Down-to-earth ***

Serpentine Gallery

2006-07-13T16:14:00.000+01:00

There are a lot of galleries in London. I do not know how many.

One of my favourit galleries is Serpentine Gallery situated in Kensington Garden.
It is a good size to show one exhibition and the environment is nice too - in the park.

I went to Thomas Demand exhibition.
He is very unique in terms of his arts - taking a picture of real-like objects made by him.

Every object such as kitchen tools, chairs, desks, doors and plants looks real from the distance but we can see that they are made from papers and other substances nearby the photos.
These photos made me uncomfortable. Maybe because they are too simple and I did not feel active image from them.

Anyway, it was really interesting.

By the gallery, people were building (or inflating?) a kind of balloon dome.

I heard that it would be a cafe and forum until September.
I would like to visit again when it opens.

Serpentine Gallery web site: http://www.serpentinegallery.org/

Life in London??

2006-07-10T20:41:00.000+01:00

Been busy for studying and packing, I have finally
moved to Richmond in London (Surry?).

The place I live now is located lovely area -
the river in front, the Richmond park in the back.

It is nice to go for a walk along river side, although
I have not done any walking really...

Morning Exercise

2006-05-05T16:09:00.000+01:00

At 8.00 a.m. the phone rung. It was a time for a morning walk.

Recently, I and friends have gone for a walk several times.
The weather is getting better and we need some exercise to keep our fits after long long winter.

There is a foot path to a village, half an hour on foot from our accommodation and that is the route we used for the walk. The view is nice - a river, small woods with small wild animals.

In the end of April, the trees were covered with bloom and they made a fabulous flower tunnel. The bloom was white and rather small, but it reminded me of cherry blossoms in Japan.

I feel really refreshed after the walk. Such a lovely morning break♪

Physical memory...

2006-05-04T15:48:00.000+01:00

With an unfamiliar blue screen, it said "physical memory problem" and "shut down Windows".

What happened?

My computer went wrong last week and he is still under the operation. (I called it him because I used it a lot and thinks it as my second partner.) I asked an engineer to check it and actually the computer came back once but had a same problem again (or it could be another problem).

The problem is that I do not understand any computer stuff at all.
If something happens like this time, I am just in panic and do not know what I should do.
It was a miserable moment. I wish I could know more about the computer...

Hope he will come back by the beginning of next week!!

Does the distance matter with the relationship?

2006-04-24T21:49:00.000+01:00

At this end of the final year, I heard a lovely news that two friends have just had new boyfriends.

The couples, whose natinolities differ each other, will soon separate after their graduation.
Both of them called themselves stupid because they thought they would break up with their boyfriends when their new lives start in different places.

Does the distance matter with the relationship?

I myself have kept a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for three years.
There are several disadvanteges; long time no see, time differences, and etc.
But I believe that they are only excuses to break up and the real reasons are somehow different.

I broke up with my ex when I and he lived in the cities next to each other. Now I and my boyfriend have been together even though there is a long, long distance (Japan to U.K.).

From my experience, it is possible to keep the relationship as long as the couple can believe each other and keep their main promises. On the other hand, It is possible to break up if the couple cannot believe or understand each other.

But, in fact, many couples have broken up under the circumstance of long distance...
Then, does it suggest that the distance matters?

Anyway it happens no matter what situation you are in.
I only wish good luck on my friends' future***

Headache...

2006-04-19T16:28:00.000+01:00

Last a couple of days, I stayed up until I saw the sunshine (5.oo a.m) and woke up a few hours later (9.00 a.m at least). And finally I have got a headache because of the insufficient sleeping time.

Fortunately I am still a student and it is on holiday so that I can sleep and recover from the lack soon.

But I am afraid if it happens to me when I start working in a few years... I know many freshers work like that in Japan. Can I work well under such situation? I cannot answer it now... zzz

Trip to Cornwall 4: the train

2006-04-12T18:33:00.000+01:00

St Ives train station was much further from the town than I expected, and sadly it was nearly time for the train to depart. Across a long carpark behind the bus station, I finally arrived at the station and got on the train.

I could not remember how much it is exactly, but I think it was around 2.00 pounds.
Disappointingly the windows on the train were covered by dust and not clear. However the sea was so lovely that I forgot the disappointment.
If someone likes sea, I will recommend to visit there and take the train. The view is extraordinary.

At St Erth station, I changed trains and left for Bath where my friend lives which was my final stop, stooping by Plymouth and Bristol Temple Meads (although I did not take off the train at either stops).

I do not usually travel by train a lot because I believed the train trips in England must be awful, never on time, dirty carriage, and not a good service.

But it was wrong. The service was quite good, especially in the sleeping carriage, and the trains were new and most of the time clean. Still, the trains were not on time, but I had a lovely time on the train. I really enjoyed the passing and changing view of the land.

