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"The issue is, he's alive": AFL mistakenly commemorates Hawthorn great

<p>The AFL has found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after prematurely mourning a former player’s death at this week’s Hall of Fame ceremony.</p> <p>The ceremony, held on Tuesday night, saw Collingwood great Dane Swan inducted into the Hall of Fame and Hawthorn’s Jason Dunstall elevated to Legend status. But amidst the celebrations and the teary-eyed tributes, the AFL managed to pull off a major faux pas during the "In Memoriam" segment, which is of course supposed to honour those in the game who have passed away within the last year.</p> <p>Hawthorn's John Kennedy Jr was the first to express his shock on Channel 7’s <em>The Front Bar</em> program on Thursday night. "That 71 team, obviously a famous team and important team in Hawthorn’s history," host Sam Pang began, setting the stage for Kennedy’s bombshell. “But I believe, John, you have a cheerio you’d like to give to one of the players.”</p> <p>Kennedy, not one to miss an opportunity, replied: “I’d like to send one out to Michael Porter who played in the ’71 Grand Final. ‘Portholes’ they called him. He was noted as deceased last night on the AFL Hall of Fame, as one of the deceased people. The issue is he’s alive. So Portholes, if you’re listening mate or you’re up there in NSW, let us know when the wake is because we’ll be all there mate!”</p> <p>Indeed, the prematurely deceased Porter, who played 78 games for Hawthorn and was part of their 1971 VFL premiership team, took the news of his untimely death with remarkably good humour. Instead of sending a ghostly telegram from the great beyond, he simply called up former Hawks captain David Parkin, who was in the room for the Hall of Fame ceremony in Melbourne, to confirm he was alive and well.</p> <p>A league spokesman, likely blushing a shade of crimson, said: “Once this innocent mistake was realised we moved quickly to ring and apologise to everyone affected, including Michael, and thank him for his understanding.”</p> <p>Michael Porter, now thrust back into the limelight in the most unexpected fashion, might just hold the unique distinction of being the only player to attend his own wake and live to tell the tale. We can only hope he’s planning a grandiose party with a guest list featuring all his mates who would’ve otherwise been mourning his "passing".</p> <p>So, here’s to Michael Porter – alive, well and hopefully laughing his head off at the AFL’s latest gaffe. And for the AFL, perhaps a lesson: next time, double-check the list before sending anyone to the great footy oval in the sky.</p> <p><em>Images: Network 7</em></p>

Caring

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New commemorative Queen coin worth serious cash

<p>The Royal Australian Mint has confirmed that it will be releasing a commemorative 50c coin to celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday. </p> <p>The coin will feature all six effigies which have been featured on Australian coins during the late monarch’s reign, with two versions up for sale. </p> <p>One is an uncirculated version which will cost $15 and, the other is silver proof edition for $135.</p> <p>“With limited mintage, this coin is expected to be a highly prized addition to any coin collection,” the Mint said. </p> <p>Australian coin expert Joel Kandia said that online marketplaces are already selling the coin at “seven times the RRP”. </p> <p>Royal Australian Mint CEO Leigh Gordon added that this latest release is the perfect tribute to the late Queen. </p> <p>“Historically, coins bear witness to a Monarch’s reign with their royal effigies appearing on the obverse. In keeping with that tradition, this exceptional coin showcases the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Effigy by Jody Clark on the obverse,” he said. </p> <p>“The Mint’s trademark storytelling is strongly represented on the coin’s reverse, which features a central design depicting the first six effigies, fanned above the Queen’s royal cypher.”</p> <p>This surprise release will be in high demand, with a “frenzy” expected for coin collectors, according to the Perth coin and bank note expert. </p> <p>“It is essentially the last coin commemorating the Queen,” Kandiah said in an interview with<em> 7News</em>. </p> <p>“It is extremely special because it features all six effigies of the Queen that have appeared on Australian coinage since 1954, so it unique in that respect.</p> <p>“There will definitely be a frenzy, which is why the RAM have reduced the allocation to just one per person through their physical store, through the phone and their authorised distributors.</p> <p>“There have been murmurings about the coin for a while, so collectors are really excited to see it confirmed and able for purchase.”</p> <p>The uncirculated coin itself will have a mintage of  25,000 and the silver proof version has an even lower mintage of 7,500. </p> <p>The coins will be for sale at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra from 8.30am on Thursday November 23, through the Mint’s Contact Centre on <strong>1300 352 020</strong>, or through the Mint’s authorised distributors.</p> <p><em>Image: Royal Australian Mint</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Picking up a King Charles III coronation commemorative plate? You’re buying into a centuries-old tradition

