Speaker Talk by Cleo Lynch

/ Bondi Beach Astra Reitrement Village Lounge/

Residents enjoyed an engaging and entertaining presentation by fellow resident and author Cleo. The session commenced with a captivating narrative on the history of Weston's Biscuit Factory and the wagon wheel. Next up was a hilarious account of strata living from the perspective of a downstairs neighbour, a highlight was the graphic details of the upstairs neighbour's nocturnal activities and bathroom routines. The atmosphere then shifted to a poignant and gripping account of overhearing a victim of domestic violence through shared walls, prompting contemplation on whether to intervene. The talk concluded with a delightful poem about the 433 bus route, which Cleo sent to the transport minister for consideration.

Overall, it was a wonderful afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

Insightful Visit from the Director of Seniors Fitness

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This week, we had a visit from Emily, the Director of Seniors Fitness, who delivered a captivating talk on improving well-being through exercise. The talk covered a range of topics including an overview of common health conditions, the benefits of exercise, fall prevention, and a demonstration of some exercises. During the presentation, Emily elaborated on the distinction between physiotherapy and exercise physiology. Physiotherapy is recommended for acute injuries, while exercise physiology focuses on long-term injuries and strength enhancement. Regular exercise was emphasized for faster post-surgery recovery, fall prevention, and overall daily well-being.

Seniors Fitness provides tailored programs either at their Bondi Junction studio or in the convenience of your home. The session was highly informative, leading to increased interest among residents, with some signing up for future sessions. A big thank you to Emily and Seniors Fitness for their enlightening visit to the Astra!

Len the Pen

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Our very own Len the Pen came down to talk to us about his life and career as a journalist. He gave us fascinating anecdotes, interesting insights and wonderful stories. He spent time working in Canada, on and off through the years in London, and in Zambia, Rhodesia, Malawi and Mozambique. In the 1960s he worked on the London Evening News on weekdays (the largest evening paper in the world at the time, with over 1m copies sold every day) and on the Daily Express sports desk at the weekends. Len moved to Zambia with his wife Barbara, and was tasked with turning a weekly newspaper into a daily one. He was there for the moon landing! Len loved being a foreign correspondent and is envious of all the journalists who get to do it these days with all the fantastic technology they have. 

The second half of Len’s career was more involved with public relations and communication, and he often found himself teaching would-be journalists, media and PR personnel. He was a speechwriter for WA Premier Carmen Lawrence for a time. He and his family emigrated to New Zealand and then Australia, where they settled in Perth and lived there for 40 years. At the end of his career, he created a magazine called School Matters, and was editing it - on his retirement they produced a special cover dedicated to especially to him.

Everyone who came along thoroughly enjoyed themselves and hung on Len’s every word! Thanks, Len, for regaling us with such interesting tales from your life and career!

Remembering and Telling Stories Interactive Talk

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Jackie from ReeLife Stories held an interactive and informative seminar on the importance of remembering, telling stories, and passing on memories to family and friends. We listened to her interesting presentation over a cuppa and a biscuit and chatted with our neighbours about our memories and loved ones. It was a great reminder to tell our stories, and to listen to other people’s stories. It was also an important encouragement to people who don’t think they have anything interesting to say – each person’s story is unique and interesting in its own way. It is particularly important to have memories of people you’re close to for when they’re gone – what they look and sound like as well as pieces of their history and family stories. Thanks to Jackie for coming and getting us talking about memories and storytelling. All those who came thought it was an important topic. Indeed, some residents have already written memoirs, books, and even a letter to their 16-year-old self. It was lovely to discover this and to discuss already published works as well as unpublished stories. The key take aways? Keep remembering, keep telling stories, keep taking photos and videos, and ask questions of people while you can.

