American model Stephanie Seymour has sent folks into a rage after posing in provocative lingerie with her adult sons.
The 45-year-old ex-Victoria’s Secret model posed for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar with her sons Peter Brant II, 20, and Harry, 17, in a move that was said to poke fun at rumours of a sinister relationship with her sons.
Insinuations of an inappropriate relationship with her sons was sparked three years ago when the mother of four was snapped kissing and being playful with her son Peter, in a barely-there bikini, on the glamorous Caribbean island of St Barts.
“They are fearless kids. They grew up surrounded by art,” a family friend told New York Post.
“They decided to combat silliness with silliness.”
In one cover shot, Stephanie stands with her hands tangled within her tousled hair, while her sons sit and kneel at her feet, leaning their heads, hands and torsos against their mother’s long pins.
The Playboy cover model and ex-fiancée to Guns ‘n’ Roses front man Axl Rose is no stranger to controversy and embraces nudity in the name of art.
The model’s sons grew up in a home with a Maurizio Cattelan artwork of their mother’s life-size nude bust hanging from the wall.
Despite the ridicule, Stephanie’s son Peter has stood defiantly by his mother, releasing this statement when pictures first emerged of him and his mother, three years ago.
“My mother and I are very close as she is with all her children . . . We have nothing to hide and with that in mind I would like to say that I am openly gay . . . and yes, our relationship may be different because of my sexuality,” he said.
Miranda Kerr has shared another topless selfie with the world! The attention grabbing picture was posted on the same day her new fashion campaign with H&M was announced.
In the image, which she posted to her Instagram account, the Aussie supermodel is seen lying on a bed topless. She captioned the picture: “Thank you @wmag @mertalas @macpiggott @edward_enninful.”
On the same day Miranda was announced as the face of H&M’s Spring/Summer 2014 campaign. The clothing chain is set to open its first Australian store in the coming months.
Miranda has since deleted the risqué selfie from her Instagram feed.
See more shameless celebrity plugs here!
Miranda Kerr posted this picture of herself on the same day she was announced as the face of H&M.
Miranda Kerr posted this picture of herself on the same day she was announced as the face of H&M.
Beyonce promotes Pepsi after signing a $50 million, multi-faceted deal.
Lara Bingle poses in the bikini she designed for Cotton On Body.
Kim Kardashian shamelessly promotes her favourite lip balm while pregnant.
Katie Price got herself a deal with Snickers.
Sophia Vergara promotes her Head and Shoulders advertisement.
Singer Ricki-Lee promotes her Ricki-Lee army range.
Miranda Kerr’s family has used a very public platform to make an emotional plea to their daughter and her son, Flynn, to come home after not seeing the two of them in over a year.
The Aussie model’s mother Therese, father John, nanna Ann and brother Matthew have used ABC1’s documentary drama series Family Confidential, which they star in, to appeal to the estranged supermodel, giving a rare glimpse into the Kerr family dynamics.
“Miranda’s life is so different now [and] she’s surrounded by yes people all the time. It’s so important for me to be real, to be true, to be who she needs me to be,” Therese told ABC1.
Woman’s Day reported in December last year that all was not well within the Kerr family after Miranda, 30, snubbed Christmas with her family after a nasty falling out with her mother.
The mother and daughter relationship fell on hard times after the ex-David Jones catwalk model decided to remove her mother from Kora Organics, the skincare company that Therese Kerr helped her establish.
Despite the mother-daughter feud, it was Miranda’s father John who was the most candid during filming, revealing his wish that his daughter hadn’t married a movie star and had lived a simpler life.
“After what I know now I would rather she did just marry a nobody because you really can’t get that family time by yourself,” he said.
“I just hope Flynn grows up and he wants to be with his nan and pop.
“What I’d really like to do as a grandad now is teach Flynn how to milk a cow, how to ride a horse, teach him all them [sic] country things.”
Miranda’s grandmother Ann echoed John’s sentiments, adding that she just wants to spend some time with her three-year-old great-grandson.
“I miss the baby and I think he’s missing out on family, that closeness that we have always had,” she said.
“It’s very nice where they are but nothing like Australia, nothing and I think hopefully Flynn might end up here. We just keep our fingers crossed.”