<p>Mugs and plates celebrating the coronations, marriages and deaths of British royalty are not unusual sights in the Australian home. With the forthcoming coronation of King Charles III on May 6, such memorabilia cluttering our cupboards are only likely to increase. </p> <p>Guides to “<a href="https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/king-charles-coronation-memorabilia-2023">the best King Charles III memorabilia</a>” are already advising what souvenirs to buy, including commemorative coins, biscuit tins, tea towels, plates and, of course, mugs. </p> <p>Yet the royal souvenir is not a recent invention.</p> <h2>History of the royal mug</h2> <p>The tradition of celebrating royal events with a mug or drinking vessel dates to at least the 17th century when the current king’s ancestor and namesake, Charles II, was restored to the English throne in 1660-1. </p> <p>Several mugs and cups produced at the time have survived and depict the “<a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/charles-ii-guide-restoration-why-merry-monarch-how-many-children-rule/">merry monarch</a>”.</p> <p>The restoration of Charles II (after his father Charles I had been executed by order of parliament in 1649) was greeted with rejoicing throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. </p> <p>The famous social climber and diarist Samuel Pepys embodied the general feeling of this time when he wrote that on the day of Charles II’s coronation he watched the royal procession with wine and cake and all were “<a href="https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1661/04/22/">very merry</a>” and pleased at what they saw.</p> <p>Drinking and eating in celebration may account for why mugs and plates were, and remain, such popular forms of royal memorabilia; they were used to <a href="https://stuarts.exeter.ac.uk/education/objects/delftware-cup-c-1661/">drink loyal toasts</a> of good health to the monarch on special days of celebration. </p> <p>While a strong ale was the preferred liquid for 17th-century toasts, as the British Empire expanded tea drinking became a common pastime. Teacups became popular royal souvenirs during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 19th century.</p> <h2>Fostering support</h2> <p>The earthenware mugs made for Charles II’s coronation were relatively inexpensive, but not produced on a mass scale. </p> <p>With the industrial revolution of the 19th century and the rise of souvenir culture, royal memorabilia in all forms became more <a href="https://theconversation.com/royal-family-why-even-a-charles-and-diana-divorce-mug-is-important-for-the-monarchy-176588">popular and widespread</a>. </p> <p>Since 1900, royal births, deaths, marriages and coronations have been big money for manufacturers of royal memorabilia.</p> <p>The pitfalls of mass production were realised in 1936 when Edward VIII abdicated from the throne just months before his planned coronation in May 1937. Manufacturers were stuck with <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/178313173?searchTerm=%22coronation%20mug%22">thousands of mugs</a>, plates and other items celebrating the coronation of a king that would not happen. </p> <p>Many of these mugs still made their way out to the market, while other manufacturers such as Royal Doulton <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_2012-8022-5-a-c">adapted existing designs</a> and used them for the coronation of his brother, George VI.</p> <p>English monarchs were not the only royals to encourage the use of their image on objects collected, worn or used by their subjects. </p> <p>Renaissance Italian princes popularised the <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/renaissance-portrait-medals/exhibition-themes">portrait medal</a> and the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Charles V, fostered support in his vast territories using mass-produced medallions <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/197126">bearing his image</a>.</p> <p>Objects with images of royalty served similar functions in the 20th century. Australian school children were often <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141777602?searchTerm=%22coronation%20mug%22">given medals</a>to commemorate coronations, while children in England were gifted pottery mugs to drink to the sovereign’s health. </p> <p>When Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/coronation-of-hm-queen-elizabeth-ii">English children</a>received mugs, tins of chocolate and a spoon or coin.</p> <h2>Measuring popularity</h2> <p>Royal memorabilia don’t just foster support but act as a barometer of the popularity of the royal family around the globe. </p> <p>Coronation mugs became popular in the reign of Charles II in 1661 because these objects captured the joyous feeling of a nation that had endured 20 years of warfare and political chaos.</p> <p>Support for the royal family has often been shown through royal weddings and marriages: plates depicting Charles II and his Portuguese bride, Catherine of Braganza, were made to celebrate their union in 1662.</p> <p>Recently a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/metal-detectorist-discovers-rare-gold-pendant-celebrating-henry-viiis-first-marriage-180981557/">gold pendant</a> inscribed with the initials of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, likely worn by a supporter, was also discovered.</p> <p>For Prince William and Kate Middleton’s highly anticipated wedding in 2011, thousands of types of mundane and wacky <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-royal-wedding-souvenirs-pictures-photogallery.html">souvenirs</a> were produced, such as plates, mugs, magnets, graphic novels, toilet seat covers and PEZ dispensers.</p> <p>Over 1,600 lines of official merchandise were produced for the marriage of Princes Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. <a href="https://issuu.com/accpublishinggroup/docs/june_july_2022_mag/s/15960301">Less than 25 lines</a> were produced for Charles’ unpopular second marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005.</p> <p>While Charles may not be <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2023/03/01/celebrities-dont-care-to-perform-for-king-charles-iii/?sh=56487b7a20f8">as popular</a> as his mother, coronation fever has most definitely taken hold in the United Kingdom. Royal fans are set to spend £1.4 billion (A$2.6 billion) on <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21911733/shoppers-spend-billion-king-coronation-may/">coronation parties and souvenirs</a>. </p> <p>The availability of coronation souvenirs and party supplies in Australia is somewhat more limited – perhaps an indicator of Australia’s diminishing appetite for the royal family amid increased calls for another <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-24/king-charles-australias-head-of-state-alternative-republic/101470156">vote on a republic</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/picking-up-a-king-charles-iii-coronation-commemorative-plate-youre-buying-into-a-centuries-old-tradition-200646" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Home & Garden