On my way to Bath, I was thinking that I would recommend the train trip for Cornwall to my friends, with enough time to allow traveling and a bit of patience.

*St Ives Bay Line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Ives_Bay_Line
*Trip to Cornwall and Devon : http://www.cornwall-devon.com/public/nt_TICS_HOME.html

Trip to Cornwall 3: St Ives

2006-04-12T17:32:00.000+01:00

My next stop was St Ives, a small town known for its beautiful sea and seaside.

I took a bus from the Penzance central bus station to St Ives. St Ives is situated in northern part of Cornwall, the other side to Penzance which faced the south sea.
It took more or less 30 minutes and cost 2.80 pounds for a single ride. On the way to St Ives, I saw daffodil fields, hills, and cows which I expected to see in Jersey, smart face and light brown look.

On arriving at the small, but central bus station in St Ives, I walked down to the street leading to the seaside. The sea was so beautiful. The water was clean, transparent and coloured emerald green. I felt like I were in Greek or some Mediterranean seaside.

There was Tate St Ives museum, one of Tate museums, and they showed Turner's masterpieces with south-west (Cornwall) motifs. Many artists were attracted by its beautiful scenery and left great works there. Turner was one of the first people who was charmed by this county, and hundreds years later I saw his paintings and do understand its beauty.

Though I heard the garden in the museum was nice too, I did not have enough time to look at it and ran to catch the rural train running just by the exquisite sea.

*St Ives Tourist Information : http://www.stives-cornwall.co.uk/
*Tate St Ives : http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/

Animal park

2006-04-12T10:40:00.000+01:00

When most lively students have gone somewhere on holidays, the campus becomes a lively place for animals, hares, squirrels, blackbirds, robins, ducks, swans and etc. etc. etc...

I saw baby hares which I was longing to see since last year. They were so tiny and hopped little by little, they moved around only as twice short distance as big ones did. So sweet.

The scene where big and small hares jumped one after another reminded me of my favourit picture book, Guess how much I love you. Did they try to show their feelings assimilated to the length of their hop as the story hares did? Even though the story was fiction, I cannot stop imaging their competition.

*Walker books- Guess how much I love you : http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Guess-How-Much-I-Love-You-Paperback-074455439X

Trip to Cornwall 2: St Michael's Mount

2006-04-10T14:39:00.000+01:00

When I woke up, the train was still moving, headed toward Penzance, the south-westernmost station in England. The scenery from the train window had changed from city to country view.

Passing a great hilly terrain called Bodmin Moor in Cornwall and some stations, the train started running by the sea. I saw an island or more like a small mountain surrounded by sea water. It was St Michael's Mount which I was going to see an hour later.

Soon, the train arrived at the final stop, Penzance, around 8:15 a.m.
It is a port town facing the sea and there are pleasant sea scents, seagulls mewing (I like them) and boats and ships alongside cars parked in the station carpark.

Conveniently, the Penzance information centre and the central bus station are next to the station so that I could easily access a bus which took me to Marazion, a lovely small town with the famous, mysterious island.

The bus which goes to Marazion runs nearly every 15 minutes and the return ticket costs 2.15 pounds (or it could be cheaper since I traveled at peak-time). It took 10-15 minutes to arrive in Marazion square where there are a post office, shops and bars.

Through the narrow path between the shops, I faced the sea and the island whose approach was still covered by water. The whole mountain and its pathway appear when the tide is ebbing, and you can walk on the hidden sea-path during that time. Otherwise boats come to pick you up for the island. A castle and garden are there and it opens to the public from 10:30 a.m..

Because it was still early in the morning, I saw off the stuffs working there heading to the island by boat. By the time the tide seemed to start ebbing, I moved to my next destination...

St Michael's Mount : http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-stmichaelsmount/

Trip to Cornwall 1: sleeping carriage

2006-04-08T23:45:00.000+01:00

If someone asks me where I wish to go, I will answer "the sea" most of the time.
And that was where I went a couple days ago. Cornwall, to see the sea.

I took the sleeping carriage, called Night Riviera Sleeper run by the First Great Western at Paddington station at 23:50.

I chose the berth to share with another female and it cost me 56.30 pounds with a Young Persons' Travelcard to go to Penzance from London (7 hours by train!!), and I think it was quite cheap.

The departure time was quite late at night so that people who were going to take this train could wait in the first class lounge with comfortable sofas and free newspapers.

It was off-peak, just before everyone took their Easter Holiday, so I could use the compartment by myself. Lucky me :D There were double-deck beds, toilet kits, towels, two bottles of water, a basin, big rectangular mirrors and of course a window. It was much better than what I expected and I had a good night sleep there...

