Post #295 31 October 2025

 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.

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). 

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!

Jay is in Primary School in London.

Our friends Alexandra & Sean O'Shaughnessy did a tour of Sri Lanka.
Sean climbed the Sigiria Rock Fortess - well done!

Will Costin on his walking tour of Northern Italy.

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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 an d 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. 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 resolve trade tensions.   Trump pulled down the East Wing of the White House to make room for a 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 many partners (incl Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Al Pacino) but never married. Adopted 2 sons in her 50s. MIT rejected the Dept of Education’s 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 – 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. Large “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.

 

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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.

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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).

Today is my sister's birthday - our very best wishes, Angie.

Stay happy and healthy, and keep smiling!

Vera & Alex Olah

Caloundra, Australia

Friday 31 October 2025