Ian McFadyen, of ‘Comedy Company’ fame and I have nearly finished Chalk & Cheese, a novel about two 80 year old, ex radio stars (Bill & Ben) who hated each other and who end up in the same nursing home.
It is due to be publishedby our nimble Melbourne-based publisher Hybrid in a few months.
Eve though it has comedic aspects, Chalk & Cheese is not a comedy, but it is very filmic & would suit a number of actors who are no longer spring chickens.
Sam Neil or Geoffrey Rush as Bill …
LETTERS
Defence of the elderly
1. Ross Fitzgerald’s article is a powerfully insightful reminder of an inconvenient truth our generation are all too quick to ignore – That older people are indeed people. (“The very real danger of the cashed-up boomer stereotype” 1-2/2)
It is convenient for the struggling daughter or son to ignore that older Australians have the same hopes, dreams and economic fears as they do.
There is nothing wrong with the older generation giving to the youth. But it is shameful that coercion guided by expectation and entitlement becomes the oft …
Elder abuse in Australiaby Ross FitzgeraldMy principal preoccupation this year is elder abuse.
As a widowed, sometimes lonely 80-year-old in the early stages of dementia, I am one of the vulnerable old who are open to the possibility of personal abuse and financial exploitation.
After the death in January 2020 of my beloved wife and friend of 45 years, the artist, actor and model Lyndal Moor, I have lived alone in “Greystoke”, an 1898 terrace house in south Sydney.
I am lonely especially because our only child, Emerald, my granddaughter Ava, 8, and …
The highs and lows of Australia’s drug summits
Australia has experimented with drug summits for 40 years. They’ve come with highs and lows, writes ROSS FITZGERALD.
Australia’s first official meeting referred to as a “drug summit” was convened on April 2 1985 in Canberra by Bob Hawke, the then ALP prime minister.
Officially known as The Special Premiers’ Conference, Hawke met with the six state premiers and the NT Chief Minister – the ACT was not represented as this meeting took place before self government.
This meant that the heads of five Labor governments …
DRUG REFORM, POLICY, POLITICSAustralia’s experiment with drug summitsBy Ross FitzgeraldJan 24, 2025
Australia’s first official meeting referred to as a ‘drug summit’ was convened on 2 April 1985 in Canberra by Bob Hawke, the then ALP Prime Minister.
Officially known as ‘The Special Premiers’ Conference’, Prime Minister Hawke met with the six state Premiers and the Northern Territory Chief Minister. (The ACT was not represented as this meeting took place before the ACT had obtained self government).
This meant that the heads of five Labor governments met with the heads of three conservative …
Lyndal Moor Fitzgerald 1944-2020
Five years ago tomorrow, Wednesday January 22, my darling wife and friend of 45 years, Lyndal Moor, died of cancer in the Wolper Jewish Hospital in Sydney.
Each day I miss Lyndal’s luminous beauty, her honesty, and her laughter.
How lucky am I to have spent our lives together for so long? And how fortunate I am to have recently spent a fortnight in America with our darling daughter Emerald, our granddaughter Ava (8, my grandson River (3), and my son-in-law Adrian.
Few people know that Lyndal, who was 45 …
Five years ago, on Tuesday (January 22), my darling wife and friend of 45 years, Lyndal Moor, died of cancer in the Wolper Jewish Hospital in Sydney.
Each day I miss Lyndal’s luminous beauty, her honesty, and her laughter.
How lucky am I to have spent our lives together for so long? And how fortunate I am to have recently spent a fortnight in America with our darling daughter Emerald, our granddaughter Ava (8, my grandson River (3), and my son-in-law Adrian.
Few people know that Lyndal, who was 45 years sober when …
BARRY HUMPHRIES/ AUSTEN TAYSHUSby Professor Ross Fitzgerald AM
Since the death of my long-time friend, the comic genius Barry Barry Humphries, by far the most outrageously talented stand-up performer in Australia is the Sydney-based Jewish comedian, Austen Tayshus.
Indeed Barry told me that Austen Tayshus was the only contemporary comedian who made him gasp, before he laughed. In comparison, most other stand ups were, he said, “about as funny as an orphanage on fire!”
Last week I attended The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
With the exception of a Korean lesbian who’d had four …
Barry Humphries/Austen Tayshusby Ross Fitzgerald AM
Since the death of my long-time friend, the comic genius Barry Barry Humphries, by far the most outrageously talented stand-up performer in Australia is the Sydney-based Austen Tayshus.
Indeed Barry told me that Austen Tayshus was the only contemporary comedian who made him gasp, before he laughed.
Last week I attended The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
With the exception of a Korean lesbian who’d had four abortions, none of the stand ups who performed, for hours, were a patch on Austen Tayshus.
Anyone interested to learn about the …
Journalist Spotlight | Interview with Professor Ross Fitzgerald AM, Columnist for The AustralianBy Darla Tejada20 December, 2024
Professor Ross Fitzgerald was born in Melbourne on 25 December 1944. Since the death of his wife, Lyndal Moor, five years ago, he has lived alone at ‘Greystoke’, an 1898 terrace in the Sydney suburb of Redfern.His books include a best-selling memoir My Name is Ross: An Alcoholic’s Journey, and its sequel Fifty Years Sober. And in 2024 he published a major work of fiction, The Ascent of Everest. Professor Fitzgerald has co-authored, with …
“Journalist Spotlight | Interview with Professor Ross Fitzgerald AM, Freelance Writer.”
by Darla Tejada
Medianet, 19 December, 2024.
Professor Ross Fitzgerald was born in Melbourne, Australia on 25 December 1944. Since the death of his wife, Lyndal Moor, five years ago, he has lived alone at ‘Greystoke’, an 1898 terrace in the Sydney suburb of Redfern.
His books include a best-selling memoir My Name is Ross: An Alcoholic’s Journey, and its sequel Fifty Years Sober. And in 2024 he published a major work of fiction, The Ascent of Everest.
Professor Fitzgerald has co-authored, with Ian …
