“Kagawa, Like a Second Home”
Women's Institute, Cale Green, Stockport
Angela giving a talk for the ladies of the Cale Green, Stockport Women's Institute. There were more than 60 ladies attending and the Q & A session following her talk, which was well received, was very lively.
Regular Japanese Conversation Evenings
One of Angela's regular Japanese conversation evenings held every alternate month at Etsu Japanese Restaurant in Liverpool.
September 2021. It was great to see everyone after such a long time because of the lockdown. It was a really super evening with everyone enjoying the chance to speak Japanese again and enjoy the excellent food at Etsu. Thanks, as always, to our Japanese friends who come along and support us.
October 2014. Another fun evening with lots of new faces at this always popular event, in conjunction with Japan Society North West.
Angela welcomes all parties interested in Japan and talking Japanese at whatever level and is always pleased to see Japanese visitors who come along and practise English as well as being a great encouragement to those who are learning too.
June 2016. Angela hosted the bi-monthly Japanese conversation evening at Etsu restaurant in Liverpool. 12 people attended and everyone kept up their conversations in Japanese, and those not so fluent tried hard. The evening was relaxed and enjoyable.
December 2016. Angela hosted another Japanese conversation evening and the North West’s favourite Japanese restaurant Etsu. It was as smaller turn out than usual, but those who came took part enthusiastically.
Please see the Japan Society North West web site for future conversation events in Liverpool (held alternate months).
Mid-Wirral W.I. Talk, October 2019
Angela gave a talk for the Mid-Wirral W.I. in October which included representatives from the W.I. groups from that area. There were around 80 ladies present and Angela gave a talk about her experiences working in Japan and in the UK.
Minerva Group January 2017
On January 10th 2017, Angela gave a talk to the Minerva Group of ladies in West Derby, Liverpool. There were about 50 ladies and they all enjoyed hearing about working and living in Japan. The ladies were warm and welcoming and have put her name on the ‘Minerva’ group list for more talks!
Sheffield University November 2016
Angela was asked by Dr. Hugo Dobson at Sheffield University’s School of East Asian Studies to give a talk to the current students of Japanese On November 8th 2016 . It brought back many memories, as it was 50 years since she was the first student to take Japanese at Sheffield.
When she talked about the way the first group of 3 students had learned the language, there was general shock and disbelief, but then she explained that those were the only texts available way back in the 60’s. The students asked lots of questions and were surprised that many of the current problems, social and academic, were the same 50 years on! About 25 students and some teachers attended.
W.I. Talk 'Life in Japan' June 2016
On June 14th, Angela gave a talk about life in Japan, to the ladies of Preston Brook W.I., which included some of her own experiences of living there. There was a good attendance and the talk was very well received.
Afterwards delicious sandwiches and cakes were served during which Angela was asked to judge some interesting oriental items a few of the ladies had brought along. Among them was a beautiful 'Temari' a ball made of silk threads, which had been made by one of the ladies herself. This obviously won first prize!
Kagawa - A Voyage of Discovery
An account by Nigel Cordon of a presentation given by Angela Davies at Padgate Community Centre, delivered with slides, film and literature kindly provided by Kagawa Prefecture.
I found the Kagawa talk very interesting. I was particularly struck by the contrast between the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and the ‘quietness’ of Kagawa. In a very symbolic way, the Seto Ohashi Bridge is a centre piece to this, drawing the many islands together that form the part of Kagawa that is spread across the Seto Inland Sea. In fact though, due to the bridge fares, the ferry services are still the primary service that binds the islands together. The Seto Inland Sea, blessed with a warm climate and nature in abundance, contains many islands. There are 24 inhabited islands and 92 desert islands within Kagawa Prefecture. There are 47 prefectures (counties) in Japan and 4 of those are on Shikoku (which is how it got its name) and at just over 1800 km2 Kagawa is the smallest prefecture of all.
Angela’s first sight of Kagawa was while sailing down the breath-taking Inland Sea as a teenager at the end of the 1st year studying Japanese at Sheffield University. It was a great surprise when fifteen years later she returned to Takamatsu the capital of Shikoku to work, and was able to look out at the Seto Inland Sea every day. She worked on the JET programme initially in Takamatsu and later living and working on one of the tiny islands (Naoshima) right in the middle of the Inland Sea itself. This is one of the places that combines the new and still retains much of the old Japan. It is such a great place that many young people prefer to stay or come back to work there. It also boasts some most beautiful sights including the islands and Ritsurin Kōen (Ritsurin Park).
Setouchi International Symposium 2010
Lecture about tourism in Kagawa around the Islands of the inland sea.
Islands of Affluence - Seeing is Believing
Broadcast in 2010 by Japan International Broadcasting (jibtv)
A celebration of human creativity, the Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 hosted in Takamatsu and seven of the Islands.
The Setouchi International Symposium took place in conjunction with the festival. Angela, one of the panelists, gives her thoughts on what makes Setouchi so special.
Talk at a Local Women's Group
In January 2014 Angela was asked to give a talk for a local women's group about her career as an interpreter/coordinator, including insights into Japanese life and culture.
Sushi Making Demonstrations
A room at Walkden Gardens, Sale, was filled with enthusiastic Japan Society North West members who were willing to try their first-time Sushi-making. About 27 members gathered for what turned out to be an informative demonstration and a most enjoyable social event. Angela Davies was our 'Sensei' [teacher] for the afternoon and began by explaining that the participants were to make norimaki - seaweed rolls. These are often made with raw fish and vegetables but must be eaten within a few hours and cannot be left. In the U.K., they are best made with smoked salmon; it is the safest option if the freshness of the raw fish cannot be guaranteed. For this occasion, smoked salmon, Japanese omelette, cucumber and carrot were used for the fillings. Angela skilfully showed the participants how to make norimaki. The most challenging bit, of course, was rolling the seaweed round the rice and fillings using the sushi mat. However, it was surprising that so many people ended up with quite respectable-looking sushi! Taka-san (www.sushi-craft.com) had better watch out! Thanks again, Angela! (by Joan Horley).
On 19th May with aprons, sushi mats and knives at the ready about 14 members of Japan Society North West gathered at Padgate Community Centre for a sushi demonstration/workshop. The event hosted by Angela Davies.
As part of the process of making sushi the rice must be cooled quickly and the traditional way is to fan it very fast as can be seen in the photographs. It`s always good to have helpers for this!
It was an enjoyable and informative event and everyone took great pleasure in eating the fruits of our labours.
On December 7th 2016, Angela had been asked by the W.I., in the beautiful village of Great Budworth, Cheshire to give a sushi demonstration. It was a lot of advanced preparation for the fillings, but she explained to the ladies that the rice had to be freshly prepared for sushi to taste good.
Everyone was very enthusiastic and with help from Joan Horley, the secretary of Japan Society North West, it was a very successful evening, with everyone eating their sushi on the spot! There were about 30 ladies, and it was great fun. The photos show some of the ladies helping to cool the cooked rice by fanning it while it is being turned over and over.
WI Glazebury
A talk to the Glazebury Womens Institute about being an interpreter and speaking Japanese when it was very rare and all the assignments I was involved in.
Lectures in Japan include those given at:
- Osaka University of Arts
- Kagawa Prefecture
- Seto Uchi Symposium
Lectures/talks in the UK:
- Japan Society South East
- Japan Garden Society North West and Midlands
- PROBUS (Various)
- Soroptimist UK (Various)
- Womens Institute (Various around the UK)
- Deeside College