Placeholder Content Image

Loch Ness monster back in headlines after "most exciting" photo in decades

<p>A recent potential Loch Ness monster sighting has generated immense excitement among monster enthusiasts, who claim these photographs are the most captivating seen in decades.</p> <p>The incident unfolded when Chie Kelly, 51, inadvertently captured images of an unidentified, sizeable creature gliding across the surface of Loch Ness five years ago in August.</p> <p>At the time, she hesitated to release the images, fearing public ridicule. However, her decision changed after the largest 'Nessie' search in over half a century took place last month – called The Quest Weekend.</p> <p>Kelly, accompanied by her family, was enjoying a meal at an inn nestled on the shores of the Scottish loch when she began snapping photos.</p> <p>According to the <a href="https://lochness.com/findings-revealed-from-the-quest-weekend/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lochness.com website</a>, Chie Kelly "had lunch in the Dores Inn and then started walking around. I was just taking pictures with my Canon camera of Scott and our daughter Alisa, who was then five, when about 200 metres from the shore, moving right to left at a steady speed was this creature.</p> <p>"It was spinning and rolling at times. We never saw a head or neck. After a couple of minutes, it just disappeared and we never saw it again.</p> <p>"At first I wondered if it was an otter or a pair of otters or a seal, but we never saw a head and it never came up again for air.</p> <p>"It was making this strange movement on the surface. We did not hear any sound. There were these strange shapes below the surface. I could not make out any colours – the water was dark. I could not accurately assess its length, but the two parts that were visible were less than two metres long together.</p> <p>"I don’t know what it was, but it was definitely a creature – an animal. At the time I did not want to face public ridicule by making the photographs public. But I met Steve Feltham at the weekend and showed him the images, and he said immediately that they were ‘very interesting’.”</p> <p>Feltham has dedicated more than 30 years to the search for Nessie since abandoning his job and selling his house in 1991. After looking at the images, he said, “These are the most exciting surface pictures I have seen. They are exactly the type of pictures I have been wanting to take for three decades.</p> <p>"It is rare to see something so clear on the surface. They are vindication for all the people who believe there is something unexplained in Loch Ness. They are remarkable. I have studied them and still do not know what it is. I persuaded them that these pictures were so important they should make them public. They warrant further investigation. It is not driftwood – it is a moving creature and totally unexplained.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CrRewR8txip/?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/CrRewR8txip/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Chie Tchié Kelly-Kano (@kelly.chie)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Reports of the Loch Ness monster have spanned ancient history, with stories dating back to an Irish missionary allegedly rescuing a swimmer from a creature in the loch during the 7th century.</p> <p>The completion of a road adjacent to the loch in 1933 led to a surge in monster sightings. Despite numerous searches over the years, a DNA survey conducted in 2018 failed to provide any evidence of a plesiosaur or other large animals residing in the lake.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram / Chie Kelly</em></p> <p> </p>

International Travel

Placeholder Content Image

“Irwin genes are strong”: Bindi shares adorable candid snap

<p>Bindi Irwin has delighted fans after sharing a sweet snap of her two-year-old daughter, Grace Warrior cuddling a giant tortoise.</p> <p>The wildlife warrior took to Instagram to share the sweet snap with a comparison photo of herself hugging a giant tortoise when she was around Grace’s age.</p> <p>“Holding my newborn daughter wondering if she’ll love wildlife like I did” she captioned one of the photos in the Reel.</p> <p>The next two photos showed comparison photos of the mother-daughter duo which showed that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.</p> <p>“Our Grace Warrior, the Wildlife Warrior," she captioned the post.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs4wPGzBjZZ/?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/Cs4wPGzBjZZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The adorable photo has been praised by fans who commented how proud Steve Irwin would be of his daughter and granddaughter.</p> <p>"It’s in the Irwin blood! You guys have the most beautiful connection with wildlife and each other! Steve Irwin genes are strong!” wrote one fan.</p> <p>"Your dad is probably so so proud looking down,” commented a second person.</p> <p>"This gives me happy goosebumps babe,” wrote a third.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

Placeholder Content Image

“Our Disney princess”: Grace Irwin’s magical milestone

<p dir="ltr">Bindi Irwin and her family were all smiles on a recent trip to “the most magical place on Earth”, with some of their favourite highlights documented on social media for their fans to enjoy the occasion right along with them.</p> <p dir="ltr">The day was something of a milestone for two-year-old Grace, who was making her first trip to Disneyland alongside Bindi and Chandler. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Our Disney princess visited the most magical place on Earth for the very first time,” Bindi wrote. “My. Heart.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In the clip accompanying the caption, a series of snaps and short videos played out, though two things remained constant throughout - the delight on their faces, and the wonder on young Grace’s.</p> <p dir="ltr">It opened with a sweet family picture in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, a popular location in the centre of the park for capturing the all-important Disney portrait. </p> <p dir="ltr">Next, Grace had been introduced to a bubble wand in her dad’s arms, before the family were captured flying through the air on Disney’s Dumbo The Flying Elephant ride.</p> <p dir="ltr">From there, Grace was pictured exploring the park - on her own feet and from her mum’s embrace - as well as dancing to live music, meeting some iconic Disney characters, hosting her very own princess tea party, and experiencing the wonder of the world famous It’s a Small World attraction. </p> <p dir="ltr">All, it appears, picture perfect items on any Disneyland agenda. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cse2J6nh6S0/?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/Cse2J6nh6S0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Bindi’s followers certainly seemed to agree, flocking to her comments to gush over Bindi’s heartwarming post, all agreeing that the family must have had “the best time”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s the BEST!” author Steve Maraboli declared. “Moments and memories like that are vitamins for the soul!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“That is so so special,” Australian TV personality Rove McManus said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Looks like you had the most perfect time! I loved when she was dancing for the musicians,” one fan shared.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Watching Disney through your child’s eyes is simply the best!!” another noted. </p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, some could only marvel at how much Grace and grown, with others simply happy to see Bindi enjoying herself in the world after her <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/bindi-irwin-breaks-down-on-camera-about-health-condition">difficult health journey</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr">“So glad to see you are feeling so much better that you can enjoy an adventure like Disney,” one wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, another wasn’t quite so sure about the whole “happiest place” side of things, revealing that while their day had looked “amazing”, they had to note “Australia Zoo is one of the most magical places on earth. Anywhere we can love and protect animals.”</p> <p dir="ltr">And, of course, Robert Irwin had to get in on the celebration, sharing a series of hearts in response to his sister’s post - just weeks after sharing his own happy snap with the youngest Irwin wildlife warrior, too. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

