2010 marks the twentieth anniversary of Clean Up Australia Day; this year the event falls on 7 March and we are encouraged to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment by collecting and removing rubbish – either collectively at a registered site or individually in our local area.

For further information, go to www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au.

Ausdance NT, the organiser of MoveMeNT – Darwin Dance Expo 2010 – which takes place on 14 March in the gymnasium of Casuarina Senior College, promises that this will be the biggest dance and movement event of the year with something for everyone, at whatever age. There will be displays and demonstrations, workshops and guest performances of a wide range of dance styles from contemporary to ballet and ballroom.

For further information call 8981 7002 or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Harmony Day is celebrated every year on 21 March with the aim of recognising the inclusive and cohesive nature of Australian society and promoting the benefits of cultural diversity. Many local schools have plans to mark the day with special activities, and, amongst other events, the will be a Dragon Boat Regatta from 9am to 3pm at Kahlin Park, Cullen Bay when teams from the local community and businesses will be competing in friendly races to celebrate Darwin’s diversity.

For further information, call 8946 6277 or 8932 5062 or go to www.arafuradragons.com or www.dbnt.org.

If you have an hour or two to spare during the week, either in the morning or late afternoon, you might like to consider becoming a volunteer to visit people receiving palliative care.

For further information, call Cheryl Nash, Volunteer Coordinator, on 8922 7952.

Some extracts from insurance claims found by Sally Bailey:

• Going to work at 7am this morning, I drove out of my drive straight into a bus. The bus was five minutes early.
• The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.
• The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intention.
• The car in front of me hit the pedestrian, but he got up so I hit him again.

In Australia in 2008, lecturers (or tutors where courses are offered) collectively contributed more than 667,000 hours towards U3A courses and activities. Administrators and other volunteers contributed a further 192,000 hours. These data were used to arrive at a total hourly volunteer figure extrapolated to all 205 Australian U3As. A (modest) notional dollar value of $20 an hour was ascribed to the activities to give a conservative value for Australian U3A voluntarism in 2008 of more than $21 million.

The local news station was interviewing an 80-year-old woman because she had just married - for the fourth time. The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then about her new husband’s occupation.

Well this is the last Newsletter for 2009! I know we all say it, but I do not know where the time went, it went so quickly. However, we have had a good year. I think coming back to Casuarina Library has been a good move as we are very well looked after at the Library.

During Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week, Darwin City Council is encouraging people to Recycle Right: to save water, to conserve resources, to reduce contamination and to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions.

The current exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery, Supercrodilians, brings to an end a year of diverse and fascinating events marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the first publication of On the Origin of Species. The exhibition, which traces the diversity and evolution of crocodilians over the last 200 million years, closes on 29 November.

Territory writers are encouraged to enter the 2010 Northern Territory Literary Awards with the winners being announced at the opening event of the NT Writers’ Festival. The closing date for entries is 31 January 2010; for full details of the categories and other information, call NT Library on 1800 019 155 or go to www.nt.gov.au