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Grief-stricken father breaks silence after sons found dead

The devastated father of the two young boys who were <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/mother-arrested-after-two-boys-found-dead-in-blue-mountains-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found dead</a> in their home in the Blue Mountains has spoken out about the "unimaginable" tragedy. Nick Smith found the bodies of his sons, Russell, 11, and Ben, 9, in their home in Faulconbridge on Tuesday afternoon. The children's mother and Nick's estranged ex-wife Trish Smith was arrested and spent Tuesday night under police guard in hospital, where she arrived in a stable condition but with self-inflicted wounds. Nick said the loss of their “beautiful boys” had caused “unimaginable pain and distress”. “Russell and Ben were happy, funny, outgoing boys, and were very much loved by their family and friends,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “Like other boys their age, they loved sports, soccer, the Penrith Panthers, fishing, books, music, spending time with their friends and Max their pup." “We cannot understand how our boys have been taken this way and we appreciate the kindness and compassion shown by the community.” Nick added they were requesting privacy at this time. Police are continuing their investigation into the tragedy and have refused to speculate on the events leading up to the deaths of the two boys, however, they confirmed hey are not looking for any other parties who could be involved. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill expressed the community’s grief in a statement over the tragedy, writing, "Our community has lost two precious souls in the most awful circumstances. Now is a time to come together and remember these two beautiful children." <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb acknowledged the profound emotional toll the incident has had on law enforcement officers. "I think the older and more experience you get in this job, things like this still cut to the core. It’s a tragic situation," she said. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Need to talk to someone? Don't go it alone. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">SANE: 1800 187 263; saneforums.org <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Image credits: NSW Police

Caring

Mother arrested after two boys found dead in Blue Mountains home

A mother has been arrested after the tragic discovery of her two sons, aged nine and 11, dead at their home in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. The boys, Russell and Ben, were found by their father at the family's home in Faulconbridge shortly before 12:40pm. Their mother, Trish Smith, 42, was also found at the scene with several self-inflicted injuries. She has been taken to Westmead Hospital and is in a stable condition. No charges have been laid so far. Superintendent John Nelson of the Blue Mountains police confirmed that Mr Smith, the father, discovered the bodies and contacted authorities. "The father is helping us with inquiries, and he was the one who contacted police... all avenues are open for investigation," Nelson stated. While the police have not confirmed whether a weapon was involved, they are working to understand the sequence of events leading to the boys' deaths. The family, who had no prior history of domestic violence and minimal contact with the police, has left the community in shock. Superintendent Nelson said that the investigation is still in its early stages, and no speculation will be made at this time. The boys had attended school on Monday with no apparent issues, and authorities are now trying to trace their movements on Tuesday to piece together what might have happened. The nearby Springwood High School was involved in the emergency response as its oval was used as a helipad for medical evacuations. Homicide detectives from the State Crime Command have been assigned to the case, and police are continuing to speak with neighbours to uncover any possible motives. Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill expressed the community’s grief in a statement: "Our community has lost two precious souls in the most awful circumstances. Now is a time to come together and remember these two beautiful children." NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb acknowledged the profound emotional toll the incident has had on law enforcement officers. "I think the older and more experience you get in this job, things like this still cut to the core. It’s a tragic situation," she said. Authorities have confirmed that no one else is being sought in connection with the deaths, and there is no ongoing threat to the community. The investigation continues as police work to understand the full circumstances surrounding this heartbreaking incident. Need to talk to someone? Don't go it alone. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 SANE: 1800 187 263; saneforums.org Image: Supplied

Legal

Return of the Happiest Little Vegemite

In 1954, Trish Cavanagh became a household icon, known as the adorable Happy Little Vegemite. Now, 60 years on, Trish is reprising her role as the original face of the Aussie brand as Vegemite prepares for its 100th birthday. Trish, now 71, was just seven years old when she marched to the beat of the famous Happy Little Vegemite tune in the company's first advertisement, which became a staple of Australian pop culture. Earlier this year, Trish was called upon to march to the tune once more for the brand's centenary, as they planned to remake the original ad for the occasion. Trish revealed the ad "changed my life forever": something she didn't foresee when she first filmed the commercial. "Vegemite has been and continues to play a huge role in my life, and I am so thrilled to be passing the baton to the next generation of Happy Little Vegemite kids," she said. While the remake heavily features the new generation of Happy Little Vegemites and brand new footage, to uphold the legacy, it also features a few clips from the original. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q8DzjLy1YzE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Trish's lead role, back when television was still in black and white, made way for hundreds more Vegemite kids to take centre stage in catchy campaigns. "These children today don't realise what a big event this is for them, and I hope in the years to come they look back with pride," she said. "To be in the remake of the original Vegemite ad for the 100th birthday is something very special. Get ready for the ride, kids – I think it will be a long one." Image credits: Vegemite

Food & Wine

The exercise you should do to improve bone health

Trish McNicholl is a Pilates practitioner and founder and owner of <a href="http://www.adelaidepilatesstudio.com.au/" target="_blank">Adelaide Pilates Studio.</a> As women approach menopause, they experience many changes. Oestrogen hormone drop down and as a consequence of long term oestrogen deficiency, women are much more likely to experience osteoporosis, cardiovascular problems, musculoskeletal aches and pains and obesity. Physically, women experience fatigue due to decreased muscles mass and increased intramuscular fat and body aches and pains as pain threshold decreases. Connective tissue and skin changes are leading to vaginal atrophy and dryness. Hot flushes are frequent complaints from menopausal women but research shows that fewer physically active women experienced severe hot flushes compared with women who don’t exercise. Our bones are continuously remodelling through the balancing act of bone resorption and new bone formation. Imbalance of this process can lead to frail, osteoporotic bones. For up to 25 years of our life we deposit more bone than we lose, however as we reach post menopause the loss of bone is greater than deposits of new bone. There is an increased risk of fractures. Women are at higher risk of osteoporosis with rapid descent of oestrogen through menopause. Men on the other hand experience osteoporosis due to low levels of testosterone. The most common sites of osteoporotic fractures occur at the spine, hip and wrist joints. Osteoporosis is strongly linked to inherited genes, lifestyle such as smoking and alcohol intake and thin body build. A healthy diet also plays a significant role, as low calcium and vitamin D levels as well as disorders such as anorexia and bulimia and malabsorption issues cause loss of bone mass. Supervised, well-chosen regular physical activity such as Pilates can significantly increase bone mineral density. So, keep well and keep active. Check in with a certified Pilates studio that offers Pilates mat and equipment programs and if possible a physio on board, whereby you can be assessed and have the right program designed for you. Pilates has a specific focus on improving posture, core strength, alignment and balance with gentle exercises designed to relax tight and tense muscles in the body and provide circulation and stimulation to the central nervous system. Pilates will teach you so much about your body, helping you to understand which muscles are weak and which muscles are strong. Pilates can be taught to any age or fitness level and provides gentle and controlled movements. Some exercises can be challenging, however if you start by learning the basic important principles, and then continue to progress towards more challenging exercises, you will reap the rewards. Joseph Pilates said, “In 10 sessions you will feel the difference, in 20 sessions you will see the difference and in 30 sessions, you will have a whole new body.” Experience how Pilates can benefit you. If you have any questions about Pilates, Trish can be contacted by email at <a href="mailto:trish@adelaidepilatesstudio.com.au" target="_blank">trish@adelaidepilatesstudio.com.au</a>.

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