Placeholder Content Image

"I loved him very much": Pink reveals heartbreaking inspiration behind hit track

<p>Multi award winning singer-songwriter Pink has opened up about the heartache that inspired her 2006 hit song ‘Who Knew’. </p> <p>The 43-year-old was chatting to fellow singer Kelly Clarkson on Kelly’s talk show when she made the tragic admission that ‘Who Knew’ is about the loss of two of her friends to drug overdose. </p> <p>“I lost several friends, unfortunately, to overdose,” she told Kelly, “and the second one was very, very, very close to me, and I loved him very much.” </p> <p>The singer was referring to her dear friend Sekou Harris, who died of a heroin overdose at just 14 years old.</p> <p>In a 2012 interview with <em>Entertainment Weekly</em>, Pink said of the song and its inspiration, “I always wanted to write a song for a friend of mine, Sekou Harris, who overdosed on heroin and died. And I never knew how because I didn’t want to force it and write some cheesy overdose song.”</p> <p>When Kelly mentioned that experiencing so much loss “sucks”, Pink countered that loss is unavoidable and that people “need music for that”. </p> <p>“I need music to help me through my feelings,” she said, “and I can numb down really easy.” </p> <p>She opened up about how the song has evolved over the years, and provided her comfort when faced with the deaths of those close to her heart. </p> <p>"But the thing that I love about the song now, after all these years, is that I never get tired of performing it, and it's taken on so many different meanings over the years,” she admitted, “it was about my grandmother at one point. It was about my dog.</p> <p>"I've lost people, so it's always sort of fresh in my heart." </p> <p>This isn’t the first time that Pink has been honest about her history with drugs. In her 2012 <em>EW </em>interview, the singer confessed that she understood addiction, as she “was a hardcore partier from 12 to 15. I was like a candy raver and I was on all the club drugs. Selling Ecstasy and crystal meth and Special K. I overdosed on Thanksgiving of ’95. And then I never took drugs again, ever.”</p> <p>In the same year, Pink told <em>Shape Magazine </em>that although she wasn’t hospitalised, she got the wake-up call she needed, and turned her attention to her wildly successful music career. </p> <p>Viewers of <em>The Kelly Clarkson Show</em> got a bonus look at that very career after the interview, with Pink and Kelly taking to the stage to perform a stunning duet of Pink’s ‘Who Knew’. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

"Clueless": Meghan Markle told to show some gratitude

<p dir="ltr">American journalist Megyn Kelly has once again called out Meghan Markle for always talking about herself. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Duchess of Sussex came out swinging in her latest podcast titled <em>To ‘B’ or not to ‘B’?</em>, in which she hit back at her nickname, “Duchess Difficult”.</p> <p dir="ltr">She said the nickname was a way of gaslighting women and “is really a codeword for the B-word”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kelly had enough of the Duchess’ incessant nagging and said there was another word to call her. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I wouldn’t necessarily call her the B-word, but I would definitely call her the C-word: clueless,” she said on the GB News <em>Dan Wootton Tonight</em> program.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She’s utterly clueless and I am so sick of her off-point irrelevant musings about her non-problems.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to reveal that the homicide rates of more than 100,000 homeless people in California, where Meghan lives, “reached an all-time high”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“And we are supposed to give a damn if someone is calling [Meghan] the b-word or difficult?” Kelly continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We don’t, she doesn’t get it. No one gives a damn about these non-problems.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She should stop complaining and start showing some gratitude for what appears to be a very beautiful life of which she finds nothing to celebrate.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We don’t care. Shut up! Stop talking about yourself and show some humility and gratitude.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Meghan was given the nickname back in 2018 when she was accused of displaying “dictator” style behaviour towards her staff members - which led to one of them quitting.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My friend said to me, there’s a certain point when you come to terms with the fact that not everyone is going to like you,” Meghan continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The goal can’t be for everyone to like you, but the goal can be for them to respect you.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty/GB Tonight</em></p>

TV

Placeholder Content Image

“We get it!”: Journalist slams Meghan Markle's flaunting of "her husband"

