WANTED: Nanny for Prince George for Tour Down Under

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are on the lookout for a nanny to look after baby George on their trip to New Zealand and Australia in April, Britain's Daily Mail newspaper has reported. 

Proud mum and dad William and Kate, with their baby Prince George

The royal couple's current nanny, Jessie Webb - who looked after Prince William when he was a child and came out of retirement to tend George - has reached the end of her contract. 

Mrs Webb, 71, took the job on the condition that she would work only for three months, the newspaper reported. "Mrs Webb is still at Kensington Palace and William and Kate are keen to retain her services, but they are discreetly looking for extra help for the month-long trip this spring," the paper said. 


The Duke and Duchess did not hire a maternity nurse after George's birth last July. Instead the couple moved into the Middleton family home in Berkshire so that Kate's mother, Carole, could help out.

When they moved to Kensington Palace last September, they persuaded Mrs Webb to join their household.

It had been rumoured that Carole Middleton could join the tour Downunder to help look after George. However, aides insist that will not be the case and the couple will instead hire a new nanny. 

Prospective candidates would need to be experienced, discreet, trained in paediatric first aid and demonstrate an ability to cope in stressful situations, Janine Bayley of nanny recruitment agency Rock mybaby.co.nz said. 

"We have placed nannies and babysitters for some high profile families including Hollywood actors while visiting in New Zealand," Mrs Bayley said. "We find their expectations just the same as other families, although we do encourage the nannies not to become star struck. 

"At the end of the day, parents want someone who is responsive to their child's needs, able to provide a quality, educational environment and someone who knows how to have fun. Regardless of where we are in society, we just want the very best for our children." 

The royal entourage may include a housekeeper and Kate's personal hairdresser, Amanda Cook Tucker. 

Royal Nannying: Five keys to success 

• Mum is the word. Discretion will be vital as the ravenous media look to exploit any means to find fresh angles on the visit. The nanny should be occasionally seen, but certainly never heard.
• Sleep is over-rated. With near constant travel and a packed diary of obligations to fulfil, the royal couple will be constantly on the move. The nanny can expect to be on call 24/7.
• Say cheese. Photo ops for baby George will be par for the course and there's every chance the nanny will get caught in the lens at some point. A constant smile would be a good idea.
• Keep calm and carry on. George soils his nappy while meeting John Key? No drama. It's just another day at the office. Hand me the wipes.
• A way with children. It may seem obvious, but if wee George isn't taken with his nanny that is going to be one long trip from Kensington Palace and back.

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Arctic Monkeys - Touring Australia May 2014

Frontier Touring is thrilled to confirm that Sheffield Arctic Monkeys will be landing in Australia next May to embark on their biggest tour of our shores to date!

Arctic Monkeys first burst onto the music scene in 2006 with their Award-winning debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.  The album became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history. 

In the years since their debut, the band have received two Grammy Award nominations, five Brit Awards, headlined the iconic Glastonbury Festival twice and taken to the world stage in front of billions as part of the London Olympic Games opening ceremony. Originally one of the ‘best new bands to watch’, Arctic Monkeys have well and truly cemented themselves now as one of the most important British bands of their time.

The band were last Down Under in 2011 for Falls and Southbound Festivals as well as a handful of Australian headline shows; in 2014 they will return for their most extensive run of tour dates including two New Zealand shows and five Australian shows in celebration of their fifth studio album AM (out now through Domino Records/EMI).

On the charts, AM was the band’s fifth consecutive UK #1 debut, making them the first artist signed to an independent label to achieve this. Closer to home, the album shot straight to the #1 spot on both the ARIA Album Chart and New Zealand’s Official Album Chart.

As well as success on the charts, AM was also heralded by critics  across the globe as Arctic Monkeys’ best album to date and was nominated for the 2013 Mercury Music Prize just two days after its release.

If the demand for their latest album is anything to go by, these tickets won’t last long. Be quick to see Arctic Monkeys; one of the greatest live bands to emerge in recent years.

TOUR DATES*:

Tue 6 May - Sydney Entertainment Centre
Wed 7 May - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Fri 9 May - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Sat 10 May - Adelaide Entertainment Theatre, SA
Tue 13 May - Perth Arena , WA
*Ticketek is selling for the above venues only.