But for Miranda’s brother Matthew – he just wants his sister back in his life.
“I’d like to spend more one-on-one time instead of with an entourage of people who we don’t really know. I love her to death, I just want to see her more.”
In what has been described as a “shock move”, the Crown prosecution introduced a friend of Miss Harnum to give evidence at Gittany’s sentence hearing in Darlinghurst today.
The woman, who knew Miss Harnum from beauty college and had previously been in an abusive relationship, only came forward after the prosecution closed its case last year.
She told how the attractive 31-year-old Canadian had confided that if she left Gittany, “he’d kill her”. Miss Harnum also asked her how and why she had left her abusive relationship, the court heard.
The new witness cried as she recounted daily death threats made against Miss Harnum, who allegedly feared Gittany would poison her food and if he killed her, “make it look like suicide”.
She had also feared he was tracking her finances and would find her if she fled, the friend said. She said she’d offered Miss Harnum money in a bid to help.
Gittany’s barrister condemned the claims as “fabricated”, while Gittany mouthed “seriously” and shook his head as the evidence was revealed.
In earlier drama, Gittanny’s current girlfriend Rachelle Louise led a silent protest of his friends and family, wielding various placards proclaiming his innocence.
They included signs saying “How do you render some 1 unconscious in less than 65 secs without any trauma on the body?” and “Why was Lisa still holding her handbag and how if she was unconscious?”
In court, the witness explained that she thought there was an ample amount of people who had known what happened and that there had been enough evidence at the trial without her.
In a victim impact statement, Miss Harnum’s mother Joan appealed for Miss Harnum’s ordeal and death to be treated as a “cry around the world” to stop men’s violence against women.
Gittany’s sentence hearing is expected to continue into Thursday, before Gittany’s sentence is handed down in coming weeks.
Gittanny’s girlfriend Rachelle Louise speaks to Sunday Night in an exclusive interview airing this Sunday at 6.30pm on Channel 7.
The two icons will meet when Queen Elizabeth visits the Vatican, and it is the first time the Queen has met the leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2010 when Pope Benedict XVI- who resigned last year- visited England and Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip will attend a private lunch hosted by the Italian President, Georgio Napolitano, on April 3.
They will meet His Holiness Pope Francis following the lunch.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie certainly had the look of love when they stepped out for a romantic date night at Airlie Beach in Queensland’s Whitsundays on Tuesday night.
The loved-up pair went kid-free as they attended the wrap party for Angelina’s film, Unbroken at the Shipwreck Bar and Grill.
The A-list couple were all smiles as they greeted fans outside the restaurant on their way inside.
Angelina has been in the Whitsundays shooting the final scenes of her WWII drama. She has been in Australia since October with her brood of six kids while Brad has dropped in and out of the country to visit his family.
See the pics here!
Brad and Ange arrive at the Shipwreck Bar and Grill.
The pair greet the waiting crowds.
The A-listers looked relaxed and happy as they arrived.
Miley Cyrus has given some insight into her 15-month long engagement to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.
“Guys watch too much porn. Those girls don’t exist. They’re not real girls,” she told W magazine.
“And that’s like us watching romance movies. That’s girl porn, because, like, those guys do not exist.”
The Wrecking Ball singer says she has no interest in starting another relationship following the break-up in September and revealed she has difficulty trusting men and isn’t amused with the realities of dating.
Miley, 21, says she isn’t impressed with being wined and dined either.
“[Guys] just try too hard with me, and it’s just like, ‘I don’t need you to impress me. I don’t want you to, like, take me to fancy restaurants,’” she said.
“I hate sitting down for dinner! You don’t have to do that to me! You don’t have to take me on trips! I literally just want to chill here!”
Miley, who met Liam on the set of her 2010 movie The Last Song, has now firmly placed dating at the back of her mind, instead focusing on her Bangerz world tour, which begins on February 14.
“That’s why I’m, like, not trying to jump into a relationship… I love my music so much, and I love what I’m doing so much that that has become my other half, rather than another person,” she said.
“I never leave the house. Why go to a movie? I’ve got a huge-ass TV. We’ve got a chef here that can make you great food. We don’t need to leave. I would just rather be here where I’m completely locked in.”
