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"Every parent's nightmare": Families of poisoned teens share update

The families of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones have shared a heartbreaking update as the teenagers continue to fight for their lives after being <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/two-aussie-teens-poisoned-in-laos-identified" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poisoned</a> in Laos. While travelling around south-east Asia on a gap year, the Melbourne 19 year olds consumed what is believed to be methanol-laced drinks in Laos. The young women were found barely alive in their hotel room and were rushed to a hospital in the neighbouring country of Thailand, where they remain on life support. Holly’s dad Shaun Bowles fronted the media on Wednesday in Bangkok where he confirmed his daughter remained in the ICU in a critical condition, where the family are spending as much time as possible by her bedside. “Right now our daughter remains in the intensive care unit in a critical condition. She’s on life support,” Shaun said. “We’d just like to thank everyone from back home for all the support and love that we’re receiving but we’d also like for people to appreciate right now we just need privacy so we can spend as much time as we can with Holly.” Bianca's family also released a statement saying there was no update on her condition, but confirmed that she remains on life support. "Our family has been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support that have come from across Australia," the statement from the family reads. "This is every parent's nightmare and we want to ensure no other family is forced to endure the anguish we are going through. We hope the authorities can get to the bottom of what happened as soon as possible." Authorities suspect the girls drank poisoned cocktails which reportedly had shots of "vodka" while holidaying in the party town of Vang Vieng, a popular tourist area about 130km north of Laos capital, Vientiane. They were among a large group of international travellers who fell victim to what is feared to be a mass poisoning which has already killed two other people. Editor's note: Police in Thailand confirmed the death of Bianca Jones on Thursday afternoon. Holly Bowles is understood to still be in hospital. Image credits: Facebook

Caring

Freddy Krueger at 40 – the ultimate horror movie monster (and Halloween costume)

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Movie monsters have captivated audiences since the days of early cinema. They evoke fascination and terror, allowing audiences to confront their fears from the safety of the movie theatre or living room. Arguably one of the most enduring and captivating of these monsters is Freddy Krueger, the villain of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/">A Nightmare on Elm Street</a> series who celebrates his 40th screen birthday this November. Memorably played by Robert Englund, Freddy quickly became a cultural icon of the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond his burned face and iconic bladed glove, Freddy’s dark humour and acidic personality set him apart from other silent, faceless killers of the era, such as Michael Myers in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_6_nm_0_in_0_q_halloween">Halloween</a> or Jason Vorhees in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Friday the 13th</a>. Written and directed by horror maven <a href="https://theconversation.com/wes-craven-the-scream-of-our-times-46915">Wes Craven</a>, 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street garnered positive reviews for its innovative concept: Freddy stalked and attacked his victims in their dreams, making him inescapable and allowing him to tap into their deepest fears. The series (seven films plus a 2010 remake and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329101/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Freddy vs. Jason</a> spin offs) blended supernatural horror and surrealism with a dark and twisted sense of humour. <h2>Scary … but funny</h2> Humour was key to Freddy’s “popularity”. Both sinister and strangely charismatic, Freddy’s psychological torture of his adolescent victims often oscillated between terrifying and amusing. A famous kill scene from 1987’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093629/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</a> demonstrates this paradox. Aspiring actress Jennifer drifts off to sleep while watching a talk show on TV. In her dream, the host of the talk show suddenly transforms into Freddy, who attacks his guest before the TV blinks out. When Jennifer timidly approaches the TV set, Freddy’s head and clawed hands emerge from the device, snatching her while delivering an iconic one-liner: “This is it, Jennifer – your big break in TV!” Freddy turns his victims’ fears or aspirations – their dreams – against them. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCVh4lBfW-c?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>‘Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.’</figcaption></figure> <h2>Creating a monster</h2> Craven has shared how the character of Krueger came to life in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1510985/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy</a>, an oral history of the series. He described a childhood experience of seeing a strange mumbling man walking past his childhood home. The man stopped, he said, and looked directly at him “with a sick sense of malice”. This deeply unsettling experience helped shape Freddy’s menacing presence. The character’s creation also emerged from the filmmaker’s interest in <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/nightmare-on-elm-street-was-inspired-by-a-real-life-medical-mystery-60527">numerous reports of Southeast Asian refugees dying in their sleep</a> after experiencing vivid nightmares. In the film, Krueger’s origin story reveals him as a child murderer who was apprehended but released due to a technicality in his arrest. Seeking justice, the parents of his victims take matters into their own hands, and form a vigilante mob. They corner him in his boiler room and burn him alive. But Freddy’s spirit survives to haunt and kill the children of his executioners. <h2>Cultural repression, expressed on film</h2> Film critic and essayist <a href="https://www.cineaste.com/summer2019/robin-wood-on-horror-film-collected-essays-and-reviews#:%7E:text=Freudian%20theory%2C%20a%20crucial%20theoretical,the%20horror%20film%20perpetually%20enacts.">Robin Wood argued</a> horror films often bring to the surface elements society has repressed. These fears, desires, or cultural taboos are not openly acknowledged. But movie monsters act as manifestations of what society suppresses, such as sexuality, violence or deviant behaviour. American academic <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01956051.1995.9943696">Gary Heba</a> argues Freddy is: <blockquote> an example of America’s political unconscious violently unleashed upon itself, manifesting everything that is unspeakable and repressed in the master narrative (perversion, child abuse and murder, vigilantism, the breakdown of rationality, order, and the family, among others), but still always present in the collective unconscious of the dominant culture. </blockquote> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UBrl4H0Uzng?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Actor Robert Englund calls Freddy Krueger ‘the gift that keeps on giving’.</figcaption></figure> <h2>The monster decades</h2> The 1970s and 1980s marked a golden era for the creation of horror film nasties like Krueger, Myers, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3">The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</a>’s Leatherface and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_19">killer doll Chucky</a>. Since then, the landscape of horror has shifted, with fewer singular monsters emerging. The diversification of horror sub-genres (zombie virus horror, anyone?), the rise of psychological horror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_4_nm_2_in_0_q_heredi">Hereditary</a>), and an emphasis on human-driven terror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_wolf%2520creek">Wolf Creek</a>) or supernatural forces all contribute to this shift. While modern horror continues to thrive, few characters have achieved the same iconic status as Freddy – although some would argue Art the Clown from the recent <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4281724/">Terrifier</a> franchise and the reinvigorated Pennywise from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_6_nm_1_in_0_q_it">IT</a> could join this exclusive group. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuYoEtEI_go?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>‘Five, six, grab your crucifix.’ A 2010 Nightmare on Elm St reboot failed to fire.</figcaption></figure> <h2>Happy Halloween!</h2> Despite a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/">failed reboot in 2010</a>, the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street is strong, having influenced numerous filmmakers with its skilful mix of surrealism and slasher horror. However, it’s the orchestrator of the titular nightmares whose legacy is perhaps the strongest. With each Halloween, new fans choose Freddy for their costume. All it takes is a tattered striped sweater, a brown fedora hat, and a glove with sharp, finger-lengthening blades. Don’t forget makeup to re-create Krueger’s grisly facial burns. Sweet dreams!<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/240905/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, Associate Lecturer in Communications, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Image credits: New Line Cinema - IMDB This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/freddy-krueger-at-40-the-ultimate-horror-movie-monster-and-halloween-costume-240905">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