The The Syd Ent Centre Site for More Info

Indian Tourists Flocking to Australia, Says Report

Melbourne: Indian tourists are flocking to see beauty of Australia taking the total number of overseas travellers from the region to over 134,000 from January to October this year, a report said.

According to latest data of Tourism Australia, a total of 134,000 visitors from India visited Australia during October this year, an increase of 9.5 per cent as compared to the same period previous year.

According to its Tourism Forecast Committee report released earlier this year, visitor arrivals from India were predicted to rise by 7.5 per cent and 7.6 per cent to 1,63,800 in 2012-13 and 176,300 in 2013-14 respectively.

"Markets expected to experience strongest gains in visitor volumes in 2012?13 are China (15.9 per cent), Malaysia (13.9 per cent), Singapore (12.5 per cent) and India (7.5 per cent)," it said.

"This revision represents a difference of 6500 more visitors in aggregate. In the longer term to 2021-22, average annual growth of 7.2 per cent to 306,100 visitors is expected," the report cited while note trends from Indian tourists.

It said that average length of stay rose 20 per cent to 66 nights per trip while total nights in hotels, motels and guest houses and serviced apartments rose 17.2 per cent to 0.5 million compared with same period in 2011-12.

"Visitor expenditure is fore casted to rise 19.8 per cent in 2012-13 to USD 867 million.

In the longer term to 2021-22, average annual growth of 10.9 per cent is forecast to USD 2 billion, representing an upward revision of USD 354 million,"?the?report predicted.

Last year, Tourism Australia had launched India 2020 Strategic Plan which was developed to maximise India`s tourism potential and set a foundation for the future, when long haul leisure travel by Indians becomes more common. 

Victorious Australia Bringing Same Squad to Perth for 3rd Ashes Test

Australia will take the same 12-man squad to Perth for the third Ashes test this week after humbling England by 218 runs to win the second match in Adelaide on Monday.

Selector John Inverarity said in a statement that uncapped fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile and 12-test paceman Doug Bollinger would also be in Perth on standby and would train with the squad for the test match "should they be required."

Australia fielded the same team in Adelaide that thrashed England by 381 runs in Brisbane, the first time in a year that the team has been unchanged for consecutive tests.

Coach Darren Lehmann was reluctant to mess with a winning formula for the WACA, where their pacemen will hope to wreak maximum damage against a shell-shocked England side on a bouncy wicket.

"At the moment, all good," Lehmann said of his bowlers' fitness for the third match starting on Friday.

"(If they're) 100 percent, they'll play. If not, they won't.

"From our point of view, we've just got to keep what we're doing now. Not change too much. Just make sure we adapt to Perth conditions. As you've seen, we adapted very well from Brisbane to here, and now we go back the other way."

Australia lead the five-test series 2-0 and can wrest the Ashes away from holders England with victory in Perth.

Australia squad: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (captain), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon, James Faulkner.

Grease comes to Perth

Grease is the word in musical theatre land, with Australian producer John Frost announcing the popular show is heading to Perth and Adelaide.

The high-energy musical, which has already enjoyed successful seasons in Brisbane and Sydney and is soon to open in Melbourne, will head to South Australia and WA in winter next year.

Frost said he was delighted that Grease was continuing its tour of the country.

“Rarely have I seen audience reactions like the ones we have been receiving every night for Grease, with everyone in the aisles dancing and singing along,” he said in a statement.

“Grease truly is Australia’s number one party musical, and now I’m delighted to give audiences in Perth and Adelaide the chance to sing-a-long and dance with Rob, Gretel, Todd, Bert and the gang on stage.”

The musical is based on the 1978 film starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta and features all the songs, including You’re The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights and Greased Lightnin’.

Leading the cast in the iconic roles of Danny and Sandy are Rob Mills and Gretel Scarlett.

The musical also stars Bert Newton as slick veteran disc jockey Vince Fontaine and Todd McKenney as Teen Angel.

Grease will begin at Perth’s Crown Theatre on June 21, 2014, followed by a season at the Festival Theatre in Adelaide from August 3, 2014.

Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/20214229/grease-comes-to-perth/

Perth Predicted to be Bigger Than Brisbane

Join the crowd: Perth population tipped to hit three million. Picture: Lee Griffith/The West Australian

Perth will overtake Brisbane to become Australia's third biggest city in 15 years, population projections reveal.

