Month: August 2022

Categories
Entertainment

Meghan Markle was left struggling on her wedding day after being ‘very rude’ to army officer who refused to help untangle long veil, author Tom Bower claims

The soon-to-be Duchess of Sussex was left struggling on her wedding day after being “very rude” to someone who would have otherwise offered his assistance, an author has claimed.

The world got its first glimpse of Meghan Markle’s Givenchy gown from inside a vintage Rolls-Royce limousine as she traveled from Cliveden House Hotel to Windsor Castle with her mother Doria Ragland on the morning of May 19, 2018.

Created by British designer Clare Waight Keller and featuring an open bateau neckline, the gown was a marvel for its simplicity and elegance.

READMORE: Prince Charles’ charity won’t be investigated for bin Laden donation

Meghan Markle royal wedding flowers contained toxic lily of the valley
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day. (Getty)

Meghan’s veil was more than five meters long and made from silk tulle organza.

Its length proved tricky for her as she attempted to exit the car and walk up the steps to St George’s Chapel.

Author Tom Bower says the bride had “problems” with the veil and train but was ignored by a nearby army officer.

“A military man told me an extraordinary story about Meghan when she arrived at the wedding at Windsor Castle on that glorious day in 2018,” Bower tells The Mirror’s Pod Save the Queen podcast.

“You see her get out of the car unaccompanied and she has problems with the train of her dress and the army officer doesn’t step forward to help her.

Meghan Markle's royal wedding veil
The veil was embroidered with the floral emblems of the Commonwealth countries. (AP)

“And the reason is, is the day before in the rehearsal, she had been very rude to him so he thought ‘well I’m not going to help you today’.

“I didn’t get the story from him but a fellow officer of his, who explained what had happened.”

READMORE: ‘Princess Charlene’s royal reinvention should be applauded’

As she got out of the car Meghan’s veil appeared to have become twisted in the vehicle with an aid and her dress designer quickly coming to assist.

She was then helped up the stairs and into the chapel by her two pageboys who carried the five-metre-long train.

The veil featured a hand-embroidered trim of flowers in silk threads and organza, in the distinctive flora of each of the then-53 Commonwealth countries.

Meghan Markle arrives at St George’s Chapel for the royal wedding on May 19, 2018. (AP)

Her veil was held in place by Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiaraslow to the bride by the Queen.

The diamond bandeau was made in 1932, with the center brooch dating back to 1893.

Bower’s claim is one of many examples of Meghan’s behavior both before the wedding and after, included in his book Revenge.

He revisits the much-told story about an incident in the lead up to the royal wedding, when Meghan claims Kate made her cry during a bridesmaid dress fitting with Princess Charlotte.

He says it was Meghan who made the Duchess of Cambridge cry and not the other way around, as the Duchess of Sussex told Oprah.

Royal wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor
Prince Harry married Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. (Getty)

Bower says Kate was tired, having only recently given birth to Prince Louis, and was brought to tears by Meghan following a disagreement about tights and the length of the bridesmaids’ dresses.

Meghan was supported by her friend Jessica Mulroney, the mother of another bridesmaid, Ivy.

“Some would say that the Duchess of Sussex compared Ivy favorably against Charlotte,” Bower writes.

“Others were surprised by Meghan’s close attachment to Mulroney.”

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Detail proves Harry was destined to break royal tradition

Categories
Sports

Dalma Cortadi, Cristian Tirone, attack, video

Dalma Cortadi, Cristian Tirone, attack, video

Argentine football referee Dalma Cortadi appealed Monday for justice to be done after she was punched from behind by a male player who disagreed with her on-field ruling during a regional league match.

Cortadi, 30, laid criminal charges against her attacker, 34-year-old Cristian Tirone, who was arrested on the pitch after knocking down the referee after she yellow-carded him for a foul.

Cortadi was taken to hospital and spent several hours under observation after the attack, which was caught on video.

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Robbie Slater’s Premier League preview | 08:33

The footage shows Tirone seemingly aiming his fist at the back of Cortadi’s head, missing, and connecting with her neck. She falls to the ground, but gets up immediately as Tirone is pulled away by others on the field.

“I fell and I don’t remember anything else. When I got up I was dizzy and nauseous. Nothing like this has ever happened to me,” she told the Ole sports daily.

Cortadi was refereeing a third-tier match of the Tres Arroyos regional league between Independencia and Garmense, which was suspended after the attack.

