The Art Deco-style fantasy face and concept was based on the success of the first Luna Park on Coney Island, in New York in 1903. American entrepreneur Herman Phillips and others brought the idea to Australia and opened Luna Park in Melbourne in 1912 and Luna Park Glenelg, Adelaide in 1930.
The Sydney site ran smoothly under the management of the first operator, showman David Atkins, until 1957 and engineer Ted Hopkins took over after that until 1969.
A host of different leasees operated the park in the 1970s including the World Trade Center. The lease expired in 1975 with managers unable to negotiate a long-term lease. It operated from week-to-week resulting in limited investment in park infrastructure.
In 1979, six children and one adult were killed in the ghost train fire.
In 1980 it closed and was threatened with demolition until the “Friends of Luna Park”, including artists Martin Sharp and Peter Kingston, rallied to keep it open.
After financial difficulties Luna Park closed its doors in 1996, where the lease was awarded to a group including the owners of the Metro Theater in Sydney (headed by co-directors Warwick Doughty and Peter Hearne) and The Edgley Group.
Luna Park was listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in 2010, and is owned by the Luna Park Reserve Trust, an agency of the NSW government.
Donnie’s life changed dramatically eight years ago.
At 19, he got into a tragic car accident that left him with a shark-bite-sized hole in his stomach.
Stream episodes of Botched for free on 9Now.
In an episode of botchedwhich you can watch for free on 9Now, Donnie sought the help of Dr Terry Dubrow and Dr Paul Nassif.
A car accident left Donnie with a shark-bite-sized hole in his stomach. (9Now)
The 27-year-old explained that his injury has affected every part of his life. He is in constant pain at work, it’s affected his social life and hindered his dating life.
He told the heartbreaking story of a woman disappearing after she saw his injury. “I thought I might be alone for the rest of my life,” Donnie confessed to the doctors.
“I want to be happy again how I used to be. If anybody could do it these doctors could do it and I think they’re probably the only attempt I have to try to get my life back,” Donnie told cameras.
READMORE:Woman with rare nose condition seeks help from Botched doctors
Dr Dubrow was amazed by Donnie’s injury. (9Now)
After a consultation, Dr. Dubrow knew he had his work cut out for him with Donnie’s plastic surgery. He decided he would tackle the problem by using a surgery technique he’d never tried before.
“Sometimes you have to make up procedures in plastic surgery based on well-founded principles,” Dr. Dubrow told the cameras.
“This is the first time I’ve done what I would call a sliding fat flap advancement.”
“I hope it works and if it does I’m a f—ing genius.”
Dr Dubrow risked trying a new surgery technique to fix Donnie’s stomach. (9Now)
It was time for the big reveal and Donnie’s sister Kelsey was left speechless by the results.
Donnie couldn’t wipe the smile off his face and was totally “ecstatic” with the results.
“You are amazing, I cannot even believe it right now,” he thanked Dr. Dubrow.
“You really can’t even tell that something was there before, like it’s gone.”
Donnie was ecstatic with the results. (9Now)
Dr Nassif said Dr Dubrow had pulled off “one of the best results he’s ever seen”.
“I must say Terry really did knock it out of the park with Donnie, I mean this is a new technique I’ve never seen it before,” Dr Nassif said.
See Donnie’s final results and watch his full story on botched in the episode ‘Shark Side Story’.
She recently revealed she secretly got married earlier this month.
And Lindsay Lohan beamed with happiness as she went to MJ The Musical on Broadway in New York City on Saturday, with her new husband Bader Shammas and her family.
The actress, 36, looked stunning in a translucent white dress with lacey cutouts, which showed off her toned legs.
Stunning: Lindsay Lohan beamed with happiness as she went to MJ The Musical on Broadway in New York City on Saturday, with her new husband Bader Shammas and her family
She added height to her frame with some black high heels, and toted her essentials in an eye-catching orange purse.
Her signature fiery red tresses were left to tumble down her shoulders, and she sported minimal makeup to let her natural beauty shine through.
Husband Bader, looked casual in a white T-shirt as he was snapped sitting in the car ready to go home.
Incredible: The actress, 36, looked stunning in translucent white dress with lacey cutouts, that showed off her toned legs
Fancy footwear: She added height to her frame with some black high heels, and toted her essentials in an eye-catching orange purse
Lindsay’s mother Dina Lohan, made a statement in a bold patterned dress and snakeskin high heels.
Her sister Ali, complemented Lindsay by also wearing white, opting for a plunging white shirt and matching shorts.
Meanwhile, Lindsay’s brother Cody looked handsome in a purple polo neck shirt, and black jeans.
Ready to leave: Husband Bader, looked casual in a white T-shirt as he was snapped sitting in the car ready to go home
Eye-catching: Lindsay’s mother Dina Lohan, made a statement in a bold patterned dress and snakeskin high heels
Vision in whiteL Her sister Ali, complemented Lindsay by also wearing white, opting for a plunging white shirt and matching shorts
Stylish: Meanwhile, Lindsay’s brother Cody looked handsome in a purple polo neck shirt, and black jeans
The outing comes after Lindsay shocked her fans in a surprise post this month, after calling Bader her ‘husband’ in a gushing Instagram message that she posted on her 36th birthday last Saturday.
The New York-born actress first announced her engagement to her beau in November last year, after first being linked in 2020.
Earlier this month, the Freaky Friday star broke the news to her 10.9million followers, writing: ‘I am the luckiest woman in the world. You found me and knew that I wanted to find happiness and grace, all at the same time.’
