January 12th 2025 年1月12日
She must have heard me muttering over my shopping list...... "tomatoes, milk, apples....oh yes, tissues...." because all of a sudden she's standing in front of me holding two containers. One is Flüssige Seife, the other Körper Milch. In the lilting English of the Indian sub-continent: "Excuse me, which one is body lotion?"
"That one" I said. "be careful not to mix them up 😄". She laughed, and for a few seconds there was a happy moment between two strangers. I was in the supermarket Aldi. And of course I recognised the brands.......
スーパーマーケットで、インド人が私に尋ねました。「これはボディローションですか？」私は彼女を助けて、今は幸せを感じています
Oh, but the highlight was yet to come. In my shopping trolley lay some travel advertising. You often see this in the dreary January months....so.....yes! I was wondering where I should go on holiday....of course, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets...!
休暇にどこに行くべきかが分かりました 😶
.....And a short walk from Tower Bridge would bring me to Bermondsey. Why don't they offer Bermondsey as a Reise (Travel) Highlight? After all, it is the setting of Graham Swift's novel "Last Orders". I picked it off my bookshelf the other day (having read it a few year's ago) and now can't put it down....📖. We are in late 1960's Bermondsey. The Beatles are in full swing 🎙️. Vic is an Undertaker (his wry joke being "Vic Tucker, Undertaker. At your disposal" ⚰️); Vince is a second-hand car salesman 🚘; Ray "Lucky" Johnson is an insurance clerk (Lucky refers to his betting skills ), Lenny "Gunner" Tate has a Fruit and Veg. shop...🍌🥕...but the central character is "off-stage". This is the butcher Jack Dodds, lying terminally ill in St. Thomas' Hospital. Before he dies he asks Vince to lend him 1.000 pounds 💷 (lend? thinks Vince). Later he asks Ray to lay a large bet at the races - so that the wife has something to live off when he goes. Humour. Pathos!
とても良い小説を読みました。1960年代のロンドンの生活を描いたものです
They all meet in the Coach and Horses for a drink, and follow up their friend Jack Dodds' dying wish - to scatter his ashes off Margate pier.
They drive to Margate, with a detour to Chatham Naval memorial and Canterbury cathedral, in Vince's latest showroom offer - ("It's a Merc. 380 S-Class, that's what it is, automatic. It's six year's old but can do 130 without a wobble. Though not in the New Cross Road it won't.....").
During the trip all the convolutions of their intertwining lives in East London come to the surface. Their marital fortunes; their betting; their wartime experiences; hop-picking in Kent...Amy, Mandy and June, the disabled child. Graham Swift writes humanely about their courage, their weaknesses, their ambitions. The writing is simply brilliant. The only caveat of course is the language - For non-native speakers all the puns and cockney phrases could be a stumbling block.
イーストロンドン出身の4人の男が、死にゆく友人の遺灰をマーゲート桟橋に撒くという願いを叶えるためにパブに集まる。
From Body milk and Bermondsey Beer to Bergstrasse wine 🍷
😄
Happiness. What's your definition?
Let's start with the opposite: For me, Unhappiness is......
幸福。あなたにとっての幸福の定義は何ですか？
Deutsche Bahn platform announcements ドイツ鉄道プラットフォームの発表
Getting up in the morning with the knowledge that there is no milk in the fridge 朝起きると冷蔵庫に牛乳がないことに気づく
Getting stuck with a boring person in a train 退屈な人と一緒に電車に閉じ込められる
Limp restaurant salads しなびたレストランのサラダ
Having to read Germisch (Why use Highlights when Höhepunkte is available?) 英語とドイツ語の混合言語を読む
Spam スパム
👍
Here are two quotes for happiness from famous people
".......... is a warm gun" (John Lennon 1968) 「..........は暖かい銃です」
"......... is the bi-product of activity " (Jacob Bronowski - a wise Polish man) 「……は活動の副産物である」
(and from me).....curled up on the sofa with a genuinely funny book (not a Kindle) ソファで本当に面白い本を読んで
Yakitori followed by one (or two) servings of Sake 焼き鳥と日本酒1杯（または2杯）
The pun you didn't intend but it comes out anyway (can't translate)
Doing a good bow re-hair (can't translate)
Making a decision after a morning of procrastination 先延ばしの後に決断を下す
Deleting the email app on my phone 携帯電話のメールアプリを削除する
A chilling but thrilling New Year's hike....Bensheim on the Bergstrasse
新年のハイキング
And later on, like something out of a horror film, a castle where every step was an ice trap...
ホラー映画に出てくるような城。足元の氷はとても危険でした
Onward we strode, over hill, over dale, our boots crunching on the frosty ground....
I asked a fellow hiker (from Sri Lanka) what he would be doing when he got home. His eyes gleamed and he rubbed his hands together in glee with the thought: "...I shall cook a chicken byriani!..." he said. Well, I thought, I could manage a curry parhaps.........
So later that day......Into the microwave go the Zucchini, onions, garlic, sweet potato and beans......
今晩何を料理するかについて話し合った
Now the rice....... I got given this wonderful WMf rice cooker last year. It has simply revolutionized my rice.....restaurant-style perfect grains every time.......
Time was short so I took the easy option......
A satisfying end to the day....it may not look great, but that didn't bother me....
At this time of year it takes a bit of "ooompf" to get off the sofa and put on your hiking boots. I don't always manage it. But when hiking colleague Yorgos announced a walk in the Rhine valley I could not resist....❄️
別の日、別のハイキング - ライン渓谷
This time it was not frost, but the other stuff - snow. We passed another of those scary-looking castles.....
霜と雪 🥶
Avoiding the vineyard steps and keeping on the main path - the Rheinsteig.....
Over the valley a church sailed above the clouds.......
....passing on our return route....an urn in front at that humungous monument above Rüdesheim.....
I am no good at selfies. But I try............自撮りは苦手です。でも頑張ってます............
There you go, that's all from freezing Germany....
Except that in the workshop it's nice and warm....暖かくて居心地が良い.....and there are customers and customers. Some come with bribes.....😄
顧客の中には賄賂を持ってくる人もいる
The "Tochigi Flea Market"
「とちぎフリーマーケット」
👘🪭👜
I have a collection of stuff which a friend of mine brought from a relative's house clearance in Tochigi, Japan. I am going to put them one by one in this blog. If you would like to buy anything contact me and I can send it on.
私の友人が、日本の茨木市にある親戚の家の片付けから持ってきた品々をコレクションしています。このブログに一つずつ載せていきます。何か購入したいものがあれば、私に連絡していただければ、お送りします。
*
Secondhand: A delightful Yukatta - a summer Kimono - for a little girl. The label says 5-6 years, but that's a Japanese size don't forget (a little on the small side). 90cm long, 100% cotton.
Suggested price (excl. postage) €25
子供浴衣
See you....... matane!
Nigel
Comments welcome 😉
THE END 終わる