Innehållsförteckning för TAK2423 från Take 5

We receive so many lovely letters and emails from our readers. We get photos of you with the mag in weird and wonderful places. There’s thank you letters for prizes, like Margaret and Graham’s opposite, which I sent round the office, so everyone knows all their hard work is appreciated. Lots of you ask if the mail and online puzzle entries have the same chance of winning. Some wonder if puzzlers from certain states have more luck, or if they’re being overlooked because their surname is too long. So we wanted to assure you that all entries go into the draw and have equal chance – especially as we have some really juicy new cash comps coming up! This week, we loved our cover story (page 8) about Elisabeth and…

We were born on the same day in the same hospital... then look what happened! Elisabeth Colbert, 35. Sitting on my bed, I idly flicked through my phone. I’d joined a dating app called Hinge and had only been on one date with someone I’d met on there, but it had been unsuccessful. Suddenly a handsome face popped up on my screen. “This is more like it,” I said out loud. He was just my type with a strong jaw and blond hair. I clicked ‘like’ on the photo and a little while later, I saw he’d liked mine back. We started messaging. Hi, I’m Joshua, he wrote. He told me he’d been in the Army. I googled him and discovered his birthday was September 13, the same day as…

Old age ain’t no place for sissies! So said Bette Davis. And she wasn’t wrong. For many of us, ageing comes at a cost – one or more long-term illnesses, disabilities and/or multiple medications. Some are bad luck, such as those linked to accidents or our family history – but how we live our lives can make a difference to how healthily we age. Cell division and renewal slows down, our DNA starts to develop faults and telomeres (protective ‘caps’ on the end of our chromosomes) start to shrink. Many of these changes are triggered by inflammation in the body, and environmental toxins – factors we can influence. We’re all familiar with the outward signs – hair and skin changes, loss of flexibility, aches and pains, reduced muscle strength, stooping,…

Everyone needs to read my warning signs to avoid being scammed Kylee Dennis, 54, Wollongong, NSW. My phone lit up with a call from my bestie late one night. “You’re not going to believe it! Mum has a boyfriend,” Shona* blurted. Anne*, 78, was a divorcee living independently in a retirement village. “They met online,” Shona continued. “Mum’s smitten, but they’ve not yet met.” Something was off. And after 14 years working with the NSW Police as a detective, I trusted my gut. I’d known Anne for years so I gave her a call. She was only too delighted to tell me how they’d met on a dating app for older singles. “He’s a widower with a grown-up daughter, Elizabeth,” she said. She told me they hadn’t met as he…

Our idyllic life in the wild will never be the same again Nicole Panos, 25. I drank in the scent of my babies as they snoozed next to me on my bed. Lifting up my phone, I took a quick selfie of the three of us. It’d been a beautiful Wednesday morning in October 2022. We lived on a wildlife reserve in South Africa. My parents Dylan and Christa had owned the farm for years and I’d grown up there. Dad was a veteran game ranger and I’d trained as one, too. My partner, Jason, 27, had taken on a job working on the railways in the US for six months, while I’d stayed behind with our son Kayden, three, and daughter, Kaia, 15 months. Jason was due back in…

Pumpkin cake with maple frosting SERVES 12 PREP 25 MINS COOK 50 MINS 350g pumpkin, finely grated 250g butter, at room temperature ½ cup caster sugar 3 eggs, at room temperature ¼ cup maple-flavoured syrup 2 cups self-raising flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg ½ cup walnuts, toasted, chopped, plus extra, to serve ¼ cup pumpkin seeds, plus 2 tbsp extra MAPLE FROSTING 125g cream cheese, at room temperature ¼ cup icing sugar, sifted 2 tbsp maple-flavoured syrup 1 Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan-forced. Grease and line a 21cm x 11cm (base measurement) loaf pan with baking paper, extending paper at long sides for handles. 2 Using hands, squeeze excess liquid from pumpkin. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until…

A shock diagnosis prompted us to follow our dreams Sharon Hastie, 66, all over NZ! Sitting by my wife Kathy’s hospital bed, she reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Buy the bus,” she whispered. It was November 2020, and Kathy, then 64, was recovering from a lumpectomy. She had gone for a routine mammogram a month earlier when invasive ductal cancer was detected in her right breast. Luckily, it had been picked up early so doctors were confident she would make a full recovery following the op and radiation therapy. We’d been together 18 years and talked about buying a house bus and living the grey nomad lifestyle when we retired. But the shock diagnosis had given us both a real wake-up call. “Let’s hit the road,” Kathy demanded…

