Post #283 31 October 2024

 Gentlefolk,

This post describes our main activities during the month of October 2024.

The most important event was moving from Canberra to Nirimba, near Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The move was more stressful than expected. Getting ready for the packing was difficult enough, but saying goodbye to family and friends was an emotional wrench. 

Will it all be worthwhile? Only time will tell.

Kent Removals did the Packing on 2 October, and the Uplift the following day. We left Canberra on 6 October. Canberra has been our base for close to 60 years and it was a strange feeling to drive away, not just for a short time as previously, but this time for an indefinite period.

We know that sometimes a move like this doesn't work out, so we are keeping our apartment in Kingston in case we decide to return. We'll give the new location at least a year (or two) before making a final decision.

On  the way north we stayed with Siri & Bob Morrison in Nambucca Heads and then with Shana and Greg in Ocean Shores, before stsying at Jen & Tom's place in Brisbane. 

 On Monday 14 October we drove to Caloundra; final settlement occurred the next day and we got the keys to our house. Kent delivered our shipment comprising 90 boxes plus furniture on 16/10. 

Then the fun of unpacking started. How in hell did we accumulate so much 'stuff' in an apartment???? The Kent guys helped get us started, and within 4 days we were essentially unpacked - a hectic time - although still a long way from working out where everything should go.

Here are some photos - the story of our move continues after the photos. 

Kent Removalist packing team packed up our apartment in Kingston. did a good job.

Saying goodbye to our lovely neighbour, Alysia.

The Kent Uplift Team came the following day - everything fitted in a 20 foot container. 

The fully loaded container. The apartment was empty, so we moved to Aniko & Peter's place for 4 nights - thanks guys, always so hospitable!

Moritz visited Canberra to check on Tesla operations here, and we had dinner with him.

Saying goodbye to my parent's graves in Gungahlin Cemetery.

Also said goodbye to good friend Ian Loiterton who passed away from a sudden illness in 2019. 

We picked up some take-away at a Filippino restaurant at the Watson shops.

Luton Properties is going to manage our apartment - we handed over the keys to Chauntelle and Maggie on Friday 4 October 2024. 

Vera saying goodbye to good friend Demsi who works for the Samoan High Commission.

Family dinner with Britt, Lani, Tui and Nouvie, and Aniko & Peter.

Saying goodbye to Dynamic Duo Aniko & Peter. Wonderful couple - thanks for all your help and encouragement - we will miss you1 

While packing we came across this wonderful old photo of my mother's parents in Dresden more than 100 years ago. 

We visited Canberra's annual Spring Flower show, Floriade. May be a while before we can go again.

 

Last supper in Canberra on Saturday 5 October (at the Yacht Club) was with the Guys & Dolls social group: from left Joh, Michael, me, Donna, Helen, Paul, Marlene, Vera, Nadia, Geoff, and Neil.

We had lunch in Sydney with Tini and Michael Kramer and their family.

Met Geoff & Albert at a cafe near Nabiac. They love living in the Village in Forster; will do a tour of China soon.

We stayed a night with Bob & Siri Morrison in Nambucca Heads.

Stayed with Greg & Shana Mills at Ocean Shores.

Jen & Tom invited our friends for lunch on Saturday 12 October: Hugo Hofgartner, Sean O'Shaughnessy, me, Vera, Andy (my brother visitng from Rarotonga), Jen & Tom.

Andy & Jen.

Vera with Hugo.

Sean in typical mode.

Nate farewelled us from the Roberts - we are off to Caloundra and a new life.

We stayed near Cooma St. I grew up in Cooma - a sign???

We stayed in the Belaire Place Motel for 4 nights before moving into our new home. Big room, with a view.

Our motel was a short walk from Kings Beach, Caloundra. Early morning dip - the water was great! After breakfast we went to our house and continued unpacking. When we moved in on Friday 18 October (coincidentally our wedding anniversary) we only had 30 boxes still to unpack.

We got the keys to our new home at 133/25 Banya Ave, Nirimba on 15 October 2024.

Renee Wraith from Stockland did the induction to our new home.

Our shipment was delivered by Kent Removals on Wednesday 16 Octoer 2024. 90 boxes, plus furniture. Did we really have this much "stuff" in our apartment in Canberra??? The Delivery Team brought everything inside and then helped us unpack the first 30 boxes. Big help. 

Vera with the Kent delivery team. They did a good job.

