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AstraZeneca admits to Covid vaccine's deadly side effect

<p>AstraZeneca has admitted that their Covid vaccine carries a very rare but deadly side effect, as "dozens" of class-action lawsuits pile up. </p> <p>The UK pharmaceutical giant could be facing damages of up to $38 million, as lawyers representing complainants whose loved ones who were injured or killed from the jab called the vaccine "defective". </p> <p>Those who received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine could be susceptible to a rare and potentially blood clotting disorder called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, in which patients suffer from blood clots as well as a low blood platelet count. </p> <p>While the side effect is rare, recent research from RMIT University and Monash University found Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout likely prevented the death of 17,760 people aged over 50 in New South Wales between August 2021 and July 2022, with some researchers suggesting that AstraZeneca alone helped saved as many as six million lives worldwide, according to the <a title="nypost.com" href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/29/world-news/astrazeneca-cops-to-rare-deadly-side-effect-of-covid-jab-as-lawsuits-mount/"><em>New York Post</em>.</a></p> <p>AstraZeneca, which is contesting the claims, acknowledged in a February legal document that its vaccine can “in very rare cases,” cause the clotting condition, while also acknowledging that the potential complication was listed as a side effect of the vaccine since its release.</p> <p>So far, 51 cases have been filed in London’s High Court, estimated to be worth around $190 million (GBP100 million) total, according to the UK newspaper<a title="www.telegraph.co.uk" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/28/astrazeneca-admits-covid-vaccine-causes-rare-side-effect/"> <em>The Telegraph</em></a>.</p> <p>However, thanks to a deal struck between AstraZeneca and the UK government during the worst of the pandemic, the drugmaker has been pre-emptively indemnified against future lawsuits – which means any successful claims for payouts will be born by taxpayers.</p> <p>One of the claimants is father-of-two Jamie Scott, who was left with a permanent brain injury after suffering a clot following receiving the vaccine in April 2021. </p> <p>His wife, Kate, told <a title="www.telegraph.co.uk" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/28/astrazeneca-admits-covid-vaccine-causes-rare-side-effect/"><em>The Telegraph</em> </a>she’s hopeful the company’s admission will accelerate the outcome of their case.</p> <p>“We need an apology, fair compensation for our family and other families who have been affected. We have the truth on our side, and we are not going to give up.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p>

Legal

West Side Story returns to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour

<p>Get ready to snap your fingers, tap your toes and experience the magic of Broadway in Sydney as Opera Australia presents t<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">he electrifying musical extravaganza <em>West Side Story</em> – making its triumphant return to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage in 2024.</span></p> <p>The 2019 production of <em>West Side Story</em>, if you were fortunate enough to grab seats, was an absolute smash hit. With record-breaking ticket sales and rave reviews, it's no wonder this show stole the hearts of over 65,000 theatre and musical buffs. </p> <p>Directed by the incomparable Francesca Zambello, <em>West Side Story</em> promises to once again whisk audiences away to the bustling streets of New York City, complete with iconic songs, heart-pounding dance numbers, and enough drama to fill the harbour twice over. </p> <p>Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece will once again take centre stage, accompanied by Jerome Robbins' legendary choreography – and this year, we were fortunate enough to be able to pose a few pre-performance questions to none other than Guy Simpson, the show’s musical director, and the all-singing, all-dancing Wayne Scott Kermond, who is playing “Doc” onstage.</p> <p>Let’s raise the curtain and see what they have to say!</p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/03/Guy-Simpson.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></strong></p> <p><strong>Guy Simpson</strong></p> <p>Guy Simpson, a seasoned musical director with nearly 45 years of experience, boasts an illustrious career spanning global productions. Notably, his involvement with iconic shows like <em>Miss Saigon</em> and <em>The Phantom</em> <em>of the Opera</em> has taken him across continents, from Australia to Asia and beyond. Simpson's extensive repertoire includes serving as Musical Supervisor and Director for Opera Australia's acclaimed productions such as <em>Evita</em>, <em>My Fair Lady</em>, and of course <em>West Side Story</em>. Additionally, his contributions as an orchestrator and producer of cast recordings further solidify his stature in the musical theatre realm. With credits ranging from beloved classics like <em>Les Misérables</em> to contemporary hits like <em>Muriel's Wedding</em>, Simpson's versatile talent continues to enrich the world of musical theatre on an international scale.</p> <p><em><strong>OverSixty:</strong></em> What memories do you have of your first time working on <em>West Side Story</em> – when was it and what was the experience like? </p> <p><em><strong>Guy:</strong></em> “I was a rehearsal pianist for the 1983 production of <em>West Side Story</em>. The conductor was Dobbs Franks, who came from the US to conduct the first production of the show in 1960. So I was lucky to learn the show from him. I wasn’t in the orchestra and had tickets to watch opening night but during the afternoon of that day I received a call to play in the orchestra that night because the pianist was unwell. I’ll never forget that! Since then I have conducted three seasons of the show and learn more and more about it each time.”</p> <p><em><strong>OverSixty:</strong></em> What were Bernstein’s influences and what impact did Bernstein’s score have when the musical first premiered? And why do you think it remains so recognised today? </p> <p><em><strong>Guy:</strong></em> “Bernstein was influenced by many things. There is an <a href="https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2018-08-23/the-surprising-backstory-to-west-side-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excellent article by Debra Lew Harder</a> that outlines these influences. I love the combination of Jewish themes, Puerto Rican rhythm, Mexican dance music and of course American jazz. His classical roots also come in here – especially the music of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. The genius is Bernstein's ability to blend all this into a score that tells the story so brilliantly."</p> <p><em><strong>OverSixty:</strong></em> What’s your favourite moment in the music that audiences might not always notice but could listen out for?</p> <p><em><strong>Guy:</strong></em> I like what is known as ‘THE BALCONY SCENE’. Most people will know it as the iconic love duet ‘TONIGHT’. In the show this scene moves between spoken dialogue (with underscoring), into the song and back into dialogue in a wonderfully cohesive way. It is so well crafted and is quite a challenge for the conductor to fit the music with the dialogue in a seamless way. I also love the scene in the bridal shop that includes the song ‘ONE HAND ONE HEART’.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/03/Wayne-Scott-Kermond-as-Doc.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><strong>Wayne Scott Kermond</strong></p> <p>Wayne Scott Kermond, hailing from a rich lineage of Australian Vaudeville performers, epitomises the essence of musical theatre, comedy and cabaret. With a repertoire spanning from <em>Anything Goes</em> to <em>Hairspray</em>, including acclaimed performances in several productions of<em> West Side Story</em>, Kermond's versatility shines through. Additionally, he's showcased his creative prowess as the creator and star of captivating cabaret shows such as <em>Candy Man</em> and <em>Jive Junkys</em>. Beyond the stage, Kermond's talents extend to film, where he's contributed to projects like <em>Happy Feet 1 & 2</em>, and as a respected scriptwriter and director for various musicals, cabarets and corporate events. With accolades including a Green Room Award and Mo Award, alongside nominations for Helpmann Awards, Kermond's exceptional abilities and esteemed showbiz heritage solidify his status as an extraordinary Australian talent.</p> <p><em><strong>OverSixty:</strong></em> You and Guy first worked on this musical 40 years ago, how does it feel to be coming back together on the Handa Opera version?</p> <p><em><strong>Wayne:</strong></em> “I first performed in <em>West Side Story</em> at the old Her Majesty’s Theatre (Sydney), 40 years ago playing the youngest member of the Jets gang, ‘Baby John’, and then again in another fabulous production touring Australia / New Zealand in the mid-nineties playing Arab. And so it was lovely to be reminded by Guy on the first day of rehearsals for this season how special it is to us both, here we are, doing it again, just a little greyer."</p> <p>“We shared a few laughs about ‘where did that time go?’, and how ‘young’ we still look after all these years. It’s so great to work with Guy again, I think the last show we did together was <em>Chicago</em>, back in the late nineties. So with Guy's huge amount of expertise and experience at the helm as our Musical Director the show is in great hands. Wait till you hear the amazing Orchestra.”</p> <p><em><strong>OverSixty:</strong></em> What about this musical’s story, lyrics, etc resonate with you and why do you think it keeps being seen on stage? Can it appeal to all ages?</p> <p><em><strong>Wayne:</strong></em> “<em>West Side Story</em> is as iconic to music theatre as <em>Swan Lake</em> is to ballet. All great musicals such as <em>West Side</em> have to have a great love story; <em>West Side </em>certainly has that. And to add to that, also an incredible score, dynamic original choreography and a beautifully written book makes it a triple threat. That's why it stands the test of time – it's an inter-generational piece, whose story and message still stands today, which is the reason why I’m now getting the opportunity to play an adult character ‘Doc’ in this OA production 40 years later, as it will be for another artist, in another 40 years' time.”</p> <p><em><strong>OverSixty:</strong></em> What’s your favourite moment in the show and why?</p> <p><em><strong>Wayne:</strong></em> It is very difficult to say there is a favourite moment as there are so many. The whole journey of the show is something everyone who loves theatre should experience. The Prologue, Dance at the Gym, America, Cool, Tonight, Something's Comin, and not forgetting the Quintet powerhouse... Every part of this show is special, whether you're seeing the show for the first time or for the tenth time, it’s exhilarating, poignant and moving."</p> <p>“It’s especially wonderful for me to have been given the opportunity to revisit the show, after all these years later as a performer. And it’s very exciting to watch another generation of performers being given the opportunity to experience such an exceptional piece of theatre.”</p> <p>So, mark your calendars, Sydney-siders, because Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour is about to serve up a theatrical experience like no other. With world-class performances, breathtaking views of the harbour, and enough fireworks to make New Year's Eve jealous, this is one event you won't want to miss. </p> <p>So grab your tickets, grab your friends, and get ready to experience the magic of <em>West Side Story </em>like never before. See you at the opera!</p> <p>For more information and ticket sales, check out <a href="https://opera.org.au/productions/west-side-story-on-sydney-harbour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opera.org.au/harbour</a></p> <p><em>All images: Supplied</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Aussie love story from WWII immortalised in the war memorial

