Japanory

In Response to the ‘last’ published “Tokyo Tales” article

I was asked to finish writing "Tokyo Tales" at the beginning of this year. The final article was published in March 2010. I had to pretend I was leaving then. But as you all know, I'm still here in Tokyo!

So it was a little misleading to my readers. If you were one of them my apologies for that but I had to do as I was told…

This lovely email arrived after the last "Tokyo Tales" was published in one of the magazines. This was one of the emails that got lost during the web-host changeover and I only copied the text. If you were the writer, please do get in touch again!

A HUGE thank you to her for her vivid descriptions.

 

Hi Carole,

I felt compelled to write to you today as I was sat reading your latest offering of Tokyo Tales in the C**** T*** C****.

My husband, two daughters and I, like your family, set off on an adventure to Japan; ours began in January 1996 and ended in July 2001. T was 2 & 1/2 and S just 11 months old when we arrived. We lived in Tokai in Ibaraki Prefecture. Having no preconceived ideas, we were not fully prepared for what was to come!

It was your comment 'my time in Japan has been one of the happiest periods of my life and it will be a wrench to leave this incredibly beautiful, culturally fascinating and remarkable country' that stirred emotions in me that took some time to come to terms with back in 2001 and the following couple of years! My feeling exactly!

On returning to the UK I would often find myself daydreaming about going to Jusco's or Kasumi to do my shopping instead of our local Sainsbury's for example. I remember it so clearly, it's incredible! I have never been homesick for anywhere before. When we left Japan it was the longest time I had ever live in one place, having travelled lots as a child myself. Looking back I realise it took quite some time for me to settle but life with children is always busy; for the following 5 years my husband worked in M***** so he travelled back & forth every 10 days and we would visit during the holidays. The girls loved this new adventure, but for me it never quite replaced the feelings I had for life in Japan.

I have read all your 'tales' that have been published in our little magazine and it has brought back the most wonderful memories for us all - we too have an extensive photographic library of our 5 & 1/2 years - I think we took on average, 80 rolls of film every year! I imagine that if we had a digital camera then, we would have thousands upon thousand of images!

I could ramble on for hours, but suffice to say, enjoy the remainder of your time in the land of the rising sun - soon will be Plum Blossom season followed by my favourite; Cherry Blossom. You may like to visit Kairaku-en in Mito, as it has the most spectacular Plum Festival if you've not been before. http://www.jref.com/practical/mito.shtml

I look back so fondly on the time we spent there - hoping one day to find somewhere that will feel like 'home' as much as Tokai did for us!

Best wishes,

A

Testimonials from Publishers

I really did appreciate receiving these. It takes me a long time to write and edit the articles down to a small size, so it's nice to have my work acknowledged in this way.

Some of the published Tokyo Tales articles have been uploaded onto Japanory - the link is over on the left column. I'll get the rest uploaded "sometime"!

Right now (as in Spet 2010!) I have a lot going on in my life that needs clearing before I can start writing "proper" Japanory posts. I'll be back soon!

 Meanwhile, back to the lovely testimonials from publishers and their readers.

Just had to tell you our new mag went out to our new 'upmarket' area - delivery started yesterday and the distributor rang at 8.50 this morning to say they were just finishing the area off because they didn't have time last night.
Five minutes later the phone rang. This bloke had just got the mag through his door while he and his wife were having their breakfast, and he just wanted to say what an excellent magazine, they are very impressed with the quality and great content and especially liked the "Tokyo Tales"! M & L

I always use Tokyo Tales - as everyone says it's quite unique and different from the usual articles A

I use "Tokyo Tales" every month - I love it, thank you Carole S

 

Thank You part 2

Here are a few comments I received from the publishers of the local, community magazines that published "Tokyo Tales".

My thanks to them for including the articles!

