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How Bob Dylan used the ancient practice of ‘imitatio’ to craft some of the most original songs of his time

<p>Over the course of six decades, Bob Dylan steadily brought together popular music and poetic excellence. Yet the guardians of literary culture have only rarely accepted Dylan’s legitimacy.</p> <p>His <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/arts/music/bob-dylan-nobel-prize-literature.html">2016 Nobel Prize in Literature</a> undermined his outsider status, challenging scholars, fans and critics to think of Dylan as an integral part of international literary heritage. My new book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-One-Meet-Imitation-Originality/dp/0817321411">No One to Meet: Imitation and Originality in the Songs of Bob Dylan</a>,” takes this challenge seriously and places Dylan within a literary tradition that extends all the way back to the ancients.</p> <p><a href="https://english.umbc.edu/core-faculty/raphael-falco/">I am a professor of early modern literature</a>, with a special interest in the Renaissance. But I am also a longtime Dylan enthusiast and the co-editor of the open-access <a href="https://thedylanreview.org/">Dylan Review</a>, the only scholarly journal on Bob Dylan. </p> <p>After teaching and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raphael-Falco">writing about</a> early modern poetry for 30 years, I couldn’t help but recognize a similarity between the way Dylan composes his songs and the ancient practice known as “<a href="http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Dionysian_imitatio">imitatio</a>.”</p> <h2>Poetic honey-making</h2> <p>Although the Latin word imitatio would translate to “imitation” in English, it doesn’t mean simply producing a mirror image of something. The term instead describes a practice or a methodology of composing poetry.</p> <p>The classical author Seneca <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_84">used bees</a> as a metaphor for writing poetry using imitatio. Just as a bee samples and digests the nectar from a whole field of flowers to produce a new kind of honey – which is part flower and part bee – a poet produces a poem by sampling and digesting the best authors of the past.</p> <p>Dylan’s imitations follow this pattern: His best work is always part flower, part Dylan. </p> <p>Consider a song like “<a href="https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/hard-rains-gonna-fall/">A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall</a>.” To write it, Dylan repurposed the familiar Old English ballad “<a href="https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/lord-randall/">Lord Randal</a>,” retaining the call-and-response framework. In the original, a worried mother asks, “O where ha’ you been, Lord Randal, my son? / And where ha’ you been, my handsome young man?” and her son tells of being poisoned by his true love. </p> <p>In Dylan’s version, the nominal son responds to the same questions with a brilliant mixture of public and private experiences, conjuring violent images such as a newborn baby surrounded by wolves, black branches dripping blood, the broken tongues of a thousand talkers and pellets poisoning the water. At the end, a young girl hands the speaker – a son in name only – a rainbow, and he promises to know his song well before he’ll stand on the mountain to sing it.</p> <p>“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” resounds with the original Old English ballad, which would have been very familiar to Dylan’s original audiences of Greenwich Village folk singers. He first sang the song in 1962 at <a href="https://bedfordandbowery.com/2016/12/the-story-of-the-gaslight-cafe-where-dylan-premiered-a-hard-rains-a-gonna-fall/">the Gaslight Cafe</a> on MacDougal Street, a hangout of folk revival stalwarts. To their ears, Dylan’s indictment of American culture – its racism, militarism and reckless destruction of the environment – would have echoed that poisoning in the earlier poem and added force to the repurposed lyrics.</p> <h2>Drawing from the source</h2> <p>Because Dylan “samples and digests” songs from the past, <a href="https://thedylanreview.org/2022/08/04/interview-with-scott-warmuth/">he has been accused of plagiarism</a>. </p> <p>This charge underestimates Dylan’s complex creative process, which closely resembles that of early modern poets who had a different concept of originality – a concept Dylan intuitively understands. For Renaissance authors, “originality” meant not creating something out of nothing, but <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Origin_and_Originality_in_Renaissance_Li/1OmCQgAACAAJ?hl=en">going back to what had come before</a>. They literally returned to the “origin.” Writers first searched outside themselves to find models to imitate, and then they transformed what they imitated – that is, what they found, sampled and digested – into something new. Achieving originality depended on the successful imitation and repurposing of an admired author from a much earlier era. They did not imitate each other, or contemporary authors from a different national tradition. Instead, they found their models among authors and works from earlier centuries.</p> <p>In his book “<a href="https://archive.org/details/lightintroyimita0000gree/page/n5/mode/2up">The Light in Troy</a>,” literary scholar Thomas Greene points to a 1513 letter written by poet Pietro Bembo to Giovanfrancesco Pico della Mirandola.</p> <p>“Imitation,” Bembo writes, “since it is wholly concerned with a model, must be drawn from the model … the activity of imitating is nothing other than translating the likeness of some other’s style into one’s own writings.” The act of translation was largely stylistic and involved a transformation of the model.</p> <h2>Romantics devise a new definition of originality</h2> <p>However, the Romantics of the late 18th century wished to change, and supersede, that understanding of poetic originality. For them, and the writers who came after them, creative originality meant going inside oneself to find a connection to nature. </p> <p><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Natural_Supernaturalism/-ygCZmrJ2E4C?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=natural+supernaturalism&amp;printsec=frontcover">As scholar of Romantic literature M.H. Abrams explains</a> in his renowned study “Natural Supernaturalism,” “the poet will proclaim how exquisitely an individual mind … is fitted to the external world, and the external world to the mind, and how the two in union are able to beget a new world.” </p> <p>Instead of the world wrought by imitating the ancients, the new Romantic theories envisioned the union of nature and the mind as the ideal creative process. Abrams quotes the 18th-century German Romantic <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/novalis/">Novalis</a>: “The higher philosophy is concerned with the marriage of Nature and Mind.”</p> <p>The Romantics believed that through this connection of nature and mind, poets would discover something new and produce an original creation. To borrow from past “original” models, rather than producing a supposedly new work or “new world,” could seem like theft, despite the fact, obvious to anyone paging through an anthology, that poets have always responded to one another and to earlier works.</p> <p>Unfortunately – as Dylan’s critics too often demonstrate – this bias favoring supposedly “natural” originality over imitation continues to color views of the creative process today. </p> <p>For six decades now, Dylan has turned that Romantic idea of originality on its head. With his own idiosyncratic method of composing songs and his creative reinvention of the Renaissance practice of imitatio, he has written and performed – yes, imitation functions in performance too – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_written_by_Bob_Dylan">over 600 songs</a>, many of which are the most significant and most significantly original songs of his time.</p> <p>To me, there is a firm historical and theoretical rationale for what these audiences have long known – and the Nobel Prize committee made official in 2016 – that Bob Dylan is both a modern voice entirely unique and, at the same time, the product of ancient, time-honoured ways of practicing and thinking about creativity.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bob-dylan-used-the-ancient-practice-of-imitatio-to-craft-some-of-the-most-original-songs-of-his-time-187052" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

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Excelling as a musician takes practice and requires opportunities – not just lucky genes

