No Ginger comments

A bit rushed, isn't it?

Why on earth would be want to stay in Japan?

I can't even imagine how bad this is going to be by the end of the 'Games'. The whole village in lockdown, and no events taking place at all.

Here in the UK anyone can walk in off the street and get a jab. No appointment necessary.

Beyond farcical now.

Tokyo. Covid melting pot 2021.

And,of course, the most ironic thing is that this happened during an inspection. What were the inspectors inspecting? The decor? The weather? The lunch menu? Surely not the cooling system !!!

Temporary? Nearly an hour? How long before the whole thing blows? And how come, in super hi-tech Japan, alarm bells did not automatically sound instantly?

I too had that problem in Japan, that my knees never seemed to fit under tables.

That's amazing! It's just what my family does every day- sit around a table in jackets and shoes, marvelling at a tray of marbles. So cute!

@Outrider, ask Mark Zuckerberg!

That soldier on the left... Ooh, you are awful; but I like you!

I wouldn't bet on Trump not winning. After all, Leicester won the Premier League!

Go on then, sangetsu; the suspense is killing me. Who's your uncle- Woody Guthrie? If I'm right do I get a prize? (I'll have the Nobel if Bob don't want it; worth a few "bob" on ebay, I'll bet!)

And, apropos nothing, my wife and daughter went to see the Bieber last night and said he was brill !!!

Good on yer, Bob. Anyway, they shoulda given the Nobel prize to Wonder Woman!

They should have "foreigners only" carriages, just next to the "women only" carriages; and now I think of it, why not "drunks only", "girls putting on make-up only", "nose-pickers only" and "sniffers only" carriages. Oh and, of course, "people who like to complain about too many foreigners only" carriages. It's gonna be a bloody long train...

"And how are you today, Mr. Creosote?"

"Better..."

"Ah, good"

"Better fetch a bucket, I'm gonna throw up."

Here in the UK it is illegal not to stop at a zebra crossing if there is someone on the crossing; and most drivers here are able to anticipate when a pedestrian is about to cross and stop anyway. As far as I know, it is not illegal not to stop in Japan. And the anticipatory skills necessary to observe/rationalize/decide/act when someone is about to cross at a crossing are sadly lacking in Japan.

And as @Mike L observed above -

Driving in Japan explodes the myth that Japanese are more polite or courteous than other nationalities

Japanese people are only polite when they have to be polite. When you are in your car you are cocooned from the real world and normal behaviour, hence the huge amount of untypical, unfriendly, selfish, offensive, aggressive behaviour from drivers everywhere.

I usually drink canned chuhai. But if you twist my arm, yes, I'm up for it for a switch. Bottoms up!

Anyone know where you can buy chuhai in England? I love the stuff. I used to decant the stuff from its can to a Pet bottle so I could drink it on the train on the way home from work without looking like a complete alky. Which I guess I must be, to do that.

And btw, if you're stuck in the UK, you can get three 660ml bottles of Asahi at T*sco for a fiver right now!

Took me nearly 20 years to realize that you are supposed to take the tops off "pet" bottles before you put them in the pet bottle garbage bins. Oops!

When I'm 64, I'm going to rent a cottage on the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear, as an act of homage to the fab four. I shall scrimp and save. Hope to bump into Vera, Chuck and Dave.

I'm a 62 year-old Englishman. I recently visited the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the first time, during Beatleweek, and just burst into tears, overwhelmed by the enormity of what these four working class lads have given to the soundtrack of my life.

When I lived in Japan and people called my daughter or son a "half", I politely pointed out that the correct term was "double". After the customary sharp intake of breath, a few "eeeeh?"s and a brief explanation that my kids enjoyed the best of two worlds - hence "double", (yawn)- the "eeeh"s turned to "aaah"s, as a light bulb spluttered to life in their brains; albeit briefly no doubt.

US Presidential elections? The Brexit vote? Democracy? Bah humbug. What the people need is to be controlled, by someone who knows best. Eg Putin? That bloke in the Phillipines? Trump? Is there life on Mars?

After reading all of this, I still can't work out whether she is a chronological habitual liar, or a habitual chronological liar. Can you please enlighten us, Mrs President?

They look so happy and relaxed.

He obviously doesn't want to be president. He entered this race for a bit of a megalomaniac laugh, and when it looks like he actually might win, he's thinking, heck, I'd better say so much outrageous nonsense that they'll kick me to the kerb before voting day. And by god, if the american people are still stupid enough to elect me after all my verbal diarrhoea, well, to hell with it, I'll go down in history as, well, what? Lucifer? Words fail me...

@Yochim san There are more refugees in "Team Refugee" at the Olympics than there are in Japan!

Japanese bread is the best in the world, I was reliably informed by all my students (most of whom had never been abroad) when I lived there a while back. Oiishiiii !!

Anything that gets kids out and about in traffic-free open spaces, doing something motivating and physically active, with their friends and family, has to be good, surely. And to do that in places like Hiroshima Peace Park is an added bonus: to learn about history and culture, to learn to respect for those who suffered, and to learn manners and consideration for other visitors who wish to find peace there. All good, ne?