An old online friend has recently launched a new website for the Territory which I thought I’d lend some support to. It’s a website for finding the ideal party venue for an upcoming celebration – whether it’s a big birthday, wedding reception, hen’s night or office party – letting you investigate the ins-and-outs of a venue in only a few clicks. There are pictures of the function space, hiring information and rough pricing. If you’re interested, you can contact the function manager of the venue directly online – to try and organise a viewing, check if they can accommodate all your requests or to see what dates are available. It’s also free to use.

• Detailed info and photos on all the venues listed
• Hiring charges for Friday and Saturday nights
• You can contact the function managers directly online
• 100% free to use
• Although designed for birthdays, most venues are happy to accept a wide variety of parties – hen’s nights, buck’s nights, wedding receptions, product launches and work parties.

myBirthdayVenue.com started interstate, where they have quite a few venues on board, so hopefully if it goes well they’ll expand from the four venues they’re currently listing. If you’d like to have a look at what they’ve currently got on offer – head over to the Darwin Venues section at myBirthdayVenue.com.

I met a couple from Tasmania (who are up here on holiday) on the bus to the supermarket and as an ex-Tasmanian myself, we got talking. I explained I moved up here to get warm and they had to agree with my decision. The husband told me he had had no arthritis pain since being here and both said they felt better within themselves and could move easier.

A word of advice from www.arthritis.org

Some people with arthritis feel better in a warm, dry climate. For people with arthritis, life can be easier in a warm climate, because they don’t have to struggle with ice and snow. Studies of the effects of weather on people with rheumatoid arthritis are inconclusive. Symptoms may worsen if the barometric pressure goes down and the humidity goes up. And even if the warmer, drier climate helps you feel better, it will not alleviate the disease itself. If you are considering a move to a warmer climate, spending more time than a vacation there will be necessary to assess how your symptoms are affected. Another thing to consider before moving is the effect of moving away from you support system of family and friends, which may outweigh the benefits of the warmer weather.

Isn’t this just ridiculous?

Principal Garry Martin of Le Page Primary School in Melbourne said he instructed students to substitute the line “Fun your life must be” for the original “Gay your life must be” when singing “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.” The song about a native Australian bird is a favorite around campfires from New Zealand to Canada.

By substituting it, the word gay will eventually never get to be used for happy. Teach the kids what it really means not what it is slang for,  for goodness sake!

Event: Dawn Service
Date: 25 April 2010
Time: 6:00am
Venue: Darwin Cenotaph, The Esplanade

For further details of Anzac Day Dawn Services and Commemorative Services throughout the Northern Territory, please contact the Darwin Sub- Branch of the RSL on (08) 8981 5437 or check the RSL website www.rsl.org.au.

April is  Autism Awareness month.

A Walk for Autism will be held on April 24th  and Autism NT would like you to join them for a walk around the Jingili Water Gardens. The Walk begins at 9am.  For those who need to register on the day, registration commences at 8am. Adults $10 Children $2

Start Time: Sat 24th April 2010 8:00 am

If you or someone you know is affected by Autism, now is the time to show your support.

I hadn’t heard of this unique hotel until recently, so I thought I would do some checking. It was designed by a Darwin architect and  is in the shape of a 250 metre crocodile. The  jaws are the entrance, which leads to a marble foyer representing a cool, green billabong. The crocodile’s body section houses 110 guest rooms overlooking a central courtyard with a recreation area of a billabong and swimming pool, designed to represent the crocodile’s belly.

Friends of mine stayed there recently and were suitably impressed with both the accomodation and the meals.

I noticed this interesting article in bigpond news regarding exporting cane toads to China.

A Queensland game meat producer hopes to be exporting cane toad body parts to China as soon as next month.

John Burrey says his Charleville-based United Game Processors will send a trial shipment of toad parts to China and hopes more shipments will follow soon after.

Toads are prized in China not only for their value as traditional medicine but also for their meat.

Read more here

Police say a 44-year-old man wheeled a shopping trolley containing three jerry cans of petrol and fireworks through the front door of the TIO (Territory Insurance Office) building  in Cavenagh Street about 11am, injuring 15 people.

The injured people have been treated at the Royal Darwin Hospital. Five people are in the high dependency unit.

It is believed to be a dissatisified insurance claimant that caused the blast which injured 15 and frightened countless innocent people.

Not the sort of crime one would expect in little ole Darwin is it?

People in the Darwin, Palmerston and rural areas experienced power outages since around 6am today (January 30 2010).

Power and Water report that two direct lightning strikes took out the high voltage transmission lines that deliver power from Channel Island Power Station to the Darwin region. Some areas have now been restored and they continue working on the remainder.

Sources at the shopping centre indicated that it was affected as far away as Alice Springs.

A film crew from German channel RTL has flown in to Darwin to report on the annual Beer Can Regatta today.

Reporter Niels Buengen from Cologne said the event was not to miss.

“It’s going to be a typical, stereotype Australian story – crazy, funny and celebrating,” he said.

“That’s always interesting. And a lot of people will think let’s go and do holidays there.”

The 36th regatta is one of the few remaining Territory icons from the “Darwin that was” era.

The family day was founded a year before Cyclone Tracy hit the Top End.

President of the Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta Des Gellert said he expected to attracted up to 12,000 people and 20 boats today.

“It will be a day of fun in the sun, being as uniquely Territorian as we are,” he said.

Mr Buengen said the regatta might surprise some of the European audience.

“I think this event may prove that Darwinites drink more beer than Germans,” he said.

RTL is one of the main TV channels, attracting about four million viewers from all German-speaking countries in Europe.

Continued here