<p>What makes talented musicians so good at what they do?</p> <p>There’s plenty of evidence that people can be born that way. Research findings suggest that about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/jmg.2007.056366">half of musical ability is inherited</a>. Even if that’s true, it doesn’t mean you must have musical talent in your genes to excel on the bass, oboe or drums. </p> <p>And even if you’re fortunate enough to belong to a family that includes musicians, you would still need to study, practice and get expert guidance to play well. </p> <p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=34DZlUIAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">music professor and conductor</a>, I’ve seen the role that practice and experience play in propelling musicians toward mastery and success. There are some factors that help a musician get started – and heredity could be one of them. But musical skill is ultimately a complex interplay between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022429416680096">lots of practice and high-quality instruction</a>.</p> <h2>The role genes can play</h2> <p>Of course many great musicians, including some who are world famous, are related to other musical stars.</p> <p>Liza Minnelli, the famed actress, singer and dancer, is one of the late entertainer <a href="https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/judy-garland-kids-4728886/">Judy Garland’s three children</a>. <a href="https://people.com/music/jon-batiste-everything-to-know">Jon Batiste</a> – “The Late Show” bandleader, pianist and composer who has won Emmy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards – has at least 25 musicians in his family. Saxophonist Branford, trumpeter Wynton, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason Marsalis are the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/02/825717204/ellis-marsalis-patriarch-of-new-orleans-most-famous-musical-family-has-died">sons of pianist Ellis Marsalis</a>.</p> <p>Singer and pianist <a href="https://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Jones-Norah.html">Norah Jones</a> is the daughter of Indian sitar player <a href="https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/norah-jones-on-her-relationship-with-pandit-ravi-shankar-september-2020-cover-interview-hope">Ravi Shankar</a>, though Jones had little contact with her renowned father while growing up.</p> <p>Absolute pitch, also known as perfect pitch, is the ability to recognize and name any note you hear anywhere. Researchers have found that it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/301704">may be hereditary</a>. But do you need it to be a great musician? Not really.</p> <h2>Most people are born with some musical ability</h2> <p>I define musical ability as the possession of talent or potential – the means to achieve something musical.</p> <p>Then there’s skill, which I define as what you attain by working at it.</p> <p>You need at least some basic musical ability to acquire musical skills. Unless you can hear and discern pitches and rhythms, you can’t reproduce them.</p> <p>But people may overestimate the role of genetics because, with very rare exceptions, <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb05/absolute">almost everyone can perceive pitches</a> and rhythms.</p> <p>My research regarding children’s musicality suggests measures of singing skills are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429416666054">normally distributed</a> in the population. That is, pitch ability follows a <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bell-curve.asp">bell curve</a>: Most people are average singers. Not many are way below average or excellent. </p> <p>My team’s most recent research suggests that this distribution is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294211032160">true for rhythm</a> in addition to pitch. </p> <p>Not surprisingly, some musical skills are correlated.</p> <p>The more training you have on specific musical skills, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294211011962">better you’ll test on certain others</a>. This is probably because musical experience enhances other musical abilities.</p> <p>To sum it up, an emerging body of research indicates that practice doesn’t make perfect. But for most people, it helps a lot.</p> <h2>Lessons and practice are essential</h2> <p>What about people who say they they can’t keep a beat? It turns out that they almost always can track a steady beat to music. They just haven’t done it enough.</p> <p>Indeed, the last time I gave a nonbeliever our lab’s test for rhythm perception, she performed excellently. For that and for singing, some people just need <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/magazine/how-to-sing-in-tune.html">a little help</a> to move past assumptions they lack talent: You can’t say you’re incapable of something if you haven’t spent time trying. </p> <p>Some researchers and <a href="https://strategiesforinfluence.com/malcolm-gladwell-10000-hour-rule/">journalists have promoted</a> the idea it takes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.3.363">10,000 hours of practice or training to master</a> a new skill. </p> <p>Innate ability puts people at different starting lines toward musical mastery. But once you’ve started to study an instrument or singing style, skill development depends on many other factors. Getting lessons, practicing often and being in a musical family may make those more likely.</p> <p>For example, Lizzo, a hip-hop superstar and classically trained flute player, had the luck to <a href="https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/lizzo-44986.php">grow up in family of music lovers</a>. They all had their own taste in music. Her success is a microcosm of why a well-rounded musical education for young people matters.</p> <p>The singers in the choir I lead at Penn State have a range of experience, from a little to a lot. Yet soon after they join it, they develop the ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233211040726">pick a good key and starting pitch</a> as they get to know their own voices. </p> <p>Practicing more doesn’t change your baseline potential, it just changes what you can presently do. That is, if you practice a specific song over and over again, eventually you’re going to get better at it.</p> <p>Jonathon Heyward, the Baltimore Symphony’s new conductor, who has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/arts/music/jonathon-heyward-baltimore-symphony-orchestra.html">no musicians in his family</a>, has worked really hard to excel. He started taking cello lessons at age 10 and hasn’t stopped since, playing and practicing and studying.</p> <h2>Privilege can play a role</h2> <p>Socioeconomic factors can also enter the equation. While conducting research, I’ve seen high-income college students from high-income families, with more years of musical experience, perform better than their classmates who have lower-income backgrounds and had fewer opportunities.</p> <p>Genes can give someone a head start. At the same time, having a quiet space where you can practice on an acoustic instrument or a digital workstation might make a more decisive difference for the musical prospects of most children. The same goes for having money for private lessons or access to free classes.</p> <p>Even so, many of the best musicians, including jazz greats <a href="https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/biography/">Louis Armstrong</a> and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/billie-holiday-about-the-singer/68/">Billie Holiday</a>, grew up facing many hardships.</p> <p>With the right conditions for practice and gaining experience, who knows where the next Liza or Lizzo will come from.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/excelling-as-a-musician-takes-practice-and-requires-opportunities-not-just-lucky-genes-186693" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

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5 crazy cruise practices you won't believe are real

<p>Cruising is one of the world’s oldest forms of travel, so naturally, a few crazy rituals have cropped up over time. Here are five of the strangest.</p> <ol start="1"> <li><strong>Baked Alaska parade</strong> – the dessert favourite has been subject to a strange ritual ever since the 20th century, when waiters would bring out trays of baked Alaska while performing a song and even dancing. It’s believed the parade first began when refrigeration first came to cruise ships, which was a source of celebration for many workers.</li> <li><strong>Crab racing</strong> – this classic pirate game is still played on modern cruises quite regularly. Passengers choose their crab, perhaps make a small bet, and watch the critters battle it out to the finish line.</li> <li><strong>Polar plunges</strong> – cruise routes which take passengers around some of Earth’s icier regions often offer an unorthodox activity: a dip in ice-cold waters. Those who brave the cool conditions may be rewarded with a certificate, but for many, the biggest reward is simply being able to say you’ve done it.</li> <li><strong>Unlucky 17</strong> – on dry land, 13 is considered to be the unluckiest number. However, for seafarers (particularly in Italy), the number 17 is cautiously avoided at all cost. This is because the Roman numeral XVII is an anagram for VIXI. Translation? “I have lived” or, “my life is over” in Latin.</li> <li><strong>Tiramisu ceremony</strong> – you’re most likely to witness this ritual on Italian cruise ships, where it is traditional for waiters to bring out the famous dessert while singing and waving napkins.</li> </ol> <p>Tell us in the comments below, have you witnessed any of these crazy cruise practices?</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Cruising

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This common bathroom practice could send germs flying everywhere

<p>No matter how thorough you are with cleaning your bathroom, there's one common mistake you could be making that regularly fills the space with germs.</p> <p>According to home hacks expert Stephanie Booth, that habit is leaving the toilet lid up when you flush. You’ll probably never do it again once you hear what she has to say about it in a TikTok.</p> <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanieboothrealtor/video/7118543514652331310" data-video-id="7118543514652331310"> <section><a title="@stephanieboothrealtor" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanieboothrealtor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@stephanieboothrealtor</a> Who’s still flushing their toilet with the lid open? Close that lid to stop all the nasty bacteria 💩from coming out of your toilet and landing on all your bathroom surfaces <a title="tiptok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tiptok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#tiptok</a> <a title="germs" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/germs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#germs</a> <a title="hometips" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hometips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#hometips</a> <a title="bathroomcleaning" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bathroomcleaning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#bathroomcleaning</a> <a title="♬ original sound - Stephanie Booth" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7118543498755885870" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound - Stephanie Booth</a></section> </blockquote> <p>"Flushing with the lid open launches all that nasty bacteria from what you just put into the toilet, into the air. And all that bacteria lands on all the nearby surfaces, including your toothbrush," she said.</p> <p>If you're wondering just how true this claim is, it's been backed up by Australia's favourite scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, explaining why it’s such a gross habit in a video of his own.</p> <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@drkarl/video/7079283645491547394" data-video-id="7079283645491547394"> <section><a title="@drkarl" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@drkarl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@drkarl</a> Do you need scientific evidence to make your housemates flush with the toilet lid shut? Here you go 😎 <a title="drkarl" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/drkarl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#drkarl</a> <a title="drkarlkruszelnicki" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/drkarlkruszelnicki" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#drkarlkruszelnicki</a> <a title="science" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/science" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#science</a> <a title="♬ original sound - Dr Karl" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7079283621965728513" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound - Dr Karl</a></section> </blockquote> <p>"If you flush with the toilet lid up a polluted plume of bacteria and water vapour just erupts out of the flushing toilet bowl," he said.</p> <p>"The polluted water particles, they float around for a few hours around your bathroom before they all eventually land, they will land, and some of them could even land on your toothbrush.</p> <p>Putting the lid down before flushing is even more important if your toilet is right next to the bathroom vanity where your toothbrush holder sits.</p> <p>In addition to putting the toilet lid down before flushing, cleaning the toilet on a weekly basis using disinfectant will also help keep the potential for germs spreading down.</p> <p>Image: TikTok</p>

