As 2022 draws to a close, Kangaeroo will be glad to see the back of it. There was plenty to be grateful for: a happy marriage, closer relationships with children, excellent friends, a life filled with love, family reunions, delightful garden, a full year of employment, generally good health. For all of these, I am deeply thankful. There was much about the year that was extremely satisfying, and I am filled with thanks for that, too. But overall, 2022 was a year of loss. It is been, and remains, an excruciatingly painful time, despite all of the above. One loss…
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Sometimes, Kangaeroo can come up with the seed of an idea. Thanks to a bit of a search a few months ago, Kangaeroo has got plenty of Aussie native plant seeds to try and grow. Growing them will be a late-winter, early-spring initiative. But preparations are already underway. Will be interesting to see how the Kangaeroo Cove shapes up when the northern spring hits. Related posts: Strine Dictionary Strine (オージー英語)Dictionary Beating Jobsworths with Luck There And Back Again: Oz 2022 What a Gift! AFL – Modern Australia’s Religion and Failed Proselytizing in Japan Give Me, Give Me チョコレート! Lyre, Lyre,…
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Winter hit Tokyo for real. Just less than a week away from Christmas, the mild weather has ended. At least for today. It’s cold and bleak. And dark. December in Japan is dark. In Tokyo, it doesn’t get light until about 6:30 in the morning. And by 4 p.m., it’s dark. Only a few days to the winter solstice. The days will slowly start to get longer. But the new year also ushers in the cold. Still, there is some brightness on the horizon. Kangaeroo’s garden has attracted some lovely visitors. Among them, Japanese tits and brown-eared bulbuls. The birdbath…
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Japan has given a final farewell to the 2CELLOS, the amazing duo of cellists on a world tour they have promised will be their last. Stjepan Hauser and Luka Šulić are already on their way Down Under, where they will play a series of shows before a final performance together in Auckland, New Zealand, on December 4. As a jam-packed Nippon Budokan attested, this pair are Big in Japan in a totally unironic sense. They’ve brought great delight to music fans of many genre all around the world for over a decade and the tour will bring an end to…
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Kangaeroo is not a young marsupial. He is old, fat and lazy. Exercise is not his thing. Yet, thanks to the humble bicycle, this exercise-averse old codger can enjoy a relatively healthy lifestyle. Every morning, almost without fail, Kangaeroo wakes, dresses, has a cup of joe and gets on his bike. For the most part, it’s not a long ride, but it’s a ride. Kangeroo has got a lot of cobwebs in his head and these rides usually help to clean them out. They’re back soon after the rides are finished, but even so, they would be much worse without…
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Kangaeroo made it back to Oz for a while in 2022. The circumstances behind the trip weren’t the greatest. But the time spent Down Under was fruitful and poignant. Kangaeroo got to catch up with lots of childhood friends. And deeply explored the places that had played an enormous role during the formative years. Thanks to an enormously kind and helpful seller on gumtree, Kangaeroo also got to move around outer eastern Melbourne on a Malvern Star! In many ways, the time spent in Australia was magical and Kangaeroo extends his deepest gratitude to all the friends, family, people, places,…
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Kangaeroo won’t be doing much riding along the Tama River for a while. For the next few weeks, it will be back in the homeland again. Riding will be a bit of a challenge while there. But also a bit exciting! Oz is far stricter on policing road rules than Japan. It will be interesting to see whether Kangaeroo can adapt to the differences. Kangaeroo grew up in the Dandenong Ranges, which are apparently a cycling Mecca for Melburnians, though it wasn’t the case back in the day (at least to the author’s knowledge). For the time being, though, it’s…
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Kangaeroo cycles pretty much daily. Due to a number of time constraints, nearly all the rides are along or near the Tama River. This river is one of the main waterways in Tokyo and has been supplying the city with water for centuries. River-side cycling is on bike tracks and really isn’t demanding (except for the requirement to be constantly wary of pedestrians). But it’s still great fun. Being able to wake up, get on the bike and shake off the cobwebs and let life rip is a blessing for this old man. And Kangaeroo is even luckier by being…
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Japan will finally re-open its doors to unrestricted travelers in October 2022, over 2 1/2 years since imposing strict entry requirements (especially on foreigners) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the yen at its weakest against most major currencies since the early 1990s (and effectively even weaker still in real terms as the yen of the early 1990s carried far greater purchasing power than the yen of the 2020s), tourists are predicted to flock back into Japan. Japan is one of the world’s great tourist destinations and it is Kangaeroo’s belief that the hospitality of many Japanese people show toward…
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Kangaeroo is on holiday. Has been for 37 hours now. And it has rained almost that entire time. And due to continue falling for almost the next 24 hours, too. Ah, well…not much that can be done about it. Related posts: Strine Dictionary Strine (オージー英語)Dictionary Beating Jobsworths with Luck What a Gift! Give Me, Give Me チョコレート! Lyre, Lyre, Pants on Fire More Climbing May It Be That Way Rustic Relaxation Fantastic Flowers! Powered by YARPP.