Take 5 - August 17, 2022

76 Pages·2022·73.5 MB·English

FROM THE
NECK DOWN!

34

5414

media 9'313006!00

AUST $3.95

@ ||
LOOKING FOR
ASPECIAL
GIFT FOR DAD?

— See page 26
eee § for details.

Has a friend, family member, neighbour, or someone else
helped you out recently? Did their random act of kindness
come at a time when you needed it most? Are they just
a good egg you couldn't live without? Tell us in 200 words
or fewer why they’re so great. Five people will win $100 each
and see their messages printed on these very pages.
Email your entry, plus a pic of yourselves together, to takeS@aremedia.
com.au, and put ‘Thanks a bunch’ in the subject line. See page 3 for T&Cs. Me

®F Take5 |
ome of WINNING!

than ANY OTHER MAG!

love entering competitions,

you won't want to miss
Rebecca's amazing story on
page 4 this week. Over the
years, she’s scooped tens of
thousands in prizes and now
she’s sharing her top tips so
you can, too! | also loved Lois’
heartwarming story on page
54. She's been friends with
Yvonne for 80 years, and

| f you're an avid puzzler and

Clear margins —- more space
for working out

they're now continuing their
adventures as neighbours in
the same retirement village. If
you've got a friendship that’s
stood the test of time, we want
to hear from you! On the travel
pages this week (p66), we
reveal the country’s top five
experiences. How many have
you done? | still have a few to
go, but am feeling inspired.
Next week, you'll notice some
positive changes in the mag.
We're upping our font size
slightly so it’s easier to read,
and we've re-designed the
pull-out puzzle book, so
there’s more space for
working out and for answers.
What I'm most excited about
though, is we've made room
for more puzzles, which
means even more cash prizes
for you! We hope you love
the issue as much as we've
loved putting it together.

P56 Wiis »”
| | GEEZ?
ii ps9
TOMATOES

.

BABYS

WER] *
T0 BLOOD Bag=y
BATH “63 i¥-

Monster killed A COKE CAN

my loving family

p6

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Take 5 wishes to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the many nations
across Australia, and pay our respect to Elders past and present. We
recognise that their sovereignty has never been ceded.

Take 5 is published by Are Media Pty Limited of 54 Park Street, Sydney,
New South Wales, Australia. Printed by Ovato Limited of 8 Priddle St,
Warwick Farm New South Wales, 2170, Australia. © 2022. All rights reserved.

Conditions apply, see www.aremedia.com.au/competitions. Competition commences 4/8/22 and ends 11.59pm AEDT on 1/9/22. Judging will begin
from 3/9/22. Total prize pool is $500. Open to residents in Australia and New Zealand. This is a game of skill, not a game of chance. The Promoter is 3
Are Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546) of 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. For Promoter’s privacy policy, visit aremedia.com.au/privacy/
WRITTEN BY REBECCA DOUGLAS

Crier .
competitions has
afforded me some @
wonderful, ,winsy

eeding petrol for
my car, I checked
my bank balance.
There was only
a few dollars in there - well
below the $20 minimum
amount for withdrawal.
I'd be hit with bank fees
if I touched it.

In desperation, I raided
my piggy bank. Then I
bought $10 worth of petrol
in five cent pieces, avoiding
the cashier’s eyes.

Adam and
me — he’s
supportive
of my hobby

“hel 20, Iwas studying
computer science at
university and working as
a casual office temp in my
spare time. But the measly
wage and 10 hours of work
a week was barely enough
to cover the necessities, let
alone new clothes or a
getaway somewhere nice.

I'd heard of people
winning prizes in
competitions so I decided
to start entering a few as
a fun hobby.

Who knows, maybe I'll
even score a few little

TOILET
| PAPER’

luxuries! thought.

A month later, a letter
arrived in my mailbox - my
first win! It was a $200
voucher for a fancy clothes
shop. It was like heaven
when I could barely afford
underwear.

