SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE, VOL 16

DBN/Highway

Editor’s Note

The smell of jasmine on the warm evening breeze and spotting my first hoopoe on a walk at Midmar Dam got me excited … Spring is here! Read about the hoopoe on page 28.

The Blue Ribbon on our front cover is for Seniors Awareness Month. I am honoured to have my amazing mum, Eileen, and mother- and father-inlaw living on our property, seniors like you who are precious to us and have immense value. We honour you in this issue!

Read about writing a book on page 12 (I have been trying to get my mum to write her memoirs, so maybe this will get her going!); go on a train trip down

memory lane with Dallas on page 29; or plant some “Fabulous Ferns” in your garden on page 22.

Don’t forget to send us your contributions to editor@seniorlivingmag.co.za for future editions: we love hearing from you!

Happy Reading!

To subscribe to our mailing list to receive the digital copy of Senior Living Magazine please go to www.seniorlivingmag.co.za, click on the HOME tab, scroll to the bottom, fill in your first name, last name and email address, then click on the SUBSCRIBE button.

The views expressed in SENIOR LIVING are not necessarily those of the Editor, Senior Living, or its advertisers. Publication of advertising material does not imply any endorsement in respect of goods or services described therein. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this magazine, SENIOR LIVING cannot accept responsibility for any bona fide errors therein. Copyright of material (including photographs) published in this magazine is vested with SENIOR LIVING and the authors/originators of the material, and may not be reproduced without permission.

Natalie Gilbert

Discounts and Offers

Please confirm all discounts beforehand, as they are subject to change, and notify us of any discounts that you encounter for the benefit of the readership.

*PC = Pensioner’s card required *LC = Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday

• Avondale Spar: 5% discount (not on promotions), loyalty card required (bring ID and ID photo)

Monday

• Village Yard, 41 Howick: 10% discount

Tuesday

• Makro: 5% discount on food products, up to 10% discount on general products, pensioner’s card required

• SuperSpar Richden’s Village: 5% discount

• Knowles SuperSpar: 5% discount, pensioner’s card required

• Caversham Glen Pick n Pay: 5% discount, double points on promotional items, pensioner’s card required

• Merrivale SuperSpar: 5% discount on tea and cake, Spar card required

• Parklane SuperSpar: 5% discount on all purchases

• Greendale SuperSpar: 5% discount, loyalty card holders

• Hilton Quarry Centre Spar: 5% discount, free delivery in Hilton

• Waste Centre Fabrics, 670 Umgeni Road, Durban: 10% discount

• The Cookhouse: 10% discount

• Blackwoods Nursery : 10% discount for seniors (from age 65)

• Village Feeds in Hilton: 10% discount

• Superspar Glenwood, Durban: 5% discount (not on promotion lines) and market day specials; grocery deliveries or pick-and-collect available.

Wednesday

• Musgrave Pick n Pay: double Smart Shopper points

• Game: 10% discount on the first R1500, excluding cell phones

• Clicks: Double e-bucks and double Club Card points for over 60s

• Builders Express Pinetown: 10% discount, loyalty card required

• Piggly Wiggly: 20% off all meals and cakes

Thursday

• Merrivale SuperSpar: 5% discount on tea and sandwiches, Spar card required

• Greendale SuperSpar: 5% discount, loyalty card holders

• Hilton Quarry Centre Spar: 5% discount, free delivery in Hilton

• Tanglewood Nursery Hilton –Pensioners’ Day Every Thursday: pensioners receive a 20% discount on all plants. Summer Sale 27th – 30th October: 10% off selected plants

Every Day

• Bargain Books, Hillcrest: 10% discount

• Ground Cover: 5% discount

Healthy Chicken Curry

Many of my patients have come to me with unsustainable and rather difficult to follow, diets that they tried out which completely removed curry from their menus.

Curry is a staple in the Indian community and is much loved by almost everyone who eats it. The main concern in any curry is the carbohydrate content (rice or potato), oil content (Are we using half a gallon of oil at a time?! Are we cooking the meat with the fat still on?) And the lack of vegetables (potato is not a vegetable). Indian spices have been proven to be extremely beneficial in health which is why we should encourage keeping them around! Here’s an easy, healthier way to make a curry!