Home Hints & Tips

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5 self-care practices to help you move through loss

<p dir="ltr">Over the course of our lives, experiencing a loss becomes inevitable. We will all go through the pain of losing someone or something we love and cherish. While the pain of some losses are easier to process, others can feel overwhelming. Either way, self-care practices offer a safe environment where the loss can be explored on an emotional and spiritual level.</p> <p dir="ltr">Experiencing a loss is heart-breaking and the grief which comes with it is often heavy. It may be difficult to process the various emotions you are feeling and the uphill road towards healing may seem hard. However, with the right tools finding healing, inner peace and having the strength to move forward after a loss is possible.</p> <p dir="ltr">A self-care practice is the perfect tool when it comes to healing from deep sorrow. Such practice when performed with no judgement and self-compassion creates a cocoon around you where you can explore the loss without reliving the actual loss. This is because a self-care practice has a clear beginning and a clear ending making exploring emotions, feelings and needs within this setting safe. When you engage in a self-care practice you are saying a big yes to taking care of yourself and your needs. It creates space for you to gain the clarity you are seeking and the inner peace your heart is longing for. Let’s take a look at 5 self-care practices to help you move through the healing process:</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>1. Take a walk in nature</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It is a well-known fact that spending time in nature reduces stress, anxiety and uplifts emotional well-being. When you feel overwhelmed, take a break and seek a peaceful moment in nature. Take a companion with you if you feel more comfortable having someone with you. Before you start, set your intention. As you walk, allow yourself to connect with the tranquillity and the beauty which surrounds you. Dedicate this time to your healing.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>2. Keep a loss journal</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Keeping a loss journal provides a space for reflection and soul-searching without judgement. Choose a notebook and pens you want to use for your journal. It is helpful to set a specific day and time in the week or month for journaling. Choose a space where you feel comfortable and can spend some time writing without any distractions. If writing seems daunting, try doodling, using collage, stickers and photos to capture your thoughts and feelings.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>3. Relaxation</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Plan time for relaxation during your day. Create a cosy space at home where you can fully relax. Try this simple 5-minute relaxation: While seated comfortably, gently close your eyes and take a few breaths. When you are ready, place both hands on your heart space and continue to breathe gently. Connect with your breath, the here and now and allow your body to soften with each breath. As your body relaxes, so does your mind. After 5 minutes, you should feel energized as well as calm.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>4. Dance</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">When the sorrow you feel is too heavy and you feel stuck, dance. Dancing is an effective way to allow the grief to move through your body. Put your favourite music on and follow the beat. Dance until you feel your mood has lifted and you feel more relaxed.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>5. End the day with a grateful heart</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Days often feel endless and are hard to get through following a loss. Before you go to sleep at night, find one thing you are grateful for. It can be the little things which often go unnoticed. By practising gratefulness you build resilience which in turn helps you move forward.</p> <p dir="ltr">Self-care, an aspect which is often overlooked, is a key element during the grieving and healing process. As you become accustomed to self-care practices, you may be drawn to create your very own practices. The key is to listen to your intuition.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Corinne Laan is the author of The Art of Grieving: Gentle self-care practices to heal a broken heart (Rockpool Publishing, $29.95). Now available where all good books are sold and online at <a href="http://www.rockpoolpublishing.co/">www.rockpoolpublishing.co</a> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Caring

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Progressive in theory, regressive in practice: that’s how we tax income from savings

<p>We’re told Australia has a progressive tax system – the more you earn, the higher the rate.</p> <p>And that’s certainly the case for earnings from wages. An Australian on A$35,000 sacrifices 21 cents out of each extra dollar they earn whereas an Australian on $90,000 sacrifices 39 cents.</p> <p>That’s how it’s meant to be for income from savings, but in practice it isn’t.</p> <p>Fresh calculations released this morning by the <a href="https://taxpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploads/taxstudies_crawford_anu_edu_au/2020-07/20271_anu_-_ttpi_policy_report-ff2.pdf">Tax and Transfer Policy Institute</a> at the Australian National University show that low income Australians in the bottom tax bracket pay a higher marginal rate of tax on income from savings than high earners in the top tax bracket.</p> <p>It is because of exemptions and special rates, and the alacrity with which high earners take advantage of them.</p> <h2>Super gives the most to the highest earners</h2> <p>The taxation of superannuation drives the results.</p> <p>Super contributions are generally taxed at a flat rate of 15%. For low earners on an income tax rate of zero, 15% would constitute a considerable extra impost did the government not refund the difference with a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W9FN4deDYY9q0ooFDPNqq1CvYAUz90Ao/view">tax offset</a> that cuts the effective rate to zero.</p> <p>High earners on the 47% marginal rate do much better. The tax rate of 15% offers substantial tax relief. For them, it is an effective rate of minus 32%.</p> <p>Other tax concessions are directed at older Australians, who are often on higher incomes than younger Australians.</p> <h2>Highest bracket, lowest rate</h2> <p>Our calculation of the marginal effective annual tax rates actually paid on income from savings is published in a report entitled <a href="https://taxpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploads/taxstudies_crawford_anu_edu_au/2020-07/20271_anu_-_ttpi_policy_report-ff2.pdf">the taxation of savings in Australia: theory, current practice and future policy directions</a>.</p> <p>It shows that the marginal tax rate high earners pay on additional savings held over a twenty year period is 5.3% of income, on average, whereas for low earners in the bottom (zero) tax bracket it’s 12.2%.</p> <p>Low earners in the second lowest tax bracket are paying 13.8%.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Marginal effective tax rates actually paid on income from savings, by bracket</strong></p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348198/original/file-20200718-15-e3c10t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348198/original/file-20200718-15-e3c10t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Authors’ calculations using data from the Australian Survey of Income and Housing, 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><a href="https://taxpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/" class="source">TTPI Policy Report 01-2020</a></span></p> <hr /> <h2>The way forward: a dual income tax system</h2> <p>Our report proposes taxing all types of saving at the same flat low rate.</p> <p>This dual income tax system (a progressive rate for wages and salaries, a flat rate for income from savings) has been used in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark since the early 1990s. Elements of it are used in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands.</p> <p>If the rate were 10%</p> <p>• all interest payments would be taxed at 10%</p> <p>• all dividends, both domestic and foreign, would be taxed at a rate of 10%</p> <p>• all capital gains (including owner-occupied housing) would be taxed at 10%</p> <p>• superannuation contributions would be made from after-tax income and then earnings in the accounts taxed at 10%</p> <p>• rent and capital gains on investment properties would be taxed at 10%</p> <p>• the imputed rent from owner-occupied housing (the benefit home owners get from not having to pay rent that is taxed) would be calcuated and taxed at a rate of 10%. An alternative would be to raise the same amount through a broad-based land tax.</p> <p>Our calculations suggest that if the tax were applied broadly at a rate of 6.2%, it would raise as much as is raised now from taxes on income from savings. If income from owner-occupied housing were excluded, the rate would need to be 10.2%.</p> <p>But there is no particular reason for the rate to be set to generate as much from savings income as it does now. It could be set to raise more, or to raise less.</p> <p>The design and implementation of a dual income tax should be considered alongside broader changes to the tax and transfer system. In particular, it should be combined with removing opportunities to re-classify income for tax minimisation purposes. We outline some of the considerations <a href="https://taxpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploads/taxstudies_crawford_anu_edu_au/2020-07/20271_anu_-_ttpi_policy_report-ff2.pdf">in our report</a>.</p> <p>In the meantime, as steps towards a flatter fairer system of taxing income from savings, the government could consider better targeting superannuation subsidies, replacing real estate stamp duty with land tax and including the family home in the means tests for pensions and other age-related benefits.</p> <p>Our current approach to taxing income from savings is a mess at best and a serious driver of intergenerational inequality at worst. Some savings tax arrangements are progressive, taxing higher incomes more heavily, and some are regressive.</p> <p>We want to encourage and reward savings. But we also need to remove the crazy incentives that impel ordinary Australians to take part in distorting and costly tax planning schemes.</p> <p>Our report outlines a way forward, and steps to get there.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142823/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-breunig-167291">Robert Breunig</a>, Professor of Economics and Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kristen-sobeck-714969">Kristen Sobeck</a>, Senior Research Officer, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-varela-1136772">Peter Varela</a>, Research Fellow, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/progressive-in-theory-regressive-in-practice-thats-how-we-tax-income-from-savings-142823">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Retirement Income

