A warm hello from the UK!

[made of stone]

Hi guys, a brand spanking new member here, looking forward to getting to know you all
I've long been a member of another forum, but it's become time for a change, and Jref was recommended to me by an online friend in Japan. I haven't had a chance to look around too much yet, but from what I have seen it looks like a friendly, diverse and respectful community, exactly what i'm looking for
About me...
I live fairly close to London, but in the beautiful countryside of Kent. (Very early thirties, I lived and taught for six years in Japan, and returned here three years ago. I'm interested in almost anything, so you should see my scattergun approach to posting across the whole forum lol. I also love smilies, so i'm very glad to see them looking at me on the right as I type!
I'm particularly interested in cooking, art, history, anthropology, music of many kinds, and increasingly philosophy and the spiritual side of life.
I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my life right now, work-wise, so I also hope to talk a little bit about that here, and get some new ideas.
Oh, and i'm hoping to travel later in the year. Already on the list of places to visit are Kenya, Goa, the Philippines, Japan (to visit my old stomping grounds) and Oz. While I'm in Africa, Ethiopia also appeals. I'm very excited about all this!
Very happy to be here, cheers, and KANPAI!

 

[Philip]

Welcome enjoy!

 

[made of stone]

Cheers Philip, looking forward to getting to know you a little bit!

 

[Mars Man]

A still night after a windy day here in the Japan Alps, the cold grip of old man winter's icy nails are strongly felt; scratching to hang on against mother nature's change of moods to a more flowery season. I sit here at the PC in the little tatami room, the fan heater blaring away, looking through the screen out on the world. . . where I see you, made of stone san !!

WELCOME to JREF !! I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I do hope to hear more from you as time goes on. There are many areas to check out, and since you are interested in so many fields, I'm look forward to seeing you here and there. Thanks for sharing that information about yourself; a great introduction for sure! See you 'round !!

 

[made of stone]

Thank you kindly, Mars Man sir!

A very warm welcome indeed from you, and some poetry of sorts, delightful!

Sincerely, a hello greeting is always very much appreciated, and I notice you're a gent who takes the trouble to welcome all, so may I say thank you on behalf of many?l

Ah, the Japan Alps. I never got the chance to visit (perhaps too lazy, ahem) while I was there in dear Nippon, but I always fancied it. How is the weather there now...sounds cold...I think I read somewhere that there's too much snow for even skiing? I also can't imagine how you all survive in those Japanese houses, perhaps they're all made of sterner wood than we had in Kansai or Kanto??

All the best to you, you'll see me around soon enough, looking forward to talking!

 

[Anohito]

[snip] Ah, the Japan Alps. I never got the chance to visit (perhaps too lazy, ahem) while I was there in dear Nippon, but I always fancied it. How is the weather there now...sounds cold... [snip]

Welcome to Jref. Your comment about not visiting the Japan Alps reminded me that I didn't do as much traveling in Japan as I probably should have. It would have been fairly easy for me to go to Nikko, for example, but I never did. I was so fascinated by Tokyo that except for one trip to Mt. Takao I spent my off-base time in Tokyo or various parts between there and Yokosuka.
I did some web searching prompted by your question to Mars Man about the weather. At 11:00 AM, local time, in Matsumoto (Nagano Pref.) it is 32 degrees F and mostly cloudy. A high of 45 deg F is predicted. Doesn't sound too bad. It is undoubtedly colder in the higher altitudes, but the Weather Channel web site will only have info on the larger cities.

 

[made of stone]

Thank you for your welcome, and nice to meet you, Anohito!

Very kind of you to check the weather up there. I certainly wish I had visited, though perhaps I'll have the chance again.

I understand completely why you mostly spent time in Tokyo. An incredible place, I reckon you could spend a very good many years exploring and never see everything you wanted. Kansai was perfect for me, because it was relatively easy to get around and visit lots of different places, there is nowhere I really regret not visiting in the area. I do wish i'd visited the other islands and not just Honshu, especially Okinawa and Hokkaido .

Lovely pictures on your site, Anohito Mt Takao looks lovely!

