Group text chats between Android users should now have the same privacy as one-to-one conversations,

A mother says she was left humiliated after water park staff told her she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed her nursing son in the lazy river. Tiffany Francis, a mother of two, from Georgia, took to Facebook on 14 July to detail the incident that allegedly occurred at Rigby’s Water World in Warner Robins, Georgia. Her Facebook post has since gone viral, with more than 1,000 likes and comments. “I have never in my years of being a breastfeeding mother had one single negative comment made to me about breastfeeding while out in public. I’ve had supportive comments from random people, but today was a different day,” she began her post. The mother then explained that she’d brought her 11-month-old son to the water park’s lazy river so she could nurse him before his nap. “He likes motion to sleep, he sleeps well in the car or swing, so he will also sleep in the lazy river,” she wrote. After her son was latched, Francis recalled that a lifeguard informed her that she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed in the lazy river. At first, she laughed off the lifeguard’s request because she thought it was a joke. Then, his boss came over to Franics and reiterated the lazy river’s rules against breastfeeding. “I asked her if it was posted somewhere and she told me that it was posted in the rules out front,” Francis said. “So I got out of the lazy river, and I went to read the rules.” The mother of two soon discovered that there was no rule against breastfeeding posted outside the lazy river attraction, and asked to speak to the water park’s manager. However, the manager instead claimed it was a “courtesy to other people” that she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed and cited the park’s rules against food or drink in the lazy river. According to the woman, she then asked for her family’s season passes to be refunded. “I can’t go there if I can’t get my son to nap while I’m there,” Francis said, noting that the water park staff wouldn’t refund her season pass. “Imagine all the bodily fluids being excreted into the water, but they’re worried about breastmilk when the baby was latched, my breast was out of the water, and the milk was only going into [the] baby’s mouth,” she continued. “I left crying, because I was told I couldn’t feed my child, which by the way it is against the law to tell a mother they can’t breastfeed their child. But sure, let’s worry about offending people by feeding a child.” Francis also pointed out how she witnessed several children sleeping in their mothers’ laps in the lazy river, and other children with their heads resting on their moms’ chests. “My situation looked just like theirs, my breast wasn’t exposed. My son’s face was covering everything,” she said. “Without looking extra hard, you’d think he was just asleep on my chest. But somehow I made people uncomfortable by doing the most natural thing I could do for my child, while just trying to let him nap.” Francis continued: “I’m just so upset and appalled and wanted to give a heads up to all the other moms out there that this is how breastfeeding moms are treated at Rigby’s Water World. You’re also not allowed to bring snacks in for the baby, so I was told today. I guess they’d rather babies just go hungry.” According to Georgia state law, which states that the “breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture,” a mother is allowed to “breastfeed her baby in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorised to be”. Speaking to People, Tiffany Francis described the incident as “humiliating” and noted that other breastfeeding mothers have since come forward sharing similar explanations about being shamed in public. "I just really didn’t think anybody would care. You’re at a water park. People are already pretty naked there, right? I don’t think it was the most offensive thing to happen that day," she told the outlet. “As a mom, it’s just crazy that people think it’s not okay to feed your own child. If it’s a bottle, it’s fine. Feeding them table foods, sure. But feeding them from the breast just grosses people out for some reason,” she added. “It’s been sexualised to the point where it’s not a natural thing, and that’s just gross.” In one comment, a fellow mother wrote: “Girl! Call me any day I’m off and we will go. I saw a mom nursing the other day and kept an eye on her just in case anyone approached. Wish I was still nursing because I would nurse right next to you!!” “What?! Sounds like a good old nursing mama sit-in needs to happen,” another commented. “How is that even still a ‘thing’ in 2023.” Meanwhile, one dad said: “Wow, as a father this is unbelievably wrong. Anyone should be able to feed their kid anywhere without a problem.” A member of the Rigby family, the owners of Rigby’s Water World, responded to the Facebook post in the comments section: “I know that breastfeeding is allowed in the park and I can understand the safety issues that come in hand with feeding in moving water. As for the courtesy of other guests, I agree that a mom should