Tuesday 30th December, 2014 2000
Kevin and I now find ourselves with a mad scramble to complete our end of term exams before next Saturday. Ollivier doesn’t because he has hardly any classes but the school only just advised completion dates. It is not possible to examine thirty students one by one in ninety minutes, it takes double that. I had been asking my own students when their other exams started for a couple of weeks prior to this but they didn’t know so I was unable to plan ahead, now I find I have a very busy week next week because I can do nothing this week with the new year holiday. Damned annoying.
For the past fortnight Joan, bless her soul, has been coming almost every night to my home. Sure, I feed her supper and soft drinks but that is in return for her inflicting unimaginable pain on me. No, no - not what you are thinking! She has been moving my left arm to positions last achieved before the Eiffel tower was embedded in my shoulder. God it hurts but if I regain mobility ultimately it will have been worth it. The trouble is, it’s not something I can do for myself. I did try once sticking my hand against the wall and moving my body lower down and only succeeded in making myself feel nauseous from the agony so I stopped! I do sometimes wonder if part of the problem is the plate hitting the socket bone. If that were the case the remedy would be to have the ironmongery removed, another operation. No thanks.
New Year’s Eve 0100
Yes it is past my bedtime but seeing as I have been invited by a student who is graduating very soon and who I have known all the time I have been here to a new year party in a bar late tonight I would like to sleep late and have an evening nap before going out. The party will comprise people nearly four decades my junior and no doubt it will be well after two before I eventually get a taxi back with Ollivier who is coming too.
Joan came earlier and did her damage. She is determined to continue doing this for as long as it takes and given that she is donating her free time in the evening when one would think she would want to be with people her own age socialising, I am both humbled and flattered. She can torture me as much as she wants, I just hope it has the desired effect for both our sakes. We measured a starting point tonight so over the coming two weeks before everyone leaves for the spring festival it will be interesting to see how much, if any, improvement results.
She has indicated she may return to campus a week early though, not for my benefit I don’t think but she asked me an odd question - would I teach her how to make the pancakes I did the other day. That perplexed me because Ollivier is the man for crepes, not me. After interrogation it transpired she was referring to the chapattis I served up with the Balti at the Indian meal I did. Astonished, I looked her in the eye and told her that entire meal was a cheat, everything had been bought and all I did was throw it together. The chapattis came frozen from RT Mart. She looked so crestfallen that I confessed when at sea I would often go to the galley on the morning of a curry night to make dough and then return when dinner was being served to roll out and cook them to order. I have now had to promise to show her how to do it when she returns. I suppose that means I will have to conjure up a home made curry too…….
She also commented that she liked the “sauce” I put on the cheese baguette I fed her for supper. It was Branston pickle.
1140
The shower beckons as I promised to be in my “office” for one o’clock when Linda (the student who invited me to the bar tonight) is returning to campus. She is a local girl and tonight is her way of thanking me for lending her my university “one card” after she lost hers. These cards are vital for students and they are a sort of pay as you go card they use to pay for cafeteria food, showers etc and also to access the library. She was only interested in the latter so I let her have it for a couple of months. The only things I have ever used it for are sticking it in the slot in hotel rooms to keep the aircon going when I leave the room and showing taxi drivers where I want to go.
She told me yesterday that Phebe bar (no typo) has ramped up their prices for the party (no surprise there) and considering a table normally entails a minimum spend of 300y I shudder to think what it is costing. I hope her compatriots are sharing the cost. Apparently it ends at 0100 and the youngsters have booked hotel rooms and intend to decamp to the hotel to carry on carousing. Were it not for Pepsi I would have booked a room at the Chizhou hotel (standard room is currently 155y a night) which is nearby. If I thought I could be be back by nine tomorrow morning I would do so but I have to be fair on the dog. Ollivier and I can get a taxi (I hope) and even if it’s four in the morning I can take her out and then sleep to my heart’s content.
So that’s it for now, goodbye to 2014 and see you in 2015! I hope everyone enjoys the bells in whatever time zone they are and that your hangovers were worth every mouthful!
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Monday, 29 December 2014
Monday 29th December, 2014 1800
Saturday morning I went to the bus station and caught a bus which left just after nine, earlier than I had intended but it seemed a shame to waste any time after the noon check-in, given the cost even though it was discounted. I would have loved to have slept had I been able but I have always been terrible at sleeping on buses, trains or planes.