<p dir="ltr">American journalist Megyn Kelly has called out Meghan Markle for constantly referring to Prince Harry as “her husband”, claiming the former royal is doing it for attention.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the latest episode of her podcast, Kelly criticised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for “ripping on the royals”, to whom she said the couple owed literally “all of their fame and most of their fortune”.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also took great annoyance with Meghan referring to Harry, who she married in 2018, as her husband.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We get it, you bagged the gorilla,” Kelly said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Congratulations, you got the big bear, [and] you want us all to know.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Her criticism comes after Meghan spoke at length about Harry’s parenting skills in the latest episode of her podcast, <em>Archetypes</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh, my husband? Oh, he's great!” the 41-year-old said when asked whether Harry contributed much to parenting duties.</p> <p dir="ltr">She said that Harry would help Archie while she cooks breakfast during their “chaotic” mornings.<br />“I make breakfast for all three of them. It’s very important to me. I love doing it,” Meghan added.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kelly also took aim at Meghan for claiming she had never looked up the royal family prior to her relationship with Harry, calling the duchess a “liar”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The claim in question dates back to Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, where she said she “never looked up my husband online”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just didn't feel the need to because everything that I needed to know, he was sharing with me — or everything we thought I needed to know, he was telling me,” she said at the time.</p> <p dir="ltr">Christopher Anderson, who appeared on the episode of Kelly’s podcast to talk about his new book, The King: The Life of Charles III, said that Meghan was like “every other young woman” and in love with the royals.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She, like every other young woman that age, they were all in love with [the royals]. There are pictures of her at the gates of Buckingham Palace when she was a teenager,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Let's get real, there's always that eligible bachelor,' Kelly replied.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For my age, it was JFK Jr., for her age it was Prince Harry.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She was a liar...that's really what we're both saying. She lied about it, she lied.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Anderson also claimed the comments made about what colour skin Meghan and Harry’s child would have - said by an unknown family member - happened before their engagement was announced, rather than while Meghan was pregnant.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was an instant conversation about two people who are going...if they are going to be grandparents, Charles and Camilla [were] speculating on what the kids might look like,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Obviously, you have two very attractive people here and ‘Gee I wonder what colour their eyes will be, what their hair would be like.’ You know this kind of thing it was something I would say [was] relatively benign and witnessed by several people and then spun into something toxic.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Kelly added that the conversation between Charles and Camilla shouldn’t be considered racist.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You're just curious about how your baby's gonna look,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A negative judgement attached to a darker skin would be racist, but just wondering, that's not racist.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c7e4d5b4-7fff-8494-c3a3-25d07acece8a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Megyn Kelly (YouTube) / Spotify</em></p>

Relationships

Placeholder Content Image

How to receive criticism with grace and open arms

<p><em><strong>Tom Cronin is a meditation teacher, life coach and writer. He is the founder of The Stillness Project, a global movement that aims to help people on their journey towards calmness and fulfilment.</strong></em></p> <p>Put your hand up if you like to receive criticism.</p> <p>Of course you kept your hand down. No one likes to be criticised. To the point where we often hold ourselves back from doing many great things in fear of being criticised.</p> <p>I saw a quote this week by Aristotle:</p> <p>“There is only one way to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”</p> <p>Criticism can cut to the core of our ego. It challenges all the false beliefs that we’ve had about ourselves. We tend to measure ourselves by the perspectives of others and when that perspective becomes negative, then OUCH! It hurts.</p> <p>I’ll let you in on a secret, which is not so secret now. I’m a recovering perfectionist, recovering in that I’ve been in ‘perfectionist rehab’ trying to wean myself off being a perfectionist. One thing about perfectionists is that we love to be perfect…. and what does criticism from others say about our perfectness? That it doesn’t exist! Our illusion becomes shattered and it’s brutally painful.</p> <p>It was for this reason that I held back from writing, speaking, and teaching. I mean what if someone faulted what I did? Heaven forbid! But the compulsion became stronger and it was a tussle between what was the natural flow forward and my ego holding me back in fear. The block was in my ego, so that’s what I had to work on… dissolving that pesky little thing (only it wasn’t little, it was gargantuan!)</p> <p>Through my meditation practice I was able to slowly dissolve the big E and allow my clear fearless expression to shine through. (Mind you it’s not totally dissolved, there is still some there)</p> <p>Sure, I get criticised. It’s going to happen. But now I see criticism as something very constructive. It’s up to you; it can be destructive or constructive. I find it useful market research that helps me refine what I do and become better at it. In fact, only the other day I asked my children to critique me as a parent. I sat them both down and said to them (true story):</p> <p>“Hey kids, so I have never been trained as parent and this is my first time at it. So I may be doing things wrong or things that you don’t like. I’m still learning. I want you to let me know how you’d like me to change as a parent and what you think I could do better?”</p> <p>To which they replied along the lines of:</p> <p>“Nah, we think you’re doing a great job Dad, you don’t need to change anything.”</p> <p>It was a nice to hear but I was seriously looking for some constructive criticism to help me become better at parenting. I used to really struggle receiving criticism, it was a painful experience. But not I welcome it with gratitude. It teaches me to evolve and adapt.</p> <p>But coming back to Mr. Aristotle, and his quote. What would you prefer? Not being criticised and playing the small safe, game or growing, expanding and inspiring others while you expose yourself to potential criticism?  You think Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Jesus, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela were never criticised? The choice is yours and you have greatness within you to share with the world. So what are you waiting for?</p> <p>Share with us how you would like to share your gifts with the world in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Written by Tom Cronin. First appeared on <strong><a href="http://stillnessproject.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Stillness Project</span></a>.</strong> <a href="http://stillnessproject.com/one-word-will-help-next-challenging-experience/"></a></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/08/how-to-build-self-discipline-in-10-days/">How to build self-discipline in 10 days</a></strong></span></em></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/08/bad-habits-that-are-actually-good/">7 “bad” habits that are actually good for you</a></strong></span></em></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2016/08/4-proven-ways-to-worry-less/">4 proven ways to worry less</a></strong></span></em></p>

Mind

Placeholder Content Image

Grace under pressure: Princess Kate heckled in Ireland

<p dir="ltr">Princess Kate was the subject of a heckler in Northern Ireland, where she was greeting crowds after visiting a suicide prevention charity.</p> <p dir="ltr">Footage has emerged of the Princess of Wales shaking hands with the heckler, who filmed herself telling the royal that “Ireland belongs to the Irish”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nice to meet you but it would be better if it was when you were in your own country,” the woman said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-33624c49-7fff-e851-b17e-b59d386e2ae7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The princess laughed off the comments before letting go of the woman’s hand and continuing to greet other members of the crowd.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">This woman reefing the arm off Kate Middleton and telling her 'Ireland belongs to the Irish'.... <a href="https://t.co/KK2gAqZ0Kv">pic.twitter.com/KK2gAqZ0Kv</a></p> <p>— Caolán Mc Aree (@Caolanmcaree) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caolanmcaree/status/1578095529233641472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Northern Ireland has been a hotly contested region since 1922, when the southern part of the country become gained independence and became the Republic of Ireland while Northern Island remained in the United Kingdom.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the tense interaction, Princess Kate’s time in Belfast seemed quite successful, as she and her husband Prince William visited several cross-community support organisations.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a197fca1-7fff-6746-3b76-235f45d6e206"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Earlier in the day, the royal was spotted making and enjoying a cheeky drink with her husband after the couple travelled to the city centre to view the new outdoor street food and retail market.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/kate-belfast.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Kate Middleton was spotted trying her hand at cocktail making during her visit to Belfast, Northern Island. Image: Getty Images</em></p> <p dir="ltr">The market, which opened in July, was designed as a place for the community to come together to enjoy artisanal food and local products.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair also met with workers from PIPS, a suicide prevention charity, and spoke to them about their work helping people at risk of suicide and self-harm.</p> <p dir="ltr">During their visit, the charity arranged for William and Kate to take part in an art therapy session, which saw them paint pumpkins with children whom PIPS has supported.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-dc55e41c-7fff-872e-4632-e3782f547000"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: The Sun, Getty Images</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Placeholder Content Image

