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Sickness or health: Healthy life split along gender, education lines

Australians are living and working longer than ever, but the number of healthy years they’re enjoying with this added longevity isn’t shared equally between the sexes, or by those who finished school before Year 12. <div class="copy"> A paper recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00129-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00129-9">published</a> in The Lancet Public Health from the Ageing Futures Institute at the University of New South Wales shows an increase in longevity in Australia. Other data in the publication reveal detail about “healthy years”. Men, and those with higher levels of education, worked about 2 years longer in good health. For women and those with lower education, the years of healthy life expectancy have gone backwards. The report, led by statistician Dr Kim Kiely who is now based at The University of Wollongong, compared representative cohorts of people aged 50-100 who participated in the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (HILDA). Those cohorts were measured over decade long periods – the first from 2001-2010 and the second from 2011-2020. Men added an extra 11 months of healthy life between the cohorts, while women lost a month. Similarly those of any gender who had completed year 12 added about 10 months to their healthy life expectancy, while the same amount of time was lost by those who hadn’t. “Everyone’s increasing their working life expectancy, so the years they’re expected to be working,” Kiely says. “What is different is how long they’re expected to be living in good health: women and people with low education didn’t have an improvement in healthy life expectancy. “Everyone’s also living longer than ever before, but for women, those extra years seem to be years of poor health. People with lower education – they end up going backwards, they’re losing years of healthy life.” Australia’s working life trends are similar to those in Europe and the UK, though this research suggests the Australian labour force works longer in poor health than their antipodean counterparts. Kiely says the findings are important considerations for policymakers pondering questions of retirement and pension ages: the demands of some labour may not be evenly spread when it comes to considering health implications. “We have a pension age that has been rising steadily over the past couple of decades – it’s not rising anymore – but there is a strong expectation for people to be working longer,” Kiely says. “And if that is the case, then we need opportunities for work for mature age, older adults, and those work opportunities have to be suitable for their capacity to work. “We do need to address things like age and gender discrimination in the workforce. And we need to think about how we support people who are unable to work before they reach the pension age.” Kiely is extending his research into how the nature of work in Australia influences these high-level findings. He hopes this can explain why gender and education influence healthy working years. Further drilling down into other subgroups is important, say Dr Marty Lynch and Dr Ross Wilkie from Keele University, UK. They investigated healthy working life expectancy as part of Britain’s Independent State Pension Age Review last year. They too found Briton were working longer, but not at a rate that keeps pace with the national pension age. In a Lancet editorial accompanying the Australian research, they point out that the HILDA data evaluation only shows changes in average ages on gender and education lines. “The extent of HWLE [Healthy Working Life Expectancy] inequalities between subpopulations with multiple specific characteristics are likely to be even wider and will also indicate targets and interventions to increase the number of years that people can be healthy and in work,” they say. The impact of socioeconomic status on life expectancy and disease burden was recently highlighted in a large-scale review of Australia’s 30-year health data. <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/australias-life-expectancy-is-up-but-healthy-years-are-a-different-story/">It found</a> while Australians have added 6 years to their life expectancy since 1990, those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds had a higher risk of death-causing disease. Image credits: Getty Images <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/sickness-or-health-healthy-life-split-along-gender-education-lines/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="null">Cosmos</a>. </div>

Retirement Life

COVID is officially no longer a global health emergency – here’s what that means (and what we’ve learned along the way)

World Health Organisation (WHO) experts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/health/covid-who-emergency-end.html">have officially declared</a> that COVID <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic">no longer constitutes</a> a public health emergency of international concern (Pheic). This coincides with the WHO’s new <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WHE-SPP-2023.1">strategy</a> to transition from an emergency response to longer-term sustained COVID disease management. This may not change too much practically. COVID will still have pandemic status, and countries will continue to have their own authority as to whether to treat COVID as an emergency within their territories (some countries, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/11/1169191865/biden-ends-covid-national-emergency">including the US</a>, have already declared an end to the national emergency). For the global public health community, however, this is an event of monumental importance, drawing to a close the emergency response period which commenced on <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern-(pheic)-global-research-and-innovation-forum">January 30 2020</a>. At the same time, for a large portion of the general public, it may well pass by relatively unnoticed. For many people, it’s been a long time since they viewed COVID as an emergency. In the UK for example, COVID no longer features in the regular Office for National Statistics <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/publicopinionsandsocialtrendsgreatbritain/19aprilto1may2023">public opinion survey</a> that asks people what they think the key issues facing the country are. Even a year ago, <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/publicopinionsandsocialtrendsgreatbritain/30marchto24april2022">only two in five Britons</a> were very or somewhat worried about COVID, according to the survey. Along with other behavioural scientists, I have been following <a href="https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/research-highlights/health-innovation/public-during-pandemic/">public experiences of the pandemic</a> for the past three years. The results have yet to be peer reviewed but by summer 2022, many participants in <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/d6jcv">our research</a> described the pandemic as being like “a distant memory” or like it “never happened”. As we move into this next phase, it’s time to consider what we’ve learned about human behaviour during the pandemic, and what happens next. <h2>Old habits die hard</h2> In the early days of the pandemic, many behavioural scientists, myself included, wondered whether some of our pandemic habits <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-years-into-the-pandemic-which-of-our-newly-formed-habits-are-here-to-stay-178204">were here to stay</a>. Would <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2021-04-02/masks-to-stay-soldiering-on-through-the-common-cold-will-stop-and-the-nature-of-work-has-changed-forever-expert-says">face masks</a> become a regular wardrobe staple? Would people stop “soldiering on” and going into work when unwell? It turned out that for most people, the pandemic hasn’t permanently changed our behaviour and habits or created a “<a href="https://psyarxiv.com/d6jcv">new normal</a>”. Looking again at the UK, face mask use has consistently declined, with <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/datasets/publicopinionsandsocialtrendsgreatbritaincoronaviruscovid19andotherillnesses">figures from last month</a> suggesting that fewer than one in six adults had worn a face mask recently. Regular use is likely much less common. Social distancing has long since disappeared, except for a relatively small proportion of the public, in particular those most vulnerable to COVID. The COVID pandemic has taught us how adaptive behaviour can be, in particular how much people were willing to change their behaviour to keep themselves and others safe. Most people <a href="https://academic.oup.com/abm/article/56/8/781/6618645?login=false">followed the rules</a> during <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258781">the height of the pandemic</a>, no matter how difficult. COVID has reminded us <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/759BE02FFE73E5C05EA429A3E1547D78/S2056467821000050a.pdf/resilience_in_the_age_of_covid19.pdf">how resilient we humans can be</a>. These pandemic adaptions, and the fact that our pre-pandemic behaviour bounced back so quickly, shows how important social cues and social norms are to behaviour. Putting on a mask or keeping our distance from others were habits – <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002210311100254X">actions triggered automatically</a> in response to contextual cues, such as seeing signs with pictures of people socially distancing. Social norms – what we think others are doing – were key to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0277360">vaccine uptake</a> and to our uptake of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0884-z">preventative measures in general</a>. As these contextual cues disappeared and the social norms started to change, and as vaccine coverage increased and the risk to the majority decreased, our behaviour changed. The pandemic has also demonstrated how important social connections and social, especially physical, contact can be. This is something <a href="https://theconversation.com/handshakes-and-hugs-are-good-for-you-its-vital-they-make-a-comeback-after-the-pandemic-158174">we have already argued</a> COVID couldn’t keep at bay forever. According to social safety theory, which sees stress and wellbeing as a product of biological, psychological and social factors, COVID <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X2200001X">posed a threat</a> to the “social fabric that makes humans resilient and keeps us alive and well”. It’s unsurprising that life satisfaction and happiness were <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/7/e039334">lowest during lockdowns</a>, and <a href="https://www.covidsocialstudy.org/_files/ugd/064c8b_c525505ffa6b432f96dc41d6b6a985ea.pdf">recovered as people started to mix socially again</a>. <h2>The emergency isn’t over for everyone</h2> As we mark the end of the emergency phase it’s important to remember the <a href="https://covid19.who.int/">nearly seven million lives lost</a> due to COVID since 2020. And of course, we must consider that for some, especially those who are clinically vulnerable, the emergency is not yet over, and may never be. Although it’s no longer a Pheic, <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WHE-SPP-2023.1">as the WHO reminds us</a>, COVID is still responsible for millions of infections and thousands of deaths each week around the world. Also, thanks to long COVID, hundreds of millions of people are in need of longer-term care. In the future, we need to move from relying on the resilience of individuals to building resilience in our institutions. We can all take measures to continue to protect ourselves and those around us from COVID and other respiratory viruses (such as by <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00021-1/fulltext">hand washing</a> and keeping up to date with vaccinations). But responsibility for preventing public health emergencies shouldn’t rest <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/03/17/uks-coronavirus-policy-places-too-much-responsibility-in-the-hands-of-the-public/">solely in the hands of the public</a> Actions that governments, employers and health authorities can take now could <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/may/11/preventable-by-devi-sridhar-review-a-resolutely-global-view-of-covid">protect against</a> future <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34872923/">public health emergencies</a>. Systematically <a href="https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news/misinformation-covid-19-what-did-we-learn-2023-02-21_en">tackling misinformation</a>, <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240021280">improving ventilation</a> in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o327">schools</a>, workplaces and other public indoor spaces, and making longer-term improvements to paid sick leave are all good ways to start building more <a href="https://unsdg.un.org/resources/executive-summary-un-common-guidance-helping-build-resilient-societies">resilient societies</a> in preparation for the next pandemic. Hopefully this is something we will never see in our lifetimes. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-is-officially-no-longer-a-global-health-emergency-heres-what-that-means-and-what-weve-learned-along-the-way-205080" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Caring