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Silence of the poets – has an ancient tradition of commemorative verse died with the Queen?

<p>Not so long ago, the death of a monarch would have been a cue for outpourings of elegies and poetic commemorations. One might have thought the end of the second Elizabethan era would prompt something similar – but apparently not.</p> <p>So far, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has had only a muted response from our poets, both in the United Kingdom and here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Does this reflect shifting priorities in the national imagination? Are we witnessing the demise of poetry on public occasions?</p> <p>We need only look back at the death in 1936 of the queen’s grandfather, George V, for comparison. <a href="https://backwatersman.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/the-death-of-king-george-v/">John Betjeman</a> and <a href="https://www.poetryexplorer.net/poem.php?id=10105234">John Masefield</a> were among the poets who marked the occasion. Betjeman was England’s poet laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984, and also wrote on the <a href="https://www.poetryexplorer.net/poem.php?id=10038138">birthday of the queen mother</a> and the <a href="https://www.poetryexplorer.net/poem.php?id=10038137">marriage of Charles and Diana</a>.</p> <p>Betjeman stood in a long line of British poet laureates stretching back unbroken to John Dryden in 1668, and to poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer before that. But the culture of poetry responding to monarchs’ deaths has flourished outside the official post, too.</p> <p>The unexpected death in 1612 of the 18-year-old Prince Henry, son and heir to James VI and I, prompted an <a href="https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=3553">outpouring of poetic tears</a>. <a href="https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/elegy-upon-untimely-death-incomparable-prince-henry">John Donne</a> wrote an elegy, as did George Herbert, John Webster and Sir Walter Raleigh.</p> <h2>Elegiac energy</h2> <p>Particularly voluminous was the the flood of poetry that met the execution of King Charles I at the height of the English Civil Wars in 1649. His <a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw35443/The-execution-of-King-Charles-I">dramatic beheading</a> on a scaffold erected outside Whitehall Palace made him a martyr to his loyal followers. </p> <p>Literary historian Nigel Smith has described the way elegy became a royalist genre, as the death of the king “sucked all elegiac energy into its own subject”.</p> <p>And there are close connections nearby to these elegies on King Charles I. Melbourne’s State Library Victoria holds the <a href="https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/explore-collections-theme/history-book/emmerson-collection">John Emmerson collection</a> of over 5,000 early modern English books, among which poems, pamphlets and other <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-16/king-charles-1-trial-and-executed-news-of-the-time/6391990">publications on the death of Charles I</a> feature prominently.</p> <p>Poetic treasures in the collection include a copy of Monumentum Regale: Or a Tombe, Erected for that Incomparable and Glorious Monarch, Charles the First, a volume of elegies and poetic “sighs” and “groans” published three months after the king’s execution. Royalist poets grapple with how they can possibly commemorate an “incomparable” king. The Earl of Montrose declares he has written his poem with “blood”, “wounds” and the point of his sword.</p> <p>In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Alexander Turnbull Library is famous for its collection of works by a poet from the other side of the 17th-century political divide, John Milton. <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2t53/turnbull-alexander-horsburgh">Turnbull</a> (1868–1918) had a personal interest in Milton, an ardent republican. Even Turnbull’s collection, however, contains a notable number of volumes celebrating Charles I, including multiple editions of Eikon Basilike (The King’s Book), which represented Charles I as a Christ-like martyr.</p> <h2>Public poetry isn’t dead</h2> <p>This vast body of public poetry about previous monarchs is in sharp contrast to the response to Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Even in the United Kingdom, the current poet laureate, Simon Armitage, seems to have struggled. The form of his poem “Floral Tribute”, an acrostic on the name “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/13/floral-tribute-poem-queen-elizabeth-simon-armitage-poet-laureate">Elizabeth</a>”, seems archaic at best and banal at worst.</p> <p>New Zealand’s poet laurate, Chris Tse, inaugurated only a few weeks ago, has been notably silent. When I asked him why, he said writing a poem for the queen “would be a backwards step in terms of where I want the role to go”.