Yuletide in Ol' Nippon

A few days before Miss Violet's arrival, Sir S and I purchased a pine tree from the local shop and visited Ye Olde 100 Yen Shoppe for decorations of an oriental nature. A Hello Kitty wreath was mounted on the front door, and a branch of festive Totoros swung cheerfully above the guestroom's entryway.

Later, after a cold but snowless day of castle-tramping, Miss Violet and I set about adorning the tree in its Hello Kitty finery. The traditional angel was replaced with an astonishing fez-wearing Kitty, and her Santa-capped cousins dangled from the remaining twiggy limbs, as well as gigantic red baubles which bounced to and fro in a saucy manner. Miss Violet added chocolate goodies from the Home Country, as well as providing music in the form of "Noel: A Tirade of Traditional Goth Christmas Carols". Bravo!




Christmas Day, sadly, was dearth of snow, but all was festive here at the Ember-Flashy'san abode, with Kittys twirling in the breeze of the gas-driven Yuletide log, and gaily wrapped presents piled beneath the tree. My haul included a gorgeous Jiji purse (you have a woman's purse, my lord!), a beautiful green shawl and swimming cap-style hat crocheted by Miss Violet, witty talkies including the Prime Minister's fave, "The Chaser's War on Everything", Haigh's Chocolate Frogs and an elegant pearl-inlaid jewellery box from Mummsie and Daddums. Huzzah! Nattered to the parents on that new-fangled telephonification device, Skype, and they waved the cat at us from across the miles. Grandmaster Flash was duly outraged that his bottom was waggled before an international audience, and there was not a chance to even rearrange his whiskers. Poor thing!

Then came the feast of Japanese nabe, or hotpot. Take one ceramic pot and a portable gas hotplate, place it on one's already-cosy kotatsu, boil and bubble some kimchi nabe stock in the pot and artfully arrange some cushions on the floor for sitting on. We plopped into the spicy red soup some chopped tofu, mushrooms, okra, pumpkin, beansprouts and udon noodles. Delish! We happily devoured several rounds of the stuff whilst snuggled under the kotatsu's heated blankie. Then we savoured the fruity, whisky-soaked goodness of Miss Violet's very own homemade Christmas cake. Superb! A most wunderbar way to conclude the meal: with a glass of plum wine in one hand, a wedge of Red Leicester cheese in the other, and a mouthful of Miss Violet's fruitcake, all was right with the world (but, lo, if only it would snow!)

Then, on Christmas Night, there was much recitation of the wedding vows and speeches in Japanese in preparation for Thursday's imminent wedding madness. My nervousness was mounting and, by damn, I had to get that pronunciation down pat! A rehearsal of the ceremony was played out on the tatami mats of our bedroom, and wooden spoons were used as props as Sir S and I bumbled through the three main sections and exploded into a fit of giggles when the other pratfalled at an awkward moment. I myself was distracted by the thought of the Japanese guests chuckling as I announced my full name (as required by the vows): in Japanese, my first name means "votive tablet of a horse" (used at shrines, and often depicting other animal images) and my surname means "old hag", an intriguing combination I think you'll agree. There's nothing more likely to cause a stir than declaring at one's wedding that one is an "horsey old hag". Yikes ahoy!

p.s. does any chap or gal out there know how to rotate snaps in Blogger? It's damnably annoying, esp when the original pic is already in the correct position. Blast!