GET OUT OF THE HANAMACHI

A couple of days ago, I heard the best news.  I found out that the people are being banned from the Geisha districts of Gion, commonly know as the Hannamachi. I was absolutely thrilled. 

I have visited Japan and worn kimono. The amount of attention I got while wearing one was utterly ridiculous. Not just from foreigners, but from the Japanese as well. 

I think the foreigners' thinking was,"Oh, she's wearing a kimono, she must be a Geisha", even though the garment has been around hundreds of years and was often worn by everyone no matter who you were. 

Nowadays they are worn not only by Geisha, but for ceromonies of people who are not, like Coming of Age Day, Shichi-go-san etc.

The thinking of the Japanese was not that I was wearing a Japanese garment. It was more that I was a Westerner wearing a Japanese garment.

 I was walking around a textile centre being photgraphed by old men, none with my consent, except hubby Don, of course. It was insane. At first, it was quite flattering, but after a while, you start to get a bit creeped out. This is not to say Japanese men are creepy. They are the most kind, polite men you could meet. But I just wanted to walk around the textile centre and enjoy myself. The only reason I was wearing the kimono was to fulfill a childhood dream, not to be ogled or be photographed.

Now imagine that harrassment everytime you and your older or younger maiko sister walk out of your Okiya (geisha house) and all the way down the street until you get to the teahouse. Annoying as hell. These women are trying to do a job, they are not circus animals, that are there for your enjoyment. I understand the interest, I really do. I have been fascinated by geisha since I was a little girl. However, I understood it was a special world and they were doing a job and needed to be left alone. When I went to Kyoto, I never went near the Hanamachi. To me Gion should be out of bounds to everyone except Geisha and the guests of the tea houses. 

At first you could go into Gion, but taking photos were banned. But this was unenforceable and non-Japanese took no notice of the ban anyway. Now people are banned altogether. It's been too long in coming.  This kind of intrusion is unacceptable. Stopping a maiko or geisha while they are heading to a job, just so you can have a photograph is the height of entitlement and I for one am glad it can't happen anymore. My only question is how it will be implemented. The Asian cultures obey all rules (except when driving apparently), but Westerners do not. So how do we stop them from entering Gion? Arrest them? Bit harsh me thinks. I look forward to seeing what happens. and I hope the Geisha can now get on with their jobs in peace.

MY RECOLLECTIONS OF 9/11

It's being 18 years since the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers fell. A day that changed the world forever. There had been terrorism before of course. But nothing like this. Although the Lockerby bombing in Scotland was fairly close to it.

I was not in New York at the time. Like many people I watched the events unfold on television and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. One of my colleagues at work thought that it was so unbelievable that it looked like a trailer for an upcoming movie. There have been many movies and documentaries made about 9/11 since, like United 93. But that is not relevant here. My friend had a point, it was unimaginable.

But it happened. And even if you were not there, you were affected by it. Here is my experience as an outsider from that day. 

I woke at 10am. In New York it was only 5am and so far an ordinary breaking dawn. Except I knew it wasn't. As soon as I woke up, my empathy told me something was horribly wrong. I have empathy attacks all the time, they are part of who I am. Normally they are just my body absorbing the energies of the folks around me and I can ignore it. Not today. Today was very different. Whatever energy I was picking up on was not only constant, it was overwhelming. My family were around, but they were fine. So I knew it had nothing to do with them. The TV was on, but it was the usual breakfast TV, nothing out of the ordinary. By mid-day (7am EST), it was so bad, I couldn't cope. but as I wasn't ill, I still had to go to work.

Throughout my journey on the tram to my cinema job in Attercliffe, my empathy would not leave me alone. How was I going to work like this? And more to the point why was it so bad? I knew whatever this was, it wasn't something as obvious as a problem with a relative or maybe a warning of getting yelled at by the boss or something. This was something really significant, something that would change everything. By the time I got to work it was 2pm (9am EST). I walked up to the staff room and something told me just before I opened the door that I was about to finally find out what the hell had been bothering me for the last five hours.

I walked in the room and at that point I knew the world would never be the same again. I saw the TV. I saw the first tower in flames  At first, I thought maybe it was a tragic accident, that the plane that hit it was out of control because of lack of  fuel, faulty engine, or ill/injured pilot. Then I saw a second plane and heard a dull thump as it hit the second tower. I couldn't believe it. It was then that I realised this was actually the worst act of terrorism we would probably ever see.

