The Ashes（遺灰）シリーズ

1月31日（月）快晴

 

どこが面白いのか分からないのがクリケット。1882年から隔年開催される豪州と英国の国際試合。1試合に5日間かけて5試合行い、高さ15ｃｍの骨壷を争います。 1882年英国チームが初めて豪州に敗れた時、使用したボールを火葬して遺灰をトロフィーに入れたとか。ドイツの予言蛸の遺灰もサッカーのトロフィーにしたら？ 

 

クリケット場

 

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The Ashes Series

Mon. January 31 : fine

The sport game we never understand why it is interesting is cricket. The Ashes Series is the international game between Australia and UK that has been held every other year since 1882. Each game takes 5 days and they have 5 games altogether. They compete each other for a 15cm ash pot. When UK was defeated by Australia for the first time in 1882 they cremated the ball they used and put the ash into the trophy. How about putting the ash of German octopus predictor into the succor trophy?

 

oval

　 

便りのないのは良い便り

1月30日（日）快晴

 

サイクロンはどこへ行ったのか、ケアンズは風も波も穏やか。豪州のＴＶでは土日には地方ニュースも休みなので詳しい情報は不明。今日の未明にアジア・サッカー杯決勝の日豪戦が行われたはずですが、豪州ではマイナー・スポーツのサッカーは中継もニュースもありません。豪州のＴＶは頼りない？

 

サッカー日豪対決 

サイクロン来襲

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No news is good news

Sun. January 30 : fine

  

Where has the cyclone gone? The wind and the wave have been both calm in Cairns. As the local news isn’t on TV on the weekends in Australia we don’t know the details. The championship of Asian Succor Cup, Japan vs. Australia ought to have held early morning today but no minor sports including succor is on TV or news in Australia. Is Australian TV unreliable? 

 

soccor game Japan vs Australia 

cyclone attack

サイクロン襲来？

1月29日（土）快晴

 

豪州からインドにかけて発生する熱帯低気圧。ケアンズは11月から4月まではサイクロンのシーズン。明日ケアンズ南部に上陸の予報。僕のアパートは窓が大きいので景色は良いけど強風には弱い。風速40ｍまでは大丈夫な設計だそうですが、明日の嵐は風速70ｍとか。テラスの家具や植木鉢を屋内に移動。

 

サイクロン

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Cyclone is coming?

Sat. January 29 : fine

Cyclone is a tropical cyclone occurs in the area from tropic Australia through India. From November to April is the cyclone season in Cairns. According to the weather forecast the cyclone is expected to land on south of Cairns tomorrow. As our apartment has large windows we have nice views but they could be easily damaged by strong wind. The building is designed to endure up to 40m wind speed but 70m is expected tomorrow. We have moved furniture and the plant pots on our terrace into inside of our house.

cyclone

 

 

国際コールセンター事業

1月28日（金）快晴 

 

毎日のようにかかって来る電話セールスの英語に訛りがあるのはインド発信だから。インドでは年間1兆円、300万人の雇用を生んでいます。これをフィリピンが追撃中。両国とも英語が堪能で、国際電話料金が安いから可能な事業。豪州の一部電話会社でも海外特定地域は国内と同一料金です。

 

日本の通信とメディア

 

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International call center business

Fri. January 28 : fine

 

The reason why the salespeople who call us almost everyday have strong accents is that they dial from India. India yields the profit of $125M and employment of 300M per year. The Philippines have been chasing them. Their great abilities of speaking English and reasonable international phone charges in both countries make it possible to conduct such good businesses. In some telecom companies in Australia the international phone calls for specific countries are the same rate as domestic ones. 

 

Japanese telecom and media

死体花咲いた

1月27日（木）快晴

 

やっと死体花が咲きました。それほど臭くはありません。左が咲いている花、右は咲き終わって萎れた花。その間にあるウドの大木のような茎は来年咲く予定の6歳の株。日本では名水を汲みにポリ容器を持参する人がいます。僕もポリ容器で悪臭を採取。植物園通いに飽き飽きして留守番中のユミへのお土産です。

 

名水で長生き？

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Corpse Flowers have bloomed

Thu. January 27 : fine

The Corpse Flowers have finally bloomed. They are not so stinky. The one on the left in the photo is blooming and the one on the right is withered after blooming. The steel-like big useless fellow is 6-year-old rootstock that is going to bloom next year. While some people bring the plastic containers to draw famous mineral water in Japan I have collected the fume and put it into my plastic bottle. It is a souvenir for Yumi who is at home being bored of visiting botanic gardens.

 

get your long life by drinking famous mineral water?