On arrival at the hotel I was informed the rooms were not ready yet as they hadn’t been cleaned, however I could have a room three floors below where we wanted to be (the 24th floor) and could move back up later. Bugger that I thought, I may as well sit in the executive lounge and have a beer or two whilst waiting and also for the others to arrive. They weren’t long after me so we all sat chatting for a while. I had taken some drumsticks I had cooked the night before together with pate and tomato on baguette and still had the latter. Kevin and Ollivier had not stopped for lunch and ere long they polished the food off.
Eventually the rooms were made available and we checked in on the 24th floor in the lounge. I was absolutely exhausted, so while Ollivier and Kevin went to check out the swimming pool and sauna I decided I simply had to have a nap if I was to be any company in the evening.
I had established that cocktail time (and ergo free drinks in the executive lounge) commenced at 1800 so that featured large in the plan. It was agreed we would all meet at the appointed hour and do some serious damage to their stocks. I had taken a jar of stuffed olives with me for the occasion and so a hefty gin and tonic was the order of the day. One of the waitresses offered to make my drink for me and was probably taken aback when I responded by saying that I would do it because she wouldn’t put enough gin in it! I then went and did something completely stupid by grabbing a can of ginger ale instead of tonic water (the colours are similar) and finished up with a gin and ginger!! For anyone wondering, as long as there is enough juniper in it, it’s not bad. My second was a more traditional drink. The girls experimented with their own concoctions.
Dinner was in the Happy Panda, which now it is no longer a buffet, hardly seems to get any custom and so we almost had the restaurant to ourselves. Ollivier opted for Aussie steak which looked succulent, I think Kevin had the mixed grill and I had chicken curry. Once again, my appetite deserted me and I could only eat half of what was a very nice dish. Kevin ordered a couple of bottles of plonk which cost I know not what and we had a good meal.
After dinner it was back to the executive lounge to rape the bar but we were foiled - they had packed it away already which didn’t please me much. The next port of call had been planned anyway, so it was back down to the Soho Sports bar to play pool. The special offer was half a dozen bottles of beer for 100y so we went for that. Twice. The games ended up all square with everyone winning one and losing one (unbelievably I threw away the second game by fluffing what should have been a simple black) but hey - it was Christmas!
Breakfast was, I have to say, a trifle disappointing, given that I had been really looking forward to it. Certainly there were decent sausages, bacon, grilled tomatoes and perfectly fried eggs to order but NO HP SAUCE! They ALWAYS have HP sauce! If only I had known I would have taken my own bottle. Breakfast is not breakfast with ketchup.
After breakfast there was time for me to relax in the room for an hour before leaving to catch my train. I had opted for the train back because although it takes 90 minutes more than the bus you can smoke on it. I would have taken the train going there but there is only one a day and it doesn’t get to Hefei until 1745, far too late. Two stops down the line I dozed off (after the late night I was very drowsy) but was almost immediately woken by someone saying I needed to show the tickets. I looked blearily at the young girl I was supposed to show the tickets to and it didn’t take a genius to know she wasn’t an official but someone claiming I had her seat. She showed me her online ticket on her mobile phone screen and I showed my physical paper ticket confirming I was in the right seat. She disappeared never to be seen again so I will never know what happened there.
We arrived back in Chizhou at five and I had a student Christmas/New Year party to attend at seven. There was enough time to take the bus into town and have a Big Mac and still get the bus to school in time. I arranged to meet Yvonne in McDonald’s. The problem was, when we left to come back all the buses were rammed solid so a taxi was needed. At the south gate, just as I watched the cab disappear, the awful realisation that I had left my wallet in the back of it hit me like a sledgehammer. Shit! Nearly 2,000y in cash and all my cards, photo of my father, so many things were now going to be history and I was left with 20y to my name until payday and a trip to the bank to open another account. I was devastated. Yvonne suggested I chase the taxi on my e-bike but that’s impossible, it isn’t fast enough. Deep in the slough of despond, a glimmer of hope - a very, very faint one though - appeared in the form of another taxi arriving to drop off. We shot over to it, Yvonne explained the problem and the next thing Lewis Hamilton appeared in the driving seat. The guy ran red lights if they didn’t have cameras and we hurtled off looking for a red taxi. There always comes a point in film pursuits where the road parts and they have to choose which fork to take. A red taxi had gone down each of these roads and it was dark. We took the wrong fork as the one that went that way wasn’t mine. Another red light jumped, sharp right screeching turn and cut across to the other route. Almost in the city centre, we caught a red taxi up and I was convinced it wasn’t the one we had been in. Our driver flagged him over and to my immense relief it WAS our taxi and my wallet was on the floor in the back! Talk about lucky! Mind you, it was the second driver’s lucky night too because I gave him 100y which was small beer considering I stood to lose twenty times that amount.
