Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of January 2024.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during 1 - 31 January 2024.
News items which caught my eye in January 2024.
First, photos of our activities in January:
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| We spent two days at the Canberra International Tennis Tournament at the ACT Tennis Centre in Lyneham; prize money this year was US$320K. Many of the participants went on to try their luck in the Australian Open in Melbourne. |
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| Harriet Dart (England) in the Women's Singles final. |
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| Here is Dominik Koepfer (29, German) accepting the Men's Singles trophy. He beat Jakub Mensik (19, Czech Rep) in the final. Age & experience versus youth and strength. In the Women's Singles, Nurid Parrizas Diaz (Spain) beat Harriet Dart (Englsnd). The beauty of this tournament is that the spectators are just 20 m from the court. Lots of great tennis. |
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| I met Paul Flint way back in 1965, and we had a lot of good times since. Paul (78) died from cancer just before Xmas. He had a private family funeral; we attended the wake. RIP Paul! |
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| We visited Lanyon Homestead with Sue and Frank. It is just south of the Tuggeranong Valley - in fact you can see some homes in the distance. John Lanyon and James Wright bought leases in 1834; Lanyon returned to England two years later to see his ailing father and stayed, In 1849 Wright sold to Andrew Cunningham who built the current Homestead. In 1926 his descendants sold to the Osbourne family; the Field family owned it from 1930 to 1971. It is now a museum managed by the ACT Govt. |
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| Lanyon Homestead as it is today, an important part of Canberra's history. |
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| George Sanderson was a classmate at Monaro High School in Cooma. He later settled in Canada. Interestingly we ended up having parallel careers, George as a Canadian Trade Commissioner and me as an Australian Trade Commissioner. George's son Michael spent 2023 travelling and working around Australia. He visited us in Canberra before his return to Calgary. A very nice young man; we actually had a lot in common as Michael spent some years teaching English in South Korea and Vietnam. |
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| We took Michael to various places in Canberra: Mt Ainslie and Red Hill lookouts; Old and New Parliament House; the ANU (where his father studied); the National Botanical Gardens, and the Australian War Memorial. I hate to admit that the best museum in Canberra is a museum to the horrors/glories of war. The AWM is currently undergoing a $550M upgrade. |
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| We always think of the ill-fated Gallipoli (Turkey) campaign of 1915 as "Australia and New Zealand", but actually there were many more British and French (not to mention Turkish) casualties. |
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| Our guide explaining the Wall of Honour at the AWM. |
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| We found an incredible lego model of Parliament House on display at the Australian Parliament House which was inaugurated in 1988. An impressive building. |
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| Our guide at the National Botanical Garden. |
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| Vera & I went to Sydney for a few days. Eddie's team won a soccer tournament played at Woollahra Oval (where Andrew played rugby union for Eastern Suburbs 30 years ago). |
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| Eddie was named Most Valuable Player, a great achievement. Well done, Eddie!!! |
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| I did the Bronte to Bondi coastal walk, one of my favorites. A view of Bondi Beach. |
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| The Icebergs Club and sea pool at the southern end of Bondi Beach. |
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| Back in Canberra, we went the Canberra United v Melbourne Victory women's soccer game at McKellar Park. Victory scored in the last minute to win 3-2. It was an entertaining game. lots of good skills on both sides. |
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| Canberra United fans filled the stands. |
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| To commemorate the 100th anniversary (1921 - 2020) of the Archibald, the Art Gallery of NSW chose 100 paintings which had competed for the Archibald Prize - 80 finalists and 20 winners. Noel and I had a look at the Archie 100 at National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on 21 January. |
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| Our guide of the Archies 100 Exhibition. |
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| A portrait of JF Archibald whose bequest in 1920 founded the Archbald Prize. |
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| The first winner of the Archibald Prize, in 1921, was a portrait of architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear. |
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| The 1956 winner was a portrait of renowned Indigenous painter Albert Namatjira. |
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| Winner of the 1996 Archibald Prize was this self portrait by Wendy Sharpe. |
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| Vincent Namatjira, great-grandson of Albert, submitted this entry in 2018. The three men in the painting are, from left: Chuck Berry (American musician), Albert Namatjira (driving the ute), and Vencent Namatjira. |
