The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

So, once again Scotland don’t quite make it. Do I care ? No, not really. They fought valiantly. They led both Argentina and the Saxon strangers until the last few minutes and then threw it away. Both matches were replete with drama and dull would he be of  soul who could pass by games  so touching in their majesty.

The emphasis on winning is too dominant methinks. “It is the result that counts.” Martin Johnson. “Winning is the only important thing.” Edwina Currie. “Who remembers the runner up in the World Cup?” J.B Priestley.

We sat aneath thy spreadin' shade, The bairnies round thee ran, They pu'd thy bonnie berries red, and necklaces they strang; My mother, oh! I see her still She smil'd our sports to see, Wi' little Jeannie on her lap, and Jamie at her knee. Oh! Rowan tree.

The Rowan Tree would loose against Sitka Spruce but does that belittle its beauty in any way?

England win. "Now I'm at home and at home I do lay Dreaming of riches that come from Cathay I'll hop a good ship and be on my way And bring back my fortune to Islay."

That’s what Wordsworth thought anyway. At work, beside the water thing, there is a plastic box. It has taken me all this time to work out what it is.

I' m leaning on a lamp post

It is a box full of food. Kit Kats, Pot noodles, biscuits, and loads of Japanese stuff which I do not understand. I finally asked someone what it was for. “It is for all of us if you are hungry. Help yourself – just put 100 yen in the hole.”

Spot the hole

It is taken  for granted that no one will steal. Trust in the nobility of the individual is a good foundation.

Kinjo san!

My very learned brother is a prize winning writer! Hooray I can bask in reflected glory and bore people at parties by dropping names.

Puts people straight to sleep

His book won the British Medical Association’s

Youngest son Ben as a very small child would sneak into our bed very early in the morning, put his lips very close to my ear to whisper,”Do you like poisonous mushrooms?”

One pill makes you larger And one pill makes you small And the ones that mother gives you Don't do anything at all

Mushrooms on Okinawa are ludicrously cheap, $1 for big bag, and many er species, brands, sorts, are always available. You just chuck them in anything. Dried they are even cheaper. I just thought you would like to know.

In my dotage I often find strange prompts  remind me of my childhood. Vidi Proust Madeleine. The most recent  was a watering can. I had the choice of buying a much cheaper plastic version but I simply could not resist the galvanized

Flood the trenches

steel can because a documentary of my boyhood  played before my eyes. We had two big steel watering cans that were essential accomplices in so many adventures. The 8th Army is in real trouble until miraculously a tsunami washes away the Afrika Korps from the mud patch behind the house.

Tomatoes doing very well

Last week was the Festival for the Old Folks in Japan. We all got a day off. Today I was asked to represent the University at thean event to honor the old folks of Tancha, the village in which the University is situated. I assumed this would be rather a dull occasion  but as usual assume makes an ASS out of U and ME. I am guest of honor, seated by the Mayor who is all smiles as is everyone. Kids get up and dance, the ladies of the village get up and dance

Strictly

Graceful

The old people in Okinawa are older than old people in other places and it would appear the urge to party out is the key to their longevity. The protocol in Japan is that you never fill your own glass and my resolution not  to drink is torpedoed by not wishing to appear rude.

It is very hot and 1:00 on Sunday

We get well and truly stuck in. I make a very emotional speech about old people reaching out to join hands across the ocean . Everyone cheers and reaches for the bottle. A clown appears and  does a great job of taking the mickey out of the Police Chief.

Evening all

More drink!

What a good bunch the Okinawans are!  I have to get a Daiko to drive me home.

So some people like to eat chocolate and chocolates. I no longer have this urge but since my arrival on Okinawa another substance now plays the same role for me as chocolate plays for others. SPAM. I wrote about the legitimization of SPAM in  a previous post

https://quietripple.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/splosh/

In those days I was eating SPAM normally er  with other stuff like eggs and vegetables;  you know the SPAM was an ingredient. I have since gone beyond. Now I eat SPAM like a block of chocolate. Whenever I feel peckish or need a little treat I reach for a can of SPAM. The block slides out of the can with a lubricated plop and stands on the board with  authority.

