Innehållsförteckning för TAK2401 från Take 5

Reading the story on page 66 this week, about dating disasters, has brought up emotions for the Take 5 team. While some laughed about nights gone wrong, others are still traumatised. In fact, there were so many horror stories, we’d need to clear the mag to fit them! There was the nervous gent who met the family and declared, “The end of the world is happening, I have to leave,” before he ran out the door. And the guy who took a ‘phone call’ after the entree and never returned. It reminded me of the hotshot who insisted on taking me to a fancy restaurant I’d never have chosen, promising it’d be on him, boasted the whole meal about what he earnt, then made me split the bill. My friend…

I bought an old-school alarm clock and started leaving my phone in the kitchen instead of beside my bed. Stops me scrolling social media late at night! Siobhan Harris, Launceston, Tas. I’ve discovered that eating burgers upside down helps stop the sauce from falling out. Paulette Middleton, Aspley, Qld. Put a pedestal fan in front of an open window so it circulates the outside breeze through the house, instead of just circulating the hot air inside. Lei Tran, Brunswick, Vic. Adding a dash of fish sauce to stews and soups gives them a great savoury flavour. Emmy Smith, Maryborough, Qld. To stop my bin bags leaking fluid, I put some old newspaper at the bottom of the bag when I first place it in the bin. Caro Patterson, Nakara, NT.…

Steering my pram into the bustling cafe, I took a seat. “Better get this little one fed,” I said to the other new mums I was with. I scooped up my son, Theodore, six weeks, and fumbled for the hem of my top to discreetly yank it up. My loose-fitting maternity T-shirt was designed to keep me covered in moments like this, but the functionality of it – minimal at best – came at the cost of fashion. As Theo fed, I glanced around at my friends and noticed they were wearing the same type of go-to uniform – leggings and baggy T-shirts. “Imagine a nursing top that looked great, made feeding easy and guaranteed you wouldn’t accidentally flash your boobs,” I said. “I’d take one in every colour,” one…

The man next to me took a sip of his beer. “I hear you’re single,” he said shyly. “I am,” I replied, laughing. I’d known Jono, 34, for around a year and we were at a mutual friend’s barbecue. “Great,” Jono said. “I’ve been wanting to ask you out.” We talked late into the night and connected on a deep level. He worked on his parents’ cropping farm. I’m from England but had been living in rural Australia for around seven years and was working as the director of an early years education centre in Comet, Qld. I just loved the outback, especially all the big farming and mining machinery. Pulling over to let the huge mining and earthmoving equipment pass on the narrow outback highways was always entertaining to…

My husband William and I stared at each other. “This was a big mistake,” he said. “Yup,” I agreed. William and I had married on my 32nd birthday in 2015. I’d only known him for a month, and three months later we separated. We shouldn’t have married, but the truth was I was desperate for a child. For years, I’d dated different guys, hoping they’d be the one I could have a baby with, but it never worked out. Then, one night in 2018, my sister Emma, 42, called. “Did you know that lesbian mothers can buy donor sperm?” she said. “Maybe you can, too?” “Huh,” I said, amazed. “Maybe I don’t need a man to become a mum after all.” Emma was my biological sister. I met her for…

I scooped up our oneyear-old daughter, Billie, and tried to calm her down. The poor thing had just walked into a cupboard and was sobbing. “Take deep breaths, sweetheart,” I said. “You’re okay.” Her big brother Jaeger, five, tried to distract her by pulling silly faces. Then he put a nappy on his head and did a dorky dance. “I like to move it, move it,” he sang. When my husband Tom, 38, our son, Vahli, three, and I burst into laughter, Billie did, too. Thank goodness for our family jokester! Life with three young kids was full on as I was studying nursing, and volunteered as a St John emergency medical technician. Tom also had his hands full as a refrigeration mechanic. Family time was important and our boys…

My mother gripped my hand and brought her lips to my ear. “Look at that fat woman over there,” she said. We were in the shopping centre and a stranger was walking past. I was only five, but Mum made comments like this all the time to me. She’d suffered with body dysmorphia for as long as I could remember, living mainly on coffee and cigarettes. Mum was born to a wealthy family in Iran. Her father, my grandfather, served directly under the king and she was brought up in the palace surrounded by riches. But when the military staged a coup in August 1953, she was forced to flee with her family to the UK. She met my father at a party, fell in love and then fell pregnant.…

Ibit into the hotdog loaded with toppings and closed my eyes in delight. “This is my new favourite food!” I said to my husband, Mick, 64. It was October 2023, we were at a cookout in Murray, Kentucky, and it was much bigger than our barbies back home in Queensland. Everything seemed to be done on a greater scale in the States, including the reason I was here – to be the only Aussie to compete in the Extreme Cowboy Racing World Titles in 2023. The sport requires riders to go through an arena filled with obstacles like tunnels and water-crossings, and there are cattle to muster and lasso, too. It was on the rise in Australia but hugely popular in America. I adored horses as a kid, but it…

Walking down the road, I stopped to look at the window display of an op shop. There was a picture of a young girl, with dark eyes, wearing a red dress, and stuck on it was a Post-it note saying: Possibly cursed? Chuckling, I snapped a photo and posted it on Facebook. At home, I went downstairs to visit my mum, Jayne, 68. Mum’s health had been deteriorating after a bout of meningitis attacked her nervous system. I’d become her full-time carer and had moved into the unit above hers. “Look at this photo,” I said, handing her my phone. Normally, she’d barely give it a glance, but this time she gripped my wrist. “I want that picture,” she said urgently. So, the next day we went back to the…

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CAPRICORN Dec 23 –Jan 20 Tension and tipping points are possible this week. It can be like that during the holidays! You also don’t have to participate in drama or problems if you don’t wish to. If it protects your state of wellbeing, check out completely! ★Rest and relax with your number one person instead! ARIES Mar 21 –Apr 20 Life has a funny way of offering you the chance to show grace when things go wrong. Delays and confusion are likely regarding your travel or holiday plans. As things go wrong, they’ll go right. ★This week may turn out better than you expected. CANCER June 22 – July 23 This week may bring out your best attributes, if all goes to plan. If it doesn’t, you may feel…