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Matthew Perry's sister and step-dad break silence

<p>Matthew Perry's younger sister and step-dad have opened up about the actor's death for the first time since his passing one year ago. </p> <p>Keith Morrison married Perry's mum in 1981 and couple soon after welcomed their first daughter and Perry's half-sister, Caitlin Morrison. </p> <p>In an interview with<em> Hello! Canada </em>Keith said that Matthew's death at just 54-years-old was "incredibly shocking". </p> <p>"Anybody who has lost a child will tell you that, even if you are in some way prepared for the possibility, it's shattering."</p> <p>"What we have decided to do is hang on to that determination and try to do something useful," Keith continued.</p> <p>He added that the late <em>Friends </em>star would want to be "remembered for doing something to help people suffering from addiction," something that Perry himself had been battling. </p> <p>Perry's sister, Caitlin, is the Executive Director of the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, a separate entity that expands on the work done by the Matthew Perry Foundation in the US. </p> <p>She explained that the work she is doing at the foundation allows her to still feel close to her brother. </p> <p>"The work that I'm doing now is very selfish because it kind of feels like I'm sitting right next to Matthew, working with him every day on something that was important to him," she shared.</p> <p>"I have this treasure of getting to keep him very, very close to my life all the time, which is wonderful."</p> <p>Caitlin works on the foundation alongside both of her parents, and the actor's childhood friend Brian Murray, as well as mental health professional Cara Vaccarino. </p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; 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;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Need to talk to someone? Don't go it alone.</span></em></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; 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;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lifeline: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">13 11 14</span>, <a style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #258440; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; transition: 0.2s ease-in-out;" href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifeline.org.au </a></em></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; 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;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Reach Out: <a href="https://au.reachout.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://au.reachout.com/</a></em></p> <p><em 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;">Beyond Blue: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">1300 224 635</span>, <a style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #258440; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; transition: 0.2s ease-in-out;" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/beyondblue.org.au" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beyondblue.org.au </a></em></p> <p> </p>

Family & Pets

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"Happy wives, happy social lives?" Men are more emotionally disconnected than women – what can be done about it?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/roger-patulny-94836">Roger Patulny</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hong-kong-baptist-university-2801">Hong Kong Baptist University</a></em></p> <p>Many of us are worried about loneliness and isolation, and both <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-be-fooled-loneliness-affects-men-too-15545">decade-old</a> and <a href="https://www.relationshipsnsw.org.au/blog/how-many-australians-are-lonely/">recent data</a> suggest they impact men more than women.</p> <p>Loneliness predicts health outcomes including <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691614568352">early mortality</a>, greater <a href="https://hqlo.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12955-022-01946-6">psychological distress</a>, and more <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41572-022-00355-9">cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological problems</a>.</p> <p>New research also links loneliness to <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-18770-w">more intolerant attitudes towards women</a>.</p> <p>These findings raise concerns over the causes and impacts of men’s loneliness and isolation.</p> <h2>A deep dive into loneliness</h2> <p>I recently analysed more than 50 indicators from a decade of data collected by the <a href="https://www.acspri.org.au/aussa">Australian Social Attitudes Survey</a>, from 2011–12, 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2022–23.</p> <p>My statistical models produced results for (self-identified) men and women, after controlling for the impacts of age, employment and partner status.</p> <p>I confirmed that Australian men are more likely to be socially and emotionally disconnected than women. I also found some reasons why this might be the case.</p> <p>I found men appear to focus their emotional energies primarily on their nuclear families and partners. Consequently, they over-rely on their female partners for intimate support and develop more distant, limited and transactional relationships with other people – and other men.</p> <h2>Men are more emotionally disconnected</h2> <p>The data show men continue to lack emotional support on a range of indicators. This puts them at greater risk of health impacts and potentially encourages more toxic attitudes towards women.</p> <p>A significantly greater proportion of men than women reported:</p> <ul> <li>receiving no support from their closest friend</li> <li>receiving fun/practical advice over emotional support from close friends</li> <li>having less contact with a close friend</li> <li>not having anyone for emotional support</li> <li>not feeling “very close” to their closest friend</li> <li>not feeling “love” as their most commonly experienced emotion in the last week.</li> </ul> <h2>Men have more distant, transactional relationships</h2> <p>Why are men in this situation?</p> <p>Masculinity roles are clearly influential.</p> <p>Traditional masculinity encourages men to appear capable, controlled and independent, avoid displays of “vulnerable” emotions or male-to-male affection (like hugging, touch or crying), and embrace the hetero-normative ideal of male provision and leadership.</p> <p>Such norms have been found to constrain male intimacy <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37531906/">by disallowing vulnerability</a>.</p> <p>My data show men tend to develop looser, transactional ties with more distant people. This may reduce the quality of the connection and its potential to reduce loneliness.</p> <p>I have found men are more likely than women to:</p> <ul> <li>think it is OK to befriend someone just because they’ll make a “useful” contact</li> <li>feel obligated to repay favours immediately (foregoing longer-term connections)</li> <li>be kind to others because they “value doing the right thing”, rather than because they empathically connect with or care about the person</li> <li>give and receive kindness from strangers (rather than more familiar people)</li> <li>seek help with household jobs from more distant family or friends</li> <li>seek practical support (money, advice) from private and commercial sources (rather than friends or family)</li> <li>not seek help from family or friends for emotional, sickness or care issues.</li> </ul> <p>This means many men retain an individualist masculine desire to remain emotionally aloof.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="TBJfz" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: 0;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TBJfz/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>Appearing in control but becoming dependent?</h2> <p>So where <em>do</em> men turn for intimate, emotional connection?</p> <p>Most often, their families.</p> <p>Prior studies show partnered men are <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-18770-w">less lonely than single men</a>. My data show men revere the nuclear family institution and the core supportive role of women and female partners.</p> <p>Men are more likely than women to:</p> <ul> <li>believe having children increases their social standing</li> <li>believe family is more important than friends</li> <li>rely on family over friends for support</li> <li>have mixed-gender friendships (in contrast to womens’ predominately female friendships)</li> <li>see their (predominantly female) partner as their closest friend</li> <li>emotionally support their (predominantly female) partner ahead of supporting others.</li> </ul> <p>However, the masculine desire to be a “good nuclear family man” <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37531906/">can both support and impede</a> men’s social connection.</p> <p>Partnered men might feel less lonely but that doesn’t mean they give or gain sufficient emotional support from their nuclear families.</p> <p>My data show men are less likely than women to:</p> <ul> <li>plan or organise social and family activities</li> <li>have at least weekly contact with non-nuclear family or friends</li> <li>emotionally support their friends, family or children ahead of their partners</li> <li>have their partner support them ahead of others (women were more likely to support their children first).</li> </ul> <p>This raises several issues.</p> <p>If men cling to the notion that their primary role is to provide for and support their (female) partner – while she in turn emotionally supports everyone else – they risk becoming personally isolated through diminished networks and outmoded expectations.</p> <p>In this context, men who believe they should earn more than their partners <a href="https://theconversation.com/loneliness-in-the-workplace-is-greatest-among-men-with-traditional-views-about-being-the-breadwinner-230535">are lonelier</a> than other men.</p> <p>It also risks pushing the burden of maintaining social and emotional connections onto <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a27259689/toxic-masculinity-male-friendships-emotional-labor-men-rely-on-women/">women and partners</a>, and men becoming socially and emotionally dependent on them.</p> <p>And it can “bake in” hetero-normative family-to-family interactions (organised by female partners) as the most “legitimate” form of socialising for men.</p> <p>This can be highly exclusionary for LGBTQIA+ people, along with single men and single fathers, who register among <a href="https://www.relationships.org.au/relationship-indicators/">the highest rates of loneliness in Australia</a>.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="qCmHw" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: 0;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/qCmHw/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>How can men become more emotionally connected?</h2> <p>Feelings shouldn’t be seen as just a <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a27259689/toxic-masculinity-male-friendships-emotional-labor-men-rely-on-women/">“female thing”</a>.</p> <p>Younger men’s more inclusive masculine attitudes can allow them to <a href="https://theconversation.com/he-is-always-there-to-listen-friendships-between-young-men-are-more-than-just-beers-and-banter-200301">subvert the “rules” of masculinity</a>, express emotion and embrace <a href="https://theconversation.com/he-is-always-there-to-listen-friendships-between-young-men-are-more-than-just-beers-and-banter-200301">“bromances”</a>.</p> <p>Men can also connect emotionally with other men through <a href="https://theconversation.com/he-is-always-there-to-listen-friendships-between-young-men-are-more-than-just-beers-and-banter-200301">jokes and humour</a> and participating in shared activities <a href="https://theconversation.com/lost-touch-with-friends-during-lockdown-heres-how-to-reconnect-and-let-go-of-toxic-ones-172853">that allow incidental communication</a>, like Men’s Sheds.</p> <p>The following initiatives may well help men broaden their intimate networks beyond the nuclear family. We could:<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/239194/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <ul> <li>help men into caring roles through more <a href="https://theconversation.com/loneliness-in-the-workplace-is-greatest-among-men-with-traditional-views-about-being-the-breadwinner-230535">family friendly employment and care-leave policies</a></li> <li>support initiatives such as <a href="https://meninmind.movember.com/">Movember Men in Mind</a> that encourage men to seek help, and improve their emotional expression and support skills</li> <li>encourage partnered, heterosexual men to broaden and diversify their intimate networks beyond the nuclear family bubble, and be more inclusive of single men, single fathers, and LGBTQIA+ people. <a href="https://thephn.com.au/news/the-mens-table-successful-mental-health-initiative-expanding-across-seven-new-regions">Men’s Table initiatives</a> could be of great value here</li> <li>encourage the development of more online <a href="https://theconversation.com/he-is-always-there-to-listen-friendships-between-young-men-are-more-than-just-beers-and-banter-200301">safe spaces</a> to form intimate bonds while avoiding toxic online masculine spaces.</li> </ul> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/roger-patulny-94836">Roger Patulny</a>, Professor, Academy of Geography, Sociology and International Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hong-kong-baptist-university-2801">Hong Kong Baptist University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/happy-wives-happy-social-lives-men-are-more-emotionally-disconnected-than-women-what-can-be-done-about-it-239194">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Mind

