whilst putting the big books back on the shelf, I stumbled across a book of photographs from the collections of a particular photographer from where I live. ignoring the fact that the compilers didn’t know how to date photographs (like did they REALLY think a picture with a horse-drawn taxi and women in lingerie dresses were from the 1930s???) and I found a picture of one of the old k-class garratts on the north-east dundas tramway. love that

What if you were a Celebrity? (Pick-a-card) 🏆🎭🎬🎤🩰🎹

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Pile 1

Tarot Cards: 3oWrv, 8oCrv, QoS, Strength, High Priestessrv, 10oWrv, 2oCrv, 4oPrv

Fans: Your fans would be tough critics on you. You may leave your fans disappointed in you and, the outcome for your career. Or they may be disappointed with where you are in your career. You and your fans may be into luxury items.

Celebrity Friends: They will be a bit judgmental of others or of you. They may view you as lacking confidence/having low self worth. They see you as not being truly happy just being yourself. You may feel used…like you can’t say no. Or you’re having a hard time adjusting to fame.

Career Path: Artist/Painter…something where you use your intuition and problem solve. -> Architect, Lawyer, Public Speaker, Judge, Therapist, Comedian, Tech Industry (mogul), Journalist

How GP Views you: The GP sees you as having a quiet inner strength. They see you as brave and an unwavering truth teller/exposer. They see you as having overcome a variety of obstacles.

How will you become famous: You determination alone will be the main reason. The vitriol you have for lack of truth. You will become famous for airing out someone who wronged you and/or you fell out with. You will speak about how you doubted yourself because of them. This may be a family member, friend, lover, business partner, etc…someone close, you thought you could trust withholding secrets, lies, and money. This being why you fight for honesty and truth.

Love Life: There will be many, many, many ups and downs as well as turmoil in your relationships. Due to public perception I heard. You will find yourself with many suitors who you’re incompatible with. There may even be a divorce or break up that happens in the public. You may have suffered abuse.

Where you will be famous: Santa Domingo, Places often known for the damp dryness. Places where the people have suffered many betrayals. South Africa, London(UK), Angola, U.S.A, Gambia, Central South America

Awards/Achievements: Many of the Awards you receive center around your giving nature…helping out people financially….humanitarian awards ( This was a mistake my bad 🤧)

How you feel: You will fell stable and grounded financially. You will wish for more tact and diplomacy within your profession…especially when it comes to authority. You will be reclaiming the power stolen from you.

Pile 2

Tarot Cards: The Foolrv, KnoPrv, 3oP, The Emperor, 5oP, 8oC, AoCrv, 4oP, 9oP

Fans: Your fans may viewed as reckless and careless where it concerns you. Especially when you or them comes under attack. They’re viewed as irrational. Your fans may view you as having distractions in your life. They view you as hopeful.

Celebrity Friends: A lot of your celebrity friends will be financially well off, stable, rich, or wealthy. They will help you in your career. They are quite generous; They have power/control but use it for good. They see that you love what you do and, they look forward to working with you.

Career Path: Doctor(Obstetricia), you may deal with negligence with other people in your chosen path…Model Agency, Actor, Performer, Singer, Dancer. You may deal with unskilled people who you out-perform yet play second fiddle to. Try not to overwork yourself when you don’t have to. Fashion Industry(Designer) & Police officer. Which ever it is you WILL SUCCEED!!

How GP views you: They feel like your aggravating but, they don’t really know you. This is just how you come off. They may see you as aggravated all the time. They see you as independent and extremely wealthy. You may have a pregnancy(To those who can) or the birth of a business which has brought you great success. They see you as having a high standing within your industry as well. You could be everywhere Billboards, commercials, TV, movies. That may be where the annoyance is coming from.

How will you become Famous: Through apprenticeship, or studying under someone, or at an institution. Your hard work and skill will be notice by someone important in your industry or by and agency. Your level of commitment shows within you work and your ability to show up. You may team up or collab with a group of people and that project will shoot you to stardom. Immediately!! You’re extremely determine but will have the help of others.

Love Life: There may be minor hiccups with some relationships you have. A lot of your partners may be un-empathetic to you and your life. They could view you like forbidden fruit, 1 bite and there done for. For a time many suitors may be invested with you only for sex or your body. They may be selfish only interested in what they can get out of you or from you. Some may see you as an unattainable beauty they want to conquer. However pile 2 you will meet the one for you and you will feel worshipped and adored by them. You may have to call off a few (oop) engagements before you find your one. (This may happen publicly) You could be constantly in the media for your relationships. You will be forced to look deep within yourself and find love son you may be loved. (This was way too long 😭)

Where will you be famous: places that have had many financial losses but used this to cultivate art. Where beauty and femininity are the focal point. (For masculines your masculinity) Places where people felt left in the cold. U.S.A, Brazil, Columbia, Senegal, Korea, Japan, Europe, Scotland, Montreal, Canada, Baltic States, Bolivia

How you will feel: You may feel this is a blank slate to start over. You will feel you need to work through past traumas and hurt. You will want to forgive and move on from your past in light of your new future.

Pile 3

Tarot Cards: The Hermitrv, AoP, PoW, Temperancerv, 9oSrv, Strengthrv

Fans: Their gonna be rooting for you success for sure. They will be pretty chill and laidback. A lot of them will be attractive? ✨💋 Or they will find you attractive. They feel like you heart in no longer in it or you feel discontent with your work…or within your field. They see you as stagnant. Their rooting for you to make a comeback.

Celebrity Friends: They see you as being the master manifestor. They could use you for your clout or recognition. They see you as stable within you career/finances…to the point where they feel you can take bold chances and not be held back. They may feel like your constantly trying to reinvent yourself. Some may steal your swag or ideas from you but fail to replicate. (You cannot compete where you don’t compare) Most will be fake towards…you will see this and cut them off ASAP! You will have few celebrity friends because of this. Those that are real friends of yours will actually help you even financially if you need it. They may want to invest in you. For some of you…you may even have an affair with one of them.

Career Path: Your career path will be a part of your destiny. For some of you, this is how you meet your soulmate. Aesthetician, Fashion Blogger, Beauty Guru, MUA, Stylist, Museum Curator, Art Auctioneer, Agent, Manager, Business Owner, Model, Actress (Feminines), YouTuber,Magazine Editor. A place where your allowed to be a free thinker, playful and confident. You may be the youngest there for some of you.

How GP Views you: They see you as a hard worker, the kinda “pull yourself up by the boot strap” mentality. They believe you worked for everything you own. They see you as a role model for kids and adults alike. They feel at times you a bit immature because of your playful nature…like you don’t take things seriously often. They see you as lacking balance, you often get into arguments because of your one-sided beliefs or because your beliefs are so out of the ordinary. Some of your actions are seen as reckless and stupid. They feel you should do better because of you being viewed as a role model.

How you become famous: Viral Video…overnight success. By being vulnerable about self doubt you’ve experienced. This may be after a huge scandal that shot you to fame. But you used it as a stepping stool. (Some of you may resonate with pile 2) This was at a time where you were letting go and beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Love Life: “Through the darkness I saw you”. You will go through a lot of nostalgic connections. Where you are the center of your suitor’s attention. A lot of your relationships you’ll want to keep low key (For obvious reasons) but that never ends up happening. A lot of ur lover’s emotions run deep with you. Some may not be able to handle the spotlight or you having the spotlight. Your like a dream for many of them…gone as soon as you came. You may cook or they may cook for you. There is a lot of empathy for your feelings and passions.

Where will you be famous: Norwegian, Iceland, New York, Bronx, Chicago, Mexico, Russia, Yugoslavia, Prussia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Australia, Phoenix, California, Gambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, France. A lot of colder areas or places with higher levels of heat.

How will you feel: You may feel like everyone’s always trying to find out/know tea about you. Due to this you’re careful about who you give your energy to. You are quick to energetically block someone. You don’t change for others you just walk away from them

Call me beep me if you wanna reach me…💃🏾🎤🎹📱📞☎️🤳🏾

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New PAC posted for night fairies check it out

"MORE TEXTURES AND BOMBAST THAN ACTUAL HARD ROCK, "BDB" IN RETROSPECT IS A STRANGE COLLECTION OF HIGHLY POLISHED PERFORMANCES."

PIC(S) INFO: Relaeased 50 years ago earlier this year -- Spotlight on the "Billion Dollar Babies" LP, the sixth studio album by American rock band ALICE COOPER, and released in March 1973 under the Warner Bros. label. The album became the best selling ALICE COOPER record at the time of its release, hit number one on the album charts in both the US and the UK, and went on to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. 

RECORD OVERVIEW: "If first impressions are key, then the look alone of the "Billion Dollar Babies" LP made it an instant classic. A prime artifact from the days when the music business spent lavishly on complicated and expensive album art, the package was designed like a wallet. Outside was a large gold coin with a baby's head encircled by embossed diamonds against a bright-green snakeskin-patterned background. Inside were pop-out trading cards and an oversized billion-dollar bill picturing the band. The inner sleeve has lyrics on one side and the band, dressed in white, looking hilariously perplexed by their surroundings, petting white rabbits among stacks of paper money while Cooper holds an infant whose eyes are ringed by the same black makeup design he wore onstage.

After the long, wearying struggle to succeed followed by endless touring and boundless adulation, Alice Cooper the band was both peaking and coming apart in 1973. Having recently released "Killer" (1971) with its singles "Be My Lover" and "Under My Wheels," and a follow-up, "School's Out" (1972), whose LP came packaged in a pair of women's panties, conditions were ripe for these early progenitors of shock, schlock, and glam rock to fashion one lasting achievement yet to be.

Guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce (who also plays keyboards), drummer Neal Smith, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and Vince Furnier (a.k.a. Alice Cooper) recorded BDB from August 1972 through January 1973 at the Cooper Mansion in Connecticut with a mobile recording unit, as well as in Morgan Studios, London, and The Record Plant in New York City. The engineers were Shelly Yakus, Frank Hubach, Robin Black, Peter Flanagan, Jack Douglas, and Ed Sprigg. Guitarists Mick Mashbir, Dick Wagner, and Steve Hunter (the latter two would be prominent in Alice Cooper's solo career) and keyboardist Bob Dolin provided extra support.

More textures and bombast than actual hard rock, BDB in retrospect is a strange collection of highly polished performances. Upon closer listen, piano parts are a subtle but surprisingly essential part of the arrangements. Never loud or overdriven guitars, sometimes keening, aid in the album's high-camp zeitgeist."

-- STEREOPHILE, "ReDiscoveries #5: Alice Cooper's "Billion Dollar Babies," by Robert Baird, published May 30, 2023

Sources: www.stereophile.com/content/rediscoveries-5-alice-coopers-billion-dollar-babies, Pinterest, Classic Bands, Wikipedia, various, etc...

The Haunting of Bly Manor: Episode Analysis

*SPOILERS*

Episode 1 - The Great Good Place

The first episode of the second season of ‘The Haunting’ anthology series, ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’, begins with the opening credits which kick off each episode of this season. In these credits, we see painted portraits of each of the main characters of the season (Dani, Peter, Rebecca, Jamie, Owen, Miles and Flora, and Hannah) and the features of their faces gradually disappear, the significance of which we do not discover until later on. Although Dani is the only one who actually remains a ghost after becoming the new Lady of the Lake and will have this physically happen to her, having not just Dani’s but all of the main characters’ facial features smoothing over, goes deeper in telling us that even though the general ‘shape’ of you remains in people’s memories of you, it is the final fate that “all things fade” [ep 8] and will eventually be forgotten over time.

Is is also notable that all of the characters’ portraits are shown to be in rectangular frames, however, Hannah Grose’s portrait is in an oval frame. This subtle detail, just like the disappearing facial features, indicates something important to the plot that is not made sense of until watching further. In this case, we find out in Episode 5 that Hannah is actually a ghost herself and that her body is lying at the bottom of a well on the grounds, but in the beginning credits, we are subtly being shown that Hannah is different to the others without it yet being revealed in what way.

After the beginning credits, the actual episode begins with The Storyteller, who we later find out is Jamie, reciting the lyrics of “O Willow Waly” by Isla Cameron. The lyrics of the whole song are:

“We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow,

But now alone I lie and weep beside the tree,

Singing ‘oh willow waly’ by the tree that weeps with me,

Singing ‘oh willow waly’ till my lover return to me,

We lay my love and I beneath the weeping willow,

A broken heart have I,

Oh willow I die, oh willow I die”

The song was originally in the 1961 movie ‘The Innocents’ which, like The Haunting of Bly Manor, is another adaptation of Henry James’ 1898 novella ‘The Turn of the Screw’. The song is constantly repeated throughout The Haunting of Bly Manor by various characters, as well as being the music played in a music box which was found amongst the belongings of Miles and Flora’s mother, Charlotte Wingrave.

The lyrics of the song, describing the singer sitting beneath a willow tree giving a sad lament for a lost lover, are very apt for what will come throughout the series - the tragic gothic romances of Henry and Charlotte Wingrave, Rebecca and Peter, Owen and Hannah, and Dani and Jamie. In each of these instances, someone in the partnership can be reflected in the singer of the song, lamenting for their lost love and lover (Henry Wingrave, Rebecca, Owen and Jamie all suffer this same sad lament after losing their love).

Having Jamie recite these lyrics at the beginning of the season also tells us at the very beginning, what Older Flora tells us in Episode 9; that Jamie isn’t telling a “ghost story” but a “love story”, and similarly that we are watching a love story and not necessarily a ghost story in the traditional sense.

We then watch as Jamie wakes up in her hotel room and she immediately looks towards her right shoulder. This is something that can easily be overlooked on a first viewing, however, we discover at the very end of Episode 9 that Dani’s hand was touching Jamie’s right shoulder as she fell asleep - it is up to the viewer whether this is actually Dani or instead a comforting memory of Jamie’s - so in this moment as she wakes up, Jamie is actually looking at her shoulder because she felt Dani’s presence to some degree. Similarly, we also find out in Episode 9 that Jamie’s ritualistic staring into the water’s reflection in the bath and sink is done in the hope that she will one day see Dani reflected back at her.

When Jamie first wakes up we can also see that she’s smiling, as if she was dreaming of her life with Dani, possibly having been tucked away in a memory of them by Dani, who quietly watches over and protects her.

We then continue as we see that it’s 2007 and Jamie arrives at Older Flora’s wedding reception, and it seems that her arrival is surprising to Older Owen, who looks like he did not expect Jamie to attend. His surprise is most likely due to the grief that he will be aware that Jamie carries after losing Dani, and Dani only died from the sacrifice that she made to save Flora from The Lady in the Lake. However, after seeing Jamie arrive, Owen says in his speech that “to truly love another person is to accept that the work of loving them is worth the pain of losing them”. This is something that is not only applicable to Owen himself, as he truly loved Hannah and is under the belief that loving her was also worth the pain of eventually losing her; but what he says is also applicable for Jamie (who he seems to be specifically directing this comment towards).

The wedding reception carries on into the evening, where all the attendants have gathered together and begin to talk about ghost stories. They speak of ghost stories flippantly, chalking them down to being “just a story” and a “part of the sales package” so that “they can charge a few hundred extra for the ghost story”. In this conversation one woman also jokes about being warned of a ghost called “Seamus” who had “his head crushed in where a horse had kicked him” and all the other guests laugh lightheartedly (and somewhat disrespectfully) at this.

However, Jamie says that she has a real ghost story but she warns that it’s long and not her story, and despite this Owen encourages her to tell it saying, “well it seems we’ve got time enough, and wine enough, why not?”. Owen is more than likely to be aware of what story Jamie is referring to and so he clearly also wants Miles and Flora to know what happened to them as children, and more importantly the sacrifice that Dani made for them. This is something that Dani, Jamie and Owen discussed when Dani and Jamie were visiting Owen’s restaurant in France, A Batter Place, in Episode 9.

During that conversation in France, Owen says that he wouldn’t tell the children and “just let them be” and “let them live their lives the way they should without anything hanging over them”. However, since that conversation Dani has died and unlike the children she didn’t get a chance to live her life the way she should, and so it seems that Owen’s opinion has changed. It appears that he now thinks that the children should know what happened and what Dani sacrificed for them (especially if they’re told indirectly, which Jamie subtly makes clear to Owen as she makes a point to say that “it isn’t really my story”).

Jamie then begins to tell her story where we switch to London in 1987, and we do not return to Older Jamie at the wedding reception until Episode 9. In our first introduction to Dani, we can clearly see that she’s a tourist and very much out of her depth. She appears slightly flustered and scattered as she checks her map to make sure she’s arrived at the right location and comically, with typical tourist fashion, she wears a hidden waist bag which holds her map and the address of the location for the job interview.

Interestingly, Dani’s red rucksack has some flags on it, which are most likely patches which she’s collected on her European travels after leaving America. The flags show us that she’s not just come straight from America to the UK, but that she’s been backpacking all throughout Europe and really is running away from her past. The flags show us that she’s been to Sweden, the UK, France, Luxembourg/The Netherlands and Italy (or Ireland, but it’s unlikely that she went to Ireland based on the direction she’s travelled and the fact she’s in London now) - Dani has also attached the flags of Luxembourg/The Netherlands incorrectly, as these two are upside down.