The Kent packing Team did a good job in Canberra. We had very few breakages: a couple of fairly old Chinese jars, and this chair (fairly clean break so which we should be able to have it repaired). Also couldn't find a set of cutlery which we bought in Brazil 40 years ago. Not worth claiming on insurance, as we had no receipts and the total value would have been well below our 'excess'.

Jen & Tom came us for the day on Sunday 20/10 to give us a hand; they were a great help. Young people have so much energy and decisiveness!

Our first visitors, on Tuesday 22 October: Paul & Niniek (who were visiting Brisbane) and Doug & Nora.

Jenny & Richard Emerton called in - Jenny was in my class in High School, and we have kept in touch. They visited friends in Noosa and were heading back to Port Macquarie.

Bron & Daz Hensley were on the tour of India 4 years ago. They live in Maleny, not from from us. We met for a coffee in Beerwah.

We are now in our second week in the Village. It's been a bit of a blur. We are meeting so many new people, can't remember names, gets confusing.

This Village is classified as an Over 55s Lifestyle Village and is called Stockland Halcyon Nirimba. It will have 244 homes, the first residents arrived almost 2 years ago. Our villa was one of the last to be built - there are 5 more under construction which will be completed by early next year.

While the minium age to buy here is 55, almost everyone is 70+. In reality it is a kind of retirement place, with good common facilities such as Clubhouse, heated swimming pool, gym, bowling green, pickle ball, Men's shed, community garden and so on. Our facilities are fairly modest compared to some, but adequate.

There are quite a few activities on offer, some organised by the developer and others by the residents:  exercise groups, yoga, bowling, craft, painting, various card games, trivia, bingo, happy hour, and so on. 

Everyone is friendly and welcoming. But I must admit, at this stage, we miss our old friends and lifestyle in Canberra. Here everything is new and a bit of a struggle, whereas in Canberra we knew exactly where to go or what to do. 

We are assured that it is natural to feel anxious in a new environment - everyone says they had the same experience - and that it always takes time to adjust to new surroundings. 

Our lifestyle will certainly be different here.

We are trying all the activities to see which ones suit us. At 7am we have been starting start each day with an exercise class which is really good. I have had an introduction to lawn bowls - looks simple but requires much skill.

Another difference is the weather - I have only worn shorts and t-shirts since we arrived! They say summer (December, January and February), is hot and humid, but the rest of the year is very pleasant. Let's see, so far so good.

For me the biggest difference is the traffic. We used to whinge in Canberra, but it is a well-planned city, and there were rarely traffic problems. Caloundra, actually all the Sunshine Coast, is undergoing rapid development and the infrastructure hasn't kept up. Something I will have to get used to.

This Village is part of Stockland's huge AURA development - we had not fully appreciated how much construction is going on in this area. A big Town Centre (with shops and recreational facilities) is planned close to us, but that is probably still 2 years away. It will be great eventually, but in the meantime this area is a massive construction site with limited facilities close by.

Most importantly we think we have found a good doctor.

It's early days still - let's see how things develop over the next few months.

 

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News items which caught my eye in October 2024.

($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)

