Guides

What to Write in the Front of a Book You're Giving
The inscription outlasts the occasion. Most of them waste it. Read more...
A Gift for Mum That Isn't Flowers
For the person who says not to make a fuss and means it. Read more...
A Gift for Dad Who Says He Doesn't Want Anything
He means it, which is the problem. Here is what works anyway. Read more...
How to Start a Memory Book and Actually Finish It
Most of these end up half-filled in a drawer. Here is what separates the ones that don’t. Read more...
Christmas Gifts for Someone in Aged Care
Space is limited, staff are busy, and most gift guides ignore both. Read more...
Gifts for Grandparents That Aren't Another Photo Frame
For the person who has everything they need and does not want more of it. Read more...
Choosing a Gift for Someone Living With Dementia
What tends to work, what tends to sit in a drawer, and why the reason matters more than the object. Read more...
A Screen-Free October: 31 Things to Do Instead
One thing a day for a month. None of them cost much, none of them need a device. Read more...
The Questions You'll Wish You'd Asked
Why “what was it like growing up?” never works, and twelve questions that do. Read more...
Reminiscence Activities That Actually Work
For lifestyle and activities teams: start with an object, ask what things cost, avoid anything that can be failed, and write down what you get. Read more...
Why Large Print Isn't Just Bigger Letters
Contrast, spacing, weight and how much sits on a page all decide whether a book is actually readable. The specification worth asking about isn't the point size. Read more...
What to Give Someone Who Says They Don't Want Anything
"I don't want anything" usually means "I don't want more objects to look after" — which is not the same as not wanting to be thought about. The categories that survive it. Read more...
Phone-Free Evenings: What the First Week Is Really Like
Night one is easy, night two is the real one, and you will break it by Thursday. An honest account of the week nobody describes accurately. Read more...
What We Lost When We Stopped Writing Things Down
Recording is not remembering. Why the small edited archive survives and the complete one doesn't, and why a specific question gets twenty minutes where a blank page gets nothing. Read more...
What Analogue Living Actually Means in 2026
Not off-grid, not anti-technology. A narrower idea: taking back the handful of things the physical version does better, and a test for telling the real thing from the aesthetic. Read more...
How to Ask an Older Relative About Their Life
Big questions get short answers. Small ones get long answers. How to have the conversation without it turning into an interview, and why you should let the silences run. Read more...
The Analogue Hour
One hour a day, no screen, hands involved, producing nothing. Why an hour beats a digital-detox weekend, and why the first ten minutes are supposed to feel restless. Read more...
How to Stop Scrolling
Willpower isn't the variable and you already know your screen time. What actually shifts it is friction, arm's reach, and picking one hour instead of the whole day. Read more...