</p> <p>Tse’s reticence perhaps echoes the complicated thoughts of Selina Tusitala Marsh, a recent former laureate, on <a href="https://www.read-nz.org/aotearoa-reads-details/nz-poet-selina-tusitala-marsh-visits-and-sasses-the-queen">performing her poem</a> “Unity” for the queen in 2016. For Marsh, the British Crown’s colonial legacy (as she put it, “Her peeps also colonised my peeps”) made writing and performing the poem a complex commission to accept.</p> <p>As laureate, Marsh preferred to write poems on occasions such as <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/22-06-2018/the-friday-poem-jacinda-and-clarke-and-the-baby-and-us-by-the-nz-poet-laureate">the birth of a prime ministerial baby</a>. But the fact New Zealand even has a <a href="http://www.poetlaureate.org.nz/">poet laureate</a> in 2022 suggests there is still an appetite for public poetry, even if the days of poems on the death of a queen are numbered.</p> <p>The modern monarchy itself, of course, provides rich material for poetry of a less commemorative kind. Bill Manhire, New Zealand’s inaugural laureate, speculated on Twitter that we are awaiting an acrostic on “Andrew”. And the most remarkable poem of the morning we awoke to news of the queen’s death was essa may ranapiri’s “<a href="https://twitter.com/ired0mi/status/1567977694348058624">The Queen is Dead</a>”.</p> <p>Immediate and visceral, it’s an unabashed anti-colonialist spit in the face of monarchy. Some will find it shocking, others will gasp with appreciation. But even those taken aback by its frank approach and timing may share the sense of distance it captures, in its formal displacement of the news from afar by scrambled eggs, spring sunlight and the joy of quotidian love as a new day begins.</p> <p>Public poetry isn’t dead. But our poets’ responses to the death of the queen – the silent, the awkward, the confrontational – tell us much, as ever, about the societies we live in.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/silence-of-the-poets-has-an-ancient-tradition-of-commemorative-verse-died-with-the-queen-190834" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

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Touching video commemorates 70 years of marriage for couple in their 90s

<p>The granddaughter of a couple in their 90s celebrating their 70-year wedding anniversary has shared a heartwarming video of them renewing their vows.</p> <p>The video of the elderly couple has captured the hearts of thousands of viewers, who watched their everlasting love story reach a bittersweet end.</p> <p>Patricia Hoefling, now 97, and her husband John Hoefling, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, originally met in the 1940s and enjoyed a life of happiness together.</p> <p>John, who fought in Vietnam and Korea, and Patricia, a retired teacher, remained devoted to each other, so they celebrated their platinum anniversary with a vow renewal.</p> <p>The couple's granddaughter Shelby Hoefling, aged 31, from Virginia, shared her grandparent's heartfelt love story in a TikTok video that has gone viral.</p> <p>In the video Shelby explains that her 'Nanny' and 'GrandJack' first married on April 12th, 1947, and added that it would be their 75-year anniversary on the day she posted the video.</p> <p>Shelby shared footage from Patricia and John's 70-year wedding anniversary, which showed the couple renewing their vows.</p> <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@shelbyhoefling/video/7085700046897057070" data-video-id="7085700046897057070"> <section><a title="@shelbyhoefling" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@shelbyhoefling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@shelbyhoefling</a> Happy anniversary to my role models ❤️ <a title="fyp" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#fyp</a> <a title="lovestory" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lovestory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#lovestory</a> <a title="love" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#love</a> <a title="♬ original sound - Shelby Hoefling" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7085700047467481902" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound - Shelby Hoefling</a></section> </blockquote> <p>When the couple arrived at the ceremony family and friends greeted them with smiles while bagpipes played in the background. Patricia said on stage “Here's to us, my love.”</p> <p>Shelby then revealed that her grandparents were married a total of 72 years before her grandfather John died at the age of 92.</p> <p>In the popular video Shelby wished her “role models” a happy 75-year anniversary and said her “Nanny doesn't go a day without loving him just as she vowed she would love him all the days of her life.''</p>

