Feb. 14th, 2021

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It's all change here at Steepholm Towers. Although the UK has been under lockdown for the last several weeks, Haruka has managed to land a job with a Japanese company in London, and moves there today. The interviews, conducted by Zoom, were in Japanese, with a bit of English customer-service role-play. I'm really very impressed - both because she managed to beat some 30 other candidates at her first attempt, and that such an opportunity existed in the first place. Of course, it helps to be Japanese to get it, or even to know about it. It seems there's a whole sub rosa world - a Jafia, if you will - of Japanese job, accommodation and childcare sites, through which expats here support each other. No doubt it's the same for immigrant communities everywhere.

I'm very happy for her, though I'll miss her company. However, I'm not letting my Washlet go to waste! My other young Japanese friend, Ayako, will become my tenant in almost exactly a month. Until then, I have the run of the house.

My last two big projects for the house are a) the garden - currently halved equitably between plain decking and equally plain astroturf - and b) some kind of statement wall in my bedroom. Of the garden, more in a future post, but I'm currently musing about the wall. Because my room is below a sloping roof, one of the walls is very tall (about 3.3 metres): it seems a shame not to do something dramatic with it.

Getting wallpaper from Photowall is one possibility, and I've been having fun browsing their catalogue. At first I thought something natural and foresty would be good. Unfortunately, most woodland scenes are landscape, and my wall is basically portrait; cropping out most of the trees makes such views far less atmospheric. Still, a single Yggdrasil-ish tree could work. Tunnels and paths look good, but tend to lead straight into the room as well as out of it, and I've no wish to create an inadvertent portal for something from the Thither Side. Since it's a bedroom, the moon is also a strong possibility. Then again, I appear to have discovered an unexpected appetite for kitsch.

What do you think? Which of these would you put on a way 2.9x3.3m wall - if any? Feel free to browse the catalogue!
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Oh, and by the way, my daughter is featured both in this BBC article about the new Aardman website on mental health, and in the website itself, where she voices Tai, an overcompetitive treadmill runner.

I'm proud, of course - but not in a competitive way, oh no!

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