Placeholder Content Image

Ratings results after Shirvo’s first day in Kochie’s chair

<p dir="ltr">The results are in and <em>Seven</em> has maintained its position on top, with thousands of viewers tuning in to watch newly appointed <em>Sunrise </em>co-host Matt Shirvington <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/kochie-s-sunrise-replacement-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replace Kochie</a> on the breakfast TV show.</p> <p dir="ltr">Over 235,000 metro viewers tuned in to Seven on Monday, while Nine’s Today drew around 188,000 viewers, and 104,000 watched ABC’s News Breakfast.</p> <p dir="ltr">The reactions were positive and many took to social media to share their well-wishes for the former sprinter after his first day on the show.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Your first morning Shirvo, great, So natural,” one viewer posted on Instagram.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The best person to replace Kochie,” wrote another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Matt Shirvo is exactly what Sunrise needed,” another viewer added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I am so glad they went with Shirvo. A fresh start for Sunrise,” commented another.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 44-year-old was<a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/kochie-s-sunrise-replacement-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> announced as the new host</a> alongside Nat Barr on June 5, and officially replaced Kochie a week later.</p> <p dir="ltr">He has shared his delight and excitement over joining the show, and even posted an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CtWFmBhPAT4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">image </a>of all the alarms he set in preparation for his new job.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m so excited but also humbled by the opportunity to co-host such an important show to so many Australians,” he said last week.</p> <p><em>Image: Sunriseon7 Instagram</em></p>

TV

Placeholder Content Image

Readers Respond: In light of Tracy Grimshaw's announcement, who would you like to see in the big chair at A Current Affair?

<p dir="ltr">Earlier this week, Tracy Grimshaw announced she will <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/tracy-grimshaw-s-huge-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no longer be presenting A Current Affair</a> to enjoy a much needed break.</p> <p dir="ltr">Grimshaw has been the face of the show for a whopping 17 years and shocked audiences when she announced she is stepping down at the end of the year and going on an extended break.</p> <p dir="ltr">Now, whoever replaces her has BIG shoes to fill and we wanted to ask our readers who they would want to see in the ACA chair next.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check out some of your responses below. </p> <p dir="ltr">ShaRoss Coles - Melissa Doyle.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wendy Mulholland - Good luck Tracy, enjoy the next stage of your life. I think you did a great job. Definitely not Lisa Wilkinson as a replacement!</p> <p dir="ltr">Jo Soper - Debra Knight, Silvia Jeffries or Layla McKinnon. All these women would be great.</p> <p dir="ltr">Janet Payne - All the best Tracy!  Deb Knight would be great.</p> <p dir="ltr">John Wells - Don’t care as long as it’s not Lisa Wilkinson.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jenny Taylor - Debra Knight does a good job on the weekend ACA.</p> <p dir="ltr">Max Margie Mallard - DEB. KNIGHT. The only one.</p> <p dir="ltr">Bruce Croker - The wonderful GEORGIE [Gardner].</p> <p dir="ltr">Kim Anderson - Sylvia Jeffries!!</p> <p dir="ltr">John Smith - A male please. Love Tracy but time for a bloke.</p> <p dir="ltr">Share your suggestions <a href="https://www.facebook.com/oversixtys/posts/pfbid0z4Bkvdx2r37tSVe6SNzJgNt3h188S8kasAngXVDvAFBSLDZAEsJsEvS3arpF2m1El" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

TV

Placeholder Content Image

Woman's body found sitting in chair two years after her death

<p>The body of a 70-year-old woman has been found in her house in Northern Italy, two years after her death.</p><p>Marinella Beretta lived alone near Lake Como in Lombardy.</p><p>Her decomposed body was discovered on Friday by the Como fire brigade following complaints that a tree had fallen in her garden as a result of overgrown vegetation, Como City Hall press officer Francesca Manfredi said.</p><p>Beretta’s body was found sitting in a chair in the living room, SkyTg24 reported on Monday.</p><p>Manfredi told CNN that the cause of Beretta’s death was unknown, and the examiner had established that she died sometime toward the end of 2019, based on the level of decay to her body.</p><p>No relatives of Beretta had yet come forward, Manfredi said, adding that police were investigating whether she had any surviving family.</p><p>For now, Beretta’s body remains at the morgue, and a funeral date has not yet been set, Manfredi added.</p><p>Como mayor Mario Landriscina has invited the town’s residents to attend Beretta’s funeral. He told the Italian media on Tuesday that the local government would take care of the funeral arrangements.</p><p>“I will try to be there and I invite the city to be present,” Landriscina said.</p><p>“This is the moment to be together, and even if this woman had no relatives, we could become her relatives.”</p><p>On Facebook, Elena Bonetti, Italy’s minister for family and equal opportunities, mourned Beretta’s solitary death.</p><p>“What happened to Marinella Beretta in Como, the forgotten loneliness, hurts our consciences,” she said. “Remembering her life is the duty of a community that wants to remain united.”</p><p>Bonetti added: “Taking care of each other is the experience of families, institutions, of our being citizens. No one should be alone.”</p><p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Placeholder Content Image

