Two of my friends have died in the last two weeks. I’m here in Bali receiving messages from home. I remember my mother, who was famously caustic in her commentary on life, saying that at 80 her only social engagements were to attend funerals and do her weekly shopping. Both…

Last night I moseyed down to the beach club for sunset drinks,  which in my new angel status world means a slushy mocktail probably with more calories than a decent glass of wine. However I feel virtuous and I don’t miss alcohol in this very stress free world where the…

Financial management is a tricky thing. It’s something you learn. It’s not just common sense. And many women are really bad at it. It’s only in recent years that we have started a conversation about women and money and dare I say that Oprah Winfrey and Suze Orman had a…

Our Viva 70 friend and Wellness writer, Julia Richards has done it again! Such a timely and relevant article especially for Australians dealing with smoke from the fires. For days on end with thick smoke hanging heavy in the air, many people were forced to stay indoors. It didn’t take…

Since September last year many Australians have lived with nightly images of our communities on fire. Worse for some they have lost their homes and loved ones. When disaster strikes trauma results and for people directly affected by fire the road to healing is long and expert professional support is…

Here in Australia it’s mid- summer and along with 40 degree temperatures the bushfires rage. Julia Richard is our regular Wellness contributor to Viva 70. Originally from New South Wales she has lived in Yorkshire for many years now working as a coach and medical herbalist. This wonderful article was…

I bought a red woollen winter coat yesterday, in a sale at Zara. It’s 36 degrees outside. The shopping centre is shrouded in thick yellow-white smoke, like a tarpaulin tightly covering the city, letting nothing through. Not sure why I bought it. Then I remembered a photo. Images. Jane Fonda…

This month Viva 70 welcomes Graeme Leith as a guest writer to our pages.  Apart from being a talented winemaker and founder of Passing Clouds vineyard, Graeme is a prolific writer and published author. His storytelling and dry wit is legendary and I think I’ve nearly cajoled and harassed him…

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…