Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of November 2024.
A number of significant events this month: - At 2am on Sunday morning 3/11 Vera had a fall at home - we spent the day at the Emergency Dept of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital; excellent follow-up support by the Hospital and she is making a good recovery; on 26/11 she was assessed by the Falls Clinic at Nambour Hospital.
- On 5/11 (6/11 in Australia) Donald Trump won the USA Presidential Election; the next 4 years will be wild!
- On 15/11 we attended Nate's graduation from Marist College Ashgrove - a memorable event (like Kurt's last year).
We were starting to feel more settled in our new home, but then Vera took a tumble and she will take a while to recover; as everyone says, there is no rush - take your time!
We've been here 6 weeks now. It's been a busy time getting organised: unpacking, buying things, finding our way around, meeting people, medical issues.
This Village has a lot to offer - friendly residents and good facilities. We have tried as many activities on offer as possible, to see what works for us - are slowly getting there. We have located the local Indonesian community, so look forward to attending their functions in the new year. Some of the Village residents are forming a ukulele group which Vera is keen to join.
A big surprise has been the traffic in the Sunshine Coast region. The infrastructure just hasn't kept pace with development.
Some photos of the 'Halcyon Nirimba Over 55s Village', and activities
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| The Clubhouse - hub of our Village. The facilities are fairly modest compared to some Over 55s Villages, but adequate. |
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| The back verandah of the Clubhouse overlooks the bowling green. |
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| We have found the Walk, Walk, Walk exercise class (7 - 8am) in the Clubhouse is a great way to start the day. |
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| Trivia every Monday night in the Clubhouse; residents take turns to host 60 questions - challenging, good fun - many smart people here. A variety of card games are also popular (canasta, 500s, etc), as is Mah Jong. A movie is offered on Wednesday afternoons in the cinema. |
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| Bingo on Thursday evenings is popular; winner, winner chicken dinner! |
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| The village Bowling Green. I have decided to give golf a break (too hard on my lower back) and will try lawn bowls instead. It looks easy, but there is actually a lot of skill involved. |
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| An aqua aerobics class in the 20m swimming pool. My aim is to have a swim every day and build up my stamina (some residents do 50+ laps, at the moment I can only manage about 20 laps). I'd also like to get to the beach once or twice a week. |
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| Qi Gong class on Monday mornings; it is a bit like Tai Chi, good for body and mind. If you want something more active, there is Zumba on Wednesdays and Pilates on Fridays. |
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| My Queensland Drivers Licence. I have had a Canberra drivers licence since 1964, so it was quite emotional to make the change. |
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| Back of my new Qld drivers licence. |
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Jen came from Brisbane to give us a hand in the house. She & Tom are terrific. We checked out the weekly Farmer's Market near us.
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Vera had a fall at home on 3 Novermber
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| At 2am on Sunday 3 November 2024 Vera had a fall in our bedroom. We spent the whole day (3am - 4pm) at the Emergency Department of Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) about 7 kms from our place. Excellent service by the staff. Here the doctor is checking Vera's head and neck. |
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| The doctors and nurses at SCUH were great. Vera was allowed to return home that afternoon. She had a cut on her forehead (3 stitches), a broken nose (bruising around the eyes), and a hairline crack in a vertebrae; fortunately no pain. She was told to take it very easy. The after-care provided by the Hospital was brilliant, an OT and a physio visited Vera on subsequent days. She has to use a walker until her balance is back. On 26 /11 Vera had an assessment by the Falls Clinic at Nambour Hospital. They were reasonably happy with her recovery. Suggested she attend a balance course at Caloundra Hospital, but with the holidays coming up that probably won't start until the new year. |
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| Jen visited the next day after Vera's fall (took the day off work), and brought food for a week. She was a goodsend! The drive takes about 70 minutes from their place in The Gap, Brisbane. |
Melbourne Cup lunch at the Clubhouse.