(Just on the off-chance, a chap I was posted to Japan with was sent to the Matsumoto area. We lost touch, but I wonder what happened to him, nice fella. If there's anyone here who was around there about nine years ago, please PM me. For all I know he is still there!)

 

[Cue]

Hello again Maid of Stone...err, Made of Stone. ^_^
So, you're new! I didn't know that. LOL
I love takoyaki just like you, and also love Akashiyaki myself.
I was born in Kobe, raised in Osaka, so now you know why I stay away from Monja. Heheh...
Well, now I live in Tokyo and I find some of the Kanto local food/ingredients yummy. So, it's not like I dislike all the Kanto food, mind you.

There's another guy here who's from Kent, if I remember correctly... and I think I talked to him about my favorite cigarette brand, "Kent Ultra Menthol"... but I forgot who it was... or maybe he's from another forum or IRC channel...

Anyway, welcome to JREF, I hope you have a lot of fun here.

Cheers!

Cue

 

[made of stone]

Hello again Maid of Stone...err, Made of Stone. ^_^
So, you're new! I didn't know that. LOL
I love takoyaki just like you, and also love Akashiyaki myself.
I was born in Kobe, raised in Osaka, so now you know why I stay away from Monja. Heheh...
Well, now I live in Tokyo and I find some of the Kanto local food/ingredients yummy. So, it's not like I dislike all the Kanto food, mind you.
There's another guy here who's from Kent, if I remember correctly... and I think I talked to him about my favorite cigarette brand, "Kent Ultra Menthol"... but I forgot who it was... or maybe he's from another forum or IRC channel...
Anyway, welcome to JREF, I hope you have a lot of fun here.
Cheers!
Cue

Many thanks for the welcome Cue, it's really nice when others tell me a little about them
Just one small thing - Maid of Stone....EEEK...lol
Ah, you're a real Kansai-jin, nice to hear! I lived in Osaka for a couple of years, Nishinomiya a couple more, worked in Kobe too. I also lived for a year in Kanto, but Kansai is where my heart belongs most in Japan.
I remember those Kent cigarettes! Don't they have a funny little pic of a castle on? I think they're an American brand? Ha, that reminds me of when I was missing English food so much and I saw a restaurant called Kent in the distance...I think I may have cried in happiness a little as I ran towards it to check the menu on the door, and cried a little more when I found out it was.....a curry house!
I think that was at the bottom of the Umeda Sky Building...ah happy memories

 

[Cue]

Oh I see. Yes, I call myself a real Kansai-jin, and Osaka my home.
And you lived in Nishinomiya!? Wow, I envy you!
I'm a crazy Tigers fan and I go watch their game in Koshien stadium once or twice a year. (I want to go more, but money doesn't allow me to.)
I watch about 20 games in Kanto area last year, though.

Thank you for reminding me of the good memories of Kansai.
Hope we can chat sometimes!
Good night.

Cue

 

[made of stone]

Cool, I was a very big Hanshin fan too!

I lived a few miles from Koshien, but I could hear the crowds cheering from my bedroom sometimes. Happy memories indeed, cycling down the Mukogawa to go and see a game, then cycling back in the dark after lots of beer haha.

Yes, i'd love to chat sometime with you and all the other good members here

Oyasumi!

 

[Absolute Zero]

Hello and welcome, new person. Welcome to the site and enjoy your stay at Jref.

 

[made of stone]

Thank you too, relatively-new person!

Lol, just joking, very much appreciate the welcome. I'm looking forward to getting to know you along with all the other good folk here

 

[Sarapva]

Welcome, made of stone! I see you're in Kent - I just posted in reply to your welcome that my relatives live in Kent. They're in Benenden. Kent is a beautiful place, very green in the summer.

 

[made of stone]

Welcome, made of stone! I see you're in Kent - I just posted in reply to your welcome that my relatives live in Kent. They're in Benenden. Kent is a beautiful place, very green in the summer.

I just read and replied to your message, Sarapva!