As Dani is about to cross the road to go into Henry Wingrave’s office building, she suddenly sees a spectre with glowing eyes in the window of a fast passing car. We don’t yet know that this is her ex-fiancé who’s image she is haunted by after he is killed when she breaks off her engagement to him, having realising that she is attracted to women. The fact that Dani sees him on her way to the job interview, shows us that he appears to her not only when she is feeling the guilt from her sexuality, when she is advancing her relationship with Jamie (which we see happens later on); but also when she is just generally attempting to move on with her life.

During her interview with Henry, we can clearly see by her body language that Dani is trying to put on a confident facade but it’s exactly that - a facade. Although she tries to exude confidence through her body language, we can see that she’s uncomfortable as she awkwardly shuffles and attempts a British accent when she says that she’s “fallen quite in love with London”. An attempt which we can see is not well received by Henry as he rolls his eyes and says “god” under his breath.

Although, Dani is used to putting on a facade, we know from Episode 4 that she has in fact been putting one on for her whole life; agreeing to marry Eddie (the fiancé) just because she “didn’t want to hurt you [Eddie] and your mom” and was just hoping that she “could just stick it out and eventually [she] would feel how [she] was supposed to”. Dani had been putting on a front and was hiding how she felt for her whole life, just as Older Jamie says in Episode 4, that “the au pair had been telling herself to wait another night, another time for years and years”.

We can also see that although Dani still appears to be quiet and meek, she is now stronger in her life than when she was with Eddie, and when Henry tries to ask what “the catch” is, she bites back at him and says that she had the same question for him as the job seemed easy to fill. We also see this confidence later on when she decides that she wants to pursue a relationship with Jamie, she is sick of hiding how she feels and acting how she’s been told to, and so in Episode 3 she tentatively makes the first move with Jamie as she’s sick of hiding and wants to show Jamie that she’s interested in her.

We also find out why Dani has such continual trouble making tea, as she says to Henry that she hasn’t “quite mastered tea, I’m used to it coming in a pitcher, full of ice cubes and lemon wedges”.

This facade is also shown visually in the interview scene, as she is wearing a black blazer during the interview with Henry, when she is trying to impress him for the job. When we see her looking in the job section of a newspaper after the failed interview, we can see that she has taken off her blazer and she has also taken off the front of caring what impression she makes with him, and so she storms up to confront him when she sees him sit down at the bar. The removal of the blazer also shows us how much more genuine Dani comes across when she’s not pretending and is just being herself - Henry doesn’t give her the job during the interview, when she’s trying to be impressive; but when she’s just being her authentic self in the pub, he decides to give her the job because he can see her genuine caring intention to help the children.

It is also notable that she is drinking a beer, a stereotypically masculine drink and another thing that makes her more unusual.

During this conversation Dani says that when she used to teach the fourth grade there was “too many of them and too little of [her]” and she thinks that she “could make a difference, a real difference, with just two”. This wish, to “make a real difference”, is actually something that Dani ends up fulfilling when she saves Flora and Miles, but she is only able to do this with a tremendous sacrifice of her own life and happiness.

Whilst on the car ride with Owen, after being picked up by him in London, Dani has a conversation about Bly with him. In this conversation Owen tells Dani how he was born in Bly, how he has been living in France but has now come back, and says that “the whole town is one big gravity well, and it’s easy to get stuck”. This inescapability of Bly makes sense, as we later find out in Episode 8 that The Lady of the Lake has created her own “invented gravity” within the grounds of the manor from her grief and anger. From what Owen says it is apparent that The Lady of the Lake’s “gravity” is the strongest within the grounds, but its affect has also managed to seep its way into the town of Bly itself.

After Dani arrives at Bly, it is strongly implied that Fora had just been controlled by Rebecca Jessel. Flora is singing “O Willow Waly” by the lake, which is the song that plays in the music box that Rebecca and Peter kept their Polaroids in, but she turns around in confusion saying “what song?” when Dani remarks “what a beautiful song” - this confusion at not being able to remember what she’s done is something that Flora always has after being taken over by Rebecca.

As well as this, Flora is sitting by the lake, which Dani says in Episode 3 that Flora “hates the lake”; but just like the various other times when Flora is taken over by Rebecca, Rebecca uses Flora’s body to walk to the lake (the location where she was killed by Peter and mourns for her life that was snatched from her).

Flora goes on to tell Dani that “you’re expected”, which is a nod back to ‘The Haunting of Hill House and actually a chilling thing for Flora to say after knowing what happens to Nell. In Hill House, Olivia - who is Nell’s, also played by Victoria Pedretti, mother - similarly tells Nell “you’re expected”. Nell goes back to Hill House and dies there and Dani eventually returns to Bly Manor where she dies.

Flora also introduces Dani to Miles and Mrs Hannah Grose. The latter of whom we come to find out is actually a ghost and has, only moments before, been pushed down the well by Peter Quint (possessing Miles’ body) and killed, and when we first see her she is actually staring down at her own corpse.

The creepy moment when Miles is lurking by Dani’s door and watching her get changed is still unsettling, but it’s made slightly less creepy when we later find out that it was one of the times when it was actually Peter in Miles’ body.

When they all have their dinner that evening, we do see Hannah have a sip of tea (which Dani notices she’s hardly drank any of, but she puts down to it tasting bad), however she also doesn’t eat her food and continues not to eat any food - a small hint that Hannah is actually dead.

While Dani is giving Flora her bath before bed, Flora looks over Dani’s left shoulder and seems to be having a partial conversation with someone who’s not Dani - Flora comments that she’s being silly even though Dani hasn’t said anything that would prompt her to say that, and she’s initially mad at Dani for having the butterfly clip that belonged to Rebecca. But after looking over Dani’s shoulder, Flora nods in agreement and tells Dani that it’s actually okay, so it appears that Rebecca told Flora that Dani could have her hair clip. We learn later on that Flora continuously sees Miss Jessel standing behind Dani’s left shoulder, as she seems to be continuing to watch over Flora even as a ghost, but Rebecca doesn’t reveal herself to Dani until Episode 7.

Just before bedtime, Dani says that Flora can play with her dollhouse, which is a microcosm of Bly Manor. The locations for all of those within the house are shown to Flora by the Doll Face Ghost, who dictates the placement of the dolls for her. Dani sees Flora playing with one of the dolls and asks “is that me?” to which Flora replies “why, no, silly, you’re you”. At first this is a comment that can easily be dismissed, but in Episode 9 it bears much more importance. In Episode 9, Flora gives Dani the doll that she was playing with in this scene, because she tells her that “you must have it, it’s you”.

Flora knows that The Lady of the Lake is within Dani and now, unlike when they first met, she has become a doll. Dani is just a puppet who will one day be completely taken over by The Lady. Flora knows that Dani is no longer “you”, after The Lady has accepted Dani’s invitation she has lost a part of herself to The Lady, and the doll is now as similar to Dani as she is to herself.

We are shown some shots of within the dollhouse where we can see that Miss Jessel’s doll is next to Flora’s bed, so this confirms that Flora has just been looking at and speaking to Miss Jessel; we can also see that Peter’s doll is in Miles’ room, so this also confirms that Peter is following Miles around.

The next day Dani goes into the church on the grounds, where she finds Hannah lighting some candles for “the dead”. She lights four; one for Charlotte Wingrave, one for Henry Wingrave, one for Rebecca Jessel and she doesn’t yet realise it (and nor do we) but the last candle is sadly for herself - it can’t be for Peter because Hannah doesn’t yet know that Peter is dead, everyone thinks that he’s just ran away.

That night, just before Miles and Flora’s bedtime, Dani kicks the doll which represents The Lady of the Lake, as it was sitting in the middle of the floor. Flora’s dresser represents the lake and the dollhouse is the manor, so we know that The Lady is on her way to the house, which is why Dani is locked in the cupboard - not because the children are playing a cruel game, which is what it first seems, but because they are actually trying to protect her, as they know that The Lady approaching and they’ve seen what she did to Peter.

You can read my previous The Haunting of Bly Manor posts here:-

Episode 2 - The Pupil

Episode 3 - The Two Faces, Part One

Episode 4 - The Way It Came

Episode 5 - The Altar of the Dead

Episode 6 - The Jolly Corner

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Yoü and I - Roger Taylor x Reader

Pairing: Roger Taylor (Late 1970's) x Reader Words: 4927 (including song lyrics)

Prompt: Lady Gaga's song "Yoü and I"

Summary:  There's something about the chase - six whole years. After a brutal heartbreak six years ago you're finally eye to eye with your long lost love. Something about just knowing when it's right - I'd rather die, without you and I.

Warnings: Slightly angsty beginning, smoking, alcohol, fluff, a bunch of swearing, SMUT; fem!dom (blink and you'll miss it), fingering, unprotected sex, breeding kink, choking. Almost on the edge of being sappy.. Wow.   Note: The lyrics for the song is written in italics. I'm imagining this fic is going on in the late late 70's. This was supposed to be short and sweet but… I've never learned to stop and I was born with a very prominent 'too-much' gene. #notevensorryaboutit __________________

It's been a long time since I came around

Been a long time but I'm back in town

And this time I'm not leaving without you

"Have you heard Queen is coming to town?"

You glanced up at your friend, who was standing right in front of you. She knew very well how you felt about Queen. That particular band - or more precisely - the drummer from that particular band had you so whipped you felt like your life had been on standby the past six years. What was meant to be an innocent summer flirt turned into the biggest heartbreak you had ever had - and it was all your fault.

"Queen…" you repeated, voice barely louder than a whisper. Slowly you shifted your eyes back to the newspaper in front of you. Out of the corner of your eye you could see her smirk. She knew exactly what was going on in your mind. You had to see him. You needed him like you needed oxygen and even if he didn't feel the same way anymore, at least you could finally get closure.

When you met Roger six years ago, the two of you instantly hit it off. He was the exact type of guy you had been looking for. Intelligent, talented and slightly crazy. All you wanted was a quick shag and he made it very clear that it would be a one-time deal. None of you managed to keep those promises and your one-night stand turned into a date and then another date and then a vacation together. He didn't have a lot of money, but your family did and even though you wanted that to be a secret, you really wanted a nice get away with him. You flew to Nebraska to stay in your aunt's cottage. She had a wonderful little place in a quiet forest somewhere deep in Nebraska. For a whole week it was just you, Roger and an unhealthy amount of alcohol and cigarettes. And condoms.

Even though the two of you never officially called yourself a couple everyone around you saw you as one. To you he was Nebraska and to him you were New York or NY, occasionally even just 'baby doll'.

The honeymoon phase of your 'relationship' ended once you got back to London and Roger found out that Queen was going on a tour in America. There was no way you could join them - not even Freddie's girlfriend Mary or John's fiancée Veronica got to join them. That quickly became the end of your love story. Forced apart, both broken hearted. Or so you thought. Barely a week after Queen had left the UK all the papers were filled with Roger's promiscuous life and how he had one woman after the other slung across his lap.

"Hello? Are you in there?" Your friend lightly knocked you on the top of your head.

"Uh, yeah.. Sorry just going through some.. Memories" you shrugged.

"Thought so. Do you wanna go see them?... See him?" she asked quietly before handing you another cup of tea.

"I suppose" your voice was cold and hard, which was very unlike you. But you needed to see him.

A few weeks later the day was upon you. Queen was in town and you were mentally preparing to either get your man back or get your heart broken once and for all. You were there early with your friend which luckily resulted in you getting to the very front. Front and on the right. The concert was amazing - of course it was. Those four men were the most talented people you had ever known and seeing all of them again made you so happy. You had forgotten how good they made you feel - just seeing them have fun on stage was enough to knock the air out of you. At one point you got eye contact with Brian who quickly recognized you and flashed a toothy smile in your direction.

As the band prepared to perform their song "'39" all of them - including Roger - moved to the front of the stage. On his way down from the drum rises, Brian grabbed on to his arm and said something in his ear, which made him look in your direction - you could only imagine, that Brian had made him aware of your presence. Finally, his eyes caught yours and you could feel your cheeks redden. His jaw almost dropped, and he seemed to forget where he was and where he was going, which Brian quickly reminded him of.

As soon as the concert ended you saw Roger run off stage and before you even had the opportunity to move away with the crowd, a security-person came and asked you to stay back, "Roger Taylor's order". You bid your friend goodbye, even though she had offered to stay. Whatever was about to happen, needed to be between you and Roger.

You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh

I'd give anything again to be your baby doll

This time I'm not leaving without you

Once the whole crowd had faded out, the fence was pushed apart allowing you to enter the stage area. The security person followed you back stage where you saw Brian as the first person. A light gleam of sweat covered his skin and his white button up was opened all the way down. He was the actual definition of eye candy.

"(Y/N).. Wow. It's been so long - nice to see you!" he exclaimed and pulled you in for a sweaty hug. You laughed and wrapped your arms around him, squeezing him tight. If everything with Roger went wrong today, this might be the last chance you had to do this. The hug broke apart, but Brian let his right hand rest on your shoulder as you broke apart.

"Haven't seen you in like.."

"Six years.." you finished his sentence, feeling your heart get heavy again.

He pulled you in for another hug and gently rubbed your upper back.

"Roger is waiting for you. He's in the dressing room with Freddie right now, but he'll come out once he's do-"

Just as Brian was about to tell you, Roger opened the door to the dressing room. He looked like a prince. His hair wasn't as long as it was the last time you had seen him, but he looked so handsome. Once his eyes finally met yours again nothing else mattered. Fireworks went off in your stomach and your knees went weak. He was right there.

"Roger.." his name came out as almost a plea. A soft smile tugged on the corner of his lip as he made his way over to you.

"I missed you so much" he said, barely louder than a whisper as he swept you into a tight hug.

Your feet touched, as did your knees, thighs, hips, stomachs, chests and faces. The hug couldn't be tighter even if you tried and the possibility of the two of you falling over was horrifyingly big, but none of you cared.

You stood in silence for multiple minutes while the world just continued on around you. Roger had one arm wrapped tightly around your waist and the other one around your upper torso with his hand placed on your neck. Both your arms were slung around his neck pulling his head into your neck and you felt his steady breath blow against your collarbone, before he shyly pressed his lips against the skin on your collarbone.

"Nebraska" you whined feeling tears threaten to spill from your eyes.

It wasn't on purpose, that you had used his old nickname but in the heat of this very quiet and intimate moment you almost forgot that you had been apart for six years. You felt him chuckle against your skin and for the first time in a long time your hug broke apart.

"Do you want to go out for a drink maybe?" he asked softly. Something about those six years seemed to have made him softer than you could've ever imagined, but that might just have been because he was just as overwhelmed as you were.

"Could we maybe go to my place for a drink instead? I really just want to be alone with you" you admitted, looking up at him through your eyelashes. He flashed you a smile and nodded, grabbing your hand and pulling you into his chest.

"I'll just make sure that everything is packed up and inform the guys that I'm leaving"

You nodded and ghosted your lips over his, barely touching them yet still getting the faint taste of whisky and cigarettes. He gave your hand a slight squeeze before he let you go and turned around to check up on everything.

You say sit back down where you belong

In the corner of my bar with your high heels on

Sit back down on the couch where we made love the first time

And you said to me

Less than an hour later the two of you walked through the door of your flat. Roger toed off his shoes as you locked the door and turned around to take of your stilettoes.

"Don't" he said and grabbed onto your arm. You put your foot back down and shot him a questioning look.

"I like the way they look on you" he admitted and smirked at you.

You just laughed and shook your head. If all you had to do to keep him happy was to keep your stilettoes on you would do it in a heartbeat. Your hand ran up his back as you walked past him and into your living room that had a small bar up against one of the walls. He swiftly followed you and as you sat down on one of the bar chairs, Roger went behind the bar and pulled up two glasses pouring both of you an old-fashioned whiskey, complete with ice cubes, orange twist and cocktail cherries.

"I still regret it sometimes, you know" he said, taking a fair swig of the liquid.

"Regret it?"

"The tour"

"Nebra- Roger.. You shouldn't" you didn't know what to call him. Every fibre in your body wanted to call him Nebraska. Pretend that the past six years had been a bad dream and that nothing between you had changed. All you wanted to do was to jump his bones and have another of those magical nights that you had shared in the past.

"You can call me Nebraska, you know that baby doll" he smirked, walking around the bar. He placed his free hand on your knee, pushing them apart and standing between them. His hand went from your knee all the way up your thigh before he snaked it around your hip, firmly pulling you close to him.

"I can't help but imagine what would've happened to us, if I hadn't left you. If you could've been there with me." He said, drawing small patterns on your butt with his thumb.

"We would probably be married and at the rate we were going at it, we would probably have a few kids as well" you joked, taking another sip of your whiskey.

"Don't even say that" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"We both know it's true though" you stated once again.

"Don't…" he almost begged. This really seemed to hit a soft spot in him.

"I.. I know. But look how everything worked out for you even-" He slammed his drink on the top of the bar and firmly cupped your face before crashing his lips onto yours. His fast movements took you by surprise but a quick second later you closed your eyes and melted into his touch, kissing him back with the same intensity.

He gently bit your lower lip as the kiss broke and once you opened your eyes again, a slight chuckle left your now swollen lips.

"You got a bit of my lipstick on your face there" you laughed, tracing your thumb across his red tinted bottom lip.

