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Nat Barr shares scary cancer diagnosis

<p>Sunrise co-host Nat Barr has shared a recent personal health scare that underscores the importance of regular skin checks.</p> <p>Barr disclosed that doctors diagnosed her with skin cancer after a persistent “pimple” on her nose prompted her to seek medical advice.</p> <p>On Tuesday's <em>Sunrise </em>program, Barr detailed her experience, explaining how a seemingly innocuous blemish led to an unexpected and concerning diagnosis. “I’ve had this pimple on my nose, it’s been about three weeks. It keeps going up, down, up, down, won’t go away,” Barr shared. This irregularity convinced her to consult a dermatologist, who used advanced AI technology along with a Spectrascope to examine the lesion.</p> <p>The specialist diagnosed the 3mm lesion as cancerous, with Barr receiving a score of 7.4 on the test, where any score above seven is indicative of cancer. “That was so tiny, it was just a tiny little red thing,” Barr said, showing just how easily such a small detail could be overlooked.</p> <p>The dermatologist’s use of AI to analyse photos of Barr’s entire body further highlighted the cutting-edge methods now available in skin cancer detection. This technology can compare images over time to identify changes more accurately than the human eye, providing a powerful tool in early diagnosis and treatment.</p> <p>Following the diagnosis, Barr was prescribed an anti-cancer cream to treat the lesion and also underwent red light therapy, a treatment that selectively targets and kills cancer cells.</p> <p>Reflecting on her experience, Barr expressed how this health scare made her more aware of the importance of regular skin checks. “It’s just a good reminder for everyone," she urged, "remember to get your skin checked regularly."</p> <p>Despite the scare, Barr reassured her fans about her health. “The outlook for my health is fine,” she confirmed, noting that her next appointment is scheduled for Friday. In the meantime, she mentioned that the lesion is currently concealed with make-up. “I do the same process this Friday, and then it gets all crusty, and then it will be fine,” she added.</p> <p>Skin cancer, often underestimated, can start as something as small as a persistent pimple or a red spot. Early detection and treatment are vital, and advancements in technology now offer more precise and early diagnoses, potentially saving lives.</p> <p><em>Images: Sunrise</em></p>

Caring

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Australians are having fewer babies and our local-born population is about to shrink: here’s why it’s not that scary

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amanda-davies-201009">Amanda Davies</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a></em></p> <p>Australians are having fewer babies, so many fewer that without international migration our population would be on track to decline in just over a decade.</p> <p>In most circumstances, the number of babies per woman that a population needs to sustain itself – the so-called <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/123">total fertility rate</a> – is 2.1.</p> <p>Australia’s total fertility rate dipped below 2.1 in the late 1970s, moved back up towards it in the late 2000s (assisted in part by an improving economy, better access to childcare and the introduction of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-baby-bonus-boost-looks-like-across-ten-years-81563">Commonwealth Baby Bonus</a>), and then plunged again, hitting a low of <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-projections-australia/2022-base-2071#assumptions">1.59</a> during the first year of COVID.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="CHdqj" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/CHdqj/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>The latest population projections from the Australian Bureau of Statistics assume the rate remains near its present 1.6% for <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-projections-australia/2022-base-2071#assumptions">the next 50 years</a>.</p> <p>An alternative, lower, set of assumptions has the rate falling to 1.45 over the next five years and staying there. A higher set of assumptions has it rebounding to 1.75 and staying there.</p> <p>A comprehensive study of global fertility trends published in March in the medical journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext#%20">The Lancet</a> has Australia’s central case at 1.45, followed by a fall to 1.33 by the end of the century.</p> <p>Significantly, none of these assumptions envisages a return to replacement rate.</p> <p>The bureau’s central projection has Australia’s population turning down from 2037 in the absence of a boost from migration.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="oi55c" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/oi55c/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>It’s easy to make guesses about reasons. Reliable contraception has been widely available for 50 years. Rents, mortgages and the other costs facing Australians of child-bearing age appear to be climbing. It’s still <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-17/career-or-baby-michelle-battersby-pregnancy-gender-/103186296">difficult to have a career</a> if you have a child, and data show women still carry the substantive burden of <a href="https://theconversation.com/mind-the-gap-gender-differences-in-time-use-narrowing-but-slowly-191678">unpaid work around the home</a>.</p> <p>The US fertility rate has fallen <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-per-woman-un?tab=chart&amp;time=1950..latest&amp;country=OWID_WRL%7EUSA%7EAUS">much in line with Australia’s</a>.</p> <p>Reporting on <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-birth-rates-are-at-record-lows-even-though-the-number-of-kids-most-americans-say-they-want-has-held-steady-197270">research</a> into the reasons, Forbes Magazine succinctly said a broken economy had “<a href="https://fortune.com/2023/01/12/millennials-broken-economy-delay-children-birthrate/">screwed over</a>” Americans considering having children.</p> <p>More diplomatically, it said Americans saw parenthood as “<a href="https://fortune.com/2023/01/12/millennials-broken-economy-delay-children-birthrate/">harder to manage</a>” than they might have in the past.</p> <h2>Half the world is unable to replace itself</h2> <p>But this trend is widespread. The <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext#%20">Lancet study</a> finds more than half of the world’s countries have a fertility rate below replacement level.</p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-population-shrinks-again-and-could-more-than-halve-heres-what-that-means-220667">China</a>, which is important for the global fertility rate because it makes up such a large share of the world’s population, had a fertility rate as high as 7.5 in the early 1960s. It fell to 2.5 before the start of China’s <a href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3135510/chinas-one-child-policy-what-was-it-and-what-impact-did-it">one-child</a> policy in the early 1990s, and then slid further from 1.8 to 1 after the policy was abandoned in 2016.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="idC4X" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/idC4X/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>South Korea’s fertility rate has dived further, to the world’s lowest: <a href="https://time.com/6488894/south-korea-low-fertility-rate-trend-decline/">0.72</a>.</p> <p>The fertility rate in India, which is now <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-no-153-india-overtakes-china-as-the-worlds-most-populous-country/">more populous than China</a>, has also fallen <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?page=&amp;locations=IN">below replacement level</a>.</p> <p>Most of the 94 nations that continue to have above-replacement fertility rates are in North Africa, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Some, including Samoa and Papua New Guinea, are in the Pacific.</p> <p>Most of Asia, Europe and Oceania is already below replacement rate.</p> <h2>A changing world order</h2> <p>The largest high-fertility African nation, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/the-world-population-in-2100-by-country/">Nigeria</a>, is expected to overtake China to become the world’s second-most-populous nation by the end of the century.</p> <p>But even Nigeria’s fertility rate will sink. The Lancet projections have it sliding from 4.7 to <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext#%20">1.87</a> by the end of the century.</p> <p>The differences mean the world’s population growth will increasingly take place in countries that are among the most vulnerable to environmental and economic hardship.</p> <p>Already economically disadvantaged, these nations will need to provide jobs, housing, healthcare and services for rapidly growing populations at a time when the rest of the world does not.</p> <p>On the other hand, those nations will be blessed with young people. They will be an increasingly valuable resource as other nations face the challenges of an ageing population and declining workforce.</p> <h2>An older world, then a smaller world</h2> <p>Global fertility <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext">halved</a> between 1950 and 2021, shrinking from 4.84 to 2.23.</p> <p>The latest projections have it sinking below the replacement rate to somewhere between 1.59 and 2.08 by 2050, and then to between <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext">1.25 and 1.96</a> by 2100.</p> <p>The world has already seen peak births and peak primary-school-aged children.</p> <p>In <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext">2016</a>, the world welcomed about 142 million live babies, and since then the number born each year has fallen. By 2021, it was about 129 million.</p> <p>The global school-age population aged 6 to 11 years peaked at around 820 million in <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-no-152-population-education-and-sustainable-development-interlinkages-and-select-policy-implications/">2023</a>.</p> <p>The United Nations expects the world’s population to peak at 10.6 billion in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-planet-s-population-will-get-to-10-4-billion-then-drop-here-s-when-we-reach-peak-human-20231213-p5er8g.html">2086</a>, after which it will begin to fall.</p> <p>Another forecast, produced as part of the impressive <a href="https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/gbd">Global Burden of Disease</a> study, has the peak occurring two decades earlier in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30677-2/fulltext">2064</a>, with the world’s population peaking at 9.73 billion.</p> <h2>Fewer babies are a sign of success</h2> <p>In many ways, a smaller world is to be welcomed.</p> <p>The concern common <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-long-fuse-the-population-bomb-is-still-ticking-50-years-after-its-publication-96090">in the 1960s and 1970s</a> that the world’s population was growing faster and faster and the world would soon be unable to feed itself has turned out to be misplaced.</p> <p>Aside from occasional blips (China’s birth rate in the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1973601">Year of the Dragon</a>) the fertility trend in just about every nation on Earth is downwards.</p> <p>The world’s population hasn’t been growing rapidly for long. Before 1700 it grew by only about <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/population-growth-over-time">0.4% per year</a>. By 2100 it will have stabilised and started to fall, limiting the period of unusually rapid growth to four centuries.</p> <p>In an important way, lower birth rates can be seen as a sign of success. The richer a society becomes and the more it is able to look after its seniors, the less important it becomes for each couple to have children to care for them in old age. This is a long-established theory with a name: the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4116081/">demographic transition</a>.</p> <p>For Australia, even with forecast immigration, lower fertility will mean changes.</p> <p>The government’s 2023 <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/2023-intergenerational-report">Intergenerational Report</a> says that whereas there are now 3.7 Australians of traditional working age for each Australian aged 65 and over, by 2063 there will only be 2.6.</p> <p>It will mean those 2.6 people will have to work smarter, perhaps with greater assistance from artificial intelligence.</p> <p>Unless they decide to have more babies, which history suggests they won’t.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/228273/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amanda-davies-201009"><em>Amanda Davies</em></a><em>, Professor and Head of School of Social Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: </em><em>Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-are-having-fewer-babies-and-our-local-born-population-is-about-to-shrink-heres-why-its-not-that-scary-228273">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Family & Pets

