Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of October 2025.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during October 2025.
Our Canberra itinerary 22 - 29 Ocrtober.
News items which caught my eye in October 2025.
A brief summary by MSNBC of some key actions by President Trump during October 2025.
Graphs related to International business (Bloomberg).
Highlights of October 2025
The highlight was our one-week visit to Canberra 22 - 29 October. It is 13 months since we left Canberra to move north to Caloundra. We decided to attend the wedding of Michael Tjoeng's son (Peter Tjoeng & Shirley Lam) in Canberra, and catch up with old friends. It was a busy few days, but wonderful to see everyone again.
Herewith photos of some of our activities in October 2025:
I am a member of "The Boyz" team at Trivia on Monday nights. Good fun.
With my bad back I had to stop golf, and have taken up Lawn Bowls - good fun.
We had lunch with Judy Bentley who was visiting Bribie Island from Canberra.
Called in to see John and Maria Boland at Bribie Island - old Cooma connection.
Wild Horse Outlook - great views of the Glasshouse Mountains at sunset.
"Walk for Cancer" around our Village, to raise funds for cancer research.
A good crowd watched the Rugby League Grand Final. The Brisbane Boncos came back in the second half to beat the Melbourne Storm. Exciting - great game.
Dinner at Jen & Tom's home in Brisbane, with Kurt and Sid (Nate is at Arkansas State University). Both Jen and Tom are very good cooks - the meal was delicious!
Spring has sprung - quite a few people in the surf at Kings Beach - but we will wait for summer before joining them! Kings Beach is the closest to us, about 10km, and we try to get there a couple of times a week. Always nice to walk along the beachside promenade.
The Social Committee put on a "Silent Disco". We didn't know what to expect - it was great fun - we danced the night away!
Sandie Ingram and Noel & Bronwynne Bates are wonderful at organising fun events.
We attended a concert at Maleny Community Hall by the Trippple Trouble Jazz Trio - wunderbar!
Presentation in the Clubhouse on the National Guide Dogs program.
One of our villagers, Alan Russell-Cox, is a volunteer trainer of guide dogs.
Sandie Ingram and Noel & Bronwynne Bates are wonderful at organising fun events.
 |
| A "Craft Marketplace" in the Clubhouse revealed the great variety of talent in our village. |
We spent a week in Canberra, 22 - 29 October, to attend a wedding and catch up with old friends. It was a whirlwind seven days. The weather was pretty bleak (drizzling and cold - unusual for the end of October), but it was wonderful to get a warm welcome from so many friends. See our Canberra program below.
 |
| We attended the wedding of Peter Tjoeng and Shirley Lam at the Boat House. Peter is the son of Michael Tjoeng - we were colleagues in the Trade Section of the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1986 and we have remained friends. It was a joyous occasion and we wish the newly-weds every happiness. |
 |
| We had to dress up for the wedding - it was the first time I wore a tie in more than 12 months! |
 |
| Maria Helena & Paul Nicoll. |
 |
| Carol & Brian Keil. |
 |
| Niken & John Robson. |
 |
| Helen & John Hemphill. |
 |
| Ketut Nanik & Adrian Clynes, and Betsy & John Philips. |
 |
| Yvonne & Jim O'Callaghan and Kaye O'Hara. |
 |
| Kay & Bob Stoddard, and Nee & Eugen Braun. |
 |
| Christine & David Evans (Noel Cock took the photo). |
 |
| Judy Bentley and Kevin Vassarotti. |
 |
| Demsi hosted a group of Indonesian friends (Ibu Pomo, Reno, Nanik and Tieke) for lunch at her home in Mawson. |
 |
| Simon Pietrafita. |
 |
| Tieke & Robin Brown, and Iis & Raden Dunbar. |
 |
| Sue & Frank Tavares. |
 |
| Family dinner with Aniko & Peter Carey, Adrienne & Michael, and Britt & Nouvie. |
 |
| Alex Shumack & Rae. |
 |
| Former golfing buddies Brian Edwards, Bill Nelson, John Daley (absent Noel Cock, Peter Rayner, George Green and Phil Brake). |
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| Geoff Banbury, Neil Moffat, and Donna & John Bakker. |
 |
| Sharon Loiterton. |
 |
| Tieke & Robin Brown. |
 |
| Aniko & Peter Carey - our wonderful hosts for the week. Thank you for your warm hospitality. They are real estate agents for Lutons, and work incredibly hard. |
 |
| Our Budget rental car for the week was a Subaru Forester - great car. |
|
Vera & Alex trip to Canberra 22 – 29 October
2025 |
||
|
Date &
Time |
Event |
People |
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday 22 October |
||
|
8.25am |
Fly from
Brisbane to Canberra on QF1903 |
ETA Canberra 11.15am.
