Helen Mirren decries condescending attitudes towards couples in their 80s
It’s a sight that makes even the most hard-hearted millennial coo: an octogenarian couple expressing their affection towards one another.But Helen Mirren has railed against being so “insulting”, saying such condescension makes her want to tell people to “fuck off”.The actor said the hardest part of turning 80 last month was the “condescension” she was forced to endure when holding hands in public with her husband, Taylor Hackford.Speaking to the Times while promoting the release of her latest film, The Thursday Murder Club, she said: “It really annoys me.“If my husband and I are holding hands, someone might say: ‘Oh, look.
How sweet,’ It’s like, excuse my language: ‘Fuck off,’ There’s something very condescending about some people’s attitudes and I think they think they are being kind and generous,But they’re not,They’re being insulting.
”She recalled the words of her mother, who told her never to be afraid of getting older, and said there were great things about ageing: You “lose certain stuff but you gain other stuff”.“The tech bros think their billions are somehow going to hold back time,” she said.“They haven’t learnt my mum’s lesson.It’s a natural wave of life that has been going on for billions of years and it’s beautiful to be part of that wave.“It’s what humanity is all about in the end.
So it’s important not to wimp out.You’re not going to be 30 when you’re 50.You’re just not.”Mirren has been reminded of mortality throughout her life by the deaths of loved ones.Her younger brother, Peter, died of skin cancer at 54 in 2002, and her stepson Rio Hackford died at 51 of cancer in 2022.
“As you travel through life you realise death is absolutely part of life,And it’s always tragic and it can happen when you’re young,” she said,In The Thursday Murder Club, Mirren playing the former spy Elizabeth, who runs a murder investigation group alongside fellow residents of a retirement community,Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionShe said she loved the idea that life could continue to be beautiful while living in a residential home, and that she had been a fan of the story long before she was asked to be in the film,“Girlfriends recommended the first one,” she said, which was published in 2020.
“And it was so original, so drenched in charm: this eccentric British character thing mixed with murder mystery, set in a retirement home where people are in full possession of the faculties they had in their professional lives but want to use their brilliance again.”The Thursday Murder Club is in cinemas from 22 August, and on Netflix from 28 August.
Olsen-Baker and Leti-I’iga injuries dampen win as New Zealand fly past Spain
New Zealand are up and running in their Rugby World Cup defence with a big win against Spain, but the victory was marred by injuries to Kaipo Olsen-Baker, who was helped off the pitch with a suspected ankle issue, and the star wing Ayesha Leti-I’iga. The Black Ferns finished with 13 players on the pitch.New Zealand’s director of performance, Allan Bunting, had no update on either player after the game as they are waiting for them to be assessed. The lock Alana Bremner said she was proud of how they adapted.Bremner said: “We were talking after and said ‘we didn’t realise we were 13 for a couple of minutes there’
Brazil fans enjoy carnival atmosphere despite World Cup rout by South Africa | Luke McLaughlin
In certain other sports, Brazil’s absence from any World Cup tournament would be regarded as downright bizarre. It’s not quite like that in rugby, and their women’s 15s team created history simply by running on to the turf.The first Brazil team to qualify for a men’s or women’s Rugby World Cup had played only 16 times before this, winning five matches, including a playoff against Colombia that secured qualification. Their prize, if you can call it that, was an intimidating opener against the famously powerful South Africa.“Our first Brazil fan of the day,” one of the friendly volunteers outside Northampton train station declared just before 10am, as supporters began to drift from the platforms towards the venue
Raducanu thrashes Ena Shibahara for first US Open victory since 2021 title
Four years after her three life-changing weeks in New York, Emma Raducanu overcame a significant mental hurdle as she secured her first victory at the US Open since her 2021 title run in impressive fashion, dismantling the qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-2 to finally return to the second round.After painful first-round defeats by Alizé Cornet and Sofia Kenin, plus a withdrawal in 2023 during an eight-month injury layoff, Raducanu showed her growth and newfound self-assurance by putting together a solid, clean performance against an inferior opponent.“It has been on my mind,” Raducanu said of her inability to win a match in New York. “It’s been four years, and it’s a very special tournament for me. I did feel different coming into it this year
Fremantle meet the moment as AFL’s final round unfolds in dramatic fashion | Jonathan Horn
I’ve never been one to run with the “let’s just stick to football” line. But every person has their breaking point. Mine came this week when Andrew Dillon – a man who’d spent the previous four days weighing and measuring a slur, and four days negotiating five weeks down to four – carved out a good chunk of his press conference reminding us that Snoop Dogg was “a grandfather and a philanthropist”. A few hours later, footage emerged of a less than grandfatherly and less than philanthropic headline act, accompanied by the headline “Snoop Dogg’s Dig at Gay Parents”. That was it for me
Ireland open with six-try win over Japan to give them hope of making last eight
The shadow of the defending champions, New Zealand, looms over Pool C and on that basis Ireland could not afford to lose. They kicked off their World Cup campaign with a fluent win, in which every element of their game functioned well on the immaculate Franklin’s Gardens pitch.Japan won the previous match between these two, a 29-10 victory in 2022, and had they upset the odds it would hardly have represented a sequel to the Miracle of Brighton. But Ireland are a different proposition under Scott Bemand and their physicality and accuracy, for the most part, was just too much for their willing opponents. Japan were outclassed and overpowered, but two converted tries gave their impressive supporters something to shout about
Australia rout South Africa by 276 runs in third men’s ODI – as it happened
And that is that from us. As far as OBO action goes though, there will be plenty more across most of the following series.The South African men next go to England in early September, then to Ireland. Australia’s women have a warm-up tour to India before the women’s World Cup from the end of September. Australia’s men have three T20s in New Zealand in October, before England replace them for T20s and ODIs, while Australia return home for India's white-ball tour of Australia
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