Ippoippo

Wooohooo, beat one of the southern hemisphere teams at last…

As I type this, the roast is on the go in the oven, and myself and Yuko are about to chill out with a nice bit of sparkling white wine!

It’s been a bit of a busy week, despite me being on holiday since last Friday (and I go back to work on Tuesday). Yuko has been off since Saturday, and she also goes back to work on Tuesday as well.

Rugby

So, Saturday was rugby day with us watching Wales vs New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium.
The second half was a bit of a disappointment, though the first was quite entertaining. Behind us, we had two Welsh chaps who were exceedingly good singers and got everyone going.
One of the big talking points though was the showdown before the game even started!! As New Zealand started their Haka, the Welsh crowd got quite vocal and started singing Cwm Rhondda. Great stuff. Then there was the stare-off!! There had been rumours that something was going to happen. This time, the Welsh players refused to move away on completion of the Haka, and that seems to have annoyed a few New Zealanders. Indeed, it’s a bit of a talking point leading up to the England vs New Zealand game tomorrow.

Was it disrespectful? Hmmm, don’t know. I suppose I should do some proper research into it. However, at the time, the crowd loved it.

Chilling, and then down to business

After all the fun and games on Saturday, we had a bit of a pampering and chill out session. Well, it was both Yuko’s and my birthday so a bit of pampering at a Spa. Tense back and shoulders well and truly sorted out.
It was a shame then that work got all undone when Yuko and I headed up to Liverpool.
Grrrrrr, what a bloody horrible, badly sign posted one-way system.

We were up in Liverpool for the evening, since Tuesday morning was Yuko’s appointment with the immigration department. Hurrah, after two years of entry clearance, she now has permission to stay here indefinitely.

With all that done, we took the scenic route back through North Wales and stayed over at Dolffanog Bach.
Great location, great food and great hosts.

This week was all change, as I started work at my new job. All learning curve at the moment, getting to grips with the software that is being written (a very, very big system).
The good thing is, is that I get to come home a fair bit earlier in the evenings now (though, I still need to leave quite early in the morning).

So, hopefully that’s going to free up some spare time. Yuko is thinking of doing Yoga, and she’s deciding about whether to dive into classes straight away, or first buy a book, try it out at home, and then see if she wants to take it further.
Meanwhile, with my extra time, I’m looking at starting to do a bit of Kendo (in Cardiff as well).

The other part of me really wants to start doing some distance learning stuff, relating to Renewable Energy or Organic Farming. The former sounds interesting to me should I push to escape the IT industry. The thing is, I probably won’t have time to do both. Hmmm, Kendo vs Study.
Kendo sounds more fun, Study sounds more useful.
Perhaps I’ll start Kendo, see how it goes with the 6 week beginner class (I won’t have to commit to buying the kit until after that, if I decide to keep learning).

Talking of Japanese stuff

While it’s still rather crappy weather here in the UK, seems like it’s warming up in Japan.
In fact, it’ getting so hot, the girls are putting on their summer clothing… though this clothing seems to be rather shocking to young lads.

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Oh, and one last thing

GRAND SLAM!!!!!!!

How on earth did that happen??

England 19 – Wales 26

First win since 1988 for a Welsh team in Twickenham.

Woohooo.

Good old BBC commentry, nearly a fight between Brian Moore (England) and Eddie Butler (Wales) towards the end of the game. (Just like last year).

Now, I’m really looking forward to next week, as I have tickets for the Wales vs Scotland game… though knowing typical Wales, we’ll probably lose all the games during the rest of the 6 Nations.

UPDATE:
ROFL… there is even a ‘special’ edition of Taff Wars now, to celebrate this.