Elmo's chat about grief with famous actor goes viral

A heart-warming conversation between actor Andrew Garfield and Elmo has gone viral for their candid conversation about grief. While on a press tour to promote his new film We Live in Time, the English actor stopped by Sesame Street for a chat about his mourning journey after his mother died from pancreatic cancer in 2019. Sitting on a stoop beside Elmo, Garfield began the vulnerable conversation, that has been praised for being so open about the taboo of grief and death. “Elmo’s going around Sesame Street checking in on everybody,” Elmo told a smiling Garfield. “So, Elmo wants to know how Andrew’s doing?” With some encouragement from the Muppet, Garfield revealed that he’s been thinking about his mother, as he said, “She passed away not too long ago, and you know, I just miss her. Miss her a lot.” <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EVlXbiP4x2E?si=fFYYt5DJDiGAawXJ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> After Elmo responded apologetically, Garfield reassured Elmo that there’s no need to say sorry, and that “it’s actually kind of OK to miss somebody,” even if it invokes feelings of sadness. “That sadness is kind of a gift. It’s kind of a lovely thing to feel, in a way, because it means you really loved somebody when you miss them,” Garfield said, adding: “When I miss my mum, I remember all of the cuddles I used to get from her, all of the hugs I used to get from her.” Garfield finished his thoughts by saying that he can miss and celebrate his mother at the same time, as Elmo thanked Garfield for sharing his emotions, saying, “You know what, Elmo is gonna think about and celebrate your mommy, too.” The video quickly racked up millions of views and comments, with many saying how Andrew's thoughts were so poignant, and that they resonated with their own personal stories of grief. Many people called it a "touching conversation" that was "absolutely beautiful", while another person added, "I didn't expect a talk with Elmo to get this deep." Image credits: Sesame Street - YouTube

Mind

Olympian's life "a living nightmare" after simple self-check out mistake

A former Olympian has spoken about how her life was ruined after she accidentally failed to scan to items at a self-checkout machine in Walmart. Canadian athlete Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, was arrested on March 28 in Indiana for theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. The charges have since been dropped, but Pettipiece lost her prestigious job as the head coach of the Valparaiso University softball team as a result and says her career and reputation have been ruined. The ordeal began when the self-checkout machine at Walmart reportedly failed to scan the asparagus and ham that Pettipiece intended to purchase. Walmart security saw that she failed to scan the items — worth a total of $67 — prompting them to call the police despite her having paid $167 for her other groceries. Pettipiece was arrested and when police searched her they found three disposable vapes in her purse, along with two unopened blister packs containing anti-nausea medication Zofran. The former athlete said the vapes did not contain any nicotine or THC, and the anti-nausea pills belonged to an assistant coach who had asked her to keep them in her purse during a softball game, days before her arrest. “We both forgot about them,” Pettipiece told the National Post. The outlet reported that earlier this month, her lawyer submitted an application for dismissal that included her account of the incident, proof of her assistant’s prescription, and character reference letters. After reading the application, her charges were dropped by justice officials on September 19, but the damage caused by the incident "changed everything". “It is bittersweet,” she told National Post. “I’m happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. The sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life.” Pettipiece resigned as head coach of the softball team shortly after the Walmart incident. "It's been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it's been really difficult." Along with the damage to her career, Pettipiece said the effect on her reputation has been equally heartbreaking. “The softball community is a tight-knit group and it (the news) went through like wildfire,” she said. “You really do learn who the people are that really believe in you and trust you and are truly a friend for you." The former athlete is now living in Ohio with her family, and though the charges against her have been dismissed she is worried the damage "can't be reversed". “The tough thing is, how do you get out to people that you are innocent? And this damage was done for something so ridiculous,” Pettipiece told the outlet. “I’m not sure of the future. For now, I’m going to stay at home and focus on my kids. I’d like to figure out which direction I’m going to go in.” Image: Valparaiso University Athletics/ ZikG / Shutterstock.com

Legal

Channel Nine staff viciously attacked on streets of Paris

In a troubling incident that raises serious concerns over safety at the Paris Olympics, two radio technicians from Channel Nine's Olympic team were attacked on Tuesday evening in an apparent attempted robbery. This attack occurred <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/aussie-woman-s-horror-assault-in-paris-days-before-olympics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just days after the alleged gang rape</a> of a 25-year-old Australian woman in the French capital, highlighting escalating security risks as the Games approach. Channel Nine’s Director of Sport, Brent Williams (pictured above), informed staff that the two technicians had left the International Broadcast Centre and were walking to their accommodation in the north-eastern suburb of Le Bourget when they were assaulted by a group of men. Describing the incident as "an assault of a serious physical nature", Williams confirmed that the victims managed to escape and find safety. The incident has been reported to the police. In light of this attack, Nine has reminded its staff to stay vigilant and to remove their Olympic credentials when not required, especially when travelling. Broadcasters have been warned by security experts that despite increased military and police presence in the capital, criminals may still target those they perceive as vulnerable. This incident follows another harrowing event involving an Australian citizen. The Paris prosecutor's office has confirmed an investigation into the alleged gang rape of a 25-year-old Australian woman, which occurred on the night of July 19 to 20. The woman sought refuge in a café in the 18th arrondissement. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has stated that while the investigation is a matter for the police, he is closely monitoring developments. Darmanin has also issued a handwritten letter to all police officers, gendarmes, firefighters, emergency service personnel and intelligence agents, acknowledging the difficulty of their task. “The eyes of the world will be fixed on you," Darmanin wrote. "Your task will not be easy", urging them after four years of intense presentation to “present the most beautiful face of France”. The French authorities have deployed 35,000 police and gendarmes, with plans to increase this number to 45,000 for the opening ceremony. Additionally, 18,000 soldiers are on standby to counter potential threats, with an Islamist terror attack being the primary concern for organisers. As preparations continue, authorities are under immense pressure to safeguard the Games and mitigate the risks posed by criminal activities and potential terrorist threats. The world will be watching as Paris strives to balance the celebration of athletic achievement with the paramount need for security. Image: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;">Richard Ellis/UPI/Shutterstock Editorial

