Do you check the English on things you buy… sometimes I think someone is making a joke! This is a very famous example of a Blendy coffee glass… I have no idea what it means!
Actually, in Britain, people are getting their own back, by wearing strange kanji on t-shirts. They don’t care what it means but it looks “cool”! I guess it’s a kind of revenge :o)
Wow, this year is going fast. It’s already November, and soon the Christmas season will begin. The weather seems to change very suddenly in Japan, and it became chilly, but it is still much warmer than in Britain. This week, it’s Guy Fawkes Night in England, when we remember the plot to blow up the King and Parliament back 400 years ago. It’s held on November 5th, “Bonfire Night” and everyone goes out to watch fireworks and makes huge bonfires in parks.
The story is that Guy Fawkes was intending to blow up the Protestant King James for religious reasons, but as always, there was lots of poliltics. He rented the house next to Parliament, and put gunpowder in the cellar, which went underneath both buildings. The night beforehand, he was caught, so the bombs never went off. But we remember what it might have looked like if he had succeeded.
My memory is of a cold black night with very hot soup and sausages and baked potatoes in foil, dripping with butter. And the sound and smell of fireworks going off everywhere. In some ways, it releases a very primitive instinct among the English, but it is a wonderful memory. I really miss this week in England… I am sure the tradition will continue!
