2009 photo-retro

2009 has been a year of ups and downs - as are most years - here's a photo retrospective of my year... something on the decade to come some time in January...

Snow... there was lots of snow this year - starting in January, loads of it in February and then again in December...

February saw flowers arrive at the office for me! First time I've ever had that happen!

February also saw my first professional football match - Liverpool vs Real Madrid - in Madrid, Spain.

While there I managed to take in some of the sights... including this art exhibit in the 'crystal palace'.

...and the cow parade that was all over the city...

In March I went on holiday with my love, Tom, to Edinburgh... this is on the way up to Arthur's Seat.

A view of the city with the castle in the distance...

Tom and I at Edinburgh Castle

Tom and I on the Royal Yacht Britannia

In May I happened upon a fun fair in Hampstead Heath with a few friends after we went there for a picnic

In June I went on a weekend away with my love to Brighton - went to the pier and rode the rides...

We also went on an afternoon fishing trip where a nice man took this fab photo of us!

In August we went to Thorpe Park where we rode the (better than Brighton) rides

We had an amazing day!

In August I celebrated yet another birthday with great friends!

In October I went to Ukraine for my second professional football match - England vs Ukraine World Cup Qualifier - this is St Michael's Cathedral in Kiev - see previous post for more on that...

And finally I celebrated Christmas afternoon with my love and his family in North London.

By evening I had a fever of 102.5F, was told I had swine flu and spent the last week of the year in bed. Now here is New Year's Eve and I'm still not well enough to go to work - or go out :( So it'll be a night in with the telly... Here's to a great year gone and a better one to come!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Hakata Dontaku Port Festival

(or Fukuoka, Japan - part one)

i arrived in fukuoka in the early afternoon on May 4th - the second, and last, day of the Hakata Dontaku Festival. i knew that there was some kind of festival going on before i went, but coming from a city whose prime activity is festivals, i didn't really think much of it. turns out that this is one of the biggest festivals in all of japan! over two million people turn out every year for the two day celebration that dates back over 820 years.

ladies in kimono and flower hats - hanakasa - unofficial symbols of the festival.

in 1179 the merchants of Hakata (fukuoka) organized a parade for their feudal lord. the parade, named Matsubayashi after the lord it originally honoured has remained unchanged since the middle ages. on may 3rd of every year a parade of over 12,000 locals in all kinds of traditional dress follow a procession of three gods of fortune on horse back - Fukurokuju (god of long life), Ebisu (god of business), and Daikoku (god of wealth). in the Edo period (1603-1868) floats and showcases of dolls were added to the parade. on the second day of the festival another parade showcasing groups and individuals from all over the island of Kyushu takes place. stalls of food and goods for sale are set up along the parade route. over 30 stages are set up around the city to highlight traditional dancing and music.

a baton twirler in the parade... so cute!

one of many marching bands

one of the many stages erected around the city - this one at Hakata Station.

a food stall - some kind of fried squid balls... i wasn't adventurous enough to try them... :(

banana + chocolate on a stick?!?!?! what more could you ask for?!?!

a hashimaki stall - a sort of savoury pancake is rolled up with all kinds of things inside, then covered in mayonnaise, seaweed flakes, and fish flakes - hmmm... not my kind of thing either...

roasted corn
- i was wary, having tried this in korea, but they did it much better in japan! it was worth the 5$ !!!

crepe with chocolate, strawberry, and whipped cream... mmmm... there goes my diet!!!

so many people, stalls and goodies to take in!

i found some higher ground to get this shot of a tiny area of the festival.

parents pay for their kids to dip a cup in the water and try to catch a ball! looked like fun and would have tried myself if it weren't for the funny looks i was getting from the kids!

the closing of the festival includes renditions of the Dontaku dance that spectators are invited to join. the dance involves a pair of wooden spoons being clapped together and waved in the air while a traditional band of musicians plays along. i was lucky enough to happen upon a dontaku dance area and was given my own set of spoons and shown the dance. this was the most memorable part of the whole trip! a couple of hundred strangers dancing and cheering in the street, it was truly amazing!

the band playing music for the dontaku dance.

a shot of the dontaku dancing crowd!

a leader of the dance showing everyone how it's done!

my set of "shamoji" - dontaku dance spoons!

the festival was suspended for a time during the 1800's because the government thought it to be too extravagant. the locals continued the tradition and in 1880 it was reinstated. the celebration was also put on hold during world war II but was quickly brought back to help rejuvinate the area. in 1949 the date was changed from january to may to coincide with constitution day (may 3rd). it is also at the same time as golden week - a week with four national holidays and which is one of the three busiest holiday seasons in japan.

so the first day of my trip to fukuoka was exploring the festival and the many stalls, different foods, people and parade watching, and generally wandering happily. it was a great introduction to the happy-fun place that japan is...

coming up - my addiction to the "amusement centers" and more happy wandering... stay tuned!