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Kate and Wills: Our first 100 days

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Kate and Wills: Our first 100 days

As the young couple reinvent the way we look at the royal family one charming appearance at a time, Katie Nicholl has a front-row seat.

The bar was set on April 29 and the expectations were high. After their fairytale wedding at Westminster Abbey, we wondered if and how William and Kate, the royal family’s youngest, brightest stars, could continue the magic they made on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Now, 100 days after the momentous occasion, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have proved they have that rare combination of royal stardust and accessibility – a tool they have used to enchant and captivate the world.

The newlyweds, who are said to be “delighted” and still riding the wave of euphoria that followed their first overseas tour, have already been labelled Britain’s most dynamic and powerful “brand”. Their tour of Canada and California has generated millions of dollars for their charities and Britain. There is even talk of them being trade ambassadors, now Prince Andrew has stepped down as the trade envoy.

Their huge success has not gone unnoticed at the palace, and a possible tour to Australia and New Zealand next year, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, could be in the offing. The Queen is naturally delighted that her grandson and his new wife triumphed in Canada and California. William and Kate were treated like rock stars. Everywhere they went, crowds waited for hours for a glimpse of them. I accompanied the couple and witnessed the excitement.

William, who as a teenager had blushed furiously at the “Wills-mania” he first encountered in Toronto, now revelled in the attention, as did Kate. They beamed, waved and seemed genuinely keen to meet as many people as possible. According to one senior courtier, “The Duke and Duchess are still on a high and absolutely thrilled with how the tour went.” Now that they are home, they are keen to resume “normal life”, and after William’s cousin Zara Phillips’ wedding to Mike Tindall last weekend in Scotland, they plan to keep a low profile.

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Amy Winehouse’s dad to open rehab centre

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Amy Winehouse's dad to open rehab centre

Amy Winehouse’s father has revealed his plans to set up a drug rehabilitation centre for addicted youth in his daughter’s name.

Mitch Winehouse is set to meet with a Home Office minister today to discuss support for the centre, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.

Mitch will be joined by his late daughter’s managers Raye Cosbert and Trenton Harrison-Lewis as well as a former cocaine abuser and addiction expert Sarah Graham.

Graham, who met Mitch in 2009 when the pair addressed the Home Affairs Select Committee on drug abuse, said she will be heavily involved in the project.

“We didn’t know it (Winehouse’s death) was going to happen but we hope it will show people that addiction is something that can kill people when they are very young and that we should not wait until it is too late,” Graham said.

“Rehabilitation is more expensive than treatment in the community but in reality most desperate young people cannot access it.

“It might be because their dealer meets them at the school gates or it could be that they are getting abused at home. As a rich country we should be able to afford a rehabilitation centre for young people and we don’t think charities should pay for it totally.”

Following the death of his daughter, who had a very public battle with drugs and alcohol, Mitch revealed that he wanted to do something for addicts who could not afford private treatment.

Amy Winehouse was found dead at her London home on July 23. Her family is still awaiting the results of toxicology tests to establish the cause of her death.

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Zara and Mike’s royal wedding

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Zara Phillips wed her long time love England rugby star Mike Tindall in a romantic ceremony in Edinburgh at the weekend.

The bride, who is said to be the Queen’s favourite grandchild, wore a full-length ivory silk gown with silk tulle detail designed by the Queen’s favourite couturier Stewart Parvin.

The couple wed in front of close family and friends as a crowd of 6000 gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

After the ceremony the couple and their guests, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, headed to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the Queen’s official Scottish residence.

Read more about Zara’s Royal wedding in next week’s Woman’s Day, on sale August 8, 2011.

Zara is lead to the church by her father Captain Mark Phillips.

Zara Phillips sealed her marriage to England rugby star Mike Tindall with a kiss.

Zara looked effortlessly beautiful on her big day and wore a Greek Key tiara lent by her mother.

Zara and Mike’s bridal party looked simple yet elegant.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambrdge attended the wedding.

Queen Elizabeth wore a pink coat and matching hat.

Princess Eugenie opted for a brown and cream essemble by Angela Kelly.

Her sister Princess Beatrice wore a bright blue number by the same designer.

Princess Anne with her ex-husband Mark Phillips.

