"It isn’t always easy being retired, especially if you’ve spent a lifetime in a busy job that never gave you the time to develop hobbies. Lynne Landy, founder and patron of Greatconnections, an organisation that links skilled retirees with not-for-profit organisations in need of professional help, has met many people facing this dilemma."

An interview with Lynne Landy, founder of the organisation Greatconnections.
Available for republication (print and Web).

"Do you consider yourself a champagne socialist? Are you a member of the cappuccino-sipping elite? If those expressions seem odd, it’s because they’re dated. Champagne socialist was coined some decades ago to describe a left-leaning toff, and 'cappuccino-sipping' only carried opprobrium when a cappuccino was new and trendy – a time we now know as 'the 1980s'."

Keeping up to date with the art of political insult via the media of coffee and wine.
Available for republication (print and Web).

[Read the full article here]

"'A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou beside me singing in the wilderness.' Persian poet, Omar Khayyam, penned these words almost a millennium ago, but the appreciation of wine is as popular as ever, as is the practice of cellaring wine to develop its full potential. So how's it done?"

A guide to laying down wine in the comfort of your own home.
Not available for republication.

[Read the full article here]

"I meet Beata Zielinska at the Willa Lubicz, a charming 1930s hotel on a hill in Gdynia, an industrial port city just north of Gdansk. She’s a neatly turned out middle-aged blonde in a fur-lined coat and jeans, holding a big, practical-looking gold handbag. As she sits at one of the genteel hotel’s cafe tables and orders coffee while an espresso machine hisses loudly behind her, she explains why the paj."

The reverse migration experience of a woman who manufactures Australian pies in Poland.
Available for republication (print and Web).
Images available.

"Global financial crisis? What crisis? It’s true that the world’s economies are going through some serious tremors; but for the first home buyer in Australia, there’s never been a better time to purchase a home. Interest rates are down, the first home owner grant is up, and outside the state capitals there are many affordable new housing developments on offer."

Examining new apartment developments in regional Australia.
Available for republication (print and Web).

"The program short circuits this problem by matching newly-arrived refugees with local mentors. It’s a win-win situation... the refugee gets the benefit of the mentor’s networks and local work experience, and the mentor gets to make a positive contribution to another person’s life, providing a hand up just when it’s most needed."

A profile of a successful refugee mentoring scheme.
Available for republication (print and Web).
Images available.

[Read the full article here (PDF)]

"The birth of a child is always cause for hope; a new spark of life to carry its family’s hopes and dreams into the future. But in this place, still haunted by the tsunami, the arrival of a new life seems more powerful and positive than ever."

Relating the work of World Vision with families in Thailand and Indonesia. 
Not available for republication.

[Read the full article here]

"I asked four mobile users, of different ages and backgrounds, about some problematic situations... In the end, mobile etiquette and safety are both about paying attention to the world around you. So watch out for others and keep your mobile safe, and we can all text happily ever after."

Examines the issues of mobile phone etiquette and safety, including users' opinions.
Available for republication (print and Web).

"The reasons are abstract and hard to describe: a need, deep down, to retain the ability to get up and go, to travel, and to make dramatic changes in my life when desired. Am I fooling myself? Or can the deliberate choice to not have children make sense, both personally and socially?"

An opinion piece examining the choice not to have children.
Available for republication (print only).

[Read the full article here (PDF)]

"Secret agent Maxwell Smart is sitting in the middle of a crowded theatre, when he’s embarrassed by a louding ringing from the concealed phone in his shoe. Yesterday’s TV gag is today’s question of mobile phone etiquette. Most of us have got the message about not using them in cinemas by now, but what are the rules about using them in cafes? Or in a meeting with a friend? Or on public transport?"

A look at vexed issues involving the polite use of mobile phones, with comments from users.
Available for republication (print and Web).

If you'd like to republish one of these pieces, or would like to commission a new piece, please get in touch via the contacts below:

email:
tim@iwriter.com.au

phone:
0411-242327
(international +61-411-242327)

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