Dame Maggie Smith dies aged 89 – Fans startled by her final public appearance

Dame Maggie Smith dies aged 89 – Fans startled by her final public appearance

Dame Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey and Harry Potter star, died aged 89, her family confirms.

A two time Oscar winner and a legend of the stage and screen, Smith was regarded one of the greatest actors of her time. She started her acting career on stage at the Oxford Playhouse and went on to make a name for herself and remained under the limelight for a stunning number of years.

The news of her sudden passing was shared by her two sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin.
“She died quietly this morning, Friday, September 27, in the hospital. A deeply private individual, she passed away surrounded by loved ones,” their joint statement read.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days,” it continued.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time,” Smith’s sons concluded.

Throughout her long and rich career, Smith appeared in feature films such as Sister Act, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and more recently Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s The Miracle Club.

Back in 2009, Smith disclosed with the public that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She opened up about receiving treatments and filming scenes as Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the same time.

“I used to go to treatment on my own, and nearly everybody else was with somebody,” she told Tim Teeman. “I wouldn’t have liked that. Why would you want to make anybody sit in those places?”

She had also opened up about her own mortality. “I was relieved to be the age I was because by now you feel like it’s all over anyway.

“That’s why I hated seeing young people receiving treatment [at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London]. I couldn’t bear that, it didn’t seem fair. To be honest, you feel so ghastly you wouldn’t mind dying a lot of the time.”

Smith was married twice. Her second husband, screenwriter Beverley Cross, whom she considered the great love of her life, passed away in 1998, leaving her mourning his loss until her own passing.

She wasn’t known as someone who was spotted in public often, so her last public appearance left her fans startled.
It was at the Wimbledon men’s singles final that Smith was spotted in public. Dressed elegantly, in a navy blue shirtdress with a stylish dot pattern on it accessorized with a blue jacket and black leather heels, she stunned many.

The photos of her and her stunning choice of outfit, which she had completed with a pink lipstick, received plenty of comments. “So elegant!” one person commented. “You [look] so beautiful,” another added.

Following her passing, tributes came pouring in. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among the first to share his condolences, saying Smith “was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come.”

Hugh Bonneville, fellow Downtown Abbey co-star, said: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Smith’s passing represents an immense loss for the acting world. May she rest in peace.

Gang finds unusually spiky creatures in nest – takes a closer look and jaws drop when they realize what kind of animals they are

There’s now hope for a species that was on the point of extermination. 

 A group of experimenters in Australia is thrilled after their sweats to propagate the species feel to have succeeded. 

 lately, ecologists at the Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia made a stunning discovery. 

 In the sanctuary, they set up a waste of invigorated and spiky little brutes. 

 But these are n’t just any brutes. They belong to the species “ western quolls, ” which are a specific type of marsupial carnivore. 

 Preliminarily, the species was scattered throughout Australia, but since the first Europeans began colonizing Australia, the population of the species has dramatically declined. 

 currently, the western quolls, also known as chuditchs, are only set up in the southwestern corner of Australia, and only in small clusters. 

 This species of marsupial grows to about the size of a cat and plays a significant part in the ecosystem. They help control populations of lower pets, as well as certain reptiles and catcalls. 

 New stopgap 

 Over the once many months, experimenters have been working to introduce the marsupials to the Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, an area where they had preliminarily been defunct. 

 Now, with the recent discovery of baby marsupials, it’s clear that the experimenters have succeeded. It seems that the creatures are thriving there and have no issues reproducing. 

 “ Through regular monitoring, we can see the quolls are doing well at the sanctuary and encountering the first poke

 youthful is a positive sign that they’ve acclimated to the new terrain, ” said Georgina Anderson, AWC Senior Field Ecologist. 

 “ One quoll that we’ve named Aang is a regular at camera traps we set up at the release spots. He’s one of our largest and most striking quolls with a personality to match – frequently making rounds of multiple spots to collect the funk we use as lures and dismembering our bait drums, ” she added. 

 Ecologists at Mt Gibson, on Badimia and Widi Country in WA, have made an lovable discovery The sanctuary’