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Aussie sisters recall tradition that left young King Charles speechless

<p>Aussie sisters Jane Tozer and Amanda Boxshall have had the rare privilege of forming a closer bond with King Charles than most, having hosted the young royal during his studies in Australia. </p> <p>In 1966, at the age of 16, King Charles spent a year in Australia attending Timbertop outdoor adventure school, a remote campus that forms part of Geelong Grammar School.</p> <p>He stayed at Jane and Amanda's family farm, the two sisters then aged 11 and six, got to share six months of their lives with him. </p> <p>The royal family's security chose their dairy farm as it was an easy place to keep the then Prince Charles secure, and had enough room for his personal staff.</p> <p>On Monday, the sisters recalled their experience of living with the royal to <em>Sunrise</em> hosts Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington. </p> <p>They said that he was a "normal kid" but there was one family tradition that shocked him - their family eating together. </p> <p>“Mum and dad and the farm workers all used to just sit at one table and King Charles would come past and he couldn’t believe that people all sit together — that families sit and enjoy meals together,” Amanda said.</p> <p>The sisters also said that while they were briefed by the King's security prior to him moving in, they "didn't really understand the whole concept of being royal." </p> <p>“He was just another person on our farm that we chatted to and had a swim with. But he was very friendly. He always had his security with him ... (but) he was really friendly, very curious," Jane said. </p> <p>“He would ask a lot of questions, like how did this and that work? Can I help you do this? Can I do that?”</p> <p>They also said the King liked the outdoors - a passion he still holds to this day. </p> <p>“(We would go) horse-riding, of course. He’s very into horses ... and just doing kid things ... it was just like this whole new family had moved into our farm life. It was a unique experience.”</p> <p>The sisters managed to catch up with King Charles during his royal tour in 2018. </p> <p>“He remembered mum and dad and asked how they were and all of those sorts of things,” Jane said.</p> <p>“We laughed about all the things we did on the farm. So, he remembered everything. We didn’t really expect that he would remember all those things. But he did. So yeah, it was part of history.”</p> <p>Reflecting on Charles' last day staying the family, they said while they "were very sad" he had to leave, the family commemorated the moment with a portrait together. </p> <p>"Mum made us all beautiful new outfits and he said, ‘no, I want you as you really are’. So, we had to go and get our farm clothes back on. But he, he’s just such a nice person and very funny,” Jane said.</p> <p><em>Images: Seven</em></p>

Family & Pets

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"My heart is broken": Mariah Carey reveals sad double tragedy