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“Heartbreaking”: Jimmy Barnes’ emotional tribute to Jock Zonfrillo leaves viewers sobbing

<p dir="ltr">Jimmy Barnes has left viewers sobbing after his emotional tribute to Jock Zonfrillo on <em>The Sunday Project</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The rock legend performed a moving rendition of The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond, accompanied by bagpipes, for fellow Scot Jock Zonfrillo.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The Sunday Project</em> posted a tweet of the tribute with the caption: “The last time Jimmy Barnes sang the traditional Scottish song 'The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond' was with his fellow Scot Jock Zonfrillo.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Tonight, he sings it in tribute to his great mate.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m still recovering from that whole tribute, simply beautiful and gut wrenchingly sad 😢,” wrote one user in response to the post.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Beautiful, heartbreaking tribute ending with Jimmy Barnes and Loch Lomond. And the tears flowed … 😭” wrote another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was keeping it together until the bagpipes. Now I'm a mess. Nothing but love to the ones that he loved and that loved him. Going to miss you Jock Zonfrillo,” commented a third.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh my! Tears rolling. Vale Jock . Love to fellow MasterChef fans. Hugs to his family,” wrote a fourth.</p> <p dir="ltr">“'F***ing hell. Now Jimmy Barnes is making me cry again,” another user tweeted.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Scottish-Australian chef <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/shattered-hearts-culinary-world-mourns-tragic-death-of-jock-zonfrillo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed away</a> on Monday, May 1, his sudden death shocking the culinary and entertainment world.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Network 10, The Project</em></p>

Music

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Body language expert weighs in on Prince George

<p>Prince George has stunned fans by stepping out ahead of his family during the annual Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.</p> <p>9-year-old George was accompanied by his parents - the Prince and Princess of Wales - and his siblings, seven-year-old Princess Charlotte and four-year-old Prince Louis. And while in 2022 the young royal stood between her parents as they made their way into the service, all eyes were on George in 2023 when he took the lead and strode a step ahead of them. </p> <p>And now, body language expert Judi James - who took note of George at both the 2021 and 2022 services as well - has spoken to<em> The Daily Mail </em>about what she believes the 9-year-old’s new “grown-up dynamic” means - both for himself, and the future of the British royal family. </p> <p>“At this Easter service there was a status step-up from George, who walked ahead to lead his family into the service,” she explained, “showing a newly grown-up dynamic from the five Wales’ when it comes to royal outings.</p> <p>“George used to be the one holding his father’s hand and looking rather timid, but here it was Charlotte walking in alongside William, while Kate held Louis’s hand beside them.”</p> <p>Judi went on to note that even this line-up “had its own upgrade”, outlining how Charlotte had appeared to check in on her younger brother, before sharing “a beam of pride at his impeccable behaviour.”</p> <p>“On the way out of the service it was Charlotte mirroring her mother, walking beside Kate and offering her own shy wave to the crowds in a gesture that showed who she takes her own lead from,” she continued. </p> <p>“Louis was a very different boy from the playful, fidgety young royal <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/adorable-prince-louis-upstages-entire-royal-family" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we saw at the Jubilee</a>. Walking beside Kate he looked serious and confident, offering a level stare at the crowds of fans and well-wishers, who seemed to have saved a special cheer for this mother and son duo.</p> <p>“Kate looked down at Louis with a grin of pride before smiling back up at the crowd, as though sharing her admiration for his grown-up behaviour. Louis even appeared to look down to straighten his tie as he entered the chapel.”</p> <p>Judi circled back to George while discussing the family leaving the service, noting that George was the first to exit, and that he demonstrated initiative when he set out “shaking hands without any prompting.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, many fans just couldn’t believe how quickly the young royal had grown before their very eyes, taking to social media in the wake of the service to voice their surprise. </p> <p>“How grown up does Prince George look today?” wrote one. </p> <p>“Can't believe how much Prince George has grown up,” said another. “He will be as tall as Prince William soon.”</p> <p>“It has been wonderful to see him grow in confidence as well as height,” someone agreed.</p> <p>Another noted that George bore a strong resemblance to Charles Spencer, and that the “Spencer genes are currently running strong.”</p> <p>While others couldn’t forget the rest, declaring “​​Princess Charlotte &amp; Prince Louis too! They are so adorable!”</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“You are not alone”: Prince Harry pens emotional letter to bereaved children

