Thursday 27 June 2013

Moving house - managing to arrive in one piece!

It feels like it has been a long time since my last blog (that wasn't a book review) so I thought it was about time I gave everyone an update of what has been going on in my life! For those that are interested, make a nice cup of tea and read on :)

The major thing that has been going on (and the cause for my drawn out cold, and stress) is that Joe and I moved into our new house! It is our first house together, as I don’t count the flat that we were living in before. Most of you will know about the problems we had with our neighbours, but it is fair to say that they made the whole 10 months we spent in that flat a misery. Excessive complaints about noise and banging on walls I could cope with, but what sane person superglues someone's lock shut? Or rings every two hours through the night? It is hard for me to believe that there are people like that in this world, and I have come to the conclusion that they are mental! It was upsetting for both Joe and I, as we couldn’t understand why they took such a dislike to us, and that they put so much effort into pushing us out of the flat. But I have now resolved to no longer talk or think about them. We spent most days moaning about them, worrying what they were up to, or stressing about what they would do next, so now I finally feel we are free! I do just want to say a hug thank you (and sorry!) to everyone who I contacted in tears about them, or moaned to. The sympathy and disbelief you expressed helped me to realise that it was not anything that we were doing wrong, we are nice people who did not deserve this abuse. Also, thanks for all the revenge ideas, even though we will not carry any of them out, they did entertain us both when we desperately needed a laugh!

So, on to the new house, which we love! It is so nice to come home from work and relax in a stress free environment. I still can’t believe that it is all ours, and we are free to do as we want! The move went well, which considering Mr T helped is a miracle! He has a habit of ‘helping’ and actually hindering. Two examples of this both rest with my sister and her moves. The first was when we both came home from University. Jodie and I went to the same one (big up Worcester Uni!!) at the same time, and so Mr T had to move two girls and all their stuff home. So I suppose it is no wonder that the poor guy had an ‘incident’. While packing our stuff into the car he put Jodie’s in the roof box and mine in the car, to avoid confusion over what belonged to which daughter. Genius you say?! Mr T using his head?! Well that would have been the case if he remembered to lock the roof box. The result is that all of the Christmas presents Jodie bought her friends were lost somewhere on the M5 between Clevedon and Worcester. It ended with some cow in a field probably wearing a brightly knitted scarf, and Mr T having to pay to replace everything lost. So did he learn from his mistake? Nope! A few years later when Jodie and her boyfriend Ben were moving into a flat together in Bristol the ever helpful Mr T was keen to get involved. They set off in the car with all their possessions, but less than an hour later I received a call from the very long suffering mothership asking if there were any drawers for the chest at home. Mr T had pulled up at the flat with the chest of drawers....minus the bottom two. When I said they were not at home the only other suggestion was that they had somehow come off the chest and ended up in a field by the motorway. How no-one in the car noticed is still a question we ask today!

So with his track record it was with a somewhat wary heart that I accepted Mr T’s offer of help. But *fan fare and trumpets* there were no accidents or damages!! There was the odd scrape on furniture, but apart from that, all arrived in one piece. It is true that we only moved 5 minutes down the road, but it is still impressive! The only casualty of the day was Mr T himself, who cut his finger. But he manages to cut himself on an almost daily basis, so we just handed him the plasters and let him get on with it!

The house move has kept me busy, what with packing, unpacking and general tidying/sorting. I have also been suffering from a cold and cough for more than 2 weeks! I have been feeling run down, and lacking in energy, which probably hasn't helped. But I have started drinking this new green powder, which looks gross but actually tastes ok! My friend Ams recommenced it, and said she felt amazing after about 2 weeks. I am on day 6 of drinking it now, so hoping to see the results soon! I will keep you posted.


Apart from that I have been busy organising Sunshine Radio’s birthday celebrations. The station turns 35 next month, so look out for a post on that!

Thursday 6 June 2013

Top 100 books challenge: 62. Memoirs Of A Geisha

Wow, this is such a good book! It gives such a detailed look into the life of a geisha  popular geisha district of Gion in Kyoto.

The story follows Chiyo Sakamoto, who is taken from her home at the age of nine and sold to an okiya (geisha boarding house) to become a geisha. We follow her progress, from first wanting to run away, to her meeting with the chairman and becoming determined to be a geisha. 

I found it really fascinating to learn all about geishas, and the training the girls take to become one. The characters in this book are fictional, but the things that happen really did happen to young girls in Japan. The life of a geisha can be portrayed as glamorous  attending many parties, and meeting wealthy, important men. However as we see from Chiyo's story the reality is quite different.


Geisha have to forget their past, and change who they are. This starts with their name, Chiyo is called Sayuri. She then has to lean how to act, and how to treat men as a geisha.


Through Sayuri we watch a possible career path of a geisha, from the innocence of youth to the life of a geisha, where every move you make is analysed for fear of how it could appear to the clients. 


Sayuri is taken under the wing of Mameha, who nurtures her talents and grooms her to become the most sought after geisha in Japan. She is the one who renames her Sayuri, and starts a bidding war for the right to take her 'mizuyage', her virginity. 


I did feel quite sickened by the fact that girls as young as 13/14 were forced to lose their virginity to much older men. And also the fact that they have to flirt with them, in order to find a wealthy 'danna', a man that would fund a lavish lifestyle for them in exchange for 'favours'. But as you see in the book this is the only option for the girls, without their life as a geisha many would be on the street. If Sayuri couldn't bring in enough money she would have been left as a maid in the house, or even worse thrown out onto the streets. 


As it is she goes on to become one of the most successful geisha in Japan, making enough money to support herself.


Rating 10/10