23 December 2023 - Saturday Squiz

It’s the little things with Woolworths

The holiday spirit’s got us feeling friskier than a wombat doing the zoomies… This Saturday, if you’ve got a windfall to share, an unusual visitor coming over or anything else you want to tell us, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

🎧 Get the Weekly Wrap podcast with Claire Kimball and Kate Watson

🤷‍♀️ IDK: If we even recognise ourselves anymore but Christmas Carols on the telly tomorrow night kinda sounds like fun…

This week's top stories

It’s not unusual for the news cycle to slow down in the week before Christmas. This was not one of those times…

1. Talks about talks go nowhere - Earlier in the week, Israel was said to be in talks about another short ceasefire in exchange for hostages. But by the end of the week, Hamas said there would be no more hostages released until Israel agreed to a “full cessation of aggression”.

2. The Lyon’s share of wickets - We might not know our off-spin from our googly, but we do know that spin bowler Nathan Lyon is a deadset legend after racking up 500 wickets in Test cricket. He joins Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne as the other 2 Aussies to have reached that achievement.

3. Seeing red in the Red Sea - This has been bubbling away in the background for weeks, but it came to the fore this week as the Albanese Government turned down a request to send a warship to join a multi-nation taskforce to keep the shipping lanes open against Houthi attacks.

4. Another legal angle for Donald Trump to play - They’re coming in from all directions… This week, Colorado’s Supreme Court barred the former president/Republican hopeful from the state’s 2024 ballot under the US Constitution’s insurrection clause. It’s a whole thing…

5. And a new team for a new premier - Queensland’s new leader Steven Miles announced his new team this week - they will need to hit the ground running ahead of an election next year. And a notable mention goes to the Northern Territory this week too with Natasha Fyles bowing out and Eva Lawler replacing her as Chief Minister…

Picture of the week

Poor FNQ… The floods following Cyclone Jasper have been epic as the storm lingered over the region for 5 days. More pics from across the region are here.

Question of the week

The question: Have you ever won the lotto (even in a small way) and what did you spend it on?

The story: If you're still hunting for that perfect late Chrissy pressie, how about giving a mate a shot at $90 million? The Oz Lotto jackpot has hit a whopping $90 million and will be drawn on Boxing Day.

Shirley Schubert, winning in a different way - “There we were looking for a rental house in 1973 - 40 other people turned up at the same small house. The owner in desperation asked us to put our names in the proverbial hat (in this case a fruit bowl). Our joy when our name was read out was unbounded - it was 2 days before Christmas, and my husband, baby and I were expecting to sleep in the car if we hadn’t ‘won’ this lottery.” 

Lisa Clark, practical - “I wish! My biggest win was $90 - spent on a book and Chinese takeaway - and that was in 1994.”

Larissa Moore, shameless Squiz growth/engagement director - “Not quite the lottery but I once won a Chloe handbag from signing up for a newsletter… which is timely because you could also win something (a MacBook Air) by sharing The Squiz newsletter with a friend. Scroll down for all the details on how to enter.”

Squiz Recommends

Watching - We canvased the team for their Christmas Eve viewing recommendations, and there was strong support for the Christmas Carols on Channel 9 at 8:00pm (AEDT) tomorrow night - this year they feature Paul Kelly, Marcia Hines and G-Flip. Whether it’s a dedicated watch or something you have playing in the background, it’s guaranteed to bring the Christmas cheer. 

Absorbing - High fashion isn’t our thing, but we still like to keep up with what’s fashionable. So after a busy year, we’ve combined that with a check-in on who the top celebrities are these days with US Vogue’s 15 Best Dressed Celebrities of the Year. Talk about a 2 for one… 

Scrolling - @neiltheseal22 is a 3yo southern elephant seal known for turning up in challenging locations throughout Tassie, and it makes for great social media content… But while Neil has everyone entertained, Rangers are worried about his and the public’s safety, so we’ve put that here for balance…

What we Squized this week

The Forgotten Stories of 2023 - For our last Squiz Shortcut of the year, we rounded up the stories that were huge for a moment and then faded away. We’re sure we’re not the only ones who had questions about “what happened to…” some of the notable news stories of the year. Like the Titan submersible. Like Sam Kerr’s calf. You get the gist… Read/listen here to get up to date.

Squiz the Break

We’ve got some excellent stuff coming your way over the next couple of weeks, including:

The Great Big Squiz Quiz - it’ll be in your inbox and ears on Chrissy Eve/Sunday. Go up against your people or go solo, we’ll have a bit of fun with the news.

The Year in Review - next week, we’ll recap on what the heck just happened in the news and on the quirky side of life. Like when people thought the Pope in a puffy jacket was a real thing…

Squiz Picks the things to read, watch and listen to - we’ve canvassed the team and after the New Year, we’ll have some suggestions for you.

The start of our Year Ahead short podcast series - across January, we chat to some smart friends about what they’re keeping an eye out for in the news in 2024.

And if you have an itch to get cooking… - the recipes we’ve recommended this year are rounded up here for you.

And the Squiz Today will be back in your inbox/podcast app from Monday, 8 January. We’re looking forward to it already…

Let’s get Squizzical

Reckon you know the name of our political neighbour who dropped in this week? Have a crack at the Squiz Quiz.

Double-Tapping

Someone (we assume in Canberra) has had a bit of fun putting together this government-esque Department of Christmas Affairs website. It seems to be the simplest way to find out who is naughty or nice and no surprises here, The Squiz is definitely nice… 

Wondering what to get The Squiz for Christmas?

We absolutely love putting the Saturday Squiz together, and we reckon you might know someone who'd enjoy a weekend read choc full of recommendations and a bit of news analysis. So here’s the deal - you share The Saturday Squiz with your people, and we’ll give you a chance to win a brand new Macbook Air. Boom...

Using your unique referral link, each person who signs up by the end of January gets you a ticket in the draw to win. So copy and paste the link below and share it around…

Your link: https://saturdaysquiz.thesquiz.com.au/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

PS: Your friends will need to confirm their email to guarantee entry into the draw. This competition ends at 11.59pm AEDT on 31 January, and the winner will be drawn on 1 February 2024 and contacted via email. Go forth…

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