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Bold idea sees hotel offer thousands in cash back if it rains

<p>In a move that's making waves in the travel industry, a posh hotel in the heart of Singapore has rolled out a revolutionary offer: rain insurance. Yes, you heard it right – rain insurance!</p> <p>InterContinental Singapore, a sanctuary for jet-setters seeking respite from both the humidity and the occasional tropical deluge, has unleashed a game-changer for travellers. Dubbed the "Rain Resist Bliss Package", this offer promises to keep your spirits high even when the rain gods decide to throw a dampener on your plans.</p> <p>Picture this: you've booked your suite at this 5-star haven, eagerly anticipating your Singapore escapade. But lo and behold, the forecast takes a turn for the soggy, threatening to rain on your parade – quite literally. Fear not, dear traveller, for with the Rain Resist Bliss Package, you can breathe easy knowing that if your plans get drenched, your wallet won't.</p> <p>Now, you might be wondering, how does this rain insurance work? Well, it's as simple as Singapore Sling on a sunny day. If the heavens decide to open up and rain on your parade for a cumulative 120 minutes within any four-hour block of daylight hours (that's 8am to 7pm for those not on island time), you're entitled to a refund equivalent to your single-night room rate. The package is available exclusively for suite room bookings starting from $SGD850 per night – so that’s around $965 rain-soaked dollars back in your pocket, no questions asked. No need to jump through hoops or perform a rain dance – just sit back, relax, and let the rain do its thing.</p> <p>And fret not about having to keep an eye on the sky – the clever folks at InterContinental Singapore have got you covered. They're tapping into the data from the National Environmental Agency Weather Station to automatically trigger those rain refunds. It's like having your own personal meteorologist ensuring that your plans stay as dry as your martini.</p> <p>But hey, if the rain does decide to crash your party, fear not! The hotel has an array of dining options to keep your tastebuds entertained while you wait for the clouds to part. And let's not forget, Singapore isn't just about sunshine and rainbows – there are plenty of indoor activities to keep you occupied, from feasting at Lau Pa Sat for an authentic hawker experience to retail therapy at Takashimaya.</p> <p>And here's a silver lining to those rain clouds: fewer tourists! That's right, while others might be scrambling for cover, you could be enjoying shorter lines, less crowded attractions, and even snagging better deals on accommodations. Plus, let's not overlook the fact that the rain brings a welcome respite from the tropical heat, making outdoor adventures all the more enjoyable once the showers subside.</p> <p>So, pack your umbrella and leave your worries behind. With InterContinental Singapore's Rain Resist Bliss Package, you can embrace the unpredictable and turn even the rainiest of days into a memorable adventure. After all, as they say, when life gives you lemons, make Singapore Slings and dance in the rain!</p> <p><em>Images: InterContinental Singapore / Getty Images</em></p>

International Travel

Tiny ancient Christmas tree sells for thousands

<p>One of the world's first mass-produced Christmas trees has sold at auction for a whopping 56 times higher than its original purchase price. </p> <p>The tree was first bought in 1920 for just six pence, and was snapped up at the auction in England by an anonymous buyer for £3,400, or $6,433 AUD. </p> <p>The tree was described by the auctioneer as “the humblest Christmas tree in the world”, measuring just 79cm in height, boasting 25 branches, 12 berries and six mini candle holders.</p> <p>The tree sits in a small, red-painted wooden base with a simple decorative emblem.</p> <p>The Christmas tree was first bought by the family of eight-year-old Dorothy Grant in 1920, with Dorothy using it as her tree until she passed away at the age of 101. </p> <p>The tree is believed to have been bought from Woolworths, with Grant decorating the tree as a child with cotton wool to mimic snow, given that baubles were considered a luxury at the time.</p> <p>After Grant's passing in 2014, the charming tree was passed down to her daughter Shirley Hall, who was "parting with the tree now to honour her mother's memory and to ensure it survives as a humble reminder of 1920s life". </p> <p>It was expected to sell for between £60 and £80 (between $110 and $150 AUD) but was bought for the astonishing price of £3,411 when it went under the hammer at Hansons auctioneers on Friday.</p> <p>Charles Hanson, the owner of Hansons and a regular guest on the BBC’s <em>Bargain Hunt</em> said, “This is one of the earliest Christmas trees of its type we have seen. The humblest Christmas tree in the world has a new home and we’re delighted for both buyer and seller … I think it’s down to the power of nostalgia. Dorothy’s story resonated with people.”</p> <p>He added, “As simple as it was, Dorothy loved that tree. It became a staple part of family celebrations for decades. The fact that it brought such joy to Dorothy is humbling in itself. It reminds us that extravagance and excess are not required to capture the spirit of Christmas. For Dorothy it was enough to have a tree."</p> <p>“Some of the first artificial Christmas trees utilised machinery which had been designed to manufacture toilet brushes. The waste-not, want-not generations of old are still teaching us an important lesson about valuing the simple things and not replacing objects just for the sake of it."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Hansons Auctioneers</em></p>

Money & Banking

Erin Doherty’s new role sure to be approved by Princess Anne

<p dir="ltr">Erin Doherty might just get the tick of approval from Princess Anne as she holds the reins in the forthcoming series <em>A Thousand Blows</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Doherty, 30, who played the role of horse-mad Princess Anne in <em>The Crown</em>, will star in the new drama which tells the story of the Forty Elephants, an all-woman crime syndicate specialising in shoplifting from department stores. </p> <p dir="ltr">Much like her role as Princess Anne, images from the upcoming series have seen the actress in a Victorian outfit driving a horse-drawn carriage on set in London. </p> <p dir="ltr">The period drama will also star actor Stephen Graham and it’s created by Stephen Knight who was responsible for the hit gangster drama Peaky Blinders.</p> <p dir="ltr">The presence of horses is sure to please King Charle’s sister as she is a known horse-lover. Prince Phillip once joked, “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The series will also be heavy on boxing but will explore the social climate of London during the post-industrial revolution era. </p> <p dir="ltr">It is still under production and is set to be released on Disney+ with 12 episodes.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

We make thousands of unconscious decisions every day. Here’s how your brain copes with that

