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Peter Andre announces baby daughter's name

<p>One month after the birth of his daughter, Peter Andre has finally shared his new baby's name. </p> <p>The announcement comes four weeks after Andre and his Emily MacDonagh shared the news of their daughter's arrival, while admitting to their fans they were <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/help-name-our-baby-peter-andre-s-extraordinary-plea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggling</a> to find a name. </p> <p>Emily picked out the name of their daughter, as Peter took to Instagram to share the news. </p> <p>"I think you've chosen a beautiful name, [Emily]. Arabella Rose Andréa," the proud dad announced was the baby's name, alongside a professional newborn photo.</p> <p>"I LOVE it and I love her... and you of course," he told his wife of eight years, who is a GP, author and media personality, before adding in what Arabella is written in the Greek alphabet.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6dPoDOIOL-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6dPoDOIOL-/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Peter Andre (@peterandre)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Arabella arrived on April 2nd, with the proud new parents sharing photos taken when she was "just minutes old" with fans.</p> <p>"We feel so overwhelmed right now," Andre said.</p> <p>"So happy to welcome our beautiful girl to the family. Mum and daughter are doing amazing."</p> <p>However, he shared an unusual plea with his followers as he shared that the couple were having difficulty coming up with a name for their bub. </p> <p>"As parents, we couldn't be happier. Only thing is…. she has no name yet. Help!"</p> <p>The comment section of the post was flooded with potential names for the little girl, with some suggesting the chosen name of Arabella.</p> <p>Andre and MacDonagh are also parents to Amelia, 10, and Theo, seven.</p> <p>The singer also shares two children - Junior, 18, and Princess, 16, - with his first wife, Katie Price.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Family & Pets

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Video of Queen Elizabeth playing with first grandchild resurfaces

<p>Royal fans have gone wild over a resurfaced clip of the late Queen Elizabeth playing with her first grandchild when he was just a child. </p> <p>In honour of Peter Phillips' 45th birthday, a royal fan account on Instagram shared the historic video of Her Majesty playing with Phillips in 1978. </p> <p>The video showed an intimate moment in the royal nursery at Buckingham Palace, as Princess Anne presented her son Peter to her mother, the Queen.</p> <p>As the mother and daughter sat on a floral patterned sofa, they were joined by one of the Queen's many dogs - which seemed to delight the one-year-old Peter as he gurgled and smiled.</p> <p>Meanwhile his grandmother, the Queen, could be seen smiling down at him.</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/Ck-rLguIkp6/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ck-rLguIkp6/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Windsor Royal Family (@windsor.royal.family)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The clip was shared to Instagram with the caption, "Happy 45th birthday to Peter Phillips."</p> <p>"Queen Elizabeth II with her daughter, The Princess Royal and grandson, 13 months old Peter at Buckingham Palace in December 1978."</p> <p>The video has racked up over 10,000 likes, with a flood of comments praising the late Queen for always being a doting grandmother. </p> <p>One person wrote, "The Queen was such a sweet grandmother."</p> <p>Another royal fan said, "Wonderful. Her first grandchild. She looks so happy. Missing our Queen so much."</p> <p>"I love how much the Queen loved her dogs, let them on her furniture, loved her grandbabies and taught them about loving pets too," said a third.</p> <p>"You can tell so much about people who are kind to animals. God bless beautiful Queen Elizabeth. Happy Birthday Peter Phillips."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Peter Brock's childhood home sells at auction

<p>The childhood home of the late racing legend Peter Brock has sold at auction for $893,000.</p> <p>The three-bedroom weatherboard home in the Victorian suburb of Hurstbridge, 28km north-east of Melbourne, exceeded its price guide of $750,000 to $820,000.</p> <p>As three bidders battled for the property, a local couple won the bid, as Ciaran Brannigan, director of Morrison Kleeman Estate Agents, told <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/racing-champ-peter-brocks-childhood-home-comedian-shane-bournes-house-sells/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">realestate.com.au</a>.</p> <p>The home was last on the market in 2006 when it was sold for just $337,000, decades after it belonged to the Brock family.</p> <p>Mr Brannigan said, "Definitely almost everybody mentioned it [the connection to Brock] but I don't think anyone was bidding because of that."</p> <p>The red-roofed cottage has bee renovated over the years, with both the kitchen and bathrooms being updated to a modern aesthetic. </p> <p>Features of the unique home include a large paved alfresco area ideal for outdoor entertaining, a free-standing studio and a sunny lounge area with a log-burning fireplace.</p> <p>Despite the up to date renovations, old-style charm has been maintained throughout the home with its decorative cornice work and tessellated tiles.</p> <p>Peter Brock first rose to fame in the 1970s when he won the six-hour endurance race for production cars at Mount Panorama Bathurst nine times between 1972 and 1987.</p> <p>He was soon dubbed King of the Mountain and maintained a high profile both as a competitor and commentator on Australian and New Zealand television.</p> <p>The Bathurst 1000 trophy was renamed the Peter Brock trophy one month after his death in 2006. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / realestate.com.au</em></p>

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Peter van Onselen reveals past abuse in debate with Grace Tame

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article mentions paedophilia, child sexual abuse and rape.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Grace Tame has called out Peter van Onselen, after the pair engaged in a heated conversation on Twitter that saw him disclose that he was also a victim of child sexual abuse.</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Onselen previously wrote in <em>The Australian </em>that he was “lucky” to not be abused by a notorious paedophile he had gained the attention of, and has now said that wasn’t the case.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-efd29e63-7fff-4e4d-1ca1-6027eb4c3f72"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The conversation was sparked by van Onselen commenting on a separate tweet by Dr Gemma Carey, suggesting that her family being banned from the GP clinic they had been seeing for a long time was “a sign that you’re a complete pain in the arse”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">That’s how I felt when as a survivor myself of child sexual abuse (he was convicted) she accused me of being a threat to my wife. Unfortunately you then helped her raise money when I had the temerity to ask her to apologise. Thanks for all your support.</p> <p>— Peter van Onselen 🎣 (@vanOnselenP) <a href="https://twitter.com/vanOnselenP/status/1509487096087838722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Grace Tame retweeted a screenshot of his comment with the caption, “When you victimise a vulnerable person, that’s a pretty good sign too.”</p> <p dir="ltr">This prompted van Onselen to say he was a victim of child sexual abuse from a person who was convicted at the time that he shared his story to police.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tame replied noting that the person who he said abused him hadn’t been convicted of crimes against him, writing that “co-opting other survivors’ experiences is a whole new low, mate”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Onselen also said Tame forced him to make the disclosure after she accused him of co-opting the stories of other victims of the same person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You have made me say this which is incredibly distressing but there you go,” he wrote. “The police knew of three other boys he raped who didn’t want to testify. I was one of them.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c9360548-7fff-98c4-be3f-6ea3a0913765"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I was going off your own words, Peter. You are responsible for when and what you publicly disclose, not me. I ask again that you leave me alone now,” Tame replied, attaching a screenshot from his article in <em>The Australian</em>.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">That’s how I felt when as a survivor myself of child sexual abuse (he was convicted) she accused me of being a threat to my wife. Unfortunately you then helped her raise money when I had the temerity to ask her to apologise. Thanks for all your support.</p> <p>— Peter van Onselen 🎣 (@vanOnselenP) <a href="https://twitter.com/vanOnselenP/status/1509487096087838722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Like lots of survivors I have sought to not go public about what happened to me. I spoke to the police about exactly that as my abuser was being sentenced. Please stop shaming me for not having your courage to choose to go public.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have not shamed you, not once,” Tame replied. “You’re manipulating this entire situation. I have pointed out exactly what I have known to be true.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Tame returned to Twitter on Friday morning to explain the situation.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I stood up for a friend whom Peter demeaned unsolicitedly,” she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He then used ‘convicted’ paedophilia survivorship as a defence, in a tweet he copied and pasted several times - to me a paedophilia survivor. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Prior, he publicly aserted me he was “not sexually abused”, so I called him out.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6b4eeb3f-7fff-b3a1-9376-35d9f05c57ec"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Earlier the same day, she asserted that every survivor “deserves to be heard and respected”, but that trauma shouldn’t “excuse bad behaviour”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Every survivor of rape and abuse deserves to be heard and receive compassion. Every single one.</p> <p>Trauma, however, doesn’t excuse bad behaviour. It is not a weapon of provocation or oneupmanship to deploy in the face of others at your convenience, especially not fellow survivors.</p> <p>— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1509669097759723523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“It is not a weapon of provocation or one-up-manship to deploy in the face of others at your convenience, especially not fellow survivors.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Van Onselen originally wrote that he had been groomed by a paedophile but had not been abused in his <em>The Australian</em> piece.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To be very clear from the outset, I was not sexually abused, I am one of the lucky ones” he wrote at the time. </p> <p dir="ltr">“But only just. A teacher … tried to sexually assault me on a school trip. He was convicted for doing so to three other boys on that same trip.”</p> <p dir="ltr">But, he also wrote that he may have “dissociated” during the abuse and may “have blocked more that happened”.</p> <p dir="ltr">In his latest online spat, the Project co-host also referred to a previous altercation with Dr Carey, when he had threatened to sue her over a tweet suggesting he was a danger to his wife in an old photo with Christian Porter.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb3532b8-7fff-cbec-0089-5e80c870db32"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Roy Vandervegt (Adelaide Festival) / Getty Images</em></p>

