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"Tears started rolling": First glimpse of Molly the magpie shared by carers

<p>The first photo of Molly the magpie has been released by his carers, 43 days after he was removed from his adoptive family's home. </p> <p>In March, Molly's adoptive family from Queensland were forced to surrender the bird after complaints that his owners don't hold a wildlife permit. </p> <p>Molly the magpie has lived with Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen and their two dogs Peggy and Ruby since 2020, when he - originally thought to be a she - fell out a nest in their backyard. </p> <p>Ever since the family were forced to hand over the magpie, Premier Steven Miles said the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation was working to help them secure the permits needed to bring Molly back home. </p> <p>While the permit application is in the works, the carers at the facility where Molly is currently being held have released a photo of the bird to ease the minds of his adoptive family. </p> <p>Wells and Mortensen shared the photo to their Instagram, saying, “We have our first photo!”</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-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C5o4_CUSeC7/?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/C5o4_CUSeC7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Peggyandmolly (@peggyandmolly)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"This photo was taken by the carers of Molly (wherever he is) and sent us yesterday. After 43 days... Tears started rolling.”</p> <p>The Gold Coast family then included a poem they had written: “They came and told us they wanted to take you away. We couldn’t even picture what that would look like? I will never forget that day."</p> <p>“If Molly had a voice what would he say? If Molly had a choice where would he stay?"</p> <p>“The silence has been broken. People have awoken. I haven’t been placed on this Earth to hide. Let me soar again and be your guide."</p> <p>“In unity and harmony you will see, what the world needs right now is Peggy, Ruby and me.”</p> <p>In a special message to Molly, Wells and Mortensen said: “We look forward to the day very soon to be able to see you with our own eyes and be reunited again.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p> <div class="hide-print ad-no-notice css-qyun7f-StyledAdUnitWrapper ezkyf1c0" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: #292a33; color: #292a33; font-family: HeyWow, Montserrat, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </div> <p> </p>

Family & Pets

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Big changes for Bunnings Warehouse snags

<p>There’s nothing quite like a weekend shop at Bunnings, largely because it means there’ll be a fresh snag waiting for you post-shop, and with the hardware store’s latest announcement, it will be even easier to get your hands on one.</p> <p>Bunnings Warehouse has announced it is rolling out mobile payment options for customers who aren’t carrying cash or coins on them.</p> <p>Until now, most Bunnings sausage sizzles largely relied on cash payments, at the discretion of each community group that hosts their sausage sizzle, but the cardless concept proved difficult in a largely cashless economy.</p> <p>The Bunnings website states, "Not-for-profit organisations are able to book a sizzle with their local store - they need to bring volunteers and adequate supplies and Bunnings helps with the rest.”</p> <p>"The rest" being the addition of free mobile payment facilities.</p> <p>"We offer a free mobile payment option to community groups fundraising through sausage sizzles at our stores, providing an easy way for them to maximise fundraising and offering customers a cashless way to pay for their snag and support their local community group," said Bunnings General Manager Operations Matt Tyler in a statement.</p> <p>There will be no additional cost to customers or community groups, who previously had to bring their own EFT machine if they wanted to pay by card.</p> <p>Bunnings Warehouse will be incurring all the transaction fees to ensure community groups get 100 per cent of all the money raised.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock / Instagram</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Fight breaks out of Bunnings sausage sizzle

<p dir="ltr">Three men have been captured in a bizarre fight, with the wild footage circulating on TikTok.</p> <p dir="ltr">The expletive-laden argument broke out just metres from a Bunnings sausage sizzle in an underground carpark.</p> <p dir="ltr">The fight was apparently over a parking spot, with a man at one point yelling, “Get the car out my f***ing way”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Two of the three men continue eating their sausage sandwiches during the entire altercation - a fact pointed out by the TikTok user who shared the video, which immediately went viral and has racked up over 100,000 views.</p> <div><iframe title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7178344250172624129&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40dora_rinaldi%2Fvideo%2F7178344250172624129%3Fis_copy_url%3D1%26is_from_webapp%3Dv1&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-sign-sg.tiktokcdn.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-alisg-p-0037%2FoUhEIbpedgvRnqzQCntDAnBQmBn8I7t3jfjyv0%3Fx-expires%3D1671516000%26x-signature%3DhflwdY%252BMRp8WEdyPtZbrnfM1ghY%253D&amp;key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p dir="ltr">As the group of men argued loudly, those manning the sausage sizzle continued to calmly serve customers, with one calling out, “Do you want a sausage to calm down guys?” sparking laughter from onlookers.</p> <p dir="ltr">TikTok users were amused by the entire bizarre interaction, with one commenting, “What did you put in them damn sausages?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Old mate treating the sausage sizzle as if it’s a drive thru,” another wrote, while another posted, “Love how he’s not gonna let a fight stop him from enjoying his Bunnings snag”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, several others pointed out that “Nothing comes between a person and their Bunnings sausage sizzle".</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Legal

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Proof that Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman are our sweetest rock and roll couple

<p dir="ltr">Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman will forever be known as the sweetest rock and roll couple. </p> <p dir="ltr">The loved up couple once again proved that during one of Keith’s shows where Nicole made a surprise appearance on stage.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We love you Nashville,” a smiling Nicole said as Keith embraced her. </p> <p dir="ltr">She then turned to get off stage for her husband to start his show before telling him to “play some music”. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Happy wife, happy life. You guys know what I'm talking about,” Keith responds.</p> <p dir="ltr">Nicole later shared a stunning noir photo of her and Keith with their arms around each other backstage at the show in Nashville. </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/CjeWh7NpWdG/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CjeWh7NpWdG/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nicole Kidman (@nicolekidman)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Fans went crazy at the photo, with many thanking the couple for being incredible and sweet during tour. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Nicole you looked amazing last night. I loved your outfit. I waved to you as I was very close to you. You and Keith are such a beautiful blessed couple. Love to you both and your family,” someone wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Love you two Nicole and Keith! You guys are so beautiful together!” another commented. </p> <p dir="ltr">“You two were the sweetest last night - I love seeing a couple still thriving together- gives us all hope,” someone else wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Do you know what I love the most about this photo? It’s the utter love the two of you share — you’re close, you're touching, you’re communicating, you’re supporting, you're in it together. Love it!” another read. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Music

