Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Sad Monument

　　This is the third visit to Hawaii for us. We had two reasons to choose this week for our visit. One is, June 11th is said to be the birthday of Kamehameha I, who consolidated the Hawaiian Dynasty, and lots of festivals and events are scheduled on every island. In other words, this week is the liveliest season in all of the Hawaii islands. The other is,,,,, I'll write about it later. Anyway, I headed for Kamehameha I's statue, where I stopped by for some time during last year's half marathon.
　　While walking, I came across a sad story. The war memorials of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. If FDR hadn't wanted to wage the war against Japan, the present Chinese Communists' Country wouldn't exist now and the conflicts between South and North also wouldn't have happened. I thought that lots of young men were dispatched to war from Hawaii. I paid tribute to them for a short time.

我々にとって３回目のハワイ。この時期に来たのは二つの理由がある。６月１１日がハワイ王朝を統一したカメハメハ大王の誕生日とされ、ハワイ全島が盛り上がる一週間だから。二つ目の理由は後に挙げる。で、一人でトロリーでカメハメハ大王の銅像へ向かった。去年の春、ホノルルハーフマラソンの途中で立ち寄った場所。
トロリーを降りて歩いていると、悲しい歴史に出会った。朝鮮戦争とベトナム戦争で亡くなった若者たちを悼む慰霊碑だ。ＦＤＲが日本との戦争を希望しなければ、恐らく今の中共は存在しないし、南北間の争いも無かったろうに。ハワイから出征した若者が多かったのだろう。しばし黙祷！

Athletic Meeting

　　Athletic meetings in schools in Japan have been one of the seasonal events in autumn, but they came to be held in spring lately as some autumnal festivals and other events often fall on each other. Additionally, pupils prepare the meeting from summer and heat strokes are also a concern.
　　Spring is the commencement season in Japan, so the first grade pupils of the elementary school were kindergarten kids only a month ago. It's fun to see such tiny kids run on the ground. I sometimes wondered if they are running or rolling?
　　I viewed the meeting in the adjacent elementary school from the roof of my office. Today is Sunday and my office is closed. I have to stay in my office for inpatients, but all the patients are in stable condition. I really love such a peaceful day.

Genkai shuraku

　　A Japanese word of "Genkai shuraku" means an extremely depopulated village with most inhabitants being senior citizens, who don't have transportation. I looked for a suitable English word in my dictionary, but wasn't able to find it. Marginal settlements, or deserted village? Anyway, most Genkai shuraku used to be prosperous.
　　Young people who once went out of these villages for higher education tend to stay in bigger cities after graduation. Consequently, such small villages came to face with the depopulation problem and their local culture and traditions brought to the brink of extinction.
　　My wife and I drove my car in one of these villages today to visit my wife's friend's tomb. Her original village was also on the way to disappearance.

Performance of Shakuhachi, Bamboo Flute

　　I play Japan's traditional flute, Shakuhachi, which is made from bamboo. It was more than 40 years ago when I touched it for the first time. I was a student at that time, and have continued practicing since then. I had an opportunity to play it today in front of a big audience. I felt a little tense, but I think I did well. All the members in the following picture have their jobs and it was not easy to share time for practice, but we carried out our performance successfully.

New Era "Reiwa" to Start in Japan

　　The Japanese Ten-noh is generally called Emperor globally, but I suppose that he stands totally at the opposite side of what you call Emperor, like Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and so on. He is just the leader of Shinto priests. So, I believe that we should call him the Priest King or Ten-noh, not the Emperor in English.
　　By the way, the present Ten-noh will soon pass his position on to his successor. His era "Heisei" will end and another new era will start. The government announced today that the coming new era will be named "Reiwa". What will become of the new era, "Reiwa"? Almost all Japanese expect something good or happy in the new era, I think. The new era will start on May 1st with the enthronement of the 126th Ten-noh.

Town Recital

　　The annual event of the town recital was held at the community hall adjacent to my office. Some of the staff members were showing their performance and I joined. There were several people in the hall who regularly visit my hospital. To my surprise, some patients, who are always modest or shy in my consultation room, were actually bold. Anyway, I had a lot of fun.

A Happy New Year

　　How was the year 2018 to you? Did you have some plans around the transition of the year? My wife and daughter joined the countdown event held in Dogo Spa area, and I was invited to a temple visiting tour, in which participants prayed for their happiness in the coming year.
　　This year, 2019, falls on the 100th year after the year 1919, in which the Treaty of Versailles was signed and the March 1st Movement occurred in present South Korea. This year is also the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. I feel that something big will happen.

