Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of September 2024.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during September 2024.
News items which caught my eye in September 2024.
The Paris Paralympic Games.
Highlights:
September was spent getting ready to move, and saying goodbye to friends. Got quite emotional. Must admit that we are still feeling conflicted about the move - are we doing the right thing???
On 24 September we visited our new home near Caloundra for the "Pre-Settlement Inspection".
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| Vera won an "Indonesian dinner by Ibu Yetty" at the AIA charity night. Maria Helena and Paul Nicoll kindly agreed to have the dinner at their home on 1 September. Other guests were Karen & John Macdonald and Tieke and Robin Brown. Thanks, Maria Helena and Paul - an enjoyable night of delicious Indonesian food and good conversation. |
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| Bush Poet was the speaker at our Australian History Group - brilliant! |
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| We had a weekend in Sydney to say goodbye to Andrew, Caz & family before they leave for 3 weeks in Europe. Jay participated in a Netball festival. |
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| Jay's team playing netball. |
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| Andrew has regular tennis training and game at Coogee on Saturday mornings. |
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| Paul Milton & I went to the Swans v Giants Aussie Rules game the SCG. The Giants led the whole game, only to be pipped at the post by the Swans. Exciting! The Sydney Swans will play the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Grand Final on 28/9. |
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| Andrew & Caroline hosted farewell drinks for Piper Witt, who is off to join the Crazy Horse dance troupe in Paris - dreams can come true! |
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| Niniek & Paul showed us their new apartment at Breakfast Point in Sydney. |
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| Festival at Bondi Beach. Lots of people, music and kites! |
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| Bondi Beach was crowded for the Festival of the Winds. Cool morning, but a lovely afternoon. |
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| Hakoah Soccer Club's end-of-season presentation night at Woollahra Oval. Eddie got the Award as "Player's player" of the Under 10s team. Although he was injured for much of the season, he made an effort to attend the games which was obviously appreciated by his team-mates. |
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| Eddie's impressive collection of sporting trophies (mainly soccer, and tennis). |
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Saying goodbye to Eddie (10) and Jay (7); in a week the family will leave for Europe. |
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| On the train back to Canberra. The train takes 4 hours, but is more comfortable than the bus (and the train station is less than 15 mins walk from our apartment in Kingston). |
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| Saying goodbye to Kaye O'Hara and Jim O'Callaghan. I'm holding the Hash House Harriers (HHH) shirt of a run Jim & I set in Jakarta back in 1989. |
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| Vera & I were very fond of Patrick O'Hara (Kaye's husband) who died recently. RIP! |
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| Kerry & Jim Enright, whose friendship we value. Jim was a wonderful Austrade colleague. |
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| I attended the ANU's annual "Indonesia Update" conference. The theme this year was "Jokowi's legacy" looking at his ten years as President of Indonesia. Joko Widodo made many improvements (especially in health and infrastructure), but his last years were marred by allegations of nepotism. |
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| Four friends at the Indonesia Update conference: Les Boag, Robin Brown, Michael Kramer, and Peter Rayner (not shown, Heath McMichael). |
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| There were many excellent speakers at the Indonesia Update Conference, including Sidney Jones who spoke about "the security environment". |
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| Good friend Michael Kramer stayed with us during the Update Conference. |
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| We often bought delicious Indonesian food made by Iis Dunbar. Here we are picking up an order from her husband Raden Dunbar in Philip (Woden). |
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| Vera enjoyed this French film, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. |
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| With Don Scott-Kemis and Jane Freebury in their lovely new home in Reid. |
