And whatever you’re having yourself… January is after all what we make it.
Jimuary in Scotland
Jim O’ Shanter
And for me and all of us of a Scottish disposition then January is Robert Burns’ Month.
Burns is Scotland’s National Poet and January 25 is his birthday… he would be 252 this year.
Wherever they are in the world Scots put on kilts and start eulogising little mice and the like… ‘wee sleekit timrous beastie, oh what a panic’s in thy breastie.’
It’s all the whisky we drink you see!
Alloway Bridge
Burns’ Village is a magical place with Burns’ Cottage, Alloway Kirk and Brig o’ Doon.
Where you can let your imagination run wild.
Three Scots mice
January is also the month when Dr Martin Luther King’s birthday is commemorated.. he was born on January 15 but Martin Luther King Day is actually January 18..
I was fortunate enough to attend the 50th commemoration of his assassination and followed the MLK Trail from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi.
Ginuary in Ireland
G&T O’Clock
And you could do worse than Co. Monaghan, the border county where a ginoisseur will guide you through each gin and tonic.
The Scary One turned her nose up at the juniper when presented with a tray of samples only to then dig in and minesweep them all.
Veganuary
And if it’s good enough for Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Barry White (and he had a healthy appetite, and for food).
Veganuary has really taken off in recent years and I’ve visited the oul’ plant-based food before on this site.
But seeing that the calendar has come around again and that you’ll be performing a public service by not visiting the shops.
Here’s to all those things in your flower beds which also includes the majestic tulip.
And Japanuary
Thanks here to our friends in The Land of the Rising Sun for always keeping it fun and funky.
So Japanuary?
Well, we’re all being encouraged to get on our bikes and in Japan you can do worse than following the Tanesashi Coastline and bike hire is just £10 per day.
They advise stopping off at fish restaurants and temples while ensuring that through the cycling your body remains a temple.
If that’s too sedentary for you then why not canyon through the Sarugajo Gorge.
Talking of temples you shouldn’t go to Japan and not visit a Zen Buddhist temple.
Oh, and in the year when the Olympics are coming to Tokyo then they’re challenging us all to get our adrenaline vibe on.
The Redhead in Bed, 25 Degrees, Huntington Beach, California:
Ingredients: Ketel One Citroen vodka, strawberries, lemon juice, sparkling wine.
I’ve yet to have a Redhead in Bed anywhere (honestly) but if I did it would be in Huntington Beach.
How to: Mix One Citroen vodka, strawberries, lemon juice, and sparkling wine for an added kick.
For those who like to drink their dessert, 25 Degrees offers four spiked shakes, mixing vanilla ice cream and your choice of Guinness, Maker’s Mark, Kraken Black Spiced Rum, or Kahlua among other sweet milkshake additions.
Ingredients: Mint, shochu, sugar, lime, fizzy water
If you had been planning to get out to Japan this year for the Olympics then you have our sympathies but here’s a multi-discipline event you can do from the safety of your own home.
This is a Japanese twist on a classic mojito which swaps the rum usually found in a Mojito with shochu, a Japanese liquor typically made from buckwheat, sweet potatoes or barley.
This is an easy cocktail to whip up once your guests arrive (two minutes prep time) and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
How to: Add the lime, mint and sugar to a tall glass and bruise with a muddler. To this, add the shochu and fizzy water and stir. Serve over ice with mint to garnish. www.japan.travel/en/uk/
No, I’m not complaining about the fare I’m being served up here during lockdown… I’ll leave that to the Son and Heir.
It’s just that my dog-mad extended Irish and American family have been preparing for the reopening of restaurants by flagging up how their pets have been coping in lockdown.
Well, is the answer if Harry and Coco are anything to go by.
Few are as barking about their pooches as the Americans and the Japanese but where they lead (sorry) the way we have followed.
So here’s my five top of the pups (there’s more of this!).
New Bark, New Bark
Paws for thought. Credit: Jenna Murray/IGC Hospitality
The Wilson NYC, New York: And where I first encountered puppy pampering and pedicures down on the block on Rockville Center in Long Island when I first visited the Big Apple in my first summer after school.
And only in America as they say because puppies never got their nails painted in Glasgow!
I’m glad to say that the New Yorkers still treat their pets as Top Dogs.
And Halloween gives them the perfect chance to dress their pups up as Superman, Batman and other superheroes down on Battery Park.
This Chelsea favourite sees the maitre d’ (for dog) put your pet up at the high table and treat them to a distinct dog menu.
With fancy options like a 16-ounce grilled ribeye steak for $42, pan-roasted salmon for $28, and grilled chicken breast for $16.
Puppychino, New Delhi: The Indians have a religious love for their animals which is endearing but surprising for those not brought up around animals.
Such as my Dear Old Dad who baulked at the bus driver who stopped the No. 52 while a cow ambled across the road. Before getting off his coach to do a dump in the street and get back on.
This is Puppychino and it is one of many cafes and restaurants around India where the animal is put first, rather than in some establishments I’ve been in where you’re treated like an animal.
Twice the population of the UK, five times the numbers of cities over 200,000 and more people by square metre… but Japan is free of COVID-19.
Britain’s rates meanwhile have hit 40,000 (and climbing), although they have rolled out a ‘game changer’ new track and trace system which has been beset by technological problems on its first day.
So where are we in Travel? Well our providers are only trying to batter down Home Secretary Priti Patel’s door to get her to fall in line with the rest of Europe and bin the 14-day quarantine rules for travellers.
Fabulous Fuji
But back to Japan.
And before all this COVID business broke out they were only planning for the Olympics which will now take place next year while eggchasers are waiting anxiously to see whether they have a game to go back to.
Rugby is scrumthing else in Japan
They have to work out how to scrum, maul and ruck at a social distance.
The great modern inventors, the Japanese, will probably work it out and you can rely on them too to have all the infrastructure and planning sorted out for the Rugby World Cup on their soil in 2023.
Reflections on pagodas. Photo by DSD on Pexels.com
All of which plodding around the subject like a sumo wrestler brings me onto our holiday providers’ plans for 2021.
Which brings me to my friends at Wendy Wu who are flagging up their 13-day fully-inclusive Classic Group Tour from £5390pp.
It’s all part of their Worldwide Sale 2021 with a saving of £500pp on tour.
Which includes an ascent up Mount Fuji as the high point (sorry) of a cultural trawl across the Land of the Rising Sun.
Tokyo highs
You’ll also get to see Matsumoto Castle and Kyoto’s Shrines… and Tokyo, one of the world’s great cities, of course.
And you’ll get the chance to learn some authentic Japanese skills. They don’t say anything about sumo wrestling but what about Washi paper making, Miso seasoning and best of all Gold Leaf making.
Spelling it out, the natural beauty of Tokyo. Photo by Evgeny Tchebotarev on Pexels.com
The dates fall between late September 2021 and the end of that year so things will be back to ‘the new normal’ by then which has to be better than ‘the new normal’ that we have just now.
But it’s news to me that Richard Steiff from Berlin https://www.visitberlin.de/en has a counter claim to Brooklyn, New York www.nycvb.com Morris Michtom as the inventor of the bear.
All of which silly, willy, nilly all stuffed with fluff is just an excuse…
To talk about my favourite bear Winnie The Pooh (don’t tell Paddy) and other Teddy Bears around the world.
Owned and operated by Nan and Steve Ferri it boasts more than 5,000 Steiff teddy bears and animals, Madame Alexander dolls, Barbie dolls, and hand-carved wooden toys.