(Vocabulary)
Treaty of Versailles　ベルサイユ条約
the March 1st Movement　三・一独立運動
Tiananmen Square Massacre　天安門事件

 

Memorial Day

　　Today was the anniversary of the onset of the Great East Asian War, which has been considered to be a war desired by Japan. With recent researches based on historical records in the U.S., however, the truth of the war has been gradually disclosed. Anyway, I visited Pearl Harbor last spring and saw various facilities related to the war.
　　On the day of the attack, 10 young soldiers were assigned to the exit of the harbor to ram the military vessels which would come out of the harbor, and one of those was captured, leaving the others killed. Their memorial service was held today near my office and I joined it. This small fishery village was their training site. We should remember those who sacrificed their lives for Japan.

Long Slow Distance (LSD)

　　LSD is one of the training methods of marathons and it means the slow running of long distance. The point is to continue working for a long time. The Ehime marathon is just around the corner and I'm looking to breaking my own record in the previous Ehime marathon. I jogged today for about 20km.
　　What I like most about this training is that I can see strange scenes. As I run not only on big streets but small alleys with a little faster speed than walking, I often notice something I had missed for a long time even on the streets on which I had frequently driven my car in everyday life. The speed of vehicles is too fast to see around.
　　If something catches my eye, I stop and check it. I ran today toward the coast and looked into the cool boxes of several anglers, then I saw the landslide scene which had occurred the other day and watched the preparation work for the coming local shrine festival for some time. I spent a really relaxing time today.

Shimanami International Cycling

　　The Inland Sea between Shikoku and Honshu, which are two of the four main islands of Japan, is called Setonaikai Inland Sea, and you can cross the sea over three routes. "Shimanami" which appears in this entry's title is one of those three routes. Several bridges connect several islands and its scenery is beyond description. Every bridge has cyclists' paths and lots of cycle-lovers ride this route.
　　"Shimanami International Cycling" is the biggest cycling event held on this route every two years. All the traffic except bicycles are banned on this day, and the highway is open to cyclists only. However, you aren't always allowed to join the event, as there are so many applicants for the cycling. I drew the good luck this year.
　　By the way, there was a brutal incident which deprived me of strength, though it was my fault. I had to remove the front wheel from my bicycle for packing it into the transportation box. When I attached the wheel to my bicycle before the start, my work wasn't perfect and the rim of the wheel was rubbing all the way against the brake rubber until the first mechanic's aid. I wasn't able to ride at the usual speed and my position went back, but I was able to get nice pictures without other participants as you see in the 7th picture.

(Vocabulary)
brutal チョー最悪(スラング)

Delicious Fish and Chips

　　We moved to Heathrow Airport by tube, which I already felt got familiar. As we had only to change tubes once at a small station, I chose a train which stopped at every station. Its speed wasn't so rapid, but we enjoyed the scenery of the suburbs of London. The tube went out of the ground about 10 minutes from St. James Park Station. Viewing the landscape, I remembered the trip, during which we were involved in a few problems, but the trip was fun. We were relieved to see the college and its dormitory in which my youngest daughter lived.
　　What we had to do in the airport was to upgrade our ticket to upper seats. Our tickets were offered for free by obtained mileage. Moreover I tried to get upper seats for free, and... we got them. We were able to fly both ways premium economy class, which was the middle class between economy and business classes. Then, fish-and-chips! I heard that it was one of the representative British dishes and we weren't able to leave the U.K. without trying one. I visited a restaurant in the airport and ate it with a London local beer, Camden. This fish-and-chips was really delicious. We weren't happy in culinary respects during the trip, but enjoyed the British cuisine at the last minute.
　　By the way, my daughter's purse which was stolen in Oxford naturally didn't come back, but as it was expensive, I advised her on an insurance claim. She claimed for the purse on her insurance by herself, and the insurance was paid, discounting use commission. It was her first experience and she was surprised to get money back from insurance. She had to give up money in the purse, but it was a bitter but good lesson for her.
　　This is the last entry about my recent trip. Thank you for subscribing.