"An incredible gift": Grace Kelly remembered 40 years on

<p dir="ltr">The royal family of Monaco have shared a series of stunning tribute photos to the late Princess Grace, 40 years after her death.</p> <p dir="ltr">Princess Grace, formerly known as Grace Kelly an American actress, died in a car accident at the age of 52 after suffering a stroke.</p> <p dir="ltr">She appeared in several movies including <em>Mogambo</em> (1953), <em>To Catch A Thief</em> (1955) and three <em>Alfred Hitchcock</em> thrillers before retiring from acting at the age of 26.</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to marry Prince Rainier III in April 1956, earning her the title of Princess of Monaco, and the couple had three children, Princess Caroline, 65, Prince Albert, 64, and Princess Stéphanie, 57.</p> <p dir="ltr">The official Instagram page of the Monaco Royal Family shared a series of photos of Princess Grace in her memory.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In Memoriam Princesse Grace de Monaco 1929 - 1982,” the caption simply read.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her son Prince Albert said it doesn’t feel like 40 years had passed and people still remember his mother.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It doesn't seem like 40 years," he told <a href="https://people.com/royals/prince-albert-remembers-his-mother-princess-grace-on-the-40th-anniversary-of-her-death/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PEOPLE</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many times during a day, a week, not only do I find myself thinking of her, but numbers of people still recall her to me.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They remember her and that's a great tribute to her and who she was — to what an exceptional human being she was.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Forty years on, she still captures people's imagination. She managed to capture the imagination and attention of several younger generations and not many have done that. It's an incredible gift that she had.</p> <p dir="ltr">"She had charm and incredible allure about her. And It's not only her beauty or the fashion icon that she was that attracts people, It was her warmth, her heart, the humanity people saw in her that they remember."</p> <p dir="ltr">He said if he could speak to his mother again, he would want her to meet his children.</p> <p dir="ltr">“If I could speak to her, I would say that I wish she were here to see her grandchildren and how great they are. They're great kids."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram/Fausto Picedi, Georges Lukomski, Gianni Bozzachi, Italo Bazzoli</em></p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

"She's really left us": Stunning double rainbow graces the skies

<p>As news of Queen Elizabeth's passing broke, people in the UK took to the gates of both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to pay their respects to the monarch. </p> <p>As mourners gathered arm-in-arm to remember their Queen, they were graced with an emotional and magical sight. </p> <p>A spectacular double rainbow appeared over the dreary skies of London, with devastated Brits saying the Queen "sent us a sign" and that she has "really left us".</p> <p>The double rainbow even appeared over the Victoria memorial, prompting some to say it is "Queen Elizabeth with Prince Phillip". </p> <p>One twitter user said, "The rainbow at Windsor Castle made me cry. The rainbow Queen sent us a sign."</p> <p>Another said, "A rainbow breaks out, as the Union Jack is lowered to half-mast at Windsor tonight. A remarkable image. Farewell, Ma'am."</p> <p dir="ltr">The monarch was under medical supervision due to her deteriorating health but unfortunately died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8th at 8:30pm local time (3:30am AEDT).</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” The Royal Family tweeted.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The public was notified of her death through the traditional form of a formal message placed on an easel on the railings outside the Palace.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / BBC News</em></p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