She told Ole her gender was irrelevant to the matter.

“We want justice to be done and that this man pay for what he did. That is what is important,” she said.

The league denounced the attack and Garmense suspended Tirone for life.

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Categories
Australia

Indigenous voice to parliament: how will the constitution change and what will Australians be asked to vote on? | constitutional reform

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has released the proposed draft change to the constitution to recognize Indigenous Australians with a voice to parliament.

But what will Australians be asked at a referendum, and what do we still need to know about a voice?

What is constitutional recognition?

Recognizing Indigenous Australians in the constitution is an idea that has gone through many iterations.

In 2007, the former Liberal prime minister, John Howard, proposed a symbolic preamble to the constitution to recognize the special place of Indigenous Australians as the first inhabitants of Australia.

The Rudd and Gillard governments set up an expert panel that in January 2012 recommended something more substantive: replacing the race power in the constitution with a new provision prohibiting racially discriminatory legislation.

In 2017 the Uluru statement from the heart, agreed by 250 Indigenous leaders after six months of consultation, asked for three things: a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament; a Makarrata commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations; and truth-telling.

What did Anthony Albanese propose?

On Saturday Albanese spoke at the Garma festival, revealing the proposed question for a referendum to recognize Indigenous Australians and the proposed alteration to the constitution.

The “starting point” is to add three sentences:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

3. The parliament shall, subject to this constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

At the referendum, Australians would then be asked:

Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?

What does the Coalition say?

The opposition spokesperson on Indigenous Australians, Julian Leeser, said he supported the move to enshrine a voice in the constitution but wanted to see the detail of the question and the proposed reforms.

“We as a Coalition have an open mind about the issue of the voice that the government is putting forward, and we are awaiting the detail,” he said.

“This is a step today on that road, but we still want to know how the voice itself is going to operate.”

The Country Liberal senator, Jacinta Price, a Warlpiri woman, has been more strident, arguing in her first speech the government is “yet to demonstrate how this proposed voice will deliver practical outcomes and unite, rather than drive a wedge further between, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia”.

What detail already exists about the voice?

In July 2021, the Indigenous Voice Co-design Process, co-chaired Marcia Langton and Tom Calma, proposed voices at the local and regional, and the national level.

The national voice would be a “small body of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members tasked to advise the Australian parliament and government” to ensure they “have a direct say on any national laws, policies and programs affecting them”.

The Australian parliament and government would be “’forced’ to ask the national voice for advice on a defined and limited number of proposed laws and policies that overwhelmingly affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” while there would be an “expectation” to consult it on laws that “significantly” affect them.

It proposed “a 24-member model including five members representing remote regions, and one member representing the significant number of Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland”.

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The report also detailed consultation standards and transparency mechanisms for the voice.

Constitutional recognition and the design of the voice has also been the subject of two joint select committees in parliament, including one co-chaired by Leeser and Labor’s Patrick Dodson.

When will the referendum happen?

The Albanese government has committed to take the voice proposal to a referendum in this term of parliament, which could be held as early as mid to late 2023.

In April the Uluru statement leadership launched a campaign ahead of the federal election calling for the voice referendum to occur on 27 January 2024, the “day after Invasion day/Australia day”, or 27 May 2023.

The latter date is the 56th anniversary of the successful 1967 referendum, which allowed the commonwealth to make laws for Indigenous people and count them in the census, and also the sixth anniversary of the Uluru statement.

What happens now?

Since the parliament would have the power to set the “composition, functions, powers and procedures” of the voice, the question now is: what level of detail will the Albanese government give about these before the referendum?

On Friday, Langton said the structure of the voice had been “investigated to the point where there is nothing more we can say.”

She told Radio National:

When people say they want more detail, all that tells me is they refuse to read our report – because all that detail is there … I see this demand for more detail as mischief-making and sowing confusion … We couldn’t have been more clear than we have been … What we’ve set out in our report for a voice is very straightforward and clear, and is the preferred option of most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

On Sunday Albanese said the government won’t “go down the cul-de-sac of getting into every detail … because that is not a recipe for success”. On Monday, I told The Project “of course [voters] will know how it works” before the referendum.

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, indicated the body would be “representative” but more consultations would be needed about “the way in which a voice would be constituted”.