Global	EU: imposed tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles. China responded with tariffs on cognac and threats of others. Rafael Nadal: announced his retirement after an amazing career. He won 22 Grand Slams (including 14 French Opens); Olympic gold in Singles and Doubles; 4 Spanish Davis Cup twins; 209 weeks at world #1. Great rivalry with Roger Federer – Rafa won 24/40 contests with Roger. Wimbledon: announced that Hawk-eye will replace line judges in future. Malaysia: hundreds arrested in child abuse investigation. Indonesia: inauguration of Prabowo (73) as President and Gibran (37) as Vice President; five year terms. BRICS: Leaders meeting in Russia hosted by President Pun; Iran attended. World Bank & IFM marked the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Starlink: Musk’s Starlink has 6,419 satellites in low orbit; so far 4M subscribers in 100 countries. Turkey: The PKK attacked an aircraft factory in Ankara with 5 dead and 22 injured. In retaliation Turkey bombed PKK bases. Japan: the govt lost it’s majority – is trying to form a coalition. Spain: flash flooding in southern Spain, 95+ dead and much damage.  UK: Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced Labour's first budget which featured significant increases in taxation (yes, you read correctly). China: Hurun's annual Rich List included 753 US$ billionaires. Richest Zhang Yi Ming (founder of Tik Tok) worth $49B, second Zhong Shan Shan (Nongfu bottled water) $48B; third Ma Hua (Tencent) $44B.
Israel – Hamas (Gaza)	There are almost daily reports of Israeli strikes (and resulting deaths and injuries) on parts of Gaza and now Lebanon – I will stop trying to list them.  First Anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 Oct 2023. Still about 100 hostages in captivity. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed last week. Estimated almost 43,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza (mostly women & children) and over 100,000 injured (many will die from lack of medical services and supplies).  Many Israel ground and air strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, including parts of Beirut. 5 UN Peacekeepers injured. Aust Govt arranged rescue flights for Australian citizens in Lebanon. USA deployed Thaad anti-missile system, including staff, to Israel.  Israeli jets bombed targets in Iran in retaliation for Iranian missile attack which in turn was in response to Israeli assassination of leaders.  Israel’s Knesset passed a law banning UNRWA (the UN’s Palestine aid organization) from the country. International condemnation of this action.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	Australia will give 49 US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine (due to be replaced, worth an estimated A$245M). Reports that North Korean soldiers are fighting for Russia. Ukraine is anxiously watching the American Presidential election – if Trump gets in he will probably stop American aid to Ukraine to force them to negotiate a settlement with Russia.
USA	Election: Count-down to election day, Tuesday 5 November 2024. Polls show Trump and Harris very close (as at 30 Octo er, polls suggested Trump had 219 Electoral College votes, and Harris 226 – need 270 to govern); all attention on “battleground States: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. Billionaires who are contributing most to Trump campaign: Miriam Adelson $95M; Elon Musk $75M; Richard Uihlein $50M. Elon Musk has come out strongly for Trump. Hurricane Helene devastated SE USA: 200+ dead in Georgia & North Carolina, etc. Another, Hurricane Milton, hit Florida. NBA: Father & Son LeBron & Bronny James play for LA Lakers. Al Pacino (84) has 4 children: daughter 34, twins 23, and son 16 months. East Coast dockworkers threatened to strike, but entered into negotiations instead. Boeing workers (30,000) on strike, refused an offer of a 35% pay increase over 4 years. The Supreme Court allowed the EPA to enforce climate rules on power plants. Tickets for the World Series finals between NY Yankees and LA Dodgers average $1,700. As at 30 October, the Dodgers were winning the best of seven games 3-1. The Yankees have won the World Series 27 times, the Dodgers 7 times.  Ohtani’s 50/50 ball sold at auction for $4.4M.
Australia	King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Australia for 6 days, enroute to the CHOGM leaders meeting in Samoa. Aussie Rules AFL Grand Final: Brisbane Lions beat Sydney Swans 18-12=120 to 9-6=60. Rugby League NRL Grand Final: Penrith Panthers beat Melbourne Storm 14-6. Penrith’s 4th consecutive Premiership. Former prominent TV journalist George Negus died aged 82. Australia’s birth (fertility – babies per woman) rate dropped from 1.86 in 1993 to 1.5 in 2023 (record low). Without immigration Australia's population would be in decline. ACT election for Legislative Assembly was held 19 October: Labor 10 seats (vote fell by 3.7%), Liberal 9 seats (vote fell by 0.3%), Greens 4 (vote fell by 1.3%)probably 3), Independents 2. It looks likely that the Labor / Greens coalition will continue (Labor has been in Govt for 23 years, and the Labor / Greens coalition since 2012). Queensland State election held 26 October: change of Govt as the LNP easily beat Labor. Result as at 31 October: Liberal National Party (LNP) 51 seats, Labor 34, Greens 1, Katter Party 3, Other 1. Three seats still in doubt (LNP leading in 2, Labor in one). New Premier is David Crisafulli, leader of the LNP. September quarter inflation down to 2.8% but "underlying inflation" still over 3% so commentators do not predict interest rate cuts until early next year.

 

 

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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').  

Here are some of the more interesting graphs in the Bloomberg newsletter during October 2024; they are largely self-explanatory.

 

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That's it for this post.

Today is my sister's birthday. Angie lives in Narooma on the NSW South Coast and is very much involved in the local community, especially through Rotary.  Keep up the good work, Sis! Our very best wishes for today and for the year ahead. 

Not sure about the future of my blog - will we do enough interesting things here to make it worthwhile? I'll keep it going until the end of this year and then reassess. 

In the meantime, best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling!!!

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra Queensland

Thursday 31 October 2024.

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