I attended a very strange banquet tonight. It brought together people from all over the world who are the meeting I'm attending on the sustainability of rural systems. There's nothing unusual in that because it happens annually and has been going on for perhaps 18 years!
However, this is the first time that I've been to a formal dinner where there were no chairs at the table and no waiters to deliver food to one's table! The entire meal was taken standing up and the delicious food was on a long table which delegates visited whenever they wanted to top up their plates with sushi, sashimi, inari, and many other local dishes. This arrangement made the event particularly fluid as I talked with many different people during the evening, including lots of people who I've met for the first time.
My discussants included Ioan Ianos from Romania where next year's meeting will be held. I suspect he's John Jones, an idea fed to me by my friend Roy Jones from Perth, W.A. The field contained several Israelis and one such couple told me they visited Palo Alto three times a year to visit family members there. Lots appeared to come from the Spanish / Portuguese speaking parts of the world, but the dominant demographic was from east Asia (Japan, Korea and China).
Anyway, there were lots of speeches and present-giving, not to mention animated discussion of themes raised at the meeting. It has turned out to be one of the best meetings for ideas I've attended for quite a while. So, now to bed and early start tomorrow as we head off on a 3-day field trip across Central Japan.
AS
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