<p>Mariah Carey has revealed a devastating double tragedy, as both her mother and sister passed away on the same day. </p> <p>In a heartbreaking statement to <em><a href="https://people.com/mariah-carey-mom-patricia-sister-alison-both-died-same-day-exclusive-8701561" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a></em>, the singer announced the deaths of her mum Patricia, 87, and sister Alison, 63, who died over the weekend. </p> <p>Carey's statement read, "My heart is broken that I've lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day."</p> <p>"I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed."</p> <p>"I appreciate everyone's love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time."</p> <p>No cause of death has been revealed for either member of the family. </p> <p>Carey famously had a turbulent relationship with her mother and sister over the years, and was estranged from Alison for three decades before her untimely death.</p> <p>In 2016, Alison, who was a recovering drug addict, made a plea to her famous sister through the Daily Mail to ask for support, saying, "Mariah I love you, I desperately need your help."</p> <p>As well as substance abuse, Alison endured homelessness throughout her life and tested positive for the HIV virus. </p> <p>Mariah opened up about complicated relationships with her mom and sister in her 2020 memoir, <em>The Meaning Of Mariah Carey</em>.</p> <p>"Like many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother has been full of contradictions and competing realities. It's never been only black-and-white — it's been a whole rainbow of emotions," she explained. </p> <p>She said their relationship was a "prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration, and disappointment", however the book was still dedicated to Patricia.</p> <p>"And to Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could," the singer penned in the dedication. "I will love you the best I can, always."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Paul Archuleta/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

Family & Pets

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Jessica Fox reacts to her sister's gold medal victory

<p>The Fox sisters are now both Olympic gold medallists after Noemie Fox claimed her victory in the women's kayak cross. </p> <p>Noemie, who is the younger sister of three-time Olympic champion Jessica Fox, beat out silver medallist Angèle Hug from France, and the UK's Kimberley Woods in bronze. </p> <p>Following Noemie's win, Jess and their mother Myriam quickly jumped into the water to celebrate her victory at bottom of the slalom course.</p> <p>Jess then spoke candidly to Nine about her sister's win, hailing the "fairytale ending" to an almost unbelievably perfect Fox family Olympics.</p> <p>"I'm just full of emotion," Jess said, voice trembling, just moments after climbing out of the water at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.</p> <p>"And I'm so proud of her, and I'm just – I'm drenched, I jumped into the water. There's so much emotion in this moment. It's amazing.</p> <p>"I was just screaming. We were both screaming," Jess said. "She was like 'what is going on? What the hell' but she did it."</p> <p>"She is just so – I'm so happy for her, so happy for her."</p> <p>There were but three kayak gold medals up for grabs for women at Paris 2024 and the sisters are taking the whole set back with them to Sydney.</p> <p>As well as coaching her daughters to success, Myriam has an Olympic bronze medal to her name and dad Richard, who briefly bailed on his broadcast duties to celebrate with his two girls, won 10 world championships and finished fourth in the K1 at Barcelona 1992.</p> <p>"It means that poor dad is the only one without an Olympic medal," Jess joked.</p> <p>"What a moment for our family. What a moment for these games. You know, for the whole team, we've come away with three gold medals, and that's so special."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram/Morgan Treacy/INPHO/Shutterstock Editorial</em></p>

International Travel

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“My sister-in-law announced she was pregnant at my child’s funeral”

<p dir="ltr">A woman has asked for advice on how to navigate her relationship with her sister-in-law, after the woman overheard an inappropriate conversation at her child’s funeral. </p> <p dir="ltr">The grieving mother, a 28-year-old named Melissa, took to Reddit to share the heartbreaking story of how her toddler passed away after a battle with cancer. </p> <p dir="ltr">Melissa described the time as the “hardest in my life”, explaining how she felt she lost “a part of herself” after the funeral.</p> <p dir="ltr">While Melissa expected her toddlers’ memorial service to be difficult, she never predicted a family member would make it even harder. </p> <p dir="ltr">The mother said that when she heard her sister-in-law telling people about her pregnancy, she thought the move was just cruel. </p> <p dir="ltr">“She didn't make a big announcement but more than ten people at the service 'heard' and it's what everyone was talking about. To understate it, I was livid,” Melissa wrote on Reddit.</p> <p dir="ltr">Melissa’s post then asked social media users for advice, as she was unsure how much of a relationship she wanted to have with her sister-in-law after the stunt. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 28-year-old shared that she had fallen pregnant herself, and was facing pressure to have a party in celebration, but she didn’t want her whole family in attendance. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I've been working on who I want to invite, and I really don't want my SIL there,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Besides what she did, she's a vindictive and mean person and I cannot stand her.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I mentioned it to my husband and he says he couldn't care less whether she's there or not. But for the sake of saving face, I want opinions before I do this.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She asked the online forum if she would be “an a**hole” for not inviting her, addin that she would still be inviting her husband's other sister and husband's brother's wife. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The original SIL will be the only one not invited,” she clarified.</p> <p dir="ltr">The post was flooded with comments as many backed up Melissa, slamming the sister-in-law for her selfish behaviour. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I wouldn't want someone like that around me. Announcing a pregnancy at a child's funeral is insane,” one said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Cut her off and ignore everyone close to her. You are right to have nothing to do with her. She's totally classless.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, others encouraged her to have an adult conversation with her sister-in-law in an attempt to mend their relationship.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Please let it go,” one person began. “This happened on a terrible day during a bad time for you. It's possible that could be clouding how you're looking at this, she may not have been malicious at all.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“I’ll see you again one day”: Sister of slain doctor’s emotional tribute

<p dir="ltr">Dr Ash Gordon has been farewelled in an emotional memorial service, with his family and friends joining together to honour the slain doctor. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 33-year-old died after a violent altercation following a home invasion on January 13th in the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster. </p> <p dir="ltr">Loved ones gathered at Kernot Hall, in Morwell, south-east Victoria, to honour his life and share in their grief.</p> <p dir="ltr">Funeral celebrant Elisha Dowsett opened the funeral by encouraging the mourners to “leave the anger” and focus on remembering Dr Gordon’s celebrated life. </p> <p dir="ltr">“He warmed the hearts of anyone lucky enough to cross paths with him,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He was a strong, compassionate, funny, driven, determined and cheeky man. He filled this dark and unpredictable world with genuine goodness.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Gordon’s sister Natalie spoke to the congregation, sharing how she will “never get over his death”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He was a huge part of our lives. He always encouraged me to take risks because he would say, ‘if you don’t, you’ll wonder what if’,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Breaking down in tears, Ms Gordon told mourners she had promised to “take the risk and live the life I dreamt of just as he did”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This isn’t goodbye little brother, this is see you soon. I’ll see you again one day,” Ms Gordon said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And, when I do, I can't wait for you to tell me how bad my wrinkles are and for you to give me a big hug. Until we meet again Brother Bear.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ash’s other sister Tammy Gordon said she “cannot express” how proud she is to call Dr Gordon her brother.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Losing a sibling is losing the person you can truly be yourself with,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following the passing of Dr Gordon, two 16-year-olds were <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/major-update-in-tragic-death-of-young-melbourne-doctor">charged</a> with murder, aggravated burglary and theft over his death. </p> <p dir="ltr">The teenagers allegedly broke into the home of 33-year-old Dr Ash Gordon, when the doctor then pursued the intruders after they fled the house. </p> <p dir="ltr">The teens then became violent, allegedly stabbing Dr Gordon several times and leaving him to die a kilometre from his home. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: YouTube</em></p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-aab57aa9-7fff-de2f-7f15-6813b34ca13d"></span></p>

