Latest news with #TimTams
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Katy Perry shakes off social media hate at triumphant opening Aus show
Australia gets Katy Perry because Katy Perry gets Australia. The pop superstar shook off the social media pile-ons of recent months to take a quintessential tall poppy potshot at herself at her opening Lifetimes concert in Sydney on Wednesday. When complaining of jetlagged tiredness, exacerbated by her daughter Daisy Dove waking her at 5am on the morning of her first Australian gig, Perry said she had come prepared for the challenge. 'You can't tell I'm tired because I got fresh Botox for Australia!' she declared to huge cheers from the audience. And the scream-o-meter, the true gauge of a concert's success, remained pushing into the red for the entirety of her two-hour neon pop dream at Qudos Bank Arena. They laughed again with her when she shared an on-stage wardrobe emergency, calling for an assistant to unzip her costume 'because I've been eating too many Tim Tams.' The last time Perry was down under last September, she roared at the MCG for a generally well-received AFL grand final performance worth a reported $5 million pay cheque. Her culture stocks in Australia proved to be buoyant when she announced her Lifetimes tour, with more than 170,000 tickets to 15 concerts in five capital cities selling out instantly. Since then she has been the subject of savage social media pile-ons for missteps, from working with controversial producer Dr Luke on her 143 record, and its lacklustre chart performance, to that Blue Origin celebrity space flight folly. But put Perry on a stage, in front of a sold-out crowd of true believers, the day after an epically suburban stop at a western Sydney shopping mall during rehearsals, and it is abundantly apparent the oversized outrage hasn't downsized the devotion of her fans. Their ranks have been bolstered by a sizeable contingent of tweens and teens who lapped up Perry's high-flying, fluoro-lit spectacle which was humanised by a generosity of spirit. The fans dressed to impress their idol in the costumes of her various eras, and squealed with delight when she launched into the dance breaks and light-sabre battles which were mocked online as cringey and awkward when the tour opened in Mexico in April, but make perfect sense within the context of the Lifetimes show. After all, she's playing a half-human, half-robot character in this video game-inspired concert, battling villainous machines on her mission to restore girl power and all the lovey-dovey stuff to counter the nasty world order. One of the highlights of the show happened during the Choose Your Own Adventure segment - which appears to be more pre-determined than granting the sign requests held up by fans in the front rows - when she brought fans on stage to perform Thinking of You from her 2008 album One of the Boys. The 18-year-old Left Shark superfan Elliott, who brought his two younger sisters and cousin to the show, was declared an MVP for his pop stewardship of his family, as the cute group from western Sydney joined her to play chicken egg-shakers during the song. It was a suitably heart-warming moment in a show that, by its hi-tech nature, is tightly choreographed. The Lifetimes show's intention is pure pop escapism soundtracked by a career-spanning collection of hits which have spun more than 25 billion streams and counting - albeit with a little too many of the misses from the 143 record. The Dark Horse pop queen may not possess the vocal chops and choreography skills of Beyonce, or the edgy dark pop drama of Billie Eilish, but this seasoned entertainer knows how to put on a great pop show. And she's got 14 more of them to perform in Australia before this leg of her world tour wraps at the end of the month.
