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Dannii Minogue tells Kris: ‘Let’s stay together’

Dannii Minogue: My year from hell

After a drama-packed week, could the famous former couple be ready to reunite after three months apart?

When Dannii Minogue’s flight from Melbourne to Sydney was struck by lightning a few weeks ago, for one petrifying moment she believed she was about to die. “It happened right next to where I was sitting. I was terrified – I thought it was all over,” says the Australia’s Got Talent judge.

It was one mid-air mishap too many for Dannii, who’s had her fair share of in-flight freak-outs. Two years ago, her London to Melbourne flight ended in a horror landing. “We had the most terrible landing. We were coming down to land and suddenly shot straight back up again,” a friend of Dannii’s revealed at the time. “There was too much cloud and the pilot could not see the runway. It was all very scary.”

By all accounts, it was a traumatic experience – enough to leave anyone reassessing what’s important. So it’s little wonder some industry insiders are speculating that the 40-year-old singer’s near-death experience may be connected to whispers she and her ex, 33-year-old Myer ambassador Kris Smith, may be getting back together.

Friends of the gorgeous couple, who split in April this year, are hoping they will officially announce their reconciliation any day, bringing both parents back under one roof for the sake of their 23-month-old son, Ethan. “Dannii’s feelings for Kris never went away. She really loves him and although they have not reunited yet, they could well get back together,” a source tells new! magazine.

Read more about Dannii and Kris in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday June 25, 2012.

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Richard Wilkins: Meet my amazing son

Richard Wilkins: Meet my amazing son

In a candid interview, the entertainment guru tells about the inspirational son who changed his life forever.

Richard Wilkins will never forget the swirl of emotions as he held his child — a beautiful baby boy named Adam — in his arms for the first time. As he looked down at the tiny newborn, Richard — then barely more than a boy himself at just 18 — had an inkling that something wasn’t quite right. Soon after, Richard’s fears were confirmed by doctors. Adam had Down syndrome.

For the young man who went on to become one of our most enduring showbusiness personalities, time stood still. Life, Richard realised in that moment of clarity, would simply never be the same again. “I got lucky for the first time on my 18th birthday and, nine months later, became a father,” he says now. “Between all that, I married Lynette, the 16-year-old girl that I didn’t know very well, who was Adam’s mum. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. So, at 18, I had a new wife and a Down syndrome son. It was quite a wake-up call. I call Adam my rock as he forced me to grow up all of a sudden and take stock of the situation.”

That was back in 1973 in the New Zealand city of Palmerston North, where Richard had recently completed high school. “Back in those days, hubbies weren’t exactly encouraged to be in the delivery room cutting umbilical cords. But when I first saw Adam, I just instinctively knew,” he said. “I guess it hits you pretty hard — with a thud, actually. I remember having a lot of tests done on me to see what I’d done wrong. I almost wanted to believe that there was something wrong with me — something that I’d passed on. But the tests all came back clear as a bell.”

Talking about Adam, Richard’s face lights up, his voice full of pride. It’s clear that Adam has brought the Today show’s entertainment editor — now a devoted father of five who lives happily with fiancée Rebecca Naso, who also has two children, Sophie and Zane — immeasurable joy over the past four decades. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had known in advance that Adam was Down syndrome,” Richard says softly. “Well, I probably do know what we would have done and that would have been a dreadful mistake. Blessings come in unlikely packages and he is such a joy.

Read more about Richard and his family life in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday June 25, 2012.

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Florence Henderson still fit fab and dating at 78!

Florence Henderson still fit fab and dating at 78!

As she hits our shores, Florence Henderson tells how she’s hoping for an Aussie romance.

She may be 78 years old, but Florence Henderson, who played all-American mum Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, says you’re never too old for love, and will be looking for romance on her latest trip to Australia. “I would like to find a man to share my life with again, because I am a romantic,” she says in an exclusive interview with Woman’s Day. “I like to dance, I like to travel and to have fun, so you can see why I’m looking forward to coming to Australia.”

Florence arrives in Sydney this week for what will be her 10th visit to Australia since she found fame in the 1970s playing mum to the six Brady kids. “I do date, but haven’t found the perfect man yet,” admits the beautiful blonde actress, here to promote a new Ardmona tomato product, Duo. Florence, who hosted a cooking variety show in the US and has two cookbooks to her name, says she didn’t find much time to cook for her own four children due to the demands of being the most famous TV mum in the world, but likes to get creative in the kitchen these days.

“Tomatoes are probably my favourite thing to eat,” says Florence, who’s the youngest of 10. “I grew up very poor on a small tobacco farm in outhern Indiana, and my fondest memory is going to the tomato patch with a salt shaker… to pick a tomato was a treat.” It’s more than 40 years since The Brady Bunch first took the world by storm, but Florence remains as fit as when she shot to fame, thanks to a healthy diet and zest for life.