Caring

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“We will hurt forever”: Sister of slain doctor speaks out

<p>Dr Ash Gordon’s sister Natalie, has broken her silence after her brother's tragic <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/major-update-in-tragic-death-of-young-melbourne-doctor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passing</a>.</p> <p>Ash was found allegedly stabbed to death less than a kilometre from his home, following an  aggravated burglary in Doncaster, Melbourne on Saturday night. </p> <p>Two 16-year-old boys have since been arrested and have been charged with murder, aggravated burglary and theft. </p> <p>Recalling the moment she found out the two boys were arrested, Natalie said she felt slightly relieved. </p> <p>“We thought we’d be going through this a lot longer,” she said. </p> <p>“Then I felt anger (and) a whole new wave of sadness.”</p> <p>She added that her family is grieving and having a hard time processing that their beloved son and brother is gone. </p> <p>"We will hurt forever," she said. “Ash’s patients, colleagues ... Ash’s friends, will all hurt. He was an amazing person, with the best smile, the biggest heart. Our family will never, ever repair itself.”</p> <p>She said that the hardest part for her was watching her parents breakdown. </p> <p>“We all held him on the biggest pedestal, and it’s gone. It’s just gone.”</p> <p>Ash's funeral will be held next Thursday and the family wants to send him off “with a bang”, just like what he would want, according to his sister. </p> <p>“I can’t begin to explain how hard it is now to go through photos ... to go through photos and try to pick photos to show everyone how amazing he was.”</p> <p>Natalie, who has three daughters herself, said that she hopes no other family will ever have to go through the heartache she's experiencing. </p> <p>“I would never want any other family to have to go through what we’re going through,” she said.</p> <p>The two teenagers will appear at a children’s court on February 8, and the prosecution has asked for 12 weeks to prepare a brief of evidence.</p> <p><em>Images: 7NEWS</em></p>

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Sister of slain doctor calls for killers to turn themselves in

<p dir="ltr">The distraught sister of Dr Ash Gordon has made an emotional appeal for those responsible for the death of her brother to turn themselves in. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the early hours of Saturday morning, the 33-year-old doctor was killed after a group of criminals broke into his home in Doncaster in Melbourne’s east. </p> <p dir="ltr">After they stole several items from his home, he managed to chase them out of the house and pursued them in his car, until both he and the intruders exited their vehicles and a fight erupted just 500 metres away. </p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Gordon was stabbed fatally several times in the altercation and was left for dead. </p> <p dir="ltr">As his family grieve his premature death, his devastated sister Natalie has called for justice. </p> <p dir="ltr">Appearing on <em>Sunrise</em>, she shared how angry the situation has made her. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I think for me it's been anger the entire time. I'm just obviously devastated, but so angry that anyone could do this to not only my brother but any person, any human being,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"His girlfriend is heartbroken, mum is completely broken and I've never seen my dad like this. You never want to have to bury your own children."</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Gordon said her little brother had “a big personality with a large heart”, sharing how “his presence was known everywhere.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“He had a cheeky grin, a charm and charisma about him that had everyone wrapped around his little finger.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“He was the absolute apple of all of our eyes. He was the centre of our family and he was the youngest of five but we all looked up to him.”</p> <p dir="ltr">While Dr Gordon's attackers remain on the run and no arrests have been made, Natalie has pleaded for the killers to turn themselves in to police. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Wear the consequences, because you'll never imagine what we're feeling, what we're going through,” she said.  </p> <p dir="ltr">“You have taken away a wonderful doctor, a caring man and the best little brother. Don't be a coward now.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Nine / Sunrise</em></p>

Caring

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Vale ‘sister suffragette’: how Glynis Johns became a pop-culture icon in the story of votes for women

