To mark the 10th anniversary of the first Bali bombings, the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre has invited a panel of expert speakers to share their experiences from the life-changing events of October 2002 and beyond. Speakers include Former Chief Minister Clare Martin, Governor of Bali I Made Pastika who led the Bali bombing response in Indonesia, Bali bombing survivor Julian Burton and ABC's former South Asia correspondent Sally Sara. This public forum takes place from 3pm to 6pm on 6 October in the Convention Centre.

Entry is free, but attendees must pre-register by calling 02 8572 9430 or by going to www.waranddisaster.com.

U3A Melbourne City has sent us details of a 20-day tour to the United Kingdom in August 2013. The tour, which will have an historical emphasis, has been organised with the mature-aged traveller in mind, with several nights being spent in each of the main centres: The Cotswolds, Stirling, York and London. Accommodation is in university colleges in single rooms with en-suites – so there is no single supplement to pay. To obtain the detailed itinerary call 1800 668 808, or ask Judith Cooper to show you the flyer.

All this month, the bookshop on the Casuarina Campus of Charles Darwin University is holding its annual book sale. There's 20% off all books in stock, and there are also $2, $5 and $10 specials. The bookshop is in building Red 1.1 and is open from 8.30am to 4pm on weekdays. For more information call 8946 6512.

At the end of the day, all good things must come to an end, but

To beat about the bush at this moment in time would

Drive a nail into the coffin of every Tom, Dick and Harry.

In point of fact, from time in immemorial and

In this day and age, it is best

To leave no stone unturned, but

To take the bull by the horns and

Tell us like it is.

In a nutshell, when all is said and done, it's a case of

Don't call us, we'll call you!

Am I right or am I right?

Thanks to Cliff Campbell

The new barriers recently installed at the entrance to the Mitchell Centre car park are equipped with vehicle recognition to prevent drivers' making use of the 2-hour free parking period (3 hours off-peak) more than once in any one day. If you take advantage of the free parking period and then return to the car park during the same day hoping to benefit from a second free park, you will now be charged for the time from the end of the first free period to the moment you leave the car park the second time – and that could be an expensive surprise.

Part Ten: We enjoyed the DRY!

Wurrgeng season is coming to a close and the exceptionally cold recent weather has produced a wonderful flowering and fruiting period. Tomatoes, other vegetables and herbs exulted in the coolness and complete lack of humidity, and produced a bumper crop.

The new season, the hot, dry Gurrung, extending from mid-August to the end of September, is the tough season, and the brilliant cloudless days find many animals tucking themselves away into the cool shade and damp undergrowth, sometimes just to get away from the smoke haze! It is their health spa/holiday resort time!

Many of the monsoon forest trees produce their flowers and fruits at this time. Just over my back fence, there is a small tree with a huge bunch of the parasitic mistletoe plant swarming over it. The red and black berries attract the appropriately named mistletoe bird, enticing them to come and feast on these juicy items. These small birds replicate the colours of the berries with their glossy blue-black heads and backs, and brilliant red and white underparts, and are often hard to spot amongst the berries and foliage. These birds are known as "flower peckers", but they thrive on the mistletoe berries which pass rapidly through their digestive system. The still viable, sticky seed is then deposited onto a suitable branch and is very quick to germinate. It is not long before another parasitic mistletoe bunch is helping to take over the whole tree.

These attractive birds are often mistaken for crimson (or blood) finches, and the fairly common red-headed finch.

The colourful grass finches, such as the star and crimson finches, are "sometime" visitors as they really prefer the savannah and open grassland close to watercourses. But the double-barred and the pretty little yellow-beaked masked finch seem to be quite at home flitting around in my nearly leafless "green ant" tree, and pecking in the grass under the frangipani tree in the communal parkland.

This dry, windy weather brings the most stress to my deciduous tree, and the grassed area of my backyard is soon awash and littered with falling red and autumn-coloured leaves.

Should I rake them up? Why bother – tomorrow there will be just as many to replace them! A lawn mower/mulcher once a week is a much better option. Is it any wonder that I decided on a "pot-plant" moveable garden as otherwise the garden beds would be smothered by tough, indestructible, irretrievable, leathery leaves?

In amongst these pot plants, the quirky little tata lizards, who wave bye-bye before they sprint off to the nearest concealment, are normally diurnal, but at this hot time they usually revert to night hunting. One such, a young tata, lives amongst the shaded pot plants on the edge of my patio, sharing the space with diminutive green tree frogs and a large, possessive marbled frog.

The small, black pompom I own gently noses the frogs back into their hidey-holes if they venture inside the house or onto the open grass. They need protection from the peewees and other bird predators who are partial to a bit of green frog entrée.