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Pain and the brain: Closing the gap between modern pain science and clinical practice

<div> <div class="copy"> <p>Statistics show that chronic pain affects 3.4 million Australians – that’s almost 14% of the population.</p> <p>But while pain science discoveries have enormous consequences on chronic pain treatment, the medical community knows little about them.</p> <p>Pain scientists have been urging clinicians for decades to ditch the traditional biomedical approach and adopt a multidisciplinary and multimodal methodology to chronic pain treatment.</p> <p>This latter approach considers the biological, psychological and social factors that affect the patient’s perception of danger.</p> <p>Evidence-based treatment includes a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004951414601690?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">combination</a> of pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques, including pain education, physiotherapy management and mental health support.</p> <p>“We have developed a four-steps process that brings together all these ideas (drawn from modern pain science),” says Professor Benedict Wand, a pain scientist at the University of Notre Dame.</p> <p>The first, fundamental step of this process, he says, is modern pain neurobiology education, which helps people gain a less threatening understanding of pain.</p> <p>The second step is helping the person feel safe to move, while the third step includes an active progressive rehabilitation that gradually loads the body so that movement continues to feel safe.</p> <p>Lastly, the focus shifts towards making the body stronger.</p> <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong><em>Read more: <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/chronic-pain-in-women-could-be-genetic/" target="_blank">Chronic pain in women could be genetic</a></em></strong></p> <p>The biomedical model in which most health professionals in Australia have been trained describes pain as a direct consequence of tissue damage – the more severe an injury, the stronger the pain.</p> <p>In this model, pain provides an accurate measure of the state of the tissues, and it can be ‘fixed’ by providing pain relief.</p> <p>“We originally thought that pain was a simple readout of noxious information from the body,” says Wand. “But that is certainly not the process that underpins complex and long-standing pain experiences.”</p> <p>Decades of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.cor-kinetic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/reconceptualizing-pain.pdf" target="_blank">research</a> in pain science have led scientists to believe that the level of pain is not an indication of the level of tissue damage.</p> <p>Instead, scientists have discovered that pain is a vital mechanism that happens in the brain (and not in the tissues) to protect us from more severe injuries.</p> <p>When we get hurt, pain receptors send a ‘possible threat’ signal to the brain, which then evaluates the danger of the threat by drawing information from current and past experiences and the state of the mind.</p> <p>If the brain does not perceive the circumstance as dangerous, it will not cause pain.</p> <p>If we are anxious or frightened, our brain might perceive the situation as dangerous and produce pain to protect us.</p> <p>“An interaction between incoming information from the world around you and held information – things that you already think and feel and believe – gives rise to an experience of pain when you judge your body to be under threat or needing protection,” says Wand.</p> <p>In one <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltext/2007/12150/The_context_of_a_noxious_stimulus_affects_the_pain.9.aspx" target="_blank">study</a>, scientists placed an ice-cold rod on the back of volunteers’ hands while showing them either a red or blue light.</p> <p>The rod was at the same temperature each time, but those who were shown the red light, which in our imagery represents danger, reported more intense pain than those who saw the blue light.</p> <p>In another <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltext/1998/01000/The_role_of_prior_pain_experience_and_expectancy.24.aspx" target="_blank">experiment</a>, volunteers put their heads inside what they thought was a ‘head stimulator’.</p> <p>In front of them, researchers manoeuvred an ‘intensity knob’.</p> <p>The volunteers reported levels of pain that correlated with the intensity on the knob, although the stimulator was doing nothing at all.</p> <p>These studies suggest that pain is not a response to real danger or physical damage but to perceived danger, says Professor Lorimer Moseley, a pain scientist at the University of South Australia.</p> <p>Consequently, psychosocial factors that alter our perception of threat play a crucial role in the level of pain we experience.</p> <p>When pain becomes chronic, it is less about physical damage and more about a pain system that has become excessively protective.</p> <p>A physical cause of the pain might never be found in scans, yet the pain people feel is real, says Moseley.</p> <h2><strong>Go the distance for pain science</strong></h2> <p>While lack of access to multidisciplinary pain services is a countrywide issue, rural and regional areas are severely underserved.</p> <p>Pain Revolution is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.painrevolution.org/" target="_blank">an organisation</a> set up to close the gap between modern pain science and clinical practice in rural and regional communities.</p> <p>The organisation has established a Local Pain Educator Program that trains rural and regional GPs and health professionals in modern pain science and management.</p> <p>In turn, they support their communities by providing pain education to the public.</p> <p>With another project called the Local Pain Collectives, Pain Revolution helps rural and regional health professionals establish community-based, interdisciplinary networks to build their skills in contemporary pain education and management.</p> <p>“Two essential ingredients for recovery from persistent pain are learning and movement,” says Moseley, who is also CEO of Pain Revolution.</p> <p>“There is very strong evidence that movement is medicine. Our muscles, bones, ligaments, skin, tendons – you name it – <em>love</em> movement.”</p> <p>To support its work, Pain Revolution has launched a virtual challenge to raise funds called Go the Distance.</p> <p>“Go the Distance is challenging everyone to learn a bit more about pain and get moving, and walking, running and cycling are three easy ways to do it,” says Moseley.</p> <p>The initiative has replaced the annual Rural Outreach Tour, which had previously been the major Pain Revolution fundraiser.</p> <p>“Like many events in 2021, COVID has meant that we had to find an alternative to the tour,” says Moseley.</p> <p>The initiative will be held in October, and it challenges participants to walk, run or ride as far as possible to support people who suffer from chronic pain and often don’t receive medical care that is based on the latest scientific evidence.</p> <p>If you want to help, support our science writer Manuela Callari, who has taken the challenge, by donating <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://painrevolution.raisely.com/manuela-callari" target="_blank">here</a>. If you want to sign up as an individual, or join a team, go to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://painrevolution.raisely.com/" target="_blank">painrevolution.raisely.com</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article was originally published by <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/pain-and-the-brain-closing-the-gap-between-modern-pain-science-and-clinical-practice/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Dr Manuela Callari.</em></p> </div> </div>

Body

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A life of long weekends is alluring but not practical

<p>When Microsoft gave its 2,300 employees in Japan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/04/microsoft-japan-four-day-work-week-productivity">five Fridays off in a row</a>, it found productivity jumped 40%.</p> <p>When financial services company Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand trialled <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/feb/19/four-day-week-trial-study-finds-lower-stress-but-no-cut-in-output">eight Fridays off in a row</a>, its 240 staff reported feeling more committed, stimulated and empowered.</p> <p>Around the world there’s renewed interest in reducing the standard working week. But a question arises. Is instituting the four-day week, while retaining the eight-hour workday, the best way to reduce working hours?</p> <p>Arguably, retaining the five-day week but cutting the working day to seven or six hours is a better way to go.</p> <p><strong>Shorter days, then weeks</strong></p> <p>History highlights some of the differences between the two options.</p> <p>At the height of the Industrial Revolution, in the 1850s, a 12-hour working day and a six-day working week – 72 hours in total – was common.</p> <p>Mass campaigns, vigorously opposed by business owners, emerged to reduce the length of the working day, initially from 12 hours to ten, then to eight.</p> <p>Building workers in Victoria, Australia, were among the first in the world to secure an eight-hour day, <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/publications/research-papers/download/36-research-papers/13812-heritage-note-no-1-2017-the-origins-of-the-eight-hour-day-in-victoria">in 1856</a>. For most workers in most countries, though, it did not become standard until the first decades of the 20th century.</p> <p>The campaign for shorter working days was based largely on worker fatigue and health and safety concerns. But it was also argued that working men needed time to read and study, and would be <a href="http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/workers-rights/origins-8-hour-day">better husbands, fathers and citizens</a>.</p> <p>Reducing the length of the working week from six days came later in the 20th century.</p> <p>First it was reduced to five-and-a-half days, then to five, resulting in the creation of “the weekend”. This occurred in most of the industrialised world from the 1940s to 1960s. In Australia the 40-hour five-day working week became the law of the land <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/70-years-ago-today-the-40hour-five-day-working-week-began-20180101-h0c3dd.html">in 1948</a>. These changes occurred despite two world wars and the Great Depression.</p> <p><strong>Stalled campaign</strong></p> <p>In the 1970s, campaigns for reduced working hours ground to a halt in most industrialised countries.</p> <p>As more women have joined the paid workforce, however, the total workload (paid and unpaid) for <a href="https://theconversation.com/grappling-with-the-time-bomb-of-australias-work-rest-and-play-5330">the average family increased</a>. This led to concerns about “time squeeze” and overwork.</p> <p>The issue has re-emerged over the past decade or so from a range of interests, including feminism and environmentalism.</p> <p><strong>Back on the agenda</strong></p> <p>A key concern is still worker fatigue, both mental and physical. This is not just from paid work but also from the growing demands of family and social life in the 21st century. It arises on a daily, weekly, annual and lifetime basis.</p> <p>We seek to recover from daily fatigue during sleep and daily leisure. Some residual fatigue nevertheless accumulates over the week, which we recover from over the weekend. Over longer periods we recover during public holidays (long weekends) and annual holidays and even, over a lifetime, during retirement.</p> <p>So would we be better off working fewer hours a day or having a longer weekend?</p> <p>Arguably it is the pressure to fit family and personal commitments into the few hours between getting home and bedtime that is the main source of today’s time-squeeze, particularly for families. This suggests the priority should be the shorter working day rather than the four-day week.</p> <p>Sociologist Cynthia Negrey is among those who suggest reducing the length of the workday, especially to mesh with children’s school days, as part of the feminist enterprise to alleviate the “sense of daily time famine” she writes about in her 2012 book, <a href="http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9780745654256">Work Time: Conflict, Control, and Change</a>.</p> <p><strong>Historical cautions</strong></p> <p>It’s worth bearing in mind the historical fall in the working week from 72 to 40 hours was achieved at a rate of only about 3.5 hours a decade. The biggest single step – from six to five-and-half days – was a reduction of 8% in working hours. Moving to a six-hour day or a four-day week would involve a reduction of about 20% in one step. It therefore seems practical to campaign for this in a number of stages.</p> <p>We should also treat with caution results of one-off, short-term, single-company experiments with the four-day week. These typically occur in organisations with leadership and work cultures willing and able to experiment with the concept. Employees are likely to see themselves as “special” and may be conscious of the need to make the experiment work. Painless economy-wide application cannot be taken for granted.</p> <p><em>Written by Anthony Veal. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-life-of-long-weekends-is-alluring-but-the-shorter-working-day-may-be-more-practical-127817">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Retirement Life

