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Good morning!

Just a quick note to say that I’m not going to be trading at Broadway Market this coming Saturday – I’m terribly sorry if there were any readers who were thinking of coming down to see me…

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In the meantime, I’d like to share with you one of my favourite pictures from my iPhone: we took it a while back, about a month ago I think.

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Meet “Beastie“. He was promoting a show at Chats Palace. – Isn’t this like the best pull-on costume ever?! (Apart from Micky Mouse & gang in DisneyLand that I’d chase down, squeeze & cuddle until they say no.)

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We get all sorts walking down the market, sometimes to promote shows/ venues like this or to hand out company leaflets/ balloons. There’s also some fundraisers for charities. And actually, such particular fundraising group that I liked seeing down the market was the famous Pearly Kings and Queens called “the Pearlies” with their black outfits decorated with rows of hand-sewn pearl buttons. Very London! :)

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Hello~! Hello~! Hello~!

Yes, I’m blogging again!! – it’s been a while since the last post I know, I’m so sorry… I hope you haven’t forgotten? How have you all been? Did you all have a good summer?

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My summer holiday with the children was just so ”full-on’…

A 7 year old & a 3 year old, 24/7… As lovely as they are, & as much as I love them, by the end of everyday they’ve got me knackered.

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The last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day was to write here. I was feeling very un-creative. Every night I would just zonk out watching Japanese programmes on the internet (with a bag of dorito crisps! My fave flavour is cool original…), or fall asleep at the same time as the children.

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BUT! Finally, since last Tuesday my son is back at school, & my daughter is starting nursery from tomorrow! So hopefully I can come back to blogging like before again! And in fact, my daughter is going to nursery all day (9am to 3:25pm) everyday (Monday to Friday) from the third week! Which means… (!) I will have a good proportion of ‘me-time’ for the first time in the last 7½ years!!!!!!!!!! Oh-my-Gawd, how weird does this feel?! Pretty exciting I guess! Anyway, so infact, I should hopefully be able to blog more often than ever before! There’s so much to tell you, like about my BEST-EVER banana cake for example. And about the numerous cream-teas I had during the holiday… So watch this space!!

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One thing I was pondering on during summer:

I’m thinking of twittering. Whilst writing for this blog takes time, I should hope that a sentence or two for twitter would hopefully be more frequent?? I know I’m laughably totally late on the twitter bandwagon by a couple of years at least… But I guess it’s better late than never, & the thought of twittering from the market on Saturdays would be fun (such as “ggghh, it’s raining…!”), as well as cataloging odd bits of thought on baking might be useful…?

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So, if you like, please follow me at:

http://twitter.com/coco_and_me

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… & watch-out for my debut-twittering sometime during this week!

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See you there~!

Tamami xoxo

Update 22/04/11:

Hi! I’ll be at the market tomorrow (23rd), so I hope to see you there! All the best, t xxx

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Hi… Just a very quick note to say that I won’t be working this week… Sorry for letting you know in such last minute… I hope I haven’t messed up anyone’s plans on visiting… – There’s a good reason why I can’t work, but…, I don’t feel like telling you until the situation has calmed down. Perhaps I can tell you at the end of the week.

… Sorry.

がんばれ日本。がんばれ東北。

(Don’t give up Japan, go for it East-North)

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First of all, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to those of you who have donated so far. Currently, as at 22nd of March, we have raised $3,160!!!!!! For the UK readers amongst you, that’s £1,943. I thank you for being so generous. I also would like to thank those of you who have blogged, tweeted, facebooked, or sent mass emails to your friends about the relief. When I set about organizing this, I didn’t expect half as much as it has achieved. And it’s all down to the generosity you have shown.

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That said, the call for funds is far from over.

Currently, even after ten days since the earthquake, people in the worst affected area are still without heat, electricity, running water, regular meals or for some, no word from their loved ones. The official death toll is currently 8,277, with 12,272 still missing. Nearly 500,000 people are homeless. Japan is still very much in it’s urgent state. They are still battling to gain control over the dangerous situation at the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Worries are abound especially for harmful levels of radiation. I well-up when I see children tested for radio-activity by those masked & suited workers, it really feels unreal. When I hear that some have resorted to drinking swimming pool water & pond water…, I can’t believe it is happening in Japan.

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Japan is facing a herculean task to recover & rebuild. But I know that the Japanese people have the remarkable capacity to face natural calamity stoically. In Japan’s time of great need, please let’s continue to do our best to help!

