Post #162 2 January 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post covers the period 23 - 30 December 2017, which includes the Christmas holiday.

We follow the European tradition and celebrate on Xmas Eve (24 December).  This year we all met up at my sister's place (Aniko and Peter Carey) where we exchanged gifts ("Berscherung"), sang Xmas carols, and then had a wonderful dinner.

In years long gone, when we were kids, after dinner we all went to Midnight Mass, but alas no more.  At about 11pm we all went our separate ways.

Our son, Andrew, visited from Sydney with his wife Caroline and their kids Fast Eddie (3.5 years) and Princess Jay (9 months).  They had Xmas Eve with us; on Xmas Day they flew down to Melbourne to join Caroline's sister/family and parents; then back to Canberra for a couple more days before heading home to Sydney.

This year our daughter and family went to a gathering of Tom's relatives in Melbourne. We will see them next week when they pass through Canberra on their way back to Brisbane.

Here are some photos of the last week or so.

Reading a book with Eddie.  He is 3.5 years of age and already knows his mind.

The Xmas Tree at Aniko's place with lots and lots of presents for everyone.  On Xmas Eve we first sang some carols, then exchanged gifts, before having dinner.

From left: Adrienne (Aniko's daughter), Tuey (Britt's son) and Eddie with Batman cape. Xmas is all about the kids, isn't it?  They loved the excitement.

The next morning, Xmas Day, Eddie and Jay were up early at our apartment and of course Santa had brought some more presents.

Eddie got a "Ninja Bike"for Xmas - very happy. After breakfast I took them to Canberra Airport for the flight to Melbourne, and more celebrations.

Xmas Day, 25 December 2017.  After dropping Andrew & co at the airport, Vera & I met Angie.  We walked around Lake Burley Griffin (5 km); had lunch at the Yacht Club; visited an elderly lady friend in a Nursing Home; visited the graves of our father and mother (above); and finally went to Britt's place for afternoon tea. 

Dr Jocelyn Chey was in Canberra and came around. She was my boss at the Embassy in Beijing 30 years ago. A real China expert, Jocelyn was the best boss ever, and Vera and I were delighted to see her again. We spent a most enjoyable couple of hours chatting about the "Good Old Days" and looking at photos.

I had a round of golf with old friends David Evans (in photo) and Paul Flint.  My golf is really inconsistent - for every good shot there are 2 or 3 bad shots - not surprising as I play so rarely. I'm determined to play more next year.

We picked Andrew & co up at the airport on their return from Melbourne. There is an interesting screen which shows animals from the zoo.

Vera feeding Jay-Jay.

With Eddie in front of the Xmas tree in our living room.

Getting down to work - me feeding Jay-Jay.  She is adorable. Just starting to crawl. 

Last night, New Years Eve, Vera & I went to the Canberra Old Time Dance Club.  Always a fun night and a good way to see in the New Year. 

Duncan and Gwen Souter celebrated their Golden Anniversary at the dance last night. A wonderful couple, they are stalwarts of the Old Time Dance Club.

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2017 was another big and busy year. Our highlights of 2017:

March: birth of Jay Milton Olah in Hong Kong

June: Andrew & Caroline moved back to Sydney

Aug/Sept: visit to Bali & Java; home via Perth

Jen & Tom are doing well in Brisbane (Tom recently did the Kokoda Trail in PNG), as are Caroline & Andrew in Sydney. Our five grandkids are thriving.  Kurt turned 12 this year, Nate 10, Sid 8, Eddie 3, and Princess Jay was born in March.

After a hiatus of seven months, in February 2017 I reactivated my blog; did 46 posts in 2017. The blog is my online diary. 

Always lots happening around the world: President Trump continues to puzzle, an enigma (will he try to close Mueller down???); President Xi Jin Ping of China unsurprisingly got another 5 years; President Mugabe stepped down after 37 years running Zimbabwe, good riddance; North Korea remains defiant; drama in the Australian Parliament due to dual citizenship - but at least we got same sex marriage equality! 