Travel Trouble

"Worst nightmare”: Great-grandma confronts violent home intruder

A distraught great-grandmother has recounted the "nightmare" she endured when her home was targeted during a violent home invasion. Stella, 85, was woken up at midnight on Wednesday by a light shining from the kitchen of the Perth home where she has lived with her husband for close to 30 years. She got out of bed to inspect the noise and was met face-to-face with an intruder. Stella said she threw a radio at the stranger to defend herself and called out to her husband, who had not heard the commotion because his hearing aids were not in and he was sleeping in another room. “I got the long handle brush and ... I pushed it into him and that’s when he must’ve thought I better get out of here,” Stella told <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/shaken-grandmother-relives-nightmare-alleged-mandurah-home-invasion-c-15243511" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a>. During the terrifying ordeal, Stella was both threatened and punched in the face, and is now nursing a cut, bruising and swelling. The great-grandmother said she was still shaken over her “worst nightmare”, saying, “We’ve been here since 1995. This is the first thing that has ever happened.” The canine squad was called in and arrested an 18-year-old male who was found under a car in a neighbour’s front yard. Police allege the teenager broke into Stella’s son’s caravan, which is parked at the back of her property, between 6.30pm and 7pm on Wednesday before coming back hours later and forcing his way into her home. The accused has been charged with home burglary and commit, stealing, aggravated home burglars, aggravated robbery, possession of stolen or unlawfully obtained property and unlicensed possession of ammunition. Image credits: 7News <p class="css-1n6q21n-StyledParagraph e4e0a020" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word; margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; line-height: 25px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-family: HeyWow, Montserrat, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; caret-color: #292a33; color: #292a33;">

Legal

"Worst nightmare": Teen dies one day after flu diagnosis

William Jones was complaining of a sore throat and cough last month and when his mum called the doctor, they were told that it was most likely the flu. However, the following morning when Rebecca Rollason went to check on her 16-year-old son, he was found unresponsive in his bed in their Wellington home. "We ask ourselves how what started as a sore throat, snotty nose and a cough on Tuesday to no longer with us three days later," the grieving mum told the NZ Herald. "No one understands, we don't know what happened... it feels like the worst nightmare that we cannot wake from." Rollason explained that her family have to "wait for results" in hopes of understanding what happened and how the teenager, who was barely sick, passed away so suddenly. "We just don’t understand how this can happen to a boy who was barely ever sick and was very healthy," she said. "It is an incredibly hard and devastating time for us." A family friend has helped set up a <a href="https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/rebecca-lost-her-son-william-last-friday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundraising page</a> to help relieve the financial pressure on her and William's two brothers while they grieve. "It is every parents worst nightmare and a shocking tragedy to lose a healthy child from a sudden and brief illness," a statement from the fundraising page read. "The money will help the family with funeral costs and ease Financial burden while they grieve and come to terms with Williams passing." On July 1 they shared an update on the fundraising page, saying: "Rebecca and family would like all to know that are incredibly grateful for all the support and kindness." Image: Givealittle

Caring

Neighbours fan favourite leaving Ramsay Street after 30 years

After 30 years on Ramsay Street, a fan favourite actor is saying goodbye to Neighbours. Ryan Moloney, known for his longstanding role as Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi, announced that he would be leaving the show in an announcement video posted to the Neighbours Instagram page. The 44-year-old actor introduced himself as “formerly Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi" before clarifying, "That’s right, I did say formerly, because after 30 years playing Toadie, I will be leaving Ramsay Street.” “I can’t tell you what is happening to the character – maybe I could be the next Jim Robinson. Or maybe I’ll be the next Harold Bishop and just keep popping back over the years.” <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8tUG1GScZq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8tUG1GScZq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Neighbours (@neighbours)</a> </div> </blockquote> Moloney hinted at his career change saying he wanted to spend more time behind the camera and start working as a director. As part of his new career move, he shared that he’d just finished on his first Neighbours episode as a director. “Thank you all so much for all the love that you have shown me and Toadie over the years. For three decades, in fact. I’m going to miss you, I’m going to miss him, and I’m going to miss Erinsborough. But whatever you do, make sure you do not miss what is going to happen on Ramsay Street,” he said. The sudden news sent fans into a tizzy, with many sharing emotional reactions to the news as they prepared to farewell a character who has been with them since the 90s. “Omg What?! Toadie is iconic. Won’t be the same. Hopefully he comes back to Erinsborough for a visit,” wrote one viewer. “This is so sad! I hope he keeps ‘popping back’ to the street rather than die. I am going to miss toadie,” said another. Moloney made his Neighbours debut in 1995 as a teenager and stayed with the show until it was axed in 2022. He was then one of the returning cast members when the show was rebooted a year later. Image credits: Andy Barnes / FameFlynet.uk.com/Shutterstock Editorial

Racist street name set to change

The name of a street in northern NSW is set to be changed after an Uber driver stumbled across it and alerted locals to its racist background. Byron Shire Council announced that Hottentot Crescent in Mullumbimby, will soon be renamed Moonlight Close, after the council deemed Hottentot - a racist term for Indigenous South Africans - no longer appropriate for use. Jonny Simons, a local man who moved to Australia from South Africa in the 1980s, was the first person to petition for the name change back in November, after the Uber driver tipped him off. He garnered 383 signatures in the petition, but not all residents and community members supported the change. Last year, there were 12 submissions from past and present residents objecting to the council's name change proposal. One resident insisted on keeping the name saying: “My understanding is that our street name was chosen decades ago, after a tree, the Hottentot Bean Tree (Schotia Brachypetala). Never in my time as a resident here, have I heard another person ever relate the street name in regards to a racial slur." “While I appreciate the concerns raised, it is essential to acknowledge that names can change in meaning and connotation over the years. “Altering the street name would greatly impact residents and the council long term with endless administrative changes and potential financial costs.” However, five other submissions were in favour of the change, with one writing: “a racial slur is a racial slur even if a tree is named after it. As much as I loved the sound of the name, it has to go.” A few other names were put forward, including Drunken Parrot Place - named after a nearby tree full of lorikeets getting drunk in spring and summer - but the council ultimately decided on Moonlight Close. In November, following community consultation, the council’s director of infrastructure services Phillip Holloway, recommended the name change “on the basis that there is more lasting value in trying to minimise the type of hurt this particular name could cause some people over the long term", over avoiding costs to the residents in the short term. He added that many of the residents were unaware of the racist connotation of the name "beyond naming the relevant tree", and that "the tree name itself is racially loaded" because it is linked to the slur used towards the Khoisan people "who used the tree for food during South Africa’s colonisation.” Simons, who petitioned for the change, said he doesn't hold anything against the residents who were against the name change as "they didn't know what it meant". "They thought it was the name of a tree, but that tree was named as such because the Khoisan people of South Africa ate the fruit of that tree," he said. Image: Google Maps

Legal

"It’s a nightmare": Star golfer's cause of death revealed

Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has died at the age of 30. Golf officials announced his death on Sunday morning, with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan releasing a statement. “We were devastated to learn — and are heartbroken to share — that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning,” Monahan said. “I am at a loss for words. The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same" Murray's parents later confirmed that their son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge - a PGA Tour event - due to illness. “We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” his parents, Eric and Terry Murray said in a statement. “It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare.” "We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and — it seems — by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed. “Life wasn't always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now.” They have also asked for privacy and for people to honour Murray by being kind to one another. Murray has previously been open about his battle with depression and alcoholism, according to The NY Post. He talked about turning the corner in his life and being eight months sober, after winning the Sony Open in Honolulu in January. “It's not easy,” Murray said immediately after winning. "I wanted to give up a lot of times. Give up on myself. Give up on the game of golf. Give up on life, at times.” Murray tied for 43rd last week in the PGA Championship, which earned him a spot in the US Open next month at Pinehurst No.2 in North Carolina. The PGA Tour commissioner said he spoke with Murray's parents about halting play, but they insisted the golf tournament to continue. “We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones. I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play. They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so," he said. Monahan flew to Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday to be with players, and many of them wore black-and-red pins on their caps - the colours of the Carolina Hurricanes, Grayson's favourite NHL team - to honour the golfer. Image: Daniel Lea/Csm/ Shutterstock Editorial

