I won't go on holiday with my grumpy husband any more - and four of my friends have solo trips planned too. This is the REAL reason so many middle-aged couples get divorced over the summer, and how to stop it happening to you
What does my husband think? Oh, didn't I mention? He's not invited. I'm going with my 23-year-old daughter instead. And I'm not the only one.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
What are Nigella Lawson, Robert Irwin and a cartoon kangaroo doing in Australia's latest round of tourism ads?
So Steph, what do Robert Irwin, Nigella Lawson, and a cartoon kangaroo have in common? Wait, is this a joke? No not at all, I'm genuinely asking. Oh, sorry. The answer is a new round of ads spruiking Australia as a tourist destination to potential international visitors. Is this the latest from Scott Morrison's old workplace? Do you mean Tourism Australia? Yes, the former PM and former director of Tourism Australia liked to claim he was responsible for the 'where the bloody hell are you?' ad that featured Lara Bingle (and was banned from the UK for being too risque). This new round of ads feature a bunch of personalities from places where the agency intends them to air. So the ads featuring actor Yosh Yu will show in China, those with Japanese comedian Abareru-kun will air in Japan, those featuring influencer Sara Tendulkar will run in India and Nigella Lawson will front the ads showing in the UK. I assume the UK don't think Nigella Lawson is too risque. Wait, so is Robert Irwin supposed to be appealing to … other Australians? No, he'll be shown in the ads for Americans, blasting over sand dunes in a four-wheel-drive, chasing an emu that's stolen an American tourist's phone. Tourism Australia's current managing director, Phillipa Harrison, says the ads having international stars as well as locals in them will 'create bespoke invitations for five markets'. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Isn't Robert Irwin a wildlife warrior though? Ripping it up through the sand dunes isn't great for the environment, and I don't think you're supposed to chase emus. No, but these ads also feature a multilingual cartoon kangaroo, Ruby the Roo, who you may remember from a previous round of government tourism propaga … I mean, campaigns. I don't think they're going for realism here. The general gist of it is that travellers will tell their friends and family back home about their wild and unbelievable adventures in Australia. How much is selling the magic of these wild and unbelievable adventures going to cost us? Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion About $130m. The argument for it is that tourism is a significant part of the Australian economy: around 360,000 Australian businesses rely on tourism and the government estimates that the number of international arrivals will hit 10 million in 2026 and 11.8 million in 2029. When he announced the campaign, the tourism minister, Don Farrell, called tourism 'the lifeblood of so many communities right around the country' and claimed the previous campaign 'struck a chord with visitors, with Ruby the Roo bounding into the imagination of countless guests'. Please tell me that they've at least stopped leaning into cliches about Australia when trying to sell us to the world? It's an extension of the 'Come and Say G'day' campaign from 2022. I regret to inform you that this version features pavlova, beaches and a riff on the old Crocodile Dundee 'shrimp on the barbie' line. I can hear you groaning from here. Didn't Tourism Australia also once have an ad where Kylie Minogue sang a song of mateship? Let's not go there.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
I swapped Britain for safe, clean, low-tax Singapore – and my happiness has soared
When I wake up to sunshine every morning and walk to work along Singapore's clean, safe streets, I get goosebumps because life feels about as good as it can get right now. I moved to Singapore in 2021, during the pandemic, because I wanted a change. I am from Harrogate in Yorkshire originally but went to Southampton for university in 2014 and then on to Bath to work because my younger brother was studying there. I landed a good job as a podiatrist working in Wiltshire, played golf, tennis and cricket regularly and bought a house outside Bath. After a while, I began considering opening my own practice, maybe in Bristol, but on a bit of a whim one night I applied for a job in Singapore. I was interviewed two weeks later, and two more weeks after that offered a position at a Singaporean company, by a chap from Yorkshire – which I took to be