Post #285 31 December 2024

 Gentlefolk,

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

The contents of this post are in the following sequence:

Photos of our activities during December 2024.

News items which caught my eye in December 2024.

International Trade (the last time this Section will appear).

A number of significant events this month: 

• We visited Melbourne 10 - 16 December primarily to see my cousin Oda who was visiting from Germany, accompanied by her daughter Marion. Oda's grandson Moritz lives in Melbourne (permanent resident), and also a granddaughter Laura (work & travel visa). We had not visited Melbourne for more than 2 decades - it's a fine city!

• We took delivery of several items for the house: new Sony TV, Dyson stick vacuum, a Koala sofa bed, and a large storage cabinet for the garage.  We still have to put pictures on the walls (many of the decorative items from Canberra don't seem appropriate here). In the meantime, we are enjoying living in a  comfortable new house.

• We had Xmas with Jen & Tom & boys in Brisbane.

On 16 December, when we flew in to Maroochydore Airport after visiting Melbourne, we said, for the first time, "we are coming home"! It's been a big adjustment to move here, but after 10 weeks, we are starting to feel more settled in our new home.

Herewith photos of some of our activities in December:

We were delighted that friends from Canberra, Dian and Rob Wardrobe, stayed with us; our first guests!

Many of the residents have put up beautiful Xmas decorations.

John installed our new Sony TV.

New storage cabinet in the garage,; we now have plenty of storage space.

We invited neighbours for dinner: Peter (partner Karla was away), Linda, Vera, Theresa. Our first dinner party!

The choir performed during the Xmas service of the Indonesian Christian Community at the Uniting Church at Maroochydore; they were great. Delicious lunch afterwards. We met some nice people. The main Indonesian group is "Asumsi" but we will miss their end-of-year picnic next weekend.

Visit to Melbourne 10 - 16 December.

We stayed 3 nights in St. Kilda and then 3 nights in the City. Our first visit in 25 years. We were impressed  - it's a fine city. The tram system is brilliant.

Dinner in Melbourne: Oda, Vera, Moritz, Marion, Laura, me. Aniko & Angie.

We stayed 3 nights at St Kilda West, and then 3 nights in Citadines Hotel in Bourke St, City. Free trams and buses in the CBD. Melbourne City is well laid out and easy to navigate.






Tram #96 ran along Park Street from St Kilda West into the City. We loved the wide streets and lots of trees in St Kilda West, and the many nice old homes. A lovely area.

We had brunch on busy Flinders Lane.

Angie & Oda.

Marion and Aniko.

Aniko during a morning walk along the Esplanade at St Kilda.

Brunch on Aclane Street in the heart of St. Kilda. The cafe was owned by Greek Cypriots (they came to Australia 60 years ago). Marion now lives in the Greek part of Cyprus.

The Aussie contingent.

Ani & Angie took the SkyBus from St. Kilda to the airport.

We visited the Queen Victoria Markets.

An interesting view from the Queen Victoria Market: old and new Melbourne.

We had a look at the Immigration Museum which is housed in the former Customs House.

The Immigration Museum had a special exhibition on the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following the disasterous fire. It took them just 5 years to rebuild, an amazing effort. Pres Macron invited Trump to the official opening this month.

The Russians opened a Consulate in Melbourne in 1893. Apparently fear of Russian intentions was behind the decision to site the new national capital, Canberra, inland and not on the coast.

Melbourne's Chinatown is located in Little Bourke Street. Great choice of restaurants. Busy day and night.

Many restaurants in Chinatown had long queues for lunch and dinner.

This statue of Sun Yat Sen, the founder of modern China, stands outside the Chinese Museum at the top end of Little Bourke Street.

Henry Bolte was Premier of Victoria for many years.

Another Victorian Premier, John Cain.

The Royal Exhibition Buildings built in 1879=80. The Federal Parliament met here from 1901 - 1927; it moved to Canberra when Old Parliament House was opened in 1927. 

The Royal Exhibition Buildiong was closed to the public because the University of Melbourne held graduation ceremonies there (like this student from China, with her mother). 

We had afternoon tea in the oldest cafe in Australia (opened in 1892).

The attractive Block Arcade which houses the oldest cafe.

Melbourne Town Hall on Swanston Street, with an iconic tram passing by. Many fine buildings around the City reflect Melbourne's wealth from the gold-rush era.

The State Library of Victoria, another fine building in Melbourne City.

Inside St Paul's Cathedral. 

We attended Mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral. Lots of incense!

The trees in front of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) were all decorated.

The NGV featured an exhibition of art by 95 year old Janpanese artist Yayoi Kusuma. She works primarily in sculpture and installation.

