Friday, May 21, 2021
Mice march on Sydney; Leopard loose in Dubai; China rover’s Mars photos; and Delta’s secret Brissie concert.
LINKS
Black panther on the loose: https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/environment/dubai-officials-look-for-exotic-black-cat-after-sighting-reported-1.1225203
China rover Mars photos: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57172346
Delta’s secret Brissie concert: https://www.facebook.com/StLaurencesCollege/
Swysh provides everyday Aussies with personalised video messages from their favourite sports stars. Check them out at www.heyswysh.com
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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For months, our friends in country NSW, Queensland and Victoria have battled a mice plague that seems to have no end in sight: and now the mice are marching on our biggest city, Sydney.
Amid reports yesterday that the NSW State Government had purchased a really powerful bait to help farmers control the infestations of mice on their properties – there were suggestions that by as soon as August, millions of mice could be descending on Sydney – having been transported there on freight trucks and in food deliveries.
As we’ve reported before, the mice plague is having a devastating effect on our friends in rural communities. It’s estimated the mice have caused an estimated $100 million in damage as they eat everything in sight.
And then there’s the mental toll that the plague is having. As I am sure I don’t need to tell our many Squiz Kids listeners in mouse-affected country towns, having to do battle with unrelenting waves of mice every night, coping with the smell and disposing of thousands of dead mice every day is wearing people down.
Sending you all our good wishes country Squiz Kids. And hoping that very soon, this too shall pass.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops. And today, we’ve landed in Dubai — well that makes for a nice change, we hardly ever land in Arabia – a city in the United Arab Emirates where police are on alert for what is believed to be a black panther on the loose.
Not the superhero Black Panther .. but an actual big cat, black panther.
Residents of a suburban housing complex in Dubai were shocked the other day to look out their window and see an animal that they think was either a black panther or a leopard sneaking through their garden. Video of the big cat was captured – leading local police to put residents of the suburb on high alert – and to remind the good citizens of Dubai that the keeping of wild animals as pet is illegal.
What is it with big cats on the loose this week? The world’s officially gone mad.
And because it’s a Friday: and you’ve earned it – I’ve stuck a link to the panther video in today’s episode notes.
SPACED OUT
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With all of the rovers kicking around on Mars – ok, there’s only two, but it seems like more, doesn’t it? – it’s easy to take for granted when more photos come back from the red planet. But that’s what happened yesterday when the China rover, Zhurong sent back its first happy snaps from the surface of Mars. The rover arrived on Mars at the weekend, after a seven month journey through space. It will rove around Mars for three months, collecting rocks and looking for signs of life. I’ve stuck a link to the photos in today’s episode notes.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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The Fox is away on a footy camp – and so instead of the regular weekly offering of What’s Up Fox, we’re going to have an extra-special long Pop Culture Corner. Because we all need to ease into the weekend..
First up: and the kids of St Laurences’ College in Brissie got the surprise of their life yesterday when pop singer Delta Goodrem arrived at their school and performed a surprise concert. Delta’s fella, Matt Copley, used to go to school at Laurie’s – as the place is known – and popped by with his very famous girlfriend to sing a few songs. I’ve stuck a link to photos in today’s episode notes.
Across town in Brissie yesterday – because it was all happening in Brissie – dancers from the Queensland Ballet did a rehearsal session with the Australian Olympic synchronised swimming team. The dancers taught the swimmers how to hold themselves with poise – while the swimmers handed out tips on how to do things in unison – which is a fancy way of saying identically and all at the same time.
And finally, Danish toy maker extraordinaire, Lego, yesterday released a rainbow-themed range – with mini-figures of every colour of the rainbow. The collection is called the Everyone Is Awesome collection – because, everyone, no matter what colour they are, what they look like, or who they love is awesome. And that’s my little bit of Squiz Kids love from me to you for the day.
IT’S Q+A TIME !
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Yes people .. the moment you’ve been waiting for … the Squiz Kids Q+A with AFL star Josh Dunkley … answering the questions that you sent in.
How he got his start with the Western Bulldogs, the secret to kicking accurately for goal, why he’ll always be a bit of a Swans fan, his famous fish curry – and the surprise after school activity he used to do before he became a footy player.
The episode is proudly brought to you by Swysh – which provides everyday Aussies with personalised video messages from their favourite sports stars.
And because it’s a Friday and we’re in a generous weekend mood, the good folk at Swysh are offering a special discount for Squiz Kids listeners – but you’ll have to listen to the Q+A episode itself to get the code. If you’re listening on an app, it should run straight after this episode, or you can otherwise find it on the Squiz Kids website: squizkids.com.au.
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- Which big Australian city is in the line of sight of the mice currently plaguing our country cousins?
- What’s the name of the city in the United Arab Emirates where a black panther or leopard is believed to be on the loose?
- Which Aussie pop singer delighted a boys’ school in Brissie yesterday with a surprise concert?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s May 21 … International Tea Day .. did you know that tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, after water? Amazing, eh?
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Abbie from Edithvale, Zachary from Paddington, Franklin from Campbelltown, Lachlan from Canberra, Zander from Kalgoorlie, Archie from NSW, Wenjie from Forest Lake, Alexis from Five Dock, who shares a birthday with their teacher Miss Luongo, and Oliver all the way from Johor in Malaysia.
And a belated birthday shoutout to… Gabriella from Perth
Weekend birthday shoutouts.. Declan from Shoal Bay, Bailey from Adelaide, Kathryn from St Clair, Vaishant from Oran Park, Max from Inverloch, Harrison from Upper Coomera, Mikx from Bellevue Heights, Milo from Bellevue Heights, Charlize from Albany Hills, Bryan from Ashmont, Abigail from Mooroolbark, Ajay wh’s listening all the way over there in Singapore and Felix who’s tuning in from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Sydney
- Dubai
- Delta Goodrem