Raspberry Parfait

I contemplate.

Dreamy Fudge

I then cut it into chunks. SPAM is great stuff to cut by the way. It resists the knife a little and does not shatter.

Caramel Caress, Orange Sensation, Bourneville, Almond Crunch, Lemon Cheesecake, Hazelnut Praline Crisp, Vanilla Butter Caramel.

I either lay a chunk on the tongue and luxuriate in its dissolution, or cram my mouth with several and use my tongue as a pestle, grinding SPAM against the back of my teeth and my upper palate. Whatever the method, the taste, the texture and the fact it is meat make me feel good.

These guys get it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5ISChHNjAE

In California, some of the Gas Stations posted the intriguing sign “Full Service,”  a proposition that seemed more suited to a massage parlour than a garage. What it means is that someone else pumps the gas for you and for this you pay a bit more. Full service harks back to a golden era of courtesy and service – as long as you had the money.

Mantan regularu kudesai

On Okinawa nearly all the gas stations are Full Service, which is great because trying to work out how to use a self service pump with instructions in Kanji is a humbling experience. You drive into the forecourt and the uniformed attendants immediately cry welcomes and guide you to the best spot.

Workin' in the fillin' station - too many tasks. Wipe the windows - check the tires - check the oil - dollar Gas!

It’s all smiles and wiping the windscreen  and if you want they will wash and vacuum the car, take out the trash, check all the fluid levels. When it is all over the attendants bow, shout ancient thank you formulae and wave bye bye. Better than a massage parlour.

Watashi wa gasorinsutando ga sukidesu

So tonight is Tsukimi or moon viewing night. I think this coincides with the concept of Harvest Moon in the western way of looking at things.

There is certainly a beautiful moon tonight.

But there's a full moon risin' Let's go dancin' in the light We know where the music's playin' Let's go out and feel the night.

Five minutes ago. Because I'm still in love with you I want to see you dance again Because I'm still in love with you On this harvest moon.

I believe that the tradition is to go outside and look at the moon, eat special rice cakes – tsukimi dango,

Itadakimasu

which are on sale in the stores and drink awamori. After this you write tanka poetry.

However I think Neil Young did it best. Not sure if the song below is tanka poetry but it is very good. The backup singer on the left, next to Emmy Lou Harris, is Peggi Young, his wife, for whom he wrote the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st7NKEUs_8E&feature=fvst

Well, I suppose so and indeed I have now been doing Yoga classes for a few weeks just down the road from my apartment.

Temple of the temple

It really is wonderful. We do 90 minutes of exercises resulting in the sensation that you have been pounded by a very gentle but insistent All Black pack. The room is very hot and sweat pours off and I make embarrassing puddles on the beautiful wood floor. We chant and sing incantations at the start of the course but the emphasis is  on the physical rather than the spiritual. Sumako guides us through series of movements some of which she labels “very dynamic.” I am pitifully stiff and creaky especially when it comes to trying to get my knees anywhere near the ground in the lotus position or trying to get my head anywhere my knees whilst sitting with the legs straight ahead.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red;

There is no doubt that practice makes things better and little by little I improve. The essential is self discipline. Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy.  Constant practice alone is the secret of success.

So today is class day but  er um unfortunately it clashes with Scotland/Romania in the World Cup. My body is a temple but the Boys in Blue need me. I self install in front of the screen.

Scotland are wonderful ticking all the boxes of our national strength and weakness. Paterson misses a conversion directly in front of the posts. In fact he does not even manage to get the ball into the air. Danielli messes up totally with 5 metres to go and a man outside him.That said, we are brave, proud and ugly and with 10 minutes to go Romania are winning.

Romania score!

But Scotland win! Hail Caledonia.

The match is played in Invercargill and the ground is charmingly tiny.  I expect a flock of sheep.