Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of November 2023.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during November 2023.
News items which caught my eye in November 2023.
International Trade.
We were away 3 - 26 November, mainly in Queensland. The highlight was attending Kurt's graduation from High School on 17 November 2023. It was a wonderful, memorable occasion - see photos.
We took the opportunity to look at retirement options in SE Queensland. Vera & I had a dozen or more moves as my Trade Commissioner job took me around the world, but moving now, at this age, seems daunting.
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| I'm a volunteer tutor at an English Conversation class for migrants. On 1 Nov we arranged an educational excursion to the ACT Law Courts. We were given an introductory briefing and then visited 3 court rooms to see the justice system in action. I hadn't been there for many years, and found it a very interesting morning. SYDNEY |
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| We spent two nights with Caroline and Andrew in Sdyney, enroute to Queensland. Watched Jay play soccer, |
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| With grandkids Jay (6) and Eddie (9). |
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| Saying goodbye to the family, in the living room of their lovely home. |
NABIAC
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| We had lunch with Geoff and Albert at The Artisan Farmer restaurant near Nabiac. |
GOLD COAST
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| We stayed 3 nights are the Mermaid Waters Hotel on the Gold Coast. |
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| Dinner with Lia & Bruce, who we knew in Canberra before they moved to the Gold Coast 20 years ago. |
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| Greg & Shana drove up from Ocean Shores, and showed us around Varsity Lakes and Robina. |
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| Huge towers at Main Beach near Surfers Paradise. |
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| A market along the beach promenade at Surfers. |
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| Lunch in Brisbane with Michael (former TC colleague) and Charles & Nikki, former student at UPC in Qingdao. Charles and Nikki moved from Sydney to Brisbane 6 months ago, it's been a very positive move for them! |
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| We had not been on a river ferry for years, so after lunch we took the City Cat public ferry from Milton all the way to the terminal at Hamilton, and back. Nice way to spend 3 hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon. |
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| We stayed with Jen & Tom at The Gap. One night Tom did his famous Crackling Roast Pork on spit; we had dinner under lights in their garden. From left: Nate, Vera, Tom, Jen, Sid (Kurt was away). |
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| Kurt (18) was graduating from High School. We took the family out for a celebratory dinner at Lefkas Greek Restaurant. From left: Jen, Vera, Nate, Sid, Tom, and Kurt. A memorable night. |
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| Kurt's graduation from Marist College Ashgrove took place on Friday 19 November 2023. Marist Ashgrove was founded in 1940 - this was the original building, now there are many more school buildings and facilities on the 10 hectare site (including sporting ovals and a big swimming complex).. |
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| The Roberts family at Kurt's graduation. One down, two to go. |
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| Kurt with proud grandparents. |
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| There were 3 parts to the 2023 Graduation proceedings: first a Graduation Mass held in the Assembly Hall, then the Walk down to the main Oval, followed by speeches, music and fireworks on the Oval, |
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| There were 220 boys graduating. They occupied the first few rows in the Assembly Hall. Family (siblings, parents and grandparents) sat further back. The Hall was full - probably around 800 in total. |
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| Kurt with some of his mates, after the Mass. |
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| The Walk between the Assembly Hall and the Main Oval (about 250 metres). The whole school (about 1,600 students) and teachers lined both sides to create a kind of tunnel effect. Family walked with the graduating student. We followed Kurt, as he said goodbye to students and teachers. It took about 45 minutes to traverse the 250 metres. It is difficult to describe, but it was a wonderful event. |
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| The 3rd segment of the Graduation Ceremony took place on the Main Oval. Parents and graduating students sat under huge marquees, and family sat in the Grandstand. Motivational speeches by the Head Master, the School Captain, and the departing Sports Master. Afterwards the students all lined up (see photo) and sang the school song. Then a rock band (comprising graduating students) performed, and finally a fireworks display. The Graduation Ceremonies started at 9.30am and finished about 1.30pm. We were all impressed by the process. There was a wonderful atmosphere of goodwill and friendship. Vera & I loved being part of this memorable event in Kurt's life. Kurt will do an electical apprenticeship. He has turned into a fine young man, and we wish him well in the future. |
CALOUNDRA, SUNSHINE COAST
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| We stayed for 3 nights at the Pelican Waters Golf Resort near Caloundra, while we looked at retirement options on the Sunshine Coast. |
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| My sister Aniko introduced us to Dawn who recently moved from Canberra to Palm Lakes Caloundra Cay lifestyle village. |
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| We liked the look & feel of House #261 at Caloundra Cay. Who knows, we may end up here! |
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| Our friend Michael came to Caloundra with us - it was good to get a second opinion from someone who knows Queensland well. |
BRISBANE (again)
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| Saying goodbye to Tom and Jen in Brisbane as we head south for Canberra again. It's always fun staying with them and the boys. They lead busy, active lives but always have time for family and friends. |
NAMBUCCA HEADS, NSW
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| We stayed with Bob & Siri in Nambucca. Actually, we saw them in Bangkok about 6 weeks ago. |
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| Vera on the V-Wall at Nambucca. |
SYDNEY (again)
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| We had a night in Sydney. Here is Caroline with friend Piper who is back from a successful audition as a dancer at the Crazy Horse in Paris. |
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| Andrew, getting ready to go out. |
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| Jay having a nap after a busy day. |
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| Caroline and Eddie. |
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My U3A Australian History group organised a day-excursion to Cooma, the town were I grew up. We visited the Railway Museum, had lunch at the Cooma Hotel, and then toured the Correctional Services Museum at Cooma Jail. It was an interesting day.