“I want to make sure that there is involvement and discussion not only with Indigenous leaders, not only across the parliament, but importantly with the Australian public, about what we should do going forward. It is not about the ‘what’ yet … it is about the ‘why’,” she told the ABC.

Categories
US

Trump baffles GOP by endorsing ‘Eric’ in the Missouri Senate primary — a race with three Erics

Trump baffles GOP by endorsing 'Eric' in the Missouri Senate primary — a race with three Erics

Former President Donald Trump injected some last-minute confusion ahead of Missouri’s Senate primary on Tuesday by endorsing “ERIC” in a Monday night statement.

Eric who? Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens? State Attorney General Eric Schmitt? Or maybe even little-known Eric McElroy?

“I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Full Endorsement!” Trump said in a statement after emphasizing voters “must send a MAGA Champion and True Warrior to the US Senate, someone who will fight for Border Security, Election Integrity, our Military and Great Veterans, together with having a powerful toughness on Crime and the Border .”

When reached for comment, Trump’s team did not provide any clarity, saying only that the “endorsement speaks for itself.”

Allies of Greitens and Schmitt separately argued that their candidate was the true recipient of the endorsement, or that the other guy wasn’t MAGA enough to win Trump’s approval.

One Trump adviser said the internal bickering demonstrated the former president’s enduring power and influence in the party.

“Instead of talking about Missouri, the Erics are debating what Trump’s endorsement means,” said the adviser. “Yes, it’s an epic troll.”

By not endorsing Greitens, though, Trump could have sealed his defeat.

“A Trump endorsement is a wild card Greitens needs. And if he doesn’t get it, it’s hard to see how he wins,” said John Lamping, a Republican and former state senator from Missouri.

Schmitt has led Greitens in most public polls, reaching about 30 percent support in the crowded GOP field, as Greitens tends to top out at 25 percent. Rep. Vicky Hartzler has statistically tied for second with Greitens in those surveys.

Greitens started to stumble after a withering assault of radio and TV ads from political committees financed by GOP establishment figures who savaged the former governor for his sex scandal, the domestic violence and a trade mission he took to China.

For months, Trump had considered endorsing Greitens but privately fretted to confidants that he was concerned about the sex scandal that helped drive Greitens from office in 2018. And he was troubled by allegations earlier this year from the former governor’s ex-wife that he physically abused her and their 3-year-old son. Greitens campaign manager Dylan Johnson at the time called the allegations “politically motivated” and “outright lies.”

Amid a recent lobbying campaign from Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle — who co-chairs Greitens’ Senate campaign — some Trump-watchers started to believe the former president would give Greitens the nod.

But Schmitt also had Trump allies in his corner, namely former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was part of Trump’s defense team for his first impeachment trial.

Trump’s mood toward Schmitt’s campaign appeared to sour on Sunday when he grousing on his Truth Social website that Schmitt’s pollster, Jeff Roe, had released a survey of Missouri Republicans that failed to show Trump’s dominance in a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary, particularly against Florida Gov . Ron DeSantis. Trump won Missouri by more than 15 percentage points in 2020.

The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face either former US Marine Lucas Kunce or Trudy Busch Valentine, heiress to the Busch family beer fortune, in November.

Meanwhile, independent John Wood, a Republican and a former investigator for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, said Monday that he has submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in the general election.

Marc Caputo is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

Categories
Business

What is quiet quitting? How Aussies are pushing back against burnout

What is quiet quitting? How Aussies are pushing back against burnout

There’s a new way to “quit” your job, and it means you don’t have to hand in your notice.

Instead, “quiet quitting” involves the rejection of the idea that work has to take over your life. For many, this is a huge mindset shift and quite a revolutionary concept – and it is one that many Aussies are getting on board with.

“You’re not outright quitting your job, but you’re quitting the idea of ​​going above and beyond,” TikTokker @zkchillin explained in a popular video on the topic.

“You’re still performing your duties, but you’re no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life – the reality is, it’s not and your worth as a person is not defined by your labour.”

That could mean ignoring work emails and calls outside of working hours, and leaving the office on time.

It could also mean declining projects that aren’t part of your job description.

These are all ways “quiet quitters” claim are crucial steps to avoid burnout and regain some work-life balance.

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Many commenters on the TikTok post found the inspiring video, with one writing: “Then when you do it (quiet quitting) you realize nothing at work matters and suddenly all the stress vanishes.”

