Innehållsförteckning för TAK2415 från Take 5

Some people are funny about birthdays aren’t they? I’ve got friends who freak out about getting older. They don’t want to talk about it, definitely don’t want to arrange anything to celebrate. “Not even a quiet dinner?” I say. “We have to do something!” Everyone deserves to be spoilt on their special day. But it’s more than that. A colleague once said something that stuck with me. “Having a birthday is a privilege.” She lost a dear friend to cancer, far too young, and she didn’t get to celebrate any more birthdays. “That’s the alternative,” she said. “That you’re not here anymore.” And that feels like a good reason to grow older with positivity – which is exactly what Suzi is doing over the page! It’s impossible to read her…

Heidi Armbruster, 54. Warm from the sun, with the DJ’s music in my ears, I took a second glance at the boy across the pool. With a head full of dark curls, and deep brown eyes, he was gorgeous. It was 1984 and I was 13. Every summer, teens from around the area came together for the Splash Bash. And it seemed this year’s swim party might be the best yet. Because we shared a mutual friend, me and the boy with the curls ended up hanging out together. “I’m Parker,” he said. “What’s your name?” “Heidi,” I replied, shyly. He was also 13 and went to a different school. As he spoke, I played it cool, but just his smile was enough to make me melt. Days later, when…

Celeste Stirrup, 52, Caloundra, Qld. Chatting away to my work mate Melissa, I let slip something was up. “I’ve found a strange little spot about the size of a 20 cent coin near the top of my inner thigh,” I winced. It wasn’t a lump – it was under my skin, hard and sore to touch. “Oh, I wonder what that could be?” Melissa said. After work, feeling out of sorts, I jumped in the shower. Instead of leaving me refreshed, I felt worse. “I’m feeling feverish,” I whimpered to my hubby, Matthew. “Pop into bed with a wet flannel,” he said. “I’ll get the air-con going.” As I fell asleep, I hoped I’d come right in the morning. But hours later, I woke with a start. I was burning…

Suzi Grant, 72. I blew out the last puff of smoke that I was determined would ever fill my mouth, and then threw the rest of my cigarettes in the bin. “The time has come for us to part ways,” I told them. It was 1992, and I was 42. My mother had recently died suddenly of a heart attack at 63, and it made me re-evaluate my lifestyle choices. There was still so much more I wanted to do and if I carried on the way I was going, I wouldn’t live long enough to achieve it. As a journalist and newsreader, I worked hard but played hard, too. I’d spent years chain-smoking and drinking too much, often celebrating hitting deadlines at 3am with champagne. At 52, I gave…

Lora Carmichael, 40, Sydney, NSW. Walking down the school corridor, I saw the group of boys and immediately put my head down. “Here comes thunder thighs,” one of them said, and they all laughed. Although I wasn’t overweight at 13, I played eight different sports and had an athletic build. I also had cellulite on my legs. It made me a target for bullies, but I’d learnt to ignore them. After finishing school, I studied art, and no longer doing sports, I went up to a size 20. While all my friends got boyfriends, I didn’t feel attractive to men and had no confidence. Instead, after graduating, I threw myself into 80-hour weeks, splitting my time between retail jobs and my art studio. Constantly drained, I was barely making ends…

Kira Berzack, 20. Sitting on the beach as the sun dipped below the horizon, I couldn’t believe my luck. It was July 2022 and I was halfway through my two week stint in paradise, volunteering at a school in Denpasar, Bali. Despite travelling alone, I had made heaps of friends at the volunteer hostel. One was Kyran, 21, from Sydney, who was volunteering with a turtle rescue organisation. We hit it off, hanging out in the hostel after work, and exploring the island. After a week in Denpasar, his work took him to Nusa Penida Island. “Come visit,” he said before he left. A few days later, I took my new friend up on the offer, catching a boat over to join him. Walking to the hostel, a motorcycle driver,…

Although Tasmania is small, it sure does make a big impression. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad meal – everything is served up fresh and delicious – and Tasmania is where Australia’s natural beauty really shines. Enjoy the slower pace of life and soak up the fresh air, as you discover facts about our nation’s storied history. From cosy hotels to quirky museums, Australia’s only island state offers the perfect intersection of eccentricity and elegance for those looking for a memorable short stay as the weather cools. AURORA AUSTRALIS Much like its Northern Hemisphere counterpart, the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) is one light show with all the magic and whimsy you’d expect – and best of all, it’s completely free. While glistening curtains, rays, spirals and flickers can be…

