My very thanks to all of you who really made my day!

I had a lovely birthday, with *Twinkle*, and Tom, and this evening Miyu too. A surprise birthday cake, a second visit to the cinema to see James Bond, love it (with the exception of the appalling product-placement by Sony), messages on my mobile from lots of people, award-winning chocolate through the post from *Twinkle’s* mum, e-cards from mum#2 and Helen in Bristol, birthday emails from old friends, real live cards in the letterbox from people I didn’t even know had my address (!), a copy of an Australian magazine that got lost in the post for over a month that contains a double-page spread featuring my story and photos of WWOOFing in Shikoku in 2005, then a fan-mail letter from someone I don’t know in response to that story that went from Japan to the UK and back to Japan (thanks mum), 2 birthday cards from mummy and daddy, a phone bill (!), 5 Christmas cards (!), home-made birthday gyouza…

Ne, it’s been a lovely day. I’m really happy. Thank you.

I also realised that I have God-like powers. Today, we heard of yet another close friend who is pregnant, which now means that the number of people who I know that have either been pregnant (and given birth) or got pregnant in the last few months is now, let me count:

1: J in Bristol
2: J in Hereford
3: J in Oxford (names starting with J seem to be quite popular!)
4: M in Tokyo
5: H in Saitama
6: S in Ibaraki
7: Y in Nara

It seems that my aura is resulting in conceptions occurring all around me. Let’s hope that for the time being *Twinkle* stays immune.

I suppose I could offer myself as an alternative to current methods of fertility treatment. I’m totally non-invasive, unlike most men and other scientific methods.

Well it’s bed time now.

oyasumi xxx