Living out of a suitcase certainly has it charms and when that suitcase gives you quality time with family and on this occasion with one of your sons, then its appeal is much longed for. This transitory lifestyle though does need to have an ending and on Monday 9th of December that end had been reached, though not before a final meeting and sightseeing opportunity.
I was to fly at 4.30pm from Narita airport, situated an hour and 30 minutes from the city and to make life easier Cole and I agreed to meet in Asakusa as it was from near there I could continue to the airport. I had a little time after checking out of the hotel before meeting and I visited a cafe for a matcha tea close to my hotel. I only mention it as its style was quaint and unique with my glass topped table housing a display of Japanese vintage memorabilia. I collected my case from the hotel and ventured onto my last sightseeing venture.
As the visit to Japan impinged on an event later in the week I should record that the hotel I was staying in, part of the APA chain had a dubiously right wing proprietor. There was no bible in the draw but a monthly magazine, littering the shelf of the room, spouted propaganda for an envisioned future and amongst the many claims the idea that japan did not invade China but merely went there to support the feudal ideology was tantamount to holocaust denial. The outrages and inhumanity of Nanjing the death camp in Harbin and the war is a part of history that should never be forgotten.
I had a short look at the old area of Tokyo before meeting Cole and deciding on a riverside walk toward the Sky Tree and Oshige from where I could board the Narita Express train. The skyline from the riverside was comfortingly low after the dizzying skyscrapers of Tokyo’s centre, with only the sky tower thrusting into the sky. Dazzling blue skies and photo opportunities made the walk a memorable one. We considered going to the top of the tower but I decided to save it for my next visit to the city in February. Once we had reached the tower we found somewhere to chat and eat before we said our emotional goodbyes.
The train ride to the airport had some beautiful views that I could enjoy but with the crowded train and cramped seating and with both my neighbours sleeping it was not a good vantage point and not possible to capture the scenery. No food or entertainment on the flight and instead I settled down and started to watch ‘The Offer’, a series recommended to me by Harvey and which, almost immediately caught my imagination.
Being back in Beijing, where temperatures had now dropped to zero degrees I had a mission to get 3 rooms decorated before Christmas. From Tuesday onward I dedicated myself to accomplishing this task and the first room was to be the living room and I spent the day in preparation, washing walls, ceiling, filling holes and putting out masking tape so that on Wednesday I could begin the job of painting.
There really is not much to say about Wednesday other than once breakfast was out of the way I painted till after sunset. Three walls were completed which only left the lavender feature wall to paint on Thursday. I will say I felt exhausted by the two days continual work and longed to be back sightseeing.
When I arrived in Beijing in 2020 the view from the apartment bedroom was of a row of shops and what looked like a lumber yard. When I came back in 2023 these had been knocked down and replaced by a wall. The gate, the entrance to the builders yard, was still operational and inside the wall building had been going on. Since my return in July I kept an eye on the progress and when the walls started being painted, shortly before my trip to Taipei and Tokyo, I sensed something was afoot. A sign went up announcing the arrival of Guanganmen fresh produce market and to my delight on Thursday Morning, when I pulled back the curtains, the market had opened for business.
I had breakfast then I made a visit to record the auspicious day of its opening. I attracted much attention as a laowai and bought some goods. I felt ridiculously excited to be present amongst the commotion and the sight of the fresh fruit and vegetables and other produce filled me with glee. Due to my lack of Mandarin I missed the opportunity to get a free half a dozen eggs which were being given to the first customers but this situation was rectified on Friday.
I attacked the final wall of the living room and finished in time to spruce myself up for our visit to the National Theatre of China that evening. A birthday/Christmas present from sister Kate. The theatre had adapted a novel by Lao She, whose Beijing Hutong home I had visited earlier in the year. ‘Four Generations living Under One Roof’ titled here ‘The Yellow Storm’ is set in 1937 against the background of the Sino-Japanese war. It is based in a Beijing Hutong, still lived in to this day and is the tragic, harrowing story of patriarch approaching his 80th birthday, his family of 4 generations and their immediate neighbours. Greed, inhumanity, collaboration, faithlessness, cruelty, love, life and death are in the mix of this visually splendid and perfectly staged work. I may not have understood every nuance but an understanding of the plot, some clear direction, beautiful acting and the occasional insight from Peng kept me captivated from beginning to end.
Friday started with the disappointment of a weigh in and the gaining of 2.5 kilo during my sojourn in Taiwan and Japan. Fortunately, with work to be done on the dining area, collecting my free eggs and a visit to Ikea for some additional shelving and a plant based lunch, I was distracted from any self punishment for having squandered the hard won losses of the last month by putting taste buds before discipline. By nightfall the shelves were up and the room fully prepped for painting. The proximity of the kitchen gave me a reason to fill some holes and hide broken tiles too while I was at work. It was good to note that the builders renovating my flat in Brighton sent me an update of the new bathroom and the work in the kitchen and it was starting to look amazing.
Saturday disappeared in a storm of activity and I finished all the paintwork that’s needed doing which left me only one room to tackle in the next week.
‘And on the seventh day…’ there was rest. Films all day interspersed with meals and light snacking. It was hard to believe that I had begun the week in Japan. Little had occurred, though much had changed in a matter of days. Christmas decorations were up and the promise of a relaxed season of goodwill loomed.
