The annual Lions Beer Can Regatta will be held on 10 July at Mindil Beach. The day’s activities commence at 10am and the market stalls will be open all day. Entry is by gold coin donation with proceeds going to Carers NT to help purchase a portable multi-media studio, including recording and production equipment as well as musical instruments, which will enable young carers to communicate the various issues and obstacles they face through the collaboration of music and song, short films, design and marketing.

It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, the introduction of the container deposit scheme will have on the availability of cans for next year’s regatta.

Yvonne Forrest would like to thank all members who had offered accommodation to the visiting U3A Prague group. However, it has now been decided to keep the group together and the visitors will be staying in a backpackers’ hostel in the CBD.

This month’s speaker at the National Trust at 5.30pm on 29 July at Burnett House will be Bishop Eugene Hurley who will be giving a talk on the Aboriginal religious artwork in St Mary’s Cathedral.

This year, the Royal Darwin Show celebrates its 60th anniversary, and will as usual be showcasing the Territory’s agricultural, commercial, cultural, mining and industrial resources as well as featuring the customary distractions and competitions. The Show takes place on 21-23 July at the showgrounds on the Stuart Highway; entry is $10 for aged pensioners on all three days and this special rate is available to all visitors before 3pm on the opening day.

Alzheimer’s Australia NT is hosting a special fund-raising gala dinner on 7 July on the lawns at Sky City. The guest speaker will be neuroscientist Baroness Dr Susan Greenfield who is visiting Darwin as part of her national tour to raise awareness about dementia. For further details and to reserve a place call 0419 653 729.

As part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, there’s a free screening of Gulliver’s Travels on the lawns at the Waterfront at 7pm on 3 July - take a deckchair or picnic rug with you if you go along.

After three years as manager of the England soccer team, Fabio Capello, an Italian, says he needs no more than 100 English words to communicate with his players. Parentingliteracy.com estimates that the average vocabulary in an English-speaking country is:

• 40 words at 18months
• 200 words at two years
• 15,000 words at six years, and
• 100,000 words at adulthood

Fellow Students,

I have raised the following matter with President Judith and at the Thursday gathering on 2 June. It is the growing tendency for members to make personal comments during presentations by our guest speakers. It was very noticeable during the talk given by Garry Clements from Consumer Affairs.

There is nothing wrong with asking questions during a lecture if the speaker has indicated this is acceptable, but personal comment interrupts the flow of the presentation and shows disrespect to our guest.

Consumer Affairs is a particular interest of mine and I had a number of questions to which I sought answers. Most of these were answered by Garry in his formal talk. However, I had no chance to ask the remaining ones due to the length of the session which was wrapped up very quickly.

Members, we invite guest speakers with particular knowledge so that we may be better informed. Most of us do not go to meetings to listen to personal homilies.

See Ash to get on the list for Tuesday’s 10 Minutes of Fame if you have a good yarn to tell.

Bill Kerr

In November 2010, Ross Garnaut was commissioned by the Prime Minister to update his 2008 Climate Change Review for the Australian Government and community. Since then, the Garnaut Climate Change Review—Update 2011 has released a series of papers addressing developments across a range of areas, including climate change science and impacts, international mitigation progress, carbon pricing, land, innovation, and the electricity sector.

On 6 June, Professor Garnaut will be appearing at 6pm at the Darwin Entertainment Centre to discuss the key findings of his update - which was due to be submitted at the end of May - and to present his recommendations for action on climate change.

Admission is free, but you will need to reserve a place by downloading a ticket at http://garnautforumcdudarwin.eventbrite.com.