Post #163 20 January 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post covers the period 1 - 20 January 2018.

Vera and I will shortly be heading up to Brisbane to see Jen, Tom and the boys.  My next post will describe that trip.

Here are some photos of activities/events in the last 3 weeks:

Reno and Heath McMichael organised a picnic on the evening of New Years Day.  We all brought food and drinks, and spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the Chinese Garden on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin (named after the American architect who drew up the original design of Canberra).  It was a beautiful evening, mild and clear. A nice way to start 2018.

From left: Fiona, Reno, Tieke and Vera.

A Chinese Gate is the focal point of the Chinese Garden.

Vera and I in front of a bronze "Flying Horse", a common statue in China.

This man was feeding sea gulls by Lake Burley Griffin - he had a large and attentive audience!

I attended the funeral of Jack Smith, who died aged just over 100 years.  I met him when I joined the old Department of Trade way back in 1971; Jack was a bit of a legend - a trade policy expert who had served in a number of overseas posts. Actually, I only met Jack a couple of times, but knew his son John Smith.

. Inside Saint Christopher's Cathedral, Manuka, where the funeral service took place; photo shows Jack Smith's coffin and an award he received from the Vatican.  His son, John Smith, was also in the Department of Trade and we became friends; while I knew Jack mainly through his reputation, I attended the funeral to show support for John..

The Roberts family spent two days with us.  They had Xmas with Tom's relatives in Melbourne, and were heading back up to Brisbane.  We had dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Sammys.  From left: Nate, Sid, Tom, Kurt, me, Vera, and Jennifer.

Breakfast on our balcony. 

Watching TV in our living room. We checked out the blog they kept when they spent 5 months travelling around Australia (robertstour2014.wordpress.com) - it was fun re-living that amazing adventure with them. The weather was very hot during their visit - max 35C on the first day, and 37C on the second - so we didn't do too much.

Vera saying goodbye to the Roberts family when they left Canberra; they have a big 4 wheel drive and a camper-trailer.  Love camping.  They made good time through Sydney and decided to drive straight through to Brisbane - took them 14 hours to do the 1,300km. Tom did most of the driving, while Jen did some; a big big day.

Birthday celebration for my sister Aniko and my niece Britt. From left: Aniko, me, Davide, Sasha, Britt, Adrienne, Vera, and Peter.  The kids were in the playground.

The group, with kids.

Vera and I went to an exhibition of fashions during World War 1 (1914-8).  It was a horrible horrible war - Gallipoli was bad enough, but a picnic compared to the trench warfare in France and Belgium (freezing winters, mud and slush, dead bodies, continuous bombardment, gas, machine guns decimated frontal assaults).  I've just read a book "Hell's Bells and Mademoiselles" by Joe Maxwell VC, DCM, one of Australia's most decorated soldiers.  He wrote in  1932 "with hindsight it was such a futile, awful war ; so much suffering, for what?"

A nurse's uniform during WW1, one of the many uniforms and dresses on display. One doesn't usually think of women in relation to war, but their service (in many fields) was absolutely essential to the war effort. 

The exhibition featured many panels commemorating daring and resourceful Australian and New Zealand women who contributed to the war effort in WW1.  This panel described the life of Ettie Rout. She introduced sex education for the troops who were in great danger of venereal disease which was rampant; her efforts were finally appreciated by the military, but she was condemned as immoral when she returned to conservative New Zealand. She ended up taking her own life during a visit to the Cook Islands. A remarkable woman, ahead of her time.

A tennis tournament was held in Canberra from 8 - 13 January 2018; men's singles and doubles; a lead-in to the Aussie Open in Melbourne which starts next Monday. We watched a singles game on Wednesday, and the final of the doubles on Friday evening. 

The final of the Men's Singles was played on Saturday morning; Andreas Seppi (Italian) beat Marton Fucsovics (Hungarian) in two hours and 16 minutes. Good game, high standard. Seppi was just a bit more composed and handled the blustery conditions better.  Both players are in the Australian Open and flew down to Melbourne after the game.