 

Thought I'd let you know that I had a call from one of my readers this week saying how much they enjoy Tokyo Tales and wondering whether you give speeches! I explained that you probably do but it is unlikely that you will be able to make the journey from Japan!!! He was very disappointed and asked me to pass on his good wishes. J

 

"Tokyo Tales" is a favourite with my readers, judging from comments from people when I am delivering. H

 

I love Tokyo Tales, I've always run it in my magazines, right from the start, in fact I think I started a month before everybody else did I was that keen to get it out there. It's very different to everything else I run and makes for a very interesting read. We can sample how it would be to live in Japan through seeing it through your eyes. M

 

I love Tokyo Tales! It is very unique and is a world so different from the UK and I run it every month and with some special photos - I've given it 4 pages this month! T

   

I always use Tokyo Tales too because it's so different! Double page spread for Christmas/New Year issues! Please keep it coming. A

 

Thank you

There will be (another) slight lull in blogging while I get my head down to do some work - I need to try and earn some money!

In the meantime, I am going to post some of the lovely emails I've received in response to the published articles - Tokyo Tales. These pieces were published in numerous local, community magazines for just over 2 years.

Thank you is such a simple phrase, but one that is often not used so I feel very privileged that people took the time and effort to email either me, or the magazine's publisher, with their comments. They made me very happy to know my scribbles were being read and enjoyed.

I'll spread them out over a few days to allow me to continue updating the blog with something! Sadly, some of the emails were lost when I moved web host recently, but here is a sample.

Please allow me a little indulgence for the next few days! 

 

I discovered your email address in our local mag. It was printed below one of your articles.

I gave it to my daughter who is in year 1. The class are studying Japan so they all found your stories very interesting. I would like to say thank you for taking the time to share the experiences of your new life.

Good luck for the future. I will be visiting your site for updates to pass on to the class!!! C

 

 

On browsing through a back copy of The H****** Directory my eye caught your “Tokyo Tales”. With a trip to Japan coming up I avidly read 'The Joy of Bento'. And, what was even better I found another copy and discovered 'Japanese Weddings' - the reason for our trip is that we have been invited to a wedding in Kyoto. So I was absolutely thrilled to read what we might expect.

I thought it might be rather nice to speak to the author of these Tokyo Tales (thinking the person probably lived somewhere nearby and could drop by for a coffee!). Instead of which, here I am emailing you across the other side of the world! (Still drinking coffee, though.) H

 

 

Just to let you know that I am a follower of “Tokyo Tales” which appears in the 'O**** Press' every month and as a result am following your Japanory blog!! S

Memory Jolt - On Travelling with Child

July 2007

I can't believe I forgot to add this to my posts about travelling back to the UK with Rhiannon.

At the Passport Control in Narita airport, Rhiannon and I were delayed for some considerable time while the officer looked very carefully at Rhiannon's passport, his computer, some papers and back again. He looked deep into Rhiannon's eyes, asking her to move closer to his cubicle. Eventually he allowed us through.

Then it hit me. I've been told several times that Rhiannon bears a resemblence to Madeleine McCann. Certainly when she was younger, the similarity was very strong.

It was good to know that officials on this side of the world were very actively looking for Madeleine. I hope they still are.

Until this point, Rhiannon didn't know anything about Maddie's disappearence - news here is pretty localised and Rhiannon is extremely sensitive to things like this (as we all are, of course). But on our return journey through Heathrow posters of Madeleine were everywhere which naturally prompted questions from my 5 year old. I told her what had happened: it gave me a chance to give her a lecture on "stranger danger".

However, while I was buying some duty free, she suddenly disappeared! This isn't something Rhiannon ever did - she was never a "runner", always stayed close... until that moment.

My heart stopped. With all the horror still very fresh in my mind... well, any mother reading this will understand the rapidity of scenarios that flash through your brain at this point.

Five very long minutes later I found her. She'd gone to look at the fish tanks surrounding the Creme de la Mer stand and several lady shop assistants were anxiously keeping one eye on Rhiannon and the other looking out for a frantic mother - me.

My heart started beating again.

 

As a terrifying coincidence, we'd all been on holiday near Praia da Luz six months before Madeleine's disappearence.