She added: ‘I am stunned that you are my husband. My life and my everything. every woman should feel like this everyday.’
The couple are based in Dubai where the actress now lives, and are relatively private apart from a few Instagram posts from the star about their relationship.
In her engagement post last year, Lindsay captioned a loved-up snap of the pair: ‘My love. My life. My family. My future.’
Bader and Lindsay have been linked since they were spotted together at a music festival in Dubai shortly before the pandemic hit in 2020.
They have kept their romance out of the public eye.
birthdaybride! Lindsay announced that she has got married the day of her 36th birthday
Engagement: The 36-year-old New York-born actress first announced her engagement to Bader in November last year, after first being linked in 2020
In May 2020 the star’s mother Dina spoke of Bader, saying: ‘Lindsay is dating a wonderful guy right now,’ she said. ‘But that’s neither here nor there. When she’s ready to talk about her personal life, (she will).’
Lindsay Lohan’s dating history
2003 – Aaron Carter
2004- Wilmer Valderrama
2006 – Stavros Niarchos
2006 – Harry Morton
2008 – Heath Ledger
2008-2009 – Samantha Ronson
2013 – Matt Nordgren
2013 – Vikram Chatwal
2015-2016 – Egor Tarabasov
2019 – Mohammad bin Salman
Lindsay’s celebrity exes include Stavros Niarchos, DJ Samantha Ronson, Wilmer Valderrama and Aaron Carter.
It was claimed last year that Lindsay was smitten with Bader
A source told The Sun: ‘Lindsay’s relationship with Bader (Shammas) is going strong. She has been with him for about two years now.
Bader is a steady and stable presence in her life, the source added. He is a legitimate guy. He’s not an actor, he’s not in the entertainment industry, he manages funds for high net worth people at Credit Suisse.’
Lindsay was previously engaged to Egor Tarabasov but the pair split in 2016 after they were pictured grappling over a mobile phone on a beach.
During a Russian television interview that year, the actress claimed she even paid for her own ring when the pair got engaged in September 2015.
She also claimed that during their well-publicized rows Egor beat her and alleged that she covered up the bruises.
Tarabasov denied the ‘harmful’ and ‘false’ claims and no charges have been brought against him.
Meanwhile, Lindsay has been ramping up her professional career lately – launching a comeback after getting back on her feet.
The actress has signed a two-film deal with Netflix and is set to star in the upcoming romantic comedy, Falling for Christmas.
She’s also recently narrated the Amazon Prime Video reality dating show, Lovestruck High, and appeared as a judge on the Australian edition of The Masked Singer.
Lindsay launched her own podcast called The Lohdown with Lindsay Lohan this, which has seen her interview celebrity guests including the band Salt-N-Pepa.
Before that, the short-lived series Sick Note (2017-2018), starring Rupert Grint, was her most notable acting project in the last several years. However, the Mean Girls star served as a judge for Australia’s version of The Masked Singer for several seasons.
Over: Lindsay was previously engaged to Egor Tarabasov but the pair split in 2016 after they were pictured grappling over a mobile phone on a beach (pictured 2016)
Back then: Lindsay previously dated DJ Samantha Ronson back in 2009 (pictured)
Back then: Lindsay dated Harry Morton back in 2006 (pictured)
Exes: The star also dated Vikram Chatwal in 2013 (pictured 2011)
She had also opened a luxury VIP beach club on the Greek island of Mykonos in 2018 dubbed the Lohan Beach House.
As well acting new projects, it seems Lindsay has been making a killing with new sponsorship deals.
Last week, she brought on plenty of nostalgia as she made numerous references to her iconic 2004 movie Mean Girls, in her latest All Birds shoe commercial.
‘I didn’t run track in high school – I was more of a mathlete,’ the actress, 35, said in the commercial, referring to her leading role as Cady Heron – a high school student who belonged to the math club.
The star also poked fun of the pronunciation of her name, as she described the shoes as being, ‘Perfect for a Queen Bee like Lindsay Lohan… or is it Lindsay Lohan?’
Romance: The couple looked delighted as they showed off the new engagement ring
‘I get it, as a running spokesperson, I guess I’m a little unexpected,’ the beauty added while promoting the brand’s latest ‘Tree Flyer’ shoe.
‘Together with @allbirds, I’ve gone from mathlete to unexpected athlete. All thanks to their Tree Flyer (the pink ones, of course), which is made with natural materials, instead of, you know…plastics,’ she wrote cheekily in the caption.
In yet another cute reference the star picked out a pair of pink sneakers and said, ‘Well, it is Wednesday’ in reference to the famous line ‘On Wednesdays, we wear pink’ from the film.
Continuing on with the fun allusions, she described the eco-friendly sneakers, saying: ‘These don’t just look cute, they’re made with natural materials. Always avoid the plastics.’
The plastics being the popular mean girl group that of the North Shore High School and the main antagonists of Mean Girls.
Lohan starred in the teen comedy film Mean Girls, directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey, in 2004.
Couple: Lindsay and Bader (third left) are pictured together in Dubai
Bella Hadid shows off her long legs in a sleek white dress while strolling through New York City
By Brian Marks and Sameer Suri For Dailymail.com
Published: | Updated:
Bella Hadid turned the sidewalk into her personal runway when she was spotted out in New York City on Saturday.
The 25-year-old model put her long, trim legs on display with a lovely white mini dress while on the move.
She was spotted heading out on a solo stroll in the Big Apple.
