Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Influenza

　　The eradication therapy of Helicobacter pylori with me started at the end of last year, and after a course of medication, I got infected with influenza, like adding insult to injury. While I was on medication for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori, I had refrained from alcohol. Telling my family that the intake of alcohol might be short for body sterilization, I was mockingly laughed at.
　　Consequently, I was taken in lenient confinement for five days. It's officially decided that you must not go to work for at least three days after the decline of the fever. It's for the protection of others from the infection of influenza.
　　I made my bed in my study and the toilet on the second floor was designated as my own for this period of time. I asked my daughter to bring a cup of tea, and the door opened silently in a few minutes and her hand only with a cup sneaked in and out leaving the cup alone as shown below. The next picture shows my breakfast placed on the floor. I felt as if I became an inmate. I had been sadly treated as a kind of dirt for some time.

年末からピロリ菌の除菌療法が始まった。そのためアルコールは控えていたが、それが終わると今度はインフルエンザに罹患。踏んだり蹴ったり。アルコールを控えていて身体の消毒が足りなかったのかも、、、と家族に訴えると呆れられてしまった。(^_^;)
で、自宅軟禁の生活が５日間続いた。解熱して体調が戻ってから３日間は職場に出てはいけないという規定がある。この期間は他に感染させてしまう危険があるからだ。書斎にふとんを敷き、お茶や食事は写真のように運ばれてくる。お茶などは娘の手首までがドアの隙間から部屋に入り、写真のように湯飲みを置いていくのだ。２ヶ所あるトイレのうち書斎から近い方が自分専用となった。とにかく、汚物扱いの５日間だった。

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

 

Spanish mackerel

　　The name of fish often varies depending on its growth stages or landing places. When I write about fishes on this blog, I search for its English name on the net using Google image retrieval. I took a fish as today's topic, which is called "Sagoshi", or "Sawara" in my hometown. Its English name is Spanish mackerel, I think.
　　By the way, a dentist who runs his clinic near my office visited me today and gave me three Spanish mackerels which he fished. His best hobby is apparently fishing and he seems to own a gorgeous fishing boat. I tried to clean them for dinner. The result is shown below and it might not be perfect, but acceptable, at least, so I thought. I wouldn't need to comment on their "sashimi", the Japanese traditional cuisine. It was only two hours after they were hooked. They went with Japanese sake very well.

(Vocabulary) 
clean : to remove the inside parts of an animal or bird before cooking it

Helicobacter pylori

　　I got infected by Helicobacter pylori. An annual medical check-up revealed I had been infected with Helicobacter pylori. During the gastroendoscopy, I found myself infected with Helicobacter pylori. After receiving the formal result in about two weeks, I have to take three kinds of medicine for a week. It's bothersome but ok and acceptable. However, the timing is awful. I don't want to take medicines around this time of the year. The year-end and the year-starting season is a party season in Japan. Several parties are held between friends, coworkers, various bodies. I will have to refrain from alcohol. So sad!

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.

Nibukawa Gourmet Marathon

　　Marathon has become more and more popular in Japan as well as in other countries. Even small villages often hold marathon events as a means of activation of their communities.
　　I joined one such event, "Nibukawa Gourmet Marathon". Its name contains "marathon", but the distance was only 18.1km. The route was designed merely to connect scenic sites in the village. As a result, the runners were shown the village's boasting scenery, but the organizers seemed not to mind slopes, which exhausted the runners.
　　Every service point on the route offered us their products like wild boar meat-processing foods, rice balls with edible wild plants, and so on. I took a relaxing rest at every service point over abundant food. The road was always up or down, and there was almost no flat road, but the local people along the road were really friendly and warm-hearted. I spent a really comfortable day.

Peace Oven

　　I'm going to write about an oven which had sat unused for about 16 years in the storage room. I don't know the name of this type of oven which is designed to be used on the gas cooker and looked for its description on the visual search. Is "peace oven" ok?
　　Now, when I had my house built, a new modular kitchen was installed and the former oven had gone into the storage room in the end. Then, it had been sitting unused there for 16 years and we decided to discard it, but before that, my wife tried to use it on the outdoor stove which was made of a useless steel wheel. I'll show you below the way how it was used.
　　The conclusion was, the oven got the lifetime extension! She baked pizzas with it. As it's used outdoors, we didn't mind the smoke and the smell, which are usually a nuisance indoors. The outcome was beyond our expectation. Outdoor cooked pizzas were added to our home party menu.