<p>An Australian couple's love story that defied the odds of time and distance has been immortalised in the war memorial.</p> <p>The Australian War Memorial is calling for volunteers to help transcribe thousands of love letters sent from soldiers in the war, to their loved ones back at home. </p> <p>Launching on Valentine's Day, the project will see the digital release of hundreds of thousands of personal letters, diaries and other handwritten documents kept safe for decades. </p> <p>Among those stories is the tale of Mac and Dot, two lovebirds separated by World War II. </p> <p>Their love story began in 1939, when Mac was 17 and Dorothy was 14. </p> <p>Dorothy - or as Mac referred to her, his Darling Dot - was forbidden to go on a date with Mac after her father refused to give his blessing. </p> <p>"He kept on asking me to go out but my father wouldn't let me," Dorothy laughed as she told Ally Langdon on <em>A Current Affair</em>. </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/reel/C3Rj4g9vjIS/?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/reel/C3Rj4g9vjIS/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by A Current Affair (@acurrentaffair9)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Mac was soon off to war, but his plan was always to return home to Dot. </p> <p>"He said to me, 'When I come back home...Will you come out with me then?'" Dorothy reminisced.</p> <p>"I said, 'Of course I will, Mac!' And then he gave me a kiss and went to war."</p> <p>The young couple then continued to write each other letters every week for five long years, until Mac was captured by the German army and held as a prisoner of war. </p> <p>Despite his capture, Mac held onto every letter Dot had ever written him, as he remained determined to get home to his beloved. </p> <p>"I hated him being away, and when the letters came back oh gee they were wonderful," Dorothy said.</p> <p>"A letter meant he was still alive, you see, so it was so exciting."</p> <p>In April 1945, Dot received the best letter of all: Mac had escaped and was coming home. </p> <p>"Hello my darling. What does one say in a moment such as this?" Dot wrote on April 30th 1945.</p> <p>"I have butterflies in my stomach, love in my heart and few words that make sense in my mind. Well Mac, it's really coming at last. You're almost home". </p> <p>And Mac wrote back to that, "Hello darling. I miss you more now than ever."</p> <p>"Unfortunately I can't find a boat to take me back to you. If they don't hurry I guess I'll just have to pinch a rowing boat and see what I can do!" </p> <p>When Mac returned home, he brought with him half a decade's worth of those love letters from Dot, as well as a portrait of himself painted by another prisoner of war. </p> <p>It hangs proudly at the end of Dorothy's bed and is the first thing she sees when she wakes.</p> <p>Now Robyn Van Dyke and Terrie-Anne Simmonds from the Australian War Memorial are sifting through thousands of donated love letters, including Mac's and Dorothy's.</p> <p>"He not only managed to escape, but he managed to take all her letters with him and that blows me away because it's not a small amount of letters," Robyn said.</p> <p>The team is looking for <a href="https://transcribe.awm.gov.au" target="_blank" rel="noopener">volunteers</a> to help ensure those stories, and all that love, live forever.</p> <p>Dorothy, who is now 101 years old, had more than 70 wonderful years with Mac before he died in 2014. </p> <p>"He was nearly 90, you know. And me I just kept on going and going and going!" she said.</p> <p>"He'd be up there watching every minute I bet. We had such fun. Oh dear we did have fun. We laughed a lot and we cried a lot."</p> <p>"But we lived - and that was the main thing."</p> <p><em>Image credits: A Current Affair </em></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 24px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.333; font-family: 'Proxima Nova', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; caret-color: #333333; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0.25px;"> </p>

Relationships

Vale ‘sister suffragette’: how Glynis Johns became a pop-culture icon in the story of votes for women

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ana-stevenson-196768">Ana Stevenson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lindsay-helwig-1500979">Lindsay Helwig</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p>Glynis Johns, most famous for her role as the suffragette mother Mrs Winifred Banks in Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964), passed away last week at the age of 100.</p> <p>A fourth-generation performer who made her <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-17-ca-126-story.html">stage debut</a> in London when she was only three weeks old, Johns inherited her Welsh father’s love of acting. She appeared with him in The Halfway House (1944) and The Sundowners (1960) and argued for the establishment of a Welsh National Theatre <a href="https://twitter.com/huwthomas/status/791367871242862592">as early as 1971</a>.</p> <p>Johns’s career spanned eight decades in Hollywood, Broadway and the British stage and screen. As Palm Springs’s Desert Sun <a href="https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19630426.2.50">reported</a> in 1962, her “husky voice and big blue eyes” were her hallmarks. But it was her portrayal of Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins which would make her a pop culture icon.</p> <h2>A childhood inspiration</h2> <p>Feminist activists and scholars often describe the Mrs Banks character as a childhood inspiration.</p> <p>As feminist communications scholar Amanda Firestone <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Resist_and_Persist/s5HiDwAAQBAJ">reflects</a> on the film: "I especially loved […] Mrs Banks (Glynis Johns), who marches around the family home, putting Votes for Women sashes onto the housekeeper, cook, and the (departing) nanny. Of course, as a kid, I had no idea that the people and events embedded in the song’s lyrics were actual parts of history, but I did find a kind of joy in a vague notion of women’s empowerment."</p> <p>Set in 1910, the symbolism associated with Mrs Banks references the history of the British suffragettes. Johns’ musical showstopper, Sister Suffragette, directly refers to <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-pankhursts-politics-protest-and-passion/">Emmeline Pankhurst</a>, who founded the militant Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903. In 1906 British newspapers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859007003239">coined</a> the moniker “suffragette” to mock the union.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K0SDECwO54E?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>This ambivalence continued into the 1960s. Historian Laura E. Nym Mayhall <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4316653">argues</a> that American concern over the impact of women’s public roles on their domestic responsibilities influenced the film’s depiction of Mrs Banks, especially her movement from a public suffragette back into an involved mother at the film’s end.</p> <p>For Mayhall, the figure of the suffragette emerges in popular culture as “a symbol of modernity”: a harbinger of democracy and political progress whose characterisation would elide ongoing struggles such as the civil rights movement.</p> <figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">This 1909 Dunston Weiler Lithograph Co. anti-suffrage postcard offers resonances of Mrs Banks and her household staff in Mary Poppins.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://thesuffragepostcardproject.omeka.net/items/show/44">Catherine H. Palczewski Postcard Archive/The Suffrage Postcard Project</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>While some see the character of the suffragette mother as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Mary_Poppins/BLujEAAAQBAJ">supporting</a> women’s votes during the 1910s and women’s liberation during the 1960s, other readings of the film suggest a more satirical representation of the suffrage movement. Some historians even find <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/02705346-6923118">resonances</a> of anti-suffrage propaganda in Mrs Banks, including in her usage of her Votes for Women sash as the tail of a kite in the film’s final scene.</p> <p>Looking back at film reviews offers insight into how audiences received this character – and, by extension, Johns as an actor. American studies scholar Lori Kenschaft <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Girls_Boys_Books_Toys.html?id=Or13vhnA_W4C">suggests</a> that film critics who saw Mrs Banks as a “nutty suffragette mother” reiterated popular stereotypes about suffragettes and feminists being “mentally unbalanced”.</p> <p>Such stereotypes may have been reinforced by the film’s depiction of motherhood and the nuclear family. Involved parenting emerged as the bedrock of the 1960s nuclear family, an idea both supported and actively promoted by Walt Disney in both his films and his theme parks, as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Children_Childhood_and_Musical_Theater/XHrRDwAAQBAJ">argued</a> by American musicologist William A. Everett.</p> <p>As Mrs Banks, Johns embodied the transition from the distant, uninvolved parenting of the British middle-class in the earlier 20th century to the involved mother who facilitated the stable nuclear family. As women’s studies scholar Anne McLeer <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4316893">argues</a>, Mary Poppins, through Johns’ portrayal of Mrs Banks, demonstrated the liberated woman of the 1960s could be contained within the nuclear family: the bedrock for a Western capitalist economy.</p> <h2>A long career</h2> <p>Beyond Mary Poppins, her most prominent role was in Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical A Little Night Music (1973).</p> <p>Johns originated the character of ageing actress Desiree Armfeldt, becoming the first to sing Send in the Clowns. As she <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-17-ca-126-story.html">reflected</a> of the classic in 1991: "It’s still part of me. And when you’ve got a song like Send in the Clowns, it’s timeless."</p> <p>Sondheim composed this song with Johns’s famously husky voice in mind. Yet some were less enamoured with her performance. One 1973 theatre critic <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3850619">described</a> Johns as “a now somewhat overage tomboy, kittenish and raspy-voiced, precise and amusing in her delivery of lines but utterly, utterly unseductive.”</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OAl-EawVobY?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>A veteran of stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. In 1998, she was honoured with a Disney Legends Award for her role as Mrs Banks. Johns also received critical acclaim throughout her career, including a Laurel Award for Mary Poppins and a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for A Little Night Music.</p> <p>Regardless of how incongruous her status as a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-05/glynis-johns-mary-poppins-send-in-the-clowns/103287036">Disney feminist icon</a>” may be, Johns’s extraordinary influence upon the 20th century’s cultural memory is a remarkable legacy. <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/220766/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ana-stevenson-196768"><em>Ana Stevenson</em></a><em>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lindsay-helwig-1500979">Lindsay Helwig</a>, Lecturer in Pathways, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Disney</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vale-sister-suffragette-how-glynis-johns-became-a-pop-culture-icon-in-the-story-of-votes-for-women-220766">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