　
空港までは既に慣れた感じのある地下鉄で移動した。乗り換えが１回で済むので、全駅停車の鈍行を選んだ。地下鉄とは行っても１０分ほど走ると地上に出る。ゆっくりと景色を見ながらいろいろあった旅行を思い出していた。

ヒースロー空港ですることは一つ。帰りの便のアップグレード。今回往復ともに特典航空券、つまり無料のチケット。それをプレミアムエコノミーにアップグレードを依頼した、、、果たして、、、してもらえた。ＡＮＡなので機内は日本語、美味しい料理にワイン。そして最後に食べたのはフィッシュ・アンド・チップス！イギリス名物料理と言えばこれでしょう。食べずに帰れるか！ということで食べてみた。ここまで食べる機会が無かった。食べても美味しくはないだろうという気もあったし。ところが、これはかなりうまかった。ビールはロンドンの地ビール、カムデンで。

さて、スリにやられた財布だが、もちろん帰っては来ない。ただ高価な財布だったので保険請求をしてみた。すべて娘がやったのだが、手数料を引かれたもののほぼ全額が支払われ、娘は驚いていた。中の現金は諦めるしかないが、これだけ戻れば我慢もしやすい、、、と。ま、これも勉強かな

以上で旅行記は終わりです。読んでいただき、ありがとうございました。

Miscellaneous Thought

　　There were ethnically mostly white workers in the ticket booths of London Eye, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. On the other hand, simple work like the inspection of tickets, the lending and collecting of the audioguides were for non-whites. The simple jobs which wouldn't apparently make so much money seemed to be for non-whites. The workers for the most part in convenience stores in the big cities of Japan are from other countries. The situation is likely in Japan too, leaving questions of right or wrong.
　　I often listened carefully to conversations which were being made around me and strongly felt difficulty in understanding them. It would be a matter of getting familiar with them. I don't feel so much difficulty in reading English literature, but my skills of listening to English are surely at the beginner level. I decided to spare the time for listening at least 30 minutes a day after this trip. We didn't have enough time and were just able to sightsee only in the center of London. I'd like to visit other places on the next trip to the U.K.

雑感

ロンドンアイ、ロンドン塔、タワー・ブリッジでチケットブースには白人が多かったが、チケットの確認やオーディオガイドの貸出や回収などの単純作業はほとんど有色人種だった。日本人はいなかった。たいした稼ぎにはならないだろうと思える仕事に彼ら、彼女らが多いように感じた。日本でも都会のコンビニは外国人が多いが、似たようなものか。

周りで話されている言葉に聞き耳を立ててみた。アメリカの英語に比べ聞き取りがかなり難しい。慣れの問題だろうが、自信喪失。英語を読むことについては、よほど難解なものでない限り苦労はしなくなったが、リスニングはまだまだ。帰国後、１日３０分のリスニングを心がけようと思う。今回はロンドンの中心部しか歩けなかったので次回があれば、もっとロンドン市内を歩き回ってみたいと思う。

Westminster Abbey

　　A set of postcards in a souvenir shop which I had visited yesterday was showing the wedding of Prince William and Catherine and the following parade to Buckingham Palace. Westminster Abbey was the place in which their wedding ceremony was held. 7 years have passed since then. The year of the wedding was in the same year as the Great East Japan Earthquake, and in addition, the next month of the disaster. That's why I remembered the year of the royal wedding. I wasn't able to even imagine that I actually stood in front of Westminster Abbey 7 years later.
　　When we arrived at the entrance of the Abbey 20 minutes before the opening, the 50-meter-long waiting line was already formed, but we were led to the inside soon. As I expected as one of the main sightseeing spots in the U.K., the audioguides of various languages were fully equipped and enough number of staff members were positioned at every corner of the sightseeing route. At least the Japanese version of the stories in the audioguide was neutrally written. I thought that the stories about the changes of the dynasties and the dark side of British history were correctly described.
　　What I found most astonishing in the Abbey was people walking on the tombstones on the floor. The epitaphs were naturally carved on their surfaces. I was completely unable to walk on the plate, as I felt that I was desecrating the honor and the achievements of the dead "but one". When I was avoiding walking on them, my eyes met a staff member. She asked me with smile if I was a Japanese or not. Most Japanese people seemed to be reluctant to walk on the tombstones. I recalled the allegiance test in the Edo era, called "Fumi-e". Taking advantage of Japanese sensitivity that they can't stomp something they admire. The rulers ordered suspects in Christianity to stomp on the picture of the Virgin Mary and people who weren't able to do it were executed.
　　Churchill's tomb was at the last part of the route. It was bigger than others and attracted sightseers' attention. He was surely a great politician, but took Japan into the Great East Asian War along with FDR. I stomped on his epitaph and went out of the Abbey. Shooting was prohibited inside and no pictures. I took a picture in the corridor outside.

