Struck by an incredible and overwhelming desire to tidy I did just that, whirling about the apartment attempting to impose some semblance of order. Vacuuming, dusting, washing, drying, sewing (yes, sewing) and finally paper shredding. Only later did I realise that I had, in my need for a complete purge, shredded all my Japanese wage slips - the only things that could have avoided what will now be lenghty disputes between me and the Inland Revenue on my return to England. Oh dear.

Finally decided to ask the Doctor who's administering all these inoculations to me whether it was ok to drink after having had jabs. He laughed nervously and said 'すこし’ which in this context means 'a little'. He said this several times, and looked fairly serious. Ah, I thought, that explains why I've been practically paralysed on Saturday mornings these past few weeks.