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ana-stevenson-196768">Ana Stevenson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lindsay-helwig-1500979">Lindsay Helwig</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p>Glynis Johns, most famous for her role as the suffragette mother Mrs Winifred Banks in Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964), passed away last week at the age of 100.</p> <p>A fourth-generation performer who made her <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-17-ca-126-story.html">stage debut</a> in London when she was only three weeks old, Johns inherited her Welsh father’s love of acting. She appeared with him in The Halfway House (1944) and The Sundowners (1960) and argued for the establishment of a Welsh National Theatre <a href="https://twitter.com/huwthomas/status/791367871242862592">as early as 1971</a>.</p> <p>Johns’s career spanned eight decades in Hollywood, Broadway and the British stage and screen. As Palm Springs’s Desert Sun <a href="https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&amp;d=DS19630426.2.50">reported</a> in 1962, her “husky voice and big blue eyes” were her hallmarks. But it was her portrayal of Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins which would make her a pop culture icon.</p> <h2>A childhood inspiration</h2> <p>Feminist activists and scholars often describe the Mrs Banks character as a childhood inspiration.</p> <p>As feminist communications scholar Amanda Firestone <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Resist_and_Persist/s5HiDwAAQBAJ">reflects</a> on the film: "I especially loved […] Mrs Banks (Glynis Johns), who marches around the family home, putting Votes for Women sashes onto the housekeeper, cook, and the (departing) nanny. Of course, as a kid, I had no idea that the people and events embedded in the song’s lyrics were actual parts of history, but I did find a kind of joy in a vague notion of women’s empowerment."</p> <p>Set in 1910, the symbolism associated with Mrs Banks references the history of the British suffragettes. Johns’ musical showstopper, Sister Suffragette, directly refers to <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-pankhursts-politics-protest-and-passion/">Emmeline Pankhurst</a>, who founded the militant Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903. In 1906 British newspapers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859007003239">coined</a> the moniker “suffragette” to mock the union.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K0SDECwO54E?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>This ambivalence continued into the 1960s. Historian Laura E. Nym Mayhall <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4316653">argues</a> that American concern over the impact of women’s public roles on their domestic responsibilities influenced the film’s depiction of Mrs Banks, especially her movement from a public suffragette back into an involved mother at the film’s end.</p> <p>For Mayhall, the figure of the suffragette emerges in popular culture as “a symbol of modernity”: a harbinger of democracy and political progress whose characterisation would elide ongoing struggles such as the civil rights movement.</p> <figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=949&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=949&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=949&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1193&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1193&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568335/original/file-20240108-23-tf6kwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1193&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">This 1909 Dunston Weiler Lithograph Co. anti-suffrage postcard offers resonances of Mrs Banks and her household staff in Mary Poppins.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://thesuffragepostcardproject.omeka.net/items/show/44">Catherine H. Palczewski Postcard Archive/The Suffrage Postcard Project</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>While some see the character of the suffragette mother as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Mary_Poppins/BLujEAAAQBAJ">supporting</a> women’s votes during the 1910s and women’s liberation during the 1960s, other readings of the film suggest a more satirical representation of the suffrage movement. Some historians even find <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/02705346-6923118">resonances</a> of anti-suffrage propaganda in Mrs Banks, including in her usage of her Votes for Women sash as the tail of a kite in the film’s final scene.</p> <p>Looking back at film reviews offers insight into how audiences received this character – and, by extension, Johns as an actor. American studies scholar Lori Kenschaft <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Girls_Boys_Books_Toys.html?id=Or13vhnA_W4C">suggests</a> that film critics who saw Mrs Banks as a “nutty suffragette mother” reiterated popular stereotypes about suffragettes and feminists being “mentally unbalanced”.</p> <p>Such stereotypes may have been reinforced by the film’s depiction of motherhood and the nuclear family. Involved parenting emerged as the bedrock of the 1960s nuclear family, an idea both supported and actively promoted by Walt Disney in both his films and his theme parks, as <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Children_Childhood_and_Musical_Theater/XHrRDwAAQBAJ">argued</a> by American musicologist William A. Everett.</p> <p>As Mrs Banks, Johns embodied the transition from the distant, uninvolved parenting of the British middle-class in the earlier 20th century to the involved mother who facilitated the stable nuclear family. As women’s studies scholar Anne McLeer <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4316893">argues</a>, Mary Poppins, through Johns’ portrayal of Mrs Banks, demonstrated the liberated woman of the 1960s could be contained within the nuclear family: the bedrock for a Western capitalist economy.</p> <h2>A long career</h2> <p>Beyond Mary Poppins, her most prominent role was in Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical A Little Night Music (1973).</p> <p>Johns originated the character of ageing actress Desiree Armfeldt, becoming the first to sing Send in the Clowns. As she <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-17-ca-126-story.html">reflected</a> of the classic in 1991: "It’s still part of me. And when you’ve got a song like Send in the Clowns, it’s timeless."</p> <p>Sondheim composed this song with Johns’s famously husky voice in mind. Yet some were less enamoured with her performance. One 1973 theatre critic <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3850619">described</a> Johns as “a now somewhat overage tomboy, kittenish and raspy-voiced, precise and amusing in her delivery of lines but utterly, utterly unseductive.”</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OAl-EawVobY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>A veteran of stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. In 1998, she was honoured with a Disney Legends Award for her role as Mrs Banks. Johns also received critical acclaim throughout her career, including a Laurel Award for Mary Poppins and a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for A Little Night Music.</p> <p>Regardless of how incongruous her status as a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-05/glynis-johns-mary-poppins-send-in-the-clowns/103287036">Disney feminist icon</a>” may be, Johns’s extraordinary influence upon the 20th century’s cultural memory is a remarkable legacy. <!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/220766/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ana-stevenson-196768"><em>Ana Stevenson</em></a><em>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lindsay-helwig-1500979">Lindsay Helwig</a>, Lecturer in Pathways, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Disney</em></p> <p><em>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/vale-sister-suffragette-how-glynis-johns-became-a-pop-culture-icon-in-the-story-of-votes-for-women-220766">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

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"It's too late": Sister of mother who died waiting for ambulance speaks out

<p><em>A Current Affair </em>host Ally Langdon teared up during an interview with the heartbroken sister of Cath Groom, the Brisbane mum who <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/mother-dies-after-ambulance-fails-to-arrive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died after waiting for an ambulance</a> that never arrived. </p> <p>Groom had initially complained of severe chest pain in the hours before she was found dead by her son, Nicholas, on the morning of her 52nd birthday.</p> <p>Groom's sister, Bec McQuilty said that her family will never get over the tragedy, as she details exactly what happened that night. </p> <p>McQuilty said her sister had not only complained of severe chest pains, but was also vomiting profusely and had pain between the shoulder blades. </p> <p>She said Nicholas, Grooms's only son, called triple zero "multiple times" to request an ambulance, but after 90 minutes of no help, Groom decided to go to sleep. </p> <p>She got up at some point in the night, collapsed and died. </p> <p>"For a young boy to have to see his mum like that, it just shouldn't happen," McQuilty said.</p> <p>"He was petrified he didn't know what to do.</p> <p>"He's been taught through all his life that you can rely on these people and to make a phone call to triple zero and them not be there for him when they should have been, is just blatant neglect.</p> <p>"I will never forget the look on his face of just absolute despair."</p> <p>The <em style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">A Current Affair </em>broke down the moment McQuilty recalled Nicholas calling her in a panic after finding his dead mum. </p> <p>"I just think this hits all of us, hearing this," Langdon said. </p> <p>"That scene no doubt will haunt you for a long time."</p> <p>McQuilty shared that prior to Groom's passing the family was experiencing "the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in the space of 24 hours," after celebrating Nicholas' high school graduation on the Friday. </p> <p>"To get to such an incredible point of his high school graduation and just to be so proud of him on that day," McQuilty said. </p> <p>"I could see it in her face that she was just, you know, so so proud.</p> <p>"And literally 24 hours later he's finding his mother deceased, unnecessarily. </p> <p>"He's numb, he's angry and he's got a really long road ahead of him."</p> <p>Nicholas has now lost both parents, as his dad passed away when he was a baby. </p> <p>McQuilty revealed that her mum was admitted to the ER after finding out the devastating news and "never come back from this". </p> <p>"She herself was taken to the ER from just complete shock and her own heart," McQuilty said.</p> <p>"So I have my sister deceased in the house. I have my mom in the ER.</p> <p>"You know, it's just, no family, Ally, should ever ever have to go through what our family has gone through."</p> <p>McQuilty hopes that there will be changes made to emergency health system in the wake of her sister's death.</p> <p>"Put some more money into our hospital system and our health system maybe.</p> <p>"It's too late for my family, it's too late. But maybe that can save somebody else."</p> <p><em>Images: Nine/ A Current Affair</em></p>

Caring

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Twin sisters give birth on the same day

