Gentlefolk,
This post describes some of the activities in which we were involved in November 2018.
The most significant international event in November was the US Mid-Term Election held on 6 November. Mixed results: the Republican Party retained control of the Senate (the final result looks like Rep 53, Dem 47), while the Democratic Party won a majority in the House of Representatives with a likely gain of 40 seats.
The 'turn-out rate' in the Mid-Terms was 49%, the highest in a century - I still can't get my head around the fact that less than half of eligible voters exercise their fundamental democratic right to vote. The result shows a polarised US electorate; will the House be able to restrain wily President Trump?
On 5 November President Trump imposed full economic sanctions on Iran; I feel for ordinary Iranians - they are already struggling, and this will make their lives even harder. If only he put half as much effort into solving Yemen, or Syria, or Palestine, or ...
Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall during the meeting between Trump and Xi in Buenos Aires this weekend?
Here are photos of some of the activities in which we were engaged during November.
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| Visit to Canberra by old friends Karen and Lew who live in Adelaide. |
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| I attended a U3A class on Syria and Jordan by Ross Howard (pictured). Ross has traveled widely particularly in the Middle East, written several books, and is a great communicator. His talks are always very well attended. I have really enjoyed attending U3A courses this year - it is a great organisation - brain-food! |
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| Some of my fellow trainee Volunteer Guides at the Museum of Australian Democracy (www.moadoph.gov.au) which is housed in Old Parliament House in Canberra. From left: Adrian, Leonie, Sarah, Brian (standing - the Coordinator of the Course), Alan, Alma, Kay, Cathie, and Lee (not in the photo were Tim, Peter and Caitlan). The course comprises six training sessions (3 Wednesday nights and 3 full Saturdays) and at the end, hopefully, we will qualify to act as Volunteer Guides. |
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| As part of my training to be a guide at MoAD I followed an experienced guide, Geoff, when he took a group around Old Parliament House (the New Parliament House was opened in 1988, and the Old Parliament House has now become a museum). Here we are in the Prime Minister's Office. I had my first 'trial run' last week and didn't do too well - nervous - need more practice. |
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| There were many events to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I in the weeks leading up to Armistice Day (in contrast to the relatively subdued commemorations in Europe). In front of Parliament House there was a 'carpet' comprising 250,000 cloth poppies made by many volunteers around Australia (the poppy has come to symbolise WW1). Over 60,000 Australians died in WW1, and about 40,000 in WW2. |
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| A placard in front of Parliament House. |
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I attended a Panel Discussion on "1918: A Different Life" which discussed how Australians, both civilian and military, rebuilt their lives after war..
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The moderator was Dr Laura Cook from the National Archives of Australia who described the lives of four people involved in WW1; other panelists included Dr Ian Hodges (who studied Returned Servicemen in the Wagga region), Curtis McGrath (who lost his legs in a blast in Afghanistan), and Lisa Quok who described life with an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD. War has such a devastating effect not only on soldiers, but also on civilians; so many lives ruined.
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| An interesting talk on Enemy Internment in Australia during WW1. About 7,000 men were interned in prison camps around Australia; The biggest, and one of the harshest, was at Holsworthy near Sydney; there was even a camp in Canberra called 'Molonglo'. Most internees were of German ancestry (others Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish) of which about 700 were actually born in Australia of German parents. They lost businesses and property (such as farms). Almost all were deported to Germany at the end of WW1. One of the most famous was Edmund Resch, who founded one of Australia's biggest breweries. |
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| We attended a concert to commemorate an International Womens Peace Congress held in The Hague in 1915. Women from 12 countries attended, including USA, UK, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Governments disapproved (the British Govt tried to stop the British delegation from attending) and the participants were branded as unpatriotic, but the Congress went ahead; brave women. |
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| Part of the choir to commemorate Peace efforts by women in WW1. |
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| To commemorate the end of WW1, even the Old Bus Depot Markets, held every Sunday near us in Kingston, had a bugler play The Last Post at 11am (11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - everyone stood to attention), followed by a special band performance as shown above. |
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| We called on John Holmes who was the Senior Trade Commissioner when I worked at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok way back in 1973-74. He is 94 and living in Goodwin Retirement Village, Monash ACT (his wife, Elise, a wonderful lady died 5 years ago), John was a marvellous boss and very good to Vera and me when we were posted in Bangkok as newly-weds; it was great to see him again and to reminisce over old times. John loved classical music and became a world authority on Conductors. |