I was very quiet for the rest of my shift. My friend Paul, who was used to seeing me very chirpy instantly knew I was upset when he walked in. He had not yet seen the news. He asked what was bothering me. I told him to watch the news when he went up to his locker. He did. He was not the same for the rest of that day either. I was lucky to be on a very short shift and even though I loved my job, I couldn't wait to leave. I was stunned and shocked in a way I have never felt before or, thankfully, since. Normally, after work I would go for a coffee or on a shopping trip with a friend, but this day I just wanted to go home and sit in front of the TV to find out what was going on.

I just watched as the death toll rose and the information saturated the channels. I couldn't believe anyone could be that cruel. I could feel the pain and the chaos. It was more than my senses could handle. I didn't know whether to scream, or cry or hit something. I had never felt so much pain and anger in my life. I couldn't even imagine how bad it was for the people involved.

This was such a big event that, even if you weren't directly involved, it affected you. I've never been quite the same since and I don't think anyone else has either. The world is a diffrent place now - it has changed for all time.

To the families of those 2,977 people who died, you have my condolences. To all the emergency services and the canines who helped, your courage and sacrifice will never, ever be forgottern. You showed us how people can and should pull together in a time of immense pain. This one incident more than any other taught the world, especially America, about coming together for good when a terrible event happens and not letting terrorism and division tear us all apart.

I pray nothing like this will ever happen again.

ROBIN US OF OUR MEMORIES

In 2005, I met Don and we went on our first date.

He took me to Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre in Edwinstowe. As someone who has always being fascinated by the legend of Robin Hood, I was thrilled. It was a wonderful place. A huge restaurant called the Forest Table, with posters along the walls from loads of different Robin Hood movies (except Prince of Thieves as it was too new and they couldn't get a poster for it) and a museum about the legend of Robin Hood, a gorgeous walk through the forest and in summer a chance to be like Robin Hood and try your hand at shooting arrows yourself (my aim is terrible).

It was a cute place. Even the shop was beautiful, because instead of loud rowdy music, which tends to put me off, it had bird song instead, in keeping with the theme of 'The Forest'. I have lots of souvenirs from here.

This was our first date where we are clearly doing the Robin Hood and Maid Marion thing...!

We were so enamoured with this place which was so welcoming and had such beauty that we decided to get married here, it was amazing. The sad thing being that our friend Bill was in Syria at the time, so he was unable to see this place and now we can never show him. This was our special place and we wish he could have seen it.

Of course, because we tied the knot there, that only made this place even more special in our hearts. We adored it.

So when we went to find it on Thursday last and saw that the whole thing had been demolished, we were, not surprisingly, devastated.

They have built a new one. but it is really ugly! And next to the funfair (yuck!). There is absolutely no mention of the legend of Robin Hood, It looks like this. Just your generic square building. No charm, no beauty, nothing.

Whereas the place we got married in was adorable.  

The reasons this was done are unfathomable, not to mention stupid. The area has been designated a Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive from the European Union. It would appear that this meant that the old Visitor Centre had to be moved out of the area so it could be returned to nature.Which has made me have second thoughts about being a remainer quite honestly.  Management of the area has been taken over by the RSPB.

The RSPB said, "We want a modern gateway to the forest". We don't want a modern gateway! We want our old style buildings, museum and restaurant that told the story of Robin, Marion and the merry men.

And what is the point of returning the site to nature if no-one can enjoy it? It originally looked like this:

Small, quaint, delightful, friendly and full of beautiful memories. The best memories of course are of our wedding. It was wonderful. We were a bit late and it rained. But we didn't care. We were very happy. Whoever signed off on this stupid project wants firing on the spot. This has been destroyed taking our hearts with it. And the 5 million that was wasted on the monstrosity that replaced it could have been spent renovating this! 

This has made us desperately sad. And we refuse to visit the new one on principle. Goodbye Sherwood and thank you for giving us the best memories. 

HANDS OFF MY SAVE HAVEN

I am a person who hates noice. As a person with anxiety and as an empath I often need to get away from the noise of my neighbourhood, the technology and the toxicity of other people. Sometimes you even have to get away from the person you love most. Not because there is anything wrong with your relationship, but just because you need to have some space. Basically, a place where you can just chill for a couple of hours. I could never find a place. I was frustrated, angry and miserable, because I couldn't relax, no matter what.

