Post #188 28 Feb 2019

Gentlefolk,

This post describes some of our activities in February 2019.

First, international events:

NFL Super Bowl #53 was played in Atlanta. The NE Patriots 13 beat the LA Rams 3, the lowest score ever. It was the Patriots 6th Championship win (equalling the Steelers).  Evergreen 41 year old Tom Brady prevailed over 23 year old Jared Goff.

On 15 February President Trump declared a "national emergency" to be able to access military funds to build his wall.  Courts will determine constitutionality.

As I write this post, President Trump is meeting Chairman Kim Jong Un in Hanoi.  Let's hope this Summit has more concrete outcomes than the first one last year ...


Here are photos of some of our activities in February 2019:

The annual "winter wonderland" card from Isabel and Roger Banville in Gatineau, Ottawa. We always enjoy Roger's creativity with his camera. We first met the Banvilles in Jakarta in 1972-3 where Roger worked at the Canadian Embassy and I was at the Australian Embassy. Ten years later we met up again, this time in Beijing. Ah, those were the days!

I attended the launch of Tim Fischer's book "Steam Australia - locomotives that galvanised the nation" at the National Library.Did you know that at one stage there were 22 different rail gauges in Australia? Crazy! The first "standard gauge" line connecting Sydney and Melbourne started operating only in April 1962. Mr Fischer ended his talk with a plea for a Very Fast Train between Brisbane - Sydney - Canberra - Melbourne (wishful thinking - our population is just too small).

Me with the author, Tim Fischer AC.  He contributed greatly to Australia's public life.  We are the same age, born in 1946.  He is a farmer and went into politics; was Leader of the National Party (formerly known as the Country Party) from 1990 - 99.  He was part of the Coalition which won the 1996 federal election, and served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade 1996 - 99. I had some dealings with Mr Fischer when I managed the Americas Section of AUSTRADE - he was very approachable and knowledgeable, a very good Minister for Trade. He resigned in 1999 to devote more time to his family, but remained active in many areas. Sadly, in October 2018 he was diagnosed with acute mycloid leukemia. A remarkable man, and one of the nicest people around.

We went to a "Summer Sounds" concert at the National Botanical Garden; the band was from the Australian Military College Duntroon.

The lesson provided by Swing Dance Academy was fun (Vera & I can't sit still when good music is on offer!).

I attended the banquet to celebrate Chinese New Year, organised by the Australia China Friendship Society (www.acfs.org.au); start of Year of the Pig. 

The President of the ACFS, Carol Keil, welcomed members and guests to the banquet. It was held at the China Tea Club restaurant in North Lyneham. Delicious food, good company.

A poster welcoming the Year of the Pig.

At the CNY banquet one of the ACFS members gave me an old program from Canberra Repertory, of a play staged in November 1971. The main sponsor (advertiser) was Roberts Chemist of Civic - later we got to know his son, Richard Roberts, whose son Tom married our daughter Jennifer. Small world!

The program shows that I was an actor in this play, one of four soldiers.  The problem is that I can't recall this play at all.  Strange.  An explanation may be that, about two months later, in February 1972, I went to Jakarta on my first posting as a Trade Commissioner; and past events were quickly subsumed by the busy and eventful life which followed.

Two big events organised each year by the Australia China Friendship Society (www.acfs.org.au) are the Lantern-making Workshop (basically for children) and the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival marks the formal end of the Chinese New Year celebrations, and is usually held 2 weeks after CNY.  This year we held it on 23 February, a week later than usual, because Canberra's big Multicultural Festival was held last weekend.
Although the Workshop and Festival were two weeks apart I have shown the photos together (below).

About 30 children & parents participated in the Lantern Making Workshop on 10 February.  Here Jean Norman is handing out pre-cut kits to kids.

Two of the ACFS Committee members, John Wong and Neil Birch showing lanterns to two participants.

Making lanterns, a fun, easy, craft activity.





We arranged a full program for the Lantern Festival.



The Lantern Festival is held in the lovely Beijing Garden. We were so lucky, it was a perfect autumn evening.




One of the dance groups rehearsing before their performance. Cute kids.



Part of the crowd watching the performances at the Lantern Festival; we estimated around 900 people attended, mainly families with young children.  It was a fun, relaxed evening enjoying displays of Chinese culture.



These were some of the competitors in the "best hand-made lantern" competition.