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Microwave cinnamon roll

<p>If you find yourself craving a cinnamon roll at home, this single serve microwavable cinnamon bun recipe couldn’t be easier.</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Serves:</span></strong> 1</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li>⅓ cup and 1 tablespoon of oat flour</li> <li>½ teaspoon of bi-carb soda</li> <li>⅛ teaspoon of salt</li> <li>1 tablespoon of coconut oil, melted</li> <li>2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of mashed banana</li> </ul> <p><em>Filling</em></p> <ul> <li>2 soft pitted dates</li> <li>½ teaspoon of cinnamon</li> <li>Vanilla icing</li> </ul> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Method: </span></strong></p> <p>1. Combine flour, bi-carb soda, and salt in a bowl.</p> <p>2. Melt coconut oil in microwave. Add bananas and oil to flour mixture.   </p> <p>3. Stir until a dough is formed and roll into a ball.</p> <p>4. To create the filling, dice dates and mash with a fork until they form a paste.</p> <p>5. Mix together with cinnamon.</p> <p>6. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a rectangle and straighten sides using a knife. Reincorporate cut dough into the rectangle, making sure that it is long.</p> <p>7. Spread filling across dough and, lengthwise, fold dough in half.</p> <p>8. Roll dough into a cinnamon bun shape.</p> <p>9. Place into a greased mug or ramekin and microwave for one and a half to two minutes.</p> <p>10. Top with vanilla icing.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Sausage rolls

<p>Make it gluten free by swapping the regular puff pastry for a gluten-free variety and us other gluten free substitutes!</p> <h3>Ingredients</h3> <div> <p>• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil</p> <p>• 1 brown onion, finely chopped</p> <p>• 500g sausage mince</p> <p>• 250g beef mince</p> <p>• 2 Tbsp tomato paste</p> <p>• 3 tsp dried Italian herbs</p> <p>• ½ tsp sea-salt flakes</p> <p>• ½ tsp finely ground black pepper</p> <p>• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed</p> <p>• 1 egg, beaten</p> <p>• 2 tsp black sesame seeds</p> <p>• Sweet chilli relish, to serve</p> <p>• Cos lettuce salad, to serve</p> </div> <div id="TeadsContainer0"></div> <div> <h2>Method</h2> <ol> <li> <p>Line an oven tray with baking paper. Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.</p> </li> <li> <p>Add minces, tomato paste, dried herbs, salt and pepper, then stir until well combined.</p> </li> <li> <p>Preheat oven to 200°C. Put 1 sheet of puff pastry on a clean and dry work surface. Cut off the top ¹⁄³ of sheet and reserve. Roll ¼ of the mince mixture into a sausage shape and put down 1 long edge of sheet. Brush opposite long edge with egg. Roll up firmly to enclose filling. Repeat with remaining pastry, mince mixture and egg, reserving a little of the egg.</p> </li> <li> <p>Cut reserved small pastry rectangles into 1cm strips. Put sausage rolls on prepared tray. Brush top of rolls with reserved egg, then arrange pastry strips to form crosses on top of rolls. Brush again with egg and scatter over black sesame seeds.</p> </li> <li> <p>Bake for 35 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is cooked through. Slice and serve with relish and cos lettuce salad on the side.</p> </li> </ol> <p><em>Image: Better Homes &amp; Gardens</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

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A man’s unusual reaction to a ham roll five years on

<p dir="ltr">A UK-based father who claims he “cannot stop farting” after eating a ham roll in 2017, has launched a legal bid for $350,000.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tyrone Prades, 46, says the snack sparked life-changing flatulence which wakes him at night and embarrasses him in public.</p> <p dir="ltr">The ham sandwich’s victim reports he had a severe tummy ache within hours of consuming it at a Christmas market, and was then bed-bound for five weeks, his lawyers have allegedly told the High Court.</p> <p dir="ltr">He and others who ate at the same stall were said to have been infected with salmonella. Within hours of eating the ham roll, he had stomach cramps, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, the court heard. His lawyer, Robert Parkin, said he was sick for months and was still flatulent five years on with churning noises in his gut. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The claimant continues to suffer from excessive flatulence, which causes him a great deal of embarrassment.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The symptoms are, primarily, fatigue and altered bowel function associated with ‘churning’ within his abdomen and flatulence. The claimant’s stomach continues to make frequent churning noises to the extent his sleep can become disrupted.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Parkin claimed the ham had been contaminated with salmonella bacteria and other customers also fell ill.</p> <p dir="ltr">The barrister added: “The extent of the symptoms has been life-changing.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He said the stall was closed and deep-cleaned following Public Health England investigation.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Prades, of Chippenham, Wilts, is suing the operator, Frankfurt Christmas Market Ltd, for at least £200,000 (AU$347,014), although the company denies any blame.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-56df7068-7fff-2f29-58d6-273718966b4c"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The company’s barrister, Philip Davy, admitted council environmental health officers found e.coli on a knife but no salmonella. The case will now go on trial at a later date.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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"It's a miracle": Aussie hospital rolls out cancer treatment

<p dir="ltr">Two years ago, Tony Jiang was told he had advanced, terminal lung cancer. Today, he is fighting fit thanks to a new treatment requiring the pop of just one pill per day.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's a miracle. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm a patient," Jiang said.</p> <p dir="ltr">He reports that this a dramatic turnaround from the day he was diagnosed. Prior to diagnosis he suffered two months of a persistent cough which eventually landed him in hospital.</p> <p dir="ltr">"They didn't think about cancer because of my age, I never smoked, I had a pretty much healthy lifestyle."</p> <p dir="ltr">Doctor Vanessa Chin at St Vincent's Hospital Medical Oncologist said Jiang's right lung was filled with fluid.</p> <p dir="ltr">"By the time I'd met him he already had a tube inserted into that lung to drain off the fluid and a biopsy had been performed," Chin said.</p> <p dir="ltr">A tissue biopsy of Jiang's lung was sent off for genetic sequencing. Alterations in his cancer cells meant that he was eligible for a subsidised treatment, and no longer needed chemotherapy or radiation.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Just taking a tablet, one tablet every day and I'm just back to my normal life," Jiang said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jiang's doctor Chin said the tumours on his scans virtually disappeared and that he experienced very few side effects.</p> <p dir="ltr">"When we do scans it's actually hard to tell that he has anything wrong," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">New technology now allows pathologists at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital to test hundreds of genes in one go – a task that just two years ago was impossible.</p> <p dir="ltr">Anatomical pathologist Dr Tao Yang from St Vincent's Hospital said the technology used can load 24 patient samples at once and deliver results overnight.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Nine News</em></p>