(Vocabulary)
Great East Japan Earthquake 東日本大震災
desecrate〈教会・国旗など〉を冒涜(ぼうとく)する
desecrate to spoil or damage something holy or respected
―desecration 冒涜行為
allegiance 忠誠
stomp = stamp
stomp off/out (怒って) 足を踏み鳴らして出て行く
stomp out of/into something 足を踏み鳴らして＜場所＞から出て行く［に入って行く］
a) [他] …を踏みつける
b) [自] 踏みつけるstomp on somebody/something ＜…＞を踏みつける, ＜アクセル＞を踏み込む

　
昨日立ち寄った土産物店でウィリアム王子とキャサリン妃の婚礼とその後のバッキンガム宮殿までのパレードの絵はがきがあった。その婚礼が行われたのがウェストミンスター寺院。あれから７年（東北大震災と同じ年の春だったので覚えている）、まさかその場所に立つとは思ってもみなかった。

開院の２０分くらい前に寺院の前に着いたが既に５０メートルくらいの列ができていた。飛行機の予定があったので少し焦ったが、開院からほどなく中へ入ることが出来た。オーディオガイドがしっかりと用意されていて楽しく観光できた。オーディオガイドはニュートラルに作られていて、王朝の交代の歴史、それにまつわる暗い部分などについても正確な説明だと感じた。

ここで一番驚いたことは、観光客が墓石の上を歩くこと。墓石にはもちろん墓碑銘が刻まれている。ホーキング博士の墓もあったが、僕にはどうしても踏めなかった。只一人を除いては。墓石を避けて歩いていると、スタッフの一人と目が合った。彼女から『日本人？』と尋ねられた。日本人は墓石に気づくと踏まない人が多いとのこと。そういえば、江戸時代、キリシタンを見つけるためにマリア像を踏ませてみるテストがあったなあと思い出した。

ツアーコースの最後にあったのが、チャーチルの墓。偉大な政治家ではあるが、自国を護るため、アメリカを戦争に誘い込むために日本に戦争をふっかけた張本人の一人。墓はひときわ大きく出口付近にあり、墓碑銘を踏みつけ、泥を落とすかの如く足を踏みならして寺院を出た。寺院内部は撮影禁止だったので写真はない。出て回廊を歩いているときに一枚だけ撮影した。ここも禁止だったかもしれないのだが。

Alumni Meeting

　　We got on the tube at Monument Station before transferring to another line, and got off at Covent Garden. We could choose Horborn Station, but I've heard of its name and got off at Covent Garden. There were very busy and enjoyable streets around the station. Just wandering such streets was really joyful. Following the ideal route offered from Google, we got to the designated restaurant, 32 Great Queen Street.
　　We were going to meet two alumni there, who used to belong to my junior high school and graduated from colleges in London and Wales respectively and now lived in London, though they were considerably younger than me. One of them asked me about our choice of the dinner in advance, and I chose the British cuisine. That's why we visited that restaurant. I selected a dish from the menu in the following picture. Pigeon and foie gras pastie was that! though I've never eaten pigeons. That was a little bony and difficult to eat, but delicious. Their stories about their life, families and jobs in London were very interesting to me. I told them about what we got through during this trip, like the parking violation and the conversation with the parking lot attendant and other topics about English. They must be freely able to communicate in English. I envied them their English skills and I hoped that they would build their secure bridge head of life in London.

Monument Station から地下鉄を乗り継いでコベントガーデンで下車。Horborn駅でも良かったのだが、聞いたことのある地名だったのでコベントガーデンで降りてみた。実に賑やかで楽しそうな店ばかりが並んでいた。こういうところはただブラブラするだけでも楽しい。グーグルマップの指示通りに歩いて指定された32 Great Queen Streetという店に着いた。

今日の夕食はロンドンの建築関係の会社で働いている同窓生２人と夕食。どのような料理が良いか、選ばせてもらったのだが、イギリス料理の店でと依頼して選ばれたのが写真の店。僕の注文した料理はPigeon and foie gras pastie。鳩を食べたのは初めて。骨っぽくて食べにくかったのだが、美味しかった。ロンドンで暮らす二人の生活の様子が実に興味深く楽しい時間だった。二人はロンドン、ウェールズの大学の出身で、英語はもう自由に使いこなせているはず。今回の旅行で各地で英語のリスニングで苦労した話や、駐車違反をして、その係員の英語がサッパリわからなかった話などで盛り上がった。あの時は、本当に、こいつの喋っている言葉はもしかしたら英語ではないかも知れないとまで思ったから。またロンドンに行って、話をしたいなあと思っている。