21 more organising tips you'll wish you knew all along

Give in to the piles “For people who chronically pile papers instead of filing them, ditch your filing cabinet. Instead, keep your piles but make them a little more structured by putting them into clear bins and then labelling them by category. It’s best if bins are transparent—either wire or acrylic—because if you’re a piler then you also probably have a visual memory. Labelling helps other people interact with your piling system.” —Kelly McMenamin and Katie McMenamin, co-authors of Organise Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality Hang everything “Consider hanging almost all of your clothes. (You can use a double hanger to increase hanging space.) This helps you see everything you have so you know exactly what’s there and what you need. Drawers should be reserved for socks and underwear only.” —Kelly McMenamin and Katie McMenamin Don’t underestimate how draining clutter can be “Being surrounded by a lot of stuff can wear you down, physically and emotionally. Your home should be a reflection of items that truly hold meaning for you – either because you really like them or because there’s a special memory attached to them. Don’t hang onto unused picture frames, knick-knacks, plates, bowls, vases and other items you don’t have out on display or use. And remember, just because it’s hidden in a closet doesn’t mean it won’t add to that overwhelmed feeling you have as you still have to take care of it.” —Jeffrey Welder Note how your taste changes “Just because you loved something once doesn’t mean you still have to love it ten years later. Times change, people change, and trends change, and there’s nothing wrong with letting things go that no longer make you happy.” —Jeffrey Welder Over-the-door shoe organisers aren’t just for shoes “Hanging shoe organisers are a handy tool to keep clutter off floors and shelves, with uses for every room of your house. Try hanging one in your laundry room to organise all of your cleaning supplies. Or put one on your pantry door as the pouches are the perfect size to organise small boxes and gravy packets. Hang one in your bathroom to organise makeup and other toiletries. Use one in the playroom to keep Legos, matchbox cars, stuffed animals, and other small toys off the floor and in plain sight. Or try one in your workroom to keep all of your craft and wrapping supplies together.” —Jeffrey Welder Use the empty spaces above too “Under cabinets often end up packed to the gills (and hard to use) or half full of dead space. A simple solution is to use half shelves or stackable containers to use as much of the vertical area as you can.” —Schae Lewis and Bahar Partow Make it a game “Our clients love the ‘12-12-12 challenge.’ Each week, set a time to find 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home. It takes just a few minutes and is a fun, easy way to quickly organise 36 things in your house.” —Alison Bradley of the London Cleaning Team Throw a swap party “If you want to declutter without being wasteful, throw a party and invite friends to bring unused or unwanted items to swap. Everyone gets to go home with something new, and if you end up with leftovers, donate them to a local charity.” —Alison Bradley Shop your wardrobe “An easy way to declutter your wardrobe is to hold up each item and ask yourself, ‘Would I buy this again right now?’ If the answer is no, no matter what the reason is, out it goes.” —Hazel Thornton, professional organiser and author of Go with the Flow! The Clutter-Clearing Tool Kit for an Organised Life Question your stuff “For each item you consider bringing into the house, ask yourself three questions: Where is this going to live? Who will take care of it? Can I afford the money, time and energy it will require? If you don’t have a ready answer for any of these, then put it back.” —Hazel Thornton Start at the bottom of the pile and work up “For overwhelming paper piles, take a sheet from the bottom of the pile. The paper at the bottom is likely to be outdated, unneeded, even forgotten about, and no longer useful. That makes it easy to get rid of.” —Claire Tompkins, clutter coach and author of Five Minutes to a Relaxing Bedroom Can you handle the truth? "It’s hard to figure out what’s clutter in your own space because you’re so used to it. You take it for granted. Sometimes you can’t even see it. So pretend you’re showing a nosy visitor around. When she picks up that decorative box and asks you why you have it and if you like it, you may find yourself answering that it was left over from a white elephant sale and actually, no, you don’t even want it. The results can be surprising and liberating.” —Claire Tompkins Keep things where you actually need them “Put garbage or recycling bins where they’ll be used. If rubbish or recycling collect in the bedroom or living room, save yourself a trip and put the bins there, so you don’t have to go searching for them when you need them. Keep your shredder and recycling bin near where you process incoming mail. This allows you to take care of the paper right away rather than letting it pile up.” —Sarah Krivel, owner of Simpler Surroundings, a professional organising and productivity consulting company Cherish the memory with a photo “If you’re keeping something purely for sentimental reasons, take a picture and then give the item away. Recognise it’s the memory you cherish, not the actual item.” —Sarah Krivel Set a limit for decluttering “To avoid getting overwhelmed, I suggest to my clients to set the timer on their phones for a half hour. When the buzzer goes off they can stop! This can also be done by saying you’ll fill one bag to give away and then take a break. Often, just seeing their progress is motivation enough to keep going.” —Felice Cohen, professional organiser Get creative with repurposing old items “Sometimes something doesn’t need to be thrown out; sometimes it just needs to be used in a different way. For instance, use an empty tissue box to hold extra plastic grocery bags inside a kitchen pantry, cabinet, or closet. Or repurpose a bathroom towel rod by placing it on a garage wall to hold skateboards or longboards.” —Nancy Haworth, professional organiser, On Task Organising If you don’t love it or use it, lose it “This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s amazing what we can talk ourselves into keeping. For instance, gifts that we received and now feel obligated to keep forever, clothing that collects dust in our wardrobe but was too expensive to just get rid of, or childhood mementos that are taking over your storage space even though you’ve never taken the time to actually look back on them. If there is something that you are holding on to, be honest with yourself. Do you love it? Do you use it? Your home is a representation of yourself, and it should only be filled with items that you enjoy and use.” —Rachel Rosenthal, professional organiser and owner of Rachel and Company Don’t forget why libraries exist “If you have a large book collection, gather all your books from around the house so you can sort through them all together. Keep the ones you will still read, still reference, or have a particular love of. The rest can be donated. Remember, you can download many books now, and libraries still exist. Once you’ve whittled down your collection, decide how you would like to display your books: by topic, by author, by size, or by colour. Shelve the keepers accordingly. Create sections like a library or bookstore would have (thriller, reference, biography, comedy) or alphabetical by author.” —Amy Trager, certified professional organiser. Organise spices alphabetically “This allows you to quickly find what your recipe calls for, as well as figure out which spices your cabinet is missing. Whether in a drawer, laying flat, or in a cabinet on tiered shelves, alphabetizing will make grabbing spices quick and putting them away just as fast. If you enjoy cooking a lot and a variety of cuisines, you can also organise spices by cuisine type: Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, baking, etc.” —Amy Trager The bye-bye box “Take all supplies off of the top of your desk – pens, sticky notes, paper clips, etc – and put them in a box to the side. As you work, take out only the things you need to use. After two weeks, you’ll know what you actually use, and whatever hasn’t been taken out of the box can be discarded or donated.” —Sara Skillen Save the instructions “It makes sense that the manual for something like a printer, television, or computer should be kept next to or under the item it goes with. Sure, you could file them away, but chances are when you need the manual you will be standing next to the malfunctioning item. So simply slip the instructions underneath, taped to the back, or next to the equipment.” —Lee Silber, author of Organising from the Right Side of the Brain Image credit: Shutterstock This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/home-tips/42-organising-tips-youll-wish-you-knew-all-along" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Home Hints & Tips