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Bing Crosby’s vacation home hits the market

<p dir="ltr">A midcentury estate once owned by American jazz singer Bing Crosby has<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/bing-crosby-former-rancho-mirage-estate-back-on-market-again/" target="_blank">returned</a><span> </span>to the market for $USD 4.5 million ($NZD 6.6 million).</p> <p dir="ltr">The Rancho Mirage home, known as the Bing Crosby Estate, was first listed for $USD 5 million ($NZD 7.34 million) in 2018, before the price dropped twice in 2019: first by $405 million, then by another nearly $1.1 million.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, the price cuts failed to entice a buyer, and the property has returned to the market at a higher price and with new representation by David Emerson and Alexandra Trejo of realtor<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.compass.com/listing/70375-calico-road-rancho-mirage-ca-92270/946468495298185833/" target="_blank">Compass</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The home was last sold in 2005 for $USD 2,625,000.</p> <p dir="ltr">Located in the gated Thunderbird Heights neighbourhood in California, the single-level, midcentury home was built in 1957 with a Moroccan theme, glass walls, a pool, and gardens sprawled across 1.36 acres.</p> <p dir="ltr">The home was said to entertain A-list guests including John F. Kennedy, and the guest quarters have been renamed the JFK Wing in his honour.</p> <p dir="ltr">Other features include a billiard room, a home theatre, multiple fireplaces, and an outdoor entertaining and dining area with its own outdoor kitchen.</p> <p dir="ltr">The<span> </span><em>White Christmas</em><span> </span>singer first lived in the home - one of many he owned in California - with his wife, actress Kathryn Crosby, and their three children in 1963.</p> <p dir="ltr">The family lived at the home until Crosby’s death in 1977 at the age of 74, when Kathryn and their children moved to a larger home nearby.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images, Compass</em></p>

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‘The Beatles: Get Back’ glosses over the band’s acrimonious end

<p>In the new film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9735318/">The Beatles: Get Back</a>,” “Lord of the Rings” director <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001392/">Peter Jackson</a> tries to dispel the myth of the the Beatles’ breakup.</p> <p>In 1970, Michael Lindsay-Hogg released “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/original-let-it-be-movie-michael-lindsay-hogg-peter-jackson-get-back-1250561/">Let It Be</a>,” a film documenting the band’s recording sessions for their eponymous album. The movie depicted George Harrison arguing with Paul McCartney – and it hit theaters shortly after news of the band’s breakup emerged. Many filmgoers at the time assumed this depicted the days and weeks during which everything fell apart.</p> <p>By the time it hit theaters, nearly 16 months after filming, this rehearsal footage got mistaken for a completely different time frame.</p> <p>In 2016, Jackson gained access to Lindsay-Hogg’s original footage. Over the course of four years, he edited it into an eight-hour, three-part series, thanks to a streaming deal with Disney+.</p> <p>In their press rounds, both Jackson and McCartney have been eager to recast the legacy of this period.</p> <p>“I kept waiting for all the nasty stuff to start happening, waiting for the arguments and the rows and the fights, but I never saw that,” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/nov/20/i-just-cant-believe-it-exists-peter-jackson-takes-us-into-the-beatles-vault-locked-up-for-52-years">Jackson told The Guardian</a> and others. “It was the opposite. It was really funny.”</p> <p>“I’ll tell you what is really fabulous about it, it shows the four of us having a ball,” <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/paul-mccartney-says-the-beatles-get-back-documentary-changed-his-perception-of-their-split-3095528">McCartney told The Sunday Times</a> after seeing the film. “It was so reaffirming for me.”</p> <p>It seems to be working: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/arts/music/beatles-get-back-peter-jackson.html">A recent New York Times headline proclaimed</a>, “Know How the Beatles Ended? Peter Jackson May Change Your Mind.”</p> <p>A lot of these sessions contain the irrepressible gags that made the Beatles famous. (Lennon and McCartney singing “Two of Us” in grandiose Scottish brogue almost steals Part Three.) But in their interviews, Jackson and McCartney accentuate the positive as if to paper over the acrimonious <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/paul-mccartney-says-he-sued-beatles-save-band-s-music-n1235898">history of lawsuits</a>, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/beatles-catalog-paul-mccartney-brief-history-ownership-7662519/">the loss of the Lennon-McCartney publishing catalog</a> and the lurching solo careers that followed.</p> <h2>A muddled chronology</h2> <p>The timing of the theater release of the “Let It Be” sessions seeded confusion over how the group unraveled.</p> <p>“Let it Be” was shot in January 1969, just weeks after the “<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/review-the-beatles-white-album-186863/">White Album</a>” hit stores.</p> <p>The band then put these tapes aside to work on the larger project they intuited from this material, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-beatles-revolutionary-use-of-recording-technology-in-abbey-road-124070">Abbey Road</a>,” which they completed seven months later.</p> <p>The split actually came at a September 1969 meeting, when <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-beatles-messy-breakup-50-years-ago-130980">Lennon told the others</a> he wanted a “divorce.” They persuaded him to keep his departure quiet until the band completed some contract negotiations. Then, in March 1970, <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-beatles-messy-breakup-50-years-ago-130980">McCartney publicly proclaimed</a> he was “leaving the Beatles” to release his first solo album.</p> <p>An epic descent into suits, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-courtroom-hit-parade-the-beatles-top-ten-lawsuits-414216.html">countersuits</a> and press squabbles ensued. Harrison even wrote a song called “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzdw2WcSmb0">Sue Me Sue You Blues</a>.”</p> <p>Only in May 1970 did the “Let It Be” album and film come out, with the band’s messy divorce as the backdrop.</p> <p>After the initial theater run, “Let it Be” fell from view. For decades, the only way you could get a glance of it was through a black market copy. The Andy Warhol-esque, <a href="https://www.artforum.com/print/196704/the-value-of-didactic-art-36733">so-real-it’s-boring verité style</a> – the non-narrative approach then in vogue – flummoxed even 1970 audiences.</p> <p>But because the “Let It Be” album and film came out after “Abbey Road” – which was released in September 1969 – it quickly got mistaken for telegraphing their breakup, <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/paul-mccartney-says-the-beatles-get-back-documentary-changed-his-perception-of-their-split-3095528">a belief that the Beatles themselves seemed to internalize</a>.</p> <p>The Beatles’ own traumatic memories of this period kept the raw footage from this project in the vaults for over 50 years. In the meantime, bootleggers published nearly all of its audio.</p> <h2>Conflict brewing</h2> <p>Now at significant remove, the remaining Beatles – McCartney and Ringo Starr – <a href="https://variety.com/video/peter-jackson-get-back-beatles-secrets/">seem to have hired Jackson</a> for a rescue operation, disingenuously dubbing the film a “documentary” when they, in fact, served as executive producers alongside their Apple Records directors, Jeff Jones and Ken Kamins.</p> <p>In response to Jackson’s three-part series, which coincided with the release of <a href="https://variety.com/2021/music/reviews/get-back-book-review-beatles-let-it-be-transcripts-1235087090/">a book of transcripts from the “Let it Be” sessions</a> and McCartney’s songwriting memoir, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-paul-mccartneys-the-lyrics-can-teach-us-about-harnessing-our-creativity-170987">Lyrics</a>,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/arts/music/beatles-get-back-peter-jackson.html">media outlets</a> <a href="https://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/the-beatles-get-back">around the world</a> appear to have embraced this new version of history: that these sessions actually scanned as lighthearted, that – poof! – the scars had vanished.</p> <p>But the strange and beguiling thing about Jackson’s edit rises from how it displays an unstable mixture of groove and conflict.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Auta2lagtw4?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <span class="caption">The trailer for ‘The Beatles: Get Back.’</span></p> <p>Despite the walkout from Harrison and continuous disagreements about what the project was – first a TV show, then a feature film and album, which needed a rooftop concert for a “payoff” – the band ultimately rallied to write the now-classic tracks “Something,” “Oh! Darling,” “Octopus’s Garden,” “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,” and “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” along with Lennon’s “Polythene Pam” and “I Want You.”</p> <p>So Jackson’s “Get Back” clarifies the Beatles’ resolve to resume work and put their extra-musical squabbles aside. The music pulls them inexorably forward, and they trust these early song fragments enough to carry them. They have had bust-ups and walkouts and uncertainties and failures, and always found their way through. For Lindsay-Hogg and 1970 audiences, this all seemed bewildering and tense – the band kept a tight lid on internal rows. To the Beatles themselves, and to anyone who’s ever worked to keep a band together, it felt about par.</p> <p>Telling the average person to watch eight hours of freighted doubt and raw, undeveloped material is a big ask. <a href="https://www.theonion.com/new-beatles-doc-gives-man-greater-appreciation-for-how-1848132216">As The Onion joked</a>, “New Beatles Doc Gives Man Greater Appreciation For How Long 8 Hours Feels.”</p> <p>But there is a moment in Part Two of Jackson’s series – the first day on the set when Harrison doesn’t show up – when the rest of the band sits around talking about the situation. McCartney suddenly goes quiet. The camera lingers on him, and you can see him drift into a thousand-yard stare as he contemplates the looming uncertainties. He doesn’t quite tear up, but he does look as unguarded as he ever does, and markedly tentative.</p> <p>The moment catches hold because it’s so out of character – McCartney rarely displays himself unveiled, without pretense. The shot lingers and takes the measure of the man and the project, how much they have to overcome and how precarious everything suddenly feels.</p> <p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p> <p>In retrospect, the miracle is not that they finished “Let It Be,” but how these sessions served as the warmup for their final lap, “Abbey Road.” After upending expectations with the contrasting breakthroughs of “Sgt. Pepper” and the “White Album,” figuring out what to do next would have confounded lesser souls.</p> <p>That five-decade gap where fans waited for a refurbished “Let It Be” tells you a lot about how fraught January 1969 seemed to its four principals – and how deep those scars went.<!-- 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/169914/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/tim-riley-440673">Tim Riley</a>, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director for Journalism, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/emerson-college-3140">Emerson College</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/the-beatles-get-back-glosses-over-the-bands-acrimonious-end-169914">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images</em></p>