Caring

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Price hike hits Bunnings institution for first time in 15 years

<p>The cost of living crisis is continuing to hit Australians where it hurts - this time targeting a sacred weekend institution. </p> <p>The beloved Bunnings sausage sizzle has been hit with a cost increase for the first time in 15 years, after what the store chain said was extensive feedback from community groups.</p> <p>The humble sausage sizzles have been a staple of a weekend trip to Bunnings for more than 25 years, with not-for-profits, community groups, and charities all using them as an opportunity to fundraise.</p> <p>However, as the cost of groceries continues to rise, these groups say there is a significant downturn in their profits after the barbecue gets turned off. </p> <p>After forking out the extravagant cost of sausages, bread, onions and sauces, these community groups are left struggling to come out on top. </p> <p>And so, from Saturday July 23rd, people lining up for a sausage will have to hand over $3.50 instead of the previous price of $2.50. </p> <p>Onions will still be a cost-free option, and drinks will stay steady at $1.50.</p> <p>All the money raised goes straight to the group running the sizzle, so it's at least for a good cause.</p> <p>"It's been an incredibly difficult couple of years with the lack of fundraising opportunities and the pressure on community group services and support continues to be a growing need in our wider community," Bunnings Group managing director Mike Schneider said.</p> <p>"The sausage sizzle will always be a community led initiative and we have listened and responded in a way we hope allows groups to maximise fundraising efforts, whilst still giving customers a simple way to support their local community."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Qantas rolls out new self-serve kiosk machines

<p dir="ltr">Qantas will roll out new kiosk machines that will help streamline passengers onto their flight without any headaches.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following the disastrous Easter and ANZAC Day long weekends which saw the Qantas terminal snaking with lines due to staff shortages and delayed flights, the airline bounced at the change.</p> <p dir="ltr">The new self-serve kiosk machines will help make the airport experience faster and easier for customers travelling on domestic flights.</p> <p dir="ltr">The national carrier started a limited trial of the self-serve machines in Terminal 3 at Sydney Domestic Airport and are expected to complete the roll out by June. </p> <p dir="ltr">Other major domestic airports will slowly see them installed by the end of September. </p> <p dir="ltr">Qantas Group Chief Customer Officer Stephanie Tully said the change was due to passengers already checking in online. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We have seen consumer preferences dramatically shift towards digital and being able to manage their own journey, so we’re investing more in our app and airport technology to make travelling easier,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The existing kiosks were instrumental in reducing queuing for check-in at airport counters when they were introduced more than 10 years ago, and these new kiosks will match the latest technology with customer preferences.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Understandably, our customers want to move through the airport and get to the lounge or boarding gate as seamlessly as possible, and the new kiosks will help speed things up.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We will incorporate feedback from Frequent flyers as the new kiosks are rolled out across the network.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We know that some customers would prefer to speak to a person when they check in, so we’ll continue to have the same number of Qantas team members available in the terminal to help customers with enquiries as well as have check-in desks open.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>HOW THE PROCESS WORKS:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">1) Check-in online (qantas.com or on the Qantas app)</p> <p dir="ltr">2) Use new kiosks to print bag tags</p> <p dir="ltr">3) Drop luggage at auto-bag drops</p> <p dir="ltr">4) Use digital boarding pass to board flight.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Qantas</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Exile on Main St turns 50: how The Rolling Stones’ critically divisive album became rock folklore

