From The Hip

In your fifties, no matter how you identify; openly discussing sexuality, libido and your changing desires can sometimes be a tough ask.
Writer and all-round creative Melissa Rymer thought her sexuality was done and dusted.
Then she traveled to Greece for a writers' retreat.
Twice.
In the first of a two-part conversation, Melissa sits down with Kath & Mish and opens up about opening up, confronting her past in the process, and unfurling new ways of being a sexual person in her fifties.
Compelling listening for anyone who's searching for the courage to do the same...

Melissa's Links and recommendations:

I Am Just Saying Yes Because I Want You to Like Me: Consent in a Patriarchal Society (Part One)

I Am Just Saying Yes Because I Want You to Like Me: Consent in a Patriarchal Society (Part Two)

(Melissa Rymer published on Medium)

 Podcasts: 

“We can do hard things” 
Glennon Doyle/ Abby Wambach/ Amanda Doyle

“Savage Lovecast” 
Dan Savage *R rated 

“Women - we need to talk”

“The hook-up"
(for the younger audiences)

“Authentic Sex”
Juliet Allen 

Esther Perel 
ANYTHING she does : books/ youtube/podcasts

 Instagram musts:

The holistic psychologist

estherperelofficial

dr.alexandra.solomon

yoni_pleasure_palace

the_yoni_empire

 TV:

Sex Education (Netflix)

GOOP
The latest series on sexuality on Netflix 

 Embodiment practices

5 rhythms/ open floor dancing
 5rythms.com - based in all states/ openfloor.org

contact improv dance
 cimelbourne.org

MOJO dance “perpetual mojo” on FB

 Female empowerment 

Self-cervix online courses  https://courses.selfcervix.com

The Labia Library
http://www.labialibrary.org.au  
how to reassure yourself that your labia is perfectly normal

Pelvic physiotherapy- amazing hands on work to help with any incontinence or pelvic floor issues 

Orgasmic meditation
instituteofom.com

OMGYES.com
Online portal into science around women's pleasure  

 Shopping

Yoni palace online
yonipleasurepalace.com

Passionfruit (in melbourne) http://passionfruitshop.com.au 
(also run some fascinating workshops)

 Books

Come as you are
Dr Emily Nagoski

Tantric orgasm for women 
Diana Richardson

Vagina 
Naomi Wolf

THe power of Vulnerability
 Brene Brown or any of her books and Ted talks

Big Magic 
Elizabeth Gilbert - AMAZING book on creativity

Women who run with the wolves
a bible 

The Artists way
Julia Cameron

Tiny Beautiful Things 
Cheryl Strayed

Untamed
Glennon Doyle 

 TED talks

Brene Brown

Esther Perel

Emily Nagoski

Monica Lewinsky

Peggy Orenstein

Elizabeth Gilbert

Melissa Brauer is the undisputed Prosecco Queen.
How do we know that?
Because it's literally her trademark.

Kath and Mish discover that until she embraced the prosecco life, Melissa had been a professional jack of all trades. One of her old careers is just plain weird.

However, in tracing her love affair with this incredibly popular but ancient Italian bubbly, Melissa also tells of how Australia's Prosecco story begins in Victoria's King Valley, replacing tobacco in that perfect soil and climate.

It's an entertainingly profane and informative romp through one of this country's most popular forms of alcohol. Suck it down...with Her Majesty.

Links:
The Prosecco Queen
The Prosecco Festival

These two gals already have a reputation for holding nothing back in From The Hip, but this conversation takes it to another level.
Kath bares her soul on how she perceives her body and the dramatic surgeries she's undergone to exercise control over her health and long term happiness.
Mish gently directs Kath to provide this raw account in a way only two women who love and trust each other can.
Then you'll hear Kath tell Mish why she's never met a woman so determined to be her honest and fashionable self!

Check out Kath's links below:

All info regarding  bariatric surgery. Good info and this is where I went...

Great article when considering breast reduction ...

It's been one helluva summer, and Kath and Mish return to tell the tale.
Dive in as the gals regale you with their vacation exploits, the shows they've seen, the music they've loved, the books they've consumed. See the full list below.

Listen to the end as they put the hard word on all of us...

