Yes, Friends, have YOU heard about the latest daring heist in the art world? Onion News was leading on the story just this morning, but if you missed it, catch up with my "potted version" right here in my blog for today, which is exciting!
But with hindsight, and remembering that the paintings themselves are protected so securely these days, the theft of attendants was probably "a heist waiting to happen". But your views welcome - postcards only!!!!
What a crazy world we live in !!!!!
Yes, Lois and I always like to "act silly" when there's nobody around, that's for sure!
On this leg of his journey, which takes him around the Tokyo, Michael pauses briefly to show us some of the madness of Shinjuku, the world's busiest railway station, and that's official!
What madness, isn't it! And very nostalgic for me, when I remember my student year in Tokyo, 1970-1971. That sensation of trying to find my connection from one line to another in Shinjuku, trying to interpret the Japanese characters on the signs, all the time being in a massive crowd of people, all walking very fast and knowing where they had to get to - it's something that will never leave me, that's for sure!
And reading the story here today in semi-subtropical Liphook, Hampshire, brings an ironic smile to the lips of me and my wife Lois, that's for sure!
It's weird, because today we're going to be visiting a museum ourselves, in company with some of Lois's church friends, and we're amused to find that the museum attendants, all of them in what must be very valuable "period" costume, are all "stuffed", so don't respond to questions! Either that, or the real ones have already been stolen and replaced by these counterfeits, which is mad!
my wife Lois and me - a recent picture
Lois, here showcasing some of the museum guides in "period dress",
who we eventually realised are "stuffed" and don't respond to questions
- what madness!!!!
Despite the lack of guidance however, Lois and I have a great time at the museum, the "Milestones Museum", 25 miles away in Basingstoke, Hampshire, a museum which illustrates daily life in the county over the centuries, and also gives us a number of valuable "photo-opportunities", which is nice, and also one thing that art-thieves can't steal, that's for sure!
Here's our arrival, when we meet fellow "old codgers" from the church, before descending the steps to view the oldy-worldly streets, shops and workplaces in the county as they looked in years gone by.
(left) we arrive at the museum and meet up with other "old codgers" from the church
for a cup of coffee, before (right) descending the steps to see the displays of
oldy-worldy streets, shops and workplaces in the county over the centuries
Not to forget the displays of some of the quaint old posters of yesteryear, one of them advertising local events to mark Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897, with special attraction: dancing at 5:30pm (!). After which, people probably went to bed to sleep it off, after all the excitements of the day, maybe? I wonder....!
Also there's an earlier poster publicising an Act of Parliament, in George III's reign, authorising the building of a navigable canal from Basingstoke to the River Wey, which flows just about half a mile away from mine and Lois's house in Liphook, would you believe!
Whether exhausted Hampshire residents, back in 1897, opted for an early bed after the celebratory dancing, it's certainly what an exhausted Lois and me do today, when, after our extended museum visit, we finally get back home to Liphook, at the absurdly late time of 3pm in the afternoon, which is totally mad!!!!
Apart from the fascinating exhibits, there have been many pluses to the day: we had a hearty fish-and-chip lunch in the museum restaurant, meaning that we can just have something light this evening. Also, it wasn't very crowded there after the inevitable early morning school visits began to peter out mid-morning, so Lois and I could wander round trying everything out, playing the vintage slot-machines and including having fun with the distorting mirrors, and remembering seaside holidays from our childhoods, which was nice.
Lois and me, having fun with the old slot-machines and the distorting mirrors
- you're seeing our second childhood, no doubt about that !!!!!
And "acting the fool" is certainly not something that former Cabinet Minister and experienced celebrity travelogue presenter Michael Portillo gets much chance to do, surrounded by, like, billions of other Tokyo train travellers on his current series about Japan, to put it mildly!!!!
flashback to October 1970: this photo commemorates my first ever
foray into the madness of the Tokyo suburban railway system,
buying my first ever train ticket from a machine,
- little did I know, when this picture was taken, how very
bewildering it was all going to be, to put it mildly!!!!!
The Japanese are used to crowded situations, that's for sure, even in their own homes, especially if they're the mini-homes that the Japanese love, which are cheaper, and where any couple can "live in each other's pockets 24/7", no problem about that!
Tonight Michael visits one of these tiny homes.
It's basically two rooms, a kitchen / living room downstairs, and also a bedroom/bathroom upstairs, which is reached by a narrow, steep staircase. There's even extra storage in the tiny staircase, with a compartment and sliding door behind every step - what madness!!!
In the bedroom there's a nice bed, of course, but also a big sunken bath, and also facilities for making cocktails in bed. Kan's wife likes to drink plenty of cocktails, seemingly!
What's not to like haha!!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzz!!!!!
