As first mooted in the my last post, Yokozuna Terunofuji won on Day 14 to take the Emporor's Cup for the 8th time. Coming back from serious injury and surgery on both knees,  it is quite an achievement for the tough Mongolian. How much longer he will last is anyone's guess, though a little while ago his oyakata (stable master) noted that his knees were 'a ticking time-bomb.'

Congratulations are also in order for Kiribayama who has achieved ozeki promotion, a much needed addition to an important rank. Now that Takakeisho has a 'partner', maybe some of the pressure that he doubtless feels will drop off him and he can focus on ozeki sumo.

Courtesy Sumo Fetish    A rare smile.

On the penultimate day of the summer Grand Sumo Tournament In Tokyo, returning champion Terunofuji has the chance to clinch the Emperor's Cup if he can beat second placed Kiribayama this evening. Even if he loses he will have another crack at it tomorrow, though likely with a playoff at the end.

It has been an impressive return from serious injury for the Mongolian who seemed like he may be forced to retire. Today he disposed of (equally impressive) Asanoyama in quick order, giving the latter something to reflect upon between now and the next basho.

Some months ago I wrote about a lady who, as best I could make out, was present at every sumo tourney, no matter where that happened to be in Japan. She was always sitting in the second row, right in view of the TV cameras. Well, she has disappeared and has been absent for the last three tournaments, unless, of course, she is sitting somewhere else!

In her place in Tokyo are two hilarious young Japanese women, whose face-pulling and general excitement must have amused many who were watching at home. Can you spot them? This was from yesterday's bout between Terunofuji and Asanoyama.

After much fiddling about and overcoming endless file transfer errors, I finally sent my slim poetry eBook off for publication at Amazon. Since it's under review I am not able to see the finished product at the Kindle Store, but theoretically it should look the same as one I sent and was able to preview beforehand.

By slim, I mean it contains only 32 poems, most very short. With an introduction and other odds and ends, it is barely 35 pages long. I'm guessing it could be read cover to cover in 15 minutes or so. But that is not the point. I felt a need to publish outside of this blog and in a collected form.

In the process of transcribing into the word document, I made a few changes to a number of poems, so they differ in very small, though sometimes important ways, from the originals published here at Tatami Twist. Most writers make changes and some pieces might be corrected over decades. I made my last change just moments before sending. Just two words but an improvement, in my estimation.

The title, Night Class and other poems.

I think it was Douglas Adams who first wrote about a planet that was populated solely by single unmatching socks, the others in each pair all being back on Earth. He may have written about it, or I may have heard it elsewhere, made it up myself or some such occurrence. But it seems likely to be Douglas Adams, for there is an Adamian quality to the idea. Adamian is a word that I did just make up as I wrote that last sentence, so anything is possible.

I bring up such trivia as a lead-in to further nonsense on a similar topic. For I think that the planet that stocks only single unmatching socks has quite a few of mine of a similar pedigree. This morning I put a pair (that is two, one left, one right) directly into the washing machine, only to find some short time later that there was only one in the washing basket. Of course, I went back and checked the inside of the machine, then all the washing hanging on the line. It was nowhere to be found, leaving me utterly mystified about how such a thing could happen.

Then I remembered the Adamian planet, a kind of heaven for socks, and all was made clear to me.

Shortly, my first driving lesson with Tom. He has an old Mazda Astina that he was gifted, much better than the shebang's I was driving at his age, but still with a lot of mileage under the bonnet.

We'll go to the nearby industrial area where, hopefully, the workers will have gone home and left us the streets to drive on. We might need lots of leeway, this being only his third time behind the wheel.

One blessing is that its automatic, so no messing around with a clutch. The manual gearbox seems to be on the way out, a shame, because shifting through the gears and developing a deft relationship between clutch and accelerator was one of the joys of driving.

Here we go.

Exhibit A, in black.

The local magpies know me quite well. Often as not they will greet me as I come into the garden, hopeful, no doubt, of a titbit or two. Even when I am empty-handed, which is most of the time, they happily co-inhabit wherever I happen to be, not even bothering to look up as I walk by.

But once I put on my bicycle helmet, it is another story. Even if I do so right in front of them, repeatedly, they no longer know who I am and they become very cross at my presence. Gentle warbling gives way to fierce shrieking, with neighbouring birds joining in the war cry.

No wonder cyclists get short shrift from magpies during nesting season. Not only do we approach at speed, as if by magic, but we refuse to show our faces. It's a standoff without any chance of resolution.

While sitting on the bus yesterday, as it wended its way up Glebe Point Rd, I noticed for the first time (which means I was finally paying attention!) a series of signs that spoke eloquently to the Australian Condition.

First, there was a billboard about 'footy', closely followed by two large shops signs for 'Vinnies' and 'Salvos', then a smaller grocery marker for 'avos' (3 for $5!). 

I could go on but I think you get the picture. Australian are the biggest users of the diminutive in the world, as best I know. Over 4300 have been officially recorded and there are many others floating about or in the process of being created.

Consider that the previous PM was called ScoMo, that another PM was obsessed with 'selfies' and that the current PM can talk about Tassie (and his nickname is Albo!) and you might understand how deep this process has penetrated the Australian psyche. 

It probably indicates a chronic desire to be friendly and casual, to get along, to be part of the vernacular crowd. It's entirely harmless, unlike swearing, and while I rarely use the diminutive outside a few words here and there, I often find it comforting and amusing.

Just don't ask me to hold a barbie, cook up a lot of snags and bung them in a sanga. Nor should you expect me to crack a coldie from the esky, or play any Acca/Dacca. Those kinds of things will send me troppo, so much so that I might even start wearing a flannie or two.

It has been a fabulous start for two returnees to Makuuchi at the Grand Sumo Tourney in Tokyo. Injured champion Terunofuji and former Ozeki Asanoyama are sitting at the top of the tree on 5-0. Terunofuji is back after (hopefully) successful knee surgery and Asanoyama was promoted from Juryo following two years in the wilderness for, ahem, covid infractions. Suddenly the tournament seems far more competitive, exciting even.

On a sadder note I must mention the retirement of former Ozeki, Tochinoshin from Georgia. The popular rikishi had fallen to the second tier (juryo) largely due to repeated injuries which meant he could not fully utilize his power and skill. Like many others before him, his knees could no longer give him the support to push forward or defend.

With five titles and 17 years on the dohyo, he deserves a rest.

Courtesy Kyodonews

At church last night, I was astonished to hear, during the Father's homily, that there were 150 million orphaned children around the world. Do you have trouble getting your head around such a figure, because I do.

I went to the UNICEF site today to check some of the data they have on this disturbing figure. Ten percent of those poor kids lost parents to AIDS, something which can be prevented with the correct intervention. Other causes include war, famine, drought and plain old poverty.

I can think of no cause more in need of addressing as orphanhood. Children need their parents, to love, nurture, direct, correct, and enable them to grow into capable adults themselves.

What an appalling situation - 150 million. It is beyond comprehension.

Warmish days, cold nights have been the order of the things recently. Today I could go riding with only a t-shirt and light jacket, a big change from only half a week ago. The garden looks wonderful in transition, with most deciduous trees still in that clinging-on phase, a few more dogged than others. The Japanese maple by the front gate has a decided hint of red. Soon it will burn brightly in the sunshine before the great shedding begins.

Another hemisphere away, the Grand Sumo Tournament is gearing up for the summer basho. We can only pray that the Yokozuna is fit to return, after sitting out a number of tourneys. Giant Mongolian Ichinojo has retired, reportedly (and believably) due to chronic back pain. Asanoyama returns to the top division after his long climb back and I hope is able to present a credible threat to the top tier of wrestlers. And Takakeisho is kadoban, needing to win 8 bouts to retain his ozeki status.

Interesting days indeed!

Last night I lit our first wood fire for the season. May 9th is a very early start for me - in fact - I have never lit one before the middle of June before. But the nights have been extremely chilly and our house is poorly insulated. Add to that that two Thai's are living under this roof and perhaps you'll see how it became necessary to do so.

I am expecting things to warm up a little, so this might be a false start. After all, winter proper does not begin until June. But you never know, so we have plenty of chopped wood (courtesy of a kind friend) to get us through to August, should that be necessary.

The Coronation of King Charles III has been a spark for all kinds of writing, some good, some pointedly derogatory. Yesterday, the Newcastle Herald had twenty pages devoted to the event in a gigantic wrap-around supplement, this before the main paper actually got under way.

Further inside, there was an editorial (mildly critical) and an opinion piece by a regular columnist, which was excoriating. A couple of the letters to the editor were in a similar vein, though there was one that was stridently royalist. None of this could compare with the massive supplement, which touted the coronation as a once-in-a-lifetime must see. If you had read the whole paper through, your head would be spinning.

I am in favour of a republic, but not before the vast majority of the population is in favour too. Sudden changes in the political structure of a state, no matter how cosmetic, can have unforeseen consequences. Patience is the key and republicans would do well to remember this. Australians are suspicious of elites with an agenda to fulfil, no matter how transparent the case is.

Meanwhile, there is no harm in wishing the new monarch well and hoping, as I do, that he understands his historic role in the Christian scheme of things. That role was explicit in the coronation service. Only time will tell if he is prepared, like his mother was, to live up to it.