In her book, In Praise of Ageing, In Praise of Ageing [Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2013], writer, sociologist, educator, researcher, policy analyst and one-time Director of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, Patricia Edgar, has documented interesting stories about older Australians who have overcome many adversities and emotional and physical difficulties and lived fulfilling and productive lives. … Read more.
Author: Geri Bryant-Badham Page 12 of 13
Sydney Writers Festival
The 2016 Sydney Writers Festival was a spectacular event with presenters including: Gloria Steinem; the ABC’s Insiders Live with Barrie Cassidy, Niki Savva, David Marr, Annabel Crabb and George Megalogenis; Richard Glover; Frank Bongiorno; Magda Szubanski; Tegan Bennett Daylight; Kerry O’Brien; Stan Grant; Sarah Ferguson; Bob Brown; Gail O’Brien and Juliette O’Brien; Kate Tempest; Julian Barnes; Jeanette Winterson; and Elizabeth Harrower. … Read more.
The Emporium, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Vic, 3000, Tel: 03-8609 8221. http://www.emporiummelbourne.com.au
As if Melbourne needed more fashion shops, the 2014 opening of The Emporium (behind Myer) has meant more city shops offering many of the well-known brands. Among its specialty shops are the Japanese-themed Uniqlo and Muji, and Finnish-inspired Marimekko. … Read more.
Figures show that one in five Australians suffer from chronic pain, with that number rising to one in three among people aged 65 years. Pain sufferers often have similar stories to tell about having to come to terms with being in pain, irrespective of its cause. Many people will have had myriad doctors’ consultations and investigatory procedures including scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, CT scans and x-rays, often with no real answers about how the pain might be remedied. … Read more.
Stay working
The Federal Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, notes that Australia’s economy needs 70 rather than 60 as the average retirement age. She reminds us of health experts’ opinions that the working older person is healthier and happier than the non-working older person and that this should provide a constructive context for the Intergenerational Report about the long-term budget implications of the ever-rising number of people living on the age pension and using public health systems. … Read more.
Canberra and surrounds are ideal for walking and cycling as the publications below show.
- Walking and Cycling Canberra’s Centenary Trail, Nina Hvoslef and Tallis Didcott.
- Walking Canberra: 101 Ways to See Australia’s National Capital on Foot (2014), by Graeme Barrow, Dagraja Press, Canberra.
- Canberra’s Best Bush, Park and City Walks (2nd edition) (2012), by Marion Stuart, Woodslane Press, Sydney.
It’s impossible to compile a list of favourite books but here’s a few:
- My Place by academic Sally Morgan outlines aspects of her life, but in particular, events in the lives of her Aboriginal ancestors in Western Australia and exploitation at the hands of white station owners and pastoralists;
- Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island details day-to-day events and important legal issues and trials related to the tragic death of Cameron Doomadgee on Queensland’s Palm Island;
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (awarded the 2014 Man Booker Prize) focuses on the experiences of Australian Prisoner of War, Dorrigo Evans, and is based on Flanagan’s father, Arch as well as the sacrifices of Dr Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop.
Jon English and his eight-piece band’s Trilogy of Rock at Queanbeyan’s Q Theatre served as a reminder of Australia’s wonderful depth of talent. Their renditions of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s music of The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Beatles, The Easybeats, Pink Floyd, Queen, AC/DC, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel and The Mamas and the Papas, made for a fantastic night enjoyed by the very enthusiastic crowd. … Read more.
ABC radio provides great daytime listening but Nightlife and Overnights programs are musts for night owls and favourites of many people including truck drivers, shift workers and people who may be socially isolated.
Presented for many years on week nights from 10pm by Tony Delroy, Nightlife is now fronted by Philip Clark. … Read more.
Dating back to the 18th-century, in England, America and Australia, obituaries seemed to have gone in and out of fashion, perhaps in line with media outlets’ budgets. What is divulged and the writing styles have also varied, with Americans more likely to be frank and colourful. As Nigel Starck (whose doctoral studies covered many aspects of obituaries) noted in The Canberra Times [Panorama], August 24, 2002, American newsrooms are better resourced and they often receive payment for obituaries where families and friends spend large sums on these columns. … Read more.