Author Archives: 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 →

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 →

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 →

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!

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 →

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.

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 →

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 →

So, the weather turns bad and we can no longer go diving. We decide to set off on an excursion to the North of Okinawa to visit the famous aquarium. The day started unexpectedly with some kind of attack on … Continue reading →

So Happy Holidays to all. With sons James and Ben it is spent underwater in Okinawa, which is a bit like eyeless in Gaza. Xmas day is cold and windy but what do we care because we come from Scotland … Continue reading →