Gentlefolk,
This post describes some of our activities during the month of January 2022.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during January 2022.
Books & movies.
Some news items which caught my eye in January.
International Trade.
Puns (from friend John Milne).
Covid-19 pandemic.
Photos of our main activities during January 2022.
We spent three weeks at the South Coast of NSW, near Batemans Bay, about 2 hours drive from Canberra. Great to spend quality time with Jennifer & Tom (Kurt 16, Nate 14, Sid 12) and Caroline and Andrew (Eddie 7, Jay-Jay 4).
Just like in major cities, property prices have shot up in regional areas - why are holiday houses now selling for $1m+???
Two other developments of note: Sammy's Kitchen in Civic closed its doors - our favourite Chinese restaurant - we had many enjoyable meals there. Dixon Advisory, founded by Daryl Dixon in 1985, went into receivership - it was the "go-to" consultancy for advice on superannuation matters for many years - sorry to see a Canberra icon go under..
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| We watched New Year's Eve fireworks from the Kingston Foreshore. Eddie and Jay were thrilled - they had not really seen a big fireworks display before. |
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| Andrew and Eddie on one of the electric scooters. They have become popular in Canberra. |
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| On 2 January 2022 we all went to the coast. Andrew and Caroline rented a house on Annette's Parade, Mossy Point for a week. It was right on the headland, with wonderful views across the sea to Tomakin. Vera and I then rented a place on Harbour Drive, Broulee, for another 2 weeks. |
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| The extended family came for dinner one night. From left: Tom, Marty, Simone, Jen, and Caz. |
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| From left: dog at back, Francesca, Nate, Eddie, Kurt, Sid, and Isaac. |
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| "Cricket with a view" in front of the house. Remarkably, the boys didn't lose a ball over the cliff. |
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| Paddle-boarding on Candolagan Creek, about 250 metres from the house Andrew rented. You can see North Broulee beach across the other side of the creek. Safe for swimming, a good place for kids. |
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| Watching the paddle-boarding, from left: Marty, Tom, Carso, and Jen. |
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| Vera near the boat ramp at Mossy Point. Close to our house, and good coffee. |
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| The local Mossy Point community holds a Fun Run every Wednesday afternoon. Eddie did the 2km run, while Andrew & Caz did the 5km run (and again the following week). |
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| Our new house at Harbour Drive, Broulee. Aniko is taking a photo of Angie and Vera. |
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| This is the kitchen - Dining area. It was a lovely house, very well appointed, 4 bedrooms, three bathrooms, modern, swimming pool. We rented the house for 2 weeks (6 - 20 January) and thoroughly enjoyed staying there. It was close to Barbara, a 5 minute walk to North Broulee Beach and 10 minutes to South Broulee Beach (and Shark Bay). The weather was variable, but we enjoyed walking on the beach, swimming, reading, and playing golf. |
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| Lunch of fish & chips at Tuross Boatshed Cafe. From left: Caz, Eddie (obscured), Andrew, Niniek, Paul, Angie, Aniko, Vera. |
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| Last dinner at Barbara's place - Tom, Jen & boys head back to Brisbane tomorrow, |
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| Cousins: Eddie, Kurt, Nate, Jay, and Sid. |
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| Tom, Jen and boys leaving Broulee for the long drive back to Brisbane. They spent two nights with friends near Port Macquarie. |
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| Eddie, Jay and Andrew waving goodbye to the Roberts from our front verandah. |
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Caroline and Eddie had a surfing lesson; they both picked it up pretty quickly.