Serves: 6-8 people,

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbs olive oil/vegetable canola oil

• 1 finely sliced white onion

• 2 small green chillies

• 6 cloves

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 2 anni seeds

• 1 tsp black mustard seeds

• 1 1/2 tbs crushed ginger garlic paste

• 2 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, corn)

• 1kg chicken (skinless)

• 2tbs masala

• 1 tsp chilli powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 2 medium sized, chopped tomatoes

• 1 sprig curry leaves

• Salt to taste

Method: Onion, cloves, cinnamon sticks, anni seeds, mustard seeds and chilli to be braised lightly in oil until onions are slightly browned (2 minutes). Be careful not to burn the spices. Add in ginger garlic, masala, chillies and chicken. Allow the chicken to cook for 10 minutes. Slice up the tomatoes and add them into the pot after 10 minutes. Add in cumin powder, chilli powder, and curry leaf. Defrost the vegetables while waiting for the tomatoes to cook.

Once the tomatoes have dissolved, add in the vegetables. Allow the mixture to cook for another 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. Make sure that the pot is stirred every 10 minutes. Add about 2tbs of water if it begins to catch at the bottom.

Can be served with brown basmati rice or basmati rice.

Tel: 033 342 3234

Email: laikathedietitian@gmail.com

Keep Umngeni Clean

#keepumngeniclean project about to launch!

Clean communities are the key to seeing a sustainable change in our region, encouraging tourists to visit, attracting investment, building civic pride, protecting the environment and enhancing public health

Love Howick’s Environmental and Waste Management department implements and manages projects – such as Renoverge, Bin It and the EPWP – that transform the streets and public spaces within our community into something to be proud of. A recent project saw the team tidy and clean the streets in the CBD and do scheduled maintenance and cleaning of the Bin It rubbish bins.

An exciting partnership has been formed between Love Howick, uMngeni Municipality and the Department of Environmental Affairs in an EPWP programme. The programme is set to start in September 2022 and will be running for a period of three months. A team of 24 hard-working candidates from our love Howick job centre will take to the streets in an intensive environmental and waste management project to remove waste and clean/clear public spaces within our municipality.

Their duties will include: Eradication of illegal dump sites and increasing

capacity at the landfill site, e-waste dismantling and educational awareness on environmental issues, clean-ups within our parks, cemeteries and other public spaces, and maintaining the bins from our Bin It campaign.

For this campaign to be a success we need your help to provide PPE for the team. Items needed include:

• 24 overalls

• 24 sun hats

• 24 boots

• 24 heavy-duty garden gloves

• 12 brush-cutter safety goggles

• 12 brush-cutter safety aprons

• 6 Wheelbarrows

• 12 spades

• 12 brooms

• 12 plastic rakes

• 12 garden forks

• 6 metal rakes

• Supply of black plastic bags

• Petrol sponsorship for brush-cutters & transport.

Sponsored items may be delivered to Love Howick, 72 Main Road, Howick, or you may EFT Love Howick NPC, FNB Howick, Cheq Account: 627 747 27 039. Reference: EPWP. Please email queries, proof of payment as well as the list of item/s you wish to sponsor to marketing@lovehowick.com

PMB/Midlands

DBN/Highway

Collector’s Corner

With Daryl Kriel from Kensington Bond

I have this Coffee pot with a crest on it. Please could I have more information and perhaps a value?

- Carmine

Looking at the silver hallmarks on your coffee pot I can identify it as a Portuguese mark, more specifically Lisbon 1816-1828. The intriguing thing about this pot is that the crest is for the Scottish family Colquhoun (presumably

James Colquhoun, 27th Laird of Luss) so why on Portuguese silver?

I dug a little deeper and found that James had large interests in the port and wine industries of Portugal, helping to negotiate a commercial treaty encouraging trade in Scottish wool and Portuguese wine.

The pot was probably part of a set and given as a gift from one of the Portuguese traders. Your pot would probably fetch between R10 000 and R15 000 on auction.

If anyone has anything interesting to sell or value, give Daryl from Kensington Bond Auctioneers a call on 033 330 3185 or 082 297 1117.

The intriguing thing about this pot is that the crest is for the Scottish family Colquhoun...

Write that Book!