Caring

Hollywood legend targeted on the street in unprovoked attack

During an increase in unprovoked attacks in New York City, a Hollywood A-lister has been targeted in broad daylight. Actor Steve Buscemi was strolling through Kips Bay in mid-town Manhattan last Wednesday when a man walked up and struck the actor in an attack just before midday. The attack on the 66-year-old star is one of the latest unprovoked assaults in the five boroughs, law enforcement sources told <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/05/12/us-news/boardwalk-empire-star-steve-buscemi-attacked-by-rock-wielding-maniac-in-nyc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Post</a>. The actor, who starred in Fargo and Boardwalk Empire, suffered swelling to his face and left eye and was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment. His attacker fled the scene and is still at large, according to police. “Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” Buscemi’s publicist said in a statement to The Post. “He is OK and appreciates everyone’s well wishes, though incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of New York.” A worker in the area who witnessed part of the assault told the publication, “I saw he was with a woman, and then through the corner of the window I saw him trip and fall backwards.” “He right away got up and ran in the opposite direction. I didn’t see who hit him." “It worries me for when we close because we close at 11 and it can get scary around that time,” said the woman. Image credits: Shutterstock / NYCPD

Legal

"Welcome home, Harold": Iconic Neighbours actor returns to Ramsay Street

More than 15 years after his departure, Harold Bishop is returning to Ramsay Street. Ian Smith's character has long been a fan favourite on Neighbours, after originally starring on the soap between 1987 and 1991, before he returned in 1996 until his departure in 2009. Since then, Harold has made multiple guest appearances, including in the 2022 finale. When Amazon picked up the Aussie show, Smith rejoined the cast for a short time but quickly left after a health scare. But now, Harold is making another comeback. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C5fVoAlvJEJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C5fVoAlvJEJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Neighbours (@neighbours)</a> </div> </blockquote> The official Neighbours Instagram shared the exciting news of his return, writing, “After 15 years of living away, the legendary Harold Bishop is returning to Erinsborough." “We are thrilled to welcome Ian Smith back to the show and the opening titles, where he belongs.” Fan were quick to flood the comment section with excitable messages, rejoicing in the fact that a fan favourite character was returning. “The best news. The show misses an elder character like Harold,” one person wrote. Another commented, “Absolutely amazing news to wake up too. Welcome home, Harold.” Image credits: Getty Images / YouTube

West Side Story returns to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour

Get ready to snap your fingers, tap your toes and experience the magic of Broadway in Sydney as Opera Australia presents the electrifying musical extravaganza West Side Story – making its triumphant return to the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage in 2024. The 2019 production of West Side Story, if you were fortunate enough to grab seats, was an absolute smash hit. With record-breaking ticket sales and rave reviews, it's no wonder this show stole the hearts of over 65,000 theatre and musical buffs. Directed by the incomparable Francesca Zambello, West Side Story promises to once again whisk audiences away to the bustling streets of New York City, complete with iconic songs, heart-pounding dance numbers, and enough drama to fill the harbour twice over. Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece will once again take centre stage, accompanied by Jerome Robbins' legendary choreography – and this year, we were fortunate enough to be able to pose a few pre-performance questions to none other than Guy Simpson, the show’s musical director, and the all-singing, all-dancing Wayne Scott Kermond, who is playing “Doc” onstage. Let’s raise the curtain and see what they have to say! <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/03/Guy-Simpson.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Guy Simpson Guy Simpson, a seasoned musical director with nearly 45 years of experience, boasts an illustrious career spanning global productions. Notably, his involvement with iconic shows like Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera has taken him across continents, from Australia to Asia and beyond. Simpson's extensive repertoire includes serving as Musical Supervisor and Director for Opera Australia's acclaimed productions such as Evita, My Fair Lady, and of course West Side Story. Additionally, his contributions as an orchestrator and producer of cast recordings further solidify his stature in the musical theatre realm. With credits ranging from beloved classics like Les Misérables to contemporary hits like Muriel's Wedding, Simpson's versatile talent continues to enrich the world of musical theatre on an international scale. OverSixty: What memories do you have of your first time working on West Side Story – when was it and what was the experience like? Guy: “I was a rehearsal pianist for the 1983 production of West Side Story. The conductor was Dobbs Franks, who came from the US to conduct the first production of the show in 1960. So I was lucky to learn the show from him. I wasn’t in the orchestra and had tickets to watch opening night but during the afternoon of that day I received a call to play in the orchestra that night because the pianist was unwell. I’ll never forget that! Since then I have conducted three seasons of the show and learn more and more about it each time.” OverSixty: What were Bernstein’s influences and what impact did Bernstein’s score have when the musical first premiered? And why do you think it remains so recognised today? Guy: “Bernstein was influenced by many things. There is an <a href="https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2018-08-23/the-surprising-backstory-to-west-side-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excellent article by Debra Lew Harder</a> that outlines these influences. I love the combination of Jewish themes, Puerto Rican rhythm, Mexican dance music and of course American jazz. His classical roots also come in here – especially the music of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. The genius is Bernstein's ability to blend all this into a score that tells the story so brilliantly." OverSixty: What’s your favourite moment in the music that audiences might not always notice but could listen out for? Guy: I like what is known as ‘THE BALCONY SCENE’. Most people will know it as the iconic love duet ‘TONIGHT’. In the show this scene moves between spoken dialogue (with underscoring), into the song and back into dialogue in a wonderfully cohesive way. It is so well crafted and is quite a challenge for the conductor to fit the music with the dialogue in a seamless way. I also love the scene in the bridal shop that includes the song ‘ONE HAND ONE HEART’. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/03/Wayne-Scott-Kermond-as-Doc.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Wayne Scott Kermond Wayne Scott Kermond, hailing from a rich lineage of Australian Vaudeville performers, epitomises the essence of musical theatre, comedy and cabaret. With a repertoire spanning from Anything Goes to Hairspray, including acclaimed performances in several productions of West Side Story, Kermond's versatility shines through. Additionally, he's showcased his creative prowess as the creator and star of captivating cabaret shows such as Candy Man and Jive Junkys. Beyond the stage, Kermond's talents extend to film, where he's contributed to projects like Happy Feet 1 & 2, and as a respected scriptwriter and director for various musicals, cabarets and corporate events. With accolades including a Green Room Award and Mo Award, alongside nominations for Helpmann Awards, Kermond's exceptional abilities and esteemed showbiz heritage solidify his status as an extraordinary Australian talent. OverSixty: You and Guy first worked on this musical 40 years ago, how does it feel to be coming back together on the Handa Opera version? Wayne: “I first performed in West Side Story at the old Her Majesty’s Theatre (Sydney), 40 years ago playing the youngest member of the Jets gang, ‘Baby John’, and then again in another fabulous production touring Australia / New Zealand in the mid-nineties playing Arab. And so it was lovely to be reminded by Guy on the first day of rehearsals for this season how special it is to us both, here we are, doing it again, just a little greyer." “We shared a few laughs about ‘where did that time go?’, and how ‘young’ we still look after all these years. It’s so great to work with Guy again, I think the last show we did together was Chicago, back in the late nineties. So with Guy's huge amount of expertise and experience at the helm as our Musical Director the show is in great hands. Wait till you hear the amazing Orchestra.” OverSixty: What about this musical’s story, lyrics, etc resonate with you and why do you think it keeps being seen on stage? Can it appeal to all ages? Wayne: “West Side Story is as iconic to music theatre as Swan Lake is to ballet. All great musicals such as West Side have to have a great love story; West Side certainly has that. And to add to that, also an incredible score, dynamic original choreography and a beautifully written book makes it a triple threat. That's why it stands the test of time – it's an inter-generational piece, whose story and message still stands today, which is the reason why I’m now getting the opportunity to play an adult character ‘Doc’ in this OA production 40 years later, as it will be for another artist, in another 40 years' time.” OverSixty: What’s your favourite moment in the show and why? Wayne: It is very difficult to say there is a favourite moment as there are so many. The whole journey of the show is something everyone who loves theatre should experience. The Prologue, Dance at the Gym, America, Cool, Tonight, Something's Comin, and not forgetting the Quintet powerhouse... Every part of this show is special, whether you're seeing the show for the first time or for the tenth time, it’s exhilarating, poignant and moving." “It’s especially wonderful for me to have been given the opportunity to revisit the show, after all these years later as a performer. And it’s very exciting to watch another generation of performers being given the opportunity to experience such an exceptional piece of theatre.” So, mark your calendars, Sydney-siders, because Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour is about to serve up a theatrical experience like no other. With world-class performances, breathtaking views of the harbour, and enough fireworks to make New Year's Eve jealous, this is one event you won't want to miss. So grab your tickets, grab your friends, and get ready to experience the magic of West Side Story like never before. See you at the opera! For more information and ticket sales, check out <a href="https://opera.org.au/productions/west-side-story-on-sydney-harbour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opera.org.au/harbour</a> All images: Supplied

