A record 95 members attended the April Four o’clock Forum about aged care planning and bookings are strong for the May forum, ‘Philosophy Begins in Wonder’. With only a few remaining seats available, members are advised to enrol now.
Aged Care Planning
With average life expectancies now at 84.6 years for males and 87.3 years for females, aged care planning is a popular topic for many senior citizens. The forum discussion centred on the availability of government care at home packages and the process and estimate of costs involved in going into an aged care home.
It typically takes six to eight weeks to get assessed for a care at home package, and can take up to eight months for one to become available. If the need arises for an aged care facility, the advice was that it is best to have done some research beforehand to avoid having to make decisions at what can be a stressful and emotional time.
The key to success for any aged care assistance is planning early and getting an understanding of what is involved. There are support services to help with these decisions such as First Financial Pty Ltd and Aged Care Ready, both had representatives who presented at the session*. It is also helpful to talk with friends who have gone through similar experiences and for more information, go to https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/ or give them a call on 1800 200 422.
*U3A does not endorse any third party. The rules associated with the super and tax and aged care regimes are complex and subject to change and the opportunities and effects will differ depending on personal circumstances.
Four o’clock Forum Wednesday 31 May – “Philosophy Begins in Wonder.”
By June MacDonald, Four o’clock Forum Convenor
On Facebook, a U3A member posed this question: “Is giving birth more painful for a woman than the pain of being kicked in the crutch, for a man?” Can we realistically expect to answer this question? Is this a question about degree or perception? Should we even consider this to be a philosophical question? It does makes us ‘wonder’.
Come to the next Four o’clock Forum when Peter Farago from the Melbourne School of Philosophy ponders that great quote by the Father of Western Philosophy Socrates. He said, “Philosophy begins in Wonder”. Peter claims to be a practical rather than a theoretical philosopher. Throughout antiquity Socrates was the model of the ideal philosopher. The reality is that he too was a practical man with a sense of humour. His philosophical work was just about his life and death. He liked to ask Plutarch’s question as to whether, “A man or woman should engage in philosophy when they are old?” That’s us folks.
What does it mean to ‘do’ philosophy?
In Peter Farago’s session Philosophy begins in Wonder, we will be asked to consider several pithy statements from philosophers that some of you might regard as wise. Together, we will analyse what they mean in practice. This will be a discursive session. Socrates did not set up grandstands for his audience and did not sit on a professorial chair; he had no fixed timetable for talking or walking with his friends. Rather he ‘did’ philosophy, sometimes by joking and questioning but always demonstrating that daily life gives us all an opportunity to ‘do’ philosophy. Come and enjoy the discussion. To enrol go to https://u3anunawading.org.au/members/courses/23AAFR04
Note: There will be no Four o’clock Forum in June. July’s Forum is Building a Strong Australia – (The effects of Ageing on Muscle Wastage) presented by Nicole Shue an exercise physiologist.