<p>In May of 1972 the Rolling Stones released their 10th British studio album and first double LP, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/exile-on-main-street-96177/">Exile on Main St.</a> Although initial critical response was lukewarm, it is now considered a contemporary music landmark, the best work from a band who rock critic Simon Frith once referred to as “the poets of lonely leisure.”</p> <p>Exile on Main St. was both the culmination of a five-year productive frenzy and bleary-eyed comedown from the darkest period in the Stones’ history. </p> <p>By 1969 the storm clouds of dread building around the group had become a full-blown typhoon. First, recently sacked member Brian Jones was found dead, drowned in his swimming pool.</p> <p>Then, as the decade ended in a rush of bleak portents, they played host to the chaos of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-01/how-the-rolling-stones-killed-the-hippie-dream-at-altamont/11747188">Altamont Speedway Free Concert</a>, a poorly organised, massive free concert, which ended with four dead including a murder captured live on film.</p> <p>Yet amidst all this the Stones produced <a href="https://greilmarcus.net/2020/03/22/the-end-of-the-1960s-let-it-bleed-12-27-69/">Let It Bleed</a> (1969) and <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/album/sticky-fingers-mw0000195498">Sticky Fingers</a>(1971), two devastating albums that wrapped up the era like a parcel bomb addressed to the 1970s. </p> <p>Songs like Gimme Shelter, the harrowing Sister Morphine, and Sway, which broods on Nietzche’s notion of circular time, exuded the kind of weary grandeur that would define Exile.</p> <h2>Rock folklore</h2> <p>The story behind Exile on Main St. has become <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXcqcdYABFw">rock folklore</a>. Fleeing from England’s punitive tax laws, the Stones lobbed in a Côte d'Azur mansion that was a Gestapo HQ during World War II. </p> <p>Mick Jagger was largely sidelined, spending much of the time in Paris with pregnant wife Bianca. The musicians were jammed into an ad-hoc basement studio, a cross between steam-bath and opium den, powered by electricity hijacked from the French railway system. The house was beset by hangers-on, including the obligatory posse of drug-dealers.</p> <p>Yet with control ceded to the nonchalant, disaster-prone Keith Richards – the kind of person a crisis would want around in a crisis – they somehow harnessed the power of pandemonium.</p> <p>The result was a singular amalgam of barbed soul, mutant gospel, tombstone blues and shambolic country, as thrilling in its blend of familiar sources as works by contemporaries <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/02/roxy-music-40-years">Roxy Music</a> and David Bowie were in the use of alien ones. </p> <p>Jagger shuffles his deck of personas from song to song like a demented croupier, the late, great drummer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/arts/music/charlie-watts-dead.html">Charlie Watts</a> supplies his customary subtle adornments, and a cast of miscreants – most crucially, pianist Nicky Hopkins and producer Jimmy Miller – function as supplementary band members.</p> <p>All 18 tracks contribute to the ragged perfection of the document as a whole. Tumbling Dice and Happy are textbook rock propelled by a strange union of virtuosity and indolence. And there is an undeniable beauty to the likes of Torn and Frayed and Let it Loose, albeit a beauty that is tentative, hard-earned.</p> <p>The package is completed by its distinctive sleeve art, juxtaposing a collage of circus performers photographed by Robert Frank circa 1950 with grainy stills from a Super-8 film of the band and a mural dedicated to Joan Crawford.</p> <p>Exile confused audiences at first: Writer <a href="https://www.amazon.com/EXILE-MAIN-STREET-Rolling-Stones/dp/0028650638">John Perry</a> describes its 1972 reception as mixing “puzzlement with qualified praise”. The response of critic Lester Bangs was typical. After an initial negative review, Bangs came to regard it as the group’s strongest work. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/album/exile-on-main-st-mw0000191639">confirms</a> that the record over time has become a touchstone, calling it a masterful album that takes “the bleakness that underpinned Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers to an extreme.”</p> <h2>Inspiration</h2> <p>The roll call of artists inspired by Exile is extensive, from Tom Waits and the White Stripes to Benicio del Toro and Martin Scorsese. But two album-length homages stand out. </p> <p>In 1986, underground punks Pussy Galore concocted a feral, abstract <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHAEkWcgBD8">facsimile</a> of the entire double-LP. In 1993, singer-songwriter Liz Phair used the original as a rough template for her acclaimed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW1nMJ4-2qM">Exile in Guyville</a>.</p> <p>Nonetheless, journalist Mark Masters notes that by the 1980s, the social and cultural circumstances that produced Exile were waning as acts such as Minutemen, Mekons, The Go-Go’s and Fela Kuti gave listeners access to fresh modes of rebellion.</p> <p>Circa 1972, the Rolling Stones deserved the title “greatest rock and roll band in the world.” That it is still claimed 50 years on shows how classic rock continues to overbear all that followed.</p> <h2>The grandfathers of rock</h2> <p>When in 2020 Rolling Stone <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/">magazine</a> made a half-hearted attempt to tweak the classic rock canon – elevating Marvin Gaye, Public Enemy and Lauryn Hill alongside or above Exile and the Beatles – the response was predictably unedifying. </p> <p>One reader complained that the magazine was catering to “young people with no musical history and older people who don’t know anything.” Others raged that rap is not music and the list was proof of rampant political correctness.</p> <p>Such archaic, ignorant language is typical of gatekeepers of the classic rock tradition. It is a language of exclusion, ensuring that exceptional new music by, say, <a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/fiona-apple-fetch-the-bolt-cutters/">Fiona Apple</a> (which sounds something like rock) or <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/listening-booth/the-hypnotic-spell-of-groupers-shade">Liz Harris</a> (which sounds rather different) will always be rated below what came before.</p> <p>The Rolling Stones have an inevitable, if ambiguous, relationship to all of this. In terms of race, writer Jack Hamilton <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2016/10/race-rock-and-the-rolling-stones-how-the-rock-and-roll-became-white.html">argues</a> that they were always “fiercely committed to a future for rock and roll music in which black music and musicians continued to matter.”</p> <p>How they intersect with gender is perhaps more troubling, though also <a href="https://scholar.google.com.au/scholar_url?url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13619460801990104&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=GvplYvGUEpyO6rQP_qe3mAs&amp;scisig=AAGBfm2sqr4oKv5EoKYSmkitlR44etMXqA&amp;oi=scholarr">conflicted</a>. While eminent female musicians such as Joan Jett, Carrie Brownstein and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRPpCqXYoos">Rennie Sparks</a> continue to champion the Stones, their role as leading purveyors of an inherently masculine, increasingly archaic musical form cannot be avoided.</p> <p>Exile on Main St. is a significant album made by a bunch of haggard rebels whose heyday (and rebellion) is past but whose art lives on in complex ways. </p> <p>Along with Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On and Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night, it fits snugly into an aesthetic of washed out, narcotic-smeared masterpieces from the early seventies.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/exile-on-main-st-turns-50-how-the-rolling-stones-critically-divisive-album-became-rock-folklore-181704" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

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Huge change rolled out in every Woolies across the country

<p>Woolies have rolled out a groundbreaking new QR code payment system that will make the process of grocery shopping more efficient.</p> <p>From today, shoppers in Woolworths and Big W stores around the country will be able to pay for their groceries using a QR code that is linked to a digital wallet on their smartphone.</p> <p>Dubbed "Everyday Pay", the technology has been built by Woolworth's payment arm and is one of the first of its kind in Australia.</p> <p>The way it works is simple: customers download the Everyday Rewards app and then put in the details of their preferred credit, debit or gift card.</p> <p>When the time comes to checkout, all customers have to do is scan the QR code presented by the terminal, upon which the app will automatically deduct the transaction from the nominated account.</p> <p>Woolworths says the new system will make shopping faster because customers will no longer have to scan their Everyday Rewards card prior to paying normally, as everything is linked.</p> <p>"We know speed, ease and contactless payment at the checkout is important to our customers as they lead increasingly busy lives," Everyday managing director Hannah Ross said.</p> <p>"By integrating the ease of QR code payments, with our Everyday Rewards app, we can save customers time at the checkout and help ensure they never miss a rewards point again."</p> <p>The Everyday Rewards app is used by one million Australians every week and rewards regular users by offering point offers, shopping specials and fuel discounts.</p> <p><em>Images: Woolworths </em></p>

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Too bad, Dolly: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame responds