Domestic Travel

Aussie street crowned "world's coolest"

Global media company Time Out have released their official list of the world's coolest streets, with one busy street in Melbourne's inner north coming in first place. What makes a street cool? Well, according to the publication, each street's food offerings, drink options, cultural delights, nightlife and overall sense of community are the main factors that were taken into consideration when they made their list. To create the 2024 lineup, the publication had their global team of local expert editors and contributors each make a case for the coolest street in their city. Melbourne's High Street claimed the top spot local Time Out Melbourne editor Leah Glynn praising the road's "epic restaurants, hidden bars, live music venues and boutique shops". Glynn said that the street’s “bona fide cool status” comes down to one thing - “its unique, something-for-everyone local businesses”. The street itself is easily accessible from the CBD via the 86 tram line and criss-crosses the suburbs of Northcote, Thornbury and Preston. Hollywood Rd, one of the oldest streets in Hong Kong came in second. Pre-dating LA's famous entertainment district, the street itself is home to incredible restaurants including Michelin-starred Tate Dining Room. It's also home to the Man Mo Temple and the Mid-Levels Escalators, the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system. East Eleventh in Austin came in third, as it "encapsulates the city's spirit" for packing so many venues in a short quarter-mile. One other Australian street made it into the list of the top 30 coolest streets and that street is Sydney’s Foster St, which came in 23rd. “Along with neighbouring Campbell St, it’s part of the inner city precinct known as the Hollywood Quarter,” Time Out said. “Despite the dazzling name, the quarter brings low-key cool vibes, and is bordered by Central, Thai Town, and cool suburbs Surry Hills and Darlinghurst.” Here is Time Out's Top 10 coolest streets: <ol> <li>High St, Melbourne</li> <li>Hollywood Rd, Hong Kong</li> <li>East Eleventh, Austin</li> <li>Guatemala St, Buenos Aires</li> <li>Commercial Dr, Vancouver</li> <li>Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur</li> <li>Rua da Boavista, Lisbon</li> <li>Arnaldo Quintela, Rio de Janiero</li> <li>Chazawa-dori, Tokyo</li> <li>Consell de Cent, Barcelona</li> </ol> Images: South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Domestic Travel

Radio stars reveal their worst on-air moments

In celebration of 100 years of Australian radio, the who's-who of the Aussie airwaves have shared their most awkward interview moments. Ben Fordham, Amanda Keller and Fifi Box were among the radio presenters who recalled their worst on-air moments to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/radio/celebrity-interview-derailed-by-radio-stars-bulge/news-story/056c130ab09f85c3c9e14a0fdeb5587b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>, with the memorable moments ranging from mispronouncing a guest's name, to announcing the death of a celebrity who was very much still alive. 2GB's Ben Fordham revealed one of the more outrageous moments from his radio show, recalling when a caller asked him about classic Aussie TV show Simon Townsend's Wonder World. "I said, 'yeah, that was a great show. Sadly we lost Simon Townsend recently,' and then people started calling in saying, 'are you sure Simon Townsend is dead?'" he said. It turned out that Fordham had made an error, as it was actually Townsend's dog Woodrow who had died. He said, "When I came out of the ad-break I had to do a mop up job. It was pretty ugly." Amanda Keller from WSFM's Jonesy and Amanda shared a story about accidentally mispronouncing Weird Al Yankovic's name, despite her co-host trying to help her. "Jonesy (my co-host) kept telling me to pronounce his surname 'Yankovick', and I said, 'no, excuse me, it's pronounced 'Yankovich'." During the entire interview with the musician, Keller introduced the singer with her mispronunciation, and was eventually corrected by the singer when the time came for him to record a promo for the radio network. "It was humiliating," she said. Fifi Box recalled an experience back in 2013 when her then co-host Jules Lund blindfolded her and took her to a secret location for their show's 'Blackout Challenge.' "I was pregnant at the time, and basically found myself lying on a bed in a dark room being serenaded by the one and only David Hasselhoff!" she said. "The Hoff then decided it was funnier to take his pants off for an added extra surprise. Also, being heavily pregnant made the whole scenario a lot more awkward." Rounding out the awkwardness was KIIS FM's Will and Woody who had an uncomfortable interview with pop star Jennifer Lopez. "We overheard Jennifer Lopez screaming at her publicist about needing to do an interview with us. We were both dressed as Santa and had to go through the whole interview knowing that she really didn't want to be there," Will said. "Suffice to say that the interview wasn't one of our best." Image credits: Getty Images