<p dir="ltr">Prince Harry has penned a letter to children whose parents have died as a result of being in the military, telling him they share a bond in losing a parent and experiencing grief.</p> <p dir="ltr">The former royal wrote of how he learnt to cope with grief and encouraged the children to “lean into your friends” in his letter, which was shared by the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers on Remembrance Sunday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As many of us observe and reflect on Remembrance Sunday, I wanted to write to you and let you know you are all in my thoughts and heart today,” he began.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-319fa701-7fff-1059-e37f-7ace750a752b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“We share a bond even without ever meeting one another, because we share in having lost a parent. I know first-hand the pain and grief that comes with loss and want you to know that you are not alone.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/11/prince-harry-nov-letter.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Prince Harry penned a letter to children supported by the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers for Remembrance Sunday. Image: Scotty’s Little Soldiers</em></p> <p dir="ltr">"While difficult feelings will come up today as we pay tribute to heroes like your mum or dad, I hope you can find comfort and strength in knowing that their love for you lives and shines on. Whenever you need a reminder of this, I encourage you to lean into your friends at Scotty’s Little Soldiers.</p> <p dir="ltr">"One of the ways I've learned to cope has been through community and talking about my grief, and I couldn't be more grateful and relieved that you have amazing people walking beside you throughout your journey.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We all know some days are harder than others, but together those days are made easier."</p> <p dir="ltr">Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity that supports children who have lost a parent in the military, was founded in 2010 by Nikki Scott, whose husband Corporal Lee Scott was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 and left behind two young children.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7881f497-7fff-4422-2c10-4168c81f7623"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">On Sunday, 55 children and their parents took part in the Remembrance Sunday parade wearing black and yellow scarves.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">A proud moment for Scotty’s 💛 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RemembranceSunday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RemembranceSunday</a> <a href="https://t.co/CsD7wL9BQP">pic.twitter.com/CsD7wL9BQP</a></p> <p>— Scotty's L Soldiers (@CorporalScotty) <a href="https://twitter.com/CorporalScotty/status/1591767075567333378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">In his letter, Prince Harry acknowledged that taking part in the parade would be “hard but equally important to do” to raise awareness for others.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Today you will bring new awareness to young people, just like you, who will benefit from this community of support,” he wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I salute you for serving others in need, in the most honourable memory of your parent.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Duke of Sussex has long supported the charity, which was one of the organisations chosen by Harry and Meghan Markle to benefit from donations they received as gifts for their 2018 wedding.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 2017, he met with children who’d lost a military parent at a special party on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.</p> <p dir="ltr">This year, he and Meghan attended a service on Remembrance Day to pay their respects to those who died in war across the US and the Commonwealth.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-78e8d8b1-7fff-62de-8d2f-a91f99007698"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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How to overcome the ‘Sunday scaries,’ according to a therapist

<p><strong>How to overcome your Sunday scaries</strong></p> <p>According to an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, most Australians are working longer hours – spending more time on the job than on their household activities, caring for family, education, meals, personal care and leisure combined. If this grind sounds familiar, you probably don’t need scientific data to tell you how much Mondays can suck (though back in 2011, University of Vermont researchers used Twitter data to confirm indeed, we all hate. Mondays the most). In recent years, these Monday blues have crept into our off-the-clock hours, too: a phenomenon that’s increasingly coming to be known as the ‘Sunday scaries.’</p> <p><strong>Five reasons this ‘anticipatory anxiety’ happens</strong></p> <p>“The Sunday scaries is an overwhelming feeling of dread and anxiety about going to work or school the next day,” says clinical psychologist, Dr Renée L. Goff. Depending on your schedule, this anxiety doesn’t necessarily have to hit on a Sunday, but whenever you’re spending what’s meant to be personal time stressing about upcoming work.</p> <p>And what do the Sunday scaries feel like? “Some people describe it as a heaviness they can feel in their body, while others feel so jittery they could jump out of their skin,” Dr Goff says. “You’re also very aware of the time ticking away and the freedom of your weekend coming to a close.”</p> <p>It’s also extremely common. Based on different polls, 75 to 80 per cent of people experience the Sunday scaries, says therapist Amanda Stemen. But just because it’s widespread doesn’t mean it’s not manageable. Here’s how experts say you can ease your Sunday anxiety.</p> <p><strong>Structure your Sunday</strong></p> <p>“Structure can be a best friend when [you’re] feeling the Sunday scaries,” says psychotherapist, Angela Ficken. “Instead of sitting on the couch and watching the clock, go do something that you enjoy.” You might still get whiffs of that sense of dread, but that feeling is harder to hold onto when you are engaging in something that makes you feel good, she says. Plus, research tells us that adding structure to our days can help give us a greater sense of control and improve mental health. That’s why it’s not just important to structure your Sundays, but to be consistent with it, Ficken says.</p> <p><strong>Don’t forget to relax</strong></p> <p>The Australian Government Department of Health data shows just how little time we have during the week to tend to non-work activities – ­ but when you’re planning out your Sunday, try not to cram in too many errands and chores. If you’re feeling more stress in general, it’s important to make space for relaxing activities in your Sunday plan to ground yourself, says marriage and family therapist Naiylah Warren. And there’s no right way to relax. “Maybe a body scan meditation, maybe a mid-afternoon shower or bath, maybe an engaging movie or show,” Warren says. “[Whatever] feels like a helpful distraction to reground from the scaries.”</p> <p><strong>Pinpoint anxiety sources behind the Sunday scaries</strong></p> <p>Anxiety is a normal human experience, and one of the main ways to manage it is to identify your personal triggers. “Try to pinpoint what is really causing you to dread the week,” Dr Goff says. “Is it a deadline, meeting or presentation?”</p> <p>Even if there’s not a sole reason behind your Sunday anxiety, organising the stress you expect from the week ahead into bite-size chunks can help make it all more manageable. “Create multiple to-do lists,” Dr Goff recommends. One list for tasks that need to be completed immediately, another for tasks that are less urgent, and a final list for tasks that you’d like to complete at some point. “Seeing these can help put into perspective what is important and what you can let go of for now,” she says. “This can help decrease the anticipation of the stress and dread of the week.”</p> <p><strong>Create some excitement for the week ahead</strong></p> <p>Getting rid of the Sunday scaries isn’t just about tempering the doom-and-gloom of the week ahead, either. “Having something to look forward to also gives you something to think about that’s pleasing rather than only focusing on the dread you feel,” Ficken says. It’s a form of reframing your thoughts: instead of focusing on the awful things you expect from the week, build excitement over a coffee or lunch date with a friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with. “This gives you the opportunity to shift your thoughts to something fun and will help improve your mood.”</p> <p><strong>End your Sunday with the right energy</strong></p> <p>Whether you want glowing skin, a sounder sleep or a mental health boost, a great nighttime routine can come with major health benefits. But if you suffer from the Sunday scaries, you may want to build a special routine for these more anxiety-ridden evenings, Warren says. “This is an opportunity to give yourself proper wind-down time ­­– maybe you want to journal, do a face mask, read a few pages of your book – allow yourself to decompress so you can feel empowered and confident you’ll be ready for the next day,” she says. And do your best to honour this “you” time.</p> <p>That means, when possible, make Sunday night about your self-care – and leave the work emails for Monday morning.</p> <p><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-5bed761a-7fff-0943-dc43-615bbc260f03">Written by Leslie Finlay. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/conditions/mental-health/how-to-overcome-the-sunday-scaries-according-to-a-therapist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here’s our best subscription offer.</a></span></em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Mind

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Jamie Oliver shares details about wife's "deeply scary" health condition

<p>Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has opened up about his wife’s “deeply scary” experience with long Covid, as the illness remains uncharted territory with fresh data still being uncovered.</p> <p>Jools Oliver has been fighting the illness for the past two years.</p> <p>“She’s had bad COVID and long COVID, so she’s been really affected by it, sadly,” Oliver, 47, shared.</p> <p>“She’s OK, but still not what she wants to be.”</p> <p>“It’s been two years. She finds it deeply scary.”</p> <p>Her condition has left doctors stumped, with long Covid affecting 10-20% of people with ongoing Covid symptoms, according to the World Health Organisation.</p> <p>The popular chef explained they had seen specialist medical professionals but have been unable to cure her symptoms as the condition is still being learnt about.</p> <p>“We’re all over Harley Street like a rash, but no one really knows anything,” Oliver went on, referring to the street in London, known for being home to a large amount of private medical specialists.</p> <p>Despite her condition, Oliver says his wife continues to remain positive and keep her spirits up. The couple share five children together and have been married for 22 years.</p> <p>Oliver's new cookbook is being released on September 1 and, of course, is dedicated to his wife Jools. </p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"> </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CftLf9LDs7P/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CftLf9LDs7P/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jamie Oliver (@jamieoliver)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

