Challenge number – 33
When we first realised that the "Free Hugs" Challenge made it in to our 101 to-do-list, we instantly thought of the 60's - where free love was all the rage and people did anything and everything with and to one-another without consequence. We'll happily have some of that.
But as quick as only a few minutes after landing in the land of the rising sun we thought that such a simple challenge would fall flat on its arse. As we've mentioned before, the Japanese people are incredibly shy and maintain nothing but eye contact (with the ground) as soon as anything out of the norm occurs.
You see, in our opinion, the people of Japan (especially Tokyo) display painfully obvious afflictions of "rat-race" syndrom. The Japonians are very disciplined and very self-goal-orientated - work, work, work, work and then a little more work before they'll ever allow themselves to play.
All our initial observationsãwere in stark contrast to the outgoing and (let's be honest here) the bloody mental people we expected (sadly, these expactations are wholely based on us stereotyping the everyday Japanese man and woman on the tv game shows that you get on Bravo or some other cable channel). So, by the time this challenge was to be attempted, we weren't sure if we would achieve a single hug. We hate feeling unloved. The sadness of loneliness oftenãcauses us to pee the bed at night time. Maslow's heirarchy of human needs puts love and belonging in the middle - he's stupid.
We feel it deserves nothing otherãthan the position of fundemental starting block. Bugger air and food and water - we want cuddles, spooning and pats on the head every now and then.
Faced with the horrid possibility of being rejected not once, but perhaps 20 or 200 times was a very daunting thing indeedy. This fear of rejection possiblycomes from our childhood days. Mum and Bob (our Step-Dad) used to go on loads of holidays abroad. We didn't. Instead, we were always treated to a fortnight of what Mum called "Zoo-land". Turns out that Zoo-land wasn`t really the hip and happening place Mum always told us it was - it was in fact... the local kennels. With our dogs.
Whilst she and Bob were away soaking up the sun and getting p*ssed, we'd be soaking up dog-poop and getting p*ssed on. It wasn’t all bad though. Lindsay can now communicate in barks - no word of a lie - he really can.
In preparation for this Challenge we had to create a sign so, we headed off to the shops with the A-Team's theme tune playing in our heads - occasionally we'd sing it out loud but mostly it was just in our heads. With this inspiring music roaring away, we purchased marker pens, sticky tape, and a butterfly net (this'll make sense when you look at the picture). There was a discarded cardboard box on the roadside on our way home, so we yonked that and we already had some A4 paper that we "acquired" earlier back at the hostel.
Armed with an arson that would put any Tracey Island wannabe maker to shame, we got to work. But, to our dissapointment, we quickly discovered that we weren't members of the A-Team and so, we didn`t have some hardcore machinery, some tools and a montage with funky music of us putting 23 random objects and 4 peices of fruit together to create a tank or a plane. None of us were Hannibal, Face, Murdoch or even Mr "I pity the fool" T. Instead, we came up with a rather plane and boring - but big and colourful - FREE HUGS sign. A tankplane would have been much cooler.
With our sign prepared and some hug-enducing aftershave applied it was now time to head to the Shibuyu crossing and try and get some luvin.
As there was only one sign, Lee went on the first hug shift. Shouting things like “free hugs" and "had a hard day at work mate? Need some loving?” the first minute produced only weird looks of awkwardness, embarrassment and pity. But then something happened. One Japanese guy wanted a hug, then another and another. Even some woman joined in - to Lee's disappointment - he was rather enjoying his manly hugs - they feel more secure and sincere from a man. This continued for a good half-hour until Lee was completely hugged out and passed the sign to Lindsay.
Lindsay immediately set about the crowd - not in a fighting sort of "setting about", but in a fighting for some love "setting about". He waved the hugs sign frantically - like a non-rehabilitated-pervert-released-far-too-early-from-a-corrections-programme. With one arm stretched to the sky extending the sign as far as it could go, with his free arm opened so wide as if he was trying to hug the whole world and with a smile on his face that said without words "I want to hug you now and then take you to bed" the hugs started to roll in.
Again, and worryingly, it was mostly men that came forward and after a few minutes Lindsay knew what Lee meant about the secureness of a guys hug. He felt safe and as if he were to jump in the air, any of those guys would hold him there like that water scene with Baby in "Dirty Dancing". Lindsay was creating orgies of hugs with sometimes up to 6 or 7 huggers at once. It was a beautiful sight - Patrick would have been proud.
After becoming all-hugged-out, we dismantled the free hug sign as we could take no more. You know the feeling - where it starts to get a little painful. We were so full of love it - we were floating in the clouds.
NOTE TO SOCIAL WORKERS - Mum and Bob never put us in the kennels. Sometimes, we just talk crap to achieve a word count figure. But Zoo-land would be a good place to put all those little buggers who set wheely-bins on fire - you can use that idea for free.
One final thought. If the free hug sign can work in Japan what would a free sex sign do in the UK? We can hear the A-Team theme tune again.
Leave a comment
Showing 1 to 1 of 1 Comments