The PBS News Hour program is fabulous. I stumbled across it here in Melbourne by accident channel surfing on a particularly bleak rainy day. It’s on SBS Viceland at 4.10pm weekdays. I’m sure its streamed on other media too. On Friday I saw an interview with Jane Fonda. It made…

In Australia’s cooler climes November is the last month of spring. In my garden the birch trees are laden with catkins, the ornamental grape has clusters of fine powdery seeds, lavenders and roses bloom and pollens abound. This month our resident wellness expert, Julia Richards has sent through a very…

Another treat awaits our readers this week. Here in Oz we are loving the fullness and vitality of a beautiful spring. As I sit at my table writing with the french doors open to the garden, the scent of Banksia roses drifts into the room. Spring is simply glorious. Julia…

In a recent 50 Faces 50 Lives article I wrote about the two most transformative events of my life- the birth of my son and having him in my life and the experience in 1998 of a complete physical and mental breakdown. Let me point out that these 2 events…

Welcome back to our Wellness expert  and Viva 70 contributor, Julia Richards. Julia is a medical herbalist in her practice in Yorkshire and patients often ask her for ways of improving their sleep. As we age, our sleeping patterns change and this month she provides some specific, practical advice about…

Take a moment. A cup of tea and a sit down. Enjoy these images and quotes. They may speak to you. We shall not cease from exploration and the end of our exploring, will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot…

It’s the perfect spring day. The sun is gentle, paddocks lush with the season’s rain. I’m in no hurry as I drive through hamlets of a few houses, farms and a tiny rural school, population 5 kids. There’s water in the creeks, rabbits a plenty and a sneaky fox obeys…

I recently reported on a Melbourne Fashion Week forum that I attended, where the issue of older women being invisible was raised and dismissed in the same breath. ” Invisible? Invisible to the male gaze? Who cares?!” suggested the  panel member. One of Viva70’s greatest supporters Maureen Moffat who lives…

Outside my window the garden is bursting with life while birds flit from tree to tree in the sunlight and chatter to each other incessantly. The sun shines vivaciously. But it’s teasing. Its companion is an icy wind that finds the folds and crevasses of my clothing and makes it…