be able to breastfeed at any time, however an exposed breast in a water feature without a covering could be seen as indecent (we wouldn’t let another guest do the same).” She noted that the water park does have shaded seating, family rooms, and an “admin building” designated for breastfeeding. According to Today, Rigby’s Water World revised its breastfeeding policy within hours of the incident and apologised to Francis for the “misguided” policy. “We had a policy in place that didn’t allow breastfeeding in the river that was in line with the health department’s standard on no eating or drinking in the pools,” said Steve Brown, vice president of operations at Rigby’s Water World. “When I was made aware of the law that mothers can breastfeed anywhere they’re allowed to be, we reviewed our policy, reaching out to other experts who operate aquatic facilities,” he says. “From there, we decided to allow our guests to breastfeed in the pools, should they choose.” Georgia’s Department of Public Health rules and regulations for public swimming pools, spas, and recreational water parks states that “bathers shall not be allowed to eat or drink while in or partially in the water”. “We were under the impression it was a health code violation,” Brown told the outlet. “It was a misunderstanding…it was my mistake to misinterpret the law…there are different opinions on this issue but we want to comply with the law.” Brown added that Rigby’s did not issue Francis a refund for her season pass, and maintained that she was not asked to leave the park. The Independent has contacted Tiffany Francis and Rigby’s Water World for comment. Read More Researchers warn after 25 types of toxic flame retardant found in human breast milk: ‘Disturbing’ Keke Palmer’s boyfriend isn’t the only one who needs to stop telling women how to dress Woman sparks debate with claim she’s discovered the best month to get pregnant Woman claims restaurant ‘hack’ for toddlers solves family dinners out Mother calls out ‘double standard’ after husband is praised for doing ‘bare minimum’ Husband exposed for reaction to learning his wife is pregnant again

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The moment the first crates of English sparkling wine were pulled up from the depths of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Sandnessjøen, Tani Gurra, the director of beverages for Norway’s Hurtigruten Coastal Express, shed a tear. Or so I’m told – I’m currently watching the raising of the third crate of wine from a boat alongside other members of the press. Prior to this bright but teeth-chatteringly cold day, all 1,700 bottles had been sitting 30 metres below the surface of the Arctic Ocean for six months, the first time any wine has been aged in these waters. It’s an exciting day for the Hurtigruten team and Rathfinny Wine Estate, the Sussex winery where the bottles have been sourced. Husband and wife team Mark and Sarah Driver are here, watching the dark bottles of their 2018 classic cuvee emerge from black Nordic waters. Everyone is anxious to see if they have survived their time under immense (43.5psi) pressure. To our relief, every bottle and wax-sealed cork ascend intact. Love wine but don’t know where to start? The Independent Wine Club features curated cases from small growers and expert advice on how to enjoy wine. Sign up now for free. Around 24 hours before this jubilant moment, I found myself on a Hurtigruten ship, sailing from the Lofoten archipelago to Tromsø. With it being late spring, we were quickly approaching midnight sun territory; at 12am, we were invited onto the deck to view the majestic Trollfjord. But instead of the pitch black of midnight, we were surrounded by the distinct blueness of twilight. The remaining snowcaps on the fjord almost glowed in the dark. Even though it’s been around for 130 years, Hurtigruten struggles to define itself – it’s not a ferry, despite ferrying thousands of Norwegians from town to town along the coast, nor is it a cruise, despite giving tourists who spend days fjord-watching a rather luxurious experience. Several times throughout the trip, people would ask: “So is it a cruise or a ferry?” And each time, the answer was something along the lines of: “It’s sort of both, and neither.” The ships have immense charm, despite their neither-here-nor-there status. The number of passengers each one can take varies, but the MS Nordkapp, on which I am sailing, boasts capacity for up to 590 passengers, around 480 of which can book cabins if they want to join 12-day voyages that will take them to numerous ports along the way. They are nowhere near as large as the behemoth cruiseliners that groan with the weight of on-board casinos, theme parks, ballrooms and spas, burping and farting tons of chemicals into the ocean. Hurtigruten’s fleet is tiny in comparison and each vessel has a limited number of facilities: two small hot tubs in lieu of a spa, a gym, a cafe with a bakery and an ice cream bar, a fine dining restaurant, and a bar with panoramic views of the outside world. From June, the ships will offer passengers hankering after a glass of bubbly a taste of their sea-sunken