Of late, I have grown weary of Irish flute playing. The new recordings are played at insane speeds, they play in wierdo keys, they play in wierdo rhythms more akin to Brazil, Greece, Lapland than the bogs.  They show off with incredible power and volume with modern flutes with sound holes so big that my fingers would get stuck in them. They play crans.

I have no interest in this. I yearn for the a player who will demonstrate the wonderful melodies of Irish tunes at a tempo that allows me to savor.

Oh joy to stumble across the playing of Brid O’Gorman.

Listen to the tone, listen to the pace, listen to the accuracy of each roll. To the uninitiated, let me assure you that this is wonderful flute playing.

Oh, the irritation of the cran. This is a piping ornamentation that can be played on D. I dislike it. It sounds good on the pipes but has no place in flute playing as it introduces clutter and distracts from the lift that is so essential to drive flute tunes. Look folks. we are playing the flute here, not imitating the pipes.

I think the cran in flute playing was introduced by Matt Molloy, who is a deity,  in the mid 70s. I remember being in Milton Malbay in 1979 where the consensus was that Molloy did not play traditional music because of his overuse of ornamentation. Gosh.

Brid O’Gorman eschews the cran, I think.

Buy Brid O’ Gorman’s recording here and listen to traditional tunes played in the manner  of which I approve.

https://bridogorman.bandcamp.com/album/bluebells-are-blooming

Does anyone care what I approve of?  Not really.

So, I was driving back home listening to a podcast of Desert Island Discs. The idea of the program is like old people look back on their lives and represent their miserable existence in music.

I realize I can do the same thanks to YouTube.

Holy cow it is impossible to choose but here we go.  I could choose another hundred clips but these in some way follow my geographical changes.

Gordon Duncan was the best piper ever.

I had grown out of rock roll until I heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers play unplugged in San Francisco. They were incredible!

I spent 2 years in the 70s in Oran Algeria. This is the music I heard on hot summer nights. Cheb Khaled is the best singer.

The Bothy Band in 1979. Irish traditional music never got any better.

Thanks to Topher I got to meet Neil Young. He has been part of my life since 1970.

The Beatles!

Okinawa! Shimanchu No Takara is like a modern national anthem. Here sung by 10 year old girls.

France is the country that I have spent the most time in. The 90s in France were explosive. It did not last long. Les Rita Mitsouko were the best band ever.

The Grateful Dead.

I remember so well the Stones playing this on Top of the Pops.

Joni Mitchell!  God bless you.

It rained a lot when I was in Hawaii and this means that the faithful Scaffie fills up with water. This means that she is very low in the water and pulls harder on the anchor line  risking a dragging situation.

There were several reasons wherefore I could not get out to bale her. The first was that Tuesday was the last day of Obon. On this day the ancestors return to the sea and Naoko forbade me absolutely from going into the ocean. The second was work, which is increasingly getting in the way of having a good time.

So I finally make it out to the boat on Saturday morning.

Not too bad.

On Friday night we say bye bye to Wilko.

Takoyaki!

Arisa brings beautiful grapes from her home town.

Something like Paella

Another leg of lamb goes the way of all flesh. Thanks Saha for the help.

Yay Wilko!

Great fun but frankly too hot. I sweat enormously, feel very self conscious and ugly. The Japanese women are all fresh and beautiful. How do they do it?

I have a free day on Saturday before long trek back to Okinawa. I tremble with anticipation. I am on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific and this means only one thing – new birds!

I set off for a park at the end of Waikiki Beach that sits just under Diamond Head.

It is where all the trees are and goes way back

This woman is trying to get there before me.

I have found that the most successful technique for this kind of birding is to sit somewhere and wait. At first it seems that not much is happening but little by little I start to notice stuff er like birds. This is a very calming process. Striding through the trees is no good at all.

Yellow Fronted Canary

Not very good photo of Java Sparrows

Red-vented Bulbul

Zebra Dove

Common Waxbill

Rose-ringed parakeet

Mynah Bird – but not in a cage.

Red-crested Cardinal

I have rarely enjoyed myself more. The weather is beautiful, the park is fragrant, I am totally engrossed. These are all new birds to me. My only regret is the White Tern of which there were lots but I was unable to get a reasonable photo. Beautiful birds.

On the walk back, I come across an open area where there is a massive Okinawan festival going on. Home from home.

Girls getting ready for dance performance.

Traditional Okinawan orchestra, of which there lots, singing their hearts out.

I also stumble across a Hula dance school. This was serious stuff. The teachers were very picky and the girls went through the routines over and over. This was not languid hip swaying hula but very fast, athletic hula. Amazing.

I hope you win.

Wonderful day.

I go to the University of Hawaii. The event is at the conference center called the 1 min conference center. I take this as a very good omen.

This is the sort of conference I like

The conference starts with a dancing lion.

This a Lion, not  Governor Ige. The Governor, whose family came from Okinawa, is on stage. It is not a real Lion.

This is the first time I have given a talk wearing extravagant colored necklaces called Lei. It makes me extraordinarily happy.

