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It happened in...

September



30 September

Took a trip up north today, to Oita and Beppu. When we got to the seaside, we sat in the back of the van tucking into our picnic bento. Spent the afternoon just bimming around, seeing the sights, making friends.

27 September

The Japanese media always refers to typhoons by numbers, rather than the names that the rest of the world seems to use. I feel this is a shame, as a number is so matter-of-fact and uninvolving. And on this particular occasion, there are other puerile-minded English-speakers in Japan who may miss out on a giggle. Waiting in the Pacific, like some improbably named Bond villain, is typhoon 19.

26 September

The British are known, albeit stereotypically, for queueing. And politely. Queue for the bus (don't know how true that is any more). Queue for the toilet (that's you, ladies). Queue in the post office, for clubs, concerts, films, at the bar, you name it. But although we submit ourselves to this orderly way of doing things, it can't be said that we actively enjoy it.

Which is where the Japanese take it to another level. The 2005 World Expo in Aichi closed yesterday, where over the last 6 months over 22 million people have queued to their heart's content. Well, not all obviously, as some were foreigners. But Japanese have returned from the event with stories prefaced by "We had to queue for 4 hours!" Which is an overwhelming positive... It shows patience, and shows how the anticipation was built up (apparently).

I was reminded of my having to placate Mrs C the other day when she was desperate to join a queue. She spotted it just as we were leaving a local supermarket. Trouble was we couldn't work out what they were queueing for, which of course just gave it a mystique that verged on the irresistable - in response to being asked if we should go and join in, I mistakenly pointed out this simple fact. When it emerged they were simply getting the half-price bread before the shop closed for the day, then Mrs C's mania to queue was poorly disguised with offers of future sandwiches and the suchlike.

So I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to get a handful of people together to stand in a street by a closed door, forming an embryonic queue. And then I'll return after a few hours and see how many hundred people we've got.

25 September

Trekked across land to Miyazaki prefecture today, taking in the sights and enjoying a drive along the Pacific coast. In Nichinan, we met some moai based on the Easter Island originals sitting up on a cliff, so we sat in the meadow, listening to the sea and soaking up the sun.

(And Dad - I'm upping the ante with this. Flying past me at 40mph, full zoom, and you can make out detail! Your turn!)

24 September

First picture of baby Yuna (for 'tis her name) here. Got to see her with only about ten minutes before visiting hours finished, so this is through the window into the creche, where there's row upon row of pink and blue bassinets (and a bit of noise).

21 September

At 2 o'clock this afternoon, sister-in-law Miwa interrupted her visit to the video store to take herself off to hospital and gave birth to a baby girl in just over an hour (an hour!). She and Yoshiaki haven't made up their mind on a name yet, but name will follow when decided and photos when taken. She weighed in at 3.1kg, which my super-quick brain, and a little help from google, translates into real money as 6.8lb.

So Team Abbie is now 2 strong! All eyes down for November then...

17 September

Popped into the supermarket on the way home, just as it was closing, to collect a few bits that they reduce by a third or a half towards the close of play. But there's no nonsense, they want you in and out of there as quick as possible, and to this end, as you walk through the door, you're greeted with The William Tell Overture at full volume piped over the shop's sound system. Feeling like we were in a poor sitcom, we raced round without really knowing why, paid up and left, finding ourselves back in the car with heads spinning. Still, at least we remembered the beer in the rush.

15 September

Ah, they say the funniest things, don't they. Not children - students, bless them. One of my students today is a bit of a cinema buff, and reveals to me that she's been to the movies three times this week. She tells me she's seen two movies that I've not heard of.

Me: And what was the third one?
Her: "My wife is a bitch"
* pause *
Me: Bitch, or witch?

 Cue much redness and hiding of face and embarrassed squealing.

14 September

I've read every page of every online newspaper. I've looked at every photo of the victory parade through central London. Some of our boys evidently know how to party, it seems. While England goes nuts about its cricket, I'm attempting to explain to the locals here how important an event this is in the world of English sport. They're impressed when they see my depth of feeling, but... ah well, I'll just wait for the dvd to come out, and I'll sit and relive the whole thing. Day after day.

13 September (2.15 am) - Last Test, England 373 and 335, Australia 367, 4-0 - match drawn

The umpires come back out into the bad light, remove the bails, and England win the series 2-1 and win the Ashes
[...]  [...]  [...] oh, and [...]

3.00am - the Ashes have now changed hands. I'm going to bed.

12 September - Last Test, end of day 4, England 373 and 34-1, Australia 367

I have to get this out of the way today, because if England win the Ashes and I post it tomorrow, I'll be open to accusations of kicking a man when he's down. Should Australia win, I'll be accused of being a poor loser.