From then on, I was
hooked. After uni, I gota
new job in a call centre. I’d
enter competitions
during lulls
between calls, or

I'd won

——

cy

, Keno?

ae

this,’ my then-boyfriend
called from the spare room,
where he was playing
computer games.
“I’m busy,’ I replied.
“I promise you, you'll
want to see this,” he said.
Gaping at the email, I
couldn’t believe it - I’d won
a holiday to Japan for two!
I'd only been out
of Australia once
- to New Caledonia

even mutase Ee ges,
details into online toJa )i) travel more.
ee fortwo! Bmpr
the phone. in a beautiful hotel,
Sometimes, I’d enter tickets to the Ghibli

dozens a day!

I won lots of small prizes
like DVDs, shopping
vouchers, vitamins, and
a teeth-whitening kit.

Then, one night, about
two years after I’d started
entering comps, I was
reading in my bedroom.

“Come have a look at

Museum, and a two-day
pass to Tokyo Disney. And
all I’d had to do was write
25 words or less on what
kind of spirit I’d be in the
film Spirited Away, to
promote the release.

These were my favourite
kinds of comps because I
could unleash my creativity.
* Ourtrip to
*... Japan was an
1,4 #. incredible prize

Later, I got a job in the
state government as a
project officer, but I still
made time to enter
competitions most days.

Over the years, I’ve won
tens of thousands of
dollars’ worth of prizes,
including food hampers,
shopping sprees, books,
make-up and skincare.

I've tried several activities
through my wins that I
probably wouldn’t have
done otherwise. One prize
was a stunt driving course

I figured I was unlikely
to come across anyone I
knew, so I got up there,
yelling and dancing around
like a maniac! I didn’t walk
away with a prize, but I felt
like I captured the carefree
spirit of being on vacation
and I left grinning.

Usually, I find out if I’ve
won by email or the postie
turning up with a package.

One time, though, after
arriving home from work,
my neighbour knocked
on my door.

in a Mini Minor. , “I accepted a
Another day, I sat I've been delivery for you

front row ata ' today,” she said,

fashion show and entering looking amused.

had a personal comps i{\}) Thenshe

styling session gestured towards

with three friends 20 years a gigantic stack

at a Westfield of toilet roll packets

shopping centre. on her front steps, taller

Sometimes, I have so
much fun entering that
I don’t even care if I end
up with a prize.

One particularly hilarious
time I was on holiday in
Sydney when I stumbled
across a radio station
running a competition
where people had to get
up on stage and shout as
loudly as possible.

than me - and I’m 175cm!

“Oh, I entered a contest
to win a year’s supply
of toilet paper,’ I said.

“I must’ve won!”

I gave her a couple of
pallets as payment for
safekeeping my loot and
she seemed pleased. It was
the first time my husband
Adam had encountered one
of my wins, and I was

| BOOKS |

With one of
my prizes

happy to share it with him.
I’ve given away a few
other prizes, too, like a
coffee machine, skincare
and DVDs. As a result, my
friends and family are quite
supportive of my hobby,
sometimes alerting me to

comps I might not have
seen yet.

Now, I’ve been entering
competitions for 20 years.

People do think I’m
obsessive about it at times,
but winning is a thrill, and
I won't stop!

| MY TOP TIPS TO WIN |
ooking at the text from
my niece, Sydney, 20,
I smiled.

She‘d just gotten into
ey uni to study nursing and
=) couldn't wait to tell me.

. I’mso proud of you,
= |replied.

We'd always been close.
When Sydney and her twin,
Cassidy, were children, we
: spent summer holidays

= together, horse riding and

| walking along the beach.
Now that she was grown
up, | couldn’t wait to see her
| become a nurse. She had
ail the right qualities for the
job — she was a hard worker,
full of love and empathy
for everyone.

But in June that same

aa she called me with

Sak A

4 mi id
} What ehoule ve been a babi
shower celebration turned into

a sickening nightmare

some news.

“I'm pregnant,’ she cried,
panicked.

“Don't worry,’ | told her.
“We'll all support you and
the baby.”

Sydney had met her baby’s
father, Jatory Evans, 28, in the
school bookstore at
uni eight months
earlier.

He was an army
reservist.

She knew her
parents wouldn't
approve because of
the age difference so
she'd kept the relationship
a secret until she found out
she was pregnant.