Explore. Dream. Discover: An Over60 Reader's epic journey

<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Many people travel to all corners of the earth, seeking new and exciting experiences, especially when we retire and are able to do so. Sometimes we can be pushed beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone but usually the experience is positive and often transformational. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">One popular destination for travellers who enjoy adventure is Sedona in Arizona, a town that nestles in a desert on the edge of red rock canyons. Nearby is Hopiland, home to the Hopi Indians. One of my most treasured memories occurred in this part of the world in 1990, on top of a desert mountain known as a mesa. The mesa rose thousands of feet above ground level and I climbed up there with a group of friends from Australia. As we reached the top, we began to hear the sound of drums and chanting coming from an underground cave. Our travel guide informed us that inside the cave, Hopi women and children huddled together on the dirt floor to watch their menfolk perform legendary rituals honouring their ancient ancestors. Since the ceremony was forbidden to tourists, we were given an hour to explore the top of the mesa. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Moving a short distance away from the rest of the group, I sat down on a rock to fully absorb the nearby pulse of drums and chanting. A few minutes later, three young Hopi boys appeared and attempted to converse with me. Initially, I found it difficult to understand what they were saying until I realised they were actually inviting me to accompany them underground to join their tribal family. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Throwing caution to the wind, I followed them down a rickety wooden ladder poking out of a hole in the ground. The atmosphere inside the cave was thick with burning sage combined with swirling dust from the pounding feet of men dancing, their heads hidden inside huge masks. Barefooted women and children squatted on the dirt floor and I felt very much an intruder as I squeezed myself amongst them. But, reassured by friendly smiles and head-nodding, I began to relax, absorbing the magical rituals of times past. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Eventually the ancient ceremony ended, and I climbed the ladder back into the twentieth century, overcome by a newfound sense of humility and realisation of just how unimportant the wealth and material greed of Western society is. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">One can often rely on the unexpected to occur when travelling. During a visit to Egypt one year, our group emerged from the Temple of Isis to settle down and meditate on the bank of a nearby river when a military policeman appeared out of the bushes, clutching a large submachine gun. His other hand appeared to conceal something behind his back and as he drew closer, we noticed he had a second gun tucked into his belt. Terrified, we leapt to our feet. Then, his face breaking into a smile, he held out the hand from behind his back. Lying in its brown sinewy palm were eleven pink oleander blossoms, one for each of us. A moment of sheer terror switched instantly to one of absolute delight. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Another example of ‘the unexpected’ occurred a few days later for a member of our group who had just turned eighty. All her life she had suffered with claustrophobia and its related anxiety and panic attacks. Consequently, when we visited the Great Pyramid to ascend the steep tunnel inside which would take us up to the King’s Chamber, we arranged for her to remain outside with our tour guide. But at the last minute she changed her mind, not wanting to miss out on such a special experience. By slowly crawling through the tunnel all the way up inside the Great Pyramid, she managed to achieve something she had never in her life believed possible. We celebrated her victory that night with champagne, lots of laughs and some hilarious attempts at belly dancing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">A travel memory that always makes my grandchildren laugh is when I was visiting my friend Palden Jenkins, an historian who lives in Glastonbury. One day we set off for Snowdonia, North Wales, for a holiday. As we pulled up outside the 500-year-old stone cottage a farmer approached, urging us to be sure to leave a pot of tea outside every night for the Booka, the name given to Welsh brownies or elves. If we did this, he said, we would be assured of a hassle-free holiday. The Booka would not trouble us if we kept the cottage clean, left out the tea and didn’t have long noses. Words cannot describe the fun we two ‘grown-ups’ had in brewing tea every evening over an open fire to cater to the whims of Snowdonia’s faerie folk. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Travelling the world can create change in our lives that we will never regret, opening our hearts, broadening our minds, and sometimes transforming our lives forever. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">To quote Mark Twain, ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did. So, sail away from the safe harbour. Explore. Dream. Discover.’</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">This wonderful story, including the images, was sent in by Over60 Reader Jo Buchanan. Thank you, Jo, for sharing your adventure with us!</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><em>If you have a Reader Story you would like to contribute to Over60, please send it to the editor via <a href="mailto:greg@oversixty.com.au" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greg@oversixty.com.au</a>.</em> </span></p>

International Travel

Even in a housing crisis, Australians can’t get enough of renovation stories on TV. Why?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ella-jeffery-1459839">Ella Jeffery</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a></em></p> <p>The Block has begun its 19th season this month, <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/the-block/2023-season-block-confirmed-location-details-scott-cam-season-19-explainer/b4d5fa4e-690f-4755-90da-caba77925836">billed as</a> “a Block that’s entirely relatable to people right around Australia”. This year, contestants renovate five “authentic ’50s dream homes” in “the perfectly named Charming Street, in Melbourne’s Hampton East”.</p> <p>But if the median price for a four-bedroom house in Hampton East is <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/suburb-profile/hampton-east-vic-3188">around A$1.6 million</a> and the nation’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/03/more-than-1600-australians-pushed-into-homelessness-each-month-as-housing-crisis-deepens-report-finds">housing crisis</a> shows no signs of easing, who is The Block relatable to? And why do audiences keep coming back to renovation stories?</p> <p>Home ownership is becoming <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook46p/HomeOwnership">less accessible</a> and more people than ever are renting, but stories about renovation on TV, in film and in literature continue to have a powerful effect on us. Why?</p> <p>One reason they can be so captivating is that they invoke the idea of the dream home.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KadU7z8GHoE?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Season 19 of The Block promises to ‘transform these little time capsules into two-storey mansions’.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Home makeovers are ultimately about us too</h2> <p>Ask anyone you know about their dream home – something I did regularly when I was <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/122955/">writing my PhD</a> on renovation stories – and you’ll get an incredible array of different styles, sizes, locations. Maybe it overlooks the ocean, maybe it has the newest appliances, maybe it has a pool, maybe it’s just a house without a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/29/this-isnt-safe-nsw-renters-fight-twin-battles-against-mould-and-landlords">mould problem</a>.</p> <p>The idea of the dream home is deeply rooted in our shared imagination. The philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13269.The_Poetics_of_Space">The Poetics of Space</a> (1958) that our houses – both the ones we live in and the ones we dream of – “move in both directions: they are in us as much as we are in them”. Bachelard suggests that in even “the humblest dwelling” our memories, desires and dreams are gathered, and this is why houses are so central to who we are.</p> <p>If houses can be expressions of self, our dream houses say a lot about our desires. While it might no longer look like a <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/is-the-aussie-dream-of-a-quarter-acre-block-dead-1221913/">house on a quarter-acre block</a>, the dream still exists. Renovation stories are so compelling because in them, as <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/ordinary-television/book205099#contents">researchers</a> have noted, home improvement often represents self-improvement – a dream life, not just a dream house.</p> <p>This is especially important in programs like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388595/">Extreme Makeover: Home Edition</a> (2003–20) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243688/">Backyard Blitz</a> (2000–), which often focus on people presented as hard-done-by whose lives are changed by renovations that solve their day-to-day problems.</p> <h2>Better house, better life</h2> <p>Reality TV isn’t the only place we find this type of story about transformation and self-improvement. In Frances Mayes’ bestselling memoir Under the Tuscan Sun (1996), Mayes travels to Italy and buys an abandoned villa, Bramasole, which she renovates. In the process, she gains a new outlook on life.</p> <p>There’s a similar story in Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence (1989). Mayle, a UK advertising executive, buys a 200-year-old farmhouse in France and renovates it.</p> <p>Both books were exceptionally successful, inspiring an entire genre of renovation memoirs about wealthy middle-class people able to travel abroad, buy charmingly rundown properties in beautiful locations, and renovate them while enjoying the local lifestyle. In them, renovation is a clear symbol of self-transformation, if only for people rich enough to afford it: renovating houses leads to a greater appreciation of life’s pleasures and a new way of seeing the world.</p> <p>This idea of the renovated life can be especially compelling in a world that increasingly feels <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-doomsday-clock-is-now-at-90-seconds-to-midnight-the-closest-we-have-ever-been-to-global-catastrophe-198457">frightening and overwhelming</a>. Researchers like <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4273551">Fiona Allon</a> argue that renovation stories allow us to turn away from the alarming outside world – with its violence, looming recessions, pandemics, climate crises – and focus on the smaller, more controllable world of the home.</p> <p>Maggie Smith’s viral poem <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones">Good Bones</a> (2016) plays with this idea. The poem is about a mother trying to convince her children (and herself) that despite being a scary place, the world can be improved. To do this, she uses the analogy of a real estate agent selling a fixer-upper. The poem ends with lines that present renovation as an opportunity for change: "This place could be beautiful, Right? You could make this place beautiful."</p> <p>This optimism is what makes renovation excellent fodder for love stories. In the Nancy Meyers rom-com It’s Complicated (2009), Meryl Streep plays a divorcee looking for a fresh start, who renovates her home and falls in love with her architect, Adam. In The Notebook (2004), Ryan Gosling’s Noah transforms an old plantation estate into his lover Allie’s dream home, a gesture that reveals his enduring love.</p> <p>Renovation stories are always about change (although in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109784/">some</a> the change doesn’t last). Even if, as may be the case for the increasing number of people who are renting, having a house of our own is itself a fantasy.</p> <h2>Renovate? In this economy?</h2> <p>Many renovation stories can be seen as escapist media that trade on the image of the dream home to sell ideas about wealth, taste and style to audiences unable to afford such things. The Block may involve contestants from a range of backgrounds, but few people can afford the multimillion-dollar houses they build.</p> <p>The Block’s viewership has had ups and downs in its two-decade history, but the show (and many others) continues because, despite being about <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/2023/03/29/the-block-controversy-grand-designs/">profiting from the housing market</a>, it sells the idea of transformation and change, not just in our houses but in our lives.</p> <p>Renovation stories invite audiences to indulge in a fantasy where we become our best selves living in dream homes that protect us from a volatile and threatening world. The dream home might remain a dream, but in renovation stories we escape reality and envision life in a Tuscan villa, or having a butler’s pantry or plunge pool, or simply owning a house of our own.<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/211334/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ella-jeffery-1459839">Ella Jeffery</a>, Lecturer in Creative Writing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828">Griffith University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram - The Block</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/even-in-a-housing-crisis-australians-cant-get-enough-of-renovation-stories-on-tv-why-211334">original article</a>.</em></p>

