I want to express my sympathy to the residents of Japan and especially our Uilleann piping friends.
I wish them safety and and health in the days to come.
All the best,
Pat Sky
Well said.
Any forum members in the disaster zone?
My wife’s best friend lives in Misawa in northern Japan. We finally heard from her this morning that everyone in that area is o.k., but there has been structural damage and they are without power. She was here visiting just a couple of weeks ago and was getting her bags at the local airport when the terrible earthquake struck. She said everyone ran out of the building and the ground undulating like waves on the ocean (and was a couple of hundred miles from the epicenter!). Everyone in Japan is in our thoughts and prayers.
If anyone knows piper Gerry Muirhead, who lives in Sendai, apparently he has not been heard from yet.
Yes, this is a terrible disaster which is still unfolding. It’s 20.46, Sunday evening in Japan now, and on the Swedish news it’s said there is another big after-quake on the way which could even effect Tokyo, plus there is a danger that a third nuclear reactor containing both plutonium and uranium is near a meltdown. People have already been hospitalised due to suspected radiation poisoning from the first reactor’s meltdown. I sincerely hope things don’t turn out to be so bad as it’s looking just now.
Anyone know of Rob MacMahon and his wife Natsuko? Am not sure where they live in Japan but I thought it was the north end.
This quake keeps getting worse, thanks to the madness of building 5 nukes right on the shore in the middle of a large and active subduction zone! Am glad that the only one built in the Cascaia Subduction Zone of the Pacific NW, the Trojan Nuclear Plant, is long gone. Having an 8.9 earthquake is a bad enough disaster - now they have a pair of Three Mile Islands to worry about. The Japanese Government spokespeople sound eerily like Governor Thornberg in 1979.
Casey
Yes, I’ve been trying to reach Gerry. He’s married to a Japanese national and they have a couple of little girls I believe. He’s originally from Scotland and spent some time in Victoria BC where I’m from. He plays Highland pipes and Uilleann.
Here’s a webpage about him: http://bagpipeworld.main.jp/
and in English: http://bagpipeworld.main.jp/profile/english.html
I’ve spent time in Japan before and spoken to him a number of times but I never made it up to Sendai where he’s been teaching and piping. Since the disaster I’ve tried calling him and emailing but he’s not gotten back yet (he’s always been a hard guy to get hold of in the best of times!) I’ve also opened up a Google people finder file for him.
So if anyone knows about Gerry and his little family please post here to let us pipers know that they’re safe.
I’ve met Gerry a few times and he’s a gent. Hope he’s ok.
Tommy
Gerry Muirhead has contacted one of our Chiffboard members in the UK and reported that he and his family are safe. I’ve entered this contact on the Google people finder (4 queries).
I met Gerry last year in Tokyo and I’m relieved to read good news about him. Thanks for sharing it.
I heard from Taka Uchino and Kenji Sakata in Tokyo, and they are both fine.
Kosuke Hagiiwa is a very fine piper living in Tokya.I hope he and his family are OK.
RORY