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It's a family affair
FAMILY has always meant a lot to Nicole Kidman, and last night she and husband Keith Urban took time out to celebrate the 70th birthday
of her mother, Janelle. Looking stunning in a dark, knee-length satin dress Kidman was beaming as she arrived with Urban and her in-laws at Ottoman restaurant, at Walsh Bay. The party of about 100 had a private dining room where they tucked into tuna, prawns with shiitake mushrooms, asparagus flowers with goat's cheese, kingfish and Wagyu beef. Urban produced a guitar and sang Happy Birthday for Janelle and guests joined in to sing I Am Woman before the cutting of the cake. Kidman and Urban's 18-month-old daughter, Sunday Rose, was left at home with a babysitter. Earlier this month, while receiving an Australia Day honour, Kidman spoke of the strength she drew from her family when in Sydney. ``So much of who you are, I think, is where you came from and where you grew up, and you still want that to be part of your life,'' the actress said.
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Mastiff turns Alvin purple
HOW do you tell a 75kg english mastiff who is getting on in years that she is just a little too heavy? Alvin Miechel, who weighs 48kg, is faced with telling his mastiff, Gretel, that riding around with her on the back of a tricycle is not as easy as it used to be. ``When she was a puppy it was easy and we went for really long rides,'' said Mr Miechel, 75. ``She has never liked to walk and the trike is like a car for us. But I'm a bit older now and it's hard lugging her around.'' The pair are a fixture in the streets around Carlton and have been for several years. They are regulars at the Victoria Market where stall holders invite Gretel to sample the produce and yesterday the pair travelled to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne so she could receive her arthritis injections. ``How can I not carry on lugging her around?'' Mr Miechel said.
``I'll manage. If there's a hill in the way, I'll just jump off and push.''
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Jamie's warning to Sydney parents
CELEBRITY chef Jamie Oliver has served up a stark warning to Australians: teach children to cook, or the nation faces a ``f****ing scary'' future of obesity and early death. Oliver says we are too complacent about Australia's advantages as a natural food bowl and are raising a generation of teenagers ``who have never learnt to cook a f***ing thing''. The English kitchen maestro will hit Sydney today to announce his recipe for a healthier future, his Ministry of Food cooking-school concept offering free cooking classes to adults and children who must promise to ``pass on'' the recipes they learn to at least two more people. There is no shortage of students. Free tickets to his community event -- part show, part lecture -- in Centennial Park at 6.30pm this evening have already been exhausted. In an exclusive interview, Oliver told The Sunday Telegraph every adult must be able to cook basic, simple recipes. Ministry of Food centres are already running in the US and Britain.
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Surf's up
SOME of the world's best surfers will hit the beaches at Bondi and Newcastle this weekend - and you can see them for free. Taj Burrow, Kelly Slater and Owen Wright will be among those carving out their best moves for the Boost Mobile SurfSho at Bondi and a $30,000 prize. It will be the first time Bondi Beach has played host to an international surfing competition in more than 20 years. It is also the first surfing event at Bondi to be sanctioned by the Association Of Surfing Professionals. "It's been a long time between drinks for a contest at Bondi, since '88," nine-time world surfing champion Slater says. "I like Bondi a lot, it's cool. It'll be fun to be there and have a contest. It doesn't happen there very much." The event is expected to attract more than 30,000 spectators with almost half coming from interstate and overseas.
Tomorrow's SurfSho competition will have a unique format with competitors spinning a wheel to determine which tricks each must perform.
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Lin murder breakthrough: police know killer
DETECTIVES have made a major breakthrough in the baffling Lin family murder investigation, identifying a person connected to the family as a prime suspect. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal detectives have narrowed the search for the killer and recently re-interviewed the man after first speaking to him last year. The Sunday Telegraph knows the man's identity but cannot publish his name for legal reasons. In a crime that shocked and sickened Sydney, Epping newsagent Min Lin, 46, and his family were brutally murdered. The Sunday Telegraph has learned Mr Lin had amassed almost $4 million in assets, which included a substantial property portfolio and his newsagency business, said to be worth about $1.3 million. However, police believe money was not the sole motive for the murders and have been investigating a web of relationships surrounding the Lin family. Their scrutiny has also focused on a separate family legal battle, the details of which cannot be revealed.