As she expected, her
parents didn’t like Jatory.

“| have a bad feeling about
him,’ her mum, Samantha, 45,

‘Ihave
abad

feeling
about him’

Sydney, imie
and Cassidy

said to me later.

“And | don’t trust him,’
Sydney’s dad, my brother,
Dwayne, 46, added.

| had reservations, too. I’d
messaged Jatory a few times
on Facebook to introduce
myself but was unimpressed
with the lack of
effort he'd put in.

By the time Sydney
was seven months
pregnant we knew
she was having a girl
and she‘d already
picked out a name:
Audrey Rae.

With her first baby shower
coming up, | couldn't wait to
spoil Sydney and my little
great-niece.

But the day before the
event, Sydney texted me.

I’ve broken up with Jatory,
she wrote. It’s okay
| though, I’m fine.

She said she was
fed up with his
controlling ways.
Plus, she suspected he
was cheating on her.

Just do what's best
for you and your
daughter, | soothed.
You'll be an amazing
single mum.

Jatory showed up
at the house before
the baby shower and

when |
met him,
the hair
onthe
back of
my neck
stood
onend.|
assumed they
were trying to
be amicable for
their bub but
something seemed

off about him.

We attended the baby
shower at the local church,
then that evening Dwayne,
Sydney and | went to a parade
in town with Jatory.

He stared at me and
his piercing eyes were so
unsettling, it seriously
creeped me out.

That night, Sydney stayed
with him against our wishes.
| wasn’t comfortable with my
niece being anywhere near
that guy. I slept at the house
she shared with Samantha
and Dwayne, and was relieved
when she returned home
the next morning.

When | checked in with her
a few days later, she filled mein
on what had happened since.

She and her grandma had
been putting together a new
stroller for the baby when
Jatory called. With her hands
Sydney with
her parents,
Dwayne and
Samantha

couldn't
answer the
phone, and later,
he went ballistic.

“| told you that you had
better answer the phone to
me,’ he’ told Sydney. “I’m
coming to the house.’

He’d turned up and Dwayne
ordered him to leave. The
next morning, the tyres to the
family truck were
slashed and bleach
had been poured
into the gas tank.

I was stunned
at how things
had escalated.

Sydney then
bravely went to court and
Jatory was served witha
restraining order.

She'd been so courageous,
but she texted me later,
revealing how frightened
she was.

The court isn’t going to let
anything happen to you and
the baby, | promised.

AS TOLD TO SHARON KEEBLE

My
precious

family
was gone

But the following evening,
on November 7, 2016, |
received a phone call from
Samantha’s sister.

“They're all dead,’ she cried.

The words didn’t make
sense at first.

Hysterical, she told me that
Dwayne, Samantha, Sydney
and our unborn Audrey had
all been murdered.

When the news finally sank
in, | broke down, screaming
in horror.

Racing right over
to the house, I heard
the whole sickening
story from police.

Sydney had been
home alone for the
first time since she’d
broken up with Jatory. Seeing
his opportunity, he got inside
and stabbed her several times
in the neck and chest.

When Dwayne and
Samantha came home for
lunch, they found him there.
Jatory shot
Dwayne
twice

in the head, killing him
instantly in the kitchen.

Samantha tried to escape,
but he shot her, too. He then
stabbed her at least 24 times
in the back. After that, he set
Sydney and her unborn baby
on fire. Police found the
restraining order underneath
Sydney's body.

She'd been due to attend
a second baby shower hosted
by her co-workers and it was
only when they didn’t hear
from her that the police
were called.

My precious family was
gone. They had died in such
horrific circumstances. | felt
completely broken.

Jatory Evans, 29, was
arrested and charged with
three counts of murder and
one count of feticide but
before he could face justice

—"

Me (left) and
my beautiful
niece Sydney

es >.

— ~s “

a
; ~
*\ VU %

:

he died by suicide in prison.

| was livid. He was a total
coward and should have been
left to rot in jail thinking
about what he had done.
Instead, we’re the ones with

a life sentence, reliving the
pain every day.

The best I can do is to be
there for Cassidy, now 26,
who took the loss of her twin
and parents very badly.