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“Scary and painful”: Monkeypox survivors recall their experiences

<p dir="ltr">Before suffering full-body chills, a fever and other intense flu-like symptoms, the first sign that Matt Ford had come down with monkeypox were several spots on his body.</p> <p dir="ltr">The US man noticed the lesions after receiving a call from a friend who he’d had skin-to-skin contact with in June.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Right after the call, I checked myself and noticed some lesions I hadn’t seen before,” the 30-year-old told <em><a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/human-interest/excruciating-lesions-and-a-40c-fever-i-had-monkeypox-and-this-is-what-its-like-c-7670514" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The next few days saw him experience flu-like symptoms, including a fever, chills, sweats and fatigue.</p> <p dir="ltr">After those symptoms lessened, the number of lesions increased, with Ford counting 25 in total across his body, including his face, feet and scalp.</p> <p dir="ltr">The lesions quickly became itchy and painful, interfering with his sleep and resulting in him needing narcotics to fall asleep.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t think many people fully understand just how painful it can be, especially if lesions appear in the perianal or genital areas,” he said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f2b9fab0-7fff-8481-c059-b9b775472214"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“(The pain) was at least an eight or nine out of 10.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I have monkeypox currently and this shit is absolutely no joke.</p> <p>If you’re in New York and can get the vaccine, go do it.</p> <p>— Matt Ford (@JMatthiasFord) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMatthiasFord/status/1540049980253016064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Under local rules, Ford was required to isolate until “all lesions have resolved, the scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed”, ensuring he was no longer contagious.</p> <p dir="ltr">In total, he stayed home for three weeks and was “grateful” for his support network.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was pretty brutal towards the end of it, and I felt pretty stir crazy,” he recalled.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But I’m grateful to have had a strong support network checking in on me and sending care packages.”</p> <p dir="ltr">For UK man Harun Tulunay, catching monkeypox came with a slightly different experience.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 35-year-old primarily experienced flu-like symptoms, such as a fever of 40 C, swollen glands, a white and red rash, pain and chills.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ten days in, Tulunay had been hospitalised and finally received a diagnosis when he noticed a lesion on his nose.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though painful lesions in his throat made him unable to swallow, Tulunay said most didn’t cause him grief.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I had (lesions) on my back, in my hair, on my feet, on my hands, my legs,” he told <em>7News.com.au</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My whole throat was all covered in painful lesions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was the most scary and painful June of my 35 years of life.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After about 35 days, Tulunay’s symptoms had all cleared up.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You really don’t expect it can happen to you until it happens to you,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ford and Tulunay’s experiences come as Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, declared monkeypox a communicable disease of national significance, with most cases occurring among people aged between 21 and 40 years old.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Although monkeypox is not usually considered a sexually transmissible infection, physical contact with an infected person during sexual intercourse carries a significant risk of transmission,” Kelly said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Intimate physical contact such as hugging, kissing and sexual activities represent a risk of infection, with infectious skin sores being the likely mode of transmission.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The World Health Organisation has also declared monkeypox a public health emergency, with more than 20,000 cases recorded across 71 countries since January.</p> <p><em>Image: Supplied</em></p>

Body

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Julie Goodwin puts colleague in his place

<p dir="ltr">Julie Goodwin appeared as a host on <em>The Sunday Project</em> and was quick to have the audience in stitches.</p> <p dir="ltr">The beloved <em>MasterChef Australia</em> star was introduced by co-host Hamish MacDonald who expressed his disappointment that she didn’t cook something for the team. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Please put your hands together for the one and only, MasterChef's Julie Goodwin,” Hamish said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It's great to see you, but I'm not happy that you didn't bring snacks.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Julie was quick and witty in her response: “If we're going to be colleagues, get used to that!”</p> <p dir="ltr">The rest of the panel and the audience laughed before Hamish responded sarcastically saying Julie is “so much nicer in real life”. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheProjectTV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheProjectTV</a> is coming live from the traditional lands of the Gadigal People. We begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. <a href="https://t.co/pIvth3zTAN">pic.twitter.com/pIvth3zTAN</a></p> <p>— The Project (@theprojecttv) <a href="https://twitter.com/theprojecttv/status/1548586383752810499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Following the finale of <em>MasterChef Fans &amp; Favourites</em>, Julie had managed to make it to the top five before she was eliminated for presenting a burnt sticky date pudding to the judges. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 51-year-old accepted the decision and was asked by guest host Mitch Tambo what she has “against sweets”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It's just not my jam, so to speak. I'm a savoury kind of a cook. So you know, I do desserts when I need to... it's just not my forte,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I would have preferred any one of the other courses but you get what you're given on MasterChef. You've got to run with it.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Julie recently opened up about her fear of rejoining the series after winning the first ever season of MasterChef.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It was pretty scary because there was a feeling there that everything's on the line. I won the show 13 years ago and built a career out of that," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"To put myself back into that situation, that competition, I felt like I may be risking all of that.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Channel 10</em></p>

TV

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Sam Mac accused of basically doing nothing

<p dir="ltr">Sam Mac has been called out in the Sunday Mail newspaper, with a local questioning what he actually does for a living.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em>Sunrise </em>weatherman shared the snippet onto Instagram titled “Not a cloud in the sky” which was sent in by Neill from Woodcroft.</p> <p dir="ltr">Neill said he smiled when Sam said he had a “fantastic week” before slowly drilling the weatherman and his antics.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I had to smile when Sunrise’s Sam Mac recently said he’d had a fantastic week,” the note began.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Well, of course he would say that after being in the Hunter Valley all week. But what does he actually do?</p> <p dir="ltr">“It seems to me very little, except for giving the weather temperatures and telling viewers if it’s going to be raining or sunny.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Not a bad job: getting paid while enjoying free accommodation, meals and, I presume, airfares.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’d like to know what he does for the rest of the day.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfBS5-TOXrX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfBS5-TOXrX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Sam Mac (@sammacinsta)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Sam responded to Neill by sharing his hobbies, making it unclear on whether or not he should be offended by the letter.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hello Neill from Woodcroft, &amp; thank you for your enquiry,” Sam began.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Firstly, I must commend you on your accurate summary of my role as a Weatherman, ie telling people the weather. Well spotted Sir. You got me.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now, in answer to your question, when I’m not basking in the glory of free accommodation, meals &amp; airfares, I like to spend the rest of the day partaking in my favourite hobbies…Stone skipping, latin dancing, managing the anxiety of having to decide which jar to put my local matters bottle top in at Grill’d, collecting navel fluff, breakfast tv cosplay (aka “Kochplay”), beatboxing, downloading podcasts I have no intention of listening to, quilting, learning national anthems on the flute, &amp; if there’s anytime left over, I like to write snide letters to my local newspapers.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How about you Neill? What do YOU do for the rest of the day? Sincerely, Sam.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Sam discussed the letter with his colleagues Nat Barr and David Koch, who laughed and said they agreed with Neill.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A guy named Neill, with two Ls, from Woodcroft in South Australia wrote a letter in the Sunday Mail asking ‘what does that weatherman do for the rest of his day?’,” Sam said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He thinks I’m just on holiday, he thinks I’m just having a laugh, but as you guys know, I do the hard yards!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Neill is very perceptive. We get you, Neill,” Kochie said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Neill is all of us,” Barr laughed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Is your pen name Neill?” Sam then asked Kochie.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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“It’s emotional and scary”: White Island eruption survivor removes her face mask