To be continue...

First Great Western web site: http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/

Contemporary art

2006-04-02T11:02:00.000+01:00

To be honest, I do not quite understand contemporary art.
They are meaningful and make a large impact on people's minds. At the same time, however, it is hard to perceive what they aim to tell us without an explanation.

... but peculiarly I like to see them no matter what they mean and I love some of them even though I do not understand their metaphoric meanings.

Maybe that is how art should be - they automatically give us some feelings and we enjoy looking at them.

Unpredictable weather

2006-04-01T17:34:00.000+01:00

Bright light through the window woke me up (at 8.00).

A strong wind blew and shut the window with a bang (at 8.30).

Raindrops started falling down from the grey sky (at 9.00).

Sprinkles changed into driving rain (at 9.30).

Suddenly sunshine came out and a bit of light rain began (at 10.00).

Then the blue sky came back and the sun was shining (at 10.30).

But the wind blew to bring another grey sky again... (return to the first line).

That is how British weather works, especially in spring.
In a Japanese saying, we say "autumn weather changes as rapidly as woman's mind", but I guess that British weather in spring is far more changeable than a woman's mind.

Green Tea - Japanese tea

2006-04-01T16:08:00.000+01:00

When I was in Japan, I used to drink green tea after dinner nearly every day. Different from ordinary children, I did not like sweetened drinks like fruit juice or hot chocolate, instead I loved water and any kinds of tea (though sweetened drinks are my major drink now.)

Green tea contains rich vitamins and minerals such as Polyphenols, preventing arteriosclerosis, and vitamin C, helping the production of collagen.

I found Twinings, a leading tea company in England, producing a wide range of green tea -
green tea with orange & lemon flower, with pear & apple, and so on.

In Japan there are several varieties of green tea leaves, whereas here there are various mixed blend green teas!! It sounds peculiar to me that green tea comes with sweet flavours. But I should not be prejudiced against those blend ones and should try them some day.

*Twinings' range of green tea: http://www.twinings.co.uk/GreenTea/
*Vitamins in green tea: http://www.green-tea.co.uk/green-tea-vitamins.html

Be positive

2006-03-31T22:09:00.000+01:00

Keep your mind positive, it will reflect your words
Keep your words positive, it will reflect your behaviour
Keep your behaviour positive, it will reflect your values
Keep your values positive, it will reflect your destiny...

That was what a yoga teacher taught me today.
She is fit and trim, cheerful and stable. In class, her voice is not loud but very clear so everyone understands how to posture, and she gives advice individually as she is walking through it with us. I am fond of her class.

As she emphasised today, forcing to keep or move your body is not what Yoga aims to do, though some postures look as if they need enormous effort. To feel inside you and do not torture yourself - this teaching impressed me a lot.

These days I was busy and unconsciously felt stress. The words she gave and the yoga session made me calm, relaxed and positive ***

Daffodils

2006-03-30T18:15:00.000+01:00

In my town, there are a lot of daffodils just coming out last week.
I felt spring when I saw daffodils in England as when I saw cherry blossoms in Japan.
Passing by a flower shop, I caught vivid yellows in the corner of my eyes and in the next second I was holding a bunch of flowers in my hand : ) Now I feel spring even in my room.

Becoming a night owl

2006-03-28T03:06:00.000+01:00

Since the holiday starts last Friday, my life style has changed dramatically. I stayed up until quite late, around 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and it makes it impossible for me to wake up before 10 o'clock. Now, it is already 3:15... it is doubtful that I can sleep right away tonight.

"Hatsuga-genmai"

2006-03-28T01:47:00.000+01:00

I like healthy diet and recently my friend gave me special brown rice called "Hatsuga-genmai" in Japanese. Its literal translation is "germinated brown rice" (or "sprouted brown rice") which means each grain of normal brown rice is sprouted by 1-1.5mm.
It is one of the popular rices among Japanese women these days. This brown rice is easier to digest than normal brown rice but contains a lot of nutrition. Because it is a bit harder than white rice, we need to chew the rice well - it is also good for teeth and jaws.

It has slightly strong flavour and taste, so not many people like it, but so far I like it.

It is difficult to get this rice here so I was excited when I found the web-site which explains how to grow "Hatsuga-genmai" from normal brown rice. BUT it takes 72 hours (3 days!!) to grow it in a fridge. There is not enough space in our fridge since I share the fridge with 8 flatmates.

Well, I am trying to keep the rice which my friend gave me as long as possible.

What is "Hatsuga-genmai" and how to grow it (in Japanese): http://www.yokotanojo.co.jp/cooking/hatsuga.html

"Germinated rice" (in English): http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_225249.htm

Summer Time!!

