This is my song

I value stories about vibrant creative people. Leave the whinging soapbox pieces on the shelf. Petula Clark at 81 is still out there singing her heart out. What drives her on? Reading on her recent exploits (Heading downtown), I am still unsure what her motivation is. But more power to her for her songs, energy and memories.

Alan Bennett is a master at pulling apart the lives of the ordinary.

Stories of what could have been, with different more gregarious parents. A flashy home and money in my pocket. The acclaim I sought has evaporated into the weekly visits to the nursing home. A vacant chair waits for me, in a dusty day room. Filled with blank faces and old paperbacks on shelves. Alan Bennett is a master at pulling apart the lives of the ordinary. Happy 80th., alan.

Change is Coming?

Thank you to Jean Kittson for her voice on menopause. (A change is coming - May 10th) It seems that it is not just menopause that gets hushed up. Womens issues are too often underplayed. Throughout life women are thrown some huge curve balls. Puberty and menstruation. Childbirth and breast feeding. Mothering and menopause. Yet women are more often the ones who keep silent on these huge physical and mental upheavals. Some sort of gamesmanship, stoicism, rivalry or is it inbuilt wiring? We need more Jean Kittson's to bring things out in the open.

Saluting Volunteers

I too salute the people who volunteer. Thanks Amanda Blair (May 10th) I know first hand the joy volunteering can bring. In my day job I have a demanding role, which is also rewarding. In my volunteer job it is pure inspiration. I volunteer at the Art Gallery of South Australia. It is indeed a privilege and always special to have people genuinely happy to be in the gallery. Enjoying the immersion in the creative arts. There are dissatisfied people, but they seem to be rare here. Finding that place you find inspiration and can contribute is reward in itself. There are volunteers who have been there thirty years! I think I know why.