Authors ~ Storytellers ~ Poets ~ Musicians ~ Acrobats
Discussions ~ Readings ~ Talks ~ Performances
TUESDAY 6th MAY
MUIR GRAY – on ageing better, working well, and living longer.
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534
12.30pm ~ 6th May ~ £8 (£7)
According to one sacred tome, in its Psalm 90:10, ‘the days of our life are three score years and ten; and, if by reason of strength, they be fourscore years . . .’ You may not want to hear anymore of what the Bible says on ageing.
But, if you want to defy what’s predicted in scrolls of two and a half thousand years ago, then read on.
The notion that ageing inevitably causes problems is wrong. Certain things decline in efficiency but other difficulties can be postponed, nay prevented, and even improved upon. Why? Because they are not caused by ageing but by loss of fitness, preventable illness, negative beliefs, pessimistic attitudes, etc., etc., etc.. In other words, it is now possible, for many people, to live better for longer. How?
Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford, founding director of National Screening, and now Director of the Optimal Ageing Programme, Sir Muir Gray is one of Britain’s most experienced medical figures. His latest book, Sod 70, is part brain and body exercise book and part manifesto for a happier, healthier, and longer life.
CAREY JEWITT – on technology and touch.
Presented in association with Festival of Tomorrow, University of Bath iCAST, Royal Agriculture University, and Swindon and Wiltshire Institute of Technology.
Swindon Science Café
iCAST Creative Hub
10 Carriage Works
London Street SN1 5FB
7pm ~ 6th May ~ FREE
What would it be like if we could hug or touch digitally across distance? How might this shape our sense of connection? How might we establish trust or protect our privacy and safety? Any other touchy-feely questions?
Touch matters. It is fundamental to how we know ourselves and each other, and it is central to how we communicate. Digital touch is embedded in many technologies, from wearable devices and gaming hardware to tactile robots and future technologies. Professor of Technology and Interaction at University College London, Carey Jewitt is co-author of Digital Touch.
TERRI APTER - on becoming and being a grandparent!
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534
6.30pm ~ 6th May ~ £8 (£7)
One in three parents over the age of 50 has grandchildren. Being a grandparent can be both tremendous and tricky. When your child becomes a parent, existing family structures change.
In today’s world, the role of grandparents may be changing too. Here is a book, with warmth and wisdom, that is both for grandparents and for their adult children as they seek to become the best parents and greatest grandparents they can be.
Dr Terri Apter is a psychologist, writer, and Fellow Emerita of Newnham College, Cambridge. She is the author of many critically acclaimed and best-selling books on family dynamics. Her latest is Grandparenting: on love and relationships across generations.
PAUL MORLAND – on a radical attitude change to parenthood and why we need more babies!
Arts Centre, Devizes Road SN1 4BJ
Tel 01793 535534
8pm ~ 6th May ~ £8 (£7)
Apparently, a population calamity is unfolding before our eyes. It started in parts of the developed world and is spreading to the four corners of the globe. There are just too few babies being born for humanity to replace itself.
In his latest book, No One Left, leading demographer, Associate Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, and a Senior Member at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, Dr Paul Morland presents a compulsive case for population calamity . . but not the one of which most people think. His book charts a declining population future, explains its causes, and suggests what might be done. We need more babies!