Parties, special occasions, celebrations – it’s certainly not hard to splurge on the weekends! But you may not have to feel as guilty as you think for feasting over the two days.
New research suggests that watching what you eat during the week is what really counts when trying to lose weight and if you do this successfully, weekend binges may not be so bad after all.
Researchers from New York’s Cornell University found that the most successful weight control is done by short-term splurges that occur for most people on the weekends.
But the difference between being overweight or not doesn’t come down to how much weight is gained on the weekends, but how much is lost during the week.
Dr Brian Wansink and his team observed the weight fluctuations of 80 participants aged 25 to 62, who weighed themselves before breakfast each day.
They were classified in groups as general weight losers, weight gainers or weight maintainers.
The weekly weight patterns were analysed, showing how the seven-day cycle we live by impacts on our weight.
The results showed a clear pattern of weekly weight fluctuation, with participants weighing more on Sundays and Mondays. Their weight then steadily decreased during the week, reaching the lowest point on Friday.
Researchers found that participants lost weight by cutting back on kilojoules straight after the weekend, continuing until Friday.
Meanwhile those who had no clear decrease in kilojoules during weekdays didn’t lose weight.
The study was published in the journal Obesity Facts and carried out in conjunction with researchers from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Tampere University of Technology.
The women don flapper dresses, feather boas and the finest of hairpieces, or maybe a cloche hat, paint themselves up in their boldest make-up and flaunt it for all its worth. Elaborate art deco jewellery and a pretend puff or two on a snazzy, slender cigarette holder add to the look.
The men go for Top Hats, Fedoras, Panamas or straw boaters, tuxedo suits and stripy blazers, garish ties and colourful braces, and anything else they can to make themselves look like dashing Chicago-style gangsters.
Why? Because it’s the month-long Roaring 20s & All That Jazz Festival, and if any era represents having fun and making an exhibition of yourself, the Roaring Twenties is probably it.
Revellers embracing the Roaring 20s theme.
“It’s great fun,” says festival director Sandy Luxford. “Most women really just enjoy dressing up – there are lots of sequins, the glitz, the glamour….”
But, she adds, “the men are looking pretty spiffy too. We’ve had some really elegant men taking part this year.”
The program starts in energetic, dramatic fashion with the Charleston Challenge, an attempt to break the Guinness world record for the greatest number of costumed people dancing the Charleston, one of the more risqué dances from the 1920s era.
The festival set the record last year with 276 participants and went even better in the Leura Mall on Saturday, taking the tally to 319.
A record-breaking 319 people danced the Charleston on the streets in the Charleston Challenge.
Luxford says the youngest participant this year was a five-year old girl, the eldest dancer a gallant 81-year-old woman. Gallant because to qualify for the record, the dance has to go on for at least five minutes, and the Charleston can be an aerobic challenge – it involves some fancy footwork, knees-up, high kicks, stretching and lunging low – particularly on a hot summer’s morning when you are decked out in formal attire. It makes for great entertainment, both for the participants and the onlookers.
Bettering the record is a sign of the growing popularity of the festival, now in its fourth year. “We’ll aim for the 400-mark next year, for sure,” Luxford says.
After their successful record-breaking performance, the jubilant participants retreated into the shade of a marquee for a formal long lunch, or to the local cafes and bars for a deserved rest and refreshment.
Attendees got into the spirit, donning impressive costumes.
For some, though, this was a mere interlude until another highlight of the festival, the Art Deco Ball at the Carrington Hotel in Katoomba that night, when those lucky enough to have secured a ticket could kick up their heels to the sounds of Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters.
For those that missed it, don’t fret: you still have time to fit in another night of glitzy decadence at the Roaring Twenties Glamour and Gowns Ball on February 15 at the Civic Ballroom in Lithgow, a new addition to the festival program.
Jazz, musical soirees, murder mysteries and indulgent high teas also feature prominently on the festival calendar, and the great natural beauty of the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains region, splendid historic manors and gardens, and generally pleasant climate add to the splendour and sense of occasion.