21 organising tips you’ll wish you knew all along

The best organising ideas For many, organising is something that gets put off for months, but if you stay organised from the start and follow these tips, home organisation might not be such a daunting task. Learning how to organise from the start might be a lifestyle change, but in the end, it’s worth it. Read on to learn the best organising tips from the pros. Before you can get clutter out, you have stop it from coming in “The first step to winning the battle against clutter is to control what comes into your home. Unsubscribe from junk mail and catalogues you do not read. Stop shopping in bulk and buying non-necessities. Once the incoming flow of stuff and papers slows down or stops, you can focus on decluttering and organising what you have.” —Joanna Monahan, chief of external communications for Major Organisers. Channel Alice in Wonderland with an “Eat Me First!” fridge bin “Most households generate a lot of food waste, but you can cut it down just by having a dedicated – and labelled! – place in the fridge for leftovers and food that needs to be eaten quickly. This way the food actually gets eaten and you will be aware of what you have to buy soon.” —Lauren Haynes, expert in home organising and maintenance at Star Domestic Cleaners. Keep your “ice” on ice “Ice cube trays placed inside a drawer can really help you store and organise all kinds of little things that can easily get lost. They’re perfect for small pieces of jewellery, paper clips, or craft supplies.” —Lauren Haynes Kid’s clock and schedule, all in one “To structure your kid’s daily routine, get a simple white-faced clock and use different markers to colour the time segments for each activity like sleeping, bath time, or doing homework. Attach an activity list under the clock and you can keep your kid on schedule and on time.” —Lauren Haynes See shapes, not things “If you have groups of items that are shaped similarly (ie shoes in the bedroom or martini glasses in the kitchen), look at how to fit the shapes together instead of fitting the items. For example, if you are using shoe cubbies, put the shoes toe to heel instead of side by side. This way you can fit a pair of high heels in one cubby instead of two. You’ll be surprised how much more you can fit in a space when you look at shapes.” —Schae Lewis and Bahar Partow, co-founders of Mission 2 Organise LLC Forget the Pinterest projects “Being organised doesn’t have to be about being super creative or crafty like you often see online. For instance, you have probably seen the ‘trick’ to get 20 mason jars and glue the tops to the underside of a shelf, making cute storage for small items. But that’s a lot of work! And for what? Is that really making your life easier? I always tell my clients to look for the easiest solution to your organising problems, not the most creative.” —Alissa Dorfman, personal organiser and owner of Alissa Dorfman Home Organising Hook a kid up "When you have kids, always use hooks for their daily use items like coats and backpacks, rather than using hangers. Many kids lack the motor skills to get a coat on a hanger. Make sure the hooks are low to the ground so that the kids can reach them.” —Stacy Erickson Edwards, professional organiser with Home Key Organisation Ditch dressers “Instead of a traditional dresser, try a shelf with bins on it instead. This way, clothes don’t always have to be perfectly folded to close a drawer. Bonus: It will be easier for kids to put away their own clothes.” —Stacy Erickson Edwards Skip the shoe rack “Shoe racks are flimsy and rarely have enough space for all the shoes in a home, so use a bookcase instead.” —Stacy Erickson Edwards Don’t forget to clear out digital clutter “Digital clutter can be just as burdensome as physical clutter. To cut down on this, shut off automatic download of messages and start fetching emails only when you’re ready to deal with them. Also, set up a secondary email account for things like newsletters and promotional mail. Use an e-mail sorting system. Take five minutes every so often to clear out your pictures, text messages, music and other electronic files on a regular basis. Set up a recurring appointment on your phone calendar to remind you.” —Maura Thomas, founder of regainyourtime.com and author of Personal Productivity Secrets Have an electronics hub in every room "Have a place for all your mobile electronics, like iPads and phones, in every room you spend time in, not just in the kitchen or office. Since electronic items tend to move from room to room, having just one place in the home to store them doesn’t really work. Make the storage method fit each room. For instance, round baskets or an ottoman with storage can sit on the floor next to couches; decorative bowls or boxes function well on table tops; and magazine holders work in a tight space. Keep each station stocked with the necessities like different chargers, remotes and earphones.” —Jeffrey Welder of Vänt Wall Panels" Play the matching game “Start small, with one room or even just one drawer. Then empty everything out of the space and sort it into categories, grouping like items together. Once you see how much of each type of thing that you have, it will be easier to get rid of duplicates.” —Joanna Monahan Use a zone defence against clutter “Designate one place in your home, called a zone, for each category of items. For instance, have only one place for office supplies, one place for sports equipment, one place for shoes, and so forth. Clearly label each zone to help you and your family know where to look for [items] and to return items to their proper homes.” —Joanna Monahan Pick one of four destinations “It isn’t enough to pull out all the stuff you just don’t need. Purge it from your home by either trashing it, recycling it, thrifting it, or consigning it. This will help you become more mindful about what you really need.” —Evan Zislis, professional organiser and author of ClutterFree Revolution: Simplify Your Stuff, Organise Your Life & Save the World Your stuff should support your life goals, not the other way around “You need to clarify what is really important to you. Then organise the stuff that supports who you want to be and what you want to do before you’re dead and gone.” —Evan Zislis Freebies aren’t free “Just say no to free pads of paper, branded items, and other things you pick up at conferences, schools, or store events. Those items usually result in unused clutter around your house. Also say no to buy-one-get-one-free deals and bargains at the store too. Really, when are you ever going to use up six boxes of staples? And storing them isn’t free.” —Sara Skillen, Certified Professional Organiser Your refrigerator is your biggest cupboard “The refrigerator is one of the most frequently used ‘cupboards’ in the home, yet it is often forgotten when it comes to getting organised. Eliminate ‘lost’ food in the back by placing a lazy Susan at the rear of shelves to make rear spaces more functional and the items stored there, such as condiments, more accessible and usable. In addition, store food in clear glass standardised storage containers. When you can see the food, you are more likely to eat it.” —Debra Baida, owner of Liberated Spaces Make storage fun “For long-term results, design spaces with style and vibrancy, flexibility and function. This will give you the inspiration you’ll need to maintain your newly organised systems. In other words, make it fun and pretty!” —Evan Zislis Start organising your kitchen with the pantry “How many times have you gone to the store and wondered if you had pasta at home in your pantry? You’re not sure, so you buy another box, only to get home and find you have 20 already. To avoid this dilemma, pull everything out of your pantry and trash it if it’s expired. Donate unopened items you don’t like to a food bank. Then put your stuff back in but label your shelves with a name under each item. Only put foods on their designated shelf and you will never have to wonder how much pasta you really have.” —Alissa Dorfman Start organising your bedroom with the dresser “If you have an overflowing drawer, consider expanding it to two drawers, until every drawer can close. Next, narrow down how many types of things are in the same drawer. Only bras and underwear should have to share space. Lastly, move out-of-season or excess items into under-bed storage. —Alissa Dorfman Organise toys by age “How old are your kids? Do their toys reflect that? As kids grow, their toys change shape. In the beginning, everything is big and chunky with fewer pieces. A few years down the road, everything is teeny and collectible and kills if you step on it. Your playroom should reflect the ages of your kids and have different ways of organising the distinctly different toys. Use bins and Ziplock bags for all the little pieces, labelled so kids know which is for which. Communal areas, like dress-up and kitchen, should have big bins so clean-up is easier. Puzzles and board games should have a shelf, but make sure they too are separated by age, so each kid knows which area has their age-appropriate toys. Encourage taking out one thing at a time and remind them ten minutes before a playtime ends to clean up. You may have to help at first, but once your children know where every toy belongs, they are more than capable of cleaning up on their own.” —Alissa Dorfman Image credit: Shutterstock This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/home-tips/42-organising-tips-youll-wish-you-knew-all-along" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Home Hints & Tips

Bring your furry friend’s face along on your next big trip

Devoted pet lovers around the world are no stranger to the struggle of setting out on their next adventure without their faithful companions at their side. And while it can help to set a paw-fect portrait as a phone wallpaper to check in everytime the distance feels too much, it isn’t always enough - especially when you’re used to seeing their sweet little faces every single day. Luckily, the people over at July have come up with a solution in ‘Petsonalisation’. It’s something sure to set tails wagging, offering pet parents the exciting opportunity to have their best friend’s face on their suitcase and travel accessories. Forget limiting yourself to lettered monograms, all customers have to do is upload their desired pet pic, and then July will do the hard part for them - illustrating the image, and personalising the luggage, tags, bottles, kits, and notebooks on offer with the friendliest of faces. “People love their pets, and often pets are the ones you leave behind when you’re off travelling. We wanted to create a way for all travellers to be able to take their pets with them, no matter the journey,” July’s Richard Li explained. “Our personalisation offering has always been unique,” July’s Athan Didaskalou added. “We know that for something to be truly personal the offering needed to be diverse and inclusive. Multiple fonts, colours, emojis, and languages. In a world-first, I am excited to extend our personalisation service once more to include the most loveable beings in people’s lives: their pets. “We’re a customer-centric business and our products are derived from what people want, with over 50% of orders already opting for personalisation. Your suitcase stands out even more on a luggage carousel and is less likely to be mistaken for someone else’s bag when it’s got your initials on it. “A lot of people would love to be able to take their dog or cat on holiday with them, but with cost and customs, that’s just not an option. We like to think this is our way of enabling our customers to bring their pets on their travel adventures.” Since launching in 2019 with their Carry On suitcase, July have progressed in leaps and bounds, now offering <a href="https://july.com/au/shop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an entire suite of travel products</a> - from luggage to backpacks, bottles, phone cases, notebooks, and various other travel accessories. And now, the code ‘Petsonalisation’ can be applied for up to two pets per product on all of July’s luggage and accessories until April 25th - at $25 for accessories, and $65 for luggage. While dates are limited for July’s pet offering, they’re no stranger to personalisation, and have been offering enthusiastic customers the chance to create truly unique items since 2019. Their efforts are no small feat either, with shoppers able to “personalise up to five characters with 11 different font styles and 28 colours to choose from, even adding emojis”. And for those worried that they may not be limited in what they can write, July have an answer - they’re one of a limited number of companies worldwide, and the only one in Australia, to offer “personalised Chinese characters and additional Latin based languages such as French and Spanish for monogramming.” There’s no stress when it comes to having it sent your way either - as anyone in Australia or New Zealand is aware, postage costs can be half the battle - as with orders over $100, July offer free shipping. So, if you want to show the world your best pet friend, it’s time to hop on over to check out July’s range before April 25th, and <a href="https://july.com/au/pet-personalisation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get their face put front and centre</a>! Images: July [supplied]

