Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

“Whirr, whirr, kachunk! Whirr, whirr, kachunk!” These are the dreadful sounds that greet me as I try to start the mighty Tacoma. In the 11 years we have been together, she has never failed to start instantaneously. The symptoms are … Continue reading →

Congratulations to Vivien and Jeremy on their marriage in Geneva on Tuesday! Jeremy is my eldest boy. All my very best wishes to Jeremy and Vivien. As I have already mentioned, they love each other. So important. I am racked … Continue reading →

It is so delightfully cool here in San Francisco! Bright sunshine, fresh air and cool ocean breezes. James gets another cake. This is a riff on the Black Forest cake. Where is my wallet? I search everywhere without success. I … Continue reading →

The last thing I did before leaving Okinawa was to pay my yearly Health Insurance bill – 12,902 yen. This is about 75$. Hooray! This gets me full medical and dental treatment. I didn’t exactly leave Okinawa; I was driven … Continue reading →

Yes, it means I have been back to the dentist. After misery and pain, I reward myself with a nice, big octopus from the Tomari Fish Market. Mina san, who has been voted Okinawa’s funniest dental nurse, no mean achievement … Continue reading →

This is what I have been leading over the last few months -no great drama, nor tragedy and only bits of comedy. I blame the weather; well, up to a point. It rained consistently for the first 2 months and … Continue reading →

I will start by recording progress on my fitness campaign. You will remember that I walk to nearby restaurants and gorge thus becoming fitter and stronger. To mark the upcoming Irei no Hi, OIST organises talks. I have experience with … Continue reading →

My phone is buzzing with warning emergency messages. They are in Japanese so I can only speculate. The loud speakers in the streets roar out messages. Finally a message in English comes over but I can’t understand due to the … Continue reading →

My new favourite places are the fish restaurants beside the Ginowan Fishing Port. When not eating soba for lunch I eat there. They are only a skip and a jump from my salubrious apartment I am the only non Japanese. … Continue reading →

Anticipation is nearly always more thrilling than the act or event. The tycoon was pretty good but not much more than that. I would call it a severe tropical storm. It started off quiet but Okinawa took it seriously. Schools, … Continue reading →