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| The Social Club organised a big party on 5/11 for the Melbourne Cup. We have met many fellow residents over the last 2 weeks, but were surprised at the number of new faces at this function. |
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| We sat at this table with some of our neighbours. Everyone is friendly, but many residents have been her for a year of more, so have established friendship groups. It will take a while to find our own niche within this community. |
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| Vera has decided to stop driving so she gave up her ACT Licence which was due for renewal. I've done almost all the driving for the last few years, but this was still a major change for her. Everyone needs some form of photo ID, so she got a Qld Govt Photo Identification Card. Unfortunately, she applied shortly after her fall, so the photo isn't complimentary, featuring her soft neck collar and two black eyes! |
USA election on 5 Novermber - Trump triumphant!
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| We followed the USA election on the ABC TV channel with Leigh Sales and others. Excellent coverage. |
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| At this stage it was clear that Trump would win the election. In fact, he ended us winning all 7 crucial "swing" States - and the popular vote - it was a clear victory (and this time, surprise, surprise, he accepted the result without question!). |
Remembrance Day 11/11
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| At 11am on 11 November the Village had a flag raising ceremony to mark Remembrance Day. |
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| Afterwards we watched the Remembrance Day TV broadcast from the National War Memorial in Canberra. Strange seeing it on TV - We probably would have been there, if we were still in Canberra!!! |
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| We had a "crim-safe" screen door installed. |
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| The Social Committee called a special meeting to outline their 'future plans' - well attended by residents. |
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| The current Social Group Committee of Halcyon Nirimba. They are active! Shorts are mandatory! |
Nate's graduation from Marist College Ashgrove.
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| The original building of Marist College Ashgrove (MCA) which was founded in 1940. The school has 1,700 boys in Years 5 - 12 (including 170 boarders). The site covers 26 hectares with a range of excellent facilities. The school is about 7 km from the Roberts home in The Gap. It has been a major financial committment by Jen & Tom to send their sons to this private school; but all worthwhile, they have been very pleased with the boys' progress here. And Jen & Tom also made many good friends among the parents. Kurt graduated last year, now it's Nate's turn. Sid will be the remaining Roberts boy, he goes into Year 11 so will graduate in 2 years from now. |
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| 250 Year 12 graduating students filing into the Hall which was filled with family and friends. |
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| The Headmaster welcomed everyone, followed by a full Mass. |
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| At the conclusion of the Mass, the graduating students formed a "Guard of Honour" for their families. |
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| Our group supporting Nate: Tom & Jen, Barbara, Vera & me, Kurt & Sid. |
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| All the school students lined the walk to the Oval. Nate was very busy saying goodbye to teachers and students; an emotional journey and one he will long remember. |
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| The junior boys prepared special posters for the graduationg students. |
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| This is Nate's last day as a student of MCA, He loveed this school and has a wonderful group of friends. He made the First 15 Rugby Union team, MCA's most highly regarded team, which was a huge achievement. |
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| Speeches on the Oval. The whole ceremony was excellent. That night Tom & Jen & Nate attended a formal dinner in the City - to conclude a special day. We were so lucky with the weather - it rained heavily all the following day! |
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| That night a friend cut Nate's hair - he is off to "Schoolies" at the Gold Coast for a week, an important part of the growing-up ritual in Australia. |
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| Barbara, Jen and Tom relaxing at home. |
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| Barabara Roberts came from Broulee to support Nate. She is off to Tasmania next week for a hiking trip. |
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| Jen & Tom had a ceiling fan installed in their family/dining room, off the kitchen. |
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| We all went to a musical "Wicked" on Sunday night. Unfortunately Vera & I were not familiar with the story, and found it a bit difficult to follow. |
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| At Wicked. |
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| Full theatre at Wicked. The audience was predominantely women. Most of the men wore shorts - I'll have to get used to the very casual lifestyle in Queensland. |
Musical Bingo night
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| The village Social Committee organised a "musical bingo" night - great fun - Noel Bates was the terrific MC, ably assisted by Sandie Ingram. Normal bingo is every Thursday night - but this was more fun! |
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| Many residents enjoyed the special "musical bingo" night, which featured songs from the 1960s 70s & 80s. |
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| Karla and Vera playing musical bingo. We didn't win, but had a lot of fun. |
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| We bought a new Sony TV from Phil at Harvey Norman Maroochydore. It will be installed next week. |
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| Once a fortnight the residents buy eggs at a local farm. |
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| We took 60 dozen eggs back to the village for sale to residents ($6 a doz). |
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| Old friends Shana and Greg Mills visited from Ocean Shores. Our new Koala sofa bed had just been delivered and we assembled it. Looks great in the Multi Purpose Room. Thanks Greg! We've still got several things to do around our house (like putting up pictures, storage cupboards in the garage, etc), but it is quite liveable at present. |
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News items which caught my eye in November 2024.
