15 January VOL 08 Issue 1

Happy New Year

Welcome to the 15 January @boutSeniors enewsletter.

Staying alive: Go John Go!

Happy New Year to all our subscribers and website visitors. May 2008 be a challenging, enjoyable, totally fun year – make it one!
The theme for this issue is 'staying alive' Not just because we enjoy humming the old Bee Gees anthem, but more because we want to celebrate Older Australians who don't just stay alive, but strive, and thrive as they tackle new ideas and activities.

So our focus is on enhancing your wellbeing and we have spent our summer break compiling the latest research findings offering the best ways to lead longer, healthier lives. We also feature reviews of two new books to help you lose weight while eating well, and the best food for your brain!

Our pin-up boy this issue is John Lowe – an 88 year old grandfather from Witchford in the UK, making his ballet debut in The Stone Flower. John clearly doesn't believe the word impossible – and nor should you! (Don't you love those legs?)

Reader feedback tells us that a shorter, more frequent enewsletter would be good, so read on for news of competitions, changes to the PBS program, Destination Canada, and ways of staying healthy and active– next week we will report on how to make 2008 your best year yet.

And don't forget during this extended, hot, holiday period how important it is to check in regularly with elderly relatives, friends and neighbours. They're not all as fit as John!

Go for it!
David and Kaye Fallick

 

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.
- Anon

 

Q&A

Your questions answered
Read our answers to subscribers' questions regarding seniors cards and technology.

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Competitions

Enter every week
We have two subscriber prizes to be won in the month of January – four copies of The Human Mind DVD and 12 double passes to the movie, Dan in Real Life. You may enter once a week (i.e. you have four chances) by visiting the competition page and clicking on the hotlink.

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Family stories

Non boring writing
Author Hazel Edward's monthly column suggests ways to make the telling of your family history a memorable experience for both reader and writer. This month she discusses the use of memorabilia.

 

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Wellbeing

PBS changes
The Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) underwent some changes on January 1 – here we explain the PBS and provide a quick and easy summary to bookmark for future reference.

Men living longer
 Gone are the days of the beer swilling, cigarette smoking, lay-about Aussie bloke, it seems. Men are giving up smoking, cutting down on alcohol, taking regular exercise and are being rewarded by a longer life!

Four point program
Eating more healthily, stopping smoking, getting more exercise and drinking alcohol moderately can help you live longer. Tell us something we don't know, you say. But what exactly do "more" and "moderate" mean and do we really practise what we preach?

Older and wiser
So you're getting on in years and your memory's not quite what it used to be and this is a great source of amusement for the rest of your family, no doubt? Now you can have the last laugh with new findings suggesting that wisdom does indeed come with old age.

 

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Redefining retirement

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Win with the 'R' Word
Enjoy your chance to redefine the 'R' Word and win a prize this February. Primelife recently completed an online survey to see how people over 55 plan to spend their future years. Read the results and how to enter the next competition here.

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Travel express

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Destination Canada
Picture yourself in awe of soaring mountain tops, rendered speechless by brilliant turquoise lakes and mighty glaciers and excited by the dazzling array of native flora and fauna. Now make that vision a reality.

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Calling single cruisers
Are you a single cruiser? Sally at Seniors Holiday Travel has a long list of people looking for companions to share cabins on a range of fabulous cruises in 2008.

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Travel deals

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THAI’s Special Premium Fares

THAI's Special Premium Fares for the Over 55s to Thailand & Europe, travel until 30 September 2008. THAI has launched some special fares for senior travellers aged 55 years and over, for travel in Royal Silk Business and Royal First Class and to Thailand and Europe.

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Other great deals in our Holiday ideas section...

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Bookshelf online

Living longer and stronger is the aim. Read on to learn how to lose weight by eating better – and the best food for your brain.

Achievable weight loss
Most people who have spent a few years on the planet reach the same conclusion. Diets rarely work as sooner or later you go off them! Try instead to change the way you cook and eat – and read Jill Dupleix's Lighten Up for a wonderful starting point. Read more here

Food for thought
Some 220,000 Australians currently suffer from dementia, with this figure expected to triple by 2050. The good news is that improving your diet can protect your brain – and keep it young. Read more here

These titles and many more can be purchased in the @boutSeniors online discount bookstore. Go there now

 

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Movie junction

Grandma steals the show
The consensus of reviews of Hunting and Gathering is that it is a film which concentrates on young people meeting and matching in Paris. This take on the movie misses the real story – which is about the dilemma of Franck's ageing grandmother, and her resistance to living out her days in an institution. Read more here

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Here to help

And don't forget the staff at @boutSeniors are here to help with all your queries, whatever the topic, on help@aboutseniors.com.au

To subscribe to the free fortnightly @boutSeniors enewsletter, put your email address into the subscribe here box on the left hand side of our homepage. Go there now.

To unsubscribe from this email list please click this link and then click send in your email program.

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