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Nudist cruisers head down under

May 31, 2004 2:40 PM

Cruise around Oz - naked

A group of American nudists is to cruise Australian shores early next year aboard a cruise ship taking them from Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef in search of naked adventure.

Bare Necessities Tour and Travel's "Land Down Under" nude cruise will be the first of its type in Australia, with up to 150 passengers expected aboard the Clipper Odyssey for the 10-day tour from February 27.

The US tour company has been organising "clothes-free vacations" on cruise ships to the Bahamas and other locations for 14 years.

Its website  says Australia's high number of sunshine hours and thousands of beaches make it a perfect destination for a nude cruise.

Diaz need underwear guards

You know you're really famous when you have to hire someone to guard your underwear.

Cameron Diaz was reportedly furious when a male crew member on the set of her new movie, In Her Shoes, was caught leaving her trailer with some of her panties stuffed in his pockets, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The theft was the second time her underwear had been taken from a movie set.

Sash wearing gays denied communion

Priests denied Holy Communion on Sunday to a group of rainbow sash-wearing gay activists who showed up to protest a directive from Chicago's prelate that they violated church teachings by advertising their homosexuality.

The volatile issue of denying Communion to Catholics who disagree with church teachings, a controversy that has recently entangled US politicians, was fueled in Chicago after Cardinal Francis George sent a memo to priests in the second-largest US archdiocese, ordering them not to offer Communion to sash-wearers.

More than a dozen men and women activists sang and prayed with other parishioners filling the pews at Holy Name Cathedral but were offered only blessings when they sought to receive Communion with the others.

Golfers take to the streets

Britain's first "urban golf" tournament begins on Monday - on the streets of inner London.

The game, played with a leather ball, uses buildings and telephone boxes with fire hydrant covers as the 18 holes.

Pro-golfer Ronan Rafferty tees off with 63 other competitors for the Urban Golf Open Tournament, sponsored by bookmakers Ladbrokes.com.

The 18-hole course in Shoreditch, east London has been designed to take advantage of the surrounding urban environment, its organisers say.

Damian Walker, from Ladbrokes.com said: "Urban golf is about playing when you want, where you want. Forget Augusta and its manicured greens, golf has hit the suburbs."

Lovers car park open for business

An Italian village has created the world's first car park for lovers.

Mayor Giancarlo Faenzi of Vinci said the 72 spaces for night-time hanky-panky were created so that couples won't have to fear arrest.

The idea was launched after a poll found that 90% of the villagers have made love in a car at least once - not uncommon in a country where most kids live with their parents until they marry, often well into their 30s.