Another said it can really work: “I quiet quit six months ago and guess what, same pay, same recognition, same everything but less stress.”

While a third said: “I did this when I asked for a raise and they told me no, but then started hiring people with higher pay and less responsibilities.”

However, another commenter cautioned: “This works best if you can tolerate your job – if you’re miserable, get outta there! Your peace of mind comes first.”

It appears the quiet quitting movement has also hit home with many Australians, with the TikTok sparking a lively discussion on an Brisbane Reddit thread.

Many Aussies explained they are currently using this method or have taken similar approaches in the past to their work.

“I stepped down from a management position to a lower one with fewer hours to study,” one user said.

“Went from putting in 110 per cent into everything I did to the absolute bare minimum required to keep me happy and employed.”

Another user, a nurse, said they had definitely “dialled down” their time spent at work after having to take time off for burn out and family issues.

“Since I’ve been back, I only work two to three shifts a week. I do what my job needs me to do,” they wrote.

“My work ethic is still strong but I no longer put my hand up for every other shift and I say no to some that are asked of me.

“I do stay for emergencies after hours but I won’t always be the one to do it. I absolutely don’t want extra responsibility anymore. There are others to do that.”

Another person said they have been “doing this for years”, while person said they adopted this method earlier this years and have since found their “more enjoyable and felt less stress”.

Others pointed out that this wasn’t a new concept, claiming it was nothing more than “healthy boundaries” and having a work-life balance, something any decent company should ensure exists.

One person claimed that the quiet quitting movement seemed to be more prevalent in Brisbane compared to other major cities.

“Having worked up and down the east coast, Brisbane is already ‘quiet quitting’ compared to Melbourne and Sydney,” they wrote.

“What I am noticing is that professional career paths are heading towards more rewarding, creative jobs with less stress. In other words, let the ambitious ones push for the stressful positions.”

While this all sounds very appealing, experts have warned the tactic could backfire, as it’s quite passive and could leave you feeling more powerless.

“If you are getting to the point in your career where you feel that you’re putting work above everything else – at the expense of other important parts of your life – it can be incredibly demoralizing,” LinkedIn career expert Charlotte Davies told Metro. co.uk.

“It’s very likely that you’ll start to retreat from work – ‘quiet quitting’ – in an attempt to bring back some balance.

“Of course, the best piece of advice is to avoid this happening in the first place, but we all know that’s very hard to do, particularly with the pandemic blurring the lines between career and personal lives, which still impacts how we work now. ”

However, while these tactics can reduce overwhelm, you may already be suffering from too much burnout that you may need more support, or to actually quit.

The good news is that some employers are recognizing that many employees are burnt out, and are taking proactive steps to help. A report from May that found more Australian companies are turning to a four-day work week with no pay cut as burnout rises among staff, as well as the fallout from brutal competition to attract employees, with the unemployment rate hitting its lowest level in 48 years.

From August many companies will take part in the reduced work week as part of an initiative from the not-for-profit advocacy group 4 Day Week Global.

Meanwhile, towards the end of 2021, research found that 4.7 million Aussies were willing to switch jobs for less pay but a better employee experience, according to Australian workplace technology company LiveTiles.

The past 12 months saw nearly half of Australian employees feeling stressed, exhausted or fed up, with a third of those surveyed revealing their job has become more difficult.

Have you tried quiet quitting? [email protected]

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Categories
Technology

The Best PC Deals On eBay Australia Today

This Week’s Best eBay PC Deals, Including $250 off This SteelSeries Arctis Pro Headset

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you’ll like it too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

When it comes time to purchase a new laptop or accessory, it can be tough to navigate hundreds of deals in order to find the one that will give you the most bang for your buck. Over at eBay Australia, they have plenty of PC deals to explore, from gaming PCs to wireless mesh routers that will allow you to mix business with pleasure.

We’ll be updating this list often, so remember to bookmark this page so you can check back in regularly. Let’s dive in.

best laptop deals

This Week's Best eBay PC Deals, Including $250 off This SteelSeries Arctis Pro Headset
Image: Alienware

There’s a reason why many PC users are upgrading from their regular laptops to gaming ones. Not only will you enjoy better graphics, speed and overall performance, but you’ll also have a powerful computer that will aid video editing or gaming, if you’re interesting in combining business with pleasure.