You downed the rest of your whiskey and just as you swallowed, Roger took your now empty glass and placed it on the table before lifting you off your chair. Instinctively you wrapped your legs arounds his waist and your arms around his neck. Both his hands rested on your ass as he walked across the floor and threw you onto your old brown leather couch.

Something about this place,

Something 'bout lonely nights

And my lipstick on your face

Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy

Yeah, there's something about, baby, you and I

You were laying on the couch while Roger stood by your side with his gaze locked on you. His blue eyes had darkened, as had the whole feel of the room. Pure passion and need seemed to beam out of his eyes. He towered over you, while slowly unbuttoning his shirt. You finally kicked off your shoes and once Roger had finally rid himself of his shirt, you reached out your arm and made a slow 'come-hither' movement at him.

"I've.. Missed this" he softly spoke. His voice was way softer than you had imagined it would be at this point.

He sat down on the edge of the couch and you scooted over and sat up to make space for him. He slid back and rested his back against the back of the couch, and you moved back over to learn your head on his shoulder.

"You know.. I missed you too. But all those stories made it seem like you had gotten well over me" You said, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder leaving yet another soft mark of your lipstick on his skin.

"Stories?"

"Uh.. Yeah. You were kinda all over the newspapers with all your uh.. Promiscuous adventures.. As soon as you had left to go to America" you sighed, reliving the utter heartbreak you had gone through, seeing all those pictures back then.

"I didn't.. Know that those stories made it ov-"

"Oh they did. I saw the pictures"

"Oh.. Listen, I just needed a fast way to get over you and it was so easy to pick up women and I-"

"Don't.. I don't need any excuses anymore. You're here now and that's all that matters."

You quickly rid yourself of your shirt, leaving you in your skirt and bra. While leaving a trail of wet kisses on Rogers bicep and neck your slowly crawled onto his lap, softly grinding against his crotch. The lipstick marks that you had left on his skin, fired you up even more. He was finally marked as yours again. Needy whimpers left his lips as you grinded down on him a little harder.

"You like that baby?" you purred against his ear, still grinding against him. At this very moment he was at your mercy - a thing that rarely happened. He nodded quickly, moving his hands up your thighs to grab onto your hips, steading you against him.

"Mmmh, keep making those pretty little noises for me" you said with a smirk. Your voice was sultry and sensual, which clearly had a strong effect on the blonde man underneath you. You grabbed his chin with your thumb and index finger and tilted his head up, so your eyes met. You had never seen him so needy and flustered before. You ghosted your lips over his before moving your hands down his bare chest and unbuttoned his trousers.

"Don't be a tease" he warned with a fragile voice, tightening his grip on your hips. You flashed him a playful smirk before getting out of his grip and sliding off his lap. He whimpered at the loss of contact, reaching his arms out to pull you back but you managed to back away just enough to be out of his reach.

"Can you take your trousers off for me, baby?" you purred reaching underneath your skirt and pulled of your panties, waving them in front of his face before leaning down and shoving them in the front pocket of his trouser. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to fly up from the soft couch and quickly pull his trousers down, before mindlessly kicking them off.

"Oh, you've started wearing underwear? Since when?" you laughed, softly tracing a fingertip over the black fabric that covered his visible boner.

He shook his head with a light laughter, grabbing your wrists to pull you close to him again.

"I missed this so much. No one has ever made me feel the way you do" he admitted, pressing a soft kiss to your collarbone before reaching his hands around your back and unclasped your bra, pulling it down your shoulders and throwing it away.

You were both a sight for sore eyes. Almost shivering with need and anticipation, you in only your skirt and Roger in only his briefs. You laced your fingers with his, pulling him in for a kiss where neither of you touched each other’s faces. Even though it had been six years since you had seen each other, everything felt natural between you. Like it was meant to be.

"How do I make you feel, baby?" you whispered against his lips. You felt him smirk before you pulled away, gently tugging him along with you, moving to your bedroom. He followed along, silently at first, but once you squeezed his hand, egging him to answer your question, he finally spilled his guts.

"Like… Like home. You make me feel like time is standing still and…" he started as the two of you entered your bedroom. He swiftly pulled you close to him again, slamming your chests together.

"You make me feel like life has a purpose and" he sighed softly before continuing.

"I know you've read the stories about me and even though I've been with a lot of women, you're the only one that have had the ability to make me feel loved. Truly loved." he pressed a soft kiss to your nose.

"And truth be told" he said before shaking his head with a smile plastered to his lips.

"I haven't been looking for someone who loved me - or someone I could love. It's always been you and I hoped and prayed that you would be here for me once I finally grew up and realized what I had with you. You always were my baby doll"

You felt the tears prick in your eyes. With every word he said you felt yourself falling harder and harder.

"I still love you, Nebraska. I'll give anything to be your baby doll again" you said with a shaky voice.

"Let me show you just how much I love you, baby doll" his voice was raspy and strained.

Something about the chase

Six whole years

I'm a New York woman born to run you down

Still want my lipstick all over your face

Something, something about

Just knowing when it's right

Before you got the chance to answer him he roughly pushed you onto your bed and you hit it hard making you bounce. He quickly crawled over you and grabbed both your wrists, pinning them above your head using only his left hand to hold them down. You bucked your hips up against his, desperate for his touch.

"Patience, baby" he purred, placing sloppy kisses down your neck, over your collarbone and down between your breasts. His free hand went to cup one of your boobs, gently massaging it before he flicked his tongue over your nipple. The feeling of his wet tongue and warm breath sent shivers down your spine and caused a soft whimper to emerge from your lips.

"You're so beautiful and those noises of yours are heavenly" He almost sounded like he was begging, even though you didn't really know what he was begging for. He was in complete control and could do anything he wanted to at this very moment. He removed his hand from your breast and scooted off you to sit beside you instead, giving him easier access to your core, while still holding your hands pinned to the mattress.

He pushed up your skirt and didn't waste another moment before running his skilled fingers over your throbbing core. You were already so wet for him which he quickly noticed.

"Well now baby, what's going on down here" he smirked, running his fingers up and down your slit.

"Don't tease me" you moaned through your stacked breath.

"I would nev-"

"Yes, you would"

"Yeah I would"

As the last word left his lips he slid a finger into you causing you to loudly gasp and wriggle to get your hands free from his grasp, but it didn't help. His cocky smirk was glued to his face as his finger slid in and out of you, he quickly added another and started picking up his pace, curling his fingers up against your g-spot. Every time his fingers went over that soft spot within you, you moaned softly and bucked your hips, closing your eyes to focus on the feeling that was going on between your legs.

"Plea- I'm so close" you murmured.

He placed a soft kiss to your temple and pressed his thumb against your clit. A loud gasp ripped from your body as your orgasm started to flush through you Your toes and fingers curled, thighs and biceps tensed, and your hips bucked up like mad, making your back curve like never before. Rogers name left your lips like a prayer. A hot, needy prayer.

"Fuck.." Roger moaned, finally letting go of your hands and his hand flew to his crotch. A big wet spot started to show on his underwear. Your body finally relaxed again, yet your breath was out of control.

You tilted your head over to look at Roger and quickly noticed the wet spot on his underwear, which caused you to smile softly at him. The pure post-orgasm bliss ran through your veins as you lifted you hand and ran it over this thigh.

"That hasn't happened to me since I was a bloody teenager" he laughed, clearly a little embarrassed. You smiled in response and batted your eyelashes a few times.

"It's okay Roger… But I'm going to need a round two, so you better get that under control" you teased, pushing yourself up on your elbows to get closer to him.

"It's hard to control yourself when you're lying there making all those pretty noises and.. Mh" he moaned as you ran your hand over his wet underwear.

"Let's get these off you, yeah?" you asked, gently tugging on the elastic band. He softly nodded and laid on his back to pull them off. You followed his lead and finally rid yourself of your skirt as well. Finally, you were naked together. You sat cross-legged on the bed and just looked at Rogers naked form as he was laying there in front of you. He was so beautiful. A light sheen of sweat covered his chest and neck which made him look even more heavenly than he normally did.

You ran your fingers over his collarbones and down his chest, softly pinching his hips.

"I've missed this" you said, feeling like you had repeated those exact words way too many times already. He didn't respond, instead he just softly kissed your hand before sitting up across from you. You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. A kiss that quickly deepened, signalling that another round of raw pleasure was coming. You broke the kiss and rested your head on his shoulder, wrapping your arms lazily around his waist.

"Ready for round 2?" you giggled into his neck, while drawing tiny circles on his bare skin.

"You bet'cha" he laughed and leaned against you so hard that you fell back on the bed, pulling him on top of you. You looked up at his beautiful hooded blue eyes and fell in love all over again. The light from the room made it look like he had a halo.

He crashed his lips onto yours, needier and more desperate than ever. You spread your legs a little further apart making room for Roger to settle between them. His hardening cock rubbed against your sensitive core, causing you to gasp once again. Roger caught your gasp in his mouth, as he initiated another feverish make-out session.

"Condom?" he asked between the kisses. Every ounce of logic had left your body at this point and for once in your life, you couldn't care less about being safe or responsible.

"Fuck it. I want you to fucking.. Just.. Take me. Raw. I don't fucking care, Roger. Just.." you didn't manage to finish your desperate rambling before you felt him snake his hand down to line his cock up with your entrance and with a buck of his hips he bottomed out in you, causing you to scream out in pleasure. He filled you up perfectly and the quick movement took you completely by surprise - luckily he had made you plenty wet before.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself" he apologized and placed a soft kiss on your nose, not moving his hips so you could calm down a little after the very abrupt start.

"Don't apologize - fuck me.. I want you to fuck me so fucking good"

He kissed you again and started moving his hips, slowly pulling out before pushing into you again. And again, and again. His pace as so steady, clearly exposing that he was a drummer.

"I. Fucking. Love. You." he moaned with a raspy voice every time he pushed in to you.

You wrapped your arms around his back, scratching some long and severe streaks down his back. You felt your orgasm start to boil up which caused you to quickly move one of your hands down between you and Roger's sweaty bodies to apply pressure to your clit. Rogers thrusts were starting to get sloppier, but knowing that he had already cum once, you knew he would be able to hold it off for a little longer.

"I'm close, Rog" you whispered against his lips before pressing a soft kiss onto them.

"Where do you want me to cum?" he asked, starting to sound a little hoarse.

"In me.. Fuck a baby into me, Rog" Those words made him throw his head back in a desperate whine.

"Don't say that.. We're not even..-"

"We've been waiting for long enough" you almost cried out, so close to your own orgasm that you couldn't even think straight.

Roger moved his hand to your neck and gently choked you before pressing another needy kiss to your swollen lips.

And with that, your orgasm hit you like truck. You arched your back and a noise, that could only be described as a primal scream or growl left your lips. You shut your eyes and your jaw dropped, while every single muscle in your entire body tensed up and stayed that way for longer than you had ever tried before. Your walls clenched around Rogers length which was the last drop he needed to follow your lead into his own orgasm. Robe after robe of thick cum shot into you and the air filled with the sound of Roger's needy and desperate grunts and moans.

A few moments later, everything went quiet and you softly opened your eyes again, to see Roger still above you. His head was hanging down between his arms, that had miraculously managed to keep him from falling on top of you. You moved your hand up to move his hair away from his sweaty forehead before you pressed a kiss onto it.

The softest sigh left his tired body as he finally pulled out of you and fell down on his back right next to you.

It's been a long time since I came around

Been a long time, but I'm back in town

And this time I'm not leaving without you

After laying in complete silence for a few seconds, Roger managed to shove himself off the bed to go fetch something to wipe you off with. There was nothing more disgusting than sleeping in a pit of cum.

Soon enough he shuffled back into your bed and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

"I'll never leave you again, baby. Never" he whispered against your cheek.

You were almost falling asleep but seeing Roger with his after-sex glow made your eyes gain a little extra energy. You pushed him softly, so he would lay down flat on the mattress. Shortly after you pressed a kiss to his temple, cheekbone, jaw and lastly his lips.

"I surely hope not" you lightly joked before laying down. You placed your head on his chest, getting calmed down by the soft sound of his heartbeat. You wrapped your arm around his waist and moved your hips so close to him, that your pubic bone was against his hipbone. He pushed his leg between yours and finally the two of you were as entangled as physics would allow you to be. He used the arm he had under your body to draw tiny drawings on your spine, while his other hand moved over and tilted your chin up, so he could kiss you one more time.

"This time I'm not leaving without you".

Millionaire is hiring a personal photographer to travel around the world with him for FREE | Daily Mail Online

An Australian millionaire is offering one lucky person the chance to be his full time personal photographer - and he'll pay them $55,000 a year for the honour. 

Matthew Lepre, who is the founder of Ecom Warrior Academy, is searching for a photo taker to travel across Europe and the United States with him, uploading photos of the 27-year-old to social media.

'During the past year alone I have managed to grow my business while travelling to UAE, Indonesia, USA, NZ, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand and up until now, have relied on my best friend to be there to take photos on his phone,' Mr Lepre told FEMAIL.

'My business has now expanded rapidly and I need my mate, Mitch, to be there to work in other areas so I'm now putting the open call out to the world for someone to be there to fill this role.'

 Matthew Lepre, who makes $120,000 a month from four successful e-commerce stores, is looking to hire a personal photographer for $55,000 a year

Matthew Lepre, who is the founder of Ecomm Warrior Academy, is searching for a dedicated photo taker to travel across Europe and the United States with him

The employee will need to have a valid passport, be able to travel at a moment's notice and have an eye for the perfect picture.

“While I'm based in Sydney, my life has become pretty hectic,' Mr Lepre continued.

'Just a few weeks ago I was asked by a leading TV station in Milan to come for an interview so had to drop everything and hop on a plane and travel across the other side of the world three days later. 

'The selected person for this role would need to be flexible with their life and be able to join me too, on my crazy schedule that could take me anywhere, anytime.'

All flights and accommodation abroad would be covered by Mr Lepre, but the photographer will be expected to have their own professional gear.

Former fashion student Tyanna De Assis, who is based in Sydney, was selected to me Mr Lepre's personal assistant in September

'It's crazy. I am still in shock and wonder how they even came past my CV,' Ms De Assis told News.com.au at the time

Tyanna (pictured) was chosen for the role after Mr Lepre considered 70,000 applications

Earlier this year Mr Lepre put out a similar call for a personal assistant, who would be given $52,000 (base rate) a year with similar luxury travel on the cards.

The entrepreneur, who makes $120,000 a month from four successful e-commerce stores, sifted through 70,000 applications before hiring former fashion student Tyanna De Assis. 

'It's crazy. I am still in shock and wonder how they even came past my CV,' Ms De Assis told News.com.au in October.

She applied for the job by sending her resume and cover letter across in an email, writing 'Most entertaining PA you will ever have' in the subject line.

Naturally it caught Mr Lepre's attention and he decided to offer her a phone interview, before cementing her position in his company in September.  

'Tyanna has experience working for CEOs and directors and is knowledgeable about social media,' Mr Lepre said

Tyanna has spent much of her life working in public relations and as an office manager, so is used to penciling in appointments and speaking to clients across continents

'Tyanna has experience working for CEOs and directors and is knowledgeable about social media. She is a perfectionist which is perfect for this role and is detail and task-oriented,' Mr Lepre said of his new assistant.

She has spent much of her life working in public relations and as an office manager, so is used to penciling in appointments and speaking to clients across continents. 

Being the same age as her boss also makes communication easier. 

'The bonus is we don't get sick of each other - sometimes we have to sit together for nine hours straight - we're both scatter brains, we jump from one thing to the next, but it works because I am very OCD and I make sure I get everything down,' she told the publication. 

 In April Mr Lepre told FEMAIL he had received thousands of interested emails from potential employees, with 75 per cent of them coming from women

What did Mr Lepre want from a PA?

* A down to earth person that wants the job to learn and not so much for the lifestyle. 

* This isn't a 9-5 job. I am not looking for someone who wants regular office hours. The role involves a lot of travelling and therefore normal office hours don't really apply. However, there are the perks of days off in amazing countries.

* Great at thinking on their feet while on the go. Often days when we are travelling require lots of tasks to be done at once - from confirming travel arrangements to finalising coaching meetings that I have with my clients via Skype - life on the road never stops.

In April Mr Lepre told FEMAIL he had received thousands of interested emails from potential employees, with 75 per cent of them coming from women.

From what he could tell many of the job hunters were millennials (aged between 23 and 37), with the majority being women from Australia, followed by the United States, UK, Italy, South America and Asia.

'A lot of people who are applying say in their application that they are working the 9-5 rat race and want to escape corporate life and are ready to bring the skills they have learnt to this role, while travelling the world with me,' he said.

When the job title was first announced Mr Lepre explained how the $52,000 salary his personal assistant would receive was just the beginning. 

 'A lot of people who are applying say in their application that they are working the 9-5 rat race and want to escape corporate life and are ready to bring the skills they have learnt to this role, while travelling the world with me,' he said

 When the job title was first announced earlier this year Mr Lepre explained how the $52,000 salary his personal assistant would receive was just the beginning

Mr Lepre is an e-commerce mastermind - who makes a cool $120,000 a month - and he says business couldn't be better

'Salary will be based on the person's experience but the base rate is in addition to travel and accommodation expenses. Health insurance benefits are paid for by me separately,' he said. 

