Author Archives: Julia

About Julia

My passion is books, travel and all things fluffy.
Feb12

Snowy wastelands and white plains

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Snowy wastelands and white plains

Tsurui and Rausu are names which don’t immediately jump out as being Japanese in their origin. Located in Hokkaido, the coldest, most northern tip of Japan, these small towns are set within low, flat snowy plains surrounded by mountains. I can honestly say that with just exception ( the infamous Everest base-camp experience in Tibet ) I have never been so cold for so long! But the environment was staggeringly beautiful. 6.30am saw us watching the Tancho cranes wake up in the Setsuri river at minus 17 degrees. Ive never been interested in bird watching but these were amazing – huge long- legged creatures with white and black plummage and red heads. But it was the scenery which really took our breath away ( along-with the cold ) as we stood on the tiny wooden bridge over the river. It was utterly beautiful: deep snowy drifts, frozen sparkling foliage and icicles draped along the river bank like lametta hanging from a Christmas tree.

After spending the morning exploring this barren but beautiful landscape we joined a trip out on an ice breaker boat. Setting out from the small port of Rausu the boat took us on a three hour trip into the frozen sea. How amazing it was to hear the boat crunch and grind its way through the ice as we passed icebergs floating and bobbing on the waves. Eventually we arrived at a huge area crusted over with thick ice where sea eagles and birds came to feed. But again it was the scenery which captured my imagination. Here was a true sense of northern-most icy wastes; a white and grey solitude made all the more eery by the whooping of the gulls windmilling overhead. Looking out from the front of the boat ( for fellow non-sailors I understand this to be the bow ) and spread out as far as the eye could see were mountainous ice floats, a thick white sky and far into the distance the peaks of the mountains. Well below freezing, barren, white and wonderful. This was true northern soul.

Feb9

62nd Sapporo Snow Festival

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62nd Sapporo Snow Festival

Well, we have just enjoyed an amazing three days in Sapporo to experience the 62nd annual snow festival. Sapporo is a wonderful city – re-built by the Amercians after the war in true US ‘grid’ style. A city latticed with criss-crossing streets and underpinned by an efficient metro, Sapporo is the epitamy of efficiency. Our first day was spent exploring the festival sites where enormous and beautifully intricate snow sculptures are created and then illuminated at night. These sculptures span whole streets and are packed with ‘snow festival’ goers keen to marvel at the beauty created from frozen water. A quick spin on the ice rink was followed by a sashimi lunch at a tiny ‘bar’ in the local fish market; all very tasty apart from the local delicacy of sea urchin whcih was frankly foul but was swallowed down politely.

The following day we caught a JR train out to a small town called Otaru, reknown for holding their own snow festivities. Otaru is a charming little place; old timber warehouses bordering the canal providing an almost medieval feel to this fascinating old town.  Wandering through the twisty-turny streets, a real sense of the old Japan is easily conjured up with dark timber fronted chalet-styleshops, sturdy stone colonial buildings and quaint little shrines drenched in a thick covering of snow craft a magical place to enjoy a wintry afternoon. But of course we had really come to see the town’s own brand of snow and ice illuminations. Walking along the disused railway line, we crunched our way through thick snow and enjoyed the hundreds of individual snow-carved lanterns and sculptures lit by candles. There was even an ice bar complete with tables and chairs! And the canal walk provided for an equally enjoyable stroll as we watched a labyrinth of lights being strung across the water from bank to bank. More ice carvings of snow rabbits, owls and castles illuminated with thousands of tiny candles lining the canal walkway provided a finge of flickering light and colour. This was what we had come for and what a wonderful few hours it was walking through this snowy fairy land!

Finally we spent our last day back in Sapporo to enjoy the big day itself – the openning of the 62nd annual snow festival. All of the sculptures had been completed and were being lit up in a city whose day-time temperature averaged at minus 6 degrees. But when the wind blew – boy did we learn the meaning of cold! I have truely never been so cold for so long! But it was worth it just to walk with the crowds and admire the craftmenship and shear scale of their icy creations. This has been such a wonderful and memorable trip so far – topped off by dinner in a sushi bar – wonderful fish but wish I had known it was crab brains I was eating before I tucked in but hey ho – that’s the beauty of Japan: a surprise at every corner.

Feb2

Tokyo we love you still!

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Tokyo we love you still!

