27 Apr
Mine host BigM and the cheerleaders
Australia makes a long-awaited return to the Fuengirola fairground as the popular Feria Internacional de los Pueblos opens on Saturday 28 April (continuing until Tuesday 1 May). […]
15 Apr
After making derogatory remarks about Canberra on a US talk show, actor Guy Pearce responded to the outrage (at least by Canberrans) by penning a letter to the Canberra Times: “I stupidly ran with a joke which I took too far for no other reason than to get laughs and I know I’ve offended many Canberrans and Australians in general. I feel horrible about myself for doing this and I’m truly very sorry. In the few times I’ve been I’ve really enjoyed it and found it to be extremely beautiful, so I’m so sorry for being such a dickhead.” Imploring Canberrans to accept his apology, he added, “I give you permission to abuse me in the street and tell me my films are crap.” […]
19 Mar
One of Australia’s most iconic landmarks has turned 80. Sydney Harbour Bridge – aka “The Coathanger” – was opened on 19 March 1932. An internationally recognised symbol of Sydney’s dynamism and dramatic setting, the 1,149-metre long bridge took 14,000 workers six years to build. The world’s largest steel arch bridge, it has an arch span of 503 metres and under-deck clearance for shipping of 49 metres. More than 160,000 vehicles cross it every weekday.
16 Mar
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber test their cricket skills on St Kilda Beach in Melbourne.
An unprecedented six world champions will be on the grid when the new Formula 1 season begins in Australia on 18 March. Red Bull’s reigning champion Sebastian Vettel is pre-season favourite to win a third consecutive world title, with his main rivals Australian team-mate Mark Webber (career-best third in the 2010 and 2011 world championships), McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button (world champions in 2008 and 2009, respectively), and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (2005 and 2006). […]
28 Jan
It all essentially began for Victoria Azarenka in Spain last April. The then 21-year-old Belarusian confirmed her top seeding by winning the third edition of the Andalucía Tennis Experience to rise to a career best fifth in the WTA world ranking. She had dropped only 14 games on her way to the final at Marbella’s Puente Romano Tennis Club, eventually beating Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2.
22 Jan
A friend “very high up in the media world who has been tapping the phones in Australia House for many years” gave Barry Humphries an inkling. “I can’t tell you his name; he is married to a Chinese girl. He said it was between me and Julian Assange and it turned out to be me.”
6 Jan
One-time world record-holding boozer Bob Hawke (aka as Australia’s Prime Minister from 1983 to 1991) couldn’t resist the challenge. And, to be fair, what true blue Australian could! Hawke, who recalled in his memoirs that he had once set a world speed record for drinking two and a half pints of beer in 11 seconds while studying in Oxford, was walking through the stands during the second cricket Test against India in Sydney when offered a plastic cup of beer. “One for the country, Robert!” he was encouraged by a voice in the crowd, and the Rhodes Scholar patriotically obliged – the moment being caught for viral posterity on a mobile phone.
12 Sep
The 2011 Miss Universe pageant in Brazil became more interesting than usual (i.e. mildly interesting) when, in the endless round of mostly meaningless lead-up events, Miss Colombia Catalina Robayo was snapped in a short dress inadvertently (or not) minus knickers.
Oh yes… and the winner was Leila Lopes from Angola. Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs, who was also reprimanded by the organisers for an “offensively see-through” evening gown and a “way too sexy” bikini, finished in the top 10.
14 Aug
IT MIGHT be a mystery for the Punch columnist but here in Spain we are all-too familiar with the dear soul with the “furrowed” lines. It’s the indomitable Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, a grandee of Spain and current head of the House of Alba. According to the Guinness Book of Records, she is the aristocrat with the highest number of titles recognised by an existing government.
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