Four myths about the financial side of divorce

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-hitchings-388514">Emma Hitchings</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bristol-1211">University of Bristol</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gillian-douglas-1428314">Gillian Douglas</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kings-college-london-1196">King's College London</a></em></p> <p>It’s no wonder many people think divorce involves going to court, huge legal fees and decades of spousal payments, considering these are the cases that dominate our headlines. However, the kinds of divorce cases reported in the news involve the very rich, and are far removed from the reality for most couples.</p> <p>The Law Commission of England and Wales, the body responsible for law reform, <a href="https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/financial-remedies-on-divorce/">recently announced a review</a> of the law of finances on divorce, with a scoping report due in September 2024. Review of this law is much needed, given the legislation governing how couples in England and Wales sort out their financial affairs upon marriage breakdown mainly dates back to the 1970s (the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/18">Matrimonial Causes Act 1973</a>).</p> <p>The problem is that key politicians <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2023-03-08/debates/3AB3D708-24E5-4FF2-8481-05EFA27E2593/DivorceFinancialProvision">who have been calling for change</a> still rely on the issues raised in these <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2018-05-11/debates/89A33706-7DCD-4FA0-AE0D-B06E11FAF264/Divorce(FinancialProvision)Bill(HL)">exceptional, “big money” divorce cases</a>.</p> <p>We need to correct the misleading narrative about divorce if reform is to address the needs of the 110,000 couples <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2022">who get divorced in England and Wales each year</a>. Although there is limited research about this issue, we do know enough to challenge the following myths.</p> <h2>1. Spouses are often forced to fund costly legal battles</h2> <p>Family courts grant divorces and the fee is currently £593. However, it is not mandatory for a divorcing couple to get an additional order regarding their finances, and there is no need for expensive court hearings.</p> <p>In fact, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2022">fewer than 40%</a> of those divorcing each year do so. While there is no authoritative data on average legal costs incurred in these cases, it seems that, for many couples, the costs of sorting out their financial arrangements need not be high because the courts are not involved.</p> <p>And even those couples who do use the courts for their financial matters overwhelmingly settle rather than fight their case, which limits their legal costs. Only <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2022">13% of financial orders</a> made in a divorce are actually decided by a judge after contested litigation. The rest are consent orders: orders finalised by the judge on terms that have already been agreed by the divorcing couple.</p> <h2>2. Everything is split 50/50</h2> <p>The law does not lay down a principle of equal sharing of the marital assets on divorce. However, the courts <a href="https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/miller-v-miller-mcfarlane-v-mcfarlane.php">do accept this is a desirable goal</a> if this can be done while meeting both parties’ needs – and those of their children.</p> <p>Research suggests that, rather than rigidly applying a 50/50 split, couples focus on their needs first and <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/financial-remedies-on-divorce-the-need-for-evidence-based-reform">particularly those of their children</a>. This can result in an unequal split of the value of the main asset most couples have – the former marital home.</p> <h2>3. Men have to pay lifelong maintenance</h2> <p>Some news media object to the current law as they claim it allows an ex-wife to be supported <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5965629/Surveyor-marriage-ended-16-years-ago-WINS-Supreme-Court-battle.html">for the rest of her life</a> by her former husband (or vice versa). The argument is that this casts ex-wives as dependants who cannot look after themselves, and prevents husbands from moving on after their divorce.</p> <p>In reality, lifelong maintenance is rare, and even limited ongoing financial support is uncommon. The most recent data found that only 16% of court orders involved any kind of ongoing spousal support – of which, two-thirds were for a fixed term. Nearly all such orders involved <a href="http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/briefing%20paper%20Jun%202018%20FINAL.pdf">dependant children</a>, with the order terminating when the youngest child reaches a certain age or stage of education.</p> <h2>4. London is the divorce capital of the world</h2> <p>Some news media <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/feb/24/divorce-rich-husband-london-english-law">report</a> that the courts’ endorsement of the principle of equal sharing has led to some wives, married to oligarchs, sheikhs and tycoons, seeking divorce through an English court due to its “generous” treatment of them. For example in 2021, a High Court judge ordered Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the emir of Dubai, to pay a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-london-divorce-capital-world-for-mega-rich-2019-7?r=US&IR=T">£554 million divorce settlement</a> to his former wife, Princess Haya.</p> <p>By their nature, these cases are atypical – that’s why they make headlines. But why should the fact that English law takes spousal equality seriously be a matter for regret? The 1970s legislation aimed to ensure the non-financial contributions of spouses, such as home-making and caring, should be recognised. Judges have been clear <a href="https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/3-503-7596?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true">it is discriminatory to assume</a> the breadwinner spouse is making a greater contribution to the relationship and should keep a larger part of the wealth than the other who takes on the role of carer. Surely this is an enlightened position.</p> <p>That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t update the law, though. Working patterns have changed but women still earn, on average, <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2022#:%7E:text=Image%20.csv%20.xls-,The%20gender%20pay%20gap%20has%20been%20declining%20slowly%20over%20time,up%20from%207.7%25%20in%202021.">less than men</a>. They are still more likely to assume the bulk of <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2021">child care</a>, <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2021">work part-time </a>, and, in consequence, have <a href="https://adviser.scottishwidows.co.uk/assets/literature/docs/women-retirement-report-2022-press-release.pdf">smaller pensions compared with men</a>.</p> <p>The result is that, far from being treated generously, women still come out of divorce <a href="https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/26207/Fisher_2018_AJFL_Final.pdf?sequence=1">financially worse off than men</a>.</p> <p>But there is still so much we don’t know about how divorced couples divide their assets. Since the norm is for couples to stay out of the courts, there is no official record of how the majority of the divorcing population arranges their finances. That’s why <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/emma-hitchings">one of us</a> (Emma) is leading the Fair Shares Study, expected to publish in autumn 2023. This will provide the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/fair-shares-project/">first nationally representative picture</a> of couples’ finances on divorce.</p> <p>We need a law that meets the needs of all divorcing couples rather than the few wealthy exceptions, and a major corrective to the myths that abound in this area of family law.<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/202975/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-hitchings-388514">Emma Hitchings</a>, Professor of Family Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bristol-1211">University of Bristol</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gillian-douglas-1428314">Gillian Douglas</a>, Professor Emerita of Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kings-college-london-1196">King's College London</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-myths-about-the-financial-side-of-divorce-202975">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

