The Good Life: 20 May 2019

Hello Friends,

I am sorry there have not been any program reports for a little while, but my generous techno-smart friend who puts it on the internet is back on deck and willing to help me again!

Last week’s program was not without difficulties!  Due to a misunderstanding on the part of a publicist, a scheduled author interview was cancelled, then I received a message late Monday morning apologising and saying she would be available. Too late for me to do the preparatory work I feel I need to before an interview.

Another scheduled guest messaged to say that as the associate with whom she intended to visit the studio was ill, they too had to postpone!  However, we will organise a visit for a future date so they can share information about the proposed Ridgewalk project!

It was a very great pleasure to have as a studio guest well known local identity Samantha Dunn, who has been active both on the political scene and in community affairs for many years. It was great to hear that she is also now a member of the 3MDR Board and has agreed to become a regular guest on The Good Life.  (You know the old saying :”Ask a busy person…”)

We discussed some of her previous interests and activities, especially related to her strong involvement with active attempts to save our forests.

I have no doubt this will feature quite prominently now in

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The Good Life: 25 Mar 2019

HELLO GOOD LIFERS,

It is hard to keep up with all the happenings up here at this time of year and especially when a few personal “Catch-ups” happen at the same time.

Last week I spent a very pleasant couple of hours over coffee with two now-retired librarian friends from ERL and then later in the week another coffee session with student from my cooking classes of 40 years ago!  She lives now in SA and I have not seen her since those early days in Blackburn, so was delighted when she contacted me and suggested we catch up. She had 5 littlies under 10 (!) at that stage and now is grandmother to 7 little people herself!

However, I did manage to get to the first screening of Destroyer at Cameo Belgrave and I have written a review on my Facebook page.  Brutal, violent, bloody … but Nicole Kidman gives

The Good Life: 3 Mar 2019

Hello Good Lifers,

It is always difficult to ensnare the talented and so-busy Jimmy Fong, but last week offered a window of opportunity to have him as a studio guest and of course I was delighted.

I’m not sure it was coincidental, but at almost the same time two books loosely related to the same incident were published, one fiction and the other covering an actual flight disappearance.   Michael McGuire is the author of a book title Flight Risk, inspired by the mysterious disappearance of the Guruda Flight No MH 370.

The main character,

The Good Life: 17 Feb 2019

HELLO GOOD LIFER,

EXCUSES!  EXCUSES!  I KNOW.. I HAVE TO MAKE THEM ALL THE TIME! OOPS. And again!…… I am still adjusting to the new key board which I finally bought yesterday after being without one for a week.

The good news is that my three baby chicks have all settled down happily, their new Mum adores them, and they are growing almost as I watch them. Now I just need an old dog to make me happy!

Last week’s program was a busy one with an author interview, a chat with a local live theatre director and a studio visit from Ross Farnell, CEO of our beloved Burrinja Cultural Centre.

Ross very generously spent an hour with us and

The Good Life: 4 Feb 2019

Hello Good Lifers,

I am sorry to be so late with this waffle but it has been a really busy week!  Enjoyable, but busy.

I had two films to see and review, a great musical night at Ariette’s, lunch with a good friend and .. of course  ….my three new little fluffy chicks to look after! And that doesn’t include the books I am always reading for interviews or review.

Although it had to be somewhat abbreviated, I did manage to have a chat with our book reviewer Clare Calvet.  We chatted about books we had both read and she sent trough a list of the books she had covered during the month I’ll put that up separately on FB later.

The Good Life: 21 Jan 2019

Hello Good Lifers,

There is an old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’, and about 14 years ago Lynette Mitchell set out to prove this to be true!  It seems she has succeeded very well as she now has several laughter Clubs and workshops thriving not only locally but also in Federation Square.

Of course, there is more to Lynette’s groups than the laughter content, she is also a well qualified Life Coach with the skills to encourage her class members in every possible way.  She was pleased to tell us that some of her members had been attending regularly over several years and I am sure these sessions provide therapeutic benefits

The Good Life: 14 Jan 2019

Hello Good Lifers,

Lovely to be able to start on a more cheerful note by sharing the good news that I am “back on line”!  I apologise for the silence over the past several weeks but I have been without internet connection and I know you will appreciate how difficult this made Life!

My patient & long suffering daughter eventually sorted it out, corrected all the errors I had made in trying to correct problems myself and retrieved most of the material I thought lost!  So… fingers crossed!

It is always a pleasure to have Gavin Smith as a studio guest and last week provided the opportunity for celebration and congratulations upon his award as Person Of the Year 2018.  Such a well deserved acknowledgement for his years of dedication to the community in many ways, perhaps the most obvious of which has been his role of Mr Soupee!

For the past 10 years, every Friday Gavin and a hard-working group of volunteers have

The Good Life: 26 Nov 2018

Hello Good Lifers,

There are so many local events happening up here at this time of year, I thought we should speak to some of our very active community members and to have them share details of some of the activities in which residents are invited to participate.

Our first guest was Suzanne Diprose, who seems to be able to cram twice as much into her life as the rest of us can manage!  As well as having a husband and family and an active interest in commercial pursuits, she is a musician, an activist in relation to women’s issues and is now creating Apps to assist budding musicians in establishing their careers.

Suzanne is one half of Savannah Rose, a duo she shares with Bree Cleal and s

The Good Life: 19 Nov 2018

Hello Good Lifers,

A bit of juggling with guests again.. this is a busy time of year for so many people.  However, we were able to speak with three guest on topics of restaurant, wine and pictorial life in Suburbia!

My first guest was Jill Dupleix, whose name is very familiar to the foodies of Melbourne.  Jill worked with The Age and was very active on the Melbourne culinary scene before she and husband, restaurant reviewer Terry Durack, moved to London where, f

The Good Life: 12 Nov 2018

Hello Good Lifers,

Well, it was all a bit of a scramble this week but I really enjoyed an interview with ELIZABETH KLEINHELZ, the very courageous author of GERMAINE, a biography covering almost every aspect of Germaine Greer’s colourful life and career.

After a very discouraging response from Germaine when she was approached, Elizabeth bravely went ahead. She was assisted by having access to a huge quantity of reference material, including 500 (yes, that’s correct!) boxes of correspondence and other personal papers which had been stowed away.

This was in 2013 and she spent the next years sifting, sorting and writing and the result is a wonderful book! Not only does it draw a vivid picture of Germaine and her life, but it also presents us with a reminder of