Post #185 31 December 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes some of our activities during December 2018.

First, some international events this month.

The death, aged 94, of George HW Bush, 41st President of the United States (1988 - 92). The Cold War ended during his watch: on 25 December 1991 the Soviet Union dissolved into 15 independent countries. Unbelievable, a miracle.

The 40th anniversary of China's "Reform and Opening"; China's GDP increased from US$150 billion to US$12 trillion (putting it another way, China's share of Global GDP rose from 2% to 18%). Astonishing, another miracle.

The "Yellow Vest" movement in France, persistent and violent.

Brexit negotiations not going well - with only 3 months left - difficulties for Theresa May.

Wall Street (and other stock markets around the world) very volatile, up and down like a yo-yo (lost all 2018's gains). It looked as if this might be Wall St's worst finish since 1931.

At the behest of the USA, Canadian authorities detained Meng Wan Zhou, CFO of Huawei, apparently for alleged violations of sanctions against Iran five years ago. She was released on C$10 million bail.  Extradition hearings to follow. China not amused.


Herewith photos of some of the activities in which we were involved this month:

Vera's chemo treatment resulted in hair loss - don't we look like twins now?

We caught up with Dennis and Irene Smith.  Dennis was Vera's boss at MC Computing when we came to Canberra in 1996. Great guy; has lived with Parkinsons for years.  They are retired in Tweed Heads and visit Canberra to see family and friends.

With Anna and Bernt Larsson who we met in 1979 during our posting to Sao Paulo, Brazil. They met when Bernt was sent to Australia by Saab Scania back in the mid-1970s; live in Sydney and were visiting their daughter who has moved to Canberra with her family. 

My brother, Andy, lives in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.  The island is small, but they can always find a bit of bush for off-road cycling. Andy has been a keen supporter of the Raro Hash House Harriers over many years, but bad knees make running difficult now.

At the National Library I attended the book launch by Peter FitzSimon of "Mutiny on the Bounty". A journalist, commentator and prolific author, he is also an excellent public speaker and kept the audience entertained for an hour-and-a-half.  Peter is President of the Australian Republican Movement and a passionate believer that Australia no longer needs "a little old lady in far-off London" as our Head of State.

With my new 'best mate' after the book launch.

The cover of Peter FitzSimon's book Mutiny on the Bounty - a saga of survival, sex, sedition, mayhem and mutiny. It is 562 pages, plus 34 pages of footnotes and sources. The main characters are Captain William Bligh (portrayed as a great sailor/navigator and an even greater bastard) and Fletcher Christian the leader of the Mutiny.  On 28 April 1789 the Mutineers took over the Bounty and set Captain Bligh and 18 Loyalists adrift in a Long Boat (about 7m long by 2.5m wide).  On 14 June they reached Kupang in the Dutch East Indies, having covered a distance of 3,618 nautical miles in 47 days (with the loss of one man); an incredible feat of seamanship.  Most of the Mutineers ended up in Tahiti (later arrested) while Fletcher Christian and others made new lives on remote Pitcairn Island.

Finally received Peter Horne's book which is a directory of those who served during the life of the Trade Commissioners Act (1933 - 86); it lists Trade Commissioners, Trade Officers and Trade Secretaries.  He named it "Australia's Carpetbaggers" after salesmen in the old days who carried their wares in bags made of pieces of carpet.  In 1986 the Department of Overseas Trade was abolished, with Policy areas joining the Department of Foreign Affairs while Promotional areas  became the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). 

I joined the Department of Trade in 1971 as a Trainee Trade Commissioner.  It was an honor and privilege to work on the promotion of Australian trade for 30 years, with overseas postings at Australian Embassies -  in Indonesia (twice), Thailand, Canada, Brazil, China, and Singapore. During my second posting in Jakarta I was proud to receive the Ambassador's "Carpetbagger of the Year" award.

Julie Bishop recently resigned as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and Foreign Minister. Here she is presenting the shoes she was wearing when she made the announcement, to Ms Daryl Karp, Director of the Museum of Australian Democracy. I happened to be at Old Parliament House at the time, as part of my training to become a Volunteer Guide (my first official duty as a Volunteer Guide will take place on New Years Day - bit nervous - could be a big crowd?).

As part of our training we did a tour of the Education Office of the Australian Electoral Commission; our guide was the daughter of old friends Yvonne and Jim O'Callaghan - generational change.

Annual Xmas drinks for the Volunteer Guides of the Museum of Australian Democracy in the courtyard of Old Parliament House.