Many disasters happened too: devastating hurricanes; Las Vegas shooting 59 dead, 441 injured (almost one mass shooting per day in the US this year); Grenfell Tower fire in London, and killer bushfires in California; Terrorist attacks continue viz Manchester in May 2017 22 dead, 119 injured, Egypt in November 311 dead, 128 injured. ISIS on its last legs, hopefully.

The most interesting book I read in 2017 was "A spy among friends - Philby and the Great Betrayal" by Ben Macintyre. Well researched and written - a true story, but reads like fiction.

So that's it for another year: goodbye 2017, welcome 2018.

Our best wishes to you all for a happy and healthy 2018.

Stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
2 January 2018

Post #161 22 December 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post covers our activities during the period 4 - 22 December 2017.

4 - 6 December we spent in Brisbane to attend Kurt's graduation from Primary (Elementary) School. It was quite an impressive occasion.  There were some motivational speeches, and then a personal introduction was read out as each 6th Grader received their graduation certificate. That was followed by supper for parents and students, after which the kids had a disco.

9 - 17 December we were baby-sitting in Sydney while Andrew and Caroline visited Lane Crawford stores in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.  Lane Crawford is an up-market Department Store, headquartered in HK, which is now stocking Reddie furniture (Reddie.co) and Andrew & Caroline wanted to meet sales staff, introduce their products and provide training.

My next post will cover the Christmas period.

A photo of the main stage in the hall of Hilders Road Primary School, with the Head Master giving his speech.  We were sitting just behind the graduating Year 6 students.  The girls, in general, looked more mature than the boys, and many of the girls had dressed up for the occasion. 

A photo of some of the Graduating students.  They are all around 12 years of age; good, healthy, smart kids!

Richard and Barbara, Tom's parents, also came for the Graduation.  Here they are next to Tom who has Sid on his lap.  Sid often pulls faces.

Vera and me with Kurt, the graduating student.  He is now taller than Vera.  Kurt was Captain of Taylor Sports House this year; he represented the District in swimming, soccer and rugby.

Jen was chair-person of the Parents Committee which organised the Graduation and related activities. Everything went smoothly, which was a great credit to the organising committee.

Jen and Tom in the kitchen; both excellent cooks.

Dinner at the Roberts place.  From left: Vera, Sid, Nate (hiding his face), Barbara, Richard, and Kurt. Vera made the rissoles.

The three Roberts boys, in the uniform of Hilder Road Primary School (HRPS), from left: Nate (10), Kurt (12), and Sid (8).  The Primary School is a bit more than one kilometre from their house, so very convenient.  It is a very good school and the boys have thrived there. Next year (2018) Kurt will go to Marist Brothers Ashgrove, Nate will be in 6th Grade of HRPS, while Sid will be in 4th Grade.  Nate has been elected Captain of Taylor Sports House for next year - following in Kurt's footsteps. 

Tom normally rides a bike to work (about 10km from The Gap to Brisbane City).  Here he is with his parents, Richard and Barbara Roberts who live in Broulee on the South Coast of NSW (about 2 hours drive from Canberra).  With some friends Tom recently did the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea (about 100km of tough jungle walking, up hill and down dale).  This is where the Aussie Diggers stopped the Japanese army during WW2.

Our arrival back in Canberra.  The direct flight Canberra to Brisbane takes 1.5 hours (by road it is about 1,300 km and takes us at least 2 days).

On 9 December we took the train to Sydney (300 km, 4 hours, slow but comfortable) to look after Eddie and Jay while Caroline and Andrew went on business to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.  Lane Crawford, an up-market Department Store based in HK, is stocking Reddie furniture so they visited the stores to meet and train sales staff.  I dropped them off at Sydney International Airport for the Qantas flight to Hong Kong (10 hours).  It's tough starting a new business, and this could be a big break for the young entrepreneurs.