This Alienware M15 R6 gaming laptop also features superior cooling systems, which is ideal if you’re someone who sits all day, non-stop at your desk.

  • HP Pavilion x360 14-inch 2-in-1 Laptop – now $778.99 (down from $980.94)
  • Asus VivoBook 17 Laptop – now $1,449 (down from $1,799)
  • GIGABYTE G7 Laptop – now $1,711 (down from $2,127)
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga G4 2-in-1 Laptop – now $1,363.95 (down from $2,308.95)
  • Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 Laptop – now $928.99 (down from $1,619.99)
  • Lenovo ThinkBook 14 Laptop – now $1,299 (down from $1,399)
  • ASUS Laptop X515EA-BQ1549X 15.6″ Laptop – now $949 (down from $1,399)
  • Razer Blade 14 – now $2,899 (down from $3,999)
  • Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 15-inch (i7/16GB/512GB) – now $2,336.65 (down from $2,749)

Save an extra 20% on Dell and Alienware products using the promo code DE20LL:

Best monitor deals

dell monitor ebay deals
Image: Dell

A second screen is a great way to enlarge a small laptop display or work from one with a higher and better resolution.

This Dell 32-inch curved monitor is one of the best second screens you can score for your WFH set-up since it sports a 4k ultra-HD resolution that pairs crystal-clear clarity with fine detail. It’s an ideal monitor for streaming movies and can even support the speediest of gaming refresh rates thanks to its AMD TearFree technology.

Save an extra 20% on Dell and Alienware products using the promo code DE20LL:

Best keyboard deals

Razer BlackWidow V3 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Green Switch
Image: Razer

Are you looking for a fancy new mechanical gaming keyboard that will help you effortlessly take down your opponents?

Razer is one of our top picks for PC gaming accessories and they won’t disappoint. All of the options below feature customizable backlit keys, clicky mechanical switches and a couple come with a built-in ergonomic wrist rest.

Best mouse deals

This Week's Best eBay PC Deals, Including $250 off This SteelSeries Arctis Pro Headset
Image: Onikuma

This Onikuma CW902 wired gaming mouse was designed with accuracy and precision in mind. Ideal for FPS games, it features a flexible pointer that isn’t subject to delay thanks to its powerful and stable configuration.

Its eye-catching honeycomb design also happens to be anti-sweat, non-slip, breathable and comfortable – ideal for marathon gaming sessions or even a long day on the job.

Best headset deals

Razer Nari wireless headset
Image: Razer

In need of a new wireless gaming headset? If longevity is your preference, you’ll be glad to hear the Razer Nari headset has a battery life that can last up to 16 hours. Of course, this gaming set also sports immersive, THX spatial audio and a super comfortable, cushiony fit. Just keep in mind it’s only compatible with PC or PlayStation consoles.

Other PC accessory deals

GIGABYTE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GAMING OC 12GB GDDR6 LHR Graphics Video Card
Image: GIGABYTE

If you’re building your own PC, a graphics card is an essential component that will ensure a smoother picture during use. It’s especially important for those who intend to build a PC from scratch for gaming or video-editing purposes.

The GIGABYTE NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 graphics card sports an extended heatsink to optimize screen cooling by allowing air flow to pass easier and prevent overheating. Another cool feature is its RGB Fusion, which allows you to set any combination of lighting effects, such as a pulse or rainbow wave to really get your glow on.

Save an extra 20% on Alienware products using the promo code DE20LL:

Categories
Entertainment

The Project’s Carrie Bickmore and Fifi Box check out of a Sydney hotel after a wild girls’ night out

Pajama party! The Project's Carrie Bickmore and Fifi Box checked out of their Sydney hotel on Friday after a wild girls' night out

They enjoyed a wild girls’ night out on Thursday evening in Sydney.

And The Project host Carrie Bickmore, 41, and radio star Fifi Box, 45, were seen checking out of the swanky Kimpton Margot hotel the morning after.

The two women shared a laugh as they rolled their suitcases to a chauffeured car.

Pajama party! The Project's Carrie Bickmore and Fifi Box checked out of their Sydney hotel on Friday after a wild girls' night out

Pajama party! The Project’s Carrie Bickmore and Fifi Box checked out of their Sydney hotel on Friday after a wild girls’ night out

Carrie and Fifi were dressed like typical Melburnians, both wearing black outfits.

Carrie looked incredibly chic in a knitted turtleneck sweater with a pair of black skinny jeans and black combat boots worn over the top.

