A good life at any age
21 October 2026 | Life-Style
Boomers are wealthy fat cats who own multiple investment properties making it impossible for the younger generation to own homes. They use their plump superannuation funds on cruises, grey nomading and spending the kids inheritance. (SKI) They add nothing to the economy and if they do work they’re taking someone else’s job. They block up the healthcare system and cost the taxpayer a fortune in aged care. They benefitted from buying cheap housing, a free university education and are now supported by younger generations. This is the classic narrative replayed in podcasts, news articles and TV interviews.
Have you looked at the book store recently? Francis Beckett wrote ” What Did Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us?” Bruce Cannon Gibney writes about the Boomer generation as “A Generation of Sociopaths.” In 2021 Helen Andrews published “Boomers: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster.” Jill Filipovic wrote “OK BOOMER, Let’s Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind” and Fiona Wright’s satirical novel has the winning title Kill Your Boomers. Funny ha?
On Saturday this fat cat indulged in her ritual of collecting the AGE newspaper and a coffee and slowly cruising through its pages in a most decadent fashion. At 77 years old, I’ve earned it! My eye was drawn to an excellent article by Greg Callaghan called ” Generation Scapegoat” in the Good Weekend Magazine found in Saturday’s Age. This four page article provided facts…something rare in recent debates about ageism. It is such an impressive article I decided to summarise the key points here for our VIVA70 readers. Grab the reading glasses and take a look!
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Boomers are wealthy fat cats who own multiple investment properties making it impossible for the younger generation to own homes. They use their plump superannuation funds on cruises, grey nomading and spending the kids inheritance. (SKI) They add nothing to the economy and if they do work they’re taking someone…
21 October 2026 | Life-Style
“I’m writing s memoir” sounds so grand. It makes me squirm. I’m not Winston Churchill nor Jacinda Ardern. Perhaps I should use ” Life story” instead? I’ve reported before on the perils of undertaking such an epic task. It’s 3 years now that I’ve thrashed around in the dark ocean…
22 September 2026 | Life-Style
Yesterday, I lived like a 40-something. Scuttling puddles and robotic people, I made my way to Federation Square to attend a Conference called Living Cities, organized by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. I was very excited to join the cool squad of architects, Futurists and urban designers exploring the future of…
26 August 2026 | Life-Style
It was my birthday this month. While I attend more funerals than parties at this age, (77) I vowed to celebrate my birthday as a week long festa of lunches, events, excursions and frolicking. It was an action packed week; plays, lunches, exhibitions, new bars, family times, bookshops, coffee with…
20 October 2026 | Living Well
This article explores the topic of suicide by older adults and may be distressing to some readers. ” Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” Victor Hugo Three people I know have chosen to suicide in their later years. I’m not talking about Voluntary Assisted Dying…
26 August 2026 | Living Well
Had my brain just screamed chocolate today, it would have been a good day! But today my brain screamed chocolate, cake, ice-cream, wine, cashews, more wine, cheese and large helpings of everything! ” You need a treat. You’ve been eating so well, limiting alcohol and you’ve lost 4 kg. Great…
19 January 2026 | Living Well
Instagram ‘s a funny thing. As I scrolled and liked my way through the day’s posts I came across Retiring_Not_Shy and smiled. Clever. Funny. A woman who models my kind of clothes. Months pass and I post a shout-out for people to be interviewed for my book 50 Faces: 50…
16 August 2021 | 50 Faces 50 Lives
This week I met a remarkable man. Let me set the scene. It’s my first interview in over a year for my Ageing Well book. For the past year a Covid world made meeting people a risky business. So today I’m as excited as a kid at Christmas as I…
26 March 2021 | 50 Faces 50 Lives
I published this article after an interview with Petrus Spronk in November 2019..it seems like light years ago! It was one of the highlights of the research for my book and I’ll never forget encountering the creative mind in all its purity and the outstanding talent of this great artist….
19 February 2021 | 50 Faces 50 Lives