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| Paul and I played golf at the Tomakin Par 3, Catalina Country Club in Batemans Bay (beautiful course!), and at Moruya Golf Club. There were quite a few kangaroos on the Catalina course. Both of us were hitting the ball pretty well; we really enjoyed the golf. |
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| Catalina also has some HUGE bunkers! |
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| Paul teeing off on the Second Hole at Moruya - there was a bit of water on the course from recent rain, but generally the fairways and greens were in great condition. Most enjoyable. |
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| We visite Mogo Zoo - good selection of animals. My favourites were the Gibbons (monkeys) so graceful. Everyone loves meerkats! |
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Feeding deer. was a visitor favourite.  Giraffes, always popular. |
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The Miltons left, followed by Andew, Caroline and kids. Other friends arrived from Sydney, from left: Charles Yu Zhi Chao (he was in one of my classes in Qingdao, now lives and works in Sydney), Vera, Howard Eakins (we met in Jakarta way back in 1972), David Eakins, and Hannah Zhang Jing Han (Charles' partner). Bernie Ryan rescued Howard and David during a sudden downpour at Catalina. |
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Charles enjoyed his surfing lesson.  |
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Enroute to Canberra we popped in to the Eurobodalla Botanical Gardens. We last saw them 18 months ago, shortly after the big fires which devastated the Botanic Gardens. What a difference now! The vegetation is growing back in abundance,
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| Back in Canberra. We had a picnic lunch with Kaye and Patrick O'Hara. Pat and I met in 1964 when we did Economics at the ANU. He is a great guy. |
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| We took down our Xmas Tree; all done for another year. |
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| Gifts from Alex & Engara in Rarotonga. Thank you! |
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| Their three beautiful kids in Rarotonga: Hina, Etu, and Waza. |
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| Would you believe that we went to the German Club on Australia Day (26 January)? The Club had music and stalls. This is Anton Wurzer (in Lederhosen) entertaining the crowd with his piano-accordion. He told us that he accompanied his father in this hall in 1969! |
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| An African band at the German Club. |
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| There was even a Chinese Lion Dance group. Australia really is multicultural! |
Movie
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| This film is about Richard Williams and his two daughters Venus and Serena. The film covers the period when Venus was aged 10 to 14 (Serena is about 18 months younger). Richard discovered tennis in 1980 and quickly decided that tennis was the family's route to fame and fortune. He introduced the kids to tennis from the age of 4. In the film Richard thought that he had taken them as far as he could, and he wanted to get them professional training which he managed to do, first in Los Angeles and later at a special tennis Academy in Florida. Venus joined the pro circuit in 1995 aged 14, and Serena joined her a year later. Richard's vision was fulfilled when they became World Champions and super-rich. An amazing story! |
Books - some light holiday reading.
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| A truly lovely success story: in 1980 the family arrived in Sydney; two kids, Anh 3, and Khoa 2. They fled Vietnam in a boat, lucky to survive, had nothing. After school Anh studied law at university; he graduated, but decided to try comedy (and later, art) instead. He is now a successful artist, married with three kids. A wonderful story of struggle, resilience, and following your heart. |
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| A bit of light reading. Laurie Watkinson is a lawyer, smart. Her life falls apart when her long-time partner Dan suddenly leaves. Later she falls for the company casanova, but it turns out that he is ready to settle down and they lived happily ever after .... |
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| This book caused a stir when it came out a decade ago, so I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. WOW! Apparently it's called 'female porn'. |
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| 21 year old Anastasia Steele hasn't had time for a boyfriend - college life was hectic with study and work - just as she graduates she meets 28 year old Christian Grey, CEO of a major company. There is a mutual spark, and they start a relationship. But Christian is into S & M, weird stuff, and Ana slowly enters into this crazy new world. I don't know how they made a movie because the book is 90% about Ana and her awakening sexuality, very little else happens, there is no real plot, it's just one orgasam after another and another and.... |
...
News items which caught my eye in January
2022.
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Global and others |
Black Actor Sidney Portier died
aged 94. Italy made vaccination mandatory
for everyone over 50. Quebec will introduce special levy
on unvaxxed, to cover medical costs. Violent anti-govt demonstrations
in Kazakhstan following increases in fuel prices. Cristano Ronaldo has 389 million
followers on Instagram; Kylie Jenner has just passed 300M. “Baby Shark” is first YouTube
video to record more than 10 billion views. Prince Andrew lost his royal
titles (court case in US going ahead). Australian Open Tennis Tournament
held in Melbourne. Canada blocked entry of
unvaccinated American truck drivers; anti-mandate demonstrations in Ottawa. British golfer Neill Watts has hit
eleven holes-in-one in the last six months. Increasing tension over Russian
military build-up on Ukraine border. Julian Assange allowed to appeal
his extradition to the USA. UK Police will investigate
lock-down parties held at 10 Downing Street. The IMF estimate world GDP growth
4.4% in 2022, with inflation 3.9%. First anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar.