Bella Hadid, 25, put her long, trim legs on display with a lovely white mini dress while walking in New York City on Saturday
Bella’s striking look featured a brilliant white paneled dress delicate lace at the hem and slim straps that put the focus on her toned arms.
She matched the look with a thick white headband, which she wore with slim white sunglasses.
She helped use up more of her white items up before Labor Day by stepping out in simple loafers.
The sister of Gigi Hadid with a thick, weathered brown handbag tucked under her arm, and she wore her brunette hair swept back to reveal her gold earrings.
On point: She paired the sleek dress with white loafers, a matching headband and slim white sunglasses
The day before, Bella shared a casual post with her 53.8 million Instagram followers that showed her devouring a folded slice of pizza in New York City.
She sat with her legs splayed on a set of metal steps while munch on the foot, which appeared to be classic cheese.
The catwalk star wore a simple black dress with tall leather boots and a vibrant scarlet cardigan that she left unbuttoned, along with a mottle red handbag.
She tied her dark hair into a mess ponytail while highlighting her blunt-cut bangs.
Delicious: The day before, Bella shared a casual post with her 53.8 million Instagram followers that showed her devouring a folded slice of pizza in New York City
Classic: She sat with her legs splayed on a set of metal steps while munch on the pie, which appeared to be classic cheese
Back in black: The catwalk star wore a simple black dress with tall leather boots and a vibrant scarlet cardigan that she left unbuttoned, along with a mottle red handbag
No fuss: She tied her dark hair into a mess ponytail while highlighting her blunt-cut bangs
Seemingly missing from Bella’s walk on Saturday was her boyfriend Marc Kalman.
Marc is an art director who has worked for Travis Scott and the two have dated for two years.
The couple went Instagram official last July in a picture Bella posted from France, where she was attending the Cannes Film Festival.
A Page Six source claimed that Bella and Marc’s relationship began in July 2020 and that the dynamic duo ‘hid it well’ for the first year.
They are said to have carried on the romance in New York amid the coronavirus pandemic while assiduously making sure they never got caught together.
Bella rarely discusses Marc in interviews even now, and she attributes the longevity of their relationship to the fact that they have remained discreet.
‘I think that’s why things have been able to last. When you give other people room to have opinions on things that are so personal to you, it poisons it,’ she told Vogue.
MIA: Seemingly missing from Bella’s walk on Saturday was her boyfriend Marc Kalman. Marc is an art director who has worked for Travis Scott and the two have dated for two years
On the shore of one of the world’s deepest lakes, high up in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan mountains, models strutted and sashayed in outfits mixing the ancient and modern at the World Nomads Fashion Festival.
A model displays an outfit from the collection by Indonesian designer Akeyla Naraya during the festival.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
The event, now in its third year, drew designers and fashion-industry figures from about 20 countries to shimmering Lake Issyk-Kul to admire outfits drawing on Kyrgyzstan’s millennia-old nomadic culture.
The festival was held at Cholpon-Ata, a resort town on the northern shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, 207 kilometers east of Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
The stiletto heels worn by some models wouldn’t be suitable for a proper nomad, but some of their elaborate headdresses that seemed to mimic the horns of cattle were taken on traditional nomad costumes.
The main goal of the festival is to show the world the Kyrgyz fashion industry.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
Swirling, voluminous skirts featured in many of the outfits, either elaborately patterned or in blocks of vivid colour.
The fashion event took place from July 21 to 23. (AP: Vladimir Voronin)
Along with the couture, the show offered visitors the chance to see an array of yurts — the wood-framed tents of skin or felt characteristic of nomads — and brightly-coloured carpets.
Models wait for their turn to display a collection.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
There were participants from distant countries such as Indonesia, Morocco and France.
A model displays an outfit from the collection by Kyrgyzstan’s designer Irina Unsapan.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
During a three-day program about 40 designers showcased their work.
The event’s founder hopes Kyrgyzstan can create a platform for organizing catwalk shows and exhibitions for the global fashion industry.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
“The World Nomad Fashion Festival is the first and only project in Central Asia and some European countries that glorifies the civilization of nomads,” the event’s founder, Nazira Begim, said.
Elaborate patterns and vivid colors featured in many of the outfits.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
“It was created in 2019. This idea belongs to me. The project is one of my old dreams.
“When I organized it for the first time, without knowing anyone personally, I invited designers from 17 countries and held it also on the shores of Issyk-Kul lake.”
Members of the Russian Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea perform.(AP: Vladimir Voronin)
Ms Begim is keen to spotlight Kyrgyzstan’s fashion industry.
If you watch the Chinese film One Second on a streaming platform, you won’t see a credit for the author whose book inspired the movie.
That’s because Chinese authorities have successfully erased any mention of globally renowned Chinese-American writer Yan Geling, both in China and overseas.
The movie — directed by celebrated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou — is available in Australia from platforms including Prime Video, Google Play and Apple TV.
“I can understand if you don’t want to put my name on it because censorship doesn’t allow it in China,” Yan told the ABC from her home in Berlin.
“However, practices like this are not acceptable overseas. The initial spirit and life of a work are given by the original author.”
Director Zhang Yimou directed the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and 2022.(Reuters: Christina Charisius)
Born in Shanghai into a family of artists, Yan – a prolific book author and screenwriter who has won more than 30 literary and film awards and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science – started her writing career in the 1980s.
She has published more than 40 books in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere.
But she is now considering giving up writing in Chinese and writing in English instead.
“If this is a price I need to pay, then I will pay it. There is no other way,” she said.