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6 home improvement projects that practically pay for themselves

<p>These smart upgrades pay off big in resale value and enjoyment of your home.</p> <p><strong>1. Give cabinets a new life</strong></p> <p>“Replacing your cabinets is a huge cost that is not completely necessary if the cabinets are less than ten years old, functional, and made from a high-quality wood,” says John Milligan, Product Development Manager at N-Hance Wood Refinishing. Refinishing can cost around $3,000 to $8,000 and can potentially bump up the value of your home between 3 and 7 percent.</p> <p><strong>2. The biggest bang for your buck</strong></p> <p>A fresh coat of paint instantly updates and transforms the entire interior of your home, and when you consider the relatively low cost of paint, it’s about the biggest bang for your buck you can get. “Greys are back in vogue, and create a neutral palette that lets your decor really pop,” says Steve Frellick, licensed contractor and founder/broker of Yonder Luxury Vacation Rentals.</p> <p><strong>3. Roll up the carpet</strong></p> <p>If you’re lucky, your wall-to-wall carpet will last about ten years. Well-maintained hardwood floors, on the other hand, last for at least 25 years. “Hardwood floors have a massive appeal and add an extreme level of warmth and comfort in your home and a definite return on your investment,” says Frellick. In fact, a recent Remodeling Impact Report from the National Association of Realtors showed that a whopping 91 percent of the cost is recovered.</p> <p><strong>4. Exterior facelift</strong></p> <p>New cladding is like a facelift for the house, resulting in enhanced curb appeal. But replacing worn out cladding isn’t just about looks: damaged cladding creates moisture and mould, and it leaves insulation exposed, causing your heating and cooling bills to skyrocket.</p> <p><strong>5. The grass is always greener in your yard</strong></p> <p>Dragging out and moving sprinklers every week is not only time-consuming; it adds to your water bill. A better idea? Drip irrigation. “This puts water where plants need it – at the root zone – and it uses much less water over time, as the emitters are placed right near the plants and drip at a reduced rate,” says plant merchant Tyler Davis. It’s easy to install, and will pay for itself in a short time with water savings, he adds. A green and well-manicured lawn can add $2,000 to $7,000 to the resale value of your home.</p> <p><strong>6. Give yourself some space</strong></p> <p>Creating more usable space is something you’ll never regret, whether you use it for storage or more living space. “Having a finished basement or attic can be as simple as putting up and painting gyprock and putting down flooring,” says Shayanfekr. The costs will vary greatly depending on the square metreage and materials used, but the Remodeling Impact Report from the National Association of Realtors shares that you’ll generally recoup over 50 percent of costs at sale time.</p> <p><em>Source: </em><a href="https://www.rd.com/home/improvement/home-projects-pay-for-themselves/"><em>RD.com</em></a></p> <p><em>Written by Lisa Marie Conklin. This article first appeared in </em><a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/home-tips/12-home-improvement-projects-practically-pay-themselves"><em>Reader’s Digest</em></a><em>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </em><a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRN93V"><em>here’s our best subscription offer.</em></a></p>

Home & Garden

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6 practical ways to control your anger

<p>Anger. It’s something we’ve all experienced before, but for some, it’s part of their everyday life. Whether it’s becoming enraged at petty things or more serious situations, for many people, controlling their anger is no mean feat.</p> <p>And not only does it affect those around them – after all, who wants to be around a furious person all the time? – but it can also affect their own health.</p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/anger-how-it-affects-people" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Better Health</span></strong></em></a>, constant anger means a constant flood of stress chemicals which can in turn lead to health problems such as headache, digestive issues, insomnia, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, eczema, heart attack and stroke.</p> <p>Of course, all these risks can decrease dramatically simply by taking a few steps towards managing your anger. Here are some of the best ways to do just that.</p> <p><strong> 1. Make sleep a priority</strong></p> <p>Countless studies have shown that a lack of sleep can lead to anger and vice versa, so by getting more shut-eye, you’ll be breaking this toxic cycle and giving your waking self more of a chance of controlling your rage.</p> <p><strong>2. Get moving</strong></p> <p>When you’re angry, your levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) are sky-high. Exercising every day – even if it just means going for a walk around the neighbourhood – will release endorphins, decreasing anger and lifting your mood. It’s also a great way to channel your negative energy into something productive</p> <p><strong>3. Eat less sugar and don’t skip meals</strong></p> <p>So many of us are addicted to sugar without even realising it, meaning that if we don’t get our fix regularly, our blood glucose drops, our bodies release cortisol and adrenaline and we get “hangry”. Cutting down as much as possible on sugar will help reduce your reliance on it.</p> <p><strong>4. Free your mind</strong></p> <p>Forget everything you thought you knew about meditation – it isn’t about sitting cross-legged or chanting. Meditation is simply about taking a small amount of time each day to quiet the mind, focusing on deep breathing and letting negative thoughts come and go without letting them take hold.</p> <p><strong>5. Know your triggers</strong></p> <p>The next time you get angry, ask yourself, what is it about this specific situation that’s made me mad? Is it the person you’re talking to? Are you hungry? Tired? You can’t start managing your anger until you know what’s causing it.</p> <p><strong>6. Get distracted</strong></p> <p>When you’re angry, it’s hard to feel other emotions simultaneously. So do something that’s incompatible with anger, like cuddling a pet or watching a funny show on TV. It’s highly unlikely that you can experience full-blown rage while looking at a cute dog, right?</p> <p>Ultimately, if you feel you’ve tried everything and simply can’t get a hold of your anger, we recommend seeking out professional help.</p>

Mind

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6 practical tips to help you read more