<p>Do you remember learning to drive a car? You probably fumbled around for the controls, checked every mirror multiple times, made sure your foot was on the brake pedal, then ever-so-slowly rolled your car forward.</p> <p>Fast forward to now and you’re probably driving places and thinking, “how did I even get here? I don’t remember the drive”. The task of driving, which used to take a lot of mental energy and concentration, has now become subconscious, automatic – habitual.</p> <p>But how – and why – do you go from concentrating on a task to making it automatic?</p> <p><strong>Habits are there to help us cope</strong></p> <p>We live in a vibrant, complex and transient world where we constantly face a barrage of information competing for our attention. For example, our eyes take in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1564115/">over one megabyte of data every second</a>. That’s equivalent to reading 500 pages of information or an entire encyclopedia every minute.</p> <p>Just one whiff of a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12744840/">familiar smell</a> can trigger a memory from childhood in less than a millisecond, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.08.004">our skin</a> contains up to 4 million receptors that provide us with important information about temperature, pressure, texture, and pain.</p> <p>And if that wasn’t enough data to process, <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REPS-10-2018-011/full/html">we make thousands of decisions</a> every single day. Many of them are unconscious and/or minor, such as putting seasoning on your food, picking a pair of shoes to wear, choosing which street to walk down, and so on.</p> <p>Some people are neurodiverse, and the ways we sense and process the world differ. But generally speaking, because we simply cannot process <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364661305001178">all the incoming data</a>, our brains create habits – automations of the behaviours and actions we often repeat.</p> <p><strong>Two brain systems</strong></p> <p>There are two forces that govern our behaviour: intention and habit. In simple terms, our brain has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17437199.2016.1244647">dual processing systems</a>, sort of like a computer with two processors.</p> <p>Performing a behaviour for the first time requires intention, attention and planning – even if plans are made only moments before the action is performed.</p> <p>This happens in our prefrontal cortex. More than any other part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for making deliberate and logical decisions. It’s the key to reasoning, problem-solving, comprehension, impulse control and perseverance. It affects behaviour via <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/handbook-of-behavior-change/changing-behavior-using-the-reflectiveimpulsive-model/A35DBA6BF0E784F491E936F2BE910FF7">goal-driven decisions</a>.</p> <p>For example, you use your “reflective” system (intention) to make yourself go to bed on time because sleep is important, or to move your body because you’ll feel great afterwards. When you are learning a new skill or acquiring new knowledge, you will draw heavily on the reflective brain system to form new memory connections in the brain. This system requires mental energy and effort. </p> <p><strong>From impulse to habit</strong></p> <p>On the other hand, your “impulsive” (habit) system is in your brain’s <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.neuro.29.051605.112851">basal ganglia</a>, which plays a key role in the development of emotions, memories, and pattern recognition. It’s impetuous, spontaneous, and pleasure seeking.</p> <p>For example, your impulsive system might influence you to pick up greasy takeaway on the way home from a hard day at work, even though there’s a home-cooked meal waiting for you. Or it might prompt you to spontaneously buy a new, expensive television. This system requires no energy or cognitive effort as it operates reflexively, subconsciously and automatically.</p> <p>When we repeat a behaviour in a consistent context, our brain recognises the patterns and moves the control of that behaviour from intention to habit. A habit occurs when your impulse towards doing something is automatically initiated because you encounter a setting in which you’ve done the same thing <a href="https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-015-0065-4">in the past</a>. For example, getting your favourite takeaway because you walk past the food joint on the way home from work every night – and it’s delicious every time, giving you a pleasurable reward.</p> <p><strong>Shortcuts of the mind</strong></p> <p>Because habits sit in the impulsive part of our brain, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.978">don’t require much cognitive input or mental energy</a> to be performed.</p> <p>In other words, habits are the mind’s shortcuts, allowing us to successfully engage in our daily life while reserving our reasoning and executive functioning capacities for other thoughts and actions.</p> <p>Your brain remembers how to drive a car because it’s something you’ve done many times before. Forming habits is, therefore, a natural process that contributes to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.124.1.54">energy preservation</a>.</p> <p>That way, your brain doesn’t have to consciously think about your every move and is free to consider other things – like what to make for dinner, or where to go on your next holiday.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-make-thousands-of-unconscious-decisions-every-day-heres-how-your-brain-copes-with-that-201379" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Mind

Detective steals thousands from elderly woman

<p>An elderly woman who was scammed out of $30,000 in an online scam has once again been stolen from, after the police officer helping her recover the money stole her bank details. </p> <p>In May 2021, 74-year-old Sonia was robbed by fraudsters pretending to be NBN workers after they convinced her to transfer the hefty five-figure sum.</p> <p>After discovering it was a scam, Sonia then reported the crime to NSW Police, who sent a detective to her home to investigate.</p> <p>The officer was supposed to be helping Sonia recover her stolen money, but instead tried to use her credit card and banking details and purchase almost $20,000 worth of goods.</p> <p>The police officer fronted Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday where his barrister tried to explain his client's behaviour saying he had gone "off the rails" and fallen into a depression due to the nature of his work.</p> <p>In June 2021, the detective, who cannot be named, attended Sonia's home several times to investigate what happened, often wearing his full police uniform. </p> <p>To gain her sympathy, he said he had a brain aneurysm and had not yet told his girlfriend or work. </p> <p>According to police documents tendered to the court, Sonia trusted him and he told her she "reminded him of his own grandmother", the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nsw/detective-investigating-30k-fraud-on-74yo-woman-steals-her-credit-card-for-16k-shopping-spree/news-story/1823067b8a55dc184f1278ce6a933b69" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Daily Telegraph</a> reported.</p> <p>When he asked to see her online banking details, credit cards and passwords, Sonia gave them to him willingly, assuming they were needed for his investigation.</p> <p>The detective tried to buy close to $20,000 worth of items from JB Hi Fi, Big W and Myer, including iPhones, GoPro cameras and Apple Watches.</p> <p>Thankfully for Sonia, none of the attempted purchases went through, as they were all rejected by Sonia's bank as suspicious activity.</p> <p>When Sonia was notified of the attempted transactions, she immediately suspected the detective who had been supposed to be helping her. </p> <p>In court this week, the now former detective pleaded guilty to stealing Sonia's bank details, and will will face Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on May 12th when he will be sentenced.</p> <p>More than 18 months after the events, Sonia is still very troubled by what happened and blames herself. </p> <p>"I can't switch off a feeling that I was stupid in the first place ... I trusted this guy and then he did that," she said.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

Thousands of Tasmanian devils are dying from cancer – but a new vaccine approach could help us save them

