Post #144 30 June 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post covers events / activities in which we were involved during June 2017.

Winter definitely arrived, with night temperatures consistently below zero; unpleasant fog sometimes spoil mornings, but afternoons are usually nice.

Luckily the apartment has a northerly orientation, so is normally comfortable during the day; at night the temperature drops and we need heating.  But overall it's been quite manageable.

It's been another busy month. We bought display cabinets and finally unpacked our Chinese blue & white porcelain. Hung photos and awards on study walls; still a few photos to go, but almost there.

It has taken about 9 months to properly 'settle in' to the apartment and our new lifestyle; friends who cautioned that it takes time, "don't rush, be patient", were right.

We are just back from six days in Brisbane - caught up with Jen & Tom & boys - the weather is much warmer up there, that's for sure.

We went to several classical music concerts, free, in the foyer of the High Court of Australia building on Sunday afternoons. A very pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

Attended various talks, at the National Library of Australia (Hugh Mackay; Karen Middleton), at the China Centre at the Australian National University (launch of 2017 China Story Yearbook), and at the Australian Institute of International Affairs (Dr Peter McCawley on the Asia Development Bank).

On 8 June I gave a presentation at the University of the Third Age (U3A) titled "The nuts & bolts of teaching English in China". Another talk on Chinese Culture is scheduled for 4 July.

Notable events in June 2017 included:

The UK general election resulted in a hung Parliament.
The terrible Grenfell Tower fire in London (80+ died).
Australian TV Channel 10 went into receivership.
Testimony by James Comey, ex-FBI Director, to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 to win the NBA; Kevin Durant MVP.
10th anniversary of the Apple iPhone; 1.3 billion have been sold for an estimated $800 billion.
10th anniversary of the start of the Global Financial Crisis (Bear Stearns in trouble).
20th anniversary of the start of the Asian Financial Crisis (floating of the Thai baht).
20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana.
and coming up on 1 July: 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China.


Here are some photos taken during June 2017.

On 5 June 2017 I went to the China Centre at the ANU for the launch of the 2017 China Story Yearbook.  This was the fifth Yearbook.  There is a theme each year. Previous themes have been: Red rising; Civilising China; Shared destiny; Pollution; and Control in 2017. The proposed theme for next year is Prosperity.  The 2017 Yearbook comprises 7 chapters, contributed by different scholars. Subjects covered include: Population control (loosening of the one-child policy); Anti-corruption drive; Various govt bans (such as the banning of April Fools Day which is seen as appropriate only to Western societies).  The full Contents are shown on the following two photos.  An electronic copy can be found on the ANU website.

Alex Sloan interviewed Hugh Mackay on the publication of his satirical novel "Selling the dream" about the advertising industry. Hugh is better known in Australia as a writer and commentator on society and social issues, but he also writes fiction.  Clever guy.  They recently moved from Sydney to Canberra (his wife is at the ANU's School of Medicine). 

Three of the attendees to my U3A talk on "The nuts & bolts of teaching English in China", based on our six years teaching at the China University of Petroleum (www.upc.edu.cn). The Q & A session after the talk was very lively!  I will do another presentation, on Aspects of Chinese Culture, next week.

John Bakker and I were having a coffee at "Deeks Cafe & Healthfoods" in Pearce, Canberra and we met Robert (Deek) de Castella. He shot to fame in 1981 when he won the Fukuoka Marathon in (then) world record time of 2 hours 8 min 18 sec (his best time was 2.07.51 when he won the 1986 Boston Marathon). In the photo Deek is between John and me - we look like "3 Amigos"  - go to the same barber - Deek is 60, I am 70 and John is a sprightly 80.

Photo of Deek in full stride. He was world marathon champion 1981-4. Now a businessman, married, 4 kids.

A typical clear, bright winter's day in Canberra. Vera at Regatta Point lookout.

I had my first game of golf in a long time.  Good to get out on a course again, even though I lost 3 balls in 9 holes ... have now signed up for golf lessons!

The 'trophy wall' in my study featuring photos and awards from the China University of Petroleum.  Good memories.

The Canberra Glassworks sponsored a "Winter Glass Market" on 17 June. Interesting to see the artists at work.  The Glassworks are located about 200 metres from our apartment in Kingston.

One of the unusual glass art objects on display.

Victor Isaacs runs a U3A course titled "Unusual Borders" 2 - 4pm on Monday afternoons.  We've covered countries such as India / Pakistan; Belgium / Germany; Hungary after WW1; Some USA States; NSW / Queensland; etc.  Fascinating. We are fortunate in Canberra to have many well-qualified retired people who are willing and able to run a great variety of interesting courses.

We had 6 days in Brisbane to see Jen & Tom and the boys.  We went to a Japanese restaurant; here is Nate (10 years old) demonstrating his skills with chopsticks as we wait for the food.

Tom and Ketut (their Rhodesian Ridgeback) watching TV while Nate is on his iPad.

Ketut keeping Jen company while she is reading in the sun on the verandah.

Kurt (12 years old) made the District Team in a big rugby tournament. His team, the Maroons, did well; they got into the Finals but lost in extra time.  Unfortunately Kurt injured his ankle and is now in a 'moon boot'.

Tom watching Kurt receive medical help for his injured ankle.

Nate and Sid at a skate & scooter park. Many kids are very skillful, impressive.

Their swimming pool is covered for the winter months.  The weather was great during our visit: down to about 12C at night, and beautiful warm days (low 20s). We were wearing T-shirts and shorts in day time, sweaters at night.

It might be winter (never gets very cold in Brisbane), but this plant had an abundance of flowers.

Jen serving dinner. Yes, she has a bright blue streak in her hair! Nate pulled a face when he saw me take the picture.  It was great to see the 3 boys thriving.

...

Andrew and Caroline with Eddie and Jay have relocated from Hong Kong back to Sydney.  They were away for 9 years, in New York, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. We're delighted to have them much closer to home.  

Their online furniture business, reddie.com.au, had a stand at the Denfair Exhibition in Melbourne in early June and attracted strong interest. 

We haven't seen Vera's brothers and sisters for a few years, so will soon visit Indonesia; two weeks in Bali and four weeks exploring Java.   Looking forward to that trip.

...

That's all for this post.

The next two days will range from +13 to minus 7C. That's cold,  brrrrr.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

Canberra, Australia

Friday, 30 June 2017