Beneden's a truly lovely area, not so far from here, and I often go down that way to visit nice spots in summer. I'm further north here, living near Sevenoaks.
With climate change Kent was very green even this winter! Much more of this and it'll even be warm enough to swim in the sea in summer lol. We did have one or two snowy days this year.

http://imageshack.us

 

[Kinsao]

Hello there Made of Stone, I am in the UK too! :joyful:
Hope you have a good time on Jref!

 

[Vagante]

Cool, I was a very big Hanshin fan too! ...

Weird! Something else we have in common.
It's good to see you settling in here, MoS (a.k.a Toe Snores ).

 

[Vagante]

I just read and replied to your message, Sarapva!
Beneden's a truly lovely area, not so far from here, and I often go down that way to visit nice spots in summer. I'm further north here, living near Sevenoaks.
With climate change Kent was very green even this winter!

OK ... got to wave the flag for Kent (Invicta!) I was born in Farnborough (Kent, not the other one) and spent the first three years or so in Biggin Hill. Sadly, The TeaPot cafe is not there any more. Lived in Faversham for a year - home of one of the finest brewers in UK Shepherd-Neame ... moved to Newington-next-Sittingbourne, where I attended the local school and then Borden Grammar School in Sittingbourne. It was a wonderful place to grow up - woods, fields and orchards everywhere; oast houses; working as a kid on local farms; rabbit poaching with ferrets and nets; camping in Bedgebury Park, every year with Cubs and Scouts; the sea just down the road; shopping in the Medway towns and Maidstone; and in those days we usually had a lot of snow in Kent, every year. Good memories.

 

[made of stone]

Hi Kinsao, many thanks for the warm welcome!
Where are you in the UK I wonder?

Weird! Something else we have in common.
It's good to see you settling in here, MoS (a.k.a Toe Snorts ).

Another Hanshin fan? Good stuff indeed! We are getting along so very well Vagante that I don't want to ask if you have a footy team for fear of the answer 'Arsenal' hehe.

Toe Snorts, the very cheek of it!
I did use to go by the moniker of Snores in a previous forum life. Now most happily reincarnated here at Jref, you may call me the same fond Toe or famed son Toe if you like (but NEVER fat dome nose or fat end moose!!!)*




*user-name anagram malarky between old friends

 

[made of stone]

OK ... got to wave the flag for Kent (Invicta!) I was born in Farnborough (Kent, not the other one) and spent the first three years or so in Biggin Hill. Sadly, The TeaPot cafe is not there any more. Lived in Faversham for a year - home of one of the finest brewers in UK Shepherd-Neame ... moved to Newington-next-Sittingbourne, where I attended the local school and then Borden Grammar School in Sittingbourne. It was a wonderful place to grow up - woods, fields and orchards everywhere; oast houses; working as a kid on local farms; rabbit poaching with ferrets and nets; camping in Bedgebury Park, every year with Cubs and Scouts; the sea just down the road; shopping in the Medway towns and Maidstone; and in those days we usually had a lot of snow in Kent, every year. Good memories.

Thank you for that Vagante, very interesting to hear a few of your memories

Ah, Shepherd-Neame: apparently Britain's oldest brewer. Coincidentally, I was looking at their brewery tour just a few days ago, after i'd bought my Dad a few bottles of Spitfire. They also brew the Asahi i'm lucky enough to drink every once-in-a-while

I've only been to Biggin Hill once or twice, but it has had a large impact on my life for a few days many years. Why? The Biggin Hill Air Shows! I've never been, but they have an incredible array of planes on show - from exhibitions of great historical aircraft like the Spitfire, Hurricane and various Sopwiths, to flyovers from the Red Arrows and other military aircraft. They seem to have changed the warm-up flight-paths over the years, but many times we've come rushing out the house to see all the incredible planes flying over our home over a weekend.

Here are two links for anyone who's interested:

http://www.airdisplaysint.co.uk/display.php


Biggin Hill Aerobilitys Armchair Airshow 2021 online event - Military Airshows in the UK - Festival of Flight, Tickets - Hotel Accommodation.

Also, it seems that the government are threatening to withdraw the funding of the Red Arrows. I think you can find a link to a petition of protest at that from the first website I mentioned, if you so wish.

