A Country File

Up at the farm weve sufficiently recovered from the heavy snows, in fact it hasnt really snowed here since christmas eve and though theres still snow lying in the fields i`m beginning to look forward to getting out and doin some diggin!! I reckon there`s a definate whiff of Spring in the air!! though i hope im not speaking too soon..it is still only january i spose.

I had quite a mellow New Year as one might imagine. Nicky bought me a whittling set for Christmas ( I kid you not)!! though early test attempts have proved inconclusive as to whether i`ll make it in the exciting world of whittlin'.

New Years Eve was spent in Hiroshima or rather more precisely for me slumped around the toilet in a friends apartment.....new years resolution.....do not attempt to drink a bottle of rum before going out.

Next day and we went to see Sayuri..very pretty..very hmm ma ma!

january 2nd and a bunch of peole braved the snow and ice to come out here for a party.

Got the Irori glowing for the occasion, and if theres a better way to spend a snowy winters night than sitting around a fire in the floor, with lots of good friends, plenty of warm sake, and some wintery type tunes, then i'm still looking for it.. Some people spent most of the night out in the fields making heart shaped snow sculptures filled with candles, it all looked beautiful we called it the 'corridors of luuurrrrve'!

Next day woke up only slightly worse for wear and after lots and lots of hot coffee and breakfast we all got down to the serious business of chilling out.

At one point there were people in one room whittling like crazy, people in another playing scrabble, while some others were brave?! enough to try out some new exercise equipment. all very rock and roll!!...literally!!

Yesterday was the villages annual Tondo Festival. It was good to see everyone from the village again. We didnt have anything to burn, so had to make do with eating the little fishes the old dears kept offering us, before we moved onto the main event..the TakeZake!!

I think everyone in the village had the incredibly bad idea to get me as drunk as possible, beacause whenever my cup appeared anything less than full, someone was rushing over with another piece of long bamboo filled with hot (very delicious) sake to fill it back up again.

Sure enough it wasnt long before me and several of the old guys were sitting in the mud arms around each other laughing away at goodness knows what. One of the things i like about communication is sometimes the drunker you get the easier it is.

Another thing I have to say is that its so nice to feel such a part of this community.

I live in Japan, and yet I've never felt so close to my neighbours etc as I do now. Of course there are 'gaijin' issues occasionally, we expect that, but generally everyone here has been suppportive and friendly. I overheard one old lady (whom I didnt recognise) whispering to a friend 'Gaikokujin'!!??!! "Chigau" the other lady said "Jon and Nicky desu". ...lovely!