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Dianna Moylan - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Dianna was born in 1941 while (apparently - she wasn't actually aware of it) bombs exploded all around. She has lived all her life in Southern England, though she travels the world as much as possible, and has visited many countries, including Australia, which she adores, the US (what a great country), Japan, India, several African countries and the middle and far east. So far she hasn't been to South America, but once Spanish ... [More]
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Dianna Moylan Email Alerts
- How to Travel in Europe Without Visiting That Tiresome Airport
[Travel-and-Leisure] I've just got back from an extended rail trip which was wonderful and I'd like to share with anyone who would like to hear, how to go about this really enjoyable activity. First you have to be flexible (both mentally and physically) and optimistic. Secondly it helps if you enjoy planning and don't feel completely spooked when all your plans seem to fall about your ears.
- The Books of Terry Pratchett - A Lifetime's Reading
[Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] A brief overview of the work of Terry Pratchett, a wonderful English writer, whose works have delighted me, and thousands of others for a generation. His works are now appealing to a new generation of readers who seem to love the work despite the fact that much of what is made fun of in the Pratchett books is no longer foisted upon children today.
- Tips on Learning Another Language - How to Approach the Task
[Reference-and-Education:Languages] This article looks at what will help the aspiring language learner. It recommends several ways of improving on the task.
- Building a Website
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Web-Development] I am not, by nature, a patient person. I want it all NOW. So the effort of reading and rereading all the information necessary to know how to build a website, the fact that I had to go slowly, follow the tutorials, and methodically set it right - well that was sheer torture. But I would recommend it to anyone who feels they haven't studied enough lately and are secure in their grasp of sanity.
- Learning About How to Lose Weight Forever - Part 1
[Health-and-Fitness:Weight-Loss] Many women, overwhelmed by media portrayal of celebs as stick thin beauties, feel that they are fat and ugly. This is not true, and the media are responsible for a loss of needless misery, but many of us really are heavier than we need to be.
- Losing Weight Forever - 2 - Listening to Your Body
[Health-and-Fitness:Weight-Loss] So how do you know if you are hungry? Over the years you have overcome your stomach's attempts at telling you it has had enough. How many times have we all eaten until we feel positively uncomfortable?
- How to Lose Weight Forever - 3 - The Story Continues
[Health-and-Fitness:Weight-Loss] So, briefly, I have just discovered how to lose weight and keep it off without starving myself. This is the second in a little series of articles where I share this information. So, how to begin?
- Travel - Lots of Fun and an Education in Itself
[Travel-and-Leisure] Here I extol the value of travel as an educator. I know that learning is one way of staying alert and keeping the brain working, and travel makes you learn whether you want to or not.
- I Think I Really Like Being Single - The Selfish Life For Me
[Relationships:Singles] Just a short piece on my reason for staying single. It really is a choice - and the reasons are complicated.
- The Year of the Selfish Cow - Progress Report
[Home-and-Family:Baby-Boomer] I look back at my marriage, and how it ended. Then I look forward to the rest of my life, which will undoubtedly be a single one.
- So, How is the Spanish Learning Going?
[Reference-and-Education:Languages] In a follow-up to a previous piece I talk about how I am finding learning Spanish as an older person. This is proving to be a fun experience, full of new challenges and hysterical pronunciation problems.
- Travelling Alone and Loving It
[Travel-and-Leisure:Adventure-Travel] In this article I talk about the joys of choosing where to go, stopping when you feel like it and talking to whom you choose. I revel in the fact that today we do not need travel agents to boss us about, but with the help of the Internet, can do it freely and much more cheaply.
- The Great Journey to Australia From the UK - Without Catching a Plane
[Travel-and-Leisure:Adventure-Travel] I am planning my 70th birthday trip. It is to be the trip of a lifetime, going form my home to Australia - and I am not going to catch a plane. This has something to do with 'carbon footprint' but more to do with my love of trains and boredom in planes.
- Living Alone and Liking It
[Relationships:Singles] After nearly 40 years of marriage I was widowed. Here I look at the aftermath and how I have rebuilt my life.
- On Reading John Irvings's "A Prayer For Owen Meaney"
[Book-Reviews:Literary-Classics] A review of this truly great book. I have read this book so many times that I am almost embarrassed. Nonetheless, I have just read it again, impelled by the Radio 4 broadcasts of it this week. It is still a great book.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Putting the Programme Together
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] The whole preparation for the show is well under way now and everything seems to be going swimmingly. There are just a few details now to attend to and that thing will be perfect. One such task is the preparation of a show programme, which lets your audience know about everyone who has contributed to the whole process.
- Learning a New Language to Keep Fit
[Reference-and-Education:Languages] This year I am learning to speak a little Spanish. This article looks at what it is like to speak a little of several languages, and remembers what it can be like when you are the only one in a little Greek village who can do this.
- Treating a PC As a Two-Year-Old, Or How Not to Throw a Boot at Your Laptop
[Computers-and-Technology:Personal-Tech] Just a little article on the joys of working with IT. Here I look at just how irritating a computer can be and compare it with a small child. And I save its life by not kicking it onto the floor.
- Getting on With That Dolls' House - A Magnificent Obsession
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Hobbies] What I have been doing lately to my dollhouses. The wonderful process of taking an old house, stripping it down and redecorating. How much fun it is to do this with my family.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Getting the Performers Together (I Mean Really Together)
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] Here I write about how important it is for the performers to know what is required of them. Sometimes people just don't understand how important it is that they are committed to a rehearsal schedule. And sometimes they don't understand how much more there is to it than just turning up and acting.