Metro
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Addictive' Aussie Mars chocolate launches in UK supermarket
From Kylie Minogue to Bluey, the UK loves an Australian export — but some are more well-received than others. The latest Aussie favourite to hit British shores is Mars Pods, which launched on Iceland shelves last week. Priced at £3.50 per 160g bag, these shell-shaped snacks (not to be confused with the brand's Dolce Gusto hot chocolate pods) feature crunchy wafer topped with caramel and smooth milk chocolate. Despite being rarely spotted over here, they've long remained a staple Down Under, where they were invented by the confectioner back in 2008. On the K-Mart website, Mars Pods have an overall rating of five stars, with shopper Melanie calling them 'yummy'. Similarly, Reddit users describe the treats as 'orgasmic', claiming: 'They are impossible to stop eating.' Metro senior entertainment report Pierra Willix agrees, saying 'it's been a sad three years without them' since she moved to the UK from Perth. 'Pods might not sound particularly appealing, but they are a go-to movie night snack across Australian households,' she adds. 'The crunch of the wafter biscuit mixed with the sweet chocolate filling is surprisingly addictive — it's incredibly easy to devour an entire bag yourself.' However, the reaction from Brits hasn't been as overwhelmingly positive. Under a Facebook post about the launch on the Food Finds UK group, Sammi Jane said they looked 'banging', but Christopher Granton – who'd managed to get hold of them in B&M – commented: 'They were absolutely awful to be honest!' Over on TikTok, @tommyl6770 balked at the price tag, describing them as a 'rip off'. To decide for yourself, head down to your local Iceland. If you're heading to the supermarket solely to get your Mars Pods fix though, it may be worth calling ahead, as stock varies from store to store. Last year, another iconic Australian chocolate bar was released here in the UK, sending fans into a frenzy. More Trending Tim Tams – beloved by Margot Robbie – combine crunchy biscuit, a velvety cream filling and smooth chocolatey coating. And from the moment they became available on the shelves of Waitrose, they proved an instant hit with customers. 'I absolutely should not eat a whole sleeve of TimTam cookies for dinner, no matter how good they taste with my cold brew,' @DCLovesDestiel wrote on X, formerly Twitter. View More » 'Tim Tams are the best,' added @ElizaPlume212. 'I leave half a suitcase empty when I visit family. I go home with as many Tim Tams as will fit.' Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Tesco has 'new rule' for bakery products — and it involves 60p pastries MORE: Woman suffers seven year infection after boyfriend farted in her face MORE: Map shows where 10 new Aldi shops will open this summer
NDTV
03-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Democracy Sausage, Voting In Swimsuits: Bizarre Polling Trends In Australia
Quick Take Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. The "democracy sausage," a grilled sausage in bread, symbolises Australian election culture, served at polling places nationwide and abroad. It reflects humility in politics and has become part of folklore and tradition, like voting in swimwear. A democracy sausage is a cultural tradition as Australian as koalas, vegemite and TimTams. It's a simple grilled sausage wrapped in a slice of white bread and topped with onions and ketchup, however, when the same is offered at polling places on election day, it becomes a 'democracy sausage' that has become a national symbol for participating in elections, and is served everywhere Australians vote. Not just in Australia, but these democracy sausages are also served at polling places for citizens abroad at Australian embassies in New York, Riyadh, Nairobi and Tokyo, and even at a research station in Antarctica. There is a website that also tracks in real-time crowd-sourced democracy sausage locations on polling day: "It's practically part of the Australian Constitution." The spokesperson of the website added, "We've heard reports of people who are tourists over here, foreign students, that will go along to election days just to get the sausages. I think that's a great piece of Australian culture for people to take home with them." The sausage is also a way for aspiring leaders to show that they are humble enough to eat a cheap piece of meat wrapped in bread, and photographs of politicians eating these democracy sausages have become memes, and generally a part of Australian political folklore. The Australian National Dictionary Centre also named "democracy sausage" as its word of the year. Moreover, the Australian constitution does not mention anything about a dress code for voting, and it has become a tradition to vote in swimwear. This started when the maker of "Budgie Smuggler" was giving out free swimming trunks to the first 200 people who voted in smugglers. "It's a little bit revealing and may be confronting for some of your viewers. But a lot people here come out of the water and come and vote. I think it's a nice statement of Australian democracy", Nick Fabbri, a voter in the Bondi area of Sydney, told Reuters. Voting in Australia for the national election began on Saturday. Per polls, voter appetite for change has been dampened by US tariffs, and hence the elections might favour Labour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over conservative challenger Peter Dutton.