Fast Eddie, here fast asleep but he is usually a very active little three-year-old.

Princess Jay (we usually call her Jay-Jay) 9 months old.  Gorgeous.

Vera applying sun screen to Jay's face.

Photo in a mirror; Jay has just had a bath.

The kids were very happy to welcome Caroline and Andrew back after their trip.

I saw this sign not far from Andrew's apartment in Surry Hills.  Same initials but very different to the UPC (China University of Petroleum www.upc.edu.cn) where Vera & I spent 6 years as English teachers.  

In Sydney I had lunch with two friends, Michael Kramer and Howard Eakins, both of whom worked in Indonesia for many years. Michael was a Chemical Engineer with Dow Chemical and Howard was a Civil Engineer building roads, bridges and golf courses.  We had lunch at the Medan Ciak Indonesian restaurant - delicious!

Back in Canberra, we had coffee with good friends Helen and Neil Moffat. We met them about 20 years ago when we were into Latin Dancing (salsa and Argentine tango).  Vera and I are back into New Vogue (Sequence) dancing, but have thankfully given Tango away (too difficult!).

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Xmas is only a couple of days away; I'll do a separate post on that significant event.

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Stay healthy and keep smiling.

Best wishes to everyone for the Festive Season, and for 2018.

Alex Olah and Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday, 22 December 2017

Post #160 8 Dec 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post covers the period 16 November - 3 December 2017.

The main event was a 'surprise lunch' on Sunday 19 November for my sister, Angie, to celebrate her 70th birthday.  A fun event, it was organised by her daughters Britt and Sasha and held at the Narooma Golf Club with marvellous views of the golf course and along the coast.

But we were also involved in lots of other things.  Here are photos of activities Vera and I were involved in during this period.

Sasha and Davide (with kids Bonnie and Oscar) came from Sydney; Britt came from Canberra with her children Lani, Dejon and Novi; Aniko and Adrienne, and Vera & I came from Canberra.

Birthday girl Angie with daughters Britt and Sasha.

Angie is looking at the special digital album Britt compiled. An amazing, creative piece of work. You can see part of the golf course in the background.  

A view of one of the lovely beaches around Narooma; makes one realise what a lucky country we are with great beaches, relatively few people, and clear blue skies.

After lunch we all spent time at the beach. From left: Aniko, Vera, Angie, Adrienne, and Sasha.  It was a lovely warm day, some people were swimming in the sea but the water was still too cold (around 20C) for most of us.

That night we all went to the atmospheric old Dromedary Hotel in Central Tilba, about 20lm from Narooma, to listen to folk music and have dinner.  

Local folk musicians jamming at the Dromedary Hotel. Great atmosphere.

On Friday night 24 November we attended a "Blues Piano" night at the German Club.  Wonderful honky-tonk music.  

The four pianists who put on the concert of Blues Piano.  Talented musicians.

The Indonesian Embassy held its annual "Indonesian Festival" on Saturday 25 November.  Lots of cultural events, and of course several food stalls.  

Vera & I helped on the Australian Indonesian Families Association (AIFA) sate stall.  Some of the helpers, from left: Demsi, Maria, me, Vera,  Dinche, and Erna.  The profit raised by our stall was donated to a local charity.

It was hot work, cooking 500 lamb sates on a charcoal barbeque. 

Indonesian dances were performed.

Iis Dunbar (wife of Raden Dunbar, they live in Bandung) entertained the crowd with a selection of pop songs. The little lady has a big voice.

The Indonesian Ambassador, HE Kristiarto Legowo, sang a duet with Iis Dunbar.

Neil Moffat celebrated his 70th birthday.  We met Neil and Helen about 25 years ago when we were all into latin dance, particularly Salsa and Argentine Tango.  I liked salsa, but could never meet Vera's high expectations regarding the Tango.  These days we are back into New Vogue (aka Sequence Dancing) and I'm glad that our Tango days are behind us.

