Every year The Queen makes a TV and radio broadcast on Christmas afternoon. It is pre-recorded a few weeks before Christmas. This year the royal family were in the news over the holiday because the Queen's husband Prince Philip (90) was taken to hospital with heart problems.
English people usually watch this TV message after a large Christmas lunch and surrounded by the mess of present opening and chocolates and alcohol!
You can hear formal, high-class English in this speech!
So!
What am I doing here???????
Standing this morning on the steps of the Tenjinyama Park shrine, holding a home-made sign asking "Shelly" to marry "Luke".
Maybe you've heard: in many Western countries people plan surprise proposals.
This is one of them.
I am a member of a website called Couch Surfing. People who are traveling Japan come and stay at Imagine sometimes, I stayed in New Delhi with another Couch Surfing member. Next year I hope to do it again in the UK.
Recently I got an email from a British man called Luke. I don't know him.
Basically i am after some help from Japan
I am trying to propose to my girlfriend from every country in the world!!! To do this i am try to get people to take a photo of themselves holding a sign with the words "Shelly, Will you marry Luke?" I am going to put these into a video and propose on christmas eve.
How romantic! So of course I said "yes", and this morning I took the photo and sent it to him.He is collecting photographs from all over the world of people holding signs saying "Shelly, will you marry me? Luke".I hope Shelly says: "Yes".
Delhi Garden in Hiragishi, 1 minute from Imagine.
Today I am celebrating - my debut ski of the 2011/12 season!
This morning we went to Teine Olympia - in a snow storm - and we skied for about an hour. Just slow skiing, getting used to the feeling again and trying out our knees.
Two years ago I damaged my left knee cartiledge and lost a lot of muscle strength in my leg. About 3 years ago my partner broke his knee during ski instructor training at Niseko.
So we both have bad knees. Today was a gentle warm-up.
And after skiing we went to the Delhi Garden restaurant in Hiragishi and ate a HUGE lunch...this was the Y1,600 Tandoori plate - fish and meat and vegetables. Delicious!
Luckily....ski wear pants are big and have plenty of room. ;-)
This video has "gone viral" in the past 2 weeks.
It's the crew (staff) of HMS Ocean, a British warship, singing/mimeing Mariah Carey's 1992 hit All I Want for Christmas.
I love it. Makes me feel happy.
The ship left the Uk in April for a 7 weeks training time, but because of events in Libya this summer it was diverted and is only coming back to Plymouth now.
When the crew heard that they would be "home for Christmas" they came up with the idea of making this video...
British sense of humour: we love dressing up (or down!), making fools of ourselves and looking un-cool.
I hope you enjoy the video too.
This is Imagine's tree for 2011!
It is decorated with different ornaments: birds and cats that I bought in India, a decoration from a student who went to Canada, teddy bears and Japanese origami angels?
And at home?
I have just treated myself to a star and lights....this is MY Christmas present to myself!
One of my neighbors has one and I thought it looked good.
But mine is tied to...old ski poles and sticks.
I think it will look better with more snow!
It is hard to believe that we enjoyed a tea party and roses here in the summer isn't it?
Christmas is coming...
Yesterday I started the Christmas decorations in Imagine.
I took out the boxes of tinsel and ornaments, and lights and tree...and started planning what will go where this year.
Every year my main concern is the tree. During the day I'd like it to be where students (and I!) can enjoy it. But at night I like to move it onto the big table and near the window, then I attach the lights to a timer control....and everybody in the street can enjoy the seasonal twinkling too.
Imagine decorations are not finished yet. And home? I haven't started!
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