Movies

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Are you binge-watching too much? How to know if your TV habits are a problem – and what to do about it

<p>The term “binge-watch” was a contender for the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2013 word of the year. Although it didn’t win (“selfie” ultimately <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2013/11/18/5120390/selfie-is-the-2013-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year">took the crown</a>), this pointed to the rise of what was becoming a popular activity of watching multiple episodes of a TV show in a single sitting.</p> <p>Today, millions of us – including me – regularly consume our favourite series in this way. The proliferation of streaming services over recent years has made it very easy to do. Unsurprisingly, during COVID lockdowns, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178120313020?via%3Dihub">research shows</a> many of us spent more time binge-watching than usual.</p> <p>But can binge-watching become problematic or addictive? And if you can’t tear yourself away, what can you do?</p> <p>Problematic binge-watching isn’t defined by the number of episodes watched (although most researchers agree it’s at least two in a row), or a specific number of hours spent in front of the TV or computer screen. As with other addictive behaviours, more important is whether binge-watching is having a negative impact on other aspects of the person’s life.</p> <p>Over many years studying addiction, I’ve argued that all addictive behaviours comprise <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659890500114359">six core components</a>. In relation to binge-watching, this would mean:</p> <ol> <li> <p>Binge-watching is the most important thing in the person’s life (salience)</p> </li> <li> <p>The person engages in binge-watching as a way of reliably changing their mood: to feel better in the short-term or to temporarily escape from something negative in their life (mood modification)</p> </li> <li> <p>Binge-watching compromises key aspects of the person’s life like relationships and education or work (conflict)</p> </li> <li> <p>The number of hours the person spends binge-watching each day has increased significantly over time (tolerance)</p> </li> <li> <p>The person experiences psychological and/or physiological withdrawal symptoms if they’re unable to binge-watch (withdrawal)</p> </li> <li> <p>If the person manages to temporarily stop binge-watching, when they engage in the activity again, they go straight back into the cycle they were in previously (relapse).</p> </li> </ol> <p>In my view, any person who fulfils these six components would be genuinely addicted to binge-watching. A person who only fulfils some of these may be exhibiting problematic binge-watching, but wouldn’t be classed as addicted by my criteria.</p> <p>Like many other behavioural addictions, such as sex addiction, work addiction and exercise addiction, binge-watching addiction is not officially recognised in any psychiatric manuals. We also don’t have accurate estimates of the prevalence of problematic binge-watching. But research into this phenomenon is growing.</p> <h2>A look at the evidence</h2> <p>In the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.743870/full">latest study</a> on this topic, a research team in Poland surveyed 645 young adults, all of whom reported that they had watched at least two episodes of one show in a single sitting. The researchers wanted to understand some of the factors underlying problematic binge-watching.</p> <p>The authors (who based their definition of problematic binge-watching partly on my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659890500114359">components model of addiction</a>) used a questionnaire they developed in an <a href="https://www.termedia.pl/Characteristics-of-people-s-binge-watching-behavior-in-the-entering-into-early-adulthood-period-of-life,74,35865,0,1.html">earlier study</a> to assess problematic binge-watching among participants. Questions included: “How often do you neglect your duties in favour of watching series?” “How often do you feel sad or irritated when you can’t watch the TV series?” and “How often do you neglect your sleep to binge-watch series?”</p> <p>Participants had to give answers on a six-point scale from one (never) to six (always). A score above a certain threshold was deemed indicative of problematic binge-watching.</p> <p>Using a range of other scales, the researchers found that impulse control difficulties, lack of premeditation (difficulties in planning and evaluating the consequences of a given behaviour), watching to escape and forget about problems, and watching to avoid feeling lonely were among the most significant predictors of problematic binge-watching.</p> <p>Using the same data, the researchers reported in an <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689944/full">earlier study</a> that problematic binge-watching had a significant association with anxiety-depressive syndrome. The greater the symptoms of anxiety and depression, the more problematic a person’s binge-watching was.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435590/original/file-20211203-23-1o4rtql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A man on his laptop, appears to be watching something." /> <span class="caption">There is a growing body of evidence about the psychology of binge-watching.</span> <span class="attribution"><a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-young-bald-black-man-glasses-1789219070" class="source">Dragon Images/Shutterstock</a></span></p> <p>Other studies have reported <a href="https://www.mediawatchjournal.in/new-era-of-tv-watching-behavior-binge-watching-and-its-psychological-effects-2/">similar findings</a>. A study of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/3/1168">Taiwanese adults</a>, for example, found problematic binge-watching was associated with depression, anxiety around social interaction and loneliness.</p> <p>An <a href="https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/honors-theses/98/">American study</a> found the behaviour was associated with depression and attachment anxiety. Most related studies – like <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354856519890856">this one</a> from Portugal – have also shown escapism to be a key motivation of problematic binge-watching.</p> <p>In terms of personality traits, <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/6/4/article-p472.xml">research</a> has shown that problematic binge-watching appears to be associated with low conscientiousness (characterised by being impulsive, careless and disorganised) and high neuroticism (characterised by being anxious and prone to negative emotions). We see these types of associations in addictive behaviours more generally.</p> <h2>Breaking the habit</h2> <p>If you want to cut down on the number of episodes you watch in one sitting, my golden rule is to stop watching mid-way through an episode. It’s really hard to stop watching at the end of an episode as so often the show ends with a cliff-hanger.</p> <p>I also suggest setting realistic daily limits. For me, it’s 2.5 hours if I have work the next day, or up to five hours if I don’t. And only start watching as a reward to yourself after you’ve done everything you need to in terms of work and social obligations.</p> <p>Remember, the difference between a healthy enthusiasm and an addiction is that the former adds to your life, whereas the latter detracts from it. If you feel binge-watching is taking over your life, you should seek a referral from your GP to see a clinical psychologist. Most addictions are symptomatic of other underlying problems.<!-- 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/172817/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/mark-griffiths-116704">Mark Griffiths</a>, Director of the International Gaming Research Unit and Professor of Behavioural Addiction, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university-1338">Nottingham Trent University</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/are-you-binge-watching-too-much-how-to-know-if-your-tv-habits-are-a-problem-and-what-to-do-about-it-172817">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: SeventyFour/Shutterstock</em></p>