Rob Lowe's West Wing confession

<p>Rob Lowe has spoken candidly about leaving one of his most acclaimed TV shows. </p> <p>The 59-year-old actor has opened up about leaving <em>The West Wing</em>, which first aired in 1999 with Lowe playing the character of Sam Seaborn, the Bartlet administration's deputy communications director, on the very first episode of the show. </p> <p>The show ran for seven seasons and went off the air in 2006, although Lowe left the show during season four. </p> <p>Despite the show's popularity, Lowe said that leaving the show when he did was the best decision to make for him and his future career. </p> <p>Speaking candidly on the Stitcher Studios' podcast <em>Podcrushed</em>, Lowe was asked about why he left the show, and he summed up his departure with an analogy.</p> <p>He said, "I walked away from the most popular girl at school, but I also knew that it was a super unhealthy relationship, and it was the best thing I ever did."</p> <p>The unofficial story when Lowe left the show, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/24/west.wing.lowe/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:Daily Variety;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="33" data-v9y="1">Daily Variety</a></em>, was that he was doing so because he couldn't get the salary that he wanted.</p> <p>As Lowe explained to <em>Podcrushed</em> hosts Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, his decision had boiled down to one thing.</p> <p>"I felt very undervalued," said Lowe, the author of 2012's <em>Stories I Only Tell My Friends</em>. "Whenever I talk to actors who complain about, you know, their relationships on their shows, it happens. It happens in any workplace. You could be in an environment where people sandbag you, want to see you fail, don't appreciate you, whatever it is and whenever I share my stories, people are like, 'I will never share my own stories again.'"</p> <p>"They would make your hair stand up and there's some of them I wrote. I shared some of them in my book, but I purposely didn't share half of the other ones because it would make the people involved look so bad that I didn't want to do it to them."</p> <p>"So, I did not have a good experience. Tried to make it work and tried to make it work and tried to make it work and then what happened was my kids were getting to a certain age where I could see them having first girlfriends or friends and being in a relationship that was abusive and taking it," said Lowe, the father of sons John Owen, a 27-year-old actor, and venture capitalist Matthew, 29.</p> <p>"She's the popular girl, everybody likes her, she's beautiful, it must be great. All the things that people would say about making <em>The West Wing</em> to me. It's so popular, it's so amazing, it must be amazing, but I know what it's like and if I couldn't walk away from it, then how could I empower my kids to walk away from it?"</p> <p>When Lowe did leave the show, he issued a statement on why his character would be written out.</p> <p>"As much as it hurts to admit it, it has been increasingly clear, for quite a while, that there was no longer a place for Sam Seaborn on<em> The West Wing</em>," he said, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/24/west.wing.lowe/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:per CNN;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid_p="36" data-v9y="1">per CNN</a>. "However, Warner Bros. has allowed me an opportunity to leave the show as I arrived ... grateful for it, happy to have been on it and proud of it. We were a part of television history and I will never forget it."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Australia’s life expectancy is up, but healthy years are a different story

<p>Australians have added six years to their life expectancy since 1990 – a world-leading increase – but some measurements paint a less rosy picture of the nation’s health.</p> <p>The data is the subject of a major feature in the respected British Medical journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468266723001238" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Lancet.</a></p> <p>Overall, the data shows <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/aussies-are-living-longer-but-just-how-much/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">life expectancy in Australia improved</a> from 77 years in 1990 to 83 in 2019. </p> <p>Although heart disease and stroke remain the nation’s biggest killers, both have seen major reductions in deaths since 1990 – down 68% and 58% respectively.</p> <p>In its analysis of data published in the <a href="https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/gbd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2019 Global Burden of Disease Study</a>, the research also found:</p> <ul> <li>90% of people die from non-communicable diseases.</li> <li>Lung cancers remain the third biggest killers, though substantial reductions have been recorded since 1990.</li> <li>Alzheimer’s and other dementias are now the fourth most frequent causes of death.</li> <li>Chronic kidney disease, pancreatic cancer, falls, leukaemia and liver cancer now kill more people than they did 30 years ago.</li> </ul> <p>The biggest improvement has been the big drop in the number of road fatalities, which in 1990 was the seventh leading cause of death in Australia. There had been a 63% reduction in the number of deaths per 100,000 people (15.5 to 5.7) by 2019; now ranking it as the 17th most frequent cause of death.</p> <p>The data also explored the non-fatal disease burden in the population.</p> <p>These, says the study’s lead author Dr Shariful Islam from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, add to the burden on Australia’s economy both in financial and productivity terms.</p> <p>“These might not cause a lot of death, but they’re definitely causing a lot of disability-adjusted life years,” Islam says.</p> <p>The nation ranks better than similar countries for the non-fatal disease burden from diabetes and non-fatal stroke. Conversely, its relative ranking has worsened for drug use, anxiety and depressive disorders.</p> <p>Risk factors that diminish the years of healthy life a person might experience like these have seen big jumps over the last 30 years.</p> <p>“It also causes a lot of economic issues, because when a person has musculoskeletal or low back pain, or especially anxiety or depression, they will often be absent from work, they will be less productive – this costs money.”</p> <h2>Two-speed health improvements</h2> <p>The data also shows the burden of disease is inequitably spread across the nation.</p> <p>People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were found to have a higher risk of death-causing disease, and account for larger proportions of smokers and those with obesity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are disproportionately represented in these groups.</p> <p>High blood pressure remains the leading risk factor for mortality, though it accounts for nearly half as many deaths in 2019 (as a proportion of the total) than it did 30 years prior.</p> <p>And while body mass index (BMI) has been shelved in recent years as an individual health indicator in favour of metrics like waist measurements, at a population level, it remains a top-three mortality risk factor.</p> <p>That, says Islam, is because those with high BMI likely carry other major risk factors.</p> <p>“With High BMI you’ll often [also] see high blood pressure, high blood glucose, often sedentary lifestyles,” he says.</p> <p>Islam and his colleagues highlight universal healthcare programs like Medicare, regulatory and broader healthcare systems as the strengths driving the overall positive outcomes in life expectancy.</p> <p>But they argue the nation’s performance in delivering preventative and supportive treatment for non-fatal conditions, and promoting healthy lifestyles to its ageing population will be important to continue a sustained trajectory.</p> <p>This view is supported by a comment by University of Sydney-affiliated public health experts Michelle Dickson, Cheryl Jones, Terry Slevin, and Jaime Miranda. While they say the study highlights Australia as a “public health exemplar”, they highlight the deficiencies bridging the health gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds as an important public responsibility.</p> <p>“Australia has a world-class health care and public health system that has been conducive to major population gains, at least in life expectancy,” they write. “Yet, work remains to be done to marry such gains with strategies and policies to prevent or reduce disease burden during the entire lifecourse, and to reduce inequalities. This will be essential to sustain this world-class health system and to promote healthier societies.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/australias-life-expectancy-is-up-but-healthy-years-are-a-different-story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by Matthew Ward Agius. </em></p>

Caring

Ben Fordham's surprising new side hustle

<p>Ben Fordham has shared that he has joined the large group of Aussies who have picked up a side hustle as the cost of living crisis continues. </p> <p>The 2GB radio host has signed up to be an Uber driver, with his first passenger leaving him a generous tip. </p> <p>Speaking to business and financial commentator Peter Switzer during the Money Report on Thursday morning, Fordham confirmed he'd taken his "first passenger in an Uber."</p> <p>"Wen was her name, lovely lady," he said.</p> <p>"I picked her up not far from 2GB and dropped her to work and she gave me five stars and, Switz, she gave me a $3 tip."</p> <p>"Mate, you're killing it," Switzer said. "That's like a 10 per cent rise for you."</p> <p>"It's so good, you just switch it on and go, 'Alright, I've got an hour to kill here, I may as well make a bit of money'," Fordham explained.</p> <p>He explained he decided to sign up for the gig following the record number of Australians who have taken up second jobs to help cope with inflation and growing cost of living pressures. </p> <p>It was during the start of the Covid pandemic that Fordham first told Switzer he planned to "get a side hustle" along with everyone else.</p> <p>"And I said I was going to become an Uber driver, and guess what I've done this week?"</p> <p>"You're kidding," Switzer reacted.</p> <p>Switzer, who used to work as a school teacher during a period of high interest rates, said he was also forced to take on additional work to make ends meet, creating a cleaning business and working at the local RSL where he "pulled beers."</p> <p>"So I'm not surprised to see this surge in jobs," he said.</p> <p>"In America, I reckon more than half of American workers have what they call a side hustle ... a second job, so lots of people are responding to inflation, responding to higher interest rates and looking for more and more jobs."</p> <p><em>Image credits: 2GB</em></p> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div class="OUTBRAIN" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;" data-src="//honey.nine.com.au/latest/ben-fordham-new-side-hustle-uber-driving/c4f4d011-05f7-4879-b8af-93bc562144b8" data-widget-id="AR_8" data-external-id="556949cd9bf11d9567563f6b5d247e16"> </div> </div>