Sometimes we talk about
what baby Audrey would
have been like had she lived,
and we remember Sydney
and her parents, focusing
on the good memories.

They will never be forgotten
and will always be a huge part
of our family. | just wish we'd
had a lot longer together.
oisting my luggage
above my head, I
waded through the
river over rocks and
broken glass.
Bob, a local handyman
at the Forrest River Mission,
WA, led the way towards a
boat and we climbed aboard.
“We're lucky we didn’t see
any crocodiles,’ he said.
Hours later, we reached
the Forrest River Mission
where I was shown my new
home: a two-room flat on
stilts with no electricity.
I knew my time here would
be very basic, but I was
determined to do it.

Asa child, I’d seen the
good work people did on
missions to help Indigenous
people.

Now that I was 20 and had
graduated from teacher’s
college in Perth, I was keen
to do the same.

I was offered my first
teaching position at this
Aboriginal mission in 1956.

“You'll be one of two
teachers at the school,”

I was told.

The other teacher’s
arrival was delayed due to
a cyclone, so I started the
school year by myself.

My first class had 45
students aged between
five and 16.

It was hard work, but
I loved the
challenge.

The kids
were lovely.
Many of them
wanted hugs
every morning.

Ouse as

| look back on my
outback teaching days
with a great fondness

believed the best way to
teach children was to use
things they knew, so I would
take them outside to pick up
rocks to count and changed
the words in nursery rhymes
to suit our surroundings.
“Round and round the
mulberry bush,’ became
“Round and round the boab
tree.’ The kids were thrilled.
The local Oombulgurri
community was very
welcoming and

Two weeks later,
I travelled to Port
Hedland to meet my
new class of 40 students,
aged between four and 21.

They had no experience of
contemporary schooling and
didn’t speak English.

Everything became a
language lesson. They would
draw pictures and I would
write the English word.

The classroom was set up
in an old locomotive

taught me many They shed where we
things such as their would shift desks
special dances and taug ht to make way for the
spear throwing. me we’ ‘(.) trains that came

I left two years through.
later to teach at a all human One student,
primary school in Daisy, had a baby

Perth, but I missed the
challenge of the Forrest River
Mission and applied to go
back up north the next year.
Weeks later, I received
a reply from the Education
Department who told me
they were starting a new
school in Port Hedland, WA,
for the Aboriginal
kids from the Pindan
mob, who’d gone
on strike from the
stations in 1946.

The department
representative
asked if I’d like to
go there instead.

The
locomotive
shed where
I:taught

boy named Phillip, who
became a teaching resource.

“Let’s make a bassinet,”

I suggested.

One day, I was doing our
morning dance with the kids
when a young public works
engineer approached me.

“Hi, ’'m Tom,’ he said.

He’d been checking stores
on the other side of the shed
and was fascinated by our
dancing. He asked if he
could record it.

When he invited me over
to listen to the recording that
night, we got to know each
other over dinner. Tom

AS TOLD TO LAURA WASILEWSKI

eminiscing with some of my

ex-students and their families —
Anne Freeman, 42,

Northcote, Vic.

olding my bub,
Edie, with one
arm while I was
breastfeeding
her, | used my spare

in the outback

began writing me letters as
he travelled for work. We
married three years later
and after we had children,

hand to type quickly
on my phone.

Since welcoming my
second child in 2018, I’d
noticed that | had less
and less time for my
hobbies, like reading.

| wouldn’t leave my
husband for the world, but
the idea stayed with me and
| knew I had to explore it.
“I'm not sure if | can write
a good novel, but
I can definitely

write on my phone for as
long as | could.

And, after months of
squeezing out words
whenever | had a spare
minute, | completed my

novel, Returning to

moved to Darlington, WA. So, in an attempt try,’ I said to my | k Adelaide, which has
Sixty years on, I’m to challenge myself, husband, who new recently been

fortunate to still be in touch I started listening to encouraged me. lhadto Succ

with some students. an audiobook about There was just It tells the story of
In 2018, I met up with writing inthe hope that — the small problem explore a mother whose life

Daisy and Phillip while I was inspiration might strike. of having next to has fallen apart, so

the idea

visiting Port Hedland. Then, one night after no free time. she goes to the Greek
“Will you be my grandma?” my husband, Paul, and I soon learned Islands on a whim and
Phillip asked me. I saw a documentary that if | wanted to do this, reunites with an old flame.

each second had to count.