“I’ve got abs of steel. You can punch me in the stomach if you don’t believe me,” she jokes. “I try to eat healthily. When you’re on your own, it’s important to make proper meals and not just eat a bag of potato chips or a bit of cheese on toast. There are a lot of pasta dishes and salads that work very well for one person. “Unhealthy eating has led us down a path of obesity and heart disease, and I think that being on your own, you have to make sure those things don’t happen to you. It also means I can eat a lot of garlic, which I love, and which is very good for you – so, there is an upside to cooking for one.”

Read more about Florence and her healthy lifestyle in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday June 25, 2012.

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Johnny Depp’s midlife meltdown

Johnny Depp's midlife meltdown

A solemn looking Johnny with Vanessa two years ago in Cannes.

Flirting with co-stars, hard nights with wild rockers and ever-longer trips away from home finally took their toll.

The 14-year love affair between Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis was the perfect antidote to Hollywood’s tales of infidelity, deceit and divorce. With two beautiful children and a life together in the sleepy French town of Plan-de-la-Tour, Johnny and Vanessa had found peace a world away from the relationship graveyard that is LA.

So when Johnny began pushing for a move back to Hollywood this time last year, it’s no wonder their inner circle was baffled. Why was the former hell-raiser yearning to return to the scene of his wild nights and volatile relationships? Friends began to wonder if Johnny and Vanessa’s life of serenity could survive a return to the chaos of Hollywood.

In April this year, when Johnny bizarrely joined controversial goth icon Marilyn Manson to play a gig in LA before a wild night out with his entourage of leather-clad girls, the Hollywood grapevine was abuzz with reports that Johnny had been “openly flirting” and “not acting like a married man”. Adding fuel to the fire, Johnny appeared to spend more and more time alone in LA, leaving Vanessa in France.

Already leading separate lives, Vanessa was then forced to endure speculation that Johnny had been tempted into an affair with his 26-year-old openly bisexual The Rum Diary co-star Amber Heard. One source who worked on the film tells Woman’s Day that Amber spent much of the time on set “teasing Johnny and talking to him about her relationship with her girlfriend, their sex life and how open-minded she was in the bedroom”.

Read more about Johnny’s midlife meltdown in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday June 25, 2012.

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Kate Middleton: Mum in training

Kate Middleton: Mum in training

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge put their baby plans on hold during a hectic year, Kate is squeezing in as much parenting practice as she can.

As she fussed and hovered over an adorable blonde baby girl, the Duchess of Cambridge couldn’t have looked more at ease. While the future queen was supposed to be watching Prince William compete in a charity polo event, it was clear she only had eyes for Savannah Phillips, the 18-month-old daughter of Wills’ cousin Peter and his wife Autumn, and Princess Anne’s grandchild.

It’s no secret Kate and William will soon be ready to produce a royal heir, but for now, thanks to a hectic travelling schedule in coming months, clucky Kate is content with getting as much practice as possible with other people’s children.

Before dashing to her husband’s side at the polo in Gloucestershire, Kate chaperoned 150 children with behavioural difficulties at a theatre production of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, before bogging down in the mud with 28 underprivileged school students on a camping trip the next day.

While William revealed in a recent interview that he was looking to scale down on his Royal Air Force commitments “to have children”, in reality, a little princess or prince is at least six months away, thanks to a gruelling Jubilee tour of Asia and the South Pacific planned for September.

Read more and see more pictures of Kate in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday June 25, 2012.

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Mum tries to sell baby in classifieds for $4000

Mum tries to sell baby in classifieds for $4000

Brittany Hill's mugshot.

A US mother has been arrested for trying to sell her four-month-old baby in her local newspaper for $4000.

Brittany Hill, 26, from Dallas, Texas, was arrested on Friday after a potential buyer of the infant got cold feet and contacted police.

Hill’s landlords contacted police on the same day after they entered her apartment to collect unpaid rent and found the baby alone in its cot.

Hill was arrested when she returned home and charged with child abandonment.

Her neighbours were horrified to learn she had been leaving the baby alone.

“I just think it’s a very sad situation, and I’m glad that the baby is safe and away from those people,” neighbour Latonia Smith told US TV station NBC5.

“I saw her when she was pregnant, and she just seemed to be very depressed, always alone sitting on the stairway.”

The baby is now in the care of Child Protective Services.

Video: Extreme celebrity parenting.

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Queen’s property boosts income to $56 million

Queen Elizabeth II has another reason to smile this year – her annual income will increase 20 percent to $56 million thanks to her property portfolio.

