Part Six: Kingfishers, Kites and Eagles

The monsoon wet season 'Gudjewg' reluctantly passed and 'Banggerreng', the knock'em down storms nearly over, and harvest time was in full swing, so it was time to start planning the 'Grand Design' of my garden as I kept company with my evening glass of Semillon while enjoying the coolness of my back patio. This time of the year sees an explosion of butterflies.

Oh heck, I've slept in; it's half past eight.
For my Wednesday bridge I'm going to be late.
If I miss my bridge I'll be a bit sad,
But my partner's a tyrant and will be hopping mad.

The City of Darwin Libraries Department has recently introduced special sessions for seniors from 10am to noon on the third Friday of every month at Karama Library. The get-togethers comprise a social morning – tea is provided - and a workshop. On 20 April, following on from the success of a similar event during last year's Seniors' Month event, there will be a drumming workshop.

As the library is normally closed on Friday mornings, bookings are essential; you can reserve your place at your local library.

There are reports of people receiving telephone calls from someone purporting to be a Telstra engineer testing the line; he asks the person he is calling to tap in 9,0,# and then hang up. Apparently, by pressing 9,0,#, you are giving the caller full access to your telephone, allowing them to make log distance calls which would be charged to your account. If you receive such a call, just hang up.

To minimize the amount of unsolicited mail you receive in the post, you can register with the Do Not Mail service of the Australian Direct Marketing Association at www.adma.au/consumer-help/do-not-mail/.

One of our interstate members and an experienced house sitter is offering to look after your home in May, July or August. If you are interested please contact Denise Davis Edwards on 0418 115 748.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has launched a follow-up review to its 2006 multi-country review, Live Longer, Work Longer.

The main purpose of this follow-up review, which will be carried out over the next two years, is two-fold: to take stock of countries' progress in implementing reforms to encourage work at an older age and to examine in more detail the role of demand-side factors in shaping job opportunities for older workers and fostering their employability and job mobility.

The new study will, amongst other things, consider how older workers have fared in the labour market since the beginning of the recent economic crisis and how this compares with the experience of previous downturns and recoveries.

For more information go to www.oecd.org.

1 April is Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery Day - Under Territory law, all owners of homes and units are required to install at least one photo-electric smoke alarm powered by a battery designed to last a year or longer. This national awareness day aims to encourage householders to change the battery, and also to highlight the importance of general fire safety and the role smoke alarms play in house fires.

April sees the return of two familiar favourites, the Deckchair Cinema on the 18th, and the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets on the 26th.

The Deckchair Cinema first opened in June 1994 next to the RAN's fuel storage depot, and moved to its present site in Jervois Road in 2003. In the early 1920s, Darwin's first open-air cinema was a makeshift affair at the back of the Don Hotel at the corner of Cavanagh and Bennett Streets; then, in 1929, the first purpose-built cinema, The Star, was erected by Harold Snell. The Star could seat 860 people on two levels, in deckchairs and on bench seats.

It was virtually an open-air cinema with only a few rows in the back stalls and the dress circle covered by a roof. The Star was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy; the last film to be screened there was Celebration at Big Sur, a documentary about a 1969 music festival featuring Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell.

Last month saw the end of an era for the present cinemas in the CBD and Casuarina when the projection rooms were updated with a new digital system replacing the familiar spools.

Part Five: Skulkers and Terminators

With the communal area 'lake' starting to recede, I glimpse a solitary pheasant coucal as he slinks along a still-moist thicket of heliconias, searching for any tasty morsels. He is a reasonably welcome visitor to most private gardens - except when he feasts on our small harmless lizards. However, he is easily spooked and a nearby tree or high fence is essential to escape the sudden yapping onrush of the resident fluff-ball protecting his territory from all-comers.

Fran Wickes reminds us that, thanks to the Broadband for Seniors Program, free lessons on internet browsing and email technique are available at Spillett House, Smith Street. For further details and to book a place, call COTA on 8941 1004.

In the Territory, we all know that crocodiles control their body temperature by keeping their mouths open, but few of us are aware that we humans do the same. A recent study carried out by the University of Binghamton in New York has revealed that we yawn, not because we are tired or bored, but to cool down our brains to enable them to function more effectively.

Maintaining a consistent brain temperature is essential for staying mentally alert and it is the disturbance of this balance that causes us to yawn, in particular before and after sleeping because this is when our body temperature is at its highest. The research has also shown that a commonly held belief – that yawning is contagious – is in fact true, the phenomenon having evolved as a means to raise overall mental processing and collective vigilance in dangerous situations.

For more about this study click here.

While we may appreciate the value of regular exercise, it can sometimes be too much of an effort to get around to doing anything. One of our members has recently started a gentle aqua aerobics class which allows you to work at your own pace, and which is suitable for all levels of fitness. The sessions take place at 5.30pm every Wednesday and Friday at the Tropicus Pool in Caryota Court.

For full details call Aileen Kollasch on 8985 4888 or 0419 271 868.