International Travel

Actors who didn’t get along with their directors

When it comes to making a Hollywood blockbuster movie, there are always a lot of big personalities involved, both on and off screen. While actors and directors mostly collaborate in harmony to create movie magic (think Robert de Niro and Martin Scorsese), sometimes those on screen can’t stand the ones behind the camera. While a lot of the time these feuds can go unnoticed, there have been several times where the stars of a movie have come out swinging against their directors, despite the success of a film. Keira Knightley and John CarneyWorking together in the 2007 musical drama Begin Again, director John Carney dubbed actress Keira Knightley a “supermodel” and criticised her acting while speaking to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/john-carney-i-ll-never-make-a-film-with-supermodels-again-once-sing-street-interview-keira-knightley-a7053076.html">The Independent</a>. He said, “Being a film actor requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don’t think she’s ready for yet.”He has since apologised for his comments, but despite accepting his apology, Knightley said working on Begin Again was “very difficult” and the pair just “didn’t get on”.The cast of Steel Magnolias and Herbert RossDespite the 1989 film being a beloved classic, the tense production between director Herbert Ross and actresses Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley Maclaine and Dolly Parton became an issue for the cast. “My deepest memories of the film were how we bonded together after he told one of us or all of us we couldn’t act,” Sally Field said in 2013. “He went after Julia with a vengeance. This was pretty much her first big film.”In 1993, Ross commented on Julia Roberts’ acting, saying she “looked bad and gave a very bad performance,” prompting her to respond, “If he thinks he can talk about me in such a condescending way and not have me say something about it, then he’s nuts”.George Clooney and David O RussellOn the set of the 1999 film Three Kings, actor George Clooney said he confronted director David O Russell after he “went nuts on an extra”. “I would not stand for him humiliating and yelling and screaming at crew members, who weren’t allowed to defend themselves,” Clooney said in 2003.He went on to say that working on the film was “the worst experience of my life.”Faye Dunaway and Roman PolanskiThe feud between Dunaway and Polanski on the set of the 1974 film Chinatown went down in Hollywood lore, with the director dubbing the actress as “difficult” and a “gigantic pain”.In response to his accusations, Dunaway claimed that Polanski was “incessantly cruel” and has a “never-ending need to humiliate her”.In her autobioghraphy, she said his disgusting behaviour “bordered on sexual harrassment”.Bill Murray and Harold RamisAfter collaborating together on classic films such as Groundhog Day, Caddyshack and Ghostbusters, Murray and Ramis had a seemingly unbreakable comedic bond. However, on the set of Groundhog Day, the relationship between the pair escalated until Ramis ended up grabbing Murray by the shirt collar and throwing him against a wall, according to a 2018 biography of Ramis by his daughter Violet. According to the biography, Ramis was left “heartbroken, confused and yet unsurprised by the rejection”. More than 20 years later, Murray appeared at Ramis’ side when he was on his deathbed and proceeded to mend the relationship with his collaborator at the very last minute. Image credits: Getty Images

Movies

Why are homes still being built along rivers? Flooded residents disagree on the solution

Like many residents living near Calgary’s rivers, Irene’s house flooded in June 2013 when heavy rainfall melted the snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, inundating much of southern Alberta in what was, at the time, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/2810070/top-10-most-costly-disasters-in-canadian-history-for-insurers/">the costliest disaster in Canadian history</a>. Irene watched as her belongings floated down the street. Everything in her basement and the first level of her home had to be discarded into a trash pile in her front yard. Reflecting on this trauma and her home’s devastation, she said: “Developers get away with a lot of shit they shouldn’t get away with.” She recalled arguing years earlier with the developer about how close to the river it planned to build the houses, and wondered if it might have been worse had her home been built as close to the river as initially planned. I was part of a team <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15356841211046265">studying housing, environmental views and hazards</a> who interviewed residents of Calgary’s flood-affected neighbourhoods. Remarks like Irene’s were common. Calgary and many other cities, including <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/housing-development-in-ste-marthe-sur-le-lac-was-mainly-in-flood-zone">Montréal</a>, <a href="https://www.mapleridgenews.com/news/maple-ridge-council-proceeds-with-riverfront-subdivision/">Vancouver</a>, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-10-08/commentary-the-danger-of-development-in-flood-prone-areas">Myrtle Beach</a> and <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Even-after-Harvey-Houston-keeps-adding-new-homes-13285865.php">Houston</a>, continue to build houses in areas that hydrologists and engineers have designated as being high-risk for flooding. In most jurisdictions, home-builders are not financially liable for flooding for very long. In <a href="https://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/n03p2.pdf">Alberta, the window of liability is one year</a>, at which point the risk is transferred to homeowners. Following floods and other disasters, research shows that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0047">development of new housing does not slow</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sox054">but intensifies</a>, as flooded properties lose value, are bought by developers and, as memory of flooding fades, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/calgary-home-built-after-alberta-floods-11604521775">become lucrative investments</a>. <h2>The residents’ point of view</h2> The residents I spoke with viewed developers as myopic capitalists who choose profit over safety. Scott told me that while developers are responsible for driving the hazard risk, “You can’t blame the developers, they are … there to make bucks, right? And if the city says you can build there then, bingo!… They make a pile.” Surprisingly, even though their homes had been flooded, residents were not angry at developers for situating the houses close to a hazard. Rather, they were resigned to it. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434534/original/file-20211129-19-1bqnj0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A man wearing a mask and work gloves throws muddy debris into a pile next to a house." /> Yahya Abougoush helps clean up his parents’ house in High River, Alta., on July 3, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh When asked what they thought should be done to keep people safe from floods, residents had two very different suggestions. <h2>Better regulations</h2> A sizeable group of Calgarians favoured new government regulations limiting development in flood-prone areas to rein in developers. Rachel said, “They can’t build where the city says they can’t…. It has to be government who says it can’t be done.” Gary said he believes Calgary’s municipal government “lacks the balls” to stand up to developers and regulate floodplain development. When asked why that was, he said, “It’s about money” and the political influence that developers wield over city council. Residents viewed the municipal government as weak, ineffectual and unwilling to stand up to developers. Quite often, the same people who argued for better government regulations on floodplain development also insisted that government should provide home buyers with a disclosure of a home’s location in a flood-prone area, a move that the real estate industry has dubbed “idiotic” and one that would “<a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jeff-goodell/the-water-will-come/9780316260206/">kill the market</a>.” <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431443/original/file-20211111-27-1w1jkn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="A gravel path and some strips of grass separate a row of homes from a river." /> New homes in Riverstone, with Bow River visible on the left. (Timothy Haney), Author provided Tasha wished she had been informed of the risk prior to buying her home, and told us, “I have lived here for 42 years and I have never heard of ‘flood fringe’ … maybe realtors should be more upfront about that.” The flood fringe is the area adjacent to the river with measurable flood risk — usually greater than one per cent annual probability of flooding. Angela said any declaration must go beyond a simple disclosure and “explain what it means.” Many preferred this type of new regulation. <h2>Buyer beware</h2> As one might expect in Alberta, a place known for <a href="https://press.ucalgary.ca/books/9781773850252/">right-wing populism</a>, other participants pushed back against new regulations and said individuals must bear responsibility. They deferred to the sanctity of private property rights and their distaste for government overreach. They felt that buyers must beware, often mentioning the need for “common sense.” Caleb said, “I think people can live wherever they want, but I think they have to carry that risk.” Others called it “instinctual.” Sociologists, like me, are often critical of “common sense,” looking at how such taken-for-granted knowledge is a culturally dependent and contextually specific <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/678271">product of socialization</a>. Still, many Calgarians did not see it this way and did not believe that the government should infringe on private property rights. <h2>Precaution over profits</h2> Calgary, like many cities, continues to develop <a href="https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/development-dispute-chaparral-residents-say-proposed-community-would-put-their-homes-at-risk-1.5326215">new housing close to rivers</a>. New neighbourhoods like Riverstone and Quarry Park offer housing marketed for their picturesque living and river access. In other areas, older homes near the river are being <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/life/homes/condos/white-the-evolution-of-calgarys-infill-housing">razed to make room for infills</a> — usually two or more homes on an existing lot. These infill developments increase the density in river-adjacent communities, putting more residents at risk. The lack of consensus among the study participants was also noteworthy. Citizen activism tends to get mixed results in influencing government decision-making on development <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2019.1690337">even when</a> there is <a href="https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295748696/pushed-out/">relative consensus</a>. But in the case of restricting development near rivers, there is no such consensus, which may make it difficult for residents to mobilize. My own view is that municipal governments must stand up to moneyed development and home-building interests by restricting growth near rivers, which should instead be preserved as green space. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434535/original/file-20211129-59784-d6hlez.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="aerial view of a bend in a river with some elongated islands, several bridges and homes and business developments on each bank." /> After floods in 1993 and 1995, and facing future flooding due to climate change, the Dutch city of Nijmegen gave more room to the Waal River during periods of high water by relocating a dike and dredging a new channel. (DaMatriX/Wikimedia), <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-SA</a> This approach is often called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2020.1723604">room for the river</a>,” and is particularly popular in northern and western Europe. With this approach, areas immediately adjacent to waterways are preserved, providing esthetic and recreational value, and people are moved away via buyouts when necessary. New development is restricted. It has been imported and applied in North American cities such as <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/cities-around-globe-eagerly-importing-dutch-speciality-flood-prevention-180973679/">Norfolk, Va.</a>, though with varying degrees of consistency and success. The more volatile climate we are experiencing as a result of climate change will undoubtedly bring new flood events near rivers and mounting flood losses. Society must work harder to keep people and property away from the water, starting with halting new developments near these hazards. The first step in getting out of a hole, of course, is to stop digging.<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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171660/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-j-haney-1032153">Timothy J. Haney</a>, Professor of Sociology and Board of Governors Research Chair in Resilience & Sustainability, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/mount-royal-university-966">Mount Royal University</a> 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/why-are-homes-still-being-built-along-rivers-flooded-residents-disagree-on-the-solution-171660">original article</a>. Image: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Home Hints & Tips