Our third trip back to our beloved Japan and Tokyo still never ceases to amaze. A bizarre concoction of different cultures, it takes some time to peel back the different layers and really understand what makes Tokyo tick. Disney-clean leafy avenues, chihuahuas in coats with fur-lined hoods, palmists on street corners and spectacle cleaners outside opticians all combine to make Tokyo the city we love. We’ve avoided many of the tourist hot-spots for this trip and visited some of the less trodden tourist paths. Just sitting in a noodle bar at a counter packed with workers and supping from a huge bowl of hot ramen broth gives a fascinating insight into this ( if you’ll excuse the well-worn ’80s phrase ) ‘work hard – play hard ‘ culture. Except it seems to be the men who have the most fun who, after a long day in the office, take to the many bars before returning home to their wives. But it hasn’t just been the streets we have been pounding – gardens flourish throughout the city with slatted bridges spanning pools and streams, stone lanterns and tea house pavillions. Its been wonderful to rediscover these quiter spots within Tokyo’s 24/7 bustle and grind even if jackets, scarves and gloves has been a ‘must have.’ Yes ! Tokyo is pretty cold at this time of year and while we have been blessed with clear blue skies and sunshine, scuttling into a noodle house for a snack and some warmth has made the eating experience even moe pleasurable. With one exception…the deep-fried custard fritters we ate as we wandered through Senso-Ji; the huge Budhist temple complex. Well done my Japanese friends for inventing what must be one of the most tasty, calorific morsels I have ever had the priviledge to munch!

Nov3

On the road again

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On the road again

After two days of hitting the tarmac, tonight finds us in the Todra Gorge, a mountainous region backed up against a flat plain speckled with small rocky settlements. A walk this afternoon however introduced us to a far richer terrain, packed tight with date palms, fig trees and unbelievably, what looked to be brussel sprouts. And why not ? This region is farmed extensively, with local growers taking advantage of the rich soil, baking sun and well-irrigated fields.

The gorge itself is, I have to say, not unlike that at Chedder although I concede that the rich red rock is spectacular – especially as the sun begins to sink and the walls of the gorge start to glow like enormous night lights. The land now is far more as I would have expected for North Africa and definitely reminiscent of Egypt with its almost Biblical scenes of men in long flowing galabaya, donkeys carrying loads of vegetables to the markets and palm trees rising out of the lush green plantations. I love the desert with its sands, the wild camels by the road side, the smell of the hookah pipe, the men in their fes and galabaya and the heavy heat. What I cannot tolerate however is anymore tagine and couscous; in fact at this point a pizza is sounding like a pretty tempting option. Except there isnt any. So its chicken tagine for dinner again tonight!

Nov1

Tagines, camels and souks

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Tagines, camels and souks

Now I’ll eat most things – over and over again in some cases, but really, there’s only so much chicken and rice a girl can take. Last night brought a welcome break however as we walked out into the souk at Fes and found a number of bijou ( ok read ‘cramped’ for bijou ) cafes. With a blast of rather unseasonal rain pounding down, we sat outside beneath a ragged awning at a small table, complete with candle, jostling for position with the kitchen cat who prowled around the legs of our chairs mewing for  – yes; chicken and rice. Except last night we enjoyed pastilla – a sweetly spiced chicken mixture combined with nuts and honey and cinnamon; all wrapped in a filo pastry shell. The evening rounded off a day spent exploring Maulay Idris in the Middle Atlas Mountains; a small village built into the hillside complete with twisty windy streets and alleys leading up from the ornately decorated mausoleum set back from the bustling streets.

Tonight we find ourselves in Erfoud having driven 400 km from Fes. A normal travelling day was made special by our route coinciding with that of the King of Morocco on his way to a state event. Passing the cavalcade of cars watched over by a helicopter overhead, we passed the car carrying the King being driven by a chap in a fez and galabaya.

Tomorrow we drive out deeper into the Sahara Desert in search of camels, sand dunes, amd something to eat which isn’t chicken and rice.

Oct4

Laura Wilson’s ‘A Capital Crime’

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Laura Wilson’s ‘A Capital Crime’

It’s every book-lover’s holy grail; the once-every-so-often book that keeps its hapless reader up into the early hours reading. The book which once started, really can’t be put down. And such was the case for me with Laura Wilson’s latest thriller ‘A Capital Crime.’  Having waded my weary way through Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy ( forgive me for being the only person on the planet who found these novels turgid, repetitive and two-dimensional ) I couldn’t wait to reward my achievement by throwing myself into the latest Laura Wilson. 