A snippet by novelist Helena Davis

The best writing advice is write the sort of book you would like to read. The second-best advice is the best time to start writing a book is now. And come to think of it, the third-best writing advice is do it – even if you are afraid to do it!

cloud-nine of all the arts. And the best part about it is you can do it alone far from the madding crowd. Just you and a cup of tea with your own thoughts and ideas. To drift into the imaginary world of authorhood is pure bliss and gets better the more you write. “Wow!” is what someone said, when they discovered I am busy writing my fourth novel. But little did they know that I have an advantage – I am fortunate enough to ‘suffer’ from insomnia.

Starting a new project like writing a book can be scary. But with writing, that scariness quickly evaporates like morning mist once you hover your fingers over your computer keys or touch the tip of your pencil to the first line of your notebook. In fact, the woody friendly scent and sight of shavings from a pencil sharpener are enough to make one swoon and get one’s creative juices going.

That very first delicious paragraph, once written, will galvanise you into writing the rest of your story – a purpose to live, a purpose to daydream about your characters, a purpose to ponder a storyline, a purpose to have a whole lot of fun with words and style and colour and taste. Writing, to me, is the most

Sleeplessness is what spurred me to become a writer in the first place. I lie tucked up in bed at night plotting my next chapter and the next, with only the creak from the roof or the cat jumping off the windowsill onto the bed to distract me. It’s in the beautiful blackness of night where the harmony begins, where images spring to mind and string themselves along to make a story. In the morning I write my wakeful night’s ideas on paper.

Starting a new project like writing a book can be scary.

If your plot isn’t strong enough at first, don’t worry because as you write, your characters will come alive...

PMB/Midlands

If your plot isn’t strong enough at first, don’t worry because as you write, your characters will come alive – a bit like Pinocchio coming alive out of wood, except your characters will come alive out of words. Your ‘living’ characters will pull you along and guide you as to what’s to happen next. My characters become quite stroppy at times and won’t let me write them into the story if they are not happy with their role or if they are not comfortable in the plot. I regularly fall in love with my characters and am sad to leave them at the end of the novel.

– or rather playing on, is written just after The Great War.

You are never too young or too ‘middley’ or too old to start writing. So whether your creativity is nocturnal or diurnal, simply allow your fingertips to settle comfortably on those keys or sharpen that pencil. And remember: the best time to write a book is now.

Helena Davis’s historical romance novels entitled The Lady and the Piano, The Wind in the Wheat Fields, and The Solitary Man are available on Amazon or locally at Rosehurst in Boom Street PMB, at Nuts About Books in Mare Street Howick, at Linen & Lace at the Tweedie Junction Howick, and at Flowers From Howick, opposite the Howick Post Office.

Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors; she influenced my first two romance novels set in the Regency period. Research into these historical times is great fun. My third love-story is written in the fascinating Victorian era. And the novel I’m currently working on

To order her books go to candlelightromances@gmail.com or WhatsApp Helena on 0823215382. For more information go to www.helenadavisauthor.com

And remember: the best time to write a book is now.

Retirement Property Guidelines

Often one of the main headaches of retirement is accommodation. Various questions often plague those with retirement in the offing.

Planning in advance and purchasing a retirement property ahead of time can not only save you a great deal of stress, it can also provide you with financial security. Often your fifties are a good time to get on with saving, with many couples’ children moving off their ‘payroll’ and debt obligations being wound up.

Many people who buy retirement properties early rent them out until they themselves are in a position to take occupation. This gives them the choice

of the best positions in the estate and allows the development to mature before they move in. Also, the value of these properties appreciates over time, especially once a waiting list builds up, which means a healthy return on their investment.

Convenience and cost-cutting are the two biggest factors to be taken into account when considering a retirement property. Make yourself as nimble as possible by downsizing and buying a lock-up-and-go property that allows you to travel overseas and visit friends and family for months on end.

Source: Marcie Williams, REMAX PROPERTIES

PMB/Midlands

How Much is Enough?

The ‘Baby Boomer’ generation (those born between 1946 and 1964) are well and truly in retirement mode. The Boomers are unlike the generation before them, largely because the previous generation had, for the most part, worked for a single employer and then retired with a pension based on their final salary. For them, the “how much is enough?” question was not as critical.

Many people struggle with the high cost of a sustainable and growing income.

That question is now a fundamental one for those working towards retirement and even currently in the retirement space. A real fear for many is running out of money and this fear has been exacerbated by major world events like Covid-19, roaring inflation, and the Ukrainian conflict.