<p>After a quiet three days since <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/music/not-worthy-dolly-parton-bows-out-of-major-award">Dolly Parton’s declaration </a>that she’d like to drop out of the contest for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the foundation has come out with a statement. Parton will remain on the ballot.</p> <p>With voting already underway, the Foundation's position is that, while her "thoughtful" statement is worth consideration, the Hall of Fame is a big tent that includes far more than core rock acts, and it will be left up to the voters.</p> <p>"All of us in the music community have seen Dolly Parton's thoughtful note expressing her feeling that she has not earned the right to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," the statement says. "In addition to her incredible talent as an artist, her humility is another reason Dolly is a beloved icon by millions of fans around the world."</p> <p>The statement continues, "From its inception, Rock and Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music. It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture. Dolly Parton's music impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed. Her nomination to be considered for induction into to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame followed the same process as all other artists who have been considered."</p> <p>The Foundation goes on to reiterate that voting is already in process: "Dolly's recommendation, along with the other 16 nominees for the class of 2022 was sent out earlier this month to our 1200 general ballot voters, the majority of whom are artists themselves, for consideration for induction at our ceremony."</p> <p>It concludes, "We are in awe of Dolly's brilliant talent and pioneering spirit and are proud to have nominated her for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."</p> <p>Parton further explained her position in an interview with Fox Thursday morning: "Well, I didn't feel exactly right about that," she said, while being interviewed on the show Fox & Friends.</p> <p>"Because my perception, and I think the perception of most of America — I just feel like that's more for the people in rock music. I've been educated since then, saying that it's more than that, but I still didn't feel right about it. It kind of would be like putting AC/DC in the Country Music Hall of Fame. That just felt a little out of place for me."</p> <p>Earlier this week, it was reported that sources close to the Hall's leadership said they were disinclined to do anything that would interrupt or subvert a vote already in progress, and were hopeful that Parton will change her mind if she is voted in.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

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How to roll away all your sore back blues

<p>We all know that working a 9-5 and sitting all day leads to various health problems. For me personally, it manifests itself through chronic back pain and tight hip flexors. </p> <p>Fortunately, there's a way for me to soothe these aches and pains from home. I've been using <a href="https://www.therabody.com/anz/en-au/wave-roller-anz.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Therabody's Wave Roller</a> for the past week, and my back pain has significantly reduced. </p> <p>The Wave Roller is a Bluetooth-enabled vibrating foam roller that proposes benefits like increasing blood flow, enhancing mobility, and releasing tension. You can connect the roller to a free Therabody App, where you can find personalised recovery routines targeting all parts of your body, along with instructions and how-tos. </p> <p>Here are some of my initial thoughts. </p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/03_RizWaveroller01.jpg" alt="Therabody Wave Roller in use" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>My personal favourites are the mid back and upper back routines, which take up to 5 minutes to complete. Since most of the tension is in my upper body, which causes my lower back to overcompensate, I've decided to focus on these areas. </p> <p>The foam roller comes with a bag and charger and is reasonably lightweight, so you could easily carry it around. The foam itself is a high-density foam, and I like that you can customise the intensity and frequency of the vibrations. </p> <p>There are five customised vibration settings, with 5 being the highest and most intense. I could only handle up to the third setting or the medium-intensity.</p> <p>But, the higher the intensity, the more noise it produces, although I didn't mind it so much for the other benefits it provided. </p> <p>The routines are easy to follow, with pictures demonstrating each move and seamless transitions from one exercise to the next. I also liked that the intensity of the vibrations automatically changes according to what's best for that particular movement. </p> <p>I would have loved seeing a video demonstration before each routine, as I wasn't sure if I was doing some of the exercises quite correctly. </p> <p>I also found that the Wave Roller can be slippery to use in some movements, like when I tried it on my rotator cuffs. </p> <p>Despite this, the Wave Roller is a pleasure to use after a long day, when my muscles are the most tense. I find it a helpful tool in managing pain, soreness, and releasing tension. </p> <p>Although it is on the higher end of the price range compared to other foam rollers, I think it's worth the investment. The technology is advanced, and you can personalise the areas you want to work on using the step-by-step programs in their app. </p> <p>It also feels like you're getting a massage, but it's more personalised and customisable. </p> <p>If using the app seems intimidating or too complicated, you can use the Wave Roller by itself and adjust the intensity using the + and - buttons. </p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/02_RizWaveroller.jpg" alt="Therabody Wave Roller" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>In summary, here are the pros and cons to consider if you're thinking of purchasing one for yourself. </p> <p><strong>Pros: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Relieves soreness and muscle tension</li> <li>Variety of settings for the vibrations</li> <li>App integration </li> <li>Personalised programs that are quick and easy to follow</li> <li>3-hour battery life and it doesn’t take too long to charge</li> </ul> <p><strong>Cons: </strong></p> <ul> <li>The cost (RRP $249), but worth every penny! </li> <li>Medium to High setting intense and pretty noisy </li> <li>Depending on the exercise you do it can be quite slippery</li> <li>Video demonstrations before each exercise would be even better </li> </ul> <p>The Wave Roller series is available via the <a href="https://www.therabody.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Theragun-ANZ-Site/en_AU/Default-Start" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Therabody website</a>. </p> <p>Images: Rizna Mutmainah &amp; Therabody</p>

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Rolling Stone ranks Australia’s 200 Best Albums of All Time

<p>If there's one thing music fans love to debate over, it's a "Greatest of All Time" list.</p> <p>The list causing the most recent debate comes from Rolling Stone, who have ranked the top 200 best albums to come from the Australian music scene.</p> <p>It came as no great shock that the list was conquered by Australian music greats AC/DC and their rock classic album <em>Back in Black</em>.</p> <p>First released in 1980, the record remains the second highest selling album in the world, with more than 50 million copies sold worldwide.</p> <p>Despite AC/DC taking out the top spot, the most impressive feat in the list comes from the two bands that managed to secure two spots each in the top 20 list.</p> <p>The first was Midnight Oil, for their 1982 album titled <em>10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1</em> – which came in at number 19 on the list – and their 1987 classic <em>Diesel and Dust</em>, which took out the number five spot.</p> <p>Then, equally as impressive, were Powderfinger, who secured the 18th spot with their 1998 album <em>Internationalist</em>, as well as the 16th spot with <em>Odyssey Number Five</em> (2000).</p> <p>Despite the list featuring a host of up-and-coming Aussie artists and their latest releases, the majority of the top 20 was reserved for the classics.</p> <p>Coming in second to AC/DC on the list was the massive INXS record <em>Kick</em>, which was first released in 1987.</p> <p>Also featured in the top 20 were John Farnham's <em>Whispering Jack</em> (1986), Cold Chisel's <em>East</em> (1980) and Crowded House's self-titled album from 1986.</p> <p>Kylie Minogue's 2001 album <em>Fever</em> was the highest ranking for a female artist, and was joined in the list by fellow female hitmakers such as Sia, Kasey Chambers and Sarah Blasko.</p> <p>Despite the top 20 being largely dominated by 20th century records, some relative newcomers pushed their way to the top.</p> <p>5 Seconds of Summer's 2014 self-titled album landing the number 17 spot, and Tame Impala's 2015 experimental record <em>Currents</em> came in at number 12.</p> <p>Although some newer artists were featured in the top spots on the list, the winners really go to show that there's nothing quite like some classic Aussie rock.</p> <p><strong>Check out the TOP 20:</strong></p> <p>20. Dr. G Yunupingu - <em>Gurrumul</em> (2008)</p> <p>19. Midnight Oil - <em>10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1</em> (1982)</p> <p>18. Powderfinger - <em>Internationalist</em> (1998)</p> <p>17. 5 Seconds of Summer - <em>5 Seconds of Summer</em> (2014)</p> <p>16. Powderfinger - <em>Odyssey Number Five</em> (2000)</p> <p>15. The Go-Betweens - <em>16 Lovers Lane</em> (1988)</p> <p>14. Regurgitator - <em>Unit</em> (1997)</p> <p>13. Nick Cave &amp; The Bad Seeds - <em>Murder Ballads</em> (1996)</p> <p>12. Tame Impala - <em>Currents</em> (2015)</p> <p>11. You Am I - <em>Hourly, Daily</em> (1996)</p> <p>10. Kylie Minogue - <em>Fever</em> (2001)</p> <p>9. Savage Garden - <em>Savage Garden</em> (1997)</p> <p>8. The Avalanches - <em>Since I Left You</em> (2000)</p> <p>7. Crowded House - <em>Crowded House</em> (1987)</p> <p>6. Silverchair - <em>Frogstomp</em> (1995)</p> <p>5. Midnight Oil - <em>Diesel and Dust</em> (1987)</p> <p>4. Cold Chisel - <em>East</em> (1980)</p> <p>3. John Farnham - <em>Whispering Jack</em> (1986)</p> <p>2. INXS - <em>Kick</em> (1987)</p> <p>1. AC/DC - <em>Back In Black</em> (1980)</p> <p>And you can peruse the full 200-strong list <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.rollingstone.com/rolling-stones-200-greatest-australian-albums-of-all-time/page/1/the-teskey-brothers-run-home-slow/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p> </p>