TAURUS Apr 21–May 21 The month holds the potential to catapult you towards new opportunities. As you’re not exactly the spontaneous type, careful consideration is required. Venus, your patron planet, dips into your Private Zone this week. Use your intuition. ★Rest and reflection are what you need now. LEO July 24–Aug 23 The world feels like your oyster now. For some reason though, you appear to be overthinking things. On the one hand, a golden path is opening up, while on the other, various obstacles prove frustrating. ★Don’t let logistics hold you back. SCORPIO Oct 24–Nov 22 It’s natural to hit rocky patches in love. In fact, you have to expect it. To not, is to keep yourself in a delusion. If that path you’re on has bumps on…

Xenia Schembri, 53, Gold Coast, Qld. My fiancé’s hands gripped my arms tightly. “No, Richard*,” I pleaded. “Let’s wait till our wedding night.” As Christians, Richard, 22, and I had agreed to abstain from sex until marriage, but recently he’d been trying it on. I was terrified, but he insisted until he got his way. “I’m sorry,” he repeated afterwards in tears. “I got carried away. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He explained he’d been abused as a child and he’d been seeing a counsellor to work through it. He’ll grow out of it once we’re married, I told myself. Truth was, I knew very little about the man I was marrying. We’d met earlier that year when he came into the health food shop where I worked to…

While the pandemic may officially be over, the reality is that COVID continues to linger. Despite our best efforts to ignore it in the hope that it will simply go away, by now most of us have either caught the virus (potentially multiple times) or are wondering how much longer our luck can hold out. But while our relationship with COVID may have changed, it still remains a public health threat that poses a serious risk to the elderly and vulnerable. As a result, catching COVID can lead to feelings of guilt for those who have unknowingly passed it on to others. “During a health crisis, we feel responsible for protecting ourselves and others from getting sick,” says Emma Kate Hale, a counselling lecturer at the Australian College of Applied…

Carry a packet of almonds in your handbag for a healthy snack. Dawn Webster, Geelong, Vic. Crinkle up the aluminium foil before roasting vegies so the food won’t get stuck on it. Lana Greene, St Albans, Vic. We make treats for our dogs by putting chopped strawberries and frozen yoghurt into silicone moulds and freezing them. Sarah Kang, Penrith, NSW. I save my vegie scraps and freeze them to use in homemade vegie broth. Chris Gallagher, Huntingdale, Vic. A wine bottle works well as a rolling pin. Kerry Stephens, Ashburton, NZ. If you have little kids and want them to go to bed early, set the clocks forward and remove digital devices, then tell them it’s their bedtime. Becky Dixon, Wellington, NZ. Offer to swap cuttings and seeds with your…

TOP TIP Test if chicken is cooked by piercing the largest joint with a skewer – if the juices run clear, it is cooked. To make our salad, combine 1 chopped Lebanese cucumber with the kernels from 1 cooked corn cob, ¼ cup coriander leaves, tossed in a little lemon juice. TOP TIP Cut whole chicken into 8 segments comprising 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 4 breast pieces. Alternatively, use a mixture of drumsticks, thigh cutlets or wings. TOP TIP Marinating the chicken breast-side down helps the flavours to soak through. PICTURES: ROB SHAW/AREMEDIASYNDICATION.COM.AU STYLING: MARIE HELENE CLAUZON PEPARATION: ANGELA DEVLIN.…

Dear Take 5ers, My daughter, 33, has been with her boyfriend for three years and they’ve started talking about moving in, which I support, as he seems like a great guy. But recently, she told me that he’s started commenting on the fact that they don’t have a joint bank account and doesn’t get why she keeps her banking info private. He has said that it makes him feel like they’re not in a serious and committed relationship. She earns more than him, which puts things on an unequal footing. She has asked for my advice, and I want to tell her she shouldn’t be sharing her money with someone that she’s only known for a short amount of time and if he’s pressuring her, then he’s not right, but…

Ben Markham, 38, Tugun, Qld. Packing our gear into the boat, I turned to my colleague Andy. “Reckon we chuck in the hooks and cutting poles?” I asked. He shrugged. “We may as well,” he said. Andy and I work for the Sea World Foundation on the Gold Coast and we were getting ready for a trip down to southern NSW. There, we were going to meet up with a crew of whale researchers. I’m a marine mammal specialist and Andy is a Sea World skipper. The next day, in August 2023, Andy and I, along with our Sea World marketing specialist Mitchell, headed off to Eden. One morning, we managed to attach a satellite tag with a camera on it to a humpback whale. The tag is attached with…