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| The Museum at Cooma Railway Station. The rail link from Queanbeyan to Cooma opened in 1889 and closed in 1988. Dad got a clerical job on the Snowy Scheme, and we arrived here in September 1954, an overnight train ride from Sydney (410km). I had just turned 8, my sister Angie was almost 7, and my brother Andy was 5. Aniko was born in Cooma Hospital in January 1955. I can only imagine what my mother thought of this out-of-the-way small town. After finishing at Monaro High School in 1963, I moved to Canberra (the nearest city) for work and study. My siblings followed, and finally my mother and father moved from Cooma to Canberra in 1974 when the building stage of the Snowy Scheme finished. Cooma then went into decline for some years, but has had a revival with the ambitious Snowy 2.0 project. |
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| The platform at Cooma Railway Station. |
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| Introductory talk by a guide at Cooma Railway Museum. |
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| We had lunch in the Cooma Hotel, on Vale Street, opposite the Post Office. It was built in 1862; has been extensively renovated with big new additions at the back. |
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| Lunch at the Cooma Hotel. |
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| A picture of the main entrance of Cooma Jail. It opened in 1873 with 31 cells. Name changed to Cooma Correctional Centre in 2001. It can accommodate 160 prisoners. It is a low-to-medium security institution. |
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| After lunch we visited the Correctional Services Museum at Cooma Jail. |
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| Our guides at the Museum. One was a full time staff member, the other guide was an inmate! |
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Back home in CANBERRA
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| Last night we participated in a charity trvia night with Heath & daughter Fiona and her friend Bella, Philip, and Robin and Tieke. We were going OK, but did poorly on the final geography questions and finished in 9th place (out of 10 teams). |
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| The charity trivia night at the Canberra Irish Club. |
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| The Guys & Dolls group. A guide showed us around the gardens of Govt House. |
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| Government House, the official residence of the Governor General (who is the representative of the British monarch). Current GG is retired general David Hurley. |
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| Part of the extensive gardens surrounding Govt House. |
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| Canberra has experienced significant rainfall in the last 3 days. Fortunately the rain stopped as we started our tour of the gardens of Govt House. We actually saw some blue sky on the cruise back to the Yacht Club. |
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| The price of fuel at Costco Canberra this week. It is the first time in months that diesel has been less than $2 per litre. Alleluia!!! |
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News items which caught my eye in November 2023.
($ are US
dollars unless otherwise shown)
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Global
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Israel – Hamas conflict in Gaza (started 7
October when Hamas fighters killed 1,200 in Israel and kidnapped 220) dominated
world media during November. Growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza: lack of
water, food, power, shelter, medicine. An estimated 14,000+ Palestinians have
died (many children). Growing calls for a ceasefire (including by Pres Macron
and others); large
pro-Palestine rallies in many cities, also pro-Israel rallies. Talks sponsored
by Qatar resulted in a 4 day ‘pause’ and hostage exchanges; pause was
extended by 2 days. Kenya: King Charles visited Kenya; regretted
British ‘mistakes’ during the colonial era. Indonesia: Jakarta to Bandung high speed
train commenced operations. Nepal: an earthquake killed 150+ Denmark: Maersk cut 10,000 jobs due to
falling demand for shipping services. UK: Lord David Cameron appointed Foreign
Minister. Inflation 4.6%, lowest in 2 years. Lloyds of London will provide
$70M to the African Development Bank for regions affected by the
transatlantic slave trade from which it benefited. Avon, now HQ in London,
will open physical stores in UK, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa. UK Govt
released its “Advanced Manufacturing Plan” which pledges over $6B over 5
years to support ‘strategic manufacturing’(especially Electric Vehicles and
aerospace). Germany: GDP shrank by 0.1% in Q3. Cricket World Cup (50 overs ODI):
Australia beat India to win its 6th Championship. India dismissed
for 240; Travis Head scored 137. Argentina: Libertarian Javier Milei 56%
beat Leftist Sergio Massa 44% for Presidency (4 year term). VP Victoria
Villarreal. Inauguration 10 December. Brazil: hottest ever temperature 44.8C recorded in
Aracuai, Minas Gerais. Holland: anti-Islam, anti-immigration
Freedom Party (PVV) won 37 of 150 seats. Leader Geert Wilders will try to
form a coalition govt. Oher major parties: Joint Labour/Greens won 25 seats,
Conservative (VVP) won 24 seats. F1: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Abu Dhabi
Grand Prix, his 19th win this year. India: 41 construction workers trapped in a
collapsed tunnel for 17 days were rescued. Tennis: Italy beat Australia to win the Davis Cup,
their first win since 1976. Finland: closed land crossings on border
with Russia after 900 asylum seekers entered during November. UAE: COP28 climate summit opened in Dubai.