Many people struggle with the high cost of a sustainable and growing income. If you engage with a bank, they may offer a juicy 8% per annum if you commit to 5 years. While an attractive starting yield, this is never going to work for a

retirement that could easily last more than the original working career of the investor!

A sustainable growing income is much more likely to start at somewhere between a 3.5% and 4.5% initial yield. This creates great anxiety when one considers that a modest R 20,000pm retirement income (consider that the medical aid in retirement can easily cost R 10,000pm for a couple!) needs a capital base of somewhere between R5 million and R7 million.

Research has proved that few can navigate this territory without a skilled professional’s help. It is at times like this that a trustworthy financial partner with a sound reputation for both honesty and sustainability becomes crucial.

Robin Gibson, Harvard House. Tel: (033) 330 2164, email: admin@hhgroup.co.za

It’s Time to Break the “Senior” Mould!

The words “senior”, “old age”, and “over 60” have a wide range of connotations.

When someone is 55 years old and over, phrases like “it’s just old age” and “at your time of life” get bandied about when someone is injured or unwell. When you are looking at purchasing products and services tailored, the imagery used is often extreme, reflecting the small percentage of older adults who become frail, senile or need fulltime care.

At 65, you are now likely to have nearly as many healthy years ahead of you as you’ve worked.

These perceptions, held by those around us and internalised into our selfimage, are based on out-of-date data, and yet continue to shape the decisions we make and the plans we think are possible for the future.

The latest global research from Susan Wilner Golden, in her book, Stage (not Age), remarks: “Since health is improving and cognitive rates are falling, we must eliminate the old stereotypes of how people will age…

the increasing health span decreases the importance of age in the market.”

Someone’s chronological age is no longer as relevant in determining what is possible or healthy for them. Younger generations perceive older adults as trusted assets in the community, essential for their contribution of wisdom, creativity, experience, and more.

Being over 55 is now being seen as a time in which you can live “the good life”. At 65, you are now likely to have nearly as many healthy years ahead of you as you’ve worked. This longevity creates an opportunity for a variety of purposeful and active activities such as launching a new business, taking up a new career, investing in education, developing financial security and optimising health. Shifting this perception, allowing diversity into what has been seen as a homogeneous group, is important and positive and it asks us all the question: how does this change how you see yourself at an age over 55 and what you want to do with the years you have ahead?

Karren and Kelly Hodgkins Purple Mookiting

PMB/Midlands

DBN/Highway

PMB/Midlands

DBN/Highway

Cyber Crime

The Christmas morning was set to be an exciting adventure in introducing my 2 year old son to all the reasons I love Christmas. I was set to share a message at the morning service and we were due to open his presents after church. Lunch was to be another highlight with a variety of roast beasts.

Preparations were derailed late on Christmas eve by a far flung acquaintance who queried my mother’s declaration, on social media, of undying love to a Lebanese man whom none of the family had met or ever heard of! Christmas was spent scrambling to establish what was really happening and giving feedback to confused and concerned family members….

As the story unravelled it became clear that the “gentleman” in question had been grooming mom over months and had coached her through internationally transferring him money in order to support him because of her feelings for him.

that she had been socially engineered into handing over money, she was an easy mark. The ending of the story reads like a Greek tragedy with mom being groomed, EVERY DAY, for 3 years by an evil charlatan who would eventually steal millions from her leaving her emotionally devastated and almost destitute.

I made a promise to this conscious-less embezzler that I would chisel his infamy in stone and make his future attempts as difficult as possible. Please let our story serve as a warning.

By Angus van Niekerk

Durban

We intervened, sought help for mom, set up structures to protect her and arranged for her financial advisor to be brought into the conversation to prevent future re-occurrences. All seemed to go well for a while.

Unbeknownst to us, mom’s details had been sold

with

PMB/MidlandsDBN/Highway

DBN/Highway

PMB/Midlands

South African Garden Birds

We hope you love our latest feature, South African Garden Birds. Send us your photos of common garden birds and you may see them published in one of our upcoming issues! Photos can be submitted to editor@seniorlivingmag.co.za

The African Hoopoe is named for its soft, far-carrying song “hoo-poo” or “hoopoo-poo” sung during breeding season (Spring and Summer), often in duet with neighbours. It feeds mostly on large insects, their larvae and pupae, and occasionally flying termites. It nests up to 8 metres above ground in a cavity of a tree, termite mound, crevice in masonry, or any hole with an entrance of 50mm, and usually uses the same nest for several years in succession.