Pick up hire car at Budget. Drop bags at Giblin St, Downer. |
|
2.30pm |
Coffee at Gang
Gang Café. |
Carol &
Brian Keil |
|
7pm |
Dinner in
Campbell. |
Maria Helena
and Paul Nicoll |
|
Thursday 23 October |
||
|
10am |
Coffee at Beess
Café, Yarralumla |
Judy Bentley &
Kevin Vassarotti. |
|
12 noon |
Lunch at “A
bite to eat café” Chifley |
Christine
& David Evans, Noel Cock. |
|
6.30pm |
Dinner at Eastlake
Club. |
Sue &
Frank Tavares |
|
9pm |
COTDC Dance
group at St Benedict’s Hall (pop in). |
Kendron, Paul
Gray, Peter & Trish, Philip & Jade, etc |
|
Friday 24 October |
||
|
10.30am |
Coffee at North Lyneham. |
Yvonne &
Jim, Kaye O’Hara |
|
12 noon |
Lunch at Southern Cross Club, Woden. |
Kay & Bob
Stoddard; Nee & Eugen Braun. |
|
6.45pm |
Dinner at Lotus Indian, Griffith shops |
Ketut Nanik & Adrian Clynes, Betsy & John Philips. |
|
Saturday 25 October |
||
|
9.30am |
Coffee at the Sosta Café, Black Mt Peninsula |
Helen &
John Hemphill |
|
12 noon |
Lunch at
Majura Park. |
Niken &
John Robson. |
|
5pm |
Wedding and Reception
at The Boat House. |
Peter Tjoeng &
Shirley Lam’s wedding. |
|
Sunday 26 October |
||
|
12 noon |
Lunch at Demsi’s home in Mawson |
Demsi & Tieke,
Reno, Nanik, Bu Pomo, Vera. |
|
12.30pm |
Lunch at NLA |
Noel & Alex |
|
6pm |
Dinner at the
Saffron Room Persian Restaurant, Gungahlin |
Tieke &
Robin Brown, Iis & Raden Dunbar. |
|
Monday 27 October |
||
|
11am |
Coffee in Queanbeyan.
|
Simon
Pietrafita. |
|
12.30pm |
Lunch at their
place |
Sue and Frank
Tavares. |
|
3pm |
Coffee at NGA |
Maria Helena
and Paul Nicoll |
|
6.30pm |
Family Dinner at Ainslie Football Club |
Aniko & Peter; Britt & Nouvie; Adrienne & Michael. |
|
Tuesday 28 October |
||
|
9.30am |
Inspection of
our apartment in Kingston |
With
Chauntelle Macic (Luton Property). |
|
10.30am |
Coffee at Bitter Sweet Café, Kingston |
Rae & Alex Shumack. |
|
2.30pm |
Drinks at Duntroon
Golf Club |
Golf group: Brian Edwards, Bill Nelson, John Daley. |
|
7pm |
Dinner at German
Club |
Neil Moffat
(Helen at choir), Donna & John Bakker, Geoff Banbury. |
|
9pm
|
Dance group at
German Club (pop in after dinner). |
Joyce &
Roger Royal. Cathy & Peter Manning, Paul Gray, Linda & Terry |
|
Wednesday 29 October |
||
|
10am |
Coffee at
Dunlop |
Sharon
Loiterton |
|
12 noon |
Lunch at Southern Cross Club, Jamison
|
Tieke &
Robin Brown. |
|
5pm |
Return hire car to Budget at Airport. |
|
|
5.45pm |
Flight QF1908 from Canberra to Brisbane. |
ETA Brisbane 6.45pm.
