The Australian Women's Weekly

I had a favourite book growing up, A Special Swap. In it a little girl and an elderly male neighbour develop a unique bond that grows throughout her early years. It starts with him pushing her around in a pram, zooming through sprinklers on hot days. He later offers a steady hand as she learns to walk, and encouragement as she masters rollerskating. He cracks jokes when emotions overwhelm her and they spend afternoons sitting and chatting. Then one day the man disappears from the street. When he eventually returns from a stay in hospital, his spark seems extinguished. That is until the girl coaxes him out of the house, supporting his unsteady first steps as he learns to use a cane. When he’s confined to a wheelchair she pushes…

Letter of the month The Australian Women’s Weekly has been a part of my life for most of my 64 years. My parents did not spend money on luxuries and lived quite frugally, but Mum purchased The Women’s Weekly each month. I am very grateful for your commitment to quality, true and real stories. Thank you so much for a magazine you can be proud of and which is significant in the history of women’s print journalism in our country. It is like a faithful friend, welcomed and made even more enjoyable when read and “listened to” with a cuppa. Weetangera, ACT. Moving with the times My mother and I both covet your wonderful magazine and always discover stories which relate to our ages (82 and 50) perfectly. I think it is fantastic that…

Chocolate for good Fiona Harrison has created the first Indigenous chocolate company, Chocolate On Purpose, which puts local farmers and native ingredients at the heart of its products. Very young doctor A brilliant 13-year-old has just been accepted into med school in the US. Alena Analeigh Wicker will commence her medical training in 2024 at The University of Alabama. Light for Miles Jennifer Down, 31, has won the Miles Franklin Award for her childhood trauma novel, Bodies of Light. She donated her $5000 shortlist prize to support Indigenous youth.…

It may be grey here, but we love seeing European royals lapping up the sun. Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary and her brood were breezy in blue at the Gråsten Ringriderforening procession. Princess Charlene had an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis, then toured the Folon exhibition on display at the Vatican Museums. It was a case of Nutbush, no limits when 4084 bootscooters broke the record for the most people doing the Nutbush at the Big Red Bash festival in Queensland.…

On September 11, 2001, Nick Marson and Diane Kirschke boarded Continental Airlines flight 5 from London Gatwick to Houston, Texas. Nick, an English engineer, was heading there for work. Diane was returning home after visiting family. It was a uneventful flight until the captain announced that they would be diverting to Gander, Newfoundland, due to an incident in the United States airspace. So begins an extraordinary love story; one of the tales to inspire hit Broadway musical Come From Away, which tells the events of the passengers and crew who found themselves there in the wake of that fateful day in history. As terrorist attacks saw planes turned into weapons, 38 flights were diverted to the tiny town where the 10,000 residents leapt into action to take in just under 7000 stranded…

The best thing I’ve ever won was … a school trivia competition in primary school. They gave us watches which definitely weren’t made for kids. I was too scared to wear it. My speciality subject is … strange random facts from Australian politics. Just don’t ask me to remember all the serious parts. If I could go back in time I’d … love to visit Ancient Rome. Although I’d probably get run over by a chariot in my first five minutes. The one thing that makes me angry is … hypocritical people in power. My friends would say I am … a terrible cook. But I’m trying to get better. You’d be surprised to know I … used to play a game called canoe polo. Strangest game, involves tiny canoes in a pool, throwing a…