Yan Geling says she will write her next book in English instead of Chinese.(Reuters: Bobby Yip)
The 63-year-old wondered if she had already been subconsciously self-censoring her writing because of China’s strict censorship practices.
“I think being censored for a long time, one will develop a subconscious of self-censorship,” she said.
“And it will dominate you when you are making words and sentences.”
Prime Video, Google Play or Apple TV were all contacted for comment but have yet to respond.
Self-censorship widespread in China’s film industry
Yan Geling says the film One Second is inspired by her novel, The Criminal Lu Yanshi.(Weibo: @Dianying Yimiaozhong)
Censorship in China is back in the spotlight after the country’s National Radio and Television Administration this month decreed artists should produce more “high-quality works” that “adhere to the correct political direction” of China.
It came after President Xi Jinping ordered the arts industry to “tell China’s stories and spread Chinese voices to strengthen the country’s international communication capacity.”
Yan Geling’s name was banned on Chinese social media after she criticized the authorities for censoring information during the early phases of COVID-19 pandemic.
She later also criticized Mr Xi over women’s rights, after a video of a woman chained in a shed sparked debate about human trafficking in China.
After those public comments, Yan said her name was removed from the credits on One Second, the second movie to be inspired by her novel, The Criminal Lu Yanshi.
Chinese authorities censor any media content that could be considered “disturbing” to China’s stability or to “endanger” the nation’s unity and sovereignty.
Artists have said Beijing purposefully keeps those definitions vague to instill fear in writers.
In films, this can translate to censoring scenes with sexual content, violence or references to politically sensitive issues such as the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Apart from not crediting her in the One Second film, audiences have said the Chinese filmmakers also removed political references to the Cultural Revolution, essentially self-censoring the script.
It’s not the first-time an adaptation of Yan’s books has been changed.
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She said a 2009 television series based on her novel Little Aunt Crane was censored during production as well.
The ABC contacted China’s General Administration of Press and Publication and One Second’s production company, Huanxi Media Group, for comment but did not receive a response.
Timmy Chen — who specializes in Chinese-language cinema at Hong Kong Baptist University — said self-censorship in China’s film industry was widespread.
Dr Chen said that, if writers did not self-censor, their films might not make it to the screen.
“They self-censor for the sake of investment, audiences and their production team,” he said.
“It would kill a film if they don’t do that.
“It indeed has a big impact on artists.”
Censorship in China is a two-way street: Several Hollywood movies and television series have been changed in the past so the American content can access China’s screens.
China’s box office is the second-largest box office in the world.
Chinese censors tweaked the ending of Fight Club, and also changed clothing logos in Top Gun: Maverick, erasing Taiwanese and Japanese flags from a bomber jacket.
Chinese films need famous ‘dragon code’
In China, 10 censors must watch a film as part of the process to decide if it can be shown to the public.(AP: Mark Schiefelbein)
As Dr Chen explains, filmmakers in China go through a rigorous three-step screening process before a movie makes it to air.
“The first part is your script must pass a review before you can start shooting,” he said.
Once the script is approved by China’s National Radio and Television Administration, a state agency that issues broadcasting licences, then investors, cast members and production teams can get on board and make the film.
Before being released in China, all movies need to obtain this dragon code, or Film Public Screening Permit.(Source: YouTube)
After the film is shot, there are two post-production reviews by the China Film Administration, which approves a film’s distribution and screening in cinemas.
Dr Chen said that this second step enabled films to get a “dragon code”, an official stamp of approval (literally an animated dragon) that is played on screen before the actual film starts.
However, getting the famous dragon code doesn’t mean a film can be successfully screened in theaters.
The third step, called a “technical examination”, requires 10 censors to sit in an in-house theater, and decide if that film can be shown to the public.
Their approval is a collective decision and passing the examination means a film gains at least six votes to get the green light.
Dr Chen said filmmakers were aware that sensitive content could lead to film being scrapped or changed.
“If your film doesn’t reflect the positive energy of the nation, you will have to cut and amend it for another review,” he said.
Yan Geling said she had reached a point where the impacts of censorship on film, and the arts industry more broadly, were too far-reaching.
“If compromise is the price, I’d rather not [write] anything,” she said.
After her name was banned on social media, a fan club with 16,000 members disbanded.
“The hardest thing for me is having to leave my [Chinese] readers, who love me,” she said.
“I guess they don’t want me to compromise either.”
However, she plans to keep writing and is currently working on a book in English for her daughter, whom she adopted from China.
The book will be about China’s One-Child Policy and Yan’s family history.
“I still have some more books down the road that I think are all in my destiny,” she said.
When Abbie Chatfield revealed she was in an open relationship with boyfriend Konrad Bień-Stephen, people had a lot to say.
Despite the onslaught of unsolicited criticism she received, the “outspoken influencer” has been candid about their romance, regularly explaining why being “non-monogamous” works for them.
Now the 27-year-old has detailed exactly what makes the couple click in an exclusive new interview with Stellar magazine.
“I’ve never been upset or threatened by someone (I’m in a relationship with) sleeping with someone else. It’s my kink. I just never really valued monogamy that much,” she told the publication.
“It sounds awful, but I don’t really see him all that much, maybe two days a week. I don’t know if it’s scarcity, but he’s very good at communicating, and so am I.”
The couple first spoke out about their open relationship in February, sparking a barrage of criticism online that Abbie labeled “embarrassing”.
