AofA's Hot To Trot Talking Points

Every Friday

1. This photo of friends that took photos of themselves 50 years later together - was our most popular post of the week. I think our members imagined doing this themselves and loved the idea. These friends were all celebrating their 70th birthdays. Wonderful.

2. Miranda Sawyer wrote enthusiastically about ‘punk professor’ Vivienne Goldman’s new book Rebel Musix and all the music people tales including Bob Marley. Viv started off as Marley’s Press officer at Island Records and went on to be his favourite journalist. She even coined the phrase ‘punky reggae’.

3. This photo of immense piles of snow was shared by Old London Photos. I said that I remembered snow like this when I was growing up in Yorkshire. Others said they did too and memories flowed of wearing socks on their hands, and skating over ice-covered rivers because the ice was so think. Someone guessed it was the winter of 1962/3 and I think it was. We enjoyed our snow memories.

4. A piece in the Guardian suggested that bets were on for comedian, Chris McCausland to win Strictly. I asked our members what they thought. Not many of them thought he should win, interestingly. Because he’s not the best dancer. Others added that other competitors had dance training so were at an advantage. I said I didn’t think the best dancers traditionally won but those that carried some kind of magic and that’s the advantage that McCausland has! Let’s see.

5. One of our members - well done Kimaya Crolla-Younger - has a piece in the radical new book Sex Meets Life edited by Anna Sansom. This is what Kim says -

Congratulations to Kimaya Crolla-Younger, one of our members who has a piece in this new book. Here's what she says -

'A precious piece of my writing is now published! My first anthology - a chapter titled Entering The Bardo, written from a bewildering time 5 years ago, and how consciously choosing to cultivate my sensuous capacity, of feeling all of live...became 'compost for Er0s'

About the book...

Once upon a time, 18 remarkable writers came together to share their intimate stories and reflections. They shared stories about the intersections of s ~x and ageing, menopause, living with illness and disability, exploring gender, and s ~xual awakenings. They wrote about reclaiming desire and redefining intimacy. They wrote with courage, candour, and generosity. And now this trailblazing book is in the hands (and hearts) of readers too.

You can buy Sex Meets Life in a paperback and eBook from Amazon:

UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DL9BPKGS

USA link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL9BPKGS

Also available from Amazon in other countries.

There’s more about the book here:

https://sexmeetslife.com/

6. It was a year since the moving, eclectic and heart-filled Advantages of Age Awards Ceremony 2023.

   Suzanne Noble
   and I had been talking about doing an Awards Ceremony for years, and we finally did it. It was an evening full of tears and joy. Among the awards were rockn’roll star with the most kick ass attitude to getting older - Patti Smith and Grace Jones, Death Advocate - The Coffin Club, Most Inspirational Personal Story - Louise Butcher who runs topless to bring attention to the idea that you don’t have to have reconstructive surgery after breast cancer, Contibutor to AofA (writer) was
   Caroline Bobby
   who often writes about death and dying and many more. Photo left to right, me, Louise Chunn who founded welldoing.org which matches clients to therapists, and Suzanne Noble. We had a ball.