ACFS members decorated the Pavilion and the Performance Area with lanterns and lights - they looked gorgeous when the sun went down.  The final event was a lantern parade around Beijing Garden, led by Lion Dancers and followed by children and parents carrying lit lanterns - a memorable night, especially for kids.

I attended the book launch of "Troll Hunting" at the National Library.

Chris Ulhmann interviewed journalist Ginger Gorman for the launch of her new book "Troll Hunting". She was the subject of unsolicited Cyber hate attacks so decided to examine this phenomenon. She claims about 40% of Australian adults have experienced cyber hate on social media.

It's Super Rugby footy time again - yipee - here the Canberra Brumbies played the Melbourne Rebels. We had a narrow lead at half-time, but then the Rebels ran away with the game in the second half (34 - 27).  Not the start we wanted.  But the following week we thrashed the Chiefs from New Zealand (54 - 17).  Go figure???

We had a weekend at Broulee, from left: me, Vera, Christine Evans, Paul Flint, David Evans, Neale Emanuel.  Walked on the beach, swan in the sea, played some golf, it was a lovely relaxing few days. Our first outing since Vera's diagnosis back in July 2018.

A view of the Moruya Golf Course, green and lush.

Paul and David on the 18th green. For me it was great to be back on a golf course again after not playing for several months.

We caught up with Barbara and Richard Roberts who live at Broulee - lucky sods!

Another book launch, this time at the Asia Bookroom.

Professor James Fox (right) interviewed the author, Prof George Quinn (right). A most entertaining exchange, these two guys are real Indonesian experts. In the last 25 years 'pilgrimages' have become very popular in Java, and big business!

A model of Parliament House made of Lego.  I spent a couple of hours there - attended Question Time (it should be renamed "No Answer Time" - just theatre!) and then sat in on a couple of Senate Committees examining Departmental estimates. Brought back memories when I was in the 'hot seat' during my AUSTRADE days.

I had 9 holes of golf at Murrumbidgee Golf Club. From left: Beverley and Tony Butterfield, me, David Evans, Peter Joyce, and Jim Larkey.  We used to have a weekly game (at Federal GC) before Vera & I went off to China - we had more hair in those days! It was good to catch up with them again (although my golf was awful!).

Interesting talk last night by Dr Peter McCawley. He described the 7 Presidents of Indonesia:  Sukarno 1945-66 ;  Suharto 1966 -  98;  Habibie 1998 - 99;  Gus Dur 1999 - 2001;  Megawati 2001 - 04 ;  SBY 2004 - 2014;  Jokowi 2014 - present . All very different, but all made positive contributions. The next Presidential election will be in April, only a few weeks away; Jokowi, the incumbent, is the favourite but Prabowo is closing the gap.

...

Vera got the "all clear" from her Oncologist last week, so life is getting back to normal.  It has been quite a journey since the first diagnosis back in July 2018.

...

I arrived in Jakarta on my first posting as a Trade Commissioner on 23 February 1972 - 47 years ago this month!

...

Read "The Ladies in Black" written by Madeleine St John in 1993. We saw the film recently, which we loved, and I was keen to read the book.  Not bad, but the characters lacked development.

The setting was David Jones Department Store (called Goodes in the book) in Sydney in 1959; the main characters were: Lisa Miles (summer job after finishing High School); Fay Baines a shop assistant who falls in love with Hungarian immigrant Rudi; Patty Williams, a shop assistant with a recalcitrant husband Frank; and Magda (from Slovenia) who runs Ladies Gowns and is married to hungarian Stefan.

...

Canberra Capitals beat Adelaide Lightning to win the WNBL championship.  MVP was Kelsey Griffin, Caps captain.

...

Lots of news coverage of the conviction of Catholic Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse. A jury found him guilty, although apparently it was just the victim's word against his. Appeal pending.
...

We discovered a Belgian crime series called "Professor T" - excellent scripting and acting - highly recommended!

...

That's it for this post.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
28 February 2019

Post #187 31 January 2019

Gentlefolk,

This post describes some of our activities during January 2019.

First international issues.

The three stories dominated international news during the month: (1) the US Government partial shut-down, which lasted 35 days, (2) Brexit, (3) Venezuela. Continuing drama - the next few weeks will be fascinating.

China's GDP grew 6.6% in 2018, the slowest since 1990 but still solid.  In 2018 China's exports decreased 4.4% and its imports decreased 7.7%; a record trade surplus with the USA of US$324 billion (reducing this enormous imbalance is proving difficult). I am intrigued how quickly China compiles and releases economic data - much faster than other countries - super-computers?



Here are photos of activities during January 2019.