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Exercise your face and look five years younger

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Exercise works for your abs, so why not your face? Unlike your body muscles, your 57 facial muscles are directly attached to your skin. When facial muscles lose their tone, the skin starts to sag and lose its lustre. Toning the muscles of your neck and face will increase oxygen circulation, speed up lymphatic drainage and release tension, restoring a radiant glow.

Before you start

To avoid pulling or stretching your skin during the exercises, make sure you lubricate it generously with a natural oil or moisturiser. Do as many repetitions of each exercise as you feel comfortable with. A word of warning: Do not perform these exercises in front of your partner!

Related: Time-saving skin care tips

Eyes

This exercise tones the eye muscle — the orbicularis oculi. Gently place your index fingertips flat on the bone of your outer eye socket (right over your smile lines). This creates resistance. Firmly contract the eye muscles until they almost close. Don’t use your cheek muscles. Squint for a second, then release.

Place your three middle fingertips on your temples and pull the skin back slightly as you tightly close your eyes. Hold the contraction for two seconds, then release. With time, this exercise will get rid of any bagginess around the eyelids.

Cheeks

The delicate cheek muscles give a youthful look to the face when they are firm and defined. Place your index fingertips on the muscles on either side of the nose. Press down and resist as you scrunch up the nose. Toning this muscle will soften the lines from the nose to the corners of the mouth.

Place your three middle fingertips over the apples of your cheeks and press into your cheekbones. Smile upwards so that the tiny, delicate muscles underneath contract. Keep your eye muscles relaxed. Hold for a few second and release.

Mouth

This small movement will strengthen the muscles around the mouth and make the lips look fuller. Place your clean index fingers in the corners of your mouth. Pull them out slightly — about a centimetre. Keep pulling as you make a kiss shape with your lips, and attempt to pull the fingers together. Contract the mouth as hard as you can while resisting with your fingers. Hold for two seconds and release.

Chin

This exercise works the muscle at the front of the neck (platysma) and the chin muscle (the mentalis) to ward off the dreaded turkey-neck syndrome. Press the lips firmly together in a thin line and wrinkle the chin. Now slowly lower the jaw, keeping the lips together. Keep the head in place as well. Hold this contraction for a second or two and release.

Neck

These exercises firm up the jawline and the front of the neck. Sitting up straight, tilt your head back and look at the ceiling. With your lips together, make exaggerated chewing motions, so that you really feel your neck and jaw working.

While tilting your head back, press your tongue into the roof of your mouth. Holding it there, lower your chin down towards your neck. Hold for a few seconds and release.

Forehead

This exercise helps with forehead lines and is great for a healthy head of hair. If you’ve never been able to wiggle your ears, the movement may be almost imperceptible at first, but keep practising.

Raise your eyebrows (contract the frontalis muscles), hold for one second, and lower. Now, try to pull back your ears (contracting the occipitalis muscles towards the back of the head), hold for one second and release. Keep going, alternating between the eyebrows and the ears.

Related: Are you using the wrong cleanser?

Keep it up

Like with all work-outs, these exercises require persistence, but after a few months you can expect your face shape to be more defined and your skin to be tighter and brighter. Every time I do these exercises consistently for a month, people begin to ask if I’ve had “something done”. From time to time I get used to looking like my old (younger) self and I let the exercises slip. Don’t do this — keep it up! All you need is 15 minutes a day.

Your say: Have you tried any facial exercises before? Did you see any results?

Video: Dr Phillip Artemi gives his top tips to help prevent skin from ageing

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Should you tell your daughter she’s beautiful?

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Should you tell your daughter she's beautiful?

It’s a conundrum for every woman who wants her pretty daughter to grow into a confident woman: should she tell her she’s beautiful, or should she ignore her beauty and compliment her other, more lasting gifts — her intelligence, her creativity, or her sense of humour?

According to Lisa Bloom, author of Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, mothers should take the second option.

Related: Baby beauty bloggers: Cute or creepy?

Telling girls they are beautiful teaches them that looks are more important than anything else, and blames the obsession with appearance for early sexualisation of girls, promiscuity and growth in plastic surgery among young women.

“The problem is not just about that 25 per cent of young women who would rather be hot than smart; rather, it’s about a culture that actually makes that a rational choice; rewarding girls for looks over brains,” she writes.