Liked Netflix’s The Chair? Here are 4 moving, funny novels set in English departments

<p>English departments are strange places. Even to those of us who spend our working lives inside them, they can seem utterly mysterious. Those looking in from outside must find them even more baffling. What exactly do lecturers do all day? They teach and interact with students, but what happens the rest of the time?</p> <p>Literary scholars everywhere, writes <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/english-literature-and-creative-writing/people/terry-eagleton">Terry Eagleton</a>, “live in a state of dread – a dread that one day, someone … will suddenly get wise to the fact that we draw salaries for reading poems and novels.” This fact, say Eagleton, “is as scandalous as being paid for sunbathing [or] eating chocolate.”</p> <p>He has a point.</p> <p>Harvard professor <a href="https://english.fas.harvard.edu/people/deidre-shauna-lynch">Deidre Shauna Lynch</a> says even more bluntly that what English academics get up to simply “does not look like work” to those on the outside. Those of us writing on literature, she suggests, must make our peace with this fact. We must resign ourselves to being largely unknown to the broader culture, living in quiet obscurity.</p> <p>And yet, as Netflix’s The Chair makes clear, life within an English department can actually look a lot like life in any other workplace. At the fictional Pembroke University, there are familiar office politics and dramas, as well as the usual mixture of ambition, resentment, and status-seeking that exist elsewhere. Professor Ji-Yoon Kim (Sandra Oh) steers a team of colleagues who have eccentric literary quirks but are recognisable figures in many workplaces.</p> <p>If you enjoyed this series, I’d recommend checking out these four novels, all of which offer compelling depictions of English departments. Forget the Campus Novel – the English Department Novel is a more interesting sub-genre.</p> <h2>1. Richard Russo, Straight Man (1997)</h2> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428162/original/file-20211025-19-ar21bw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428162/original/file-20211025-19-ar21bw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption"></span></p> <p>Russo’s comic novel shares many similarities with The Chair. It centres on the madcap adventures of William Henry Devereaux, Jr., who chairs an English department similar in size to that of Pembroke. Furious about recent financial cuts, Devereaux takes matters into his own hands. He uses a local television network to publicise his cause, threatening to kill one goose from the university pond every day until his department’s budget is reinstated.</p> <p>Russo emphasises the slapstick, farcical side of departmental politics. Straight Man is a glorious send up of self-serious academics, the politics of literary theory, and intellectual ambition.</p> <p>It also offers a perfect gloss on the old adage that academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so low. I strongly suspect that the writers of The Chair had Devereaux in mind while creating the similarly hapless Bill Dobson (Jay Duplass).</p> <h2>2. John Williams, Stoner (1965)</h2> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428161/original/file-20211025-13-1glczfs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428161/original/file-20211025-13-1glczfs.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> </p> <p>John Williams may well have written the most moving novel ever to be set in an English department.</p> <p>In understated, elegiac prose, Williams gives us the tragic life story of William Stoner, an obscure English professor at the University of Missouri, who enters as an agriculture student but develops a lifelong passion for literature. He lives his entire life against the backdrop of the university, and all of his significant relationships are found within the English department.</p> <p>While Stoner’s contributions to the field seem middling to his colleagues, he inspires generations of students with his generous and rigorous teaching. His personal life may well be a kind of tragedy, but he finds redemption in his teaching and research, and a true home in the department.</p> <p>Williams gives us an example of the English department novel at its most existential and weighty, one beloved of readers inside and outside the academy.</p> <h2>3. Mary McCarthy, The Groves of Academe (1952)</h2> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428163/original/file-20211025-27-16tzpl7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428163/original/file-20211025-27-16tzpl7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> </p> <p>McCarthy’s novel takes us back to comedy once again, mining the same territory as The Chair and Straight Man but written well in advance of either. Drawing on her own experiences at Bard College and elsewhere, McCarthy gives us a farce with a serious political edge. Set at the fictional Jocelyn College, the novel centres on Henry Mulcahy, an expert on James Joyce who learns he has been let go, seemingly without cause.</p> <p>As he fights to save his position, McCarthy shows us the subtle and shifting nature of allegiances within the English departments she knew firsthand, as well as the petty disputes and lurid scandals they can harbour. She pulls no punches, laying bare the gossip, naked careerism, and backstabbing that even seemingly mild-mannered English academics are capable of.</p> <p>The novel also gives us a classic bait-and-switch. The central character, Mulcahy, whom we initially see as sympathetic and unfairly mistreated, slowly comes into focus as manipulative and profoundly unlikable. As we begin to see the central events from the perspective of once minor characters, the truth is revealed, and McCarthy skillfully shows us the mistakes of our earlier judgments.</p> <h2>4. Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety (1987)</h2> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428164/original/file-20211025-15-1u6vbym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428164/original/file-20211025-15-1u6vbym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> </p> <p>This wise and moving novel explores the lifelong friendship between two couples, Larry and Sally Morgan and Sid and Charity Lang. Sid and Larry are English professors in Madison, Wisconsin, and the novel follows them as they chase literary ambitions while also managing substantial teaching duties.</p> <p>Both are striving for tenure and are forced to negotiate complicated faculty politics. Ultimately, this is a novel about “quiet lives,” as the narrator tells us. Its great themes are friendship, marriage, and the nature of love.</p> <p>And while the English department often fades into the background as Stegner explores other aspects of his characters’ lives, its politics are never far away. Sid and Larry are often concerned with the petty machinations of their academic colleagues, and Crossing to Safety includes many details that still resonate with life at a university today. Stegner’s novel also offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of literary studies from the 1930s to the 1970s.</p> <p>Of course, there are many other novels within this sub-genre, including David Lodge’s beloved campus trilogy, as well as novels by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pnin">Vladimir Nabokov</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disgrace">J.M. Coetzee</a>, and others. While eating chocolate and sunbathing wouldn’t necessarily make for interesting fiction, life in an English department, it seems, certainly does.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170110/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lucas-thompson-1261087">Lucas Thompson</a>, Lecturer, Department of English, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></span></p> <p>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/liked-netflixs-the-chair-here-are-4-moving-funny-novels-set-in-english-departments-170110">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Netflix</em></p>

