Table of contents for July 2022 in Readers Digest Australia

IT’S NO SECRET THAT WE ENJOY A GOOD HUMAN DRAMA. This month, in our cover story ‘I Survived!’ (page 40), we relate the unbelievable experiences of three people whose days all started out the same as any other but ended with a life-changing encounter with the natural world. Anyone who has shared their life with a dog will understand the belief that many hold that they communicate their needs very clearly through looks and actions. But some dog owners are taking it further. Helen Foster, in her article, ‘Can You Teach Your Dog To Talk?’ (page 54), explains how these very determined and patient dog owners are training their pets to audibly ‘speak’ to them in what they claim is genuine two-way communication. From an interview with acclaimed actress Judi…

Globally, prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer among men, according to the World Health Organization. But it’s very treatable with a five-year survival rate around 99 per cent, as it tends to be slow to grow and spread, and PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing enables early detection. But certain physical features can make the prognosis significantly less rosy, according to new research. A research team led by scientists at the University of Oxford has discovered that being larger than average – either taller or fatter – puts men at a higher risk of developing a more aggressive prostate tumour, and of dying from it. The study, published in BMC Medicine, found that increased height was not associated with overall risk of contracting prostate cancer, but only with the aggressive forms…

I might cough a bit… don’t get alarmed!” says Judi Dench. In these pandemic-riddled times, any tickle in the throat is a concern – especially if you’re 87 years old, as she is. But it’s nothing serious, she assures me. With a floral scarf wrapped around her neck, her white hair neatly cropped, the acclaimed star of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Philomena looks in fine fettle when we connect over Zoom. These past months the biggest issue Dench has experienced, like so many of us, is psychological. “The thing about COVID is that it mucked up the rhythm inside me, I feel,” she says. “I don’t know what the outcome of that will be. But it’s a curious, odd, and unsettling feeling.” She pauses for a second. “Hopefully,…

Bunny, a sheepadoodle, is standing in front of a row of buttons on the floor. Her paw stretches out and pushes two of them. “Who this?”, an automated voice asks while Bunny goes to the mirror to look at her own reflection. It’s a remarkable level of understanding – particularly if you’re currently at the ‘please don’t chew my shoe again’ stage of communication with your own dog – and it’s why Bunny sports over seven million social media followers (@whataboutbunny on TikTok) and why searching the phrase ‘dog speech buttons’ will bring up eight million results on Google. It’s well established that dogs understand some level of language. A recent study from Dalhousie University in Canada, for example, found that the average dog responds to 89 words but power…

You Goat It! During and after filming the Netflix movie Don’t Look Up, actor Jonah Hill took to calling his co-star, threetime Academy Award–winner Meryl Streep, ‘The Goat’. The 72-year-old Streep took it all in her stride. “I thought, well, that’s cute, I am kind of an old goat,” she said during a press conference. It was left up to another, younger co-star, Jennifer Lawrence, to explain to Streep that Hill wasn’t being mean. “The GOAT,” Lawrence told Streep, “stands for Greatest Of All Time.” Source: The Tonight Show Flying Granny My daughter, a teacher, was asking her young class all about their grandparents. When she came to one child, she asked if her grandmother lived nearby. The child replied, “No, she lives at the airport.” Puzzled, my daughter questioned…

Taste Of Tibet: Family Recipes From The Himalayas Julie Kleeman & Yeshi Jampa MURDOCH BOOKS The iconic flavours in Tibetan cuisine are more similar to food from Nepal than China, according to Taste of Tibet coauthor Julie Kleeman, who owns a Tibetan restaurant in the UK with her husband Yeshi Jampa. In this hardcover, 254-page cookbook, the authors offer 80 recipes from the Tibetan plateau for today’s home cook, including comforting soups and stews, momos (dumplings) and hand-pulled noodles plus stunning photographs of Tibet. Non Fiction What She Said Monica Lunin JOHN WILEY & SONS For some, the fear of public speaking or talking in a large group can be daunting. In What She Said, the power of the spoken word is analysed by communications expert Monica Lunin, using 40…

1. Which country removed the British Queen as its head of state in 2021? 1 point 2. The vampire film Nosferatu (1922) prompted a copyright-infringement lawsuit from the estate of which writer? 1 point 3. What seafood flavoured ice-creams can you try in Japan? 2 points 4. Worldwide, what country was the top-trending news-related search on Google last year? 1 point 5. Decades before Taylor Swift was a pop star, what country singer recorded the hits ‘Crazy’ and ‘I Fall To Pieces’? 2 points 6. The name Hong Kong came from a phonetic translation of the city’s Cantonese name. What does it literally mean? 2 points 7. The majority of gallstones are mostly made up of what substance? 2 points 8. Singapore is the second busiest container port in the…

“I have a grandparent in one and she is very well cared for. The staff are very friendly, entertaining and care for all the people there.”FEMALE, 49, QLD “Blue Care is a brand that is always there for you. The staff are caring, loving and friendly. They love what they are doing.”FEMALE, 49, QLD BLUE CARE WAS QUICK to implement changes to its entry screening requirements during the pandemic and it’s been successful in reducing the risk to residents and staff. In the middle of 2020, Blue Care introduced its own check-in system to keep residents and staff safe – nearly a year before the Queensland government introduced its own. Blue Care’s award-winning App asks visitors the most up-to-date entry screening questions required under the Aged Care Direction before staff…

“Blue Care provided palliative care to my terminally ill mother. The quality of care and professionalism was impeccable. My family was treated with compassion and offered respite when needed.”FEMALE, 50-59, QLD “They do a great job, very caring and dedicated.”FEMALE, 50-59, QLD EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO LIVE LIFE THEIR WAY has been a commitment Blue Care has made to its customers for nearly 70 years. In their distinctive fleet of vehicles, Blue Care’s dedicated and passionate team of more than 8000 staff are on the road every day, meeting people from 80 communities across Queensland, from Cape York to Coolangatta. Today Blue Care’s people make more than three million visits each year. Putting customers and their loved ones first, Blue Care provides simple and honest care and support, and delivers outcomes…

Mask Waste I fear that the pandemic is also throwing a spanner in the works in the fight against plastic (‘Shrinking Our Plastic Footprint’, April). Instead of disposing their disposable masks properly, many people simply throw them out on the street – just as they do with plastic bags. IRENE HECKMANN Origins Of Polar Bears The story of nine-year-old Nanu, a female polar bear (Ursus maritimus), living in the Hudson Bay lowlands (‘A Polar Bear’s Journey’, April) is fascinating for those interested in marine mammalogy. In fact, polar bears stemmed from brown bears (Ursus arctos) around one million years ago. The oldest known fossil is a well-preserved jaw from the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. Scientists have discovered polar bears trace their family tree to Ireland. Genetic evidence shows they…

As a child in Tangier, Morocco, in the late 1970s, Salima Kadaoui made it her mission to save strays from animal control. The eight year old volunteered at an animal charity and witnessed how the city’s lack of vaccination, neutering and spaying programmes made the situation worse. “I promised myself that I would change my country and that promise stayed with me.” In 2012, after raising her family in the UK, she returned to Morocco and made good on her childhood vow, founding the Sanctuaire de la faune de Tanger. It is now home to more than 450 dogs, 100 cats, 48 donkeys, two wild boars, an ape, two storks and a mule, along with smaller creatures. Kadaoui believes her work has helped people sympathise with animals.…

“I had no idea what was going on,” recalls Jenny Petz, a mother of two. She remembers thinking at the time, Why is my mother sitting on my chest to talk to me? She knew that made no sense, but it was the only explanation she could think of for the extreme chest pressure and heaviness she felt as she lay on the bedroom floor in 2008, drifting in and out of consciousness. She later learned that her mother was there, but she wasn’t talking to Jenny. She was on the phone with emergency services, summoning an ambulance. Jenny Petz, a young, healthy 32 year old, had only just given birth. Eight days later, she was having a heart attack. An ECG (electrocardiogram) at the hospital revealed the severity of…

My dog, who does not pay rent or bills and is, himself, a bill, has sighed three times in the past five minutes. @VIKKIE My favourite thing is when I stay up too late and my dog passive-aggressively puts herself to bed without me, like “YOU do what you want but SOME of us have work in the morning.” @AYANAGRAY ME: [relaxing in bed] MY CAT: [getting right up in my face] Are you or are you not looking at photos of other cats on your phone right now? @CATSTRONOMICAL Almost tripping me up is not just my dog’s hobby, it’s his passion. @KENDRAGARDEN My cat is buddies with a possum. Now I know what it’s like to be the parent of a teenager who falls in with the wrong crowd. @EVE6…

When I was ten, I went to my grandfather’s farm. He offered me $10 to be a scarecrow. I stood out in the sun yelling at birds for about an hour until my mother arrived and rescued me. @mobsterlobsterr I had a job walking five chihuahuas. When they got tired, I had to carry them home. Two in my arms. Two on my shoulders. One on my head. @whoopie10 I was babysitting two kids. One ran out the front door, the other out the back. When I ran out the house to find them, they ran back inside and locked the door. Then they turned the garden sprinklers on. Lisa Rooney, boredpanda.com…

1. stiletto – A: high heel. B: body armour. C: traditional costume. 2. knockoff – A: shoulder pad. B: imitation. C: stunning beauty. 3. dapper – A: dated. B: threadbare. C: stylish. 4. anorak – A: hooded jacket. B: snowsuit. C: hiking boot. 5. houndstooth – A: belt buckle. B: hidden pocket. C: checked pattern. 6. sashay – A: drape. B: strut. C: twirl. 7. camisole – A: raincoat. B: sleeveless top. C: slipper. 8. haberdashery – A: finery. B: hatmaker. C: sewing items. 9. lapel – A: leather elbow patch. B: jacket’s front flap. C: pocket square. 10. sheath – A: crocheted shawl. B: close-fitting dress. C: long cape. 11. haute couture – A: high fashion. B: evening gown. C: off the rack. 12. beanie – A: handmade button.…

“I have heard many good things about the staff at Resthaven as well as the long-term care and support for the residents.”FEMALE, 40-59, SA/NT “I have worked for them. They are of a very high standard and most sought after.”FEMALE,40-59, SA/NT “Personal family experience was good.”FEMALE,60+, SA/NT EMERGING AT A TIME OF DIRE NEED – the Great Depression, no less – Resthaven was set up as a home mission to support elderly women who had served the Methodist Church their whole lives yet had no home or a family to care for them. Opening in South Australia on May 11, 1935, Resthaven has embodied values of trust, dignity and choice ever since. “Resthaven has remained true to its core values and purpose since 1935: working together to provide outstanding care…

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The number of reported hate crimes in Italy has steadily risen since 2014, fuelled by populist politicians reacting to an influx of refugees and migrants. In Verona, Pier Paolo Spinazzé, a street artist who goes by the name Cibo (Italian for ‘food’), is being celebrated for his creative countermeasures. “Verona is beautiful,” says Spinazzé, “but it has a big problem with the far right.” Whenever he encounters swastikas and other racist graffiti, he paints over them with colourful depictions of his favourite foods, from cupcakes to pizza. Extremists often spray paint over Spinazzé’s cheerful food pictures, but he simply paints over their hateful messages again, and they usually give up. His art is also awakening locals to the seriousness of the problem. “People were so used to those messages that…

THE CAVOODLE has become one of the most popular family pets, loved for its convenient size, sweet personality and low-shedding coat. As its name suggests, cavoodles are a cross breed between a Cavalier King Charles spaniel and a poodle. They show characteristics from each parent. While generally regarded as great family pets, prospective owners should still carefully consider their suitability. Dr Katrina Warren shares points to consider before bringing a cavoodle into your household. THE CAVOODLE IS NOT A RECOGNISED BREED. The poodle part may be a toy or a miniature, with most cavoodles weighing between 5-12 kilograms and standing 25-40 centimetres high. Cavoodles are happiest as indoor dogs. They love human company and may fret if left outdoors for long periods. Like all dogs, they still need daily exercise…

QUITTING ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA According to an American Cancer Society study, quitting smoking before age 35 almost entirely eliminates the risk of dying from the cancers caused by the habit. Smokers who stop before 45 cut that risk by 87 per cent, while those who quit between 45 and 54 can still reduce it by nearly 80 per cent. But anyone at any age can take heart: you’re never too old to quit. A PACEMAKER FOR DEPRESSION? Nearly one-third of people with depression fail to respond to available treatments – including medication and psychotherapy. But a team at the University of California broke new ground by successfully treating a 36-year-old woman’s depression by surgically implanting a battery-operated device inside her skull. Similar to a pacemaker for the heart, the…

Ask anyone from a certain age group about the dinners their mothers used to serve up and I guarantee you I’ll be top and centre of the conversation. Unfortunately, not because I am super healthy and nutritious, but because I, cabbage, was often boiled to within an inch of my life, resulting in a limp, pale, smelly mess on the plate. Luckily, my fortunes are slowly changing. Grown around the world for thousands of years, I come in a variety of shapes and colours, such as red, purple, white and green, and belong to the Brassica genus of vegetables, which includes broccoli, kale and cauliflower. Even with today’s food-price hikes, I am still affordable and cooks are slowly realising my value on the dinner plate – not just because I’m…

The real key to happiness? Step one: marry your best friend. Step two: always, I mean always, have a plethora of wigs in your home.MELISSA MCCARTHY, ACTRESS People say that love is hard, right? Like, love is work. I think it’s the opposite. I think love is really easy, because it’s an emotion.ROSS BUTLER, ACTOR Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel. As such, the Queen does not believe she meets the relevant criteria.TOM LAING-BAKER, PRIVATE SECRETARY TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II, IN RESPONSE TO HER ‘OLDIE OF THE YEAR’ AWARD I look at fear not as cowardice, but as a call forward, a summons to fight for what we hold dear.AMANDA GORMAN, POET NATURE HAS GIVEN US ALL THE PIECES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE EXCEPTIONAL WELLNESS AND HEALTH,…

For a man raised in a patriarchal culture, my father loved to cook for his family. We lived in Uganda and, later, in Kenya for about two years as refugees. Since we didn’t have an indoor kitchen, he would light a fire outside of our home. He’d cook sukuma wiki, a dish of leafy greens, onions and tomatoes, and serve it with ugali, a porridge made of cornmeal and water. We ate this in the refugee camp, and it remains one of my favourite meals. My mother left our family when I was five – war has the power to come between a mother and her children. I never met my father’s mother, or jaaja in the Luganda language. But if my dad’s cooking took after that of my jaaja,…

QUESTIONS 1 On January 1 the world celebrates New Year. As it occurs in at least 38 time zones, it doesn’t start everywhere at the same time. What place welcomes in the New Year first? a) Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean b) Hawaii in the Central Pacific c) Samoa and Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean d) Cape Runaway, North Island, New Zealand 2 When is your next dentist appointment? The calendar reminds us. During the Stone Age, early man developed a different way to record the passage of time. The oldest known calendar served to … a) plan sowing and harvesting more accurately b) record when it was worth going hunting c) mark important religious events d) record their ages 3 The Christian calendar begins with the birth…

The way we go about things has changed significantly in recent years, given the disruptions of the pandemic, but trust remains a key driver in the products and organisations we choose. Trust is the reason we’re willing to exchange our hard-earned cash for goods and services, walk down the aisle with someone or vote in elections for a politician who we believe will represent our interests. At the end of the day, trust matters and that makes it powerful. For the past 23 years, the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands survey has identified the most trustworthy brands in Australia. The survey has an established reputation as a premier consumer-based and international measure of brand preference, with a singular focus on brands Australians trust most. One area where trust is particularly important…

“Reliable provider of care with great facilities and staff.”MALE, 60+, VIC/TAS “I believe this company to be very competitive, and above board in its dealings with the public.”MALE, 60+, VIC/TAS “This is where my aged mother lives and she is looked after very well.”FEMALE, 40-59, VIC/TAS ESTABLISHED IN 1840, Australian Unity was the country’s first member-owned wellbeing company, delivering health, wealth and care services. Being a member governed company (or mutual) gives Australian Unity the freedom to invest money back into the services and solutions that matter most to its members. Australian Unity has grown to become a developer of new retirement communities throughout New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, as well as a provider of aged care, home and disability services. As well as being Highly Commended in the…

“Transparent, capable and caring brand.”MALE, 75+, VIC “I’ve had a good experience with Australian Unity. They are helpful and friendly.”FEMALE, 40-44, VIC “Have a good reputation … a caring and well-respected company.”FEMALE, 45-49, VIC ESTABLISHED IN 1840, Australian Unity was the country’s first member owned wellbeing company, delivering health, wealth and care services. “We’re committed to real wellbeing for all Australians,” said Australian Unity’s Independent and Assisted Living CEO, Kevin McCoy. “For us, that means so much more than physical health. It’s about your standard of living and feeling safe in your home. It’s your personal relationships and being connected to your community. It’s about what you want to achieve in life, while having the security to get out and do what makes you happy.” Over the years, Australian Unity…

“I’ve used Fujitsu air conditioners. They’re always efficient and effective.”FEMALE, 60-64, ACT “Been around a long time. Never heard a bad thing.”FEMALE, 30-34, SA/NT “Always provided a good service.”MALE, 35-39, VIC/TAS “They all seem extremely reliable and long-lasting.”FEMALE, 18-24, QLD TO BE AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE AIR® means more than simply being a leading air conditioning brand; it means being the best air conditioning company to deal with. Committed to creating a holistic customer-care experience, Fujitsu General ensures they are there for the entire customer journey. Fujitsu General Assist, the brand’s comprehensive service network, deploys Fujitsu-trained technicians to all Australia’s major capital cities and provides access to dedicated Service Agents in other parts of the country. With over 100 models of air conditioners on offer across wall mounted, cassette, ducted and floor…

“Being trustworthy is one of the hallmarks of being a good friend and a good person.”JENNIFER FREED IN CHARACTER “Don’t assume, ask. Be kind. Tell the truth. Don’t say anything you can’t stand behind fully. Have integrity. Tell people how you feel.”WARSAN SHIRE, POET “As you go to work, your top responsibility should be to build trust.” ROBERT ECKERT, CEO, MATTEL “Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep.”DENIS WAITLEY, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER “TRUST IS BUILT WHEN SOMEONE IS VULNERABLE AND NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. BOB VANOUREK,AUTHOR OF TRIPLE CROWN LEADERSHIP” “TRANSPARENCY, HONESTY, KINDNESS, GOOD STEWARDSHIP, EVEN HUMOUR, WORK IN BUSINESSES AT ALL TIMES. JOHN GERZEMA,”COLUMNIST 100% voted by consumers. View results at www.trustedbrands.com.au…