Then in April 2013, something brilliant happened. I went to London to volunteer at the London Marathon and a friend told me how beautiful Richmond Park is. So I went to see for myself.  It was amazing. I couldn't believe how absolutely beautiful it was. The wildlife was delightful: deer and wild parrots. The only place I'd ever seen a parrot before was in a pet shop. To see them in the wild, loud, free and colourful, was the most wonderful thing.

After walking around here for at least two hours and seeing the protected view over Richmond Hill, I realised something. I felt more relaxed and happy than I had in a very long time. I thought it was a fluke until I went back a few weeks later and felt exactly the same. I felt fabulous. I had finally found my safe haven, that place I could run too if I need to escape or calm down. I loved it and I still do. I have walked and run in Richmond Park and enjoyed every second of it. I haven't cycled there, but I will be next time. I am so happy when I am there. That's the good news.

Now for the bad news. The third runway at Heathrow has been given the go ahead. And they are also considering putting plane routes over Richmond Park, effectively killing the tranquility. Current airline routes are not routed over the park and I don't know why this has to change.

On one of the newly released maps of flight plans, aircraft will be flying as low as 1,000 feet. Forty-seven arrivals and between seventeen and forty-seven departures an hour wll fly right over the park, most of them below 2, 000 feet. At the moment there are forty-eight thousand flights a year, which is already way too many. Heathrow wants to add twenty-five thousand flights by 2021 and that's before the runway is even built!

This is horrid. I've finally found a place where I can relax and the goverment wants to ruin it.

The aircraft will be noisy, cause pollution, And it will upset the people from all over the world who enjoy the park. A lot of people use Richmond Park for the same reason I do:  as a save haven to be quiet, recharge and to think.

Not only am I sensitive to noise, but so are a lot of the nocturnal animals that live happily in all the Royal parks: Bats, owls, foxes, deer, rabbit and many birds and insects. All live nocturnally and all have sensitve hearing, The aircraft could really damage that. There has for a long time being a restriction on the time aircraft can take off or depart from the airport. No aircraft are allowed to take off between midnight and five in the morning so the residents in surrounding areas can get to sleep, though for an insomniac like me, it doesn't make a lot of difference. There are plans to abolish this, which would make things even worse.

Whoever had the idea to up the number of flights and to route them over Richmond is an idiot. It has been a place of quietness, a place to exercise and relax since the formation of the Friends of Richmond Park (of which I'm a proud member) in 1961. To pollute it with aircraft would be insane. Shame on Chris Grayling for approving the third runway in the first place. I hope the consultation works in the park's favour and the whole idea is scrapped. Not just for people like me who use it as a refuge from noise, but for everyone: the athletes, the wildlife, the visitors, everyone.

If you want to have a third runway, fine. But don't fly planes over Richmond Park.

LEAVE MY SAFE HAVEN ALONE!!

The View From Richmond Hill

Beside the Thames

50th Parkrun in Richmond Park

WAS PICARD'S DATA CORRECT?

Normally, I would never use a fictitious show, especially Star Trek as the basis for a blog. Unless you are actually doing a blog about science fiction obviously (see "Nerdy and Proud of it"). Fiction is one thing and fact is another, both are separate and should be kept as such.

However, this time I am going to break that rule just this once, because something occurred to me. 

One of the things Star Trek is good at doing is predicting our future, which is their past because the Federation of Star Trek wasn't founded until 2161. 

For instance, Star Trek mentions many times that WWIII happens. Apparently, somewhere between 2049 and 2053. There is the prediction in "Future's End" that, in 2047 there is an Earthquake in Hermosa Beach, California and the entire coast sinks 200 ft into the sea. This couldn't happen because it's scientifically stupid. Oh and apparently the computer revolution of the 70's/80's shouldn't actually have happened until the 29th century. Hey, I didn't write this stuff okay!

There are plenty of examples I could cite, but we would be here all day. The one I want to talk about is the mention of Ireland in TNG's "The High Ground". First of all, the reason Ireland is mentioned is this episode is centred around the terrorist attacks being waged by a group who want independence from their country (think of the Catalonia and Spain situation, if that helps). The debate was about terrorism and whether it is an effective way of getting what you want.