Of course, that made me late for the party but I had a good excuse. Anyway, I made up for it by singing them The Court of King Caractacus towards the end which seemed to go down well. I was just so relieved to have recovered my wallet against all odds.
Saturday morning I went to the bus station and caught a bus which left just after nine, earlier than I had intended but it seemed a shame to waste any time after the noon check-in, given the cost even though it was discounted. I would have loved to have slept had I been able but I have always been terrible at sleeping on buses, trains or planes.
On arrival at the hotel I was informed the rooms were not ready yet as they hadn’t been cleaned, however I could have a room three floors below where we wanted to be (the 24th floor) and could move back up later. Bugger that I thought, I may as well sit in the executive lounge and have a beer or two whilst waiting and also for the others to arrive. They weren’t long after me so we all sat chatting for a while. I had taken some drumsticks I had cooked the night before together with pate and tomato on baguette and still had the latter. Kevin and Ollivier had not stopped for lunch and ere long they polished the food off.
Eventually the rooms were made available and we checked in on the 24th floor in the lounge. I was absolutely exhausted, so while Ollivier and Kevin went to check out the swimming pool and sauna I decided I simply had to have a nap if I was to be any company in the evening.
I had established that cocktail time (and ergo free drinks in the executive lounge) commenced at 1800 so that featured large in the plan. It was agreed we would all meet at the appointed hour and do some serious damage to their stocks. I had taken a jar of stuffed olives with me for the occasion and so a hefty gin and tonic was the order of the day. One of the waitresses offered to make my drink for me and was probably taken aback when I responded by saying that I would do it because she wouldn’t put enough gin in it! I then went and did something completely stupid by grabbing a can of ginger ale instead of tonic water (the colours are similar) and finished up with a gin and ginger!! For anyone wondering, as long as there is enough juniper in it, it’s not bad. My second was a more traditional drink. The girls experimented with their own concoctions.
Dinner was in the Happy Panda, which now it is no longer a buffet, hardly seems to get any custom and so we almost had the restaurant to ourselves. Ollivier opted for Aussie steak which looked succulent, I think Kevin had the mixed grill and I had chicken curry. Once again, my appetite deserted me and I could only eat half of what was a very nice dish. Kevin ordered a couple of bottles of plonk which cost I know not what and we had a good meal.
After dinner it was back to the executive lounge to rape the bar but we were foiled - they had packed it away already which didn’t please me much. The next port of call had been planned anyway, so it was back down to the Soho Sports bar to play pool. The special offer was half a dozen bottles of beer for 100y so we went for that. Twice. The games ended up all square with everyone winning one and losing one (unbelievably I threw away the second game by fluffing what should have been a simple black) but hey - it was Christmas!
Breakfast was, I have to say, a trifle disappointing, given that I had been really looking forward to it. Certainly there were decent sausages, bacon, grilled tomatoes and perfectly fried eggs to order but NO HP SAUCE! They ALWAYS have HP sauce! If only I had known I would have taken my own bottle. Breakfast is not breakfast with ketchup.
After breakfast there was time for me to relax in the room for an hour before leaving to catch my train. I had opted for the train back because although it takes 90 minutes more than the bus you can smoke on it. I would have taken the train going there but there is only one a day and it doesn’t get to Hefei until 1745, far too late. Two stops down the line I dozed off (after the late night I was very drowsy) but was almost immediately woken by someone saying I needed to show the tickets. I looked blearily at the young girl I was supposed to show the tickets to and it didn’t take a genius to know she wasn’t an official but someone claiming I had her seat. She showed me her online ticket on her mobile phone screen and I showed my physical paper ticket confirming I was in the right seat. She disappeared never to be seen again so I will never know what happened there.