TV

Placeholder Content Image

Roger Federer's rare spat with chair umpire

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post-body-container"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>In a move that surprised fans, tennis legend Roger Federer blew up at an umpire at the French Open.</p> <p>He was furious as he was handed a time violation for taking too long between points and took out his anger on the chair umpire and his opponent Marin Cilic.</p> <p>"Marin, am I playing too slow?" Federer asked, to which Cilic responded he was.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Need subtitles for this masterpiece. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RogerFederer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RogerFederer</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RolandGarros</a> <a href="https://t.co/uHdcN1dPHt">pic.twitter.com/uHdcN1dPHt</a></p> — Divyanshu 🙂 (@tweetsbydivyu) <a href="https://twitter.com/tweetsbydivyu/status/1400469489800540163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>Federer tried arguing that he was not used to handling his own towel due to coronavirus to the chair umpire.</p> <p>"I understand the rule," Federer protested to Cilic.</p> <p>"I'm going from one corner to the next trying to get my towel. I'm not doing it on purpose."</p> <p>He was still frustrated by the end of the argument, saying he will stay still.</p> <p>"I don't even dare to go my towel anymore," he said to Joseph.</p> <p>The dispute lasted several minutes, but Federer won the match with 6-2 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-2.</p> <p>Federer spoke about the "misunderstanding" to the press after the match.</p> <p>The argument started as Federer was serving, with the rules of tennis insisting that the receiver play to the speed of the server.</p> <p>"I just feel like it was a misunderstanding on many levels," Federer added.</p> <p>"I didn't feel like I was playing particularly slow, and with the towels, quite honestly, if I want to go to the towel, now I can't go to the towel anymore, it's okay, I get it.</p> <p>"I understand playing to the server's pace, I have done it in hundreds of matches, and I always feel like I don't make my opponent wait very much, but clearly Marin wanted to go faster."</p> <p>Federer was surprised by his strong performance as he said that he couldn't have lasted more than two hours against his opponent.</p> <p>"I didn't think I could play at this level for two hours against Marin," Federer said.</p> <p>"I finished by serving really well. It shows I have something in reserve, I have some energy left and that's really good for my confidence."</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>