Meanwhile, a hungover Fifi went for a more casual flying attire, wearing a baggy lilac top over a padded jacket.

Carrie and Fifi were dressed like typical Melburnians, with both wearing black outfits

Carrie and Fifi were dressed like typical Melburnians, with both wearing black outfits

She also donned skinny jeans and combat boots.

The night before, the pair appeared ready to cut loose with Carrie looking as youthful as ever and Fifi clad in a busty emerald dress.

The Gold Logie winner shared the snap on Instagram along with several others throughout the night, before revealing the next morning Fifi had a hangover.

Carrie looked incredibly chic in a knitted turtleneck sweater with a pair of black skinny jeans and black combat boots wore over the top

Carrie looked incredibly chic in a knitted turtleneck sweater with a pair of black skinny jeans and black combat boots wore over the top

The night before, the pair appeared ready to cut loose as they dressed to the nines

The night before, the pair appeared ready to cut loose as they dressed to the nines

It comes after Carrie’s recent return to The Project following her ‘family adventure’ in Britain, which some suspected viewers had been cut short.

Many had expected her to be gone for six months or more, and some even suspected she hoped to get a job in the UK, so they were understandably confused when she slipped back into her role on the panel without fanfare on July 11.

Fans of the newsreader had been in the dark about her trip, as she had never indicated a specific return date.

Carrie, 41, looked as youthful as ever and Fifi, 45, clad in a busty emerald dress

Instead, Bickmore simply said she was ‘going to be taking a few months off’ from April with her partner Chris Walker and their three children, traveling across Europe while being mostly based in London.

‘Chris and I and the kids are heading off on a family adventure together,’ she said at the time.

‘We’ve been wanting to do it for a while but lots of reasons, timing hasn’t been right, but we figure it’s never going to be the perfect time to go.’

The Gold Logie winner shared the snap on Instagram along with several others throughout the night, before revealing the next morning Fifi had a hangover

The Gold Logie winner shared the snap on Instagram along with several others throughout the night, before revealing the next morning Fifi had a hangover

It comes after Carrie's recent return to The Project following her 'family adventure' in Britain, which some viewers suspected had been cut short

It comes after Carrie’s recent return to The Project following her ‘family adventure’ in Britain, which some viewers suspected had been cut short

‘YOt’s something we really want to do before my son starts his final years at school so we’re doing term two in the UK. So I will be off for a couple of months,’ she added.

As it turned out, returning in ‘a few months’ is precisely what Bickmore did.

Yet during her sabbatical some viewers feared she would never return to the Channel 10 current affairs show, pointing to various ‘clues’ suggesting she was planning a more permanent move.

For example, Bickmore said she had been inspired by fellow Project panelist Kate Langbroek, 56, who spent two years living in Bologna, Italy, with her family.

Bickmore said she had been inspired by fellow Project panelist Kate Langbroek, 56, (right) who spent two years living in Bologna, Italy, with her family

Bickmore said she had been inspired by fellow Project panelist Kate Langbroek, 56, (right) who spent two years living in Bologna, Italy, with her family

Furthermore, Bickmore had sold her five-bedroom family home in Melbourne just days before announcing her extended leave.

Some fans speculated this was because she and her family were hoping to buy a place to live in England.

Yet none of these theories came to fruition, as Bickmore returned to The Project on July 11, just three months after jetting abroad.

Furthermore, Bickmore had sold her five-bedroom family home in Melbourne just days before announcing her extended leave. Some fans speculated this was because she and her family were hoping to buy a place to live in England. (Pictured with her family of her at Melbourne airport)

Furthermore, Bickmore had sold her five-bedroom family home in Melbourne just days before announcing her extended leave. Some fans speculated this was because she and her family were hoping to buy a place to live in England. (Pictured with her family of her at Melbourne airport)

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Categories
Sports

Ryder Cup: Europe captain Luke Donald’s task fraught with difficulty and uncertainty’

Ryder Cup: Europe captain Luke Donald's task fraught with difficulty and uncertainty'

Luke Donald at the 2018 Ryder Cup
Donald was one of Thomas Bjorn’s vice-captains when Europe defeated the United States in Paris in 2018

Never before has a Ryder Cup captain been installed in such difficult circumstances.