"Sad, old menacing coward:" Grace Tame reports childhood abuser to police

<p dir="ltr">Activist Grace Tame has revealed she continues to be harassed by the man who abused her as a child, having reported him to the police for “targeted harassment” online.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame was 15 when she was groomed and raped by her maths teacher Nicolaas Bester, who then bragged about his crimes online while she was unable to speak out due to Tasmania’s “gag law”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her legal fight to change the laws, which prevent sexual abuse victims from publicly identifying themselves, as part of the #LetHerSpeak campaign, saw Ms Tame pushed into the public eye and recognised for her efforts when she was named the Australian of the Year.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, on Wednesday the 23-year-old said she was “still dealing with open threats and harassment from the man who abused me and others”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This has been my reality for 12 years now, behind closed doors for my family and me,” she wrote on Twitter.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also shared screenshots of tweets appearing to be from Bester, where her childhood email is referenced and he threatens that “he is coming to show all too (sic) you”.</p> <p dir="ltr">In one message dated April 27, Bester uses her email address and writes, “at last I shall come for [email address]..... in good time…..”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f717230e-7fff-daf2-45a4-7cf9c4cb0c6a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">In another, posted on August 28, he uses her email address again, writing that “the good old comeuppance on its way” with “only 4 weeks to go!!”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">This has been the reality for 12 years now, behind closed doors for my family and me.</p> <p>Mark my words, I am not going anywhere though.</p> <p>— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1564185208882352128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Here he is, the twice-convicted child sex offender, referring to my childhood email, which very few people know, in place of my name. It was the login to my old Facebook he and I communicated on,” Ms Tame wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He’s counting down to an act of revenge, planned for the day of my book’s release.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She alleged that his repeated comments constituted a federal offence and contravened <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/sexual-exploitation-policy">Twitter’s child exploitation policy</a>, which says that content that further contributes to the victimisation of children “through the promotion or glorification of child sexual exploitation” is also prohibited.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is targeted harassment of a known victim of his past crimes, designed to cause further harm,” Ms Tame said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve reported them to police, but our reactive justice system is too slow, and nothing’s changed.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Bester was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison for maintaining a sexual relationship with someone under the age of 17 and possession of child exploitation material, but only served one year and nine months before he was released.</p> <p dir="ltr">He has been free to speak about his abuse of Ms Tame for some time and has previously taken to social media to brag to his followers.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The majority of men in Australia envy me,” he wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was 59, she was 15 going on 25. It was awesome.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Bester’s account has since been suspended by Twitter.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame said her tweets were an act of reclaiming power “against a predator operating in plain sight”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This man seems to think he is still relevant and can maintain control over me,” she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This man who groomed and abused me when I was a child.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m not ashamed of any of it now.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But he should be. He was an adult who abused his authority.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Just because I have found the anger and strength in me now, does it make me an aggressor, or a survivor?</p> <p dir="ltr">"I know who I am. I am a survivor. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I have the power to be vulnerable. He will never have that. He is too afraid, and too weak. He is too weak to be vulnerable. Instead, he exploits others who are. He knows no other way to be. I see that now. And because of that, he doesn't scare me anymore.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame added that her posts were “not for the critics” and were instead for survivors like her.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He is a sad, old menacing coward.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is not for the critics. They will say what they always say. This is for the people like me. And you know who you are too.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I stand with you. We have the power.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5922148f-7fff-0a6b-a1ff-adbf0776ba85"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em><strong>If you or someone you know needs support as a result of sexual assault or child sexual abuse, contact the Blue Knot Helpline and Redress Support Service on 1300 657 380, or LifeLine on 13 11 14 for immediate support.</strong></em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Bindi Irwin's daughter Grace looks just like her famous Irwin relatives

<p dir="ltr">A recent series of images of baby Grace Warrior shared by her adoring mother Bindi Irwin has set tongues wagging as to exactly who among her famous relatives she looks most like.</p> <p dir="ltr">In particular, an image shared by grandma Terri of Bindi as a baby to mark her 24th birthday caused fans to instantly make the connection that baby Grace strongly resembles her famous Wildlife Warrior mum.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">24 years ago our lives changed for the better. I remember when you were born, Steve cried happy tears, then showed everyone in the hospital his beautiful baby girl. He loved you from the moment he met you, and I know he is so very proud of you. Happy birthday my dear Bindi Sue. <a href="https://t.co/ZmTSVdzp4a">pic.twitter.com/ZmTSVdzp4a</a></p> <p>— Terri Irwin (@TerriIrwin) <a href="https://twitter.com/TerriIrwin/status/1550978133678911489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">It has also been pointed out on numerous occasions that the newest member of the Irwin clan takes a lot of her looks from grandma Terri herself.</span></p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">One particularly touching black and white photo shared to Twitter depicts baby Grace looking into the camera, hands folded, which Terri captioned:</span></p> <p dir="ltr">"Grace Warrior Irwin Powell. A beautiful old soul resides within this perfect tiny human." </p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">It didn't take a lot to realise exactly WHICH old soul resides there! Baby Grace has clearly been blessed with Terri's downturned eyes and a hint of her smile. </span></p> <p dir="ltr">Gorgeous images shared by mother Bindi at the time she turned one also show unmistakable similarities to Steve Irwin himself – a fact that Bindi is clearly very proud of.</p> <p dir="ltr">In fact, just a week prior to Grace's first birthday party, she and father Chandler took an amazing snap of the three of them at Australia Zoo with the family pup:</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgXsvtDBdz_/?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/CgXsvtDBdz_/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Unsurprisingly, the now 24-year-old has posted a vast amount of throwback pics on various platforms – and it doesn't take an Ancestry expert to see there are a multitude of traits that Bindi herself shares with Baby Grace. </p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">So what do you think? Who of all the dominant Irwin and Powell genes do you think Grace most powerfully possesses? That may in fact change as time passes – and we look forward to seeing how this beautiful young girl from a loving family grows and changes.  </span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Instagram</em></p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"> </p>

Family & Pets

Placeholder Content Image

Princess Beatrice praised for sublime grace in awkward exchange

<p>Princess Beatrice has received praise, following her interaction with a royal fan who didn't know who she was.</p> <p>During the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations last weekend, the 33-year-old princess had a sweet interaction with an elderly women who asked who she was.</p> <p>In a video shared to TikTok, the royal was filmed as she graciously explained that the Queen was her grandmother.</p> <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@royalfamilyfanpage5/video/7106299885028216069" data-video-id="7106299885028216069"> <section><a title="@royalfamilyfanpage5" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@royalfamilyfanpage5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@royalfamilyfanpage5</a> <a title="princessbeatrice" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/princessbeatrice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#princessbeatrice</a> <a title="queenelizabeth" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/queenelizabeth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#queenelizabeth</a> <a title="princesseugenie" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/princesseugenie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Princesseugenie</a> <a title="princeharry" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/princeharry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#princeharry</a> <a title="meghanmarkle" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/meghanmarkle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#meghanmarkle</a> <a title="princessdiana" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/princessdiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#princessdiana</a> <a title="princecharles" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/princecharles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#princecharles</a> <a title="britishroyalfamily" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/britishroyalfamily" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#britishroyalfamily</a> <a title="royalfamily" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/royalfamily" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#royalfamily</a> <a title="lilibetdiana" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lilibetdiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#lilibetdiana</a> <a title="fy" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#fy</a> <a title="viral" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/viral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#viral</a> <a title="♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος - NADIA" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/πρωτότυπος-ήχος-7106299864224484101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος - NADIA</a></section> </blockquote> <p>The woman began by touching Beatrice's arm and asking, "Who are you?"</p> <p>"My name is Beatrice," she told the woman. "And the Queen is my granny."</p> <p>The woman responded, "You're one of the royalties?"</p> <p>The princess held the woman's hand and explained, "Yes, she's my granny. I'm very, very lucky."</p> <p>The video gained a lot of attention, amassing over 2.9 million views and thousands of comments from users commending Beatrice on how she handled the interaction.</p> <p>One user wrote, "She is soo underrated [to be honest]! But I love how she is doing her duty even [though] she is not part of the senior royals she's still doing her duties."</p> <p>Princess Beatrice has previously opened up about her admiration for her grandmother previous interviews.</p> <p>"I have two role models, my mother and my grandmother," she told the publication. "They are both formidable women. I think having female role models is incredibly important and I am very lucky that I happen to be related to these two incredible women."</p> <p>She continued, "I find my grandmother inspiring every day because her overwhelming sense of duty is linked with an overwhelming curiosity."</p> <p>Beatrice and her sister, Princess Eugenie, took part in the celebrations for the Queen's 70 years on the throne earlier this week and were photographed watching the Platinum Jubilee pageant from the royal box.</p> <p>"Every day she's curious to learn something new, to do something new, and I think that at 91 years old, she goes out into the community with a genuine curiosity as to how she can be a force for good in the world."</p>