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| This 2001 painting featuring beloved comedians Roy & HG was the "People's Choice " and the "Packer's Choice", but it did not win the Big Prize. |
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| A "drone show" (comprising 600 drones) was the highlight of the Australia Day celebrations. |
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| Big crowd on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin to watch the drone show. |
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| The Australia Indonesia Association hosted a BBQ lunch by the Lake on Australia Day. |
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| Dinner with friends at Yowani Golf Club: Neil, Nadia, Helen, John, Dominic, me, Michael, Vera, Donna, and Geoff. |
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| I visited this exhibition with Noel and Tien. |
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| The cost of petrol at Costco, end January 2024. |
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| I was excited when Eddie Jones was appointed coach of Australia's Rugby Union team, the Wallabies, in early 2023. But in the Rugby World Cup in France we did not advance, for the first time, from the 'group stage'. Eddie resigned shortly afterwards, and became coach of the Japanese Rugby Team. This book, written in 2021 when Eddie was still coach of England, provides an interesting insight into his coaching philosophy and approach. But, somehow, his strategy did not work with the Wallabies in 2023??? |
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| A good read. Sarah is perceptive and a fine writer. Highly recommended. The family now lives on Sydney's northern beaches. |
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| This movie didn't quite do it for me: my rating 3 stars. The battle scenes were impressive but I would have liked more development of Napoleon's character and more on the complex relationship between Napoleon and Josephine. |
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| Good acting, but Penelope Cruz wasn't convincing. Better than Napoleon, 3.5 stars. |
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| Priscilla was a 14 year old schoolgirl when she met Elvis (24, already a star). She lived in a "gilded cage", totally dominated by Elvis, his surroundings and his friends. She left after 6 years. 2.5 stars. |
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| Did he fall or was he pushed? Great dialogue and acting. 4 stars!!! |
News items which caught my eye in January 2024.
($ are US
dollars unless otherwise shown)
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Global
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Denmark: Queen Margrethe of Denmark
announced her abdication; her son became King Frederik 10th. Japan: A 7.6 magnitude earthquake off
Japan caused serious damage. A giant Bluefin Tuna fetched $788,000 at Tokyo’s
largest fish market. Japan’s spacecraft “Moon Sniper” successfully landed on
the moon. Israel: The Supreme Court ruled the new
judicial reforms limiting the power of courts were unconstitutional. Israeli strikes
killed Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon. IDF withdrew the 36th
Division from Gaza, after 80 days. Intense fighting around Khan Younis.
Israel accused UNRWA staff of assisting Hamas in the 7 October attack; 12
staff suspended pending investigation; donor countries USA, UK, Australia,
Canada etc 'paused' donations to UNRWA. International Court of Justice: South
Africa accused Israel of genocide; the Court noted the humanitarian crisis
and ordered Israel to reduce civilian casualties and to facilitate aid. Gaza: The UN said thousands of
Palestinians are starving in Gaza. The UN Sec Gen called for a 2 State
solution, but rejected by Israel. Israeli tanks attacked a UN Shelter in Gaza
with 12+ killed, 75 injured. Electric Vehicles: in Q4 2023 BYD (526K)
passed Tesla (485K) to become the biggest producer of EVs. Iran: ISIS claimed responsibility for
twin blasts in Kerman which killed 103 and injured 284. Iran attacked targets
in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan (Pakistan retaliated). Jordan: An American military base was
attacked by a drone, 3 killed 30+ injured. Biden blamed Iran, promised retaliation. Darts: the World Dart Championship was
won by Luke Humphries who beat 16yo Luke Littler in the final. Ten days
later, Littler beat world #2 Michael van Gerwen to win the Bahrain Masters,
his first senior championship. South Africa: After serving 11 years for
killing Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius was released on parole. Germany: Soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer
died aged 78; his team won the World Cup as a player in 1974, and as a
manager in 1990. France: Macron appointed Gabriel Attal
(34) as Prime Minister. Norway: Govt approved commercial-scale
deep sea mining. PNG: Rioting and looting in Port
Moresby, 15 dead; Govt declared a state of emergency. Taiwan: The DPP’s William Tai Ching Te
won the Presidency with 40% of the vote (his predecessor got 50% last
election). But the DPP lost its majority in Congress. The KMT top scored with
158 seats. Houthi in Yemen: The US and UK bombed Houthi
sites in response to continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Brazil: the rate of de-afforestation
halved in 2023 to 5,153 sq km. Smart phones: Apple (234M phones)
20% passed Samsung 19% of sales; Xiaomi was third. India: PM Modi inaugurated a controversial
new Hindu Temple in Ayodhya, built on the site of an old Mosque destroyed by Hindu
extremists in 1992. Canada: capped intake of foreign
students to 360K pa. Cameroon: started world-first mass
vaccination program for Malaria. Soccer: Australia beat Indonesia 4-0 to
advance to the Quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in Qatar.