Titmus launches to legend status – along with her coach

Ariarne Titmus has won gold in the 400m freestyle in a surprise victory, overtaking American Katie Ledecky in the final 50m. Titmus’ victory comes as Ledecky’s first ever loss of an individual event at a Games, with the Aussie victor winning by 0.67 seconds. As amazing as the win was for Titmus, the reaction of her coach, Dean Boxall, has sent social media into a frenzy. Footage from the Games shows Boxall grabbing his mask, punching the air, shaking the fence, and enthusiastically shouting following Titmus’ win. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> SHOUT AHT DEAN BOXALL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Olympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/NyjgB0A3dz">pic.twitter.com/NyjgB0A3dz</a> — Lord Zito (@VivalaZito) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivalaZito/status/1419485527632498700?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2021</a></blockquote> His zealous reaction soon made him an internet sensation, with his excitement quickly being shared across social media. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Ariarne’s coach Dean Boxall sums it up perfectly! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TokyoTogether?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TokyoTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/Kvww2jpSFy">pic.twitter.com/Kvww2jpSFy</a> — AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) <a href="https://twitter.com/AUSOlympicTeam/status/1419488700069683201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2021</a></blockquote> Joe Pompliano, a US-based sports and business writer, tweeted: “Ariarne Titmus’ coach just had the best reaction of all time to her 400-metre freestyle gold medal win over Katie Ledecky.” Others were concerned the coach’s popularity would outshine the successful swimmer. “I can already foresee Titmus’ uncomfortably aggressive coach getting more media attention in the US than she does, and I am pre-emptively very very very annoyed by it!!” American sports writer Lindsay Gibbs tweeted. Titmus struggled to keep her emotions in check ahead of her heats in the 200m swim later in the day, but was thrilled with the victory. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. This past year I don’t know whether it’s gone fast or slow, but to get here was a relief. To come here and do the job. I’m over the moon,” Titmus said. “I thanked her. I wouldn’t be here without her. She set this incredible standard. All credit to her for the swimmer she is. I’ve been trying to chase her. Really exciting now we have this battle going. It’s really fun to race. “The race, I tried to stay as composed as I could, then just tried to stick to my race plan. I can’t believe I pulled it off.” Boxall was in tears at the medal ceremony while embracing Australia’s newest champion. “It was actually hard to contain it (the emotion),” Titmus said. “I could see Dean on the other side bawling his eyes out. You don’t see that that often so that made me want to tear up.” Image: Ariarne Titmus / Instagram, Adrian Arculi / Twitter

News

Appalling discovery along popular national park bike track

Cyclists on the central coast of NSW made a horrifying discovery over the weekend while riding through a popular national park. Many young families and bikers ride out to Bouddi National Park and Scott Uzelac, who is a keen mountain biker, is one of them. While cycling with friends near Maitland Bay which is located inside the park, they were surprised when one suffered a flat tyre. The group quickly realised what caused the flat. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837172/park-bike.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c0cece9748e74de2a0d8c3e49747d6cd" /> “I thought there must be a sharp root or something there so I started kicking the area and I couldn’t see anything,” he explained to <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/central-coast-cyclists-booby-trap-discovery-bouddi-park-track-211146279.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News Australia.</a> Mr Uzelac then saw a leafy area which he also put his foot through, striking something hard. “I got down on my knees and saw this row of nails sticking out a piece of 30 by 40 with two big anchor bolts... I couldn’t even count how many nails were sticking out.” <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837171/park-bike-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/10a1c9b4beac42b288b9eb556e72b106" /> Mr Uzelac says it’s an area he visits with his children, and “freaked out” over the startling discovery. “I was shocked and a bit dumbfounded. I just couldn't believe somebody's done that, to be honest,” he said. “If [my children] trod on it in the right way, the nails are that long it would have gone straight through their feet and through the other side.” The Kincumber resident said many of the trails in the area, including the one he and his friends were on, have been created by mountain bikers due to a lack of routes. However he says they are not recognised as official tracks. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837170/park-bike-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/15a52e11bd4d463ba1157dc5ed5d49a1" /> The 41-year-old also pointed out that there has been an influx of walkers now using the unofficial tracks, who are furious with the cyclists using the paths. “Some of the older walkers think they have the right [of way over cyclists], I’ve heard of some of the older bushwalkers throwing sticks on the trails so people can’t ride through them,” he said. Mr Uzelac took the booby trap to Terrigal police station. <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/central-coast-cyclists-booby-trap-discovery-bouddi-park-track-211146279.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News Australia</a> reports investigations into its placement on the track are ongoing. The father said there was growing pressure among riders to have designated routes identified by the local council, to distinguish separate pathways for cyclists and walkers. Images: Scott Uzelac