At the Xmas drinks I met an old colleague, Malcolm Mackerras; we shared an office at the Associated Chambers of Manufactures of Australia (now Confederation of Australian Industry) a half-century ago!

In December I did a course to become a Volunteer English Tutor for migrants in the AMEP program run by Navitas.  There were 15 in the course - it was interesting that only 4 of us were older/retired, the others were all much younger.  It was good to see young people willing to contribute time and effort to help newcomers to our society. ACT Public Libraries run free weekly English Conversation Groups - I will try both to see which suits me better.  

A poster advertising the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).  All migrants are able to access 510 hours of English tuition (a combination of classes and one-on-one).  It is a free service for those on Humanitarian Visas; others make a contribution as part of the fees they pay to get a visa to migrate to Australia. In Canberra AMEP is delivered by Navitas, a large educational services company.

On 11 December 2018 Nate Roberts had a Graduation Ceremony to mark the end of Primary School. Last December we flew up for Kurt's graduation, but couldn't this time because of Vera's chemotherapy. Here is young Nate (11 years old) with beaming parents Tom and Jen.  Fortunately his other grand-parents, Barbara and Richard Roberts were able to attend this memorable occasion.

Nate Roberts at his Graduation from Primary School.  Next year he will join Kurt at Marist Brothers, Ashgrove. Like Kurt, Nate was Captain of Taylor House. Hilder Road Primary School in The Gap, Brisbane, has been a wonderful school for the boys; Sid has just completed Year 4 and will be there another 2 years.

Xmas drinks at Reno & Heath McMichael's place in Hughes ACT.

Michael and Peter Kramer visited from Sydney.  We did a tour of the exhibition at NLA on Captain James Cook; our Volunteer Guide was Genevieve, very knowledgeable. James Cook (27 Oct 1728 - 14 Feb 1779) was a remarkable man: despite humble origins and little education he became an expert sailor, navigator, surveyor, leader, explorer, etc, etc.

The exhibition features the actual diary Captain Cook kept on his first voyage. Cook did three major voyages: 1768 - 71 (main objective: to observe the Transit of Venus from Tahiti, he discovered the East Coast of Australia in 1770); 1772 - 75 (main objective: to look for the Great South Land); 1776 - 79 (main objective: to find a North West Passage; killed in Hawaii on 14 February 1779 aged 51).

A scale model of the Endeavour, Captain Cook's ship on his first voyage of discovery. It was relatively small: about 32m x 9m. Carried 94 (71 sailors, 12 marines, 11 civilians such as botanist Joseph Banks). Cook kept his crew healthy for two years, until they got to Batavia (now Jakarta) on the way home, where several died of disease.

A painting of Cook's death in Hawaii on 14 February 1779 (aged 51) during a fight with natives; a tragic end to a life of achievement.

Andrew visited from Sydney to check on Vera's progress; here we are saying goodbye at Canberra Railway Station (Jen came down from Brisbane earlier - really strong support from both kids for Vera).

Canberra has its own baseball team, the Cavalry, in the National competition - which they won last season! Their home diamond/ground is at Narrabundah, not far from our apartment. I went down to watch them play Korea - Geelong; the Cavalry won 6 home runs to 2. In Australia baseball has a niche following (cricket is much more popular).

 Some of the Cavalry players on the bench.

Xmas Eve we had a picnic down by the lake at Bowen Park. It was a lovely evening, clear and warm (25C).

The gang, from left: Michael, Adrienne, Aniko, Davide, Oscar, Peter, Bonnie, Vera, Angie, Sasha, me, Jimmy.

On Xmas Day we went to the cemetery to pay respects to our dear father and darling mother.  That evening Sasha and family returned to Sydney.  Angie spent the afternoon with us - we learnt to play Monopoly cards, a fun game! 

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Did you know: December 2018 had 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays, and 5 Mondays - happens once every 823 years.

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An Aussie event of note during December: widespread demonstrations by school children calling on the Federal Government to finally act on Climate Change.

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From a personal perspective the way Vera handled her chemo treatment has been great.  She felt tired, of course, but few other side effects.  Two down, two to go.  The next treatment will be on Wednesday 2 January, and then the 4th (and last, hopefully) three weeks later.  It's been quite a journey - started six months ago -  but the end is now in sight.