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Russian invasion of Ukraine |
UAE negotiated a prisoner swap
between Russia and Ukraine. UK PM Sunak pledged $3B in
military aid to Ukraine for this year (missiles, artillery shells, and
drones). Ukraine claimed to have shot down
a Russia A50 reconnaissance plane. Ukrainian drones struck a food market
in Donetsk (27+ dead) and a gas export terminal near St Petersburg. Ukraine missiles downed a Russian
military plane near Belgorod; all 74 passengers died (Russia said 65 were
Ukrainian POWs to be exchanged). Ukraine announced investigation
into corruption charges in procurement of military supplies.
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USA
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Congress passed a short-term funding
bill to avoid Fed Govt shutdown. Economy: US GDP increased 2.5% in 2023
(1.9% in 2022). Inflation 3.4%. In the Georgia case, Trump’s
lawyers argued that he had Presidential Immunity
while trying to overturn the 2020 election result. The US Supreme Court
agreed to hear arguments on Colorado’s decision to exclude Trump from the GOP
primary, on the grounds that he had breached the 14th Amendment
which forbids insurrectionists from holding office. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis
participated in the GOP presidential hopefuls debate on 11
January just before the Iowa primary (Chris Christie had pulled out of the
contest). Trump boycotted the debate again. Iowa GOP primary caucuses: Trump 51%, DeSantis 21%, Haley
19%. Ramaswamy got 8% and announced his departure from the race; some days
later Ron DeSantis also withdrew from the contest. Only 110K Iowans
participated, down 40% from 2016. New Hampshire GOP primary: Trump 55%, Haley
43%. Claudine Gay, President of Harvard, resigned
following allegations of plagiarism and criticism by major donors that she
did not take antisemitism seriously enough. Trump was ordered to pay the NYT’s
legal costs of $382K for his failed defamation case related to the Times
publishing his tax records in 2018. Separately, Trump was ordered to pay $83M
to Jean Caroll for defaming her. Sec of State Antony Blinken
toured the Middle East to stop a wider conflict. The USA added 2.7M jobs
in 2023; av hourly earnings rose 4.1%. NYC sued 17 charter bus companies
for transporting asylum seekers from Texas
without authorisation. The FAA grounded 171 Boeing
737 Max 9 after an Alaskan Airlines plane lost a piece of fuselage during a
flight. NFL: After 24 seasons, coach of the
New England Patriots, Bill Belichick (71), resigned. He chose Tom Brady in
the 2000 draft and they formed a winning combination. Belichick had 24 seasons with the Patriots, during
which they won 6 Super Bowls. NFL: the Detroit Lions beat the LA
Rams 24-23. The Lions first playoffs since 1992. Tickets for the Lions v
Buccaneers game averaged a record $1,097 per seat (standing tickets were
$700). NFL Divisional Playoffs: SF 49ers beat Detroit Lions 34-31 (Lions led 17-0 at half time); KC Chiefs beat Baltimore Ravens 17-10. So the 49ers will play the Chiefs in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in 2 weeks. Tiger Woods and Nike
parted ways after 27 years. US moon mission spacecraft ‘Peregrine’
suffered a fuel leak, attempt failed. In 2023 the USA experienced 28 extreme
weather events, each of which resulted in damage of over $1B and 492
deaths. Icy Winter storms affected much of the USA in mid-January 2024,
causing widespread disruption and 90+ deaths. DoJ report on the Uvalde
school shooting identified many shortcomings. Drone attack on an American base in Jordan killed 3 soldiers and injured 35 (the US has 3,000 military in Jordan, 2,500 in Iraq, and 900 in Syria). Charles Littlejohn, an IRS contractor, was sentenced to 5 years jail for leaking Trump's tax returns to the New York Times in 2020. |
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Australia |
Controversial Aussie journalist
and film maker John Pilger died aged 89. Heavy rain caused severe flooding
along much of the East Coast. Alex de Minaur beat Novak Djokovic
in the semi-final of the Tennis United Cup, ending Djoko’s run
