The week that’s passed since arriving home has simply flown by. Why is it that once home and back at work after an exhilarating trip away, it can feel as if you need to question whether in fact you ever did have that much-needed break away?

Nevertheless it was great catching up with Tim and Moko as well as meeting her family. Tim’s current classes at Temple include teaching students from Tokyo University of Science; genre, 50’s & 60’s sci-fi movies discussing the role of women. We watched a couple of these; amazing to look back on; Forbidden Planet (1956) was one. Anyone remember that?

Another recommended experience was the exhibition The Mind of Leonardo – The Universal Genius at Work; really crowded, security checks galore but well worth pursuing.

Moko and I spent a while in Odaiba, lunch at Tokyo’s answer to an Italianate shopping ‘mall’ Venus Fort (yes I agree with Lonely Planet it is indeed ‘eye-boggling, futuristic retro’) followed by a memorable time wandering through the Nomadic Exhibition, ‘Ashes and Snow’. Both the pavillion, constructed out of containers and the exhibits, sepia photographs on huge canvases along with video footage are travelling the world. Check out the websites! Photos uploaded….