My brother Andy Olah has lived in Rarotonga, Cook Islands for 40 years - a pretty amazing story of guts and determination and ingenuity.  He is multi-skilled, successful businessman and recently completely renovated a house with great result. Andy turned 70 on 2 January 2019.  My sisters flew over to celebrate this significant birthday; Vera & I had booked tickets, but had to postpone our visit when Vera started chemo.

Proud Papa Andy with new grandson Etu who was born at the end of December; brother to Hinamoana.

Aniko, Sasha (Angie's daughter), and Angie in Raro for the birthday celebrations.

The family in 1949.  Andy only a few months old.  

The family in 1965, Angie 18, Andy 16. me 19, and Aniko 10.

Andy with kid-sister Aniko skiing, probably 1967.  He was a very good skier - a natural - won Gold in an Inter-Services Skiing competition a few years later when he was in the Army.

Lunch in Cooma with Mum, Angie and Ankio, about 1975.

Andy with good mate Michael Boland.

Andy looking strong, about 1976.

Andy 2018, still going strong!

My first session as a Volunteer Guide at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Old Parliament House, Canberra, with colleague Gavin Ford. I did three more sessions during January (the busiest month for MoAD). Nervous start, getting better.  

The main entrance of Old Parliament House where I am now a Volunteer Guide at the Museum of Australian Democracy.  It was the site of the National Parliament for 61 years, from 1927 to 1988.  A relatively-old building in attractive art-deco style, the architect was John Smith Murdoch who designed and built many buildings in Canberra and Melbourne.

Jen and her youngest son Sid visited us; Vera wearing a 'turban' because of her chemo.

Jen and Vera.

Family dinner: from left Jen, Angie, Vera, Aniko, and me.

We watched some fine tennis at the Lyneham Tennis Centre.  The two finalists then flew to Melbourne for the Australian Open where Hubert Hurkacz lost in the first round, and Ilya Ivashka lost in the second round.

Action at the East Hotel Tennis Tournament.  It's great being just a few metres from the players.

Jen and I checked out the latest additions at the National Portrait Gallery. This portrait is of Andrew Gaze, basketballer.

Andrew Gaze is an icon of basketball in Australia. He still holds the NBL record for averaging  44.1 points per game in a season. Now coaching. A champion.

Photograph of Tan Le (see below).

Tan Le - what an inspirational story!

Mal Meninga played Rugby League for the Canberra Raiders; also captained Queensland in the State of Origin, and captained the Australian Kangaroos. A legend.

At Canberra Airport before Jen's flight back to Brisbane. "Thanks for coming down, Jen, and supporting Vera.  Much appreciated."

A week later Sid flew back to Brisbane.  He had a great time with his other grandparents at Broulee. Here he is with his cousin Isaac Roberts.

Sid's plane getting ready to take off; in the background a big Qatar Air flight just arriving.

Lunch to celebrate John Holmes' 94th birthday.  From left: me, Vera, John Holmes, Jan Lynch, Dal Hyde, Margaret, and Gerry Lynch. John was Senior Trade Commissioner when we were posted to Bangkok in 1973-4; he and Elise welcomed the newly-weds; a wonderful boss and colleague.

Saying goodbye to Diane and Alex Hackett who are relocating to Noosa - wise move.

23 January 2019 Vera with her wonderful chemo nurse, Sam (American, from Atlanta).  This was her 4th (and final) treatment. We will see the Oncologist, Dr Malik, in a month and, hopefully, get the "all clear".  

I started riding my bike again, after a break of 9 months; doing about 50km a week - great fun - why did I ever stop???

The Guard of Honour at the Australia Day Citizenship ceremony on 26 January; the Army, Navy and Airforce were all represented. It was a lovely warm summer's morning (reached 38C in the afternoon!).

Part of the parade. Note New Parliament House in the distance, across Lake Burley Griffin.

First the flag-raising ...

... while saluting.

The Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, made a speech, followed by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. Then the PM led the Oath of Allegiance and presented certificates to the new citizens. There are similar ceremonies taking place throughout Australia.

A group of about 20 primary school students from Nanjing watched the ceremony (I don't think they understood much of what was going on).

After the Citizenship Ceremony I rode my bike to the National Museum and watched an Aboriginal smoking/welcoming ceremony.

That evening I picked up my old boss, John Holmes, and we watched a trial rugby game between the Canberra Brumbies and the Melbourne Rebels.  Despite the heat (it got to 38C) the action was fast and furious; the Brumbies emerged winners 52 - 38. The Super Rugby season proper will start in 2 weeks (it's crazy playing in this heat!!!).