The two finalists with the officials and ball boys & girls. They are all volunteers - the tournament couldn't run without them.

The winner, Andreas Seppi on the left with runner-up Marton Fucsovics on the right. I heard from my friend (and keen tennis player) Denes Hunkar that Marton is #1 in Hungary. He is a tall, strongly-built, handsome lad (I kept thinking he would have made a great Hussar, with flowing moustache and fancy uniform and sword!).

The ACT Government has 3 houses to show Canberra's early development; one is Calthorpe's House on Mugga Way, Red Hill (built 1927).  We've been meaning to visit, and finally did so on Sunday 14 January. Very interesting to see furniture and fittings which were in vogue almost 100 years ago.

The National Library of Australia has an extensive Chinese collection, including many propaganda posters from the Mao era 15 of which are currently on special display.  On 16 January the Australia China Friendship Society arranged a special tour of the poster exhibition.  

Our tour guide was Zheng Bing who works for the NLA. She explained that posters were a common way for the PRC government (Communist Party of China) to motivate the masses.  Socialist realism - happy, strong workers and peasants leading the way to the utopian socialism.  Mao was such a dominant figure in China, especially during the Cultural Revolution period (1966-76); no one was willing to question his ideas for fear of retribution.

Children writing criticisms of Lin Biao and Confucius. Lin Biao had been Mao's right hand man but they fell out and he died in a plane crash. He was then regarded as an enemy of the people.  Apparently Lin Biao admired Confucius so Confucian ideas were also criticised (which was in line with Mao's anti-traditionalism). The kids all look healthy and happy, but reality was probably very different.

A poster of Mao in a wheat field, exhorting farmers to work harder and expand production.  Mao collectivised agriculture in the mid-1950s but his policies had the opposite effect resulting in a disastrous famine (some commentators say 30 million or more died from hunger in 1960-61).

A poster to encourage raising of pigs.  Mao loved pork, and pork is still the most popular meat in China. The village and market depicted in the poster look rather ideal, don't they?

A girl inspired by writer Lu Xun (in background).  Lu Xun was a strong critic of feudalism and traditionalism, and one of Mao's favorite authors.

Dinner with friends at our favorite restaurant, Sammys Chinese Kitchen. From left: Greg Mills, me, Vera, Shana, Mariati, and Marco.

Music at the National Portrait Gallery last night.  

I want to show the Xmas card sent by Isabel and Roger Banville of Gatineau/Ottawa, Canada.   Every year Roger takes a "winter scene" and makes it into their Xmas card.  He is a talented photographer - this reproduction doesn't really do it justice.

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That's it for this post.

My next post will describe our trip up to Brisbane, and back.

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In early January the Dow Jones Index broke through 25,000.  Incredible - can it last?  In mid-January Apple announced that it would repatriate about a quarter of a trillion dollars to the States, giving the stock market another boost.

The recreational use of marijuana was legalised in California, America's largest State (by population).

Tomorrow will be the first anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.  What a roller-coaster year it has been.  He is an enigma.  The Washington Post calculated that President Trump made 2,000 false or misleading statements during his first year in office - incredible - the media calls him out but he doesn't seem to care - calls his views 'alternative facts' - and just continues on his merry way.

China's GDP/economy grew a strong 6.9% in 2017. China released its foreign trade statistics for 2017, showing a goods surplus of US$275 billion with the USA; Trump didn't react - he still needs China to handle North Korea - but I don't think we've heard the last of this.

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Some notable Aussies who passed away in 2017 included:

Les Murray (71). His family came from Hungary in 1956; Les became the face/voice of football/soccer in Australia.
Betty Cuthbert (79). She won 4 Olympic gold medals in sprinting.
Mark Colvin (65). TV and radio journalist with distinct voice; he got sick covering events in Africa.
John Clarke (68). Wonderful satirist and humorist; took the mickey out of everyone!

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera and Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Saturday, 20 January 2018

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