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| We attended the Afternoon Tea put on by the Australia China Friendship Society. Saying "zai jian" to fellow Committee members Tanya Naeher (Sec), Jean Norman (Editor), Neil Birch (Treas), and Carol Keil (Pres). The ACFS does important work fostering cultural understanding and people-to-people ties. |
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| Shortly after moving to Canberra in 1996 we joined the Canberra Old Time Dance Club (COTDC). These two couples, Bob & Kay Stoddard and Eugene & Nee Braun, helped us learn and enjoy sequence dancing. We will miss them! |
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| Some of the participants in Monday evening's U3A German Conversation group: Robert, Peter, Bodhan, me, Trevor, Diane, and Edmund (missing: Ian, Martin, Karin, Gaby, Rivera, Irene & Harry). This group has been fun, and educational too. Hope I can continue on the Sunshine Coast!? |
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| Celebrating David Evan's birthday, and our departure, with Christine Evans and Noel Cock. |
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| Close friends since 1965 (we had hair in those days) when we were colleagues in the Treasury Department! |
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| We have had many enjoyable dinners with Niken & John Robson, and Niken's grandson Billy. |
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| Golfing buddies Brian Edwards and Noel Cock at Royal Military College Golf Club (other regular players George, Phil, John, Michael, Peter). I have been playing twice a week (9 holes), I enjoy the game and the company but why is my golf not improving, in fact going bckwards? One of the mysteries of life ... |
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| With former Trade Dept colleague Ray Wright at RMC Golf Club. |
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| We met Helen & John Hemphill in Jakarta in 1972 (more than half-a-century ago!), when John & I were colleagues in the Trade Section of the Australian Embassy. |
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| Buddies Sue & Frank Tavares, we have become great friends! |
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| Audrey & Rob Rough organise a monthly social dance at the Belconnen Seniors Club. Marvellous hosts. We'll miss these special events and the attendees. |
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| Dancing friends for 25 years, Gwen & Duncan Souter. Wonderful couple. |
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| We flew up to Brisbane (stayed with Jen & Tom). On 24 September we did the "Pre-Settlement Inspection" of our new home at Nirimba near Caloundra. Final settlement will be on 15/10/2024 and Kent Removals will deliver our goods the following day. Brave new world.... |
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| New friends in Nirimba: Lu & Bill kindly invited us to lunch with other residents Christine & Graham. They have been living here for a few months, and thoroughly enjoy the Village and surrounds. That's positive! The next chapter of our lives unfolds.... |
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| While in Brisbane we had lunch with Michael Tjoeng at Ginga, his favourite Japanese restaurant. Michael drove us to Nirimba the previous day - what a wonderful friend! |
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| Some of the dishes at Ginga delicious!. |
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| Back in Canberra I attended this concert at the National Library theatre. |
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| We have been fans of John Shortis and Moya Simpson since we arrived in Canberra 25 years ago. They were supported by their choir for this concert. Uplifting! |
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| Walking up to Kingston shops, Vera took a tumble and hurt had facial injuries. We went to the Emergency Dept of Canberra Hospital. She had a cut on her forehead which needed 4 stitches; the CT scan showed broken bones in her nose. Quickly developed two nasty-looking "black eyes". Amazingly, she had no concussion, and bounced back quickly, |
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| The Indonesian community had a gathering at Mia & Garry Miller's place outside Canberra. |
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| We celebrated Ibu Supomo's 88th birthday. She and Pak Supomo came to Canberra 50+ years ago to teach in the Indonesian Faculty of the Australian National University. Her husband died several years ago, but she is still going strong. A wonderful couple, they were stalwarts of the Indonesian community in Canberra. |
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| Tieke and Robin Brown organised a farewell dinner for us with Reno & Heath McMichael and Iis & Raden Dunbar. |
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News items which caught my eye in September 2024.