Next month: Water Wise

The Australian Newspaper Plan is trying to build up a comprehensive collection of Australian national and local newspapers for their historical value, not only in reporting the news of the day but also in reflecting their times through advertisements, photographs and layout. As part of this initiative, the NT Library is seeking to obtain the following journals which circulated in the Territory:

• Army News 1941-1945
• North Australian 1883-1890
• Northern Standard 1921-1955
• NT Times and Gazette 1921-1932

If you are able to help, please contact Diana Richards on 8999 7364 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Some very interesting talks have been much appreciated by all who have attended our U3A Tuesday meetings over the preceding months. However, to prevent the demise of the Tuesday meetings, we need suggestions for future speakers. How about donning our thinking caps and each of us nominates just one person we think may be wiling to speak on the subject closest to their hearts. This request is also directed at members who attend our Thursday meetings but, for one reason or another, are unable to come along on a Tuesday, but who would like to contribute to the continuance of U3A.

Normally the U3A Board is responsible for finding Thursday speakers, but it has evolved in the past that Ash Dally assumed this responsibility and organised our Tuesday speakers. This is no longer a viable option, so

PLEASE HELP.

Just one name per member!

Contact Gayle on 8985 5406.

While some cold callers are still telephoning claiming to be able to fix 'reported' bugs on your computer, a new scam has started doing the rounds. The caller claims to be from the Grant Council of Australia, and quotes the postal address and ABN of the Australia Council for the Arts.

The purpose of the call is to inform you that you have been awarded a substantial grant for being an upstanding citizen. However, the downside is that you are requested to pre-pay the tax on the award!

If you are contacted, don't be fooled by the smooth talk, but report the call to Scamwatch on 1300 795 995 or www.scamwatch.gov.au, or to the police.

In response to the Productivity Commission's report Caring for Older Australians, the federal Government announced in April its Living Longer, Living Better package. Amongst other measures in the package is the Home Support Program which covers services such as meals, transport, respite care and home maintenance if you need just a little bit of help. There will be a fee for each service accessed from the program.

If your needs are greater, there will be an appropriate package of care ranging from an 'A package' (just a couple of hours per week) to a 'D package' (which would typically provide 10-14 hours per week.

All beneficiaries will have to pay a basic fee for their packages. If you can afford it, there will be an additional means-tested care fee. The table below sets out the fees that will be charged:

The Government will continue to pay the majority of the costs of all home support services for all older people, and over your lifetime beneficiaries will not be asked to contribute more than $60,000 for all the aged care services accessed, whether they are home support, residential care, or a combination of both.

With thanks to COTA for allowing us to use an article in its June-July magazine as the basis for this item; for further information go to www.health.gov.au

If you're travelling overseas, bear in mind that as from 1 September 2012, when returning to Australia, the duty-free concession on tobacco reduces to 50 cigarettes or 50 grams of cigars or other tobacco products. If you exceed these limits, duty and GST will be applied to the whole amount imported.

Part Nine: Doves and Pigeons – Peaceful to Rowdy

Mangrove and peaceful (turtle) doves are consummate actors by nature, and there is always much posturing, wing-clapping and tail-waving (à la peacock) to be seen. Both species have the disconcerting habit of prostrating themselves on the ground (usually the middle of the road!) with one wing raised plaintively in the air as though they are injured. However, when you go to help them, they suddenly whip into the air saying "gotcha, gotcha"! In actual fact they are either sunbaking when they do this, or, if it is during a light rain shower, they are just performing (and enjoying) their ablutions.

Bar-shouldered doves in particular have adapted to living with humans and are mostly unfazed when it comes to close encounters with people and pets. They often utilise rooftops and television antennae with possessive glee – clawing their way up and down the entire length of the roof as though they are having a game of soccer up there! And if you protest about this racket, in return you may get their relentless, rather mournful but never-the-less decisive cry of "fluff off, fluff off" in various shades and nuances!

There are, however, compensations for living with these doves as they delight in eating small grasshoppers, grubs and other insects. Also, down in the leaf litter under my 'green ant' tree, I found that a pair of peaceful doves had raised two small fledglings. Able to fly short distances only, the youngsters would be parked there safely while the parents zoomed off to gather more substantial food than my bare patch could offer. The littlies blended so well with the fallen leaves that I would occasionally start hosing before they moved enough for me to spot them. I sometimes even felt like the baby-sitter! However, they were successfully raised, and I felt quite proud when I saw them fly off with their parents.

The Torres Strait pigeon is a common visitor to this area, seeking Carpentaria palms with heavy loads of red berries, fruiting usually from December to March. More later about these birds.

Next month: Firetail and Grass Finches, Lizards and Frogs.