One mother of an exceptionally pretty teenager told The Weekly that she does not tell her daughter she is beautiful, but she has worried about that decision.

“Because she is so beautiful, other people tell her, so I don’t,” she says. “I kept telling her all her life that beauty comes from within.

“Sometimes I worry that I didn’t do the right thing, as she had low self esteem in her teens and never felt beautiful. She looked in the mirror and found fault. But maybe all teenage girls do that.”

In pictures: Ten things your kids talk about and what they are

Another woman said she did tell her daughter that she was beautiful. “But it backfired a little, because she felt if she was going through a period when she wasn’t particularly beautiful — when she’d put on weight, for example — it affected our relationship and she felt I didn’t have the same regard for her.”

A third woman said: “I tell her she’s pretty or beautiful — my husband does too because, well, she is! But we are conscious of not saying it too often — so she doesn’t think that’s all she’s good at — and balancing that with telling her she’s clever, smart and capable.”

Jordan Baker is The Weekly’s News Editor. Click here to follow her on Twitter and here to follow The Weekly.

Your say: Do you think women should tell their daughters that they’re beautiful?

Video: Working mums vs. stay at home mums

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Royal wedding: Zara Phillips marries Mike Tindall

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Zara Phillips married Mike Tindall in an elegant ceremony in Edinburgh’s Canongate Kirk yesterday.

Zara, 30, wore a full-length ivory silk gown designed by Queen Elizabeth’s favourite couturier Stewart Parvin. She accessorised the outfit with a silk tulle veil, Jimmy Choo shoes and a diamond tiara borrowed from her mother. Mike, the English rugby captain, donned a simple morning suit.

After the ceremony, guests including Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Harry attended a reception at the nearby Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the queen’s official Scottish residence.

Zara arrives at Canongate Kirk fashionably late at 3.07pm.

Zara waves to wellwishers as she enters the church.

Zara and her father Captain Mark Phillips make their way towards the church.

Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Prince William wait for the bride to arrive.

William, Harry and Kate joked and laughed amongst themselves are they waited for Zara.

William and Harry.

Queen Elizabeth wore an outfit by Stewart Parvin, who made the bride’s gown.

Newlyweds Mike and Zara emerge from the church.

http://cdn.assets.cougar.bauer-media.net.au/s3/digital-cougar-assets/AWW/2013/09/16/30530/coverslide.jpg

Zara and Mike were radiant after the 45-minute service.

The couple kissed for the screaming crowds.

Zara waves to wellwishers.

Mike and Zara couldn’t stop staring at each other.

Zara and Mike make their way to their reception.

Princess Eugenie

Princess Beatrice

Harry heads to the reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Mother of the bride Princess Anne.

William and Kate

Prince Harry

Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Prince Charles and Camilla.

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Pippa Middleton documentary to detail Prince Harry relationship

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Pippa Middleton documentary details Prince Harry relationship

Ever since she was dubbed “Her Royal Hotness” following her sister’s royal wedding, Pippa Middleton has attracted incredible attention.

And it seems she is about to get a whole lot more with a documentary, Crazy About Pippa, set to offer details on her relationship with Prince Harry, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.

The documentary, which is set to air on cable network TLC on August 9, promises to provide an insight into the life of the future Queen’s younger sister.

Despite the 27-year-old, who is becoming known as P-Middy in the UK, not taking part in the putting together of the documentary, it promises to explore her rise to fame following the royal wedding and her now infamous bottom, which has won her Facebook acclaim.

The Facebook fan page dedicated to Pippa’s derrière, following her appearance in an Alexander McQueen bridesmaid dress, has more than 230,000 members.

While both Pippa and Prince Harry are currently in relationships, with Prince Harry dating model Florence Brudenell-Bruce and Pippa being with long-time partner Alex Loudon, the documentary will claim that Harry refers to her as a “Foxy Filly” and she is one of Britain’s most eligible bachelorettes.

This isn’t the first time Pippa has been approached about a TV show. According to reports she was offered $5 million by Vivid Entertainment to star in a porn movie following the royal wedding, an offer no doubt she politely declined.

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Denise Richards: ‘I’ll never cut off contact with Charlie’

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Denise Richards: 'I'll never cut off contact with Charlie'

Actor Denise Richards has broken her silence about ex-husband Charlie Sheen’s wild behaviour and says she will not restrict the pair’s two daughters from seeing him.

