Thursday Edition

Good morning

Good morning, members! Happy Australia Day! I (Maddie) have had a look at the weather forecast for the country and it looks like the majority of us have a gorgeous day, so I hope you get out and enjoy the beautiful Australian sun. For those of you who don’t have the best weather, fear not! What’s better than sitting inside reading our newsletter on a cloudy morning, eh? Nothing, if you ask me. 😉

Now, I know today isn’t the easiest day for everyone and I want to acknowledge that. I’m not here to get political, but I just want to say that I hope that one day, every Aussie, regardless of their background, can enjoy a day where we just celebrate who we are and the great country that we live in. Because at the end of the day, that is what we all have in common. We live in the best country in the world (don’t argue with me on this one, folks 😉). So I just want to say that I feel so blessed to be living in this beautiful country. In my opinion, we have the best weather, beaches, bush, wildlife, and a very unique Aussie-culture that I adore. 

And now, without further ado, let's get stuck into today's newsletter. First things first, it’s time to give you all the answer to yesterday’s tricky riddle. For those of you who don't remember, the riddle goes: 

I have five letters to my name. Remove one letter, and I sound the same. Remove one more and one again, and I will still sound the same each time. Nothing is left within my frame. What am I?

Did you get it? The answer is ‘empty’! How? Thankfully, member @Rest1953 explained it to us… Empty, becomes Em-ty, which becomes m-ty, which becomes m-t! Wow, that was tough. We also accepted those who answered ‘queue’. A fair few of you got the answer correct, so stick around, and you’ll find a shout-out waiting for you at the end of the newsletter.

Before we dive into the rest of today’s newsletter, it’s Thursday so I have a fascinating fact for all of you! Did you know that the Senior Australian of the Year Award wasn’t introduced until 1999? And that our first Senior Australian of the Year was actually awarded to Slim Dusty? That means we’ve only ever had 25 Senior Australians (including this year) receive this award ever and I don’t think it gets the media attention that it deserves. So, I hope when the Senior Australian of the Year is announced every year that you pay particular attention to what they have done for this incredible country because my goodness, the track record of the past 24 recipients has been nothing short of remarkable. May we continue to celebrate Aussies that do great things regardless of their age!

One last thing before the news! The lovely April started this ‘Good old-fashioned kindness’ thread to share a lovely experience she had with a stranger. Did something nice happen to you today? This week? Or last week? Or maybe you kindly helped someone out? We’d love to hear about Aussies helping Aussies. So share your good old-fashioned kindness stories with us here!

Now, let’s take a look at what happened across Australia and around the world this week?

• Are you expecting an inheritance but are concerned about how it will affect your pension? Here's what you need to know.
• 'Is This the Way to Amarillo' singer Tony Christie fears he won’t be able to work again following a heartbreaking health diagnosis.
• Tragedy has struck the Outback Opal Hunters family after Ron Selig, star of the hit show, tragically died in a workplace accident.
• SCAM ALERT: A man nearly crashed his car after discovering that a hacker had stolen his life savings from his Commonwealth Bank account in a matter of minutes.
• A savvy Woolworths shopper has revealed the secret to slashing $200 off their seafood haul – you won't believe how easy it is!
• Want to save thousands on your grocery bill? Check out these simple supermarket swaps that could slash your costs – PLUS, why chicken breasts may not be the best choice.
• A Coles shopper was left stunned after noticing a disappointing detail in their chocolate. They were even more surprised when they received an unexpected response from the manufacturer.
• Today Show host Karl Stefanovic was left in stitches after a butcher used a suggestive term during an interview, leaving his co-host almost speechless.
• Tired of cluttered cupboards? A Kmart shopper has shared the perfect storage hack for all your cleaning products, and fans can’t get enough of it!
• As the cost of living continues to rise, vulnerable Australians are increasingly turning to a popular ‘pay later’ scheme in a desperate attempt to make ends meet. Here’s why we should be worried about this growing trend.
• Heartbreaking: A pensioner has been forced to move hours away from her family and friends because of rising rental costs. Is this the sad reality that more Aussies can expect to face?
• Need a good laugh? Member @doglover can provide just that with this hilarious joke about ‘Remote Australia’. Click here to see the joke!
• I saw this recipe in our forum and just had to share it today of all days. I figured you could all try member @Happyjack’s famous relish/sauce mix with your sausages tonight! Apparently, it’s so delicious you’ll end up licking the plate.

And that, members, is a wrap of our Thursday morning news! But not to worry, we’ll be sending out our Thursday afternoon newsletter as per normal, so you can expect that to hit your inbox this afternoon between 2:30 and 3:30PM AEDT if you’re a subscriber! If not, we have plenty more in store for you to enjoy in this newsletter including a great trivia question, a beautiful ‘picture of the day’ and a hilarious Grand(dad) joke of the day!

Oh! I almost forgot, one last thing before I go. We’ve been listening to your recommendations and understand that a lot of you have issues finding quality internet plans that are not only affordable but suit your internet needs. As a result, we have partnered up with Compare Club to help you compare broadband prices and plans that are best suited to your needs*! You can compare and save on your internet here*.

For those feeling a bit competitive, don’t forget to check out our newest games, including our Alphabetical Bands/Groups Game, Alphabetical Australian Places Game, Change A Letter Game, and 3x3 Word Thread. Of course, we still have our beloved classic games, including Word Pairs, Abbreviation Game, Word Association Game, Rearrange, Add or Subtract Word Game! Keep a Word, Drop a Word Game, and Can you name 5? As well as our Sudoku puzzles, OzGrid and OzWord. And our card games, including Solitaire and Blackjack.

Last but not least, be sure to enter our Six-letter OzWord​ competition for your chance to win a $100 voucher to Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA. All you have to do is come up with a six-letter ‘Aussie Word’ (or at least slightly Aussie) for our new six-letter version of OzWord! The more entries you make, the more chances you have to win! So get in, and good luck!

As always, members, stay safe and happy reading!

- Jonathan, Vella, Sean, James, Sethia, April, Jarred, Ally & Maddie.