So the week of 6-11 September is approaching fast. Have you put on your thinking cap and come up with some bright ideas? Remember, this year, Backweek revolves around the Ten Tips for Healthy Living. And we’ve got to make it a fantastic occasion, in honour of our 80th birthday!

Some suggestions for those who haven’t had time to think:

1. Breathe deeply, get lots of fresh air

• Ask a local air-conditioner supplier to put up a billboard with the Ten Tips on it, or to sponsor an article in a local newspaper.

2. Move your body. Never stay in one position for too long. Stretch your muscles and move your joints. Take a walk. Regular exercise keeps your body strong and supple

• Ask Run/Walk for Life if you can make a presentation to their classes.
• Posters at the local gym.
• Go to the local school and do a talk to assembly in the morning.

3. Don't take life too seriously!Laugh out loud at least once a day

• Who’s your local comic, the guy who does a cabaret show at a club? Get him on board - ask him if he will go on local radio with you to talk about the importance of laughing. You can then talk about the rest of the ten tips!

4. Have a healthy, balanced diet

• Take a spread of good, healthy food - stuffed red peppers, crisp salads, juicy fruit - to your local radio station for the radio presenters, with a press release outlining the Ten Tips.
• Do the same thing for the local newspaper.
• Ask a dietician colleague to give a talk with you to local school kids - you handle the exercise and musculo- skeletal stuff, she does the food.

5. Get enough sleep (6-8 hours per night) on a firm mattress; use a good pillow

• Is there a mattress factory/bed shop in town? Ask them if they would sponsor an article about choosing a bed in your local newspaper; or suggest they publicise an event where you can come to the store and do a talk for customers. Hold a ‘sleep-in’ at the local shopping centre, with posters about the Ten Tips and free neck massages!

6. Maintain a good posture in whatever you do

• Offer your advice to local factories/ offices on how to stand or sit properly to avoid back-pain on the job.
• Set up a booth at a garage complex along the big highway closest to you, offering motorists advice on
  how to avoid back pain while in the car/truck

7. Don't ever drink and drive!

• Contact your local traffic department for support - you can go on radio together, for instance, or do a
  mall presentation together.

8. Stop smoking

• Is there an anti-smoking support group in your town? Perhaps you can work together on something like a presentation at local schools, malls and the like.

9. Manage your time, have social and recreational activities on a regular basis

• The local movie house could be one venue for a presentation, with their permission. Stress clinics also
  spring to mind.
• Host a day at the local park for families and dogs - provide info and raise funds by selling boerewors
  rolls and the like!

10.Be thankful for the privilege of being alive

• Would any local religious organisations be amenable to a talk, perhaps after church on Sunday or at
  evening meetings?