Blog 52

why do so many Japanese people wear the mask?
is it to prevent infection from airborne viruses and bacteria?
or is it a fashion statement?
could it be to give them protection against emotional disclosure?
well its probably all of these things and yet none of them!

I saw one woman bowing to the person she was talking to on her mobile phone. now thats being really polite! the Japanese have a beautiful soft polite and respectful way of living with each other. it's an old-fashioned way, and one that I wish other cultures would adopt. greetings and meetings always start and end with a respectful bow. its sweet! and its really wonderful to be in a country where nobody uses foul language (how do I know this when I cant speak Japanese?) eye contact and body contact is kept to a minimum. none of this kissing strangers cheeks and hugging all over the place (ugh!)
the streets in Tokyo are teeming with people, and the roads are busy with cars - but where is all the hustle and bustle? - there isn't any! every one is so calm and cool. there isn't any confrontation. car drivers don't get agitated or impatient with each other - I assume that the cars in Japan have hooters, but I didn't hear anybody honking!

thought for the day...
"the world would be a much better place if we all
treated each other with as much respect as the Japanese do"

...the waitress showed us to our table. she was wearing the mask so it was difficult to work out how she felt about it all. anyway she didn't take our order as we had to use one of those touch screen computer pad jobbys to order our food. it spoke to us in Japanese - we answered in Yiddish. eventually we managed to order with the help of our interpreter - Yoko, who also assured us that this establishment was on a par with Wimpy Bars back in the UK! still actually being in Japan did enhance our dining experience. the dumplings were washed down with lashings of Saki, and a jolly good time was had by a Large Duffy & a Bentley.
So... what do the Japanese use to light a fire in the wild? A knife and fork obviously!

It was fun playing a fixture away with the lads.
Pity Chris wasn't there.
Fings ain't what they used to be when I were in a pop group.
These days it's a dazzling display of virtuosity and instrument swapping.
Between the five of us we played various combinations of: Mandolin, Sitar Guitar, Pedal Steel.
Ukelele, Accordion, Melodica, Ethnic Drums, Ukelele Bass, Acoustic and Electric Guitars and Basses... Zzzzzzzzz

The problem is - with all these instruments piled up on stage,there's hardly any room left for me to leap about!