Nigel
- Jan 16
- 3 min read

Short post 短い投稿

2024 年 1 月 16 日

I lent out a `Cello over the New Year and in return received a very interesting "Thank You" : A day-by-day Japanese calendar with a quiz on each page. On the 11th of January the question for the day was about the festivals which take place during this month. I managed a few correct answers, including this one: The Coming of Age Day, when 18 yr-olds dress up smartly for the occasion (The boys often wear black suits by the way....)

成人式　(せいじんしき) (B in the calendar below)

Photo: Tomoko-san

Of the festivals listed only one is not in January - The festival for honouring the spirits of the departed - Obon お盆 (D). That's celebrated in August with a visit to the temple, the family grave and joining in with the street dance - the Bon Odori. You can even join one in Frankfurt (usually behind the Liebfrauenkirche). I usually try to keep an eye on somebody who knows what they are doing, so I know which way to swing my arms or turn around. It's great fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_(festival)

毎日クイズ付きの日めくりカレンダー (ドイツ語/日本語)

My aunt Jean was a character, and when she passed away last week she was apparently sent off in true Irish celebratory fashion ☘️. This all happened in Wexford, Ireland, from where my brother sent me this wonderful picture of the harbour....

私の叔母は先週亡くなりました。私の兄が彼女の町の写真を送ってくれました - アイルランドのウェックスフォード

Photo: David Ruddock

My language lesson this week was plagued by an insecure internet connection. We tried switching to iphone's Facetime, but it made no difference. This despite the fact that I have upgraded my Telekom account to 100 Mbit/s, and my teacher has 200Mbit/s. I have no fibre -optic connection yet.

外国語で苦労しているとき、インターネット接続が悪いととてもイライラします。

What would happen if your bit of the internet was maliciously hacked and disabled? How would you buy an airline ticket? Drive to the airport and wait in a queue on the tarmac for the next plane? You could at least go home and play the piano - providing it was a real piano....(your electricity provider has also been hacked by this time).

It's time to sort out some of those children's books which are hiding away in a cardboard box in my office. What shall I do with them? It's been suggested I donate them to the International Kindergruppe in Darmstadt. Not a bad idea.

英語の児童書をたくさん持っています。彼らをどうすればいいでしょうか？

But hello, what's this? I have no idea where this "Monster Book for Boys" came from. It was published in 1943, and oozes all the culture of that time. I rather like the illustrations though.....

この本の絵が好きです....

But when did artists start using this style of drawing? And where did it come from? in 1912 they were using an Art Nouveau style...as I see on my copy of Peter Pan......

ピーターパンは1912年に出版されました。異なるスタイルの描画....

Winter seems to have got delayed this year. Maybe it was staff shortages, or lack of investment in infrastructure. But it's now here properly in Hessen......I may be grinning in this selfie, but soon afterwards my nose and fingertips were hurting......

ヘッセン州に冬がやって来ました