 

オーストラリア・デー

1月26日（水）快晴 

 

1770年4月29日にキャプテン・クックはシドニーのボタニー湾に上陸し、豪州の英国領を宣言。8年後の1788年1月26日にアーサー・フィリップが率いる11隻の流刑船団がシドニーに上陸。何故か後者が豪州の建国記念日となっています。水没していたブリスベンも水が引いたようです。(photo by SMH)

 

建国記念日廃止論

 

Australia Day

Wed. January 26 : fine

On April 29, 1770 Captain Cook landed on Botany Bay in Sydney and declared English domination of Australia. 8 years later on January 26, 1788 the fleet of eleven ships led by Arthur Philip landed on Sydney. For some reasons the latter has been set down as the foundation day of Australia. Brisbane that had gone under water seemed to have been dried. (photo by SMH)

 

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Foundation Day abolinism

びっくり人口密度

1月25日（火）快晴 

 

豪州の水害では独仏両国を合わせた面積が水没し、被災者は25万人に達するとか。恐ろしく希薄な人口密度！独仏両国の合計は面積が90万平方キロ、人口が14,000万人。ちなみに日本は面積が38万平方キロ、人口が12,600万人。豪州は774万平方キロに2100万人が住むすっかすかの国。（photo by National Geographic)。 

 

水害は日常茶飯事

 

Amazing population density

Tue. January 25 : fine

The flood occurred in Australian will submerge the area of the same size as Germany and France together and the number of victims is going to be 250,000. What a low population density! The total area of Germany and France is 900,000km2 and the population is 140M. Incidentally, Japan has 380,000km2 with the population of 126M. Australia is incredibly thinly-populated country, 7,740,000km2 with the population of 21M.

flood is a daily occurance

 

 

 

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ヤマイモの花

1月24日（月）快晴 

 

ヤマノイモ（自然薯）は日本原産、ナガイモは中国原産。いずれも熱帯原産のヤムイモの仲間。十和田は日本一のナガイモの産地だそうですが、とろろ以外の利用法は思い付かず生産農家からもらっても持て余すばかりでした。房状の砂粒のように小さな花は受粉後ムカゴを形成します。

 

十和田のナガイモ 

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Flower of Japanese yam

Mon. January 24 : fine

Japanese yam is a Japanese and Chinese yam is a Chinese indigene. Both of them are from tropical yam family. It is said that Towada is the biggest producing district of Chinese yam in Japan. The farmers there used to give me a lot of Chinese yam but I didn’t know what to do with them since except grating it. A fringed flower is as tiny as a grain of and the flowers form air potatoes after pollinating.

 

Chinese yam from Towada

サトイモの花

1月23日（日）快晴

 

コンニャクはサトイモ科の植物ですから花も似ています。サトイモは熱帯アジアの主食になっているタロイモの北限種。花軸に小さな花が密集し、それを発達した苞（仏炎苞）が囲むのが特徴です。水芭蕉、ザゼンソウ、ウラシマソウ、マムシグサも同じ仲間です。死体花はまだ咲きません。

 

紅団扇もサトイモ科

 

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Flower of aroid

Sun. January 23 : fine

 

As konjac is from aroid family its flower looks similar to aroids’. Aroid is a kind of taro that grows at the northernmost and it has been the staple diet in Tropic Asia. Its important character is that it has small flowers thickly on the flower axis and they are surrounded by developed bracts. Skunk-cabbage, swamp cabbage, cobra lily Urashima and Jack in the pulpit also belong to the same family. Corpse Flower has not bloomed yet.

 

anthrium is also aroid family

 

 

コンニャクの花

1月22日（土）雨

 

死体花の別名はショクダイオオコンニャク（燭台大蒟蒻）。日本の食用コンニャクは5年で開花して高さ70ｃｍの悪臭のある花をつけます。開花させると食用にならないので農家は3年で収穫し、花は滅多に見られません。つまり死体花は特別変わった花ではありません。さて明日も行ってみようかな。

 

もう1つの世界最大の花

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Flower of Kobjac

Sat. January 22 : rainy

A Corpse Flower is called “Big Candlestand Konjac” in Japan. Japanese edible Konjac comes into bloom in 5 years and the flower is 70cm tall with odor. As it isn’t edible once it blooms the farmers harvest it in 3 years. That’s why you rarely see the flowers. In other words a Corpse Flower is not exclusively curious kind of flower. Well, I might go to Botanic Garden tomorrow again.

another world's biggest flower

 

砲丸木の花

1月21日（金）曇後雨

 

植物園で正月らしい鮮やかなサーモンピンクの花を見つけました。しかしよく見ると雄蕊も雌蕊も気持が悪い。直径20ｃｍくらいの堅い実も沢山、それも幹から直接花や実がついています。花も実も枝も変。南米ギアナ原産で30ｍになる高木。タイでは沙羅双樹と言われていますが、お釈迦さまもビックリ。

 

砲丸木

 

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Flower of Cannon Ball Tree

Fri. January 21 : rainy after cloudy

 

I found some flowers in fresh salmon pink in Botanic Garden. They look worthy of New Year. Now that I looked at them closer their both stamens and pistils are quite grotesque. There are lots of stiff fruit with 20cm of diameter on their trunks directly and flowers as well. The flowers, fruit and branches all look odd. Cannon Ball Tree is a 30m high tree originally from Guiana of South America. It is called Shorea robusta in Thailand but Buddha should be surprised at it.