The businessman is proof that taking risks can pay off; at 23 he dropped out of uni because he wanted to make it on his own.

Mr Lepre is at the top of his game because of his incredible work ethic. 

'I do a lot of work every day but I operate on a philosophy of work hard, play harder,' he said.

In the past year, Matthew Lepre has spent his time exploring Japan, Dubai, Hawaii

Living the life: Although Mr Lepre looks as if he's casually relaxing in yet another exotic location, he's always working hard to drum up new business

'They would have to be someone who works hard but is also fun and spontaneous.'

He is currently in Sydney working on a new training program to show people how they can make six figures from home - just like he does.

Despite his wealth Mr Lepre will never forget where he came from, explaining that being raised by a single mother in Sydney's Western suburbs meant he grew up relying on meal drops from The Salvation Army in his youth.

'Life is always about giving back to those less fortunate than you and I am always thankful to those who supported my mum and I during the dark days when times were tough financially,' he said. 

You can learn more about Matthew Lepre's work by visiting his website or sign up to be his photographer here.

This content was originally published here.

9/16/2021 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 22:1-24:23, Galatians 2:17-3:9, Psalm 60:1-12, Proverbs 23:15-16

Today is the 16th day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian, it’s wonderful to be here with you today, it is a joy and a privilege to come by my place around the Global Campfire together with you as we exhale and release all of the stress and all the stuff that's going on and just allow the Scriptures to speak into our lives. Today, we will move back into the book of Isaiah, as well as the letter to the Galatians. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Isaiah chapters 22 through 24 today.

Commentary:

Okay, super famous passage in the letter to the Galatians today. We probably have all heard it. Most of us probably can quote it. I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. That is, I mean, that is a statement of a reality, that is a statement of what Paul believes and what we as Christians believe. It's a part of a paragraph though and it gets lifted out of the paragraph a lot. So, let's explore just for a second because what Paul said there, that we are all shaking our heads up and down and going yep, yep, yep I know that verse and yes it is Christ who lives in me. This is an incredibly controversial statement, heretical statement even for Orthodox Hebrew believers. So, bringing just a…one sentence more context helps us a lot. So, I quote “forth through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and a life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” This is kind of an abbreviated version of things that Paul unpacks more at length in the letter to the Romans. So, Paul is saying that he died to the law, God's law, the Mosaic law. The law that pulled the people together cohesively as Hebrews, the thing people were trying to live up to, or live into in order to be made righteous in some fashion before God, only to know that they couldn't and so they would offer also sacrifices to atone for their sin to become made righteous before God. Paul is undermining that understanding and as was laid out in the book of Romans. Paul's view is that the law revealed a person's inability to obey it. The law revealed a person's failures and their inability to become righteous before God and so the law condemned them because they couldn't live up to it. So, if the law is what makes you righteous before God, then nobody could be righteous before God, because nobody could fulfill the law. But Jesus did and God raised Him from the dead, no longer to die. So, Paul responds by coming to the understanding that we’re to die to the law so that we can actually live for God. The old person that we were bound by sin and unable to achieve any kind of righteousness before God. That person dies, is judged by the law, guilty, dies and is resurrected in Christ who has fulfilled it all. We glory in these realities, we do all that we can to accept and live into these realities, it is Christ in me that animates me. It is Christ in me that restores me to God. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, that this is a reality and I believe it we…we rejoice in these things from the early people though hearing the good news. How would you even get your mind around not having the law when it's all you've ever known, and you've aimed your entire life and your entire culture is aimed in that direction. It's indeed, the good news but it's also existentially disruptive, right, it up-ends a lot of things that have to then be rethought and even thinking those things would feel maybe even sinful. But in this case Paul is writing to a group of people, an established church. The churches in Galatia and saying “hey I never told you all that stuff, I didn't entangle you in all of that stuff. It's these people who are coming in behind me that are causing this disruption and confusion. I came with the message that showed you complete freedom and now you're trying go back and become a slave to this thing that you died to.” And so, I quote Paul “O foolish Galatians who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes, that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this” and this is actually where the rubber meets the road on his argument, “did you receive the Spirit by works of the law?” in other words, did the Spirit of the Lord come upon you because you were so righteous by obeying the law, or was it by hearing, and then you had faith, “are you so foolish,” I’m quoting Paul again, “having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” In other words, you receive this by faith. Are you not trying to be perfected by obeying the law, a law that you've not really been familiar with and those of you who have never been able to even come close to achieving and then once again we see Paul do a move that he does a lot which is to go back before Moses and go to the origin story with Abraham and unpack the fact that Abraham was made righteous before God through his faith in what God said, not in his adherence to a law that did not exist? That idea is a profoundly foundational tenet of what Paul teaches. And we can, I mean, this brings us up to speed on what we read today and will continue the journey forward in the letter tomorrow. It’s easy for us to get lost in the theology or the doctrine of it, trying to understand and unpack what this actually means for us. Ultimately, like we were talking about yesterday. Ultimately, what Paul is arguing for is spiritual freedom. The freedom to understand that you have been made righteous before God and so you can have a relationship with God personally, unmediated, directly. A relationship with God who has grafted you into His family. There aren't hoops, there aren't levers, there isn't a law other than the law of love. And so, as believers we should rest in that, we have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives within us, through Christ we have been made perfect before God, we have achieved what we could never achieve, through Christ who achieved it for us and gave it to us freely. All we have to do is believe it. This is the good news.

Prayer:

And so, Jesus, we thank You for this good news and it is definitely through this Hebrew centric lens that we read of it and unpack it and understand it. And for many of us, we don't have that background and so thank You for allowing us all of the different context and all of the letters and all of the narratives found in the New Testament that allow us to understand how radical, what a shift in reality, in awareness and in understanding. It’s something that we very easily take for granted because we've only known it a certain way and yet the Scriptures show us the moving forward of the gospel, the good news that has come into our lives and shaped us and changed us irreversibly. So, come Holy Spirit and help us to dive more deeply, drink more freely from this precious gift of salvation. Come, Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

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And that's it for today. I’m Brian and I love you. I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hi this is Nelly calling in and I want to call in for a few people. First of all I wanted to call in for Susie. She was talking about the situation from Haiti and God I just pray for Your peace to be on that land. I pray that the gains would be dismantled. God, I pray for protection. I pray for Stanley who was killed on his way to work God, for his family. I pray you give them comfort in the name of Jesus. I also want to lift up Stephen John, John from Sudan had to put a restraining order on him God. That must've been such a difficult decision but God, I know you're in the midst of it all and I just pray in the name of Jesus that You would just comfort that family for a complete transformation of the mind of John Stephen. John God, I pray that You would just touch him, that You would minister to him and that You would just be with those who are working with him. I also want to lift up Gary who is struggling with anxiety. God, I've been there. I know what it's like to wake up in the night and thinking about things. God, I pray that you remove that heaviness and that You would replace it with Your comfort and Your peace, in the name of Jesus. God, You are a strong tower and I pray fear would be gone. I pray that You will give him direction. I pray that You would give him endurance and God that You give him rest. We love You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Saul, one day was willing to kill his own son, but the next day he was unwilling to kill the heathen king, Agag, even though God demanded it. We must not be two sided. Plants must be tied to a stick as they grow to keep them straight. And likewise, we must remain tied to the Lord for it is only He that can keep us straight as we grow. It is the sail and not the Gail that determines our course. And don’t let comfort overshadow commitment for the tempting without works closely with the trader within to ensure our defeat. The spirit will always cry out for faith, while the soul will always reach for unbelief. What’s in your wallet? [email protected]. I like to give a shout out to Victoria Soldier, haven't heard from you lately and also Michelle for LA, know that you are both in my prayer list daily and thought of often, very much loved. And once again, Brain and the Hardin Family, thank you for this wonderful podcast for God's Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowing ya’ll. All right, bye bye.

Hi John Alpar, I heard your message about Stephen John and you needing to commit him to the hospital for mental health for bipolar. This is Radiant Rachel; I am praying for you and your family and I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. This weekend, this week, my dad is manic and he had to go on medical leave from work and we were scheduling a family meeting. And, you know, concerned, he’s not making proper decisions to be safe driving on the road, things like that. And, God did a miracle for us, He put it on my dad’s heart to want to commit himself to go into the hospital to spread the word of God to those inside the hospital. So, he is there now as well. And, God is working, I know that He is working on Stephen John also. And I just…Lord, we lift up all those who are struggling with mental health and all those who are caring for those with mental health. We pray that You will just guide them, work in their hearts, give them peace, give them rest, give them sleep. And, just use these trials for Your good. Have Your way Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[singing] Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my savior Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph for His foes He arose a victor from the dark domain,  now He lives forever with His saints to claim He arose, He arose, Hallelujah, Christ Arose.

Good morning DAB, God Bless all of you, you're all in my prayers constantly. This is Patrick from Seattle. If you could, I would appreciate your prayers. I have been a police officer in law enforcement for over 32 years. And right now, I am on the precipice of change and the message I keep getting from God is be still and I will fight for you. But as a driven, action-oriented person, that's not easy for me. So, I ask for prayers for guidance and patience and discernment and courage as I try to find out and determine what I'm going to be doing next in my life to support my family and to continue to serve God. So, if you would please join me. Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for allowing me for the last several decades to be able to serve You in the capacity that allows me to support and honor my family and honor my faith, my beliefs and my ethics and now as I'm trying to figure out what I’m gonna do next and where I'm gonna go and where You need me I can't hear what it is that you're telling me if You're speaking at all and I feel like Elisha in the cave waiting for all the storms to pass to hear Your quiet voice. So, I just ask that I can hear Your voice and I ask that You can help me to find a way to continue to serve You and support my family. Please help all those people out there that are in a similar circumstance asking for Your prayers. It’s in Your heavenly, holy name we pray. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and our King. Amen.

Blood Simple

Alan Jackson / Vox 03.1992

Refusing beers, learning to drive and confessing to an admiration for Suzanne Vega - what's happened to Britain's favourite noise terrorists? In search of the missing link, Alan Jackson tracked down the Jesus And Mary Chain in their new private studio. Within a red-brick block of carbuncular design, a mile or so south of the Thamas, is a council-owned leisure centre, a McDonalds, and Jim and William Reid's brand spanking new studio. During the recording of next month's new, as-yet-untitled LP, the pair have been rendezvousing late each morning at one or other's north London home, ready to negotiate the traaffic en route to yet another 12-hour stint behind the controls. That they've been able to travel in William's own car, rather than any vehicle more fitting to one-time noise terrorists, seems to be a source of wonder to many who think they know the Jesus And Mary Chain. But, confirms Jim, cheerfully dispensing cans of lager on a bleak midwinter's afternoon, William really has been involved in a tearing-the-L-plates-up-type scenario. Futhermore, he's a very good, very safe driver. "When I passed, so many people said they couldn't imagine me behind a wheel," grumbles the BSM's woefully under-estimated success story. "I kind of understood what they meant, but I couldn't help feeling insulted. I mean, there are people I know who I can't imagine driving a car, but that's because they're pretty much semi-retarded." That gripe aside, it's a noticeably friendly, even funny Jim and William who submit to their first press inquisition in some two years. It's not a process they're used to enjoying too much - having cheery foreign reporters ask 'Which one's Jesus and which one's Mary?' understandably dulls the appetite - but the comforts of this recently acquired home-from-home ensure they remain in relaxed mood. "Being in a rented studio is like being in someone else's house, with strangers walking in and out the whole time," says Jim, peeling open another can which his brother, admirably self-disciplined motorist that he is, refuses. "We're quite shy people, and just like to be left alone to get on with our work." "Also, it's not as if we're furniture-makers or plumbers, people who just turn up at a certain place and do the job," adds William. "It's supposed to be creative and it's a ridiculous that, just because you book a studio for the 22nd of March, you're going to be feeling creative when that day rolls around. "You can find yourself with a week's studio time booked, but no ideas to work on. Now we can work when we want and for however long it takes. I know we're not the first people to think of it, but I'm surprised this way of working doesn't occur to more bands." In the time they've been away, the Mary Chain have seen the windsock of critical and peer-group opionion swing back in their favour. Almost passé back in 1990, they're now right back in vogue - thanks largely to the number of slavish admirers nestling within younger bands of the monosyllabic name and shoe-gazing variety. Not that the Reids are sufficiently mindful of any of this for it to put them under any pressure while recording the work in hand. "We were aware of that from the time of Psychocandy to the release of Darklands, I guess," shrugs Jim, pleased at the attention from younger disciples, but preferring not to single out any one for public comment. "Since then I don't really think the pressure's been there. "That period was, basically, our five minutes in the limelight, and it suits us fine to be out of it now. At the time the responsibility felt enormous. We read all this stuff in the papers about how it was impossible to follow Psychocandy, how we'd blow it if we tried, how we should just split up there and then." "It's kind of what The Stone Roses must be going through now," considers William. "If I was them, I wouldn't read any of the debate - just go away and record. But that's probably why Darklands ended up being so different. We realised that there was no way we could get better in that particular style, so instead of doing Psychocandy II we made a complete change." The Mary Chain's subsequent direction was also shaped by a rather touching disappointment that their reputation, post-Psychocandy, was as noise terrorists rather than songwriters. "No-one ever quoted a lyric from that album," complains William. "OK, maybe it's because you can't hear them all - but you can hear some. It kind of got on our nerves. We'd actually written them all on acoustic guitar. The noise came later." This admission leads the Reids on to a shock declaration of admiration for the Suzanne Vegas of this world - those seemingly frail but undeniably brave souls who face their audiences metaphorically naked. "It's a completely different kind of performing, and I've got so much more time for artists who do that than I have for all the Spandex-trousered heavy rock bands," says Jim, shaking his head in disbelief at the sheer folly involved. "One person on stage with just an acoustic guitar and a microphone - that's a really direct way of communicating with other people and one that I find really terrifying. "We did an acoustic thing with the Sugarcubes a couple of years ago, and something later with the Cocteaus, and I don't think I could handle it again. You can hear people talking out front, and there's always the thought that someone could just shout out 'You're shit' and everyone would hear. Our noise is definitely something to hide behind. "We once played a festival in Estonia before 150,000 people and that was just a breeze in comparison. Absolutely no nerves, 100 feet away from the front rows on a completely huge stage - there's a totally disconnected feeling to it, as if the audience's reaction has nothing to do with you. And if anyone does shout any abuse, you just swagger round ignoring it, thinking, 'A few more seconds pal, and we're going to blast you away with noise'." "This far down the line they've got used to the way we work," judges William. "They know that when it comes to making records with Brian Eno, it just isn't going to happen. We don't rule out the producer thing - we've always kept an open mind about it, and have met and worked with a few. But it's never come out right so far. As we see it, what you're basically getting is an extra band member for the duration of an album, and we've never met anyone who's understood what we're about sufficiently for that relationship to be possible. "It's shouldn't just be a question of saying: 'Okay, we want our record to sell 20 million - we'll get such-and-such.' Hiring a producer should be just like auditioning a guitarist. When we've met producers, no matter how big their reputation, we haven't gone in looking for favours. We treat it as: 'If you're good enough, you can get to produce our record.' It's funny how they don't seem to like that." Self-produced then, in time-honoured JAMC fashion, the new album's direction provokes good-natured fraternal bickering. "It's not really got anything to do with what we've done before - other than that it touches on the best of everything," pronounces Jim. "It's not really a reaction to or against anything." "I think I disagree totally with everything you've just said," counters William, without offering an alternative definition. Rock'n'roll, but without the clichés, is the eventual compromise. While the public waits to deliver its verdict, the Reids are limbering up for the inevitable round of international promo activities. And while we can rest assured we won't be seeing them with Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene some Saturday morning, they worry that things become more difficult to control abroad. "This country's not so bad - they know who you are, and only ask you to do certain things," explains Jim. "But in Europe and America there are no musical categories, particularly when it comes to TV. So you go out to appear on some show and you find you're on next to Sonia, with no one having thought to say: 'You really ought not to be doing this, boys'. "So there you are, you've got an awful hangover, and you're wheeled onto the set of what you suddenly realise is some idiotic kiddie show, and before you can do anything about it someone's got a microphone in your face asking: 'What's your name?', 'What's your favourite colour?', 'What do you do in your spare time?'. And you end up going (adopts a tone of exquisite pathos), 'My name's Jim. My favourite colour's black. I like to fuck a lot...' "It's a difficult area. In-store signings are another thing. In the States you'll find all sorts of bands who wouldn't be seen dead doing them here sitting down with their magic markers. So if you object, you'll get the record company saying: 'Oh yeah? Well, REM and New Order did it, so what makes you think you're too good for it?'. In April the Reid brothers will embark on a live tour of Britain (UK appearances alone will involve the mega-supporting cast of Blur, My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr), mainland Europe and the United States. In-store signings are not on the agenda, but Jim points out that the inclusion of the lines "I want to die like Jesus Christ/I want to die like JFK' and 'I want to die in the USA" within the lyrics to 'Reverence', the new single, could ensure them a US profile far higher than any publicist would ever dare plan. "Never mind drinking Jack Daniels for breakfast and sleeping with a snake - that's dangerous," he says triumphantly. "We're inciting someone to shoot us on stage, and knowing our fucking luck it'll happen. Lee Harvey Oswald's cousin will show up in Dallas and we'll be killed. Meanwhile everyone will continue to call Slash 'dangerous'." If you really believed your end was nigh, boys, you'd rewrite the lyric. "No we wouldn't," protests an outraged Jim, artistic integrity slighted. "Yes we fuckin' would," sneers knight of the road William. "Sacrifice myself for rock'n'roll? Fuck off!"

