Off The Compass

Latest News

March 10th

After speaking to several people about writing haiku, I rewrote the one in my last story, Shadow and Light'. So thanks to Hiromi-san, Chihoko-san, and Mayumi-san for your help and advice. Here is the new one. It relates to the story. Very soon I'll upload the slightly different Japanese language version, but I've put it in romaji for now. I also good rid of the spelling mistakes and added the missing station name!

                       Ink dries in shadow                                      sumizomeno
                       hot soup on a charcoal stove                       yubeharunoro
                       a wife's silhouette                                        tsumanokage

My Animations

Click on 'PLAY' to watch my latest animation. There are more if you click on the left side bar.

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Special Feature

An old friend of mine, Ben Gilbert, runs trekking holidays for adventurous people. At the moment, he has a few places remaining on a fantastic 'Snow Leopard' trek. Please check out his website for more information - it's the chance to possibly see these rare and magnicent endangered cats in the wild. And by doing so, help in their conservation, and knowledge about their behaviour.

The Blue Space

Photograph - Copyright 'The Blue Space'

Recent Blogs

March 9th

I've started writing a native-level story set where I used to live in the East End of London. It's about a gangster who wants to change his life. I might make it into a mini-novel (compared with my other stories), or might make it interactive. The dialogue is natural so maybe it's a difficult read for many people. I am also thinking about putting it online little by little. If anyone has any comments, please mail me with your suggestions or thoughts.

March 8th

Last Friday I went to the giant FOODEX 2010 in Makuhare Messe in Chiba. I had a free ticket and spent a happy few hours sampling wines with my friend Sachiyo, to try to find something new for her family's liquor store. We found a range of Austrian wines imported into Japan, and I must say, I was very impressed with the quality and price. I also got very drunk.

I have just uploaded a new story. It's about unrequited love and wistfulness (new words.... check your dictionary!). It's level 5 and a little long, but please take a look.

March 2nd

The winter Olympics ended with a crazily patriotic show. 'Canada, Canada, Canada!'. There were some great sporting moments, such as Kim Yu-Na's flawless skating, or the US beating Canada in the early hockey qualification. But my personal favourite was Daisuke Takahashi returning from a career-threatening knee injury, and lifting Bronze medal after trying a quadruple jump. A fantastic achievement of true sporting endeavour. Now for the bad news... I've finished another story. It's about webcams and you can read it by clicking below.

February

February 23rd

The latest short story is actually quite long, and is level 6, so watch out! If you have some spare time, give it a try. It's about a Russian soldier who is in Afghanistan in 1989, near the end of the war and the Soviet retreat. Click below!

The weather is nice today in Tokyo, and there is a hint of spring in the air. Winter is almost over and soon the Cherry blossom parties will begin.

February 18th

Thanks to Ritsuko who read my level 6 story - Critical Thinking. I've now upgraded it to level 7, as it has a mixture of high-level vocabulary and difficult concepts. If anyone else has any suggested regradings, let me know. I also changed the story a little and removed the grammar mistakes!

February 17th

Another story hot off the press... It has goats in it!

February 16th

Winter continues, but not for much longer. The Vancouver Olympic Games are in full swing and the television stations and newspapers are heaping pressure on the Japanese competitors. When not watching the TV, I have been busy... On Sunday afternoon, I went to Castle Tintagel in Mejiro for a special Valentine's battle, and today I wrote and uploaded the story that you see below. It's about a special number. That number is eight billion, and soon the world's population will reach it. In my story, something inccredible happens. Click on the image below.

February 12th

It's cold again: a return to wintery weather. I've been busy writing and today have uploaded a very short story set in Japan. It's about a woman who looks after her mother. Sadly, her mother is very unkind. Maybe when the weather improves, my stories might become more cheerful! Let's hope spring comes soon. Click the image below.

I'm in the middle of reading the latest Dan Brown book. It's called 'The Lost Symbol' and it focuses on Freemasonry and Secrets in Washington D.C.. I enjoy his 'real-time' stories, with the main character Professor Langton, forced to unlock a mystery to save the world as the clock ticks.

February 9th

Tokyo was warm today and so this afternoon I took Mike to Koshikawa Korakuen. It's a 'Stroll garden' begin in 1629, and is situated right next to Tokyo Dome - home of The Giants baseball team. We were lucky to see plum blossom and winter cherry blossom. It's a great garden in all seasons. I'll upload some of his photos soon.

Below is a new story about a New jersey couple driving through the night to visit the woman's mother, who is in hospital. Take a look by clicking on the image below.

February 3rd

Thanks to Mrs Hakata and Ms Fukuda for your corrections to the poor English in my stories, and for your feedback. If anyone else spots any spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, or has any other comment, please mail me. I'm not perfect!

February 2nd

Yesterday afternoon and last night there was snow in Tokyo. The first real snow for a few years. Global warming is great, isn't it! Anyway, I took the opportunity to write a story about two boxers. I hope you can't guess the twist in the story. It's level 3 because of the boxing vocabulary. please take a look. Feel free to mail me with your comments as it's always nice to get some feeback - positive or negative!

January

January 26th

Here's another story, at advanced level. There are a few higher level words but the plot is straightforward. It's a bit similar to 'Tokyo Love Story' and explores loneliness, love, and desperation. Happy days!

January 21st

Finally, a new story! It's about an elderly Japanese man whose house is full of rubbish. I've written it in American English for a change.

January 20th

I have just finished working on some of my friend Mike's photos of Shinjuku gyoen park and Meiji Jingu shrine. Please take a look at the gallery. Also, I'd like to say a big hello to his friends and family back in Arizona.

January 19th

It was warm today, after many cold days, and so I went to Shinjuku gyoen (park) with my friend Mike. Mike is staying with me for two months whle he tries to find a job. We did a tour of the park and he took many photographs of the Japanese gardens and beautiful views. The central Tokyo park is outstanding in all seasons. The variety of views and moods is a world apart from the surrounding city life. Once he's downloaded his pictures, I might put some online. On Sunday, we went to Meiji Jingu (shrine) so I'll put some of those on the site too.

After a long break, I've started writing some more stories, so hopefully they will be ready to read soon. I'll try to write some easier ones too.

January 8th

I've just uploaded some photographs from Singapore. Click on the photograph of the demon below to go take a look.

January 6th

A Happy New Year to everyone! I sincerely hope 2010 is a great year for everyone. There has been so much suffering around the world in the past few years but I feel this year will see more happiness and joy.

I just returned from a trip to Singapore. I met my Dad, who flew in from England, and we spent Christmas and New Year there together. Most people spend only two or three nights in the cosmopolitan island-state, but we had eleven nights and found there are easily enough things to do to fill a month. I'll put some photos on the site soon, so please come back. But here's a taster - a photo taken in the fantastic Asian Civilisations museum.

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Archive

Click here to read past blogs from 2009

Click here to read past blogs from 2008