Music

Beloved Coronation Street star dies aged 89

Coronation Street star Joan Savage has passed away at 89. The actress, known for her role as Celeste Pickersgill in the ITV soap series, was reported to have passed away peacefully in her home in Twickenham earlier this month. Her cause of death has not been revealed. Tributes have poured in from the star's friends and family. In a touching tribute, her daughter Kelly wrote: "Mum always used to say 'I'd like to go with my tap shoes on' so the last few years have been extremely difficult for her and us as a family. "I hope she's reunited with her show biz contemporaries and putting on a show up there!" she added. Her friend, Cheryl Forbes paid tribute to the actress on X. "Our dear friend, the remarkable Joan Savage, passed away recently," she tweeted. "She was a real star and absolutely brilliant at everything she did," she continued. "An actress, comedienne, singer, impressionist and dancer. "She was truly a very special talent." <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Our dear friend, the remarkable Joan Savage, passed away recently. She was a real star and absolutely brilliant at everything she did. An actress, comedienne, singer, impressionist and dancer. She was truly a very special talent 💔 <a href="https://t.co/mDtL2YTeX6">https://t.co/mDtL2YTeX6</a> — Cheryl Forbes (@mezzocheryl) <a href="https://twitter.com/mezzocheryl/status/1724507318316859598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2023</a></blockquote> Savage has spent over six decades in the show biz industry. She starred in an episode of Dad's Army in 1972, and made multiple appearances in The Arthur Haynes Show between 1956 and 1962. Aside from her glittering career on the screen, she also ventured out into music, theatre and entertainment. She toured as the leading lady in a George and Alfred Black revue called Music and Madness, where she met performer Ken Morris - who she later on married in 1955 - and the pair performed as a double act. The duo appeared in multiple big shows and advertisements at the time including Hi Summer, The Black and White Minstrel Show, The Jack Jackson Show and The Arthur Haynes Show. In 1960, they welcomed daughter Kelly, but their love story was cut short when Morris tragically passed away on July 3, 1968 following a brain tumour. Four years later, Savage remarried, and tied the knot with husband Bryan on November 1972. She continued performing and had also established herself as a solo artist, creating popular love songs, comedies and even went on to win the Nordring Radio Prize for her singing in 1974. Savage is survived by her husband Bryan, her daughter Kelly and her two grandkids. Images: Getty/ Youtube

Caring

Streets of purple haze: how the South American jacaranda became a symbol of Australian spring

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susan-k-martin-107846">Susan K Martin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a> Jacaranda season is beginning across Australia as an explosion of vivid blue spreads in a wave from north to south. We think of jacarandas as a signature tree of various Australian cities. Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth all feature avenues of them. Grafton in New South Wales hosts an annual <a href="https://www.jacarandafestival.com/">jacaranda festival</a>. Herberton in Queensland is noted for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jacarandafestivalherberton/">its seasonal show</a>. There are significant plantings in many botanic, public and university gardens across Australia. Jacaranda mimosifolia (the most common species in Australia) doesn’t generally flower in Darwin, and Hobart is a little cold for it. So showy and ubiquitous, jacarandas can be mistaken for natives, but they originate in South America. The imperial plant-exchange networks of the 19th century introduced them to Australia. But how did these purple trees find their stronghold in our suburbs? <h2>Propagating the trees</h2> Botanist Alan Cunningham sent the first jacaranda specimens from <a href="https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/dream-tree-jacaranda-sydney-icon/">Rio to Britain’s Kew gardens</a> around 1818. Possibly, jacaranda trees arrived from Kew in colonial Australia. Alternately, Cunningham may have disseminated the tree in his later postings in Australia or through plant and seed exchanges. Jacarandas are a widespread imperial introduction and are now a feature of many temperate former colonies. The jacaranda was exported by the British from Kew, by other colonial powers (Portugal for example) and directly from South America to various colonies. Jacarandas grow from seed quite readily, but the often preferred mode of plant propagation in the 19th century was through cuttings because of sometimes <a href="https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/dream-tree-jacaranda-sydney-icon/">unreliable seed</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/histres/article/93/262/715/5938031?login=true">volume of results</a>. Cuttings are less feasible for the jacaranda, so the tree was admired but rare in Australia until either nurseryman Michael Guilfoyle or gardener George Mortimer succeeded in propagating the tree in 1868. Once the trees could be easily propagated, <a href="https://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/woollahra_plaque_scheme/plaques/michael_guilfoyle">jacarandas became more widely available</a> and they began their spread through Australian suburbs. <h2>A colonial import</h2> Brisbane claims the earliest jacaranda tree in Australia, <a href="https://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/godfrey-rivers-under-the-jacaranda-a-quintessential-image-of-brisbane-queensland/">planted in 1864</a>, but the Sydney Botanic Garden jacaranda is dated at “around” 1850, and jacarandas were listed for sale in <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13055858?searchTerm=Jacaranda%20OR%20Jakaranda">Sydney in 1861</a>. These early park and garden plantings were eye-catching – but the real impact and popularity of jacarandas is a result of later street plantings. Jacaranda avenues, in Australia and around the world, usually indicate wealthier suburbs like Dunkeld in <a href="https://www.wisemove.co.za/post/top-10-richest-suburbs-in-johannesburg">Johannesberg</a> and Kilimani in <a href="https://gay.medium.com/hashtag-jacaranda-propaganda-2f20ac6958b9">Nairobi</a>. In Australia, these extravagant displays appear in older, genteel suburbs like Subiaco and Applecross in Perth; Kirribilli, Paddington and Lavender Bay in Sydney; Parkville and the Edinburgh Gardens in North Fitzroy in Melbourne; Mitcham, Frewville and Westbourne Park in Adelaide; and St Lucia in Brisbane. The trend toward urban street avenue plantings expanded internationally in the <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/3983816?journalCode=foreconshist">mid 19th century</a>. It was particularly popular in growing colonial towns and cities. It followed trends in imperial centres, but new colonial cities offered scope for <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/eh/2009/00000015/00000003/art00004">concerted planning of avenues in new streets</a>. Early Australian streets were often host to a mix of native plants and exotic imported trees. Joseph Maiden, director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens from 1896, drove the move from mixed street plantings towards avenues of single-species trees in the early 20th century. Maiden selected trees suitable to their proposed area, but he was also driven by contemporary aesthetic ideas of <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/whp/eh/2009/00000015/00000003/art00004">uniformity and display</a>. By the end of the 19th century, deciduous trees were becoming more popular as tree plantings for their variety and, in southern areas, for the openness to winter sunshine. It takes around ten years for jacaranda trees to become established. Newly planted jacarandas take between two and 14 years to produce their first flowers, so there was foresight in planning to achieve the streets we have today. In Melbourne, jacarandas were popular in post-first world war plantings. They were displaced by a move to native trees after the second world war. Despite localised popularity in certain suburbs, the jacaranda does not make the list of top 50 tree plantings for <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/220356756/714CC7FF6134038PQ/6?accountid=12001">Melbourne</a>. In Queensland, 19th-century street tree planting was particularly ad hoc – the <a href="https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=602440">Eagle Street fig trees</a> are an example – and offset by enthusiastic forest clearance. It wasn’t until the early 20th century street beautification became more organised and jacaranda avenues were planted in areas like New Farm in Brisbane. The popular plantings on the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland occurred later, in the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/queensland-review/article/abs/for-shade-colour-and-in-memory-of-sacrifice-amenity-and-memorial-tree-planting-in-queenslands-towns-and-cities-191555/459CD1E02E7FD581B4B89ADD7073D705">1930s</a>. <h2>A flower for luck</h2> In Australia, as elsewhere, there can be too much of a good thing. Jacarandas are an invasive species <a href="https://weeds.brisbane.qld.gov.au/weeds/jacaranda">in parts of Australia</a> (they seed readily in the warm dry climates to which they have been introduced). Parts of South Africa have limited or banned the planting of jacarandas because of their water demands and <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0006-82412017000200020">invasive tendencies</a>. Ironically, eucalypts have a similar status in South Africa. Writer <a href="https://gay.medium.com/hashtag-jacaranda-propaganda-2f20ac6958b9">Carey Baraka argues</a> that, however beloved and iconic now, significant plantings of jacarandas in Kenya indicate areas of past and present white population and colonial domination. Despite these drawbacks, spectacular jacaranda plantings remain popular where they have been introduced. There are even myths about them that cross international boundaries. In the southern hemisphere – in Pretoria or Sydney – they bloom on university campuses during examination time: the first blooms mark the time to study; the fall of blooms suggests it is <a href="https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/dream-tree-jacaranda-sydney-icon/">too late</a>; and the fall of a blossom on a student bestows <a href="https://newcontree.org.za/index.php/nc/article/view/34">good luck</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214075/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susan-k-martin-107846">Susan K Martin</a>, Emeritus Professor in English, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/streets-of-purple-haze-how-the-south-american-jacaranda-became-a-symbol-of-australian-spring-214075">original article</a>.