A huge fan of all her thrillers, I love the way Wilson majors not just on plot but also characters and period. Pick up any of her thrillers and you are  in no doubt as to where you are, be it: 1940s London, 1930′s suburbia, 1950′s Soho or 1970′s Croydon.

‘A Capital Crime’ takes us to London in November 1950 – a time of smog, austerity and rationing; a landscape of bombed-out buildings, dismal terraces and abandonned Anderson shelters. I was for the first time, a little wary of this book. It is based on the horrific crimes which occurred at 10 Rillington Place albeit with different characters’ names and interwoven with character-based sub-plots. Is it appropriate to base a work of fiction around a crime of this nature ? My gut feeling is no, but once you get into the book you cannot but admire the way in which Wilson handles her story:  introducing new angles, using factual evidence to bring credibility to the tale and perfecting the period setting.

Picking up the book at 5pm on Sunday having read little more than a hundred pages, I put it down at a little before 1am. So there’s the answer – maybe stories should be based on just that – fiction – but in this case I couldn’t fault her treatment of the events leading up to the capture of Norman Backhouse – a skin-crawling, creepy creature occupying a Victorian terraced house in Paradise Road. The period setting is spot on, the characters utterly believable and the pace ramping up and down to accommodate the suburban sub-plots which weave their way through the horror of the events which unfurled in those years of austerity.  

Overall, I really cannot fault this book which leads wonderfully on from ‘Stratton’s War’ and ‘An Empty Death’ which follow the exploits and family life of Detective Ted Stratton. My only frustration ? I have to wait another year for Wilson’s next book. Hurray up Laura – a year’s a hellva long time!

Jun27

Hampshire View

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Hampshire View

Returned home from the annual Winchester Writers Conference yesterday to find a copy of the Hampshire View July edition in the post for me. Low and behold, a story I submitted well over a year ago has been published! ‘The Key‘ is the first short story I ever wrote and dates back a while so my writing has changed a hell of a lot since then but still great to see it in print! Thank you Hampshire View!

Jun26

Julie and Julia

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Julie and Julia

Just finished reading Julie Powell’s ‘Julie and Julia’ – the true story of a thirty year-old New Yorker who devotes a year of her life to cooking every recipe in Julia Childs’ ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking.’ A bored secretary working in a New York Government office. Julie Powell took the decision to do something completely different – cook her way through the entire Julia Childs tome in 365 days. Living in a small apartment with her husband, Powell tells the story of her amazing year: what she learnt about herself, what she wanted from life and of course, how to cook. Most interestingly to a fellow blogger, Julie set up a blog and wrote daily about her life and her experiences of cooking each individual recipe. I first learnt of this project through the film starring Meryl Streep and loved the concept – doing something just because you can – and as Julie asks on her blog : ‘ What could happen?’ Well for a start you publish a book, sell the rights to enable the production of a film and set yourself up with a posh laptop as a writer. Clearly lots! This book is a sure sell win to both wanna be writers and cooks alike. And if you dont fancy pan frying offal, boning a duck or killing a lobster – just read about Julie doing it – SO much easier!

Jun23

Culinary curiosities

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Culinary curiosities

Lesson learnt. Every time. Stick to a Jamie Oliver and it takes a lot to go wrong. For people like me who are not ‘delicate’ cooks, baking frosted cup cakes and simmnel cakes at every opportunity, a Jamie Oliver offers the chance to get down, get mucky and get throwing a load of garb in, to produce edible food-related products. So, with my annual Father’s Day Al Fresco Soiree looming, I decided to pull out the Mr.O’s and make something which I didn’t need to revert to Prozac to cook. So, as Dad loves all things pasta, I decided to make Jamie’s fish lasagne – a bit fiddly but well worth it. We started with a selection of mediterranean yummies such as baked camemberts soaked in wine and studded with garlic – SO easy – SO unhealthy, baked tomatoes, chorizo and other such easy ‘shove in the oven and then shove in your mouth’ items. Dessert was Mr O’s Maple Pecan Tart and Eton Mess. A total calorific over-load. But was the food the star attraction? How could it be dear reader with Lord Chortles in attendance, entertaining us with his pithy annecodotes, endearing sense of humour and his enquiring mind. Sporting the very latest in pastel dungarees and a new side parting, LC really looked the part as he headed up the dining room table. We thank you LC for making our Father’s Day Soiree so successful and special. And what of Mrs Q ? After arriving with Mr Q and kindly passing me a large box of chocolates : ‘they were half price’ we came to a decision. Due to our mutual ballooning weight problem we are now on a diet and competing to lose half a stone within the shortest possible time frame. Mrs Q is starting with a diet which she reliably informs me is recommended to heart patients pre – surgery: nil by mouth for 3 days followed by a week of salad.  I however will be doing it the sensible way – nothing for 2 weeks except her half price box of chocolates, the odd cod curry and a post work glass of white to supress any latent hunger. We shall be reporting back shortly on progress.