News

Placeholder Content Image

“I’m not playing”: Kyrgios loses it at chair umpire

<p><span>Nick Kyrgios has kicked off the tennis season by storming off the court and calling the chair umpire a “smarta***” after being awarded a time violation during Wednesday night’s game against Harry Bourchier.</span><br /><br /><span>Kyrgios repeatedly complained about the limited time he had between serves during his second set of the Murray River Open clash.</span><br /><br /><span>COVID-19 restrictions have prohibited ball kids from bringing towels to players between points, meaning Kyrgios was forced to retrieve the towel himself.</span><br /><br /><span>The Australian firecracker lost his temper when the chair umpire Nacho Forcadell called a time violation towards the end of the set.</span><br /><br /><span>“Bro, I just started serving,” Kyrgios said.</span><br /><br /><span>“I was in my motion, what are you talking about?</span><br /><br /><span>“I’m not playing, I’m not playing.”</span><br /><br /><span>The Melbourne spectators could be seen laughing as Kyrgios made his way to the bench in frustration.</span><br /><br /><span>The 25-year-old continued to argue with Forcadell, and claimed that he’d already started his service motion when the clock struck zero.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’m not f***ing moving. It’s like you guys do it to just be funny,” Kyrgios said.</span><br /><br /><span>“Bro, I was serving. Why’d you have to call it?</span><br /><br /><span>“Because the tennis is about the umpires, right? They come to see you. You’re an extra. You’re an extra for all of us.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">This is ridiculous especially when you compare it to other players on tour like Nadal and Djokovic. <br /><br />Kyrgios is one of the quicker servers on tour 😂<br /><br /><a href="https://t.co/6xAhG9wy5b">pic.twitter.com/6xAhG9wy5b</a></p> — Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) <a href="https://twitter.com/LMcKirdy7/status/1356888859175358464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><br /><span>Replays showed that Kyrgios was undeniably into his service motion when the violation was called.</span><br /><br /><span>While speaking with court supervisor Cedric Mourier, Kyrgios could not hide his anger towards the chair umpire.</span><br /><br /><span>“I saw the clock … I’m pulling my serve here and he called a time violation,” Kyrgios said.</span><br /><br /><span>“Tennis isn’t about him (the chair umpire). He’s an extra to make all this s**t go smoothly, so why is he doing this?</span><br /><br /><span>“I have to walk back and forth to get my towel now, so he’s a smarta*** and calls it? And now I have to get fined for it, but I was playing by the rules.”</span><br /><br /><span>Kyrgios reluctantly agreed to finish the match.</span><br /><br /><span>“Do I get fined for that, yes or no?” Kyrgios asked.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’ve lost enough money to these peanuts.”</span><br /><br /><span>Kyrgios eventually claimed a 6-2 7-6 victory after saving several set points to qualify for the round of 16.</span><br /><br /><span>Next, he will face Croatia’s Borna Coric.</span><br /><br /><span>“I definitely feel at home playing at the Aus Open,” Kyrgios said after the match.</span><br /><br /><span>“I love it here, it’s my favourite tournament of the year.</span><br /><br /><span>“I thought that the level (Bourchier) brought in the second set was very high. He was serving really, really well and he started getting on to a couple of my serves.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’m actually pretty happy with the way I played today.</span><br /><br /><span>“A tough one tomorrow, but first I have a dinner and some wine to drink.”</span></p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Jacinda Ardern shows off thrifty item in dining room tour

<p><span>Sometimes, we seem to think we know everything about public figures, but it turns out until yesterday, we didn’t know Jacinda Ardern was a serious thrifter.</span></p> <p><span>During a Facebook Live video yesterday, the Prime Minister of New Zealand started off the live stream but giving a tour of her dining room, which she said was “pretty stock standard, really” despite living at Premier House, the PM’s official residence.</span></p> <p><span>“It’s just a table with some of the features that usually you find in a family home – chalkboard,” Ardern said, gesturing to a chalkboard behind her that had some scrawlings from (we assume) her two-year-old daughter Neve.</span></p> <p><span>However, Ardern showed off an “unusual” feature in her dining room, as she revealed her chairs lived a life before she got her hands on them. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span><img style="width: 500px; height: 330.173775671406px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836759/screen-shot-2020-07-01-at-110755-am.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/35e256186ae44ac59de43d2be0d97c1e" /></span></p> <p><span>“Probably the one unusual piece of furniture that is here, I’ll share this with you,” she explained, gesturing to the red leather chairs.</span></p> <p><span>“These are the old Cabinet chairs from back in the day.</span></p> <p><span>“We of course make sure that nothing goes to waste so they’ve been recycled and they’re now our dining room chairs.”</span></p> <p><span>She was quick to admit the chairs weren’t the most comfortable, which is most likely why she added a cushion.</span></p> <p><span>“Not always the most comfortable,” she said, “which perhaps back in the day may have kept Cabinet meetings short.”</span></p> <p><span>Ardern appeared on Facebook to discuss the latest coronavirus developments for New Zealand. </span></p> <p><span>Like Australia, New Zealand was successful at flattening the curve of coronavirus cases early on but has faced challenges as restrictions lifted.</span></p> <p><span>While she had previously declared New Zealand coronavirus-free, a recent spate of cases thanks to travellers has seen her under increased pressure to keep the country’s borders closed.</span></p> <p><span>Speaking to reporters, Arden said opening New Zealand’s borders was “dangerous” and shouldn’t be considered until coronavirus cases drop around the world.</span></p> <p><span>“Any suggestion of borders opening at this point, frankly, is dangerous and I don’t think we should put New Zealand in that position,” she said.</span></p> <p><span>However Ms Ardern was open to the idea of travel between New Zealand and COVID-19-free Australian states, but it would be a matter for Australia when it opened its borders to international travel.</span></p> <p><span>“Ultimately, it’s up to Australia to decide whether or not they’ll go for a whole country approach or a state-by-state approach,” she said.</span></p> <p><span>“Obviously, where there is community outbreak, that is a no-go for New Zealand.</span></p> <p><span>“Where they have border controls in place and where they’ve had no community transmissions for sustained periods of time … that may be a different scenario.”</span></p>

