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British Airways introduces gender neutral greetings

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">British Airways are adopting new tactics to make their journeys more inclusive to all travellers. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The UK airline giant is joining a growing list of travel companies that are implementing more gender-neutral language, by ditching the traditional "ladies and gentlemen" greeting.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the move falls in line with an industry-wide global trend, the decision is also due to a change in the airline’s clientele, with the carrier reporting more children onboard since COVID-19 restrictions have been lessened. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the </span><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/10/09/hello-passengers-inclusive-welcome-announcement/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Telegraph</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the new policies would adhere to changing social norms, as well as make younger customers feel more included. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The airline is just one of many to make the important change. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Japan Airlines was one of the first major carriers to ditch the traditional “ladies and gentlemen” titles for inflight announcements back in 2020. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">German carrier Lufthansa also changed their language to a more inclusive tone in July, as they pledged their commitment to diversity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Qantas has also made strides towards inclusivity in 2018, as they changed the use of “mother and father” to “parents” on all flights to include parents of different sexualities. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the time, the airline introduced a new staff booklet highlighting language geared towards the</span> <a href="https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-releases-video-to-celebrate-the-spirit-of-australia/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Spirit of Inclusion"</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">which advised against using language that could be deemed offensive to the LGBTQ+ community. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Shutterstock</span></em></p>

Travel Tips

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Queen Elizabeth’s first televised Christmas greeting

<p>For many of us, the Queen’s televised message has been part and parcel of our Christmas tradition.</p> <p>When she ascended the throne 1952, Her Majesty took on the monarch tradition of delivering a Christmas speech to the public through the radio, following in the footsteps of her grandfather King George V and her father King George VI.</p> <p>Five years later, the Queen made her television debut after she accepted the BBC’s request to read her Christmas message live from the Sandringham Estate. Since then, the monarch has continued to appear on television screens across the UK and the Commonwealth nations every year to send her wishes. The only exception was <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a12474983/queens-first-christmas-message-broadcast-televised/">1969</a>, when the Queen opted to write her message instead of broadcasting it.</p> <p>This week, the royal family shared on Instagram a throwback to the Queen’s first televised message, 62 years on.</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/B50bNX7HR7h/?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/B50bNX7HR7h/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)</a> on Dec 8, 2019 at 9:10am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“Twenty-five years ago, my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages,” the then-31-years-old Queen said in the clip.</p> <p>“Today is another landmark, because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.</p> <p>“My own family often gather around to watch television, as they are at this moment, and that is how I imagine you now.</p> <p>“I very much hope this new medium will make my message more personal and direct. It’s inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you … but now, at least for a few minutes, I welcome you to the peace of my own home.”</p>

Beauty & Style

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The ominous warning sign greeting travellers in loos

<p>With 5 million international visitors last year, the South African coastal city of Cape Town is one of the most popular locations in the world. But it’s also got a big problem.</p> <p>Visitors touching down one of the world’s most multicultural cities have been greeted with sings ranging from warnings like, “Don’t waste a drop!” to desperate pleas for help like, “Our taps will run dry if we don’t act now”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">There's a water crisis in Cape Town. Travelers should be prepared (and can help). <a href="https://t.co/dd7QDlSpaQ">https://t.co/dd7QDlSpaQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/HxjMgXfmx0">pic.twitter.com/HxjMgXfmx0</a></p> — The New York Times (@nytimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/946385322891497474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Cape Town is enduring a severe water crisis after three years of poor rains. Water levels in the city’s reservoirs are at 33 per cent and there are real warnings that without any action, a day where the taps will run dry is looming.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Dear Visitors to Cape Town! Please help us and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/savewater?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#savewater</a> as we are experiencing water crisis... use less than <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/87litres?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#87litres</a> per day. Speak to our staff about water saving measures at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oonkloof?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#oonkloof</a>. <a href="https://t.co/gyImscF7bz">pic.twitter.com/gyImscF7bz</a></p> — O on Kloof Hotel&amp;Spa (@OonKloofHotel) <a href="https://twitter.com/OonKloofHotel/status/944126689759592448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Bob Scholes, a professor of systems ecology at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, explained the very real threat in an interview with Bloomberg.</p> <p>“Running out of water in places that have a highly developed water infrastructure is not that common,” he said.</p> <p>“I know of no example of a city the size of Cape Town running out of water. It would be quite catastrophic.”</p> <p>Taps are turned off once dam levels drop below 13.5 per cent, which would prompt a situation where residents would have to line up at checkpoints around the city to collect daily water rations. Some experts say that day could come as early as April 29.</p> <p>Tourists have been asked to do everything they can to conserve water.</p> <p>“We have to change our relationship with water,” Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille told Bloomberg.”</p> <p>“We have to plan for being permanently in a drought-stricken area.”</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: Twitter / New York Times</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-insurance/?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=travel-insurance&amp;utm_medium=in-article-banner&amp;utm_content=travel-insurance" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.oversixty.com.au/images/banners/Travel-Insurance_Website_GIF_468x602.gif" alt="Over60 Travel Insurance"/></a></p>

International Travel

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Meet the “hug lady” who has greeted troops for over a decade

<p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27164" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>Elizabeth Laird is somewhat of a legend among troops in Fort Hood, Texas. For over a decade, the grandmother has been sending off local soldiers in the most heart-warming way: with a big hug.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27167" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>She’s the last thing they see before they leave, and the first person standing at the gate when they return, ready to give them a big hug and thank them for their service. For soldiers without close ties, she’s like family.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27191" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>“The hug lady was very inspirational in my first deployment to Afghanistan; she touched my heart,” says retired Army Captain Caren Adkins. “[She’s] impacting so many lives.”</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27196" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>But recently, the ‘hug lady,’ as she’s affectionately known among troops, has hit hard times. The grandmother had to stop her duties when she was recently hospitalised due to a breast cancer diagnosis.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27224" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>Now, the troops who she supported want to help her, rallying to her bedside and spreading the word about her kind deeds. Military members from Fort Hood, Texas, have raised over $80,000 for their honorary grandmother’s medical bills.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27229" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>“They just want to thank her for encouraging them, for giving them something to look for … they knew when they went over there, when they came back, someone would be waiting,” son Richard Dewees told The Washington Post.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27234" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>Laid has been a strong military supporter for over 12 years, greeting and seeing off troops since the first soldiers left for the Iraq War in 2003. She even drove to the airfield after her husband’s funeral in 2008, ready to greet an incoming flight of troops with hugs. It’s believed that Laird has given nearly 500,000 hugs.</span></p> <p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1447882104353_27241" class="yiv0950811225MsoNormal"><span>While her cancer has spread, Laird remains determined to return to her post as the ‘hug lady’. “Got flights coming up,” she told a visiting soldier. “Got to get out and hug you.”</span></p>

Caring