<p dir="ltr">A survivor of the 2019 White Island volcano eruption who suffered burns to 70 percent of her body has finally been able to remove her face mask.</p> <p dir="ltr">Stephanie Browitt was visiting New Zealand’s northeastern Bay of Plenty region with her sister and father, who were both among the 22 people who died in the eruption.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her road to recovery has been a long and difficult one, which she has shared on social media with more than 1.6 million followers.</p> <p dir="ltr">Appearing on Nine’s <em>60 Minutes</em>, Stephanie removed her compression mask for the first time, telling host Sarah Abo that it was a “big deal” and that it felt like “this day would never come”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s emotional and scary. It is actually quite daunting as much as it is exciting,” she said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-544c330b-7fff-ab83-7c65-728b0ded1b94"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Looking in the mirror, Stephanie said she saw a woman who was tougher than she ever thought she could be.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/06/steph8.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="721" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: 60 Minutes</em></p> <p dir="ltr">“I see a person who has gone through so much more than I ever expected to go through in life. I see a very tormented person,” she continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">As much as this is exciting, it has been a long, hard journey to get here. I am tougher than I ever thought I would be.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-009138d2-7fff-ca5c-152c-bf17a9b2f5ae"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I have learnt that the fight for survival is a real thing. I was literally fighting every day to survive, to just get back to being myself. I never knew that I had this in me.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CedLNM1vrna/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CedLNM1vrna/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Stephanie Coral Browitt (@stephaniecoral96)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Sunday’s episode also showed never-before-seen photos of Stephanie’s injuries, revealing the extent of the severe burns that covered almost her whole body.</p> <p dir="ltr">Stephanie told the program that she remembers waking up for the first time since the incident, after she was in a coma for two weeks, in bits and pieces.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was full of tubes and surrounded by medical equipment and in a very small room with lots of noises. Those things will always stay with me, I don’t think they will ever leave. It’s just things you don’t forget,” the 26-year-old said.</p> <p dir="ltr">She said her recovery had been extremely difficult, especially in the early stages.</p> <p dir="ltr">I had to start from scratch like a baby. Sitting upright, getting out of bed, taking my first few steps, even feeding myself – I had to relearn all of those skills from scratch and they didn’t come easy at all,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was incredibly difficult.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There have been plenty of moments where I have wanted to give up, or I have just been in tears not wanting to do anything. But I do feel I have come a long way from day one.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Stephanie is now in the process of suing Royal Caribbean, the company that ran the excursion to the island on the day of the eruption, over the physical and psychological injuries she has suffered.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her lawyer, Peter Gordan, claimed that data from the weeks prior showed that the island was a “ticking time bomb”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It makes me furious. They let down so many people … So many people died needlessly,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think Steph’s injuries are the worst I have ever seen. I don’t think I have ever met quite an exceptional person in the way she has battled on.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the hardship she has - and continues - to overcome, Stephanie is looking to the future, telling <em>60 Minutes</em> she hopes to “go back to as normal a life as possible” and plans to return to working full-time, travelling and her social life.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know I have got the support of so many people, and that helps me realise that this isn’t as scary as I feel it is,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-128a9a3c-7fff-1315-2a8e-5a18eb83ed58"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @stephaniecoral96 (Instagram)</em></p>

Caring

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Dark Waters is a scary movie. Here’s Why…

<p>Many people have said <em>Dark Waters</em> is more terrifying than any horror movie. That’s because the most frightening thing about<em> Dark Waters</em> is the fact it actually happened. A US corporation – Dupont – put money before human lives and jeopardised the health of every person on this planet by dumping toxic PFOA waste in waterways in West Virginia for years.</p> <p>This makes<span> </span><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>one of the scariest movies you’ll see but don’t let this put you off. We all need to see this movie because it’s about how corporations think they can get away with polluting our planet in shocking ways, as long as they keep it hidden. Yes, it’s a bit like<span> </span><em>Erin Brockovich</em><span> </span>but even a bit more sinister.</p> <p>Why is it sinister? Because in Australia, we can usually watch a film like this and thank God we live on a remote island in the South Pacific. But that argument doesn’t hold any more. There’s a scene in<span> </span><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>where Mark Ruffalo (playing lawyer Robert Bilott) asks what’s a safe level of the pollutant – PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) and the answer is – one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool!</p> <p>You see Ruffalo’s face as he mentally adds up the amount of this chemical he’s seen flowing in streams near Parkersburg in West Virginia, and you know from his expression, pretty much the world’s water supply has been wiped out. Dupont has illegally dumped so much of this chemical that by now, it would have worked its way into the underground water system and there’s no saying how far it’s travelled.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RvAOuhyunhY?controls=0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <h4 id="h-what-s-the-story-behind-dark-waters"><strong>What’s the story behind<em><span> </span>Dark Waters</em>?</strong></h4> <p><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>is based on real-life events to do with the lawyer, Robert Bilott. Back in 1998, Bilott was working as a lawyer in Cincinnati when a cattle farmer called Wilbur Tennant (played by Bill Camp) visits him at work saying his cows are dying and he’s convinced the DuPont Chemical plant in town has something to do with it.</p> <p>At first Bilott isn’t interested – he tells the farmer he’s a defence lawyer and he “defends chemical companies.” But, as a favour to his grandmother, who knows the farmer, Bilott later drives to the farm to check it out. Once he gets there, he sees the property is a graveyard and the farmer tells him 190 of his cows have recently died.</p> <p>Bilott agrees to do some research and to find the environmental report DuPont, and the Environmental Protection Agency, wouldn’t share with the farmer.</p> <p>But what Bilott finds is far more deadly. He discovers a cover-up involving DuPont’s plant in the town of Parkersburg. He finds a synthetic chemical known as PFOA, which was created to coat army tanks in the war but was later used as a coating for cooking utensils – commonly known as Teflon – has been dumped in the area’s waterways for years.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.54574132492115px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843832/dark-waters-3-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4fbfa27af6ae46b5b367a4550e95fbe6" /></p> <p>From his research, Bilott finds DuPont has known about the dangers of PFOA and the fact it’s linked with deformities in babies and cancer in people. Even worse, he learns these synthetic chemicals are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because our bodies can’t break them down – so they stay in our systems forever. Bilott is hooked and knows he has to chase this case down to the very end and show Dupont they can’t do this sort of thing.</p> <p><strong>As Bilott says later in the movie: “The system is rigged. They want us to think it will protect us. We protect us. We do.”</strong></p> <p><strong>Just how serious is this PFOA toxic waste?</strong></p> <p>PFOA is one of a class of PFAS toxins or Perfluoroalkyl substances. They are are all man-made toxins and it’s estimated the majority of living creatures on earth now have PFASs in their bloodstream.</p> <p><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>is the first movie to document this story about PFASs and the film has had a major impact. When it was first released late in 2020 in the US, DuPont suffered a stock price fall.</p> <p>The full cinema release of the movie was delayed because of COVID-19 earlier this year but now you can watch the film on Binge, Apple TV and Prime Video.</p> <p><strong>Does<span> </span><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>get its message across?</strong></p> <p><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>is two hours long and a lot of it is fairly harrowing, documentary-style viewing. But to make sure we understand the fully story, this is the most realistic and compelling way.</p> <p>Some reviewers have said the subject matter deserved more but the low key, intense nature of how the film is made – produced by Todd Haynes – is far more persuasive than any other style. The understatement wins you over to the seriousness of what’s unfolding.</p> <p>We see the effect this harrowing, drawn-out legal battle has on Bilott’s family life with his wife, Sarah, (played by Anne Hathaway) and their sons. Ruffalo gives a strong, intense performance as Bilott and we can feel his commitment to the situation. Tim Robbins delivers a great performance as Bilott’s boss at his company, allowing him to keep working on this case even though it ends up taking 13 years to resolve.</p> <p><strong>What’s the story behind PFOA and PFAs?</strong></p> <p><em>Dark Waters</em><span> </span>highlights the dire reality of pollution from this class of harmful chemicals called PFAS. PFOA is just one of these and it’s found in Teflon, carpets, waterproof clothing, grease-proof paper and some packaging.</p> <p>Most people have heard of the dangers of PFOA and many frying pans now have packaging promoting they are ‘PFOA free.’</p> <p><strong>At a time like this with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting most of the world’s population, it’s even scarier to know that the health issues linked with PFAS contamination include a reduced response to vaccines</strong>.</p> <p>The threat of PFAS contamination is not limited to the US. There have been major contaminations in Europe and unfortunately, here in Australia, we’re not exempt either.</p> <p>A story in the<em><span> </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/toxic-secrets-where-the-sites-with-pfas-contamination-are-near-you-20180616-p4zlxc.html" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)">Sydney Morning Herald,</a></em><span> </span>written by Carrie Fellner and Patrick Begley in June 2018, reports at least 90 sites across Australia are now under investigation for elevated levels of PFAS chemicals.</p> <p><strong>You can limit your exposure to PFAS</strong></p> <p>The<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/pfos.aspx" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)"><span> </span>NSW Health Department’s website</a><span> </span>has lots of information about PFAS and what you can do to limit your exposure. Our Defence Department has manufactured these chemicals as well and so did an American company called 3M which operated within Australia.</p> <p>You can see the 90 sites where PFAS have contaminated the area on the map<span> </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/toxic-secrets-where-the-sites-with-pfas-contamination-are-near-you-20180616-p4zlxc.html" target="_blank">below.</a><span> </span>(This map is republished from a story in the<span> </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/toxic-secrets-where-the-sites-with-pfas-contamination-are-near-you-20180616-p4zlxc.html" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)"><em>Sydney Morning Herald</em>,<span> </span></a>written by Carrie Fellner and Patrick Begley in June 2018.)</p> <p><img class="wp-image-118038" src="https://womenlovetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dark-Waters-Map.jpg" alt="Dark Waters map" /></p> <p>The<span> </span><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/pfos.aspx" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)">NSW Health Department website<span> </span></a>has some tips of what you can do to minimise your exposure to PFAS if you live in a PFAS affected area. This list includes being careful not to use groundwater, bore water or surface water for drinking or cooking. They say, using town water from the taps is OK but to be even safer, filtering your tap water would be a good idea.</p> <p><em>Images: Dark Waters</em></p> <p> </p>