Chapter Eighty-Four

A/N: Ending is a little abrupt, I hope you like it. Thank you all for the reactions to the last chapter xxx

“So the tour,” Marie said, scanning the screen of her tablet. Marie was Harry’s – and consequently Emmy’s – tour advisor and was there to discuss their tour of USA and Canada. “Will take place in September this year.”

“Okay,” Harry said, glancing at Emmy to see what she made of it. They were sat side by side in the office at Kensington Palace, opposite Edward and Claire. Grace was sat in Harry’s lap, trying to chew on his fingers for her first tooth was coming through.  

“You will be spending three weeks in America,” she explained. “From the 26th August to the 16th September. Then you will fly to Canada on that day and you will have a week of official tour engagements before the Invictus Games start on the 25th September. You will return to the UK on the 1st October.”

That was an overwhelming amount of information to take in all at once, and while Emmy tried to get her head round how long they were going to be there for, Harry could only notice one thing.

“We’re going there in August,” he said, frowning. “I’m going to miss my mother’s anniversary.”

There was silence in the room, and Emmy watched the pain on Harry’s face give way to annoyance. Marie shuffled awkwardly, but Edward’s expression remained impassive.

“20 years, and I’m not going to be here for it?” he said again, and he looked angry now. “Did none of you even realise?!”

“We did, Harry,” Claire began. “But the orders for this tour came from above-”

“From who?” he snapped. “Who told you these dates?”

Claire and Marie shared a nervous glance, but Edward was the one who answered. “Your grandmother’s office, Harry. The same people as always. So if you want to take it up with someone, take it up with them-”

“Oh don’t worry, I will,” Harry growled, glowering across the table at them. His voice rose slightly in anger as he continued, “Did you not even try and argue with them?! It’s my mother for fuck’s sake! I want to be here for the anniversary!”

Grace began to cry then, upset that her Daddy was yelling, and Emmy pulled her closer to her chest, trying to calm her.

“Harry,” Emmy said warningly, and his hard eyes turned to her. “It’s not their fault, you need to speak to your grandmother.”

“I bet it won’t even make a difference,” he hissed, glaring at his secretary. Edward met his gaze evenly.

“What does it matter?” she said in a small voice. “You’ll just have to commemorate the anniversary before you go. Or commemorate it on her birthday.”

“I wanted to spend the day that she died with my brother,” he said angrily. “And now I can’t even do that because we have to fly across the world to meet people that I don’t give a shit about and shake hands with a president that I loathe.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Emmy reached for his fingers, entwining them with hers and giving them a squeeze. “Let’s just hear what they have to say.”

The three secretaries had sat in silence during their exchange, and now Marie straightened up and nodded, clearing her throat.

“During your time in America we have scheduled five rest days, including your birthday, Harry,” Marie said. “Unfortunately, we are not able to schedule one for the day of your mother’s anniversary-”

“I don’t care,” he interrupted bluntly. “I’m not going to be able to go and visit her if I’m in America, am I?”

Emmy shot him a look. She hated it when he was rude to the staff – not that he was very often, but she knew that sometimes he blamed them for things that were not their fault.

“We have already scheduled several days of the tour,” Marie said. “In America you are already visiting NASA, Houston Space Station, you’re having a tour of New York, you’re unveiling a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum and you’ll be attending a HeForShe gala. In Canada you’ll be going to an ice hockey match, and you’ll be attending Toronto International Film Festival too. And, of course, the Invictus Games.”

“We want to ask you about some engagements that Grace might be able to come to,” Claire said then, her tone gentle.

Emmy tensed, and she looked at Harry – she didn’t want Grace going on any engagements, but she knew that Grace would be accompanying them regardless of what she said.

“What were you thinking?” Harry asked tersely, still annoyed.

“We were thinking about her visiting a children’s museum in one of the states,” Edward explained. “And the Animal Kingdom in Orlando. You’ll have a rest day to visit Disneyland if you wish to. And then also visiting the zoo and attending a Military Families garden party in Central Park. Then in Canada, visiting Ripley’s Aquarium, as well as any Invictus events.”

“That’s so many,” Emmy complained.

Edward looked at her sympathetically, and then his gaze went to Grace. He watched the little baby as she started to play with the tassels on Harry’s bracelet; his mouth tugged up at the corner in a smile. “I’m sorry, Emmy. Again, it’s not us.”

“But a lot of these events you have been invited to,” Marie pointed out. “Everyone is so excited for your visit there. There’s also a lot of anticipation to see what sort of clothes you’re going to wear, Emmy.”

Emmy laughed once humourlessly. “No pressure to look nice then.”

“You always look nice,” Claire dismissed lightly. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“Thanks Claire.”

“Also, Emmy, concerning your solo visit,” Edward said. “We now have your schedule. Nothing too much. You have an afternoon of engagements on the first day, including meeting the Danish royal family and meeting them for a photocall, and then that evening you will attend a state dinner. The second day you have a full day of engagements.”

“You get to meet all the Danes,” Harry said, forcing himself to get over the anger of missing his mother’s anniversary in an attempt to reassure Emmy. “It sounds like a quite nice two days.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t say anything else – she felt sick.

“Emmy, don’t be scared,” Harry said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. Grace let out an irritated wail, for he’d just pulled his bracelet out of her grasp. “This is your opportunity to show everyone just how amazing you are. You are brilliant at this, at being a royal. I know you’re going to do amazing.”

She managed a smile, and he lifted her hand to kiss it reassuringly.

“Besides,” Harry said. “It’ll be nice for me and this little angel to have some alone time together.”

Famous last words.

A few hours later, Harry was not calling Grace an angel. By the end of the night, when she’d been crying for the whole day because of the pain of her new tooth, both Harry and Emmy were too tired to do anything with Grace other than put her to bed.

Emmy’s head rested on the back of the chair as she lazily watched Harry pace the nursery, trying to calm a screaming Grace in his arms. The sky outside had long since turned dark, Emmy was growing sleepy again.

“Maybe you should go get some rest,” Harry said to her. “I’ll stay, put her to sleep. Hopefully.”

Emmy managed a smile at his grin as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. “I’m fine, I’m staying up with you, it’s not fair to leave you with her. Let me have a go.”

They swapped places, Harry’s eyes following her as she tried to rock Grace to sleep. The little baby just kept crying, her new teeth hurting her.

“Tell me, did you ever see yourself doing this at 22?” he asked Emmy, with a grin.

She threw him a roll of her eyes. “Of course not. I wasn’t planning on being married before twenty-five.”

“But you just loved me too much,” he teased.

“Yes, let’s pretend that’s the reason.”

“Do you still see us as forced?” he asked then, serious now. “As our marriage as being fake? Even though we’re together now?”

Emmy sighed, setting herself down on the floor because the pacing was doing nothing to calm Grace. She crossed her legs and held her daughter in her arms before turning back to Harry. “I…see the marriage as fake, yes. Because no matter how much I love you, I know that I still wouldn’t have married you yet. Not if we’d only been dating for, well not even two years. It would be too soon. But I don’t see us as forced. Not anymore.”

“Because you love me?” He was grinning again.

“Afraid so,” she replied. “Why? Do you see us as forced?”

“Not at all,” he said. “I see us as a happily married couple with a beautiful baby girl.” He glanced down at Grace then, at her face which was screwed up in pain and her screams, and almost laughed at his words. Then his expression softened as his eyes went back to Emmy. “But then I remember that you’re only 22, you shouldn’t be a housewife at 22. It’s…old-fashioned.”

She half-smiled. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“I just worry that you’re missing out on so much. You should see Taylor more often, you know.”

“Taylor works a lot, she doesn’t go out much either,” Emmy answered. “She’s too well-known now.”

“You shouldn’t have had to marry the first guy you slept with,” he added, looking sheepish. “Girls your age are meant to be meeting lots of guys, having fun.” He looked thoroughly depressed by this. “And I worry that you don’t actually realise how much you’re missing out on because you were only 19 when we were told about all this.”

“Harry, I know what I’m missing out on,” she said. “I’m best friends with Taylor, I saw her bringing a different guy home every week. But…do I really strike you as the person to do that?”

“No.” He managed a laugh. “But I still worry that you’ll realise there’s so many other options out there. Better options.”

“Better options?” she quoted, arching an eyebrow. “Better than you? That’s an achievement.”

“You say that like I’m this great guy,” he mumbled, so quiet that Emmy almost didn’t hear him over Grace’s wails.

“Harry, you are a good guy,” she said. “You’re one of the best. I just think…sometimes…you need to let some stuff out, you know?”

“R.E. my mother?”

“Well yes, and the press too,” Emmy answered. “And our situation. I never see you actually get mad about anything, not really.”

“I don’t in front of you.”

“But, you see, I’m your wife. You’re meant to tell me when you’re mad about stuff. This is just like you not telling me about the councilor. Besides, when it comes to being upset about your mother, I went through the exact same thing, remember?”

“I…I just don’t want to seem weak,” he said in a small voice.

“Harry…nobody thinks you’re weak. Look how brave everyone said you were after you spoke out.” She tried to smile reassuringly at him, but it came out looking sad.

They sat in silence for a while – well, they were silent and Grace made enough noise for the three of them – before Harry cleared his throat and shrugged off the sadness he was feeling.

“William found one of my mother’s old photo albums the other day,” he said.

“Really?” She looked surprised, then smiled. “Now do I get to see more pictures of you with your button nose? And your floppy ginger hair?”

He laughed, but then said, “No, I haven’t seen them. I don’t really want to, not yet. William’s thinking of using them in the documentary that we’re making, you know?”

Emmy didn’t reply at first. “It might be good to look at them, Harry.”

“I don’t want to,” he said again. “Not yet.”

“You can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen,” she said lightly.

“I know it happened,” he snapped, then swallowed, embarrassed at his outburst. “I’m sorry-”

“Harry, I know that you see a councilor and everything, but maybe you should try talking to someone else about it all,” she said, feeling slightly nervous in case she upset him. She knew this was a touchy subject. “Maybe William, or your Dad, people that knew her? Or me. I know what it’s like.”

He didn’t answer for a while, and Emmy felt sure that she’d upset him so she turned her attention to Grace and tried to calm her, to no avail. Eventually, Harry spoke, “Thinking and talking about her just hurts too much. I don’t want to give in to that pain.”

“But Harry…maybe it’s just like running? If it doesn’t hurt, you know you’re not making any improvement. Maybe you need to open yourself up to that pain first, to get rid of it.”

“Can I try with Grace please?” he asked, holding out his arms and avoiding her gaze. She handed their daughter over without a word, watching his face. His eyes were fixed on Grace, trying to calm her, and to Emmy’s surprise they filled with tears.

“Harry?” she said, slightly alarmed. She’d never seen him cry before.

“It hurts, like I said,” he said thickly. “You were too young, you probably don’t understand. I remember my mum, I remember what she used to say, things she used to do. I can’t just forget it. Time doesn’t take the memories away. And I-” He swallowed. “I regret so much.”

Emmy didn’t say anything, she let him speak.

“The day that my mother died, she phoned us,” he said. “Me and William. To just check up on us, she did it every day if she could. So yeah, she phoned us. And I…I wanted to go play. I didn’t want to talk, I’d see her in a few days anyway. And…I don’t regret anything more – and I doubt I’ll ever regret anything more – than how short that conversation was.”

They were silent again – except for Grace, who kept wailing.

“You see, that’s what I need to hear,” Emmy said gently. “I want you to tell me these things! I can help you deal with them.”

He nodded, even though he already never wanted to speak of it again.

“I never got a last phonecall with my mum,” Emmy said. “I was in my room, and I could hear her and my father arguing, shouting. They did that sometimes, but, apparently – according to Benedict, when we’ve spoken about it since – the arguments had been becoming more and more frequent. I think this one was about my father lying about where he’d been the night before, or whatever. I don’t know. But they were arguing, and I heard my mum storm upstairs past my room. I ran out to her, and I tried to give her a hug. “Go and sit with Ben”, she said. “Just go and sit with Ben, Mummy will see you tomorrow”. And then, I heard her go downstairs, and I heard her and my father arguing again. She’d packed a bag, I guess she was going to stay over one of her friends’. The last thing I heard her shout was “I hate you, let me go” at my father.” She paused, the emotion choking her. “And then she was gone, and she crashed her car not ten minutes after that. It was her fault, there was no drink driving or paparazzi or anything. It was just my mum, and she was angry. They think she was speeding. But anyway, she…lost control and she crashed.”

“You never told me about any of that,” he whispered, and even Grace was quiet now.

“I didn’t need to,” she replied. “I’ve dealt with my grief. You haven’t dealt with yours.”

“Everyone deals in different ways,” he said.

“But bottling it up will only work for so long.”

“I’m not bottling it up anymore, seeing the counsellor lets me let it out gradually,” he said, then hesitated before saying, “What happened after the crash? Did your father feel responsible? Did he tell you about her?”

“My father was distraught,” she said. “He couldn’t tell us. He told Benedict, and Benedict told me and Lucy. Benedict was fourteen, whereas Lucy was ten and I was only six. Father had to go to the hospital, and so Benedict looked after us.

“I don’t remember much else,” she admitted. “I know that in the weeks afterwards, apparently I just wanted to stay with Ben all the time, because my mum had told me to go and sit with him, and I wanted to do what she said. I understood what had happened though, they told me that she’d gone up to become an angel, but I knew what that really meant. I was old enough to know what death was, but I wasn’t old enough to have many memories of her. I don’t know which memories are real and which ones I’ve made myself, from what people told me about her.”

They sat in silence for a little bit, before Harry said, “I’m sorry that we have to take Grace to engagements. I know that you don’t like it and I know it stresses you out, having to take her. But I promise, I will do everything I can to make sure that she’s safe and happy when she’s out with us.”

Emmy half-smiled. “I know, and I know that it’s not your idea.”

“I wish I could do something about it.”

“You could always stand up to your grandmother,” she suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Harry laughed at the thought. “I value my life, you know.” Then he sighed. “I would do if I knew it would do some good. But I know it won’t. I mean, they forced us into marriage. Why would they back down about letting Grace go to an engagement?”

“Hmm, I know.” Emmy sadly watched as Grace’s face screwed up in a wail. “Harry, I hate to say it, but your family are pretty goddamn awful as a whole.”

“Gee, thanks,” he said, barking a laugh. “But I must say that I agree. You’re not having much luck with them, are you?”

“Maybe it’s just royals in general?” she said, but she was grinning and watching for his reaction.

He managed a chuckle, gently rocking the now-quiet Grace to sleep, before he said, “Thanks for opening up to me about your mother. I feel like I know you even better now.”

She half-smiled. “Maybe now you’ll let me get to know you a bit better?”

Harry sighed. “Not yet. But…soon. I know that I can tell you, I appreciate it.”

“I’m your wife,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’ll be here whenever you need me.” She kissed the top of his head, before saying, “Except right now, because she’s nearly asleep and so I’m going to bed.”

He chuckled, tipping his head to gaze up at her before watching her leave the room. Someone so young should not be so wise. He did not deserve her at all.

It was grey and windy as Emmy pushed Grace’s pram onto the polo field, and one hand shot to stop her dress from flying up. She hadn’t expected it to be so blustery – it was meant to be sunny and warm. Emmy’s blond hair flew in her face as she looked out over the pitch, trying to find Harry.

“There’s Mummy.”

Emmy turned to see Taylor, and she broke into a smile. “Hey, Tay.”

“Hey. There’s my favourite goddaughter!” She gasped in delight, reaching down to scoop Grace into her arms and cuddle her close. “Oh, Grace! You are lovely, yes you are!”

Grace giggled as Taylor made a funny face at her. “She loves you,” Emmy said.

“She should, I’m the best godmother ever!”

Emmy couldn’t help but smile as Taylor swooped Grace through the air, making the baby squeal with delight. There were lots of other people around them, waiting to watch the first polo game of the season, and Emmy looked round, seeing whether she recognized any of them. Most were celebrities or rich aristocrats, watching from the stands where they stood in their super expensive clothes. Emmy preferred to be down on the grass so that she didn’t need to talk to any of them.

“Are you the best godparent here today, or is Skippy coming too?” Emmy teased.

“Haha.” Taylor rolled her eyes, sitting Grace on her hip. “Skippy’s coming too, yeah. And Jake and Zoe I think. Has Grace met Luke yet?”

“She has, but they haven’t seen each other for a long time now,” Emmy answered. “I don’t even know if she can remember him, I don’t know how babies’ minds work.”

“No, me neither,” Taylor said. “I mean, does she even remember who I am?”

“I expect so, don’t worry.” Grace started to cry then, and Emmy frowned, reaching for her. “Oh baby, come back here to Mummy, don’t cry.” Grace sniffled slightly as she was handed back to her mother, and her chubby cheeks nuzzled into Emmy’s chest. Emmy gently stroked her soft blond hair. “Hey, don’t be sad, Daddy will be out in a minute and we can see him play.”