Beauty & Style

Placeholder Content Image

Kelly Slater’s former beachside stay goes under the hammer

<p dir="ltr">The coastal home that hosted US surfing champion Kelly Slater has been listed for sale.</p> <p dir="ltr">It isn’t the only reason Slater has been in the news lately, after he made waves when he spoke out against the Australian government’s <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/those-are-the-rules-kelly-slater-barred-from-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handling of Novak Djokovic’s deportation</a> and its response to the NSW flood crisis, which he said was “nothing short of appalling”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The home’s current owner, former Quiksilver International boss Bruce Raymond, has listed the home with plans to stay local following the sale. Raymond, who learned how to surf when he was just four-years-old, has lived near the beach all his life and continues to surf everyday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This was to be our forever home but I’m scaling down now. I’ll stay in the area,” he told <em><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/kelly-slaters-sydney-crash-pad-home-of-exquiksilver-boss-bruce-raymond-at-bilgola-beach-for-sale/?rsf=syn:news:nca:news:spa:strap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">realestate.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Bilgola in Sydney’s Northern Beaches boasts stunning views of the ocean and Avalon’s beachfront.</p> <p dir="ltr">The house includes hardwood floors throughout, pool views from the kitchen, and even a self-contained guest suite on the ground floor.</p> <p dir="ltr">Outside, the alfresco terrace and its entertaining area are protected from the area’s harsh southerly winds. Raymond has also transformed the garden into a micro farm, including three veggie plots, a shed, and a mini windmill.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-bilgola+beach-138894855" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listing</a>, the home will be heading to auction on April 12 with a price guide of $5,375,000.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1b8aee2e-7fff-fe05-15f4-6082fb3176d3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: @kellyslater (Instagram), realestate.com.au</em></p>

Real Estate

Placeholder Content Image

Grace Tame makes waves at comedy show

<p dir="ltr">Grace Tame has tried her hand at comedy to the delight of attendees at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-72f5cd86-7fff-6b7b-1d28-3ea7cf6b441d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The 23-year-old Tasmanian appeared on a panel of comedians that touched on everything from climate change, housing affordability, and gender equality to Australia Day and misinformation and social media - all in a hilarious way, of course.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Last night’s <a href="https://twitter.com/ARationalFear?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARationalFear</a> live show in Melbourne was 👌 <a href="https://twitter.com/GabbiBolt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GabbiBolt</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/aliterative?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aliterative</a> hilarious, Dane Simpson & <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TamePunk</a> both nailed it, <a href="https://twitter.com/Andy_McClelland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Andy_McClelland</a> brought the bangers and <a href="https://twitter.com/vidyarrrr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vidyarrrr</a> was superb. Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/danilic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danilic</a>, creative director of Meta. Download the pod when it comes out</p> <p>— Charlotte George 🌈 (@ccl_george) <a href="https://twitter.com/ccl_george/status/1513289276813119488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">She received the loudest applause as she was introduced by podcast host Dan Ilic, who pointed out how she was the master of the side-eye, referencing the famous photo of her and Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Lodge.</p> <p dir="ltr">After monologues from Ilic, Gabbi Bolt, Alice Fraser and Dane Simpson, it was Ms Tame’s turn.</p> <p dir="ltr">She joked that she wasn’t going to get political, apologising to anyone who came to see her take aim at Mr Morrison - at least not directly.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9f097c8e-7fff-7f7d-aba1-d68f28881c76"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Grace Tame referring to no particular politician as ‘A giant self-saucing joke pudding’,” one attendee tweeted about Ms Tame’s monologue.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Wow! <a href="https://twitter.com/ARationalFear?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARationalFear</a> was extraordinary...<br />Thank you to the incredible team of<a href="https://twitter.com/vidyarrrr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vidyarrrr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Andy_McClelland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Andy_McClelland</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LewisHobba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LewisHobba</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/aliterative?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aliterative</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GabbiBolt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GabbiBolt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/thedanesimpson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thedanesimpson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LewisHobba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LewisHobba</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/zdaniel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zdaniel</a><br />And the incredible <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TamePunk</a> who brought the house down by comparing herself to an Airfryer. <a href="https://t.co/9QqNEEUPwU">pic.twitter.com/9QqNEEUPwU</a></p> <p>— Dan Ilic (@danilic) <a href="https://twitter.com/danilic/status/1513254582864199680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame also told stories about <em>My Little Pony</em>, her favourite show to watch as a child, with veiled references to Mr Morrison and his government.</p> <p dir="ltr">One of the characters who “sharted in Old MacDonald’s farm” was a particularly clear reference to the longstanding rumour that Mr Morrison soiled himself at a McDonald’s in Engadine in 1997.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame didn’t just focus on the PM, going on to describe NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham as her “favourite comedian”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-042906cc-7fff-99b6-2ad8-2622707b60eb"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">A joke about someone claiming Tasmania wasn’t a real place led to Tame saying it was okay because she lived ‘rent-free’ in Mr Latham’s head, along with domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty (who he has publicly attacked), the 2004 election results (which saw him lost as Labor leader), and anyone who wasn’t a white man.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">To be clear, this isn’t a “career move”.</p> <p>Advocacy is my first priority, always. It’s my life and purpose. I ummed and aahed over whether or not this was the right thing to do.</p> <p>Would it send a hopeful, empowering message to survivors? Or would it trivialise the cause? <a href="https://t.co/UDGm7iE0UG">pic.twitter.com/UDGm7iE0UG</a></p> <p>— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1512934253662654464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Before Sunday’s gig, Ms Tame took to social media to explain her decision to take part in the comedy festival and clarify it wasn’t a ‘career move’, as many outlets reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Advocacy is my first priority always. It’s my life and purpose. I ummed and aahed over whether or not this was the right thing to do,” she wrote on Sunday morning.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There are risks in doing this, as there are with just about anything else in this mad life.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Things have been especially tough lately. But I reckon we could use a laugh. Either way, the joke’s on me. And if I fail, I’ll pick myself up and move.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You never know unless you try.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The show, which also included Lewis Hobba and independent candidate Goldstein Zoe Danila as a special guest, was recorded and will be released as an episode of Ilic’s podcast A Rational Fear.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7df8bcd5-7fff-ad0b-740d-d96fa80b86b3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Placeholder Content Image