Home & Garden

Placeholder Content Image

Room where a disabled woman sat in a chair for "12 months" revealed

<p>The room where disabled woman Ann Marie Smith police allege was slowly left to die has been seen for the first time.</p> <p>Detectives are now appealing for public help as Ann's friends are in shock and "regret".</p> <p>Police believe that Ann had been living in the same chair for 12 months.</p> <p>"The state of the house when police arrived, the state of Ann when she was taken to hospital, it was obvious that she'd been neglected," Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Neagle said to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ann-marie-smith-room-revealed-as-investigation-into-death-continues/63bb57db-13ae-4b63-b701-6b381c5c4c54" target="_blank" class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtflink"><em>9news</em></a>.</p> <p>Ann had cerebral palsy and died at the age of 54 after being rushed to hospital semi-conscious.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836627/chair-disabled-lady-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/483a680a97174ff89e7ed90338d458dc" /></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836628/chair-disabled-lady.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/2b71e477caed42b7810764731f0c11a9" /></p> <div class="body_text "> <p>One of Ann's oldest friends is among those who are helping police piece together her life.</p> <p>"She was always my friends, (although) I hadn't spoken to her," she said.</p> <p>"That's been the hardest part, I just feel so guilty, you always think what if?"</p> <p>"She was loved and it hurts to hear comments, (like) where were her family and friends, and you do have friends that you don't see all the time," she said.</p> <p>Friends say Ann rarely left her home in recent years but was in regular contact with them via social media and text messages.</p> <p>Ann's carer Rosemary Maione is now at the centre of the police investigation.</p> <p>Rosemary was employed by Integrity Care SA, but has since been sacked.</p> <p>"We're examining the level of care provided by the carer as well as by the care provider," Senior Sergeant Neagle said.</p> <p>Detectives are also investigating<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://o60.me/RZH4zp" target="_blank">missing jewellery and money</a><span> </span>as well as the alleged misuse of Ann's car.</p> <p><em>Photo credits: </em><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ann-marie-smith-room-revealed-as-investigation-into-death-continues/63bb57db-13ae-4b63-b701-6b381c5c4c54" target="_blank" class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtflink">9news</a></em></p> </div>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Sorry, not sorry: Djokovic speaks out on patting chair umpire's feet

<p>Novak Djokovic has apologised for touching the umpire during his Australian Open final match on Sunday night.</p> <p>The Serb initially defended his decision to tap official Damien Dumusois twice on the foot, describing it as “a nice, really friendly touch”, but expressed his regret on Monday.</p> <p>“In a professional sport, things happen that obviously you’re not proud of,” Djokovic said.</p> <p>“Sometimes you do things that you’re not happy with and you go through different emotions, you go through ups and downs.</p> <p>“Of course, I’m not happy that I touched the chair umpire. And I’m sorry if I offended him or anybody else.</p> <p>“But in the heat of the battle, some decisions that he makes or some decision that happens just distracts you and sets you off the balance a little bit.”</p> <p>According to the official grand slam rule book, Djokovic could be charged with a fine of up to AU$30,000 for the action.</p> <p>“Players shall not at any time physically abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the precincts of the tournament site,” the rules state. “Violation of this section shall subject a player to a fine up to US$20,000 [AU$30,000] for each violation.”</p> <p>In the post-match press conference, Djokovic said he did not believe he overstepped the mark. “For touching his shoe? I mean, I didn’t know that’s completely forbidden,” he said after securing his 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Dominic Thiem.</p> <p>“I thought it was a nice, really friendly touch. I wasn’t aggressive with him in terms of physical abuse.”</p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Why Kmart’s beloved $49 chair has been taken off shelves