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Rolling media coverage of missing persons cases can add to the trauma for all families left behind

<p>The public has been privy to live footage of police operations. New South Wales police, dressed in overalls, scoured dense bushland to retrieve a small piece of fabric. Reports <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-21/another-piece-of-fabric-found-william-tyrrell-search-day-seven/100633540" target="_blank">suggested</a> the yet-to-be-analysed fabric may be linked to the case of missing boy William Tyrrell.</p> <p>William’s case – along with the location of Cleo Smith in Western Australia and recent developments in the case of missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay in Victoria – have been prominent news stories.</p> <p>Media interest can invite the public into the investigative process. But rolling media coverage can have an immediate and long-lasting effect on the families left behind. That’s not only the families of that particular case, but the families of other missing people, whose case isn’t in the news.</p> <p>Non-stop coverage can invade their privacy, raise and dash their hopes, and prolong their trauma.</p> <p><strong>More people go missing than ever make ‘news’</strong></p> <p>In 2020, Australia’s <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.missingpersons.gov.au" target="_blank">National Missing Persons Coordination Centre</a> had more than <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.missingpersons.gov.au/about" target="_blank">51,000 reports</a> about the safety and well-being of a missing person. Many of those cases are resolved within one month.</p> <p>Yet more than <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.missingpersons.gov.au/about" target="_blank">2,600 cases</a> are long term – when a person is missing for longer than three months.</p> <p>It’s rare for the families of people who are missing to have had any contact with the media before. So it’s difficult for families to navigate and manage media interest.</p> <p>Bruce Morcombe’s son Daniel was 13 when <a rel="noopener" href="https://danielmorcombe.com.au/daniels-legacy/" target="_blank">he was abducted</a> from the Sunshine Coast in December 2003. His remains were found in 2011.</p> <p>Bruce <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/minimising-distress-for-families-of-missing-children/13635622" target="_blank">told the ABC</a> how he managed the media interest. He said the disappearance, homicide and the criminal investigation created a groundswell of empathy.</p> <p>However, he said when the momentum slowed and it was looking like the case would become “cold”, the family and their supporters created media opportunities – to offer a new hook, a new angle – to continue community engagement.</p> <p>Families of missing people believe “someone, somewhere must know something”. Media offers the greatest capacity to reach that “someone”.</p> <p>However, media attention is not guaranteed and is not an <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348632071_Lost_from_the_conversation_Missing_people_and_the_role_of_Police_media_in_shaping_community_awareness" target="_blank">even playing field</a>. <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/06/cleo-smith-search-ends-in-joy-but-what-of-australias-other-missing-children" target="_blank">Attention only falls</a>, and priority given, to cases assessed as vulnerable. Cases the media deems newsworthy or those that reach high engagement (through liking, commenting and sharing on social media) also get attention.</p> <p><strong>How does this rolling media coverage affect families?</strong></p> <p>When the media provides rolling coverage of every tiny development in a missing persons case, it can raise hope for some families watching on. But for others, it can have the opposite effect.</p> <p>A <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280876972_'I_still_hope_but_what_I_hope_for_now_has_changed'_A_narrative_inquiry_study_of_hope_and_ambiguous_loss_when_someone_is_missing" target="_blank">2015 study of Australian families</a> I conducted as part of my PhD found increased hope also creates a “hope hangover”. Families told me this is where anticipation peaks but they need recovery time to manage the emotional assault of a possible resolution.</p> <p>Families of missing people also told me they have to remain resilient as other cases are solved, and the uncertainty of how long the investigation of their own loved one will take. In other words, media reporting of outcomes of one case can compound the trauma experienced by families of other missing people, whose case has not yet been resolved.</p> <p><strong>Then there’s the invasion of privacy</strong></p> <p>Privacy for these families is <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/missing-and-found-understanding-the-privacy-needs-of-missing-people-13786" target="_blank">also an issue</a>.</p> <p>Loren O’Keeffe, founder and chief executive officer of <a rel="noopener" href="https://mpan.com.au" target="_blank">Missing Persons Advocacy Network</a>, was buoyed by community interest to help the search over the five years her brother Dan was missing.</p> <p>When he was found, in traumatic circumstances, despite asking for privacy, she noticed the community felt a sense of ownership over Dan and the family’s story. Earlier this week, when Loren reflected about the location of her brother, she told me:</p> <blockquote> <p>[…] journalists incessantly ringing the doorbell, flooding inboxes demanding interviews, seeing awful commentary over social media – completely overwhelmed us when we needed space and silence to process our reality. It’s an unconscionable notion; desperate families that get media and public support for “search” are then obliged to share such raw grief and delicate detail at the debilitating time of “found”.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Specific media quidelines would help</strong></p> <p>The reasons people go missing can be diverse and complex. These can be due to a crime, complex mental illness, suicide or misadventure. This means a number of different media guidelines or codes of practice could potentially come into play to shape media coverage.</p> <p>There are no Australian media guidelines specifically about reporting missing persons cases. They are needed.</p> <p>We may be able to learn from the success of <a rel="noopener" href="https://mindframe.org.au" target="_blank">Mindframe</a>, a national program that provides evidence-based recommendations for media reporting and public communication about suicide and mental illness, among other issues.</p> <p>The program has been developed and refined over two decades, providing a strong platform for collaboration between the media and people involved in mental health and suicide prevention, including those with lived experience of these issues.</p> <p>The guidelines do not restrict media reporting of the issues, but provide an opportunity for media and those working with the media to reflect on a number of issues. These include the types of content and messaging that may reduce risk of harm and distress, reduce stigma, and increase people’s willingness to seek help and offer help to others.</p> <p>Jaelea Skehan, director of <a rel="noopener" href="https://everymind.org.au" target="_blank">Everymind</a> (the organisation behind the <a rel="noopener" href="https://everymind.org.au/programs/mindframe" target="_blank">Mindframe</a> guidelines) told me that with media guidelines specific to missing persons, newsworthy coverage would still take place, but would also consider the potential impacts on those directly involved or impacted by similar experiences.</p> <p>Remember, the stories of the investigations of missing persons cases are not the full story of the life of the person who is lost or the families left behind.</p> <p>As the brother of a young woman missing for more than 30 years told me as <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280876972_'I_still_hope_but_what_I_hope_for_now_has_changed'_A_narrative_inquiry_study_of_hope_and_ambiguous_loss_when_someone_is_missing" target="_blank">part of my research</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Hope can get buried deep below, we [the families of missing people] are like icebergs. We don’t have rose coloured spectacles on, it’s like they have been ripped off. We see the world as it is. There is a lot that others don’t see.</p> </blockquote> <p>The community, when watching on, needs to remember that.<!-- 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/172487/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/sarah-wayland-18783" target="_blank">Sarah Wayland</a>, Senior Lecturer Social Work, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919" target="_blank">University of New England</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/rolling-media-coverage-of-missing-persons-cases-can-add-to-the-trauma-for-all-families-left-behind-172487" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: NSW Police (Facebook)</em></p>