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Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Media on the war in Ukraine was
replaced in the headlines by the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Increasing concern in Ukraine of ‘war
weariness’ in Western allies. Ukraine’s counter-offensive this
summer made minor territorial gains.
The fighting is expected to slow down with the approach of winter. Russia fired 75 drones at Kyiv,
only one of which was not intercepted by its air defence system; 5 people
reported injured.
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USA
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Presidents Biden & Xi met on
the sidelines of the APEC
Leaders Meeting in San Fran. Agreed to cooperate to fight CC (eg limiting
methane and tripling renewables); to fight Fentanyl trafficking; and renew
military communications. GOP candidate for 2024
Presidential election held 3rd debate, in Miami. Trump boycotted
again. The NYT/Siena College poll found
Trump ahead of Biden in 5 (of 6) Battleground States likely to decide the
2024 election. Ivanka Trump testified in the NYC
civil fraud trial in which her father and brothers are accused of inflating
the value of company assets. At last minute House voted 336-95
then Senate 87-11 to pass a stop-gap spending bill which postponed a govt
shut-down for about 2 months. WeWork filed for bankruptcy; it
was valued at $47B in 2019. Ohio voted to include abortion
rights in the State Constitution. Arron James (46) got a complete eye
transplant, world first. USA inflation 3.2% in 12 months to
October 2023 (energy down, housing up). US Postal Service lost $6.5B in
2022-3. Toyota in the US is going all-hybrid. On
his 81st birthday President Biden pardoned 2 turkeys for
Thanksgiving. George Santos will not seek
re-election following a critical report by the House Ethics Committee. Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI
(ChatGPT) was forced out, joined Microsoft, but then returned to Open AI. Elon Musk visited Israel to
counter accusations of anti-semitism on X (former Twitter). Funeral of Rosalynn Carter (96) in
Atlanta attended by Jimmy Carter (99) and Joe & Jill Biden. Also in
attendance Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Bill & Hillary
Clinton. Henry Kissinger died aged 100; what a remarkable career.
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Australia |
PM Albanese visited Shanghai and
Beijing in China; first Australian PM to visit China since 2016. It was also
the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s visit to China. He met
with President Xi Jin Ping and Premier Li Qiang. PM Albanese attended the South
Pacific Leaders Forum in the Cook Islands. He signed an agreement with
Tuvalu to provide special visas for those affected by rising sea levels. Erin Patterson (49) was arrested
for “The Mushroom Murders” where 3 relatives died. The Melbourne Cup won by Without a
Fight ridden by Mark Zahra. Reserve Bank raised interest rates
by 0.25% to 4.35%; 13th hike since May 2022. Inflation still too high at
5.4% in Sept, but welcome fall to 4.9% in 12 months to October. Estimated 30% of mortgage holders are struggling with repayments. The High Court declared indefinite
detention of asylum seekers is unlawful, overturning a 20 year precedent. Subsequently, about 90 released from detention into the community. The annual Corporate Transparency
report by the Australian Taxation Office said that 31% of large companies
(turnover of A$100M+) paid no tax in the last financial year. Of the
2,713 large coys, 1,496 are foreign-owned, 500 are Aust public companies and
627 are Aust private companies. A cyber attack affected DP Ports
operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. This company handles
about 40% of Australia’s sea-borne goods. Gareth Morgan, captain of a Gold
Coast cricket team, took 6 wickets in 6 balls (4 caught, 2 bowled) to win the game. The High Court overturned
Victoria’s electric vehicle road user charge. Transport Minister Catherine King
announced that future infrastructure projects will be funded 50/50% with the
States (no longer 80/20). Latest Newspoll (1,216 voters
interviewed 20-24 Nov) found Labor & Coalition 50/50% on two-party
preferred basis. Albanese was preferred PM over Dutton 46% - 35%. To protect youth, a new law to stop the importation,
sale and advertising of single use, disposable, flavoured vapes will come into force on 1 January 2024.
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China |
A China Mobile and Huawei consortium launched
the world’s fastest internet 1.2 terabits per sec. China imported 314,000 t of barley
from Australia in October, after a freeze of 3 years.
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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 - tracking Covid-19's impact on trade" (former title 'Trade Matters').
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| My sister Angie is presently visiting Nepal as part of a Rotary Australia group; Rotary has many projects to alleviate poverty in Nepal. |
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| My brother Andy hiking in Rarotonga, Cook Islands where he lives. |
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Vera & I decided to have a serious look at the pros and cons of re-locating to Queensland. Our main motivations: to be closer to Jen & Tom (who live in Brisbane), and enjoy a better climate. We were away from Canberra 3 - 26 November; Kurt's graduation from High School was scheduled for 17 November, so we built our itinerary around that date.
Our search foucussed on Retirement Villages and Over 55s Lifestyle (Land-Lease) Villages on the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast. We may have found something suitable in Caloundra. Watch this space....
That's it for this post. Can't believe Xmas is less than 4 weeks away. Where has this year gone????
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling!
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Thursday 30 November 2023.