<p>Tasmanian devils are tough little creatures with a ferocious reputation. Tragically, each year thousands of Tasmanian devils suffer and die from contagious cancers – devil facial tumours.</p> <p>We have discovered that a modified virus, like the attenuated adenovirus used in the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, can make devil facial tumour cells more visible to the devil immune system.</p> <p>We have also found key immune targets on devil facial tumour cells. These combined advances allow us to move forward with a vaccine that helps the devil immune system find and fight the cancer.</p> <p>And we have a clever way to deliver this vaccine, too – with edible baits.</p> <p><strong>A puzzling cancer</strong></p> <p>Tasmanian devils mainly suffer from the original devil facial tumour, or DFT1. A second type of devil facial tumour (DFT2) has begun emerging in southern Tasmania that further threatens the already endangered devil population.</p> <p>DFT1 and DFT2 are <a href="https://www.tcg.vet.cam.ac.uk/about/DFTD">transmissible cancers</a> – they spread living cancer cells when the devils bite each other.</p> <p>This has presented a puzzle: a cancer cell that comes from another animal should be detected by the immune system as an invader, because it is “genetically mismatched”. For example, in human medicine, tissue transplants need to be genetically matched between the donor and recipient to avoid the immune system rejecting the transplant.</p> <p>Somehow, DFT1 and DFT2 seem to evade the immune system, and devils die from tumours spreading throughout their body or from malnutrition due to the facial tumours disrupting their ability to eat.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495558/original/file-20221116-12-jv29a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Close-up of a Tasmanian devil held by human hands, with a tumour on its lower jaw" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">A Tasmanian devil with DFT1.</span> <span class="attribution">Andrew S. Flies @WildImmunity</span></figcaption></figure> <p>On the bright side, the immune systems of a few wild devils <em>have</em> been able to overcome DFT1. Furthermore, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep43827">previous vaccine and immunotherapy trials</a> showed the devil immune system can be activated to kill DFT1 cells and clear away sizeable tumours.</p> <p>This good news from both the field and the laboratory has allowed our team to zoom in on key DFT protein targets that the devil immune system can attack. This helps us in our quest to develop a more effective and scalable vaccine.</p> <p><strong>How can we vaccinate wild animals?</strong></p> <p>Even if we succeed in producing a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2020.1711058">protective DFT vaccine</a>, we can’t trap and inject every devil.</p> <p>Luckily, clever researchers in Europe in the 1970s figured out that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003953">vaccines can be incorporated into edible food baits</a> to vaccinate wildlife across diverse landscapes and ecosystems.</p> <p>In 2019, we hypothesised an oral bait vaccine could be made to protect devils from DFT1 and DFT2. Fast forward to November 2022 and the pieces of this ambitious project are falling into place.</p> <p>First, using samples from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-021-03601-x">devils with strong anti-tumour responses</a>, we have found that the main immune targets are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.220208">major histocompatibility proteins</a>. These are usually the main targets in transplant rejection. This tells us what to put into the vaccine.</p> <p>Second, we tested a virus-based delivery system for the vaccine. We used a weakened adenovirus most of the human population has already been exposed to, and found that in the lab this virus can enter devil facial tumour cells.</p> <p>Importantly, the weakened adenovirus can be modified to produce proteins that can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.001812">stimulate the devil immune system</a>. This means it forces the devil facial tumour cells to show the major histocompatibility proteins they normally hide, making the cells “visible” to cancer-killing immune cells.</p> <p>This vaccine approach is much like the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that uses a weakened chimpanzee adenovirus to deliver cargo to our immune system, getting it to recognise SARS-CoV-2. <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nepa/states/US/us-2019-onrab-ea.pdf">Adenoviral vaccines have also been widely used</a> in oral bait vaccines to protect raccoons from the rabies virus.</p> <p><strong>Edible protection</strong></p> <p>But there were additional challenges to overcome. Our collaborators in the USA who research and develop other wildlife vaccines suggested that developing an effective bait for devils might be as challenging as making the vaccine itself.</p> <p>Our first studies of placebo baits in the wild confirmed this. Contrary to previous studies which showed devils eating most of the baits, we found the baits were also readily consumed by other species, including eastern quolls, brushtail possums, and Tasmanian pademelons.</p> <p>This led us to test an automatic bait dispenser supplied by our collaborators at the US Department of Agriculture National Wildlife Research Center. The <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/justaccepted/WR22070">dispensers proved quite effective</a> at reducing the amount of “off target” bait consumption and showed devils could successfully retrieve the baits with their dexterous paws.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BEBfFqOY8k?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Tasmanian devil retrieving a placebo bait from an automatic bait dispenser.</span></figcaption></figure> <p>Encouragingly, a recent mathematical modelling study suggests an <a href="https://lettersinbiomath.journals.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/lib/article/view/555">oral bait vaccine could eliminate DFT1</a> from Tasmania.</p> <p>Successful delivery of the vaccine would be a demanding and long-term commitment. But with it, we could prevent the suffering and deaths of thousands of individual devils, along with helping to reestablish a healthy wild devil population.</p> <p><strong>Can’t stop now</strong></p> <p>A bit of additional good news fell into place in late 2022 with the announcement that our international team was awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant to develop better baits and ways to monitor wildlife health in the field.</p> <p>These oral bait vaccine techniques that eliminate the need to catch and jab animals could be applied to future wildlife and livestock diseases, not just Tassie devils.</p> <p>Building on this momentum, we are planning to start new vaccine trials in 2023. We don’t know yet if this new experimental vaccine can prevent devils from getting devil facial tumours.</p> <p>However, the leap we have made in the past three years and new technology gives us momentum and hope that we might be able to stop DFT2 before it spreads across the state. Perhaps, we can even eliminate DFT1.<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/194536/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Writen by Andrew S. Flies, </em><em>Chrissie Ong</em><em> and Ruth Pye. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-tasmanian-devils-are-dying-from-cancer-but-a-new-vaccine-approach-could-help-us-save-them-194536" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Family & Pets

UK comedian shreds thousands in protest of David Beckham’s Qatar deal

<p dir="ltr">English comedian Joe Lycett has called out footballer David Beckham for his multi-million-dollar deal with Qatar by shredding £10,000 - but Lycett’s protest has come with a twist.</p> <p dir="ltr">After Beckham came under fire for accepting the cash from Qatar - where homosexuality is illegal and you can be jailed or put to death as punishment - to promote the World Cup, Lycett took to social media to call on the former English captain to put his money where his mouth is.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b0f7f24c-7fff-e87b-cd94-977224136cd7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Lycett shared a video where he said he would donate £10,000 ($AU 17,700 or $NZ 19,386) if Beckham withdrew from his deal with Qatar before the World Cup started on November 19.</p> <p dir="ltr">If Beckham didn’t, Lycett said he would shred it.</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/ClGfxiQIvDb/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/ClGfxiQIvDb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Joe Lycett (@joelycett)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">"This is a message to David Beckham... I consider you to be a gay icon," Lycett said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"You were the first premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like Attitude, to speak openly about your gay fans, and you married a Spice Girl, which is the gayest thing a human being can do.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Qatar was voted as one of the worst places in the world to be gay. You've always talked about the power of football to be a force for good... so with that in mind, I'm giving you a choice.</p> <p dir="ltr">"If you end your relationship with Qatar, I'll donate this 10 grand of my own money to charities that support queer people in football. However, if you do not... I will throw this money into a shredder.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Not just the money, but also your status as a gay icon will be shredded."</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-735f7414-7fff-0c3f-b123-4b37c34f34e3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">After his video went viral, Lycett shared a message he sent to Beckham’s PR team on social media.</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/ClBdqBgoPAM/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/ClBdqBgoPAM/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Joe Lycett (@joelycett)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve managed to get myself into a bit of a pickle - I’ve been a bit daft and publicly announced that I’m going to shred £10K on Sunday if David doesn’t end his relationship with Qatar, or donate the cash to LGBTQ+ charities if he does, yet we’re now four days out and I haven’t heard a peep from him,” he wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Could you do me a solid and let me know if there’s a chance he might budge on his position, or am I to expect radio silence on this? I really don’t want to shred ten grand!!! I also really don’t want a national treasure that has historically supported the LGBTQ+ community to publicly endorse and advertise a nation state that has an appalling human rights record and has the death penalty for gays - call me old fashioned!!!!!!”</p> <p dir="ltr">With Beckham not responding or backing out of the deal with Qatar, Lycett shared a clip on Sunday of himself putting wads into a woodchipper, dressed in a rainbow coat.</p> <p dir="ltr">But that isn’t the end of the story.</p> <p dir="ltr">The comedian shared another video on Monday, where he revealed that the stunt wasn’t what it appeared to be.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is my final message to David Beckham,” he began the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s me! That prick who shredded loads of money in a cost-of-living crisis.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I told you I was going to destroy £10,000 if you didn’t end your relationship with Qatar before the first day of the World Cup. And then when you didn’t end your relationship or even respond in any way, I streamed myself dropping 10K into a shredder.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Or did I?</p> <p dir="ltr">“I haven’t quite told you the whole truth. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Because the truth is, the money that went into the shredder was real, but the money that came out was fake.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Lycett added that he wouldn’t be “so irresponsible” to destroy “real money”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In fact, the ten grand had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial tweet last week,” he continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I never expected to hear from you. It was an empty threat designed to get people talking.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0189d111-7fff-2b5e-96d4-872ebc0b31b0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“In many ways, it was like your deal with Qatar, David. Total bulls**t from the start.”</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/ClOMLKuIY0r/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/ClOMLKuIY0r/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Joe Lycett (@joelycett)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Lycett ended the clip by shredding another item: the 2002 cover of <em>Attitude </em>magazine that featured Beckham, which was the first gay magazine to feature a Premier League footballer on it.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I asked <em>Attitude </em>if I could shred it and they were more than happy to oblige,” Lycett said, before running the cover through a paper shredder.</p> <p dir="ltr">His final video, captioned with a single rainbow flag, received a flood of praise from fellow celebrities and fans.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh you. It’s like you thought it all through or somethin …” Dawn French commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You are flipping amazing ❤️❤️❤️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈,” singer Sophie Ellis Bexter added.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d1dc9455-7fff-40cd-4ae9-c47bf33ab5ef"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Money & Banking