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Rolling Stones forced to retire classic song

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">British rock band The Rolling Stones have decided to retire one of their most popular songs due to its unsavoury lyrics. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 1971 hit </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brown Sugar</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> had been cut from their current tour’s setlist, which had previously been the second-most-performed song in their catalogue. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After succumbing to social pressure, the track was pulled from their live shows, as the lyrics allude to the horrors of slavery in the US, which has caused a stir during the current climate of heightened cultural sensitivity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keith Richards, 77, was quizzed by the </span><a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-10-07/rolling-stones-charlie-watts-no-filter-tour"><span style="font-weight: 400;">LA Times</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> about the changes to the setlist, saying, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You picked up on that, huh?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn’t they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But they’re trying to bury it.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first verse of the hit song depicts slaves being sold and beaten in Louisiana, with references to a “slaver” who whips “women just around midnight.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The famous chorus describes a non-consensual sexual encounter between a young female slave and the violent master, while also alluding to the use of heroin. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the next verse, the song describes the abuse suffered by slaves on a plantation. Lead singer Mick Jagger ends the tune by singing, “How come you taste so good … just like a black girl should.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’ve played </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brown Sugar</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> every night since 1970,” Richards told the newspaper.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So sometimes you think, ‘We’ll take that one out for now and see how it goes.’ We might put it back in.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to </span><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">setlist.fm</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the controversial track has been played live 1136 times, second only to </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jumpin’ Jack Flash</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“At the moment I don’t want to get into conflicts with all of this s***,” Richards said of criticism of the song. “But I’m hoping that we’ll be able to resurrect the babe in her glory somewhere along the track.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mick Jagger has also previously shared his own criticisms of the song, as critics have called it “gross, sexist, and stunningly offensive.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I never would write that song now,” Jagger told </span><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rolling Stone</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 1995. “I would probably censor myself. I’d think, ‘Oh God, I can’t. I’ve got to stop. I can’t just write raw like that.’”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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Paul McCartney takes a dig at the Rolling Stones in candid new interview

<p dir="ltr">Legendary musician Sir Paul McCartney has reignited the rivalry between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones with a brutal burn in a recent interview.</p> <p dir="ltr">In an interview with<span> </span><em>The New Yorker</em><span> </span>this week, Sir McCartney said of the Stones, “I’m not sure I should say it, but they’re a blues cover band, that’s sort of what the Stones are.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Of his own band, he said, ”I think our net was cast a bit wider than theirs.”</p> <p dir="ltr">This isn’t the first time McCartney, 79, has described the Stones this way; in an interview with Howard Stern last year, he said that he thought the Beatles were the better band, adding that the Stones, “are rooted in the blues. When they are writing stuff, it has to do with the blues.</p> <p dir="ltr">”We had a little more influences... There’s a lot of differences and I love the Stones, but I’m with you. The Beatles were better.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Responding to his comments, Stones frontman Mick Jagger, 78, said in an interview with Zane Lowe, that there was “obviously no competition” between the two groups, and called McCartney a “sweetheart”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jagger went on to describe what he saw as the fundamental difference between the two bands, saying, “The big difference, though, is, and sort of slightly seriously, is that the Rolling Stones is a big concert band in other decades and other areas when the Beatles never even did an arena tour, or Madison Square Garden with a decent sound system.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They broke up before that business started, the touring business for real.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Beatles performed together from 1960 to 1970, while The Rolling Stones have been together for almost six decades since forming in 1962.</p> <p dir="ltr">Both being iconic 1960s rock bands, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have always been compared, despite having vastly different sounds and career trajectories. Writing for<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-artists-147446/" target="_blank"><em>Rolling Stone</em></a><em>,<span> </span></em>musician, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band guitarist and<span> </span><em>Sopranos<span> </span></em>actor Steve Van Zandt said of the two bands, “In '64, the Beatles were perfect: the hair, the harmonies, the suits. They bowed together. Their music was extraordinarily sophisticated. The whole thing was exciting and alien but very distant in its perfection.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Stones were alien and exciting, too. But with the Stones, the message was, "Maybe you can do this." The hair was sloppier. The harmonies were a bit off. And I don't remember them smiling at all. They had the R&amp;B traditionalist's attitude: "We are not in show business. We are not pop music."</p> <p dir="ltr">Fellow musician Elvis Costello described The Stones as “R&amp;B evangelists”, and said that compared to them, The Beatles sounded like “nothing else”, and made writing your own material “expected, rather than exceptional”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images, Jeff Curry/Getty Images</em></p>

