Announcements
Seniors, senior citizens, retirees, those about to retire and looking for retirement planning, veterans, pensioners and carers, and baby boomer children of older parents will find our comprehensive listing of information and links extremely valuable. Here are the links of interest for seniors to federal and state government departments, national and state associations, community service groups, aged care and retirement village living, as well as to seniors’ lifestyle interests such as computing, wellbeing, finance, hobbies, sport and travel.
Apart from reading content, visitors to the @boutSeniors website can:
The Site Menu on the left will give you access and easy navigation to all parts of this site. There is, however, such an enormous amount of information that you may find what you are after more quickly by using the site’s advanced search facility. It is immediately below the top banner and it will help you search the entire site for your specific interest.
Our Site Map is also available for navigation. There is a link to it at the bottom of every page.
50 years young
The world’s best loved bear is 50 years old and while some may not remember reading tales of Paddington Bear as a child, this little bear from deepest, darkest Peru was the bedtime story of choice for some of the country’s business people, politicians and parents of today’s youngsters. Created in 1958 by Englishman, Michael Bond, who bought a small bear on Christmas Eve after feeling sorry for it sitting on the shelf all alone. he gave the bear to his wife and they called him Paddington, due to the proximity of London’s Paddington Station to their home. Bond started to jot down some tales of the little bear and sent them to his agent. It was eventually accepted by William Collins & Sons (now Harper Collins), who commissioned illustrator Peggy Fortnum and A Bear Called Paddington debuted on 13 October 1958.
For more information on Paddington, visit his website.
Australia’s oldest resident turns 112
Paddington Bear shares his birthday with truly remarkable lady, Mrs Emily Beatrice “Bea” Riley, who, as Australia’s oldest person, celebrates her 112th birthday today, 13 October 2008. Mrs Reily is the 30th oldest, documented person in the world and will celebrate by having a small private birthday gathering at her Melbourne nursing home.
Passing of a theatre great
As the lead in a record 2000-plus performances in the Australian production of the Phantom of the Opera, Rob Guest was well known by many theatre goers.
The theatre world was saddened by Wednesday’s news that one of their favourites had collapsed and died after suffering a stroke. Starring as the Wizard in the Melbourne run of Wicked, Guest’s death comes as a shock as he was known to lead a relatively healthy life.
English-born Guest started his career as a pop singer in New Zealand in the 1970s and stared in television before moving to Las Vegas. Awarded an OBE in 1984, the Australian theatre scene beckoned with his first role as Jean Valijean in les Miserables. With more than 35 leading roles to his credit, Robert Guest will be a great loss to the world of theatre and its fans.
Beijing Games of the XXIX Olympiad
On Friday 08/08/2008, the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Games of the XXIX Olympiad began with an extraordinary vision of the past and future China – a story told in music, dance, calligraphy and technology.
If you missed it, here is a video with snapshots of the opening ceremony!
Word of the Day
Learn a new word every day by visiting AboutSeniors Word of the Day page. Isn’t it interesting that the Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year, and people’s choice are both technology-based. Pod slurping and password fatigue are the winners – but what do they mean?
Senior Australian of the Year 2009
Time is running out to make your nomination for Senior Australian of the Year 2009. It is your opportunity to vote for someone aged 60 and over, who has made a significant contribution to Australian life and continues to give heir name and energy to build better communities. If there is someone in your community who makes an important contribution on a daily basis, then make sure your nomination is in by 31 August 2008. Nonimation forms can be downloaded at www.australianoftheyear.org.au or picked up from any branch of the Commonwealth Bank.
Pension payment complaints
AboutSeniors website is happy to ask questions on your behalf about entitlements and benefits. Read some recent Q&A on pensions here. But if you have a specific complaint it is probably best to approach Centrelink directly yourself.
Accreditation Australia is the independent body responsible for managing the accreditation and ongoing supervision of Commonwealth-funded aged care homes.
The main Federal Government website explaining all you need to know about Aged Care – but it does seem to need an update!
And on our own site we have collected all the information you will ever need when assisting older parents – check out our Your Parents section now.
Latest Seniors’ News
The @boutSeniors site is updated daily. In addition we distribute a fortnightly enewsletter full of information and resources of interest to seniors, baby boomers and all those contemplating retirement planning. There’s a lot of fun too, with DVD giveaways, book reviews, recipes, and ongoing travel suggestions and discounts. Subscribe to this free enewsletter at the top of every page or sample a recent issue here.
Thanks for the Compliments…
“Congratulations on the consistently high quality of your newsletter. I often include snippets from @boutSeniors in Signposts, our own monthly electronic newsletter for U3As. Keeping the mind active appears to minimise the possibility of dementia in later life and your wide range of resources provide many opportunities for your readers to do just that.”
Rick Swindell, President U3A Online
