Placeholder Content Image

Live like a king at King Henry VIII’s former country estate

<p dir="ltr">Those wanting to live like royalty now have the chance to with the <a href="https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/properties/residential/for-sale/the-chobham-park-estate-chobham-surrey-gu24/cho100593" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listing</a> of King Henry VIII’s former country estate - but they’ll need about $30.5 million to make that dream come true.</p><p dir="ltr">Though the price may appear a little exorbitant, Chobham Park Estate in Surrey, England, boasts a sprawling 404,606 square metres of land, as well as several buildings that are more than 500 years old.</p><p dir="ltr">The main home, a Grade-II heritage-listed building, features six bedrooms and plenty of charm that has accumulated over the 300 years since it was believed to have been built.</p><p dir="ltr">As well as its multiple bedrooms, the historical home <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/king-henry-viiis-former-surrey-estate-hits-the-market-with-28-5-million-asking-price-1116534/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">includes</a> a reception hall, study, drawing room, dining room, large kitchen with a breakfast nook and two cloakrooms.</p><p dir="ltr">But it isn’t the only residence found on the property, with two additional cottages, including the aptly named ‘Little Chobham Park Cottage’.</p><p dir="ltr">According to real estate firm Knight Frank, Little Chobham’s two bedrooms with ensuites, reception room and kitchen make it ideal for guests or staff.</p><p dir="ltr">The property’s other kingly features include a swimming pool, tennis court, stables, several paddocks and numerous garages.</p><p dir="ltr">Though King Henry VIII called the estate home from 1937, the property dates back as far as 675 AD and is believed to have been held by the Monks and Abbot of Chertsey Abbey.</p><p dir="ltr">After Henry passed the property on to his daughter Queen Mary I in 1558, the estate was sold to the Queen’s chancellor, Nicholas Heath, the Archbishop of York.</p><p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Knight Frank</em></p>

Real Estate

Placeholder Content Image

Review: The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson

<p><em>Review: The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson, written and directed by Leah Purcell, Sydney Film Festival</em></p> <p>Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson is an inspired and compelling re-imagining of Henry Lawson’s <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9363188-the-drover-s-wife" target="_blank">The Drover’s Wife</a>, a short story originally published in The Bulletin in 1892.</p> <p>Purcell’s debut feature film as writer and director, filmed in late 2019, has emerged out of a lifelong connection with this story. Citing three generations of drovers in her own family, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82A3wzwKWOI" target="_blank">Purcell explained in a recent interview</a> how, as a five-year-old girl, she would implore her mother to read Lawson’s story to her. For Purcell, it was, “the first time I used my imagination and saw myself in a story”.</p> <p>As her mother recited, Purcell would imagine a “little film in my head”. In it, she was the little boy in the story and her mother the drover’s wife.</p> <p>Purcell has been repeatedly drawn to The Drover’s Wife as a way of placing her Indigenous family’s story before a broad Australian audience. The film expands on the acclaimed stage play she wrote and starred in, <a rel="noopener" href="https://belvoir.com.au/productions/the-drovers-wife/" target="_blank">which premiered at Belvoir Street Theatre in 2016</a> and won the Victorian prize for literature, two NSW premier’s literary awards and four Helpmann awards. She also adapted the play into a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-drovers-wife-9780143791478" target="_blank">novel, released in 2019</a>.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TltTxxIqv4U?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>In all three versions of the story, set in 1893 in the Snowy Mountains in NSW, Purcell gives voice to Indigenous experiences of the frontier that were maligned and marginalised in Lawson’s version.</p> <p>As in the play, the film is carried by its Indigenous co-stars. Purcell plays the drover’s wife, Molly Johnson, unearthing an Indigenous heritage for the character. Johnson is burdened by a dark secret and Purcell imbues the role with a determined strength, her posture and gaze expressing fortitude, grit and constant vigilance, whether she is carrying her broom or her rifle.</p> <p>Rob Collins plays Yadaka, a character inspired by Purcell’s great-grandfather, Tippo Charlie Chambers, a caring and gentle man who spent time as a travelling circus performer in the 1890s while yearning for his Country.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430929/original/file-20211108-19-11q4cdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430929/original/file-20211108-19-11q4cdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <em><span class="caption">Yadaka (Rob Collins), left, is central to this reworked story.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bunya Productions, Oombarra Productions</span></span></em></p> <p>Yadaka is central to Purcell’s reworking of the original story, fleshed out from the brief mention of a “stray blackfellow” who chops some wood for the drover’s wife in Lawson’s version.</p> <p>In the film, the fugitive Yadaka arrives at the heavily pregnant Molly’s isolated property and ultimately saves her life when her labour goes wrong, helping her to bury her stillborn child. But Yadaka is a wanted man, blamed for the murder of a white family in town. This sets off an unfortunate chain of events.</p> <p>Yadaka also unlocks Molly’s understanding of her Indigenous family, paving the way for her children to escape from becoming wards of the state. The strong bond the drover’s wife has with her children in Lawson’s original story is deepened in Purcell’s film. Molly is driven to protect her children from the authorities and to overcome violence and hardship.</p> <p>Molly’s eldest son Danny – played by Malachi Dower-Roberts, who <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82A3wzwKWOI" target="_blank">Purcell joyfully describes</a> as a “red-haired freckled Blackfella from Glebe” – functions as a figure of hope in the film.</p> <p>He forms a bond with Yadaka, taking responsibility for guiding his siblings to safety. The absence of the drover himself, Jo Johnson, meanwhile, is attributed to his being a violent drunk and an abuser, rather than the heroic, pioneering figure imagined by Lawson.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430931/original/file-20211108-17-wm8elz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430931/original/file-20211108-17-wm8elz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <em><span class="caption">Molly Johnson is driven to protect her children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bunya Productions, Oombarra Productions</span></span></em></p> <p>The film was shot in and around Adaminaby. Cinematographer Mark Wareham captures the beauty and harshness of the rolling hills and valleys of this vast, alpine landscape, from dusty clearings to lush greenery and stark, white snow.</p> <p>Foreboding, enveloping mists are rendered by the time-lapse photography of Murray Fredericks. The beauty and menace of this landscape frame the film’s harrowing violence. The final closeup shots are especially chilling.</p> <p><strong>Violent realities</strong></p> <p>Purcell’s is not, of course, the first re-imagining of Lawson’s story. In 2017, Frank Moorhouse brought together a collection of its numerous literary reworkings in <a rel="noopener" href="https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/review/the-drovers-wife-wives-frank-moorhouse-ryan-oneill/" target="_blank">The Drover’s Wife: A Celebration of a Great Love Affair</a>, including the writer and director’s notes from Purcell’s original play.</p> <p>But Purcell’s cinematic version of the story exemplifies what Felicity Collins and Therese Davis describe in their book <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/arts-theatre-culture/media-mass-communication/australian-cinema-after-mabo?format=HB&amp;isbn=9780521834803" target="_blank">Australian Cinema After Mabo</a> as a process of “cinematic backtracking”. Familiar figures and archetypes are revived and reworked, opening up new meanings and interpretations.</p> <p>In recent years, we have witnessed a surge of interest in the archetypes, themes and aesthetics of the Western in Australian cinema with films like The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005), Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton, 2017), The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent, 2018) and High Ground (Stephen Johnson, 2020). All suggest a growing reckoning with the violent realities of our frontier history.</p> <p>Purcell’s film is part of this turn.</p> <p>By bringing her personal history and identity as a Black woman to bear on the Australian Western, Purcell has enriched this burgeoning film cycle.</p> <p>The way that Purcell’s Molly Johnson endures in this film is both inspiring and heartbreaking. This is a subversive survival story that brings an unflinching new perspective to Australian cinema’s ongoing engagement with the frontier.</p> <p><em>The Drover’s Wife will be in cinemas May 2022.</em><!-- 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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170782/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><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-carrigy-1283895" target="_blank">Megan Carrigy</a>, Associate Director, Academic Programs, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/new-york-university-1016" target="_blank">New York University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/the-drovers-wife-the-legend-of-molly-johnson-brings-a-black-womans-perspective-to-australian-frontier-films-170782" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: <span>Bunya Productions, Oombarra Productions</span></em></p>