Movies

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The Queen posts a touching tribute for Mothering Sunday

<p>The Queen has marked Mothering Sunday with a touching throwback picture of her mother.</p> <p>The heartwarming picture shows Her Majesty as a young woman with her sister Princess Margaret and the former Queen Elizabeth for a portrait commissioned in 1941.</p> <p>The picture was taken by British society photographer Marcus Adams and was his last sitting with the young Princesses at Windsor Castle where they spent most of the Second World War. The Princesses were seen wearing matching suits and blouses while Elizabeth sported a four-stringed pearl necklace and diamond paisley brooch.</p> <p>The sweet snap was shared on the Royal Family’s Twitter. The caption reading: ‘Wishing all those celebrating today a very special Mothering Sunday.'</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">🌷Wishing all those celebrating today a very special Mothering Sunday.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MothersDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MothersDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/H0NZ9Dql1r">pic.twitter.com/H0NZ9Dql1r</a></p> <p>— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1507984015260803073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>Throwback shot of the Queen Mother with her two daughters taken by British society photographer Marcus Adams at Windsor Castle<span dir="ltr" data-sk="tooltip_parent"> </span></p> <p>Fans were quick to praise the photo and to wish Her Majesty a happy Mothering Sunday, with one writing: 'Great photo of HM The Queen Mother and TRH the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret'.</p> <p>Another said: 'What a lovely picture happy Mother’s Day to Her Majesty The Queen and everyone else celebrating it today'.</p> <p>'Happy Mothering Sunday. What a beautiful picture to treasure as a memory. Best wishes to Her Majesty The Queen', wrote a third.</p> <p>The Queen Mother, born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon in London on August the 4th, 1900, was etched her name on the hearts of the nation as the longest-lived and well-loved Royal.</p> <p>The fourth daughter and ninth child of Lord and Lady Glamis, she met her future husband at a dance in May 1920. They married at Westminster Abbey in April 1923, and had two children - Elizabeth, now the Queen, and Princess Margaret.</p> <p>Widowed on February the 6th 1952, she chose to be called Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother when her elder daughter became Queen Elizabeth II.</p> <p>The Queen Mother spent three months in mourning, after which she embarked on a life of public duty, characterised by a grace and energy that made her a favourite with the British public.</p> <p>Over the next 50 years she won a special place in the public's affection and continued with her royal duties well into her second century. The Queen Mother's last public engagement had been on November the 22nd, when she re-commissioned the aircraft carrier Ark Royal at a ceremony in Portsmouth, Hampshire.</p> <p>Six weeks following the funeral of Princess Margaret, The Queen Mother died at her Royal Lodge in Windsor. She out lived her husband King George VI by 50 years.</p> <p><em>Image: Twitter / @RoyalFamily</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“Hang in there my sweet”: Grant Denyer shares update on baby Sunday

<p dir="ltr">Grant Denyer has shared an emotional update about his youngest daughter Sunday, accompanied by a sweet photo of her and his wife Chezzi in hospital.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh my poor little bubba!” Denyer captioned the photo, shared to Instagram on Wednesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m so sorry to see you in this state.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8b691545-7fff-d19a-8c08-12e606b81dac"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">In the photo, Chezzi is masked-up and holding Sunday, who has a bandaged hand and is wearing a half-body cast extending from under her arms down to her ankles, with a nappy over the top.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CbJo62sLkGD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CbJo62sLkGD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Grant Denyer (@grantdenyer)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Sunday had a special procedure today in hospital to fix her severe hip dysplasia,” Denyer’s post continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The poor thing has to wear a half body cast for the next 12 weeks which will be so uncomfortable and immobilising for her, but will be worth it in the end.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hang in there my sweet, you’ve already shown us how brave and bright you are.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Love Dad.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Hip dysplasia is one of the most common abnormalities in newborns, meaning that the hip bone isn’t in the right place in its socket and can move around, causing the hip to not develop correctly.</p> <p dir="ltr">If left untreated, it can cause the child to develop a ‘waddling walk’ and, as the child gets older, it can lead to osteoarthritis and other hip deformities.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, treatments for hip dysplasia are generally quite successful, with treatment options including splints, non-surgical movement of the bone, or the use of surgery to move the bone and a hip spica - a plaster covering the child from knee to waist - to hold the hip in place. </p> <p dir="ltr">Denyer’s update prompted a wave of well-wishes from fans and friends.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Dancing With The Stars</em> castmate Ricki Lee posted multiple heart emojis, while Peter Helliar commented, “Love &amp; strength to you all”, with a heart and fist-bump emoji.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Don’t you just wish you could take the pain for them!” Fabian Coulthard added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hope lil lady feels better soon!” journalist Jan Fran wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Poor baby,” V8 Supercar driver David Reynolds commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Yeah it’s hard to watch mate,” Denyer replied back.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-e0b8ad8a-7fff-e900-b54f-3866534fcc9c"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Sunday has made quite a few appearances on Denyer’s social media accounts, including frequent videos of her making funny noises or doing something cute.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" 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);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca9F4-HDGj4/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <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> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </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;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca9F4-HDGj4/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Grant Denyer (@grantdenyer)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">In a post made a week prior to the surgical photo, Denyer explained Sunday’s condition in more detail.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As a 1 (year old) she’s a bit of a late bloomer, but at least we now know it’s because of her recently diagnosed hip dysplasia,” Denyer captioned the post, which included a video of Sunday crawling.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In fact it’s so severe her hip really isn’t even in its joint. She’s had a dislocated hip since birth. Which makes this even more special.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sunday is going in for an operation next week to correct it, then it’s 6-12 weeks in a half body plaster cast. Which will be torture for the poor thing. We’re taking away her mobility just as she’s discovered it.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Denyer went on to describe how he found it “devastating” but knew it was necessary, as “she’ll be much more comfortable when she’s healed”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She’s the happiest little soul… can’t believe she’s been so bright with such a huge issue for her little body. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Love you bubba xox.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d357dcf9-7fff-05ab-8f48-3eb3ffdb78f1"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @grantdenyer (Instagram)</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Piers Morgan lashes out over Meghan Markle victory