<p dir="ltr">Identical twins Gillianne Gogas and Nicole Patrikakos have lived their whole lives in synchronicity after being born together 36 years ago. </p> <p dir="ltr">Now, the women have welcomed their own children into the world on the same day, in the same hospital. </p> <p dir="ltr">The extraordinary coincidence happened in Melborune’s Epworth Freemasons hospital, with both Nicole and Gillianne welcoming healthy baby boys just hours apart. </p> <p dir="ltr">Gillianne said they both felt a mix of emotions over their matching maternity experience.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The timing, you just can't plan something like that. So yeah, disbelief, shock, excitement, all of those emotions," Gillianne told 9News.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gillianne's son, Alexander, arrived on August 22 at 1:20pm, followed by sister Nicole's baby boy, William, a mere five hours later.</p> <p dir="ltr">Nicole said the sisters had the same due date, so the duplicate deliveries were no surprise to the identical twin sisters.</p> <p dir="ltr">"(We were) very close growing up. We have always done everything together so this is just another example of that," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gillianne said they had nine months of pregnancy to process their "tandem" due date.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And yet it is still quite unbelievable," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, the synchronicity didn’t end there, as the babies were both delivered by the same obstetrician, Dr Joseph Sgroi, who said the births were a first for him during his time as a doctor. </p> <p dir="ltr">"It is not something that is common. It is not commonplace for even sisters to give birth on the same time or on the same day," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">The newborns even had the same birth weight, a healthy 3.5 kilograms.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Oh yes that came as another surprise," Gillianne said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Exactly the same," Nicole said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Sgroi said the babies would biologically be closer to brothers than cousins, with Nicole and Gillianne hoping they would share the same special relationship as their mothers. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Hopefully they will be as close as we are because it really is a special bond that we have," Nicole said.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine News</em></p>

Family & Pets

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"Bringing Bucket List wishes to life": Catriona Rowntree's joyous update

<p dir="ltr"><em>Getaway</em> host Catriona Rowntree has provided an update on her sister Lucinda’s battle with stage four cancer, just months on from revealing the frightening diagnosis to her followers. </p> <p dir="ltr">Thankfully, however, the news was positive this time around, with the veteran host reporting to<em> 9Entertainment </em>that “she’s on a trial treatment from the US and it’s responding well.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I think her doctors are feeling relieved to know that something is moving in the right direction regardless of the treatment that she's on."</p> <p dir="ltr">Catriona’s social media supporters were kept in the loop with a heartfelt post to Instagram, where she shared that “on a happy note, Lucinda is doing well, I was able to give her a big hug recently in Daylesford.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to describe how she never expected she’d be “cheering my sister for eating a full meal”, but that “it’s been a while since she’s been able to do that”, before thanking everyone for their kindness and support in such a challenging time for the family. </p> <p dir="ltr">Another note about Lucinda closed out the caption, with Catriona revealing a shift in her sister, one that saw Lucinda “focussed on bringing Bucket List wishes to life, not waiting and milking every moment between her treatments. </p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s a great outlook don’t you think, milk today, who knows what tomorrow brings.” </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct8kYUrP3q0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct8kYUrP3q0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Catriona Rowntree (@catrionarowntree)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Catriona also revealed to <em>9Entertainment </em>that the family were trying their best to remain in a “positivity bubble”, and while it was oftentimes difficult, the sisters have been celebrating every step along the way, especially as they enjoy their time in Daylesford together. </p> <p dir="ltr">"On one of the first nights we went to this place called the Farmers Arm, it has a legendary pub restaurant and she [Lucinda] said, 'that's one of the best meals I've ever had in my life'," Catriona shared.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We had a beautiful time sampling the best of the regional Victoria area, she went to Hanging Rock and enjoyed the winery at the base.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The presenter went on to explain that since Lucinda’s diagnosis, she’d learned “a lot of life lessons”, and that making the most of every moment had never been more important to her, something that put Lucinda’s Bucket List into new perspective. </p> <p dir="ltr">And the elder sibling had plenty to get on with on that front, with Catriona noting that “I know there are two things on her bucket list, one is to go to Ningaloo, I have to admit that's on my bucket list too, and then she'd love to meet a quokka - a quokka selfie is a must.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

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"You're going to be a big sister": Serena Williams shares heart-warming family announcement

<p>Serena Williams has captured the heart-warming moment she told her five-year-old daughter she is soon to be a big sister. </p> <p>The 41-year-old tennis legend is pregnant with her second child, <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/serena-williams-unveils-exciting-family-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing her big news</a> on the Met Gala red carpet at the beginning of May. </p> <p>Serena and her husband Alexis decided to film the moment they told their daughter Olympia about the newest addition to their family, with the five-year-old's joyous reaction tugging at the heartstrings. </p> <p>In a video uploaded to Serena's YouTube channel, titled Olympia's Surprise, Williams revealed Olympia did not yet know about the pregnancy, adding her daughter noticed she had become “fat”.</p> <p>“Olympia does not know right now that I am pregnant, but she did call me fat and then she got really, like, stressed out,” Williams said as the video started.</p> <p>“She was like ‘Mummy, you’re fat’".</p> <p>“I tried not to take it personal, ‘cause I’m, like, super into fitness, but I’m, like, ‘Uhh, am I?’".</p> <p>“We’re going to tell her (about the pregnancy) and I’m really, really excited to see her reaction.”</p> <p>The video continues with the family sitting on the lounge as Williams prepares for the big announcement.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LplhG2V1tho" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>“Remember how you’ve been praying for a little sister or brother?” Serena asked Olympia.</p> <p>“Well, we went to the doctor, and it turns out I’m not getting fat. But I have a baby in my belly.”</p> <p>Olympia’s face then lit up with joy and excitement as she replied: “What, are you kidding me?”</p> <p>“You’re going to be a big sister,” Ohanian and Williams both said.</p> <p>Olympia reacted with joy and reached out and hugged Williams in a beautiful family moment.</p> <p>The video continued as Williams unbuttoned her jeans and lifted her T-shirt to reveal her baby bump, with Olympia overcome with excitement as she jumped off the lounge and screamed with joy while running around the living room.</p> <p>The video has racked up over 40,000 videos in 24 hours, with many fans flooding the comment section with well wishes. </p> <p>One fan wrote, "I don't think there's anyone who deserves this happiness more than Serena. She has blessed us with 3 decades of amazing tennis... What a great way to live life now."</p> <p>Another said, "Olympia is so excited... You deserve it all, Serena."</p> <p><em>Image credits: YouTube</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Madeleine McCann’s younger sister breaks her silence