The social set has a lot to fit in on February 15. Apart from the ball in Lithgow, there is Croquet on the Lawn at the Manor House in Mt Victoria (built in the 1870s as a mountain retreat for Sydney Morning Herald founder John Fairfax) followed by a Murder Mystery Evening. Meanwhile, at another of the region’s grand manors, Everglades, in Leura, it’s the Retro 2014 Cocktails & Canapes soiree, followed by a dinner dance at the nearby Leura Golf Club.
Anyone with an interest in the Royal family should head to another of the region’s top attractions, the Jenolan Caves, on Sunday, February 16. On March 31, 1927, the caves received their first royal visitors, the Duke and Duchess of York (who went on to become King George VI and the late Queen Mother) and who spent the night in Caves House.
To commemorate that royal visit, the Jenolan Caves are putting on a special tour of the ‘Left Imperial’ cave. Participants can retrace the steps of the royal couple and visit areas of the cave that are not normally shown to the public. As a bonus, the New Empire Ballroom Ragtime Dance Orchestra will provide the musical entertainment at a special high tea, and guided tours of Caves House.
Recently there has been a worldwide revival of interest in the fashion and music of the Roaring Twenties, much of it stirred up by Baz Luhrmann’s typically over-the-top remake of the film The Great Gatsby, which only last week won 13 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards.
One self-confessed fan of the Roaring Twenties is Lorraine Allanson, owner of the Mountain Whispers chain of luxury art deco homes and cottages. It was an era, she says, that was particularly kind to women and she is thrilled that it is back in vogue.
“It allows women to let themselves loose and be women,” she says. “It allows you to be sexy and fun. The sequins, the glitz, the glamour … women love that sparkle, everyone wants to be wearing the bling. It was a beautiful era, coming after the Victorian and Edwardian ones, because it allowed people to do that, to let their hair down. And it’s something we still need because we all lead busy lives.”
The showpiece in the Mountain Whispers chain is a property called Gatsby. “I loved Robert Redford and the original film,” Allanson confesses. The latest film has inspired a new generation, “but it’s the costumes and the music that everyone raves about,” she says.
Music lovers are in for a treat in the coming month. For starters, there is the Blue Mountains Ukelele Festival at the Carrington Hotel (Feb 9); the Hotel Blue in Katoomba is offering Prohibition Jazz with Passion (Feb 7) and Prohibition Blues (Feb 14) as well as a Murder Mystery High Tea (Feb 8); the Paragon Café in Katoomba is putting on a Tango night (Feb 15); the New Ivanhoe Hotel in Blackheath a Roaring 20s Cabaret (Feb 21); and to round it off there is there is 1920s Jazz in The Garden at the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum in Faulconbridge (Feb 22).
The true romantics will be heading for the Valentine’s Day Dinner at the Palais Royale in Katoomba (Feb 14, of course) and gourmands will be tempted by the Gatsby Soiree at Restaurant Nineteen23 in Wentworth Falls (Feb 15). The restaurant is part of the historic Silvermere Guest House, and the new head chef, Will Cowan-Lunn, formerly the head chef of Rockpool Bar & Grill in Melbourne, is fast making a name for the place (his resume includes stints at Tetsuyas and Rockpool in Sydney).
As well as fabulous costumes, The Roaring Twenties produced much-loved vintage cars, which went on display in the Leura Mall for the festival opening, and will reappear at the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair in Oberon on February 8.
The Blue Mountains, Lithgow & Oberon Tourism (BMLOT) office can assist with accommodation options, but if you really want to make the most of it, dress up and get into character, particularly if you have tickets to the balls, then you should try to book the ‘Gatsby’, one of the boutique cottages run by Mountain Whispers in Katoomba. You will feel like you are on the set of the film.
The Blue Mountains are, of course, world renowned as a tourist and wilderness destination, a must see on an overseas visitor’s itinerary. But it is also an area whose overall tourism potential can be greatly underestimated – too often visitors go up on a day trip, take the obligatory photos of The Three Sisters at Echo Point, rush off to Scenic World to do the Scenic Railway, Skyway, Cableway and/or Walkway, maybe browse in a few of the local arts and crafts shops, and then they go home. It becomes a case of ‘been there, done that’.
