If you’ve ever had small children in your life, you’ll know what I’m on about. It may only be a 5-minute job, but it’s the worst! And trying to put one’s finger on why we hate it so much is harder than it seems.

If you’ve had school lunch box fatigue, you’re not alone. Thankfully there are few quick fixes! I asked our ABC listeners for their tips, here are my favourites: to allow a canteen day (or 5) during the week;  to pre-make a week’s worth of sandwiches in one go that you can just pull out of the freezer when you need it; and, get your child to make the lunches themselves (I suggest doing it with supervision, so that they don’t end up going to school with a raw bacon sandwich like the time I tried this at home). 

Good luck to all the kids and parents in the new school year!
 

Jo Laverty, Breakfast presenter, ABC Radio Darwin

Love later in life, is it possible? In pop culture, in film, television and especially pop music love is often the domain of the young. Being single in your 50’s, your 60’s or beyond and enjoying those giddy flutters of love doesn’t seem very realistic. Not to mention grappling with dating apps or introducing adult children to a new partner.

Then there’s Fay and Den, who met at a petrol station and after a whirlwind romance tied the knot.  Both in their 70's, this couple will put the romance back in your soul. Liz Travaskis explores how older age should not be an obstacle to finding lasting love.

Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann is many things. She is the Territory's first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher, an artist, an activist, and in 2021 she became Senior Australian of the Year. Last week she spoke to ABC Radio Darwin's Jo Laverty about her award. 

A disability advocate, a young circus performer, and a collective to help COVID-19-affected migrants have been honoured at last week's awards.

Citizen of the Year Sharm Bali was a young migrant teacher when he saw an opportunity to help the community. He says he was "hand-picked" to help the disabled. Another winner ‘The Kindness Shake’ is an initiative that has been active for less than a year but has helped hundreds of international students and refugees. Read the full story in the link below.

A group of 15 refugees have been detained in a Darwin hotel for almost 12 months, with their lawyers calling their detention "illegal" and "political imprisonment". The refugees have been detained in a complex adjacent to the Mercure Darwin Airport Resort, which Australian Border Force classifies as an alternative place of detention. They are unable to leave the vicinity except for medical appointments. 

The company planning to build one of the world's largest solar farms, connecting the Northern Territory to Singapore, has signed a development agreement with the NT Government. Sun Cable plans to supply Darwin with electricity and up to 20 per cent of Singapore's energy needs using an undersea cable.

Electricity transmission was expected for Darwin by 2026 and to Singapore in 2027. The project is still almost three years away from its financial close deadline and the start of construction in late 2023. 

About 40 teams from around the world, including from the COVID-19 hotspots of the US and Europe, are still planning to be on the start line of the World Solar Challenge in October.

Organisers of the Darwin-to-Adelaide race have set dates and devised several contingency plans, which may include not crossing the SA-NT border, running a national race for only the six Australian teams, quarantining overseas teams, or holding a virtual-only version of the event. The biennial 3,000-kilometre race has run 15 times since 1987 and has attracted teams from all over the world.

Trying to break off unhealthy eating habits and start 2021 on a health streak? Check out this delicious chicken, mango and coriander salad recipe! Packed with nutrients, vitamins and protein it is exactly the type of meal to help you stay on track with your New Year's resolutions.