Take5

WIN! TOYOTA YARIS CROSS

4 It’s Take 5’s most coveted prize – a brand-new Toyota Yaris Cross, worth up to $35,438! To be in the running for this fantastic car, complete the puzzle, write the answer on the coupon on page 49 and send it in for your chance to win. How to...

The long road to ‘I do’

Kerryn Hoani, 45, Auckland, NZ. Ismiled and waved as my daughter Jaimee came running out of school. “How was your day?” asked, scooping her up. “Good,” she beamed. At five, she’d just started school, following her big sister, Jade, 11. “Mummy, how...

$15,000 MEGA crossword!

Across 2 Student 5 Wobbly dessert 9 As well 10 The Help actress: – Stone 11 Toothed wheel 12 Tempt 13 Cool season 14 The second longest river in the world (Picture A) 17 Commence, begin 19 Bullseye: aim at the – 23 Popular Aussie bread...

Acting Editor Tash

Keeping fit can be hard, especially when you work long hours. Farmer Ben on p52 knew that feeling. When his snoring started keeping his wife awake, he joined a PT with a mate. As his fitness improved, he inspired others to join him – and Fat Farmers...

LOVE, LUCK & MONEY

ARIES ★ MAR 21–APR 20 Fun is your birthright LOVE & FAMILY: An ex, an important conversation or a question about trust could return. If someone comes back into your life, pay attention to how you feel around them now, (rather than how you felt then)....

WOOL IS COOL

My grandpa, Rex, pulled a sheep onto the shearing board and expertly removed its fleece, as the sheep bleated in protest. Nearby, my grandmother, Margaret, skirted the fleeces, ripping off the dirty edges with her hands. I watched them both,...

$15,000 MEGA crossword!

Across 2 Tasty takeaway treat: fish and – (Picture A) 5 Pieces of information: – and figures 9 Stand on back legs: – up 10 Sudden impulse: get the – 11 Country hotel 12 Frozen drip of water 13 Try very hard: make a big – 14 Educational...

I BEAT CANCER AND RAN AWAY WITH THE CIRCUS

Kylie Simpson, 43, Sydney, NSW. Stepping into the studio, the smell of chalk lled my nostrils. Beautiful lengths of aerial silk hung from the ceiling. In one corner, a woman spun slowly inside a suspended hoop. It was 2011 and I’d signed up for an...

$15,000 MEGA crossword!

How to win The theme of this crossword is travelling. When you have completed the grid, the letters on the yellow circles, reading from left to right and top to bottom, will spell the winning answer. Write this on the coupon. Across 1 Ornamental...

COP FANTASISED ABOUT EATING WOMEN

By all appearances, Gilberto Valle was an ordinary young police officer building a respectable life. Born in Queens, New York, in 1984, Valle graduated from the University of Maryland with a psychology degree before joining the New York City Police...

I MARRIED INTO A FAMILY OF KILLERS

Kris Barney, 56. My boyfriend Charles’s beautiful blue eyes gazed into mine. “Kris, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he said. We’d met just two weeks earlier at a line dancing night. Charles was charming and seemed to tick...

A STRANGER BOUGHT ME A CAFE

Walking in the front door of my home after school, the familiar scent of warm spices filled the air. I was 11, and after a long day of studying and socialising with friends, there was nothing better than coming home to a home-cooked meal from my mum,...

WIN CASH DAILY!

Ts & Cs apply.

Welcome to Take5 to home of WINNING!

The Take 5 team love their pets. We all downs tools on a fundraiser visit from the Seeing Eye Dog puppies, kindly organised by Demeter. And you’d better believe there’s jostling for cuddling and nose booping taking place! Pets also feature in our...

SISTER SLAIN AFTER SECRET DOMESTIC ABUSE

Pamella Campbell, 50. Sitting on my couch, I wiped away tears of mirth. My sister Marlene and I were roaring with laughter over the phone. “I can’t breathe,” she gasped. “You crack me up,” I said. It was 2011 and Marlene, 42, and I weren’t just...

