Christ Troy celebrated his 50^th birthday on September 8. Family and friends sent him lots of love. Karen, Andrew, Matthew and your other Mother.

Bega RSL  Sub Branch will be holding its monthly meeting at Elgas Hosue HQ, Upper St Bega, on Monday, September 26 at 16.30 hours. Matters to be discussed: Preparation for Remembrance Day. Stay Viligant. Thomas Blake.

Judy Panucci collects tea tags, papers and string. “I thought it would be amusing to turn tags into tea sets and delicate cups so that the disposable dross became a reminder of the things we take for granted and waste.“

Judy is joining artists Anna Buck, Jan Collingridge and Tanja Riese for the first exhibition of the season at Ivy Hill.  All have created works on paper or, in Judy’s case, from paper.

The strong artistic influence of the Bega Valley environment is evident in all three artists’ works on paper. 

Tanja and Jan have used rocks as subject matter, Tanja gently portraying their patterns and Jan using the force of water rushing down a local creek after rain. Growing up in England, the concept of a ‘seasonal’ creek and how quickly it is transformed was a new one for Jan. Anna’s majestic lizards observe from the creek bank or the trunk of a tree.

You will find Ivy Hill on the coast road between Bermagui and Tathra.  The Gallery is open from 10am to 5pm on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  This exhibition opens on September 29 and runs to October 30.  Join the artists for drinks and to discuss their work from 5pm on Saturday, October 1.  More information at www.ivyhill.com.au.

Exit International Director, Mr Tom Curran, will be holding a free, public meeting on “Voluntary Euthanasia & the Law” at the Batemans Bay Community Centre on Thursday, September 29, at 1pm-2pm. All welcome.

The meeting will examine the ongoing push for VE legislation in Australia and compare this to the progress being made in other countries around the world including, Canada, the US and Ireland. The public meeting will be followed by a private meeting for Exit Members at the same venue.

Tom Curran and his partner Marie Fleming became the public face of Right to Die Ireland in 2013 after Marie – who was suffering from MS - argued that she had a Constitutional right to an assisted suicide because her MS made her too disabled to be able to act alone.

While Ireland’s Supreme and High Court’s disagreed, Marie was described by Ireland’s Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, as an “extraordinary woman … of impeccable courage and dignity”.

Since Marie’s death from MS in December 2013, Tom Curran has been working with legislators in Europe in the area of voluntary euthanasia law reform.

As a result of Tom’s 25 years of caring for his partner Marie, Tom Curran has also become a passionate advocate for the legalisation of medical marijuana.

A recipient of Carer of the Year Award in Ireland, Tom Curran has represented the right to die movement in 11 countries across three continents. With Marie, he has been the subject of two TV feature documentaries. He is the European Coordinator of Exit International. 

Most people love the opportunity to roam around a lovely garden and see what ideas they can glean from someone else's work. The garden at "Belmont" surrounds  a 100-year-old cottage that is the home of Nola and Barry Hergenhan. This garden is new to those who love to visit Open Gardens and will be open for one day only on September 25 between 10am and 4pm. It features a large garden with a variety of colourful attractions including roses, camellias, natives, a raised vegetable garden and orchard set in a backdrop of rolling hills and grazing cattle.  

Nola loves to have perfume in the garden and particularly enjoys the fragrance from the jasmine growing on the tank in early spring, lemon blossom that floats on the breeze from the orchard, roses, mock orange blossom, gardenias, daphne, freesias and jonquils. The garden brings plenty of opportunities for exercise and fresh air and Nola loves sharing the garden with others particularly seeing the joy of her grandchildren playing and picking flowers when they visit from the city. Barry and Nola both enjoy seeing the garden's changing shapes and colours over the seasons and years and a recent highlight has been the discovery of a few wren families in the garden. 

Nola states that the "garden is always a work in progress and if I don't like it, I can always add to it or change it". At this stage there are no further plans for extending the garden but Nola continues to enjoy her time spent working, or as she says "playing in the garden " and enjoying the fruits of their labours.

"Belmont" can be found at 175 Garfields Road, Numbugga,  about 20km north-west of Bega, not far off the Snowy Mountains Highway. From the Cooma turnoff take the second Garfield road turn and follow the signs to the property.  

All funds on the day will be donated to the charity ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency). Admission is $8 and children under 12 years are free. Apart from the garden there will be a plant stall, produce stall, live music, and refreshments and lunches may be purchased. Nola and Barry invite you to come along and look forward to sharing their garden with you on the day.

An Introduction to Researching and Writing Your Family History workshop will be held at Bermagui Community Centre on Saturday, September 24, from 10am to 4pm. Cost: $45 for SCWC members, $55 for non-members.

Researching your family history can bring to light many unknown gems which can further inspire your writing—from fact to fiction.

The South Coast Writers Centre will host the workshop for writing memoirs in Bermagui, run by Dr Rae Luckie. The workshop will teach participants how to utilise the extensive online resources available, and to develop strategies that will enable them to research and write their family history.

They will also be provided with handouts to continue their research, and will have the opportunity to see a variety of family and community histories, and fiction and poetry inspired by family history. These handouts will include a free copy of Inside History magazine for each participant to use and keep.

Tea, coffee and biscuits for breaks will be supplied, but participants will be asked to bring their own lunch, as well as writing materials (including coloured pencils and/or textas) and one photo depicting ancestor/s and a photo of a place they would like to write about. The “place” photo can be with or without people but must have a tree in the background or foreground. 

Bookings can be made by contacting the South Coast Writers Centre at 02 4228 0151, or by sending an email to director@southcoastwriters.org.au.

The TMC Montessori School, Bega is pleased to offer once again to all educators in the Bega Valley two wonderful opportunities.  Mary Ellen Maunz, International Speaker and Master Montessori Teacher is visiting the Bega Valley for her second time.  She will be offering a free presentation entitled:The Spiritual Development of the Child on Saturday, September 24, at the Montessori School off of Lynjohn Drive, Bega, from 9.30am to 11.30am.

She is also opening her Residency Workshops presented to those taking her online course, to any educator in the Bega Valley who would like to attend any portion.  The charge will be $55 per day for those who pre-register and $100 a day at the door.

She will be covering Royal Road to Reading  (Sept. 26-29); Maths: (Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 4 & 5). Teachers may be particularly interested in her Language Workshops featuring the Royal Road to Reading, the successful method of teaching reading she has created and the method of teaching maths which Maria Montessori created over 100 years ago.

Please RSVP as soon as possible for any of these events. Contact Donna at 6492 2913.