Precious days and a wonderful start to the New Year When we bought an apartment in South East France in 2004, we spent all our holidays for over a year renovating it. The first Christmas we rented a place nearby so we could work on it every day. That’s when we discovered that New Year’s […]

The first product to be given a barcode was Wrigley’s Chewing Gum and it was scanned in Ohio in 1974.  The first three digits of the barcode will give you the country of origin.  This has become important to many people after several scandals involving tainted products, food poisoning and death. Many customers around the […]

NSW Seniors Festival, is an annual NSW Government campaign and the largest festival for people over 60 in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also for people aged 50 and older who have a lifelong disability or people who are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The theme is Grow Young. It centres on wellness, […]

The Dressmaker is a most entertaining story based around revenge; the righting of a wrong exacted eighteen years previous that led to the ostracizing of a wrongfully accused young girl, Myrtle (‘Tilly’) Dunnage. Forced to flee her harsh, unforgiving and insular small country town, Tilly ironically went on to establish a career in Paris amongst […]

     Walking Free is remarkable for the potent message it conveys. In an era when refugees are reshaping the social, political and economic landscape of Europe, this book is a timely reminder of the need to consider the physical and mental suffering endured by refugees as they embark upon perilous journeys in the hope […]

Fifty Five Plus will return on 4th March after our Christmas break.  Your stories are invaluable not only to keep Fifty Five Plus going but as a family record for all those you love. When Malcolm Turnbull and Mel Gibson opened NIDA’s new graduate school the Prime Minister of Australia urged people to tell their […]

This is the last issue of Fifty Five Plus for this year. It is our second year and our 17th issue. My sincere thanks to all our contributors and readers and at this point I would urge more people to send in their stories. It is becoming more and more important to record and hold […]

Eleanor Catton appears destined to become one of the preeminent authors of the 21st Century. This is only her second novel, following her debut with The Rehearsal in 2009. At age 32, New Zealand born Catton displays a mastery of plot, character development, intrigue and suspense well beyond her years. The Luminaries is written in […]