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I now have a donation box at my stall. It was my first time to do it last week, & it has raised $51.68. The generosity that Broadway Market goers have shown is amazing ~ thank you!

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This weekend, my friend H successfully persuaded a badge maker to make 1000 of these badges for free. The text on these tiny badges (it’s a size of a £1 coin) says “Ganbaré Nippon. Ganbaré Touhoku.”. It means something like “Don’t give up Japan, go for it East-North”. I love the simple design of just a red circle. Pin this dinky thing to a plain coloured top & it looks very stylish. I’ll be selling 50 of these for £1 each at the market stall next week, & if they sell well I might order more from her.

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The Japanese word “ganbaré” is one of my all-time favorite words. It’s a difficult one to translate in to English though ~ there doesn’t seem to be a direct translation. It could mean any of these below, it just varies on the context the word is used:

try hard

hang in there / hang tough

good luck

be stronger

stick with it

do your best

don’t give up

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As you can see, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but it does have a core theme – to wish someone well & to send strength their way. Apparently, the Chinese translation to ganbaré is ‘Jiayou’, written in these symbols: 加油. First symbol means ‘add’, the second means ‘fuel’. (wiki) I like that they put those two symbols together like that. It captures the spirit of the message well.

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Like I say, ganbaré as a word is special for me.

When I was about 10, I had to do a swimming test at school. It was to swim two lengths without any aid. I was one of the last ones that could do it & the pressure was on. I was so determined to do it that I came up with a repetitive song in my head “Ganbaré, ganbaré, Ta! ma! mi!”. Again & again, non-stop I repeated those words until the very end. And with that, I managed to complete. ~ Ever since then, whenever I face challenges, I magic that phrase in my head. It’s become my very own special phrase to help me zone in.

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Finally, I’d like to share with you another phrase that is close to my heart. It is 一期一会 (Ichigo ichie). Literal translation is “One encounter, one chance”. It means that one must approach every encounter like as if you will never get that chance again, so excel & do the very best. It also means to treasure the moment you have.

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I just want to thank you dearest readers for being so kind to donate for Japan. I think it is so amazing that you have answered to my call for help & donated on that page… Am I lucky to have you guys visiting this little blog? Yes I am.

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Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Tamami xxx

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Donate & I pledge to give £1 for every time there is a donation!

(up to the total of £150)

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I’m sure you are all aware of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that occurred in Japan yesterday. It’s heartbreaking to see the extensive devastation it has caused  – & I feel very tearful to think of all the people there. The people that died, the injured, the missing & the sorrow of the families & friends of those people. There are plenty who have lost their houses too. It’s going to be a long, trying process to heal, & it truly is a horrific time for everyone in Japan.

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I feel strongly that it’s not enough to JUST feel sorry for Japan. Even if we live so far away in a different country, there must be something we can do to help… But what? I wish I was there to help with the relief, rescue as many people with my own hands, dig out the injured underneath the rubble. But turning up on the doorstep is not a good idea – When I thought of what I could do, yes, I can donate, but what else? And then I had an idea. I can use my web-presence, however small it is, to persuade you to donate too, & generate as much buzz as I can to get people to be generous in Japan’s time of need.

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So I have decided to set up a personal appeal. Here’s what I ask of you. Please follow this link to FIRST GIVING website. I have created a special donation page to help the Save The Children charity. The money we generate will fund them help Japan specifically.

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“Save the Children is mobilizing its global resources to respond to the needs of children and families affected by the earthquake and its aftermath, and an international emergency team has been dispatched to assist staff in Japan.  The humanitarian agency has been in Japan for 25 years, is in many of the other Pacific nations that could soon be hit by tsunamis, and was a major responder to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 225,000 people.”

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Please donate generously.

Please help me generate as much funds as possible.

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To start it off, I have already put funds in to the account. And as an incentive for you to donate, I pledge to give £1 for every donation you give, up to the total figure of £150.

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So go on, I’ll dare you. You donate & I’ll pay!

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Please tell all your friends about this pledge so that I’ll cough up more! Also, if you have a blog, please blog about it. If you twitter, please twitter. I want you to reach to as many people as possible to donate. Help me do this.

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Please remember, Japan has an excellent track record for been superbly charitable in other’s time of need. Now it is your turn to return the favor. I know we’re in recession and all, but look at it this way, ~ if this mega scale of a disaster struck where you live, wouldn’t you love it if everyone dipped in to their purse to donate for you?

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So please give generously in this time of great need. Please. It’ll mean a lot to me to see you do it. Let’s you & me make a difference.

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Thank you in advance,

Tamami Haga

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