The Village Weaver is distinguishable from other weavers by its yellow crown, red eyes and heavily blotched back. A noisy resident in any garden, the male builds a coarsely woven nest, usually suspended in a tree, often over water.

The Village Weaver is parasitized* by Diederik Cuckoo. (Don’t get the Village confused with the Southern Masked!)

*A Brood Parasite lays her eggs in another bird’s nest to feed and raise the hatchlings.

Train Trip Memoirs

It is often with great nostalgia and a longing for a repeat experience that I am taken back to my first ever longdistance overnight train trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

As a six-year-old every new experience was big and exciting. Even walking down multiple stories onto a crowded artificially-lit platform coupled with blaring intercom announcements had its own charm. Porters with huge laden luggage trolleys and smartly uniformed conductors with whistles beside the stationary outbound train (which was emitting peculiar noises and smells) added to the already hyped expectation and experience to come.

As a six-year-old every new experience was big and exciting.

Tickets in hand, we walked the length of the train looking for the carriage that would house our blue-seated compartment, which would become our home on wheels for the next 24 hours (but for me a wonderful eternity).

The piercing whistle blow, coupled with multiple jerks, announced the journey’s beginning: we were on our way! Of course no respectable six-year-old would sit around idly in his compartment as the train moved slowly out of the station. I stood in the corridor looking and leaning out the window all the while meeting and making friends who would become our newfound train family.

The piercing whistle blow, coupled with multiple jerks, announced the journey’s beginning: we were on our way!

To see the densely built-up city confines giving way to smallholdings and veld meant we were well on our way. Of course Gran had come fully armed with enough egg sandwiches and flasks of coffee to last us to Cairo if need be. From the clanging of the cymbal calling us to the dining carriage to the mobile tuck shop, to the bed rolls (yes, you heard me correctly, bed rolls) all made for an intriguing time.

Watching the sun set over the Western sky as we sped into the night with a very prominent swaying and clickety-clack intensified my already vivid imagination.

No train trip would be acceptable without a shunting at De Aar at two in the morning. I would love to share more but must do the honourable thing and allow you to recall and remember your own memories and experiences.

Warm regards, Dallas Gilbert Article sponsored by Oakleigh Funeral Home

What Are the Common Eye Procedures for Those Over 55?

The development of cataracts is often top of mind. Their removal, combined with the insertion of a replacement lens, is the most frequently performed surgery for the over 55s. But what other eye procedures may be required as the eyes age?

control it with a combination of eye drops. There are occasions when the pressure in the eye needs to be reduced through surgical procedures, including laser trabeculectomy, the insertion of drainage devices, stents or valves. The pressure inside your eye should be checked annually by your Optometrist or Ophthalmologist.

Ageing affects the retina at the back of the eye and the gel substance inside the eyeball, as do age-related chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. These changes can result in macular holes, retinal detachments or vitreous haemorrhages in the inner layers of the back of the eye. Prevention through control of chronic conditions is best, but any sudden changes in vision, such as clouding, flashers or floaters, or dark patches, should be assessed.

Increased eye pressure resulting in the gradual deterioration of the optic nerve fibres (glaucoma) is not uncommon in older adults, especially if there is a family history. Your ophthalmologist can usually

Patches of discoloured, raised, or flaky skin are often seen on exposed areas because of sun damage sustained during younger years. The sensitive eyelids are no different and any unusual patches need to be assessed by an Ophthalmologist or Oculoplastic surgeon. Biopsies or removal of the lesions may be required if suspicious. Changes in the skin anywhere should be monitored, even taking photographs to remind yourself of what is developing.

If you have symptoms or would like to discuss procedures or treatment options, please don’t hesitate to contact us. For emergencies, we have an Ophthalmologist on call 24/7, 365 days a year.

Allison Deysel, Hospital Manager Pietermaritzburg Eye Hospital

There are many things we expect to change as we age, the condition of our eyes being one of them.

The pressure inside your eye should be checked annually...

DBN/Highway

Part 1 : Why Move To a Facility For Seniors

The 1st of October is International Day for Older Persons, so it is fitting we consider how our needs might change in the coming years.

Independence and control over our destiny is much prized in Western Culture, but ageing has other lessons to teach us: vulnerability; the need for support; a sense of community; and the value of relationships (family in particular).

