 annual 4.3% risk of contracting HIV from an HIV-positive partner, the study found (AFP/Google.com, 7/24). According to the researchers, the findings represent "an increase in incidence of four times compared with incidence under current rates of condom use" ( Reuters, 7/25).
The study was conducted in response to a Swiss AIDS Commission statement released earlier this year that said HIV-positive people in discordant relationships who adhere to their treatment regimens, have suppressed viral loads and do not have other sexually transmitted infections likely would not transmit the virus through sexual contact. "If the Swiss commission's conclusions were adopted at a community level and resulted in reduced condom use, it would be likely to lead to substantial increases in infection," Wilson said.
Wilson added that although the "individual risk of HIV transmission per act is fairly small for people on antiretrovirals, the risk of transmission over large numbers of acts could be substantial." Jonathan Anderson, president of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine, said that reduced HIV viral loads in blood -- the basis of the Swiss statement -- does not mean viral loads also are reduced in semen or vaginal and anal fluids (Medew, Age, 7/25).
If the Swiss "claim of non-infectiousness in effectively treated patients was widely accepted, and condom use subsequently declined, then there is the potential for substantial increases in HIV incidence," the study said (AFP/Google.com, 7/24). Anderson, who did not participate in the study, added that antiretrovirals "can complement consistent condom use, but replacing condom use with medications may end in disaster" ( Reuters, 7/25).In the mainstream press, yachting is made out to be a young person’s game- often painted as the preserve of celebrities and beautiful people jetskiing around the yachts and throwing glittering parties. Meanwhile, yacht charter brochures tend to feature young families tearing about playing water sports, diving into the water from the upper deck and kids running helter-skelter along the beach.
From a distance, it all looks rather active. Does this mean that yachting vacations are best left for the young?
Absolutely not.  I once spent some time on a boat with a couple in their late 60’s, and I’ve never seen anyone else take as much pleasure in their yachting holidays as they did.
This couple were grandparents, but for the most part, they came on alone. They used the yacht very much as a floating home, on which they’d cruise from place to place, taking great pleasure each morning in researching what there was to do in each town. They’d get the deckhand to drop them ashore in the tender to explore each place: one day a medieval hilltop village; the next a ruined city, or taking a long walk through a pine forest on a midsummer’s day. They’d visit art galleries and museums, shop for souvenirs, and arrive back at the boat in time for an early dinner. As they ate on deck under the setting sun, the captain would weigh anchor and we’d be off again, to the next beautiful destination. They seemed very happy.
At night they played board games or cuddled up on the sofa together to read books or watch movies. Sometimes they’d ask the captain to head into port when they felt like seeing other people or taking an evening walk along the quay to get an ice-cream; but mostly they didn’t, choosing to stay at anchor in their splendid isolation.
Each morning they’d wake to another beautiful view, occasionally taking a gentle swim ashore for a walk on a deserted beach in the early morning light. They didn’t really do many watersports though- the yacht was stocked with dive gear and snorkels and jetskis and all sorts for when their children and grandchildren came on board, but they barely used any of it. It was nice to go for a kayak occasionally on one of those glassy days at sea where the water looks like sheet metal, but for the most part they lay on deckchairs or sat at the shady sundeck table, reading papers, playing scrabble and passing the days.
They both still worked a few hours a day- running their successful businesses from the yacht- her in his study, him from an iPad and a mobile phone on deck. You’d see him looking around occasionally at the extraordinary setting of his office, or perhaps calling the stewardess to bring him another cold drink and some fresh-cut fruit.
Occasionally their family would come on board- and the dynamic would change instantly as three generations talked over each other and dive-bombed off the swim platform at all hours of day and night. Huge, noisy meals and kids squealing as they ran around the normally quiet boat. The grandparents loved it, but they also loved it when everyone left again. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?
Yacht charters allowed them to travel, without any of the fuss, or inconvenience, or heat or planes or customs- it allowed them to travel to all the historical places they’d ever wanted to go, to watch all the sunsets and sunrises and all the world’s weather reflected in the seas. Catch up on all the unread books of a lifetime. And they could still work- their holiday, their remoteness, didn’t matter- they were digital nomads- ‘grey nomads’ as the Australians affectionately call their wandering over-60’s.
And the crew of course, were always around when they were needed, but never in the way. They had their private chef to cook meals for them specifically catered to their diets, and the stewardesses kept their cabins spotless and their laundry done. The captain and deck crew were there to drive the boat and show them extraordinary places, and the engineer was on hand to fix any problems (or more commonly, show them how to use the remote control for the TVs, blinds and air conditioning just one more time.) Once, when the gentleman was in poor health, he simply brought his GP along with him, and they stayed close to shore that trip until he recovered. They had everything they needed, and all in surroundings of complete safety and luxury.
I’m not sure I could imagine a more splendid way to spend your later years than on a luxury yacht, if you were the type to enjoy nature and beauty and all the world’s wonders. Having friends onboard when you felt like it, having family on when you felt like it, but for the rest of the time, just you and your partner, floating from one exotic paradise to the next.Comic ballet to feature in world Buskers Festival
Media Release – December 30
Comic ballet choreographed for Anna Pavlova to feature in world Buskers Festival
A comic ballet choreographed for famous ballerina Anna Pavlova in 1905 will feature in the World Buskers Festival at Christchurch in January.
Australian acrobat Judith Lanigan will perform a ballet “divertissement” called The Dying Swan at the 11-day festival starting on January 15.
``It was choreographed in 1905 for ballerina Anna Pavlova by Michel Fokine to the music of Saint Saen’s La Cygne. a cello solo,’’ Lanigan said.
``I decided that tragedy and hula hoops were an interesting combination, great potential for comedy. By the end when the swan dies I am using 20 hula hoops.
``From what people say after having seen the show, they are moved by the combination of beauty and ridiculousness.
``I haven’t performed this show in New Zealand before. I want to make people laugh, to distract them from their lives,’’ she said.
Lanigan is
currently working in a winter circus show in a theatre in
Barcelona.
She has performed at festivals in Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Finland,Belgium, Australia and she studied hula hoops in Russia.
Twenty-four acts by 34 artists from around the planet make up the strongest line up ever seen for the 10th annual festival.
The festival’s 300 street and stage shows will inject fun into the centre of Christchurch from January 15 to 26. The event will be a major drawcard for overseas tourists and New Zealand holidaymakers.
Today festival director Jodi Wright said the Christchurch Polytechnic (CPIT) World Buskers Festival was the largest street performance festival in Australasia.
``Each year we receive more than 100 applications from international acts seeking to perform in the festival,’’ she said today.
More than 180,000 people watched the 2002 festival – up 20 percent from last year. The growth has been staggering as just 8000 people saw the first festival in 1994. Ms Wright said the Christchurch City Council’s annual resident survey in March found the Buskers event one of the most popular among the city’s people. One of the most unusual acts in January will be Planet Banana- a comedy duo from Brazil and the USA.
Other feature performances will come from the Dutch acrobatic balancing duo Amar, the Russian circus-trained acrobatic comedians Coexistence and the juggling comedy duo The Individuals and the American dancing duo Blackstreet Boyz.
A post festival education expo featuring tutors and performers from the CPIT’s school of circo arts and the festival will be staged at the Christchurch Town Hall on January 28.
Ends
Media advisory: For further information, please contact Jodi Wright, World Buskers Festival organiser Ph: 03 377 2365
Kip Brook, Word of Mouth Media NZ Ph: 03 374 542607:52 – It was 50.0F (10