Money & Banking

"Spoil yourself and your bestie": Jackie O announces new side hustle

<p dir="ltr">Jackie O Henderson has announced a new side hustle with her best friend of 20 years Gemma O’Neill.</p> <p dir="ltr">The radio star took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce her newest venture with O’Neill, a business fittingly named “Besties”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We’ve been besties for over 20 years and have lived through terrible fashion choices, husbands, moving houses (again and again!), holidays, babies, novice tarot card readings, swimming with sharks, dancing around the living room to our favourite songs and of course lots of tears and lots more laughter,” she captioned the photo.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair were pictured sharing a laugh in a beautiful photoshoot by the beach, presumably to promote their upcoming business.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Like any best friend duo, we've always dreamed of starting our own side hustle, and we're so thrilled to share the news of our newest venture, Besties,” she added in the caption.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em>KIIS</em> star claims that the business will allow people to spend more time and create more memories with their best friends.</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/Cu0IqHpyEOW/?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/Cu0IqHpyEOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jackie O (@jackieo_official)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The pair have thought out their mission well, vowing to bring friends closer to “extraordinary people” through their speaker events, provide trips to “breathtaking destinations” and offer a range of luxe products so you can “spoil yourself and your bestie”.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also revealed that this business venture was just an excuse for her to make more memories with her best friend.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We thought it was about time for a one-stop shop to celebrate each other,” she added.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also tagged an Instagram account for the business, which already boasts over 11 thousand followers.</p> <p dir="ltr">While both women are co-founders of the company, Jackie O will be the creative director while her best friend is the CEO.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Money & Banking

Neighbours star's AVO nightmare after magistrate’s “wrong” call

<p>Former <em>Neighbours</em> star Madeleine West has won an appeal to overturn an AVO taken out against her on behalf of the father of her ex-husband, celebrity chef Shannon Bennett.</p> <p>West, 42, was described by a magistrate as “evasive, almost aggressive and frightening” when giving evidence about an altercation involving her ex-husband’s father Benny Clifton Bennet at his son’s Byron Bay home on May 4 2022.</p> <p>The AVO was granted after the Local Court hearing.</p> <p>However, West appealed the decision in the NSW District Court after being granted a temporary stay on the two-year order, which bans her from Bennett’s Byron Bay property while her father-in-law comes to visit her children.</p> <p>Although the Local Court found West had “barged” onto her ex-husband’s property, Judge Jonathan Priestly ruled the magistrate had made a “wrong” decision based on “erroneous finding”.</p> <p>Judge Priestly found Bennett’s father was acting out of loyalty for his son during the incident.</p> <p>West’s lawyers amid the appeal argued that the magistrates “erred in finding the fears of the older Mr Bennett were reasonably based”.</p> <p>They claimed the conduct, taking the surrounding circumstances into consideration “did not amount to harassment”.</p> <p>The judge said the grandfather’s “fear of harassment” was an outcome of being “distressingly” caught in the middle of a dispute between his son and West.</p> <p>He admitted to the court that he had spoken to her amicably one day before the alleged “barging”.</p> <p>Bennett’s father described West as “uncontrollable” and “irrational”, but Judge Priestly said these claims were not supported by CCTV footage.</p> <p>“I accept that the magistrate was wrong to find that the appellant (West) barged into the property,” he ruled.</p> <p>“A number of errors of the magistrate have been identified. By basing her decision on those erroneous findings her Honour’s decision is wrong.”</p> <p>Judge Priestley found Bennett's father had been “unwittingly involved” by his son and the chances of reoccurring disputes were “negligible”.</p> <p>“There is no need for the order,” the judge said.</p> <p>The AVO was dismissed and Judge Priestly called on lawyers to prepare arguments on costs to be heard in July.</p> <p>West was on <em>Neighbours</em> for six years over two periods of time, from 2000 to 2003 and 2017 to 2020.</p> <p>She appeared in hundreds of episodes as characters Dee Bliss and then Andrew Somers.</p> <p>West was hit by a bus while filming for the soap and suffered head injuries which resulted in her having to relearn motor skills.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Legal

“That flying baby” shares her story almost 30 years on

<p dir="ltr">While most babies have their little hands full with the all-important business of teething and crawling at six months, some have other things to be getting on with - and for one, that meant reaching for the stars. </p> <p dir="ltr">In 1991, six-month-old Jordan Leads was on a rock climbing trip with her parents in California’s Joshua Tree National Park when a picture of the young family was taken by photographer Greg Epperson, and then published by adventurewear brand Patagonia in its 1995 spring catalogue. </p> <p dir="ltr">The photo, titled “Come to Papa”, saw young Jordan - and the adventure-loving Sherry and Jeff Leads - bundled in a jumpsuit, soaring through the air between two large rocks with a substantial gap between them. She appeared to have been launched from her mum’s arms, and was heading straight for her father’s waiting ones.</p> <p dir="ltr">It fast tracked the family to worldwide fame, and even once the attention had settled, Sherry and Jeff made sure the moment wouldn’t be forgotten, choosing to hang a copy in the hallway of their family home. </p> <p dir="ltr">And now, almost 30 years on from the height of her stardom, Jordan has come to embrace that chapter of her life, going so far as to use the handle ‘That Flying Baby’ online. Though like her parents, Jordan’s life goal isn’t to head for the skies, with the young Leads following in their footsteps as an avid climber. </p> <p dir="ltr">And Jordan, who has a baby of her own, hopes to pass that passion onto her children when they’re old enough, as well as the story of her unusual rise to fame. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I can't wait to show [the pictures] to my kids one day,” she told <em>NPR</em>, “and to show them how I was growing up, how my parents raised me and to really just bring that whole family value of going outside back to them.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I would put [it] up on the wall, and then I could put my child's right next to it in our hallway ... I think that would be really cool."</p> <p dir="ltr">Jordan may have her work cut out for her getting the story to them first, however, with the picture making a resurgence online in recent years as entertained internet users transformed it into a popular meme. </p> <p dir="ltr">Thankfully, Jordan could see the fun in it all, even getting in on it herself when it came to her pregnancy announcement, when she photoshopped the faces of herself and her partner onto her parents’ bodies, and their ultrasound over the image of her younger self. </p> <p dir="ltr">But her favourite of all the edits takes things a little further from reality, as Jordan told <em>Weekend Edition Saturday</em>’s Scott Simon, it showed her parents “feeding me to a Jurassic Park dinosaur. I think that’s the best.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Why you should encourage your grandchildren to write stories

<p>In an article published in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41405103" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>Language Arts</em></strong></span></a>, educators who were interested in encouraging children to write were asked why it was important for children to be encouraged to write. Their reasons were varied and interesting, and worth considering for anyone who has a young child in their life – let’s take a look at some:</p> <p><strong>1. To entertain</strong></p> <p>As humans, we tell stories for many reasons, but perhaps the foremost reason is that we want to entertain one another. By encouraging children to write their own stories, they can discover what entertains them, as well as what entertains others – well-told, engaging stories.</p> <p><strong>2. To stimulate the imagination</strong></p> <p>By creating from nothing a story full of characters and original plots, a child’s imagination grows and develops.</p> <p><strong>3. To search for identity</strong></p> <p>When children write their own stories, they can use the conflict and characters to take their first steps on their search for identity. The power simple stories can have on a child’s self-development is remarkable.</p> <p><strong>4. To improve reading and writing skills</strong></p> <p>Children need to read and write, so we may as well find a way to make it more interesting for them. Not only will writing help kids learn how to read, it can also help them understand literary devices (suspense, twist, dramatic irony, etc.), and grammatical structures.</p> <p>Now that we’ve explored some of the reasons creativity in writing in our kids, let’s find some ways to help get them started:</p> <p><strong>5. Inspiration exploration</strong></p> <p>When you’re spending time with your grandchildren, make a game out of looking for fun story inspirations. Interesting newspaper headlines, a unique-looking house, a colouring-in book. You could even keep a box full of story inspirations to explore together with your grandchildren.</p> <p><strong>6. Unblank the page</strong></p> <p>Anyone who has ever sat down to write knows there’s nothing more intimidating than a blank page. To help kids out, try giving them the opening line to a story. You can create these yourself, find a list of opening lines on the internet, or even borrow the opening line of a book on your own shelf.</p> <p><strong>7. Work all of the mind</strong></p> <p>If you find that your grandchildren have difficulty focusing on just words, encourage them to explore other aspects of their own creativity by using visuals. Storyboards, illustrations, or even writing the story as a comic book can help stimulate storytelling.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Family & Pets

How to avoid mobile phone bill horror stories when travelling

<p>"I'm sorry, calls to this number are not allowed, please try again later". This. Again. At 1am standing outside what I thought was our Galway Airbnb, but instead was a popular alley for Irish revellers to relieve themselves. Brilliant.</p> <p>After begging a convenience store manager, borrowing a phone and stealing some local wi-fi, we made it to bed before 3am (one-star rating for the Airbnb host, naturally). Such was the power of the phone company when you're on holiday, I still got pinged far-too-high amounts for calls and data used to attempt a check-in at the Irish abode.</p> <p>A reader recently contacted me wanting to avoid such a conundrum by asking for the best SIM cards available in Europe. Thankfully, EU law has recently shielded travellers from harsh cross-border roaming charges by ruling that providers cannot charge excessively for access to rival networks in fellow EU nations.</p> <p>You'll see the kiosks hawking pre-paid SIM packages at many major airports. If you want the dependability a SIM provides, assess your needs and shop around. </p> <p>Better yet, get to know your smartphone better and use the whole range of mobile apps that will soon make international call and text roaming redundant. Organising hotels, taxis, tours, dinner reservations as well as calling home and making your friends and colleagues jealous with holiday snaps can all be done with a wi-fi connections, which are readily available and far cheaper (if not free).</p> <p><strong>Avoid phone bill shock when you're away</strong></p> <ul> <li>Contact your mobile phone company rep about your destination and length of stay to see what add-ons and spending caps may be best.</li> <li>Only purchase local SIMs if you're in the country more than a week, have an unplanned itinerary or will have no free wi-fi at your accommodation.</li> <li>If you're on a per-day bundle, choose a few days to be on-the-grid and turn off your mobile data on other days.</li> <li>Go wi-fi only, in North American, Asian and European cities it's readily available.</li> <li>Embrace apps like Uber, Gett, WhatsApp, OpenTable and TripAdvisor to book taxis, call home and book restaurants and tours using hotel wi-fi and thus limiting calls.</li> </ul> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>Written by Josh Martin. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