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USA
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First anniversary of the January 6
invasion of the Capitol in DC. First anniversary of Biden /
Harris inauguration on 20 January 2021; President Biden’s approval ratings
have fallen to 42%. According to polls, 42% of
Americans believe that violent action against the Govt is sometimes justified;
62% believe that future Presidential Elections may see violence. The three killers of young black
jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia got life sentences. In 2021 US GDP growth was estimated
at +5.7% (best since 1984, and a big jump from -3.4% in 2020 when Covid hit);
US inflation 7% in 2021. According to Bloomberg the US trade deficit in
December was $101 billion. US Supreme Court questioned Govt regulation
mandating vaccines or regular tests for companies with over 100 employees; but
agreed that health care workers can be mandated. US Supreme Court Justice Stephen
Breyer, 83, announced his retirement to take place mid-year. He was appointed
by Clinton in 1994 and is considered a liberal. Pres Biden said that he will
nominate an African-American woman. David Bennett, 57, of Baltimore
got a transplant of a pig’s heart. Intel announced a new $20B
chip-making plant in Ohio. After 22 seasons in the NFL (20 with NE Patriots and 2 with Tampa), Quaterback Tom Brady, 44, was expected to announce his retirement. He has won 7 Super Bowl championships, 5 times Super Bowl MVP, 3 times NFL MVP. A remarkable career. US Govt banned China Unicom from trading in the USA (follows bans of China Mobile in 2019 and China Telecom in 2021). Blizzards brought deep snow along the East Coast. A bridge in Pittsburg (built in 1970) collapsed focussing attention on President Biden's plan to update ageing infrastructure (apparently there are about 45,000 bridges in poor condition in the USA). |
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Australia |
Covid: following relaxation in
most States in December, the number of Covid cases increased rapidly in
January. Testing for PCR tests were overwhelmed so Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT tests) became
acceptable but RAT kits were difficult to find. Treasurer Josh Freydenberg
tested positive. Small group of Demonstrators
(pro-indigenous and anti-vaxxers) set fire to the front doors of Old
Parliament House. Extensive damage. Several arrested. Drama over several days: Novak Djokovic, World #1 tennis
player here to play in the Aust Open, was finally deported due to his unvaxxed
status. Heatwave in Western Australia (50.7C in Onslow); bushfires. Australia’s unemployment rate was
4.2% in December, lowest in 13 years. Median house price in Sydney passed A$1.6 million. In view of growing Covid cases in
Eastern States, Western Australia has postponed its opening (was going to
happen on 5 February). Two years since the first Covid
person was detected in Australia on 25 January 2020. The Australian Govt paid $20M to indigenous artist Harold Thomas to secure the copyright for the design of the Aboriginal
Flag. 26 January Aust Day: Aussie of the
Year: Dylan Alcott (champion disabled athlete); Senior Aussie: Val Dempsey
(50 years volunteer with St Johns Ambulance); Young Aussie: Dr Daniel Nour
(medical support for disadvantaged); Local Hero: Shanna Whan (alcohol
education).
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China
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Xian, a city of 13 million, was
locked down due to an outbreak of Covid. China’s trade surplus in 2021 was
$676 billion (preliminary estimate). China’s population at the end of
2021 was estimated at 1.413 billion; there were 10.8 million new births in
2021 (down 12% from 2020). China introduced a “One Child” policy in 1980,
increased to “Two Children” in 2015, and to ”Three Children” in 2021. But
birth rate is still low. China’s GDP grew by an estimated
8.1% in 2021, and the forecast for 2022 is about 4.5%. The Central Bank
(PBOC) cut interest rates.
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Australian Open Tennis Championship, Melbourne
There were great celebrations when Ashleigh Barty beat American Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 to win the Women's Singles; it was Ash's 3rd Grand Slam title and first Aussie female winner in 44 years.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis beat Ebden and Purcell to win an all-Australian Mens Doubles.
35 year old Rafa Nadal beat 25 year old Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to win the Men's Singles title. The match went for 5 hours and 24 engrossing minutes. It was an incredible match, one of the best ever, with both men playing inspired tennis. I did not think that Rafa could come back after losing the first two sets, but he did. Miracles happen!
This win gave Nadal 21 Grand Slam majors, one more than Federer (20) and Djokovic (20).
The following table shows the key match statistics - as the final score indicates it was very even.
Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev
Australian
Open, Melbourne, played 30 January 2022.