Home & Garden

“Our absolute worst nightmare”: Nine reporter reveals devastating family diagnosis

Channel Nine reporter Hayley Webb has shared how she and her brother Lachlan have been struck down with a terrifying terminal illness. The siblings have spent their entire lives living with Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) lying dormant in their bodies. The devastating illness, which has already claimed the lives of three aunts and uncles as well as their mother, will eventually leave the siblings unable to ever fall asleep again. From there, symptoms progress to, but are not limited to, the inability to walk, loss of sight and speech and an eventual total shutdown of the body's ability to keep itself alive. Hayley and Lachie first discovered they had the gene in 2016, and decided to take part in a study of the disease in California to end the generational curse of the genetic disorder. But tragically, earlier this year, Lachlan began having symptoms at just 35 years old, and discovered his condition had rapidly worsened. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CycA3kxBDGi/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CycA3kxBDGi/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by thetodayshow (@thetodayshow)</a> </div> </blockquote> "The months leading up to it, I thought something was wrong - my memory was getting worse and I just knew something was different," Lachie told Karl Stefanovic on Today. "I put it off for a month or two just in case it was something else, but once I got tested I realised my fears were confirmed." Lachlan was diagnosed in April, just one day after his son's first birthday, which Hayley described as “just our absolute worst nightmare”. The diagnosis triggered the disease's rapid shutdown of the mind and body, now Lachie struggles to sleep, requires a wheelchair to get around and his speech is starting to go as well. "Lach and I have always been so close - best mates our whole life," Hayley said. "The thought of not having him around is just too much to bear." Sitting in front of the pair, Hayley's heartbreaking admission brought Karl to tears. "I don't think I've ever done a story like this, and certainly never met anybody like you two in my life," the Today host said. With Lachie being officially diagnosed with the disease so young, Hayley has started to wonder about her own mortality. The disease has an average duration of 18 months, ultimately leading to death, making the siblings worry about their families and their futures. “It's just, like, been such a stark reality check that it's not a guarantee that we're gonna get to 60, it's not a guarantee we'll make it to 50,” she said. “I've got a three-and-a-half year-old and a baby on the way who I desperately want to see grow up.” While no doctor or test can predict how long Lachie has - his wife Claire and Hayley, who is expecting, have done something extraordinary, taking their family's fate into their own hands. "We both underwent IVF and through that process we were able to conceive children who won't have the gene, so the family curse stops here," Hayley said. Image credits: Today

Caring

Dave Hughes mugged by "big man" on Melbourne street

Comedian Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes has shared an incident on air about a harrowing encounter he had while grabbing dinner in Melbourne for his family on a Tuesday night. The 52-year-old radio host recounted the incident during his appearance on 2DAY FM’s morning show, "Hughesy, Ed & Erin", with fellow comedian and stand-in host, Kate Langbroek. Hughes explained that he had ridden his electric bike to a nearby takeaway restaurant close to his residence to order dinner for his family. Unfortunately, upon his arrival, he discovered that the restaurant he had in mind was closed. Frustrated by the situation, he took out his phone with the intention of calling his wife to discuss alternative dinner plans when, suddenly, his phone was snatched from his hand. While recalling the incident, Hughes expressed how startled he was, saying, "I’m on the bike, and I put my phone up to my ear, and then all of a sudden, someone grabs my phone out of my hand, just grabbed it, yes, stole my phone." He went on to describe the thief as a "big man" who appeared to be under the influence of drugs, suspecting him to be a "meth head": “I look and it’s a man, a big man, and he is off his nut. I’m gonna say he’s a meth head, you know what I'm talking about.” The assailant's erratic behaviour didn't end with the phone theft. Hughes continued, "He tries to talk into the phone and he goes, ‘You weren’t even talking to anyone.’ Like it was my fault, like I was pretending to make a phone call." Rather than pursuing the thief on his bike, Hughes resorted to shouting, "Give me my phone back!" The situation eventually deescalated as the man threw the phone to the ground and stumbled away, eventually confronting a nearby vehicle. "He just staggered off and basically attacked a car,” said Hughes. Langbroek criticised Hughes for not immediately contacting the police after the unsettling incident, expressing concern about tolerating such dysfunction in society. “I know that we’re all like, that’s sort of how it rolls," she said, "but when you start accepting dysfunction like that, then dysfunction will rule.” Hughes, who had lost his driver's license the previous month due to a series of minor traffic violations that resulted in the loss of his accumulated points, had been relying on his electric bike for transportation. Image: 2DAY FM