The 40-year-old, who has two daughters with Sheen, seven-year-old Sam and six-year-old Lola, says her daughters will continue to see their father despite his unstable behaviour, Us magazine reported.

“I’ll never cut off contact with Charlie,” she said.

“He’s my girls’ dad. As they’re older they’ll deal with him how they can.

“A lot of women can’t relate to being married to Charlie Sheen or divorcing Charlie Sheen, but they can relate to feeling sad, angry, scared and upset.”

Richards has spoken for the first time about the night of Sheen’s October 2010 meltdown at a New York hotel where he trashed his hotel room and held a knife to porn star Capri Anderson’s throat.

“Charlie invited me to this dinner with ‘friends,’ and once I realised what these women did for a living, I thought, ‘It’s one meal; you can suck it up and get through it’,” she said.

“It’s not my place to judge how they make a paycheque.”

Richards details the event in her new book, Real Girl Next Door. “After I quieted [our daughters] down, I climbed into bed,” she wrote. “I had to get up early for my press. About an hour later, I was awakened by sounds outside my door, including walkie-talkies, which is never a good sign. A few minutes later, the cops showed up. Several officers went into Charlie’s room, and a sergeant came into mine.”

After being questioned by police and telling them everything she knew, Richards accompanied Sheen to hospital.

“Charlie was put into an ambulance, and I rode with the sergeant to the hospital, though I insisted I had to be back at 4.30am,” she wrote.

“After making sure Charlie was stable and settled, the nice policeman gave me a ride back.”

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AFL stars on life outside of footy

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AFL stars on life outside of footy

Cameron Ling, Ryan O'Keefe and Will Minson. Photography by Julian Kingma. Styling by Marijke Kingma.

These AFL players are stars on the field, but what do they do when the final siren sounds? Michael Sheather discovers their other passions.

Cameron Ling, 30, Geelong Cats

It’s the sunrise that gets Cameron. Sitting atop his surfboard in the early morning darkness waiting for the first wave of the day, he never fails to find inspiration as sunlight spreads across the sky.

Related: The downfall of Ricky Nixon

“I can’t think of a more beautiful setting, being out on the water on a board, watching a glorious sunrise,” says Cameron, captain of the Cats. “It’s so tranquil, like being in another world. Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps.”

Cameron has been a surfer most of his life. He began surfing more than a decade ago and his dream was to become either a professional footy player or a pro surfer.

Footy won out, but now Cameron, spends his down-time searching for the perfect wave along Victoria’s surf coast.

“It’s such a great escape from footy,” he says. “When you’re out there on the water it’s all about the waves and the water, and cruising around with your mates and having fun.”

Ryan O’Keefe, 30, Sydney Swans

Hard-running forward Ryan loves carving up his AFL opponents, but away from the game, his filleting skills are a little more delicate.

On his day off, Ryan wields a knife, a spatula and a sizzling pan in the kitchens at the Cloudy Bay Fish Co., a swish new fish cafe in Sydney’s CBD.

It’s about as far from liniment and locker rooms as you can get, but cooking is Ryan’s passion and a career he’s keen to follow when he finally leaves football behind.

“I met the head chef Jeff Schroeter two years ago and he agreed to give me a go in his kitchen,” he says. “It’s fantastic. I’ve learned so many different new skills. I work the servers and the grills, and see the way a restaurant operates from the inside.”

Ryan, who appeared in Celebrity MasterChef in 2009, started cooking 12 years ago when he moved out on his own. Inspired by Jamie Oliver, his repertoire now includes most cooking styles. He even has his own section on the Swans website, Ryan’s Recipes.

“I’d love to run a cafe or restaurant of my own one day,” says Ryan, who cooks at home for his wife of four years, Tara. “But for now, it’s my hobby and I find it a great stress relief away from football. I just love cooking fresh food.”

Will Minson, 26, Western Bulldogs

Hulking ruckman Will may have a fearsome reputation as AFL’s “human wrecking ball”, but away from the field, he carries the distinct note of a multi-faceted Renaissance man.

Not only is he a savvy saxophonist, but he also speaks fluent German, cooks and is studying civil engineering.

In pictures: Dresses that made people famous

Oh, in his spare time, he supports a charity, Red Dust Role Models, which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged youth in remote outback Aboriginal communities. And he’s modest to boot.