Uber to Jen’s place. |
|
|
|
|
 |
| Caroline & Andrew and their kids Eddie & Jay moved from Sydney to London in August. They want to develop a market for their furniture in the UK and Europe. Big challenge, we wish them well. |
 | ||
Eddie (11) has started high school in London - loves it!
|
Our friends Alexandra & Sean O'Shaughnessy did a tour of Sri Lanka.
Sean climbed the Sigiria Rock Fortess - well done!
Sean climbed the Sigiria Rock Fortess - well done!
Will Costin on his walking tour of Northern Italy.
......
News items which caught my eye in October 2025.
($ are US dollars unless otherwise shown)
Global
UK: Dame Jane
Goodall (work with chimpanzees) died aged 91. Sarah Mullally elected first
female Arch Bishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England. Hull beat
Wigan 24-6 to win the English Super League.
Beau Greaves (21) beat Luke Littler (18) after he had won the Darts
World GP. Prince Andrew was forced to give up many titles. Two British women
Jess Rowe and Marion Pay, rowed from Peru to Australia (13,000 km). After 39
days as Nottingham Forest manager, Ange Postecoglou was fired (6 losses, 2
draws).
The Philippines:
Major earthquake 6.9 near Cebu, 69+ died.
Morocco: widespread
anti-Govt demonstrations.
Indonesia: a Moslem
boarding school dormitory in East Java collapsed, 69+ children dead.
Japan: Sanae Takaichi
became the first female PM.
Gold: spot gold
passed $4,000 per ounce.
Soccer: Cristian
Ronaldo became the first $1B soccer player.
France: Hussamettin
Dogan (44) lost his appeal against being found guilty of raping Gisele
Pelicot (72); he got an increased sentence. 50 others were committed. Her
husband Dominique drugged her and arranged the rapes. Thieves robbed jewelry
from the Louvre Museum; several apprehended.
Nobel Peace Prize: awarded to
Maria Corina Machado, opposition leader in Venezuela.
China: announced
tighter export controls on rare earths – Trump threatened to increase tariffs
on imports from by 100%. Govt said that by 2025, 30% of energy will come from
renewables. The Govt announced the sacking of 9 senior military officers
(incl General He Weidong who was a member of the Politburo) for financial
crimes. Pres Xi met Pres Trump in South Korea to discuss trade issues. Five years ago almost 20% of China's exports went to the USA, but the figure has come down to about 11%.
WIPO’s Global
Innovation Index for 2025 top 10 countries: Switzerland; Sweden; USA; S.
Korea; Singapore; UK; Finland; The Netherlands; Denmark; and China (Australia
#22).
STEM university
courses: 6% of students in USA, 34% in China.
F1: Lando Norris
passed Oscar Piastri to lead the F1 competition with four races to go.
Afghanistan and Pakistan
agreed on a ceasefire after a week of fighting.
The Vatican:
King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Sistine Chapel.
Argentina: President Milei’s
party did well in the mid term elections.
The Caribbean:
Hurricane Melissa wrecked havoc on several countries.
Israel –
Hamas & Hezbollah & Iran
Following
Israel’s killing of 5 Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month, Pres Trump
signed an ExOrder pledging to protect Qatar.
Trump’s 20 point
peace plan for the Israel / Hamas conflict in Gaza was accepted by the
contestants on 11 Oct (Pres Trump addressed the Knesset and signed the peace
agreement in Egypt).
20 living hostages were returned, and remains of
deceased hostages; Israel freed 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees and
allowed increased entry of aid.