We arrived back in Chizhou at five and I had a student Christmas/New Year party to attend at seven. There was enough time to take the bus into town and have a Big Mac and still get the bus to school in time. I arranged to meet Yvonne in McDonald’s. The problem was, when we left to come back all the buses were rammed solid so a taxi was needed. At the south gate, just as I watched the cab disappear, the awful realisation that I had left my wallet in the back of it hit me like a sledgehammer. Shit! Nearly 2,000y in cash and all my cards, photo of my father, so many things were now going to be history and I was left with 20y to my name until payday and a trip to the bank to open another account. I was devastated. Yvonne suggested I chase the taxi on my e-bike but that’s impossible, it isn’t fast enough. Deep in the slough of despond, a glimmer of hope - a very, very faint one though - appeared in the form of another taxi arriving to drop off. We shot over to it, Yvonne explained the problem and the next thing Lewis Hamilton appeared in the driving seat. The guy ran red lights if they didn’t have cameras and we hurtled off looking for a red taxi. There always comes a point in film pursuits where the road parts and they have to choose which fork to take. A red taxi had gone down each of these roads and it was dark. We took the wrong fork as the one that went that way wasn’t mine. Another red light jumped, sharp right screeching turn and cut across to the other route. Almost in the city centre, we caught a red taxi up and I was convinced it wasn’t the one we had been in. Our driver flagged him over and to my immense relief it WAS our taxi and my wallet was on the floor in the back! Talk about lucky! Mind you, it was the second driver’s lucky night too because I gave him 100y which was small beer considering I stood to lose twenty times that amount.
Of course, that made me late for the party but I had a good excuse. Anyway, I made up for it by singing them The Court of King Caractacus towards the end which seemed to go down well. I was just so relieved to have recovered my wallet against all odds.
Friday, 26 December 2014
Christmas day 2014 1115
May as well make a start on this before I take a “between class” snooze.
I never slept well on Tuesday night, I kept waking up with new ideas for disasters which were going to befall our dinner. Western Wednesdays don’t trouble me but this time was different. And some of the problems did eventuate but between us all we overcame.
The three guests were Yvonne, Anna and Celestine. Yvonne and Celestine came to help Ollivier with his part in proceedings (his rock hard French biscuit things, mugs full of a chocolate affair for the girls, the veg and the Yorkshire pudding mix) but Anna was late back from her job at China Mobile which pays the princely sum of 5y an hour.
The ham was already done, albeit it looked disgusting after I removed the skin but I knew it tasted great as I took a nibble in the morning. The Christmas pudding needed two hours to steam so I was presented with a problem. It only left me the medium pan to do potatoes with and I had announced that I was doing mashed and roast. That was solved by parboiling the roasties and then emptying the pot and peeling the next batch for the mash.
Stuffing was done on a tray, the first time I have done it outside a bird, and it didn’t taste like Paxo very much - although I suspect it was past its “best before” date! The film crew came to film in my home and Ollivier’s and I firmly believe there will be a scene included in the finished article in which I have the terror called Zorro on my head, something they found amusing.
Then it was showtime.
The pate went down very well with Kevin’s toast (his bread was surprisingly even better than normal) and we all had a toast to Pate Anna. Kevin did the honours by carving the ham and serving portions, there was gravy, Branston, Piccallili, mustard (past the best before!) and wine aplenty.
The pudding didn’t release from the mould in one piece but we didn’t care. Kevin poured and lit some of my Chinese brandy over it but as it wasn’t spectacular enough (and the girls had never witnessed anything like it before) I insisted he used a substantial amount. That produced a satisfying bonfire and a really tasty dessert with whipped cream.
All in all the meal in my view was a great success and this time it was a joint effort by all the six partaking.
Boxing Day 2040
To say I am fit for the knacker’s yard would be accurate. After teaching both Christmas day and today, with no respite last night because Kevin’s friend Cassandra invited us both to dinner in town, I really need some sleep. The meal with Cassandra and her friends was very nice apart from the fact she clucked like a mother hen over the fact I didn’t eat much and took that as an indication she had ordered the wrong food. She hadn’t of course and not only do I not eat much anyway, I am also quite fussy. I was fine as long as my wine glass was replenished frequently - which it was!