A mother’s love story blossoms from a family reunion 40 years in the making

<p dir="ltr">When Helen Mansfield took to social media in search of her biological mother, she could never have foreseen the good fortune she’d bring about - not only to herself, but to those she held most dear, too. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was in 2016 that Helen posted to Facebook, hoping to connect with her mother - who had given her up when Helen was only 10 days old. </p> <p dir="ltr">And a mere five hours later, someone did reach out, informing Helen that her mother was in the United Kingdom, and that her name was Glenda Joy. </p> <p dir="ltr">Helen, on the other hand, was in Perth, Australia. She’d been adopted by a Welsh couple, but had moved to Perth after marrying an Australian - with whom she shares two daughters.</p> <p dir="ltr">Four decades of mystery had gone by, but after that stranger on Facebook had set her on the right path, things had quickly fallen into place. </p> <p dir="ltr">As Helen informed<em> 7News</em>, “straight away, we knew each other. [She] gave me a big hug and said ‘I feel I just won the lottery’.”</p> <p dir="ltr">It should have marked the end of that happy chapter for Helen and Glen, but Helen’s adoptive dad, Gwyn, had other ideas. </p> <p dir="ltr">Because when Helen introduced the two - as her biological mother and her adoptive father - they immediately felt a connection, and set out on a number of adventures together, enjoying everything from the cricket to the beach, and last but certainly not least, a kiss. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I went in to Helen,” Glen recounted, “and I said ‘I’ve got something to say’. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I said ‘your dad kissed me’.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Glen added that she hadn’t been expecting it, but that wasn’t a bad thing, as she’d very much “wanted it to happen”.</p> <p dir="ltr">And it was only good times from there, with the unexpected couple getting married in the United Kingdom after enjoying a commitment ceremony in Perth with Helen as their joyous celebrant.</p> <p dir="ltr">They have every intention of returning to Australia, too, for a trip packed full of celebration with Gwyn’s 80th and the upcoming birth of a great-grandchild.</p> <p dir="ltr">But at the end of the day, Helen is “just really happy it happened”, and holds hope in her heart that their story will offer encouragement to anyone else in a similar position, searching for their biological or long-lost families. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I hope that anybody else - you know, it probably won’t go this far because this is a different story - but anybody else who wants to reach out and find their birth mother,” she added, “should try and do it.” </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: 7News</em></p>

Relationships

“I may as well give you the inside story”: Dr Charlie Teo unleashes on tribunal

<p dir="ltr">Dr Charlie Teo has revealed his true thoughts on a five-day disciplinary hearing by the Health Care Complaints Commission. </p> <p dir="ltr">The commission launched their inquiry into two cases where Teo performed brain surgery on two patients who ultimately passed away, in the wake of accusations of negligence. And while Teo denied any negligence on his part, he did admit that he was responsible, telling the hearing that he believed he had been “too aggressive”. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was during a speech to guests at his annual Rebel Ball - the “Charlie Teo Foundation’s premier event supporting the visionaries and revolutionaries tackling brain cancer head-on” - that he unleashed, slamming the Health Care Complaints Commission and the hearing. </p> <p dir="ltr">At the Crown Sydney, Teo took to the stage to a roar of applause from his supporters, and began by telling them “you here tonight have stuck with me and I can't thank you enough for your loyalty.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Everyone's been asking me about the tribunal. I may as well give you the inside story. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The tribunal was absolute f***ing bulls**t.”</p> <p dir="ltr">It isn’t the first time that Teo had spoken out against the strikes against himself and his career, with the neurosurgeon having <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/the-agenda-is-to-destroy-charlie-teo-final-hit-ahead-of-hearing">previously confessed to Mark Bouris</a> that “it’s got nothing to do with fairness, what’s right or wrong. It’s all got to do with people’s agendas. And the agenda is to destroy Charlie Teo.” </p> <p dir="ltr">And outside of his March hearing, Teo insisted that restrictions from prior hearings had potentially cost lives, with the neurosurgeon noting that he hadn’t been able to save lives that he knew he could have. </p> <p dir="ltr">The end goal of Teo’s Rebel Ball was just that: helping people, and ultimately saving lives.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a post to the Charlie Teo Foundation’s Facebook page, it was declared that the event had “transformed the future”, having raised over $1 million “for game-changing brain cancer research”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Among the guests and contributors were the likes of former Australian cricketers Steve Waugh and Gavin Robertson, former Olympic volleyballer Kerri Potthurst, “the last man to represent NSW at both cricket and rugby league” Graeme Hughes, and Labor’s Graham Richardson. </p> <p dir="ltr">Brain tumour survivor Beatrice McBride was also in attendance, and even performed with her father, Slide McBride, with a song she’d written for Teo. The musical entertainment continued from there, with Mondo Rock’s Paul Christie joining The Hidley Street Country Club Band on stage.</p> <p dir="ltr">Supporters were quick to flock to Teo’s side after the event, sharing their congratulations for a successful fundraising effort, and their delight at seeing so many prepared to stand by him. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Amazing result,” one wrote, “well done to everyone giving Charlie the support.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was a great night had by all. Thanks to all the big supporters for their massive contributions. Just proves Charlie can still pull a crowd of true believers. There was no room for the haters,” another declared. </p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, another summed it up - and echoed the majority - when they shared that they were “so happy folk supported Charlie.” </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

News

10 horror travel stories that will make you think twice about that destination

<p>From terrorist attacks and natural disasters to good old-fashioned scams, you might want to think twice about that next holiday.</p> <p><strong>1. A very expensive meal, Vietnam</strong></p> <p>Last year an Aussie tourist was charged around $40,000 for a single meal at a restaurant in Vietnam after the manager fraudulently used his credit card. A staff member swiped the diner’s credit card numerous times after he told him there had been an error. In reality he was taking a large sum of money straight from his account.</p> <p><strong>2. Honeymooner murdered in paradise, Mauritius</strong></p> <p>Mauritius is one of the world’s top honeymoon destinations. But in 2011 27 year old newlywed Michaela McAreavey was strangled in the bathtub of her room. Two hotel workers were charged though were eventually cleared, meaning the crime has never been solved. Tragically, her body was returned to Ireland and she was buried in her wedding dress at the same church where she had been married just 12 days before.</p> <p><strong>3. In flight toilet nightmare, Los Angeles</strong></p> <p>A Virgin Australia flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was forced to turn around after one of the toilets exploded, sending water and waste pouring into the aisles. The smell was so bad that passengers were given face masks to wear and had to wait at least three hours before they could land again at LAX.</p> <p><strong>4. Hotel terrorist attack, India</strong></p> <p>In 2008 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant organisation based in Pakistan carried out a series of coordinated terrorist attacks over four days in Mumbai. Two of the locations targeted were hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident with a number of hostages taken, including foreign tourists. 61 people were killed in the hotels, with 166 killed around the city.</p> <p><strong>5. Britons contract Zika, Florida</strong></p> <p>In 2016, the Zika virus was all over the news though many people assumed the danger was restricted to South America. However, two unlucky British tourists travelling to the state of Florida contracted the disease. Zika has been linked to serious birth defects microencephaly, which limits brain development.</p> <p><strong>6. Thousands die in Boxing Day tsunami, Asia</strong></p> <p>On Boxing Day in 2004 a 9.2 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across 14 countries in Southeast Asia. Among the dead were around 2,000 foreign tourists who had been holidaying in the coastal resorts of the region. Germany and Sweden were the worst effected, making up around 1,000 of the casualties.</p> <p><strong>7. Corrupt police demand huge bribes, Bali</strong></p> <p>The Indonesian island of Bali is the most popular international destination for Australian tourists. But for one group of men it quickly became a nightmare. The 16 men were celebrating a bucks party when police and private guards burst into their restaurant, tasered and pistol whipped them, and demanded $25,000 in ‘fines’. The men were told they faced 10 years jail if they didn’t pay up.</p> <p><strong>8. Gunman storms a casino, Philippines</strong></p> <p>At least 37 people were killed and many more injured in June 2017 when a gunman stormed into the gaming floor of Resorts World Manila, setting fire to gaming tables with gasoline. Most of the casualties died due to smoke inhalation and suffocation, and the gunman was also killed. Authorities said his motivation was robbery, not terrorism.</p> <p><strong>9. Unexplained deaths on Koh Tao, Thailand</strong></p> <p>One of Thailand’s most popular islands, the diving paradise of Koh Tao, has earned the name ‘Death Island’ after a number of unexplained cases in recent years. At least eight foreigners have been killed or died under mysterious circumstances since 2014. Many people accuse the corrupt Thai police for failing to adequately investigate the cases.</p> <p><strong>10. Tragic death in a water tank, Los Angeles</strong></p> <p>In February 2013 guests at the Hotel Cecil in downtown LA began complaining that the tap water had a strange colour and taste, and there was little pressure. Little did they know that the decomposing body of 21 year old Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was floating in the water tank on the roof. Elisa, who had bipolar disorder, had been in the tank for 18 days. Her death has never been explained, though there is security footage of her behaving strangely prior to going missing.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