Both sides accuse the other for violations of the ceasefire; Israel has bombed parts of Gaza, and restricted aid shipments.
The Gaza Health Authority says that almost 70,000 Palestinians (mainly children and women) have been killed in the last 2 years. 90% of infrastrcture and housing in Gaza has been destroyed.
Russian
invasion of Ukraine
A meeting between Trump and Putin in
Budapest was called off.
The USA imposed sanctions
on Russian oil companies and pressured India to stop importing oil from
Russia.
USA
Partial shutdown
of the Federal Govt began on 1 October when Senate could not raise the 60
votes to pass the Budget; 11th shut down since 1980 (usually short-lived,
but this time longer than a month). Trump took the opportunity to downsize
many agencies and programs.
President Trump went
to Asia: he attended the ASEAN leaders meeting in KL, visited Japan to meet
new female PM; and attended the APEC leaders meeting in South Korea, where
Trump met Xi Jin Ping of China to address trade tensions.
Trump pulled down
the East Wing of the White House to make room for a $300M ballroom which he said
would be privately funded.
To avoid 100%
tariffs, Pfizer agreed to sell pharmaceuticals through a US Govt agency at
lower prices.
Elon Musk’s
startup, xAI, raised $20B.
300 National
Guard troops arrived in Chicago to protect ICE.
Only about 9,000
illegal border crossings in last 9 months.
CBS Newspoll 1-3
October listed key concerns of Americans as: Economy 27%, Inflation 21%,
Health Care 15%, Immigration 4%, Crime 9%, Govt spending 9%, foreign affairs
4%.
Qatar will build
an air base in Idaho, for training purposes.
Actress Diane
Keaton died aged 79 (pneumonia). She won an Oscar for Annie Hall (1977). Also
starred in The Godfather movies and The First Wives Club (with Goldie Hawn
and Bette Midler). She had several prominent partners (incl Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Al
Pacino) but never married. Adopted 2 sons in her 50s.
MIT rejected the
Dept of Education’s proposed 'Compact of Academic Excellence'.
The USA destroyed
10 alleged narco-boats in international waters near Venezuela.
The average new
car price passed $50,000 in the USA.
Trump pledged to
provide $40B to support the Argentine economy (if Millei won re election – which he did).
The Dept of
Justice indicted John Bolton, former National Security advisor in first Trump
Admin, for sharing classified documents.
USA imports from
China in 2024: goods $439M, services $22B = total $461B. Top categories (over
70% of US market): Clothing, electronics, medical supplies, solar panels,
furniture, batteries, toys, laptops, LED lights.
Big “No Kings”
rallies took place in many US cities. Trump blamed Antifa left wing ratbags.
Strong sales of
the iPhone 17 saw Apple shares pass $260.
Amazon will reduce staff by 14,000; UPS by 34,000.
Australia
PM Albanese
met President Trump at the White House; confirmed AUKUS and signed an
agreement ($8.5B) to develop rare earths.
Nicole Kidman and
Keith Urban announced split after 19 years of marriage (married on 25 June
2006) they have 2 daughters, Sunday 17 and Faith 14. She was with Tom Cruise
1990 – 2001, 2 daughters Bella 32 and Connie 30.
NRL: the Brisbane
Broncos came from behind to beat the Melbourne Storm 26-22 (Broncos last won
in 2006). Two non-NSW teams. MVP Reese Walsh. Qld also won the Women’s Rugby
League title and the AFL. James Tedesco (Roosters) won the Dally M medal for
the second time.
Sunscreen scandal
grew – claims of 21 brands queried.
Australian Taxation
Office (ATO) Transparency Report said that 1,136 of 4,110 (28%) companies
with turnover of more than A$100M paid no tax in 2023-24.
Govt (Fed &
State) A$600M bailout to keep Glencore Copper Smelter operational in Mt Isa.
Senator David
Pocock was sacked from the Parliamentary Sports Club, but later reinstated
(he had criticized sponsorship by betting agencies).
