Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

Put a Tiger in Your Tank

Posted on June 11, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

My cousins ran a petrol station in Scotland. It was an Esso station. I around 1962 I think Esso started an advertizing campaign based around the slogan “Put a Tiger in Your Tank.” This struck my imagination very hard or like … Continue reading →

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Time Spent in Reconnoitering is Seldom Wasted

Posted on June 10, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

Thus spoke the noble H.W.Tilman. I spend the weekend reconnoitering my recently acquired boat. Luckily it was a weekend of wonderful weather and messing around on boats in the warm East China Sea is recommended.  Several issues have to be … Continue reading →

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Andy Warhol

Posted on June 9, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

We hold a party to bid Krista adieu. Mark supplies the biggest leg of lamb I have ever seen. I stuff it full of garlic and smear it with stuff and then chuck it on a Weber BBQ. It weighs … Continue reading →

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A Boat of My Own

Posted on June 6, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

Real pleasure comes from pain. There is no joy without misery. Drink Chateau Lafitte everyday and it becomes mundane, er, so they say. It is the ebb and flow of life that generates satisfaction. After Aughrim’s great disaster when your … Continue reading →

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The Usual Fortune of Complaint Is to Excite Contempt More than Pity.

Posted on June 3, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

I think pity is the emotion that the totally admirable Tsuha-san feels for me. She is older than me, which means she grew up in immediate post war Okinawa. It is difficult to imagine what her childhood was like. The … Continue reading →

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Lard

Posted on June 2, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

I am very fat and lardy. I am also vain and narcissistic. How can I reconcile these two? Hooray for Okinawa Yardsales. I have the ideal gym on my roof top. I hammer away at the heavy bag whilst gazing … Continue reading →

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Many a SlipTwixt Cup and Lip

Posted on May 30, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

So, I was keeping this secret from you but I am buying a boat. I found it on the amazing Okinawa Yard Sale site. http://www.okinawayardsales.com/ Perfect boat for me, 14 ft, light enough to pull up onto the beach in … Continue reading →

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Remember Me and You

Posted on May 30, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

She`s back! I go for my early morning stroll along the beach and there are more turtle tracks. The word tracks does n`t do justice. It is a kinda trench thing. I do not know if she was here last night … Continue reading →

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Farniente

Posted on May 26, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

I have had a very busy time recently, lots of travel, lots of  visitors, lots of stuff. This is all good but I love to do nothing. I love to ramble, to look, to listen. This is what I did … Continue reading →

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Turtles

Posted on May 26, 2013 by spikekalashnikov

We go out for a night-time stroll along the beach. We stumble across trenches in the sand with parallel lines of scoop marks on each side. This must be some animal. I take out my boy-scout-animal-track-booklet. Not an otter, nor … Continue reading →

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