a good sign. My dad surprised me and said: 'Go, you have nothing to lose'. So, without ever having visited Singapore, I went. I'd spent a year in Australia aged 19 and did Camp America, so I'm quite adventurous, and my new company organised my visa and said they'd pay back my £600 flight cost if I passed a three-month probation. I rented out my house near Bath, found a three-month flat share, got on a plane and have never looked back: my career, personal life and happiness have soared since I arrived. I found the flat share quite hard as I was sharing with Malaysians who never came out of their rooms to socialise, so after three months I moved in with a colleague – also from Yorkshire – and another girl from Cumbria. My job was interesting, but not perfect – in the NHS I'd been trained in ethics but the company was taking poor decisions focused entirely on money. It took a while to work out whether it was normal for Singapore but it turned out to be just that business, so I moved to another owned by an Australian healthcare firm and things improved drastically. The average podiatrist salary is around £39,000 in the UK but between £42,000 and £52,000 in Singapore, so I'm earning more, but the big difference is the progressive tax system leaving me with a much higher take home than I'd ever achieve in Britain – the very top rate of tax in Singapore is 24 per cent. There's no council tax and electricity is really cheap so I can save and invest a lot more now, and we charge a lot more for consultations than in London so my earning potential is much bigger. Here my clientele are people pushing boundaries and doing big things, so I'm becoming far more ambitious. In the small town where I worked in Wiltshire, I saw mainly older ladies and was preparing to settle down. I do a lot of social media now and I think the Singapore hustle and drive has really rubbed off on me to push me onto bigger things. I could also start my own business more easily. Rather than burdening small businesses with crippling taxes like the UK, Singapore supports start-ups. I also love that Singapore is so safe. When you first arrive here, you're scared to break any rules – inadvertently littering, for example – and risk deportation, but you soon get used to it. There are cameras everywhere in the city, so nothing gets missed, and the government probably has a full profile of me. The upside is you can leave your phone on the table in a busy mall, go back 10 minutes later and it's still there. I've never seen a fight or drunk and disorderly behaviour, and you would never think to do drugs. People might think it's a weird world but I prefer this to living a life of vigilance in the UK. I do miss the British countryside, and having a pint in the pub after cricket. I miss the fresh air and British summers, when it stays light until 10pm, and I can't play golf as joining a club here would cost SGD300,000 (£173,288)! Buying a car is equally tough, you need a special CEO certificate, and they are so heavily taxed that the cheapest is around SGD100,000 (£57,762), but the transport system is fantastic so you never really need one. I've recently got engaged to Kat, who is a performer at Universal Studios, so we now live together, and my social life has improved massively since I joined Singapore Cricket Club three years ago. It costs SGD3,000 (£1,732) a year membership which is significantly more than the £20 season fee in Bath, but I've made a real network and play tennis, cricket and other sports there, too. Right now, my friends are all busy with work, getting married and having children at home, so I don't think I'd see much more of them anyway. My family and friends visit regularly and I go home once a year. Kat and I get married in 2027 and will probably stay here until our children are four, but then school fees will kick in and I suspect we will return to the UK. In the meantime, we plan to maximise our travel and earning opportunities – Kat is from the Philippines, so we go there, too – and enjoy the quality of life we have. It is very humid, with thunder showers between 2pm and 4pm every day, but I enjoy that you can always wear shorts and a T-shirt after work. If we had perfect weather, everyone would stay – people leave because there are no seasons. Initially when you move, you think you're missing out on things at home but Singapore feels like a futuristic state and for now, every sunny day is a pinch-me moment.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Traveller's response after passenger asks him 'very nicely' to switch seats so he could sit with his fiancé: 'Is this guy kidding?'