<p>Disgraced ex-TV host Piers Morgan has come out swinging once again at Meghan Markle, in the wake of her victory in court against the Mail on Sunday. </p> <p>Piers, who currently writes for the Daily Mail, took to Twitter to call Meghan "Princess Pinocchio", and blast her of being "two-faced".</p> <p>Meghan sued the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a "personal and private" letter she sent her father Thomas Markle in 2018. </p> <p class="">Publishers Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) launched an appeal against a decision to grant a summary judgment - meaning The Duchess didn't need to face a high-profile trial.</p> <p class="">The judges at the Court of Appeal ruled in Markle's favour, and dismissed new claims of that threatened her credibility. </p> <p class="">Within hours of the ruling, Piers lashed out at the Meghan once again, while also promoting his Daily Mail opinion column. </p> <p class=""><span>Piers tweeted, "A responsive statement from Piers, The Earl of Exposing Princess Pinocchio Bullsh*t, will be published shortly."</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">A responsive statement from Piers, The Earl of Exposing Princess Pinocchio Bullsh*t, will be published shortly. <a href="https://t.co/biTPSirxvY">pic.twitter.com/biTPSirxvY</a></p> — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) <a href="https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1466379930804146184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <p class=""><span>In a statement from Meghan Markle, she said that her win in court would transcend her personal experience, and would help anyone slated by the press. </span></p> <p class="">She said, "This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right."</p> <p class="">Morgan argued with Markle's statement saying that the case was "beyond parody".</p> <p class="">In his Daily Mail column, he wrote, <span>"She can claim 'victory' all she likes after this court case, but all it really did was expose her real character to the world and the cold hard two-faced reality at the heart of Meghan and Harry's attitude to privacy."</span></p> <p class=""><span>When sharing his column to his following on Twitter, he added, "Put your gloating champagne away, Princess Pinocchio - the court of public opinion now knows you're a fork-tongued devious manipulative piece of work who only wants to protect your privacy so you can sell it."</span></p> <p class=""><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Woolies takes down “scary” displays while Coles stands firm

<p><em>Image: Facebook and Getty</em></p> <p>A Coles customer did not receive quite the reaction they were expecting after sharing her concerns on Facebook over “frightening” in-store Halloween displays.</p> <p>The concerned mother slammed the Halloween displayed she encountered at the storefront of Coles' Ferny Grove store in Brisbane, claiming it is too scary for children.</p> <p>But a lot of people commenting on the post disagreed, accusing the shopper of being "overly sensitive”, and instead vehemently hoping the decorations would remain up.</p> <p>The display in question features a large skeletal prop looming over the front counter at the Brisbane shopfront, as well as several skeletons playfully suspended from the ceiling.</p> <p>“I was quite taken aback by the Halloween display at the storefront counter with the skulls and quite scary/frightening things and gravestones for young children to see,” wrote the concerned mum.</p> <p>She explained that she mentioned her concern for young children to the woman at the checkout and asked if she could raise it with the manager, but says her request was denied.</p> <p>“I do think that you should try to keep Halloween decorations in all stores light and not leaning too dark and scary/frightening for young children,” she said.</p> <p>“Not all of us want to explain to young children why there’s a skull at supermarket entrances when they cannot understand things yet, but just sees images and cannot choose what they wish to see or not.”</p> <p>A Coles spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia that stores are getting into the spirit of Halloween with spooky displays. “Every year we see more customers looking for ways to celebrate the fun of Halloween and some of our stores are getting into the spirit with spooky decorations.”</p> <p>“Our intention is to inspire customers, not frighten them, so we are grateful for customer feedback and will follow up with our stores.”</p> <p>Despite several customers echoing similar sentiments over the spooky Halloween displays popping up in Coles stores, the majority of people defended the supermarket.<br />“I couldn’t disagree more. My three and six-year-old love the display, it’s a work of art and a great conversation piece,” wrote one Ferny Grove shopper in defence of the supermarket.<br />"I’ve heard many positive comments and think this sensitivity is too much."<br />Another wrote: “I really hope these stay".<br />"The Ferny Grove team put an amazing amount of effort into it and the majority of locals love it. Hopefully one negative Karen doesn't ruin it for the rest of us,” they said.<br />A third shopper wrote: “Love the Halloween display. My children have been brought up to be resilient and I talk to them and explain things, so they don't become scared of a plastic display."</p> <p>It’s not just Coles copping flak from customers over their Halloween displays, with Woolworths being forced to take down their spooky display in a Western Australian store.<br />A local mother shared a post to Facebook on Friday, asking for the Grim Reaper skeletal display at Woolworths Esperance be taken down as it was “too scary”.</p> <p>“We want all customers to feel comfortable and welcome in our stores, and appreciate this customer's feedback on the decorations at her local store,” the Woolworths store said in a statement.<br />“We have passed this feedback on to the store team, who have since amended the display.”</p>

Legal

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“Scary to talk about”: Changing discussions around breast cancer and sex

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As one of the most common cancers in Australian women, the challenges of breast cancer are experienced by thousands of women each year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But one of the areas some say isn’t talked about enough is the impact of breast cancer on women’s sex lives and body image.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Health professionals are comfortable and used to talking about the side effects of chemotherapy like nausea and vomiting to patients, but many do not feel comfortable discussing the other side effects of treatment, and how these may impact intimate relationships,” says Kate White, a professor of cancer nursing from the University of Sydney Nursing School.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“[Doctors] often wait for the patient to bring it up, rather than proactively explaining it as another potential side effect.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Medical oncologist Dr Belinda Kiely agrees that changes in the conversations around breast cancer and sex need to come from doctors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We, as doctors, are very good at asking people about their pain, or their nausea or their constipation, but another line of questions should be ‘what’s happening with your sex life?’ or something along those lines,” she says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think we could do a better job of bringing it up and not relying on women to bring it up when it is a bit scary to talk about.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Kiely also points out that changes in physical and mental symptoms can impact the sex lives of patients in various ways.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Fran Boyle agrees, noting that issues surrounding intimacy can arise when any serious illness is diagnosed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, there are some issues unique to breast cancer patients when it comes to getting intimate with a partner, such as hormonal changes due to breast cancer treatment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Breast cancer also affects a part of the body which is important for many women for arousal as well as body image, and, when sore or numb post-surgery, women may not wish to be touched on the breasts,” she says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Hair loss from chemotherapy can also affect body image and relationships.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other issues can include low libido, vaginal dryness or soreness, as well as hot flashes and sleeping problems, which Professor Boyle says can have an “impact on the desire for closeness”.</span></p> <p><strong>A gap in the discussion</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rebecca Angus was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33, and her eventual journey to recovery impacted her life in countless ways.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In her experience, Rebecca found that discussions around sex with medical practitioners focused on medical aspects, leaving the effects on mental health unspoken.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Sex is explored at the beginning of chemotherapy education. However, it mainly focuses on fertility preservation, ovarian suppression and contraception during treatment,” Rebecca says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Rebecca recovered, fatigue from treatment and medical restrictions on how she could engage in sexual activity had dramatic effects on her sex life.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You’ve got this cancer in your body that has tried to kill you, so you don’t have the best relationship with your body at that stage,” she says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There are a lot of rules around when and how you can have sex as well. Your body for a while is not your own, it belongs to health professionals.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though her experience may not be universal, Rebecca says, “Having a good sex life within a relationship is so valuable for anyone with cancer”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She also hopes to normalise conversations around these more sensitive topics so that women can obtain the help they need.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You can get help from your psychologists, gynaecologists and oncologists - your specialists are there to help you.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professors White and Boyle will be appearing alongside Dr Kiely and Rebecca Angus for a Q&amp;A all about breast cancer and sex on Thursday, September 30.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844487/qa.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0a06a22ca4574d9481ca358a26eeab95" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Supplied</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s Talk About Sex</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a free Q&amp;A session run by The Breast Cancer Trials and moderated by journalist Annabel Crabb that offers the chance for anyone to ask questions about this important issue.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The online event will take place between 5pm and 6.30pm, and attendees can register </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.breastcancertrials.org.au/qa-events" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Body