Afternoon Tea With Special Guest Irene E Pfeiffer

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

What a pleasure it was to have resident Noni’s friend, Irene Pfeiffer, come and talk to us about her amazing life. Irene has, as she puts it, “always been in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time”! She spoke to us about growing up in Canada, speaking French and English (or sometimes Frenglish!) She graduated school at 16, university at 20, and went on to work for the oil and gas industry. Irene broke many glass ceilings in her work, not least integrating the bathrooms at the large company where she was to become one of the only women on several senior executive teams. Her parents taught her the value of travel, and she has had some incredible experiences. She travelled to Tanzania and Kenya and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. She went to China a week after Tiananmen Square and worked in Hong Kong for a while. Irene and her husband were in Iran when the Shah of Iran was overthrown, and they were in East Germany when the Berlin Wall came down. Irene was given the honour of the Order of Canada for her work with women on the streets of Canada, and she has been involved in numerous charitable works. Her philosophy is “how can I be retired if I’ve never been tired?” She is a member of several boards, is a citizenship judge, and is a marriage commissioner. It was a really interesting talk, and many residents and friends came to hear her speak. The next day Irene told us that she had forgotten to mention that she’s met the Pope and the Queen! Perhaps next time she’s in Australia we can hear part two! A huge shout out to resident Eva who organised the event, and baked some beautiful Hungarian treats for the occasion. Thanks to Irene, Eva and everyone who came.

Care Live Smile Information Session

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Thank you to Ronna, from Care Live Smile, who came to talk to us about accessing care services in the area. She spoke about the importance of connecting with MyAgedCare, and of getting into the system early before an emergency. She explained how to register with Carer Gateway, a great service that provides help for carers of all ages. Although Care Live Smile is a provider, Ronna told us that there are many different options out there to explore, and she suggested having conversations with a few people to find out what will work for us as individuals. She discussed accessing home care services like shopping, cleaning and making food, as well as transport and general support. Those that came to the talk asked questions throughout and went away with a greater understanding of the options available. Ronna brought us a beautiful morning tea of fresh fruit, lamingtons and muffins, and we enjoyed those over a cuppa and a chat. Thanks to everyone involved in this interesting and informative event.

Randwick Waverley Community Transport Info Seminar

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Thanks to Daniel for coming to talk to us about the services that Randwick Waverley Community Transport offer. It was an informative seminar in which we discussed how they provide shopping trips, social outings and excursions, individual transport, out of area trips, NDIS support, taxi vouchers, and bus/driver hire. Dan talked us through how to register via My Aged Care and how to make an individual booking. He explained the upcoming Social Trips for Inclusion activities, and about costs and invoices. Tea, coffee and biscuits were available for everyone to enjoy, and there was an opportunity to ask questions throughout. Thanks particularly go to Marie for asking a lot of questions that many of us were thinking! To everyone who attended, we hope you got as much out of it as we did.

Cleo's Milparinka Talk

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

It was a pleasure to have our very own Cleo talk to us about the ten days she spent staffing the information centre in Milparinka, a renowned stop off for travelers to the remote Corner Country (bordered by NSW, QLD and SA). And what an interesting story it was. Cleo signed up to volunteer and off she went – it was a trek just to get anywhere near the Corner Country… 1250km from Sydney, and at the final part of the journey Cleo joined Glen driving the Tibooburra Mail to take her across to Milparinka. At the time that Cleo went to the town, it had 4 permanent residents. The Albert Hotel was still in use and several buildings designed by the colonial architect James Barnett in the town had been painstakingly restored. Milparinka has an interesting history - 10km drive from the town is Depot Glen where explorer Charles Sturt and his team were stranded for more than 6 months. Milparinka had been a thriving town in the 1870s, due to gold being discovered nearby, but when the gold ran out in the 1890s people deserted the town. The information centre was opened to explain the town’s mining heritage and agricultural history. Although a popular tourist destination among 4WD travelers and people wanting to visit all three states, Milparinka is a virtual ghost town these days. Cleo spoke about her experiences with the friendly locals, and with the not-so-friendly mice and moths that descended on her accommodation in plague numbers. She talked about traveling through the outback and the characters she met on her journeys. She showed us photos of the town, the heritage buildings, and newspaper clippings about the area. It was such an interesting and inspiring story, and the residents who came really enjoyed it. After the presentation we had a chance for questions over a cuppa and a biscuit. Thanks Cleo for giving us some insight into this fascinating time in your life.

Wenatex Seminar

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Brett from Wenatex The Sleep System came to Bondi Beach Astra to talk to us about healthy sleep and what we can do to improve our sleep. Lots of residents were interested in the subject matter, and they enjoyed having the opportunity to come and listen and to ask questions. Brett brought tea, coffee, cakes and goodie bags with him, so we had plenty of things to keep us going all afternoon! He spoke to us about sleep hygiene practices, posture, circadian rhythms and sleep’s role in good brain health. He also showed us some of the company’s products and told us how they can help. A few residents bought items from him at the end of the presentation, and I’m sure we will be seeing Brett again in the future. Thanks to everyone who came and helped to make it a fun and informative session.

