Out to lunch

Today I used my lunch break to pop into town and buy a wedding gift for our friends in Tokyo. As I entered the department store I was forced to make my way through the lingerie department in order to reach my destination. I hate it when that happens:

 

Purchase made,  I scoffed a disgusting burger and headed down the street to a nearby bookshop. As I walked, the bells of a nearby church began to ring. It took a few bars for me to recognise the song, which is not the kind of thing I’m used to hearing emanting from a house of God:

 

I guess the priest has a weakness for show-tunes.

I also passed a building full of rubble and workmen, obviously in the middle of some serious renovations/rebuilding. It used to house a rather nice Lebanese restaurant where we dined one evening with some friends. There was also a belly-dancing routine after the meal, and diners were encouraged to participate. The ladies in our group shook their booties with gusto, as I fondly recall. Needless to say, I remained seated. It’d be a shame if it’s closed for good.

Once in the bookshop, I picked up a free copy of a new creative writing magazine called Notes From The Underground (you can download a pdf of the entire issue from their site). So far I’ve only flicked through it and not yet read any of the stories, but one item caught my eye, about a web project called “Hitotoki“, which ties short stories to specific locations in a city (starting with Tokyo, but they’ve launched in a few other major cities too). I hope I get some time to read some of these before we go there next Wednesday…

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