($ are US
dollars unless otherwise shown)
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Global
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Germany: Far right party AfD won 33%
of vote in State election in Thuringa; also did well in Saxony (31%). Germany: VW announced cost cutting
(including jobs) as profits fall 11%; it employs 680K world wide (of which
290K in Germany). New Zealand: After housing starts
fell by 19%, Reserve Bank cut interest rates by 0.25% to 5.25% (still higher
than 4.35% in Australia). NZ increased the entry tax on tourists from NZ$35
to NZ$100. Brazil: the Supreme Court upheld
the Govt’s decision to ban X (Twitter) for spreading misinformation. US Tennis Open: Aryana Sabalenka
beat Jessica Pegula 2-0 to win the Women’s Singles; Jannick Sinner beat
Taylor Fritz (3-0) to win the Men’s. Pope Francis: Visited Indonesia,
East Timor and PNG; huge crowds. Vietnam: Over 150 killed by Super
Typhoon Yagi. UK: damning report on the 2017
fire at Grenfell Tower. Actress Maggie Smith died aged 89. Christiano Ronaldo reached 1B
followers on social media. Storm Boris wreaked havoc across
Central Europe. F1: Young Aussie Oscar Piastri
(McLaren) on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc second (Ferrari). Glasgow: will host a “slim” 2026
Commonwealth Games of only ten sports. Harry Kane playing for Bayern Munich became the highest scoring Englishman in the Bundesliga (41 goals in
36 matches). European Court of Justice ruled that Apple should pay Ireland Euros 13B in back taxes. Gold hit a new record of $2,670 an ounce (up 29% this year). Thailand: King signed gay marriage equality bill into law - first SEA country. Bloomberg's Billionaire ranking top 4: Elon Musk $272B; Jeff Bezos $211B; Arnault $207B; Mark Zuckerberg $201B.
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Israel – Hamas (Gaza) |
UNWRA started mass vaccination of
children in Gaza against polio. Big demonstrations in Israel
calling for a negotiated settlement to release the remaining hostages (six
found dead); rejected by Netanyahu who said Hamas must be totally destroyed
first. Israel Defence Force (IDF)
launched widespread raids in the West Bank. IDF strikes in Gaza continued to
kill and injure many; estimated total deaths (many women & children) in
Gaza now close to 45,000 with over 100,000 injured. UK announced suspension of some
arms shipments to Israel. A Houthi missile struck Israel. Pagers and walkie-talkies used by
Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded; dozens dead, thousands injured. Israeli
missile strikes on Lebanon killed hundreds. Many Israel strikes on Lebanon; one killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Most delegatres staged a mass walk-out when Pres Netanyahu addressed the UNGA,
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Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Ukrainian drones attacked targets
in Moscow; Russia retaliated. President Zelensky announced major
changes to his cabinet. UAE negotiated swap between Russia
and Ukraine of 206 prisoners. President Zelensky visited NYC for theUNGA. Biden announced a $8B military package for Ukraine; Trump met with Zelensky but sceptical. |
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USA
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The Kamala Harris - Donald Trump
debate on TV attracted a big audience; most thought Harris won, although
Trump claimed otherwise. Trump accused Haitian immigrants of eating pets in
Springfield Ohio. Harris proposed a 2nd debate, but Trump refused.
Taylor Swift endorsed Harris. Federal Reserve cut interest rates
by a ‘jumbo’ 0.5% to 4.75%; Wall Street hit record highs, before retreating.
Gold hit new record at $2,670 per ounce. In the Dominican Republic US
agents seized the Presidential plane of Nicolas Maduro. Former aide to Governor of New
Your State, Linda Sun, charged with acting as an agent for China. 14 yo Colt Gray shot 2 students
and 2 teachers (and wounded others) at Apalachee High School in Georgia. His
father was also charged as an accessory (had given him the gun for Xmas). NFL: Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
(31) signed a 4 year contract for $240M; a new record. House of Reps voted 306-81 to
blacklist five big Chinese bio-tech companies. SpaceX launched the Polaris Dawn;
first commercial space walk by Jared Isaacson. Safe return after 5 days in
orbit. Judge Juan Merchan said he will
delay sentencing Trump (convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business
records) until after the November election. Ryan Routh (58) arrested in
Florida for plotting to shoot Trump. Food storage company Tupperware
(founded in 1946) entered bankruptcy. 30,000 Boeing workers went to
strike for better pay and conditions; 45K East Coast dockworkers threatened
to strike. Rupert Murdoch went to court in Nevada to try to change an “irrevocable trust” set up during his second divorce which gave each of his older 4 children equal shares in News Corp when he dies. He now wants control to go to son Lachlan. The USA will ban Chinese software
and hardware from all new EVs. 50+ killed by Hurricane Helena in SE USA; 14th most powerful storm on record.
