An old ailment has returned and for the time being I have been unable to do my morning shifts at 2RPH. I love the work so it is a bitter pill, though no more than a trifle compared to what many people are going through.

But because I can get my act together by the afternoon, I have taken on a few shifts of the program Features Forum, a ninety minute show that allows for long-form articles and opinion pieces to be read live to air.

I'm just about the head off now for the long trip to the city. It is bitterly cold and the wind is blowing a storm - I had to saw off a broken branch a little while ago - but I am looking forward to the bustle of Sydney after weeks in the boonies.

After The Fall

My floor mat is collecting maple leaves,

Red, green, orange, purple, rusty brown,

That steal into my car like thieves,

Once congregants upon the ground.

The trees that grieve the losing,

The long and wordless falling,

Are skeletal before the Down,

Like keeners in a bone-yard

Who cannot wear a crown.

 Behold the Emperor's Cup! It awaits the huge grasp of Terunofuji, who on the last day, clinched victory (12-3) with a win over Mitakeumi. There were a swag of rikishi in his rear view, either equal or one behind the pace, but he proved again to be the champion that he is. Such is the pride of the Yokozuna.

On the weekend I made a long overdue trip to Canberra to see a friend and take in the election atmosphere. I could not have been happier with the result - the seeing off of the Tories was a joy to behold. I hope that their born-to-rule instincts don't get the better of them in opposition, when they tend to angry, entitled and disruptive, in keeping with their noble blood.

On the way down I stopped at the near-full Lake George, a curious though vast shallow plain just before the border of the ACT. It is often mostly empty, or the water is way in the distance, like a mirage. But on this occasion it was a mere 100 metres from the main road. The photo below, taken from one of the rest stops, doesn't quite capture its fullness, which had to be seen to be believed.

 

The Grand Sumo from Tokyo continues to mystify and amaze, with a largish group of rank and file rikishi occupying the top of the ladder. This is partly the result of the previously alluded to poor form of the three Ozeki wrestlers, whose inconsistent results have lead to the imbalance. That is the mystifying part, since it unusual for all three to be underperforming.

There being only one Yokozuna is another reason. Terunofuji might be a clear leader if not for his injured knees, which undermine his resistance to powerful pusher/thruster wrestlers. Nevertheless, he is only one win behind the pack and well placed to swoop at the end, if the others falter.

A couple of day ago he took on Tobizaru, aka, the 'flying monkey'. The screenshot below shows the latter with a grip on the yokozuna's mawashi (loin cloth). Shortly after, Terunofuji clamped down on his adversaries arms and physically hoisted him from the ring. Banged up knees maybe, but immense power nevertheless!

When we lived and worked in Japan we found ways to cut corners, the same as the Japanese. Many of these were tips on how to save money, how and where to buy groceries, ways of keeping down travel costs. Even though Japan was in the midst of its second decade of deflation, it was still a much more expensive place to live than Australia. Most of the advice came from helpful foreigners, former teachers and Japanese students.

One typical example was train travel, which, while being magnificent, was often quite pricey. We regularly went to Osaka on school business or shopping and Sanda had a direct JR line to Umeda. It was fast but more expensive if the we took it the whole way. But by changing at Takarazuka, we could hop onto the adjacent Hankyu line for the rest of the journey. This saved us a couple of hundred yen each, money that could be spent on lunch or sightseeing. The bonus was that the Hankyu train company was my favourite by a long chalk, their superb carriages in a burgundy livery instantly recognisable. If it was possible I would take Hankyu everywhere.

By contrast, Sanda's other train company, Shintestsu, which ran to Kobe, was expensive. The little spur line to Woody Town was even more so, relative to the distance. I tended to walk between stations rather than pay up though I caught the train a couple of time because, well, I love trains.

If you go to Japan, catch a train. You won't be disappointed.

A Hankyu main line train waits at Juso. (photo by Onagadori. Arigatou.)