TV

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The Beatles: Get Back review – Peter Jackson’s TV series is a thrilling, funny (and long) treat for fans

<p>The Beatles’ Get Back project, undertaken in January 1969, has finally been completed. Again.</p> <p>For most of the last 50 years it has been known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_(1970_film)">Let it Be</a>, a film and LP record released in 1970. The project, conceived by Paul McCartney, was originally intended to be a television special documenting the band’s preparation for a live concert (their first in two and a half years). Because of the performance element, the Beatles decided to get back to their roots and only develop material that could be played without adding overdubs.</p> <p>As it happened, the concert didn’t go ahead, the Beatles famously deciding instead to play a short unannounced gig on the roof of their headquarters. The TV special became a feature film, and the audio was handed over to the “wall of sound” producer, Phil Spector (leading to controversial results).</p> <p>Meanwhile, in the early 1980s, the Beatles withdrew the film version (a fly-on-the-wall documentary directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg) from circulation.</p> <p>Lindsay-Hogg’s Let it Be is remembered as a portrait of a band in the process of breaking up. And indeed, George Harrison did briefly quit the band early into the four-week project, though Lindsay-Hogg’s documentary does not cover this episode.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433853/original/file-20211125-17-14zc63j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433853/original/file-20211125-17-14zc63j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">George Harrison in Get Back.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Walt Disney Pictures, Apple Corps, WingNut Films</span></span></p> <p>Let it Be was seen as a downer in part because the Beatles, especially Lennon, were keen to trash it in the light of the band’s breakup (which occurred just weeks before the release of Let it Be, both film and album). As Lennon said in December 1970, the shoot was “hell”, and Spector was “given the shittiest load of badly recorded shit”.</p> <h2>A different tenor</h2> <p>While the newly released The Beatles: Get Back, directed by Peter Jackson, covers Harrison’s departure and return, Jackson’s film is tonally different from Lindsay-Hogg’s. According to Jackson, the dour account of Let it Be is inaccurate, since there is much “joy” and friendship evident in the 60 hours of film and 150 hours of audio tape that has been sitting in a vault for half a century.</p> <p>Much of this audio has long been available as bootlegs, informing written accounts of this period of the Beatles’ history. The audio without the video, however, doesn’t always tell the whole story.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hmDy9x3AUc0?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>While Jackson and his team haven’t shied away from the moments of friction, ennui, and aimlessness experienced by the band, the tenor of Get Back is more upbeat than Lindsay-Hogg’s version (though there is perhaps more levity in that film than Jackson or its reputation allows).</p> <p>But Get Back is not just a recut of Let it Be; it is a documentary in its own right, a film about the making of a film. Lindsay-Hogg is now a character in the drama of trying to work out what the project is about, and how it will end.</p> <p>Unlike the cinema verité style of Let it Be, Get Back gives much-needed context in the form of titles naming the protagonists and songs, as well as explaining what is happening. The use of a day-by-day countdown to the live performance gives the otherwise shapeless events a sense of narrative and even tension.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nSrCk1icisI?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>Get Back was to be a feature film with a theatrical release, but COVID-19 led to a rescheduling and reconceptualising of the work, so that it became a documentary for Disney+. Recent reports were that the series would be a three-part series with a six-hour running time.</p> <h2>The climactic rooftop concert</h2> <p>As it turns out, that running time is closer to eight hours. (Let it Be is a mere 80 minutes long.) Almost all of these eight hours show the Beatles at work on a sound stage (at Twickenham Film Studios) or in an ad hoc recording studio (put together in the Beatles’ Apple headquarters, when – after Harrison’s walkout – it was decided that Twickenham wasn’t conducive to creativity).</p> <p>The Apple studio is clearly more pleasant, and the tone is further lightened when the Beatles are joined by an outsider, their old friend Billy Preston, on keyboards (a crucial moment for the project).</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/385eTo76OzA?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>There is nevertheless something of a hermetic feel to most of Get Back, so that when the Beatles and Preston head up to the rooftop to play in public – the cinematic “payoff” that the band and Lindsay-Hogg had been looking for throughout the project – there is a palpable sense of release.</p> <p>And the famous rooftop concert, presented with creative use of split screen, is stunningly good (and is also, for the first time, presented in its 42-minute entirety).</p> <p>After the countless run throughs and takes of the same songs over the preceding weeks (as well as numerous covers and early Beatles tunes), the sense of energy and the quality of playing gives the film the climactic moment that it needs, complete with police officers demanding, albeit politely, that the Beatles stop breaching the peace of London’s West End.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I392lK8QUhQ?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <h2>Cigarettes, cups of tea, and white bread</h2> <p>Get Back is very different from Let it Be in part due to Jackson’s editing, especially his use of montage, which produces a dynamic, sometimes frenetic, energy. Beyond these stylistic elements, Get Back is notable as a technical feat.</p> <p>It looks and sounds astonishingly good, not something that was ever said about Let it Be. Jackson and his technical team have employed the kind of film restoration techniques used in his war documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7905466/">They Shall Not Grow Old</a> (2018).</p> <p>The vision in Get Back is beautifully saturated, sharp, and less grainy than Lindsay-Hogg’s film. Harrison and Starr, in their sartorial splendour, often resemble their cartoon equivalents from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063823/">Yellow Submarine</a> (1968).</p> <p>If there is anything unvarnished about Jackson’s film it is the sight of people apparently living off cigarettes, cups of tea, and white bread. Also notably “historical” is the homosocial nature of the project; almost all of the active participants are men. Even Yoko Ono, who sits beside Lennon throughout, is almost entirely silent (save for her vocal participation in a couple of impromptu jams).</p> <p>While the film has been painstakingly restored, the soundtrack has been almost remade. Much of the audio was recorded on mono quarter-inch tape. Jackson’s technical team used machine learning to effectively “remix” these mono tapes, allowing Jackson to hone in on individual voices masked by other sound sources (voices or musical instruments).</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433854/original/file-20211125-19-e4obm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433854/original/file-20211125-19-e4obm5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">John Lennon in Get Back.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Walt Disney Pictures, Apple Corps, WingNut Films</span></span></p> <p>This is an extraordinary technological breakthrough, allowing key conversations to be heard properly for the first time, and for the remixing of the play throughs and rehearsals of songs, which weren’t being recorded as “takes” on the eight-track system.</p> <p>Get Back is a treat for any Beatles fan. It’s a reminder, too, if one is needed, that some classic songs were recorded for the project. (Given that McCartney supplied at least three of these classics – Let it Be, The Long and Winding Road, and Get Back – it’s unsurprising that he has long been unsatisfied with the way they were originally showcased.)</p> <p>But Jackson’s film isn’t all sweetness and light. Lennon, for instance, is dismissive of Harrison’s I, Me, Mine, and he makes a throwaway joke about Bob Wooler, a Liverpool disc jockey whom Lennon assaulted in 1963. Also notable is the relative absence of George Martin, who largely hands production duties to his sound engineer, Glyn Johns, surely a sign that Martin found something amiss with the project.</p> <p>And indeed numerous sequences show a band lacking focus and discipline. Get Back, then, is unquestionably a mixed bag: thrilling, compelling, and funny, but also sometimes just a little boring.</p> <p>In this, Jackson has been true to the original project. His extraordinary TV series is essential viewing for anyone interested in popular music.<!-- 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/172404/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/david-mccooey-308502">David McCooey</a>, Professor of Writing and Literature, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</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/the-beatles-get-back-review-peter-jacksons-tv-series-is-a-thrilling-funny-and-long-treat-for-fans-172404">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Apple Corps Ltd</em></p>

