Monthly Archives: January 2012

“Gardens are a form of autobiography.” Discuss

Posted on January 29, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

So I have now been in Okinawa for a year. During about half of that time I have endeavored to grow vegetables. I compare the vicissitudes of the garden to my overall Okinawan experience. Thanks to Natori san I gain … Continue reading →

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Kid’s Stuff

Posted on January 23, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

So, one aspect of living here that pleases me is the playfulness of official communication. I remember in the UK getting letters from tax people concluding, ” Your Obedient Servant.”  The French are even more baroque. Here the content of … Continue reading →

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Licensed to Drive

Posted on January 18, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

So, I have to have a Japanese driving license. This seems fair enough seeing as I live in Japan. I go to the Okinawan version of the DMV in Naha. Brand new building of remarkable cleanessity. My papers are checked … Continue reading →

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Stumbling Around on Sunday

Posted on January 8, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

So we go for a walk. The weather is bright and sunny and off we go to explore. The little river is full of fish, which we watch, and on the shore we see Grey Tailed Tattlers. We see kingfishers … Continue reading →

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Birthday Boy Ben

Posted on January 8, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

It is Ben’s birthday! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KjrCjJ7yE&feature=relmfu He gets shoes, a Cotterless Crank Extractor and, wait for it, a Bottom Bracket Installation Tool! The shoes are cool. Happy Birthday Ben!

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How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.

Posted on January 8, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

Ben and James take me to the Haunted Hotel. This was a project in the seventies to build a hotel. The guy got it wrong apparently by building it on an ancient pet burial ground and the workers were attacked … Continue reading →

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Slanders, sir; for the satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams; all which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down, for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am, if like a crab you could go backward.

Posted on January 1, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

New Years Day. Cold, well by Okinawan standards, and windy outside. An opportunity to do very little indeed, which is probably the ultimate luxury. Here is a random visual record of the last few days.

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To the Bakery

Posted on January 1, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

I walk to the excellent bakery that is about 400 metres from my place. A mistake, as being New Years Day, it is closed. However I take a photo of each house that I pass to give an impression of … Continue reading →

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Sober on New Year’s Eve?

Posted on January 1, 2012 by spikekalashnikov

Can this be possible? I think I have been more or less inebriated every  New Year’s Eve  since 1968. Last night however not a drop of alcohol passed my lips. Why? Well you do not drink and drive on Okinawa. We … Continue reading →

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