Relationships

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National plans to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's death revealed

<p>Australians could be seeing a new public holiday commemorating Queen Elizabeth II as part of a national plan to observe the monarch’s death.</p> <p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been handed a new brief in preparation for the ominous event.</p> <p>The plan states that Albanese will be informed of the Queen’s death roughly an hour prior to a Buckingham Palace public statement being sent out, and immediately after being informed of the news, our Prime Minister will also put on a special black tie to mark the Queen’s passing.</p> <p>It has been revealed that 10-12 notable Australians will be invited to the Queen’s funeral before the Governor General will publicly declare Prince Charles to be Australia's king.</p> <p>A National Day of Commemoration is more than likely to become a new public holiday for Australia.</p> <p>Meanwhile, in other commonwealth countries, during the period in between the Queen’s death and funeral, 10 days of mourning and remembrance will be observed.</p> <p>Flags will be flown at half-mast for the 10 days, except on the day of Prince Charles’ ascension to the throne, and bells will ring at churches across Australia. A state funeral will be held, as well as a special service at an Anglican cathedral.</p> <p>It comes after Queen Elizabeth says she had been “humbled and deeply touched” by the number of people coming out to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee at the conclusion of four days of festivities to mark her 70 years on the British throne.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Retirement Life

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Patti Newton commemorates engagement anniversary to Bert

<p dir="ltr">On what would’ve been their 48th “engagement anniversary”, Patti Newton has paid tribute to her late husband and his proposal.</p> <p dir="ltr">Patti took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a photo of the couple when they were newly engaged aboard a cruise ship in 1974.</p> <p dir="ltr">She wrote, “Bert and I were engaged today in 1974 on the QE11.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Donna Fayette and I had been entertaining on board for 8 months. Bert arrived on board as a surprise and asked me to marry him, best YES I ever said.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Miss you so much xx.”</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/CZLYKMgJ0Eo/?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> <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/CZLYKMgJ0Eo/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Patti Newton (@pattinewtonofficial)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Fans, friends and family all flocked to the comment section of the post to offer their love and condolences.</p> <p dir="ltr">Entertainment journalist Angela Bishop said, “Beautiful photo and a beautiful memory. Sending lots of love,” while musician and actor Danielle Spencer wrote “Gorgeous story.”</p> <p dir="ltr">One fan commented, “I remember how excited the public was to hear this announcement and me too I’m proud to say,” one fan wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All anniversaries are hard. How special to have such beautiful memories. Sending love,” another follower wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">After a long health battle, Bert died on October 30th last year, and was honoured at a state funeral in Melbourne.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Instagram @pattinewtonofficial</em></p>

Relationships

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Unseen photos released to commemorate 9/11 attacks