Travel Trouble

Driving along Central Otago highway

Justine and Chris Tyerman continue their ‘age-inappropriate’ road trip in a mini campervan, revisiting places in Central Otago Justine last travelled as a child... Driving along magnificent stretches of Central Otago highway without a care in the world, the sun streaming down from a clear, blue, autumn sky, we encountered some extraordinarily-friendly gestures from the occupants of other bright green and purple rental vehicles approaching or passing us on the open road — waves, thumbs-ups and beaming smiles. We reciprocated, being careful to arrange our fingers in a non-offensive configuration, of course. We had such enthusiastic responses it inspired us to be even more inventive so I held up a “Kia Ora” sign, assuming most of them were visitors to Aotearoa. After many such greetings over the next few hours, we decided to call this phenomenon the “JRW”, the JUCY Recognition Wave, brand recognition and brand bonding on a grand scale. I also detected expressions of surprise and/or amusement on the faces of the invariably young occupants of the other vehicles as they glimpsed a couple of oldies travelling in a mini-camper. Did they think we were cool... or crazy? And did we care? Not two hoots! We were like a couple of teenagers on their first roadie as we meandered our way from Wanaka to the Catlins, revisiting places in Central Otago last travelled as a child. In those days, the narrow, winding Cromwell Gorge road was just another obstacle to endure on our long car trips from Dunedin to our little crib in Arrowtown. But the old road is long gone now, submerged by Lake Dunstan — and the new road is straighter and much higher up the side of the gorge wall, closer to the craggy, weathered mountain tops that used to tower above us. Fifteen minutes from Cromwell, the curved rim of the Clyde Dam loomed into view, the 103m-high concrete gravity structure that holds back the 26 sq km hydro-power storage reservoir of Lake Dunstan. Shortly after the completion of the Clyde Dam in 1993, we had a guided tour of the power station including a walk-through of the dimly-lit, vibrating interior corridor of the dam wall. I doubt I would do that now having researched the history of the dam construction in PM Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” era, the discovery of fault lines above the one million cubic metres of concrete and steel dam and the safety compromises made back then. Clyde has transformed itself into a seriously-classy village since the days we used to drive through the sleepy settlement stopping for a cuppa beside the river. Now the start and end point of the immensely-popular 152km Otago Central Rail Trail, Clyde has a great range of accommodation and eateries including Olivers, an upmarket craft brewery, bar, bakery-café, and gourmet restaurant with boutique accommodation, located in the old stone, gold rush-era general store. Six or seven minutes further on is Alexandra whose claim to fame in my teenage years was the October Blossom Festival. I seldom managed to get there because I was always in Dunedin, buried in my books, studying for end-of-year exams. Alexandra reached its heyday during the late 1800s when huge gold dredges worked the mighty Clutha River/Mata-Au. The most successful dredge was the “Dunedin”, which extracted around 528kg of gold. Today Alexandra is known for its pinot noir vineyards and apricots, peaches, cherries and apples. In mid-winter, we used to go ice skating on nearby Manorburn Dam, the largest natural ice skating area in the Southern Hemisphere. The dam has been a popular place to skate and play ice hockey and the game of “curling” since the late 1880s. Parts of the dam still freeze over but most people now go to the artificial rink in town. They sure knew how to build beautiful bridges in the old days. The graceful stone towers of the historic bridge over the Clutha River/Mata-Au, built from 1879 to 1882, still stand strong and proud in New Zealand’s swiftest river. The vivid turquoise of the Clutha against the bright gold of the autumn poplars and willows on the riverbank, with the deeply-weathered rocks on the hillsides above, is stunning. The replacement bridge, built in 1958, looked so utilitarian and ordinary by comparison. We stopped for morning tea beside the river, soaking up the warm autumn sun. The little kitchen with its gas cooker, fridge and sink tucked into the back of the JUCY Cabana was incredibly convenient when we wanted to take a break in a beautiful spot. Near the bridge, van-loads of excited cyclists were setting off to do the Roxburgh Gorge Trail, a 34km ride along the Clutha River from Alexandra to Lake Roxburgh Dam with a boat link in the middle. Combining fascinating goldmining era history, stunning scenery and wildlife, this is definitely top of my must-do list. A remote wilderness experience with no road access, the trail passes through what’s described as New Zealand’s “Grand Canyon” with rocky bluffs 350m high on both sides of the river. I’ve always regarded Roxburgh as the heart of Central Otago, “well-suited to the making of Westerns”, my father used to say whenever we drove over the wild, barren landscape scattered with jagged, grey-brown rocks. Roxburgh’s hot, dry summers and cold winters are ideal for growing apricots, apples, pears, raspberries and strawberries. We used to stop to pick sturmer apples at a friend’s orchard there. Roxburgh is near the site of the earliest of the large hydroelectric projects in the South Island. Opened in 1956, the concrete gravity structure dams the Clutha River/Mata-Au, 9km to the north of the town of Roxburgh creating a lake 30km long. The land flattens out towards Raes Junction so we took a detour just before Lawrence, opting for the Tuapeka West Road to Balclutha. What an incredible contrast. Suddenly we were surrounded by rolling green pastures populated with well-fed sheep and cows and barely a rock or weed in sight. A huge dairy factory stood in the middle of nowhere. At Balclutha, we headed towards Kaka Point and the much-anticipated start of our Catlins adventure, all new territory for us. I stood there gazing at the silvery sea and white sands of Molyneux Bay on New Zealand’s south-east coast. It all seemed far too easy to have left the snow-capped mountains of Wanaka in the morning, traversed the wild and arid heart of Central Otago and the verdant pastures of Tuapeka, and arrived at the seaside by lunchtime. That’s one of a myriad of things I love about our Aotearoa backyard. The contrasts are huge but the distances are not... Next story: The Catlins Read the first of Justine’s road trip stories <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/international-travel/exploring-our-own-backyard" target="_blank">here</a>. Factbox: • Pick up a JUCY campervan, 4WD, people-mover or car from <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.jucy.com/" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable">JUCY</a> Rentals at Queenstown Airport. We’ve tried them all but this time we had a two-berth JUCY Cabana mini campervan with a double bed and a little kitchen, which gave us the freedom to camp out whenever we felt like it. The Cabana is not self-contained so we stayed at camping grounds and met some awesome people along the way. We liked the ease and manoeuvrability of the basic little campervan and the freedom of not being tied to an itinerary or pre-booked accommodation.

International Travel

5 ways to get along with the people who bother you

Susan Krauss Whitbourne is a professor of Psychology and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She writes the Fulfilment at Any Age blog for Psychology Today. You’ve got a colleague who is constantly getting on your nerves, due to his bossiness and insensitivity. In meetings, he is always trying to upstage you, and he seems to lack some basic human relationship ingredients like respect and courtesy. You can’t escape him, so how can you possibly manage your feelings so that his actions don’t make you miserable? Consider, also, the case in which you see someone regularly who you also can’t avoid, because it’s a person you need a service or product from. It may be the person who cuts your hair (who’s great, but talks incessantly), or the barista at your coffee shop: You try to put a positive spin on your interactions with her, but she just gets under your skin. Conflicts are an inevitable part of relationships, but when the relationship is with someone who isn’t necessarily all that close, it can be difficult to find the words to bring down the heat. If you tell your hair stylist not to talk so much, she may give you a bad haircut, or that barista may make your latte way too sweet. You could still switch hair salons or coffee shops, though, if the situation really deteriorated, but co-workers with whom you have longstanding relationships present a different case: They are both less avoidable and less interchangeable. You would hardly leave your job over them, without some other very good reason. And if the person who bothers you is a family member or neighbour, there really is no easy way out. One of the reasons people bother other people has to do with what <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/freud" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at Freud">Freud</a> referred to as countertransference. You’ve probably heard of transference, which is the process through which a patient transfers feelings held toward <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/parenting" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at parents">parents</a> onto the therapist. In traditional <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/psychoanalysis" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at psychoanalysis">psychoanalysis</a>, transference becomes an important part of the therapeutic process. Psychoanalysts themselves also experience feelings toward their patients, and then they must confront and manage those feelings. As they do, the therapists are better able to understand how their patients interact with people in their own everyday lives. A recent study conducted by the University of Maryland’s Andrés E. Pérez-Rojas and colleagues (2017) provides insight into the process of countertransference, putting it to an empirical test. A sample of 382 supervisors identified through the American Psychological Association’s directory of practicing therapists completed the online Countertransference <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/leadership" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at Management">Management</a> Scale (CMS). They rated their employees on a variety of behaviors representing the handling of their feelings toward their patients. Items on the CMS relevant to the general concept of being bothered by others include, for example, “Effectively sorts out how his/her feelings relates to client’s feelings,” “Is able to step into client’s inner world,” and “Understands the basis for own atypical reactions to clients." In condensing the countertransference scale down to its underlying dimension, Pérez-Rojas et al. identified two factors — the ability to be empathic toward clients, and the ability to understand oneself and manage anxiety, or as they define it, the “possession of appropriate boundaries within the therapy hour, and an ability to contain, regulate, and experience <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/anxiety" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at anxiety ">anxiety</a> during <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/therapy" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at psychotherapy">psychotherapy</a>." Translating these items to your own interactions with the people who bother you, this would mean that being able to tap into the other person’s worldview and then hold onto your feelings of being bothered would be adaptive coping strategies. With this study in mind, let’s look now at those five tips on handling the people who bother you: 1. Reframe the situation in a positive light. As bothered as you are by this person’s behavior, ask whether you’re so sure that this person is a truly bothersome individual. People can be poorly behaved for many reasons, and it’s possible that your overly talkative hair stylist is simply lonely. She may also believe that her clients wish her to talk constantly, and there may even be some truth to this. It’s just you who finds her conversational style to be one that makes you uncomfortable. 2. If possible, obtain validation that the bothersomeness comes from the other person rather than you. There are some people who you will never like, no matter what, because you just don’t. They may be perfectly fine in general, but they are not your cup of tea. As the Pérez-Rojas and colleagues study showed, countertransference is almost unavoidable, no less so in therapy than in everyday life. This person may remind you of a teacher you absolutely could not stand or the brother of a friend who just rubbed you the wrong way. To find out if this is the case, ask a friend to either back you up or, alternatively, show you’re wrong. If the person is not objectively bothersome, you can learn what it is about you and your past that causes you to feel this way around certain people. 3. Try to help the person become less bothersome. If the person is just generally boorish and rude, perhaps you can figure out a way to help intervene with some suggestions for toning things down. Rather than writing the person off as just plain bad or irredeemable, your positive interventions could help change his or her life. This is particularly important with people whose problematic behavior is a constant feature of your life together. Start the conversation off with an “I” statement about how this behavior affects you, rather than by hurling complaints or attacks at them. Such steps would be consistent with the first factor of the CMS involving being able to empathize with others as a vital skill in therapy. 4. Don’t let your feelings about this person gnaw away at you. The more you think about this individual, the angrier you get, so the logical thing to do is to stop yourself from replaying your unpleasant conversations in your head. Similarly, don’t let your unhappiness leak out into your interactions with other people in your support network. Based on the Pérez-Rojas et al. study’s second CMS factor, managing your feelings will help you react in a more adaptive manner when people bother you. 5. If the situation is truly actionable, then find out how best to act. The bothersome behavior may include inappropriate attention directed to you that could qualify as harassment. If this is in the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/career" target="_blank" title="Psychology Today looks at workplace">workplace</a>, there are steps you can take, as outlined by Smith (2018) and described on the <a href="http://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/special-topics/sexual-harassment" target="_blank">APA Center for Organizational Excellence</a> website. If the harassment occurs with family members, friends, or neighbors, you won’t be able to turn to this form of protection. Make notes about the incident or incidents, and then plan your strategy. Seek out a family member who you think will be objective and hear your side fairly. In the case of a person you interact with around the neighborhood or community, there may be no way that you can act other than to stay away or to make your unhappiness clear to the person, and then walk away if necessary. Therapists may have supervisors with whom they can share their feelings toward their clients, but in the everyday world, you have to rely on other sources of support. Fulfillment in relationships can come from many sources, and when a relationship is particularly unfulfilling, it may be worth finding out what’s behind your feelings of being bothered. Not all of these feelings can be resolved, but if you’re willing to make the effort to manage them, you may find the outcome will be pleasantly surprising. Written by Susan Krauss Whitbourne. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au" target="_blank">Psychology Today.</a>