Planning is critical to meaningful ageing and quality of life. Eking out an existence in the “family” home, with few friends to drop in, family far away, skyrocketing

maintenance bills, the garden a jungle, is not necessarily quality of life. Yes, help and assistance can be bought, but is this an antidote to loneliness? “Management by Crisis” becomes a real possibility, and this usually means having to just accept what is available or what others decide.

Change is difficult but remember: you are not “giving up” your house and life, you are choosing a different lifestyle that will better meet your needs.

Jo-Anne Stevens-O’Connor Marian Villa

PMB/Midlands

Unique Opportunity Within Victoria Country Club Estate

Fairways Lifestyle Village is the final phase of the Victoria Country Club Estate in Pietermaritzburg, situated on a prime north-facing location above the 18th fairway of the Victoria Country Club golf course. The village has been carefully designed to create a superior residential choice for discerning seniors, offering home-based care options from full independent living to full 24/7 inhouse care.

the latest in Smart Home Technology Solutions, non-invasive home monitoring devices, and connected iHealth devices which permit self-measurement and health management, extending to professional assistance from a team of care givers, nurses and doctors.

The village comprises of 14 Cottages and 12 Luxury Maisonettes directly overlooking the golf course, and 52 Apartments in 5 multi-storey blocks also enjoying magnificent views. A Village Centre will provide a central hub for medical and wellness staff and services, as well as personal care and community facilities.

Residents will be provided with security and individually-tailored health management in the comfort of their own homes. Every unit will be built with the internal infrastructure to accommodate

Purchasers will determine the level of services they require in their home, with options to upgrade as their needs evolve. The aim is to provide residents with easy and continuous access to their required level of care, based on own demand and under their control.

For further information contact Pam Golding Properties agents Grant Becker 083 780 3924 and Janine van Greunen 076 200 4482 or visit the website www.fairwayslifestylevillage.co.za.

Purchasers will determine the level of services they require...

How to Preserve Penny Gum

Flowers From Howick’s Florist Tip

The ever-popular greyish-silver leaf Penny Gum (Eucalyptus Cinerea) is often used as decoration. Some folk like it strewn across wedding tables, or in floral arrangements, on its own as a gorgeous bunch in a vase, in wreaths, in swags, pressed art, potpourri, or hung up in the shower filling the room with the healthy Eucalyptus scent. (They say florists never get the common cold as they are often inhaling Penny Gum fumes!)

• Use Penny Gum fresh, or preserve it by creating a mixture of one part vegetable glycerine and two parts boiling water.

• If the stems are woody, smash the ends with a hammer before placing them into the solution, for easy absorption.

• When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, stand the stems about three inches high in this solution for about 2 to 3 weeks. Patience is the name of the game! Keep an eye on it and top the solution up every few days as the Penny Gum absorbs it.

• Use mature Penny Gum leaves: the young leaves tend to get floppy.

You can also air-dry Penny Gum without using the glycerine solution. (The leaves may become a bit brittle with airdrying.) Simply tie the bottom of the bunch together and hang upside down in an airy place.

The air-dry or water-glycerine preservation can be used on various species of gum leaves – the longer elongated leafed ones, the mini leafed ones etc. Penny Gum is so called because the round silver leaf resembles a shiny silver penny. Florists often stock Penny Gum.

For more florist info visit www.flowersfromhowick.com or email flowersfromhowick@gmail.com

The air-dry or waterglycerine preservation can be used on various species of gum leaves...

Puzzle Corner

Sponsored by:

SUDOKU

Source: www.websudoku.com

A Multi Sudoku is a 2-in-1 Sudoku.

Normal Sudoku rules apply to each 9x9 grid. Complete each grid so that every row across, every column down and every 3x3 box is filled with the numbers 1 to 9.

I Can’t Remember”

by Mrs Linda Lazenby

Just a line to say I’m living That I’m not among the dead, Though I’m getting more forgetful And I’m mixed up in my head.

I’ve got used to my arthritis

To my dentures I’m resigned, I can manage my bi-focals But oh, how I miss my mind.

For sometimes I can’t remember, When I stand beneath the stair If I must go up for something Or have just come down from there?

And before my fridge so often My poor mind is filled with doubt, Have I just put food away or Have I come to take some out?