<p>Amelie McCann has spoken out for the first time, 16 years after her sister Madeleine McCann went missing on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.</p> <p>The 18-year-old spoke at a vigil in the British family’s home village of Rothley in Leicestershire, marking the anniversary of Madeleine’s tragic disappearance.</p> <p>Madeline, aged three, disappeared in May 2007 when she and her siblings had been left asleep in the family’s hotel room while their parents and a group of friends had dinner at a nearby restaurant.</p> <p>Amelie and her twin brother Sean were two years old at the time.</p> <p>Amelie, now 18, was joined by her parents at the vigil, but Sean did not make an appearance.</p> <p>“It’s nice that everyone is here together but it’s a sad occasion,” she said as she lit a candle for her sister and other missing children.</p> <p>According to the Daily Mail, Fiona Payne, a friend of the family who joined them on the 2007 Portugal holiday, was also present at the vigil.</p> <p>Kate and Gerry McCann also <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/maddy-mccann-s-parents-heart-wrenching-post-on-16-year-anniversary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted a statement</a> on the Find Madeline website, marking the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.</p> <p>The police investigation is still ongoing.</p> <p>The anniversary comes two weeks after a German court declined to hear a sex offences case against a German man who is a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.</p> <p>Christian Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005.</p> <p>The new charges relate to a string of separate cases involving sexual offences allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.</p> <p>Braunschweig state court denied responsibility for new charges against Brueckner due to evidence regarding his last known address in Germany.</p> <p>Brueckner’s last known German residence before moving to Portugal has been disputed, and the Braunschweig state court ruled there is evidence of an address in the neighbouring state of Saxony-Anhal.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty/Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“I love you! My King”: Christine Brown praises new boyfriend

<p dir="ltr">Christine Brown has taken to the internet to express just how much she loves her new boyfriend, David Woolley. </p> <p dir="ltr">Woolley shared on Instagram a snap of a mirror where the Sister Wives star, 50, had written, “I love you! My King.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"I love how thoughtful Christine is and all the little things she does for me ❤️#christinebrown #soulmate #myqueen #mylove," he captioned the image.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpvTG5pOqpx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpvTG5pOqpx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by David Woolley (@david__woolley)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">That same day Brown shared a sweet photo of the couple holding each other in a booth. </p> <p dir="ltr">Alongside the picture, Brown praised Woolley, captioning the post, "I can't express how amazing it's been to have David in my life," she wrote. "He's an incredible man and he treats me like his Queen.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CptKn9hvIsd/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CptKn9hvIsd/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Christine Brown (@christine_brownsw)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr"> Brown went public with Woolley on Valentine’s Day 2023 and has shared several photos of the pair.</p> <p dir="ltr">I finally found the love of my life, David," she shared on Instagram. "The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath."</p> <p dir="ltr">Brown, "He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Brown’s relationship with Woolley is her first since her divorce from her husband of 25 years, Kody Brown. Christine said it had been “awkward” dating again more than a year after the split. </p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b0444289-7fff-5055-3ec7-8ff94c90bef0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Brown has certainly gotten past the awkwardness as she proudly praises her boyfriend online. It’s safe to say the pair are seriously smitten.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

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"I was aghast": Simon Dorante-Day's sister speaks out against his claims

<p>For several years, Simon Dorante-Day has been claiming to be the love child of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla. </p> <p>Now, Simon's sister Amanda has spoken out about her adoptive brother's claims and how they devastated their family. </p> <p>Amanda said, "I was aghast when I read it and horrified at the lies, he was using as so-called evidence to support his fantastical claim."</p> <p>"I contacted several family members and friends who knew our family well and they were all as horrified, hurt and upset by his ridiculous claims, lies and allegations, as I was and still am."</p> <p>"Not one of these people believe Simon's story and most of them, once they have gotten over the initial shock of what he has said just laugh at the ridiculousness of it all."</p> <p>Simon has spoken to the press multiple times over the past years to explain how he is pursuing the royal family to get Charles to acknowledge his existence as his son, having never received any of the benefits that come with being the son of a royal.</p> <p>His efforts have stepped up since Charles became King, following Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.</p> <p dir="ltr">Simon has previously detailed a series of medical procedures he claims were performed on him as a child, including changing his eye colour from blue to brown when he was eight and filing two of his teeth at age 15.</p> <p dir="ltr">“These actions I believe were undertaken to conceal my true identity,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">In response to these claims, Amanda spoke of how protective her parents were over their children's health, saying, "She thought that if we had so much as a sniffle, if we had hurt ourselves that it would be perceived by them that we were not being cared for properly."</p> <p data-mrf-recirculation="Links Párrafos">"I therefore pose the question - Why on earth does Simon think our parents would have allowed him to have a dangerous eye operation? The simple answer is - It did not happen! I have original family photos which clearly show, even as a very young child, with baby teeth, Simon had brown eyes! Everyone who knows us, knows that Simon's eyes are and always have been brown!"</p> <p data-mrf-recirculation="Links Párrafos">In response to Amanda's statement, Simon said, "Neither King Charles nor his Wife Queen Consort Camilla can take back what has been done in their name to my eyes, teeth, and the years of manipulation, suppression, abuse and lies."</p> <p data-mrf-recirculation="Links Párrafos"><em>Image credits: Facebook</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“An incredible moment”: Sisters share how they found each after 17-year search