My observation regards the term "whingein' pom", which I've always thought was a poorly targeted insult, particularly considering the source. Psychologists would describe this as 'projection' - a psychological device of accusing those around you of faults and patterns of behaviour which are plainly, in fact, your own.

The penultimate day of the last test was cut short by the weather, and once again, the Australians added to the litany of complaints they've had since this series started not to go all their way.

You'll recall how, at the beginning of the series, Ricky Ponting called the integrity of every England player into question with regard to 'walking' (i.e. admitting you're out rather than waiting for the umpire to decide) and how it was 'a shame' that this aspect of the game was sadly a thing of the past for the English, unlike the gentlemanly Aussies. So on day 3 of this test match, when every tv viewer and radio listener around the world clearly discerned the Aussie 'role-model' caught bat pad by Ian Bell, (and let's not leave out Damien Martyn, who also displayed, the next day, the belief that first catches don't count) it was then puzzling, bearing in mind his honesty beyond reproach, that he stood brazenly planted to his crease.

Let us not forget the spectacular explosion of the 'substitute fielder' whinge. Australia of course would never stoop to using subs. (Except when Michael Clarke fielded for only 11 balls of the third test, and yet was fit enough to bat in both innings. But ssssssh!)

And now, most incomprehensibly, it's the bad weather whinge, an entirely new phenomenon, unknown in England before this series. Short memories, these Aussies. They've already forgotten that the Ashes would already be in England's hands had the weather not saved Australia in the third test at Old Trafford.

And so we go into the last day of the last test. Let's hope the whingein' Ponts has more to whinge about when it's over.

11 September - Last Test, end of day 3, England 373, Australia 264-2

A typical Sunday really.

Got up late, scoffed down some chocolate croissants. Went and voted the Prime Minister back in. Well obviously Mrs C did that bit, but I contributed to the national democracy by driving her to the polling station. To a number of polling stations actually, but we found the right one eventually, where she exercised her right, and a confused old gentleman almost joined me as I waited in the car, which evidently looked very similar to his, minus the foreigner in the driver's seat.

Then a bit of mountain-climbing, dressed as we were in sandals - perfect. But summit was reached with no ankles broken, so that was also marked down as a success. (This was back up at Mt. Kuratake, with a view from the top to the sea in the west, and the whole of the colossal Aso crater in the east.)

And all home in time for tea and the test match. Day 4, clouds about, and plenty of Australian batting to come.

10 September - Last Test, end of day 2, England 373, Australia 112-0

The cricket's getting a bit nervy, with Australia looking set to bat forever. The weather does them a disservice towards the end of the day, and promises more misery (for them) tomorrow. One can only hope.

Meanwhile, with 2 days to go before the Japanese general election, the ruling Liberals and PM Koizumi are destined to be returned to office, so we're led to believe by the polls. He's played a canny campaign, and he may even have played it well enough to get back without the need for the current coalition partner. Stay tuned.

9 September - Last Test, end of day 1, England 319-7

They're finally doing away with Routemasters!

Have just read a report detailing the death of the good old Routemaster buses in London, the one you can jump on and off at your convenience, a major advantage in a traffic jam and avoids pleading with jobsworth bus drivers who will only open the doors at a bus stop 'for safety reasons'.

From December 9, never more the sight of a young man, not born to sprinting, gamely chasing down a number 36 before it accelerates out of touching distance. Neither the view of the aforementioned fellow receding, defeated and breathless, now standing in the middle of traffic, as one settles into one's seat on said bus.

7 September

Well, amazingly, Kumamoto prefecture seems largely to have got away with it.

I say amazingly because the prefectures around us got pummelled. In Kagoshima down south, Miyazaki to the east, and up in the north of the island, there is flooding, landslides (roads and mountainsides collapsing), and lots of broken stuff. Some places have had over a metre of rain. The evening news announced that 17 people are now believed to have died.

6 September

9.30pm - Worst seems to be over now. Haven't been outside, and it wouldn't do any good now anyway because it's dark, but apart the garden being a bit shredded, all seems well. The roof's still on, at least.

5.30pm - Well it's back again, but blustery rather than constant. Things are banging about out there, but it's not as strong as last year's, (i.e. the house isn't being shaken).

2.00pm - It's very quiet out there. Then the tv tells us were right in the middle of it...

11.30am - TV reports from Kagoshima show trees bent double and massively swollen rivers running high and fast. Fortunately, most river banks are built up to much higher levels than you'd think they ever need to be. The concrete gullies are not pretty, and sometimes are dry, but they're pretty full today.