And when the time is dark and I’ve a night cap on my head I don’t know if I’m retiring Or just getting out of bed.

So now if it’s my turn to write to you, There is no need for getting sore, I may or may not have written And don’t want to be a bore. So remember that I love you And wish that you were near, But now it’s nearly mail time, So I’ll say goodbye my dear.

Here I stand beside the mailbox, With my face so very red... For I haven’t mailed this letterI have just opened it instead...

Comic Relief

Chris Taylor is this month’s winner of R500 sponsored by Oakleigh Life, for his funny, true-life story!

As a young Durban boy, I got a job on a South African vessel to the UN. On arrival, I contacted an ex-Durban friend in London. He invited me to a “do” in London.

After pitching up, he introduced me to an English princess (the younger sister to Queen Elizabeth). She and I ate and danced together and somehow clicked. After some time, she said had to go home. I got a taxi, which took us to

Buckingham Palace.

I got out with her and entered the palace. At the foot of the stairs, she asked me to carry her up. I picked her up and started the climb.

All of a sudden, there was a shout from further up: “Put my daughter down, Sir!”

A direct order from the King of England! I dropped her and fled the palace.

PMB/Midlands

Submit your giggle-worthy story of up to 130 words. Runners up will be featured on our social platforms and the winner will be featured in our magazine! Send to editor@seniorlivingmag.co.za, using ‘COMIC RELIEF’ as your subject line.

Jokes Corner

The Best Knock-Knock Joke…

Three brothers, age 92, 94 and 96, live in a house together.

One night the 96-year-old draws a bath, puts his foot in and pauses. He yells down the stairs, “Was I getting in or out of the bath?”

The 94-year-old yells back, “I don’t know, I’ll come up and see.” He starts up the stairs and pauses, then yells, “Was I going up the stairs or coming down?”

The 92-year-old was sitting at the kitchen table having coffee listening t the brothers. He shakes his head and says, “I sure hope I never get that forgetful.”

He knocks on wood for good luck. He then yells, “I’ll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who’s at the door.”

Blondie

Unfortunately for some reason blondes are the butt of jokes!

A blonde was flying to Cape Town and sat in the front row. The air hostess told her that her seat was at the back of the plane, but the woman refused to move. Then another hostess tried but no, the blonde wasn’t moving.

Eventually the pilot spoke to her and she got up and went to the back of the plane.

“What did you say to her?” the crew asked.

“I told her the front of the plane isn’t going to Cape Town!” - from Joan Truscott

Competition Corner

To enter all of the Senior Living competitions, simply send a WhatsApp with the word HELLO to 072 632 6023 and we’ll reply with a list of links.

Select the competition’s link given, and enter each competition as per the individual competition instructions. Where applicable, winners will be drawn on the 16th of November 2022 and winners will be notified via email/phone, and announced on our website.

1. Win a R500 gift voucher, courtesy of Oakleigh Funeral Home, by finding the Butterfly hiding in the magazine.

To enter, go to the link provided via WhatsApp, then fill in your name and contact details, use the word BUTTERFLY as the COMPETITION KEYWORD, and the page number and location of the paw print for the COMPETITION ANSWER.

2. Win a R300 Blackwoods voucher, courtesy of Blackwoods Nursery.To enter, go to the link provided via WhatsApp, then fill in your name and contact details, use the word BLACKWOODS as the COMPETITION KEYWORD.

3. Win 2 Historical Romance novels, courtesy of Helena Davis, by finding the Daisy hiding in the magazine. To enter, go to the link provided via WhatsApp, then fill in your name and contact details, use the word DAISY as the COMPETITION KEYWORD, and the page number and location of the paw print for the COMPETITION ANSWER.

4. Win 1 night’s stay at Hilton Bush Lodge. To enter, go to the link provided via WhatsApp, then fill in your name and contact details, use the words LODGE LUXURY as the COMPETITION KEYWORD and then complete the sentence found on their website (see advert alongside), “The Hilton Bush Lodge is conveniently located…..” as the COMPETITION ANSWER.

We are always looking for funny, true-life snippets to share with our readers. Share yours, and if we print it, you will be rewarded with R500 cash (courtesy of Oakleigh Life). Submit your original story to editor@seniorlivingmag.co.za (use COMIC RELIEF as your subject line). See page 42 for this issue’s winning funny, true-life story!

DBN/Highway