What will happen to the thousands of Paddington Bears left for the Queen

<p dir="ltr">More than 1,000 Paddinton Bears left for Queen Elizabeth II since her passing will be donated to charity. </p> <p dir="ltr">The plush toys were left at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle following the late monarch’s passing on September 8.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Palace announced that the toys will be cleaned and donated to children's charity Barnardos. </p> <p dir="ltr">They released a photo of the Queen Consort Camilla surrounded by the teddies to mark the special occasion. </p> <p dir="ltr">Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear had a loveable friendship when he made a surprise appearance at the Platinum Jubilee.</p> <p dir="ltr">The adorable skit showed the Queen sitting down for tea with Paddington Bear who told the monarch that he hoped she was “having a lovely Jubilee”. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Queen then offered Paddington some tea as the pair discussed their shared love for marmalade sandwiches. </p> <p dir="ltr">Paddington Bear then offered Her Majesty an emergency marmalade sandwich, something he always keeps hidden away in his hat. </p> <p dir="ltr">In a funny turn of events, the Queen did not need the emergency marmalade sandwich as she had also come prepared with her own sandwich in her handbag. </p> <p dir="ltr">The skit, which took the Queen half a day to film, was described better than her Olympic opening show cameo with James Bond.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

Family & Pets

Man fined thousands for unsolicited pruning in neighbourly dispute

<p dir="ltr">When one New Zealand man’s quest for extra sunshine in his bedroom saw him turn his neighbour’s line of trees into stumps, he didn’t expect that it would come with an eyewatering fine.</p> <p dir="ltr">The devastated neighbour took the imprudent gardener to small claims court, where it was found the man, referred to as HL, had trespassed on his neighbours property.</p> <p dir="ltr">The recently released Disputes Tribunal decision said HL had “practically removed” seven Ake Ake trees and several Elaegnus shrubs from his neighbours’ property, the <em><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/man-ordered-to-pay-neighbours-7k-for-cutting-their-trees-without-permission/ZFSMBS3EUKKE7AEMEWQKQCQO4I/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NZ Herald</a></em> reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">HL was ordered to pay his neighbours, referred to as LG and KG, a hefty $NZD 7478 to replace the trees and cover legal costs.</p> <p dir="ltr">The man admitted he cut the trees but claimed he did it after he and LG agreed they needed to be topped, adding that LG had picked the height at which HL should cut.</p> <p dir="ltr">But LG strongly denied the exchange, stating he had only acknowledged that the trees were hanging over HL’s property and needed trimming.</p> <p dir="ltr">“LG said there was a discussion about how they were to do it, that HL had a chainsaw and that LG would help him trim the overhanging branches and pay the tip fees,” the court decision said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Instead, the tribunal found that HL cut the trees and shrubs without the permission of LG and KG, and did so while they were away from their property for about 45 minutes.</p> <p dir="ltr">With HL unable to prove his version of events, the tribunal accepted LG’s evidence that he only discussed trimming back the overhanging branches with HL.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It does not make sense that LG would agree to taking height off the top of the trees, as that would result in a loss of privacy for him and his wife. THe only party who benefitted from the trees being topped was HL.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Photographs were also submitted to the tribunal, which said that it was impossible for the trees to have simply been topped based on the images.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Topping denotes the removal of the top part of the trees, but implies that some, or perhaps most, of the tree is left to grow. The pictures show that in some cases there are only stumps left, while other trees show some longer level of trunk with trimmed branches.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The pictures do not show that the trees have been trimmed, but rather practically removed.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9876db2c-7fff-77d1-15d5-cc49fb0bb326"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

