(Keep your hands off that frog cake).

A refreshingly low tech cover for your Youth Issue. The Adelaide Magazine - May 30th.

I am signing up for all the featured items despite being the other side of 50. (Keep your hands off that frog cake).

Also appreciated Jules and his aversion to the distressed denim trend.

Distressing anything may be about artistic licence, but I can get the cheap look from a good op shop.

There's a hint for another issue feature - op shop chic.

Books that open your eyes, hearts and minds

Dear Good Reading,

I really enjoyed the June issue.

In particular the Spence's, there was a surprisingly big overlap on our tastes in books.

From way back to modern times.

Also fell in love with the letters from readers who told of book clubs that had been going for 60 years plus.

Wow!

I have been in one for at least ten.

It has brought me to books I would never have contemplated otherwise. Some best left on the shelf, but never the less, it has opened my eyes.

So as our book club meets tonight, (talking about Middlemarch) our motto is more Books that open your eyes, hearts and minds, cos that is what books do.

Animal suffering is tragic in any form.

Animal suffering is tragic in any form.


To use it as a weapon in aid of the live animal export trade is offensive. Editorial, May 28th.

Animals are part of our shared humanity.

Australia’s reputation in the world is about how we treat our citizens and animals.

It is a shared humanity.

The live animal export trade abuses have been ignored for far too long.

The call to intervene and make it humane has been made again and again.

Pakistan, Egypt and the Asia slaughter houses are beyond our reach.

The export trade can be turned around, sure it is a big boat to turn around.

But humane conditions can be maintained in Australia, one would hope.

Your editorial smacked more about the issue of party politics and votes, than caring about animals suffering.

Free Range Technology.

Our genration has the luxury of being able to free range and sample from all over. To retreat or go all out with technology. An older friend spoke to me recently about her search for time and space. Since childhood I have been absorbed by the mystery of time and space and as a teenager got to the depressing stage of doubting my own existence - an era when one did not talk about the expansiveness of the mind which in a way was a good thing.

Where did I go wrong?

It seems our generation did not receive enough praise and this generation too much?

(Don't worry be un-happy, May 11th)

Are we all so fragile that we can't work out we are all in this together?

I think that's a song!

While loving the work of Hugh McKay I am sure the psychology field will merge into something else before a new generation has time to ask - Where did I go wrong?

Why, why, why!

Federal politics is a hard sell when an election is called 6 months in advance.


Why, why, why!

It is so hard to be engaged in a drawn out knuckle duster brawl.

That said there is a voyeuristic side to watching the political manoeuvres.

That rivals any theatrical production out there.

Documenting cancer struggle

Thanks to Margaret Davey for her honesty in confronting the big C. SAWeekend, May 4th, 2013


She showed courage, fragility and anger.

I have shown this article to others, some were in praise, some doubted the validity of upfront payments.

As someone of the same age I don’t know how I would react to this scenario.

But I like to think I would document it and share it too.

No more excuses

Recent letters have highlighted another example of appalling animal abuse in Egypt.


Today Australia has the opportunity to mandate humane treatment of animals, all animals.

Somehow those that are exported are left to suffer horrific abuse.

But authorities desperately don’t want this broadcast.

There has been a deafening silence form the Minister for Agriculture on this issue.

We need leadership.

Animals are important, our humanity is on show to the world.

No more excuses, ban this sickening export trade now.

All Australians share in this.

Australians don’t just want a longer life; they want a good quality life.

Having been in the health industry for over 30 years I have some insight into its inner workings.


Health systems run on overload and always have.

The hospitals are housing people in treatment rooms, corridors and out the door to the ambulances.



From day one the call went out for cost containment, early discharge planning and more aged care beds to stop the log jam in hospitals. It is all still happening!

If only we listened to Cassandra Wilkinson and just got the scissors out, snip, snip here and snip, snip there. (May 1st).

The accountants approach to healthcare has always been doomed to failure.

As a column of figures here, shifted to there, actually mean more work, not less in most cases.

If people stopped going to their GP’s and insisting on treatment it would all be so much cheaper.

Australians don’t just want a longer life; they want a good quality life.

It’s not cheap, but what good things worth having are?