The weekend before last I was partying after presenting a paper to a "Shakespeare and Modern Writers" conference in Hiroshima and popped into Friendz bar for a nightcap when I was suddenly accosted by Hiroshima's very own BMX queen who was out with her BMX and skateboarding chums...

And so the nightcap turned into a fresh party all over again!

Back in 2016 the cheeky BMXer was a first year student at the vocational college where I had just begun teaching. She was the queen of her class, loved organizing parties for students and teachers, and was a huge fan of the Simpsons.

She started riding a BMX bike after she graduated and practised her moves in a local park. Then she started entering competitions and winning medals - not because she was great at BMXing but because there were few female competitors at the local level. That experience boosted her confidence and she continues to practise and compete, and has a string of participation medals garnered not just in Japan but abroad as well, and now, it turns out, she has her own BMX coach, is studying French and is planning to move to France where there is a bigger BMX community than here in Japan.

To do that, she needs to pop into our college to pick up a graduation document or something, so it looks like I've snagged myself a hot lunch date later this week! LOL!

Cheers!

DH

InspiredFocus

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