- This is It, Then - The Year I Really Begin to Do It
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] I am so joyful I have to say so. After so many years of feeling that I was fairly ordinary, I suddenly feel incredibly special. This year I am going to make something of myself.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Fund Raising
[Business:Fundraising] The thorny problem of having enough money to put on the show is looked at here. Some suggestions are made as to solutions and where to look for grants. Those who really want to perform as potential donors should not be ignored when looking for funds.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Getting the Staging Right
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] Here I talk about the Director knowing what is required of the set designer, the sound designer and the lighting designer. It stresses the need to be specific in what you ask for, and flexible in what you accept. The performers need to know well before the dress rehearsal what kind of a set they will be acting around.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - The Prop's Person
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] A shorter article on what the Prop's Person does. There is a paragraph or two on how to obtain things, and a further one on how to know exactly what you need you need.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - The Costumes
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] More about putting on a show: costumes. This is an area often left unplanned, and until too late. Here the writer looks at the design of the costumes, colour scheme and period faithfulness. The problems of performers being unwilling to admit to what they actually measure is also looked at, as is the willingness of members of the cast and their families to help with this task.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - The Backstage Crew
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] The sage continues. Here the importance of getting a good Stage Manager and Crew is emphasized. Contrary to what many actors thinks, the show is only as good as the technical support it gets.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Producers and What They Do
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] In a continuation of the Am-Dram advice series we move to the role of the Producer. This absolutely essential and oft vilified member of the group is here explained.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Act Four - The Budget (Maintaining Control of the Finances)
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] This article is a detailed description of what should be included in a show budget. It includes what should be seen as income and how it should be expressed and the areas under which expenditure should be listed. It also makes it clear that if you are hoping to apply for grants this document is essential.
- So You Want to Put on a Show? Act Three - Getting the Cast Together
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Hobbies] In a continuation of the series on amateur dramatics, this article looks at choosing the actors for the parts. It offers two very different methods of selection, with advice as to what seems to work better in what circumstances.
- So You Want to Put on a Show? Act One - Choosing the Show
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] The first in a series of articles on putting on an amateur show. Here you will find some of the things you should consider when choosing a production, including the factors you might like to consider before going ahead.
- So You Want to Put on a Show - Act Two - The Organizational Side
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] Now you have chosen your show - what next? This second installment outlines how to set up the team which will organize the production and talk s about performing rights and their legal implications.
- How to Stay Clear-Headed in Later Life
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] An article about how to look after your brain. If you exercise it, it will keep fit. There are so many things to do, and there is plenty of time left to do them
- How to Build a Dolls' House From a Kit - No Worries
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Supplies] Do not be afraid! Anyone can do this. just so long as they go slowly and follow instructions. Though it has always traditionally been the man's role to build the dollhouse, it really isn't a gender-dependent set of skills. And you hardly need any tools if you buy a ready-made kit! So - ready, set, go!
- Getting Into Debt to Finance the Holiday Season
[Finance:Debt-Management] Risking the possibility of being called 'Scrooge' I write about the horrors of spending a large part of 2009 paying back the money borrowed to finance the holiday season. I remember the times when a sock with an orange and an apple was something we looked forward to.
- New Life Resolutions (3)
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] Here the writer plans for the next phase of her life. It includes some travel, some performing and some plain enjoying herself. She challenges the reader to join her in making the most of the second half of adult life.
- Don't Stop - Performing Keeps You Going
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts] I write about my involvement in the local community, working with children and adults in amateur theatrical productions. The joy of working together with people of all ages makes me very happy, and there is no need to stop these activities just because you are older now.
- Being Retired is an Achievement, Not a Burden on Society
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] Another piece on retirement and its benefits. It is so easy for society to make older people feel that they have nothing to give any more. Actually, we have a great deal to give and more time to do so. And it is never to late to learn, either - so the article refers to that too.
- Spanish and Watercolor Painting
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Hobbies] This is about what I am going to learn next year. Spanish, the language most used in South America, and much used in the US, is one of the things I am going to do. And I'm going to try to learn to paint. I have high hopes for the Spanish learning!
- New Life Resolutions 2 - Joachin Anguera
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] This section looks at research on aging being done at present. It considers just what is being done for, by and with older people. It is part of the writer's rebellion against being treated as 'past it', and looks forward to achieving great age.
- New Life Resolutions (1)
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] It occurred to me, just a little while ago, that I had probably lived about half the years of my adult life. Always assuming I became an adult at around 20, (there are people who will tell you I didn't - maybe haven't quite got it yet), and will die at around 110 to 120, at 67 (gasp!!).
- Why Stop Learning Just Because You're Retired?
[Home-and-Family:Retirement] An article where I admit to being older, but resist the temptation to rest on my laurels. Life is long enough to start an entirely new phase of life at retirement, one which does not involve giving up and waiting for death. I am going to live for a very long time yet, and I am going to enjoy it.
- Building a Dolls' House For Your Grandchildren
[Home-Improvement:DIY] To encourage women to join in and make a dolls house for their grandchildren. This assures them that this is no harder than sewing a dress, or making the finances stretch. It enthuses over the joy of building a house from an easy kit, and the delights of furnishing and decorating your creation
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