INS Lifeguard Medical Alarm Presentation

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

It’s never too late to stop learning! We were grateful to have Jo from INS Lifeguard come to the Astra to talk to us about our medical alarm system. We have had this system in the village for a few years now, but there are so many more things that we can do with it, and it is always good to have a refresher. Jo ran us through what our system does, how it works, and how to test it regularly. She also told us that the pendant/watch button is waterproof, and she advised us to wear it in the shower as well as around the house.

The nurses at INS are available 24/7 and are there to help with emergencies, but also to provide welfare checks and just a chat if we need someone to talk to. Jo also provided information about services that are extra, for example a button that is GPS enabled that can be worn out and about in case of a fall. There are online portals for residents and village managers, to make sure that INS has all the most up to date information, and which can give us extra information if we want it. The presentation was well attended and those that came got a lot out of it. Thanks to Jo for coming and answering all of our questions, and to all the residents who came to listen to her.

My Aged Care Clinic

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Amanda from Prestige InHome Care held a My Aged Care clinic at the Astra for residents to attend, to ask questions and to understand more about the system. It was a great turnout, and we learned a lot. My Aged Care is a complicated system, involving different tiers of care provision and many types of care from cleaning to shopping to round the clock care. Even though we are an independent living village, many of our residents get the benefits of some form of care. Amanda’s company provides assistance to people who are wanting to access different care packages. She explained the differences between the packages, and how to apply for each type. She explained the benefits and drawbacks of the My Aged Care system. It was an extremely informative session, and lots of people asked questions. Amanda had provided a lovely gluten-free mandarin cake for morning tea after, so we had a cuppa and a chat with cake while mulling over what we had heard. Thanks to Amanda for coming out to us, and thanks to everyone who came to find out more.

Rageism Beauty Workshop

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

We were excited to finally welcome Kathrine from Rageism Beauty to the Astra, after having had three unfortunate circumstances in the last two months that meant we had had to reschedule. It was worth the wait though! Kathrine was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and we were interested to hear the beauty tips that she gave us throughout the session. Darryl put her hand up to be our helper and get made up, and Kathrine talked us through each stage of the process. Because there weren't too many of us we were able to get one-on-one advice, and those of us that were there had a lot of fun and were really engaged the whole time. We were all thrilled with how natural and lovely Darryl's makeover was, and how we had all learnt something by being there. Hopefully, if there is more interest later in the year, we can get Kathrine back to give us some spring beauty tips...

Cleo's Author Talk - In Search of Bertha

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Thanks to resident Cleo for agreeing to give an author talk about her book 'In Search of Bertha'. We are very lucky to have so many accomplished and creative people at the Astra! Cleo gave a really interesting and informative talk about her search to ‘find’ a member of her family. She was inspired to do it because some years ago, after a brush with her own mortality, she realised that the family knew little about her grandmother Bertha. It was a fascinating trip into the past, complete with photographs, and we learned something about outback Queensland and the early wool industry. We finished up with afternoon tea and cake, and an opportunity to chat further about the talk.

Brain Health Presentation

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Shannon Chin, from Fit Minds Australia, came to the Astra to talk to us about Brain Health. She spoke about the 8 pillars that support healthy brain function, how to age well, and how to reduce our risk of developing dementia.

She gave practical tips on how to keep our brains healthy. These are a couple of simple, effective tricks that we could all do:

  • Pick five random words from a book and write them down, then come back after about an hour and see if you can remember the words. When you are finding this too easy, you can increase the amount of time between writing and remembering and increase the number of words.

  • When you are in the supermarket, try to add up your shopping item by item, and then see how close you are when you pay at the tills.

Shannon also spoke about the benefits of diet and exercise, as well as other activities you can do regularly to keep your brain healthy. Sudokus, crosswords, jigsaws, games and learning new languages were just some of the things she suggested. The important thing is to keep your mind active with regular training, and to do different things to make sure it doesn't just get stuck in familiar patterns. It was a really excellent and interesting talk, with those that came saying how much they appreciated it.

