home sweet home...

so now I have done half of my first term, I guess I am looking forward to going home again some time soon... I do miss home, and I suppose my heart will always be in Yorkshire's green hills... (as in the picture. taken by me. of my village!)

so a bit of local news... In Huddersfield, residents in Meltham barricaded a dustbin wagon after they refused to collect waste. that's from the Examiner.

Meanwhile... in Japan...
More dogs in Sapporo mean that there's been a rise in dog-related business... Pampered pooches are living the high-life in the city according to Asahi today.

Ruby Tuesday Part 2

Japanese homework building up and a fear of my own accent...

Voice coaching should be kicking in soon, thankfully. A chance to fine-tune and hopefully dampen my Yorkshire accent.

My Japanese exam on the 2nd December looms ever nearer. And I feel to be making little progress. I can read and write basic things, I can get buy in a conversation, but there's far too many of those little moments where you get completely lost...

私は十二月JLTPテストをします。　二年間日本語を勉強しました。　ロンドンでテストをします。

But with hard work, and lots of studying, improvement of both my Japanese and my English should come about!

placements

Today is the day we begin to discuss placements for the new year... So for three weeks in January, I will be heading out to a radio station to get a real feel for the industry.

But where? My first thoughts are to request BBC Guernsey... a place I can feel at home, with relatives, and a place I love and that is small enough to gain an insight into all areas of news reporting, hopefully. But then again, how about London? Or even back in Yorkshire? Decisions decisions...


I don't know who's noticed, but at the bottom of this page is a map showing where viewers of this blog are from... seems that in the last week I have attracted visitors from Scandinavia, The USA and Ireland. So thanks to anyone who regularly reads my musings!


Just a comment on the news today... Guernsey is contemplating solutions for its sewage problems, according to the BBC, and since 2003, 112 foreign seamen have gone missing in one port town in Japan, according to Yomiuri.

Journalism / Languages

After a quick chat with David, I began wondering where journalism is heading...

As so many more mediums of reporting news become mainstream (rss, blog, podcast), surely the traditional printed press will eventually become obsolete? As newspapers become much less convenient, what would replace them? It's an interesting subject, especially from my point of view - as a journalist soon to be looking for work. Any ideas?


Wednesday is my busy day lately. Classes from 9.30 until 5, then a mad dash across the city to reach my Japanese class for 6. This lasts one hour, then another hour or so to get home. Although today I will head into the city to meet my girlfriend for a meal. Hoping I find somewhere good to eat! Shouldn't be hard in such a big city (you can tell I'm a country-boy...)

Shorthand and Japanese in one day can be confusing too, as it's learning one set of symbols that bear little relation to the language you speak, and then learning a completely different set. Although I love learning Japanese, it's a beautiful, imaginitive langauge, full of subtleties and ettiquette. And when spoke with a Yorkshire accent, I'm sure it's divine!

Ambulances

An article from the Huddersfield Examiner stating that one-man fast response ambulances are not being sent to dangerous situations.

From this, there are two issues to be examined.

Firstly, to send a crew of one to a potentially dangerous situation is foolish. A crew of two is much less vulnerable. So in this respect, the article does make a good point.

Secondly, however, what is the real purpose behind the one-man fast response vehicles? Are they a good thing? As they carry only one qualified paramedic, they can not provide the same service, as they can not transport patients. Any job that a one-man car is sent to where somebody needs hospital treatment thus needs an ambulance.

The ambulance service, not only in Yorkshire, does have its critics regarding this issue. Is the 'fast-response car' a publicity tool? A statistical aid to show that emergencies are being attended quicker?

Getting to grips with London

And as a Northerner, born and bred in the country, it's all good fun trying to get used to London living.

Saw a place in the city near Charing Cross with and advertisement stating 'Fish & Chips: Still only £5.95!'... my reaction was a true Yorkshire 'How much?!'.

Having said that, prices don't seem to be as bad as I had anticipated. And I'm getting to see a bit of the city with my trips to meet my Girlfriend every few days.