 

 

Cannon Ball Tree

 

 

ウインナ・ソーセージ

1月20日（木）快晴 

 

死体花の開花を見ようと1日おきに植物園に通っています。ついでに名前の分からなかったウインナ・ソーセージのような実を付ける木の名前を案内人に尋ねました。ゴールデン・シャワー？そんな馬鹿な。早速トリニティー・ビーチの電話ボックスの横にあるゴールデン・シャワーを確認。恥ずかしながら間違いありません。 

 

ゴールデン・シャワー 

 

ウインナ・ソーセージ

 

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Weeny

Thu. January 20 : fine

I keep visiting Botanic Garden every other day to see the blossom of the Corpse Flowers. Taking the opportunity I asked the guide about the tree with weeny-shaped fruit on it that I couldn’t figure out its name. The name is Golden Shower!! Really? Immediately I went to the phone box on Trinity Beach to confirm the Golden Shower tree beside. To my shame the guide was right.

 

Golden Shower 

 

weeny

 

ハムとソーセージ

1月19日（水）快晴

 

今日は肉の日。毎月2か9の付く日は肉を食べます（3か7の付く日は魚の日）。と言っても野菜に少し肉を加えて調理するだけ。ソーセージは外食でビッグ・ブレックファーストを食べる時くらい。ケアンズ植物園で見つけたソーセージの木の実。ハムの木じゃないの？どちらも原料は豚肉から作りますが、ソーセージは挽肉が原料。

 

ソーセージの木

 

ビッグ・ブレックファースト

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Ham and sausage

Wed. January 19 : fine

Today is Meat Day. I eat meat on the day it has either 2 or 9 (the day that has either 3 or 7 is Fish Day). After all, I cook mainly vegetables and add just a little of meat. I eat sausages only when I have a big breakfast in the restaurant. This is a fruit from Sausage Tree I found in Cairns Botanic Garden. Isn’t it more like a Ham Tree? Both sausages and ham are made of pork but sausages are made from mince.

 

Sausage Tree

 

big breakfast

死体花の蕾

1月18日（火）快晴

 

ケアンズ植物園で死体花が2つ同時に咲きそうだというニュース。7年に1度咲き、2日間開花するとか。悪臭で有名なインドネシア原産の世界一の巨大花。昨年7月小石川植物園でも開花し、大勢の見物人が押し掛けて、入場制限が出たほど。入場無料のケアンズでは見物人はちらほら。開花初日は臭いので2日目にもう1度来てみます。

 

シドニーの死体花

小石川植物園

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Buds of Corpse Flower

Tue. January 18 : fine

  

There is some breaking news; 2 corpse flowers in Cairns Botanic Garden are coming into bloom. A corpse flower comes out once in 7 years and its anthesis is 2 days. It is the world’s biggest flower that is famous for its odor. It is originally from Indonesia. When it blossomed in Koishikawa Botanic Garden last July so many people rushed that they had to restrict admission. In Cairns there aren’t so many people even if the entrance is free. It stinks on the first day of blossom so I will try visiting on the second day again.

 

 

Corpse Flower in Sydney

Koishikawa Botanic Garden

ケアンズ市民劇場

1月17日（月）快晴

 

毎年学校の夏休みに興行される恒例の市民ミュージカル。会場のケアンズ市民劇場は舞台が狭過ぎます。入場料は3700円。今年は洪水の援助資金獲得のために興業を2週間に延長。ところで洪水で壊滅したＱＬＤ州のインフラの再建には2年を要するそうです。つまり新しい文化センター建設に2年間は州政府の予算がつかないということ？

 

63年前

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Cairns Civic Theater

Mon. January 17 : fine

Cairns Civil Musical is performed during school summer vacation every year. The stage of the hall, Cairns Civic Theater is too narrow for performance. The entrance fee is $45. The show period has prolonged to 2 weeks this year for flood aid. By the way, rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by flood in QLD seems to take 2 years. Does that mean that the state government will not be able to budget for building the new Cairns Culture Center for at least 2 years?  

 

63 years ago