 

Please keep looking for this beautiful girl.

http://www.findmadeleine.com/home.html 

 

  

O-bon - a Festival

Sometime in late August 2007

Shortly after returning to Japan we went with some friends to an O-bon festival.

 

It was a treat for all the senses with the sight of refined and charming dancers, haunting melodies and strident drumming entertaining our ears. Our noses and mouths were full of with the heavy scent of burning incense and delicious local food. All combined to make for an extremely memorable evening.

O-bon is a family orientated festival held in the months of July or August depending on the region. This centuries old Buddhist ceremony is a memorial festival to honour ones ancestors. O-bon is one of Japan's three major holiday seasons and families try their hardest to get together.

The belief is that each year during O-bon, the spirits of our ancestors returned to this world in order to visit relatives. Lanterns are hung in front of houses to guide the spirits home, families gather at the graveyard to reminisce about lost loved ones and food offerings are made at temples and small altars within the home. These home altars are very common and can be purchased from the most department stores or specialist shops. The altar is decorated with flowers and tiny paper lanterns which are lit on the first day of the festival and on the last day these little lanterns are lit at the graveside to guide the spirits back.

During O-bon special folk dances called bon-odori are held all over Japan. The one we went to was held in a park square with a large fountain as the centrepiece. The fountain was lit by multicoloured changing lights and at one end of the square a tall platform was erected on which taiko drummers performed. Above our heads were streamers of red lanterns and around the circumference of the Park were stalls selling all kinds of food, drink and most importantly, kakigori (shaved ice). It was extremely hot even though it was evening.

 

Many people gathered around the fountain, most of whom were wearing light cotton summer kimono called yukata. Some groups of ladies were wearing what appeared to be a uniform with matching yukata and obis. They carried fans which were tucked into the back of the obi when not being used.

 

 

Music started with the pounding rhythm of a number of large taiko drums.

Each region has a specific local dance and the way in which the dance is performed differs throughout the country. Typically the people line up in a circle and move around either the stage or in this case the fountain. The dances apparently tell stories of the area's history, geography or specialisation, so some dances may show the movements of miners, rice picking or rivers and mountains.

 

 

What was depicted by the dancers we watched is a mystery, but the hand gestures and gentle movements were incredibly elegant and beautiful. Often fans were used in the dance which served to emphasise the gracefulness of the moves. Everybody joined in including my daughter and her friends who were accepted with a smile and a helping hand. What amazed me most was how all members of society joined in, from elderly gentlemen to leather-clad youths, each knowing the precise and intricate choreography of each dance.

This spectacle was repeated over and over again, the music and steps changing occasionally, until finally a compère arrived on stage to sing special O-bon songs and announce the end of the ceremony.

It was a moving, beautiful and spectacular event.

Summer in Japan

Thursday 9^th August 2007 onwards…

Returning through the beautiful and efficient Narita airport was far less stressful than the UK travesty.

Tim met us at the gate and drove us home.

It's HOT! Oh my god it's hot!! Thankfully we have air-conditioning. Raymi's ears are a state so I booked a vet's visit for him in case it's something worrying. (Turns out he has an allergy to mozzie bites, same as me, and the only cure is a) keep him inside and b) regular steroid injections. So we leave it as they don't seem to bother him too much).

And the cicadas… LOUD! And constant. Now I like the sounds of a real jungle, but this is something entirely different. For a start they aren't tuneful. There are no trilling frogs to provide the melody. And they are LOUD. Did I mention that?

Towards the end of the month they start dying and Mum asked me to collect one for her so she can paint it when she returns at Christmas. (That's paint as in "artist" not "decorate the dead bug" - just thought I'd clear that up as someone I told about this got confused…) I started off by keeping it in an opaque Tupperware tub, but forgot it was in there so made myself jump each time I opened it to see what was inside. So I moved it to a clear one. The 35mm film shows the scale.

 

 

Jetlag this way around is harder to get through - I wake absolutely ravenous at 3am and find it hard to function for some time. Rhiannon wakes very early too. But after a few days, she sleeps about 14 hours straight, lucky girl! Unfortunately, this was on the day that we had people come round to replace our ridiculous oven... with a new one that's exactly the same. So I had to wake Rhiannon up before I wanted to.

Tim has two outings arranged for us.

One is to take Rhiannon to DisneySea - a watery version of Disneyland, apparently. I haven't been.

The other is to an O-Bon Festival one evening

Things We DIDN’T do in England!

One of the main things we didn't achieve while in the UK was to get our address changed with our bank. I'd better not name names, I suppose, but their service has been unbelievably awful. We would normally change banks immediately in the face of such incompetence, but it's impossible to open any new accounts while you're living overseas - you need personal ID confirmation and proof of address. Which of course, we don't have.

Before we left the UK in 2006 we both wrote numerous letters and filled in countless forms requesting change of address. I was forced to travel 10 miles into town as they were unsure of my signature. On that occasion it turned out they had lost all the paperwork dealing with my name change after marriage and so I had to go through all that again. Unbelievable.

We'd set up a mail re-direct for a few months sending everything to Mum's house where she would sort through the junk mail and send relevant letters onto us. Which is how we realised no change of address had taken effect with this particular bank / building society.

Tim set up all his accounts to have his work address on them while I set mine up to come to our home here in Japan. Neither had been actioned.

So every time we passed one of their branches we would go in to try again. And again. AND AGAIN!

We got precisely nowhere. (It took 2 years before they finally got my address changed successfully and this involved me writing a four page complaint letter to their head office. Which, coincidentally, was just 4 miles from our old home in Northampton! If only I'd known before we left the UK.)

I don't have great hopes for much success when we move again.

 

There were other things we didn't do either, but in the interest of family harmony I have just deleted that paragraph. It may arise again later…

 

 

Things We Did in England - Part 2

At the end of July we hired a car and drove down to Devon for a change of scene.

Luckily, I have a base there and so we stayed in Exeter and did touristy things. We visited a beach on the north coast (brrrr!), hiked on Dartmoor (my spiritual home) and met up with Devon friends.

Near the house is a river and Rhiannon was delighted to see this bundle of super-cute ducklings. There is also a swans' nest but the cygnets are large now and begging for food with their parents. Rhiannon called them "swanlets" which I think is far nicer and very endearing.

We finalised the shopping expedition and stocked up on kid's  clothes; a nice winter coat for school, socks, tights and so on that are impossible to find in Japan. Sainsbury's was also ransacked and I treated myself to a huge pot of real Clotted Cream and stuffed myself daft on scones and meringues slathered with this delicious taste of "home". (I grew up in Devon, in case you were wondering!) 

Another memorable trip was to the Miniature Pony Centre where Rhiannon had a wonderful time patting and hugging the dinky foals and riding around a ring. She seems a natural horse-rider so in the future perhaps we'll take this further. I haven't ridden for years; quite fancy a hack. One pony was fat and tiny and had a dreadful trot - how I laughed to see Rhiannon bobbing around like a demented toy! It reminded me of the wonderful Thelwell drawings.

 

 

Then it was time to get Tim back to Hampshire ready for his trek back to Japan. Naturally, Rhiannon was sad and tearful about this - she's very much a Daddy's girl - but we'll be heading back ourselves soon enough. Once again, he made me promise to return too! Bless him - as if I'd give him up to stay in England - crazy thought. The fate of his friends is obviously very much at the forefront of his mind.

Rather than allow Rhiannon to dwell on his leaving, I take it upon myself to drive all the way back down to Devon the day following his departure. What a nightmare! It was a very stressful trip with a whinging child and aggressive British drivers.

Back at our Exeter home, I let her run off some steam at the local park, got some fish and chips and, when she was finally in bed I relished the absolute peace and quiet of a Devon night.

Knowing my total lack of any sense of direction Tim bought a GPS before he left, so I programmed in a trip to somewhere I remembered going as a kid - Becky Falls.

OMG! I had totally forgotten about the Devon roads! Sooooo narrow, with enormous hedges on either side with the chance of turning a corner and meeting either a local car at top speed, a flock of sheep in the road or a huge tractor. To think I used to bomb confidentally around these roads as a teen is terrifying to remember.

Becky Falls has changed a lot in… erm… thirty odd years and is now a complete "experience". We had a fantastic time and made a note to take Tim next year. There are beautiful walks around the area with a small quiz to encourage reluctant children to continue walking; they have to collect stamps hidden around the trail in order to receive a small prize at the gift shop.

 
 
Tim called to let us know he'd got home OK. Our helper had been living in to look after Raymi (the cat) and Tim reported all was well apart from Raymi's ears which were bitten raw from mosquitoes. He also said he'd got some outings planned for our return - wonder what that could be?

We spent some time with my Devon friends and had a lovely time.

Then another horrible drive back to Mum's for a last bit of gardening, and to return the hire car before making our way to Hellish Heathrow and back to Japan.

 

 

 

Things We Did in England - Part 1

July 2007

Mum's birthday was brilliant! We all went to The Mayfly - a pub right on the River Test. A stunning setting and fabulous food. Penny (my farmer friend from Wales) walked in and promptly met someone she knew from the tiny town near her farm! What a small world. It gets better - Mum's cousin is a retired vicar or something and lives in the same area in Wales. Turned out they all knew each other!

After an enormous lunch we walked around the common while the kids ran, paddled in the stream and attempted to catch tiddlers. In time honoured fashion we took some bread in order to feed the ducks but actually fed the enormous trout that live in the river. We played Pooh-Sticks. For ages! Simple, childhood memories and fantastic weather made for a wonderful day. I know Mum really enjoyed having everyone together again.

 

 
  

I did a LOT of gardening for Mum. She's finding it hard to keep on top of the amount of work required in her large garden and doesn't have the strength to complete many tasks. I pruned, hacked, dug, and spent an inordinate amount of time waging war on the bindweed that is beginning to take over. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

However, I didn't enjoy the surprise of the light evenings. I'd totally forgotten about them! In Japan it gets dark at 7pm in the summer and about 6pm in the winter. Lovely! Rhiannon's logic is - if it's not dark, then it can't possibly be bedtime.

 

Penny and I spent an evening catching up on life, the universe and everything at Lainston House - which is where Tim and I got married last year. We pledge to continue this tradition as it's a wonderful place.

Penny and me at my wedding:

 
 

On another day, I reluctantly accompanied Tim and Rhiannon to Paultons Park. As you already know from my previous post about Disneyland, I do not like these overpriced places. And boy, are they expensive in the UK?! I was horrified at the costs of everything. Japan is supposed to be expensive, but we spent far more in the UK than we do here. For one thing, entry fees to most places here, such as museums, gardens and so on are minimal. And drinks etc are usually vending machine prices - 120yen max (approx .50p at that time) rather than £5 for a coffee. Outrageous. But again, the weather was fair and as you can see, I managed to crack a smile for the camera!

 
 

Tim took Rhiannon swimming while I had a business meeting with the woman I write for (mentioned in this post).

She appointed me as the monthly Gardening writer - I was thrilled! But I wasn't allowed to write under my own name, so have to come up with a pseudonym, "in case anyone complains"... WTF?! Ah well, whatever, it's a job of sorts. It's a shame I can't add it to my portfolio. Therefore Rose Henfrey was "born". Henfrey is a family name from eons ago - Arthur Henfrey was a reknowned botanist with connections to Charles Darwin (which could explain a lot about my interests) and, although I haven't found the connection to our family, many of my ancestors carried his name.

So, yes, if you read and enjoyed any of Rose Henfrey's garden articles, thank you - that was me! If you Google "Rose Henfrey" you can read some old articles I wrote.
I can reveal my pseudonym now as I was recently and abruptly dropped from this position - my favourite of all the regular columns I wrote. The pretext was something along the lines of a change is good... Are you sensing a tinge of bitterness?! You'd be right!

Anyway, moving on! I accomplished a lot of shopping ready for Tim to take back with him; Winchester is good for some of that, but most will be bought in Exeter, especially the kid's clothes. We visited hyper-markets and had a whale of a time! "oooh look, Chocolate Hob Nobs!!!" "mmm, brown bread". We feasted and over-indulged on all kinds of British staples.

And yes, we got our bacon sarnies and fish and chips. Heaven! It's funny the food items we missed but didn't realise until we saw them again.

 

 

Rules for Expats…

July 2007

Seasoned expats have advised us on two very important rules about returning to your home country.

Rule 1: Do not go "home" for at least a year. Mind you, this is only really relevant if you aren't settling happily into your 'new' country. However, we feel very settled and happy in Tokyo so have no fear of the pull of Britain becoming too overwhelming (as if!).

We've heard numerous tales about families going home and the wife refusing to return with her husband at the end of their holidays. I've assured a slightly worried Tim that there is NO WAY I'd ever do this to him. He knows of a fair number of people this has happened too. How terribly sad.

Rule 2: Do not spend your precious time trying to visit everyone. Select a convenient location and suggest they all come to you. If you are important to them, then they will visit you. If not, then no loss.

This worked very well indeed.

 

Prior to 2004, Mum held family garden parties each year when our entire (smallish) family came to visit. However, since Dad died in 2004, Mum hasn't been able to bring herself to do this again. I tentatively suggested restarting it this year, but no, understandably she didn't want the hassle and the painful reminder of the past happy summers.

The last garden party in 2003: this is my family: my darling Dad is second from the right.

 

Instead, my oldest friend will drive down from Wales and stay for a few days. My brother and his family will join us all for Mum's birthday party at a lovely pub on the River Test. And that's it.

I'll catch up with my other best mate while we are in Devon.

 

Summer Holidays 2007

School finished at midday on Friday 29^th June and Rhiannon isn't due back until Tuesday 28^th August. Good grief! That's far too long!

A couple of playdates have been arranged for the first couple of weeks. I have a class booked (although I have no recollection of what subject this was) and then we are flying back to the UK for a month, leaving on 11^th July 2007. Well, Rhiannon and I will stay a month or so, Tim has to return before us for work.

We'll stay with my Mum in Hampshire for some of the time, with the rest of our holiday spent in Devon. We'll arrive in time for her birthday and have a small family get together planned.

I have a very long shopping list. I need to buy clothes and shoes, neither of which I can possibly find over here - I have enough difficulty finding things to fit in the UK. I stocked up on "fancy" clothes before we left but have put on weight so they don't fit. Also, I haven't been to that many glam do's so I need more everyday clothes. Rhiannon also needs new clothes - she does keep doing this growing thing! Children's clothes here are outrageously expensive. And there seems to be nothing apart from designer togs.

We also plan to stock up on good old British tea, which is impossible to find here (for a reasonable quantity and price). We need loads as we drink loads.

Other things we are dreaming about are: real bread, cereals, a bacon sarnie, fish and chips and decent apples. Well, the latter is just me - the apples here are revolting - tasteless fluff. I want a Cox's Orange Pippin and a Bramley Apple Pie. (Forgetting that neither is in season during the summer, but Mum has several apple trees, one of which is an ancient Bramley and she's promised me she has frozen some for me).

 

Oh, and I am planning on bringing back a suitcase full of Green & Black's chocolate!

It's a 12 hour flight: arrive 2 hours before, 1 hour to get to the airport, gawd knows how long to get through the imbecilic Heathrow terminal 3 immigration system ( 2 desks for UK Nationals, 18 for "Foreigners") and an hour to get to Mum's.

It turned out to be 19 hours door to door, so that's 3 hours just to get OUT of Heathrow airport. Ridiculous.

Jetlag wasn't too bad. We arrived at Mum's in time for tea (!) and managed to stay awake until 9pm. But I did wake at 5am. This went on for a couple of days then I was fine.