“Some of you f**kers are so embarrassingly triggered because you’re so insecure, you’re like ‘but if you love someone’, not me, not him,” she said on an episode of her popular podcast It’s A Lot.
“It’s fine, if that’s how you feel, be monogamous, love that for you
“But why do you care if I f**k someone else or he f**ks someone else.”
In a separate Instagram Stories post, Abbie told everyone who had strong opinions about their romance to “get a grip.”
“Just because you want everyone to want monogamy as much as you do, doesn’t mean that someone not wanting monogamy is a bad thing,” she said.
“Why does it affect you which genitals touch each other? Get a grip.”
Since first going public, Abbie has also been open about the highs and lows of being non-monogamous, most recently revealing she’d “finally” had sex with someone else.
The new Masked Singer panelist proudly announced she’d got some action during a podcast episode talking about her night at the 2022 Logies on the Gold Coast.
“I finally rooted someone which is nice. Good for me,” she said.
As well as discussing the dynamics of her relationship, Abbie also told Stellar she had “no idea” she would become so successful off the back of her stint on TheBachelor in 2019.
“It’s been fast and overwhelming and I do feel like a fish out of water a little bit,” she told the publication.
“On The Masked Singer I sit there with my water bottle thinking, ‘What the f*ck? Why am I sitting next to a Spice Girl’ and ‘how did all this happen?’
“It’s been a lot very quickly and I’m very grateful. But it also makes me think that it can very easily be taken away.”
Read Abbie Chatfield’s full interview in Stellar, available now in The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald Sun and The Sunday Mail
There is a strange schism when it comes to the royal family and holidays: The royals love taking lengthy stretches off from the business of the monarchy… but their holiday homes are pretty grim.
Sandringham, the Queen’s Norfolk estate where Christmas is spent, looks like the setting of a gothic horror story while Balmoral, Her Majesty’s Scottish home, was partially modeled after a Bavarian schloss. All that forbidding gray stone and all those mock medieval turrets are enough to give even the bravest of young HRHs lifelong nightmares.
And yet when it comes to holidaying, the House of Windsor are nonpareils. Princess Margaret used to jet off to Mustique and crisp herself in the Caribbean sun with egregious regularity (you could probably still catch a whiff of coconut oil long after she was back demanding whiskey in the some London drawing room) while the Queen Mother promptly bought herself a holiday castle – the Castle of Mey – and would decamp there for generous stints, far away from anything so bourgeois as work.
And unfortunately this royal tradition of holidaying like it was a competitive sport is one that William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambrdige, are eagerly carrying on. In the last 18 months they have taken nearly four months off and are currently in the middle of their roughly two month-long annual summer holiday.
While the duke and duchess are set to roll up to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this week to wave the Union Jack and prove how good they are at cheering, in a normal year, once the final Wimbledon trophy is handed over in July, it’s time to get out the Ambre Solaire, with the duo not returning to their posts until early autumn.
This year, sure June was a busy month for the Cambridges given all that Platinum Jubilee waving they had to do, but as is usually normal, in July we have only seen Kate at a charity polo match and in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, hardly a demonstration of regal elbow grease. (Any sort of ‘work’ that can be done while holding a chilled glass of Pimms hardly counts as hard graft now does it?)
August, as unusual, will see Kate disappear off the radar completely, usually only popping back up around mid-September.
Likewise, in 2021, the only official engagements that Kate undertook in July involved watching tennis and soccer, after which she proceeded to take nearly nine weeks off, meaning that from the end of June until mid-September her out-of-office was essentially on.
The same schedule also held for William, apart from two meetings about the Earthshot Prize he managed to squeeze in and one church service. Gosh, however does he manage to get so much done?
The couple have, in roughly the last year, been to France twice (for Kate’s brother’s wedding and for a skiing holiday) and to Jordan, not to mention spending time in Scotland and Norfolk.
There’s no way around it: William and Kate have a holiday problem.
And, as we all know, the first step is admitting it.
At issue here is that just because they can take months of the year off and that traditionally members of the royal family have, does not mean they should.
For years now, the couple and their team have been focused on building Brand Cambridge, that of them as a hardworking and oh-so-normal couple. Look at them, out there boldly taking the most pressing issues of the day, including mental health and climate change, and then getting home for bath time!
This is the formula that has been cooked up to try and ensure that the monarchy survives yet. The idea seems to be to let Prince Charles be, well, Prince Charles, rabbiting on about hedgerow preservation and delivering the occasional barnstorming speech about the environment and his Aston Martin that runs on white wine (really) and Britons will grudgingly tolerate him.
Meanwhile, alongside all that we have William and Kate pioneering a much pluckier, more engaged and more proactive version of royalty that also features quite the cult of personality.
Central to the nascence of Cambridge Inc. is the couple’s relatability and willingness to be vulnerable. We’ve heard Kate talk about the loneliness of new motherhood and appear on a parenting podcast while William has regularly opened up about the emotional toll that his years of him as an air ambulance pilot took on him and his grief over the loss of his mother.
These touchy-feely outings are not one-offs but a core part of their public personae, all about transforming them into the first senior members of the royal family who are viewed as genuinely human and who are in touch with the real world; who have done more than just spy the hoi polloi when peering out at the world through the window of a golden carriage. (They have one of those of course, but it’s terribly unwieldy for the school run.)
But for all the H&M dresses Kate wears, they are not a normal middle-class family, no matter how many Audi station wagons they add to their fleet and how many times young Prince George is taught how to use the self-checkout at Waitrose.