Relationships

Small car dragged 10 metres along a Sydney road by a truck

Dash cam footage has captured the moment a Mini Cooper was dragged 10 metres down a busy Sydney road by a truck. The footage, which was uploaded to Facebook group Dash Cam Owners Australia, has sparked a debate online as to whether the truck driver could’ve seen the Mini hoping to merge into his lane. It is believed the collision occurred at the intersection of Sam Johnson Way and Epping Road, in Sydney’s Lane Cove. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDashCamOwnersAustralia%2Fvideos%2F1706496499409983%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> The video shows the blue Mini Copper travelling in the left lane at the intersection. The car then attempts to move out of the lane, sneaking in front of a large truck to the right without using an indicator. When the lights turn green, the car is halfway across the lane and the truck driver takes off, dragging the Mini for about 10 metres. “Might have been better off just going left,” the dash cam owner said of the incident. Some viewers believe that the truck driver was at fault, saying that he should face repercussions for his actions. “That truck driver is a loose cannon and company needs to fire him,” wrote one Facebook user. “Regardless of the car cutting in, there is no justification in the truck driver’s actions.” However, many believe that the Mini is at fault for not knowing that they were merging into the lane at a blind spot for the truck. “Please hand your licence in if you don’t realise this is a massive blind spot for a truck,” wrote one person. “He can’t see them, put a box next to the front passenger quarter panel of your car, jump in the driver’s seat and see if you can see it.” “I’m a truckie myself and believe me I cop this every day,” wrote another. “It makes me laugh how some people will say why didn’t he check his blind spot. “It’s called a blind spot for a reason. All I can say is if u stay in a truck’s blind spot expect to get hit but remember one thing, trucks don’t do fender benders.” Who do you think is at fault? Let us know in the comments below.

Insurance

Artists create realistic beached whale along Paris' Seine

Parisians and tourists were shocked to find the corpse of a beached whale lying on the side of the Seine across from the famous Notre Dame. It turned out not to be a real beached whale but a realistic piece of artwork by the Belgian artists, Captain Boomer. The group of artists have staged seven other “beachings” in cities across Europe. <iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0JUxJ6g8pII?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> On the artists’ website, the confronting and realistic artworks are a “gigantic metaphor for the disruption of our ecological system.” The video shows the whale lying on the edge of the Seine with the Notre Dame in the distance.

Art

Life on a European river cruise along the Danube

Delayed at the airport in Nuremberg and thoroughly frazzled, we checked and re-checked our watches as the kilometres ticked by, with the Danube River and our Scenic River Cruises ship, the Pearl, nowhere to be seen. Gunter, meanwhile, hired to drive us to the dock in Vilshofen, for a nine-day Danube cruise and long-planned family holiday, calmly fiddled with the radio, tuning in to a soccer match and then a music station. Finally he switched it off and sighing thoughtfully, gazed into the rearview mirror. "The ship is waiting," he remarked. "No worrying. Like American movies say, only rolling with the punches." <img width="498" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36763/in-text-1_498x280.jpg" alt="In Text 1 (7)"/> A classic cliff-side pile overlooking a slight bend in the Danube, this castle, not far from the 18th-century Benedictine Abbey and Library at Melk, was identified by the ship's crew as Schonbuhel Schloss (castle). Built atop a rock fronting the river, it's invincible from below and enjoys clear views up and down the Danube. Unlike many ruined castles along the Danube, Schonbuhel has survived intact. Words to live by, indeed. With the Danube at flood levels, there was no way the 167-passenger Pearl was going anywhere, not that night. Arriving just as the welcome-aboard party ended, we managed a glass of champagne and a hurried handshake with Captain Gyula Toth. Nor was the next day wasted. Though it rained on and off, the kids kept busy exploring the ship and biking along the river path while I rescheduled excursions, piano concerts, and museum visits. Joining a tour of Passau, we drew a law student for a guide, an amateur historian as entertaining as he was knowledgeable. By bedtime we'd met enough people to discover that we – another passenger and I – had attended the same high school. As for the Danube River, molten silver by moonlight, it looked as harmless as a backyard fishpond. Until the next morning, when it reared up with a roar, rising another foot, flooding towns and fields, lapping at the undersides of bridges and thwarting cruise passengers. <img width="500" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36762/in-text-2_500x280.jpg" alt="In Text 2 (6)"/> Once a tiny village and palace on the Moldau River, Cesky Krumlov could have been the model for Disney's Magic Kingdom. Now a bustling destination for holiday makers from five continents, its narrow cobbled streets are lined with dozens of gift, craft, food and souvenir shops. It was then – still docked in Vilshofen – that I noticed Captain Toth had gone to ground. "He gave a talk our first night, but after that nothing," said New Zealander Janet Holmes, a veteran ocean cruiser, who was eager to get going. "I've always wanted to see the Danube," she said. "If they had a regular Captain's Table, like the big cruise ships do, we could ask him when we're leaving." <img width="500" height="284" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36761/in-text-3_500x284.jpg" alt="In Text 3 (1)"/> The House of Parliament, fronting the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, seems every bit the fairy castle when seen at sunset from the deck of the Scenic Pearl. Hope sprang anew when Hotel Manager Miguel Rodriquez called a meeting. But when he announced that two other ships had hit a bridge, blocking our route, a muttered protest swept the lounge. "Why can't we just leave? I paid for this and I want to go, or I want my money back," yelled a tough-looking character who said he'd been on 20 cruises and expected better. What he didn't realise was that river cruising is nothing like ocean cruising. Water levels change. The current never stops. Whirlpools gouge the river bottom, shifting sandbars. Tributaries deposit debris. Some low bridges are impassable. And the water can rise in minutes. Or fall just as fast. A couple hours later the river levels dropped, the sun came out and the Pearl cast off, heading downstream between low mountains, beside rocky cliffs, and past ancient castles and vineyards. <img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36759/in-text-4_497x280.jpg" alt="In Text 4"/> The stone bridge over the Danube, built in 1146, connects Regensburg's "new town" with the historic "old" town on the far side. At rear, the Strudel Tower, is so-named for "the whirlpool eddies, or strudels, in the river below," said City guide Ulrike Unger. The oldest of Regensburg's 20 towers, they count less than half of the 50 towers that once graced this medieval town. "It's like driving a car," said Toth when I finally found him in the bridge house, hunkered down and peering at the current. "You can't take your eyes off the road – or the river – for a minute," he said, gesturing to the first mate to take the helm while we talked. "You can't stop to look at a map, or even get a cup of coffee. I've been on the Danube for more than 20 years, from one end to the other, and there's always something new." A slow start not withstanding, we made it to every port on the itinerary. At Passau, Regensburg and Durnstein we had a choice: to walk into town, ride the bus, join a guided tour, or admire the landscape from the seat of one of the ship's electric bikes. Full and three-quarter-day bus tours went farther afield (thank you, Scenic, for the newest, plushest, sleekest buses ever); to Salzburg (this earned a thumbs down as too far and too many tourists) and to Cesky Krumlov, in the Czech Republic. Vienna offered a variety of choices, from sightseeing and the Lipizzaner horses to museums and a piano recital at the Liszt Music School. Our dressiest evening added a touch of class, with wine and an opera recital at the Palais Liechtenstein. On-ship events included a Viennese waltz performance and beginners' lesson, and a folk dance group and band. On my first Danube River cruise – some 20 years ago – I spent entire days on the top deck watching valleys give way to mountains and back to valleys. There were few organised excursions and even fewer cruise ships going by. But the Pearl, with my family in tow, was much more in the moment. The kids immediately invented a competitive "spot-the-ships" game that awarded points for each sighting, a list that included Tauck Tours' Joy, A-Rosa's Silva and Bella, Ama's Prima, Scenic's Jasper, the Jane Austen, Emerald's Sky, Prinzessin's Sisi, two Uniworld ships (we missed the names), and three Viking River Cruises' ships. From a basket of memorable moments, I'd pick Durnstein for history and Cesky Krumlov for crafts. Built on steep terraces, tiny Durnstein is unique. But its stand-out feature is the hike uphill to the ruined castle on the rocks. For me, seeing the place where in 1192, England's King Richard I, returning home from the Third Crusade, was imprisoned for two years, put the Crusades on the map. In Cesky Krumlov, our sunny day wandering through this 13th-century restored Czech hamlet, soon became a Tiffany-meets-Disneyland with dozens of sparkly stores on cobblestone streets. Built astride the Moldau River and bypassed by every major war, the town is now a designated Unesco Heritage site, making it (for all you film location managers reading this) a set just waiting for a story. Talking to Toth about working with Scenic Cruises produced another surprise. On the Danube, captains have just one task: steering. "Our union rules don't permit us to do anything except navigate," he said. "My duty is to deliver the ship and the passengers safely and on schedule." He paused and thought it over. "See them, over there? That's why steering is harder than it used to be," he said, waving to three cruise vessels going the other way, each with a different outfit. "There are dozens of cruise ships now, and more on the way." The result is a critical shortage of experienced employees, from cruise directors down to dining room waiters. Forced to hire beginners, service levels now vary from ship to ship. A few travellers couldn't avoid comparisons. "We booked it because it's advertised as a luxury cruise," said Richard Holway, chairman of TechMarketView, a UK firm. "But not by our standards. We're very disappointed. The cabin and excursions are fine enough, certainly. But the service doesn't compare with Silver Seas, where the staff greet you by name, ask after you every day, and your waiter keeps an eye on you throughout the meal. These fellows don't even notice when you try to get their attention." But most passengers gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. The fact that the waiters, new hires from Romania and Bulgaria, were inattentive, didn't matter. They were thrilled to be vacationing on a famous river and fascinated by new places and cultures. They liked the meals and praised the all-inclusive pricing. Even disappointed travellers eventually softened up. "We've had a very good time," said Janice Holmes, who had to move from one cabin to another when a mystery leak soaked her rug, not once but twice. "These things happen but you can't let it bother you," she said, waving goodbye. Words to live by, for sure. More information <a href="http://www.scenic.com.aucruising/" target="_blank">www.scenic.com.au</a>. Cruising there The Pearl and the Ruby, sister ships, sail in 2017 on the Rhine and Moselle. A newer ship, the Jade, sails on the Danube between Nuremberg and Budapest on June 5 and 12. Written by Anne Z. Cooke. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a> Image credit: Steve Haggerty via Stuff.co.nz.