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>

News

Placeholder Content Image

"Trauma is a beast": Grace Tame hospitalised

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article includes discussions of suicide and mentions of sexual assault, abuse, and domestic violence.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Two former Australians of the Year have spoken out about the toll of speaking out about the worst moments in their lives and being an advocate, warning that “trauma is a beast”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-89efdaea-7fff-58e9-41ec-d99d785872aa"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Grace Tame and Rosie Batty spoke about their experiences during a talk titled ‘Protecting the Outspoken’ at the 2022 All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Grace Tame says she likely wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for her fiancé and has had to call ER in recent days. She says the media has a lot to answer for - that shame should be directed at perpetrators, not trauma survivors. <a href="https://twitter.com/SydOperaHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SydOperaHouse</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllAboutWomen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllAboutWomen</a> <a href="https://t.co/PdytrYiFPA">pic.twitter.com/PdytrYiFPA</a></p> <p>— Caitlin Cassidy (@caitecassidy) <a href="https://twitter.com/caitecassidy/status/1502851261883842560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame revealed she had gone to the emergency room seeking mental health treatment after recent media storms, including the coverage of her drug use as a teenager.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was actually in the ER the other day because I lost control and I was really scared,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I called up the clinic and I said, ‘I can’t, I can’t, I’ve stepped too deep into the shame spiral’,” she said, adding that she was experiencing suicidal thoughts.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-e96b11fc-7fff-6eb0-d037-e099d65327b1"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s real and that’s the toll it takes. That’s the price of shame. And so that’s why I wrote that open letter. You know, I’ve got a sense of humour, I can have a laugh.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">AN OPEN LETTER</p> <p>To every media outlet who sought to discredit me by publishing THAT photo,</p> <p>Although my humour and strength remain intact, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t let me down.</p> <p>Not just as an individual, but more so as an advocate of the survivor community…</p> <p>— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1494877152491487239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Though she said she could “make jokes” about the pressure of being in the spotlight, the media had “a lot to answer for” after publishing a photo of her with a bong when she had made it no secret that she had managed her trauma and self-harming behaviour with drugs.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The media has a lot to answer for where it directs its shame. There is a disproportionate amount of shame that is still pointed towards people who do not understand yet what has happened to them,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And that shame needs to be pointed squarely, not (at) these people who are trying to figure out what the f**k happened to them, it needs to be pointed at the perpetrators of domestic violence, of sexual assault and child sexual abuse.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Batty, who has campaigned for domestic violence reform following the murder of her son, Luke, by his father in 2014, said her place in the public eye had been “bittersweet”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think it’s overwhelming. I think imposter syndrome. I think, ‘all these people I’ve (been) nominated against, you know, have done amazing work for decades. Who am I?,” she said of receiving the Australian of the Year award in 2015.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I always felt very conflicted. Am I just getting this award because my son was murdered?”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Batty said it took her many years to process her grief and had poured herself into her work to avoid the “deep trauma” of her son’s death.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was so afraid of failing and not being good enough or perhaps overcompensating and poured myself into it,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I mean, this is eight years since I lost Luke. And it is an overwhelming journey.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I had a sense of purpose and meaning that gave me a reason to get up every day. So ultimately, it was my drive. It was my reason to keep living. So I would never change that.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But what it did do was isolate me, disconnected me, and I couldn’t understand why people didn’t keep in touch with me anymore.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I can tell you during the first year of Covid lockdown when other people were working out, and feeling dissatisfied or frustrated or pushing back on government restrictions, I was finally choosing which urn to put Luke’s ashes in. And it was uncomfortable and it was painful, but you have to eventually sit with pain. And we do avoid it, we drink, we smoke, we take drugs, we do anything to avoid pain.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame also spoke about the backlash she faced over a campaign she was involved in to fight for women’s rights, after complaints emerged that it featured too many white, middle class faces.</p> <p dir="ltr">She has urged feminists and progressive campaigners to avoid exclusionary language and said she was still learning about the language and history of feminism.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There’s been a lot of criticism, and that’s part and parcel of the landscape. But, you know, people bring their heart and soul to this. And there’s a lot of trauma in it,’’ she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m accountable for my mistakes. And that’s one thing that I’ve tried to do as best as I can, especially as someone who, you know, I didn’t go to university. I didn’t do gender studies. You know, and I don’t have as good a knowledge as I could have of feminist history, and all the terminology, but I do my best to understand and to learn.”</p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><em>Image: Roy Vandervegt / Adelaide Festival</em></p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