Here’s why this doghouse will likely sell for hundreds of thousands

<p dir="ltr">A doghouse up for auction could sell for more than $400,000 - the same price as a Brisbane apartment - and it's thanks to one small hole in its tin roof.</p><p dir="ltr">In 2019, a meteorite tore through the sky towards the city of Aguas Zarcas in north central Costa Rica, crash landing in the doghouse while the pooch was still inside.</p><p dir="ltr">The resulting seven-inch hole has made the simple wood and tin structure a highly sought after item, which is now estimated <a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/deep-impact-martian-lunar-other-rare-meteorites/aguas-zarcas-doghouse-4/142783?ldp_breadcrumb=back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to sell</a> for between $300 and $450,000 at Christie’s “<a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/deep-impact-martian-lunar-other-rare-meteorites/lots/2134" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and other Rare Meteorites</a>”.</p><p dir="ltr">“On April 23, 2019 at 9.07pm, a German Shephard [sic] named Roky experienced quite a fright. A meteorite, part of a shower of exotic stone meteorites loaded with organic compounds, crashed through his doghouse, barely missing him,” Christie’s <a href="https://www.nine.com.au/property/news/doghouse-struck-by-meteorite-400k-dollars-christies-space-auction/ab31a7b3-7fb6-483b-8770-f024f90a0df5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explains</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">“Aguas Zarcas meteorites are the same type as Murchison, among the most researched meteorites of all time.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-41333ea3-7fff-466c-e226-f7e961f0f6e6"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“These samples not only contain tens of thousands of prebiotics, including amino acids, but also pre-solar grains ranging up to twice the age of the solar system. Today, many cosmochemists throughout the world are either investigating Aguas Zarcas specimens or waiting to obtain them.”</p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/meteorite-doghouse.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p><p dir="ltr"><em>A meteorite and the kennel it crashed into have both been put up for auction, with the doghouse expected to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Image: Christie’s</em></p><p dir="ltr">With meteorites usually landing in the ocean or ending up buried deep underground in remote areas if they do end up on land, the one that struck Roky’s kennel is incredibly rare.</p><p dir="ltr">Unfortunately, Christie’s explains that the house belonging to Roky’s owners won’t see an increase in value thanks to the meteorite, and that objects are what benefit most.</p><p dir="ltr">“Although the few homes hit by falling meteorites do not become worth much more when struck, that is not the case with other objects,” the site reads.</p><p dir="ltr">The high-end auctioneer is also selling off the <a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/deep-impact-martian-lunar-other-rare-meteorites/aguas-zarcas-cm2-meteorite-doghouse-8/142785" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meteorite</a> itself, which is expected to go for between $60-90,000.</p><p dir="ltr">Though he may be separated from the meteor, Roky is leaving a permanent mark on the space stone.</p><p dir="ltr">“The front face of the meteorite is accented with a sienna-hued streak caused by the meteorite’s passage through the oxidized [sic] tin roof of Roky’s Doghouse.”</p><p dir="ltr">Currently, there are 16 bids on the doghouse and eight on the meteorite, with bidding due to end on February 23.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1f0fb625-7fff-68db-e96a-c8ac088d7103"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Christie’s</em></p>

Real Estate

Priest resigns after botching thousands of baptisms with single phrase

<p dir="ltr">An Arizona priest has voluntarily resigned from his church after it was ruled that he botched thousands of baptisms over the past 25 years - all by using one incorrect phrase.</p><p dir="ltr">Father Andres Arango left the St Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix this month <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10511635/Phoenix-Catholic-priest-forced-resign-incorrectly-performed-THOUSANDS-baptisms.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after</a> revealing he used an “incorrect formula” that made the baptisms invalid.</p><p dir="ltr">Rather than invoking the power of God by saying “I baptise you”, as required by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Father Arango said “we baptise you”, referring to the community.</p><p dir="ltr">As a result of his phrasing, every baptism he has performed since he was ordained in 1995 until June 2021 has been invalid.</p><p dir="ltr">This could also mean that subsequent confirmations and First Communions for those baptised by Arango could also be invalidated.</p><p dir="ltr">The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix said even some marriages could possibly be affected, though they did not expand on how.</p><p dir="ltr">Father Arango will now work full-time offering spiritual guidance to Catholics whose baptisms have been deemed invalid so he can baptise them again.</p><p dir="ltr">In 2020, the Vatican issued a doctoral note clarifying that baptisms performed with the phrase “We baptise you in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit” were invalid, prompting church leaders to investigate faith leaders including Father Arango.</p><p dir="ltr">His invalidated baptisms also came from his time working in churches in Brazil and San Diego.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b2bb13ae-7fff-280b-bab7-d38f8c5653e4"></span></p><p dir="ltr">In a letter announcing his resignation, Father Arango apologised to those affected and asked the community for “prayers, forgiveness, and understanding”.</p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/father-arango-letter.png" alt="" width="322" height="826" /></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Father Arango announced he would leave the church after the Vatican ruled that baptisms he performed over the past 25 years have been invalid. Images: St Gregory Catholic Church Bulletin</em></p><p dir="ltr">“It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula,” Father Arango wrote.</p><p dir="ltr">“I deeply regret my error and how this affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere.</p><p dir="ltr">“With the help of the Holy Spirit and in communion with the Diocese of Phoenix I will dedicate my energy and full time ministry to help remedy this and heal those affected.”</p><p dir="ltr">The Diocese has said Father Arango remains a priest in good standing and that he has not been disqualified from his vocation or ministry as a result of his mistake.</p><p dir="ltr">Diocese of Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said he didn’t believe Father Arango intentionally harmed or deceived parishioners through his error.</p><p dir="ltr">“On behalf of our local Church, I am too sincerely sorry that this error has resulted in disruption to the sacramental lives of a number of the faithful,” Olmsted said in a <a href="https://www.stgregoryphx.com/note-on-baptism-validity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">“This is why I pledge to take every step necessary to remedy the situation for everyone impacted.”</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a7665fe9-7fff-43e3-b9f2-e43368b1e9d8"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Padre Andres Arango Phoenix AZ (Facebook)</em></p>

Family & Pets

Toddler accidentally spends thousands on furniture on unsuspecting mum’s phone

<p dir="ltr">A toddler has accidentally spent $2990 on furniture while<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/shopping/toddler-accidentally-spends-2800-on-furniture-items-while-playing-with-his-unsuspecting-mums-phone-c-5449890" target="_blank">playing with his mother’s phone</a><span> </span>- with neither parent realising until the packages started arriving.</p> <p dir="ltr">Pramod and Madhu Kumar began receiving a seemingly endless supply of packages from Walmart after their 22-month-old son Ayaansh accidentally clicked the “place order” button on his mum’s phone.</p> <p dir="ltr">While playing with the device, Ayaansh managed to access the store’s website - and his mum’s full shopping cart - and completed the checkout for an almost $2,000 order ($NZD 2990).</p> <p dir="ltr">When the packages began arriving, the couple began to question each other over who placed the order and why they didn’t ask for input from the other person.</p> <p dir="ltr">They soon realised neither had made the order, and that in reality, their son was behind the suspicious transaction.</p> <p dir="ltr">The order contained items for their new home in New Jersey, which they moved into almost a year ago.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My wife does online shopping, so at the time, she was checking some things on Walmart and she added (them) to a cart,” Mr Kumar told<span> </span><em>TODAY</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She was not intending to purchase those, she just added (them) to a cart and said, ‘OK, we’ll come back later’. But then she put the phone down and somehow my son managed to get the phone.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Aayansh’s innocent use of his mum’s phone to play quickly turned into his first shopping spree, with the order including accent chairs, flower stands, and other items that continue to arrive at the family’s home.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 375.3846153846154px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7847065/541f05ac7da3dba5c24eb824a49bc0c484bb9778.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c0471a88bae444c1b662717d2e3302ed" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The Kumars had no idea who had made the large online order when packages began arriving on their doorstep. Image: Pramod Kumar</em></p> <p dir="ltr">“We’re still getting packages,” Mr Kumar said. “We have a bunch of packages. Like today, there are two packages just sitting outside of our house.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Kumar was initially surprised that his son was able to complete the transaction, as shoppers are usually asked “multiple times about the items you need to select and you have to click here to be able to confirm and then reconfirm to make sure before ordering”.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, the toddler was able to show just how much he knew about phones while his family spoke to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/shopping/toddler-accidentally-spends-2800-on-furniture-items-while-playing-with-his-unsuspecting-mums-phone-c-5449890" target="_blank"><em>NBC New York</em></a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Using a reporter's phone, Ayaansh was able to close the calendar app, send an email to the reporter’s mother, and search through their contacts.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We learned a big lesson,” Mr Kumar said of the incident.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Moving forward, we will put tough passcodes or face recognition so when he picks up the phone he finds it in locked condition,” he told<span> </span><em>NBC</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">As the deliveries continue to arrive, the Kumars are planning to wait until everything has arrived before going to Walmart for a full refund.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, they plan to keep a few items to remember the funny incident in the future.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are asking the same questions (to Ayaansh) again and again, ‘Oh, did you order that?’” Mrs Kumar said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He’s totally clueless to what he did, because nothing he ordered is of interest to him,” Mr Kumar added.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Pramod Kumar</em></p>