Tower Bridge

　　After coming out of the Tower of London, we walked over Tower Bridge. We wanted to see the bridge in detail, but the sightseeing tour inside the bridge was already closed, so we just walked on it, but I was happy to visit one of the London's landmarks. While we were walking along the Thames upstream, I found a weird object, which I didn't know how to express in English. According to my Siri, the area seemed to be called Hay's Galleria and the object was called "The Navigator". That apparently was a masterpiece of an artist, but I wasn't able to understand it. Then, we came across London Bridge. I recalled that my daughters were often singing "London Bridge Is Falling Down". One day, a long time ago, I talked to my eldest 3-year-old daughter that I would take her to London to see London Bridge. Then she replied, "Papa, don't you see? London Bridge has fallen down, and disappeared." Hearing the conversation, my deceased father-in-law laughed at me, saying "You are being teased by only your 3-year-daughter." Such a funny story came up to me.
　　I walked over the bridge, telling the story to my second daughter. As so many people were moving in the opposite direction, we managed to dodge through the crowd. Thanks to the Google Maps, we successfully got to
Monument tube Station.

(Vocabulary)
London Bridge Is Falling Down　ロンドン橋落ちた　童謡

ロンドン塔を出たら目の前にあるのがタワーブリッジ。ここについてもゆっくりと見てみたかったが時間切れで内部は見られなかった。橋を渡り反対側へ移動。川岸を歩いていると、妙な彫刻を見つけた。僕にはこういったものを理解する審美眼はない。調べてみるとかなり有名なものらしい。タイトルはThe Navigatorsというらしい。この場所はヘイズ・ギャレリアHay's Galleriaというらしい。これもまた調べてみると、長い歴史のある観光地だった。先を急ぐので彫刻だけを見て更に歩く。すると、ロンドン橋にさしかかった。『ロンドン橋落ちた』のあのロンドン橋である。この歌は長女が好きだった。よく歌っていたので、大きくなったら連れて行ってあげると話すと、「でもお父さん、ロンドン橋は落ちたからもうないんでしょ」と反論。それを聞いていた亡き亡父が大笑い。３歳の子供にからかわれていると、、、　そんなことを思い出したながら橋を渡り、Monument 駅へ到着。

 

Tower of London

　　We took our purchase back to our hotel, then went out again. We took the tube at St. James station. It was the first time to use the tube, but it wasn't difficult. Our destination was the Tower of London.
　　I believe that I have some knowledge about the Tower of London to a certain degree for a Japanese. It might be more than the average Briton's. I was all the happier for my knowledge to walk around in and outside of the Tower of London. Not only its historical and archaeological importance but its collection of valuable things attracted me. Among other things, the real inherited queen's crowns and the Japanese armour given to King James 1st. as a gift from the shogun of those days, Hidetada Tokugawa, surprised me. The Japanese armour is also the token of the starting first-ever diplomacy between Japan and the U.K.. The possible murder of two young princes committed by their suspicious uncle, cruel executions of queens and miserable lives of numerous prisoners,,,. I was at the special site which had seen those incidents. The pier for the prisoners who were taken to the Tower of London by boat still remained. I took a break over a cup of coffee seeing wings-cut crows, the symbol of the Tower of London. It was my blissful time to be a part of the history.
　　The staff members with red outfits were called Yeomen Warders also known as Beefeaters. I had long assumed that "Beefeater" is the name of a gin. Anyway, they were veterans with exploits and lived in the Tower of London with their family. They weren't routine tour guides.