Picking up my phone, I saw another email alert and I groaned. A relative wants to connect with you, the message read. It was January 2020, and I’d recently signed up to a DNA website to explore my ancestry and family health. So far, 10 people had been flagged as my biological relatives, but I’d grown up in a small family so it didn’t make sense. What a scam, I thought. I ignored it, but one woman, who said she was a relative, kept hounding me with email messages. Did your mum ever get fertility help? she asked. My mum Maralee, then 72, lived with my husband Ben and I so we were close. I was in my late teens when she told me she saw a fertility doctor and…

Baked tomato chicken drumsticks SERVES 4 PREP 10 MINS COOK 25 MINS 8 chicken drumsticks, scored 8 chat (baby) potatoes, unpeeled, halved Cooking oil spray 2 x 425g cans diced tomatoes 1 large chicken stock cube 1½ cups boiling water 250g packet frozen chopped spinach, thawed 400g can cannellini beans, rinsed 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 Preheat oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan-forced. Spray chicken and potato with oil. Heat a 2.5 litre (10-cup) flame-proof ovenproof dish over moderate heat. Add chicken and potato to dish; cook and turn for 5 mins or until browned. Transfer the chicken to a heatproof plate. Add tomatoes, crumbled stock cube and the boiling water to dish with potato. Bring to the boil, stirring. Return chicken to dish.…

All I ever wanted was my father’s love and protection… Amanda Hughes, 36, Lockyer Valley, Qld. Dashing under my father’s legs, I squealed in delight and scurried away. “I’m going to get you,” he roared. It was 1997, I was 10 and playing dinosaurs with my father, Jason, then 27. I was a daddy’s girl and loved playing games and going on adventures. Hours later, when my mum, Yasminia, 26, went out, Dad entered my room. “Just popping in for a chat,” he smiled, locking the door behind him. He sat on my bed and chatted away, before offering me a massage. I played a lot of sport and he told me it would help my sore muscles. Then, suddenly, his eyes turned dark, sending a shiver down my spine.…

Cajun chicken & bean salad over the page Cajun chicken & bean salad SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 10 MINS 2 tbsp Cajun Spice Mix 400g chicken breast fillets 2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil 200g green beans, trimmed 1 red capsicum, coarsely chopped 420g can corn kernels, rinsed 1⁄3 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley ½ cup natural Greek-style yoghurt ½ tsp finely grated lime zest 1½ tbsp lime juice 1 tbsp warm water Lime wedges, to serve 1 Using hands, rub spice mix all over chicken to coat. Heat oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat. Add chicken; cook for 4 mins each side or until browned and cooked. Transfer to a heatproof plate. Cover with foil; rest for 5 mins before slicing. 2 Meanwhile,…

Extreme sports cured my anxiety Brooke Nolan, 39, Blue Mountains, NSW. Standing in the pulsing crowd, my heart slammed against my chest. “I can’t breathe!” I gasped, trying to be heard above the noise. Unable to stop the palpitations, I rushed out of the concert. It was 2014, and at 28 I was working in music marketing in the UK. Attending concerts was part of my job, but I’d been having these panic attacks in loud or crowded settings. They were becoming a weekly occurrence. I need a reset, I decided. Planning a three-month trip to South America for my 30th, I came across an ad for the epic Inca Trail in Peru. What better way to find myself than a mountain trek? I thought. I’d never been very adventurous,…

GEMINI May 22–June 21 Oh, it’s so good to be you! Enjoy the best of what being in the cosmic spotlight has to offer now. Also, make sure you stay open to a sudden idea or a light bulb moment or a change of plan. ★ With so many options it’s good to trust your instincts, too. VIRGO Aug 24–Sept 23 Everything you’re touching is probably turning to gold right now. Rewards you’ve long been working towards have arrived. Is it too little too late though? You deserve so much more. ★ If you have a change of mind or heart, honour it. SAGITTARIUS Nov 23– Dec 22 Partnerships of all kinds are ready and able to offer you so much support. You’ve really needed it after a long, hard…