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Celebrities mourn Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Charlie Watts, the legendary drummer for The Rolling Stones, has passed away at the age of 80.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts,” the band said in a statement on Wednesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/wi6333F6QF">pic.twitter.com/wi6333F6QF</a></p> — The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) <a href="https://twitter.com/RollingStones/status/1430209721567416323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Watt’s spokesperson added that the musician was “a cherished husband, father and grandfather” and “one of the greatest drummers of his generation”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bandmate Mick Jagger shared a simple tribute on social media, sharing a photo of Watts laughing while sitting at a drum kit on stage.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/MrPpJI0Hxd">pic.twitter.com/MrPpJI0Hxd</a></p> — Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) <a href="https://twitter.com/MickJagger/status/1430294856774135817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stones guitarist Keith Richards followed suit, sharing a single picture of a drum kit with a “CLOSED” sign draped over it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Watts played drums on all of the band’s 30 albums, was a jazz drummer in his earlier years, heading his own jazz band and getting involved in several side projects.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since the tragic news was announced, tributes to the drummer have poured in from music stars - including Sir Elton John, Slash, Lenny Kravitz, and fellow drumming legend Ringo Starr.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A very sad day. Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer. The most stylish of men, and such brilliant company,” Elton John wrote, sharing a photo of the pair. “My deepest condolences to Shirley, Seraphina and Charlotte. And, of course, The Rolling Stones.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">A very sad day. Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer. The most stylish of men, and such brilliant company. My deepest condolences to Shirley, Seraphina and Charlotte. And of course, The Rolling Stones. <br /><br />@therollingstones <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CharlieWatts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CharlieWatts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RIP</a> <a href="https://t.co/9rjSSgioZL">pic.twitter.com/9rjSSgioZL</a></p> — Elton John (@eltonofficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/eltonofficial/status/1430213430095630343?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lenny Kravitz had no words, sharing a photo of the drummer with his sticks with the caption: “The beat of The Stones. There are no words, every groove has spoken for itself.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ringo Starr also shared a picture, writing: “God bless Charlie Watts, we’re going to miss you man, peace and love to the family, Ringo.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CHARLIEWATTS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CHARLIEWATTS</a>. The beat of The Stones. There are no words, every groove has spoken for itself. <br />6/2/41 - 8/24/21 <a href="https://t.co/Lw2USKaxYH">pic.twitter.com/Lw2USKaxYH</a></p> — Lenny Kravitz (@LennyKravitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/LennyKravitz/status/1430221907899654156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/God?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#God</a> bless Charlie Watts we’re going to miss you man peace and love to the family Ringo 😎✌️🌟❤️🌈🎶☮️ <a href="https://t.co/3tSFg7EMQG">pic.twitter.com/3tSFg7EMQG</a></p> — #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) <a href="https://twitter.com/ringostarrmusic/status/1430214308101705730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fellow Beatle Paul McCartney said Watt’s death was a huge blow.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He was a lovely guy. Condolences to the Stones. A huge blow for them because Charlie was a rock,” McCartney said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A fantastic drummer, steady as a rock. Love you, Charlie, will always love you. Beautiful man, and great condolences and sympathy to his family.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beach Boy Brian Wilson also paid tribute to Watts, who he described as a “great drummer”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I feel terrible for Charlie’s family. Charlie was a great drummer and I loved the Stones music, they made great records. Love &amp; Mercy,” Wilson said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Celebrities outside the music world also shared their sympathies, with Monty Python star Eric Idle writing on Twitter: “Saddened by the loss of Charlie Watts. A kind and gentle man. He will be very missed.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Irvine Welsh, the author of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trainspotting</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, also penned a tribute to the drummer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“RIP Charlie Watts. Always steadfastly came over as a no-nonsense honest broker in a situation where acclaim, wealth, pomposity and egotism could corrupt the sweetest of souls,” he shared on Twitter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The news comes several weeks after the drummer pulled out of The Rolling Stones’ upcoming US tour to recover from an unspecified medical procedure.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Mick Jagger / Twitter</span></em></p>

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Tasty rice paper rolls with persimmon

<p>Try this delicious meal with the perfect amount of sweetness. </p> <p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p> <ul> <li>260g dried rice vermicelli</li> <li>8 16cm round rice paper wrappers</li> <li>8 medium butter lettuce leaves, washed</li> <li>8 large cooked king prawns, peeled, de-veined and sliced in half lengthways</li> <li>24 fresh mint leaves</li> <li>1 small Fuyu (crisp) persimmon, sliced</li> <li>1 small Lebanese cucumber, sliced</li> <li>24 fresh coriander leaves</li> </ul> <p><strong>Dipping sauce</strong></p> <ul> <li>1 tbs Japanese rice vinegar</li> <li>4 tbs hoisin sauce</li> <li>1 tbs unsalted peanuts (or almonds), roughly chopped</li> </ul> <p><strong>Method</strong></p> <p>1. Prepare rice vermicelli as per packet instructions, drain well.</p> <p>2. Combine all sauce ingredients for dipping.</p> <p>3. Place one rice sheet in warm water until just softened, remove from water and place on a clean, damp tea towel.</p> <p>4. Lay a lettuce leaf over the wrapper, top with two pieces of prawn horizontally, three mint leaves, a little persimmon, cucumber, rice vermicelli and three coriander leaves.</p> <p>5. Fold bottom of wrapper up over the filling, fold one side in, roll up tightly. Keep rolls under damp cloth while preparing remaining ingredients.</p> <p>6. Serve with dipping sauce.</p> <p><em>For more information and recipe ideas, visit <a href="https://www.persimmonsaustralia.com.au/">Persimmons Australia</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/recipes/rice-paper-rolls-with-persimmon" target="_blank">Wyza.com.au.</a></em></p>

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