ホテルへ戻り、荷物を置いて再び出発。今度はすぐそばにあるセントジェームス駅から地下鉄に乗車。初めてだったが迷うことなく乗れた。一度乗り換えてTower Hill駅で下車

ロンドン塔については日本人としては自身、結構知識が有る方だと思っている。もしかしたら平均的なイギリス人以上かもしれない。そのおぞましい歴史を知っているだけにこの場所に来ることが出来て、中を歩くことが出来て本当に嬉しい。建築物としての歴史的、また考古学的価値はもちろんなのだが、収蔵されている宝も国宝級の価値のあるものばかり。女王の王冠の実物(撮影禁止)に驚いたし、徳川秀忠からキングジェームズ１世に贈られた甲冑には本当に驚いた。日本とイギリスの国交開始を記念する品々の一部だという。犯人として伯父にあたる人物が疑われている殺害の可能性が高い不可解な王子たちの死、女王たちのむごい処刑、無数の囚人達の死、いろいろな歴史を見てきた建物の中を自由に歩いた。船で運ばれてきた囚人がロンドン塔内へ初めて入るところなどそのまま残っていた。飼われている羽根を切られたカラスを眺めながらしばしコーヒータイム。歴史の一部になる至福の時。

赤い服を着ている人たちはヨーマン・ウォーダーズ（ビーフィーターとも呼ばれる）と呼ばれる。聞けば、彼ら、彼女らは軍功のあるエリート軍人だと聞いて驚いた。ロンドン塔に家族と共に住んでいるという。只のガイドではないのだと知った。

Change of Guard Ceremony

　　I got on standby at a few steps up the stairs of Victoria Memorial. I was just in front of Buckingham Palace. I took the first picture after the ceremony to record my standing site. I was viewing the ceremony at this point without moving even a single step.
　　My SLR camera was equipped with a 50mm standard lens (fixed focus lens). As my camera was APS-C, the lens was equivalent to a 80mm semi-telephoto lens of the full-frame digital SLR. The second picture was shot by this camera. It was taken by a hand-held shooting, but it's nicely taken. I had another digital camera and took pictures of the ceremony with both cameras. My daughter's position was shown in the next picture. She was also just in front of the central gate, but was on the third line. As we were playing with wild squirrels in the park, she wasn't able to stand on the front row, but after the starting of the ceremony, taking advantage of being packed in chaos, she seemed to come out on the front row. She was able to see even the faces of each guard, but wasn't able to view the whole display of the ceremony.
　　The march of the Guards was gorgeous. When I was a little boy, I played with small replicas of them. It was great for me to see the real guards. The Change of Guard Ceremony was held inside the fence and I wasn't able to watch them from my position, but it was ok. The concierge told us that the best position differed as to what we wanted to see. Marching? or Ceremony itself? Now I understood his words.
　　I was surprised to notice that several policemen had a big gun. You would never see such type of guns in Japan, at least in public spaces. Take a look at them in the last picture. I understood that we were a possible target site of terrorism.

約４０分前にビクトリア記念碑の階段を数段上ったところへスタンバイ。バッキンガム宮殿の真正面だ。どのような場所に居たかと言うことを記録するために取っておいた写真が一枚目。これはセレモニーが終わった後で取ったもので、この場所から一歩も動かずにセレモニーを眺めていた。

一眼レフカメラには５０ミリの標準レンズを付けていたが、僕のはＡＰＳ−Ｃなので、標準換算８０ミリの中望遠レンズとなっていて、こいつで正門を見たのが二枚目の写真。手持ち撮影だがきれいに撮れている。ちなみに娘の位置は三枚目の写真の通り。これまた真正面だが３列目くらいか。野生のリスに餌やりをしていたために最前列は取れず。ただ、見ていたら混乱に乗じて最前列に出られた模様。しかし、彼女の場所からは衛兵の顔まではっきりと見える代わりに全体を見渡すことが出来なかったとのこと。

衛兵の行進は勇壮で豪華だった。子供の頃、この格好をした人形でよく遊んだなあとその頃のことを懐かしく思い出しながら、還暦の年に『本物』をみるとはなあと感慨に浸りながら『本物の衛兵』の行進を眺めた。肝心の交代式は塀の中なのではっきりとは見られなかったがこれは仕方ない。コンシュルジュが何を見るかによって待機場所が違うと行っていたことが理解できた。衛兵交代そのものを見るなら宮殿の塀際に待機すべきだとわかった。

最後の写真を見て欲しい。警備員が持っている銃は日本では街中で見かけることはまずあり得ない銃だ。おそらく殺傷能力の高いものだろう。この銃を見て、テロ攻撃のターゲットになり得る場所にいるのだと感じた。

Buckingham Palace

　 We moved from Trafalgar Square through Admiralty Arch via the Mall to Buckingham Palace. On our left side was St. James Park. I found the Duke Of York Column over the stairs on our right side, but it was growing dark and we didn't get there. Victoria Memorial and Buckingham Palace were just far in front of us. According to the concierge, the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace would be held tomorrow morning. The area around the ceremony would be extremely packed as if all the visitors in London got together. We decided the point at which we would stand tomorrow.