Emmy described the polo field out to Grace for the next few minutes, describing what horses were and what polo was and then, when Harry came out, Emmy pointed him out, making Grace’s tiny hand wave to him. She saw his enormous smile in return.

When she turned back to Taylor, Taylor was smiling. “You are so good with her,” she said, proud. “You’re such a good mother.”

“I don’t know about that, I have no idea what I’m doing,” Emmy replied with a laugh.

“You do, you’re amazing with Grace,” Taylor said. “Honestly. You and Harry are such good parents.”

Emmy didn’t know what to say, so she looked back at Grace and gently bounced her. “We both just love her to pieces.”

“It’s obvious.”

“Hello ladies,” said a voice, and they both turned to see Skippy heading their way. He then gasped in mock surprise. “Grace! Oh my goodness, look at you! Look at your pretty dress!” He reached for her then, and although Grace looked disgruntled at being taken from her mother once again, she allowed him to cuddle her. “You’re getting so big so quickly, you really are. You’re scaring me. You’re making Uncle Skippy feel old.”

Emmy laughed lightly. “She’s getting close to crawling now. We had to babyproof the house.”

“Chris, already?” Skippy said in surprise, before turning to Grace. “Are you a smart girl, huh? Are you the smartest little girl?”

“Gets it from me,” Emmy said with mock arrogance, and Taylor laughed with her. “Oh there they are!”

Jake and Zoe were heading towards them, Zoe pushing the buggy and Jake holding on to a little toddling Luke’s hand. Luke cooed at the sight of them, and he waved back as Skippy waved to him.

“Hello,” Jake said.

“I can’t believe Luke can walk!” Taylor said, looking excitedly down at the little boy. He had Jake’s dark hair, and he peered up at them with wide brown eyes before turning back to his father, who scooped him up into his arms.

“He’s been doing it a little while now,” Zoe said, reaching over to tickle under Grace’s chin in greeting. “How’s Grace? Crawling yet?”

“Not yet, still a little while to go, but we had to babyproof the house the other day,” Emmy said. “She’s teething. Kept me and Harry up for hours the other night.”

“Makes a change,” Skippy said. “That it wasn’t Harry keeping you up.”

“Somehow I knew you were going to say that,” Emmy replied, raising an eyebrow at him. “You’re almost predictable.”

He acted like he’d been wounded in the chest. “Emmy, you could have called me so many things and it wouldn’t have hurt as much as that did.”

She couldn’t help but giggle.

It was such a nice game. The five of them settled themselves on the grass, with Grace sat on Emmy’s lap and Luke toddling around them, and they all watched the match. Harry was playing, and, as ever, he looked enticing in his white trousers, riding his horse so expertly. Emmy forced herself to focus on her daughter to stop her cheeks from getting warm at the dirty thoughts flitting around her head.

“Harry’s good at this, huh?” Taylor said to her, smirking.

“Why do you always assume I’m thinking about us having sex whenever I watch him play polo?” Emmy asked exasperatedly.

“I just know that you are,” Taylor answered, with a shrug.

“I’m trying not to.”

She sniggered at that. “You’re filthy, what on earth has happened to you?”

“Harry,” Emmy said as an answer, and Taylor certainly couldn’t argue with that.

“Are we talking about how Harry’s corrupted Emmy?” Skippy said then, as Zoe took Luke to go and play at the top of the hill, letting him run down.

“I’m not corrupted,” Emmy replied.

“You are,” Skippy said. “You had sex at a gala.”

Emmy scowled as Taylor gasped. “What?!” She stared at Emmy in surprise.

A blush crept up Emmy’s neck, and she resorted to being angry at Skippy to try and get out of explaining herself. “I can’t believe Harry told you! You weren’t meant to tell anyone if he did!”

“I thought Taylor already knew,” Skippy said innocently, shrugging.

Emmy glared at him, but Taylor wasn’t letting it go. “What?!” she hissed again, eyes wide.

“It was a…spur of the moment…kind of thing…”

Taylor continued to stare.

“Taylor, knock it off, it’s nothing really.”

“Harry fingered her underneath the table,” Skippy said nonchalantly.

Emmy could’ve hit him, and he smirked, fighting a smile. Her best friend squealed in surprise, but her mouth tugged up into a disbelieving grin.

“You two are naughty,” she said, giggling.

Emmy blushed again. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Jake started to laugh at that. “Don’t worry, Emmy, we know that it’s all down to Harry. He’s done this sort of thing before.”

“Has he?” she said, trying to sound nonchalant, but her voice rose an octave.

Jake seemed to realise that he’d said something wrong, for he stammered a “W-well, maybe, I expect so.”

Emmy scowled at him. “You know what, don’t worry, I don’t want to know what he got up to.”

“I mean, he had naked pictures leaked, so you probably don’t need us to tell you,” Skippy pointed out.

She nodded, trying to force the thought of Harry having sex with another woman out of her brain. She knew she was being silly for being bothered by it, but she also knew that it was something that Harry wouldn’t be bothered by. Emmy had never been with another man, that was not an image that Harry had to contend with.

The guys expertly deviated the conversation towards sport for the little remainder of the game, and Emmy focused on Grace, playing with her chubby hands and stopping her from eating any grass.

Harry’s team won, and Emmy made Grace clap as the two teams cantered off the field, all the crowd applauding them. The five of them got to their feet, and Emmy sat Grace on her hip.

“I’m so glad they won,” Zoe mused, with Luke sat in her arms too. Grace kept trying to reach for him, mainly curious at seeing another small person, and he fixed unamused brown eyes on her. “Harry played really well.”

“He really did,” Emmy agreed, smiling proudly. That was her husband. Her husband had won, had played really well, had impressed everyone.

Harry joined them a few minutes later, sweaty and breathless, and he reached for Grace instantly. Grace cooed and squirmed in her mother’s arms as soon as she saw her father, and she nuzzled into him once he’d scooped her up, before with his free hand he leant up and gripped the back of Emmy’s neck, holding her gently so that he could kiss her. It started off light, and then he deepened it slightly, and Emmy giggled into his mouth before pulling away.

Skippy cleared his throat. “There are children present.”

“Look away then,” Harry replied, kissing Emmy once more.

Millionaire is hiring a personal photographer to travel around the world with him for FREE | Daily Mail Online

An Australian millionaire is offering one lucky person the chance to be his full time personal photographer - and he'll pay them $55,000 a year for the honour. 

Matthew Lepre, who is the founder of Ecom Warrior Academy, is searching for a photo taker to travel across Europe and the United States with him, uploading photos of the 27-year-old to social media.

'During the past year alone I have managed to grow my business while travelling to UAE, Indonesia, USA, NZ, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand and up until now, have relied on my best friend to be there to take photos on his phone,' Mr Lepre told FEMAIL.

'My business has now expanded rapidly and I need my mate, Mitch, to be there to work in other areas so I'm now putting the open call out to the world for someone to be there to fill this role.'

 Matthew Lepre, who makes $120,000 a month from four successful e-commerce stores, is looking to hire a personal photographer for $55,000 a year

Matthew Lepre, who is the founder of Ecomm Warrior Academy, is searching for a dedicated photo taker to travel across Europe and the United States with him

The employee will need to have a valid passport, be able to travel at a moment's notice and have an eye for the perfect picture.

“While I'm based in Sydney, my life has become pretty hectic,' Mr Lepre continued.

'Just a few weeks ago I was asked by a leading TV station in Milan to come for an interview so had to drop everything and hop on a plane and travel across the other side of the world three days later. 

'The selected person for this role would need to be flexible with their life and be able to join me too, on my crazy schedule that could take me anywhere, anytime.'

All flights and accommodation abroad would be covered by Mr Lepre, but the photographer will be expected to have their own professional gear.

Former fashion student Tyanna De Assis, who is based in Sydney, was selected to me Mr Lepre's personal assistant in September

'It's crazy. I am still in shock and wonder how they even came past my CV,' Ms De Assis told News.com.au at the time

Tyanna (pictured) was chosen for the role after Mr Lepre considered 70,000 applications

Earlier this year Mr Lepre put out a similar call for a personal assistant, who would be given $52,000 (base rate) a year with similar luxury travel on the cards.

The entrepreneur, who makes $120,000 a month from four successful e-commerce stores, sifted through 70,000 applications before hiring former fashion student Tyanna De Assis. 

'It's crazy. I am still in shock and wonder how they even came past my CV,' Ms De Assis told News.com.au in October.

She applied for the job by sending her resume and cover letter across in an email, writing 'Most entertaining PA you will ever have' in the subject line.

Naturally it caught Mr Lepre's attention and he decided to offer her a phone interview, before cementing her position in his company in September.  

'Tyanna has experience working for CEOs and directors and is knowledgeable about social media,' Mr Lepre said

Tyanna has spent much of her life working in public relations and as an office manager, so is used to penciling in appointments and speaking to clients across continents

'Tyanna has experience working for CEOs and directors and is knowledgeable about social media. She is a perfectionist which is perfect for this role and is detail and task-oriented,' Mr Lepre said of his new assistant.

She has spent much of her life working in public relations and as an office manager, so is used to penciling in appointments and speaking to clients across continents. 

Being the same age as her boss also makes communication easier. 

'The bonus is we don't get sick of each other - sometimes we have to sit together for nine hours straight - we're both scatter brains, we jump from one thing to the next, but it works because I am very OCD and I make sure I get everything down,' she told the publication. 

 In April Mr Lepre told FEMAIL he had received thousands of interested emails from potential employees, with 75 per cent of them coming from women

What did Mr Lepre want from a PA?

* A down to earth person that wants the job to learn and not so much for the lifestyle. 

* This isn't a 9-5 job. I am not looking for someone who wants regular office hours. The role involves a lot of travelling and therefore normal office hours don't really apply. However, there are the perks of days off in amazing countries.

* Great at thinking on their feet while on the go. Often days when we are travelling require lots of tasks to be done at once - from confirming travel arrangements to finalising coaching meetings that I have with my clients via Skype - life on the road never stops.

In April Mr Lepre told FEMAIL he had received thousands of interested emails from potential employees, with 75 per cent of them coming from women.

From what he could tell many of the job hunters were millennials (aged between 23 and 37), with the majority being women from Australia, followed by the United States, UK, Italy, South America and Asia.

'A lot of people who are applying say in their application that they are working the 9-5 rat race and want to escape corporate life and are ready to bring the skills they have learnt to this role, while travelling the world with me,' he said.

When the job title was first announced Mr Lepre explained how the $52,000 salary his personal assistant would receive was just the beginning. 

 'A lot of people who are applying say in their application that they are working the 9-5 rat race and want to escape corporate life and are ready to bring the skills they have learnt to this role, while travelling the world with me,' he said

 When the job title was first announced earlier this year Mr Lepre explained how the $52,000 salary his personal assistant would receive was just the beginning

Mr Lepre is an e-commerce mastermind - who makes a cool $120,000 a month - and he says business couldn't be better

'Salary will be based on the person's experience but the base rate is in addition to travel and accommodation expenses. Health insurance benefits are paid for by me separately,' he said. 

The businessman is proof that taking risks can pay off; at 23 he dropped out of uni because he wanted to make it on his own.

Mr Lepre is at the top of his game because of his incredible work ethic. 

'I do a lot of work every day but I operate on a philosophy of work hard, play harder,' he said.

In the past year, Matthew Lepre has spent his time exploring Japan, Dubai, Hawaii

Living the life: Although Mr Lepre looks as if he's casually relaxing in yet another exotic location, he's always working hard to drum up new business

'They would have to be someone who works hard but is also fun and spontaneous.'

He is currently in Sydney working on a new training program to show people how they can make six figures from home - just like he does.

Despite his wealth Mr Lepre will never forget where he came from, explaining that being raised by a single mother in Sydney's Western suburbs meant he grew up relying on meal drops from The Salvation Army in his youth.

'Life is always about giving back to those less fortunate than you and I am always thankful to those who supported my mum and I during the dark days when times were tough financially,' he said. 

You can learn more about Matthew Lepre's work by visiting his website or sign up to be his photographer here.

This content was originally published here.

Info Dump

What I have so far for my ficitional country, (Threa)

It is Post-America, but its a post america where we have resolved all issues of race, gender, money, and pretty much anything else, so now all people can complain about is clothing, and in response to the newest form of hate, the gov (needs a new name[bols?{like bolts of fabric}]) has decided to seperate everyone based on what clothes they wear. This idea soon spread to the other parts of the world and most countries have joined in Threa (To be exact, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, UK?)

So essentially there is a seperation between punk, scene, pastel, boho, vintage, and so on. Also for each subculture within the fashion, there are different places of living. Kind of like apartments.

If you want to move in a different sector if you are a minor you have to sign papers and go through a huge and very long interview process to try and find a host family to take you in. If you are an adult you have to send a notice of leave to the sect leader, and the sect leader will send you a note with a signature and a seal of the sect, then you are able to leave. But finding a new place to live in the sect you are moving to is a huge pain in the ass.

There is a police force (I may call them seq [sequins]) and they should be kind and caring police force (Should is always the key word) If you are a minor going to a new sect the police will approach you and take you to your host family so that you arrive there safely. If you are wearing clothes of another sect and are not visiting another sect, you will be approached by police.

On the outskirts of Threa there is a sect called The Mix, honestly the name of the sect states what fashion the sect is, its a mix of different fashions. People either go there to live, or to sell clothes so visitors can wear the clothes of whatever sect that they are visiting or moving to, or they can live in the mix and wear whatever they feel like. People who live in sects other than The Mix think that people who live there are horrendous (mixing clothes is looked down upon)

There is conflict betweeen sects, but mostly its just in the form of name calling, no physical violence actually happens.(Or at least thats what the Seq and Bols have the people believe{Cause the media loves not showing certain things)

Since the only type of hate is towards other fashions, its more widely accepted for Cas to be genderfluid.

The internet is still a thing, and is a part of every sector, no matter how the sector dresses (Even Vinta has the internet){even Pas}

My OCs all met through Topis and began a friendship, they formed their group after Iris took in Aphris, Thalia is the leader of their group.

My OCs are Cas, Aphris, Sophitia, Iris, And Thalia, and Bree

Still need to ask other people to make OCs

Where each one of my OCs belongs originally Cas= Fae Aphris= Gree Sophitia= Hau Iris= Gree (Lives with Aphris, Aphris moved to Gree from Pas {a small inner sect of Vinta}) Thalia=Punk (She takes in Cas, Cas is 17 so still a minor) Bree= The Mix

Some names I've come up with for Threa Threa= What this Nation is called Seq= Police Force Bols= Government The Mix= Place on outskirts when people can mix fashions, also where people can buy clothes for either moving or visiting Fae= Pastel sector (basing the name on the word fade, which is what people think pastel is, fading colors) Gree=Bohemian sector, very hippie-ish. Pas= subsector of Vinta, trying to recreate the way back fashion of Ancient Greece Vinta= (No not trying to make a dragon age reference to Tevinter{that would be really bad/stupid}) Vinta is the Vintage sector, it has many apartment like structures due to how diverse it is, actually one of the biggest sects, most labor comes from there and Gree. Topis= What we now call the internet Hau= High fashion sector Al= (pronounced 'all') Al is the Alternative fashion sector, and their subsections and divisions within those subsections almost rival Vinta in terms of number. Reb= The punk subsection for sector Al, has a great deal of divisions in it, like cyreb {cyber punk} and faereb {pastel punk} these divisions are not seen as a mix, since they were a fashion of their own in the before time [US] Cyreb= Cyber punk Faereb= Pastel punk Mim= Place for cosplayers of all kind

Backstories for my OCs.

Cas: Cas was born into sector Fae, they were afab, but they always felt like something wasnt right about them, one day they were on Topis and researching genders and sexualities and that was how the found out that they were genderfluid. They came out to their family and their father instantly accepted the fact that Cas was genderfluid, and Cas's mother accepted it but acts very awkwardly around her child. At the age of 16 Cas had started to notice that they weren't comfortable with the clothes they were wearing. Cas informed their parents, and though initially their parents could not accept this, their father understood and started to help Cas in filling out the necessary paperwork to move Cas into the Reb subsector of the Al sector. They had trouble in finding someone to take Cas in, since in the Reb sector not many adults were seen as responsible enough to take care of younger people. Cas one day complained about it in the group chat they and their friends had made, and Thalia pretty much said "Seriously? Twerp you could've just told me, I live in the Reb subsect." So after that Thalia started the paperwork to take in Cas. The paperwork was finished and Cas was approved to move to Reb. Cas said goodbye to their father, their mother now wanted nothing to do with them. Cas went to Sector Al, and Thalia was there, ready to take Cas to their new home. Thalia had a room and clothes for Cas ready. One day when Thalia was out, Cas went snooping through her things, she found some pictures of a girl and a letter that said "Bree is still doing well, stay silent and good and nothing will happen to her." Later when Thalia came home, Cas asked her about the letter and picture, initially Thalia flipped her shit and yelled at Cas for going through her things. After two days of not talking through each other, both Thalia and Cas had apologized for their actions. Thalia then explained about her past and about Bree. Cas was shocked at the news, she had thought that everyhing was perfect in Threa, Thalia made Cas promise to keep what she had told Cas a secret, and Cas agreed. Cas now knows more than she ever wanted to know about Threa.