TV

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Unseen Beatles footage to feature in new docu-series

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new documentary will contain previously unseen footage of The Beatles towards the end of their time as a band which will present a different take on the creation of their final studio album </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let It Be</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Originally intended as a film, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Beatles: Get Back</span></em> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/peter-jacksons-documentary-the-beatles-get-back-unveils-brand-new-footage-in-extended-trailer/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">has become</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a three-part documentary that follows the group as they worked, recorded, and prepared for their final rooftop performance.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CU-G43YFxhD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <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/CU-G43YFxhD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Disney+ (@disneyplus)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the latest extended trailer, the British stars can be seen workshopping songs and messing around in the studio, as well as discussing the group’s imminent break-up.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The trailer also reveals footage surrounding the departure of George Harrison and the planning they undertook for their final Savile Row concert.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See it here:</span></p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tb83rbm0IVI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Get Back</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, directed by Peter Jackson, sees the archived footage undergo the same restoration treatment used in his WWI project </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">They Shall Not Grow Old</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, giving it a vibrant hue.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The documentary is due to premiere on Disney Plus across three consecutive nights, starting on November 25.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: The Beatles / YouTube</span></em></p>

Movies

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Elizabeth Hurley speaks out against her son’s grandfather

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elizabeth Hurley has spoken out against her son Damian’s paternal grandfather, releasing a statement criticising the decision to prevent the 19-year-old from inheriting an expected $330 million AUD (or $354 million NZD) from his family trust.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Damian’s father, Steve Bing, died by suicide in 2020 at 55. He and Hurley dated between 2001 and 2002.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Steve Bing’s father and Damian’s paternal grandfather, multimillionaire Dr Peter Bing, made an appeal against Damian and his half-sister, Kira Kerkorian, to receive a share of Steve Bing’s fortune as they were born out of wedlock.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a statement made to </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Mail</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> over the weekend, Hurley said she was hurt by Dr Bing’s decision, especially after Steve had won a court battle overturning Dr Bing’s attempt to exclude Damian and Kira from the family trust before his death.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When Stephen took his own life, he died thinking his children were going to be taken care of,” Hurley said in the statement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Stephen fought very hard in his last year to have his children recognised and repeatedly told me how incredibly important it was to him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What Stephen wanted has not been callously reversed. I know Stephen would have been devastated.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Although Damian reportedly didn’t have a relationship with Steve growing up, Steve called Damian and expressed hopes of building a relationship with him on the then 18-year-old’s birthday, according to Hurley.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the anniversary of his father’s death, Damian shared a tribute on Instagram, saying the “last year has been bloody hard”.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQbk0n3l9kA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <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/CQbk0n3l9kA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Damian Hurley (@damianhurley1)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He was happy beyond belief that the trial verdict ruled that Damian was to be treated like his sister’s children as far as the trust was concerned,” the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Austin Powers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> star continued in her statement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I am just relieved that Stephen will never know that Damian’s relatives - Stephen’s father and the family of his sister Mary - were ultimately successful in their appeal against the original trial verdict.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kira’s mother, former professional tennis player Lisa Bonder, also contributed to the statement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As a mum, I wonder why on earth this had to happen. Why make two innocent kids into victims?” Bonder said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following the court’s decision, Steve’s fortune will be split between his sister Mary’s two children, Anton Ellis and Lucy Ellis.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Steve, who founded Shangri-La Entertainment, inherited his fortune when he was 18 from his grandfather, who was a real-estate mogul.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Elizabeth Hurley / Instagram</span></em></p>

Money & Banking

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Willy Wonka star reveals Gene Wilder’s “favourite brat”

<p><span>A child star who had the opportunity to work alongside the infamous Gene Wilder has spoken out on the experience, 50 years since its first premier date.</span><br /><br /><em>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory </em><span>hit movie screens 50 years ago on June 30, 1971 and achieved rapid success almost overnight.</span><br /><br /><span>The film went on to become a phenomenon that was registered in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.</span><br /><br /><span>The child actors Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Michael Bollner, Paris Themmen and Denise Nickerson – who played Charlie Bucket, Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, Mike Teavee and Violet Beauregarde – all came together for a virtual reunion in honour of the film’s anniversary.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842239/willy-wonka.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b9da36eca8c24fbeb170655d6cf92150" /></p> <p><em>Image: Yahoo</em><br /><br /><span>The actors all had the opportunity to co-star together, and even got to explore the imagined Wonka Chocolate Factory.</span><br /><br /><span>The cast recounted such fond memories of exploring the film sets in Bavarian Germany and working with Gene Wilder.</span><br /><br /><span>Themmen admitted that he was indeed a “notorious troublemaker on the set.”</span><br /><br /><span>So much so that even Wilder called him “a handful”.</span><br /><br /><span>“I can corroborate that,” the actor, who played the television-obsessed rascal Mike Teavee, admitted.</span><br /><br /><span>“I was younger than the others. I was 11, they were 13 and was naturally just sort of more high-spirited and rambunctious.”</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842237/willy-wonka-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a8d501bcedd64f7b97dd573169a7717a" /></p> <p><em>Image: Yahoo</em><br /><br /><span>The now-62-year-old opened up about one brief moment he shared with Wilder, in 1976 during a fundraiser screening for the film <em>Silver Streak</em> at the Avon Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut.</span><br /><br /><span>“I sat at the back of the room and he gave his commentary and then I went up to the front of the room afterwards with my poster in hand,” Themmen relived with a smile.</span><br /><br /><span>“I said, ‘Hi, Gene, how you doing? I’m Paris Themmen, I was Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka.”</span><br /><br /><span>“And he said, ‘Oh you were a brat!’ And I flashed all the way back 50 years, or 40 years at that time, and said, ‘Well, I’m 50-something now and maybe not as much of a brat.’</span><br /><br /><span>And he signed my poster, ‘To my favourite brat.’”</span><br /><br /><span>Wilder died in 2016 at the age of 83 after a long vibrant career.</span><br /><br /><span>Cole, who played Veruca Salt, said: “I think people kind of want us to tell you that he was like Willy Wonka offset, but he wasn’t.</span><br /><br /><span>“He was such a lovely, kind man, very unassuming,” she said.</span><br /><br /><span>“He was just down to earth, not pretentious, he was just a wonderful person to be around and to work with,” said Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket.</span></p>