Time Out
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
How Tim Tams became Australia's favourite biscuit (and why you can't stop at just one)
The USA has Oreos, the Brits swear by Jaffa cakes, Argentina's got alfajores and Scotland loves a good Hobnob, but us Aussies have Tim Tams – arguably the world's best chocolate biscuit and undeniably Australia's favourite. Last year, more than 2.8 million households indulged in the iconic Tim Tam Original. But how did it become such a national treasure? The history of Australia's most famous choccy bikkie goes way back to 1958, when an Arnott's food technologist, Ian Norris, travelled to the UK on a biscuit research mission (dream job, right?). While there, he discovered the 'Penguin' – a treat consisting of two rectangular chocolate biscuits sandwiched with white cream and coated in milk chocolate. Inspired, Norris returned home on a mission to create an Aussie version that was even better, and five years later, the Tim Tam was born. Fun fact: Tim Tams were actually named after a horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1958. Random, but it's kind of an unintentional nod to the penguin – though we know who'd win the race. While inspired by the Penguin, Norris' recipe consisted of two smaller malted biscuits, a chocolate cream filling and a milk chocolate coating. That winning combo has barely changed over the past 60 years, though Arnott's has blessed us with lots of fun, new flavours along the way. According to Arnott's, the three most popular flavours in the Tim Tam hall of fame are Original, Double Coat and Chewy Caramel. No surprises there! Memorable editions for their team over the last six decades include Choc Banana, Turkish Delight, Dark Choc Banoffee, Red Velvet, Dark Choc Espresso Martini, plus Kensington Pride Mango and Cream. Both the classic and limited-edition flavours are baked at Arnott's bakeries in Huntingwood, NSW and Marleston, SA. The Huntingwood Tim Tam line operates 24/7 and stretches more than a kilometre, meaning it can crank out 60 Tim Tams per second, 3,000 per minute and 4 million in 24 hours. That's enough to feed 15 per cent of the Australian population in just one day! Tim Tams might be our nation's most famous snack, but the Tim Tam Slam – sipping your cuppa through a biscuit straw – is hands down our greatest culinary invention. In fact, one in three Aussies has participated in this ritual. And the best day for a slam dunk? National Tim Tam Day (February 16), of course! Yep, we love the chocolate biscuit so much that we've dedicated an entire day to celebrating its chocolate, cream and glory.
The Age
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
I'm locked out of voting this election. I feel less Australian than ever
I haven't lived in Australia for 12 years, but I keep finding myself back here at election time. My last trip back was long awaited after enduring two years of solid border closures and happened to coincide with the 2022 federal election. This year, I'm here to launch a book while my fellow Australians decide whether to hand another term to Labor, return to the Coalition, or have another go at a minority government. Sadly, Australian elections have become a spectator sport for me. I fell off the electoral roll some time during the long pandemic years, and the good folks at the electoral commission told me I couldn't re-enrol from outside the country. No democracy sausage for me. That's not all I lost during Australia's long period of sealing itself off from the rest of the world. For many, the pandemic was an opportunity to reflect on where we truly wanted to live. For some, that meant returning to Australia as soon as possible. For me, it created an ambivalence towards a place I used to call home. Five years after the borders first closed, I somehow feel less Australian than ever. I migrated to Australia from the UK as a teenager, becoming a citizen in 2004. I quickly and enthusiastically adopted the identity – footy, Cup Day, Tim Tams, the lot. Life in Melbourne was as liveable as everyone said it would be, and I grew to love its unparalleled live music scene, its bars, the roar of the 'G. Melbourne was the city where I found my profession as a journalist, where I fell in love and where I became a passionate supporter of the Melbourne Demons (OK, some bad choices were made). I left to work in Europe in 2013 and somehow never made it back. I didn't think that changed my Australianness – until COVID-19 hit. My father was diagnosed with cancer soon after I left Australia, and I spent the following years ferrying back and forth between my new and old homes to be with him when I could, through surgeries and rounds of chemo. When I was back, we'd walk with the dog around our local oval, pop over to Cinema Nova for a film and then discuss it over ricotta panzerotti at Brunetti. Then COVID-19 struck, the borders closed, and his condition took a turn for the worse. When it was clear the end was coming, I boarded a plane at an empty Charles de Gaulle Airport and went through 14 days of hotel quarantine, hoping he would last long enough for me to say goodbye in person. He did. On July 7, 2020, the day after I got out of quarantine, my father died of cancer at home in East Brunswick. On July 8, Melbourne went into a lockdown that would become the world's longest. We held no funeral (restrictions meant we couldn't), and so I returned to Paris and tried to support my family remotely while they were confined to different neighbourhoods for months on end. It would be two years of waiting for Australia to reopen to the world before I saw them again.