of 43 consecutive wins in Australia. David Warner retired from Test Cricket;
he played 112 Test Matches, scored 8,786 runs (av 44.6), including 26
centuries and 37 half-centuries. Captain of Australia’s Women’s Soccer
team, Sam Kerr, suffered an ACL injury; she will probably miss the Paris
Olympics. Welshman Stephen Williams won the cycling
Tour Down Under in Adelaide. Australia’s population
passed 27 million. Australian Open Tennis
Championship: Women’s Singles Aryna Sabalenka beat Zheng Qin Wen 6-3, 6-2. Men’s
Singles Jannik Sinner (22) beat Daniil Medvedev (27) in 5 sets (an amazing game,
Medvedev won the first 2 sets, but Sinner fought back). He is the second Italian to ever win a Grand Slam tournament.
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China |
Admiral Dong Jun was announced as
China’s Minister for Defence. In 2023 China’s shipbuilding
output rose 12% to 42M DWT (about 50% of world output). China’s
first built cruise ship started sea trails. Major “Shadow Bank”
ZEG filed for bankruptcy (assets $38B, debts $64B). China’s exports
estimated at $3.3T in 2023 of which main destinations ASEAN $524B, USA $500B,
EU $500B. Vehicle exports totaled 4.9M units (up 58%). Population: fell by 2M to 1,409M; Labour
force (16 – 59yo) fell 11M; % of population over 65 rose to 20% (297M). Economy: GDP grew by an estimated 5.2% in
2023, up from 3.3% in 2022. Investment in property dropped 9.6% in 2023 with
home sales down 8.5% on sq m basis. A judge in Hong Kong ordered property developer Evergrande to go into liquidation; unclear what effect this will have on Evergrande's projects in China.
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15 January 2024 |
Iowa Republican presidential
caucuses. |
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23 Jan |
New Hampshire Presidential primary. |
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3 February |
South Carolina Democratic
Presidential Primary |
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6 Feb |
Nevada Democratic Presidential
Primary |
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8 Feb |
Nevada Republican Presidential
Caucuses |
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24 Feb |
South Carolina Republican Presidential
Primary |
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2 March |
Idaho and Missouri Republican
Caucuses |
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3 Mar |
Washington DC Republican
Presidential Primary |
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4 Mar |
North Dakota Republican
Presidential |
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5 Mar “Super Tues” |
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, primaries. |
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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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| Jen's birthday is late-January. This photo of Jen & Tom was taken at her 21st birthday party in 1997 (the fun party was at our place in Curtin). They live in Brisbane and have 3 great sons. The eldest, Kurt (18), has just started an electrical apprenticeship. How the years have flown! |
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| My sister Angie is an active member of the Rotary Club of Narooma. Here she is dressed as "Mother Duckie" at the launch of the annual rubber duck race on the river. |
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| My brother Andy with his son & family participated in the Open Day to celebrate 50 years of Rarotonga Airport. |
That's it for this post. The first month of 2024 has passed already - all in a flash. Summer in Canberra has been mild so far; we haven't used airconditioning yet, but there is still a month to go.
On a personal note, we finalised the contract to buy into the Halcyon Nirimba "Over 55s Lifestyle Village" (near Caloundra, Sunshine Coast Qld) and expect to re-locate there in about August 2024. Alex agonised over the decision to move (Vera more sanguine) - big change at our age, need to get it right. But having made the decision, we are looking forward to an exciting new challenge.
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Wednesday 31 January 2024