The Crown Estate posted a record profit of $377 million in the past 12 months, largely due to increased demand for its premium retail properties on London’s Regent Street.

The portfolio also includes royal palaces, residential buildings throughout central London, a race course and even offshore wind farms.

The Queen’s allowance was frozen in 2010 but new laws allow it to be bolstered by a percentage of the profits of her property portfolio.

The royal family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 1960.

Buckingham Palace during the 2012 Trooping of the Colour.

Buckingham Palace.

Frogmore House near Windsor.

Sandringham House in Norfolk, North East England.

The Queen, Prince Philip and a corgi outside Sandringham House in 1982.

London’s Kensington Palace.

Princess Diana and her sons William and Harry in Kensington Palace in 1985.

Diana lived at Kensington Palace after her divorce from Prince Charles.

London’s Clarence House, home to Prince Charles.

The Queen Mother outside Clarence House in 1990.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton outside Holyroodhouse in 1963.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Windsor Castle.

Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret outside Windsor Castle in 1941.

St James’ Palace in London.

The Crown Estate owns all the freeholds in Kensington Palace Gardens.

The monarch also owns all retail and residential property in London’s Regent Street.

The income from Regent Street each year is substantial.

The crown also owns Royal Ascot racecourse.

The Queen and Prince Philip arriving at Royal Ascot this week.

The Crown Estate owns large parts of residential development Paddington Basin.

One of the crown’s lucrative offshore wind farms.

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The monarch owns Winsdor Great Park, shown here in 1980.

Prestigious golf club The Berkshire is built on land owned by the crown.

Swinley Forest is another golf club built on Crown Land.

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Sea otter covers eyes with paws while swimming

Sea otter covers eyes with paws while swimming

Watch this super-cute sea otter pup taking a leisurely swim and covering its eyes with its paws.

According to the otter-loving YouTuber who uploaded the vid (KatieOtter501), otters spend a lot of time chilling and often cover their eyes.

“Wild sea otters spend between 50 to 60 percent of their time resting, taking breaks between feeding, grooming and socialising throughout the day and night. Often otters rest with their paws over their eyes, perhaps because it is a comfortable position in which to keep their short paws out of the cold water,” she wrote.

Cute overload!

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Designer sells high heels to six-year-olds

Designer sells high heels to six-year-olds

Michael Kors heels for six-year-olds.

Suri Cruise has been wearing high heels since her fourth birthday and thanks to fashion designer Michael Kors, other little girls can now follow in her tiny footsteps.

Kors has unveiled a new range of heels, marketed at six- to 10-year-olds.

The sparkly gold style feature a two-inch heel and sell for $66, while the three-inch blue denim espadrille wedges sell for $74.

Related: Why girls are having sex at 12

Kors isn’t the only designer making heels for children. Kenneth Cole and Jessica Simpson’s children’s lines sell heeled shoes, but keep theirs below two inches high.

Podiatrists and physiotherapists have repeatedly warned against the dangers of letting kids wear heels.

Even a slight inclination can cause irreversible shortening of calf muscles and damage the soft bones in the feet.

Children’s high heels have also been criticised for sexualising young girls, making them appear more mature than they are.

Related: Are our girls growing up too fast?

Suri regularly wears heels, makeup and adult-style clothing, but her mother Katie has defended her style, saying her daughter is just a girly-girl.

“She’s just like every little girl, she loves my high heels,” Katie said.

Your say: Do you think kids should be wearing high heels?

Video: Sexualising our kids

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Fifty Shades of Grey outsells Harry Potter

So-called 'mummy porn' novel 50 Shades of Grey has overtaken Harry Potter to become the fastest-selling paperback of all time.
Fans reading the erotic novels (left) and the author EL James.

So-called ‘mummy porn’ novel 50 Shades of Grey has overtaken Harry Potter to become the fastest-selling paperback of all time.

The erotic book is the first in British author EL James’ X-rated trilogy and this week beat previous records set by JK Rowling and The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown.

Related: Why our kids need to know more about sex

James — a 49-year-old mother of two whose real name is Erika Mitchell — says she wrote the book to offer women a “holiday from their husbands”.

The novel is about Ana Steele, a young female virgin who begins a depraved sexual relationship with a much older billionaire, Christian Grey.

Readers are given every filthy detail of the couple’s numerous romps, complete with explicit language. Many of their encounters involve sado-masochism and scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a hard-core porn film.

Initially, sales of the story were limited to the discreet e-book variety but hard copies are now flying off the shelves.

Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels 50 Shades Darker and 50 Shades Freed are the top three books on the Dymocks Bestseller list and it’s hard to find a bus, plane or train in the country that doesn’t have someone reading a copy on board.

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