Electricity
generated by renewables (9.2 terawatt hours) passed coal (8.8 twh).
The Bathurst 1000
car race was won by Matt Payne (23) and Garth Tander (48).
Virginia
Giuffre’s memoir “Nobody’s Girl” was published. (She committed suicide in
early 2025 aged 41).
Swimming champion
Ariane Titmus (25) announced her retirement from competitive swimming. She
won 2 golds in Tokyo (400m and 200m) and 2 in Paris.
Lady Millie
Tallis started the first Opportunity (Op) Shop 100 years ago, to raise funds
for St Vincents Hospital, Fitzroy.
Jamie Melham is
the first female jockey to win the Caufield Cup (2,400m) on “Half Yours”. Caufield Cup prize money A$5M.
Some of
President Trump’s actions in October 2025.
MSNBC
Said on social media that he would direct Defense Secretary
Pete Hegseth to send troops to Portland, Oregon.
Suggested that the Justice Department should investigate
former FBI Director Chris Wray over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Gave a speech to hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals to
gather on short notice at a Marine base in Virginia.
Signed an executive order designating antifa, a
decentralized set of left-wing groups, as a “domestic terrorist organization.”
Suggested on social media that he might try to sue ABC for
putting late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel back on the air.
Was blocked twice by a federal judge from sending National
Guard troops to Portland, Ore. after the judge said there was no factual basis.
Floated, again, the idea of giving households a “tariff
rebate check” of as much as $2,000 even though revenue is not nearly large
enough for that.
Fired the head of the Eisenhower Presidential Library after
he refused to let Trump give one of its swords to Britain’s King Charles III.
Signed an executive order giving a NATO-like pledge to
defend Qatar in the event of a foreign attack.
Reposted a graphic that called Democrats “the party of hate,
evil, and Satan” on his Truth Social account.
Helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that
includes a release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
Announced, through Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a $20
billion currency swap with Argentina’s central bank.
Boasted that he can “throw around” tariff revenue during the
government shutdown, despite questions about its legality.
Said, incorrectly, that “we took the freedom of speech away”
on flag-burning because judges found “it agitates and irritates crowds.”
Held an “antifa roundtable” at the White House after signing
an executive order targeting the loosely affiliated groups of anti-fascist
activists.
Faced questions about his nominee to lead the Office of
Special Counsel, who reportedly said he had “a Nazi streak” in a text chat.
Had a seventh leading university reject its proposed compact
to give the Trump administration greater control.
Began work on a second $20 billion economic bailout of
Argentina, run by Trump ally Javier Milei.
Began tearing down part of the White House to build a $250
million ballroom despite pledging construction would not affect the existing
structure.
Posted an AI-generated video of himself flying a fighter jet
to dump what appeared to be feces on “No Kings” protesters.
Demolished the East Wing of the White House after promising
that construction of a ballroom would not “interfere” with the building.
Deployed the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier to Latin
America as part of a military buildup in the Caribbean.
Publicly called for the prosecution of former Attorney
General Merrick Garland and former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Ruled out running for vice president in 2028 but declined to
definitively say he would not seek an unconstitutional third term.
Acknowledged getting an MRI during a recent visit to Walter
Reed Medical Center but did not say why it was ordered.
......
Global
UK: Dame Jane
Goodall (work with chimpanzees) died aged 91. Sarah Mullally elected first
female Arch Bishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England. Hull beat
Wigan 24-6 to win the English Super League.
Beau Greaves (21) beat Luke Littler (18) after he had won the Darts
World GP. Prince Andrew was forced to give up many titles. Two British women
Jess Rowe and Marion Pay, rowed from Peru to Australia (13,000 km). After 39
days as Nottingham Forest manager, Ange Postecoglou was fired (6 losses, 2
draws).
The Philippines:
Major earthquake 6.9 near Cebu, 69+ died.
Morocco: widespread
anti-Govt demonstrations.