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Well, it's the last day of the year - tomorrow is the first day of 2019.  It's been a crazy year with many ups and downs. I might do a separate blog post summarising the main events of 2018.  We live in an age of "information overload" and need to look back sometimes otherwise even important events quickly recede into blurred memory.

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That's it for this post, and for this year.

Wherever you are: best wishes for 2019, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
31 December 2018

Post #184 30 November 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes some of the activities in which we were involved in November 2018.

The most significant international event in November was the US Mid-Term Election held on 6 November. Mixed results: the Republican Party retained control of the Senate (the final result looks like Rep 53, Dem 47), while the Democratic Party won a majority in the House of Representatives with a likely gain of 40 seats.

The 'turn-out rate' in the Mid-Terms was 49%, the highest in a century - I still can't get my head around the fact that less than half of eligible voters exercise their fundamental democratic right to vote. The result shows a polarised US electorate; will the House be able to restrain wily President Trump?

On 5 November President Trump imposed full economic sanctions on Iran; I feel for ordinary Iranians - they are already struggling, and this will make their lives even harder. If only he put half as much effort into solving Yemen, or Syria, or Palestine, or ...

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall during the meeting between Trump and Xi in Buenos Aires this weekend?

Here are photos of some of the activities in which we were engaged during November.

Visit to Canberra by old friends Karen and Lew who live in Adelaide. 

I attended a U3A class on Syria and Jordan by Ross Howard (pictured). Ross has traveled widely particularly in the Middle East, written several books, and is a great communicator. His talks are always very well attended.  I have really enjoyed attending U3A courses this year - it is a great organisation - brain-food!

Some of my fellow trainee Volunteer Guides at the Museum of Australian Democracy (www.moadoph.gov.au) which is housed in Old Parliament House in Canberra.  From left: Adrian, Leonie, Sarah, Brian (standing - the Coordinator of the Course), Alan, Alma, Kay, Cathie, and Lee (not in the photo were Tim, Peter and Caitlan). The course comprises six training sessions (3 Wednesday nights and 3 full Saturdays) and at the end, hopefully, we will qualify to act as Volunteer Guides. 

As part of my training to be a guide at MoAD I followed an experienced guide, Geoff, when he took a group around Old Parliament House (the New Parliament House was opened in 1988, and the Old Parliament House has now become a museum).  Here we are in the Prime Minister's Office.  I had my first 'trial run' last week and didn't do too well - nervous - need more practice.

There were many events to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I in the weeks leading up to Armistice Day (in contrast to the relatively subdued commemorations in Europe). In front of Parliament House there was a 'carpet' comprising 250,000 cloth poppies made by many volunteers around Australia (the poppy has come to symbolise WW1). Over 60,000 Australians died in WW1, and about 40,000 in WW2. 

A placard in front of Parliament House.

 I attended a Panel Discussion on "1918: A Different Life" which discussed how Australians, both civilian and military, rebuilt their lives after war..

The moderator was Dr Laura Cook from the National Archives of Australia who described the lives of four people involved in WW1; other panelists included Dr Ian Hodges (who studied Returned Servicemen in the Wagga region), Curtis McGrath (who lost his legs in a blast in Afghanistan), and Lisa Quok who described life with an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD. War has such a devastating effect not only on soldiers, but also on civilians; so many lives ruined.

An interesting talk on Enemy Internment in Australia during WW1.  About 7,000 men were interned in prison camps around Australia;  The biggest, and one of the harshest, was at Holsworthy near Sydney; there was even a camp in Canberra called 'Molonglo'.  Most internees were of German ancestry (others Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish) of which about 700 were actually born in Australia of German parents.  They lost businesses and property (such as farms). Almost all were deported to Germany at the end of WW1. One of the most famous was Edmund Resch, who founded one of Australia's biggest breweries.

We attended a concert to commemorate an International Womens Peace Congress held in The Hague in 1915. Women from 12 countries attended, including USA, UK, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Governments disapproved (the British Govt tried to stop the British delegation from attending) and the participants were branded as unpatriotic, but the Congress went ahead; brave women. 

Part of the choir to commemorate Peace efforts by women in WW1.

To commemorate the end of WW1, even the Old Bus Depot Markets, held every Sunday near us in Kingston, had a bugler play The Last Post at 11am (11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - everyone stood to attention), followed by a special band performance as shown above.

We called on John Holmes who was the Senior Trade Commissioner when I worked at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok way back in 1973-74.  He is 94 and living in Goodwin Retirement Village, Monash ACT (his wife, Elise, a wonderful lady died 5 years ago), John was a marvellous boss and very good to Vera and me when we were posted in Bangkok as newly-weds; it was great to see him again and to reminisce over old times. John loved classical music and became a world authority on Conductors. 