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| The Australia China Friendship Society conducts an annual "Panda Competition" for schoolchildren in Canberra. This year the theme was "Chinese Traditional Musical Instruments". Many excellent entries. The presentation ceremony was held at the Chinese Embassy. The photo shows Mr Yang Zhi, Cultural Counsellor, with one of the school groups. The Embassy graciously put on lunch for everyone afterwards. |
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| A photo of some of the students who attended the Presentation Ceremony. Some teachers and parents also attended; Canberra is such a multi-cultural society. It was a very nice event, which must have made a great impression on the kids. |
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| I went to a number of book launches during November - always interesting to hear authors talk about their new books. Professor Reid is an expert on Asian History and has written several learned books; this was his first attempt at writing fiction. |
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| Here author Professor Tony Reid is interviewed by Dr Jennifer Lindsay. She was the Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in the late 1980s when I was in the Trade Office. |
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| Well known journalist Kerry O'Brien has written an autobiography which was launched at Llewellyn Hall. A big crowd of over 700 attended. Kerry was interviewed by Karen Middleton. |
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| British author Minette Walters signing books. She is known for her psychological thrillers but her last two books are historical novels set in 13th Century Britain, 'The Last Hour' and 'In the turn of Midnight'. |
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| The grandson of my cousin in Germany, Moritz m. von Saalfeld, stayed with us enroute from Brisbane to Melbourne. He is in Australia on a one year Working Holiday visa; has spent 6 months in Brisbane and now has lined up a job in Melbourne. He has fallen in love with the Aussie lifestyle. |
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| Vera started a course of chemotherapy. She will have four treatments, 3 weeks apart. We were warned of possible side-effects, but apart from tiredness she has been pretty good so far. We are so lucky - the nurses and doctors here are excellent. |
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| An interesting talk at the Australian Institute of International Affairs by ex-Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer AO. The AIIA organises talks by prominent visitors or local experts every two weeks or so, often very interesting. |
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| The President of AIIA Canberra, Heath McMichael, presented Mr Farmer with a special award for his services. |
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| The National Library of Australia has mounted a small exhibition featuring Captain James Cook (27 Oct 1728 - 14 Feb 1779). The son of a farm labourer, he became fascinated by the sea; learnt the ropes in the coastal coal trade, then joined the Royal Navy. He is best known for leading three amazing voyages of discovery around the Pacific Ocean; on the first of these voyages he discovered the east coast of Australia and claimed it for the British crown. On the third voyage he discovered Hawaii, where he was eventually killed in an altercation with locals. A truly remarkable man. |
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| The exhibition features a portrait of Captain James Cook. The NLA often hosts interesting exhibitions, book launches, and talks by experts in various fields. We live a few minutes away which makes it convenient to attend many of these events. |
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From a personal perspective the biggest event this month was that Vera started chemotherapy, following a lumpectomy in August, and then further surgery in September and October. She will have four chemo treatments, each three weeks apart. Chemo affects her white cell count, which lowers her resistance to infection; we have been advised to avoid crowds and crowded places, and especially children as they are often sick.
Vera's first chemo treatment was on 20 November 2018 and so far she has had minimal side effects, apart from tiredness. Very fortunate - no doubt her fitness helped - let's hope it continues for the rest of the course.
We were looking forward to having Christmas in Brisbane with Jen & family and joined by Andrew & family; but we have had to abandon those plans. We had also booked to visit my brother in the Cook Islands for his 70th birthday (on 2 January 2019) but have postponed that trip until later in the year.
We have both been blessed with good health in our lives so far, so Vera's breast cancer came as a shock (we didn't realise how widespread this scourge is amongst women, and also some men). The Specialists are confident that they got Vera's early and before it spread. Let's hope so. Now the chemo treatment will take priority over the next 3 months; Vera's health is our first concern, all else comes a distant second.
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The Victorian State elections were held last Saturday; the Labor Govt led by Premier Daniel Andrews was returned with an unexpectedly big swing. It looks as if Fiona Patten, leader of the Reason Party (mentioned in my last blog post) was unsuccessful; pity - she was a character.
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Must mention the achievement by NASA to land the InSight spacecraft on Mars. It travelled 301 million miles in 7 months and landed perfectly. Amazing engineering.
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That's all for this post.
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera and Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
30 November 2018
