The View from the Towers 塔からの眺め A web log by Nigel Ruddock of life in Germany as an expat, with excursions to Japan and the UK.

Author: Nigel

  • 🌤️ Castle in the sky 天空の城

    12th September 2025 年9月12日

    Welcome back to another episode of The View from the Towers in the UK…☺️

    👉 I have drunk 3 bottles of very nice Whitby Bay Craft beer 🍺 since arriving here in Somerset. So what should I do with the empty bottles? Without much thought I bring them back to the local shop for recycling. There I am met with a blank look of incomprehension. “Don’t you recycle them at home?” they say. I had forgotten. You can’t bring bottles back to shops in the UK. This is just one example of: It’s a funny feeling being in the UK.

    👉 I notice little things. UK instead of GB on the back of cars 🚘, impatient drivers in London, overseeing the fact that I am driving a foreign car. The fact that my 20 pound note is out of date.

    私の20ポンド紙幣は期限切れで無効です

    A lot of flags. Beers I have never heard of. And of course: I don’t have to use a foreign language to communicate, and people (who are generally very friendly) assume I live here.

    👉 But let’s move on……writing as I do rather like H.V. Morton in his 1929 book “In Search of England”. Except that he drove a bull-nosed Morris, and myself a 15 yr-old Audi…..and that “England” has changed beyond recognition – or has it?

    👉 Dunster castle is not for purists. Yes, It towers magnificently over the eponymous village, but all is not what it seems. It’s not just a medieval castle. Over the centuries the Luttrell family added to and changed the original structure, culminating their work in the 19th century with a vast comfortable Victorian residence.

    From the rooms you get great views…..

    ダンスター城は中世の城を改築した、快適な19世紀の邸宅です。素晴らしい景色が楽しめます！

    In the dining hall the table is set for the Indian polo team, with a place set for the Maharajah of Jodhpur……this is all very British Empire stuff……

    食堂にはインドのポロチームのためにテーブルが用意され、ジョードプルのマハラジャのための席も用意されている。

    While the clock still keeps the time……

    時計はまだ動いている

    You can flaunt yourself on the grand staircase….

    この階段の上であなたはとても大切な存在だと感じます

    …or play a Victorian game…….

    ビクトリア朝のゲーム

    Or be grateful you don’t have this plumbing any longer…..

    モダンな蛇口があってよかった

    You can visit the horse stables…..(if you like that sort of thing). However there is no muck or smell here…..or horses for that matter….(you’d have thought they would have a token horse🐴 munching hay….?)

    馬小屋

    (but I loved the cobbled floor……)

    床が気に入った

    The house is all a bit gloomy inside. However, The National Trust are at pains to point out that this is due to the UV filters on the windows – there to protect the fabrics.

    To be honest, I found all this heavy emphasis on conservation and preservation a little oppressive at times. It was at moments like this when I was reminded of the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi – 侘び寂び – the beauty of imperfection and impermanence. A world view, an aesthetic and a way of life so distant from Western ideals. Both have their merits, but not when pushed to extremes…

    👉 However there is a bright conservatory…….

    家は少し暗いですが、明るい冬の庭があります

    …and a fun hat and costume room…..

    帽子を試着しました

    ……..and then the gardens. Well that’s a different story: ……..we are at a castle, so why not float into the sky with Laputa?

    p.s. I hope they bring this piano in when it rains….

    天空の城

    …In the grounds a climbing project had been set up . Needless to say I was happy to remain a spectator…….Not so my tough Japanese companion….

    私の日本の友達は私よりも健康です！

    A short walk down the road is the water mill with its picturesque wheels and packhorse bridge…..

    水車

    which of course led us to the…..

    二人でお茶

    👉 The classic National Trust tea shop. But oh what was this…..? “Sorry the dishwasher is broken” said the girl serving….”we are using disposable cups and plates today….” Now what would H.V.Morton have made of this? The coffee and cake were fine….it’s just that I had had this fantasy of a traditional English afternoon tea….not a McDonalds-type beaker and a cardboard plate……😢 We had charming company though…..

    好奇心旺盛なコマドリ

    Dunster Castle. Don’t miss it if you are in the South West of England…..https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/dunster-castle-and-watermill

    Apart from the castle, the village is a pretty place but not designed for those hulking fat SUVs which people feel the need to drive these days. We had a look into the church with its fine medieval screen……

    地元の教会

    ….somber monuments trying to look permanent despite our impermanent lives….