($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)
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Global
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Remembrance Day
11/11 commemorating 106 years since the end of WW1 in 1918. UN: COP29 climate
change meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan concluded with agreement by rich countries
to contribute $300B pa by 2035. UK: Kemi Badenoch
replaced Richi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party and Opposition. She
was born in England of Nigerian parents. Wallabies beat
England 42-37 at Twickenham (5 tries each). EU: fined Meta
Euro798M for giving FB Marketplace priority. Amazon: launched
Haul to compete with Temu and Shein. APEC leaders met
in Lima Peru. The G20 met in
Rio. NZ: Maori MPs
staged a haka in the Chamber to protest Govt plans to re-interprete the
Treaty of Waitangi signed in 1840, Bitcoin close to $100K! US is leaving Europe
behind: total value of US stocks $63T, 4 times the value of all European stocks
(10 years ago only twice as much). Eight US companies have a valuation of
more than $1T, highest European stock is valued at $500B. World Rugby: Aussie Brett Robinson appointed new Chair (he was the Brumbies’ inaugural captain in 1996). Wallabies tour of UK & Ireland: Beat England 42-37; beat Wales 52-20; lost to Scotland 27-13. Play Ireland next weekend.
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Israel –
Hamas & Hezbollah |
Trump is seen as
an avid Israel supporter. Will be interesting to see how he handles the
conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. He doesn't like Iran (he pulled out of the
previous nuclear deal despite objections from the UK, France, and Germany). Will he
take on Iran? Israel would love that. Israel &
Hezbollah agreed on a Cease fire, from 27/11.
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Russian
invasion of Ukraine |
Trump has repeatedly
said that he will end the conflict “in 24 hours”, presumably by stopping all
aid to Ukraine and forcing them to negotiate a settlement with Russia. I feel
sorry for plucky Ukraine – let’s see what happens. The US (& UK)
permitted Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles against targets in Russia
– Putin warned of escalation. Latest poll showed
52% of Ukrainians in favour of negotiating an end to the war with Russia, while 30%
want to continue fighting. |
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USA
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US election was
held on 5 November 2024. Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris and will be inaugurated
on 20 January 2025. The Republican Party also won the Senate and retained the
House of Reps. See fuller report below. President Biden
invited Trump to the White House to discuss transition. Trump started
announcing Cabinet picks (many controversial): Elon Mush & Vivek
Ramaswamy to head new Dept of Govt Efficiency; Marco Rubio for Sec of State;
Tom Homan for Border; Elise Stefanik for UN Ambassador; Susie Wiles as Chief
of Staff; Lee Zeldin for EPA; Pete Hegseth for Dept of Defence; John
Ratcliffe to lead CIA; Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser; Matt Gaetz as
Attorney General (withdrew); RFK Jnr (vaccine skeptic) to Dept of Health. They will certainly shake up Washington DC. Restaurant chain
TGIF founded in 1965 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Boeing workers
accepted 38% offer, ended strike. After retirement
of 5 years, champion skier Lindsey Vonn (40) returned to competitive skiing. US prosecutors in NY indicted Indian businessman Gautam Adani for paying Indian officials $25M in bribes.
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Australia |
ACT election held
19 October: see report below. The Greens decided not to continue the
coalition, so Labor has formed a minority Govt. Rachel Gunn
(“Raygun”) announced retirement from competitive break dancing. Melbourne Cup was
won by outside chance Knight’s Choice; jockey Robbie Dolan. 2nd
Warp Speed, 3rd Okita Soushi. Federal Govt will
give $80M to Rex Airlines to continue to serve regional centres. Broadcaster Alan
Jones arrested for alleged indecent assault charges. The Sport Hall of
Fame gave the annual Don Award to sisters Jessica and Noemie Fox for their
gold medals in kayaking at the Paris Olympics. Lauren Jackson received the
Dawn Award. Geoff Hunt (squash) and Michael Milton (para skiing ) were named Legends. Aussie
teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were two of six tourists who died of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos. Jury found Senior
Constable Kristian White guilty of manslaughter for using a taser on 95 yo
Clare Nowland in Cooma, which led to her death. Labor’s Help to
Buy and Help to Rent legislation passed the Senate after Greens changed mind. Federal Court
awarded A$144M to victims of Stolen Wages from Indigenous workers over 40 years (1930 – 70).
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ACT
election 19 October 2024
The ACT is divided into 5 electorates with 5 members
each; voting is based on the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation.
The final wash-up of the ACT election: Labor won 10
seats (34.1% of the votes, down 3.7%), Liberals 9 seats (33.5%, down 0.3%),
Greens 4 seats (12.2%, down 1.3%), 2 Independents.
The Greens have decided not to continue the coalition
with Labor, so Labor will govern as a minority.
The turnout rate was 86.8%, quite low by Australian
standards (should the fines for not voting be increased!?).
USA election 5 November 2024
The major polls all predicted a close election, but in
the end Donald Trump with 312 Electoral College votes easily beat Kamala Harris
with 226.
Trump won the “popular vote” with 76M votes (50.2%),
while Harris got 73M (48.2%). RFK Jr got 742K votes (about 0.5%) and Jill Stein
(Greens) got 767K votes (also about 0.5%). Trump won all 7 ‘swing’ or ‘battlefield’
States.
Trump (and VP JD Vance) will be inaugurated on 20
January 2025. He was the 45th President (2016 – 2020) and will be
the 47th.
156M votes were cast by eligible voters. The Turnout Rate
is estimated at 63.5%; previous Presidential elections turn-out rate: 2020
65.8%; 2016 59.2%; 2012 58.0%; 2008 61.6%; 2004 60.1%. The Turnout Rate is
usually less for Mid-term elections. It always surprises me that almost 40% of
Americans don’t vote in elections (and fewer again in State and Local
elections).
Why did most Americans vote for Trump, despite all the
negatives? People seemed to be fed up with Joe Biden (although I thought he had
done a good job). They felt that Trump had more to offer “Make America Great
Again”! and were willing to overlook his many transgressions.
Trump’s support among young men, and Hispanic men, was
unexpected. Young women went strongly for Harris.
Trump has a radical agenda, as shown by his picks (many controversial) for Cabinet positions.
Among other initiatives, Trump will create a new
Department of Govt Efficiency with two businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek
Ramaswamy in charge. Their aim is to cut Govt expenditure by up to $2Trillion (in
an overall Fed Govt budget of close to $7T). An estimated 70% of Fed Govt spending
is payments to individuals (social security, Medicare, etc) and many of those
programs will have to be cut.
Trump says he will impose tariffs of 60% on all
Chinese imports, and 10-20% on imports from other countries, including from
Canada and Mexico despite the US free trade agreement with those countries. He
will totally disregard the “international rules-based order”, and do whatever
he wants.
He will have much stricter border controls, and deport
up to 12 million undocumented migrants – send them back to their birthplaces –
a huge undertaking.
There is little doubt that we (the World) is in for a
wild ride – if we thought his first term was disruptive he is much better organized
and experienced now.
He will radically change America and the world as we
know it. It will be fascinating.
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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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That's it for this post.
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