Holiday, Night Walk, New Fan, New Books and Bless Young Amy Winehouse

It's only two weeks now till I go on holiday to the UK. Last week I was overcome with exhaustion just thinking about it traveling all that way and the 26-hour trip, but this week i am suddenly all excited and raring to go. What has caused the change of heart I don't know, but hurray anyway!

I don't have much to do before I go. As usual, I am going to take hand luggage only. I hate traveling with loads of stuff - just a pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts will do me and then I can go and buy my yearly supply of clothes in Marks and Sparks when I get over there. If I travel light, it also makes it far easier to get the early National Express coach from the bus station at Heathrow, because I don't have to wait for ages for the luggage to come off the rotunda. That's if it gets to the rotunda at all. I stopped stowing luggage about ten years ago, when my suitcase ended up in Denmark. Bloody Paris baggage handlers.

Yesterday I went to get my travel insurance. As usual, the bloke in the local HIS left the new recruit to deal with me. I can't read the insurance forms so well, so the young guy explained them to me in Japanese and asked me questions. Some of the questions were so stupid that we both ended up giggling. was I planning to go bungee jumping? No. hang gliding? No again. Sky Diving? No. Was I planning on a trip to Cuba? Yes, I said. I'm having tea with Fidel. I laughed at my own joke, but he didn't as he didn't know who Castro was. Oh well. I had a laugh anyway.

I went out for a late-night walk last night. You can see the pictures on this page. It was very pleasant in the gardens in front of the Imperial guest house. There were more people about than I'd expected - taxi drivers catching 40 winks, courting couples and a man with a banjo. I took a few pictures on long exposure to see what came out. Some of them produced quite a nice effect. Mysterious. Gothic even. I like walking around my neighbourhood at night. It's not something you could do in my hometown, especially not with an expensive-looking camera. You might as well just stand in the shopping centre with a sign saying "Steal my Nikon then stab me."

The weather has been quite nice and cool since last week's typhoon. I have also been using the lovely fan that hubby bought me as a very practical wedding anniversary present. It stands two feet high and gently blasts me with silent air. :D

I bought a few books today. I have been treating myself recently - buying books, buying nice food, spending money! I hum that little tune "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Enjoy yourself while you're still in the pink." Today I bought "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Three Men in a Boat." Both classics. I also bought " Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver. Not a classic yet, but it may well be. I have just finished reading her "Poisonwood Bible" and thought it was magnificent. I have a couple more Hemingway stories to finish in the book of his collected works and then I will make a start on the Jerome K. Jerome. I am planning on saving the Kingsolver for my journey to the UK. :D

Last but by no means least, like so many people I have been deeply saddened by poor Amy Winehouse's death. I wasn't surprised, but I was shocked nevertheless. She had managed to stagger her way through the last five years and I'd just hoped that she would continue surviving until she finally made it out the other side into a happier life. Sadly that wasn't to be. I've read a few preachy statements from people going on about the dangers of drugs. We don't need to hear that. We've all had a ringside seat these last five years watching the poor woman wrestling with her drink and drug demons; we have seen it all happen in front of our eyes courtesy of Fleet Street. We don't need anyone to tell us about that. People have been going on about the sad waste of talent, but at the end of the day, her singing was just a job. I am more saddened by the sad waste of a young life. RIP Amy. We will keep playing your records and remembering how you were funnier than all the so-called comedians put together on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks".

Anyway, best get a reasonably early night for the first time in ages... yawn... night all :)

Day Trip to Kamakura

It's been a while since my last post. It's extremely hot and sticky here in Tokyo. Generally I am enjoying the heat, as my winter aches and pains have vanished, but some days the heat saps the energy even from me. Today has been one of those days. I got up late, managed to clean my room and listen to a bit of Radio 4, but then had to have a 4-hour nap. I remember a time years ago when life was quieter and I didn't feel like I ought to pack every waking moment with productive action. In those days, it was fine to get up late and then spend the rest of the day lying on my bed, listening to my records, or reading a book. Recently I have wanted more and more to go back to those old days, when we had a nine-to-five productivity expectation and weren't expected to be up until 2 in the morning shopping on eBay. So with that in mind, I am not going to feel guilty about doing sod all today.

Yesterday was busy for me. I went off on a long overdue adventure. I decided I couldn't face yet another weekend in the air conditioned dullness of central Tokyo, so I got on a train to the seaside. If in doubt, head to Kamakura. That has been my motto for the past 18 years, and I have probably been there at least the same number of times. I had been considering Zushi (where I've never been) but Kamakura won in the end.

I made sure not to get there too early, as the place is a heat trap and I have fried there in the lunchtimes of past years. When the train pulled into the station at around 1:45, I made straight for the beach, stopping off at Kua-Aina Hawaiian burger restaurant on the way to partake of Japan's best and most expensive cheese sandwich (over 700 yen, Daylight robbery). But it was worth it. I then walked the rest of the way down the main street, through a small group of gang bikers revving their engines and trying to look hard, and onto the beach.

This year was the first year I have seen "Beware of the hawks" signs on the sea front. I remember that when I went to Enoshima a couple of years back, the hawks were very evident on the beach, riding the thermals and occasionally swooping down to harass some poor picnicker into parting with their lunch. Well, yesterday I saw dozens of hawks floating on the hot air up and down the beach. I didn't see them attack anyone, but I did see a dozen or so crows come down on the sand behind a woman and then chase her. She didn't even have any food - she was just sitting there in her bikini on her rubber ring minding her own business when they all ganged up on her. They seemed to be doing it more for devilment than anything else.

There was a lovely sea breeze and I walked away from the main area of beach activity to the western end of the sands. I wanted to get away from the sprawl of beach umbrellas around the central beach party stage, where they were pumping out unidentifiable music too loudly for my liking. Eventually I found a comfortable spot in the shade of a small fishing boat, the "Shinmaru", spread my shirt out and lay on it. I stayed there for three hours and just switched off. I think that was the first time since I was in England last summer that I didn't have to "do" something. Time to myself to just relax and not have to talk to anyone, think about anything or be anywhere. A very rare luxury.

When the sun started to go down, I got up, packed up, and then went down for a paddle in the sea. It wasn't as dirty as it has been in past visits. I only saw minimal amounts of plastic and other trash floating around. I also found a very nice stone for my interesting stone collection (god I am so dull). This one is a pale grey soft stone in a nice, satisfying oval the size of the palm of my hand and covered with a pleasing arrangement of little holes. It's now on the bathroom windowsill.

It took me a while to get all the sand off my feet and my trainers back on and then I headed back up the main street. I didn't want to get the train straight away, so I walked up the quiet side of the street and ended up in a rather unique kaiten zushi (belt sushi) restaurant. I had to take a ticket and wait about 30 minutes to get a seat at the counter. It had all the traditional sushi, but much more besides. I had raw spring rolls, eel, fried shrimps, salmon, miso soup and some honey-covered sweet potato. It was a bit pricey (1,888 yen for six plates) but I enjoyed myself.

When I came out of the sushi shop, it was dark. I decided to go for a stroll up to Tsurogawoka Hachimangu shrine at the end of the main street. There were surprisingly few people about (I guess Kamakura is essentially a place to be while the sun is out) and I made my way down the central avenue without meeting more than a couple of people. I took a few photos of the street and the shrine on long exposure to see what sort of effect I would get. A few of them came out okay - dark and moody.

Anyway, that was my day in Kamakura. I am now lobster pink. Summer isn't summer until you have got sunburn :)