Balance and Falls Prevention Talk

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The notice told us here at the Astra that a balance and falls prevention workshop would be conducted and it was well attended. The workshop was facilitated by Amanda Keogh of Prestige Home Care, an organisation that specialises in services for, and education of, the mature-aged population. Emily Moore, from Seniors Fitness (at Bondi Junction) presented information and statistics, based on science and research. And some of the statistics were alarming, ranging from serious injury and incapacitation to fatalities caused by a fall. It is a hidden danger that stalks us all.

Emily asked us to complete rudimentary individual tool to assess our level of danger from falling. Surprising it was to realise that various forms of medication increased this liability. We then participated in a number of exercises designed to improve our balance. However, we were also instructed not to attempt these exercises away from means of support in case we should overbalance.

For myself, as I walk the unreliable Bondi footpaths, I always consider myself at risk from a fall. And sadly, as we now know, that Caroline Jones, an enduring Australian icon of television and journalism, died last week as the result from a fall in her home. She was only 84 – the age I will be this year.

Thank you to Bondi Beach Astra for organising this instructive workshop.

Written by resident Cleo 😊

Morning Tea Author Talk - Cleo Lynch

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

Thanks so much to resident Cleo for giving us a fascinating insight into her life and career in the NSW Department of Corrective Services, where she worked in a variety of roles including correctional officer, probation and parole officer and a trainer at the academy, over morning tea and cake last week. The talk was both interesting and inspirational, and it was lovely to hear some more life stories from members of our Bondi Beach Astra community. Many of our residents will know Cleo from her role as Residents’ Committee Chairperson for a number of years, but this event was a great opportunity for some of us to get to know a different aspect of her life and work. She was involved in so many different roles with different people, and many that were pioneering employment opportunities and social help for women. Thanks to Cleo for spending time to share her story with us, and to all those who came to take part in the event. I had baked some cake for morning tea, and we all had lots of opportunity to chat and ask questions over a cuppa and a cake after the talk. Several of us bought remainder books, with all proceeds being given to charity. What an extraordinary experience for us and an extraordinary story of an extraordinary woman.

Hearing Loss Talk

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

It was World Health Day at the beginning of the month, and in keeping with this theme we had a representative from The Shepherd Centre, Sam, come to talk to us about the effects of hearing loss and the work that her organisation does with young children. Sam was a great presenter and a lovely warm person and it was good to have her with us. She showed us lots of photos and gave an interesting presentation on hearing loss, the Shepherd Centre and Cochlear. She touched on the effects of ageing, and the links between hearing loss and dementia. We rounded off the presentation with a cuppa and a biscuit, and an opportunity for questions. Thanks to Sam for coming along, and to those residents who came down to hear what she had to say.

For more information on The Shepherd Centre, go to www.shepherdcentre.org.au

Storytelling with Helene Gonski

/ Bondi Beach Astra Lounge/

It was an absolute pleasure to have Helene Gonski come to Bondi Beach Astra yesterday to tell us about her life. She is from South Africa originally, but has been in Australia for over 60 years and raised her four children here. She has a degree in psychology and has worked as a relationship counsellor among other things. Since retiring she has been busy with many different activities in the community; knitting blankets to donate to the Wayside Chapel, singing in a local choir, writing up life stories for residents of Montefiore, running relationship courses, writing several books on grandparenting, and continuing to play tennis into her 90s! What an inspiration. Thank you to her for coming by and sharing with us, to resident Noni for introducing her and facilitating the event, and to everyone who came and asked questions and chatted together afterwards over a cuppa and a biscuit. Especially to those who braved the storms to come and visit – it was great to see you.

Storytelling with Resident Noni and Helene Gonski

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It's World Storytelling Day on Saturday and we are planning a fabulous storytelling event at Bondi Beach Astra next Monday, 22nd March. Resident Noni will be interviewing special guest Helene Gonski (psychologist, relationship counsellor and author of several books) about her life. We will begin at 3pm in the lounge, and all are welcome to attend. If you would like to come please send us a message in advance to sales@bondiastra.com.au so we don't exceed our capacity allowance on the day. Can't wait!!

World Book Day Afternoon Tea

/ Bondi Beach Astra Unit 2/

A few literature lovers gathered for a World Book Day afternoon tea, and we had a great time discussing our favourite books. Some residents had brought the books they are currently with them to show and talk a bit about, and there was a lively conversation about our favourite authors. We also took part in a literary-themed quiz, which provided a good amount of thought and fun. All in all it was an enjoyable afternoon tea, and the book theme encouraged lots of chat and interesting suggestions for future reads.