On 23 August 1914 Japan declared war on Germany (Japan was an ally of the UK in WW1) and 4 days later started operations against the German colony at Tsingtau (now spelt Qingdao). A large force landed on the north shore of Shandong Province, marched south, took a month to get into position and then laid siege to the city of Tsingtau. The Germans gave a good account of themselves but  in the face of overwhelming odds (5,000 vs 50,000) they surrendered on 7  November 1914. Japan occupied Tsingtau until 1922 when it was, reluctantly, returned to China.
We spent 2009 - 2016 teaching English at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, hence my interest in this event.

...

In the Australian Tennis Open finals last week Novak Djokovic beat Rafa Nadal (Djoko has now won the Aussie Open 7 times, and has a total of 15 Majors); while Naomi Osaka beat Kvitova. Roger Federer and Serena Williams were surprise early losers (to Tsitsipas and Pliskova respectively).

...

I know it's summer, but this month has been very hot even by our standards - almost 3 weeks of 35C+ temperatures (4 consecutive days above 40C, a record). Climate going crazy?

...

I read 4 books during the month, a personal record:

Mutiny on the Bounty, by Peter FitzSimon

Batavia, by Peter FitzSimon

Travels with my aunt, by Graham Greene

The Siege of Tsingtau, by Charles Stephenson

...

Vera had two chemo treatments, on 2 and 23 January. She suffered some side effects, but overall she handled it pretty well - a tough little trooper!  

We will see the Oncologist on 20 February and hope/expect to get the all clear.  It's been quite a journey since July 2018 when the fist lump was detected, but now there is light at the end of the tunnel. I guess we will never completely get over the fact that Vera has had cancer, but hopefully our lives will soon return to a semblance of normality.

...

That's it for this post.

Best wishes for 2019, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah

Canberra, Australia

Thursday 31 January 2019

Post #186 5 January 2019

Gentlefolk,

This post contains an index of the 22 posts I did during 2018.

Alex Olah’s blog:  alexolah.blogspot.com

This blog was started in February 2014 and describes the lives of Alex & Vera Olah.  After 6 years teaching English in China (2009 – 2016) they returned to Australia in September 2016. They are now retired and living in Canberra.