9.00am - we're woken up by what sounds like a truck colliding with the side of the house, but is no more than a gust of wind. The rain's horizontal, though the worst isn't due until mid afternoon. By the time this is over, they reckon we'll've had about 400mm of rain.

5 September

9.00pm - The rain's tipping down, and it's very blustery already. Most of the garden's flattened already, so I don't hold up much hope for all but the hardier stuff. Just got back from the supermarket, where most of the 'fresh' shelves are empty, though they still had some eclairs and cheesecake. Mrs C has cooked up a vat of stew and rice in case we lose gas and/or electricity, the bath is full of water, and all the garden pots are now lining the hallway.

It's due to hit Kagoshima (southernmost tip of the island) at 6.00am, and be past us by 6.00pm, so it's going to be an all-dayer.

4 September
Get well soon, Mum!

Typhoon Nabi is still heading relentlessly for Kyushu. The storm, which rather worryingly was categorised as a super-typhoon (category 5), the highest rating and the same as hurricane Katrina, yesterday, was later downgraded to a 4 and today to a 3, which it's forecast to be when it makes landfall early on Tuesday. At the moment, it's forecast to go right over the top of us, so Tuesday promises to be eventful. Strangely, the typhoon which tore up Kyushu last year, also a 3 and the strongest to hit the island in 15 years, also hit on September 6.

3 September

As people around the world are greeted with pictures from America that they are more used to seeing coming out of the third world, serious questions are now being asked, predominantly, but by no means exclusively, in the American media about the worrying gaps in federal government intelligence.

Very telling are the quotes from government and FEMA spokesmen about "people who chose to stay" (my italics). Perhaps these predominantly white, middle class folk saw the photos of the evacuation queues on the highways before the storm and assumed an evacuation order meant that everyone would 'just hop in the car and go'. Now we are seeing, due to lack of private transport or insufficient public transport, these people had no "choice" but to stay.

Therefore they massively underestimated the number of people who would stay in the city, and they didn't accept the scale of the aftermath, as Bush now admits after earlier having referred to Katrina as "a temporary diversion".

In a now famous radio interview, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin outlined how he has repeatedly had to plead with the federal government to take the disaster seriously.

And only now, 5 days after people were left without food, water, sanitation and adequate shelter, is help arriving. (The woeful approach to the relief and rescue mission: the Official version vs. reality.)

2 September again

I'm watching a CNN special on hurricane Katrina at the moment. It hasn't had a huge amount of media coverage here, as you might expect. "Hurricane prone area gets hit by hurricane in hurricane season" isn't much of a story, particularly when you're preparing for the 14th typhoon of the Pacific season. But the aftermath of the storm is what's truly shocking.

Not only is the death toll tragic, and the pictures of an entire city waterlogged astonishing, but among the people who wouldn't, or couldn't leave, the real problems are beginning now. Supplies are running out, clean water is becoming scarce, the place is becoming desperately unsanitary. In view of this, it is perhaps understandable that people are looting stores and the like, but as the CNN anchorman just asked rhetorically, "How do you explain rescue helicopters and hospital staff being shot at by snipers?" The underlying tone of the coverage is a grave concern for security. The New Orleans authorities are now really beginning to fear for law and order, and the spokesman on the news seemed genuinely nervous. Armed gangs are preventing the rescue and relief operation all over the city, even hampering efforts to repair the levees and canal banks. The implementation of a shoot-to-kill policy in the near future has even been rumoured.

2 September

Japan in "Something archaic needs updating" shocker!

Just as parties are beginning their campaigning for the election on the 11th, they're finding their efforts a little hampered by archaic Japanese election law. After giving a public speech, an opposition politician thought it'd be a tremendous idea to put the video online. But his efforts to reach out beyond the few that heard the speech have been dashed by a 1950 election law which states that "candidates can only distribute 35,000 postcards and 70,000 leaflets during the official election campaign period" and that "TV and radio spots can be used by parties, but not individual candidates", and no other media. So no emails (well actually, thank heaven for that) and no updates on your political websites until after the election! When asked yesterday if politicians would be embracing technology in the future, a senior spokesman dusted off his hearing aid and said, "Electric typewriters?! Whatever next?"

1 September

Typhoon Nabi is on its way, forecast to swing south west of Kyushu next Tuesday, which would mean us copping the stronger eastern side of it. That's of course assuming that it doesn't nudge east anyway, as they often do at this time of year when they mean the wall of pressure coming off the Chinese coast. Ah well, better start staking down the plants again.

And the g**stb**k may be down for a few days after some Russian spammers latched onto it. One or two of the spams I'd like to leave up, particularly the one that claimed that overoften.org.uk is a mine of information for physicists the world over. (If only they understood the irony of that). But as they all link to link farms and porn sites, I don't think I'll bother.