2023 年 3 月 31 日
A colleague of mine recently asked me: "How do you find time to write this blog every week?". 最近、同僚が 私に尋ねました。「毎週、このブログを書く時間を どうやって見つけていますか？」
Indeed. Good Question. But I have a crazy job, I meet all sorts of crazy people, I learn a crazy language....how can I not write about all this? I mean....just look at this video このビデオを見てください A friend of mine (British) is accompanying the Göttingen Knabenchor (obviously German) on a tour through....France...and here they are in Belgium....singing "Kwangena thina bo", a song from South Africa.
Visiting the European parliament: quote "....our programme reflects our singers' hopes for an open world and fears about the climate crisis..."
Music, as always, building bridges 🎵....音楽はいつものように橋を架ける.......
Video: Nik
It looks a bit chilly singing in Brussels, and it's been a bit more than just chilly in Germany this last week - torrential rain, hail.....high winds. My hiking colleagues seem to be fleeing to all corners of the globe. It seems to be drier in Seoul, where you can reach this tower on a day's hike.......
Photo: Phe
But we have had some nice March days in Germany.....
...with strong winds to sway the poplars.....強い風
...and fresh green colours in the water.....新鮮な緑の色
Chilly spring weather, but not enough to stop a football match. Yes. Read on:
33 years - that's how long I have lived in Germany. I drive a German car...but in all these years I have never been to a football match. Scandalous! (gibt's doch nicht!). 30 年間（ねんかん）サッカーのしあいに行きませんでした.....So when a friend of mine invited me to this.......I took the plunge....サッカーのしあい に 行きました. 日本 対 ドイツ...２１才以下（いか）....
Germany vs. Japan - the U21 Länderspiel in Frankfurt. Time to worship at the holy shrine of Fussball (In a linguistic twist, in Japan football is called サッカー , which means Sakka-...⚽....soccer in other words).......follow the link if you are interested....https://www.history.com/news/why-do-some-people-call-it-soccer
I didn't expect much, to be honest. However, going through the security check and entering a stadium filled with 6000 spectators (その試合に6,000人の観客が集まった) was also not quite what I expected. I waded through a sea of flags : Schwarz Rot Gold - Black Red Gold (never say yellow...I only did that many years ago, only to be swiftly corrected). How on earth was I to find my friends? I threaded my way through the crowds to a modest little group of Japanese supporters, 日本人のかんきゃくはすくなかったです.....one of whom was banging a drum. The game started, and it took me a moment to sort out who was who on the field. It didn't help that the players were all enormous men - were they all really under 21? Anyway, it seems that Germany were in white (why?), and Japan was in blue (Samurai blue). I started to follow the game....
There was a relaxed atmosphere - it seemed everyone was there simply to see a good football match. And good it was. When Japan scored a goal and our little group of friends exchanged high fives, people turned and smiled at us. In the end it was a draw (Unentschieden) and I learned how to say the score "2:2" 2対2 (ni tai ni). Nothing like learning vocab in context.....😁
Back to the warm cosy workshop, where I am examining some of my wood collection......Here's a nice piece of 30 yr-old spruce for a `cello....30歳のとうひ
and here is a luscious piece of poplar for a viola.....ポプラ.
Dreams. ゆめ 🙃 夢 . Spring is always a good time to dream. I got out my Calligraphy brushes today and had a go at Haru - springtime. On about the 5th attempt I came up with this.....
and on my last try I managed this.....
So be it. And here it is outside......glowing....かがや輝く....
Perhaps I should have drawn the Kanji for flood, or water.......
..or raindrop...あめしずく雨雫....
or simply Light........ひかり 光......
In any event, when this photo arrived today it lifted my spirits. I'm just going to title it : Happy. Kanagawa. 幸せ. 神奈川😊!
Photo: Emiさん
Finished your coffee break now? Well thanks for reading my ramblings..この投稿を読んでいただきありがとうございます。 新しい投稿のお知らせを受け取りたい場合は、上部の購読フォームに記入してください。 ありがとう！Thank you, Nigel.😊 and do subscribe if you want new posts automatically in your inbox. But check your spam!
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