    古代の墓

    …..towering arches……

    …..and some rather tasteful Victorian stained glass…

    素敵なステンドグラス

    Well, that’s all for now. Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

    読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

    See you またね ☺️

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    🪶

    終わり

  • 🖋️ The View from the Desk 机からの眺め

    August 9th 2025 年8月10日

    👉 The view from my desk can sometimes be rather distracting. I don’t remember, for example, having ordered a coffee table……

    コーヒーテーブルを注文した覚えがない😂

    So I must retain some fudoushin ふどうしん( 不動心) and remain imperturbable . I read this word in Japanese today and didn’t know what on earth it meant. But seeing that character 心 at the end should have prepared me for something deep. 心 means mind, heart or spirit, and I even have it on my wall at home as a calligraphy exercise!

    心

    I would probably never use imperturbable here in Germany because I know I would have to explain it. Here is the Oxford English Dictionary…

    難しい言葉 🙄

    So there you go. Pearls of knowledge from a building site.

    👉 There’s nothing quite like a spontaneous hike with friends. But with such a hot weekend a cool route is called for. So no to the open vineyards of the Rheingau or ruined castles baking in the heat. What we needed was a route almost entirely in the shade.

    東京ほど暑くはないけど、十分暑い！

    Those who can’t come offer you a colourful range of situations they find themselves in. The globetrotters: “I am in Brazil and flying to Chile tomorrow, otherwise would definitely join! The thinkers: “I am thinking about it”. The organized: “Sorry, I have a prior arrangement”. The unfortunates: “I feel worse and worse” (all sympathy here). The stay-at-homers: “I need a day at home”. The mysterious: no reply.

    Well, in the end there were only two of us left. But there are advantages to that – flexibility is one of them.

    👉 The route took us through the shady woods south of Darmstadt. It was very quiet – only the odd dog walker or jogger trudging by. Maybe everybody was doing their shopping. It was a Saturday morning after all. Nature stood still. Not a breath of wind :

    レストランのある静かな池

    At times the luxuriant vegetation was higher than myself….

    花は私よりも背が高かった

    One area of the woods was devoted to art installations. An imaginative “rain machine”……

    アート。「雨の機械」

    A dome which teased the eye – was this art or trees? It seemed especially designed to be photographed to produce a deception in your camera…..

    欺瞞的な芸術

    ………….chiming, tinkling, boat-at-harbour-like tones……

    フェーさんが「サウンドインスタレーション」に挑戦
    これは港の船の音のようだった

    👉 Climbing up a steep path, passing an observatory, we arrived at the Ludwigsturm (Ludwig Tower) on the Ludwigshöhe. From here you get a panoramic view of Darmstadt, and on the horizon, Frankfurt.

    展望台からはダルムシュタットとフランクフルトの景色が見える

    The rather impressive 19thc. tower has never been open all the times I have been here. And the adjacent restaurant was shut because the owners were on holiday (The summer holdays are a sacrosant period in Germany. My customers don’t pick up their violins, the Opera houses and schools don’t pay their bills…all because it is Ferien (holidays). Let’s not worry about that violinmaker who still has to pay his overheads. There is even a word for it: The Sommerloch (The “Summer hole”)).

    👉 I forgot to mention one piece of art poised between two trees. It was made up almost entirely of oyster shells……curious….

    カキの殻

    Is this art?

    それは芸術ですか

    👉 Well, thank you for reading this, and feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. These days you can translate a web site instantaneously with A.I. or Google translate.

    See you またね 😉

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    🚶‍➡️

    終わり

  • 😮 Quick! 急いで！

    3rd August 2025年8月3日

    Quick ! Quick !

    The cat’s been sick.

    Where ? Where ?

    Under the chair.

    Hasten ! Hasten !

    Fetch the basin.

    Alack ! Alack !

    It is too late,

    The carpet’s in

    An aweful state.

    No ! No!

    It’s all in vain,

    For she has licked it

    Up again.

    👉 I’ve been clearing out. Weeding out those books that I will never read again and adding them to the street library on the Bahn Str. in Langen. But this is one book I shall never throw out. Iona and Peter Opie were a remarkable couple who collected children’s rhymes and riddles in the 40s and 50s. And I have the definitive edition with illustrations by Maurice Sendak

    子供の童謡集

    Here’s a link……

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_and_Peter_Opie

    So there you are 😅 No point in getting out the vacuum cleaner

    私と掃除機

    👉 In East Asia, summer is the time to remember your ancestors …your ancestors…. you may ask? In the west we may visit the graves of our grandparents (in my case in Ireland) or parents. We may pause awhile and leave some flowers. In Asia there is a widespread belief that you are connected to those who went before you. A strange concept for us Europeans maybe. But this concept of lineage is a part of Asian culture. So it is no surprise that, for example in Japan, the rituals are well established.

    In Frankfurt we have a special Japanese dance group that perform the Obon (dance) every year. And at this year’s Main Matsuri Festival there will be such a dance….see the link…https://www.main-matsuri.com/programm/kuenstler/nichi-doku-bon-odori-kai-ev

    ぜひメイン祭りに来てください。とっても楽しいですよ！

    👉 Another late summer festival is the Lantern floating ceremony. In Frankfurt the fast flowing river Main would not be suitable for this. But usually, with those who have gone before you in mind, you write your message or thought on a lantern, which floats out on the water….Tomoko sent me this picture of one such ceremony which took place recently at the lake in Senzokuike Park in Ota city, Tokyo.