The example they cite is the reunification of Ireland. It supposedly takes place in 2024. So I started thinking...!

Pretend - and take it as read for a few minutes - that the unification happens. Northern Ireland no longer exists because it has been absorbed back into Ireland. Why would that happen? Well, first we have to look at the terrorism bit. It's unavoidable. In "The High Ground", the character Data says that terrorism was successful in getting them reunited. But as of 2019, Northern Ireland has had twenty years of peace. So does that mean that the Good Friday Agreement never happened and the troubles continued until 2024? Or, coming back to the present,  did we get the peace agreement, but sometime after 2019, the Troubles reignited? If so, why?

If this is the case and going on what we already know, was it something to do with Brexit? We all  know the Irish backstop and the debate about a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic is the biggest point that is sticking out (only Northern Irish people will get that joke!). So did it turn out that we never got an agreed Brexit deal, got an unwanted hard border, which dishonoured the Good Friday Agreement and therefore set the Troubles off again?

Of course, if we ignore the terrorism side of it for a second...yeah, I know that's a horrible thing to ignore, but go with me a second...unification is entirely possible as the birth rate among republicans or catholics or both outnumbers the protestants and unionists/loyalists or, again, both and reunification ends up being voted for.

It's an interesting scenario to look at. I know it's a whole load of "what ifs", but it is sometimes fun to wonder what may have been. For instance, what if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had never got shot, what if Abraham Lincoln had changed his theatre plans, what if Hitler had not invaded Poland and on a slightly smaller scale, what if my friend Bill had gone onto be an actor rather than being a journalist? That sort of guessing can be very interesting.

 So, go ahead. Take an era of history that interests you, pretend the opposite happened and see where it goes, you may be surprised.

As to where Brexit and the island of Ireland go from here...who the hell knows. All I want is for the Good Friday Agreement to be honoured. The Troubles finally ended. I don't want them to return.

"The future is the past, the past is the future...! It all gives me a headache!" ~ Captain Janeway (Star Trek Voyager: Future's End)

THE AGE OF THE CAR DRIVER

On the 17th of January, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, came into the news when he was involved in a collision with another car whilst driving his LandRover Freelander after leaving Sandringham on to the A149 in Norfolk. 

This has whipped up a lot of controversy about the issue of pensioners driving. 

The current regulations state that as long as you renew your driving licence every three years and you pass an eye test from age 70 onwards, you are perfectly okay to drive without having to take another driving test.

I believe this needs revising. As you get older, your eyesight and your hearing and awareness begin to decline and therefore driving without adequate testing is not a good idea.

I believe you should be able to drive until you no longer can. It's an independence that I cannot have because I do not have the confidence to do so. I always have and always will use public transport. I would have given anything to be able to drive. So I support people who do, because I know what this kind of independence means to people.  If you can drive into old age without being a danger to those around you, then go for it. But when you renew your licence, you should be retested as well.

That's the good side. Now for the bad side. 

Did the Prince apologise for hurting these people? No, he didn't. However, this was a good thing. If you say sorry, it is an admission of guilt and will invalidate your car insurance. Apparently the police aren't going to press charges against him. They had what my dad would call a "quiet word in his ear", but that was it. And that wasn't until two days later (more on that in a minute). 

The media went on about Prince Philip being injured even though he was only slightly injured, but seemed not to worry about the two women and the nine month old in the other car. The only exception was Chris Ship. Good for him. Prince Philip allegedly sent a message of good wishes to the driver, but she claimed it was incomprehensible. 

Should Philip have been driving, yes. Should he be charged with a crime? That depends on the evidence from witnesses, as does any incident. Should he get a medical check-up (including an eye test)? Definitely, without question. His eyesight, hearing and reactions may not be as they used to be.

Above all, the police should investigate this incident as well as they can and if necessary charge the Prince. Just because he is a Royal, does not mean he should be above the law. And the media should give a bit more coverage to the poor people in the other car. They were victims too and deserve to be heard.

The worse thing is, that two days later the Duke was spotted in a brand new Land Rover, driving on the roads of the estate, which cross public roads and he was not wearing a seatbelt. Which says something. It says he doesn't care and that no-one is going to stop him driving no matter what. And knowing about how rude he can be, if a member of of his family did try to stop him, he'd probably tell them to sod off.  At the moment with all eyes on him, he really needs to be seen as squeaky clean or this is going to turn into a PR disaster. 

