I made it!

Just a quick note to say I finished the Teganuma Eco-Marathon in one piece. My somewhat ambitious target time for the 21km was 2 hours and I finished only 22 seconds over. I owe a lot of thanks for that time to the British-like overcast weather, Nick and the folks at the NEC running club who took me under their wing and showed me how to warm up properly for the race, Taiko who waved a homemade Union Jack at me, my neighbours who ran alongside me for at least 10m, Sabri and family who cheered me on in far distant Kohoku, and my own family who hung around to cheer me and later let me nap through the afternoon. A final word of thanks goes to all the people who have donated some cash in these hard times for books for poor folk in sub-Saharan Africa. So far, you all have helped me raise 170 pounds - about ¥30,000 - but there is still time to donate if you haven't done so already. The target is 250 pounds - about ¥50,000 - which would buy 200 books. Right, cheers all. Where did I put my Suntory?  

Got to run

While you are waiting for the results to come in to see if my strenuous training routine has paid off for the Teganuma Eco-Marathon -- results due around 2:00pm Sunday Japan time (6:00am Blighty Standard Time) -- why not sponsor me here. All the money raised will go to buy books for folk in sub-Saharan Africa. Why should you make a donation? Let's review:

• Reason #7: What with the global financial meltdown, money's not worth anything anyway.
• Reason #6: Donate even a little, and then I'll stop going on about it, and get back to funny videos of cats on treadmills and mildly subversive swipes at Republican presidential hopefuls.
  
• Reason #5: Using your credit cards to make a charitable donation is like giving twice - not only will you help the poorest kids in Africa, but you will also alleviate the credit crunch thus oiling the wheels of capitalism (which oppressed the continent in the first place). Er, on second thoughts...
  
• Reason #4: Every five pounds (¥1,000) raised means four new books for the poorest people in the world. If they read all of them, they are more than qualified to be Vice President of the USA.
  
• Reason #3: Consider a donation a small repayment on the hours of fun you can get from reading Tower Tales.
  
• Reason #2: Sub-Saharan Africa is pro-Obama.
  
• Reason#1: If you don't help these folk, who the hell will?

Separated at birth?

Is it me or does Republican candidate for US President John McCain have an uncanny resemblance to another aging American hero?

John McCain

Winnie the Pooh

It's all in the cheeks. OK, so Winnie the Pooh was originally British before Disney's colonisation, but we're all Americans now. Sort of. By the way, did you know that Winnie the Pooh is known as Pooh-san in Japan?

If you think this post is vaguely amusing, why not show your appreciation by making a donation, no matter how small, Cocko, to a worthwhile cause... just click here. And, thanks Kevin and Angie, as trained librarians I knew you couldn't resist this charity.

New chapter for Tower English

Did I mention I like books? Did you know I teach, that I have two children and I'm running round Teganuma, the half-marathon-sized lake near my house? Enough questions already. Well, after reading about the late Paul Newman's achievements for charity, I thought I would emulate him in a small way and do something worthwhile that combines my passions. So, I've decided to seek sponsorship for my epic trek round Teganuma to raise some money for Book Aid, a charity that distributes books to the poorest communities in the world. For those new to giving online, here's how it works:

1. Click on my sponsorship page, or on the "widget" on the right.
2. Enter how much money you would like to donate (in pounds - there are about ¥200 to one pound), and write a message, or donate anonymously.
3. Fill out the online credit card details.
4. The money will then be sent directly to the charity.
5. I then huff and puff round Teganuma.

Book Aid reckons that for every five pounds (¥1,000) donated, they can distribute four books to people in the poorest area of the world, sub-Saharan Africa. Why books and not food and medicine? There are other charities that do that, but I believe that knowledge is power and what you can learn from reading might save a life, teach new skills vital to escape poverty, or at the very least, give children a window on the world. If we could raise 250 pounds (¥50,000) that would mean 200 books for those in need. What do you say? I've donated 20 pounds (¥4,000) from Tower English's coffers to get started, can you add to that?

Who needs a little help?

While managing to kill the best part of Saturday evening checking e-mail, radically redesigning this blog and then returning it as best I could to the way it was before, I managed to do at least one worthwhile thing. I remembered to donate a little money  to sponsor my brother-in-law who spent Saturday night and Sunday morning cycling 75 miles (125km) cross-country in the dark. Why would he do a thing like that? I'm not sure, but every penny he raised is going to a charity seeking a cure for cystic fibrosis, a life-shortening disease that my niece and nephew were born with. Donating was easy, all I had to do was click on his web page and enter a few numbers, and I felt great, a lot better than my brother-in-law did on Sunday morning, I'd wager. But it got me thinking. I'm running the Teganuma Half-Marathon on October 26th. It's a good opportunity for me to raise some money for charity, but which one should I support? Any suggestions?

Oh, by the way, rest in peace Paul Newman, a rare gent in the Hollywood world who raised more than his fair share for charities. 

Rohan Atticus Sisodia

Life has a habit of turning up tremendous highs, and devastating lows. In my own life, some of the highs have been meeting Yoshie, buying our first house, and of course, the birth of my two daughters. Then there have been the lows, the worst of which was the death of my mother after a harrowing battle with lung cancer. But these highs and lows happened over the space of more than a decade. Spare a thought for my old friend from school days, Mrunal. He and his wife, Clare, had been trying for a long time to have children. What should have been the happiest day of their lives, the birth of twin boys on Monday, February 25, 2008, was tempered with worry as they were born 15 weeks premature. But, mum and dad remained hopeful that their little ones, Rohan and Arun, would gain strength and eventually be allowed out of hospital for a triumphant homecoming. It wasn't to be. After 64 days and 12 hours, Rohan died battling a lung infection. In the words of his parents: "We will remember the happiness that he brought us: the way that his little hands held onto our fingers; the way his bewildering and sparkling eyes looked out onto the world; the way he liked his forehead stroked; and the way he recognised our voices as we read to him." He received excellent care at University College London Hospital's baby unit and to thank the doctors and nurses, and to remember Rohan, Mrunal has set up a memorial fund to raise money for the unit. If you would like to make a donation, click here and fill out the online credit/debit card form. It is totally safe and may help others in the same awful situation. Meanwhile, Mrunal says his life is now simple. If Arun has a good day, he has a good day. Arun has many battles ahead of him, but the day he makes it out of hospital will be the happiest in Mrunal's life. Here's wishing for my friend's happiness.