The duke and duchess can take vast swathes of time off whenever they fancy because they have complete control over their schedules, aside from key events like Trooping the Color and Remembrance Day, meaning they can spend a week on the beach, even if it is in the Cornish Isles of Scilly, rather than at their 19th century mahogany desks whenever the mood strikes.
Nor do they have, as the vast majority of the world does, have a very finite amount of leave to be carefully husbanded and can instead beetle off for some more quality time in famille, Harrods buckets and spades in tow, whenever they fancy.
But, it’s time for the Cambridges to give up this royal perk. They can’t have their nearly one hundred days of holiday per year and still go about trying to sell themselves as the Duke and Duchess of Relatability.
Every time William and Kate accidentally remind the world just how fundamentally not normal their lives are it jeopardises all the work they do the rest of the year to sell themselves as the approachable faces of the modern royal family.
There is also the fact that this pesky bad habit also serves to revive the Lazy Kate narrative that haunted her for years. Prior to their wedding, in 2008, the Daily Mail reported that the Queen thought Kate needed to get a job.
“The Queen has admitted she has no idea what Kate actually does,” a senior aide said at the time and that Her Majesty is “of the opinion that Kate should be working. She believes in a modern Monarchy and feels very strongly that the Royals should be leading by example.”
A source close to Kate said back then, “Mostly she just waits for William to come home so that they can go on another holiday.” (Ouch.)
Then there is the fact that the duo only began full-time royal duties in 2017. Diana, Princess of Wales, by contrast, was chucked in the deep end and shunted off to charm the masses in regional town centers before she had even gotten all the wedding confetti out of her hair.
What anyone worth their Walter Bagehot knows is that the British monarchy, in the coming years, is in for its greatest test since Oliver Cromwell started getting ideas. The next king is a man who garners tepid, at best, support, at a time when the royal house has suffered a series of body blows in recent years it has yet to recover from, thanks to Prince Andrew’s horrifying behavior and the seismic eruptions of Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Things for the Crown are not exactly looking tickety-boo, hence why so much is resting on William and Kate.
And yet, they seem willing to gamble all the gains they have made to take time off from their duties with the sort of enthusiasm that Margraret probably reserved for the arrival of every new 20-something barman at her favorite Mustique watering hole.
Of course the duke and duchess should get a holiday and of course they should not have to apply for leave from their manager (though the image of the 96-year-old Queen spending part of her day green lighting holiday requests from HRHs is fun) . But those crazy kids have to find some sort of middle ground between the extreme privilege of royalty and the image of them as hardworking, ordinary parents who just happen to have the keys to the Tower of London. (Yes, I know, they don’t actually have them but they could certainly get their hands on them they couldn’t they?)
It’s time for William and Kate to channel less Princess Margaret and more Princess Anne. And when it comes to the Princess Royal, the swimsuit industry’s loss has only been the monarchy’s gain …
Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and that certainly seems to be the case when it comes to Michael Bublé’s eldest son, Noah.
The childhood cancer-survivor is somewhat of a piano-playing prodigy, if a video his proud dad posted yesterday to his Instagram account is anything to go by.
And it seems even his dad couldn’t help but be overcome by emotion as he sang along to his hit, I’ll Never Not Love You.(Watch above).
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Michael Bublé has been overcome by emotion after his son Noah surprised him by learning to play his hit song. (instagram)
Canadian-born crooner Bublé has kept his children mostly out of the spotlight but it seems he was bursting with pride over his eight-year-old son’s accomplishment and couldn’t wait to share it with the world.
The video starts with young Noah sitting at a piano. As he plays the first notes of the hit song, Bublé points at his son from him and gestures to someone off camera, already blown away by his son’s playing from him.
Bublé can hardly believe his ears as his son starts to play his hit song. (instagram)
Written across the scene is, “Noah surprised me after I was away on tour. He worked so hard to learn this song. So proud of my guy.”
Bublé begins to sing before turning to his son and uttering “Dude!”. He then continues to sing but is clearly getting overcome with emotion. Across the screen is written “I’m getting choked up,” as his voice breaks and he grabs at his chest, before placing a hand on his son’s shoulder.
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Bublé is overcome with emotion as his son plays. (instagram)
As he reaches the chorus, the camera zooms in on Noah, who is playing like a seasoned pro as his famous dad keeps the beat by tapping his leg before the video ends.
Bublé uploaded the video with the comment, “More talent in his little fingers than I have in my whole body!!” and the hashtags, #proud, #illnevernotloveyou and #chickenlegs, a reference to his own skinny legs.
Bublé places a hand on his son’s shoulder as he plays his song (Instagram)
Commenters were quick to praise the performance. “My baby!” wrote Noah’s proud mum Luisana Lopilato, while musical genius David Foster gave a glowing review, “That is soooo great!!”
Foster’s wife Katharine simply wrote “Woowwwwwwww” while dancer/singer/choreographer Derek Hough also praised the performance, writing, “Bro!!!! I love this so much.”
Noah is a piano prodigy in the making. (instagram)
Bublé and his Argentine-born model and actress wife are parents to Noah, Elias, 6, and Vida, 4, and announced earlier this year they were expecting a fourth child.
Bublé said at the time they felt blessed and grateful to be welcoming another baby.
He also touched on the previous battles the family faced following son Noah’s cancer diagnosis.
Noah, then three, became ill in November 2016 while in his mother’s native Buenos Aires. Doctors initially thought he had mumps, but after finding “something in her stomach de ella” and unable to reach her husband, who was on tour, she flew back to the US to seek further medical attention.