<p>The US Secret Service recently released six new images of 9/11 which have never been seen before, to mark the event’s 20th anniversary.</p> <p>The Secret Service released six images, including an eerie photo taken at Ground Zero after the Tower’s collapse. The Service also released a video commemorating the attack, on Twitter.</p> <p>Another photo, taken by a Secret Service employee, shows smoke billowing from the World Trade Centre towers after both planes had struck the buildings.</p> <p>During the attacks which changed the world on the morning of September 11, 2001, almost 3000 people were killed, including more than 2600 at the World Trade Centre in New York.</p> <p>Another 125 people died at the Pentagon and 265 on the four planes that were hijacked.</p> <p>More than 20,000 people were injured.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">🇺🇸9/11: U.S. Secret Service reveals previously unpublished photos of 9/11<br /><br />The photographs were taken by employees of the service: they show the twin towers after the tragedy, damaged limousines and the area on which the World Trade Center complex was located. <a href="https://t.co/MXXd9xW6Br">pic.twitter.com/MXXd9xW6Br</a></p> — The RAGEX (@theragex) <a href="https://twitter.com/theragex/status/1436670434288754693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><strong>'Scars forever' for Jack Grandcolas and his family</strong></p> <p>Twenty years after the attack, Jack Grandcolas still remembers waking up at 7.03 that morning.</p> <p>He looked at the clock, then out the window where an image in the sky caught his eye - a fleeting vision that looked like an angel ascending. He didn’t know it yet, but that was the moment his life changed.</p> <p>On the other side of the country, it was 10.03 am and United Flight 93 had just crashed into a Pennsylvania field.</p> <p>His wife, Lauren, was not supposed to be on that flight.</p> <p>So, when he turned on the television and saw the chilling scenes of September 11, 2001, unfolding, he was not worried for her.</p> <p>Then he saw the blinking light on the answering machine.</p> <p>Lauren had left two messages that morning, as he slept with the phone ringer off in the bedroom.</p> <p>First, with good news that she was taking an earlier flight from New Jersey home to San Francisco.</p> <p>Then she called from the plane. There was “a little problem”, his wife said, but she was “comfortable for now”. She did not say she would call back, Grandcolas recalls.</p> <p>She said: “I love you more than anything, just know that. Please tell my family I love them too. Goodbye, honey.”</p> <p>“That moment I looked over at the television and there was a smouldering hole on the ground in Pennsylvania. They said it was United Flight 93,” said Grandcolas, 58.</p> <p>“That’s when I dropped to the ground.”</p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="/nothing.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4f5444d2294344dbaf77fd9159c11cc0" /><img style="width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843999/9-11-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4f5444d2294344dbaf77fd9159c11cc0" /></p> <p>All 44 people on board were killed. Lauren was 38 years old and three months pregnant with their first child.</p> <p>She had travelled east to attend her grandmother’s funeral in New Jersey, and then stayed a few extra days to announce the pregnancy - a little “good news to lift the spirits of her parents and sisters after burying their grandmother”, Grandcolas said.</p> <p>Flight 93 was the fourth and final plane to be hijacked on September 11 by four al-Qaeda terrorists on a suicide mission aimed at the Capitol in Washington DC.</p> <p>Passengers and crew members used seatback phones to call loved ones and authorities and learned of the first two attacks, on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC.</p> <p>Realising their hijacking was part of a broader attack, they took a vote to fight back and try to gain control of the plane. It was a heroic act that spared countless more lives.</p> <p>“What they did was amazingly dramatic,” Grandcolas said. It was “a selfless act of love to conquer hate”.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BTD1tSEo8gU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><strong>20th anniversary this year</strong></p> <p>For years, Grandcolas has bristled at the term ‘9/11 anniversary’ because he feels an anniversary is something to celebrate.</p> <p>But the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack is an important one, Grandcolas said, adding he plans to travel to Pennsylvania to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial for the first time since 2003.</p> <p>“Every year it’s a gut punch,” he said in an interview near his home in Pebble Beach, south of Santa Cruz in California. “We will live with the scars the rest of our lives.”</p> <p>Grandcolas struggled with depression and survivor’s guilt in the aftermath of the tragedy.</p> <p>With the help of therapy, he came to see Lauren’s message from the plane as meant to reassure him and her family and “to let us know that she was OK with what was transpiring”.</p> <p>That unworldly image he saw in the sky the morning of September 11 took on new meaning as he healed.</p> <p>“It didn’t dawn on me until later that the vision was Lauren.” He would hear her voice in times of struggle, telling him to get up and keep living his life.</p> <p>Grandcolas eventually remarried. Today, he’s semi-retired from his career as an advertising executive. He is writing a book about the grieving process which will be a tribute to his unborn child with Lauren.</p> <p>On the 20th anniversary, Grandcolas finds himself thinking back to how the country came together after 9/11, which he sees as a stark contrast to the division plaguing America today.</p> <p>“This country was united from sea to shining sea, and today, maybe now, would be a good time to let the divisiveness drop,” he said.</p> <p><em>Images: U.S. Secret Service/Twitter</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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New exhibit to commemorate Prince Philip