Movies

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Queen’s “favourite” grandson questioned by police in bizarre 740km lockdown trip

<p><span>Cops turned up on the doorstep of a married woman in Scotland after a complaint that the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips had driven 740 km to see her.</span><br /><br /><span>Police were forced to “issue advice” to Mr Phillips, 43, who currently resides 460 miles (740 kilometres) away in Gloucestershire.</span><br /><br /><span>The grandson of Her Majesty lives at his mum, Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.</span><br /><br /><span>But locals had little patience for the royal when he turned up in the village of St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire.</span><br /><br /><span>Police called on him and the 40-year-old mum of two at her £475,000 ($860,000) home.</span><br /><br /><span>It was quickly discovered Phillips was not in breach of any COVID-19 lockdown rules after he explained he was on a business trip.</span><br /><br /><span>The woman — who is separated from her husband — is a pal of Peter’s sister Zara Phillips after their days at private school Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland.</span><br /><br /><span>She attended Zara’s wedding to rugby star Mike Tindall in 2011.</span><br /><br /><span>The woman and Peter met again at a school reunion.</span><br /><br /><span>The father-of-two split from his wife, 41-year-old Autumn, in a public announcement in February of 2020.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7840489/peter-phillips.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/462147d9d43d403882d55ccecdf044c4" /><br /><br /><span>“It seems wrong he has travelled here from England, whatever the circumstances,” one local source said.</span><br /><br /><span>“Scotland is closed and if you flew here you would have to quarantine for 10 days.”</span><br /><br /><span>A spokesman for Mr Phillips said the royal had travelled on business with his company XL Medical, which provides rapid COVID-19 tests.</span><br /><br /><span>“We do not comment on ­details or circumstances of Mr Phillips’ accommodation when travelling on ­business,” he said.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7840487/peter-phillips-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/19e41b2b78014e838769ef45cc1e858b" /><br /><br /><span>A Police Scotland spokeswoman said, “At around 6.40 pm on Friday March 26, 2021, police received a report of a potential breach of coronavirus regulations at a property in St Cyrus, Montrose. Officers attended, spoke to the occupants and found no breaches of ­legislation.”</span><br /><br /><span>Mainland Scotland is in lockdown with travel only permitted for “essential purposes”.</span><br /><br /><span>Peter and Autumn have daughters Savannah, 10, and Isla, eight.</span><br /><br /><span>Peter is 17th in line to the throne, as he is the son of Princess Anne and her ex-husband Captain Mark Phillips.</span></p>

Legal

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Bingeing Netflix under lockdown? Here’s why streaming comes at a cost to the environment

<p>Coronavirus lockdowns have led to a <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2020/COVID-19-puts-brakes-on-global-emissions">massive reduction</a> in global emissions, but there’s one area where energy usage is up – way up – during the pandemic: <a href="https://which-50.com/an-extraordinary-period-in-internet-history-akamai-data-shows-30-per-cent-surge-in-internet-traffic/">internet traffic</a>.</p> <p>Data-intensive <a href="https://www.streamingmediablog.com/2020/04/cdn-traffic-update.html">video streaming</a>, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gaming-usage-up-75-percent-coronavirus-outbreak-verizon-reports-1285140">gaming</a> and <a href="https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/04/01/a-message-to-our-users/">livestreaming</a> for business, university and school classes, is <a href="https://theshiftproject.org/en/lean-ict-2/">chewing up energy</a>.</p> <p>Estimates can be <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-on-netflix">notoriously difficult</a> and depend on the electricity source, but six hours of streaming video may be the equivalent of burning one litre of petrol, due to emissions from the electricity used to power the <a href="https://theconversation.com/wheres-your-data-its-not-actually-in-the-cloud-its-sitting-in-a-data-centre-64168">data centres</a> which deliver the video.</p> <p>In fact, the energy associated with the global IT sector – from powering internet servers to charging smartphones – is estimated to have the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160811090046.htm">same carbon footprint</a> as the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06610-y">aviation industry’s fuel emissions</a> (before planes were grounded).</p> <p>But Australia is a global leader in research to lower the energy used in IT, which is vital for meeting the streaming demand without the environmental cost.</p> <p><strong>Where does the data come from?</strong></p> <p>Video requires huge amounts of data, and accounts for around <a href="https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-02.pdf">80% of the data</a> transmitted on the internet. Much of the energy needed for streaming services is consumed by data centres, which deliver data to your computer or device. Increasingly housed in vast factory-sized buildings, these servers store, process and distribute internet traffic.</p> <p>Research in 2015 found data centres may consume as much as <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/6/1/117">13% of the world’s electricity by 2030</a>, accounting for about 6% of global carbon dioxide emissions. And the European Commission-funded Eureca project <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/major-milestone-driving-energy-efficiency-data-rabih-bashroush/">found</a> data centres in EU countries consumed 25% more energy in 2017 compared with 2014.</p> <p>Imagine what those figures will look like at the end of this year of home-bound internet use.</p> <p><strong>Meeting demands with Moore’s law</strong></p> <p>The growth in IT is often taken for granted. In contrast to the old days of dial-up internet, we now demand a three-hour movie, in high definition, to download immediately. We want phones that can take video like a pro.</p> <p>None of this is free. Nor is it sustainable. Every year the number of computations, or transmission of information through space, done globally, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/332/6025/60">increases by 60%</a>, according to 2011 research.</p> <p>All this computation uses “transistors”. These are tiny switches that amplify electrical signals, and are made using silicon-based technology.</p> <p>For the past 40 years, our ever-increasing need for more computing was largely satisfied by incremental improvements in silicon-based computing technology – ever-smaller, ever-faster, ever-more efficient chips. We refer to this constant shrinking of silicon components as “Moore’s law”.</p> <p>For example, since the late 1970s the length of transistors reduces by about 30%, and the area by about 50%, every two years. This shrinks the energy used in switching on and off each transistor by about 50%, which is better for the environment.</p> <p>While each transistor uses only a tiny amount of energy, there are billions of transistors in a typical computer chip, each switching billions of time per second. This can add up to a vast amount of energy.</p> <p><strong>We need better chips</strong></p> <p>Recently it has become much <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/when-the-chips-are-down/">harder</a> (and much more <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/2013/11/18/no-moore">expensive</a>) to pursue such trends, and the number of companies pursuing smaller components is dropping off rapidly.</p> <p>Globally, four companies manufactured chips with 14 nanometre (nm) transistors in 2014, but in recent years they’ve struggled to continue shrinking the size of silicon transistors. Global Foundries dropped out of this race altogether in <a href="https://www.anandtech.com/show/13277/globalfoundries-stops-all-7nm-development">2018</a>, and Intel experienced enormous <a href="https://www.anandtech.com/show/15580/intel-cfo-our-10nm-will-be-less-profitable-than-22nm">problems</a> with manufacturing at 10 nm. That leaves only two companies (Samsung and TSMC) making 7 nm transistors today.</p> <p>So the answer isn’t to switch off Netflix. The answer is to create <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/24/905789/were-not-prepared-for-the-end-of-moores-law/">better computer chips</a>.</p> <p>But we’ve got everything we can out of silicon, so we need to use something else. If we want computing to continue to grow, we need new, energy-efficient computers.</p> <p><strong>Australia is a leader in low-energy solutions</strong></p> <p>Australia is leading the world in this new field to replace conventional electronics. The ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (<a href="http://www.fleet.org.au/">FLEET</a>) was established in 2017 to address exactly this challenge.</p> <p>Michael Fuhrer explains topological materials and why they might change the world.</p> <p>Last year scientists at FLEET published research in Nature <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0788-5">revealing</a> the discovery that the “topological” material sodium-bismuthide could be the key to achieving ultra-low energy electronics.</p> <p>These so-called topological insulators, which led to a <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2016/summary/">2016 Nobel Prize in Physics</a>, conduct electricity only along their edges, and in one direction, without loss of energy due to resistance.</p> <p>This discovery is a first step towards the development of a low-energy replacement for conventional silicon-based electronics.</p> <p>Other top research centres in Australia are addressing different parts of this challenge. For example, <a href="https://tmos.org.au/">one centre</a> is working to reduce the energy used in ubiquitous communication of digital data. Another two are taking a different tack, developing an entirely new <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/01/29/66141/what-is-quantum-computing/">quantum technology for computing</a> which promises to enormously speed up, and improve the efficiency of, certain difficult computing tasks.</p> <p>Quantum computing expert Michelle Simmons explains why this research is so important.</p> <p>Other countries are equally focused on developing alternatives to the unsustainable need for better and faster electronics, since we cannot sustain the energy needed for these existing and future technologies.</p> <p>All of these technologies are still confined to specialised laboratories and are probably at least a decade away from finding their way into everyday devices. But we don’t expect the demand for computing to go away, and the energy problem in IT will only become more urgent.</p> <p><em>Written by Michael Fuhrer and Errol Hunt. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/bingeing-netflix-under-lockdown-heres-why-streaming-comes-at-a-cost-to-the-environment-143190">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Movies