He was eventually diagnosed with liver cancer and Bublé canceled the rest of his tour to be by his son’s side while he underwent treatment. He is now in remission.
He told Nine’s TODAY show in 2018 it was the “worst possible thing” you could go through as a parent and said through tears there were times he and his wife didn’t want to wake up and face reality.
The couple rarely share photos of their children. (instagram)
In an emotional instagram-post to mark his son’s eighth birthday last August, Bublé wrote, “Today my hero turns eight! I’ve never met anyone as brave…”
Bublé said his new album, higher, which features the song, I’ll Never Not Love You, is a “celebration of life.”
“You know, we’ve been through a lot as a family and I think it gave me a great deal of perspective and in that perspective I realized how lucky I am,” he said. “This is a real celebration of life, it really is.
“And the songs that I wrote were inspired by my family, by my wife and kids. If I can’t be inspired by that beautiful family that I have, I don’t know what would ever inspire me. I’m a lucky man.”
The family even used a music video for I’ll Never Not Love You to reveal they were expecting again. His children and wife appeared at the end of the video, with her baby bump on display.
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Adam Goodes celebrates big win for his debut children’s book
Singapore chilli crab, lasagne, Massaman curry and more are being sealed under lids of pastry as Melbourne pie-makers explore their creative side.
The city is home to a bewildering array of gourmet pies thanks to new businesses – some of them lockdown projects – and established bakeries who are gamely experimenting with fillings.
Austro’s Sally Roxon has Polish heritage, while her husband is Austrian, so she gravitates to those flavors in the pies she offers from her South Melbourne bakery. There’s a Polish hunter’s stew pie, featuring sausage, pork belly and sauerkraut, and in the past mushroom stroganoff and beef goulash have featured.
Footscray’s Pie Thief is one of Melbourne’s most adventurous pie purveyors, with owners Aaron Donato and Scott Blomfield (an ex-Supernormal chef) breaking all the rules.
“I guess we don’t really look at other pies when we’re coming up with flavours,” says Donato. “We look at what’s a delicious meal and [ask] can that be turned into a foot?”
The Builders Arms fish pie may not have pastry on the bottom, but it’s become a favorite dish at the Fitzroy pub. Photo: Grace Dorman
Singapore’s famed chilli crab and the kebab shop HSP have both run as weekly pie specials. There’s even a filling inspired by a burger from a famous fast-food conglomerate, who asked the pie to be renamed. It’s now called Big Thief.
The shop also offers vegan pies, with a plant-based pastry that went through many rounds of testing.
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Magnum PI, as well as being the best-named pie shop in Melbourne, also gets points for the top-notch ingredients it uses, whether you eat meat or not. The mac and cheese pie loads up its white sauce with spinach and herbs in some attempt at healthfulness. Pulled beef is cooked with merlot for seven hours for the shop’s most popular pie.
West Melbourne cafe Udom House combines chef Aum Phithakphon’s Thai heritage with Melbourne coffee culture – and pies. Everything that’s served with steamed rice, from green curry to spicy bolognese-style pork, is also sealed in puff pastry.
Many of these gourmet pie-makers love the portability and accessibility of walking. A hand-held pastry is an excellent gateway to flavors people may never have tried.
But rising costs are being felt. Pie Thief won’t offer family pies because Donato says charging the true cost for all the required ingredients would make a pie of that size prohibitively expensive.
The haloumi pie at A1 Bakery in Brunswick gives you change from $5. Photo: Supplied
Wonder Pies founder Raymond Capaldi, a chef with 40 years’ experience, believes his family pie, which weighs one-kilogram and feeds four, should be priced closer to $30 instead of $24.
The cost of Wonder Pie’s ingredients, including flour and vegetable fat for the pastry, are steadily rising each month. But passing on those costs to consumers can be difficult, according to Capaldi, because there is only so many people will pay.
“I say we do the best pie we can for what you’re willing to pay,” says Capaldi.
The Fishmonger’s Son fish pie was originally a collaboration between neighboring businesses The Pie Shop and Maria’s Pasta. Photo: Parker Blain
Melbourne’s most exciting feet to try
Magnum PI
At this Fitzroy newcomer, pies of roasted cauliflower with beluga lentils or a vegan Sri Lankan curry are just as satisfying as meatier choices, which use free-range products sourced as locally as possible. Think pulled beef with merlot, saltbush lamb, or chicken with salsa verde. Magnum PI started as a lockdown hustle for former Pillar of Salt chef, Jason Kubasek, but we’re glad it stuck around. Most pies hover around the $9 mark, despite the premium ingredients. Don’t live near the mothership? Delivery is available for orders of $30 or more.
402 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, magnumpi.com.au
Pie Thief in Footscray get creative with their pie fillings Photo: Eddie Jim
Austrian
“Pies are just one string to our bow,” says co-owner Sally Roxon. That makes the beauties on offer here even more impressive. A rich chicken fricassee is enlivened by paprika, while zucchini gets the parma treatment thanks to napoli sauce and mozzarella. But the Polish hunter’s stew – pork belly, sausage and more – has been the breakout star of the cabinet, defying Roxon’s expectations that people would miss the slow-cooked beef pie it replaced. It’s typical of the hearty, comforting and deeply flavored Austro dishes casts in buttery puff pastry (all $9.50). Apparently, it’s one person’s sole job to make the puff, and you know what they say about practice: it makes perfect.
