The Australian Women's Weekly December 2018

They came, they laughed, they hugged, they even announced they were having a baby. No one could accuse Prince Harry and his new bride Meghan of not delivering during their action-packed Aussie tour. And, of course, The Weekly’s intrepid royal reporter Juliet Rieden was with them every step of the way, from rattling around Melbourne on a tram to ferry rides to Fraser Island and downpours in Dubbo. Juliet witnessed firsthand the “Meghan effect” as the new royal dazzled the cheering crowds (see page 18). It was plain to see this is a young woman very much at ease and in love, and whose spontaneous displays of affection and loving glances at her equally smitten husband warmed hearts wherever they went. As if a baby announcement and a tour wasn’t…

SHINE ON, SALLY What a thought-provoking and mind-blowing article on Sally Field, which detailed the stark reality of her childhood (“Things I never thought I wanted to say out loud”, AWW, October). She went through so much as a young child – absent father, cruel stepfather and a distant mother – and had nowhere and no-one to turn to. Sally is a shining example to those in despair and gives hope to others that when one wants to achieve something, one can do it. I wish her well. M. Buckley, Noble Park, Vic. SPREADING KINDNESS Having just read Nicole’s November issue Editor’s Letter, I felt compelled to tell you about a wonderful group of women who have journeyed together for 30 years, supporting one another while also contributing to charity…

1940-2018 GOODBYE TO A LEGEND Clean Up Australia Day founder Ian Kiernan has died, aged 78, but he leaves behind a powerful legacy. Ian’s simple idea of caring for his local environment spread throughout the world. He will be missed. A royal cousin PIPPA Middleton and her husband James Matthews have welcomed a son. The Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister checked into St Mary’s Hospital just three days after she stepped out in stunning emerald green for the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. The little boy is the first child of the couple, who married in Berkshire last year. The newest arrival is a cousin to William and Kate’s children Charlotte, three, George, five and six-month-old Louis. KERRYN WINS THE WENTWORTH BY-ELECTION was mere weeks away when The…

JUST KITTING The US embassy is feeling embarrassed after accidentally sending out a meeting e-invite with a photo of a cat in pyjamas relaxing with a snack. FRIENDSHIP BENCH A mental health project called The Friendship Bench has helped more than 30,000 people in Zimbabwe, and is now being expanded to other countries. It involves free ‘talk therapy’ delivered by grandmothers. BROADCAST SNOOZE They say never wake a sleeping baby, and one meteorologist from Minnesota proved you don’t have to. She wore her son on her back while presenting a weather segment.…

Mateship is an Aussie identifier, that special male bonding club that says you’re one of us. Politicians love the word – it’s who we are as a nation. But for Hunter Johnson (above), mateship isn’t always a positive force – its blokey concept of masculinity is one of many cultural constructs at the heart of a cavernous gender problem which is brainwashing our boys and creating, at best, confused and, at worst, suicidal young men, unable to form meaningful relationships. “Growing up I saw guys constantly having the need to earn their masculinity, whether it was drinking the most, taking drugs, in their language ‘getting the most women’, showing the least emotion,” explains Hunter. “But I also saw the fragility of it. All it took was one comment – for…

From the moment they arrived, it was clear this royal visit was going to break new ground. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had hoped to slip into Sydney quietly a day before official proceedings and chill out at Admiralty House, the Governor-General’s home he and his wife had kindly turned over to Harry and Meghan for the tour. Instead, the couple was greeted with a posse of TV cameras, reporters and long lenses focussed on incoming planes. Meghan appeared, curiously holding folders of paperwork in front of her stomach, and immediately a baby bump frenzy swept through social media. It’s possible the royal couple hoped to wait a little longer to share their happy news, but the only way to focus the tour back on the Invictus Games and…