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Million-dollar painting deemed almost worthless

<p><span>One guest on BBC's Antiques Roadshow was left deflated on the show after they learnt a portrait thought to be an original Lely painting was almost worth nothing.</span><br /><br /><span>The visitor appeared on the show with one of the experts, to find out the true value of the artefact that had been passed down through his family. </span><br /><br /><span>He revealed the artwork was purchased in an auction in the 1850s, before it was placed in the home of the current owner - having been passed down through the family.</span><br /><br /><span>The piece was believed to have been painted by the popular artist Sir Peter Lely, who was around in the 1600s.</span><br /><br /><span>However the expert had to break the news that the piece was not an original and most likely a copy painted in the 19th century - two centuries after Lely's paintings.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837079/painting-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/34b3a7c3aa9d45c993f2bf049755e4c2" /><br /><br /><span>It featured all the parts of a painting by this artist, even documented as one of his works in an auction catalogue from the time it was purchased.</span><br /><br /><span>The show expert says it was obviously not original - but if it had been; it would be worth around a million dollars. </span><br /><br /><span>However, due to the artwork likely being a dupe, he said the it’s value dropped down dramatically to almost nothing. </span><br /><br /><span>He explained: "The question is, is it by Lely? The catalogue of 1845 you've just shown me says Lely doesn't it, quite clearly. But in those days they had somewhat a looser interpretation of the trade description act, if it indeed ever existed.</span><br /><br /><span>"The thing about Lely, the great portrait painter that he was, is that when he died he left hundreds of unfinished portraits and versions of portraits already done.</span><br /><br /><span>"His students and studio assistants finished them really quickly, and sold them all so that his entire estate including his collection of old masters made something like £30,00 in the 17th century, which was a massive amount of money. He was so popular.</span><br /><br /><span>"It effectively flooded the market with versions of his pictures done by lesser hands, the question is, is it one of those?"</span><br /><br /><span>The expert went on to reveal what the portrait could really be worth. </span><br /><br /><span>"The secret here is not to look too closely I’m afraid, you can tell I’m softening you up for a bit of a blow,” he said. </span><br /><br /><span>"Sorry but I think, I’m afraid, this is a shadow of a dream. It's not even by a studio assistant. I think it's a much later copy.</span><br /><br /><span>"Something about the reduced scale, of course it should be massive, makes it look more domestic. Something about the frankly Victorian idea of a 17th century frame, it's been copied.</span><br /><br /><span>"And the colours are slightly gaudier than you’d expect, a little bit of clunkiness in the drawing of the hand, and then put on top of that this brown finish which is quite deliberately antiquing it, I think what we're looking at is a 19th century copy."</span><br /><br /><span>The expert went on to say despite the guest’s disappointments that if it was an “original Lely, it would be pretty well around a million pounds.” </span><br /><br /><span>"But as it is, it's probably worth around I don't know, £600. I'm sorry to let you down."</span></p>

Art

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Lockdown dangers: Young man dies of blood clot after video game binge

<p>A father has warned parents and young people to stay active during the coronavirus lockdown after his 24-year-old son died from deep vein thrombosis (DVT).</p> <p>In a post on Facebook, Stanley Greening, 56, <span>from Bedfordshire, in the UK</span> told friends about the death of his son Louis O’Neill in early June.</p> <p>“On 3rd June something so awful happened, the worst imaginable thing to happen to such a young man and the worst imaginable thing to happen to a parent,” he wrote.</p> <p>“My son, my dear boy, Louis, has gone. Not from the evil virus but because of it. His young life, barely begun, still trying to find his feet, just torn away.”</p> <p>Louis had been furloughed from his job as a soccer coach at Centre Parcs since mid-March, when the UK COVID-19 lockdown was first imposed.</p> <p>The young man then took to online gaming with friends to pass time, Stanley said.</p> <p>“Caught up in a virtual world he became less active, so easily done. Hours fly by when absorbed by the screen, I’ve done it countless times myself,” Stanley said.</p> <p>Two weeks before his death, Louis complained about a pain in his leg. He called emergency responders, who told him it could be food poisoning.</p> <p>“But no one, and I mean no one, ever in a million years would have predicted a blood clot,” Stanley said.</p> <p>“Who is warning youngsters? Who is warning anyone, of any age? No one!! So I am. My son will live on, I shall continue to spread this warning in his name.”</p> <p>Stanley said conversations with medical professionals revealed that cases of DVT in young people have been rising since the lockdown began.</p> <p>DVT is a blood clot that occurs in a deep vein, most commonly in the leg. Some of the risk factors associated with DVT include obesity, pregnancy, smoking, and certain medications as well as long periods of inactivity.</p> <p>“As more and more of us are working from home it is likely you are not getting out your chair as much as you need. Stand up, walk around, and please, warn your kids,” Stanley said.</p>

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Liz and Damian Hurley break their silence on Steve Bing's confirmed suicide

