Monthly Archives: July 2011

So I set off for the airport in a big  “I am going to miss my plane ” rush. I remember that on leaving Okinawa nearly all the French community and Jan the Man, with the wild eyed look of … Continue reading →

A brief stay in France to try to tie up the many loose ends that were left over since my departure last year. Anyone who has been around me recently will have noticed how I drone on relentlessly about how … Continue reading →

So you will probably guess fairly rapidly that I am not in Okinawa. I will leave you to guess in which country I am. Some clues; 23 hours travel from Okinawa, limited diving, people hacked off, police and politicians either … Continue reading →

Is the noise that a can of ice cold coffee makes as it tumbles into the dispatching zone of a drinks dispenser. Okinawa is the land of a thousand drink dispensers. On nearly every street corner there is a machine … Continue reading →

  So I like Okinawa as it is a  backwards gateway to childhood culinary delight. What I mean is that folks here eat a lot of SPAM and Corned Beef without shame. In grey, green, greasy 1950’s Britain where I … Continue reading →

So I am now an advanced life form having completed the final test for my Advanced Open Water Diver qualification. This evolutionary leap takes place at Sunabe, where you move from Gas Station forecourt to incredible soft coral reef in … Continue reading →

So I write this at 9:30 pm. The temperature in the room is 30 degrees with 75% humidity. Summer is really here in Okinawa. The temperature essentially does not change- it hovers around 30 degrees day and night. At night … Continue reading →

Another important crop in Yomitan is the purple sweet potato (紅いも beni imo?), if not for its value as a cash crop then as part of the local culture and tourist industry; the town promotes itself as the “beni imo hometown” (紅いもの里 beni imo … Continue reading →

So as time goes by one wonders from time to time if one has lost the touch. Has your moment  passed or as the bard has it: That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or … Continue reading →