Three million people are expected to call Perth home by 2028, putting fresh pressure on the city's infrastructure and housing supply to keep pace with the growth.

The capital's swelling population will almost double WA's total population from 2.4 million people to 4.7 million by 2040.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the nation's population is growing faster than previously thought.

Five years ago it had projected Australia's population could get as high as 62.2 million by 2101 but it has revised that to 70 million.

It is based on the highest population growth scenario of women having two babies and annual migration of almost 280,000 a year. Using its mid-range growth assumptions, the ABS forecasts the population will double to 46 million by 2075.

Under the same medium scenario, Perth's current population of 1.9 million is tipped to rise to three million by 2028 and pass Brisbane.

What makes Perth's rapid population increase even more staggering is that it will overtake Brisbane in just 15 years, even though the Queensland metropolis will have the second fastest growth rate of any capital city in the country.

Curtin University professor of sustainability Peter Newman said Perth should be able to absorb an extra 1.1 million people if it got the infrastructure right.

“We will cope with it if we plan for it,” he said. “Melbourne and Sydney are exporting people to Brisbane and Perth, but we’re just getting more of them.”

He advocates future housing development in Perth to focus on 8-10 storey-high buildings in sub-centres based around new and existing train stations.

Professor Newman said Perth was poised to become a global city as it becomes the headquarters for energy and mining giants in the region, which would provide employment.

But it was also critical to attract jobs in the “knowledge economy” such as software developers and university researchers so the city was not just relying on the resources industry.

Urban Development Institute Association WA chief executive Debra Goostrey said industry and government were closely monitoring housing supply to prevent a repeat of last decade’s squeeze that drove up property prices.

While new land was being released, Ms Goostrey said there were emerging signs of some skilled labour shortages that could slow down construction.

She also said governments needed to keep up infrastructure investment to accommodate the swelling population.

“It definitely has it challenges but for people living in Perth this is a fantastic opportunity to build a very vibrant city that people want to come and live in,” Ms Goostrey said.

New A380 flights from Perth

New A380 flights from Perth

Emirates the world’s largest international airline, is set to launch A380 super jumbo services to Perth from March 1.

According to Canberra sources the airline has slots approved for the 496-seat A380 to replace one of its tripe daily Boeing 777 services.

The A380 flight is scheduled to arrive at 5.25pm and depart at 10.30pm.

To see a virtual reality view of the A380 click here.

Emirates had planned to operate the A380 from Perth from mid year but delays in the installation and integration of the new aerobridge has put that back to March next year.

However, that A380 was allocated to Brisbane.

While the new service is slated from March 1 it may slip depending on A380 deliveries.

Emirates operates the world’s largest fleet of A380s with 39 in service and the airline had 51 on order.

But this week it ordered another 50 taking the total backlog for the airline to 101.

The Emirates A380 has 14 first class suites, 76 business class beds and a lounge bar on the upper deck and 406 economy class seats on the main deck.

At this week’s order announcement Emirates President Tim Clark said that the A380 “remains highly popular with our passengers.”

“It is still one of the most efficient aircraft to operate today in terms of fuel burn and emissions per passenger, and it gives us the flexibility in some cases to meet passenger demand in slot-constrained markets.”

One of the most popular features of the A380 is the quiet cabin and the plane is more stable than most in turbulence.

The Emirates A380s are mobile phone and email capable and have over 1500 entertainment options.

Emirates has been associated with Europe’s largest passenger aircraft since April 2000 when it was the first airline to announce plans to purchase the super jumbo.

The A380 is a major part of the airline’s ambitious expansion plans outlined by Mr Clark earlier this month.

“By 2020, we will have more than 250 aircraft serving some 70 million passengers across six continents. It will make us the largest airline on the planet by international passenger traffic,” Mr Clark said.

“However, being the biggest airline in the world is not really the end goal. Our aim has always been to connect travellers from around the world to Dubai, and other destinations with just a single stop via our hub.

“The strategic location of Dubai makes it possible for us to serve almost 90 per cent of the world’s population with non-stop flights.”

Over a third of the world’s population lives within a 4-hour flight from Dubai, and two-thirds are within an 8-hour flight.

Today, Emirates operates nearly 3,200 flights globally per week to 135 destinations in 76 countries.

The airline has 50,000 staff made up of 160 nationalities