Normally the appointment is a coronation, a moment of celebration and excitement and while Luke Donald is thrilled, at last, to be piloting Europe’s quest to regain the trophy he is also aware that the task is fraught with difficulty and uncertainty.

As golf’s civil war rages, the 44-year-old has 14 months to fashion a team capable of overturning last year’s record 19-9 defeat by a youthful United States line-up at Whistling Straits.

That is already a tough ask, but more pressingly he has barely a month to come up with a formula from which to select his team. This at a time when the men’s game is tearing itself apart.

The qualifying process for his side is due to start in September, well before an outcome is expected from legal action that should determine whether players who have defaulted to LIV Golf will remain eligible for DP World Tour events.

“We don’t have enough clarity on the situation right now,” Donald told BBC Sport. “Hopefully that will get resolved as time goes on and then I will have a better idea of ​​how to deal with it.

“But my plan is to have 12 guys unified on the team and we will be ready to play against the Americans in Rome.”

Donald was second choice for the role after Henrik Stenson was stripped of the job a fortnight ago for signing a £40m contract with the Saudi Arabian-funded breakaway LIV setup.

The new captain has given the strongest possible assurances that he will not be jumping ship from Ryder Cup Europe in the same way as Stenson.

“I’ve signed a contract as Henrik did and I’m giving them my word,” said the Englishman.

“That’s all I can do and I promise you I will be seeing this through until the end. I’ve not been approached by LIV to play on their tour but I have this amazing opportunity to be this Ryder Cup captain.

“The Ryder Cup has meant so much to me over the years, some of my best moments on the golf course have been during Ryder Cups.

“The camaraderie, the team spirit, the history behind it. Everything that the Ryder Cup represents is very special to me and I think that’s important.”

Indeed Donald sees the biennial match between Europe and the US as an entity potentially capable of defusing the unprecedented power struggle prompted by LIV’s entry into the golf market.

“I think the Ryder Cup is the beacon of hope,” said Donald, who was on the winning side in all four of his playing appearances. “We have so much rich history in the Ryder Cup, almost 100 years.

“I remember so many more moments in Ryder Cups than I do probably from my individual career, just because it matters.

“We have amazing moments like Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus and ‘the concession’ (at Royal Birkdale in 1969). We had the ‘War on the Shore,’ (1991) ‘The Battle of Brookline’ (1999) and the ‘Miracle at Madinah’ (2012).

“These things resonate with people and it has history and history is important because it encourages the next generation of players to get involved in the game.

“I think the Ryder Cup is a great platform to grow this game and I’m certainly privileged to be the captain and hopeful that history continues.”

Donald also plans to dip into more recent sporting history to try to inspire his team, who are likely to be underdogs at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, for the match which starts on 29 September 2023.

The new skipper says he will reach out to England coach Sarina Wiegman following her team’s victory in the Euros last Sunday.

“I’m obviously extremely proud of what the Lionesses did,” Donald said.

“Any time I can talk to someone who is able to have such a success around a team, and I think you can see such comparisons between something like the Lionesses and the Ryder Cup.”

Donald added: “I’m sure I will be reaching out to many people who have had a lot of success in that team environment, one being Sarina.”

It may provide an enlightened and enlightening conversation. Donald will need plenty of those over the next 14 months.

He will appoint further vice-captains to work alongside Thomas Bjorn and Edoardo Molinari who were put in place by Stenson during his ill-fated 127 day reign.

Between them they have much to ponder, starting with how they will assemble a team.

“Obviously this is day one for me but it will be a busy next few weeks trying to figure out all those details and making sure we have a great system in place to give us the best opportunity for victory in Rome,” said the former world number one.

“But all I can do is control what I can control and move forward from here. I can’t control what’s happened in the past.”

And given the current golfing landscape, there is no bigger challenge than trying to have some influence on what is a most uncertain future.

Categories
Australia

Perth weather: Tree falls on two cars in Ballajura after gale force winds sweep through city

Perth weather: Tree falls on two cars in Ballajura after gale force winds sweep through city

A tree has fallen on two cars in Ballajura on Tuesday morning, causing peak hour chaos as the once-in-a-year storm continues to rage through Perth.

Emergency services were called to the crash along Hepburn Avenue eastbound, after Marangaroo Drive about 6.30am, after two cars were struck by the tree.

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Categories
US

2 dead as California’s largest wildfire of year rages

2 dead as California's largest wildfire of year rages