Indonesia: a Moslem
boarding school dormitory in East Java collapsed, 69+ children dead.
Japan: Sanae Takaichi
became the first female PM.
Gold: spot gold
passed $4,000 per ounce.
Soccer: Cristian
Ronaldo became the first $1B soccer player.
France: Hussamettin
Dogan (44) lost his appeal against being found guilty of raping Gisele
Pelicot (72); he got an increased sentence. 50 others were committed. Her
husband Dominique drugged her and arranged the rapes. Thieves robbed jewelry
from the Louvre Museum; several apprehended.
Nobel Peace Prize: awarded to
Maria Corina Machado, opposition leader in Venezuela.
China: announced
tighter export controls on rare earths – Trump threatened to increase tariffs
on imports from by 100%. Govt said that by 2025, 30% of energy will come from
renewables. The Govt announced the sacking of 9 senior military officers
(incl General He Weidong who was a member of the Politburo) for financial
crimes. Pres Xi met Pres Trump in South Korea to discuss trade issues. Five years ago almost 20% of China's exports went to the USA, but the figure has come down to about 11%.
WIPO’s Global
Innovation Index for 2025 top 10 countries: Switzerland; Sweden; USA; S.
Korea; Singapore; UK; Finland; The Netherlands; Denmark; and China (Australia
#22).
STEM university
courses: 6% of students in USA, 34% in China.
F1: Lando Norris
passed Oscar Piastri to lead the F1 competition with four races to go.
Afghanistan and Pakistan
agreed on a ceasefire after a week of fighting.
The Vatican:
King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Sistine Chapel.
Argentina: President Milei’s
party did well in the mid term elections.
The Caribbean:
Hurricane Melissa wrecked havoc on several countries.
Israel –
Hamas & Hezbollah & Iran
Following
Israel’s killing of 5 Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month, Pres Trump
signed an ExOrder pledging to protect Qatar.
Trump’s 20 point peace plan for the Israel / Hamas conflict in Gaza was accepted by the contestants on 11 Oct (Pres Trump addressed the Knesset and signed the peace agreement in Egypt).
20 living hostages were returned, and remains of
deceased hostages; Israel freed 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees and
allowed increased entry of aid.
Both sides accuse the other for violations of the ceasefire; Israel has bombed parts of Gaza, and restricted aid shipments.
The Gaza Health Authority says that almost 70,000 Palestinians (mainly children and women) have been killed in the last 2 years. 90% of infrastrcture and housing in Gaza has been destroyed.
Russian
invasion of Ukraine
A meeting between Trump and Putin in
Budapest was called off.
The USA imposed sanctions
on Russian oil companies and pressured India to stop importing oil from
Russia.
USA
Partial shutdown
of the Federal Govt began on 1 October when Senate could not raise the 60
votes to pass the Budget; 11th shut down since 1980 (usually short-lived,
but this time longer than a month). Trump took the opportunity to downsize
many agencies and programs.
President Trump went
to Asia: he attended the ASEAN leaders meeting in KL, visited Japan to meet
new female PM; and attended the APEC leaders meeting in South Korea, where
Trump met Xi Jin Ping of China to address trade tensions.
Trump pulled down
the East Wing of the White House to make room for a $300M ballroom which he said
would be privately funded.
To avoid 100%
tariffs, Pfizer agreed to sell pharmaceuticals through a US Govt agency at
lower prices.
Elon Musk’s
startup, xAI, raised $20B.
300 National
Guard troops arrived in Chicago to protect ICE.
Only about 9,000
illegal border crossings in last 9 months.
CBS Newspoll 1-3
October listed key concerns of Americans as: Economy 27%, Inflation 21%,
Health Care 15%, Immigration 4%, Crime 9%, Govt spending 9%, foreign affairs
4%.
Qatar will build
an air base in Idaho, for training purposes.