“Illuminous” Fish

Thursday 28^th June 2007

The End of Year Show (I'd love to include photos here, but I only took a video, so can't, sorry)

Today is the last full day of the school term. School finishes tomorrow at midday and continues for two whole months!

Tim's still in Singapore so will miss the Reception year's end-of-term performance. Therefore, I promised I will record the entire thing so he can see Rhiannon in action. I have very high expectations after seeing the Christmas concert shortly after we arrived.

The children have obviously been sworn to secrecy about everything to do with the show. We mothers have been trying, subtly to find out what our 'babies' are doing, but to her credit, Rhiannon has told me very little - and she is not known for keeping her mouth shut!

However, a couple of titbits have popped out over the past week or so. She had been a bit sulky about having to wear "boring black" when "everyone else is wearing really pretty costumes". But as far as sulks go, this was pretty minor, so I guessed she was fairly happy with whatever part she'd been given. She also let slip that she "wanted to be a mermaid", but since this was a common refrain at the time I didn't connect it to the show at all. Another peculiar clue was her singing "We Will Rock You" from time to time, which to my knowledge she hadn't heard before.

At the allotted time all the parents traipsed to a hall near the school and took our seats. In the distance, I spotted my lanky daughter crossing the road with her class and sure enough, she was dressed in some sort of tight black jumpsuit. She didn't see me. I made sure I got a front row, but as it happened it was on the wrong side of the stage - I was on audience left and Rhiannon ended up stage left.

Eagerly I scanned the programme to see what part she was playing… an "Illuminous Fish". WHAT???? That is NOT my spelling mistake - that was written on the programme. Doubts start to creep in about the school… anyway, time for that later.

The lights dimmed. Yay!

I hoisted our ancient, enormous camcorder up and pressed go. I didn't expect the show to be so long though, and about halfway through my arm was aching like crazy. I should have bought one of those funky weeny video cameras everyone else was sporting.

The show was entitled "Under the Sea" and I immediately understood why Rhiannon was upset about the coloured costumes. A row of sparkly, shiny mermaids sat along the front of the stage. Rhiannon is obsessed by mermaids (and still is now - 2010!), so I did feel for her. Apparently a single teacher made ALL the costumes for the show; an extremely talented and dedicated lady indeed.

Several small groups of five year olds played skits that all tied together into a loose story. They must have practised hard for ages! And not to tell the parents what they were doing was quite incredible. The music was surprisingly modern (I can't work out why I found this surprising, by the way) - Queen (We Will Rock You - ah!), Massive Attack, Scissor Sisters and many more. There were sharks, oysters (more shiny costumes), lobsters, an octopus narrator and various other sets. Some had speaking parts, but most didn't.

But I still hadn't seen Rhiannon.

Then the narrating octopus announced they were "going deeper"… aha! Perhaps now was the time to see an "Illuminous" fish.

And I was right! The lights went out completely and the first few bars of the Scissor Sisters version of "Comfortably Numb" thrummed out through the speaker system. A spotlight gleamed onto a row of children clad in black, including tight black (sadly unflattering) hoods. The outfits had luminous paint on them and the kids held glowsticks. The audience gasped. How proud was I?!

The first few bars continued to sound… again and again… oh no! The CD had stuck.

True professionals, those kids, they just stayed in their pose until the CD had been sorted out and their display re-started. At one point they all lined up in a single row and one by one fell to alternate sides. Again, the audience gasped in appreciated and a ripple of applause echoed round the hall acknowledging the little ones' skills. And they also got the biggest round of applause of the whole show. And I'm not just saying that - I have it on tape to prove it!

At lunch afterwards, it was roundly acknowledged that the "Illuminous Fish" were the best performance of the bunch.

And the mermaids, although very colourful and pretty, just sat and swung their tails.

Sadly, this was to be the last ever end-of-term show at the school. For some reason future ones were cancelled in favour of music based performances, showcasing the school's extensive spending on the music department. Minor performances moved to very short displays during termly assemblies. Such a shame.