Now, if this little introdution gives the impression that I am a Domestic Goddess ( or in the words of Mrs Q – Domestic Slag ) then think again. For, this evening I thought I would come home and treat Mr P to a Thai Cod Curry, Thai Salad and Rice in the garden – candles et al. All I can say is, Delia – get a grip love – re-think and then re-think again. How can your ‘quick cod and mango thai curry’ produce something that looked like fish desperately trying to swim out of a coconut sludge. And as for the thai salad – Ian’s words ring in my ears : ‘ I can’t eat that – I wouldn’t make that again.’ Yes – another post-work culinary failure. Not enough chilli, too much coconut milk and too much bloody mess. Sorry Delia – but you just don’t do it for me. Give me Mr O any day. Now where are Mrs Q’s ‘eat by 31st December 2008′ half price chocolates…

Jun16

Back blogging again!

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Back blogging again!

Well, I cant believe it’s two months since I last blogged. I guess it’s a combination of being ultra busy at home and ditto at Company X.  So, after such a long time away dear readers, I guess it’s time for a long catch-up post.

Life has been very kind to me the last couple of months. While the days have been long, I’ve been experiencing a new sense of contentment. Not that I was unhappy before – more that I’ve gained a better purchase on what is important in life. Now that all sounds rather spiritual and self-effacing I know but I’ve developed a new and intense curiosity in the world around me – almost like being a child again! The world, which before seemed like just some place where I lived and enjoyed life, now feels like something really special. By the way I’m excluding the chav who put a note on my car two weeks ago telling me to ‘ f**k off and park somewhere else’ likewise the woman in Sainsburys tonight who produced a sovereign-ringed paw full of 5p off vouchers and held up the queue for quarter of an hour – you two are excluded. No, the things I’m thinking of are the way the world is so ordered.

For example, at Company X to-day, I was lucky enough to be taken out at lunch by Mr.M to visit his apiary. Now that for you non-bee types is where a bee-type person keeps his bee hives. It was absolutely fascinating seeing the way in which these creatures order themselves and create a whole community with roles and responsibilities. Mr M showed me how you smoke ‘em out and get into the hive to look over the individual panels which sit in the house. The Queen bees are amazing – just one per hive and they seem to rule the roost. It was totally wierd standing in the bee keeper’s garb with little buzzers buzzing round your head and body. They are curious creatures and not as scary as I had at first thought. Thank you Mr M for a memorable lunch-time. In fact I am so interested I’m thinking of getting a hive in the garden prior to Mr.P’s arrival back home at the week end. He would be thrilled. He loves winged beasts.

So what else has been occurring? Well we’ve had some great times with the lovely Junior. He has brought so much love and happiness into our lives and continues to thrill with his wonderful smiles and chubbly legs. It’s clear he doesn’t suffer fools and knows his rights – I’ve never seen a babe so determined and happy to dish out dirty looks when you cough or sneeze. Well Junior – you are a tribute to your own Auntie’s intolerances!

In terms of reading, I’ve had my nose in books for most of the past two months. The most recent read was Hilary Mantel’s ‘Beyond Black’. A satirical look at the world of mediumship, this book could have been so good but after the first 100 pages I lost the will and continued to the end only because I have a policy in life never to give up on a book. I found it over-written, over-long and lacking a real plot I could get a handle on. By the time I got to the last fifty pages I was counting down the paragraphs to the end. Not a patch on Wolf Hall, one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read.

One of the real triumphs of the last few weeks has been getting out and doing some walking along the South Coast path. The weather has been perfect for hiking and the sea and cliffs looks wonderful in the sun. Sitting over-looking Lulworth Cove, eating a crab sandwich and listening to the gulls whooping and screaming, I felt totally peaceful. Except ten minutes later I found there was no bus service on Sundays back to Wool station and had to get ‘Jean’ in the gift shop to call me a cab.

So, dear readers, I apologise for my blogging absence and promise to do better in the future! It’s time now to check my e-bay bids, get grouted up and go out. So long for now  – and will be back blogging later. Promise.