2005 is, remarkably, the 20th anniversary of this blog. I can't remember why I started writing one, beyond the fact that it was novel at the time and I felt that I might have something to say. I had kept a couple of hand-written diaries in the past, notably in the 1980's, but they tailed off ultimately through boredom or forgetfulness.

This one has endured, probably because I like typing out entries (my thoughts are better collected) and perhaps because working in Japan made it appealing to keep writing. There was also the added benefit of adding photos, maps and the like to supplement my meagre scrawls. Around this time I also started writing some poetry again.

I am giving weight to the proposition that an end point might be coming when the actual anniversary arrives. I don't know, though my editor, should he or she exist, will doubtless cheer me on.