Movies

Placeholder Content Image

“Happy Days” cast reunites to farewell late co-star Erin Moran

<p>Two weeks after it was announced their co-star Erin Moran had sadly passed away of stage IV cancer at the age of 56, the cast of <em>Happy Days</em> have reunited to pay tribute to the late actress. A photo of cast members Scott Baio, Cathy Silvers, Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Ron Howard and Don Most attending Moran’s memorial service have been shared with <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/happy-days-cast-reunites-to-honor-late-costar-erin-moran-w480451" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Us Weekly</span></strong></em></a>.</p> <p><img width="499" height="345" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36218/image__499x345.jpg" alt="happy days reunion" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>“It was very emotional,” Silvers told the magazine. “We were a private family and a public family. It’s an interesting dynamic. It was bittersweet and very loving and a lot of laughter and a lot of tears.”</p> <p>Moran famously played the role of Joanie Cunningham on the hit show from the age of 14 and went on to star in its short-lived spin-off series,<em> Joanie Loves Chachi</em>.</p> <p>Henry Winkler, who played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, unfortunately missed out on the memorial due to promotional commitments for his upcoming children’s book, <em>Here’s Hank: Hooray! My Butt Left the Bench!</em> Winkler, however, paid tribute to Moran in his own way.</p> <p>“I will always remember Erin with her sweet smile that greeted me on the very first day I walked onto the set of <em>Happy Days</em> in 1974,” he told <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/happy-days-star-erin-moran-dies-at-56-1202393048/" target="_blank"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Variety</span></em></strong></a> at the time of her death. “She was only nine years old. For the next 10 years, that smile never faded. Unfortunately, yesterday it did. My condolences go out to her family. She will always be locked in my heart.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Cathy Silvers/Us Weekly.</em></p>

TV

Placeholder Content Image

96-year-old Dr Henry Heimlich uses Heimlich manoeuvre for the first time

<p>Dr Henry Heimlich, the 96-year-old surgeon who invented the lifesaving technique named for him, used the Heimlich manoeuvre for first time last week when he saved a woman choking on a hamburger.</p> <p>The Heimlich manoeuvre for dislodging food caught in a person’s throat has been credited for saving thousands of lives since it was invented in 1974.</p> <p>Dr Heimlich has never had to use it in an emergency situation, but last Monday the retired chest surgeon sprang into action when a female resident at his retirement home started choking at the dinner table.</p> <p>Without hesitation, Dr Heimlich put his arms around 87-year-old Patty Ris and pressed on her abdomen below the rib cage. The meat Ris was choking on immediately popped out.</p> <p>In a video shared by the retirement home, Dr Heimlich said: “After three compressions, this piece of meat came out, and she just started breathing, her whole face changed.”</p> <p>“I sort of felt wonderful about it, just having saved that girl,” he added.</p> <p>“I knew it was working all over the world. I just felt a satisfaction.”</p> <p>Have you ever had to use the Heimlich manoeuvre before? Share your experience with us in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/04/how-to-become-the-happiest-person-you-know/"><em>How to become the happiest person you know</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2016/03/waking-yourself-up/"><em>8 tips for waking yourself up</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/03/simple-ways-to-remain-positive/"><em>8 simple ways to remain positive</em></a></strong></span></p>

News