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.

Wandering with My Camera

　　I'm learning the shooting technique from professional photographers now. Naturally, I'm not going to become a professional photographer, but I'd just like to take nice pictures as one of my hobbies. The theme of the lecture which I'm taking now is how to use the standard lens. My camera is APS-C and 30mm lens is supposed to be the standard. I went out for a walk around Matsuyama Castle to take pictures, which is one of the principal tourist spots in my hometown.
　　There are several ways to the top of the castle: by gondolas, lifts and just walking. I climbed up from the back side of the castle where there usually are few tourists. I'll show you the pictures below. As I'm understanding the mechanism of cameras, my shooting seems to be changing for the better.

Preparation for Winter

　　It's getting cold, and I replaced my car's tires with winter ones which had been stored at a tire shop. The tire shop's owner told me that both the winter and summer tires were nearly expired. I should buy new ones next season. My car's odometer shows about 74000 km and I was wondering about the replacement of my car itself these days, but I don't have enough down payment for my next favorable car. I decided to use my present car of SLK 200 of Mercedes-Benz for 4 or 5 more years. That means I have to buy new summer tires next spring and winter tires next winter. My money flies away~~.

A Social Gathering

　　My Lions Club, Matsuyama Century Lions Club, held a social gathering, inviting international students and sojourners in Matsuyama City. They enjoyed picking a few kinds of fruits in a member's orchard, pounding rice cakes and climbing up a small hill. I was surprised to know the variety of the countries of the visitors. I got several findings from conversations with them. I met a student from Zambia, formerly Rhodesia, who had attended the gathering last year. What I had known about Zambia was just its famous tourist spot of Victoria Falls. That was all shamefully, but I got information about the southern part of Africa from him. Today was very fruitful for me and would be so for all the participants. This gathering will be planned next year. If you are interested in the meeting, feel free to contact me.

(Vocabulary)
social gathering　交流会、懇親会
sojourner　滞在者

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。

Squirrels in St. James park

　　We got up early today too. We had so much to do today. Westminster Abbey was still left to be visited, though our return flight was scheduled that afternoon. Though, however, my daughter insisted that we would drop in at St. James Park on the way to the Abbey. She wanted to take pictures of squirrels up close. She was chasing squirrels in the park with her smartphone in one hand and cashew nuts in the other hand. She was just like a 3, 4-year old kid. It was a funny scene to me.

今日も早起き。そしてホテルで昨日と同じメニューの朝食。今日はウェストミンスター寺院に行く予定なのだが、娘のたっての希望でセントジェームス公園へ。目的はリスを手なずけて写真を撮ること。片手にカメラ、片手に昨日のカシューナッツを持って、リスを追いかけ回していた。

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。

Shopping

　　We headed for the Piccadilly district to visit Fortnum & Mason, which was the purveyor to the Imperial Household. It took about 10 minutes' walk from Buckingham Palace to the Piccadilly district. The shop was really big and was packed with lots of customers. It lived up to our expectations. A cafe was inside and I wanted to try some sweets and British tea, but our time was limited. I didn't take pictures around the shop, so search for pictures of this shop on the net if you want to see them. We got some souvenirs there, and then dropped in at a grocery to get "cashew nuts" on the way to our hotel. I wondered if my daughter liked cashew nuts, and I understood the reason why she got them tomorrow morning.

(Vocabulary)
purveyor (フォーマル) (商品・サービスなどの) 供給（業）者, (情報などの) 提供者

それから、徒歩１０分程度の距離にあるピカデリー地区のFortnum & Masonを目指した。皇室御用達のスイーツの店だそうで、中は大変な混雑。評判通り、規模の大きいお菓子の店。中はとてもきれいでカフェが併設されていた。ゆっくり出来るなら何か食べてみたかったが、この後の予定があり、お土産を買ってすぐにホテルへ戻った。写真はないのだが、Fortnum & Masonを画像検索してみてください。ホテルへ戻る途中で娘は雑貨店に立ち寄りカシューナッツを買った。カシューナッツが好きだったかなあといぶかったのだが、翌朝理由がわかった。