Oops, it’s S3 I’ve started watching. Only 2 episodes available on TVNZ+ at the moment, but yes, already at 11.

My bad! It’s actually S3 I’ve just started watching. I’d forgotten I'd already watched two seasons!

Did you see there’s a second season of The Capture? It's even more far-fetched and over the top than the first, but I’m addicted!

A cozy photo of the reading nook at Cloud & Leaf Books, in sunny Manzanita by the sea.

It’s the coziest bookstore! Join me on Saturday, 5:30 pm, at Cloud & Leaf Books in sunny Manzanita by the sea. I'll read from my new collection, The Divide. We’ll raise a glass of Evan Williams whiskey and talk about the good life that my characters work so hard to make real.

Screenshot from a YouTube video titled “Okinawa”

I’ve never been to Okinawa but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t look anything like this

A hungry man about to eat some mushrooms on toast

A woman looks nervously at the camera as two seagulls look on

A large sign advertising The Loons with a port scene in the distance

Several boats tied to a pier with hills and a cloudy sky in the background

Went to Lyttelton to have lunch and a wander

Oh no. Hope you get better news soon.

Screenshot of an Instagram post by the NZ Embassy in Japan, showing 2 of the 3 Zespri kiwifruit mascots entering a banqueting hall in a Tokyo hotel. Ambassador Duncan was pleased to be able to join Zespri's 2026 Trade Conference here in Tokyo. With New Zealand's kiwifruit season now well under way, expect to see more and more delicious New Zealand kiwifruit available in Japan. A highlight was seeing the much loved Kiwifruit siblings, with Ruby making aspecial appearance.

The three kiwifruit siblings on stage: one green, one ruby, and one golden

I'm delighted to announce that there's now a third Zespri kiwifruit mascot!

I hope Ruby gets to meet Jacinda one day, like her brothers 😁🥝

Another cover of “Butter” by Asako Yuzuki

It’s great. Though the copy I actually read had a different cover.

The cover of the novel “Butter” by Asako Yuzuki

It’s quite striking, isn’t it. Similar aesthetic to the cover of BUTTER.

The cover of the novel “Hooked” by Asako Yuzuki

Currently reading HOOKED by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton

#books #booksky 💙📚

Two cats sleeping with their noses touching

So sweet! Hard to believe they were fighting just a few minutes ago.

A smiling woman shaking hands with a cat while another cat looks on

Two cats sleeping on a chair

Two cats sleeping, one on a chair and the other on the floor

Two cats sleeping on the floor

Bebo and Boba are back! We’re looking after them again while their owner is overseas.

UK ETA application approved (in less than 5 minutes!). But will the planes still be flying in June?

Someone posted this in the other place. And it led me to this gorgeous Third Programme oddity. A radio play without dialogue by Andrew Sachs. In binaural sound. And inspired by a thought from Tom Stoppard ... archive.org/details/the-...

Happy Easter to you too!

The taste was ok. I bought quite a few from the same bakery this year and was very happy with them. But these ones, which I bought on Thursday, were smaller than usual and the crosses not centred. Maybe they were struggling to keep up with the demand.

A sad looking hot cross bun

My last hot cross bun of the year is probably the saddest looking

That’s Tokyo Skytree, not Kyoto Tower

Every year, hundreds of people walk silently through the streets of Minneapolis… looking at the windows of the houses.

It's the Wedge Cat Tour: the residents put the cats in the window and the crowd stops to admire them.
Yes. This exists. 😹

The New York Times drops freelance journalist who used AI to write book review Writer and author Alex Preston said he “made a serious mistake” after a reader spotted similarities between his review and one that appeared in the Guardian

“Earlier this year, he [Preston] wrote a piece for the Man Group site titled The AI Bubble: Hidden Risks and Opportunities.” 😂

Apparently it was England's first loss to an Asian nation. The other night I watched New Zealand beat Chile 4-1, our first win against a South American team. Could another historic result be on the cards when we play England in June?

England 0-1 Japan: men’s international football friendly – live Minute-by-minute report: After being held by Uruguay, can Thomas Tuchel’s team beat an in-form Japan? Join Simon Burnton

In football news, Japan have beaten England for the first time ever.

The cover of the novel “The Summer House” by Masashi Matsuie

Currently reading THE SUMMER HOUSE by Masashi Matsuie, translated by Margaret Mitsutani

#books #booksky 💙📚

A sign at a bridge in the western suburbs of Tokyo. There is a tree as well as a few stone monuments.

A view from one of the peaks of the walking trail, looking out over valleys, mountains and forests. Incredibly, also Tokyo.

A cherry blossom tree in full bloom, towering over a 7-11 sign.

After starting three and a half years ago as a little project to get out and about more and take breaks from work, I’ve finally completed the 277km network of walks on the outskirts of Tokyo, the ‘Musashino no Michi’. It’s been quite the outer suburban adventure by an outer suburban type.🤭
武蔵野の路、完歩❗️

So it’s just a pleasantry, of course, of course, but it’s still a hurdle—the “how are you?” and what to say. I have two new strategies. 1. Instead of asking that I say “it’s good to see you” 2. When asked, I respond with a little barfing noise.

Tūranga and sunrise

Tūranga and sunrise

Tūranga and Court Theatre sunrise

Tūranga sunrise

Mōrena from Ōtautahi Christchurch. Tūranga and the sunrise looking beautiful this morning. ^DR

The Three Out's Move This is the story of Australia's most popular modern jazz group of the 1960s, and their best-selling debut album Move.The Three Out played at the Sydney jazz cl…

Great this coming up in Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 Oceania series. That pianist on the right is NZer Mike Nock.

www.bloomsbury.com/us/three-out...