The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

The weather is astonishing. Beautifully sunny and warm and Tigh na Mara is the only place to be. I head out early on the kayak. I go way beyond the reef and tie up to a buoy, which I could not understand why it was there. I put on my snorkel stuff, slosh into the sea  and off I go exploring.

What is wrong with this photo?

The water is very clear and full of interest. I find out why there is a buoy, cos there is some kind of coral experiment going on down there.

Science stuff

Nice fish

I finally clamber back onto the kayak and after a while realize that there is something not quite right – the paddle has gone.

I look at my fins for a while

I must have knocked it off when I first sploshed in. Oh dear.

Nothing for it but to swim back in dragging the kayak behind me. This turns out to be a good adventure as I see all kinds of good snorkeling spots as I wend my way home. I get home and it is only 10:15 – so many more adventures to be had.

I buy a Nikon D90 on Ebay for $350 and then go diving to test out the BCD and regulator that I bought a couple of weeks ago. They work.

Never seen one of these before

I look at my fins for a while

Tears of a Clown Fish

Thousands of long spiky sort of fish

This is the middle of December.

I get up early as it is a very lovely morning. I take my coffee on the roof.

The Way to New Energy
Thanks Sabina

I look down into my walled garden.

Look how everything has grown. This is December

I then go for a stroll along the beaches in front of the house. It is the best morning; crystal clear, warm, calm sea.

One of my beaches

Two pairs of Osprey are screeching overhead and fishing in the lagoon in front of me. The sea is very blue.

These birds are very rare in Scotland

I go to work feeling pretty good.

View from deck at 8:00

I hated maths at school. I think this was because of truly awful teachers, the lack of romance and the accepted premise that it was difficult. I regret this now as some of my best friends are good at maths and clearly gain spiritual strength thereby.

Strong juju

Of sines, cosines and house signs, I understand only the latter.

From the extraordinary Okinawa Boot Sales I find Jennette who make signs from bits of wood and shells. I commission her to make a sign for my house that says Tigh na Mara.

http://okinawa.bookoo.com/item31148743.html?itemId=31148743&src=SEARCH&ref=wood%20burning

Today after several false starts I pick up the sign. Jennette is a military wife or maybe she is a Marine and she exudes goodness. She charges me $5.  I tell her she is nuts, but she is too good.

Jennette with baby girl

I take it home and hang it on my door. Now people will know the name of my house.

Not the First House in Connaught

13 Humours of Ennistymon_The First House in Connaught

Thanks Jennette.

My little car, a Nissan March, has served me extremely well for nigh on 2 years. It is incredibly reliable, surprisingly capacious and has a pleasing hue of pig’s liver.

Fried pig’s liver with sage.
Notice typhoon damage to usually lush vegetation

Dismay upon raising my eyes when opening the hatchback to find that rust is corrupting.

Damn moths

It is a cold, blustery Sunday and perfect for little jobs such as slowing down car decay. OK the temperature is 18 degrees but believe me it feels cold. It must be the wind chill.

Parky

I go to the hardware store and mime sanding and applying primer to vaguely bemused shop guy. The Japanese for primer is primer. You never actually know if what you walk out with is actually what you want.

The emory paper looks good but who knows what is in the can.

Marceau would have been proud of me

Won’t work

The rust will abide – like the dude. But decay is cool and  ecological. Happens to us all.

HAMLET

To what base uses we may return, Horatio. Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole?

HORATIO

An intro;

I grew a mustache in November in order not to go down with testicular nor prostate cancer. It seems to have worked but I did not enjoy the process. It itched, tickled and made me look like a bad-tempered, retired Major. Phew, December is here and I shaved it off instantly.

Clean the toilet

I also became unable to walk. Any pressure on my left heel caused pain. No external signs of putrefaction. I go to a clinic whereupon very smart doctor cries “Spicula!” It is perhaps his only word in English.

It appears that I have a rose-thorn-like thing-spiculum- growing out of my heel bone. This is messing with the tendons causing the pain.

The Achilles Heel of the Americas was the lack of cultural confidence typical of new settlers.

No treatment apparently; just walk on tippy toes and it will calm down

When people come to stay they usually want to go diving. Who wouldn’t? It is er good. I have been searching for an extra BCD and regulator for some time so that we do not have to mess around hiring stuff, wasting time instead of getting down to the core activity.

From the amazing Okinawa Yard Sales I find both

http://www.okinawayardsales.com/search.jsp?w=scuba&x=0&y=0

Michael Branigan models

Hooray.

Michael runs an excellent design studio in Chicago and we have collaborated over the years. http://sandboxstudio.net/

A huge hermit crab from the garden

Michael, who is trying not to acquire prostate cancer, eats it.

We go kayaking. It is a disaster as on the first capsize the kayak fills up with water thus becoming very heavy and unmanageable leading to serial capsizing.  The water is warm so who cares. Eventually we walk the boat back to land.

About to capsize again

Michael missed his flight to Tokyo, my fault, slept in a capsule hotel in Tokyo when he finally got there, then was diverted to Anchorage before eventually getting back to Chicago.

So, Sandy and Zandra live in the most amazing place. It is a dead-old château in a mountain valley that is essentially the same as it was let’s say 300 years ago.

Desirable detached residence

You gaze from the courtyard out over a landscape devoid of advertising panels, pylons, freeways, surface to air missile pits and the usual visual paraphernalia of modern life. It is also very quiet as traffic is almost unknown in le Valromey.

November silence

We eat and drink with determination.

Kipper and poached egg for breakfast

Cassoulet!

We spend the rest of the time clearing the woodlands that surround the château.

Slash and burn

I have always loved clearing woodland. You are outside in the brisk November air and essentially being very destructive with a chain saw and a bonfire. Yet you are clearing the forest, making it look nice and tidy whilst harvesting loads of firewood.

Nice Defender

You sweat and grunt and get hot from the fire and do a lot of exercise so that you are stiff and creaky as you open another bottle in the evening.

Jeremy slashes, Sandy burns

This is not Okinawa just in case some readers are confused.

Inside, the rooms are big, full of wonderful curios and antiques. Wood burning stoves heat the place to coziness and if want more wood you just go out to the forest and cut down a couple of trees.

Entrance hall

Dining room

Zandra is a ceramicist.

Check Zandra’s site.

http://zandrascreations.com/

Gettin fou and unco happy

Sandy plays hard to get

I want to retire here with Sandy and Zandra. I could be a manservant who cleans the forest rather than the silver. Thanks McGillivrays. I finish lunch and go to Okinawa.

I am writing this on the plane from Munich to Tokyo. Across the aisle there is an old grey haired couple who look frightened. We are at the back of the aeroplane in Class Z. Occasionally a slick young man comes up from Business class to speak to them. How could you sit in business whilst your Granny is in coach?

Ye canna shove yer granny aff a bus

A classic of Scottish song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VCWROijdwM

To ITER, where I used to spend my time. Much has changed. There is a brand new HQ building that is very long and thin.

It was a gloomy sort of day

Once inside you look down long, long corridors and expect nurses to burst out of rooms with a patient on a trolley. I think it was designed to stop people talking to each other.  There are also vertical concrete strips on the front of the building., so that when looking out from an office there is a strong impression of incarceration . You can hear people crying, “ I am innocent!”   as you walk down the endless corridors.

The site is coming along and the magnificent Sabina guides me around.

Miss Fusion

Things that ITER will sit on

I fly from Okinawa to Tokyo to Frankfurt to Geneva. I get to Geneva at 7:50 on Tuesday morning having left Okinawa at 7:00 on Monday evening. Perfect trip – every flight on time.

photo of my coat at 5:30 am in Frankfurt

Geneva is cold and very grey.

Scene 1

Conversation with Geneva cab driver, he is leaning against his car smoking.

“Le CERN s’il vous plait.”

“Quoi?”

“Je veux aller au CERN”

“ Le CERN?”

“Oui.”

“Quoi?”

“C’est une grande labo de physique a 5 kms d’ici.”

“Je connais le CERN”

“On peux y aller?”

He takes a couple of puffs, throws his cigarette in to the road.

“Montez “

This is not Okinawa.

Scene 2

Prof. Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith is having a 70^th birthday celebration of talks by very smart people. A couple of talks focus on the political build up to the approval of LHC and the establishment of the experimental collaborations. I had forgotten most of this and wow it was not easy. Everlasting praise to Chris for getting it all done.

He also had a galvanizing influence on the fusion community and I was able to work with him on this also. Happy Birthday Chris.

Here is the program

http://indico.cern.ch/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=199172

Many, many old friends.

Chris and Rolf

Alvaro, Francoise, John

Fabbiola

Herwig, Sergio, Cashmore.

We have drinks and dinner.

Then upstairs to Bedfordshire after many hours without sleep. It is miraculous what you can do in a couple of days.

“I saw England’s King from the top of a bus
I don’t know him still he seems to know us.”

I was reminded of these lines from “The Mountains of Morne” when I met the Emperor and Empress of Japan today.

Here is the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmgZyUUQIDk

The Imperial Couple was very gracious, happy and smiling.

We had been preparing this for months. I say we but in fact it was their household and security that did everything. We just said yes.

Jonathan says Hello

Very few people actually got to see them because of security concerns, which I feel was a great pity, especially for our Japanese colleagues. Their Empress and Emperor were at the University for 3 hours but only a handful of staff saw them.

Empress with students

Anyway you can read full story and watch the video here:

http://www.oist.jp/pressrelease/their-majesties-emperor-and-empress-japan-visit-oist

I was privileged to meet them and they even shook my hand. This was odd as we were told essentially not to breathe in their presence but they were as friendly as can be.  This has always been my experience. VIPs are normally charming and helpful whereas their courtiers are scared and obnoxious.They did not however seem inclined to talk about whisky that much. This is strange.