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Harry Potter star speaks about "scary" collapse

<p>Harry Potter star Tom Felton has taken to social media to update fans on his condition after suffering a “scary” health related incident.</p> <p>The 34-year-old actor assured his followers that he was “on the mend” after collapsing during a celebrity golf match at the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin last week.</p> <p>“Hello everyone, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the lovely well wishes as of recent,” Felton said in the video.</p> <p>“Bit of a scary episode, really – but on the mend, people have been taking really good care of me. So thank you very much to anyone who has sent messages of get well soon because I am on the mend, officially.”</p> <p>Switching into a singing voice he added: “Don’t you worry ‘cause Tom will be doing fine…So don’t you worry, Tom will be doing fine.”</p> <p>Tom was loaded onto a stretcher on the golf course on Thursday after reportedly collapsing at the 18th hole, and driven off for medical attention.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844428/new-project-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/d35583503cf7435bbf3d5fe3d6735134" /></p> <p>Image: Getty</p> <p>The PGA of America confirmed the incident in a statement to CNN shortly afterwards.</p> <p>“In today’s Ryder Cup Celebrity Match, actor and Musician Tom Felton experienced a medical incident on the course while participating for Europe,” A spokesperson said.</p> <p>He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. No further details were available.</p> <p>Felton is best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise – a role he landed at 14 years old. He went on to appear in all eight Harry Potter movies.</p>

Body

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Hamish Macdonald's shock departure

<p><span><em>Q+A</em> host Hamish Macdonald has announced he is leaving the <em>ABC</em> after 18 months in the job.</span><br /><br /><span>The TV journalist, 40, replaced veteran Tony Jones on the popular program in late 2019.</span><br /><br /><span>He left his coveted position as <em>The Sunday Project</em> host on Channel 10.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842539/daily-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/72306f6f871b4a948248e6ed68140c7a" /></p> <p><em>Hamish on Q+A. Image: Supplied</em><br /><br /><span>While Macdonald has not detailed what is next for him after <em>ABC</em>, the star’s departure follows months after he revealed an extreme amount of online abuse.</span><br /><br /><span>In a chat with Stellar in January, Macdonald said his role on <em>Q+A</em> through 2020 saw him receive the most hate on social media he has ever encountered.</span><br /><br /><span>“If you’re someone who sits in the middle of those exchanges in your day job, you end up copping it from every direction. I’ve never had more abuse for the interviews I’ve conducted than I had last year,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span>“And the abuse has come from left-wing people who don’t like you asking difficult questions of Dan Andrews, and it’s come from people on the right who don’t like you asking difficult questions of the federal government. I’ve definitely learnt you can’t please everyone.”</span><br /><br /><span>In a public announcement, Macdonald said he is “enormously grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given to host <em>Q+A</em> and to work alongside wonderful, talented and passionate people.</span><br /><br /><span>“I am really proud of what we’ve achieved together during these extraordinary times.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’d also like to thank the incredible<em> Q+A</em> audience for all they contribute to this program each week. It is, after all, their show. Their questions and stories from all corners of Australia are inspiring, revealing and clever – and it has been a privilege to receive and read them.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’m really excited to be moving on to a new opportunity, and working more with the <em>ABC</em> in the future.”</span><br /><br /><span><em>ABC’s</em> director of news Gaven Morris said in a statement: “Everyone at the <em>ABC</em> thanks Hamish for the incredible job he has done.</span><br /><br /><span>“At one stage during the lockdown he was presenting a live panel discussion program that wasn’t allowed to have either an audience or panellists in the studio. His experience and versatility came to the fore.</span><br /><br /><span>“Hamish has long been a part of the <em>ABC</em> family and we look forward to continuing that relationship when opportunities arise.”</span><br /><br /><span>When the TV personality was appointed host of <em>Q+A</em> in November 2019, it was believed he’d continue to host <em>The Sunday Project.</em></span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842544/daily.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/2f7ceff0e6564bf49e3f5e808f592354" /></p> <p><em>Hamish and Lisa Wilkinson on The Sunday Project. Image: Channel 10</em><br /><br /><span>However, reports quickly emerged that he was forced to step down entirely and would only appear on the program in an occasional capacity.</span><br /><br /><span>“We’re largely reliant on the goodwill of the <em>ABC</em> if he’s going to continue with <em>The Sunday Project</em>,” Ten’s executive director of news and current affairs Peter Meakin told <em>The Australian</em> at the time.</span><br /><br /><span>Macdonald has hosted a series of programs since his career began to take off in 2010, when he was appointed senior correspondent and fill-in presenter on <em>6:30 with George Negus.</em></span></p>

News

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"I'm in hospital": Lisa Curry shares scary hospital experience

<p>Former Olympian Lisa Curry has shared that she has been in hospital for the last five days as she was admitted for chest pains.</p> <p>Even more surprisingly, no clear cause had been found yet.</p> <p>"I'm in hospital. It's day 5 after coming in with chest pain, a wide squeezing band around my chest and back. All my tests are good. Everyone is stumped,"<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/tags/lisa-curry" target="_blank">Lisa</a><span> </span>wrote.</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/CRSC5bzLc7E/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <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/CRSC5bzLc7E/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Lisa Curry AO (@lisacurry)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>She shared a photo of her late daughter Jaimi, saying that you "can't test for heartache".</p> <p>"For every beautiful photo of our girl , there are 10 sad ones. As I lie here thinking about our Jaimi, I wanted to show you how much she hurt too. Broken hearted by things that people said to her and did to her."</p> <p>"There are many people, like Jaimi, who are beautiful, soft, fragile, sensitive, and are taken advantage of, their trust misused and abused," she continued.</p> <p>"There are some really questionable people who take advantage of others who are fragile, who go on to live their lives not having a clue the damage they've left."</p> <p>"You don't go through each one and tick it off - they overlap, they come and go constantly," she wrote.</p> <p>"You never know what will trigger the heart ache, or the tears… it could be a word, a thought, a song, a photo, a memory, a hug from a stranger… all we need is a hug… and understanding… nothing even needs to be said."</p> <p>She ended the post pleading with her followers to seek medical help if they've experienced any kind of chest pain.</p>

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