Skin colour?

Last week I was teaching a kid's class and we were doing some colouring.
One of my kids asked me if I had 'skin colour' (肌色)

My first thought was 'What is skin colour?'

Whatever colour 'skin colour' is, it certainly isn't the colour which is called 'skin colour' in Japan, which is a mix of brown, orange and pink.
I have never seen anyone in my life with skin that colour!! If I did I would probably tell them to go to the nearest hospital!

Later I was thinking about it some more and remembering some of the differences between Japan and England.

In England, where there are so many people of different ethnic origins living together, it is definitely NOT OK to say skin colour...it would be considered racist, or offensive to anyone whose 'skin colour' is not the same colour as the resulting crayon.

England is the land of pc (politically correct) language. A place where it is not OK to sing the children's song 'Ba ba black sheep' for fear of offending people of African origin. A place where it is not OK to say 'policeman' because it may offend women.

The phrase 'politically correct' means language which cannot be offensive to anyone, or group of people, and I couldn't help but think that 'skin colour' could be offensive to most people...

Today I was surfing the web and came across this image which I think sums it up better than I ever could...true 'skin (flesh) colour'

The next time someone says '肌色', stop to think 'Exactly whose 'skin colour' is this?'

London Olympics 2012

 

I have never been the biggest fan of the Olympics, and actually London people in general are not that interested in them either, however this year, because the games are being held in my home town, it is a little different.

On Saturday morning I woke up a little late and switched on the TV to catch the end of the opening ceremony and I was pleasantly surprised.
When I heard that the opening ceremony was being directed by Danny Boyle (a movie director most famous for directing 'Trainspotting' and 'Slum Dog Millionaire') I immediately thought "Oh no! This will be another attempt by Britain to try to look 'cool' in the eyes of the world, which will undoubtedly fall flat on it's face", but this time I was wrong.

It had history, heritage, respect, multi-culturalism and was, on whole, a fantastic representation of everything that is still 'great' about Britain.

However the jewel on the crown for me was the torch lighting ceremony.

The 'Olympic Cauldron' which consisted of 204 copper 'petals' (one to represent each nation taking part in the games) was designed by Thomas Heatherwick, a British designer also recently made famous fro his redesigning of the iconic London bus for the 21st century.

 

It was absolutely stunning.



It was one of those moments of design beauty that makes the problems of everyday life melt away and leaves you feeling totally fulfilled. And for once it was British. I felt British pride for the first time in many years.

Real Ale

There aren't many things I miss about England. Since the arrival of the internet I have been able to catch up on all my UK telly, buy import goods which are delivered directly to my door, read all of the London news and stay in touch with my family and friends via e-mail and Skype.
However one of the things I have missed, and one of my favourite things about going back to London, is British real ale.
Brewed in small quantities in local breweries around the UK, these ales are made from centuries old recipes and are made using the finest natural ingredients, including the best UK hops, which give ale it's deep, distinctive, often fruity, taste.
When I went back to London in March this year and stayed with my parents, me and my dad went shopping together every day and bought a different ale to drink each night. It was heaven!

I have never seen British ale in my 9 years in Japan, until last week when I was out shopping in Hiroshima.

I was in Tokyu Hands!! looking for some art materials, leaving the shop empty handed, when, as I was coming down the escalator, a display of 'Belgian Beer' caught my eye.
As I walked towards it I suddenly saw, at the edge of the display, 2 bottles of British ale!
I had to check that I wasn't dreaming...then took them to the till and bought them.

For the last 2 nights I have had a bottle a night and, if I close my eyes, I could be back in London, sitting in my local pub, drinking.

I have to go back to get some more...I have my fingers tightly crossed that they haven't sold out!

This is FANTASTIC!!

When we went to London in March we were walking around in east London one day and we came across a young woman painting a mural onto a wall. We stopped to watch her work for a few minutes and asked her if it was ok to take some pictures. Then we left and I never thought any more about it...

Yesterday I was surfing the net and I suddenly came across this video of a stop frame animation, and it is the same piece we stopped to look at !
It is fantastic ! Apparently the whole animation took 3 weeks to finish and the resulting video footage was edited down to this 3 minute video.
Please check it out...

Xmas 2011

Christmas is a special time of year in England. Like Japanese New Year, Christmas is a time for families to gather, spend time together, eat, drink and watch TV!
Every year since I came to Japan (now 10 years ago) I have tried to keep Christmas as English as possible. I have eaten traditional English food, drunk all day and stayed in doing nothing.
It has always surprised me that in Japan there is the build up to Christmas. There are Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas gifts in the shops, even Christmas cards in Tokyu Hands this year. Then on 'the Big Day' there is no event. In England the whole of December builds up to the main event of Christmas Day, we even have advent calendars to count down to the 25th. In Japan Christmas Day always feels like a bit of an anticlimax...
So last year I gave in to my inner Japanese-ness and decided to take my kids to art school in Hiroshima on Christmas Day, just like any 'normal' day...
Then, of course, after that I got home, opened my first can of Guiness and started to cook Christmas Dinner.

In the morning my kids opened their presents from 'Santa' and spent the afternoon playing with their new toys (which have now disappeared to the back of a cupboard somewhere!)
Then we sat down to watch 'Home Alone', possibly the best Christmas movie of all time!
It was a nice family Christmas, and I truly love living in Japan, but at Christmas time I want to be in London...
Maybe this year the OSCATOWN London Tour will be a Christmas Tour...watch this space