Index for 2018, Post #163 to Post #185

Post number and date posted	Main events described in post
Post # 163 (20 January 2018)	Activities 1 – 20 January 2018, mainly around Canberra.
Post #164 (6 February)	Describes our drive up to Brisbane and back.  We saw Geoff & Albert Gray, Kate & Leon Norgate, Siri & Bob Morrison, Paul Barratt, and the mob in Brisbane, especially Kurt at Marist. On the way back stayed with Niniek & Paul Milton in Sydney – they put on a lovely dinner.
Post #165 (28 February)	Activities 7 – 28 February, mainly in Canberra: Chinese New Year; AIFA stall at Multicultural Festival; ACFS Lantern Workshop.
Post #166 (19 March)	Activities 1 – 15 March. ACFS Lantern Festival; Chinese Embassy Day; 1968 Exhibition at NLA; Birthdays of Jay (1 year) and Eddie (4 years); Queen concert at Commonwealth Park; Lunch at Tomoko & John Scott (Bowral).
Post #167 (30 March)	Covers the period 16 – 31 March. Mainly photos of when we were in Sydney looking after the kids while Caz was away.
Post #168 (10 May)	Describes our visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 1 – 4 April 2018.
Post #169 (12 May)	Describes our stay in Tehran at the beginning (4 – 7 April) of our 18 day tour of Iran and at the end (22 April) before our flight out.
Post #170 (15 May)	Describes our short (overnight) stay in Kashan, half-way between Tehran and Isfahan.
Post #171 (20 May)	Describes our stay in Isfahan, 9 – 11 April 2018. Probably our favourite city: lots of history, lots of parks, lots of art and culture.
Post #172 (25 May)	Describes 12 – 14 April, starting with our visit to Maybod (Pigeon House and Ice House) enroute to Yazd, desert city. Yazd Water Museum. Jameh Mosque. Zoroastrian Temple and Tower of Silence.
Post #173 (27 May)	Visit to Zein-o-din Caravanserai, Maymand Stone Village; Kerman; Lut Desert; Kerman market; Rayen Citadel.
Post #174 (29 May)	Visit to Shazadeh Garden; Shiraz: Vakil Bazaar, Karim Khan Citadel, Aramgah Shrine, Hafez Mausoleum, Pink Mosque. Persepolis. Necropolis. Farewell dinner in Sanaz’s home.
Post #175 (1 June)	Describes our visit to Penang (Malaysia) 22 – 26 April 2018. Liong & Pina at Batu Feringgi. Georgetown. Botanical Garden. National Park. Restaurants/food.
Post #176 (5 June)	Describes our visit to Singapore, 26 – 29 April 2018.  Amazing the way it re-invents itself and keeps getting better.
Post #177 (8 June)	Describes activities in May 2018: in Sydney catching up with Eddie & Jay-jay; drive to Brisbane to see the Roberts mob. Moritz & Valentin. Hugo Hofgartner. Michael Tjoeng.
Post #178 (2 July)	Describes activities in June 2018. Drive back from Brisbane to Canberra. Many events in Canberra (COTDC, ACFS).
Post #179 (29 July)	Describes activities in July 2018. Spent 3 weeks in Sydney looking after the grandkids while Andrew & Caz were away.
Post #180 (31 August)	Describes activities in August 2018. Vera’s lumpectomy on 1 August. ACFS. Jay’s first steps. Hadn’t seen the Roberts for a while so drove to Brisbane, and back.
Post #181 (14 September)	Describes activities in the first half of September 2018. On 4 Sept the surgeon, Dr Cho, extended the ‘margin’, and pathology found more cancerous cells.
Post #182 (12 October)	Bali 17 Sept – 5 October. We had a week by ourselves (Tuban, Canggu and Legian).  Then 7 nights in a Villa in Jimbaran with the Roberts and Olah families; followed by 4 nights in a Villa on Nusa Lembongan.
Post #183 (31 October)	Describes our activities from 6 – 31 October (following our return from Bali). Floriade. Visit by Niniek & Paul. AIFA. Fiona Patten. Vera mastectomy on 24 Oct.
Post #184 (30 November)	Describes activities in November 2018. WW1 commemorations. John Holmes. Panda Competition. Author talks. Vera started chemo on 20 Nov.
Post #185 (31 December)	Describes activities in December 2018. Author Peter FitzSimon launched his latest book “Mutiny on the Bounty”. Volunteer guide at Museum of Australian Democracy. Cook exhibition. Baseball. Xmas.

2018 sure was another interesting year.

President Trump continued to amaze and intrigue - never a dull moment when he is around! According to the Washington Post's Fact Check, President Trump made about 5,600 false or misleading statements during 2018 - an average of 15 per day!  But he doesn't care, lampoons his critics and goes his merry way. Teflon Trump = nothing sticks; no one else would get away with this, why does he?

How to explain this behaviour by President Trump?  We have been told that he doesn't read briefing notes, in fact he doesn't read much at all - prefers getting information verbally or visually.  He knows what he knows, and is convinced his version is right.  Precise figures or data are not important - the big picture is what matters. Image is everything. I doubt he considers 'exaggeration' as false or misleading, just part of the message.

During an interview in December President Trump said "I usually try to tell the truth, I really do".  I can only conclude that his truth/belief is different from what most people consider the norm.

He has been very consistent with delivering on his promises; for example, he pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement - against most advice saying that the targets are voluntary and can be changed at any time. He also pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, despite the other signatories (UK, France, Germany, Russia and China) and many other countries saying that Iran was meeting its obligations. But he had said during the campaign that it was a bad Deal, and despite all the evidence, he didn't change his mind.  He knows best!

Many international events of note in 2018, including:

The Trump / Kim meeting in Singapore;
Trump started trade war with China;
France won the World Cup (beat Croatia 4 - 2);
Legalisation of marijuana in California;
Rescue of boys in Thailand who were stuck in a cave for 9 days;
US students campaigned for gun controls;
Aussie students campaigned for climate change;
Devastating bushfires in California;
Brexit negotiations;
Awful war in Yemen;
US Mid-Term elections;
Yellow Vest movement in France;
Detention in Vancouver of Meng Wan Zhou of Huawei;
New record time set in the Berlin Marathon: 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds;
Scott Morrison became Australia's 30th Prime Minister (replaced Malcolm Turnbull).

Notable deaths in 2018 included:

Stephen Hawking;
Ingvar Kampard (founder of IKEA);
Billy  Graham;
Anthony Bourdain;
John McCain;
George HW Bush.

May they RIP.
...

That's it for this post.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Saturday, 5 January 2019