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Australia |
Vigorous debate on whether to ban
gambling advertisements. Australians lose $25B pa in legal gambling, but
State Govts get taxes of about $7B pa so many interested parties to this
debate. In Dandenong (a region of
Melbourne) crimes by 10 to 17 year olds increased by 32% in the past year,
but crimes by 18 to 25 year olds decreased by 25%. Victoria will increase the
age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years and introduce tougher bail
laws. State and Federal Govts
considering how to restrict 14 year olds and younger from access to social
media. Govt excise duties have driven up
the price of cigarettes to the extent that an estimated 80% of cigarettes are
now purchased on the black market. The Canadian owners of King Island
Dairy announced its closure (after 130 years). Anti-war demonstrations at a Military
Expo in Melbourne. AFL Grand Final: Brisbane Lions 120 beat Sydney Swans 60; just over 100,000 spectators at the MCG.
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China |
Chinese and Filippino boats
collided near the Sabina Shoal (about 75km from Phil coast and 630 km from
Chinese coast). China responded to talk of increasing tariffs on EVs by threatening to investigate imports of canola oil from
Canada and pork & dairy products from EU. China’s exports in August were
valued at $309B (4th month over $300B). Retirement age raised from next
January: Female blue collar from 50 to 55, Female white collar from 55 to 58,
Men from 60 to 63. China introduced measures to
stimulate the economy (eg cut interest rates and increased ability of banks to
lend). China is home to half the robots
in the world. In the past 10 years the number of robots in China has
increased from 49 to 470 per 10,000 workers.
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2024
Paralympic Games held in Paris 29 August to 8 September 2024.
4,463 athletes
from 170 countries participated, 549 events in 22 sports.
2024
Paralympics Medal Table, first 10 countries ranked by Gold Medals
|
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total
Medals |
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China |
94 |
76 |
50 |
220 |
|
Great Britain |
49 |
44 |
31 |
124 |
|
USA |
36 |
42 |
27 |
105 |
|
Netherlands |
27 |
17 |
12 |
56 |
|
Brazil |
25 |
26 |
38 |
89 |
|
Italy |
24 |
15 |
32 |
71 |
|
Ukraine |
22 |
28 |
32 |
82 |
|
France |
19 |
28 |
28 |
75 |
|
Australia |
18 |
17 |
28 |
63 |
|
Japan |
14 |
10 |
17 |
41 |
As in the regular Olympic Games, I think “total medals” is a
better reflection of a country’s sporting prowess.
China did remarkably well in the Paralympics, although its
achievement got little coverage in the Western media.
The other country which stands out for me is Ukraine, which
despite a vicious war with Russia still sent a team to the Paralympics with
very good results. Congratulations, Ukraine!!!
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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" (former title 'Trade Matters').
......
That's it for this post.
The packers will come on 2 October, and we will leave Canberra on 6 October. Settlement of our new home is scheduled to take place on 15/10 and the Removalist will deliver our belongings the next day.
October will be a busy and disrupted month. I will probably just do a mini-post if I can.
The next chapter of our lives is about to begin. We are excited, yet anxious, at the prospect of moving to a new environment, and also sad to be leaving our friends and our settled life in Canberra; very much a time of mixed emotions. This move has been surprisingly stressful - our age isn't helping!
Our new address, from 16 October 2024, will be: 133/25 Banya Ave, Nirimba Qld 4551. Nirimba is a suburb of Caloundra, which in turn is part of a region called The Sunshine Coast (incorporating Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Buderim, Bli Bli, Coolum, Sunshine Beach, and Noosa).
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Monday 30 September 2024
