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FLEXIBILITY
Older people are often accused of becoming rigid and inflexible in their attitude towards life. Most of the time I would vehemently challenge this accusation, but all stereotypes have a grain of tr ........
YOU CAN TEACH OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS!
In my book, I provide ample evidence that learning something new is not the domain of the young. In fact, neuroscience proves that you can learn anything at any age. Old dogs can therefore learn ne ........
SUSTAINABLE FASHION
Irrespective of whether you believe in the evidence of global warming or not, it is impossible to ignore the devastating evidence of our systematic destruction of our planet in the news this week. ........
DIFFERENT HATS
I have always enjoyed the process of writing and I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to write for different audiences over the years. Each one expecting a different output, angle and ........
CO-CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP
There is a special partnership between an author and their readers. Without our readers there would be no reason to spend the time researching and writing, whether our efforts include books, articl ........
UNSUNG HEROES
I was contacted today by a woman who had just finished reading my book. She wanted to tell me how much it had given her a boost during a time she needed it most. That, of course, is the very reason ........
THE POWER OF NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE
When we think of communication, we automatically think of doing so through the use of the written or spoken language. However, it is a well-known fact that approximately 93% of our communication is ........
THE SYMBOLISM OF CELEBRATIONS
Throughout our lives we are faced with transitions that are often marked by relevant celebrations or rituals. These may include birthday celebrations, weddings, promotions, retirement and for the f ........
THE INSPIRATION FOR WRITING
The first question I am always asked when I share my experiences of writing is, “Where do you find your inspiration from?”. There is a myriad of answers with no one simple answer to the question. A ........
RESEARCH AND WRITING
Irrespective of the genre in which an author chooses to write, research as an intimate companion. It is what brings any writing to life.As a writer who has focused most of my writing in an academic ........
TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS!
My association with writing has oscillated from writing the stories of others, published in magazines and other similar publications, to structured and clearly defined academic papers and books. Th ........
VARIETY OF STORIES
Historically the telling of stories ensured the survival of the history of a community, protecting their legacy. However, storytelling is so much part of our lives and is applied in many different ........
EMBRACE SLOWING DOWN
We spend most of our lives chasing some goal or another, whether at a personal or professional level. The result is that when we come to retirement, we feel lost. We no longer have goals and object ........
DARE TO THINK DIFFERENTLY
“When you don’t dress like everybody else you don’t have to think like everybody else”Iris ApfelThe above quote from the “geriatric starlet,” as she referred to herself, shared many of her accumula ........
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
It is Spring and the colorful spring flowers such as the happy yellow daffodils, are everywhere to be seen. They are heralding in warmer weather and hopefully a less restricted summer than last yea ........
FRIENDSHIP AND SOLITUDE
The last year has certainly challenged all of us to become more comfortable with our own company as we were forced to remain in our own homes and immediate environments for long periods of time. Th ........
NEW BEGINNINGS
It is Spring with a plethora of colour flowers, from crocuses to daffodils, heralding in warmer weather and hopefully a less restricted summer than last year. What a difference a year makes!Through ........
THE GOLDEN THREAD OF ATTITUDE
As the title of my book suggests, attitude is woven throughout all chapters of my book. It is the golden thread that draws all the themes into a unifying whole.I am a passionate believer that our a ........
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
As the audience for my book are older women, it seems appropriate to dedicate this blog to women in honour of International Women’s day and, of course, to all Hags out there! International Women’s ........
WHAT’S IN A NAME
When the ideas for H.A.G.S. with Attitude germinated in my mind, the title of the book had not yet emerged. However, I wanted the title to instantly capture the attention, whilst at the same time r ........
COLOUR AND CONFIDENCE
Confidence is a key theme weaving its way throughout my book. Confidence not only allows us to express our own unique personalities, but it also influences the way in which we communicate and inter ........
HOW AND WHERE TO START WRITING?
I’m returning to the topic of writing as I’m sure it would be of interest to many of you. It may be that some of you also harbour the desire to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. As the sayin ........
ROLE MODELS
I join the international acknowledgements and reflections on a very special human being that passed away a couple of days ago. As most people know, this person was a 100 year old man called, Captai ........
CAREER CHANGE
I alluded to in my first blog post that writing my book has facilitated a change of career for me. I shall share my journey with you and where I have ended up.I have always had a passion for clothe ........
THE WHY OF WRITING THIS BOOK
As authors, we are all compelled by many personal reasons for writing the books that we do. I was inspired by the words of Einstein namely, “There comes a point in your life when you need to stop r ........