Technology

The “loneliest woman in America” who brewed root beer for thousands of visitors

<p dir="ltr">From 1934 to 1986, Dorothy Molter lived alone on the Isle of Pines in Minnesota’s million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Her home was 25km by canoe from the nearest road and 50km from the nearest town, and the waters and wilderness surrounding it played home to bald eagles, swans, deer, bear, and the occasional moose.</p> <p dir="ltr">During the summer, she operated a fishing camp, but lived in almost permanent solitude during the winter. Her interesting choice of residence wasn’t what cemented her<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dorothy-molter-root-beer-lady" target="_blank">legacy</a>, however: it was the root beer she brewed with lake water and served to visitors. Thanks to this hobby, she became known as “the root beer lady”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Molter fell in love with the woods in 1930 during a family fishing trip, and after struggling to find work as a nurse during the Depression in her home city of Chicago, she returned. A man named Bill Berglund promised her that if she stayed to help him run his fishing camp, he would leave her the four-cabin resort in his will. True to his word, when he died in 1948, Molter took over.</p> <p dir="ltr">She gained a reputation as a wilderness “first responder”, using her nursing training to help injured canoers and animals alike. Her tendency to help those who were injured earned her another nickname, “Nightingale of the Northwoods”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jess Edberg, executive director of the Dorothy Molter Museum, said that despite all of this, it was her decision to live in solitude that most intrigued people. “An unmarried woman living alone in the wilderness was a curiosity,” she says.</p> <p dir="ltr">Molter herself once swore that she wouldn’t marry unless she found a man who could “portage heavier loads, chop more wood, or catch more fish” than her. It’s a good thing Molter was so self-sufficient, because living in such isolation is not for the faint of heart. Without electricity, a telephone, or running water, she chopped her own wood, hauled lake water, and harvested ice in winter to preserve food in warmer months. Communication, whether by mail, telegraph, or word-of-mouth, often took days.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her isolation was only exacerbated by the US government’s attempts to preserve the wilderness surrounding her home. After float plane flights to the island ended in 1952, Molter was dubbed the “loneliest woman in America” in the press.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Wilderness Act of 1964 mandated that residences and buildings had to be removed from the area. Molter ignored repeated orders from the US Forest Service to vacate, and eventually, following a groundswell of public support, she was allowed to stay on her island as a “volunteer-in-service”, although she was forced to close her camp. This made her the last resident of the Boundary Waters.</p> <p dir="ltr">With the cessation of flights to the area, it became impossible to transport drinks, so naturally, Molter began making her own root beer. She bought flavoured syrup from the nearby town or local Boy Scout base, and blended it with sugar, yeast for carbonation, and lake water in a 30-litre crock. She bottled the resulting beverage in hundreds of empty glass bottles she had collected over the years, with nowhere to dispose of them.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the quality of the drink not always being consistent, as many as 7000 visitors managed to consume around 12,000 bottles of the homemade soda, with the local Boy Scouts being particular fans.</p> <p dir="ltr">After Molter passed away at her cabin in 1986, a group that dubbed itself “Dorothy’s Angels” managed to move her buildings to the nearby town of Ely and create a museum in her honour. The Dorothy Molter Museum sits in a woodsy area at the edge of the town, offering visitors a sample of root beer and a taste of Molter’s quiet life.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Buddy Mays/Corbis via Getty Images</em></p>

Retirement Life

Self-taught 14-year-old artist offered thousands for paintings

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During lockdown, it was not uncommon for most people to try a new hobby they had been putting off. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But for 14-year-old Makenzy, it was a starting point for incredible success. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During a period of self-isolation in Wales, Makenzy Beard found some old acrylic paints and an easel that once belonged to her mother, and decided to try her hand at painting. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her first piece, an incredible portrait of her farming neighbour John Tucker, went viral on social media. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She told the </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-57670603"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BBC</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that the portrait took about 20 hours to complete over a three-week period.</span></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/COGXvlHH1Ax/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/COGXvlHH1Ax/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Makenzy Beard (@makenzy_beard)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I was very busy at the time I decided to do this one, so I was taking five minutes before school, an hour after school before sport. It was all broken down, I never spent one long extended period of time on it", she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Makezny said her subject John “is a wonderful person and has a really lovely, kind and friendly demeanour," and thought he would be the perfect person to paint. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The post racked up thousands of likes online, as she was encouraged by art fans around the world to keep up her extraordinary talent. </span></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/CSpfvXipcmU/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/CSpfvXipcmU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Makenzy Beard (@makenzy_beard)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After adding more works to her collection, Makenzy has had her works displayed in a gallery in Cardiff. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some pieces have captured the attention of international art dealers, with one of her paintings selling for $18,000AUD.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the pieces in her showcase is a portrait of her grandfather Bernard Davis, but Makenzy said she will be keeping the artwork due to its sentimental value.</span></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/CUid6kGo0n6/?utm_source=ig_embed&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/CUid6kGo0n6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Makenzy Beard (@makenzy_beard)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite having international offers on her artwork, Makenzy is still keeping her options open in regards to her future. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While she is passionate about art, the 14-year-old is happy just keeping her talents as a hobby as she focuses on school. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Director of Blackwater Gallery, Kimberley Lewis, said, "I think anyone can be a good portrait artist, but I think it takes a lot to show real personality and the soul of a person through their pieces and I think for someone so young, Makenzy does this brilliantly."</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Instagram @makenzy_beard</span></em></p>