    洗足池公園

    Many who have taken part in this ceremony express a sort of relief that they have been able to commune* with their grandparents or parents, and have returned home with a lighter heart. The actual lanterns may be retrieved after the ceremony and used again next year, or burnt, as is the case here……(* the verb “commune ” is not easy to translate)

    👉 There is even a ceremony in the UK, organized by the Shinnyo-en branch of Buddhism….https://www.shinnyoenuk.org/about-shinnyo-lantern-floating

    👉 The days are still warm here in Germany, and the really hot heatwaves have hopefully left us now. Torrential showers flood my local building site.. see that square in the middle? That is not a garden pond but the lift shaft!

    ドイツはまだ暖かいですが、激しい雨が降ることが多く、向かいの建設現場は浸水してしまいました！

    👉 However, nature only seems to use these showers as a chance to promote growth: Witness my walks in Langen and Frankfurt…….Honeysuckle seems only to send out its perfume in the early morning or evening….

    スイカズラ

    Otherwise it’s a free for all……clover in the meadows….

    クローバー

    Succulents at the botanic garden in Frankfurt….

    フランクフルトの植物園の多肉植物

    Hydrangeas relishing the rain…..

    アジサイ

    ……………and the water lilies preparing to burst open…..

    睡蓮

    An Elfenbein Distel…..an Ivory thistle….

    アザミ

    And looks who’s here….the European oak…..

    ヨーロッパのオークの木

    And these will become walnuts, believe it or not….

    クルミの木

    …and as for the local squirrels….well…it’s either territorial issues or finding a mate…I’m not quite sure what’s going on here…..

    フランクフルトのクレイジーなリス

    👉 Well, thank you for reading this, and feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. These days you can translate a web site instantaneously with A.I. or Google translate.

    See you またね 😉

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    終わり

    😉

  • ❤️ The Great Miracle 偉大な奇跡

    ❤️ The Great Miracle 偉大な奇跡

    July 24th 2025 年7月24日

    Maddalena Casulana (c.1544-1590) was an Italian composer, singer and lutenist of the late Rennaissance. She was the first female composer to have had a whole book of her music printed and published in the history of western music. It was dedicated to her female patron Isabella de’Medici.

    Now how about that? And here is me singing her music nearly 500 years later. In Italy.

    Gran Miracol by Maddelena Casulana
    私はイタリアで歌のコースを受講しています

    Gran Miracol d’amore, quel che’uccide da vit’ e’in un si sface, l’alma s’aviv’e more………

    I find myself in the remote settlement of Fenigli in the province of Marche.

    私たちは田舎の丘の上にある古い修道院に滞在しています

    Perched on the top of a hill some 35 km from the Adriatic coast is a former monastery complex converted into a venue for hosting cultural groups – in this case a choir workshop named after the aforementioned composer. It is run by Göttingen conductor Nik Myers with voice training by Bass-baritone Fabian Franke. The centre is the dream fulfilled of our genial and eccentic host Heinz.

    この修道院はハインツさんによって修復されました。使われなくなった古い礼拝堂があります。

    Art in my room….

    ….and outside…

    The chapel where we rehearse is deconsecrated (i.e. not in use any longer), but many of the original furnishings remain, now embellished with modern contributions. Rather odd, you may think. But possibly unique……

    碑文が刻まれた古い椅子

    A buddhist mandala strikes an interesting note from the side wall..

    壁には仏教の曼荼羅が描かれています！

    And some pious painting above the altar has been replaced by something more contemporary…..

    礼拝堂には現代美術が展示されている

    The gallery still stands – just….

    木造のギャラリー

    Sacred hearts…….

    これはとてもカトリック的です。「聖心」と呼ばれています

    ….the poor Virgin Mary had to listen to us rehearsing……

    リハーサル中、メアリーは私たちを見下ろしています。彼女は幸せそうには見えません。

    Every detail of the site has been carefully thought out : seating on the terrace…..

    礼拝堂の外のテラス

    A chimney……

    煙突

    The midday light is hard here. The shadows deep. But the wine is good, and cook Martha produces delicious evening meals with an elegance and poise befitting a true Italian professional. We cater for ourselves for lunch, but eagerly await what she will produce from her kitchen after a long day of singing………

    料理人のマーサさんは、地元の食材を使った美味しい料理を作ってくれます。新鮮なフルーツ、新鮮な野菜、サラミ、イタリア産のハードチーズ、そして地元産のワイン。

    The local inhabitants get a look in….a scorpion is indeed a “fine thing”.

