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Many thanks to everyone i nvolved in the organisation of our Christmas lunch at Oaks Elan last December – it was a great success, as usual, and the new venue proved a popular choice. Gayle Carroll’s traditional quiz sorely tested our knowledge; her questions seem to get more fiendish every year. Congratulations to the lucky winners in the raffle: Veronica Beaton, Fiona Douglas, Audrey Grace, Fritz Risler and Merv Williams. The Door Prize went to Inger Anderss on, and Pat Goyen won the gift donated by Country Classics.

At the end of last year, Australia Post announced that certain charges were being ‘adjusted’. For most users, the most significant change was the increase in the price of sending a letter overseas – the second price hike in two years. It now costs $2.95 to send a standard letter to most overseas destinations. By way of comparison, while it costs us AU$2.95 to send a letter to the US, the price of sending a letter from the US to Australia is US$1.15 – that’s the equivalent of AU$1.53.

Research undertaken by Dr Manolis Kallistratos at the Asklepieion Voula Hospital in Athens on middle - aged patients with hypertension has confirmed what most of us had long suspected: a regular midday snooze helps to lower blood pressure and ward off heart attacks and strokes.

After adjustments were made for other health factors that might have influenced the results, the study found that, in comparison with people who did not nap, afternoon nappers had a four per cent lower b lood pressure reading when they were awake and a six percent lower reading when they slept at night, reductions which could significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular events.

A ‘leap second’ was added to the last minute of 2016 to take account of the fact that the Earth is spinning slightly slower with each passing year, and in order to keep our clocks as accurate as possible, an extra second needs to be added occasionally to ensure that. Prior to the December 2016 adjust ment the latest leap seconds were added in June 2012 and June 2015.

The ever popular National Trust Sunday Teas at Burnett resume on 5 February.

An exhibition entitled Our Feathered Friends – The Art of Birds celebrating the diversity of birdlife in the Top End and Central Australia through the eyes of both indigenous and non - indigenous artists.

As well as reflecting the Territory’s abundant and diverse birdlife, the exhibition illustrates the relationship between people and birds in our region At CDU Art Gallery, Building Orange 12, Casuarina Campus; open Wednesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm and on Saturday from 10am to 2pm.

This year sees the 75th anniversary of the first bombing raids on Darwin, and many events are planned to mark the occasion; here are just a few:

• The screening of The Awkward Truth , a documentary on the circumstances surrounding the bombing on 19 Febr uary 1942. At 6pm on 17 February at the BCC Cinemas, Mitchell Street; free entrance.
• The USS Peary Memorial Service on The Esplanade at 8.15am on 19 February.
• The Bombing of Darwin Commemoration Service at 9.30am on 19 February at The Cenotaph.
• Two exhibitions on the rais ing of the wrecks in Darwin Harbour, one at Darwin Memorial Uniting Church, the other at the NT Library, both are on show throughout the month. In connection with these exhibitions, David Steinberg will be speaking about the sa lvage operations at our meeting on 7 February.

For more information and details of other events, go to darwin.nt.gov.au/node/9167.