Vera and I with birthday boy Neil Moffat.  

I attended a book launch at the National Library by Jelena Dokic; here she is signing a book for a fan.  Although she reached a world tennis ranking of #4 she never won a Major (got to semi-final at Wimbledon).  The book describes the abuse she suffered from her father, Damir Dokic, who was a domineering bully. 

After many years we caught up with Helen and John Hemphill.  John and I worked in the Trade Section of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in the early 1970s but after that our paths didn't cross; they helped organise our wedding when we got married in Jakarta in October 1973.

On 28 November I attended a dinner at the Chinese Embassy for committee members of the Australia China Friendship Society; from left: Teck Lee, Neil Birch, Mr Cai Wei deputy Ambassador, and me.

The menu for our dinner at the Chinese Embassy.  Our host, Mr Cai Wei, deputy Ambassador, is originally from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, so the cooks prepared Zhejiang food.  Delicious.

One of the dishes at the dinner.  Beautifully presented.  Of course chop sticks were also provided but we had the option of using knife & fork. 

Squirrel Fish pieces, but so creatively presented.

On 1 December the Clerk of the House of Representatives, David Elder, hosted Xmas drinks for the Alumni Association; from left: me, David Elder, and Fred Cook. I worked at Parliament House for about 5 years, after leaving Austrade in 2001.  It was fascinating to observe the political process at close quarters.

Dirty Dicks Theatre Restaurant on 2 December, with friends Chris & David Evans, Bob & Siri Morrison, and Neale Emanuel.  The show was a little disappointing ... perhaps we needed more lubrication ... 

Bob and Siri Morrison at Dirty Dicks.  We have often stayed with them in Nambucca Heads (enroute to Brisbane), so it was good to be able to reciprocate when they visited Canberra. Wonderful friends.

We have joined a monthly dinner group called Guys & Dolls; this Italian Theme Night was hosted by Sandy and Peter at their home in Campbell. From left: Geoff  Banbury, Dianne Downes, me, John Bakker, Helen Moffat, Stafford, and Vera.

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A major event during this time: the 'retirement' of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, after 37 long and tortuous years in power.

There has been continuing drama in the Australian Parliament related to Section 44 of the Constitution which states that Members of Parliament must only have Australian citizenship. S.44 has suddenly come into focus, and the High Court has given a narrow interpretation which has caught out several MPs and Senators who had, mostly unwittingly, inherited other citizenship through their parents.

A State election was held in Queensland and, after a week of uncertainty, it looks as if Labor has been returned, with just enough seats to govern in its own right.

President Trump continues to puzzle.  Yesterday he announced that the US Embassy would be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; overwhelming advice was not to disturb the status quo but he went ahead anyway.  As expected, very strong negative reaction.  Why do it? Why? Why? Why?

Time Magazine chose the participants of the "me too" Movement as its 2017 Person of the Year; started with serious allegations of sexual harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and two recent high-profile casualties of Movement: Senator Al Franken and Congressman John Conyers.

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Looking back over recent weeks for this post made me realise that we have definitely settled back into life "Down Under" and have a pretty busy schedule of activities.  In fact, I seem to be chasing my tail ... need to make time to play golf, ride my bike and read more books (how did I ever fit in work????)

Recently I read "The Secrets of the ANZACs, the untold story of VD in the Australian Army 1914-19" by Raden Dunbar (published in 2014).  So many poor bastards: 5 minutes of fun became 5 weeks (sometimes 5 months) of misery; horrible cures at that time, thank god for penicillin!

Christmas is approaching fast and we've been to several end-of-year functions.  This year Andrew & family will come to Canberra while Jen will be in Melbourne with Tom's relatives.

My next post will probably be at the end of December. 

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Best wishes for the Festive Season, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday, 8 December 2017