Legal

The science of dreams and nightmares – what is going on in our brains while we’re sleeping?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/drew-dawson-13517">Drew Dawson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Last night you probably slept for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721816301292">seven to eight hours</a>. About one or two of these was likely in deep sleep, especially if you’re young or physically active. That’s because <a href="http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/jjbareprints/psyc501a/readings/Carskadon%20Dement%202011.pdf">sleep changes with age</a> and <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/apm/2017/1364387/">exercise</a> affects brain activity. About three or four hours will have been spent in light sleep. For the remaining time, you were likely in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. While this is not the only time your brain is potentially dreaming – we also dream during other sleep stages – it is the time your brain activity is most likely to be recalled and reported when you’re awake. That’s usually because either really weird thoughts or feelings wake you up or because the last hour of sleep is nearly all <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizaveta-Solomonova/publication/320356182_Dream_Recall_and_Content_in_Different_Stages_of_Sleep_and_Time-of-Night_Effect/links/5a707bdb0f7e9ba2e1cade56/Dream-Recall-and-Content-in-Different-Stages-of-Sleep-and-Time-of-Night-Effect.pdf">REM sleep</a>. When dreams or your alarm wake you, you’re likely coming out of dream sleep and your dream often lingers into the first few minutes of being awake. In this case you remember it. If they’re strange or interesting dreams, you might tell someone else about them, which may further <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-022-01722-7">encode</a> the dream memory. Dreams and nightmares are mysterious and we’re still learning about them. They keep our brains ticking over. They wash the thoughts from the day’s events at a molecular level. They might even help us imagine what’s possible during our waking hours. <h2>What do scientists know about REM sleep and dreaming?</h2> It’s really hard to study dreaming because people are asleep and we can’t observe what’s going on. Brain imaging has indicated certain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079216300673#sec3">patterns of brain activity</a> are associated with dreaming (and with certain sleep stages where dreams are more likely to occur). But such studies ultimately rely on self-reports of the dream experience. Anything we spend so much time doing probably serves multiple ends. At the basic physiological level (indicated by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810021001409">brain activity, sleep behaviour and studies of conciousness</a>), all mammals dream – even the platypus and echidna probably experience something similar to dreaming (provided they are at the <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/07/the-creature-feature-10-fun-facts-about-the-echidna/#:%7E:text=It%20was%20long%20thought%20that,re%20at%20the%20right%20temperature.">right temperature</a>). Their brain activity and sleep stages align to some degree with human <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810021001409#b0630">REM sleep</a>. Less evolved species do not. Some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468867319301993#sec0030">jellyfish</a> – who do not have a brain – do experience what could physiologically be characterised as sleep (shown by their posture, quietness, lack of responsiveness and rapid “waking” when prompted). But they do not experience the same physiological and behavioural elements that resemble REM dream sleep. In humans, REM sleep is thought to occur cyclically every 90 to 120 minutes across the night. It prevents us from sleeping too deeply and being <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4972941/">vulnerable to attack</a>. Some scientists think we dream in order to stop our brains and bodies from getting too cold. Our core body temperature is typically <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(22)00210-1/fulltext">higher while dreaming</a>. It is typically easier to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2147/NSS.S188911">wake from dreaming</a> if we need to respond to external cues or dangers. The brain activity in REM sleep kicks our brain into gear for a bit. It’s like a periscope into a more conscious state, observing what’s going on at the surface, then going back down if all is well. Some evidence suggests “fever dreams” are far less common than we might expect. We actually experience <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00053/full">far less REM sleep</a> when we have a fever – though the dreams we do have tend to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3830719/">darker in tone and more unusual</a>. Spending less time in REM sleep when we’re feverish might happen because we are far less capable of regulating our body temperature in this stage of sleep. To protect us, our brain tries to regulate our temperature by “skipping” this sleep stage. We tend to have fewer dreams when the weather is hot <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23744731.2020.1756664">for the same reason</a>. <h2>A deep-cleaning system for the brain</h2> REM sleep is important for ensuring our brain is working as it should, as indicated by studies using <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)31329-5.pdf">electoencephalography</a>, which measures brain activity. In the same way deep sleep helps the body restore its physical capacity, dream sleep “<a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)31329-5.pdf">back-flushes</a>” our neural circuits. At the molecular level, the chemicals that underpin our thinking are bent out of shape by the day’s cognitive activity. Deep sleep is when those chemicals are returned to their unused shape. The brain is “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1241224">washed</a>” with cerebrospinal fluid, controlled by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/on-your-back-side-face-down-mice-show-how-we-sleep-may-trigger-or-protect-our-brain-from-diseases-like-als-181954">glymphatic system</a>. At the next level, dream sleep “tidies up” our recent memories and feelings. During <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534695/">REM sleep</a>, our brains consolidate procedural memories (of how to do tasks) and emotions. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534695/">Non-REM sleep</a>, where we typically expect fewer dreams, is important for the consolidation of episodic memories (events from your life). As our night’s sleep progresses, we produce more cortisol - the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-01907-021">stress hormone</a>. It is thought the amount of cortisol present can impact the type of memories we are consolidating and potentially the types of dreams we have. This means the dreams we have later in the night may be <a href="https://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/11/6/671.full.pdf">more fragmented or bizarre</a>. Both kinds of sleep help <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jb-Eichenlaub/publication/313545620_Daily_Life_Experiences_in_Dreams_and_Sleep-Dependent_Memory_Consolidation/links/5c532b0ba6fdccd6b5d76270/Daily-Life-Experiences-in-Dreams-and-Sleep-Dependent-Memory-Consolidation.pdf?ref=nepopularna.org">consolidate</a> the useful brain activity of the day. The brain also discards less important information. <h2>Random thoughts, rearranged feelings</h2> This filing and discarding of the day’s activities is going on while we are sleeping. That’s why we often dream about things that happen <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264574">during the day</a>. Sometimes when we’re rearranging the thoughts and feelings to go in the “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3921176/">bin</a>” during sleep, our level of consciousness allows us to experience awareness. Random thoughts and feelings end up all jumbled together in weird and wonderful ways. Our awareness of this process may explain the bizarre nature of some of our dreams. Our daytime experiences can also fuel nightmares or anxiety-filled dreams after a <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/how-trauma-can-affect-dreams">traumatic event</a>. Some dreams appear to <a href="https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2010.01668.x">foretell the future or carry potent symbolism</a>. In many societies dreams are believed to be a window into an <a href="https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=ijts-transpersonalstudies">alternate reality</a> where we can envisage what is possible. <h2>What does it all mean?</h2> Our scientific understanding of the thermoregulatory, molecular and basic neural aspects of dreaming sleep is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2716">good</a>. But the psychological and spiritual aspects of dreaming remain largely hidden. Perhaps our brains are wired to try and make sense of things. Human societies have always interpreted the random – birds wheeling, tea leaves and the planets – and looked for <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047407966/B9789047407966-s003.xml">meaning</a>. Nearly every human society has regarded dreams as more than just random neural firing. And the history of science tells us some things once thought to be magic can later be understood and harnessed – for better or worse.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210901/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/drew-dawson-13517">Drew Dawson</a>, Director, Appleton Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, Lecturer in Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-dreams-and-nightmares-what-is-going-on-in-our-brains-while-were-sleeping-210901">original article</a>.

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The science of dreams and nightmares – what is going on in our brains while we’re sleeping?

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