<p>In this tech-obsessed world of ours, it’s always nice to put the screens down and sit outside in the sun with a good book. But despite our best intentions, sometimes, keeping on top of our to-read lists can seem impossible.</p> <p>So, if your new year’s resolution to read more books this year hasn’t quite been going to plan, we’ve got some practical tips to help you out.</p> <p><strong>1. Set a goal</strong></p> <p>If you haven’t already, sign up to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Goodreads</span></strong></a>. It’s the world’s biggest online reading community, with reviews, recommendations and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/7501" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">a great little tool</span></strong></a> where you can pledge how many books you’d like to read this year. Make sure you keep it realistic, though. You could always start with 12 (if you start now, that’s just a little more than one a month) and update your goal if you find it too easy or difficult.</p> <p><strong>2. Commit to reading a certain amount of time per day</strong></p> <p>Whether it’s in the morning with breakfast or before bed, set aside some time (it doesn’t matter if it’s 20 minutes or an hour) to knock over some chapters. Alternatively, you could commit to reading a certain number of pages or chapters each day – whatever works best for you.</p> <p><strong>3. Create the perfect reading space</strong></p> <p>It’s important to find the ideal environment for your reading time. Choose somewhere comfy, bright and distraction-free – that rules out any room with a TV, computer, phone or anything else that could interrupt your book session. Get yourself a cuppa, light some candles and make your reading time something you look forward to every day.</p> <p><strong>4. Join the library</strong></p> <p>Becoming a member of your local library will give you access to thousands of great reads for free, saving you money and precious shelf space. Even if you don’t live close to one, consider signing up for an online membership with your state or city library, as they often have extensive online catalogues of ebooks, audiobooks and even magazines.</p> <p><strong>5. Take a book everywhere</strong></p> <p>Within reason, of course! Having a book on you at all times is a great way to get some incidental reading time in. How many times a day do you find yourself waiting for a bus or train, standing in line at the café or waiting for a friend? Why not fill that time with a good read?</p> <p><strong>6. Start a book club</strong></p> <p>Or join one. Not only is it a great way to motivate yourself to read often but being part of a book club is a great way to meet new people in your local community. If a face-to-face group isn’t possible for you, there are plenty of online clubs out there to discuss what you’re currently reading. Simply search Facebook and you’ll find hundreds! You can even specify them by genre, age group and gender.</p> <p>Tell us in the comments below, do you read every day? What advice do you have for others wanting to read more?</p>

Books

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7 practical ways to support a friend through illness

<p>As we age, it gets more and more common to hear that a friend has taken ill. It can feel awkward knowing what to say or do, especially when the prognosis is bad. But it’s always better to say or do something rather than ignore it. Today we have seven ideas for how you can offer help to someone who really needs it (even if they say they are fine).</p> <p><strong>1. Make a catch-up phone call</strong></p> <p>Even when you are ill, it’s nice to have people call and see how you are. They may not want to talk for long, but that’s OK. At least they will know you have them in mind. If they’re up to it, make a plan to come and visit them or to phone them again soon.</p> <p><strong>2. Drop off freezable meals or cakes</strong></p> <p>When you’re not well, cooking is the last thing you feel like doing. Yet good food can be a simple way to feel better. Help your friend out by bringing something they can either have that day, or freeze for another time.</p> <p><strong>3. Don’t stay too long</strong></p> <p>If you do visit your sick friend, always make a point of not staying too long. They may find visitors nice but tiring, so 15-20 minutes is about right.</p> <p><strong>4. Send something thoughtful</strong></p> <p>It’s always nice to receive a package in the post or on the doorstep. A well thought out gift can really brighten someone’s day. For instance, you might send a pair of woolly socks, a heat pack with a cute cover, a hamper full of nice treats, or the latest novel from their favourite author.</p> <p><strong>5. Put it in writing</strong></p> <p>It’s not often we receive a hand-written note or card these days, and that makes them extra special. Putting pen to paper also gives you a chance to think about what you would like to say to the sick person. Even a simple ‘I’m thinking of you’ is a kind gesture.</p> <p><strong>6. Offer to take care of some jobs</strong></p> <p>It can be as simple as texting them to say ‘I’m heading to the shops later, is there anything I can pick up for you?’ Or if you know that their dog needs walking, or their lawn might need mowing…you get the drift. Be helpful in practical ways.</p> <p><strong>7. Talk about something else</strong></p> <p>Some people want to talk about their illness, but many would rather hear about other (more positive) things. So tell them about your new neighbour, a recipe you’re trying, or about a holiday you’re planning. Keep their mind on happy thoughts can only be a positive. If they want to talk about something else, no doubt they’ll let you know.</p> <p>How did your friends support you during a period of illness? We would love to hear your stories in the comments.</p>

Relationships

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2 easy yoga practices for pain management

<p><em><strong>Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community.</strong></em></p> <p>Dealing with pain can put us into a state of hyper-arousal which sets off a ‘chain’ of tension throughout the body. Tensing our muscles when we are in pain or stressed is an automatic response in our bodies - our shoulders go up, tension increases in the neck and the back rounds. In fact, we can actually increase the pain we are feeling by tensing muscles in this way.</p> <p>Another way we can influence pain levels is by holding or shortening the breath, the body has a natural phenomenon built into the nervous system which holds tension in the muscles when the lungs are full or pressurized. A rapid shortened breath switches on the ‘fight or flight’ reaction in the nervous system pushing up anxiety.</p> <p>If any of this sounds familiar, here are two easy ways to help your mind to find a positive focus. Yogic practices for mental relaxation together with breathing techniques improve our coping skills and teach us how to recognise these harmful stress reactions before they start affecting pain levels.</p> <p><strong>1. Deepen and lengthen your breath</strong></p> <p>Sitting comfortably, focus your attention on your natural breath, try to relax the body as best you can. When ready, start to deepen and lengthen your breath especially focus on making the exhalation longer than the inhalation. After a while, you may be able to add a count, inhale for 4, exhale for 8.</p> <p>This practice triggers your parasympathetic nervous system - the home of your relaxation response. Muscles relax on the exhalation so lengthen the time of the exhalation to reduce tension. This practice brings awareness to the breath helping to calm the mind, aiding relaxation and pain management.</p> <p>Once you have become comfortable with the 4/8 count, you may like to expand this practice by taking the inhalation into your belly. Inhale, send the breath into the belly, feel the navel rise or make it do so. Exhale, draw the navel slowly and lightly back towards the spine, develop a rhythmic breath. Relax deeply.</p> <p>This breathing practice can be done as much as needed, there are no limits.</p> <p><strong>2. Muscle relaxation (travelling your awareness slowly step-by-step through all of the body parts)</strong></p> <p>Find a comfortable place to relax, either seated or reclining. Close your eyes, move into deepening and lengthening your breath. Take 7 breaths like this.</p> <p>Starting with the right-hand side of the body: feel into all five fingers, move your awareness to your palm, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder – continue on like this slowly moving the mind throughout the whole right-side of the body. As you travel your awareness around the body, feel into each part without moving it, then relax it a bit more.</p> <p>When the right-side is completed move to the left-hand side of the body and repeat this same practice, progressively moving the awareness around the body, relaxing each body part as you go.</p> <p>When you have completed this, bring your awareness up to your face. Relax the jaw, then the checks, lips, eyes, forehead. Totally relax all of your facial muscles – it’s one of the best things you can do to calm the brain.</p> <p>Regular daily practice of these two methods of breath control and relaxation will help the body to become calm and the mind to ease.</p> <p><em>Follow Tracy on Facebook <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/%20https:/www.facebook.com/TracyChairYoga/?hc_ref=SEARCH&amp;fref=nf" target="_blank">here</a></strong></span>.</em></p>

Body

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8 practical tips for older drivers

<p><em><strong>Marissa Sandler is the CEO and co-founder of </strong></em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a rel="noopener" href="http://www.careseekers.com.au/" target="_blank">Careseekers</a></span></strong><em><strong>. Previously a social justice lawyer and researcher for over 15 years, Marissa is passionate about helping people live with dignity and finding innovative solutions to problems.</strong></em></p> <p>According to the University of Adelaide, older drivers are over-represented in at-fault crashes. An analysis of the reasons for these crashes shows there is typically a deficit experienced by the elderly driver in performance at perceptual, motor and higher cognitive levels, with particular emphasis on speed and information processing deficits. Sadly, there is also a higher injury risk as a result of greater frailty amongst the elderly. Prevention therefore should be a key focus for families.</p> <p>At Careseekers, we have looked into the recommendations offered by the University, along with other market trend data, and suggest families consider the following practical tips to help protect their elderly family members on the road.</p> <p><strong>1. Choose safer vehicles</strong> – if possible, choose a car over other types of vehicles available, and one that is newer with advanced safety features, such as park-assist. Also look for 5 star ANCAP rating or UCSR where possible.</p> <p><strong>2. Reduce speed</strong> – encourage your family member to reduce speed in general, but in particular in high pedestrian areas.</p> <p><strong>3. Self-regulate</strong> – suggest your family member doesn’t drive in difficult situations, such as at night if vision is poorly.</p> <p><strong>4. Develop a transition plan to being a non-driver</strong> – this is critical so that your family member doesn’t experience significant ‘shock’ with the sudden loss of mobility. Please do bear in mind many elderly don’t like to use public transport, which can lead to social isolation, so the sooner you can develop a plan the better.</p> <p><strong>5. Enlist support</strong> – seek the support from other family members with transport as mobility diminishes.</p> <p><strong>6. Taxi program</strong>– there are some multipurpose taxi programs which subside taxi fares for pensioners.</p> <p><strong>7. Contact the local council</strong>– there are often local transport services available to take family members on outings, or drop them to specific locations. This will also help to prevent social isolation.</p> <p><strong>8. Professional driver</strong>– if you are in a position to do so, a professional driver can be a great option as your parent can develop trust with this individual and call them directly if ever needed. This may be an option under a home care package if the elderly person has one.</p> <p>It is worth making mention of mobility scooters, as the use of these vehicles is on the rise. If your family member uses one, please ensure it is registered and please only use if it has been recommended by a medical practitioner.</p>