2006-03-26T09:39:00.000+01:00

Today we have changed from winter to summer time: it means that we need to put the clock forward an hour. But I told my friend the other way around - we had an extra hour to sleep.
In addition, she is going on a trip from this afternoon, plus she is an nigh owl!! It must be hard for her to get up earlier. I have to tell her as soon as possible!!

The Royal Ballet

2006-03-26T00:13:00.000Z

Last Thursday I went to see "Romeo and Juliet" at the Royal Opera House in London.
That was the first time I have seen ballet. It was one of my dreams to see a famous ballet at a historic opera house!

The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden has a long history and is famous for the ballet "Romeo and Juliet". Although it was renovated four or five years ago, the building produces a quaint atmosphere: wide stairs with the red velvet carpet, gold handrail and bluebell shaped lamps. Being there was something special and graceful.

The ballet was brilliant too. It was more like a play than pure dancing ,such as Russian ballet.
Dancers wore Shakespearean costumes and used properties like fake swords.
I like the dancer who played Juliet who was boyish, a bit of a rascal and cute at first, then she gradually became womanlike, tender and more elegant. (Later I checked her name, Mara Galeazzi, a principle dancer in the ROH. ) Other dancers were also excellent and so was the orchestra.

I am not a great fun of ballet but if I have a chance I would like to see "Swan Lake", a classical ballet played by the Russian ballet.

History of the Royal Opera House: http://info.royaloperahouse.org/AbouttheHouse/Index.cfm?ccs=288&cs=1017&SubNavMenu=6
Mara Galeazzi official website: http: http://www.maragaleazzi.com/

Snow flakes

2006-03-14T21:15:00.000Z

On our way to Tesco, a supermarket near my house, I and my friend saw snow flakes floating down from the grey sky. Wow - we had snow again, I thought, but soon it stopped snowing.

It is still cold here, around 1 or 2 degrees, however the days are becoming longer and in this weekend we will switch from winter time to summer time.

The weather is changing day by day... Now I hear the sound of spring, it is almost here.

my favourite hand cream

2006-03-12T23:49:00.000Z

One of my best friends in winter is a skin cream.
This winter, it was very dry in England. We even did not have much rain on average.
Not only outside but also inside was dry because of the heating - the central heating system is used in my accommodation and it makes the room comfortably warm but dry.

As I tried many skin creams, L'OCCITANE's hand cream works well on my dry hands :) The only problem is the price... It is too expensive to buy every time.
This attractive effect tempts me to use it, though!
(L'OCCITANE homepage: http://www.loccitane.com/)

Fair trade - does it work well??

2006-03-11T16:32:00.000Z

Do you know what “fair-trade” is?
I was volunteering at Oxfam, a charity shop and I knew about “fair-trade” products
– they are products for which farmers or producers receive proper wages and who have not been exploited. Those products are generally a bit expensive but I thought it was good for the farmers, so I bought them if my purse would allow.

However, yesterday I watched a BBC’s programme which discussed fair trade and supermarkets.
(cf: BBC"how fair is Fairtrade?": http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4788662.stm)

In the programme, they said the price of those products in supermarkets is higher than what farmers have received.
For example, a pack of ground coffee costs you 3.00 pounds and one of fair trade costs 3.60 pounds, while fair-trade farmers receive 10 pence more than non-fair-trade farmers.
So, where does the extra 50 pence go? Who receives it? – it becomes supermarkets’ profit. Because “fair trade” becomes a kind of brand, supermarkets put additional “brand” cost on products and gain extra profits from fair-trade products.
That is not what consumers expect though. People buy those products for farmers’ goods but not for supermarkets’ extra profit. This fact may lose consumers’ trust and may I think lead to the collapses of fair-trade mechanism.

Here, I have some fair-trade bananas in my room and I am wondering if I will buy them next time…

Longing for spring

2006-03-10T08:18:00.000Z

It has been raining for days and surprisingly a weather forecaster said

we may have snow this weekend!!

How come! It's nearly spring, isn't it?

I know that the UK is much colder than Japan and even in the northern part of Japan it snows until April.
But, I have just listened to the radio in which people discussed whether we should officially call 1st of March the first day of the spring or not - I advise them not to call "spring"! It's too cold to call spring, at least for me, as I am a person who has poor blood circulation.

I'm longing for a lovely bright sky, blooms (cherry blossoms are the best), warm days - spring generally.

(the photo: one strange day when we had snow and sunshine at the same time)

2006-03-09T17:08:00.000Z

Getting started...

This is my first blog in English - I was inspired by an enthusiastic blogger.
Generally I am lazy and I cannot remember how many times I gave up keeping a diary...
But, this time, I will try to keep this blog much longer!!

... well, I hope I can. We shall see how it goes, anyway.