A traveller flying from Sydney to London has revealed the moment he refused to let a passenger switch seats with him on a plane. Taskmaster Australia co-host Tom Cashman was on his second leg of his journey between Singapore and London when a passenger asked if they could swap seats so he could be next to his fiancé. While both men were seated on opposite sides of the aisle, the Aussie comedian declined to move because he had paid an additional $180 for extra leg room. The plane had a three-four-three configuration. Tom was sitting on the aisle seat of a three-seat row next to the window, while the other passenger was seated in the centre section, in one of the four-seat rows. 'I was boarding a flight and I was taking my seat... when the guy asked me very nicely... He asked a favour, "Can I switch seats with you so I can sit with my fiancé?". He said, "Feel free to say no" and I felt very free to say no,' Tom said in his video. 'I've got to say, it's disheartening being a comedy performer on the way to a comedy festival, knowing for a fact that they will never elicit a laugh as true and as guttural as the one I got from a man's face on the trip over. 'Because is this guy kidding? Get real mate. This is the best seat... this is a seat sent from God. Why does this seat even exist? I paid $180 for it as well.' Tom said he was impressed with the amount of leg room he got for the price he paid for the 'best' economy seat on the plane. 'This is unbelievable, I've never seen anything like it,' he explained. 'It's better than business class.' The stand-up comedian said he had so much room that the passenger next to him decided to leave their belongings, including a pillow, in his space. 'I didn't even care, there was so much room. He can have all that bit there and I don't give a s***,' Tom said. However, it wasn't the seat swap request that got Tom riled up. 'What also p*ssed me off about this guy is first of all, he's in a relationship, he's got a fiancé. Congratulations to the beautiful couple. I don't have a fiancé so he's rubbing my face in that,' Tom joked. 'Not only that, he wasn't even tall. He was way less tall than I am. Basically this guy is asking for something he doesn't need to enjoy something in front of me that I don't have. 'It'd be like if I found an old guy on the flight and asked to borrow his cane and then use the cane to scroll YouTube Shorts.' However, Tom said he doesn't 'begrudge' the man for asking in the first place. 'He's done me a big favour because now when people ask me if I've seen Happy Gilmore 2, I get to say, "Yes I have",' he explained. 'And in my opinion, it's best enjoyed 30,000 feet in the air, feet outstretched, flanked by two furious fiancés.' Tom said he was impressed with the amount of leg room he got for the price he paid for the 'best' economy seat on the plane His video has been viewed more than 600,000 - with many agreeing with Tom's decision to refuse swapping seats. 'Funny how they always ask to swap into the better seat, and never offer to downgrade themselves to get what they want,' one pointed out. 'He has a whole life ahead of him with his fiancé, you had limited time with this perfect seat. The nerve,' another shared. 'I would protect that seat with my LIFE,' one said. 'Their poor planning is not your problem,' another revealed. One traveller recalled: 'I was once asked to swap so a newly married couple could sit together. I said no and she cried the whole way to Hong Kong from London.' 'I had that seat once and the guy behind (middle seat) asked me to switch so he could sit with his girlfriend. HAHAHAHAHAHA. No,' another shared. Many suggested the couple may have skimped on paying extra for additional leg room, hoping instead that a 'nice' person would be happy to swap. 'He didn't buy that seat in hopes some nice person who did pay would switch. Good for you for not switching,' one said. 'He knows that and they planned that... ask for $200 cash and you will swap, otherwise no deal,' another suggested. '100 per cent they didn't book that seat because of the price, booked the two they did, and hoped they could just get the switch done when they asked,' one added. Others suggested the man should have asked the person to his left to swap with his fiancé so they would just be switching middle seats, making it fair for both parties. 'He should have asked the person on the other side of him to switch. They had a middle middle seat,' one said. 'I'm sure the person on the other side of the fiancé stuck in the middle would have happily swapped for his aisle seat,' another suggested. Meanwhile, many were confused with the gap in front of Tom's seat. But a seasoned traveller explained: 'Fun fact for those curious, that gap covers the emergency hatch down to the cabin crew bunks, hence why it's randomly in the middle of the cabin.' 'There's an emergency escape hatch under the carpet,' another shared.