This morning I was even more like death on legs than on Christmas morning so it was a good job I had planned to show Wild Target to the classes - still a film I enjoy after watching it fifteen times now. This afternoon Kevin kindly took Pepsi and I to the vets so she can be imprisoned until Monday, we shopped, had a McDonald’s and we parted. I took a taxi back because I wasn’t walking with my shopping from the south gate if I took a bus.
My bag is now packed for the morning, complete with chicken drumsticks freshly cooked this evening plus French baguettes with pate Anna and tomato for the coach trip. I am fortunate to have a companion for this bash and she will doubtless want something to munch on even if I don’t. Kevin and Ollivier will be going in his car but as my friend and I will be leaving quite early (she has never seen a hotel such as the Hilton except in films) we will in all likelihood be the first to arrive. I am looking forward intensely to her weekend as a VIP princess and I have also bought her a Christmas present to be given at dinner tomorrow - a comb set. Not just any old comb set, in fact the most expensive combs I have ever bought so I damned well hope she likes them!
I groaned when returning in the cab earlier and the translation people phoned to ask if I could handle 4,000 words by Monday morning. Normally it wouldn’t present a problem but I am tired and although I am taking my laptop to Hefei I doubt I will get much chance to do anything with it. Short of spoiling my companion’s afternoon tomorrow there was only one thing for it - get it done pronto. It’s now finished and emailed back.
So that’s it. No dog to walk tonight so I can be sensible. I need to be up at seven, leave at 0815 to raid the bank account and then pick up my weekend companion.
Breaking news: Just in from Kevin - he is at the police station with Anna. She responded to an email saying she had won a fortune and to get the money she had to transfer 3,500y first. And she did it. I love her to bits and I hope the money can be recovered but Anna when you read this please ask yourself why you never had the sense to speak to Kevin or me first.
May as well make a start on this before I take a “between class” snooze.
I never slept well on Tuesday night, I kept waking up with new ideas for disasters which were going to befall our dinner. Western Wednesdays don’t trouble me but this time was different. And some of the problems did eventuate but between us all we overcame.
The three guests were Yvonne, Anna and Celestine. Yvonne and Celestine came to help Ollivier with his part in proceedings (his rock hard French biscuit things, mugs full of a chocolate affair for the girls, the veg and the Yorkshire pudding mix) but Anna was late back from her job at China Mobile which pays the princely sum of 5y an hour.
The ham was already done, albeit it looked disgusting after I removed the skin but I knew it tasted great as I took a nibble in the morning. The Christmas pudding needed two hours to steam so I was presented with a problem. It only left me the medium pan to do potatoes with and I had announced that I was doing mashed and roast. That was solved by parboiling the roasties and then emptying the pot and peeling the next batch for the mash.
Stuffing was done on a tray, the first time I have done it outside a bird, and it didn’t taste like Paxo very much - although I suspect it was past its “best before” date! The film crew came to film in my home and Ollivier’s and I firmly believe there will be a scene included in the finished article in which I have the terror called Zorro on my head, something they found amusing.
Then it was showtime.
The pate went down very well with Kevin’s toast (his bread was surprisingly even better than normal) and we all had a toast to Pate Anna. Kevin did the honours by carving the ham and serving portions, there was gravy, Branston, Piccallili, mustard (past the best before!) and wine aplenty.
The pudding didn’t release from the mould in one piece but we didn’t care. Kevin poured and lit some of my Chinese brandy over it but as it wasn’t spectacular enough (and the girls had never witnessed anything like it before) I insisted he used a substantial amount. That produced a satisfying bonfire and a really tasty dessert with whipped cream.
All in all the meal in my view was a great success and this time it was a joint effort by all the six partaking.
Boxing Day 2040
To say I am fit for the knacker’s yard would be accurate. After teaching both Christmas day and today, with no respite last night because Kevin’s friend Cassandra invited us both to dinner in town, I really need some sleep. The meal with Cassandra and her friends was very nice apart from the fact she clucked like a mother hen over the fact I didn’t eat much and took that as an indication she had ordered the wrong food. She hadn’t of course and not only do I not eat much anyway, I am also quite fussy. I was fine as long as my wine glass was replenished frequently - which it was!