Vagante, I guess you know Bromley very well? One of the places we often visited as kids with Mum. And Chislehurst? My Dad was sheltered there in the caves with his folks during the war (born in '43).

Ah, i'm enjoying this thread so much! Thank you tio friends old and new and future, I'm very happy indeed to be here at Jref

 

[Sarapva]

I recognize some of the English places mentioned, but not sure if I've been to them. (As a kid I was taken around and might have been to a lot more places than I think!) I remember Staplehurst, Tenterden, Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells, Leisester (sp), Lincoln, London... My mother was also a kid in WW2, and remembers seeing planes fighting overhead. She and her brothers were taken to Cranbrook.

Very nice picture, made of stone! We've heard how warm it's been in England, especially in the summer. I remember wearing sweaters in the summer in England ('60s, '70s).

 

[made of stone]

Thanks for that Sarapva, i'll continue to post one or two of my picture collection here if people stay interested

Haha, i've probably been to most of those places too, but I also forget a lot. Tunbridge Wells has certainly been a very important place in my life over the years, and I went to school in Tonbridge (a few miles nearer us here). TW is a lovely place, many happy memories.

I'm not sure if i've asked and forgotten (and apologies if I have) but where were you born?

 

[Sarapva]

mos - This is a coincidence - my mother went to school at Tonbridge and her brother at Tunbridge Wells (or the other way around). She said they had to get up early to take a train to somewhere (can't remember the name) and another one to the schools.

I was born in Putney, Middlesex. But I don't remember visiting there except going by on the train. I have very good memories of visiting some of the villages in Kent, but mostly of taking walks on the "Downs" with my cousins and getting muddy going downhill!

Have you taken the Euro Star through the "chunnel"? I haven't been to England since it was built.

 

[made of stone]

mos - This is a coincidence - my mother went to school at Tonbridge and her brother at Tunbridge Wells (or the other way around). She said they had to get up early to take a train to somewhere (can't remember the name) and another one to the schools.
I was born in Putney, Middlesex. But I don't remember visiting there except going by on the train. I have very good memories of visiting some of the villages in Kent, but mostly of taking walks on the "Downs" with my cousins and getting muddy going downhill!
Have you taken the Euro Star through the "chunnel"? I haven't been to England since it was built.

My word, what coincincidences! Proof, if any more were needed, that the world is really very small indeed. Reminds me of a time my flatmate was in Thailand, started chatting to someone on the beach about where he lived. This chap said 'I know someone who lives round there' and pulled an address from his pocket - it was my friend's (and my) address!

Some lovely villages in Kent, and East Sussex is very close too, beautiful beautiful countryside. Nothing finer than a lunch outside a pub in a quaint village in the early summer sun, watching the llamas graze (yes that's happened tio me here!) Only problem is i'm a bit too tall for some of the medieval ceilings (the same problem as Japan lol).

I guess you mean the South Downs, Sarapva? We are at the foot of the North Downs here. Not quite as striking, but still some lovely walks to be had, and again pubs to aim for Did you ever visit Leeds Castle or Groombridge Place, two fantastic spots. The Italian garden and maze at Hever Castle are also nice: nothing finer than an outdoor performance of Shakespeare overlooking the lake there.

On the subject of pubs, so many are closing down around here, even historic ones. They're either being taken over by large chain-operations and turned into soulless clones, or being knocked down to build flats. It's heartbreaking.

Ah, the Chunnel. I did take it back from Paris once, on a holiday back in Europe from Japan. For such a flagship project, I was expecting something approaching the quality of the Shinkansen. No such luck - cramped seats, very little room for luggage and rather dirty - just like British Rail!

 

[Kinsao]

Hi Kinsao, many thanks for the warm welcome!
Where are you in the UK I wonder?

Hi there I am in Leicester... not very near to Kent! In fact, I've never been there except on the way to Dover to go through the chunnel. *embarrassed* >.<

I know Biggin Hill though - used to enjoy going to air displays and to see museums of historic aircraft and such. Haven't been so much in the last 5 years or so due to not having a car though.