Learning How To Be Old

• 28. Naming a podcast. Bonus: a podcaster’s folly

  I started by naming a podcast, as you do. Some experts tell you not to overthink when naming a podcast. So instead, I underthought. "Learning How To Be Old" is a terrifying title. It drives people away in droves, screaming and blocking their ears. So, bad name for a podcast! (You would rather be dead than old, true?) So why do I carry on? Mainly for fun: I find the whole creative process entrancing, and I just love coaxing my guests to speak their minds. If you find the prospect of old age scary, you're not alone. In my defence, I want show old age as a chunk of your real life — not a slab of nothingness. Many good things follow, like relief and purpose and self-esteem and — so much more fun! In regular episodes, amazing guests, young and old, teach me something about how to live. (Hence my foolish naming of this podcast.) "Bonus" episodes are just me, thinking out loud about some aspect of my creative life, my personal artist's way. Podcast names you need to avoid in 2025 (Buzzsprout) How to choose a great show or podcast name (Spotify) A popular play about an unpopular topic (WriteIntoLife.com)

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• 27. Deciding to be happy in old age— Dale Copeland

  Deciding to be happy? My podcast guest 81-year-old Dale Copeland does just that. She's an assemblage artist, theoretical mathematician, maker of books, webmaster since 1997, writer, community art curator, and Taekwon-Do Master. According to Dale, happiness is not an accident, nothing to do with good luck. It’s a rational, purposeful choice. Good idea to listen to this episode, because you might be old one day like Dale and me. This episode is packed with little gems, from elephant jokes to tips on self defence for little old ladies. Listen how she plays down some momentous achievement of hers, like, when her instructor says, “Dale, there isn’t a book about the history of Chang Hon Taekwon-Do. Why don’t you write one?" She replies, "Yes sir!” Or she tells you that her website exhibiting public art was apparently the first, or that she ran an international collage exchange for 20 years or that her grandmother wore a piece of pink flannel round her waist to keep out the cold. Taranaki queen of art Dale Copeland becomes taekwondo mater at 80 (Stuff) Virtual Tart—Art from Taranaki, New Zealand Taranaki Taekwon-Do Ending Season 3 and deciding to be happy and proud Yes, this is the last episode of the current season of Learning How To Be Old. I'm proud of this year's episodes. I'll be back! But it's good to have a break, do some other stuff, and make sure the next batch of episodes is well seasoned and well cooked. (I'm already excited.) Meantime, thank you for listening. I know your time is precious. I hope you've been picking up some tips on how to be old. Your personal vision of old age tends to come true for you, did you know that? So remember Dale's story — 81 can be fun!

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• 26. Still working at 77

  Introducing two remarkable women who are happily still working at 77. Liz Melchior's career has come full circle: she's back in the classroom, teaching primary school children after 20 years teaching adults. Helen Moulder continues to tour plays around New Zealand, including those featuring her much-loved comic character, Miss Cynthia Fortitude, the deluded opera singer. We chat, and I pick up some good tips on how they manage their stamina and work-life balance. Expect nothing, but be open to opportunities. Lots of joy and common sense in this episode! Have you started thinking about retirement? That's an odd word, now that our work patterns are so different from the job-for-life model of the olden days. Those working at 77 are more visible these days. But sadly, in New Zealand the majority keep working out of necessity, because of the high cost of living. Liz and Helen feel lucky because they have opportunities to do work that they love, and work that can be tailored to their needs as they age. They don't take it for granted, either. We're now into Season 3 of Learning How To Be Old. (Season 1 had a different name and may not be findable now.) If you click "Follow" when you're listening, you'll find out whenever a new episode is broadcast. You may notice that the sound quality is lower than in other recent episodes. My bad! I was still using my first microphone, and learning on the job. But they are wonderful interviews, regardless. Thanks for listening! I wouldn't be doing this otherwise. More about working at 77 and beyond Time Sensitive podcast. Malcolm Gladwell: On finding freedom in abandoning expectations Alice Walker: Expect nothing Pew Research: The growth of the older workforce 2023 (In USA). Retirees work into 80s, 90s with ‘insufficient’ Super and snowballing living costs

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• 25. Masters of downsizing in later life

  Are your parents ready for downsizing in later life? That's when it hits us. One day it could be our turn. My brain knows it's quite likely going to happen to me one day. That's something I find very hard to imagine and so I'm in denial for now. All the more reason to learn about the process. So I asked two people to tell me about it, both of whom are masters of downsizing in later life. Two movers with vast experience First I met with Judy McCallum, co-owner of Taskmasters, a company of organisers who operate in the North Island of Aotearoa, in the Bay of Plenty, and in Wellington, Wairarapa, and Kapiti. The staff of Taskmasters are all over 50, and have all seen their parents downsizing — so they have a very personal understanding of what it means to move house in later life. It's highly emotional stuff! Then I talked to Lindsay McCallum, who moved multiple times as a child and as a family man. He has worked out some highly efficient ways of managing moves, and has some great tips. The last time he moved, he was aged 90, and this time, he worked with Taskmasters to make it ultra-simple, in fact, almost painless. Tips on downsizing: you'll need them one day As always, we’re kind of accidentally practising all our lives for transition into old age and very old age. Helping your parents is like a rehearsal for that future event. I'll stack these tips on downsizing in my old age away in the back of my brain for the day when I can't manage the stairs in my apartment. Please enjoy the brilliant insights of my two guests, and a poem about my experience of moving over and over again when I was a child, one of six sisters. Links An early version of the poem "Thou house" Taskmasters New Zealand (a company that helps you to downsize) Annalisa Barbeiri's advice to the children of downsizable parents

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• 24. A lesson in falling safely with Simon Manns

  This podcast episode is all about a lesson in falling safely, especially in old age. You heard that right. Not preventing falls — which is crucial, but there’s already plenty of information and training available for preventing falls. No, this is about learning how to fall as safely as possible with minimal damage to our body and brain. Because sometimes everyone falls over. We trip, slip, tumble and lose our balance – especially in old age. And when you’re old, the consequences are usually more drastic than when you’re young and bouncy. So I called on Simon Manns, a stage fight director, to start training me to fall safely. Simon directs fight scenes for stage productions, which means he trains opera singers, dancers, circus performers and actors to fight realistically and safely on stage. As he says, they have to do their stage fight — and most likely fall over — five times a week and twice on Sunday, without hurting themselves. Listen as Simon talks about falling safely and start training me, step by step, starting on all fours. He explains and directs. I say "Whoosh!" and "Oops!" A pilot course in falling safely in Wellington, New Zealand Would you like to train your body to fall as safely as possible? In June 2025, Simon will run a pilot 6-session course on falling safely — in a room with crash mats, in Wellington, New Zealand. Numbers are limited (for safety, of course!) so if you are interested, please contact me or Simon by email: rachel <at> writing dot co dot nz or simon.swordplay <at> gmail.com ROMEO & JULIET | Fight & Combat with Simon Manns (Royal New Zealand Ballet) Staying safe from trips and falls (ACC) I wrote this two years ago: I need to learn to fall like a child.

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