King's-eye-view: Story behind incredibly rare shot from palace balcony

<p>Getty photographer Chris Jackson has shared insight into what it was like to capture the coronation, and watch the moment King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla walked out onto Buckingham Palace balcony from a unique perspective.</p> <p>Taking to Instagram, Jackson shared a rare image that gave the public a small sense of what Charles and Camilla would see from the balcony.</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/Cr6FZQwtiE6/?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/Cr6FZQwtiE6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Chris Jackson (@chrisjacksongetty)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"An honour to shoot 'behind the scenes' and a never seen before angle from today's historic Coronation, what a day!!!!!! Save a 🥂 for me!", he captioned the post.</p> <p>That wasn’t the only ‘behind-the-scenes' look at the King and Queen’s time on the Palace balcony. Jackson also shared a photo of the pair watching the Royal Navy, Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force doing a flypast.</p> <p>The image shows the aircraft leaving a trail of red, white and blue exhaust as they flew over the proceedings.</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/Cr6M3BDNoYw/?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/Cr6M3BDNoYw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Chris Jackson (@chrisjacksongetty)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"What a view! What a day!" Jackson captioned the post.</p> <p>King Charles and Queen Camilla were captured waving to the crowd from the Palace balcony following his coronation at Westminster Abbey.</p> <p>The pair travelled to the infamous site in a royal carriage for the long-lived tradition.</p> <p>Charles and Camilla were joined on the balcony by their royal pages and members of the British royal family.</p> <p>Prince William and Princess Katie appeared on the balcony with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.</p> <p>There were two noticeable absences from the balcony, although neither were expected to be there as only working royals are given the honour of making an appearance on the balcony.</p> <p>Although Prince Harry did attend the coronation, he left shortly afterwards to travel back to the US for his son Archie’s fourth birthday celebrations.</p> <p>Prince Andrew was also present at the coronation but not on the balcony as Charles looks to “slim down” the monarchy.</p> <p>The day marked the first time the royal family appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.</p> <p>The late Queen waved to the crowd from the balcony, accompanied by Charles, Camilla, William, Kate and their children during Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.</p> <p>She passed away three months later on September 8, 2022, with Prince Charles immediately anointed as King.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty/Instagram</em></p>

Beauty & Style

New lessons about old wars: keeping the complex story of Anzac Day relevant in the 21st century

<p>What happened on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey 108 years ago has shocked and shaped Aotearoa New Zealand ever since. The challenge in the 21st century, then, is how best to give contemporary relevance to such an epochal event.</p> <p>The essence of the Anzac story is well known. As part of the first world war British Imperial Forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) landed at Gallipoli on April 25 1915. For eight months they endured the constant threat of death or maiming in terrible living conditions. </p> <p>Ultimately, their occupation of that narrow and rugged piece of Turkish coast failed. The 30,000 Anzacs were evacuated after eight months. More than 2,700 New Zealand and 8,700 Australian soldiers died, with many more wounded. </p> <p>The <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/anzac-day-resources">first anniversary</a> of the landing was a day of mourning, with Anzac Day becoming a public holiday in 1922. A remembrance day of sorrow mixed with pride, it has grown over the years to include all those who served and died in later international conflicts. </p> <p>Over time, various narratives and themes have emerged from that Gallipoli “origin story”: of Aotearoa New Zealand’s emergence as a nation, proving itself to Britain and Empire; of the brave, fit, loyal soldier-mates who emblemised the Kiwi spirit of egalitarianism, fairness and duty. All this mingled with the lasting shock and underlying anger at class hierarchy and the British leadership’s incompetence. </p> <p>But historians know well that the “Anzac spirit” is a complex and ever-evolving idea. In 2023, what do we teach school-aged children about its meaning and significance? One way forward is to rethink those Anzac narratives and tropes in a more complex way.</p> <h2>Colonialism and class</h2> <p>The Anzac story is tied up in the nation’s history as part of the British Empire. The Anzac toll was just part of a staggering 46,000 “Britons” – including many from India and Ireland – who died at Gallipoli. </p> <p>Some 86,000 Turks also died defending their peninsula. We need to teach about the Anzac sacrifice in the context of a global conflict where the magnitude of loss was horrific.</p> <p>Importantly, Anzac themes are bound up in early forms of colonial nationalism: New Zealand proving itself to Britain and developing its own fighting mentality on battlefields far from home. Part of this involves the notion of incompetent British commanders who let down the Anzac troops – but this is part of a bigger story.</p> <p>Focusing on imperial and class hierarchies of the time can place what happened in that broader context. The legendary story of <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/wellington-battalion-captures-chunuk-bair">Chunuck Bair</a>, taken on August 8 by Colonel William Malone’s Wellington Regiment, but where most of the soldiers were killed when they weren’t relieved in time, is particularly evocative.</p> <h2>Māori and the imperial project</h2> <p>From our vantage point in the present, of course, we cannot ignore the Māori experience of war and colonialism. As the historian Vincent O’Malley has suggested, New Zealand’s “great war” of nation-making was actually <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars">Ngā pakanga o Aotearoa</a> – the New Zealand Wars. </p> <p>It’s time to teach the complexity of this past and the multiple perspectives on it. For example, Waikato leader <a href="https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/te-kirihaehae-te-puea-herangi">Te Puea Hērangi</a>led opposition to WWI conscription and spoke against Māori participation on the side of a power that had only recently invaded her people’s land. </p> <p>Conversely, Māori seeking inclusion in the settler nation did participate. On July 3 1915, the 1st Māori Contingent landed at Anzac Cove. <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry">Te Rangi Hiroa</a> (Sir Peter Buck) (Ngāti Mutunga) was to say, "Our feet were set on a distant land where our blood was to be shed in the cause of the Empire to which we belonged."</p> <p>These words echo the familiar Anzac trope of the New Zealand nation being born at Gallipoli. Such sentiments led to postwar pilgrimages to retrace the steps of ancestors and claim the site as part of an Anzac heritage – a corner of New Zealand even. </p> <p>For many young New Zealanders it has become a rite of passage, part of the big OE. That a visit to Anzac Cove is still more popular than visiting the sites of Ngā pakanga o Aotearoa is something our teaching can investigate.</p> <h2>Mateship and conformity</h2> <p>The notion of the Anzac soldier as courageous and beyond reproach, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for nation and empire, is also overdue for revision. The “glue” of mateship – a potent combination of masculine bravery and strength with extreme loyalty to fellow soldiers – is again a contested narrative. </p> <p>By the 1970s, as historian Rowan Light’s work shows, there was a significant challenge to such perceptions from the counterculture, peace protesters and feminists. And by the 1980s, veterans were sharing their stories more candidly with writer Maurice Shadbolt and war historian Chris Pugsley.</p> <p>Teaching about the meaning of mateship might examine the history of those peer-pressured into participating in war, those who were conscripted and had no choice, and more on the fate of conscientious objectors like Archibald Baxter. At its worst, the idea of mateship was window dressing for uniformity and parochialism. </p> <p>New Zealanders today have complex multicultural and global roots. We have ancestors who were co-opted to fight on different sides in 20th-century wars, including those who fought anti-colonial wars in India, Ireland and Samoa. Some came here as refugees escaping conflict. Jingoism and what it really represents deserves critical analysis.</p> <h2>Poppies and peace</h2> <p>The ubiquitous poppy, an icon much reproduced in classrooms, is also ripe for contextualisation and debate over its meaning. In the age of global environmental crisis, it can be seen as more than a symbol of sacrifice immortalised in verse and iconography.</p> <p>The poppy also reminds us of the landscapes devastated by the machinery of war that killed and maimed people, plants and animals. It contains within it myriad lessons about the threats science and technology can pose to a vulnerable planet.</p> <p>Anzac Day rose from the shock, loss and grief felt by those on the home front. And beyond the familiar tropes of nationalism, mateship and egalitarianism, this remains its overriding mood. </p> <p>Remembering and learning about the terrible physical and mental cost of war is the real point of those familiar phrases “lest we forget” and “never again”. That spirit of humanitarianism chimes with Aotearoa New Zealand’s modern role and evolving self-image as a peacekeeping, nuclear-free nation. </p> <p>Anzac Day also speaks to the need for global peace and arbitration, and how war is no viable solution to conflict. Those are surely lessons worth teaching.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-lessons-about-old-wars-keeping-the-complex-story-of-anzac-day-relevant-in-the-21st-century-204013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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