Hall of fame

There aren’t many middle-aged women brave enough to deliver a speech in their togs to a live audience, let alone tens of thousands worldwide. Writer and playwright Pip Hall is such a woman.

But what, you might ask, was she thinking?!

Here’s the thing. It was a TED talk about water ballet. But really it was about finding the joy in life, having fun, and the power of friendship and laughter. All things dear to Pip’s heart.

If you haven’t seen this TED talk, look it up on YouTube. Her infectious enthusiasm will have you hooked and if synchronised swimming is not for you, I guarantee you’ll be thinking about what might spark joy in your life.

And a bit of joy is something we could all do with right now. As I write this, New Zealand is three days into another lockdown as we struggle to get on top of a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in the community.

Once more we’re stuck at home in our “bubbles”, yet more in touch with the wider world than ever before. Once again we’re forced to think about what’s