Second needle in strawberry
Aspiring actress Jilly James is the first New Zealander to win a globally contested acting scholarship in Hollywood.
The 17-year-old Timaruvian will travel to Los Angeles in February where she, along with 15 self-funded students from throughout the world, will participate in the Hollywood Acting Immersive Programme.
It consists of acting classes, meeting talent scouts, and networking for seven days, and Jilly was chosen from a pool of almost 14,000 applicants for the all-expenses paid programme.
She said it was a ‘‘shock’’ to find out she won. ‘‘I was actually asleep when I got the call.’’
Her flights and accommodation are paid for as well as the classes, and the group will be staying in a ‘‘big million-dollar villa’’.
The classes will take place at the renowned Beverley Hills Playhouse Acting School, which George Clooney and Kate A second South Canterbury supermarket has been forced to pull strawberries from the shelves after the discovery of a needle in a punnet.
Foodstuffs has pulled strawberries from Pak ‘n Save Timaru and is working with the Ministry for Primary Industries Hudson, among others, trained at. ‘‘It’s the place to train in Hollywood.’’ Jilly has acted in many musicals, and attended workshops in Europe.
She is looking forward to ‘‘being around people who are like me’’.
Hollywood Immersive founder and director Lily Dawson, a fellow New Zealander from the Bay of Islands, said Kiwis have made the finals in the acting competition, which is seven years old, but none have won.
‘‘Jilly has got incredible presence, and such depth to her for someone that is so young with no formal training. We can’t wait to develop her talent even further in Los Angeles in February,’’ Dawson said.
To enter the competition, applicants had to submit two monologues, along with some head shot photos.
She is excited about what the future may hold following the trip.
‘‘It’s just awesome to know it just doesn’t have to be a dream. To just make stuff happen it’s the best feeling.’’ (MPI) and police following a complaint on Monday.
Foodstuffs NZ spokeswoman Antoinette Laird confirmed an investigation was underway after Stuff was contacted by a Timaru woman who was concerned her 15-month-old daughter could have been killed after she discovered a needle inside the strawberry.
‘‘We are aware of an issue with a customer finding a foreign object in a punnet of strawberries purchased at one of our stores in Timaru,’’ Laird said.
‘‘Remaining product has since been removed from sale.
‘‘We have a very robust process in place, we are liaising with the police and MPI directly regarding this and as such we are unable to comment further.’’
It follows hot on the heels of a needle found inside a strawberry in a punnet purchased at FreshChoice supermarket in Geraldine on November 24.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she made the discovery when she went to cut the strawberry into quarters for her daughter.
She had seen warnings for people to cut strawberries before eating them after sewing needles were found in punnets, triggering the withdrawal of brands from sale in Australia.
She bought two punnets of strawberries from Pak ‘n Save Timaru on Monday about 9am.
‘‘About 2.30pm I went to cut them up for my daughter and I discovered a needle.’’
Friends told her to ring police and the supermarket.
‘‘I rang the supermarket and was told to return them; I rang police on my way to the supermarket.’’
Police took a statement at the supermarket and the two punnets were bagged and taken away as evidence, she said.