Aphris: Aphris was born into Pas, one of the inner communities of sector Vinta. Her name is a mix of the Goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis (I am considering making her last name Apstus, based on Hepheastus and Apollo) Aphris was born into her sector and raised among those who wanted to see one of the old ways of life restored to its former glory, she eventually came to not like how her life was, so she wanted to move and change fashion. Aphris had looked online and decided she liked the fashion that belonged to sector Gree. She informed of her parents of her decision to move to a different sector, and they were very much upset... They forced Aphris into staying in her home and repeatedly abused her. Though little did they know that while they slept Aphris had started the process of moving online and, once all the paperwork had been finished and Aphris had found a resident of sector Gree to take her in, she informed the Seq of what her parents were doing to her. The Seq then came and arrested her parents, and Aphris went to live with Iris, she still has many mental health prolbems and flinches a lot if anyone raises their voice to her.

Sophitia: Is a resident of sector Hau, she has lived in a life of sophistication (Her name did not come from the word sophisticated, it honestly came from a video game) and class, on the outside she is the perfect representation of a resident of sector Hau, but she frequently goes to The Mix, she loves dressing in a mix, but knows if she were to tell her family they would be devestated and disown her.(need to write more and flesh her out more)

Iris: Iris is Trans and is a resident of Sector Gree, she has lived a generally easy life, thanks to the problems of the old world being outdated, she works as an herbalist and helps in making medicines for all of Threa. She was contacted by Aphris when Aphris was looking for a place to live. Iris gladly accepted the younger girl into her home, and helped her heal the wounds and scars(physical, mental, and emotional) left from her old home. Aphris sees Iris as her true mother, and Iris has happily accepted her role as mother to Aphris.

Thalia: (Ah my mental state, the one who has seen me through all my bullshit){you done yet?}(Yes) Anyways, Thalia is the oldest member of the online group, she is a resident of subsector Reb in sector Al, she has lived her life alone, save a few one night stands, until Cas contacts her and asks for Thalia to be her caretaker. Thalia finds it interesting that someone from the Fae sector would want to make such a drastic change as to move to Sector Al, even more so that they would want to live in subsect Reb. Thalia accepts and takes in Cas, though Thalia may seem rude (read: shes a bitch){love you too twerp} she's caring and extremely protective of Cas pretty much wrecking anyone who dares to call Cas a "dolly" though Cas insists its fine and that Thalia really doesn't have to defend them, Thalia doesn't listen. Thalia wasn't always alone, dhe once had an entire family, but that was before the sectors were a thing, initially her family was against it.... the Bols didn't like that and took Thalia's parents away, when that happened her twin was upset and he soon got taken away as well, her baby sister was taken so that Thalia herself would'nt rebel either. She is convinced that all of her family is alive, at the least Bree has to be alive, since the Bols send Thalia pictures of Bree to keep her updated on her little sister. She not so secretly hates the Bols, and is very very secretly trying to do something about getting her little sister back from the Bols and Seqs. She secretly thinks of Cas as a younger sibling, but will deny it if anyone asks her.

Bree: She had seen her parents being taken from her at a young age, and not even a year later she saw her brother taken from her. She was then taken from her sister to ensure that her sister kept up "good behavior" Bree hasn't lived an easy life, and she also hasn't been living the life that was told to her sister. Bree had escaped from her captivity a long, long time ago. She had taken refuge in The Mix, no one in the Mix knows who she truely is, they only see a little orphan girl. The pictures that the Bols send her sister are pictures of a different girl. She does want to return to her sister, but knows if she does she will just be taken from Thalia once again. (Need to change this later)

The Academy Of Sun: Psychaedelic Pop from Brighton

Formed in Brighton nine years ago, The Academy of Sun is a four-piece comprised of Nick Hudson (piano, synths, hammon organ, harmonium, vocals, percussion, synths), Kianna Blue (bass, synths), Guy Brice (guitars) and Ash Babb (drums). Together, they present dystopian fantastic creations that combine the deeply personal and the poetically arcane. Dark yet buoyant, this is a controlled explosion of psychedelic and dark power pop with atmospheres couched in vast and expansive landscapes and cinematic arrangements.

Nick Hudson's musical juggernaut has been active in various incarnations since 2012, always transcending expectations. The Academy Of Sun has collaborated with Massive Attack's Shara Nelson, members of NYC's Kayo Dot, David Tibet of Current 93, Asva and Matthew Seligman (Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey). Hudson has also collaborated with Wayne Hussey of The Mission, as well as Canadian queercore icon GB Jones. Known for explosive and psychedelic live shows, The Academy Of Sun has performed in a medieval castle in Italy, a boat on the Thames, an abandoned railway carriage in Offenbach, colossal churches, The London College of Fashion, The Old Market theatre in Brighton, the MS Stubnitz in Hamburg, Brighton Dome, and a string of L.A. shows in 2019. Having toured 3 continents, highlights include appearances with Mogwai, Toby Driver and Keith Abrams from Kayo Dot, and Timba Harris (Mr Bungle, Amanda Palmer). 'The Parts That Need Replacing' is out now, available across online stores and streaming platforms such as Spotify. The full album 'The Quiet Earth' will be released in summer of 2020 on CD, as well as digitally.

THE INTERVIEW

Who are the group members?

Myself, Kianna Blue, Ash Babb, Guy Brice.

How did you meet?

A poet introduced Kianna and I. We ended up living together, In our modest cottage on the edge of a cliff we kept house goats. Guy was one of them. It became quickly apparent that if he kept his hooves pedicured, he had an incredible way with a guitar. Ash and I met in a local tavern, courtesy of a mutual online awareness via the blog of author Dennis Cooper.

How did you come up with your name?

I'd been reading literature on pagan sun-worshipping cults and came across Heliogabalus, the queer teenage anarchist emperor of ancient Rome. Artaud wrote on him. So I wanted to unleash and harness the unkempt nuclear blaze of that energy within a formalist framework.

What is your music about?

It's about invigoration and alchemy – stimulating the mind and soul in tandem with the body. Music to dance and cry to. It's about pole-vaulting transgressive and subversive narratives over the iron gate of mainstream normativity. Spiraling wells of energy and dynamism. Loud and shimmering vibrancy. “Did I really hear that?”

What are your goals as an artist artistically/commercially?

Artistically I just want to continually evolve my craft, critical faculties, and general state of awareness so as I can get ever closer to precisely articulating the atmospheres, geometries and ghost stories that circle my head like ever-mutating angels, day and night, on the brink of expelling light and form. And in doing so, to gather those who are similarly drawn to peering through the cracks. Commercially, I - and we - really just want to connect this with a bigger audience. We're aware that we're a weird band, and that it's a long game. So it demands stoicism, patience and persistence. The ideal would be to get to a level where we have sufficient economic backing to be able to actually deploy all the ideas we have without compromising on logistics or production values.

What are you trying to avoid as a band?

The music industry.

Why do you make the music you make? Is it in you? Is it your environment?

It's more interior than exterior. Albeit I respond very palpably to landscapes, just not the one that I'm writing this interview from within! Haha. I'm drawn to severe, wild landscapes, and likewise to art and music that evokes such landscapes.

What inspires you for the music or for the Lyrics?

I've always written prose and poetry, and so a key factor in my embarking upon songwriting fifteen years ago was preserving the conditions of unabashed literary aspirations in my lyrics. I like to think/strive to ensure that as much as they might stand successfully alone on the page they also transmit the melodies with ease. I'm drawn to art in any medium that explores and expresses extreme states of being – modes of transcendence, ultimately. Ecstasies, agonies, the uncanny, the transgressive, the sublime. Stillness can also be extreme. Lots of nature imagery. European cinema and literature.

Tell us what you are looking when trying to achieve your sounds. Do you experiment a lot or have a clear idea of what you want?

I think we all share a delight in unusual sonics – there were some genuinely experimental moments in the studio – for example, the first sound heard on the record is a drone created by my playing a pre-recorded vocal through the speaker of a cassette recorder into the pick-ups on Guy's guitar, which was then sent through waves of delay. We created a MIDI church organ by recording the bass pedals of the church organ of St Mary's, Brighton and turning that into a MIDI instrument. The idea of pitch-bending such a monolithic and defiantly analogue instrument was irresistible. There's one track where we recorded the drum part four times and placed each take peculiarly across the stereo field. And there are field recordings scattered throughout, evoking radioactivity and harsh landscapes. I usually, with each track, have a pretty clear idea of the aesthetic and formal parameters within which experimentation can occur, and we go from there.

Explain your songwriting process.

Sometimes I'll be improvising on piano and motifs will surface that later impose their will upon my subconscious, continually knocking until I open the door and allow them to become a song. Other times I'll have the completed lyrics and sit and just experiment with ways to place them, and edit, and edit until they're homed. Some songs arrive in one swift nuclear wind, and others take years to ferment. I keep a lot of audio notes on my iphone.

Describe your palette of sound.

Rich but not cloying, Psychedelic but not nostalgic. Adventurous. Green and gold. Complex but not arbitrarily technical. Deconstructing, rerouting and inverting obvious formal choices but not at the expense of comprehension.

Who would you want as a dream producer, and why?

Trent Reznor, Bjork, Tim Palmer, David Lynch, Danny Elfman. I thought I'd compensate for not saying 'why' by instead listing five, haha.

If you could guest on someone else’s album, who would it be and why? What would you play?

Well I know he's technically on the cusp of retiring, but assuming this questions dwells in an amorphous temporality (as we do ourselves under quarantine), I'd say Ennio Morricone. Because he's peerless. I would love to have played piano/organ on one of his sixties/seventies film works. To say I've been produced by Morricone and appear on, say, the Sacco and Vanzetti soundtrack, would see me fairly ecstatic.

What musical skills would you like to acquire or get better at?

I'd like develop further fluency in classical notation and orchestration.

Which other musician/artist would you date?

I don't really subscribe to coupledom or its rituals but maybe Jack from These New Puritans. NB. I would never, EVER date a musician. Haha.

Is there a band that if they didn’t exist you wouldn’t be making the music you make?

Probably Mr Bungle. In that they not only blew my mind at a young age with their own music, but laid breadcrumbs for me to explore the family tree of John Zorn, Tzadik, and the sprawling concentric circles of artists making up the experimental underground of LA and NYC.

You are from England. What are the advantages and inconvenient?

Hold my hair back. Well. Its primary advantage is its proximity to the European mainland.

Its disadvantages are manifold and voluminous – aside from a micro-percentage of wonderful, compassionate, intelligent and progressive entities and institutions, its a nasty little hotbed of misplaced Churchillian hubris and post-imperial egocentrism, ruled as a playpen by which neo-liberal public schoolboy millionaires can move their assets around and grow their wealth while 'ironically' masquerading a paper-thin veneer of concern for the public interest and welfare.

Boris Johnson and his monstrous cabal aside, the UK treats its musicians appallingly. I've toured Europe, America and The Middle East and it shames me to say that the worst treatment I've experienced out of any of the countries I've played is that of the UK. I'm not alone in this assertion either.

There are exceptions of course, but as a rule, this sadly remains the case. Ten years of Tory rule certainly hasn't helped this.

What are some places around the world that you hope to play with your band?

There's that amphitheater built into a rock face somewhere in Central Europe. I'd like to do a tour of churches and cathedrals. And acoustically-dynamic natural rock formations.

It's my dream to take The Academy Of Sun on an extensive tour of Europe, but we'd need solid economic backing to be able to do so with production values intact, let alone keep us all afloat while doing so.

So that's something to push for. There's a pueblo in New Mexico called TAOS – obviously it's pre-destined that we play there. I went to Svalbard in the Arctic last year, and there's a beautiful concert hall called Huset right between two glaciers. I'd love us to play there. (Johannes, are you reading this?)

When is the next album/EP due?

June! We inevitably had to postpone the release from its intended release in April, when the whole world went on pause. We're super-excited to have you all hear The Quiet Earth.

Some artists you recommend

I can't get enough of Oingo Boingo right now – Danny Elfman's band that split in 1995. Peerless songwriting, arrangement, production and performance. Otherwise, Arca is amazing. I'm listening to a lot of Nico. Devouring Clive Barker's early novels. Revisiting Diamanda Galas' earlier catalogue. Watching a lot of Chris Marker and Maya Deren. And I just read Marina Abramovic's memoir, which is profoundly inspiring.

Anything else you want your fans to know?

Mainly – thank you for your support, engagement and enthusiasm, especially during this wayward, hazy and anxiety-inducing time. We hope you'll enjoy the record, and we're super-psyched to play shows all over the place when concerts are indeed a viable concern once again. Stay well, breathe deep, and celebrate and nurture the connections that enrich, comfort, soothe and embolden you.

MORE ON THE BAND

Find The Academy Of Sun here:

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Sleep + Eat, Europe’s leading hospitality design and development event announces its speakers

The organisers of Sleep + Eat have just announced the line-up for this year’s Sleep Conference. Taking place on 21-22 November at London Olympia, the conference, which is recognised across the hotel design community as the event for thought leadership combined with a dash of disruptor ideas, is promising once again to be packed with foremost influencers shaping the industry today. The free-to-attend two-day Sleep Conference at Sleep + Eat 2018 show will be joined by a new Eat Conference.

The Conference will open with a guest speaker from the USA – Andrew Zobler, hospitality pioneer and founder and CEO of the Sydell Group. Named one of the 50 Most Influential People in global business by Bloomberg Businessweek, Zobler has recently received the AHEAD Americas 2018 Award for Outstanding Contribution. His company’s diverse portfolio of properties includes The Ned (London), NoMad (New York and Los Angeles) and the LINE (LA, DC and Austin), and, appropriately for a man with such stellar achievements to his name, he will be speaking about the hospitality industry today.

Andrew Zobler

The excitement around London’s hotel scene remains palpable with top-billing hotels opening virtually every month. On Day One, the Sleep Conference will delve into the rise-and-rise of hotels in the UK capital from the perspective of operations, architecture and design. This diverse panel will include Bruce Robertson, managing director of the Standard London, and Mark Bruce, director EPR Architects whose portfolio of London projects includes Great Scotland Yard, The Old War Office and the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel, among many others.

Designing from the global perspective will be discussed in a panel that will bring together Russian, Belgian and American talent. Geraldine Dohogne of Zannier Hotels, whose latest project includes 1898 The Post in Ghent – a historic post office building converted into an eclectic boutique hotel – will be joined by Therese Virserius, co-founder of the award-winning Virserius Studio, and Moscow-based Sundokovy sisters.

In the annual Design Duos series, it will be the turn of Muza Lab’s co-founders, Inge Moore and Nathan Hutchins, to share their thoughts on luxury hospitality design and what guests today want out of their travel experience. From Shanghai to Botswana, the range of work by this award-winning pair includes trains, luxury boats and yachts and lodges as well as hotels, all completed or nearing completion in just the two years since they established their studio.

“I believe in quiet luxury with its sustainable and ageless quality, authentic values and power of discovery which stimulate, comfort and engage,” says Nathan Hutchins.

Muza Lab’s Inge Moore and Nathan Hutchins

Jamie Chappell, Global Business Director at Horwath HTL, will unpick the experience and knowledge of owners and investors in a panel session diving into the hotel turnaround game. Going full circle, this panel will focus on identifying opportunities, the elements of a successful turnaround (including design) and how an exit is achieved – the timing of when to hold and when to let go. This will be followed by the development Round Tables, offering visitors the chance for conversations with leading industry names including Samantha Sugarman, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts’ director of development; Harry Harris, founder of SUSD; Felicity Black-Roberts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts’ vice president; and Philip Camble, director of Whitebridge Hospitality.

Day Two will start with a keynote presentation from leading Sleep Specialist, Dr. Alanna Hare, who will explore the science of sleep and its power to awaken creativity, increase our happiness, improve relationships and support our health and well-being.

The Sleep Sets, in which design firms are challenged to create a concept guestroom will be coming back this year as a quartet of installations looking at designing for a non-hotel brand, and in what has proved to be one of the most popular conference sessions over the years, each design team will reveal the thinking behind their set. Yasmine Mahmoudieh will present her Penguin Books concept, AB Concept will share their ideas behind their Maison Pierre Hermé Paris set, Denton Corker Marshall will talk about their West Ham United Football Club concept, and HBA London will present their Natural History Museum’s vision.

Other sessions will include a discussion about the contribution of lighting and sound to the guest experience, which will include Sally Storey of Lighting Design International, Tom Middleton of Sonux, and Tom Hupe of Perkins+Will, and a look at the rapidly changing world of hospitality transport design.

Priya Paul, the chairperson of the Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels (The Park Hotels), recently garlanded with AHEAD Asia 2018 Award for Outstanding Contribution, will be sharing her approach to creativity and innovation.

Speaker Panel – Sleep Conference 2018. Above left to right: Sally Storey, Tom Middleton, Mark Bruce. Below left to right: Dr. Alanna Hare, Tom Hupe, Therese Virserius

Sleep Conference’s curator and host Guy Dittrich

Packed with the foremost influencers shaping wining and dining experiences, the Eat Conference will be hosted by food and beverage strategist Heleri Rande and will debate the challenges and aspirations driving the industry forward. These will encompass the convergence between independent and hotel restaurants; how to keep up with the rate of change in the sector; the role of AI; appealing to Millennials; and the re-invention of afternoon tea.

