The Perrier Awards are now called the Fosters Awards, after the makers of the Australian brand of non-beer, who have taken over from the French brand of non-water. Fosters have announced a new award which will be open to a public vote, for the best ever Edinburgh Festival comedy act. The eligible acts are any who have been short-listed for a Best Award or Best Newcomer award. Ross Noble was among those tipped to win and this prospect so enraged comedian Stewart Lee that in response to a press release from Fosters he wrote: “Think about the logic. Who among those who are going to vote has ever heard of Frank Chicken, who for all anyone under 30 knows may be the best act on the list?” Lee accidentally pressed “reply to all” which has led his fellow comedians to start a “Vote For Frank Chickens” campaign on Twitter. Frank Chickens are a Japanese duo who were discovered by John Peel in 1984 when they did a spoof of a Japanese pop record called Blue Canary. They are still going strong. This video shows how brilliant they are. Let’s make sure that Frank Chickens wins, Ross Noble comes nowhere.
Frank Chickens Blue Canary (You Tube)
Posts Tagged ‘japan’
Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Vote for Frank Chickens
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
Matsu Ramen in Fukuoka
Fukuoka (pronounced Fookoka) is renowned for the quality of its food, which is saying something in Japan. Particularly its Ramen. Ramen is a broth, made from pork bones, to which noodles are added together with vegetables and meat or seafood. It is a dish whish has been popularised in England by the Wagamama chain, whose product, unfortunately, is nothing like the real thing.
Tonight I’m treated to the Fukuoka ramen speciality. Its a shared dish which is served in a cauldron which is placed on a burner in the centre of the table. There is some debate as to the nature of the meat in the dish, which is described variously as “hormones” “intestines” and “stomach lining”. The meat is white and looks suspiciously like tripe. The vegetables are cabbage and spring onion (the green part, which we would throw away). The dish is eaten in two stages- at first with just the vegetables and meat, plus some tofu. Once the meat has been eaten, more broth is added to the cauldron and when this has come to the boil, noodles are added, which are eaten separately, with the customary Japanese slurping.
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
The Zen Garden at Komyozen-Ji
“Is there a name in English for this kind of rain?” asked my Japanese host. “Torrential” I replied. “Good, torrential is perfect for visiting the Komyozen-Ji Zen garden. He was right. The garden, which is viewed from a terrace behind the Komyozen-Ji temple is best seen when the rain is dripping from the trees onto the mossy banks. It is without a doubt the most perfect, peaceful Japanese garden I’ve ever seen.
Although the garden is only yards away from the crowds of the temples of Dazaifu it is perfectly peaceful. And although the setting is a Budhist temple in my eyes this is a shrine to the Slow Life. This video captures a little of the atmosphere which we encountered on this rainy day. In the background is the occasional sound of a bell and the rhythmic beating of a drum, which puzzled me until I came across a Budhist service being held in the temple, a little of which is shown at the end of the video.
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Max, aged 5, catches a fish and eats it raw
The Japanese like their fish fresh. They eat live octopus, which is served with a pair of scissors which are used to cut off the tentacles. The disadvantage of this is that the suckers still operate and they can stick to your tongue, which makes swallowing difficult.
Tonight I’m at a fish restaurant which has a stream running through it, which is teeming with sea bream. If you want, you can catch your own fish, which the restaurant will prepare the way you want it. I’m given a simple rod and line and some shrimp bait. Within a minute I’ve got a fish on the line. Its a good size and I ask the waitress to have half of it boiled and the other half served raw.
We are joined at dinner by Philip, his wife Yoko and their two young children. The eldest, Max, aged 5, has a go with the rod and proudly lands a fish. His father asks him how he would like to eat the fish. “Raw”, replies Max. Good chap. When the fish arrives at the table there are still signs of life in the head and fins, even though the flesh has been removed (as this video shows) The same applies with a lobster, which is brought to the table with its tentacles twitching, even though all the white flesh has been removed.
By the way, it’s absolutely delicious. Slow food at its finest.
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
The Nagasaki Peace Park Monument
When I was asked to design a garden in Nagasaki on the subject of “World Peace”, the organisors asked me to contribute a single sentence which summed up my thoughts on the subject of peace. At the time we were filming for “How The Other Half Live” and the producer Daniel kept Sara amused in the long gaps between takes by encouraging her to write Haiku poems- the Japanese form of poetry where there is strict scansion of 5,7 and 5 per line in three lines. This inspired me to make my contribution on ‘Peace’ in the form of a Haiku. I had no idea at the time
that two months later my words would be inscribed on a monument at the Nagasaki Peace Park.
In this video I am with Mr Ishihara and a local business man at the unveiling of the monument, in front of the TV cameras. The background is that of a successful local businessman, who has decided to knock down his office headquarters, which adjoin the Peace Park and build a garden in their place, designed by Mr Ishihara. The monument will form part of the garden. The video ends with a clip of us planting an olive tree, as the olive branch is a symbol for a peace offering.
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Gardening World Cup- Press Day
6 TV cameras and 65 pressmen have come to the Queen’s Palace in Huistenbosch, Nagasaki, for the launch of the gardening World Cup. I’m there as one of the competitors, representing the UK. There are two other contestants from the UK, Andy Sturgeon and James Towillis, whose show gardens were close to mine at the Chelsea Flower Show in May (Andy won “Best in Show” for his garden). The gardening world cup is being organised by Ishihara Kazuyuki, Japan’s leading garden designer, who also had a garden at Chelsea this year (see my posting of May 8th, 2010). The event is a competition, to be held in October this year, where 12 gardeners will each build a garden on the subject of “World Peace”. The other competitors are from the USA, Canada, Holland, France, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand