Table of contents for TAK2427 in Take 5

Editorial

Here in the Take 5 office, we are huge fans of cake. In fact, as I write this, there’s one sitting right next to me, after our generous Take 5 Monthly Copy Editor, Cam, decided to treat us all to one! So, we were beyond excited when Gabriela from the story on page 19 of this week’s issue, sent writer Emilia (below), the exact cake she made for Taylor Swift so we could try it, too! And wowsers, what a flavour sensation. There was light as a feather puff pastry, buttercream and sweet dulce de leche. Weeks on, we’re still talking about it, and it will go down in history as one of the most unique – and prettiest – cakes we’ve tasted. Plus, we’re now one degree of separation…

1 min

Take 5|TAK2427

The Slow Road

We’re taking our time travelling the world with our kids Kirianna Poole, 37, Queenstown, NZ. Looking out at the Tokyo skyline, I marvelled at the dazzling city lights. “I’ll never get tired of this view,” I told my husband, Lockie, 29. We’d met in Auckland five years earlier, when I was a flight attendant and he was an airline pilot. Bonding over our love of travel, we married and when Lockie was offered a job to fly for a Japanese airline in 2013, we jumped at the chance to move there. Lockie worked one month on, one month off, so we had time to fully explore the country and see more of the world. In 2016, we welcomed our first child, Riley, but his arrival didn’t stop our travels. At…

5 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Taking care of Business

In Australia, approximately 20 per cent of the workforce – or nearly 2.5 million women – are estimated to be currently undergoing perimenopause or menopause, which means menopause at work is impossible to ignore. THE FINANCIAL COST As Dr Ginni Mansberg explains, women who ‘push on’ working with menopause often feel their symptoms negatively affect their productivity and their relationships with colleagues. “The effect is a huge loss of confidence and 10 per cent will quit their job altogether. If they hang on in there, 14 per cent drop their hours,” says Dr Mansberg. This early exit from the workforce doesn’t just impact income, but also women’s retirement funds as the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) estimates that the cost of menopause is more than $112.2 billion per year.…

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Your tips

I buy rice in bulk from the supermarket to save money. It comes in 5kg cloth bags that I later use as laundry bags. Harriet Yam, Auburn, NSW. I put doggie toothpaste on my dog’s favourite chewing rope to sneakily clean his teeth. Josie Ramos, Grafton, NSW. I take a cooling eye gel with me when I’m going overseas and put it in my hotel room fridge to help with puffy eyes after flying. Jane Marshall, Chermside, Qld. I just learned that if you’re typing in Microsoft Word, using ‘ctrl’ and ‘backspace’ deletes the entire previous word. Bernadette Parker, Sunshine, Vic. I have a ‘two minute’ rule to beat procrastination. If a task takes me two minutes or less, I do it right away, so I don’t feel overwhelmed later.…

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Spoil this supermum

$5000 WISHING WELL winners With four kids in a wheelchair, my girl Kym deserves a day out Lynette Wessling, 70, Murgon, Qld. Watching my grandkids playing a game of tip in the backyard, I laughed as they kept falling over each other. “Are they always this clumsy?” I asked my daughter Kym, 38. It was December 2012 and my husband, Bernie, 64, and I were visiting Kym, her partner, Mark, 34, and their kids, Caiden, seven, Rhylan, six, Shaelah, four, and two-month-old Hudson at their home in Regents Park, Qld. Kym had always been the maternal type, so we weren’t surprised when she had four children in quick succession. It was hard living so far away from them in Murgon, Qld, though. It was a seven hour round trip. Still,…

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Air fryer Scones

Air fryer scones with vanilla bean cream MAKES 16 PREP 10 MINS COOKING 15 MINS 2 cups self-raising flour 2 tbsp caster sugar ½ tsp baking powder 50g chilled butter, finely chopped ¾ cup milk 300ml thickened cream 2 tsp vanilla bean paste 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to dust Jam, to serve 1 In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt until combined. Add butter. Use fingertips to rub butter into flour until fine breadcrumbs form. 2 Make a well in centre of flour mixture. Add most of the milk. Use a flat-bladed knife to stir until combined, adding more of the remaining milk, if needed. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead until just smooth. Press dough…

1 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Island Time

After landing on the mainland of Fiji, Viti Levu, I had a 90-minute boat trip to my resort, Castaway Island. There, I was greeted by the staff singing and cries of “Bula! Welcome home.” At this 174-acre tropical paradise in the Mamanuca Islands, there are no TVs, no wi-fi, no phones in the rooms, and no signposts on the winding pathways. “You can’t be castaway if you don’t get lost first,” I was told with a big grin. The staff shared their other mottos, too, like “disconnect to reconnect”, and “if you’re not barefoot you’re overdressed”. I promptly kicked off my shoes and went to explore… MAKING A SPLASH At low tide, you can walk around the whole island in 45 minutes, or kayak it like I did to try…

4 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Hooters for health

My friends gave me the strength to fight Sharon Munro, 49, Kununurra, WA. As the GP felt around my chest, I braced myself for bad news. Even if it is cancer, it could be treatable, I told myself. It was January 2022, and a month earlier, my partner had noticed a pea-sized lump on my left breast while we were fooling around. After working as a nurse for 17 years, I was instantly concerned. We were on holiday in Merbein, Vic, and due to COVID travel restrictions, it took a while to make it home to Kununurra, WA. By now, the lump had grown to the size of a 50-cent piece, so I feared the worst. The GP finished her assessment. “I think it’s menopause,” she said. “Your breasts tend…

3 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Perfect Match

I donated a kidney to save my student’s life, then fell in love Madeline Wright, 35, Rotorua, NZ. Working in my office, I heard a gentle knock at my door. “Take a seat, Kylie,” I smiled at the woman who came in. It was April 2022, and I tutored at a beauty school. Kylie, 27, was one of my students. I’d taught her for eight weeks and knew she had kidney disease. We hadn’t spoken about it, but I kept an eye on her in case the workload got too much. Today, though, I was worried. Kylie was paler, and looked exhausted. She slid a newspaper clipping across my desk. “I just want my tutors to know what’s going on with me,” she said. The article explained her kidneys were…

5 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Back From The Dead

My uncle had been missing for 30 years Sandy Guido, 50, Shellharbour, NSW. Jumping out from behind a fig tree, I sprayed my uncle with the garden hose. “Oi!” he chortled. It was the summer holidays and Uncle Alwyn, 36, had been babysitting me while my parents, Harold and Elaine, were at work. At 11 years old, I loved a good water fight. My uncle darted inside and locked the front door. Dropping the hose, I crept round the side and tried to crawl through my open bedroom window, but I lost my balance and fell. Crack! Searing pain ran up my leg. “Uncle Ally!” I cried out. Without saying a word, he bundled me up and raced me to hospital where I was treated for a broken leg. He…

5 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Magic in Monochrome

Look 1 Sassy stripes Stripes never go out of style, and the beauty of these are they’re on the diagonal, creating a flattering finish for this dress. Look 2 After five Just add a bit of bling and monochrome is easily elevated for evening wear. The sophisticated black and white combo is a true classic. Look 3 Every day When it comes to a relaxed daytime look, team your monochrome outfit with more subtle silver accessories and a cute pair of flats. STOCKISTS: BIG WBIGW. COM.AU COLETTE BY COLETTE HAYMAN COLETTEHAYMAN.COM.AU COTTON ON COTTONON. COM/AU H&M WWW2. HM.COM KMART KMART. COM.AU MARKS &SPENCER MARKSANDSPENCER.COM NEXT NEXT.COM.AU SPENDLESS SHOES SPENDLESSSHOES.COM.AU SUSSAN SUSSAN.COM.AU COMPILED BY JANINE DONOVAN…

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Welcome to Hell!

We lived in fear for our souls… Theophila Pratt, 27, Auckland, NZ. I stared past the sprawling mountains surrounding my home, trying to imagine a life beyond them. I’d heard rumours of a world where girls were free to wear what they wanted and have friends and even boyfriends. “They’re all going to hell,” my mother would tell me. Yet, I often wondered whether that was true. It was July 2005; I was eight and living in the Gloriavale Christian community on the West Coast of the South Island, NZ. I’d grown up there with my parents and seven siblings. It was founded in 1969 by Australian-born preacher Neville Cooper, who renamed himself Hopeful Christian. Under his rule, or as he’d say, his guidance, the community became self-sufficient with its…

5 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Stop The Stigma

Despite the progressive era we allegedly live in, there are still many misconceptions surrounding people with disabilities. Research by the charity Scope found that only 7 per cent of non-disabled people have dated a disabled person, while disabled young people are let down when it comes to sex education, often receiving none at all or nothing appropriate to their needs. Sex comes in many forms It’s often wrongly assumed that people with disabilities don’t have sexual feelings or desires, but, as the World Health Organization points out, sexuality is a basic need and aspect of being human that cannot be separated from other aspects of life. The federal court even ruled that people with disabilities can use the NDIS to access specialised sex worker services to ensure their needs are…

4 min

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Budget-Bu$ting Dinners

Spiced chicken tray bake SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 40 MINS 4 tomatoes halved 400g can drained chickpeas 1 eggplant, thickly sliced 1 red onion, thickly sliced 1 lemon, quartered 8 chicken thigh cutlets, skin on, scored at 1cm intervals 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp sumac 2 tsp ground cumin 2 Lebanese bread rounds, torn basil leaves, to serve 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. In a baking dish, combine tomatoes, chickpeas, eggplant, red onion and lemon. Top with chicken. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with sumac and cumin. Season. Bake 30 mins or until chicken is cooked. 2 Scatter over torn bread rounds, spray with oil, bake 10 mins until bread is crispy. Scatter with basil leaves. Sausage pasta bake SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK…

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Leftover Lover

Dear Take 5ers, My daughter Ellie* is 24, and three months ago she brought home a new boyfriend, Kevin*, who, at 48, is closer to my own age. I’ve been single for years, and I’ve found it impossible to meet someone I feel attracted to. For some reason, I feel attracted to Kevin. We have plenty of common interests, and I think he feels the same way. Ellie just broke up with him. Should I ask him out? Tracy*, 52 Oh for sure, your daughter will just love it. I’m sure she hopes you marry him and she can call him daddy. Joanne Lowe I’d ask her how she feels about it first, if she says absolutely not, you don’t. If she gives her blessing then consider it. He may…

2 min

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Masthead

EDITORIAL Editorial Director Kate Kirsten, Editor Rachel Williams, Deputy Editor Kim Bonett, Art Director Fiona Parsons, Picture Editor Vanessa Mckenzie, Lifestyle Director Claire Isaac ARE MEDIA Chief Executive Officer Jane Huxley, Director of Sales Andrew Cook, Director of Content Sally Eagle, General Manager Entertainment Susan Armstrong, Commercial Brand Manager Jessica Ashworth, Head of Consumer Marketing Louise Cankett Subscription enquiries: Customer Service 136 116 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST) International +61 2 9692 3535 Email magshop@magshop.com.au Website www.magshop.com.au Advertising enquiries: advertising@aremedia.com.au Affiliate enquiries: affilliate@aremedia.com.au Published by Are Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546), 54-58 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. ©2024. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without prior written permission. Take5 is a registered trade mark of Are Media. Use of trademark…

2 min

Take 5|TAK2427

The Bloody Affair

Dad’s mistress lured him to his death… Morgan McCormick, 19. Squeezing Dad’s hand tight, I smiled as the mini rollercoaster pulled to a stop. “Again!” I begged. “We’ve been on four times,” Dad laughed. We were on a family holiday to Disneyland, Paris. I was eight years old, and Dad was my best mate. His name was William, but everyone called him Pat. He and my mum, Alison, met in the army in the 90s. They’d married and had four children – myself and my siblings Mackenzie, Mitchell and Madison. Dad was a caretaker at our local church, but when I was 13, he took on a second job as a carer. A year later, Mum was making us breakfast. “Who are you going to be working with today?” she…

4 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Brave The Cold

The cooler months can be the downfall of any well-structured workout routine. The alarm goes off for a 6am Pilates class but getting out of a warm bed to endure what feels like arctic winds is enough to make anyone hit snooze and cancel the class altogether. If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. One study looking at the seasonal difference in physical activity levels across 30 countries, found that sedentary behaviour is greater in winter than in summer or spring. Personal trainer and founder of Limitless Fitness & Nutrition Corinne Blight agrees that the desire to stay indoors often outweighs the desire to exercise in the rain and frigid temperatures. “We’re less likely to want to get out and about for walks with friends, to attend our fitness…

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Swift Success

Celebs think my cakes are sweet as Gabriela Oporto, 38, Wollstonecraft, NSW. My mouth watered as I ogled the cakes in the window. “Come on Gabriela, it’s time to go,” my mum, Cristina, said. “Okay,” I sighed. At four years of age, I already had a dream of owning my own cake shop! My dad, Ricardo, was an excellent baker and I helped him bake bread for the family every week. As soon as I finished school, I moved to Sydney to study nutrition. My dream of owning my own cake shop never left me so in 2017, I bought a small bakery in Willoughby, which I called Bakealicious. In time, I outgrew the space and moved to a bigger bakery in Forestville. In February 2023, a woman named Haylee…

3 min

Take 5|TAK2427

The Best Medicine

I keep smiles on the faces of young patients Libby Dobson, 39, Burnie, Tas. Reading the audition notice, I turned to my husband, Geoff. “They’re bringing Clown Doctors to Northern Tasmania,” I said excitedly. “You’d be great at that,” he replied. While studying performing arts at university, I’d written a research paper on the Clown Doctors of Hobart. I loved the work they did to raise the spirits of patients. Now, The Humour Foundation were looking for a team to work at Burnie and Launceston hospitals. I’d worked in radio and TV, but I loved the idea of using my performance skills to help others. So, in 2018, I went to the group audition. They wanted to see how joyful and funny we were. I had a few tricks up…

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Take 5|TAK2427

Bowl them over!

Meatball & risoni soup SERVES 4 PREP + COOK 45 MINS 500g pork and fennel sausages ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs 2 garlic cloves, crushed ⅓ cup finely grated parmesan ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion, chopped finely 1 bunch kale, leaves picked, torn coarsely 2 litres (8 cups) chicken stock 1 cup risoni 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and line a large oven tray. 2 Remove sausage meat from casings, discard casings. Place sausage meat, breadcrumbs, garlic, parmesan and half the parsley in a large bowl. Season. Using clean hands, mix until sausage meat is broken down and ingredients are well combined. Roll heaped tbsp of mixture to make 16 balls in total. Spread across…

4 min

Take 5|TAK2427

Dressed To The Canines!

My dapper dog played an im-paw-tant part in our day Kate Andersen, 34, Hope Island, Qld. Twisting my hand left and right, I beamed as the shimmering diamond caught the light. The ring was perfect! After a fairytale helicopter ride, and a bottle of bubbles, my real-life Prince Charming Adam, 39, had proposed. “Yes!” I exclaimed giddily, as he slid the two-carat ring onto my finger. Noticing Adam was down on both knees to pop the question, I couldn’t help giggling. “You don’t have to beg me!” I joked. The proposal had made our holiday to Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays 10 times more magical. It was love at first swipe when I saw Adam’s profile picture on the dating app Bumble in 2019. His English charm had me smitten…

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Stars

CANCER June 22–July 23 The New Moon in your sign could heighten your sensitivity, but your feelings will help you realise the next steps you need to take. Luck and opportunity are proportionate to your willingness to step out of your comfort zone. ★ This week is all about resetting and restarting. LIBRA Sept 24–Oct 23 You have a lot to gain this week in terms of your overall life direction. All you need to do is put yourself in a position to be seen in your best light. Chatty Mercury moves into your Networks Zone. ★ Your diplomacy with others will bring success. CAPRICORN Dec 23– Jan 20 Anything is possible when it comes to love. A New Moon in your Relationship Zone can help you reset if…

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Your letters

Special sisters Regarding the letter about birthday cards in issue 13, four years ago I sent my sister, Pamela, the most beautifully worded ‘Sister’ card in the world. When she got it, she said she couldn’t top that so would send it back to me on my birthday. We have kept this card going back and forth between WA and NSW every year since, writing the years under our signatures on the card. Maureen Fairhurst, West Wollongong, NSW. Handy helper WEPAY $100 FOREACH LETTER PRINTED My grandkids asked me to tell them funny stories about when their dad, my son Aaron, 47, was little. I told them how one day I was using the toilet and realised there was no toilet paper. I called out to Aaron, who was around…

2 min