SEASONS DO CHANGE, VACCINES MAY VACILLATE, BUT GREY NOMADS ARE ON THE ROAD AGAIN! Along with many others, I've been on the road this week running and riding around Canberra, the Snowy Mountains and Victorian Alps. And it seems as if after all the COVID disruptions of last year, the 'grey nomads' are returning to their happy hunting grounds along with hoards of others. It's great to be ... Read more

Welcome to our new series on Modern Ageing, called 'The A-Team'. And please meet our first member profile, Patricia Frederick - a woman aged now in her sixties who, perhaps like you, wants to take up and not give up during later life. Patricia, 61, from Brisbane, is determined her world will get larger and not smaller as she moves to the next phase. She's worked in defence and tele... Read more

The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral preparations spoke of both his and the Queen's meticulous planning in their relative simplicity. We can't all be Royals, but we can give more than a passing thought as to how we'd like our deaths to be managed and observed. As a new report shows, not letting others know your wishes about what kind of send-off you'd like can add to worry, cost and troubl... Read more

THIRD TIME UNLUCKY? YET ANOTHER (ALLEGED) DRUNK DRIVER TAKES OUT OUR PARKED FAMILY CAR. WILL INSURANCE HELP? We live in a quiet suburban street at a T-junction. Last week just after I’d turned in, there was a screech of brakes and an all too familiar smashing sound. My wife’s parked car had been hit. Again. After checking no one was hurt, my first thought was how well would insurance help... Read more

FiftyUp members have raised their hands to be part of our new A-Team, and that’s ‘A’ for ageing. We invited you to send in your ideas and even volunteer for a profile as part of the campaign and the response is growing. If you're just catching up, this was the blog which kicked it off: read here, and remind yourself of the wise words of the Global Centre for Modern Ageing in Adelaide.... Read more

WHY I'D NEVER DREAM OF BUYING GROCERIES ONLINE I have bought a number of items online which once I would never have considered: running shoes for example. But I wonder if I would ever, unlike many of my Baby Boomer cohort who have turned onto the habit, buy my groceries online? In a blow to the usual gender stereotype, my father used to do all the family shopping, and as a child I’d go... Read more

The two words ‘modern’ and ‘ageing’ may appear a contradiction in terms but there’s now a “Modern Ageing Movement” and it’s likely you’re a part of it, whether you realise or not! You might never have thought yourself exceptional or special but in our new series 'The A-Team', we want to share many more members’ experiences of health, family, home, money, emotions, friends - just about ev... Read more

COMMENT OF THE WEEK In response to our recent piece about NSW offering free career advice for all its citizens, a member from Queensland asked: "Where do you suggest we go for careers advice for older workers? It's a minefield of choice out there…." The NSW program is online only and just getting started. As mentioned last week, there's the Australian Careers Service and a link her... Read more

There's been understandable outrage at what's been going on at parliament house for far too long. Some of it behind closed doors and too much, according to a new book, unashamedly in plain sight. Much of the excess is blamed on a toxic politicised culture that is bankrolled with generous pay and conditions by the public (that's us). So surely we're entitled to ask more than just questions. ... Read more

SEE OTHERS AGE YEARS IN MINUTES AND GET AN IDEA OF WHAT'S IN STORE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY While most reality TV is anything but, occasionally, something remarkable happens. How about a concept of a high-speed coming to grips with ageing in the family? In the US show, we follow four millennials and their parents  with the help of high-tech 'ageing empathy suits' and special make up as the... Read more