    部屋でこのサソリを見つけました。でも小さいのは無害なんです…😄

    And up the lane this fig tree looks stronger than the shed it nestles up to…..

    イチジクの木は建物よりも強そうに見えます…..

    Colours are strong here….be it red….

    or mauve………

    ……… or the bright yellow of a broom up near the old Rocca castle……

    ….from which you get a fine view of Monte Catria……. lit up by the early morning sun…..(6am!)

    早朝の山の景色

    The Rocca really is a ruin though…..

    The bell tower of our chapel can just be seen in this photo, looking out to the Adriatic coast at sunrise…..

    この写真では、日の出のアドリア海沿岸を望む私たちの礼拝堂の鐘楼がちょうど見えます…..

    But nature is unforgiving when left to its own devices. As in this house nearby…..

    いくつかの家は廃墟になっていて悲しい

    One day we sing Vespers at the monastery of Fonte Avellana, which nestles under the mountains not far away…..

    We try to follow the monks singing the psalms in Italian, but are on more familiar musical territory with Tallis’ If Ye Love Me, and Duruflé’s Ubi Caritas.……

    ある日、私たちは修道院で歌いました。そこは車で30分ほど離れた丘陵地帯にあります

    Holy relics gleam in the dim light….

    聖遺物

    The air is heavy with incense. The main door seems like an escape to the real world outside….

    The surrounding countryside here was devasted by floods a few years back. Our host recounts how the river rose 7 m. at Pergola, the nearest town, and many of the roads which were are now using were then just a heap of rubble and boulders.

    These windy roads lead us up to Castello, a tiny fortified settlement on a steep hill. Why are we here? for some post-vesper refreshment of course. The restaurant is very popular with locals, and a large family has gathered next to us for a birthday celebration. They invite us to sing with them, little expecting that we are actually a choir…..

    歌った後レストランに行きます

    ….. around the corner there is a very red bell tower. Thank goodness that was not the real time. The clock stopped long ago.

    I speak about 5 words of Italian – allegro, ritardando, piano, piu Forte and Scusi. So in town I have to learn Invito, and Concerto,(not difficult, that one) in order to hand out flyers for our little concert….Here I am with alto Judy…..

    Accompanied by Ulricke at the church of S. Francesco…….

    Art just happens in Italy. A back street in Pergola……

    ちなみに…お花は本物です！

    (The flowers are real by the way….)

    Flyposting for the concert “Il grande miracolo d’amore”…..

    …seems to have an effect. Whether the audience came for the free wine and buffet, an opportunity to talk to their neighbours or for the music I’m not sure.

    A local lady took this photo and then persuaded me to fix up her violin the following day…..

    観客は無料ビュッフェ目当てで来たのか、それともおしゃべりをしに来たのか？それとも音楽を聴きに来たのか😅？分かりません……。

    On the terrace, post-concert ……..

    The chapel……

    Nearly every evening here has a stunning sunset…

    ほぼ毎晩素晴らしい夕日が見られる

    When the cicadas eventually slow down for the day…..

    セミ

    Whilst driving back through Austria I was struck not only by the change of climate (no cicadas in The Tirol!) but by the violence of the Alps, and the seemingly over-tidy landscape of manicured green fields. Even today, crossing the Alps marks a crossing into another culture.

    Well, thank you for reading this, and feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. These days you can translate a web site instantaneously with A.I. or Google translate.

    However, I have given the photos Japanese 🎌 titles partly as an exercise for myself, but also as a goodwill gesture to all my dear Japanese friends who will read this.

    読んでいただきありがとうございます🙏 よかったらお友達とシェアしてください😉

    A special thanks to the indefatigable Nik Myers 🎶 here for organizing this course. To “Don” Heinz for affording warm hospitality, and to Signora Martha for her exceptional cooking 😋. I have lost track of who took what photos 📷, but thank you everyone anyway!

    このコースを企画してくださった、精力的に活動してくださったニック・マイヤーズ🎶氏に心から感謝いたします。温かいおもてなしをしてくださったドン・ハインツ氏、そして素晴らしい料理を披露してくださったシニョーラ・マーサ氏 にも感謝いたします😋

    See you またね 😉

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    終わり

  • Weblog Test version ウェブログテスト版

    14th July 2025年7月14日

    Note: As I am in the process of leaving WIX, the company which hosted this blog until now, some of you may not have been able to access my last post. In fact you still can if you click on this link https://thetowers0.wixsite.com/blog

    To launch my new weblog version I have reached back to the words of “The Bard” as we call him in English.

    “…Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

    Thou art more lovely and more temperate

    Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

    And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

    Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

    And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

    And every fair from fair sometime declines,

    By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;

    But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

    Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;

    Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,

    When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:

    So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

     So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

    William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

    👋Matane / See you!

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    All photos by Nigel Ruddock