Next Saturday there is a Federal Election in Australia. God willing, I will travel to Canberra the day before polling day to visit my long-time friend John, now a lecturer at the University Of Canberra. We will spend the better part of 48 hours discussing politics (not everyone's cup of tea, I realise) and watching as the results come in on Saturday night. I hope that this time, there is a just result. I am sorely tired of the conservatives.

It is by the grace of God that I can still contemplate such journeys. It is frankly a wonder that I am so happily married, have my own house (shambolic as it is!), have good friends and the chance to do interesting volunteer work. My superannuation covers pretty much all living costs. So there are many blessings in my life and it can only be through grace that I have made it so far.

I have not come through unscathed - life conjures many disappointments and afflictions. For forty years I went my own way and paid the price for it. On reflection, I can see many occasions when a higher price should have been paid and a few when my very existence was in question.

But here I am ready to try again. Even to say that shows that a greater love is at work than I can possibly describe.

From out of all the rainy, cold weather that we have had in spades in recent months - wet that has left things mouldy and damp and without proper dryness - comes a warm, sunny May day. I thought my eyes were playing tricks when I saw the the temperature gauge was 23 degree C, well above the regular average for this time of year.

So out goes the washing - tops and bottoms that take an age to dry in wet weather, clothes jostling for a position on the too-full washing line, racks with underwear and socks and face washers dangling by a peg.

I must be s simple soul because I find it a glorious sight.

The May Tournament of Grand Sumo has begun at Tokyo's Kokugikan. With worries about Covid receding (whether we like it or not), the legal crowd capacity is up to about 80%. The added atmosphere obviously benefits some wrestlers more than others and a few rikishi make the most of it with prefight habits, such as throwing a huge handful of salt (I'm looking at you Terutsuyoshi) or beating their chests or bodies in an aggressive manner. Hakuho, the greatest ever sumo champion, had a habit of turning in a menacing fashion before returning to his side of the dohyo. He left no-one in doubt that he meant business.

At Day 5 the field is looking rather topsy-turvy. Rank and filers (maegashira)  occupy the top three spots with Terunofuji breathing down their necks. The troika of ozeki have thus far been underperforming and will need to lift their games, especially the slow-starting Shodai.

I think it will be an exciting tourney with the Emperor's Cup up for grabs. A number of wrestlers could be in the hunt for the prized trophy. The screenshot below is from Day 3 and features the mysterious lady in yellow.

I first bought my Gaggia Classic Espresso machine back in 2009 in the hope of making good coffee and saving money. Buying a cup of coffee every day and being vulnerable to the other delicious fare on display in a typical cafe can run up a lot over a year. So buying the machine and a decent coffee grinder was an investment in the long term.

That is exactly how its worked out. I do make good coffee and there has been more in my bank account each month as a result. The only problem with the Gaggia is that its boiler tends to rust out every four years or so and needs replacement, something that is not cheap. You can do the maths but 13 years of ownership means that I am about to need a third replacement boiler.

And so it is. Hot water now comes from the group head extremely slowly. In fact its just a drip or two, impossible for the making of a cuppa. So off to the repairman at Seven Hills!

Today being so fair after a cold night, I took myself out for a ride between the villages. At one point, not far from Woodford Station, I could see vastly across the undulating hills of the valley to the north. Lines from Hopkins came unbidden into my head and stayed with me as I rode.

"I caught this morning's morning minion, king-

 dom of daylights dauphin, dapple dawn-drawn falcon, in his riding

 Of the rolling underneath him steady air, and striding....."

 

these, from the opening verse of "The Windhover."

Hopkins was a poet who celebrated his faith (the above poem has a dedication 'To Christ Our Lord') and his poems tumble richly from the pen, words almost tripping over each other, like dominoes set to fall, but somehow just hanging on. 

It is hard not to sense God in nature unless you are hardened against such a sentiment, which is a shame. I know that this is not a popular view. When I say sense, it is more like a whisper, which permeates both the head and the heart.

Hopkin's swung, 'from joy's height' (Flynn), something that is all but forgotten in the modern world.