147-149 Cecil Street, South Melbourne, austrobakery.com
Party feet from the Pie Thief. Photo: Jason South
Babajan
A borek might not be sealed on the sides, but it does have a pastry bottom and top, which is more than some Melbourne pubs can say about their pies. At Babajan, each borek filling, layered between 10 sheets of filo, is just as rich and comforting as any traditional pie. Crowd favorites include silverbeet and feta, and baharat-spiced lamb with potato. But the surprise hit is tuna, slowly simmered in white wine with carrots and fennel, paired with kefalograviera cheese. Each is available as a single (from $8) or in larger trays for easy entertaining or family dinner. Pie purists can stick to the haloumi, feta and cheddar pie, which owner Kirsty Chiaplis says is her favorite way to start the day.
At Udom House everything from green curry to spicy bolognese-style pork, is also sealed in puff pastry. Photo: Penny Stephens
Wildflower Bakery
Run by two British bakers, Matilda Rexton and Keith Doig, this Prahran shop rolls out three different kinds of pastry for everything from pork pies to hand pies (aka pasties) and your more typical round pie. Pasties are usually vegetarian, containing oozy bechamel and truffled mushrooms or spiced sweet potato with caramelised onion and corn. It’s even heartier stuff when you wade into pie territory: pork and beef Bolognese with cheddar is joined by weekly specials like lamb rendang. We’ll take one of everything.
21 St Edmond’s Road, Prahran wildflourmatilda.com
Pies at Austro bakery, which opts for hearty Eastern European-style fillings in its pies. Photo: Supplied
Foot Thief
There’s nothing that can’t be sealed in pastry, seems to be the motto of Pie Thief, which steals hearts with its line-up of lasagne, Thai chicken and barbecued jackfruit pies. For the pie of the week, the team really flexes their creativity: kashmiri lamb, venison braised in Garage Project stout, and Singapore chilli crab have all featured. There are always a couple of vegan pie options plus sweets like cookies, brownies and vanilla slice, and coffee by St Ali. In even better news, the team have added a weekend pie stall in Fitzroy adjoining their production kitchen.
How many can claim that it took a village to raise their foot? In a sleepy pocket of Melbourne’s north last year, when takeaway was a lifeline for both diners and restaurants, that’s exactly what happened. The local fish shop teamed up with nearby Maria’s Pasta and The Pie Shop to create a fish pie ($35) that’s since become a permanent item and is still made to the same recipe, even though The Pie Shop is no longer. Feeding four, it brings together the best seafood on the day – perhaps salmon and scallops – white wine, dill, paprika, potato and carrot, sealed under a crisp and golden shortcrust lid.
You’ll understand what’s behind the name when you realize how finely engineered these feet are. Masterminded by top chef Raymond Capaldi, the steak and ale, cauli and leek and lasagne-filled pastries are made with shortcrust on the bottom and a rough puff on top. Capaldi won’t use butter in the puff because he says it goes rancid when pies are kept in a warmer. He uses a single muscle (brisket) for the steak and mushroom, so the beef cooks evenly. Each month, the team tastes its competitor’s feet. “It was like going back to school learning pies,” Capaldi says. With six stores around Melbourne and 11 choices in the larger pie that feeds four, we’re glad he hit the books again.
Locations across Melbourne, wonderpies.com.au
A1 Bakery
Some eat for the falafel wraps, others are all about the manoush. But the real gold at this Melbourne institution comes in the form of the cheese pie ($4.50). Don’t be fooled by first impressions. What looks like a rather plain and doughy crescent is hiding molten haloumi, baked until warm and oozy. It’s the perfect salty contrast against the slightly sweetened bread pocket. Other pie-adjacent treats include triangles filled with spinach and cheese or marinated spinach, or ring-shaped kaak filled with halloumi and coated with sesame seeds.
643-645 Sydney Road, Brunswick, a1bakery.com.au
Babka
If you’re a believer in the saying it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, Babka is your spirit animal. A Brunswick Street mainstay for 30 years and counting, the bakery keeps its pie line-up the same from week to week and prefers classic fillings – mostly. A Moroccan-inspired lamb pie, involving lamb fillet cooked with dried apricots, bay leaves and peppercorn, is a surprise find. But beef with mushroom and red wine, spinach with ricotta, feta and pine nuts, and chicken and white wine keep the ship steady. Don’t even try to leave without a wedge of lemon tart.
358 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Udom House
Newsflash: the best Massaman curry you can get in Melbourne may be hiding inside on foot. Udom House, a West Melbourne cafe run by chef and barista Aum Phithakphon, has embraced pies as a vehicle for Thai flavors like green curry, Massaman and dishes that remind Phithakphon of her childhood. Vegetarian fillings might include stir-fried pumpkin with garlic scrambled egg or jackfruit with northern Thai flavours. Curry pastes are made from scratch, the coffee is by Padre (and includes Thai drinks not often seen here), and there’s kaya (coconut) jam for sweet-tooths.
343 Victoria Street, West Melbourne, 0468 789 851, @udomhouse on Instagram
The Builders Arms Hotel
Not for the faint-hearted, the fish pie at this northside pub is a hulk of a thing. It asserts itself from the get-go, arriving in a square ceramic dish with a billowing hat of puff pastry. Pierce it with your fork and you’ll be greeted by aromas of fennel, dill and shellfish, thanks to the bisque-based sauce that’s crying out for bread (or hunks of pastry). You might be mad it’s a pot pie, but the generous proportion of sauce to ocean trout, white fish, prawns and sorrel should set things right. Our advice is to skip lunch so you arrive hungry, or share it between two.
