Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of April 2024.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during April 2024.
News items which caught my eye in April 2024.
Herewith photos of our activities in April:
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| The National Folk Festival (NFF) is held in Canberra every Easter: this year from Thursday 28 March to Monday 1 April 2024. We have attended often - it is a wonderful event of music and dance. This year we went two days: Good Friday and Easter Sunday (Barb Roberts joined us on Sunday). We were there from 10am to 10pm. The weather was great this year. More international acts were on display, after a hiatus due to Covid. |
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| The NFF venues at Canberra's Exhibition Park. |
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| This shows Friday's schedule (there was also another page of workshops etc) - lots going on!!! |
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| Sample page of the schedule - a good range of performers. This year there were more international performers (like before Covid), which gave the Festival more depth. |
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| Our overall favourite was Canadian Harry Manx - marvellous performer. |
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| Lively Melisandre band from Quebec Canada got everyone up and dancing. |
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| Indian dancers from Apsaras Arts Performance Group were terrific. |
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| Hungarian musicians and dancers from Kangogru Group in Sydney were fun. |
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| Paul Tilley's book launch (The History of Tax Reform in Australia) at the ANU. But the star performer on the night was Ken Henry (right), former Secretary of the Treasury. |
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| Dinner with Maria and John Boland, who visited Canberra from Bribie Island (60km north of Brisbane). We knew the Boland family well while growing up in Cooma: Mary, Peter, Michael, John and Elizabeth. John is battling cancer at present; our thoughts are with him and Maria. |
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| We saw "Billie Elliot" at the Q Theatre in Queanbeyan. Impressive production by an amateur cast. |
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| Billie was forbidden to dance ballet by his father and elder brother (both coal miners, they thought ballet was for sissies), but he persisted and finally realised his dream. |
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| We had dinner with Sandy Daly (Peter is too ill to travel) when she visited from Melbourne: Geoff, Sandy, Vera & Michael. Sandy is feisty despite many issues - a special lady! |
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| Moritz Mueller von Saalfeld visited from Melbourne. He is Oda's grandson; I like to call him my nephew, although that is not strictly correct. He moved from Germany to Australia about 5 years ago. He is now the Service Manager for Tesla in Richmond, Melbourne with a staff of 20 (and he's only 26!!!). In his spare time he does Iron Man Triathlons (180km cycle, 40km run, 4 km swim). What a champion! |
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| We had lunch at the Yacht Club. |
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| We took Moritz for a drive to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and then back to Canberra via the Cotter dam which is the principal source of Canberra's fresh water supply. The height of the dam wall was increased in 2011 to increase storage capacity. Canberra's population has grown tremendously, from 84K in 1965 (when I came to Canberra) to 478K in 2024. |
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| I dragged Moritz along to this author's talk at the Asia Bookroom. His book is about the erosion of the status of Princes (Maharajahs) in India after Independence in 1947; PM Indira Gandhi finally ended their govt stipends in 1971. It was not the most scintillating presentation and I'm afraid Moritz found it a bit boring. |
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| I did a "Torchlight tour of St John's Graveyard". St John's is the oldest church in Canberra. This is how the church looks now, in daylight. |
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| Construction of St John's Anglican Church, Reid started in 1841; the church was consecrated in 1845. It was the first church built in what is now Canberra. The main benefactor was Robert Campbell who was the largest farmer in this region, based at Duntroon. |
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| The front of St John's church, at night. |
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| Our tour guide was June Penny from the ACT Family History Association. |
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| The graveyard contains the graves of many of the early settlers of this region, including the Shumack Family whose farm was in what is now the suburbs of Weetangara & Hawker in Belconnen. |
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| The old schoolhouse next to the church is now a Museum. |
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| Dinner at Mustang Nepalese Restaurant with Paul Gray and Geoff Banbury. |
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| We hadn't been at the South Coast for a while; stopped for fish & chips in Batemans Bay, then stayed a night with Barbara in Broulee. |
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| Stopped at the Bodalla Hotel (built 1877). Drove around Tuross - nice town. |
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| Stayed with Angie in Narooma for a night. Sasha and Bonnie visited from Sydney. |
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| We stopped to see our friend Noel and family who were camping at Mimosa Rocks National Park near Bermagui. |
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| At the campsite: Thuy, Noel, Vera & me. We brought Thuy and Tien back to Canberra, Noel stayed on for a few more days. We drove back through Tathra, Bega, Nimmitabel and Cooma. In Cooma, I showed them the houses where I grew up, and my High School. |
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| The Monaro: poplar trees looked great in their autumn gold; these near Bredbo. I had itchy throat, so did RAT test when we got home - it was positive: Covid finally got me after all this time!!!. |
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| Two-up gambling is a favourite pasttime on ANZAC Day. I had planned to attend the Dawn Service at the War Memorial (apparently 30K were there), but couldn't go when I tested positive for Covid. |
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| I tested negative for Covid in the morning so I attended the Brumbies v Hurricanes Rugby match on 27 April, with Paul, Andrew & Noel. We had a good win 27-19, a big relief after being thrashed by the Auckland Blues last weekend. |
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| I enjoyed reading this book. It is very well researched and written. It is really about rowing, and what a difficult, but rewarding, sport it is. The book was made into a movie, which we saw about 3 months ago. The movie is good, but the book is better! |
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News items which caught my eye in April 2024.