Eat Conference’s curator and host Heleri Rande

A panel discussion about the growing interdependence of restaurants, bars and hotels will launch the Conference with a session entitled “What’s Cooking?”, which will reveal how to navigate the fast-paced hospitality environment, where trends change faster than hotel restaurant projects can become reality. Whether design should take this into consideration will be debated by Conran and Partners’ director Tina Norden, Aukett Swanke’s Associate Architect Nick de Klerk, and CRÈME Design’s founder Jun Aizaki, who is also creating the show’s Sleeper Bar.

Over the last few years, hotel public spaces and F&B have gained a tremendous importance in the hospitality industry. The first day will focus on “ ‘Made-to-Measure’ Restaurant Design”, with editor Harry McKinley and the duo behind eponymous studio B+K Architecture – Alon Baranowitz and Irene Kronenberg – recognised internationally for such benchmark work as Mr. Porter and Duchess restaurants at the W Amsterdam. For Sleep + Eat, the pair will delve into the art of collaboration and the evolving nature of restaurant and bar design.

Alon Baranowitz and Irene Kronenberg

Change is inevitable for any business to stay relevant and competitive, and embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) is slowly yet steadily gaining importance in the hospitality industry. Benjamin Calleja, CEO of Livit Design, the world’s leading Food & Beverage design company that acts as strategic consultants to restaurants in 43 countries, will explore in a disruptive presentation “How AI Can Improve Operations”. Benjamin will share real-life success stories from major brands and from his company’s test-lab restaurant on how data can be used to improve the customer experience and drive sales through integrated technology.

The afternoon brings “GM Talks: Reinventing Afternoon Tea”, a review of the quintessential British tradition andits evolution in numerous luxury hotels. From art to fashion to detox, each property is now looking for ways to re-invigorate the lobby space with an afternoon tea offering and tap into the experiential hunger of the modern traveller.

The conference will also highlight the growing importance of the drinks offering due to both the level of sophistication that customers demand and the bottom line it can generate for owners and operators, with the result that hotels now think harder about “The B in F&B” and partner with industry leaders in designing their bar programme. The Eat Sets are debuting this year as a trio of concept rooms based on restaurant, café and nightclub. The first day of the conference will culminate in each design team – ECHO Architecture, 3Stories, and Shalini Misra – presenting their thought processes and challenging assumptions about what makes a meaningful café, restaurant and nightclub experience in today’s demanding R&B scene.

Day two will kick off with the story of HIDE, one of the most talked about restaurant openings in London this year. The designer Rose Murray will be sharing her story of the three distinct concepts within – Above, Ground and Below – and how working with three female artists on the project was more than just a collaboration. Another headline-grabbing London opening this season – Hotel Café Royal – has enjoyed a major renewal of concepts and design over the last year and Managing Director Guillaume Marly will divulge how this particularly exciting project was executed in collaboration with celebrity chefs, Albert Adrià and Laurent Tourondel. This presentation will be followed by “Design Case Study: Fitz’s at the Principal London”, a keynote talk by Robbie Bargh, founder of Gorgeous Group.

The panel discussion “Moving East” with Melita Skamnaki (Double Decker London), Valeri Chekheria (Adjara Group) and Michael Ingemann (Claus Meyer Holding) will highlight award-winning hotel F&B spaces in Tbilisi, Vilnius, and Gdansk that are setting the pace in restaurant and bar innovation.

Speaker Panel – Eat Conference 2018

The show will be open from 10am- 8.30pm on Tuesday 20th November and from 10am-6pm on Wednesday 21st November. For more information and to register for a complimentary pass, please visit www.sleepandeatevent.com.

The Un-Making of the West, Vol. VI Demography and Destiny

“While animals are not allowed to migrate illegally, or disrupt the preordained ‘natural’ order – liberal central planners encourage non-indigenous peoples to mess with the social habitat of historic, host populations. Provided those populations are Caucasian. If you’re a rainforest pygmy, liberals will fight for your survival.”-Ilana Mercer

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One colored student at Scripps College, discussing a coloreds-only pool party sponsored by “Cafe con Leche,” stated that, “Sometimes it’s nice to have a time to be with people who identify in the same or similar way that you do. And that’s also why no one is forced to come.” Oh Lord, the irony. To quote Enoch Powell:

Have you ever wondered, perhaps, why opinions which the majority of people quite naturally hold are, if anyone dares express them publicly, denounced as ‘controversial,’ ‘extremist,’ ‘explosive,’ ‘disgraceful,’ and overwhelmed with a violence and venom quite unknown to debate on mere political issues? It is because the whole power of the aggressor depends upon preventing people from seeing what is happening and from saying what they see.

When political strategists talk about “getting the black vote” or “getting the Hispanic vote,” they are unconsciously allowing the mask of multiculturalism to slip—they are, in effect, saying that this racial group has a commonality of interest and though it is not a monolithic bloc, the “community” in question is often found in concentrated pockets where like meets like. The interests of blacks in America, or Hispanics in America, or Jews in America, may not necessarily align with the interest of America—that is, the Historic American Nation, or (predominantly) White America. In differentiating these groups, pundits once again are acknowledging the implicit truth that America is a white country, and that minority interests do not always conform to the best interests of America itself.

For example, over 80% of legal gun owners are white. A recent report by the Pew Research Center found that 75% of Democrats favor stricter gun control laws and 76% of blacks favored gun control over gun rights. Per the Pew Research Center, 62% of whites in the United States support smaller or limited government as opposed to 32% of blacks and 26% of Hispanics/mestizos. 80% of immigrants vote Democrat. Just 8% of the black electorate voted for Donald Trump, who was actually more popular with the LGBTQ-AEIOU Team at 14%. 29% of both Hispanics and Asians voted for President Trump. As Lothrop Stoddard wrote in The Revolt Against Civilization:

Civilization always depends upon the qualities of the people who are the bearers of it. All these vast accumulations of instruments and ideas, massed and welded into marvelous structures rising harmoniously in glittering majesty, rest upon living foundations—upon the men and women who create and sustain them. So long as those men and women are able to support it, the structure rises, broad-based and serene; but let the living foundations prove unequal to their task, and the mightiest civilization sags, cracks, and at last crashes down into chaotic ruin. Civilization thus depends absolutely upon the quality of its human supporters. Mere numbers mean nothing…Let us not deceive ourselves by prating about “government,” “education,” and “democracy”: our laws, our constitutions, our very sacred books, are in the last analysis mere paper barriers, which will hold only so long as there stand behind them men and women with the intelligence to understand and the character to maintain them. Yet this life-line of civilization is not only thin but is wearing thinner with a rapidity which appalls those fully aware of the facts.

The perversity of the whole enterprise is what truly galls me. As the indispensable Will Westcott wrote on Twitter regarding Alfie Evans: “When the Syrian boy was killed by the reckless actions of his parents, it was used as a pretext for Europe opening her borders to migrants. Two years later and the UK is outright killing toddlers” and in the most indirect and cowardly way possible, I might add. The NHS pays £23 million per year on translating information into 128 languages including Arabic, Bengali, Punjabi, and Urdu, but refused to accept a more or less cost-free option to allow little Alfie Evans to be treated in Italy (the Italians even granted him citizenship to expedite the process), instead choosing to deploy a wall of police officers to the hospital he was effectively sentenced to death in—though of course the powers-that-be didn’t have the balls to actually sentence him to death, they just yanked the life support and let the child struggle to survive for five days.

This is the baked-in compassion of the modern Left—autistically screeching to allow the huddled brown masses of Africa and the Orient to pour un-checked into the Occident in the name of compassion, but watching one of their own number die in the most inhumane fashion is not only official policy, but the Merseyside Police Chief Inspector Chris Gibson released a statement that critical social media posts would be investigated by the authorities. 3,300 people were arrested and detained for violations of the Communications Act and the other assorted hate speech and de facto blasphemy laws in the UK in 2017, and yet London Mayor Sadiq Khan has the gall to celebrate the exercise of “free speech” on his Twitter account. To quote Cicero:

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.

In the United Kingdom, 521,000 whites die per year with the annual death toll expected to rise to 627,000 by 2037; this is compounded by an aggregate of at least 600,000 immigrants, “migrants,” and refugees a year (50,000 per annum was enough to impel Enoch Powell to make his “Rivers of Blood” speech), with over 400,000 non-white births (and rising) annually, a great number of white Britons becoming expatriates (one source I read put the number at 300,000), an average age of 40.5 years old, and a pitiful birth rate of 1.8 live births per woman, which is surely lower if you remove the non-whites.

And who are these “migrants” and “refugees” mostly? A recent survey of Greece’s largest refugee camp, the Moria camp on Lesbos, found that there were 162 unaccompanied children and 216 women out of a total population of 5,206. That means that 92.8% of the camp’s inhabitants are men (Statistics of Iefimerida). What the hell is going on here?

It costs on average one-twelfth as much to relocate a refugee within the Middle East, for example, than to relocate them in the West (where in the West varies the cost). On average, it costs $15,900 per year per refugee to resettle each refugee in America, which translates to, quoting from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) website:

For what it costs to resettle one Middle Eastern refugee in the United States for five years, about 12 refugees can be helped in the Middle East for five years, or 61 refugees can be helped if they remain in a safe neighboring country such as Turkey, Jordan, or Lebanon for one year. At present, the UN reports a $2.5 billion funding gap between what it needs to care for some four million Syrian refugees in the Middle East and what it has received from donor nations. This is equal to the five-year costs of resettling just 39,000 Middle Eastern refugees in the United States. Wealthy countries like the United States that have costly refugee resettlement programs face a choice: They can help a relatively tiny number of refugees who in effect win what might be called the “migration lottery” and are resettled here, or they can devote the limited resources available to helping many more refugees in the region for the same amount of money. If the goal is to help as many people as possible, then assisting Middle Eastern refugees in their home region gives a far greater return on public money.

CIS also notes, “Very heavy use of welfare programs by Middle Eastern refugees, and the fact that they have only 10.5 years of education on average, makes it likely that it will be many years, if ever, before this population will cease to be a net fiscal drain on public coffers — using more in public services than they pay in taxes.” Diversity has proven itself to be a rather costly business for Western citizens. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR):

In 2016, the State Department spent nearly $545 million to process and resettle refugees, including $140,389,177 on transportation costs. Of the $1.8 billion in resettlement costs, $867 billion was spent on welfare alone. In their first five years, approximately 54 percent of all refugees will hold jobs that pay less than $11 an hour. $71 million will be spent to educate refugees and asylum-seekers, a majority of which will be paid by state and local governments. Over five years, an estimated 15.7 percent of all refugees will need housing assistance, which is roughly $7,600 per household in 2014 dollars.

The steep financial cost is of course in addition to the corrosive and, if left un-checked, nation-dissolving character of mass immigration. Per Pew Research:

As of 2015, the United Nations estimates that 46.6 million people living in the United States were not born there. This means that about one-in-five international migrants (19%) live in the U.S. (my note: the U.S. has just 4.4% of the world’s population). The U.S. immigrant population is nearly four times that of the world’s next largest immigrant destination – Germany, with about 12 million immigrants… By way of comparison, about one-in-five people in Canada (22%) are foreign born. In Australia, it’s nearly three-in-ten people (28%)… Denmark and the UK have some of the highest immigrant diversity scores (both 97), followed by Canada at 96.

This creates an environment of extreme distrust, as, also per Pew Research, only 18% of Americans, for example, trust in the government to do what is right. To quote another Twitter fixture, Alfred Albion: “Mass immigration in a democracy is illegitimate without a vote from the existing majority. It’s fraud, it’s gerrymandering, it’s a breach of contract, and we don’t need to accept it or the people who have come here due to it.” As Paul “RamZPaul” Ramsey notes, “When a country is mostly homogeneous, there is no need for identity politics. Once you demographically fragment a country, you will always have identity politics. Identity politics is based on human nature.” It is a survival mechanism, plain and simple, against what many are viewing as demographic warfare. According to the Black African Defense League in Europe:

Don’t have three, but five children. We are going to be the colonizers, if we don’t have the right in Africa as Emmanuel Macron explains because we don’t have the resources to support their needs well let’s do it here only. You are the future!

And they whine about whites in Africa, going so far as to execute them and steal their land as penance for being born in the wrong place and the wrong time. Our very existence excites their envy. To quote Lothrop Stoddard, “The innate differences between members of a low-grade savage tribe are as nothing compared with the abyss sundering the idiot and the genius who coexist in a high grade civilization.” And of course when you invite not the village idiot but entire villages of idiots from the Third World, the chasm grows ever-wider, and the false doctrines of equality grow still more appealing. Continuing with Stoddard, from The Revolt Against Civilization (1922):

Fear and wounded vanity thus inspire the individual to resent unfavorable status, and this resentment tends to take the form of protest against “injustice.” Injustice of what? Of “fate,” “nature,” “circumstances,” perhaps; yet, more often, injustice of persons—individually or collectively (ie-“society”). But (argues the discontented ego), since all this is unjust, those better-placed persons have no “right” to succeed where he fails…Either he should be up with them—or they should be down with him. “We are all men. We are all equal!” Such, in a nutshell, is the train of thought—or rather of feeling—underlying the idea of “natural equality.”…Being basically emotional, it is impervious to reason, and when confronted by hard facts it takes refuge in mystic faith. All levelling doctrines (including, of course, the various brands of modern Socialism) are, in the last analysis, not intellectual concepts, but religious cults.

The superstitions of equality and burnt offerings of diversity are necessarily given to totalitarianism as their apparent falsity can only grow—the greatest enemy of diversity is exposure to it. For the people at the very top of society perhaps the world is essentially borderless (I wouldn’t know, I don’t run in those circles), but the people in the Central Valley in California, for example, are getting far more acquainted with the people of Oaxaca than they’d ever care to, just as the folks in Minneapolis-St. Paul are getting to experience the wonders of Mogadishu over any and all objection. And the kicker is this smorgasbord isn’t even really “diverse”; it is self-segregated and self-perpetuates the dysfunction from whence they came. Immigrants tend to cluster in certain areas and re-create the conditions of home. This is about as far from “diverse” as you can get, and what’s more, lottery or no, if it really were about “diversity,” then why do 27% of our legal immigrants come from just one country, Mexico (57% of whom have less than a high school education; additionally, half of all illegal aliens come from Mexico), and only 13.5% come from the entire continent of Europe plus Canada? Ilana Mercer writes:

Declining birthrates have long been the excuse advanced by immigration central-planners for sticking with mass immigration policies. The aging white population is not replacing itself, say proponents of doomsday demographics. Young, Third-World immigrants are essential to shore-up the welfare state. However, the now-waning West became great not because it was more populated than the rest of the world and outbred it. The West was great because of its human capital—innovation, exploration, science, philosophy; because of superior ideas, and the willingness to defend such a civilization.

The low birth-rates of the West today would not be quite so pronounced an issue if there weren’t alien populations within our borders rapidly out-reproducing us; that said, we still need to find a way to at least replace ourselves, otherwise the demographic free-fall would be absolute. You can’t have a nation without people. No one is proposing we go “full Niger,” but two or three children per couple is manageable and, indeed, ideal so as to not cause severe environmental strain. There are genuine concerns that populations at “lowest-low” birth rates like Japan seldom ever recover, typically either going extinct in relative isolation, or in a non-isolated population getting swallowed up by (an)other group(s).

The crushing burden of wealth re-distributing taxation is artificially depressing white birth-rates, roughly at a lifetime cost of what it would be to raise one child. Without this burden, the relentless propaganda of hedonistic abandon, and the general feeling of loss and hopelessness driven by the auctioning off of their nations, whites might be more inclined to reproduce at replacement level. The general feeling of hopelessness and negativity continues to pervade the former Eastern Bloc and does much to explain the pitifully low birth-rates there. Regarding the United States specifically, though you could apply this to pretty much any country in the West adversely affected by the noxious brew of communism and/or mass immigration, as Mercer states, “America doesn’t need more people; it needs to allow its own people to recover.” We don’t need to have twelve children, but we need to at least reproduce enough not to die off. Given medical advancements and quality of life measures and inventions, we should be aiming for at least replacement-level, settling in at a nice stasis. I think that concerns about overpopulation are warranted, but this is a conversation for African peoples, rather than the Western ones. Per Pew Research:

Sub-Saharan African nations account for eight of the 10 fastest growing international migrant populations since 2010. The number of migrants from each of these sub-Saharan countries grew by 50% or more between 2010 and 2017, significantly more than the 17% worldwide average over the same period. At least a million sub-Saharan Africans have moved to Europe since 2010.

Quoting Thomas Lehn, their increased presence in the West should yield more of such treasures:

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In Africa you are drowning in garbage. For about 80%, there are no toilets…School is just rote learning with the result that most Africans develop no feel for logical thinking. They have no interest in it. They don’t plan. They live for today. You’re often speechless when you see it, even among the ones with university education…The 1.1 billion inhabitants will be 5 billion by the end of this century. 60% are already younger than 15, but there are no jobs or schools for them. This means that every project is wasted, even feasibility studies for desalination plants that allow drinking water to be recovered. But they would never work because the power stations have rotted away and the power supply doesn’t exist. Ultimately, it means there’s going to be a huge migration of peoples – compared to that, what we’re seeing in the Mediterranean every day now is mere child’s play.

Play time, indeed, is over.

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