The Australia China Friendship Society conducts an annual "Panda Competition" for schoolchildren in Canberra.  This year the theme was "Chinese Traditional Musical Instruments".  Many excellent entries.  The presentation ceremony was held at the Chinese Embassy. The photo shows Mr Yang Zhi, Cultural Counsellor, with one of the school groups. The Embassy graciously put on lunch for everyone afterwards.

A photo of some of the students who attended the Presentation Ceremony. Some teachers and parents also attended; Canberra is such a multi-cultural society. It was a very nice event, which must have made a great impression on the kids.

I went to a number of book launches during November - always interesting to hear authors talk about their new books.  Professor Reid is an expert on Asian History and has written several learned books; this was his first attempt at writing fiction.

Here author Professor Tony Reid is interviewed by Dr Jennifer Lindsay.  She was the Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in the late 1980s when I was in the Trade Office.

Well known journalist Kerry O'Brien has written an autobiography which was launched at Llewellyn Hall.  A big crowd of over 700 attended.  Kerry was interviewed by Karen Middleton.

British author Minette Walters signing books. She is known for her psychological thrillers but her last two books are historical novels set in 13th Century Britain, 'The Last Hour' and 'In the turn of Midnight'.

The grandson of my cousin in Germany, Moritz m. von Saalfeld, stayed with us enroute from Brisbane to Melbourne.  He is in Australia on a one year Working Holiday visa; has spent 6 months in Brisbane and now has lined up a job in Melbourne.  He has fallen in love with the Aussie lifestyle. 

Vera started a course of chemotherapy.  She will have four treatments, 3 weeks apart.  We were warned of possible side-effects, but apart from tiredness she has been pretty good so far. We are so lucky - the nurses and doctors here are excellent.

An interesting talk at the Australian Institute of International Affairs by ex-Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer AO. The AIIA organises talks by prominent visitors or local experts every two weeks or so, often very interesting.

The President of AIIA Canberra, Heath McMichael, presented Mr Farmer with a special award for his services.

The National Library of Australia has mounted a small exhibition featuring Captain James Cook (27 Oct 1728 - 14 Feb 1779). The son of a farm labourer, he became fascinated by the sea; learnt the ropes in the coastal coal trade, then joined the Royal Navy. He is best known for leading three amazing voyages of discovery around the Pacific Ocean; on the first of these voyages he discovered the east coast of Australia and claimed it for the British crown. On the third voyage he discovered Hawaii, where he was eventually killed in an altercation with locals. A truly remarkable man.

The exhibition features a portrait of Captain James Cook. The NLA often hosts interesting exhibitions, book launches, and talks by experts in various fields.  We live a few minutes away which makes it convenient to attend many of these events.

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From a personal perspective the biggest event this month was that Vera started chemotherapy, following a lumpectomy in August, and then further surgery in September and October.  She will have four chemo treatments, each three weeks apart.  Chemo affects her white cell count, which lowers her resistance to infection; we have been advised to avoid crowds and crowded places, and especially children as they are often sick.

Vera's first chemo treatment was on 20 November 2018 and so far she has had minimal side effects, apart from tiredness. Very fortunate - no doubt her fitness helped - let's hope it continues for the rest of the course.

We were looking forward to having Christmas in Brisbane with Jen & family and joined by Andrew & family; but we have had to abandon those plans.  We had also booked to visit my brother in the Cook Islands for his 70th birthday (on 2 January 2019) but have postponed that trip until later in the year.

We have both been blessed with good health in our lives so far, so Vera's breast cancer came as a shock (we didn't realise how widespread this scourge is amongst women, and also some men). The Specialists are confident that they got Vera's early and before it spread.  Let's hope so.  Now the chemo treatment will take priority over the next 3 months; Vera's health is our first concern, all else comes a distant second.

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The Victorian State elections were held last Saturday; the Labor Govt led by Premier Daniel Andrews was returned with an unexpectedly big swing. It looks as if Fiona Patten, leader of the Reason Party (mentioned in my last blog post) was unsuccessful; pity - she was a character.

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Must mention the achievement by NASA to land the InSight spacecraft on Mars. It travelled 301 million miles in 7 months and landed perfectly. Amazing engineering.

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That's all for this post.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera and Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
30 November 2018