Cruising

Opera-loving dog loves to sing along to Andrea Bocelli

Meet Oscar, the Golden Retriever. He loves opera and he loves to sing. But only to one particular song – Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer." YouTube user Michael Baker writes: “My dog Oscar always howls when my mom plays this part of "The Prayer" on the piano so we decided to catch him on video. He only howls during this part of the song, and so far, it has only worked for this song. I thought I would share with the world because my family thinks it's hilarious.” Well, we think if you’re on to a good thing, don’t stop. Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPpsCNd_TP0">Michael Baker</a> Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/08/helpless-dogs-that-had-their-bed-stolen-by-the-cat/">12 helpless dogs that had their bed stolen by the cat</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/2016/05/10-puppies-who-look-adorable-sleeping/">10 puppies who look adorable sleeping</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/03/top-10-favourite-cat-sleeping-positions/">Top 10 favourite cat sleeping positions</a>

News

Tiger casually walks along Gold Coast beach

A tiger cub from Dreamworld on the Gold Coast has stunned onlookers when she casually strolled along Main Beach, dipping her paws in the ocean just like the rest of us. Adira the tiger cub was given the excursion of a lifetime yesterday morning, when handlers and police took her to the water’s edge in a novel – yet beautiful – attempt to raise awareness for tiger conservation. “Only 100 years ago, there were more than 100,000 tigers roaming the forests of Asia and Russia,” director of the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation Al Mucci said in a statement. “Today, tigers are critically endangered with less than 3,000 left in the wild.” Adira was chosen from the park’s seven adult tigers and five cubs to take a walk along the beach to raise funds for the conservation of her species, and one lucky photographer had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the big cat, snapping some gorgeous – and surreal – photos of the experience. “Tigers in the wild would often encounter new environments and situations so it was a very enriching experience for Adira,” Mucci explained. “She seems to have loved her first, and most-likely only, visit to a Gold Coast beach. Take a look at Adira’s morning by the sea in the gallery above. The images truly are beautiful and perfectly capture the majesty and dignity of these incredible creatures. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2016/09/kitten-rescued-from-highway/">Tiny kitten rescued from the middle of highway</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/09/dog-trapped-in-barn-for-six-years-finally-gets-a-haircut/">Dog trapped in barn for six years finally gets a haircut</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/09/cows-casually-stroll-through-womens-front-yard/">Cows casually stroll through women’s front yard</a>

News

How to cope with a jealous pet when grandkids come along

For many pet owners, introducing them to the grandchildren can be nerve wracking. Often we don’t know how our animals will behave if they haven’t been exposed to little people before. Here are some tips to make the introduction smooth and the relationship strong. Try to leave the pet’s space alone Many animals don’t like change, and tend to have their favourite spots to sit or sleep. Now isn’t the time to move the dog’s basket to make room for a playpen. Make changes early If you do need to move furniture around or turn your spare room into a nursery, do this well in advance so that your pet has a chance to get used to the changes. Allow your pet to have a nose about Most likely you will be getting some new furniture, toys or clothes to keep in the house. Let your pet sniff around and get used to them before they meet the little people. Invite some kids over If your pet has not had much exposure to kids or babies, you could try inviting a friend with children over for a visit to see how they react. This will give you the heads up if your pet goes absolutely crazy – you might need to then consider keeping them outside when the grandchildren come, at least at first. You could also try taking your dog to a park so that they can get used to the noises of children. Give lots of attention If you find that your pet does seem a bit jealous, remember that they may need a bit more love and attention than usual. Give extra cuddles, go for a few walks, and do the things your pet enjoys to let them know they haven’t lost their place in your heart. Ensure they are well trained Your pet may need to take part in some obedience training if you are finding they are acting in a jealous manner or starting to show signs of wanting to bite. The dog needs to know who is boss and this way you will have more control over them if things go awry. How did your pet deal with the introduction of grandkids? We would love to hear from you in the comments. Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/06/do-our-pets-dream/">Do our pets dream?</a> <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/05/special-bond-between-senior-dogs-and-their-owners/">Images capture special bond between senior dogs and their owners</a> <a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/05/things-you-did-not-know-could-poison-your-pet/">8 things you didn't know could poison your pet</a>

Family & Pets

4 on-screen couples who didn’t get along behind the scenes

Despite their on-screen chemistry, not all movie stars get along well on set. Here are four examples of co-stars who hated each other. Shirley MacLaine & Anthony Hopkins in A Change of Seasons This pair had an explosive personality clash on the set of their 1980 film. When asked what it was like to work with MacLaine, Hopkins revealed, “she was the most obnoxious actor I have ever worked with.” Patrick Swayze & Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing Say it isn’t so – this on-screen pairing is legendary. But according to Swayze’s 2009 autobiography, Grey frustrated him on set by slipping “into silly moods, forcing us to do scenes over and over again when she’d start laughing.” Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams in The Notebook Though they went on to have an off-screen romance, this iconic film pair hated each other while filming The Notebook. According to director Nick Cassavetes, Gosling once refused to do a scene with McAdams, asking him to remove her from the set and bring a different actor in to read off camera. Claire Danes & Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet Despite wonderful on-screen chemistry, this Romeo and Juliet were not star-crossed in any way. Danes reportedly labelled DiCaprio “very immature”, while he found her to be stand-offish and haughty. Danes was offered a role starring opposite DiCaprio in J. Edgar, but she turned it down. Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2015/11/get-smart-cast-then-and-now/">The cast of Get Smart – what they did next</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2015/11/tabitha-stephens-bewitched-now/">What Tabitha Stephens of “Bewitched” looks like now</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2015/12/best-tv-shows-to-watch-these-holidays/">5 of the best TV shows to watch these holidays</a>

News

Man donates late wife’s wedding dress to a charity shop along with a beautiful note

More often than not, donating clothes is a chore you undertake to create more space in your home. But a man in England donated something very special to a charity shop recently, and he wanted to make sure its significance was known. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, left his late wife’s wedding dress at the Garforth branch of St Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds recently. Pinned to the dress was a heartfelt note: “I wish any lady who takes this dress to have a life with her loved one. 56 years like I did. Happy years. I was a lucky man to marry a lady like mine. – PTO” The staff at the hospice took to social media in an attempt to find the mystery benefactor. The story caught the attention of people and media outlets around the world, and the donor was found, but decided he didn’t want to reveal his identity. The following message was posted on the St Gemma’s Hospice Charity Shops Facebook page: “We have news! We have found the kind gentleman who donated the beautiful vintage wedding dress to St Gemma’s Hospice this week. He is over the moon that we are giving somebody the opportunity to buy the gorgeous gown on eBay. He is a big fan of St Gemma’s Hospice and is overwhelmed with the international attention that his late wife’s dress is generating. He is so happy and proud that the Hospice will benefit from funds raised by the auction of the dress. He wishes to remain anonymous and we fully respect his decision but he is watching the media frenzy with interest and thinks it is wonderful. We have thanked him so much for his kindness and he would like to thank everyone for their support.” For now, the dress is listed on eBay, with all proceeds going to the hospice. <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-1950s-Ivory-Floral-Wedding-Dress-Lace-amp-Net-Underskirt-Peplum-Size-S-/301657796023?afsrc=1&rmvSB=true&clk_rvr_id=847307321316&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true">You can see the auction here.</a> Related links: <a href="/news/news/2015/06/woman-says-booze-secret-to-ageing/">This 100-year-old woman says booze is her secret to a long life</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/06/bing-crosby-mansion-for-sale/">Check out Bing Crosby's $5 million mansion</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/06/smaller-carry-on-bags/">Airlines are going to make you take smaller carry-on luggage</a>

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