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Vivienne Pearson

Vivienne Pearson

Vivienne Pearson is a freelance writer.

Vivienne Pearson with her children Summer, 10, and Griffin, 7, in 2016 - in front of ROP the car.

I’m not into cars. So why did I travel 1600km to say goodbye to one?

My faithful red Toyota was at the wrecking yard. There was only one thing left to do.

  • Vivienne Pearson

Latest

How much booze is too much on an aircraft?

When the guy next to me on the flight downed his third bottle of wine, I felt unsafe

I’m no wowser, but allowing people to get drunk on planes is a recipe for disaster.

  • Vivienne Pearson
My email address has been my identity. I can’t dispense with it lightly.

I never felt emotional about my email address, until they tried to take it from me

This shake-up by the telcos goes beyond practical inconvenience. It’s an emotional wrench – a loss of identity.

  • Vivienne Pearson
After discovering they’re not immune to the measles or chickenpox, many adults are playing catch-up.

Assumed you were immune to measles and chicken pox? Think again

For people in certain high-risk scenarios, not having immunity to these diseases can be serious. Here’s what experts want you to know.

  • Vivienne Pearson
A RAM truck stopped over a pedestrian crossing in Melbourne’s CBD.

Monster utes are symbolic of everything that’s wrong with our world

Bloated cars are effectively holding up a knuckleduster-decorated middle finger in the face of climate change.

  • Vivienne Pearson
The old commuter crush on platform 10 at Southern Cross Station.

Southern Cross Station’s ‘user experience’ is an epic fail – here’s how to fix it

The station’s roof may look good from above, but down on the platform level it is a dirty mess of inaudible announcements and poor signage.

  • Vivienne Pearson
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A hive of minds … why would we penalise the students who want to ask the big questions?

My daughter’s planning an arts degree. I’m proud (and quietly terrified)

They doubled HECS fees for arts degrees in a bid to drive students into more “job-ready” courses, but Australia needs to cultivate its future thinkers.

  • Vivienne Pearson
The self-checkout has a long history, but some shoppers find it contentious against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis.

My supermarket accused me of theft. Pot, kettle, black?

Coles and Woolworths are treating their customers with contempt. Higher prices, fewer staff, more surveillance.

  • Vivienne Pearson
Hotel Marvell, Byron Bay

Byron gets the five-star hotel it ‘deserves’, but I have reservations

A new swanky hotel will not change Byron Bay, but it does misrepresent what this complex, miraculous place stands for.

  • Vivienne Pearson
Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes’ new book Welcome to Sex.

If you don’t welcome teens to sex, it could have unwelcome outcomes

I am left wondering what the parents objecting to the book “Welcome to Sex” want for their kids. Would they prefer they learn about sexuality from porn?

  • Vivienne Pearson