My thoughts go out to the women and the baby in the crash. Everyone else may not care. Thank God that I do.

  

MEMORIES OF MY MUM

My first memory of my mom was when I was about two. My parents (or more likely my Grandparents) had bought me and my sister a convertable high chair. It was awesome because you could turn it into a swing. I loved our little swing and I was always upset when I couldn't play on it. Which is very odd, because when I went on swings in the park, I got motion sick. but my mum knew how much I enjoyed our swing and was happy to build it for me. 

Of course I couldn't take my swing to Exeter. so how do you entertain a kid on holiday at their gran's house? Plasticine (now less popular because of the advent of play-doh). We loved the stuff. It was wonderful. My mum had a very odd imagination. She once made a model of a man sat on the toilet. A man with elephant ears. I have no idea why. More on this later.

So, I remember my mum for being tolerant and for having a vivid imagination. Better than mine, anyway. She was tolerant of us raiding the cupboards to play shop, or using the clothes airer for a tent of making a monkey swing from sheets.  

I remember that she was was incredibly forgiving. No matter how much I failed, she would never be disappointed in me. Her belief was that as long as I tried, then that was all that mattered and I've always tried my best, sometimes too hard. 

The two most important things I remember my mother for is once when I was down on myself, she gave me a card with the poem, "Don't Quit" on it. I still have it to this day. I carry it everywhere. 

The other thing I remember, is that she is my first hero. Firstly, because she has always believed in me when no-one else has.

The second is, she literally saved my life. If not for her, I wouldn't be here. I don't just mean because she is my mum. Take heed of this next story, dear friends, it may also save your life.

When I was about ten, my sister and I were playing a game of Mousetrap. I was left alone for a while and started throwing the silver ball bearing in the air and trying to catch it, a bit like some people do with peanuts (or if you're a Jackie Chan character, chewing gum). I caught it in mouth. I then realised it had gone into my throat and was stuck there. I began to choke badly. I tried to pull it out myself which was a silly thing to do looking back on it, because that made it worse. I don't remember much because it was horrid. It seemed like minutes, but if it had been I would probably have been dead so it was probably only seconds. I remember my sister screaming. She was absolutely terrified. I remember my mum banging me on the back. The bad thing is, it has given me a phobia for people choking (even a little bit) and vomiting ever since, which is a bit hard when you have the compassion of an empath and the skill of a first aider. I still try not to think about it. I go a bit nuts when someone has a coughing fit, or is sick, but I'm okay.  

The point is that my mother was my saviour that day. She had no training in first aid and stopped me from dying. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here to do all the things I've enjoyed: marrying Don, blogging, making videos, Parkrun, running, journalism, my friendship with Bill Neely, etc. I wouldn't be writing this now. I will never forget this. It's the main reason I learned basic first aid. I forgot to thank her for it before she died, so I'll do it now. Thanks, Mum! 

Here are a few silly memories to finish with. 

THE DODGY MICROWAVE OVEN. 

In our 'matchbox' house in Sheffield, we had a microwave with a pull-down door on it. One day my mum was making chicken, my favourite thing. She opened the door to remove the chicken and for some reason the hinge failed and the door came off in her hand. My dad and I thought it was really funny and were giggling away, while my mum was stood there thinking, "WTF?!"

THE TROUSERS

My mother was quite fond of napping in an armchair, she always loosened the button and zip on her trousers when she did. On one particular day she forget to re-tighten them when she got up. The door bell rang. She ran to answer before I had a chance to offer. As she crossed the room, her lose trousers fell down to her ankles. I just cracked up. I answered the door and then I went back to my mum, where we both started laughing ourselves silly. 

THE FLUSH

As I previously explained, we loved plasticine and my mum made a model of a man sat on a toilet. My sister noticed it didn't have a flush handle. So she put one on it. My mum suddenly let out a scream of protest.

"You've put the flush on his ear!!", she pointed out. A lot of laughter. Not a phrase you ever usually hear!


I could go on about the wonderful and happy memories of my mother all day, but we only have so much space. The most important memory of my mother is the way, she loved me, stood by me, never ceased to be there when I needed her and was a woman who accepted me for who I was no matter what.

I miss her and I always will. RIP mum. You were the best.

My mum's favourite picture of me.

Me and my mom.