Art

4 tips that could save you thousands

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to our finances, there are plenty of monetary pitfalls that can have costly consequences.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are four financial tips that could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.</span></p> <p><strong>1. Choose who you take advice from</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though looking to family and friends for advice can be helpful in other circumstances, you can run into problems when it comes to money advice.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Unless your loved one is qualified and an expert in this field, they are unlikely to know everything there is to know,” says Helen Baker, a financial advisor, author and public speaker. “Those who speak from their own experience are not aware of the details that make everyone’s situation different.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Being more picky about where and who you take financial advice from is the best way to go, according to Baker.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Make sure they are licensed to practice and have a good reputation,” she says. “Beware of vested interests pushing you a certain way. Consider professional advice only on matters they are qualified to discuss: accountants aren’t licensed to give financial advice, and financial advisors are limited with their tax advice.”</span></p> <p><strong>2. Be smart about your super accounts</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While most advice tells us to roll all our superannuation accounts into one to save money, it might not be so simple</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If you consolidate low-fee super accounts into a high-fee one, you’re actually losing money,” Baker explains. “Low cost funds don’t necessarily offer the same investments found in other funds.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Claims that having two funds will mean you pay double the fees aren’t necessarily true either.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Fees are generally calculated as a percentage of your super, so one percent of, say, $200,000 is the same as one percent of two $100,000 balances.” she says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead, the biggest super mistake relates to life insurance.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Life, disability, and income protection insurances can all be paid out of your super,” Baker says. “If you close an account, the policies attached to that account in almost all cases are terminated. Policies also differ between providers - you’re unlikely to get exactly the same policy in each one.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Many people only discover their mistake when they need to make a claim but are no longer covered.”</span></p> <p><strong>3. Put away the crystal ball</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the unpredictable nature of life, Baker says calculators meant to determine how much super you will need for retirement should be treated with caution.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“How is that calculated? How can it factor in things such as future tax rule changes, Centrelink changes, spontaneous withdrawals, changes in employment or market fluctuations? They can provide false hope that you have enough so you needn’t do anything, or scare you into taking unnecessary risks.”</span></p> <p><strong>4. Get involved</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For couples, the common pattern of one partner leaving financial matters to the other and not getting involved can be detrimental.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Baker says this can become an especially thorny issue following divorce or death.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Nobody gets married expecting to divorce or be widowed early,” she says. “But sadly, this can and does happen. If your partner dies suddenly or becomes your ex, it’s difficult to unpick where the funds have gone if you weren’t involved - especially at a time when you’re grieving and becoming accustomed to living on your own.”</span></p>

Retirement Income

"Major incident" declared as thousands ignore advice to stay away

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Officials in southern England have declared a "major incident" after thousands of beach-goers flocked to local beaches.</p> <p>Bournemouth and Sandbanks in Dorset were hit hard as crowds came to enjoy the hottest day of the year so far and ignored advice to stay away from the area.</p> <p>By Thursday morning, more than 40 tonnes of waste had been removed from the coastline.</p> <p>Council leader Vikki Slade said she was "absolutely appalled" by the scenes.</p> <p>"The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe," said Slade in the statement. </p> <p>"We have had no choice now but to declare a major incident and initiate an emergency response."</p> <p>As the UK is slowly easing its coronavirus restrictions, groups of up to six people are allowed to meet up outside.</p> <p>However, people are taking the newly eased up restrictions too far as people were found camping illegally overnight.</p> <p>Slade compared the scenes to a public holiday.</p> <p>"We are not in a position to welcome visitors in these numbers now or to deal with the full range of problems associated with managing volumes of people like this," said Slade. "PLEASE do not come. We are not able to welcome you yet."</p> <p>Assistant Chief Constable Sam de Reya of Dorset Police said that people should stay away from the area.</p> <p>"We are also reliant on people taking personal responsibility and strongly advise members of the public to think twice before heading to the area," she said.</p> <p>"Clearly we are still in a public health crisis and such a significant volume of people heading to one area places a further strain on emergency services resources."</p> </div> </div> </div>

News

Royal slap: The prince fined thousands for breaking lockdown laws

<p>A Belgian prince who contracted coronavirus after breaking lockdown rules in Spain has been fined 10,400 euros (NZ$18,300).</p> <p>Prince Joachim was issued with the penalty after attending a private party in Córdoba with 27 guests on May 26, two days after arriving in the country for an internship. At the time, international arrivals were required to quarantine for 14 days, and gatherings were limited to a maximum of 15 attendees.</p> <p>The day after the event, Joachim began experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, and later tested positive for COVID-19.</p> <p>The 28-year-old prince, nephew of King Philippe and 10th in line to the throne, has since apologised.</p> <p>“I would like to apologize for traveling and not having respected the quarantine measures,” Joachim said in a statement.</p> <p>“I did not intend to offend or disrespect anyone in these very difficult times and deeply regret my actions and accept the consequences.”</p> <p>Joachim has 15 days to pay or <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prince-joachim-belgium-fined-spain-for-breaking-coronavirus-lockdown-rules-party-in-cordova/">appeal</a> the fine. According to <em>El País</em>, the amount of the fine will be reduced by half if he complies with the deadline.</p> <p>He is the second member of the Belgian royal family to have contracted COVID-19, after Princess Claire.</p> <p>More than 27,000 have died from coronavirus in Spain, while Belgium’s coronavirus death toll has passed 9,600.</p>

Travel Trouble

A thousand yarns and snapshots – why poetry matters during a pandemic

<p>Why do we have the arts? Why do they seem to matter so much? It is all very well muttering something vague about eternal truths and spiritual values. Or even gesturing toward Bach and Leonardo da Vinci, along with our own Patrick White.</p> <p>But what can the poets make of, and for, our busy, present lives? What do they have to say during grave crises?</p> <p>Well, they can speak eloquently to their readers for life, in writing from the very base of their own experiences. Every generation has laid claim, afresh, to its vital modernity. In the 17th century, Andrew Marvell did so with witty lyrical elegance in his verse <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress">To a Coy Mistress</a>. Three centuries later, the <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rene-char">French poet René Char</a> thought of us as weaving tapestries against the threat of extinction. Accordingly, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1668153.Hypnos_Waking">he wrote</a>:</p> <p><em>The poet is not angry at the hideous extinction of death, but confident of his own particular touch, he transforms everything into long wools.</em></p> <p>In short, the poet will, at best, weave lasting, memorable, salvific tapestries out of words. The poems in question will come out live, if the poet is lucky, and possibly as disparate as the sleepy, furred animals caged in Melbourne Zoo.</p> <p>What is truly touching or intimate need not be tapped by elegies, for all that they can fill a mortal need. Yet the great modern poet <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/w-h-auden">W. H. Auden</a> <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Iae_YsTmAT8C&pg=PA231&lpg=PA231&dq=%22only+one+object+in+his+world+which+is+at+once+sacred+and+hated%22&source=bl&ots=Ib10mT6Q8x&sig=ACfU3U38Y8tHrdfsSqHYljJa1Rz9RdHG8Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwipmZGf4rTpAhVF7HMBHU2NDFkQ6AEwAHoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false">wrote in memory</a> of poet, writer and broadcaster John Betjeman:</p> <p><em>There is one, only one object in his world which is at once sacred and hated, but it is far too formidable to be satirizable: namely Death.</em></p> <p>As William Wordsworth and Judith Wright both well knew, in their separate generations – and quite polar cultures – the best poetry grasps moments of our ordinary lives, and renders them memorable.</p> <p>Poetry can give us back our dailiness in musical technicolour: in a thousand yarns or snapshots. Poems sing to us that life really matters, now. That can emerge as songs or satires, laments, landscapes or even somebody’s portrait done in imaginative words.</p> <p>Yes, verse at its finest is living truth “done” in verbal art. The great Russian playwright Anton Chekhov once insisted “nothing ever happens later”, and the point of poetry in our own time – as always, at its best – is surely to shine the light of language on what is happening now. The devil is in the detail, yes. But so is the redemptive beauty, along with “the prophetess Deborah under her palm-tree” in the words of the Australian poet, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/glutton-for-words-crafted-rare-prose-20120702-21d2a.html">Peter Steele</a>.</p> <p>Poetry sees the palm tree, and the prophetess herself, vividly, even in the middle of a widespread epidemic.</p> <p>Modern poetry is an art made out of living language. In these times, at least, it tends to be concise, barely spilling over the end of the page: too tidy for that, unlike the vast memorised narratives of the Israelites, the Greeks or even the Icelanders. But what it shares with the ancient, oral cultures is its connection with wisdom, crystallising nodes of value, fables of the tribe, moments or decades that made us all.</p> <p>In the brief age of a national pandemic, poetry’s role and its duties may come to seem all the more important: all the more civil and politically sane. The poem – even in the case when it is quite a short lyric, even if comic – carries the message of moral responsibility in its saddle bag. Perhaps all poets do, even when they are also charming the pants off their willing readers.</p> <p><em>Written by Christopher Wallace-Crabbe. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-thousand-yarns-and-snapshots-why-poetry-matters-during-a-pandemic-138723">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Caring