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new exhibition at Windsor Castle will commemorate Prince Philip’s life and legacy and will include many items that have been gifted to him during his official duties and visits overseas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exhibit, titled ‘Prince Philip: A Celebration’, opens on Thursday, June 24 and features more than 100 items from his life.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After seven decades of involvement in the royal family, Philip passed away on April 9 aged 99.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exhibition formed part of the 100th birthday celebrations planned for Philip, who would have turned 100 on June 10, curator Sally Goodsir told Reuters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But following his death in April, we have delayed its opening just by a couple of weeks and are still holding it,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Goodsir said Philip had been aware of both the exhibition and its contents.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The highlights of the display include the coronation robes and coronet Prince Philip wore to the Queen’s coronation in 1953, as well as his chair of estate which normally stands next to the Queen’s at Buckingham Palace - and will be on display at Windsor Castle for the first time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The items range from personal mementos - including Queen Victoria’s journal recording the birth of Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, in 1885 - to more eccentric objects - such as a human-sized grasshopper wine cooler the former French President Georges Pompidou presented while visiting the UK in 1972.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other items on display include: photographs of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in a Faberge frame that was a wedding gift; a chess set gifted from Nelson Mandela during his UK visit in 1996; and a pair of cowboy boots inscribed with the words ‘Prince’ and ‘Philip’ in gold, which the prince received during his 1991 visit to Houston, Texas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The remains of Windsor Castle’s St George’s Hall clock and a fragment of a burnt beam - salvaged by Philip following a fire that swept through the castle in 1992 - will also be on display.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think without people being able to gather for the funeral, as they might ordinarily have done, I hope they might be able to come to the castle and learn a little bit more about him,” Goodsir said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The public will be able to see the exhibition until September 20.</span></p>

International Travel

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Four new stamps issued in memory of Prince Philip

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Four new stamps have been issued by the Royal Mail in the UK to remember the Duke of Edinburgh.</p> <p>The four stamps are in black-and-white and showcase the life of Prince Philip.</p> <p>The first stamp, which is a portrait of Prince Philip as a young man was taken by the photographer Baron whereas the second stamp is Prince Philip attending the passing out of his son, Prince Andrew, at Dartmouth Naval College.</p> <p>The third stamp is Philip at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and the last stamp is a portrait taken by photographer Terry O'Neill.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">We're proud to present a commemorative collection of stamps and collectibles honouring the life and work of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. <br /><br />Explore the collection: <a href="https://t.co/hvTzqbqIdm">https://t.co/hvTzqbqIdm</a> <a href="https://t.co/vI0t9KRebm">pic.twitter.com/vI0t9KRebm</a></p> — Royal Mail (@RoyalMail) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalMail/status/1392766571035123713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, said: "Throughout adulthood, the Duke of Edinburgh dedicated himself to the service of this country, the Commonwealth and to the many causes he was involved with.</p> <p>"For more than seven decades he was at the centre of our national life. His passing is a key moment in our history which we mark with this set of commemorative stamps."</p> <p>The stamps are available for pre-order at a cost of £5.76 (AUD $10.47).</p> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

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Princess Anne leads Anzac Day commemorations in purple "mourning" coat

<p>Princess Anne has attended Anzac commemorations in London, representing the royal family just a week after the funeral of her father Prince Philip.</p> <p>The Princess Royal was accompanied by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence for the dawn service at the Australian and New Zealand war memorials at Wellington Arch in London.</p> <p>Princess Anne laid a wreath at the memorial and signed a book of remembrance.</p> <p>The couple attended the Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey afterwards.</p> <p>Anzac Day has been commemorated in London since the first anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli in 1916, when King George V attended a service at the Abbey.</p> <p>Princess Anne opted for a bright purple coat for the service, which was a far cry from the black she was seen wearing for her father's funeral.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/COGQAWNHfSJ/?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/COGQAWNHfSJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Former royal family lady's maid Alicia Healey says purple has long been associated with mourning.</p> <p>"While the official period of Royal mourning for the Duke of Edinburgh is over, purple is often a colour that is worn after black when in mourning," Healey explained on her official<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COFaLNxHgCu/" target="_blank">Instagram account</a>.</p> <p>"So, it was an apt colour choice for today's remembrance service in honour of Australians and New Zealanders who have died in war.</p> <p>Healey worked at Buckingham Palace from 2006-2010, which is where she learned the rules around which colours are suitable to wear at various events.</p> <p>"In Victorian times full mourning lasted a year followed by half-mourning where purple, lilac, grey and white were worn," Healey concluded.</p>