Corner of Bourke & Lonsdale street was busy with crowds of shoppers; a week before Xmas. Myer (with its famous Xmas Windows) and David Jones were nearby.  

We caught up with Yany and Harry Liem in Melbourne. She is Vera's first cousin (their fathers were brothers). Vera remembers them dating in Jogja in the 1960s. They moved to Melbourne 40 years ago.

One of their sons, Peter, came to dinner with his wife Caroline and their 3 kids. 

After dinner we had a look at the famous "Myer Xmas Windows" - lots of people there even at 10pm! Here Peter is giving his son a good view of the windows. 

We had Yum Cha in Chinatown, but unfortunately not very good.

Moritz took us for a drive around Melbourne City in his Tesla. Moritz moved to Australia 6 years ago and has done very well - he is Service Manager for Tesla in Melbourne and part of their Management Team. His hobby is Iron Man (3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42km run). He recently competed in the Busselton (WA) Iron Man, which he completed in 10hours 5minutes - he qualified for the World Championships which will be held in France in September 2025. 

Oda, Marion, Laura, and Vera.

Laura works part-time at the popular Hofbrauhaus.

We had lunch with Frans Kertapati and his wife Phorn on Lygon Street. Wonderful Italian food,

Dessert afterwards at famous Brunetti's, another iconic food outlet on Lygon Street. From there we took an Uber car to Melbourne Airport for the flight back to Maroochydore.

In Caloundra

Back home, we got the last 2 tickets for this Xmas show at the Caloundra Events Centre on 19 December. Our first time there, good acoustics. It was a fun night.

In Brisbane

We had a week in Brisbane, with Jen & Tom & boys. One day we caught the bus into the City and visited the Museum of Brisbane, housed in the City Hall.

At the Museum of Brisbane, we met friends: Howard, Angie, Charles, Nikki, and Vera. We will have lunch at Charles & Nikki's place tomorrow.

Oskar, our excellent guide at the Museum of Brisbane. 

Another photo of the same group, but this time in front of Charles and Nikki's new home in Shailer Park, Brisbane. It's a really nice house, in a good part of Shailer Park.
Charles attended my English classes at the China University of Petroleum. Ten years ago he studied Mechanical Engineering at Wollongong University. Worked in Sydney for a while, then moved to Brisbane 18 months ago.
We are delighted to see Nikki and Charle doing so well.

Sid brought his girlfriend, Daisy, around. She is nice!

Xmas Eve (24 Dec) dinner at Jen & Tom's place. They invited friends, Lauren & Taj, Collette & Brian and son Keelan. 

Xma Eve dinner under the stars - beautiful night.

Jen & Tom have a large Xmas tree in their family room.

Xmas Day 25 December

Xma Day morning. Exchanged presents followed by a hearty breakfast.

Breakfast on the balcony. Then off to Jules & Simon's (Tom's cousin) place at Wynnum for Xmas lunch.

Big group for Xmas Day lunch.  Jules & Simon & kids, Tam & Sticks & Edie, Jen & Tom & boys and Vera & me.

Secret Santa was fun.

Vera unwrapping her secret santa pick.

Jen got a thermos flask.

Nate with his secret santa hat and sunnies.

Game of cricket on the street after lunch.

The next generation of cousins.

The dads.

The Mums.

The whole group: Kurt, Tam, Sticks, Edie, Jen, Astrid, Jules, Tom, Simon, Sid, Nate, Clarence. It was a very nice afternoon, thanks for your hospitality Jules and Simon!!!

On Boxing Day were were going to have lunch with former Trade Commissioner friend Michael Tjoeng, but his son, Peter, has come down with Covid, so that engagement was postponed. 

On 27 December Jen & Tom & boys headed off for a week's camping (near Casino, NSW) and Vera & I drove back to our home at Nirimba.

Vera saying goodbye to Tom, before the family left for a week's camping near Casino NSW.

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News items which caught my eye in December 2024.

($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)