So, when Davie, my
son, was playing, and Edie
was feeding, I'd

about a famous hotel in
Ibiza, | dreamt that I was
there and fell in love
with the hotel manager!

“Of course I will!” I replied.

I look back on my outback
teaching days with a great
fondness. They taught me
that we’re all human and it’s
a privilege to be able to help
others and make the world
a better place.

“Told you you could do it!”
my husband said.

The truth is, | might not
have dared try if it wasn’t for
that crazy dream about me
and the man from the hotel.

Being amum brings me
| so much joy, though | hope
to continue writing many
more novels.

Having a crazy idea really
did change my life. Not to
mention, it literally helped

make one of my dreams
) come true!

| Returning to
_ Adelaide, by
Anne Freeman
(Hawkeye
Publishing) is

out now.

DiSOdOd VIGNV1D OL CIOL SV
Nookie

AS TOLD TO NIA PRICE PICTURES: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA

s I got changed, I
felt a pair of eyes
staring at me.
I turned around
to see my husband, Guy, 53,
grinning widely.

“You've got the cutest
bum,” he told me.

I gave him a little wiggle so
he could admire it more.

Sometimes I still pinched
myself. After all these years,
I'd met the man of my dreams.

Guy and I had married
a year before. With eight
grown-up children between
us, this was our time. We
loved travelling and going
on weekends away.

We were like two silly
teenagers.

One evening, in August
2019 at around 9:30pm, I
jumped into bed after a busy
day of work.

Guy was already fast
asleep, but I had other plans.

“Come on, wake up,’ I said,
brushing my leg against his.

10

“I’ve got to get up early
tomorrow,” he mumbled,
half asleep, before rolling
away from me.

Seductively, I wrapped
my thigh around his but
he let out a loud snore.

To give it one last try, I got
onto my hands and knees
and started bunny hopping
either side of him. But
somehow I misjudged
my jump and fell off our
bed onto the floor.

I must have
knocked myself out.

When I came to, I
couldn’t move my
legs, but I wasn’t in
pain. Thinking they
were just cold, I lay
in the dark room
motionless and
drifted back to sleep.

I heard Guy’s feet thump
on the floor as he got out of
bed at around 2:30am to go
to the toilet.

“What are you doing down
there?” he asked, standing
over me.

X-ray

~Sshowing thay.
titanium rods

in my neck _

“T’ve fallen out of bed
and got so cold I can’t
bloody move anything. I
can’t even get up,’ I replied.

He picked me up and
tucked me in before heading
to the toilet.

After he jumped back into
bed we both fell back asleep.
Next I heard a whooshing
sound as Guy opened the
curtains and the morning
sunshine shone in my eyes.

“Get up love, you're going

to be late for work!”
he said, as he pulled
up his jeans.
“T can’t move,’
I said.
“What do you
mean?” he asked.
By now, I had an
inkling something bad had
happened but didn’t want
to alarm Guy as he was a bit
of a worrier.

“No need to panic but can

you call an ambulance?
I think I’ve trapped a nerve
- I can’t move anything from
the neck down,” I said.

a,

I still had no pain and felt
strangely calm.

The ambulance arrived
less than half an hour later

and I was taken to hospital.

After tests, I was given
a diagnosis.

I'd suffered a C4-C7
incomplete spinal cord
injury, meaning I was
paralysed from the neck
down. It was all so surreal.

The doctor came around
every day to ask ifI could
wiggle my toes for him.

On the fourth day, the
tiniest tip of my toe flickered.
I was amazed.

“You'll probably never
walk again, but we'll try to
restore movement from your
waist up,” he said in a frank
but compassionate tone.

“You don’t know my wife,”
Guy said, fully aware he’d
married the most stubborn
woman alive.

I felt like I was on autopilot.
I totally understood the
severity of the situation but