“He was pure evil”: Grace Tame recalls the confrontation with her abuser

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article mentions child sexual abuse and rape.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Grace Tame has spoken out about the first time she “stood up” to her abuser, and how she would never forget telling him he was a “monster” and “pure evil”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-88aeec46-7fff-121c-61f9-67cbbdb45285">The 2021 Australian of the Year spoke about her experience while addressing a packed audience at <a href="https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/writers-week/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adelaide Writers’ Week</a> alongside event director Jo Dyer and author Jess Hill.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca3zmxxJVhQ/?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/Ca3zmxxJVhQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Eventalaide (@eventalaide)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The Writers’ Week talk, entitled The Reckoning, saw Ms Tame open up about how she confronted the teacher who repeatedly raped her.</p> <p dir="ltr">Although she was “terrified of this paedophile”, Ms Tame said she “stood up” to him and told him “he was a monster” four days before she reported him to police.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I told him that, and I will always remember that, and you know what? So will he,” she <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-09/grace-tame-recalls-the-moment-she-confronted-her-abuser/100895514" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My fear of upsetting the apple cart died that day.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame was repeatedly abused while she was a student at Hobart’s St Michael’s Collegiate.</p> <p dir="ltr">She was 15 at the time.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He’d never seen my true rage towards him, but as he sat in his office chair I pointed a finger at him, I was crying my eyes out, I started yelling and screaming and I told him exactly what I thought of him,” she recounted.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And I told him I thought - I thought he was pure evil, and that I hoped he died, and I pointed to a picture of his own children who were twice my age at the time, and I told him I hated him for what he had done to me.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Whenever I think I can’t do something I remember this day - and I was terrified when I did this - but this is what I draw on when I need self-belief.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Since her abuser’s conviction, Ms Tame has campaigned for the way sexual assault is dealt with to be changed, and told Wednesday’s audience that legal restrictions preventing victims from sharing their stories contributed to an “ecosystem of abuse”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-44561e80-7fff-29a3-1c07-e886a701c17a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s so messed up how society has all these layers of victim-blaming entrenched, codified at every level,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/grace-tame1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Grace Tame opened up about how she confronted her abuser at Adelaide Writers’ Week. Image: Roy Vandervegt / Adelaide Festival</em></p> <p dir="ltr">She added that the language used to describe sexual abuse and assault also partially contributed to said “ecosystem of abuse”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s what really inspired me to pursue a different kind of advocacy because I thought, ‘Why am I learning about this word (grooming) for the first time seven years after I’ve gone through this experience?’” she <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/adelaide-festival/the-reckoning-grace-tame-and-jess-hill-to-speak-at-adelaides-writers-week/news-story/e40b9959c254b735a383860b4fd5e920?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-thetiser&amp;utm_content=later-25219761&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=linkin.bio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You know, like if you are stabbed for instance, you can say I was stabbed. This is what happened. These were the circumstances and then we also have the skillset to then ask for help - the appropriate help - but that’s certainly not what I had.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Tame also shared more details about a “threatening” phone call she received last year asking her to refrain from saying anything negative about Prime Minister Scott Morrison.</p> <p dir="ltr">She first mentioned the phone call at the National Press Club last month, alleging a senior member of a government-funded organisation was the one who called her.</p> <p dir="ltr">On Wednesday, she elaborated on the incident and said “it wasn’t an empty threat”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I didn’t share this at the National Press Club but do you know what the threat was, from that person who phoned me? It was that they wouldn’t support the [Grace Tame] Foundation if I said something about the Prime Minister,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following her Press Club address, Women’s Safety Minister Anne Ruston said the federal government had begun an investigation into Ms Tame’s allegation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-119bdff5-7fff-47b1-1e4a-3e38cc95cae1"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Roy Vandervegt / Adelaide Festival</em></p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

How Grace Tame inspired Missy Higgins’ new album

<p dir="ltr">When creating a new album, musicians find inspiration in all sorts of places. </p> <p dir="ltr">For Missy Higgins, the inspiration for her mini-album <em>Total Control</em> came from the courageous stories of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins (no relation!). </p> <p dir="ltr">In an interview with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/missy-higgins-total-control-interview-bluesfest-wildflower/13785762">Double J</a>’s Tim Shiel, the singer-songwriter said she was inspired by the women’s stories of survival, while also drawing inspiration from an ABC drama series. </p> <p dir="ltr">"During the first season [of ABC’s <em>Total Control</em> series], Grace Tame was standing up and telling her story [in real life]," Higgins explains.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Then I was watching Deb Mailman's character on the TV show walking into parliament and standing up in front of all these old white dudes and calling out the oppression of her and her people.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"I just thought 'Wow, there's so many crossovers here'.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The stories of these powerful women helped Missy Higgins to speak her own truth through her music, while also thinking of her daughter. </p> <p dir="ltr">She said, "I'm a mum of a three-year-old girl so it brought up all these feelings of like, 'Wow, women have come a long way and we're actually creating a future that I'm excited for my kid to inherit'.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"This is a world where women are now feeling like they can stand up and tell their truth and people actually will be held accountable. Not as much as in the past do they have to worry about not being believed or losing their job.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's people like Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins who've had enough guts to do that. That must have been so hard, it's their bravery that's really carving that path for everyone else."</p> <p dir="ltr">One example of how Missy drew inspiration from the series of the same name as her album comes in <em>Total Control</em>’s closing track <em>I Take It Back</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I wanted to write this song about somebody who's come to a point where they've decided that they're not going to take s*** anymore, basically.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"'Everything that I've given to you, all the energy, all the power that I've given to you, I'm taking that back. I'm reclaiming my story. I'm reclaiming my power.'"</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Music