($ are US
dollars unless otherwise shown)
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Global
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Turkey: Opposition parties won Mayoral elections in
Istanbul and Ankara. Taiwan: 7.4 earthquake hit east coast of Taiwan. Israel: Anti-Netanyahu demonstrations in Israel – they want
him to do more to free the remaining hostages. Missiles (believed to be Israeli) struck
the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria, killing eight Iranian military
officers. Iran retaliated by launching 300 missiles and drones at Israel –
99% were shot down. It was the first direct Iranian attack on Israel (provoked). Israel responded
with a drone attack on Isfahan. Stockmarkets have been volatile following increased tension in the Middle East. USA-Japan-Philippines-Australia
conducted naval trials in the South China Sea. Ecuadorean police raided the Mexico Embassy
and arrested former Vice President Jorge Glas who was wanted on corruption
charges; Mexico severed diplomatic ties. Briton Russ Cook (27) completed his “length of
Africa” run: crossed 16 countries, travelled 16,000 km, in 352 days. Raised
$1M for charity. EU: tightened migration and asylum rules (380K
illegal arrivals in 2023). Bloomberg Economics forecast 2024 global
GDP growth of 2.9% (down from 3.1% in 2023). The Netherlands: Amsterdam
closed the cruise terminal and stopped construction of new hotels, to limit
tourism. Dubai, UAE: major flooding after 14cm of rain fell
in 24 hours (average annual rainfall is about 10cm). Argentina: continuing big demonstrations
against austerity cuts (including to university funding) by libertarian President
Milei. Italy: Venice started charging a tourist access fee of 5 Euro per day.
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Israel – Hamas (Gaza) |
Estimated 35K Gazans have been
killed since Oct 2023 (70% women & children); about 80K injured (many die from lack of medical care). Seven foreigners (including Aussie
Zomi Frankcom) working for World Central Kitchen charity were killed by IDF –
strong condemnation. A memorial service was held in Washington Cathedral on 28 April. 196 aid workers have been killed in Gaza by IDF, and over 200 journalists. Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital in ruins
after a 2 week assault by IDF. Israel banned Al Jazeera from
broadcasting in country. The UN Human Rights Council voted
28-6 (+13 abstentions) to encourage countries not to sell arms to Israel. UNRWA review found little evidence of anti-Israel bias amongst its 13K staff (Israel alleged widespread bias but provided no evidence). Most countries have renewed funding to UNRWA. Mass graves uncovered near hospital at Khan Younis, Gaza. US Navy started building a floating pier off Gaza for aid shipments.
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Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Ukrainian drones attacked targets
in Yelabuga, 1300 km inside Russia. Ukraine lowered the conscription
age from 27 to 25. IAEA expressed concern when drones
(presumably Ukrainian) hit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. US started supplying long-range
(250km) ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. On signing the $95B Foreign Aid Bill, President Biden said shipments of military equipment to Ukraine will start immediately. The Australian Govt pledged another A$100M in military aid to Ukraine.
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USA
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Congress (HoR 311-112, Senate
79-18) passed a Foreign Aid Bill totaling $95B (Ukraine $61B, Israel $26B,
Taiwan $8B). The same Bill says TikTok will be banned unless the owner ByteDance cuts
ties with China within 9 months (TikTok has 170M regular users in the US). The Senate voted 51-49 to
terminate the impeachment trial of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Frantic efforts to reopen shipping channel following bridge collapse in Baltimore were successful by end of April; but
bridge repair will take much longer. Avian Flu H5N1 found in dairy
herds in Texas; first worker tested positive. Rick Slayman got a genetically
modified pig kidney – so far so good. An estimated 30+ million in North
America watched the solar eclipse. Arizona Supreme Court reinstated a
near-total abortion ban, based on a 1864 law, but the Arizona HoR voted to
repeal the law. The NYC trial of former President
Trump started following jury selection; he is accused of falsiying documents to cover up payments to
porn actress Stormy Daniels. It is the first criminal trial of a former
President. Trump rejects the charges, says they are politically motivated. Trump has managed to delay the other
three criminal trials he is facing. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments re limits of Presidential immunity (Trump claims he had absolute immunity while President). Women’s College Basketball:
Despite Caitlin Clark’s efforts, South Carolina beat Iowa 87-75. Attracted
record viewership (more than Men’s final). O.J. Simpson died of cancer aged
76. In 1995 a LA jury acquitted him of murdering his former wife Nicole Brown
Smith and her friend Ronald Goldman. Later he served 9 years for armed
robbery and kidnapping. 2023 US trade with China goods
exports to China $148B, imports $427B giving a bilateral trade deficit of
$279B. In view of weakening EV sales,
Elon Musk said that Tesla would reduce its global workforce of 140K by 10%
and bring forward new low-cost models. Growing Pro-Palestine
demonstrations on many university campuses (Columbia, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Texas, NYU, USC, etc); some arrests by police. Israeli PM Netanyahu labelled the campus demonstrations as anti-semitic and said they should be banned. He earned a rebuke from Senator Bernie Sanders who accussed Netanyahu "of using antisemitism to distract attention from the policies of his extremist and racist government." Google fired 50 employees for protesting the Google cloud contract with Israel. The Dept of Justice agreed to pay $139M to 100+ gymnast victims of Lawrence Nassar, for FBI failures in its abuse investigation. Boeing will pay $443M compensation to several
airlines for the grounding of their Max 9 planes following the Alaska Air
equipment problems in January. The New York Appeals Court overturned (4-3) Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sex crimes (said allegations of prior offences should not have been admitted); ordered a re-trial. MeToo Movement upset.