Beauty & Style

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Woolworths launches special $2 coins commemorating beloved TV icon

<p>Beloved Aussie TV icon Mr Squiggle is celebrating its 60-year anniversary, and Woolworths is joining in the celebrations by releasing a limited-edition line of $2 coins.</p> <p>The supermarket giant has partnered with the national coin producer, Royal Australian Mint to create four coin designs depicting Mr Squiggle and other famous characters from the eponymous show.</p> <p>The coins will be released in stages over the coming weeks. The first $2 design, featuring Mr Squiggle, is available in Woolworths registers this week, while the next three coins featuring Gus the Snail, Bill Steamshovel and Blackboard will be released on February 20, February 27 and March 6 respectively.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Woolworths and the Royal Australian Mint have joined forces to celebrate Mr Squiggles 60th Birthday with the release of four coloured $2 coins. The first of the coins, featuring Mr Squiggle, is available in your change from Woolworths today. <a href="https://t.co/WV9pRCtMHL">https://t.co/WV9pRCtMHL</a> <a href="https://t.co/vO5MkuZERE">pic.twitter.com/vO5MkuZERE</a></p> — RoyalAustralianMint (@RoyalAustMint) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalAustMint/status/1095457755593363457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">12 February 2019</a></blockquote> <p>A limited-edition seven-coin set for $15, including two $1 coins and a 1-cent coin, is also available for purchase.</p> <p><em>Mr Squiggle</em>, created by Norman Hetherington, first came to Australian screens in 1959. With 40 years on screen, the show has become one of the longest-running programs in Australia, captivating children across generations as the characters turned "squiggles" into drawings.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tDSUKIsxHaY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>"lt's such an honour to have the Royal Australian Mint and Woolworths immortalise my father's work in this unique way, " said Rebecca Hetherington, the creator’s daughter and the show’s co-host.</p> <p>"The coins perfectly represent Mr Squiggle's fun and imaginative view of the world, attributes he shared with my father.</p> <p>"I'm excited to share this opportunity with Australians who have grown up with him and remember him fondly, and also to introduce Mr Squiggle to a new generation."</p> <p>This is not the first time the supermarket has offered special coin collections. Previous releases launched through Woolworths include the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games editions. Last year, a legal battle brewed over the Remembrance Day and the<span> </span>Possum Magic<span> </span>sets as the Canadian Royal Mint sued the Australian government over infringed rights to a unique painting process.</p> <p>Will you be collecting the limited-edition $2 coins? Let us know in the comments.</p>

Money & Banking

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Melbourne artists knit 5000 poppies for Anzac Day to commemorate their fathers

<p>Two Melbourne artists are at the centre of a crafting storm that has landed them in a sea of handcrafted poppies.</p><p>Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight started their project in June of 2013, hoping to make 5,000 poppies to be ready in time for Anzac Day this year. Beginning as a way to commemorate their fathers’ war service, the initial idea was to “yarn bomb” (a kind of graffiti that sees knitters create art to leave in public spaces) around a battalion tree and on the walk to the shrine.</p><p>The two women, who say they’re fans of commemorative art, have had many offers of help since starting out. People started asking if their mothers could knit some poppies, or their aunts, or they themselves. The idea snowballed, and the 5,000 target was soon blown past.<img width="358" height="489" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/4023/poppy-net-display-edit_358x489.jpg" alt="Poppy Net Display Edit" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; display: block;"></p><p>The project has now collected around 170,000 knitted, felted and crafted poppies, with the final total expected to be closer to 200,000. That should be about one square kilometre.</p><p>The plan is to collect the poppies onto nets and place them around Melbourne as fields of poppies. If you want to see them up close, they will go on display at Melbourne’s Federation Square on Anzac Day.</p><p>If you would like to make a poppy to send to the project, you can find the patterns <a href="https://5000poppies.wordpress.com/poppy-patterns/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">here</span></strong></a> and a list of collection points around Australia <a href="https://5000poppies.wordpress.com/collection-points/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">here</span></strong></a>. But hurry - the poppies must be in by March 15.</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/03/dawn-tooney-knitted-knockers/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Meet the woman who spent her trip around Australia knitting “knockers” for breast cancer survivors</span></a></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/03/sunbathing-seal/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Sydney’s sunbathing seal returned to the Opera House steps</span></a></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/03/100-year-old-dancer/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Meet the world’s longest-living working choreographer and dancer</span></a></strong></em></p>

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