The bizarre bird Queen Elizabeth II owns thousands of

<p>You’d think that being the longest reigning British monarch comes with enough perks, like celebrating your birthday twice a year and owning a vault of jewels.</p> <p>There’s also another perk that comes with being Queen Elizabeth II, which is that she is the technical owner of all “unmarked mute swans swimming in open waters” in the UK.</p> <p>The royal family’s website notes that the British crown has “held the right to claim ownership” of these animals since the 12th century.</p> <p>These rights were considered valuable and “were subsequently granted by the monarch to many people and organisations as swans were a prized food, served at banquets and feasts”.</p> <p>As things have changed over the last 800 years, swans are no longer considered a delicacy in Britain, but the Queen still owns all of them.</p> <p>All 22,000+ mute swans are counted every year by a group headed by the Queen’s official Swan Market in an event known as “Swan Upping”.</p> <p>"We will lift the whole family out of the water, we will take them ashore, we weigh them, measure them and check them for any injuries," <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-swans/all-up-queen-elizabeths-swans-checked-and-counted-idUSKCN1UA12P" target="_blank">David Barber, the Queen’s Swan Marker, told Reuters</a> in 2019.</p> <p>"You have a population of swans that hasn’t changed much since the mid 1800s."</p> <p>However, the mute swan population is facing threats from non-native species and dog attacks.</p> <p>"We've had a pretty rough time with...dog attacks, all sorts of things—like mink," <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-48990711" target="_blank">Barber told the BBC</a>.</p> <p>"They're not indigenous to this country and they're breeding like mad on the river here, and they do take a lot of young cygnets," he said.</p> <p>Due to COVID-19, this year’s Swan Upping will not be taking place.</p> <p>“Although not unexpected, it is of course disappointing that members of the public and local schoolchildren will not be able to enjoy Swan Upping this year,” Barber said in a statement.</p> <p>“It is always a great opportunity for the young people who attend to learn about mute swans, and see first-hand the health checks we carry out on every single family of swans along the river.”</p> <p>If you’re worried about the welfare of the swans, they’re still being looked after as Swan Upping focuses on conservation and education.</p> <p>"The Queen’s Swan Marker is working with the Thames Swan Rescue Organisations to continue overseeing swan welfare as usual.</p>

Family & Pets

Thousands of Seniors have made the discovery!

<p>While millions of people have a Seniors Discount card or the Senior Savers Card, it can be confusing and overwhelming to figure out just how many perks and savings we can be getting.</p> <p>All over Australia and New Zealand, thousands of businesses offer serious savings for those who hold a senior discount card, but do you know just HOW many companies there are that want you to get more bang for your buck?</p> <p>From big brands and national retailers to local businesses and smaller vendors, there are over 36,000 discounts throughout Australia and New Zealand that seniors have the opportunity to tap into quickly and easily.</p> <p>The key to getting all that you possibly can with your discount card is by using the <a href="https://www.seniorsdiscounts.com.au/download">Senior Cards Discounts App</a> – an application that allows older Australians and New Zealanders to tap into perks and savings across the two nations.</p> <p>Already the app has helped thousands of seniors find all of the different place where they can use their discount card.</p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7835168/senior-discount-card-app-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/30b35f2ff3e34c289f0f00cc77812738" /></p> <p>Whether you are wanting to save on changing a tyre or scrape a few dollars off of your morning coffee, the <a href="https://www.seniorsdiscounts.com.au/download">Senior Cards Discounts App</a> shows you the helpful savings across both everyday items and special purchases.</p> <p>The new free smartphone app is not just a gamechanger in your local community – it lets users get great deals and discounts wherever they go. </p> <p>Along with a number of helpful services and products you can save on, there are also gorgeous and adventurous attractions you can get for a reduced price – so your retirement fund can be stretched out just that little bit further.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7835163/senior-discount-card-app-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/77f0476694ae4d1184631673a4bb736c" /></p> <p>Founder Lane Prowd created the <a href="https://www.seniorsdiscounts.com.au/download">Senior Cards Discounts App</a> when he realised just how little his friends and family knew about their discount card.</p> <p>“They didn’t want to always be referring to a big book, nor did they want to be constantly asking in shops and being told no,” he explained.</p> <p>“So the app really started out as a way they could have access to all those discounts right from their smartphone.</p> <p>“I wanted to make it easier for people to find the discounts all around them.”</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.seniorsdiscounts.com.au/download">Senior Cards Discounts App</a> has proven to be a helpful tool for Seniors who believe the new application has created a way for them to take advantage of all the incredible savings around them.</p> <p>Melbourne-based Sandra Gould says since finding the app, discounts she was not aware of have become accessible to her.</p> <p>“I’ve used it in cafés, restaurants, and in some of my favourite retail shops that I never even thought about for receiving a discount,” Ms Gould said. “I even discovered my hairdresser offers Seniors Discounts!”</p> <p>She added: “It’s quite amazing the huge variety of businesses and discount offers that are out there rewarding us seniors.”</p> <p>Take advantage of your opportunity to live a lifestyle you deserve, for a reduced cost that you have earned.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.2142038946163px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7835182/senior-discount-card-app-3-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4a8e57668d494f148256ea2d583e8f45" /></p> <p><em>Download the <a href="https://www.seniorsdiscounts.com.au/download">Senior Cards Discounts App</a> here.</em></p>

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