Professor Barry Golding was an Honorary Professor in adult and community education of Federation University Australia in Ballarat since June 2021. Barry has held many positions in his career including Adjunct Professor, Associate Dean Research, School of Education & Arts at University of Ballarat, Australia; and founder of the RAVE (Researching Adult & Vocational Education) Group, President of the Adult Learning Australia Board, a voluntary Patron of the Australian Men’s Shed Association since 2009.

 Once you start listening it’ll be no surprise to hear that we could’ve chatted with Barry for hours, hence breaking our conversation into two parts. In this part 1 of our conversation Barry very generously shares his reflections on the ageing process particularly the role of physical activity and friendships.