Publication
FRANCES WHITING
Nearly a decade ago, I wrote a column about teaching my daughter how to ride a bike. And if you want to know what the passage of time speeding by at an accelerated rate feels like, it feels like this. It feels like writing this column about my...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
The other day I had an Instagram reel sent to me. I assumed it had been sent to me for being hysterically funny. Alas no. Anything but. It was a comedian’s vitriolic rant about a fellow comedian, fuelled by his political angst, using the most abhorrent...
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FRANCES WHITING
Look, I don’t know about you, but when I was young, I spent an inordinate amount of time worrying that I was going to be swallowed by quicksand. And when I say worrying, I mean that when I went on walks along a beach or in the bush, I would scan the...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
Do the loyal or the difficult get ahead? They say only the morally bankrupt get ahead and I’ve certainly seen plenty of evidence of that. Over the years I’ve witnessed many a dirty tactic executed, knives applied to backs, cocaine handshakes and, I...
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“Hack away at the vines that bind them … help them let the light in”
Now, I do realise this column has taken a distinctive, shall we say, botanical turn of late, and I promise I’ll go back to complaining about poor customer service and what your haircut says about you soon, but in the meantime, please indulge me with...
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Some people build a career by choosing one path and sticking to it. Tasmanian doctor Alicia Tucker, featured in this week’s cover story, has taken the opposite path – continually pushing the boundaries of medicine and human endurance – from the...
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FRANCES WHITING
And it starts like this, The rosellas on the twist In the morning mist, And I like it like this They’re flying over my head now, I’ll tell you what this species is … Now, at this juncture, half of you are thinking, “You know, I’m beginning to worry...
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FRANCES WHITING
‘Iwent to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. “I did not wish to live what was not...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
There once was a comedian who sat with the Prime Minister – A chance to have a laugh, intentions were not sinister. A whisky held in hand, and then came out the Scrabble: A moment to be normal and drown out all the rabble. The jokes were thick and...
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NEW ISSUE ON SALE NOW
One of the great joys of putting this magazine together is discovering the stories of people who refuse to follow a conventional path. This week, our cover story focuses on Bruny Island’s Lizzie Stokely, whose remarkable journey has taken her from...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
They say you’ve gotta choose your partner by who you love. However, sometimes it helps that their profession is in alignment with what you want in life! When I met my husband, he said to me: what’s your five-year plan? We realised we wanted the same...
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FRANCES WHITING
Areader from South Australia wrote to me this week, asking if I could get the phrase “it’s all good” banned. Well, first of all, can I say I am tickled pink you think I wield that sort of power, and secondly, I’m sorry, Robert of Adelaide, I don’t mind...
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‘There’s something seriously wrong if you’re going outside to warm up”
Stories about resilience often focus on ordinary people doing extraordinary things, but this edition reminds us that grief can bring even the most successful among us to their knees. Best-selling author Katherine Scholes, whose books have sold millions...
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ISLAND LIFE HOW GRIEF BLOOMED INTO A NOVEL TASSIE TASTES
WINTER FEAST’S WEIRDNESS NEVER FAILS TO DISAPPOINT
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It’s perhaps no surprise that APOSTL founder BJ Radcliffe began his professional life as a social worker. While his career path has changed, his desire to make a positive difference in people’s lives remains at the heart of everything he does. This...
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ISLAND LIFE TASSIE DUO FINDS BALANCE IN AGE OF AI TASSIE TASTES
HOBART’S HOTTEST NEW SLICE IN TOWN
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“We’ve got to stop carrying on like tomorrow is promised”
This might be the most irresponsible column I’ve written but it comes from a good place. In late 2024 I lost my brother-in-law to cancer at 50. It’s still hard to process that he’s not here; busy making plans like the rest of us. I must admit, it...
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FRANCES WHITING
Thank you all so much for your many letters regarding your favourite words, and favourite pick-me-ups when you are feeling less than chipper (also, incidentally, a reader called Rowan’s favourite word). I promised you I would compile a list of them...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
They say to “follow your calling”, that there’s a little voice or image in your head of a life you haven’t realised yet but feel compelled to chase. Some call it dreams, others call it fate, the “woo woo folk” would have you believe it’s future you...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
Ifound myself in a debate the other day with Osher Gunsberg about how to deal with trolls online. Everyone says: ignore the nasty comments, block and forget, restrict them, rise above it, be the bigger person. Look, I’ve turned the other cheek more...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
Remember the days before rules? I grew up in a time where there weren’t many. Some say the ’80s was the golden era. When kids roamed the streets and got up to mischief until the street lights came on. When a trip to the beach involved my three extra...
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“The idea of having an electric vehicle gave me the horrors”
Do you ever sit there and think, woah, maybe the conspiracy theorists are right? I know that’s a rather bold statement to open an article with but when you look at the state of the world right now, the conspiracies seem more palpable than the reported...
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FRANCES WHITING
Our dog Wilson is becoming an old boy. He turns 13 this year, not a bad age to reach for a golden retriever, albeit one who now spends much longer getting up than he used to. I watch him, this shaggy boy of ours, struggling to get to his feet/ paws –...
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Hobart-born author Mary-Lou Stephens is living the dream – writing best-selling novels while travelling the world with her husband, Ken, in a life pared back to a couple of small suitcases, backpacks and a laptop. For the past three years they’ve...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
My husband and I often roast each other for sport. It’s playful banter that keeps our wits sharp and the love alive. Usually the meanest blow gets the biggest laugh ... until the other day. We were talking to our youngest, who had a school concert...
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It seems flower farms – where visitors can wander, snip their own blooms and reconnect with nature – are flourishing all over Tasmania. So much so that when this week’s cover story writer, Linda Smith, thought she’d finished, she kept discovering more...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
Before I launch into this article I would first like to preface it with this message: Men, I know it’s a difficult task navigating the gauntlet of acceptable masculinity. I know you’re caught between two opposing forces of “toxic masculinity” vs “he’s...
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Our cover story this week profiles Tasmanian-born chef and former MasterChef Australia finalist Philip Vakos. Many readers will remember Vakos from his standout run on Season 2 in 2010 — or perhaps even from his uni days working nights at Battery...
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NIKKI OSBORNE
Be warned: one of the most dangerous days in relationships is upon us. Valentine’s Day. It’s a dangerous day. Why? Because it’s a grey area of expectations. While many write it off as a “Hallmark Holiday” designed mainly to flog flowers, chocolates,...
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CRAFTING A KINDER WORLD
What began as a personal healing project for Tasmanian maker Sarah De Jonge has grown into a global movement of kindness. Ten years on, her handmade wool-felt hearts are offering comfort, connection and love to people around the world
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NIKKI OSBORNE
Okay, I’m going to talk about Instagram so if you’re not on there, well, maybe skip to the next article. However, if you’re on Instagram, you’re gonna wanna lean in. Some of you might not be aware but you can view who watches your Instagram stories....
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FRANCES WHITING
Hello, hello and I hope 2026 has begun beautifully for you all. I also hope you had a great New Year’s Eve, sending off 2025. I had an absolute banger, if by banger you mean in bed by 10, with a cup of tea. Now, as 2026 begins – and does anyone else...
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