<p dir="ltr">Two sisters who were separated after they were given up for adoption have opened up about their emotional reunion more than 25 years later and the 17-year search they went through to find each other.</p> <p dir="ltr">Laurinda and Ashleigh were born in the Dominican Republic and given up for adoption when they were just two and six weeks respectively.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though Laurinda knew she had a younger sister, Ashleigh wasn’t as sure but knew that her mother had given birth to her at a young age and assumed she had more siblings she hadn’t met yet.</p> <p dir="ltr">Appearing on the podcast, <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/family-friends/i-think-youre-my-sister-siblings-find-each-other-after-25year-separation/news-story/a02923ba902801a135f5ab4cc919c41d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I’ve Got News For You</a></em>, Ashleigh recalled how she finally had success in her quest to find blood relatives where online photo books and adoption websites turned up nothing when she came across the genealogy website MyHeritage.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was doing my adopted family tree and I noticed that [MyHeritage] were doing a pro bono program called DNA Quest and they basically were sending out about 15 to 20,000 free DNA kits to help adoptees reconnect with their family members that they were looking for,” she told podcast host Andrew Bucklow.</p> <p dir="ltr">After submitting her story to the platform in return for a free MyHeritage DNA kit, Ashleigh found a genetic match: Laurinda. </p> <p dir="ltr">She then reached out to her mystery match via email.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hi, my name is Ashleigh, I got a match from you on MyHeritage and according to it, you may be my aunt or my sister. I was adopted at the age of six weeks old from the Dominican Republic. This is my mother’s name. Could you please get back to me with any information and I look forward to hearing from you,” her email read.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-da64c428-7fff-ee45-d465-0882c058b6db"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Laurinda, who was living six hours away from her sister, received the life-changing email notification while on her lunch break.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/laurinda-ashleigh1.jpg" alt="Ashleigh (left) and Laurinda (right) with their adoptive parents. Images: MyHeritage" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Ashleigh (left) and Laurinda (right) with their adoptive parents. Images: MyHeritage</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Having spent 17 years looking for Ashleigh, Laurinda had “fallen off the wagon” in recent years.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I replied [to the email] right away, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you know, I think you’re my sister.’ It was an absolutely unbelievable thing. You know, I ran into work yelling, ‘my sister, my sister’, and it was an incredible moment,” Laurinda said.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair then spoke over the phone before meeting for the first time two weeks later.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was wild. We were planning on recording it but … [as] we pulled up to the driveway, Ashleigh must have sprinted down from the apartment,” Laurinda said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Before I knew it, she was pulling the door open and, you know, we just embraced each other hugging and crying. It was just the most surreal, beautiful thing that I could have ever hoped for.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ashleigh added: “I just bolted out of my building … I just ran out there and gave her the biggest hug and we just stood there for like 10 minutes [but] it seemed like forever.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The sisters discovered that they also have three brothers, including one who died before either could meet him, as well as a grandmother, another sister, and a half-brother.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though their biological mum died six months before the sisters’ reunion, Laurinda was fortunate enough to have met her and shared the photos they took together with Ashleigh.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You know, I kind of get to live vicariously through [Laurinda] and she said [mum] always told her that she would give up her life to find me and you know, we think she probably did,” Ashleigh said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Laurinda also introduced her sister to their biological dad virtually, but he passed away before Ashleigh could meet him in person.</p> <p dir="ltr">Now feeling as if they have “known each other” forever, Ashleigh said the goal for the two sisters is to reunite the rest of their siblings.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I haven’t had a chance to go and meet the rest of [the family] yet … but hopefully, hopefully, someday soon, we’ll get that cash together, and we’ll be able to go down and meet everybody and have everyone together again,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Laurinda also shared that she had found out that her adoptive parents had the opportunity to also adopt Ashleigh but chose not to. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Since they had already adopted me, they kind of had first pick to be able to adopt [Ashleigh] since we were full siblings,” Laurinda said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But at the time I was two years old, I’m sure very much of a handful, so unfortunately my parents didn’t take up that opportunity to be able to adopt her as well.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She said she was “a little bit upset” when she found that out from her parents at 15, but admitted it motivated her to find her sister.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There’s absolutely no resentment in any way, you know, everything happens for a reason,” Laurinda said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We’re just honestly blessed to be able to have this opportunity to connect with each other and find each other after all these years.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-03a090d0-7fff-11a2-2403-f2f4fa0c5a6a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Supplied</em></p>

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“He’s my hero”: 5-year-old saves baby sister from burning cot

<p dir="ltr">A little boy who suffered severe burns after saving his 18-month-old sister has been praised for his heroics during an out-of-control accident in July last year.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jade, a NSW mum-of-four, was supposed to be asleep during an afternoon nap-time with her kids, but two of her youngsters were still awake and had found a gas lighter.</p> <p dir="ltr">The young mum said her five-year-old son Aspen and another of his siblings started several small fires around the room and blew them out, when they lit their younger sister Nirveya’s cot - which she was sleeping in - thinking it could be blown out just as easily.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, the plastic netting around her cot quickly went up, helping the fire spread.</p> <p dir="ltr">Aspen attempted to rescue his infant sister from her burning cot, but struggled to lift her out.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He tried to save her but she was too heavy and so he blames himself,” Jade told <em><a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/nsw-boy-saves-infant-sister-from-burning-cot/eec9fae2-f013-4d52-823f-54a36b2e9ce7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Current Affair</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He could not get her out. But to me, he bought time at the expense of him being burnt.”</p> <p dir="ltr">With the cot collapsing under his weight, the pair fell into the fire and Aspen shielded his little sister from the flames.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It burnt me when I covered her,” Aspen said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Waking up to “screaming and the fire alarm going”, Jade said she ran to the bedroom, where she saw Nirveya’s cot “completely consumed” by the fire.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The flames (were) as tall as I was: you could feel it, the heat from the door,” she recalled.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just reached in, grabbed her and put her on the floor.”</p> <p dir="ltr">With an ambulance on the way, Jade’s sister Aisha arrived at the house at the same time as a stranger, who would go on to give Aspen immediate treatment for his burns.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As he approached he said he was a burns specialist; that he was close by at a friend’s event, a party, and got an alert,” Aisha said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Aspen’s brave actions meant his little sister - who could have been engulfed in the fire -  was left with one minor burn to her nose.</p> <p dir="ltr">"All thanks for Aspen, she (Nirveya) could have been disfigured from the fire if she was consumed with it," Jade said.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, Aspen wasn’t so lucky, and faces years of treatment and operations after the cot’s plastic netting burnt into his arm.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t think he quite knows how special (it is) … what he has done,” Jade said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He’s my hero … he’s her hero.”</p> <p dir="ltr">His mum said Aspen just sees the physical wounds on his body, which has been difficult.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He says at school he wants to cover his burns because he wants the kids to still play with him and he doesn't want to get bullied for his burns," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though Nirveya and Jade carry mental scars from the accident, with her young daughter waking “up a lot during the night” ever since, the strength of her son gives Jade strength too.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think, ‘If you can do it buddy, I can do it too. You’ve been through so much’,” she said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6702044a-7fff-345f-abb0-a67f21d8cbf0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: A Current Affair</em></p>

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Bodies of young sisters found in apartment

<p>The bodies of two women have been found inside a unit in the south-western Sydney suburb of Canterbury.</p> <p>Police have made the grim discovery after being called to a home on Canterbury Road, near Dibbs Street, following a concern for welfare on the morning of the 7th of June.</p> <p>The women are believed to be sisters aged in their 20s but are yet to be formally identified.</p> <p>“A crime scene was established, which will be examined by specialist forensic police, and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths commenced,” NSW Police said in a statement.</p> <p>It is understood the bodies had been left undiscovered for quite some time. Forensic experts and officers were seen at the apartment complex throughout the afternoon and well into the evening investigating.</p> <p>One neighbour said she was incredibly disturbed by the news and that it was unusual for crime to occur in the building.</p> <p>“It’s scary to sort of know that this is what is happening in your own complex,” she said.</p> <p>Anyone with information is urged to contact the police by calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.</p> <p><em>Image: 7News</em></p>

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