<p>It sent shoppers into a frenzy at the start of the year after a number of lifestyle blogs featured the coveted item.</p> <p>But according to a Kmart store manager, the $49 Timber Occasional Chair has since been taken off the shelves in New Zealand due to a “potential quality issue” and would no longer be sold in-store or online.</p> <p>The item is also not available to buy in Australia, with the web page message reading, “This product is no longer available, but rest assured, there are plenty more items to love.”</p> <p>Speaking to <a rel="noopener" href="https://10daily.com.au/lifestyle/homes/a190718otacn/kmart-has-pulled-the-widely-popular-chair-from-sale-20190719" target="_blank"><em>10daily</em></a>, a spokesperson from Kmart confirmed the news saying it had been withdrawn “due to a potential safety issue” but didn’t go into detail as to what the problem could be.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZBw9PFf2c/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZBw9PFf2c/" target="_blank">I know I said I only wanted the bamboo plant stand (which I picked up yesterday 🙌) buuuuttttt then @kmartaus went and released this beauty for just $49 🙊😍 I managed to get one at my local which Ill share soon. . . #thediydecorator #kmartaus #kmartstyle #kmartnewfinds #kmartbargains #kmartmums #kmartmumsaustralia #kmarthome #homedecor #homewares #homedecorating #interior #interiordecor #homedecorator #interiorinfluencer #homeinfluencer #perthinfluencer #lifestyleinfluencer #australianinfluencer #interiordecorator #interiorandhome #interiorlover #kmartaddict #kmartaddictsunite #kmartaustralia #kmartdecor #kmartliving #kmartlove</a></p> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/thediydecorator/" target="_blank"> Zoe Gilpin Interior Decorator</a> (@thediydecorator) on Jan 8, 2019 at 2:54pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“At Kmart we are committed to the quality and safety of all of our products and can confirm the timber occasional chair has been withdrawn due to a potential quality issue,” they said.</p> <p>“We ask customers with any concerns, to please contact the Kmart customer service team on 1800 124 125.”</p> <p>The chair quickly gained traction after multiple bloggers featured it on their social media pages. Made of acacia wood and a faux rattan back and base, the chair came as a flat pack with the parts locked together by screws and Allen keys.</p> <p>The spokesperson for the company told <em>10daily</em>, “Additional stock of the much loved timber occasional chair will arrive in stores as part of our August Living campaign in the coming weeks.”</p>

Money & Banking

Placeholder Content Image

“We might be biased”: ABC chair Ita Buttrose admits broadcaster lacks diversity

<p>ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose has admitted that the accusations over the media outlet being biased may be accurate.</p> <p>Conservative voters have slammed the news organisation and its presenters of a left-wing bias and now the chair has said that those statements may have some merit, with a few reporters letting their own views cloud their judgement.</p> <p>Buttrose was appointed as chairwoman of the ABC in February after her predecessor Justin Milne resigned.</p> <p>“Sometimes I think we might be biased,” Buttrose told ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday. “Sometimes we could do with more diversity of views. I haven’t got a problem with anybody’s view, but I think we need to make sure ours is as diverse as we can make it.</p> <p>“People, without really knowing it, let a bias show through. I think we can all do that. But the way you deflect the critics that like to give us a tough time is by having a wider viewpoint.”</p> <p>Buttrose, who has previously been named Australian of the Year, was brought into the corporation during a time of turmoil as the ABC had freshly sacked managing director Michelle Guthrie.</p> <p>Ms Guthrie alleged she was pressured from those higher up to fire chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici and political editor Andrew Probyn for criticising the Liberal party.</p> <p>However, Mr Milne denied all accusations, saying the sacking of the two journalists had nothing to do with him.</p> <p>Buttrose informed ABC staff about job security, saying they have nothing to worry about despite an annual funding indexation freeze from July 2019, which will set them back $84 million over three years.</p> <p>According to the 77-year-old, there are currently no plans to shut down ABC radio and television branches.</p> <p>“There are many things that can be cut. There are many things that can be changed,” she said.</p> <p>The media mogul will sit down with Communications Minister Paul Fletcher next week to discuss funding and the future of the broadcaster.</p> <p>“It’s no good bleating and whimpering,” she said. “We’ve got to present a case as to why we need it, what it’s for, where it’ll take us, what our plans are for the future, what the digital impact will be on the way we do broadcasting.”</p> <p>According to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), close to $340 million has been slashed from the ABC base funding since 2014.</p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Mum "blown away" by $1.25 ALDI hack that removes marker from her favourite chair

<p>Nothing says destruction like a child with a marker. It’s surprising just how quickly they can wreak havoc, as within a split second your previously immaculate walls and furniture are now covered in different coloured scribbles that are impossible to remove.</p> <p>But one mum from Western Australia found a solution to the sneaky habit and revealed that a $1.25 Di-San pre-wash stain remover from ALDI is the perfect way to remove unwanted markings.</p> <p>“And this is why I constantly recommend ALDI’s stain remover spray,” Nicola Joanne wrote in Facebook group Mums Who Clean.</p> <p>“Haven’t found a stain it hasn’t removed yet.”</p> <p>Nicola – who posted a photo of her beloved Kmart velvet chair covered in scribbles – revealed the back story behind the piece of furniture.</p> <p>“Miss 2 snuck into miss 7’s room and into her art supplies while I was cooking dinner and used the beloved Kmart blush velvet chair as her canvas.”</p> <p>Speaking to<em> </em><a rel="noopener" href="https://homes.nine.com.au/2019/02/22/17/05/mum-removes-marker-from-favourite-kmart-chair-with-dollar-aldi-product" target="_blank"><em>9Honey Homes</em></a>, Nicola says that in as little as 10 minutes, her chair was as good as new.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7824030/scribble.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8a5f7899748b410085137f74a8be9c7f" /></p> <p>“I have two children, so stains are a common thing in my house,” said Nicola.</p> <p>“The process I used was fairly simple: I sprayed the chair with the Di-San and with a slightly wet sponge wiped the chair.</p> <p>“The coloured Texta came off fairly easy, the black needed a little more persuasion.</p> <p>“Once the Texta was off, I went over the chair with a clean damp microfiber cloth to clean off the product, then I used a clean towel to help dry the chair a little.</p> <p>“I left it overnight to dry completely, but the cleaning process probably took about ten minutes or so.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4v4S5FX1n/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4v4S5FX1n/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Charlotte Launa (@charlottelauna)</a> on Feb 6, 2018 at 11:13pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Nicola’s post has been considered a lifesaver for many families around the country, as it has racked up over 1000 likes with many thanking her for the tip.</p> <p>“I love this spray … works like a dream!” said one user.</p> <p>“It’s the best stuff we use it on our clothes that have had stains we couldn’t get out for ages and they’re gone!” said another.</p> <p>Nicola says that even if the product doesn’t work the way you want it to, at that price, you really cannot go wrong.</p> <p>Will you be trying out this genius ALDI hack to remove unwanted stains? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Home & Garden