sparkling. The collaboration between Hurtigruten and Rathfinny is part of its 130th anniversary celebrations, but the goal is to make the wine their house sparkling. The classic cuvee is the estate’s “house-style” Sussex sparkling and gained critical acclaim almost immediately after it hit the market. The Independent named it the best classic cuvee in 2022 and described it as “exemplary English winemaking”, noting “precise flavours of citrus and apricots and hints of cream”. But sinking the bottles is something Rathfinny has never tried before, until now. It was Gurra’s idea. He and Andre Petterson, vice president of hotel operations at Hurtigruten, decided to give the method a shot after seeing news that a group of divers found 168 bottles of French champagne on an underwater shipwreck in 2010. The bottles, discovered in the Baltic Sea, were 170 years old and had spent decades in what could have been a watery grave – but instead turned out to be the perfect temperature-controlled cellar for ageing wine. “I started thinking and talking about it, and thought, ‘Why not? Why can’t we do something like this? The Arctic Sea is a part of us, and we already source food from all along the coast of Norway,” Gurra tells me. “For us, the fjords are fish stocks, the mountains are our vegetable and herb gardens. Why not the sea for wine?” But Norway is better known for its spirits, not its wine. They cast their eyes towards England, from which a significant portion of their passengers hail, and landed on Rathfinny. It is rather poetic that the Rathfinny Wine Estate has on its label the Seven Sisters – the iconic chalk sea cliffs that make the Sussex coastline so recognisable. The location where they’ve chosen to age their wines has its own Seven Sisters: a mountain range on the island of Alsten in Alstahaug Municipality. Mark and Sarah are buzzing to show off their label and the unexpected connection with Norway during the uncorking of their wines. Mark says: “We are really proud to showcase Sussex in Norway. English wines have been making a name for themselves and it really is something special for us to be on Hurtigruten ships, especially as they are really popular with English tourists.” I had the chance to taste the Rathfinny classic cuvee before and after the undersea ageing process. The before-wine was a lovely, dry sparkling; my notes read “sharp bubbles, fruity”. It’s easy to see why it’s a firm favourite among wine-lovers, considering its versatility and ease of drinking. How could six months underwater possibly change it, I wondered? During the uncorking, I am pleasantly surprised. The time the wine has spent in the sea has made it somehow rounder, gentler on the tongue. Gurra describes it as having a more “feminine touch” and being “softer, smoother” to drink. Nikolai Haram Svorte, who was crowned Norway’s best sommelier this year, was invited to be the first to try the wine and give his verdict. Against a steely grey sky, he sabered the first bottle and tasted a glass, declaring it “the start of something truly exciting”. He added: “The wine has retained more freshness than I anticipated. From the refreshing citrus tones to a mineral salty finish, like an oyster, it’s clear to me that this hugely intriguing experiment has revealed a unique setting to store and age sparkling wine.” My own feeling is that the newly aged bubbles will be a big hit among passengers of Hurtigruten. The softer mouthfeel makes it even easier to drink, and I can envision clinking glasses while watching Norway’s majestic landscape float past. Read More The curious history of sauvignon blanc – and what to drink if you hate it The Independent Wine Club best cases 2023: Wine from small growers Win a mixed wine case, perfect for pairing with food The Independent Wine Club best cases 2023: Wine from small growers Win a mixed wine case, perfect for pairing with food Uncorked: How do I keep my wine cool at a picnic?

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A woman has claimed there a seven words that can prove that your partner is cheating on you. In a video on Instagram, influencer Mariah Fernando, who has more than 231,000 followers, said any man who uses the phrase “Go ahead and believe what you want” when confronted about being unfaithful probably has been. “If you’re confronting your man for cheating and he says [that], I hate to break it to you ladies, but that man is guilty. He is guilty,” she added. Commenting on her video, it's safe to say people were divided in their response. Some clearly didn't agree with her, with one writing: "No it doesn’t it means you’ve accused him so many times he doesn’t care anymore." "If you think someone is cheating just leave," advised another. "Don’t play games like you’re Sherlock Holmes. Usually the accuser is the guilty one anyway." And a third said: "So is a woman if she gives the same answer." Some were more on board with her claim, with one saying: “I agree because if he was innocent he would be aggressively defending himself." It doesn't sound like an exact science to us, but maybe it is something to look out for... Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.