Caring

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Top mindfulness tips for daily practice

<p><em><strong>Kate Kendall is the co-founder and yoga director of Flow Athletic and Blackmores Yoga and Wellbeing Coach.</strong></em></p> <p>In an everyday rush that we live in, it’s important to take a few moments for ourselves and to focus on reducing stress levels. Here I share my favourite tips for staying on top of your day.</p> <p><strong>Morning</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Spend some alone time</strong> – getting away and going for a quiet walk is a fantastic trick to help your mind relax and wind down from a busy week. Attempt to steal about 30 minutes and enjoy a silent stroll to reconnect with yourself.</li> <li><strong>Breathing deeply</strong> – helping your body relax is closely related to your breathing so doing breathing exercises is the perfect way to keep calm. Get in a really comfortable position and close your eyes taking in really deep breaths through your nose. At the top of that inhalation pause for two to three seconds and exhale through your mouth and repeat another few times.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Day</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Make a date with Mother Nature -</strong> ‘Biophilia’ is the healing power of nature and refers to the big, healthy scoop of serotonin that you get when you’re out amongst the trees, ocean and plants of any kind. Research has shown that it reduces stress plus improves sleep and mood. </li> <li><strong>Mindful eating</strong> – if you’re looking for energy food to give you a boost for the day, stay away from things that give you a quick high and then crash like caffeine. Try natural protein and energy full food like the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.blackmores.com.au/products/matcha-green-tea-plus-nature-boost-vitamin-bs">Blackmores Matcha Green Tea</a></strong></span> to help replenish your body but to also give it a sustained release of important vitamins and minerals.</li> <li><strong>Belly laugh -</strong> Not only does a good old fashioned belly laugh release serotonin, a feel-good hormone in the body, but when we share one with a good mate, it releases another called oxytocin which is a bonding hormone. Feel happy and connected – winning! Make time to hang out with people who make you laugh…til it hurts. </li> <li><strong>Pause</strong> - Pepper a few pauses into your day. Three or four is perfect. A pause is stepping back from whatever it is you’re doing at any one time to do nothing but focus on your breath. Make them conscious, full, generous breaths. When we slow down and pause, we let ourselves 'catch up’. When you slow down the breath, you slow down the beat of the heart, you slow down the brain waves and you become more present. </li> </ul> <p><strong>Night</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Reflect on your day</strong> – after a long day it’s important to just sit back and acknowledge what has happened that day and unload all of the stress. Processing the day will allow you easier sleep with a clear mind.</li> <li><strong>Legs up the wall -</strong>  A perfect posture to stay cool, calm and connected as well as wind down for the day. Not only does it release fluid out of the ankles and the feet but it also allows you some space to decompress and digest the hot spots in your life. Just like our internal digestive system, when we allow space to digest thoughts and emotions, it keeps up light and less reactive. </li> <li><strong>Evening elixir - </strong>Before bed every night I add a teaspoon of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.blackmores.com.au/products/muscle-magnesium">Blackmores muscle magnesium</a></strong></span> powder into a glass of water and sip on that before bed. Magnesium is a muscle relaxant that helps to relieve tension naturally, and after all, the brain is a muscle too so it’s great for the whole body.</li> </ul> <p>Do you practice mindfulness? Share your experience in the comments below. </p>

Mind

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9 weird and wonderful facts about death and funeral practices

<p>It might not be something you want to think about very often, but it turns out that the way we treat our dead in the modern age is heavily influenced by the way our ancestors treated theirs.</p> <p>When you look at death and funeral practices through the ages, repeated patterns of behaviour emerge, making it easy to see where some of our modern ideas about death – such as keeping an urn on your mantelpiece or having a gravestone – have come from.</p> <p>So here are nine surprising facts about death and funeral practices through the ages:</p> <p><strong>1. Some prehistoric societies de-fleshed the bones</strong></p> <p>This was done with sharp knives. And we know this because human skeletons buried during this period show the traces of many <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3633135/Grisly-Stone-Age-pits-Orkney-islanders-chopped-dead-relatives-mixing-mass-graves.html">cut marks</a></strong></span> to the skulls, limbs and other bones.</p> <p>During the medieval period, bodies that needed to be transported over long distances for burial were also defleshed – by dismembering the body and boiling the pieces. The bones were then transported, while the soft tissues were buried close to the place of death.</p> <p><strong>2. Throwing spears at the dead</strong></p> <p>During the Middle Iron Age, “speared-corpse” burials were a pretty big deal in east Yorkshire. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://remembermeproject.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/the-speared-corpse-burials-of-iron-age-east-yorkshire/">Spears were thrown or placed into the graves</a></strong></span> of some young men – and in a couple of instances they appear to have been thrown with enough force to pierce the body. It is unclear why this was done, but it may have been a military send-off – similar to the 21-gun salute at modern military funerals.</p> <p><strong>3. The Romans introduced gravestones</strong></p> <p>As an imported practice, the first gravestones in Britain were concentrated close to Roman military forts and more urbanised Romano-British settlements.</p> <p>Back then, gravestones were more frequently dedicated to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/">women and children than Roman soldiers</a></strong></span>. This was most likely because Roman soldiers were not legally allowed to marry, so monuments to their deceased family members legitimised their relationships in death in a way they couldn’t be in life.</p> <p>After the end of Roman control in Britain in the fifth century, gravestones fell out of favour and did not become widely popular again until the modern era.</p> <p><strong>4. The Anglo Saxons preferred urns</strong></p> <p>During the early Anglo-Saxon period, cremated remains were often kept within the community for some time before burial. We know this because <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.academia.edu/29693509/Ethnographies_for_Early_Anglo-Saxon_Cremation">groups of urns were sometimes buried together</a></strong></span>. Urns were also included in burials of the deceased – who were likely their relatives.</p> <p><strong>5. Lots of people shared a coffin</strong></p> <p>During the medieval period, many parish churches had <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/churches/england/yorkshire/east_riding/east_two/howden/index.html">community coffins</a></strong></span>, which could be borrowed or leased to transport the deceased person from the home to the churchyard. When they arrived at the graveside, the body would be removed from the coffin and buried in a simple shroud.</p> <p><strong>6. And rosemary wasn’t just for potatoes</strong></p> <p>Sprigs of rosemary were often carried by people in the funeral procession and cast onto the coffin before burial, much as roses are today. And as an evergreen plant, rosemary was associated with eternal life. As a fragrant herb, it was also often placed inside coffins to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://nourishingdeath.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/rosemary-thats-for-remembrance/">conceal any odours that might be emerging from the corpse</a></strong></span>. This was important because bodies often lay in state for days and sometimes weeks before burial, while preparations were made and mourners travelled to attend the funeral.</p> <p><strong>7. Touching a murderer could heal</strong></p> <p>Throughout early modern times, and up until at least the mid-19th century, it was a common belief that the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4623855/">touch of a murderer</a></strong></span> – executed by hanging – could cure all kinds of illnesses, ranging from cancer and <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Goitre/Pages/Introduction.aspx">goitres</a></span></strong> to skin conditions. Afflicted persons would attend executions hoping to receive the “death stroke” of the executed prisoner.</p> <p><strong>8. There are still many mysteries</strong></p> <p>For almost a thousand years, during the British Iron Age, archaeologists don’t really know what kinds of funeral practices were being performed across much of Britain. And human remains only appear in a few places – like the burials in east Yorkshire. So for much of Britain, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-prehistoric-society/article/div-classtitleiron-age-burial-in-southern-britaindiv/D617DE25F4F6814D343B498B3DC21631">funeral practices are almost invisible</a></strong></span>. We suspect bodies were either exposed to the elements in a practice known as “excarnation”, or cremated and the ashes scattered.</p> <p><strong>9. But the living did respect the dead</strong></p> <p>Across time, people have engaged with past monuments to the dead, and it is common for people to respect older features of the landscape when deciding where to place new burials.</p> <p>Bronze Age people created new funeral monuments and buried their dead in close proximity to Neolithic funeral monuments. This can be seen in the landscape around Stonehenge, which was created as an ancestral and funeral monument – and is full of Bronze Age burial mounds known as <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://web.org.uk/barrowmap/">round barrows</a></strong></span>.</p> <p>And when the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain, they frequently buried their dead close to Bronze and Iron Age monuments. Sometimes they dug into these older monuments and reused them to bury their own dead.</p> <p>Even today, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/find-a-funeral-director/what-is-a-green-funeral/">green burial grounds</a></strong></span> tend to respect preexisting field boundaries. And in at least one modern cemetery, burials are placed in alignment with medieval “ridge and furrow”. These are the peaks and troughs in the landscape resulting from <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_and_furrow">medieval ploughing</a></span></strong>.</p> <p><em>Written by Yvonne Inall. First appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Conversation.</strong></span></a> </em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/2016/12/web-funerals-make-mourners-lazy/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Web funerals “are making mourners lazier”</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/2016/10/what-people-in-their-90s-think-about-death/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>What people in their 90s really think about death</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/2016/09/4-things-your-body-goes-through-in-grief/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>4 surprising things your body goes through when you grieve</strong></em></span></a></p>

