <p>“It’s disgusting that the media is taking something that should be recognised as a generous and sincere gesture, made privately by the President, and using it to advance the media’s biased agenda.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE: NC <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoldStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoldStar</a> family receives $25,000 personal check, months after condolence call from <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC11_WTVD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABC11_WTVD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABC</a> <a href="https://t.co/eTUxCCgYMY">pic.twitter.com/eTUxCCgYMY</a></p> — Jonah Kaplan (@KaplanABC11) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaplanABC11/status/922603452487946241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Trump made the offer to the family after Mr Baldridge told the president that only his ex-wife would receive money from the Pentagon’s US$100,000 (AU$128,000) death gratuity.</p> <p>“He said, ‘I’m going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000,’ and I was just floored,” Mr Baldridge told The Washington Post.</p> <p>“I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, ‘No other president has ever done something like this,’ but he said, ‘I’m going to do it.’”</p> <p>“We just thought he was saying something nice,” Mr Baldridge’s wife Jessie Baldridge told ABC11.</p> <p>“We got a condolence letter from him and there was no cheque, and we kind of joked about it,” she said.</p> <p>According WTVD, the personal cheque also came with a letter from the president that read:</p> <p>“Dear Christopher,</p> <p>I am glad my legal counsel has been able to finally approve this contribution to you. Enclosed is a check for $25,000 — I hope this will make things a bit easier, but nothing will ever replace your son, Dillon. He was an American hero.</p> <p>Sincerely, Donald Trump”</p> <p> </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">In letter to Baldridge family, shared only w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC11_WTVD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABC11_WTVD</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> says "I hope this will make things a bit easier." <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCWorldNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABCWorldNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/MFu2DpGlQK">pic.twitter.com/MFu2DpGlQK</a></p> — Jonah Kaplan (@KaplanABC11) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaplanABC11/status/922604342338838528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Mrs Baldridge told ABC11 that they were incredibly grateful to receive the money.</p> <p>“I’m still speechless,” Mrs Baldridge said. “We are so moved and grateful, and we promise to use the money to honour Dillon’s legacy.”</p> <p>The Baldridge family said they intend to use the money to start a non-profit organisation in Dillon’s name with the intention of helping as many of their fellow Americans as possible.</p> <p>Two other soldier also died in the same attack but it is unknown if their families would also be receiving money from the president.</p> <p> </p>

Money & Banking

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