Placeholder Content Image

Aldi shoppers go crazy for stylish $99 velvet chair

<p>Aldi’s new budget homewares range just launched on Wednesday and fans have already picked the “must-have” item.</p> <p>Part of the “Style Your Room” Special Buys range, the $100 Diana Velvet Slipper chair has fans raving.</p> <p><img src="https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/adedb265d6b34ec5314e717926397f63" alt="" width="650" height="366" /></p> <p><img id="i-c0d0703a4e80bc8a" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/05/06/4FB704C100000578-6133029-But_it_was_one_product_in_particular_that_had_people_rushing_int-a-16_1536126035448.jpg" alt="But it was one product in particular that had people rushing into their closest store: a $99 Diana Velvet Slipper chair (pictured)" width="634" height="458" /></p> <p>The luxe-looking chair, which comes in grey and green velvet, looks exactly like a $650 chair from popular homewares store Temple &amp; Webster.</p> <p><img src="https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/7e2dd18adadc29886b15be92efe0a495" alt="The $650 velvet chair from Temple &amp;amp; Webster." width="650" height="366" /></p> <p>“Absolutely crushing on the Diana chair,” one person wrote.</p> <p>“OMG has my name all over it! I need the teal chair!!” another wrote.</p> <p>“That green chair is lush,” another person commented.</p> <p>One woman added: “I just brought it in the green. Just put it together. Beautiful chair.”</p> <p>Special Buys can only be purchased in Aldi stores and not online.</p>

Money & Banking

Placeholder Content Image

The cruise ship passengers who love to hog lounge chairs

<p>Wandering the crowded pool deck of the Norwegian Escape one afternoon, I ask if a lounge chair with a folded towel on it is available.</p> <p>"Their stuff has been left here for two hours, and they never came back," one woman says. Then a man pipes up, "That is my brother's chair." And then another woman says, "Isn't that the rudest thing?" And the first woman says to me, "Why don't you just take the chair?" And then the man says, "I'm not the cruise ship police. But that's my brother's chair."</p> <p>I walk away. But it does get you wondering. Where are the cruise ship chair police when you need them? Do they even have cruise ship chair police?</p> <p>On Norwegian Escape, as on many cruise ships, guidelines mention a 60-minute rule. If a lounge chair is empty for 60 minutes, staff can remove the towels and belongings so someone else can use it.</p> <p>I saw no indication that this ever happened on the ship. In fact, I've never seen it happen on any ship.</p> <p>Instead, chair hogs increasingly rule on cruises.</p> <p>Here's how it works: A chair hog is a cruise passenger who, bright and early each morning, runs out of his room, plops his towel, shoes and paperback book on one, two or 10 lounge chairs on the pool deck, and returns to his cabin to sleep or hang around or eat breakfast and generally just take his time until he feels like getting some sun.</p> <p>He may not return to the pool deck for hours.</p> <p>But he has staked his claim, and God forbid that any other passenger try to use the chairs.</p> <p>I am sure there is a doctoral dissertation in here somewhere about negative group behaviour amid scarcity, but what I saw happen as a result was that by day three of the cruise, every passenger realised that lounge chairs were at a premium. A kind of musical chairs mentality got going: quick, reserve your spot early or you and your family won't get one all day.</p> <p>Selfish behaviour led to more selfish behaviour.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the nice, thoughtful people got no chairs at all.</p> <p>From my completely unscientific observation, roughly 50 percent of lounge chairs on sun decks and near pools were empty of sun bathers but covered by towels or belongings for the better part of each day. Some enterprising passengers made do with two uncomfortable straight-back chairs, one to sit in, one for the feet.</p> <p>Some people wandered around, hopelessly looking for a single empty chair and not finding it.</p> <p>I'm not sure what the answer is. Does anyone know?</p> <p>"They should have a weight sensor on chairs," my daughter suggested. "If a chair has not had the weight of a person on it for an hour, the light should turn green."</p> <p>Great idea.</p> <p>If not that, cruise ships could hire a squad of peppy lounge chair police to clear away miscellaneous towels, shoes, paperback books and suntan lotion left too long unattended.</p> <p>Or maybe the captain should install the plank. He can tell chair hogs to walk that way, yes, climb right up there and walk straight ahead for the very, very best spot.</p> <p><em>Written by Ellen Creager. First appeared on <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>.</span></strong><br /></em></p> <p><strong>Related links</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/03/how-to-make-cruise-ship-towel-animals/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to make cruise ship towel animals</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/03/inside-worlds-biggest-cruise-ship/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Inside one of the world’s biggest cruise ships</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/02/can-the-historic-queen-elizabeth-2-cruise-ship-be-saved/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Can the historic Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship be saved?</span></em></strong></a></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

