MAY 2003
We finally got the import licence we needed to bring my father-in-law's remains back to Japan for the funeral services at his family shrine. On the 18th of May he was deified as a Shinto kami, part of his ashes was kept at the shrine, some were buried in the garden of Kiyoko's uncle, and the rest we brought back to be scattered in our garden.
The day before we left was pretty chaotic. David and Rodney dropped in around
lunchtime for a chat. Rodney had been over from Oz training in Stavit with David
for a few weeks and were going home next day. We had hardly sat down with a
cup of tea when the door bell rang and there were my sister and my brother-in-law,
neither of whom I had seen for 15 years. In the end we didn't finish packing
until 3 0'clock in the morning.
When we arrived at Kansai Airport there were people in surcigal masks everywere
disinfecting everything. It turned out that a doctor from Taiwan suspected of
having SARS had left on a flight a few
hours before we landed.
The funeral brought together a lot of Kiyoko's family that I had never met
before; from uncles and aunts in their eighties to children born after we left
Japan. It was quite emotional at times.
I also had time to go up to Kyoto to see my friend Gordon. I brought back
his latest translation of Yagyu Munenori's treatise on strategy which I will
knuckle down to read once Summer's gone and the nights draw in.
We've sure missed a lot of excitement this month. On our way back to Europe
Japan was hit with a magnitude seven earthquake, which luckily didn't kill anyone,
and in Beverley a factory across the road from Heimbu blew up in the most spectacular
fire in the town's history. If the wind had been coming in a different direction
we probably would not have had a house to come home to. The Environment Agency
is now dealing with the worst case of polution that has ever hit Yorkshire as
a toxic coctail is seeping into the local waterways.
Trainspotters have now been added to the Government's steadily growing list
of people to be kept a close tab on. But would any self-respecting terrorist
really wear an anorak?
According to newly released statistics Yorkshire comes up top when it comes
to take time off from work. The most common reason given for not turning up
is being hung-over. I wonder how that one would play down South.
Vegitarians can skip this item, but for the omnivores, not to mention the carnivores,
of the world the disappearance of the family butcher is a serious problem. Most
of us now have to get our meat in supermarkets; packaged in plastic trays covered
in clingfilm with the poultry injected with pig or cow enzymes to keep the water
used to plump it up; the beef coloured a sickly red to make it look more appetizing,
and animals pumped so full of growth hormones that children living off MacDonald's
hamburgers now tower above their parents.
The old family butcher sourched his meat locally so he knew what the individual
farmer fed his animals. He would hang the beasts for at least 3 weeks instead
of rushing them through in record time and then artifically mature the meat
with chemicals. He would utilize everything on the animal instead of just the
prime cuts and would thus be actually cheaper than the supposedly cheap supermarkets;
he would advise the customer on how to use different parts of different animals
to the best effect, and he would keep your dog and cat a lot healthier than
the pet food industry does, and a lot cheaper, too.
Luckily for Beverley we still have 3 butchers left, but for how long? A few
years ago there were 8 and the remaining ones are unable to find apprentices,
and as usual the Government makes life as difficult as possible for anyone not
fitting into its view of how things should be done.
I went over to fetch Arthur yesterday and had a chat with Marcus. Just before
I left for Japan he had managed to hatch 2 Berkut eagle chicks which, as far
as we know is a world first. One was later killed by its parents, but the other
is growing by leap and bound, consuming a rabbit-and-a-half a day already.
For those of you not into birds of prey the Berkut is used to hunt wolves; they
are massive. Arthur looks like something a Berkut might swallow in one gulp.
The garden at Heimbu looked like a veritable jungle when we came home. It took
me 4 hours just to mow the lawn; we've been cutting back bushes and trees for
a week now; Kiyoko is fighting a losing battle against slugs and aphids, and
I really have to knuckle down and paint the shed and the fences.
Why all this fuss over the East Riding councillors giving themselves a mere
40% pay rise?
Didn't old age pensioners this year receive a massive 1,7% increase?
Whether GM food should be grown in the UK or not is now going out to public
hearings all over the country.
The last public hearing we had in Yorkshire was a couple of years ago where
our opinion was sought on construction of giant electricity pylons through the
Vale of York. All the landholders affected, all the Councils, every local MP
were against it, even industry could see no benefit. Only the Government was
for it. The pylons now dominate the landscape from Teeside to York.
Parliament is now making a great fuss over the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction
in Iraq claiming they were tricked into voting for war by the Dear Leader. Perhaps
so, but as anyone with an IQ above the low seventies would be able to see that
Iraq posed a threat to no-one but its own people, one must seriously question
the ability of our elected representatives to think for themselves.
Lets look at a few facts here. Most of the people involved in the 11th of September
attack were Saudi nationals. Most of al-Qa'ida's finances come from Saudi sources
in exchange for being left in peace. More than half of the oil consumed in the
USA and the UK comes from Saudi Arabia. After the "liberation" of
Iraq and its oilwells, Saudi Arabia no longer dominates the world oil trade.
America is now free to lean on the Saudis. The Saudis are getting tough on terrorists.
Elementary, my dear Watson.