I mentioned in a previous post that I had received a notification from the Japan Pension Service that I was going to get a state pension. It has been a complex business but is now sorted out.

Here is a sub plot. Mitsuba san is a sailmaker and boat cover maker and he is going to make me a tailor-made cover for the boat. He comes by on Monday and starts measuring up the boat for its new set of clothes. There will be several fittings before the bespoke cover is finished.

We have a lot of fun. The next day the estimate comes and it is a lot of money, about $1000. Oh dear, in my diminished circumstances I try to avoid expensive stuff but I really have no alternative and, although I have no bespoke suits, my boat will have one.

This morning, I get a letter from the Japan Pension Service saying they will deposit 120,000¥ in my bank account, apparently for back payments.

Yay! This covers the cost of my, er, cover. I have always been tremendously lucky.

A huge typhoon is roaring towards mainland Japan, which will certainly mess up the Rugby World Cup. It will miss us, but even at the edge, we are starting to feel the effects.

I predict bad weather by bird behavior. Golden Plovers and Kentish Plovers suddenly congregate on grassy space near the shore.

I hope Scotland can play Japan despite the typhoon. I do not know who to support.