$65,144

HUBBY STABBED ME AFTER I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY SEX Y CABBIE

Iwas waiting for my friend in the stairwell of her block of flats, when a bloke sauntered down the steps. “What’s your name?” he asked me. “Alicia,” I replied, blushing. He was older, but his larrikin swagger made my heart race. “That’s Joseph,” my...

EVIL NEIGHBOUR SCORCHED MUM WITH BOILING WATER

Donna Varley, 36. Opening the front door to leave my mum and dad’s house, I was almost blinded by a spotlight right in my face. “What’s she up to this time?” I groaned. “I wish she’d leave us alone,” my mum, Susan, replied with a sigh. Shining...

MY GIRL WAS SNATCHED & KILLED WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL

WIN NEW PRIZES!

1.5 L hybrid engine 7” colour touchscreen display Continuously variable transmission Anti-lock braking system Retractable door mirrors Reversing camera Active cruise control Digital radio Eight airbags Automatic climate-control air conditioning...

WINNERS WONDERLAND!

Ts & Cs apply.

58 PUZZLES

MY SISTER’S TWISTED HUBBY MURDERED HER...

Sarah-Jayne Lindop, 43. Cradling my new baby sister, Holly, in my arms, I smiled. “She’s so cute,” I said, glancing over at her two baby brothers. I was 14 and my mum, Annette, had just given birth to triplets, with my dad, Mick, watching on...

EASY FEASTS YOU CAN FREEZE!

NEW WAYS TO COOK CHOOK!

WE FOUND LOVE SAVING LIVES AT THE BONDI SHOOTING

Lexi Edmondson, 35, Sydney, NSW. Listening to the instructor at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club, I glanced over at one of the other students, Jimmy, and shook my head. His eyes drifted across the beach and it was obvious he wasn’t taking in a...

HOT CROSS BUN CUSTARD CHEESECAKE

Hot cross bun custard cheesecake SERVES 8-10 PREP 30 MINS COOK 50 MINS 6 hot cross buns FILLING 2 x 250g blocks cream cheese, chopped ½ cup caster sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 3 eggs 300ml tub thickened cream ¼ cup custard powder ½ tsp ground...

My son was electrocuted by his necklace!

MY SISTER SURVIVED WAR THEN WAS KILLED BY HER EX

I CAN’T SPEAK but said ‘I do’ to my soulmate

NEW MEXICAN MEALS!

Welcome to Take 5 home of WINNING!

When I was younger and got a set of fluro markers for Chrissy, I was stoked! They were the brightest things I’d ever seen. I was maybe six years old and brought the markers to school. My classmate wanted to use them. As a twin, I’d learned early to...

50+ PUZZLES!

$86,975 IN CASH & PRIZES! Ts & Cs apply.

MY ‘PERFECT MAN’ IMPRISONED & TORTURED ME FOR WEEKS

TRANSFORM DINNERS INTO DELISH LEFTOVERS!

YOUR STARS FOR 2026!

Ts & Cs apply.

Welcome to Take5 home of WINNING!

Ican’t really say I’ve inherited any particular special skills from my parents. Not in the way Kate Hudson can sing and act like her mum, Goldie Hawn, or Robert Irwin can be in close quarters with a croc and other dangerous wildlife like his dad,...

MY SON’S KILLER STOLE HIS IDENTIT Y AND CALLED ME ‘MUM’

I

loved reading Joyce’s story on page 8 in this issue. She lived to 101 – what a great innings! But it got the team talking in the office. Have times changed when it comes to dating? Obviously it has with all the online dating but do women react...

DAUGHTER’S EVIL EX TORCHED OUR HOUSE ON BOXING DAY

MY BOY WAS MURDERED AS I COOKED A CHRISTMAS ROAST

BORN IN ANTARCTICA and it’s still home!

SHOVED EVIL EX OUT THE WINDOW TO SAVE MY LIFE

DOCTOR ABDUCTED AND KILLED MY SISTER

DOCTOR ABDUCTED ANDKILLED MY SISTER

DON’T STOP ME NOW

Sitting in a camping chair outside my motorhome, I scrolled through Facebook on my phone. “Look at this,” I said to my brother, Paul. “Blaze Aid do such amazing things, but because of COVID they can’t help those poor people affected by the fires.”...