Check out what Kath and Mish recommend

Shows

MonaFoma
https://monafoma.net.au/
Jagged Little Pill
https://www.jaggedmusical.com/

 Periodicals

The Monthly
https://www.themonthly.com.au
https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2021/august/1627740000/james-bradley/trip-doctor#mtr

 Books & Authors

 Titles: Snow Country|Bird Song|Charlotte Gray

Sebastian Faulks
https://www.sebastianfaulks.com/

 Titles: Freedom|Crossroads

Jonathan Franzen
https://jonathanfranzen.com/

 Titles: Any Human Any Heart|Armadillo

William Boyd
http://williamboyd.co.uk/

 Titles: Love Stories|Boy Swallows Universe|All Our Shimmering Skies

Trent Dalton
https://www.harpercollins.com.au/trentdalton/

 Titles: Malibu Rising|Daisy Jones and The 6

Taylor Jenkins Reid
https://taylorjenkinsreid.com/

Mish and Kath celebrate their 21st episode together by re-opening old wounds left by the other 20.
Actually, it's kinda joyous as the gals reminisce over their fave moments, and the responses from you that make the whole goddamn thang so very worthwhile.
While From The Hip is in summer recess, go catch up on stuff you may have missed and then go tell everybody else what they're missing out on.

Happy Holidays from Kath, Mish and M-squared (producer and bottle washer).

Dhana Musil, a former gaijin hostess who Mish met at an improv class in Osaka in 1996, returns to From The Hip from her Canadian homeland.

Dhana lifts the lid on her forays into the torturous world of female body building, where in just four months she lost more than half her body fat and became more buff than she's ever been in her life.

Under the tutelage of her exacting Russian born coach Dhana learns how to transform ber body to be judged by others, but revered by herself.

If you've ever wondered why older women do it, what they're allowed to eat, and how much that kind of body will cost you, then don't miss this episode.

Mish & Kath can sense the excitement in the air. 
From being in the air.
Mish is off to Mona Foma in Hobart, Sicily has got Kath's name on it.
These two reflect on the pros and cons of travelling with others and alone, and recall moments in other climes.
Kath takes us to an alligator infested river in Ecuador, Mish reveals how she's never seen The Rolling Stones, despite being in the front rows of their concert in Copenhagen.
So what went wrong?
You'll just have to listen...

Yes, Australia is finally opening back up after reaching our double vaccination targets, but that doesn't mean it's all unbridled joy and partying.

Nurse and Counsellor Kate Barber (Bloom Counselling), has been meeting people in various stages of 're-entry anxiety' as she works on the frontlines of vaccination, along with seeing clients in her private practice.

Kate sits down with Kath & Mish to discuss why people can't be expected to relax immediately after the loosening of COVID shackles.

Kath & Mish tell stories of their daughters finding it hard to draw energy from their depleted 'social battery'!

Kate goes through some top tips for all of us, after experiencing almost two years of lockdowns and fear of viral transmission.

Bloom Counselling
Cancer Support for Adults and Children
Life Limiting illness support
Loss, Grief and Bereavement Counselling
Anxiety and General Counselling
Debriefing/Training

Further Reading

ABC News: Lockdown end can trigger 're-entry anxiety' for those with mental health conditions

Feeling Re-Entry Anxiety? Expert Advice on Navigating COVID-19 Reopenings

Lancet Article

Lancet website

Lifeline  13 1114
Kids Helpline 1800551 800 (24/7)
Mensline 1300 789 978 (24/7)
Relationships Australia 1300 364 277

If you're in your fifties or sixties, there are tv shows, local and imported, deeply embedded in your Australian DNA...

Kath & Mish sit around the ouija board to conjure the spirits of their television upbringing, before launching into the series they now binge on their giant, black and thin smart screens.

Mish confesses to falling prey to truly ghastly reality tv, whilst Kath takes us front row at the recording of seminal pop music show Countdown!

What's on your must watch list?
Leave your recommendations at the From The Hip Facebook page

Her first, unpublished, manuscript received a highly commended in the Premier's Literary Awards.

Her second manuscript, Happy Hour, was published by Allen and Unwin.

Jacquie Byron has spent much of her professional career helping others tell their stories, now she carves out time to write her own novels.

Jacquie sits down with Kath & Mish and takes them through her creative process, and discusses how she finally achieved her own long held dream to write fiction.

She also reveals how she found her ideal audio book narrator for Happy Hour, the illustrious Nell Campbell (Rocky Horror Picture Show).

 How to get in contact with Jacquie:

• jacquiebyron.com (where people can access a free sampler of Happy Hour)
• Twitter: @jacquie_byron
• Instagram: jacquie_byron
• FB: @JacquieByronAuthor

Where to buy Happy Hour:

https://linktr.ee/jacquiebyron 
(includes local and o/s sources)

 Audiobook version:

 Audible

Booktopia

Audiobooks.com

 Angela Bishop/Nell Campbell interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i68ZhDJOos