Caring

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Look after arthritic hips with these 3 easy yoga practices

<p><em><strong>Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community.</strong></em></p> <p>The genius of joints is that the more they move and bend, the more fluid circulates through them increasing the ability for even greater movement – a flawless system. Flawless, that is, until arthritis interrupts.</p> <p>The largest joint in the body is the hip, if you are dealing with osteoarthritis in the hips there’s hopeful news – new research has found that a daily yoga practice can improve arthritic symptoms and put you in a good mood too. The three practices below will help to increase your hip joint range of motion.</p> <p>A word of caution: Hip replacements may feel tight when practicing yoga and post-operative guidelines will be a challenge. It all depends upon the type of surgery you have undergone, whether it was partial hip replacement and so on. Ask your doctor before starting for advice about a safe range of movement.</p> <p>If you feel uncomfortable or lightheaded at any time stop and rest or adjust to a more comfortable position.</p> <p><strong>1. Forward bend from seated</strong></p> <ul> <li>Sit down on a sturdy kitchen chair, one that is not going to move underneath you.</li> <li>Slide yourself forward to sit on the edge of the chair and then place your knees about hip width apart, your feet hip width apart as well.</li> <li>Place your hands on your knees.</li> <li>Inhale and as you exhale slowly bring your heart down towards your knees, pause wherever is comfortable for you.</li> <li>As you inhale, bring yourself back to upright.</li> <li>Repeat 5 times.</li> </ul> <p><strong>2. Side angel pose</strong></p> <ul> <li>From seated, take your knees wide and have your toes and your knees pointing in the same direction. Make sure your knees are sitting above your ankle joints.</li> <li>Lean to your left, place your left elbow on to your left knee.</li> <li>Feel free to stay here or inhale your right arm up above your head, fingertips reaching for the ceiling.</li> <li>Take 3 deep breaths and hold the pose. Repeat on the right side of the body.</li> </ul> <p><strong>3. Hip rotations</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bring the knees back to hip-width-apart.</li> <li>Take a look your right knee, lift your right foot off the floor, take your right knee around in a small circle about the size of a side plate.</li> <li>Try to synchronise the movement with your breath.</li> <li>Go 3 to 5 times in a clockwise movement, the reverse it and go 3 – 5 times in an anti-clockwise movement.</li> <li>As you become comfortable with this practice increase the circles to 7 times in each direction.</li> </ul> <p>This practice takes the hips through the “three degrees of freedom” – forwards and backwards, external rotation of the joint and circular rotation. Collectively helping to increase flexibility and stability.</p> <p><em>Follow Tracy <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TracyChairYoga/?fref=ts"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">on Facebook here</span></strong></a>. </em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2016/05/how-to-improve-your-balance-with-yoga/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to improve your balance with yoga</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2017/01/easy-yoga-exercises-to-ease-arthritic-knees/%20"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>3 easy yoga exercises to ease arthritic knees</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2017/01/get-a-good-sleep-during-a-heatwave/%20"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to get a good night’s sleep during a heatwave</strong></em></span></a></p>

Body

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Where is the cast of A Country Practice now?

<p>Can you believe that it’s been 35 years since the iconic Aussie soap <em>A Country Practice</em> graced our screens for the first time? Airing from 1981 to 1993 (and then briefly rebooted in 1994), the show was filled with drama, laughter, tears and some of the most lovable characters on Australian television. Guest stars such as Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann, Toni Collette and even former Prime Minister Bob Hawke also paid a visit to the idyllic Wandin Valley. But just where is the cast of <em>A Country Practice</em> now? Let’s take a look.</p> <p><strong>Shane Porteous</strong>, who played Dr Terence Elliott, hasn’t done much television acting since the show, but continues to grace the stage, do voiceover work and write scripts. The 74-year-old lives in the Blue Mountains with wife Jenny and has three adult children, Fiona, Polly and Ben.</p> <p><strong>Brian Wenzel</strong>, who played Sergeant Frank Gilroy, is the oldest living cast member at the age of 87. Since the show, he has appeared in several Australian films and plays.</p> <p><strong>Lorrae Desmond</strong>, who played Shirley “Shirl” Gilroy, just celebrated her 84th birthday. After <em>A Country Practice</em>, she retired from television acting and switched her focus to writing musicals, plays, and a column in <em>That’s Life</em> magazine.</p> <p><strong>Joyce Jacobs</strong>, who played Esme Watson, had guest roles in films and the series <em>G.P.</em> before retiring in 2006. She sadly passed away in 2013 at the age of 91 after a decade-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.</p> <p><strong>Gordon Piper</strong>, who played Bob Hatfield, was forced to retire after losing both his legs in 1997. He passed away after a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 72.</p> <p><strong>Syd Heylen</strong>, who played Vernon “Cookie” Locke”, left the show in 1992 and died just four years later from a stroke.</p> <p><strong>Joan Sydney</strong>, who played Matron Margaret “Maggie” Sloan, left <em>A Country Practice</em> in 1990 and went on to have a recurring role in <em>Neighbours</em> as Valda Sheergold. The 78-year-old has one son, former Great Southern Rail CEO Tony Braxton-Smith.</p> <p><strong>Shane Withington</strong>, who played Brendan Jones, went on to play surf lifesaver John Palmer in <em>Home and Away</em>. The 58-year-old married his on-screen wife Anne Tenney in real life and the couple live in Pittwater, NSW, with their daughter Maddie, who is studying acting.</p> <p><strong>Anne Tenney</strong>, who played Melissa “Molly” Jones (and delivered one of the most heart-wrenching death scenes we’ve ever seen) co-starred in beloved Aussie film <em>The Castle</em> with Michael Caton and has appeared in several Australian series. She is 62 years old.</p> <p><strong>Grant Dodwell</strong>, who played Dr Simon Bowen, is now 64 and still a prolific actor, writer, director and producer. He has since worked on shows such as <em>Home and Away</em> and <em>Packed to the Rafters</em>. His daughter Celeste is also an actress, appearing in the upcoming film <em>Allied</em>.</p> <p><strong>Penny Cook</strong>, who played Victoria “Vicky” Dean Bowen, left the show in 1985 but returned in 1993. From 1992 to 1996, she was a presenter on the travel show <em>The Great Outdoors</em> and in 2007 became a recurring cast member on <em>Neighbours</em>.</p> <p>Tell us in the comments below, what’s your favourite Aussie television show?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/09/noni-hazelhurst-talks-a-place-to-call-home-and-logies-speech/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Noni talks candidly about new season of A Place to Call Home and that Logies speech</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/07/prisoner-where-are-they-now/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Where are the cast of Prisoner now?</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/08/best-shows-of-the-70s/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>10 best TV shows of the 1970s</em></span></strong></a></p>

TV