Global	Syria: President Assad fled to Moscow, as rebels took over the Govt. The Assad regime collapse happened very quickly. France: Parliament passed a no confidence vote (first since 1962) in PM Michel Barnier, who resigned. Pres Macron appointed Francoise Bayron (73). France: Husband Dominique Pelicot (72) and 49 other men were convicted of raping his wife Gisele. Many have indicated they will appeal. South Korea: President Yoon was impeached for the failed attempt to impose martial law. Bangladesh: The Economist named Bangladesh as their “Country of the Year” for the relatively-peaceful ousting of Sheikh Hasina after 15 years of authoritarian rule (others on the short list were Poland, South Africa, Argentina, Syria). Germany: A Saudi doctor with refugee status (had been in Germany since 2006), Taleb Al Abdulmohsen drove his car into a Xmas Market in Magdeburg; 5 dead, 200+ injured. Japan: Honda and Nissan announced merger talks (to create the 3rd biggest automaker to better compete with Chinese EVs). Plane crashes in Kazakhstan and South Korea.
Israel – Hamas & Hezbollah	Continued incidents in Gaza. The WHO appealed to Israel to stop attacking hospitals in Gaza. The Israel - Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is holding.  Israel attacked Yemen in retaliation for Houthi missile strike.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	Continued fighting. Trump said he will quickly end the conflict (presumably by forcing Ukraine to negotiate). Pres Zelensky said that about 43K Ukrainian soldiers had died in the war with Russia, and 370K injured. He said Russian casualties were 198K dead, 580K injured. According to The Economist, Russia is spending about $120 billion a year on military (about 30% of budget). Russia and Ukraine each swapped 150+ prisoners.
USA	The Bald Eagle was officially declared US National Bird. President Biden granted his son Hunter full pardon from prosecution. Trump was named Time Magazine’s “2024 Person of the Year” (also in 2006). Trump threatened to impose high tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada unless they do more to stop migrants heading for the USA, and stop drugs. He also threatened Panama unless it reduced fees on ships using the Panama Canal. Trump wants to end “birthright citizenship”. He will pardon the rioters who attacked the Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. Luigi Mangione (26) was arrested for the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of United Health Care. A court in Nevada rejected Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to change his will. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25% to 4.25%, but indicated that future cuts were in doubt. Stock markets fell from historic highs.  The House Ethics Committee report of former Congressman Matt Gaetz revealed many instances of sexual misconduct. The “Ships for America” bill before Congress will boost US shipbuilding and maritime industries. Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay the ban on TikTok until after his inauguration. Former President Jimmy Carter died aged 100. He beat Gerald Ford in the 1976 election, but then lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Australia	Parliament passed a law which will ban children under 16 from social media sites such as FB, SnapChat, X, Reddit, Tik Tok. The Govt’s “Help to Buy” bill finally passed the Senate. Eligible home buyers will co-purchase with Govt contributing up to 40%. Houses prices nationally increased about 5% in 2024, to a median A$812K. Prices and rents are moderating. A Jewish Synagogue in Melbourne was fire-bombed. The 5 remaining members of the “Bali 9”, who spent 19 years in jail in Bali were returned to Australia. The PM said they had paid for their crime and will be freed. The Reserve Bank kept interest rates at 4.35% (headline inflation is down to 2.8%, but underlying inflation is still too high at 3.5%). News Corp will sell its Australian Foxtel cable TV & streaming service to DAZN for $3.4B. Wildfires in Victoria and WA. Sydney to Hobart Yacht race: line honors went to Law Connect, while overall handicap winner was Celestial. Two sailors died in separate on-board accidents during stormy weather. Actress Rebel Wilson married Ramona Agruma in Sydney. Cricket: Australia took the last 7 wickets for just 34 runs to win the 3rd Test against India in Melbourne. On Day 5 India was set a target of 340 from 92 overs, but were all out for 155.  Australia leads the series 2-1, with the Sydney Test to come. In an effort to improve transparency and minimise profit-shifting, a new law passed in the last sitting week of Parliament will force Multinational companies to divulge much more of their financial data.

Jimmy Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter (1924 - 2024) died aged 100 - a State Funeral will be held in Washington DC on 10 January. 

He is remembered as the peanut farmer who became President; he is widely regarded as having been a very decent person.

Joh Bjelke-Petersen

Australia also had a successful politician whose background was peanut farming: Johannes (Joh) Bjelke-Petersen (1911 - 2005). 

He was born in New Zealand. His father was a Lutheran pastor of Danish ancestry. They moved to Queensland and had a peanut farm in Kingaroy. Joh left school at 14 years of age to help on the farm.

Joh joined the Country Party. Ran for local Council in 1946, and the following year was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He held that State Seat for 40 years (1947-87). 

In 1968 Joh became leader of the parliamentary Country Party and Qld Premier, a post he held for 19 years (1968 - 87) during which time he won 7 State elections. In 1985 there was even an active "Joh for PM" campaign to get him into federal politics, but it fizzled out after a few months.

Joh married Florence (Flo) Gilmour in 1952; they had 4 children. Later Flo also had a political career, as a Senator for Queensland.

Quite a remarkable story.

Some famous People who died in 2024:

Maggie Smith (89), British actress.

Donald Sutherland (88), Canadian actor.

Alain Delon, French actor.

Michael Moseley (67), British doctor, broadcaster and author.

Francoise Hardy, French singer.