Key Match
Statistics
Source: www.ausopen.com
(accessed 31 January 2022)
|
Key Stats |
Nadal |
Medvedev |
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Aces |
3 |
23 |
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Double faults |
5 |
5 |
|
1st
serve in |
62% |
69% |
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Win 1st
serve |
67% |
71% |
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Win 2nd
serve |
47% |
41% |
|
Break points
won |
32% (7/22) |
27% (6/22) |
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Net points
won |
60% |
56% |
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Winners |
69 |
76 |
|
Unforced
errors |
68 |
52 |
|
Total points won |
182 |
189 |
|
Fastest serve |
200kph |
214kph |
|
1st
serve average speed |
187kph |
191kph |
|
2nd
serve average speed |
160kph |
145kph |
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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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Puns (courtesy of our friend John Milne)
I saw an ad
for burial plots, and I thought: “That’s the last thing I need!”
Need an
ark? I Noah guy.
How does a
lawyer sleep? First, he lies on one
side, then he lies on the other side.
I have a
few jokes about unemployed people, but none of them work.
How do you
make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.
Will glass
coffins be a success? Remains to be seen.
What’s the
difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy and the other is a
little lighter.
Two
windmills are standing in a wind farm. One asks, “What’s your favorite kind of
music?” The other says, “I’m a big metal fan.”
Hear about
the new restaurant called Karma? There’s no menu - you get what you deserve.
I went to
buy some camouflage trousers yesterday …
but couldn't find any.
What do you
call a bee that can’t make up its mind? A maybe.
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COVID-19 pandemic
Are you, too, getting tired of Covid? It has been a pretty wild ride.
The first cases outside China were detected in January 2020, two years ago. Just as we got back from our trip to India, on 16 March 2020, Australia went into lock-down. Australia was able to effectively close our borders, which kept the pandemic at bay, while we pretty-successfully pursued a zero-Covid policy.
That policy changed in the last few months, when we accepted that we could not contain the new highly-infectious Omicron variant. Fortunately our vaccination rate was climbing (now around 90%), which meant that even if the country opened up and Covid ran riot, most adults were protected from serious illness.
And that is what happened. When restrictions were lifted by most States (except Western Australia), the number of new cases soared; the number of hospital cases also rose but were manageable. While the number of cumulative cases is suddenly over 2 million, total cumulative deaths from Covid are still less than 4,000.
Vera & I had our booster shots (Pfizer) last week, six months after having our two AstraZeneca shots. We felt tired for a couple of days, but nothing serious. Strangely, the booster take-up rate has been quite slow in Australia; about 40% of adults have had their booster shots at this stage - the Govt is urging people to get their boosters to increase their level of protection.
Global: The following table shows the change in Covid in the 6 months, 31 July 2020 to 31 January 2022.
Covid-19 Pandemic top 15 countries ranked by cumulative cases as at 31 January 2022.
Source: www.worldometers.info/coronavirus
(accessed 31 January 2022)
|
Country |
Cumulative Cases 31 July 202 (millions) |
Cumulative deaths 31 July 2021 (thousands) |
Cumulative Cases 31 Jan 2022 (millions) |
Cumulative deaths 31 Jan 2022 (thousands) |
|
Global |
198M |
4.2M |
375M |
5.7M |
|
1. USA |
35.7 |
629 |
75.6M |
907K |
|
2. India |
31.6 |
424 |
41.3 |
495 |
|
3. Brazil |
19.9 |
556 |
25.4 |
627 |
|
4. France |
6.1 |
112 |
19.1 |
124 |
|
5. UK |
5.8 |
130 |
16.5 |
156 |
|
6. Russia |
6.2 |
121 |
11.8 |
331 |
|
7. Turkey |
5.7 |
47 |
11.5 |
87 |
|
8. Italy |
4.3 |
128 |
10.9 |
146 |
|
9. Spain |
4.5 |
82 |
9.8 |
93 |
|
10. Germany |
3.8 |
92 |
9.8 |
118 |
|
11. Argentina |
4.9 |
106 |
8.3 |
121 |
|
12. Iran |
3.9 |
90 |
6.3 |
132 |
|
13. Colombia |
4.8 |
120 |
5.9 |
134 |
|
14. Mexico |
|
|
4.9 |
306 |
|
15. Poland |
2.9 |
75 |
4.9 |
105 |
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29. Australia |
|
|
2.6 |
4 |
A big "Thank you" to our wonderful healthcare professionals who have helped us steer a path through the pandemic.
,,,
That's it for this post.
We have trips to Sydney and Brisbane coming up, so February will be mainly out of Canberra.
...
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Monday 31 January 2022.