Actress Diane
Keaton died aged 79 (pneumonia). She won an Oscar for Annie Hall (1977). Also
starred in The Godfather movies and The First Wives Club (with Goldie Hawn
and Bette Midler). She had several prominent partners (incl Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Al
Pacino) but never married. Adopted 2 sons in her 50s.
MIT rejected the
Dept of Education’s proposed 'Compact of Academic Excellence'.
The USA destroyed
10 alleged narco-boats in international waters near Venezuela.
The average new
car price passed $50,000 in the USA.
Trump pledged to
provide $40B to support the Argentine economy (if Millei won re election – which he did).
The Dept of
Justice indicted John Bolton, former National Security advisor in first Trump
Admin, for sharing classified documents.
USA imports from
China in 2024: goods $439M, services $22B = total $461B. Top categories (over
70% of US market): Clothing, electronics, medical supplies, solar panels,
furniture, batteries, toys, laptops, LED lights.
Big “No Kings”
rallies took place in many US cities. Trump blamed Antifa left wing ratbags.
Strong sales of
the iPhone 17 saw Apple shares pass $260.
Amazon will reduce staff by 14,000; UPS by 34,000.
Australia
PM Albanese
met President Trump at the White House; confirmed AUKUS and signed an
agreement ($8.5B) to develop rare earths.
Nicole Kidman and
Keith Urban announced split after 19 years of marriage (married on 25 June
2006) they have 2 daughters, Sunday 17 and Faith 14. She was with Tom Cruise
1990 – 2001, 2 daughters Bella 32 and Connie 30.
NRL: the Brisbane
Broncos came from behind to beat the Melbourne Storm 26-22 (Broncos last won
in 2006). Two non-NSW teams. MVP Reese Walsh. Qld also won the Women’s Rugby
League title and the AFL. James Tedesco (Roosters) won the Dally M medal for
the second time.
Sunscreen scandal
grew – claims of 21 brands queried.
Australian Taxation
Office (ATO) Transparency Report said that 1,136 of 4,110 (28%) companies
with turnover of more than A$100M paid no tax in 2023-24.
Govt (Fed &
State) A$600M bailout to keep Glencore Copper Smelter operational in Mt Isa.
Senator David
Pocock was sacked from the Parliamentary Sports Club, but later reinstated
(he had criticized sponsorship by betting agencies).
Electricity
generated by renewables (9.2 terawatt hours) passed coal (8.8 twh).
The Bathurst 1000
car race was won by Matt Payne (23) and Garth Tander (48).
Virginia
Giuffre’s memoir “Nobody’s Girl” was published. (She committed suicide in
early 2025 aged 41).
Swimming champion
Ariane Titmus (25) announced her retirement from competitive swimming. She
won 2 golds in Tokyo (400m and 200m) and 2 in Paris.
Lady Millie
Tallis started the first Opportunity (Op) Shop 100 years ago, to raise funds
for St Vincents Hospital, Fitzroy.
Jamie Melham is
the first female jockey to win the Caufield Cup (2,400m) on “Half Yours”. Caufield Cup prize money A$5M.
INTERNATIONAL Business
My 30 year career as an Australian Trade Commissioner gave me an interest in matters related to international trade and economics. I used to subscribe to Bloomberg's excellent daily newsletter "Supply Lines", but in May 2025 this publication became "pay only". Fortunately Bloomberg has other, shorter, daily bulletins, mainly about the USA economy. The following graphs are from those sources. They are self-explanatory.
......
That's it for this post. It's been another busy month, with more coming up (a trip to the Cook Islands in November, and then to Indonesia in December).
We researched if Andrew could obtain German or Hungarian citizenship (if the family wants to live in the EU in future). German is difficult to obtain, but Hungary has "Citizenship by Descent", which could be a possible pathway to Citizenship as his grandfather (my father, Akos Zoltan Olah) was Hungarian (catch: Andrew would have to learn Hungarian to pass a language test).
Stay happy and healthy, and keep smiling!
Vera & Alex Olah
Caloundra, Australia
Friday 31 October 2025
