2024年8月7日
The conversation went something like this:
Me: "....so when you were in Wiesbaden, did you visit the hot springs?....."
Friend: ".....of course...smelt awful though, like rotten eggs...."
Me: ".....Oh but it's really healthy to drink a cupful you know....."
Friend: "....no way...it's a disgusting yellowish colour...."
Little did she know that in Langen we have the choice of mineral water and tap water in the bathroom. It just depends on which bit you drink........
ランゲンでは水を選ぶことができます...🤣
Sorry, that's a really naff way to start a blog. But tap's the word in this post........
I have tried, and tried and tried. But it is no good. I cannot dance. Now don't raise your voice now and clamour ".....but everyone can dance!!!!....". Something probably went wrong early in my education.. My parents would say "but you must come to the parish dance!....it will be such fun....!". But that meant coming into close proximity with......girls....horror!
In the early years in Germany I tried the classics...Walz, Foxtrot, Tango etc., but soon dropped out, being distracted by the music. But I am still fascinated by dance.
私は踊れません。でも見るのは大好きです
It was when I was working for Main Matsuri (coming up very soon again by the way.......) https://www.main-matsuri.com/en/
that I found myself assisting a group of tap-dancers from Tokyo. They seem to be having so much fun that I kept in contact with them from then on.
Which led me to a workshop/performance in Tokyo two weeks ago. In a charmingly eccentric bistro/bar called "Chum" in Meguro https://chum-apt.net/
2週間前、目黒でタップダンスのワークショップに行ってきました
Charu (the leading light of this scene) welcomed us as we arrived. Would I like to have a go? she optimistically enquired. I explained that I had brought one single pair of soft sandals to Japan and that was it. Topic closed. So we sat at the back, ordered some drinks and let the show unfold. On a hot summer's night in Tokyo a beer does not last long......
東京の暑い夏の夜には、ビールはすぐになくなってしまう……。
Usually, Charu is accompanied by her partner Motty, who is a natural at improvising on the piano. On this occasion we were content with canned music and percussion. That was ok. The dancers were introduced before they went up on stage - one was a fan of Fred Astaire, the other more Bebop direction.....all different levels of skills and individual styles of dancing. ...here we have a cool character......
この男はかっこよかった
And here is an improvisation session. Charu displaying her crispy sense of rhythm, accompanied only by a cajon, which seems to combine bass drum, high heads and snare all in one box. I think she was taking inspiration from the bartender, who was clinking glasses at the time.....
セッションタイム。Charu san は即興で......
It was a great evening.......
楽しかった
And real case of "お久しぶり" Ohishashiburi - "long time no see"
I dragged everyone back up on stage for the final photo.....just look at those shoes!
あの靴を見て！
On youtube there are recordings with or without instruments, solo and group sessions. But nothing beats live. Motty (piano) and Charu (dance) present highly original performances, and would be an unusual bonus for any Japanese-themed festival. They really must come to Frankfurt.
Here's a recent clip from Youtube - An interpration of Norwegian Wood, under the innovative title "TapmPorary" ie "contemporary tapdance"
So, I can't dance. But I can play the `cello. Sort of.
Hoshikawa station in the midday heat. 36°c, looking happy but actually desperate for the Sotetsu Line rapid service to arrive so that I can dive into their air-conditioned train.....🆒
星川駅 💦.....
It's quite common in Japan to send your luggage on in advance to your destination. This avoids blocking the aisles with your suitcases and inconveniencing your fellow passengers. Very considerate. Very Japanese. Doesn't really work with a `cello. Memories of the London Tube. Just get the cello in a good corner before the train moves off. And in the crowds of a big station like Yokohama use 'cello power. That is: get the `cello on your back. You are immediately much taller, and in this case, a glaring red. Then the crowds part before you as if you were Moses crossing the Red sea.