But the region has so much more to offer, and warrants and rewards patient, thorough exploring. The views from Hassans Wall lookout, near Lithgow, for example, are almost as spectacular as those Echo Point in Katoomba and Evans Lookout in Blackheath, but on any weekday and even most weekends, you will probably have them to yourself.
Allanson is often asked by her guests to advise them on itineraries. “Some people just want to come up and relax and be pampered with spas and massages,” she says. “Others just want to shop – the area is great for antiques and period costumes and furniture. Leura rivals Sydney and Melbourne in this regard. There are lots of dining options too, such as Darleys and Leura Garage.”
Others just want to be in the outdoors, be it horse riding in the Megalong Valley, or by taking one of the numerous treks “where you can see these magnificent waterfalls and swim in crystal pools”.
Allanson says she often sends couples up with champagne and a picnic hamper to Lincoln Rock in Wentworth Falls. “A lot of proposals take place there.”
For tourist information, the Blue Mountains, Lithgow & Oberon Tourism office can be contacted on 1300 922 492; www.visitbluemountains.com.au. The Roaring 20s & All That Jazz festival program is at www.roaring20s.com.au.
The writer was a guest of BMLOT and Mountain Whispers for the 2013 festival, and attended this year’s event of his own accord. He might even disgrace himself in the Charleston Challenge next year.
In 2009, lonely farmer Laurence Bassett appeared in the pages of The Weekly seeking a wife. To his great surprise, he found one!
Five years ago, Laurence Bassett was lonely. He was 42 and single, and his busy life as a farmer in Coonabarabran left him little time to look for love.
“I usually start work before light, and work until dark – with break in the hottest part of the day,” he explains from his home in north-western NSW.
Luckily for Laurence, a friend of his intervened, sending his bio to The Weekly’s ‘Find a Farmer a Wife’ campaign.
“A mate of mine dobbed me in, and I agreed to go along with it because … I guess you could say I could hear my biological clock ticking,” Laurence says.
“Time had moved on, but I had stopped. I never in a million years believed it would work!”
Slowly and softly spoken, Laurence sounds like a man from a different age. Country born and bred he moved to Sydney to learn his trade, but had to return to the family farm and look after his mother, Irene.
“My Dad died when I was 14, and Mum wasn’t yet 40 so I became the man of house pretty early on,” he says.
“Mum wasn’t really comfortable with me going in a magazine to look for love – she is from a different era where people who married knew one another their whole life.”
In the article, Laurence described himself as “house-trained, honest and loving”, a description that sparked the interest of Susanne Roth who then lived in Hervey Bay, Queensland.
“I got a letter from her, and several others,” Laurence says. “Not knowing how to approach them, I shuffled them, and started calling the ladies one by one.
“While a few were hoaxes, Sue was surprised I had called her back, and we got talking. To say it was awkward is an understatement, we were both very shy.”
What followed next is a modern take on an old-fashioned courtship. Laurence and Susanne corresponded by text and phone calls for a full year before finally organising to meet one another in person.
“We started with just the odd text and phone call, and ended with countless texts and daily calls,” Laurence says with a chuckle.
“When we finally met, we just clicked. We already knew one another so well – we were like best friends – she was just good company.”
Another year passed, with monthly visits between the pair, before Susanne made the plunge and moved to the country to be with her love.
“I thought it was a bit bizarre actually!” Laurence confesses, adding “I was a bit worried that she was leaving all she knew behind and that we wouldn’t work out.”
Luckily Laurence’s fears were misplaced, and three days after Christmas last year the pair wed at a local motel in Coonabarabran.
“The day went off without a hitch, and now life just feels … right,” Laurence says. “I was railroaded into going into the magazine, but I am every grateful for the article that started all this.”
In the original profile of Laurence, he said that in a decade’s time his ideal life would be a “wife and kids, and still farming with no drought”.
“We’d very much like to start a family,” he says. “But we’re not sure if time will be on our side. We didn’t get to have a honeymoon after our wedding, but as soon as the drought breaks, that’s where we’ll be headed!”
When asked how it feels to call Susanne his wife, Laurence replies: “Bizarre! I’ve always been the single one. She’s the love of my life, I only wish I’d met her years ago.”
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