January 1, 2023
Alan Bennett’s Diary will appear soon! Here it is:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n01/alan-bennett/diary
February 6, 2023
To the Library
Fridays is usually Library Day. Although a drive to the library is the rule (the number and weight of books dictating this) we always park near the Bishop’s Palace and walk through the Fitzroy Gardens and the streets of East Melbourne.
This day we were strolling in Victoria Parade and noticed the ACU buildings were looking finished. Ready for overseas students. If you remember the old building, you may not recognise the new one.
February 2
At the Diamond Hungarian – Indian Restaurant, Clifton Hill
14 February
A few running repairs on the racing bikes
16 February
At Bistro D’Orsay
March 13
The National People’s Congress Closes
The Chinese President has closed the NPC with the “Wall of Steel” speech with reference to how the military will be strengthend. This was widely reported. Sky News was alarmed. FT was not and drew attention to the fact that Xi Jinping kept the country’s central bank governor Yi Gang in his post and retained his finance and commerce ministers. Li Qiang becomes the Premier and was noticeably more conciliatory saying China and America are closely intertwined economically to the benefit of both sides.
“Some have been trumpeting the idea of decoupling with China . . . but I wonder how many people can truly benefit from this hype,” Li said on Monday, 13 March. “Encirclement and suppression are in no one’s interest.”
(It was also March 13 that we discovered that the Silicon Valley Bank was a little bit insolvent. Depositors were looking for their $42 billion.)
The image below was used frequently to accompany the ‘Wall of Steel’ story.
The location of the photo is Chaoyang District, to be precise ‘The Place’ – a shopping mall – in the area of the CCP headquarters and many foreign businesses. The National People’s Congress is held in The Great Hall of the People, in Tiananmen Square.
March 16
Another China, another time –
Puyi’s watch (the Last Emperor) and his red fan.
Puyi wrote a poem in the folds of the fan (vertically of course).
His Patek Philippe watch (complications variety); Puyi in 1934
Read the story here:
http://Patek Philippe Watch Owned by Puyi.pdf
A “Patek Philippe” Collection from China
‘Patek Philippe’ watches from my China collection – a mechanical version in black ‘italic’ Arabic numerals, and a fine, simple face, Roman numerals, calendar – very well-liked. And a ladies watch.
17 March
Red sky in the morning with moon in the east
20 March
Coffee Spoons in Paradeplatz
We wake up to the Waning Moon (the last visible crescent before it disappears) and the last of the 167 year old Credit Suisse Bank. The bankers have finally turned over their coffee spoons in their cups and signalled their availability – to the tune of $3.25 billion from UBS.
We shouldn’t be surprised. We used to think Switzerland knew about banking, as we did with the Scots and money – but cliches get turned over as did the RBS when it collapsed in 2008 and Gordon Brown (born in Fife) injected £50bn of taxpayers’ money to take major stakes in UK high street banks. It is, we hear again, “a last-ditch attempt to restore confidence in the financial system.” Banks are born to fail.
