🌞 Dogs on surfboards!

Good morning!

Thank you to everyone who sent their small moments of joy last week. I must say that it was a beautiful way to start my Sunday.

My favourite was this one, from one of our incredible readers. She said: “My husband and I both asked each other this question and agreed that spending special time together each day is the one small thing that makes us both happy…It’s watering the seed of love when we are together”.

Obsessed.

🪩 A new disco

I loved coming across a brilliant initiative in South Australia this week. It’s called Heart Beat Club. It’s a night of dancing, partying and having fun in a “safe way”.

According to its website, Heart Beat Club is run “by and for learning disabled people, their friends and allies”. It’s organised by the Beats Crew, a group of learning-disabled people.

The Beats Crew goes on to say: “We want to have a more active and ‘age appropriate’ social life including club nights. We are running our own proper club night so we can have fun and stay up late. Spend fun time with friends. Do it our way.”

The event was held as part of Adelaide’s Fringe Festival on Friday night.

📸 Photo of the week

It’s no secret that much of the world was fixated on the, ah, late arrival of NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore this week. The two astronauts were stranded in space for 9 months after issues with their aircraft.

This photo depicts supporters in the Indian village of Jhulasan cheering as the astronauts touched down. Williams’ father spent much of his childhood in Jhulasan, and many of her relatives live there today.

🎵 Feel good song of the week

💁‍♀️ Two exciting appointments!

This week, two women dominated the news cycle for their respective successes.

The first was Kirsty Coventry, who was elected the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, becoming the first woman and African person in the role.

Coventry, 41, will also be the youngest ever to assume the role and came through a field of seven contenders to land the most powerful job in world sport.

Coventry will officially take up the role on June 24, after incumbent Thomas Bach steps down following 12 years in charge.

The second was Maud Page, who will become the next director of the Art Gallery of NSW - the first woman in its 154-year history.

Page spoke to the ABC about becoming the first woman in the role, saying: "To be the first woman is pretty fantastic. I think the times are also right…It's our time."

How exciting!

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🦭Seal-ing the deal!

Taronga Zoo has this week confirmed the birth of an endangered feal Australia sea lion pup, just in time for International Seal Day!

The female pup was born weighing 7kg, with marine keepers “eagerly” monitoring first-time and wild-born mum Tarni. Tarni arrived at the Zoo in 2017 after being rescued as an orphan in South Australia.

Now, she’s welcomed her own little pup, with both “hitting the milestones we hope to see”. Zookeepers have confirmed the new sea lion is “exploring deeper water bodies and learning to hold her breath for increasing periods of time”.

Here’s a fun fact: sea lion pups are born not knowing how to swim. They have to be slowly introduced to increased water depths until they have the confidence to swim and take the plunge in larger pools.

🐕 Dogs on boards

In case you missed it (but really, how could you?), it was the 2025 VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships last weekend.

Surfing? Dogs? Say no more. The championship is made up of 14 teams consisting of humans and their talented dogs, each showing off their surfing talents at Noosa in Queensland.

This year’s winners were red cattle dog Bear and his 16-year-old owner Isaac.

Tell me you can look at that photo and not smile. It’s literally everything good in the world!

TDA asks