Kris Kristofferson (88), American actor and musician.

Sergio Mendes, Brazilian musician (Bossa Nova).

Shannon Doherty (53), American actress (Beverley Hills 90210).

Alexei Navalny, Russian opponent of Putin.

Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland 2007-14.

Lowitja O’Donoghue, Australian indigenous leader.

Michael Leunig (79), Australian cartoonist.

Kelvin Kiptum, Kenyan marathon runner (Chicago 2h35s).

Sven-Goran Erikson, Swedish footballer. First foreign manager of England.

Franz Beckenbauer, German footballer.

Barbara Taylor Bradford (91), British author.

 

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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".  

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

Bloomberg have advised that they will start to charge a fee to subscribe to this newsletter. Depending on when they stop the free subscription, this could be the last time this International Trade section will appear in my blog. Pity, it's been an excellent source of readily-accessible information. 

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I read 4 books recently: Jeffrey Archer's Nothing Ventured; Julia Quinn's On the way to the Wedding; John Grisham's The Broker; and Dyrenfurth/Bongiorno's A little history of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

I was disappointed that the last-mentioned book did not provide more insight into the change of leaders from Rudd to Gillard in June 2010, Many commentatiors now agree that it was a moment of madness to replace a popular first-term Prime Minister - it was certainly a watershed moment in recent ALP history.

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On Sunday 29 December Vera & I woke with coughs, runny noses and sore throats. We did Covid tests - Vera's was positive, mine negative. Our doctor's surgery is closed for another week. We called the hospital and had a long conversation with a nurse. She said that a new strain of Covid is "rampant", but the symptoms are mild; her advice was to drink plenty of fluids and rest. She thought we would be able to resume normal activities after 4 or 5 days.

This is Vera's first case of Covid, and fortunately seems quite mild. I had Covid about 6 months ago, in Canberra. At that time the doctor prescribed anti-virals and I was fine after 3 days. But this time the nurse said we should only apply for anit-virals if the symptoms get much worse (eg high fever and difficulty breathing or swallowing).

Brisbane friends were going to visit us on 29/12 but we had to warn them off.

It's a pity that we will also miss the New Year's Eve party in the Clubhouse; instead we will have to isolate for the next few days.

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What do we think of living at Halcyon Nirimba after 10 weeks here?

We are certainly getting more comfortable living in this region. At the beginning we were thrown by the amount of traffic, but we are getting used to it and accept that this is part of life in a booming coastal area.

We like our house - comfortable - and the activities on offer in the Village. We've identified 3 U3A local classes to join when they start in about a month.

We've met lots of nice people and still struggle with names. Our closest contacts are with our neighbours in Foxtail Lane.  That makes sense, as we all arrived within weeks of each other while other residents have been here for a year or two.

We were warned that summer will be hot and humid, but so far the weather has been OK. We haven't used the airconditioning yet - ceiling fans do the job. Let's see how the next few weeks go.  This morning (New Year's Eve) at breakfast was 23C, actually a bit cool, but it will certainly get hotter.

Queensland is definitely shorts-country, I've only worn jeans or trousers on a couple of occasions. 

Rain is usually heavier than in Canberra. We've had a couple of storms here, but nothing major so far. Last night Kingaroy (about 200km west of Caloundra) got 120 mm in 2 hours resulting in major flooding, so it can happen in an instant.

Cane toads are everywhere (at night), very different from down south.

Vera's fall at home on 3 November was a shock. She was lucky as falls at our age can be really dangerous. We expect that she will start a balance course at Caloundra Hospital in January. 

I've had lower back pain for about 3 years, but it seemed to get worse when we were in Melbourne recently. I saw a physio when we returned - he said it was the Piriformis muscle. Not a good sign.

My New Year's resolution is to spend time in the Village gym - I feel that, with the move and everything, I have lost muscle tone. Other resolutions are to learn lawn bowls, to improve my swimming, and to get to the beach more often.

.....

That's it for this post.

We are still isolating, so will have a quiet New Year's Eve tonight. We always like to go to a dance on NYE, but not tonight.

We watched the Andrea Bocelli Show on TV - what a remarkable person! Andrea was born in Italy in 1958, had poor vision as a child and was blind by 12. He loved music and singing; in 1994 he won a national singing contest, and his career took off.  Guests who appeared with him tonight included: Johnny Depp (guitar), Lang Lang (piano), Russell Crowe (singing), Will Smith (narrator), Brian May (guitar).

Vera's Covid symptoms are less today, but I've still got a sore throat and nasty cough.  

 

Our very best wishes to all our friends for a happy and healthy 2025.

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra, Queensland

Tuesday 31 December 2024.