“The truth is that I don’t let anyone hear me play, so very few people know whether I’m atrocious or just bad,” says Will, who also studied classical music for 12 years.

“I just don’t have the time to practice as I should and so, these days, I don’t play for anyone except a few friends who I jam with, but I enjoy it.”

Read more of this story in the August issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.

Subscribe to 12 issues of The Australian Women’s Weekly for just $69.95 and receive a BONUS Tupperware mates set, valued at $45.90. That’s a 15% saving on the retail price.

Video: AFL to tutor players

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Looking for a Masterchef? Look no further than your mum

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Looking for a Masterchef? Look no further than your mum

Ambrosia salad

It started, as all good dinner conversations do, with a throwaway comment by my companion about a curious dish her mother used to prepare.

“She used to take tinned mandarins.” She paused for dramatic effect. And then, with rising excitement, I finished her sentence.

“And mix them with sour cream?! I know it! I lived it! I ate it! My mother used to do it too!”

In pictures: The Weekly’s most popular pastas

Much hilarity ensued as we dissected the dish. Was it a dessert or was it savoury? Was it served with main course or coffee? Who came up with it? And why would you ever tin a mandarin in the first place?

One of the many interesting things about having been a child of the 70s and 80s in Australia is that the culinary scene was, (how to put this diplomatically?), a little less evolved than it is today.

Kids these days think nothing of popping down the road for a takeaway Thai, sitting down to a tagine or tucking into some sushi. They know their jus from their coulis and, raised on a steady TV diet of Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, most of them can whip up a dish to make Heston Blumenthal blush.

Back in my day, however, at my childhood dining table, spaghetti Bolognese was considered exotic. In a gastronomic landscape where meat-and-three-veg ruled supreme and Keen’s Curry Powder (a substance that had no business calling itself a curry) was occasionally added to mince and cabbage to really push out the culinary boat, our palates were far less well-travelled than those of the kids today.

Which is not to take away from the job my mother — or any of her peers — did of raising us. We were all fed three meals a day. We were clothed, schooled and each night we enjoyed the privilege of going to sleep with a roof over our heads.

My parents were providers, pure and simple — and they showered us with love and attention. No-one appreciates more the sacrifices my folks made in rearing us than me.

I am truly, humbly indebted to my mother for the lifetime of support she has shown me and that she now lavishes on my children.

But even she has to admit some of the standards that emerged from her kitchen were odd in the extreme.

I told her the other day that her mandarin-and-sour-cream confection was the subject of dinner conversation and she seemed perplexed. She saw nothing even remotely odd about the combination.

“It was a great hit, actually,” she informed me. “And even more so when you added pineapple, grapes and desiccated coconut. Ambrosia Salad it was called. And it was very popular.”

And why wouldn’t it have been?

Of course, it will be Mum who will eventually have the last laugh when she is in her dotage and my kids are older and sneering at how embarrassingly retro and un-cosmopolitan the slow-cooked lamb shoulder and Mediterranean couscous that my wife and I offer up for dinner is. It will only be karma settling an old score.

And so, let me use this space to pitch an idea to the makers of Masterchef. Dispense with all this lah-di-dah fancy food.

Put your snow eggs and your crab and fennel salads with roast garlic créme fraiche back in the blast freezer, and open up a few dusty cook books from the 70s.

In pictures: The Weekly’s most delicious cakes

I’m thinking ‘Masterchef Mums’ — sixty something women from all over Australia delving into the recipe books in their glory boxes in a cook-off we can all relate. And remember you heard it here first…

Mrs Corbett’s ambrosia salad

INGREDIENTS

Tinned mandarins

Tinned pineapple

Fresh grapes

Desiccated coconut

Marshmallows

Sour cream

Parsley for garnishing

METHOD

  1. Drain tinned mandarin and pineapple. Put into a large bowl.

  2. Add grapes, coconut and sour cream. Stir.

  3. Top with marshmallows and parsley for a garnish.

Bryce Corbett is The Weekly’s Associate Editor. Click here to follow him on Twitter and here to follow The Weekly.

Your say: Is there a recipe from your childhood you remember with particular fondness or revulsion?

Video: The Weekly’s Xanthe Roberts cooking her raspberry and custard tea cake

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