トラファルガー広場からアドミラルティ・アーチを抜けてthe Mallを通りバッキンガム宮殿へ向かう。左側はSt. James Park。右側にヨーク公記念碑を右に見たが薄暗くなってきており先を急いだ。ヴィクトリア記念堂Victoria Memorial とバッキンガム宮殿が正面に見える。ホテルで確認したところ、明日衛兵交代式があるのだそうだ。ただ、ロンドン中の観光客が集まってきたかの如く混雑するとか。ホテルから徒歩１０分なので十分に早く来る必要がある。明日、陣取る場所を決めた。

Trafalgar Square

　　When I was walking on the Golden Jubilee Bridge, I saw several people shooting pretty ladies. They were apparently a professional photographer and his assistants. My daughter asked the seems-to-be director if she could take pictures of models and she was allowed to do so. While shooting, several visitors got together around her, and we fled out of the flock. The general atmosphere of my daughter seemed to draw people to her.
　　My fondness for trips is surely inherited from my father, but the influence of the world history class in my high school days also might work. The "Battle of Trafalgar" and "Admiral Nelson" were essential words for understanding the history of Europe and passing the entrance exam of the high class universities. As I was approaching Trafalgar Square, the statue of Admiral Nelson caught my eye. It was too high to look closely, and he is another great admiral compared with Admiral Heihachirou Togo, who had saved Japan from Russian invasion just like Admiral Nelson saved the U.K. from Napoleon. I took a walk around and found the statue of King George 4th, of whom I had an image of a bad king for folks, so I didn't understand why his statue stood in the square. Anyway, I was happy to actually see the National Galley, St. Martin In the Fields Church, and the statue of Admiral Nelson. I wanted to take pictures of myself with lions on the basis of the statue, but it was too crowded to do so.

Golden Jubilee Bridgesを渡ってトラファルガー広場へ向かっていると橋の上でモデル撮影会に出くわした。ミラーレス一眼に凝っている娘がディレクターらしき男に了解を得て撮影していると、また人が集まってきた。娘の笑顔はどうも人を惹きつけるような気がする。早々にこの場所を退散してトラファルガー広場へ。自分の旅行好きは親父の影響もあるが、高校時代の世界史の勉強によるところが大きいかもしれない。トラファルガーとかネルソン提督とかキングジョージ４世とか、世界史の勉強にあたり絶対に覚えなければならない用語が懐かしい。トラファルガー広場に近づくにつれてまず目に入ったのがネルソン提督像。あまりに高すぎて細かな表情は見えないが、日本の東郷平八郎と並んで称される偉大な海軍提督である。ゆっくりと広場を歩いた。キングジョージ４世像もあった。この人は銅像になるほど立派だったのかなとしばしいぶかるが、よく覚えていない。あまり良い印象のない王様である。St. Martin In the Fields Churchにナショナル・ギャラリー、ネルソン提督像の台座のライオン像とツーショットを取りたかったが混雑故に断念。

Street Performers

　　Getting out of the London Eye, we started for Trafalgar Square, but we were caught by fantastic street performers. One of the two most attractive performers was a magnet for kids. He was making enormous soap bubbles using a string whose both ends were attached to the tip of 5-meter long bamboo poles. I admired his idea and the breeze was suitable for his method. The other one was just staying motionless like a statue. My daughter hit on a funny idea and played a prank on him. He was holding still with a grimace, but she spoke to him with a large smile. Then, his face gradually became mild and finally he smiled in spite of himself! Enjoy his varying faces in the following pictures. Men seemed to have weaknesses for women anywhere in the world.

 



ロンドンアイを降りてトラファルガー広場へ向かった。途中、大道芸人が何人も居て足が止まってしまった。印象に残ったのは二人。一人は子供達を惹きつけていた。５メートルくらいの竹竿に付けた紐を使って巨大なシャボン玉を作っている。うまく考えたものだと感心した。ほどよい強さの風が吹いていてシャボン玉日和りでもあった。次に紹介するのは、動かないことをモットーとする銅像なのだが、娘が話しかけるととたんににやけてしまっていた。洋の東西を問わず、男は女に弱いと言うことか。（笑）