In what year did Nikita move to Tamworth?

You’ll find the answer to the question somewhere in this week’s Take 5. When you’ve got the answer, write it on the coupon on page 49.

Welcome to Take5 home of WINNING!

Being a kid in hospital can be scary. I remember getting my tonsils out and later having feet surgery, before age 10. My parents tried to be with me as much as possible, while juggling work and caring for my sisters. But driving to and from the busy...

MY TUMMY COULD EXPLODE AT ANY MOMENT!

WIN! RENT MORTGAGE OR PAID FOR A YEAR!

Ts & Cs apply. See page 15 for all the details.

CON MAN EX BUTCHERED MY SISTER TO HIDE HIS SECRETS

BREAKING BARRIERS

The man looked at my colouring-in and smiled. “Michelle is the winner,” he announced. “Yes!” I cried out. It was 1979 and I was seven, living on the air base in Penang, Malaysia, where my dad worked as an engineer for the RAAF. e prize for the...

SAVE 23%

Ahot topic among the team this week has been ‘fight or flight’ – would we run towards danger or away from it? I’d always wondered what I’d do if someone tried to climb over my lower level apartment balcony and one night, while I was lazing on the...

MY BABY ’ S GHOST HELPED JAIL MY EVIL FAMILY

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I’m sure we’ve all been there – that moment when you wake up at 3am and all the worries of the world hit you. I’m certainly guilty of it, but my mum takes the cake. She’s always telling me she was up in the night worrying about my dad, my sisters or...

FIND POLLY PUZZLER & WIN $50

The older I get, the more I realise age really is just a number. Several of my closest friends are almost a decade older than me and we get along great, until they start singing Meatloaf songs I’ve barely heard! My parents, have a nine-year age gap....

THE FOOTPATH IS MY RUNWAY!

Michelle Trebilco, 67, Dandenong Ranges, Vic. Manning the counter at my local op shop, I got chatting to Melissa, another volunteer. She was raving about a Facebook group for secondhand fashion lovers and eagerly showed me pictures on her...

Welcome to Take 5 home of WINNING!

Ihave a reputation for asking friends what they’re having for dinner. Both to awaken my taste buds and for inspiration but usually I go home and whip up the same chicken and veg stir fry I had last week. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish to get more...

My boss sent me a NEW KIDNEY

KILLER POSTED PICS OF MY GIRL’S MURDER ONLINE

PRIZE PARADISE!

4 It’s Take 5’s most coveted prize – a brand-new Toyota Yaris Cross, worth up to $32,927! To be in the running for this fantastic car, complete the puzzle, write the answer on the coupon on page 49 and send it in for your chance to win. How to...

Maisie’s smile MADE HER A STAR

MURDERED MY MAN TO FULFIL SICK FANTASY

I pay my rent with old receipts

WIN!

Ts & Cs apply. See page 6 for all the details.

FIND POLLY PUZZLER & WIN $50

Find Polly Puzzler hidden among the pages of Take 5. Write the page number on the coupon on page 49.

Wicked neighbour killed Dad over 40 BUCKS

BONUS PUZZLES, CASH PRIZES GALORE!

The words below are all flowers. They can read backwards or forwards, vertically, horizontally or diagonally. One word in the list is not in the grid. This is the winning word. Write this on the...

HOUSEMATE KILLED MY BABY FOR CRYING

50-YEAR-OLD NOTE JAILED MY ABUSER

A grape killed my son

THE SEARCH FOR LOVE

Butterflies fluttered around my stomach as I applied a coat of lippie, before standing back and checking my reflection in the mirror. Not bad, I thought. It was 2018, and I was throwing myself back into the dating game after recently divorcing my...

Editor

Moving to Australia from the UK, you think there are going to be killer animals everywhere! "Ooh, I couldn’t live there,” family and friends said, as I hugged them goodbye, “don’t you have to check under the toilet seat and in your shoes for snakes?” I...

Dad escaped jail and took me ON THE RUN!

$25,000

YOU CHOOSE Ts & Cs apply. See p68

Grandma is my MUM AND BESTIE