<p><span>Liz Hurley has shared a heartfelt message about her ex-partner, Steve Bing, who was found dead in Los Angeles at just 55-years-old.</span><br /><br /><span>Bing, who made his mark as a filmmaker, was best known for his work on movies including Kangaroo Jack, which he co-wrote, and for financing films including The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks.</span><br /><br /><span>He was the father of Hurley’s 18-year-old son Damien after the pair dated for 18 months in 2000 and 2001.</span><br /><br /><span>Sharing a gallery of pictures of them when they were a pair, she said she will remember her ex-partner as a “sweet, kind man”.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBxghm9l1xU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=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/CBxghm9l1xU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Elizabeth Hurley (@elizabethhurley1)</a> on Jun 23, 2020 at 3:03am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /><span>“I am saddened beyond belief that my ex Steve is no longer with us. It is a terrible end,” she wrote.</span><br /><br /><span>“Our time together was very happy and I’m posting these pictures because although we went through some tough times, it’s the good, wonderful memories of a sweet, kind man that matter.</span><br /><br /><span>“In the past year we had become close again. We last spoke on our son’s 18th birthday. This is devastating news and I thank everyone for their lovely messages.”</span><br /><br /><span>Their son Damian also shared his own message.</span><br /><br /><span>He posted a snap of a sunset on Instagram and thanked everyone for their messages during a “very strange and confusing time.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBxlAsAF5Fl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=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/CBxlAsAF5Fl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Damian Hurley (@damianhurley1)</a> on Jun 23, 2020 at 3:43am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /><span>“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that has reached out following the devastating news,” it read.</span><br /><br /><span>“I’m trying to reply to as many of you as I can, but please know I will always remember your kindness.</span><br /><br /><span>“This is a very strange and confusing time and I’m immensely grateful to be surrounded by my phenomenal family and friends.”</span><br /><br /><span>Former US president Bill Clinton also took to social media to share a few words about his friend.</span><br /><br /><span>“I loved Steve Bing very much. He had a big heart, and he was willing to do anything he could for the people and causes he believed in,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span>“I will miss him and his enthusiasm more than I can say, and I hope he’s finally found peace.”</span><br /><br /><span>The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed they were investigating the death of a man found in Century City.</span><br /><br /><span>The coroner said a man was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.10 pm local time on Monday.</span><br /><br /><span>Bing was destined for great things when he dropped out of Stanford at just 18, after inheriting a whopping US$600 million from his grandfather, Leo S Bing, who was a successful real estate developer.</span><br /><br /><span>His Hollywood career skyrocketed when he co-wrote the 2003 comedy Kangaroo Jack while reportedly investing $US80 million in the 2004 animated film The Polar Express.</span><br /><br /><span>Bing was the founder of Shangri-La Entertainment, an organisation which had interests in property, construction, entertainment and music.</span><br /><br /><span>His name is listed on the Giving Pledge website, a project launched in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.</span><br /><br /><span>The pledge asks the super-rich to give away the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.</span></p>

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Liz Hurley's ex Steve Bing reportedly falls to his death

<p>Steve Bing, film producer and the father of Elizabeth Hurley’s 18-year-old son Damian, has died aged 55.</p> <p>Bing died after falling from the 27th floor of a Los Angeles building on Monday, according to law enforcement sources as quoted by <em>TMZ</em>.</p> <p>Reports in <em><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/23/steve-bing-hollywood-producer-reportedly-dead-suicide/">TMZ</a></em> said Bing had been suffering from depression.</p> <p>He is survived by his two children – Damian, whom he shares with Hurley, and Kira, born to tennis player Lisa Bonder.</p> <p>Bing co-wrote the 2003 comedy flick <em>Kangaroo Jack </em>and financed a number of other films, including <em>The Polar Express </em>and<em> Beowulf</em>. He was also credited as an executive producer for <em>Get Carter</em>, <em>Youth in Revolt</em> and <em>Rock the Kasbah</em>.</p> <p>He was the chairman of Shangri-La Entertainment, whose most recent credits include 2017 blockbuster <em>Kingsman: The Golden Circle</em>.</p> <p>Bing, a grandson of New York real estate mogul Leo S Bing and a close friend of Bill Clinton, pledged a $30 million legacy gift to the Motion Picture &amp; Television Fund in 2012.</p> <p>Bing and Hurley welcomed Damian on April 4, 2002 after their split. In July 2019, a judge ruled Damian and Kira were both entitled to access their grandfather Dr Peter Bing’s trust after a trustee from his estate sought to exclude them.<span></span></p>

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Left for dead: Twin babies perish while parents go on four-day drinking binge

<p>A couple in Russia have been charged with murder after going on a “four day lockdown drinking binge” and left their 16-week-old twins “all alone without food”.</p> <p>Their baby son was in a coma and died in hospital soon after the pair were found by their grandmother.</p> <p>The daughter is fighting for her life in a hospital in Russia’s Kamchatka region.</p> <p>Mother Margarita Yanayeca, 23, “lied” to her friends and said that her children were in hospital with coronavirus.</p> <p>Margarita and her partner Alexey, 35, left them locked at home all weekend while they partied over four days.</p> <p>Their son died from “starvation”, whereas his twin sister is incredibly weak in intensive care.</p> <p>“In the course of four days they were not feeding the children, and did not arrange alternative care for them,” said an investigation source.</p> <p>Instead they “subjected them to hunger, did not ensure hygiene, leaving the minors were in a socially dangerous state”.</p> <p>The children were found by a grandmother who was concerned that she could not reach the couple by phone.</p> <p>After finding the children, she immediately called the police.</p> <p>If the parents are convicted of murder, they face up to 20 years in jail. The pair also face charges over failing in their parental duties and subjecting their children to danger.</p> <p><em>Photo credits:<a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/twin-babies-left-to-die-while-russian-parents-go-on-four-day-drinking-binge-c-1087502" target="_blank"> 7News</a></em></p>

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Royal fans shocked as Queen’s grandson “splits” from wife of 12 years

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>The Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips is reportedly separating from his wife of 12 years, Autumn Phillips.</p> <p>Princess Anne’s son married the Canadian-born Autumn in 2008 and are parents to nine-year-old Savannah and seven-year-old Isla.</p> <p>The news has reportedly come as a shock to both Peter and the Queen.</p> <p>One pal revealed to<span> </span><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10935833/peter-phillips-splits-wife-autumn-kelly-queen/" target="_blank">The Sun</a>: “Peter is absolutely devastated by this and just didn’t see it coming.</p> <p>“He thought he was happily married and had the perfect family with two lovely daughters. But he is now in total shock.</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/B8aaUOFnAtr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=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/B8aaUOFnAtr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Royal Family (@royal_family_history)</a> on Feb 10, 2020 at 8:10pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“Autumn is a wonderful wife and mother and a very intelligent woman, but she’s been telling her friends for some time that there were issues.</p> <p>“She is a favourite of the Queen and I’m sure Her Majesty will be very upset by this as well.</p> <p>“It’s the last thing she needs after all her recent troubles and you get the feeling that the Royal Family is falling apart a little bit.”</p> <p>The split comes just two weeks after Peter sparked controversy after starring in a Chinese milk advertising campaign while being promoted as a “British royal”.</p> <p>Those close to the couple are worried that Autumn might want to head back to her homeland Canada after the split.</p> <p>“What worries some of us is that Autumn may want to go back to Canada,” one friend said.</p> <p>“Maybe she has been influenced by Harry and Meghan’s departure. Perhaps she thought if that can happen then I can leave as well? That might be unfair on her but you have to consider it."</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/B8cCsLQHEo1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=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/B8cCsLQHEo1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by ModernRoyalEra (@modernroyalera)</a> on Feb 11, 2020 at 11:22am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>A senior royal insider said that the Queen must be “crestfallen” by the news.</p> <p>“The Queen must wonder what she has done to deserve this.</p> <p>“Peter Phillips has always been a favourite of hers and Prince Philip and she will be crestfallen by this, especially on top of all the other bad news.</p> <p>“It makes you wonder what’s going to happen next.”</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-action-bar-component-wrapper"> <div class="post-actions-component"> <div class="upper-row"></div> </div> </div>

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