Sunday 25 December 2011

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Christmas is coming...

Literally. Mince pies and Christmas pudding are on their way! :-)

It's our fourth Christmas here in Japan, and as each year passes I crave just a little more of the smells and tastes of home. Year one was a total write-off, with M (and therefor me) spending her very first Christmas in hospital with pneumonia. Year two, I attempted to make do with what I could buy in my local supermarket to make my own mincemeat and Christmas cake, unaware that the dried fruit was tropical papaya and mango rather than the traditional blend that I was familiar with. By year three, I was willing to pay the inflated prices of a single jar of Robertson's mincemeat and a mini-box of Quality Street from my local import shop (pretty much the only British items they had in stock!). And this year...


I am one happy Brit! And look what else will be in my super parcel...


Now you may mock, but after an extended absence you really do develop very strong cravings for such basics, and they simply cannot be found for love nor money on Shikoku (as far as I am aware). Oh thank you, Foreign Buyer's Club! Now if I could only talk them into stocking Marmite...