A selfie break when I forget what I am talking about.

Presidents of the: East West Center, where Obama’s Mummy met his Daddy, University of Hawaii, Meio University, University of the Ryukyus, Prefectural University of the Arts. What fun!

I wake early and generally scurry around to prepare for the trip. However it is Naoko’s birthday and this cannot be left uncelebrated. I can just squeeze in celebration at work and then limo to airport. Naoko is late so I benefit with amazing breakfast of rice porridge and pickles. There is some pressure. Will I make it to the airport in time?

Maki san is the best

Naoko arrives and we celebrate! The day has just begun.

Glamorous people I work with.

I make it to the airport and head off for Narita.

ANA is the best airline in the world.

Narita snack.

They have their own sushi chef

I then get on a big airliner and head off East.

The flight is heavenly. The Japanese do service so well.

Matsukawa san welcomes me. 

As I am sneaking out of the toilet towards the end of the trip, the flight attendants gather around me giggling and announce they have a gift for me. There is a card and an exquisitely wrapped something.

It is all hand made with stick on stars and little drawings. The Japanese are so playful.

It is a sake bowl that the ladies have drawn on with felt markers!

Little hearts,  a pagoda and a pretty mountain.

Anyway I get to where I am going. It is 08:00 on Thursday morning.

View from Hotel

I eat

I walk back to the hotel.

It is still Thursday!

I get one of the tantalizing, “We tried to deliver something extremely wonderful to you but you were not at home” messages in my mail box. I immediately phone the English speaking service and drone, ” Please be so kind as to bring my wonderful thing to my house soon after 7:00 oneigaishimasu.”

At 7:06 my package is delivered by smiling postman who gives impression of enjoying his job. Click on the photo and check out the escutcheons that lie above the MUSTO logo. These means that the Queen of England has worn this hat

 

God bless my brother Ian, who rightly  has concerns for my health as I tend to get over-excited and rush out on my boat with no hat. He has sent me the Queen’s hat from England. This is such a great gift as I cannot buy a hat in Okinawa that fits my huge head that has been swollen by vainglory. Due to England’s history, many there have swollen heads and thus is the ideal place to find a sailing hat for the likes of me.

 

After hat delivery I go watch the sunset.

Same old stuff

No wind

Thanks Ian. It fits! Even the name is Japanese.

This hat will probably save my life. Yay!

My ears have always got me into trouble, mainly because of their exaggerated size. They are Dumbo-ish

“Here is your husband, like a mildewed ear.” Hamlet knew how to disrespect people.

Like Dumbo, my ears are a liability in high winds. Worse still is that underwater they act as sluices, directing every sort of plankton, effluvia, starfish, manta rays, plastic bottles and that sort of sea stuff, into my external auditory channel. You know how it is.

This in turn causes an infection, which is hardly surprising. The infection causes swelling, pain, stiffness of jaw, giddiness, fever, rectal rashes, loss of appetite, nausea, weight loss, night sweats, vomiting and especially chronic fatigue.

Mildewed ear

Off I go to the Ear,Nose and Throat guy in Ishikawa. We are old friends due to previous ear infections and the cursed tinnitus.

Japanese health care is outstanding in quality, value for money and that sort of stuff but it is very linked to fairness. I do not think there are private clinics in Japan but what do I know? The result is that a mighty samurai goes to the clinic and waits his turn like everyone else. I wait for 90 mins before being seen by the Sensai. However I am now a hardened Japanese and so take a bunch of work stuff to the doctors. This in fact, gives me a quiet time to read things and desperately try to understand what is going on like professionally.

Just as I reach the end of my documents, a discreet nurse murmurs, “Go jyu san.” in my shell-like or withered ear. It is my number and I proceed to the bower of the ear sensai.

He does not muck about. He sucks ear wax out of my ears. I mean with a suction device not kinda himself. He says ” No swimming, take antibiotics and ear drops!”

“Hai!!” reply I.

Conveniently placed next door, is a pharmacist. He winks at me and says, ” Etto, same as 2 years ago Neil sensei.” He seems to imply  a sexually transmitted disease.

Ear drops and antibiotics. That should do the trick.

I hate earache.

So it had never really dawned on me before but here in Okinawa I can get nearly all the ingredients to make a very amazing Paella. Paella and Okinawan food just seemed light years apart and there is certainly nothing similar in the Okinawan food catalogue.

Ingredients

So, I get a big lump of fatty pork, two filets of fresh tuna, some clams, some prawns, some sausages that do a reasonable impersonation of chorizo. My big worry was the rice. Would Japanese sticky rice work as a replacement for Barcelona style round rice?

Pork and sausage and super cool Orion to assist the creative process.

Onions, garlic, olive oil.

Now with tuna and fish stock

I add the rice.

I have washed the rice most assiduously to remove excess stickiness. I then go for an evening sail, leaving the rice to absorb on a very low heat.

When I get back, I add the prawns and clams and some green peppers.

Oichi!

I am very pleased with the outcome, especially with the texture of the rice.  Of course I made far too much but how can you cook paella for one? I will eat it for the rest of the week.