As the Games’ focus turned to track and field, Australian Madeline Hills lined up in the final of the 3000m steeplechase.

Madeline is the sister of John Matthews pharmacist Marcus Heiner and the whole staff were sending their support to her.

And Madeline did them all proud, finishing seventh in the gruelling race.

A LOCAL cyclist had a curious interaction with wildlife on the weekend.

Our friend was out riding to the south of the city when he came across an emu casually strolling down the middle of the road.

He took out his phone to film the encounter and it was quite clear the emu was as interested in the rider as the rider was in the emu.

Only in Australia.

AND now, only in Britain.

Parade read an obituary for the 6^th Duke of Westminster in one of the metropolitan papers this week and reckons it neatly contained so many of the contradictions and quirks of the mother country.

There was the extreme wealth (the Duke had a fortune estimated at more than $13.5 billion), the property ownership straight out of the Monopoly board game (he owned quite a bit of Mayfair, apparently) and the sort of unusual name that only the British can supply (he married the daughter of Lt-Col Harold “Bunny” Phillips).

But then there was the burden of responsibility (he was 15 when his uncle the 4^th Duke died and “everyone started to treat me differently”), the sense of reserve (he said it would drive him “bonkers” if he thought too deeply about how much money he was making or losing) and the yearning for the respect of the ordinary man (the Duke was a long-serving Territorial Army officer who spent at least one weekend a month on exercises with down-to-earth soldiers).

It was, in summary, a fascinating read – a slice of Britain in miniature.