そして、横浜のような大きな駅の人混みでは、チェロパワーを使いましょう。つまり、チェロを背負うのです。すると、あなたはたちまち背が高くなり、この場合は、まばゆいばかりの赤になります。すると、まるであなたが紅海を渡るモーゼであるかのように、群衆があなたの前から道をあけます。
On this particular day I got off at the wrong station near Kamata, in southern Tokyo. No joke with a 'cello in this heat. Time for a taxi ........
Taxi driver (ever so considerate): "....but the other station is just around the corner!..."
Me: (just grateful to be out of the heat with the `cello tucked into the boot). ".....Just drive on please..." (I had at once found the back seat of this taxi very comfortable.....I would die if I opened the door I thought).
🚕...................................We drive off
Me: "...do you mind if I take a picture? I've never been in a Tokyo cab before...." (not strictly true, but what the hell.....)
Taxi driver: "........OK, but get the yellow bonnet into your picture....you're in a yellow taxi you know....."
私は黄色いタクシーに乗っています
Adresses never seem to work for me in Google maps when I am in Japan (I have since learnt that Apple Maps is better). This may be because local streets don't have names here. Someone's house address will start with the postal code (eg 330-0074), then the name of the Prefecture (eg Tokyo-ken), then the city/town/village name. Then the ward, then the area, then the block nr., then the finally the building nr., oh, and don't forget the name.....Taxi drivers have the right navi software to negotiate all this thank goodness......
I just leant back and enjoyed the ride.......
私はただ後ろにもたれながら乗車を楽しみました.......
Foreigners sometimes get a bad press in Japan. Nor surprising really. There was the case of the photo op of Mt. Fuji over the roof of a Konbini (Convenience store). It spread on social media. Soon the inhabitants of Kawaguchiko were inundated with tourists all wanting the same view. They blocked the traffic, they walked onto people's property etc. etc. You can imagine it. Then there was the case of the foreigner who attacked a Japanese carrot. It was in the local press in no time.....
外国人は時々行儀が悪い。私は日本のニンジンを攻撃した 😅
He should have fed the cats instead......but Misako-san is the expert here.....☺️
猫に餌をあげればよかったのに……でもMisakoさんは専門家だから……
Back in Germany. Dust off the bike and off we go. Where?
South? Off we go on the bicycle express route to Darmstadt.....
私はドイツに戻ってきました
I left the highway at one point and found myself in a dripping forest,
to emerge later at a field of maize.. .....
Maize is very tall stuff. Inside the rows it's like peering into some sort of tropical rain forest....
Oh, I've landed in Wixhausen, near Darmstadt. Is that a stork I see yonder?
それはコウノトリですか
Good grief, yes it is. Off he flies........
はい、そうです...
And off I must fly. But I will leave you with a smell, at least the thought of one........
For me it conjures up woodworking classes in the London College of Furniture or violin workshops in deepest Allgäu......it is musty; it is from nature...it is like the scent of an old hay barn....it feels good to breath it in.........it is propolis. The kit that bees produce and use to build their hives. And mixed with alcohol I use it to burnish the necks of 'cellos. Wonderful stuff......this little jar is 20 years old! We violinmakers hang on to something if we know it works....can't you smell it? 😅
さあ、飛び立たなければなりません。でも、匂いは残しておきます。少なくとも、匂いの想像だけでも……
私にとっては、ロンドン家具大学の木工教室や、アルゴイ地方の奥地にあるバイオリン工房を思い起こさせます……かび臭い、自然のものです……古い干し草小屋の匂いのようです……吸い込むと気持ちがいいです……それはプロポリスです。ミツバチが巣を作るために作り出すキットです。アルコールと混ぜて、チェロのネックを磨くのに使います。素晴らしいものです……この小さな瓶は20年前のものです！私たちバイオリン職人は、効果があるとわかっているものはそのまま使い続けます……匂いがしませんか？😅
Bye bye. Have a nice week.
Nigel.
終わり (THE END) 💦
Hi Nigel, scheint eine aufregende Zeit in Japan gewesen zu sein.
Es war interessant deinen Blog zu lesen. Have fun. LG Jasmin