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Australia |
Dr Samantha Mostyn (59) will be Australia’s
28th Governor General (from 1 July 2024). She is a businesswoman and
humanitarian campaigner. NBL: The Tasmanian Jack Jumpers
beat Melbourne United to win the NBL basketball championship, in only their third season. Joel Cauchi (40) fatally stabbed 6
people and wounded 9 in Westfield Plaza, Bondi Junction, Sydney. He was shot
dead by Police Inspector Amy Scott. A couple of days after the Bondi
Junction stabbings, a 16 year old youth stabbed the Bishop of an Assyrian
Church during a church service in Sydney. A crowd gathered and attacked
police and para-medicals. The youth was charged with a terrorist attack; instigators
of the riot were arrested. Following the church stabbing, in
a counter-terrorism sweep by Sydney police, AFP and ASIO raided 13 homes and
arrested 6 teenagers. Bruce Lehrmann lost his defamation
case against Chanel 10 and Lisa Wilkinson; Judge Michael Lee concluded that “on
the balance of probability, Lehrmann raped Brittney Higgins”. The Judge
criticized the behavior of all the parties in this action. Australian actress Nicole Kidman was honoured with an AFI Life Achievement Award. Demonstrations in several cities calling for greater action to counter violence against women (there have been 28 deaths in the first 4 months of 2024).
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China |
Estimated 65% of new car sales in
2023 were Electric Vehicles. Mobile phone company Xiaomi
announced it will make an EV; $30K for SU7 model. Took 90K orders in the first
24 hours – 6 month wait for delivery. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
visited China 3-9 April. A third property giant, Shimao,
facing bankruptcy owing $202M; joins Evergrande (debts $300M) and Country Garden. US Sec of State Blinken visited China, met the President and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
My 30 year career as an Australian Trade Commissioner gave me an interest in matters related to international trade. I subscribe to Bloomberg's excellent daily newsletter "Supply Lines" (former title 'Trade Matters').
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| In 2022 the EU represented 13.7% of global exports, while China was 18.2%, USA about 10%. |
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| Baltimore was able to partially open the shipping channel again by the end of April 2024; it will take much longer to fix the bridge and reopen the highway. |
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| Tesla had revenue of $21B in Q1 2024, with profit of $1.1B (substanially down). |
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| President Biden has added more Chinese companies and individuals to the US Export Black List than previous Administrations. |
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We will visit Taiwan in the second half of May. A 7.4 earthquake hit Taiwan on 3 April and caused extensive damage along the East Coast (see below). Fortunately our tour will proceed, although the itinerary has been changed to avoid Hualien City.
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On 22 April I tested positive for Covid - it finally got me!!! Covid was first detected in Australia in January 2020. I had few symptoms, and I feel OK, so probably a mild case. The doctor prescribed a course of anti-virals (Lagevrio molnupiravir) which I am taking. I paid A$6,70 for the 40 tablets - the prescription showed "actual cost $1,100". Thank god for Australia's subsidised medical scheme!
I did another RAT test on 27 April, which was negative. So everything is back to normal.
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Daylight saving finished in early April. Sunrise now is around 6.30am, sunset at 5.30pm.
Traditionally Canberrans turn on heating around ANZAC Day (25 April), and that's what we did this month. It's been a very pleasant autumn, but temperatures, especially at night, are falling. For example, for the ANZAC Day dawn service it was just below zero C at 5.30am, with a hint of frost.
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| Construction of our house near Caloundra (100km north of Brisbane) is coming along nicely; the prospect of no more winters is appealing! |
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That's it for this post.
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Tuesday 30 April 2024
