This post describes some events and friends we met up with in November / December 2016.
Michael Kramer and his son Peter stayed with us for two nights, 30 November and 1 December 2016. Michael studied Chemical Engineering and then worked for Dow Chemicals,mainly in Indonesia and also in several other countries.
In retirement Michael and Tini live in Sydney, as do their 3 grown children.
Michael comes up to Canberra a couple of times a year, to visit Parliament House and other institutions such as the War Memorial. We were delighted to have Michael and Peter stay with us - our first overnight guests in the apartment.
A special occasion was Patrick O'Hara's 70th birthday bash held at his home on 3 December 2016.
I first met Pat back in the mid-1960s when we were both studying at the ANU. We bonded and have remained friends ever since. Pat is one of the original 'good guys', kind and generous and warm-hearted, and not afraid to speak his mind. The public service didn't suit, and he became a teacher. He married Kaye, and they have three lovely daughters and many grand-children.
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| Having a 'welcome drink' with Michael and Peter Kramer on our balcony. |
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| We had dinner at Sammy's Kitchen, our favourite Chinese restaurant in Canberra. |
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| Some of the delicious food at Sammy's Kitchen. |
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| Patrick O'Hara, his sister Mary, and me at Patrick's 70th birthday celebration. Mary and her husband came up from Melbourne for the party. I hadn't seen them for many years; good to catch up. |
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| Patrick chatting with Jim O'Callaghan one of our mutual friends. Pat's daughter Natalie is in the background. |
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| Vera sitting next to Kaye O'Hara. They had tables scattered around their lovely garden; the weather was perfect for eating outdoors. |
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| We caught up with old friends Helen and Neil Moffat. Twenty years ago we were both active members of the Canberra Tango Club, and used to see each other 2 or 3 times a week. But tango is tough (I could never meet Vera's expectations) so we won't take that up again, but we are keen to get back to New Vogue dancing once we settle down properly. |
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| The Australia Indonesia Families Association had a Xmas picnic at a park in Belconnen. Lots of good food, a very pleasant afternoon. |
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| Dinner to celebrate John Scott's 70th birthday. From left: me; John Scott; Vera; Ian Loiterton; Tomoko Scott; Logan Brill; Christine Brill; Sharon Loiterton. This group of friends has been meeting for dinner a few times a year for the last 10 years or so. |
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| Saturday morning coffee with our "gym group". Twenty years ago we all belonged to the Southern Cross Health Club in Woden, and started having coffees after doing the Super-Circuit on Saturday mornings. Well, most of us can't manage the super-circuit any more, but we can still get together for coffee, right? Peter, George & Jenny; Geoff and Elaine (John & Donna, and David & Lois usually come but were missing this day). |
Well, that's it for this post. One of the nice things about being back in Canberra is catching up with old friends. Canberra is small enough that it is not too difficult to see friends (not like in Sydney or Melbourne which are much bigger cities).
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The next post will be about Xmas 2016.
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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Monday, 27 March 2017
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