How to be eighty ⋆ Living and learning at any age

A Room Made of Leaves – Kate Grenville’s book

In A Room Made of Leaves, multi-award winning Australian author, Kate Grenville, creates an unreliable memoir. From the beginning, we suspect that all may not be what it seems. Even the epitath reads, ‘Do not believe too quickly!’ Elizabeth Macarthur. Several times, the protagonist, who is also the narrator, warns the reader not to trust what she says.

Several commentators write about Grenville’s A Room Made of Leaves as somewhere between ‘hoax and history’. In either case, it is an enthralling and entertaining story, written by one of Australia’s best writers.

Extraordinary mothers combine in special team work

Two extraordinary mothers, my granddaughter and daughter, provided an outstanding example of teamwork when my newest great-grandchild arrived recently. And what a beautiful baby he is!

Alistair James Stuart Linton decided he’d had enough waiting for something to happen. He was born, several weeks early, with little warning (an understatement). His grandmother, my daughter Jenny, managed to arrive with just enough time to deliver him safely at home in the shower. Lucky she lives a quick phone call and 2-3 minutes away by car.

Your chronic pain may respond to these activities

Since I recently discovered that chronic pain is not a life-or-death sentence, I feel like a new convert. Or like someone who’s fallen in love or given up a forty-a-day cigarette habit. I’m grateful that a casual conversation over coffee led to a new way of looking at life. An achievement at any age!

This is my second blog about persistent pain although I’ve deliberately not written about it earlier. You can read the first blog at Brain plasticity new science and chronic pain.

I’ve discovered that it’s possible to manage some kinds of pain with the mind, using the principles of neuroplasticity. Perhaps it’s possible to banish chronic pain altogether, although that would take work. For now, I’m happy to take baby steps and see what happens.

If You’re Happy by Fiona Robertson – a review

If You’re Happy (2022) consists of a delicious collection of twenty-four cleverly crafted and beautifully written short stories. Fiona Robertson’s work has been published in literary journals in Australia and the United Kingdom. This collection won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland writer at the 2020 Queensland Literary Awards.

I am proud to call her a friend although we have never met in person.

Why we need carp-catchers to protect our lakes

Carp-catchers or more precisely, feral-fish catchers, caught my eye on this morning’s walk on Subiaco Common. There have been odd-looking structures in Lake Mere for several weeks. They’ve piqued my curiosity but today I caught up with two young men to find out about the structures. They seemed so out of place on the apparently pristine lake I wanted to know more.

Dressed for work in the hot sun in gum boots, rubber pants, wet-weather shirts and sun hats, the men waded knee-deep in muddy water. They paused happily to talk about their contribution to a better environment and also to pose for photos.

Brain plasticity new science and chronic pain

Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to modify its connections or re-wire itself. There’s a chapter in my PhD thesis, submitted in the mid 2000, which deals with this remarkable new discovery. The science spans many disciplines, including physics, biology, psychology and ethnology. My chapter talks about the importance of memory in memoir-writing. It also describes how memories can be changed or ‘distorted’ through processes in the brain.

How to prepare for open WA borders

WA borders will open to the rest of Australia and the world in a few weeks. Western Australians argue about whether this should happen now or later. Some of us would prefer to remain ‘in our cave’ or ‘under the doona’, as our detractors say. We’ve been safe for two years. Some of us like it like that!

For others, two years without physical contact with families and friends in other places has been both long and painful. Those who want to travel the world can’t wait to be free.

But whether you want the borders to open or remain closed, preparation of ourselves and our homes could be important.

Ten tips for better health in COVID-19 times

Ten tips for better health in COVID times

Better health can be achieved by most of us. It doesn’t matter where we start. In COVID-19 times and at other stressful periods in life, however, we can take extra care. The better our general health, the more likely our immune systems are to work efficiently when called on.

Australians have been relatively lucky. Until the past month or so, case numbers and the numbers of deaths of people with COVID-19 have been lower than elsewhere. Western Australians are continually blessed, but this may change when our borders open to the rest of the world.

How to be eighty

A Room Made of Leaves – Kate Grenville’s book

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Extraordinary mothers combine in special team work

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Your chronic pain may respond to these activities

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If You’re Happy by Fiona Robertson – a review

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Why we need carp-catchers to protect our lakes

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Brain plasticity new science and chronic pain

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How to prepare for open WA borders

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Ten tips for better health in COVID-19 times

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