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Ritchie’s marching to a brand new beat
KATE Ritchie has the perfect model for her new role in television, her dad. Ritchie says her father, a former policeman, is delighted she is playing a policewoman in the Nine Network’s new serried Cops LAC, which is expected to debut later this year. “Dad was a senior constable. He never wanted me to be a real cop, but I think he’s a bit excited, quietly to see his daughter following in his footsteps, at least in this way,” the former Home and Away stalwart said last week. Ritchie, 31, quit breakfast radio last year after a two year stint with Nova’s Tim Ross (also gone) and Merrick Watts. She admitted she had missed the fun and comparatively normal hours of regular small screen work.
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Store Wars
On the eve of Myer’s autumn/winter fashion launch at the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, more details have emerged about the stoush between Myer and David Jones. Rumours are design duo Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman (camilla and marc) only alerted Myer bosses that they had jumped ship to David Jones late Saturday afternoon, after Myer heavyweights had reportedly already heard it from the media. It certainly came as a seismic shock, since the department store had been in negotiations with camilla and marc about a longer terms deal for the past six months. Myer had expected to sign a deal at any moment, especially after flying the pair to Hollywood for the G’Day LA USA Ball which showcased them. Marc Freeman was slated to turn up to Myer’s high glam autumn/winter show in Melbourne tomorrow which will feature Jennifer Hawkins, as one of the premium designers. The eleventh hour defection has played havoc with the show which had already been fully styled.
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Saddle up for new-look Carnival
SYDNEY'S racegoers are about to be officially warned -- the Autumn Carnival is upon us, but don't expect it to be just like it always was. For instance, if you frock up and turn up at Randwick like you always do on Easter Saturday, you'll be awfully lonely. The 2010 version of the 100-year-old carnival has new ambassadors and is being wholeheartedly supported by a new Premier, but they are minor changes compared to the changes in dates. This year, for the first time in Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival history, the Easter Saturday meeting will not be at Randwick for the AJC Australian Derby. Instead, the Golden Slipper will be run at Rosehill. Not that it will be every year. Confused? It's simple: on the first Saturday of April each year, the Golden Slipper will be run regardless of when Easter falls, followed by Derby Day at Randwick, Doncaster Day and finally Sydney Cup day.
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Family dumps on Pup: the Bingle Clarke split gets nasty
LARA Bingle's family is preparing to unleash a media attack on cricketer Michael Clarke by selling the inside story behind the couple's break-up and dishing the dirt on what Clarke was like as a fiance. Bingle's brother, Josh, 25, and mother, Sharon, have approached magazine editors asking for more than $100,000 for a tell-all interview detailing how Clarke, 28, allegedly treated Bingle, 22, and the couple's ``living relations''. ``Josh is very passionate about defending his little sister,'' family friend Pat Shiels, who claimed to be brokering the deal, said. ``We are closing off [our] offers at 4pm on Monday.'' Bingle's break-up with the Australian cricket team's vice-captain was made official in a short statement late on Friday night, but the bidding war for their stories is just beginning. Although the show is over for the couple, the circus of media deals surrounding their break-up will spiral out of control as managers and family members try to make a quick buck.
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Lauryn is a driven beauty
INTERNATIONAL waterskiing champion and swimsuit model Lauryn Eagle has declared she can win the Miss Universe contest in June despite a court sentencing hanging over her head for driving offences. The 22-year-old's case was back in court yesterday but her sentencing for driving while disqualified and providing a false name to police on December 14 was adjourned so she could complete a voluntary traffic offenders program. Eagle said she could still win the Miss Universe Australia contest. ``I really think I can win it and I'm working really hard to get in pageant shape, which for me as an athlete means reducing my muscle mass but remaining really healthy,'' she said at the Footy and Glamour party at Star City on Wednesday night.
``I'm doing yoga and a lot of research into the right foods to be eating and I'm taking the pageant really seriously.'' But her conviction could affect her chances if she makes it to the national final in June after competing in the NSW semi-final in late May. `
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Newspix - Now representing Tim Clayton
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