Grandpa diaries: The little chair

<p><em><strong>Paul Stevens, 72, from Sydney shares his precious experiences as life as granddad to Rose.</strong></em></p><p>When Alice went to Wonderland she took a bite from one side of a piece of cake. All of a sudden she grew very tall with the result that all the furniture around her appeared very small. I’m prompted to recall this story as I look at the miniature chair – the seat just 27mm or 10.5 inches high – confidently used by my beautiful granddaughter, Rose, when she comes to stay. At 15 months she has graduated from the restrictive but safe high chair and now simulates us adults as she sits proudly up to the low coffee table. “I can do this as well,” her expression conveys.</p><p>This little chair prompts me to refresh my knowledge of the fairy stories I related to her mother nearly 40 years ago and my grandfather told me more than seven decades ago. Cinderella, Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and many more will need to be revisited, refreshed and memorised. I will enjoy that. At present she is easily entertained by taking off my nose and my ears and putting them back at the end of play just as countless granddads before me have gladly tolerated the same actions of their progeny. We also have these nonsense conversations that only she and I understand as she strives to form her first words. Any mature-age passer by would smile indulgently if they overheard. At least I like to think so. Rose and I know what we mean.</p><p>Rose will be ready soon for the fairy tales so I must not delay my preparation. Story telling is much more personal that passively watching together In the Night Garden on TV. The challenge will be to make her experience more engaging. Get in early before I loose out to an iPad for kids and these precious opportunities lost. Perhaps I will live long enough to be able to introduce Rose, as my granddad did to me, to those timeless favourites of my childhood, The Swiss Family Robinson and Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies. Or she may prefer Peter Pan and Wendy, and later Anne of Green Gables.</p><p>But I should stop here planning her future. She will go her own journey. Her resilience, energy and bright nature are already clearly evident. Her multi-tasking behaviour is well established as she persists in picking up not just one item but three, whether kitchen utensils or toys. My role is and should continue to be one of those who love her who catch the tears, laugh with her at her excitements, share her wonderment at her new experiences, and just be around when needed.</p><p>I do hope the little chair will be occupied again soon.</p>

Family & Pets

Placeholder Content Image

Strength training exercises you can do with a chair

<p>Strength training is a great exercise that helps to keep you in shape into later years. It builds muscle, which in turn keep bones strong and maintains your metabolic rate. Not everyone has access to a gym, but these strength training exercises can be done at home with just a chair and some dumbbells.</p> <p>For your weights, use anywhere from 1-4kg to start. If you can’t do at least 8 reps with your chosen weight, size down. Start with 10-15 reps of each movement and increase as you gain strength.</p> <p><strong>Seated squats</strong></p> <p>Above a chair, stand with feet shoulder-width apart with knees aligned over your feet. Keeping your weight over the heels of your feet, lower your body until you touch the chair, and return to standing. Repeat. For an added challenge, add dumbbells in each hand.</p> <p><strong>Seated bent rows</strong></p> <p>Sit on the chair with your feet flat to the floor, holding a dumbbell in either hand, bend forward at your hips. Keeping your back straight, pull the weights up to your chest so your elbows are bent. Repeat.</p> <p><strong>Seated recline press</strong></p> <p>Sit on the edge of your chair with your back straight and reclined onto the back of the chair. With a dumbbell in either hand held by your shoulders, push outward from the chest, palms out, bringing the weights close together above you. Lower down. Repeat.</p> <p><strong>Incline plank</strong></p> <p>Place your forearms on the seat of the chair, walking your feet back until your body forms a straight line. Focus on your core and hold position for 30 seconds.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/07/heart-foundation-calls-for-sugar-tax/">Heart Foundation calls for sugar tax to fight obesity</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/07/fighter-pilot-honoured-on-birthday/">WWII fighter pilot honoured on 99th birthday</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/07/vegan-surgeon-diet/">100-year-old surgeon credits veganism for long life</a></strong></em></span></p>

News

Our Partners