When the Tanaiste, Mary Harney, travelled to Japan and the Antipodes on a trade mission last weekend, the government jet took the Polar route and stopped to refuel at Novosibirsk in Siberia. The Mayor and the local worthies lined up in the snow and ice to greet our deputy prime minister and her officials and laid on a five-course banquet for the 90-minute stopover. They dined on local delicacies of gravlax, caviar and a selection of meats. The city of 1.6 million is a centre of scientific research so this was the topic for discussion. Gifts were presented, although nothing for the Ethics Act to concern itself with, and while there were toasts of neat vodka, any possibility of a Boris Yeltsin/Shannon stopover situation did not arise. What did happen though is that several of the Irish party, including the Tanaiste, arrived in Tokyo suffering from head colds. It was 25 degrees below freezing in Novosibirsk and while the Russian hosts were all suitably decked out in fur coats and hats and boots, the Irish had to make do with their usual garb of cloth coats, no hats and light shoes.
Since the Japanese employ a strict etiquette in all matters delicate, the Irish party consulted a guide book to see how they should cope with their colds. The Lonely Planet guide to Japan told them the use of a handkerchief in public is frowned upon and to avoid giving offence one should not blow one's nose in public. Instead, the polite thing to do if you have a cold is to keep sniffing. In Japanese eyes this is an admirable sign of self-restraint, the guide book said. No doubt Harney became an expert on sniffing.