This morning I was even more like death on legs than on Christmas morning so it was a good job I had planned to show Wild Target to the classes - still a film I enjoy after watching it fifteen times now. This afternoon Kevin kindly took Pepsi and I to the vets so she can be imprisoned until Monday, we shopped, had a McDonald’s and we parted. I took a taxi back because I wasn’t walking with my shopping from the south gate if I took a bus.
My bag is now packed for the morning, complete with chicken drumsticks freshly cooked this evening plus French baguettes with pate Anna and tomato for the coach trip. I am fortunate to have a companion for this bash and she will doubtless want something to munch on even if I don’t. Kevin and Ollivier will be going in his car but as my friend and I will be leaving quite early (she has never seen a hotel such as the Hilton except in films) we will in all likelihood be the first to arrive. I am looking forward intensely to her weekend as a VIP princess and I have also bought her a Christmas present to be given at dinner tomorrow - a comb set. Not just any old comb set, in fact the most expensive combs I have ever bought so I damned well hope she likes them!
I groaned when returning in the cab earlier and the translation people phoned to ask if I could handle 4,000 words by Monday morning. Normally it wouldn’t present a problem but I am tired and although I am taking my laptop to Hefei I doubt I will get much chance to do anything with it. Short of spoiling my companion’s afternoon tomorrow there was only one thing for it - get it done pronto. It’s now finished and emailed back.
So that’s it. No dog to walk tonight so I can be sensible. I need to be up at seven, leave at 0815 to raid the bank account and then pick up my weekend companion.
Breaking news: Just in from Kevin - he is at the police station with Anna. She responded to an email saying she had won a fortune and to get the money she had to transfer 3,500y first. And she did it. I love her to bits and I hope the money can be recovered but Anna when you read this please ask yourself why you never had the sense to speak to Kevin or me first.
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Friday 19th December, 2014 1415
God it’s cold! Yes, the internet says it is 12 degrees but that is blinking freezing for me now. Bad enough that it drops below zero at night but this morning there was yet another planned power cut so the classrooms were cold too. Nice of them to stick the notice on the school website this morning rather than last night (I checked and there was no mention) and thank goodness it never affected me because I had to be ready to leave before the switch off time of eight.
I could so easily have slept much longer this morning. I went to bed at a sensible hour but still, when the dreaded tune played on my phone at six-thirty I silently groaned. I will be going to bed very shortly for two hours. This is ridiculous.
My ride to class in the “bracing” air was filmed. Yes, I agreed that the students could yet again use me as their subject for their homework. At least I shall get another video in payment for allowing the intrusion and they have said it should only take a week or so to complete rather than the aeons the last one did.
Don’t talk to me about Christmas. In the space of a few hours my schedule has suddenly become manic. Tonight I am taking Rita for dinner. Early tomorrow I am taking Joan shopping and for Mcbreakfast and in the evening one of my classes has a Christmas party so I will attend. I told the monitor I would telephone Santa to see if he could come - I need to get some mileage out of the costume after all!
Sunday morning it will be Mcbreakfast with Yvonne and yet more shopping, followed by the singing competition downtown with Nancy as my date. So far next week is pretty free apart from last minute shopping on Tuesday and our Xmas dinner Wednesday but I have just been invited to one of my classes’ party next Sunday night. My train back from Hefei won’t get here until almost six so it will be a case of hopping on the bus, going home and then straight back out again. I just hope I can grab forty winks on the train. For a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas it certainly keeps me busy!
I have to break now, I am yawning for England and I have decided to walk all the way to the south gate for the bus later. Not because I enjoy walking - I hate it - but because I know it will be Arctic conditions later and rather than ride back I will get the taxi through security so we can be dropped off at home.
Tuesday 23rd 1500
It has indeed been manic.
I had a lovely dinner with Rita at Love in the Town on Friday night, Saturday as planned Joan and I went shopping and had our breakfast and in the evening the class party. It was a small affair being just one class in a very cold classroom but I dressed as Santa for them and in return the sods roped me into a balloon game and also a synchronised dance routine which was most definitely not up my alley.
Sunday the little school had the talent competition in the Chizhou hotel. Five hundred strong, comprised of kids and parents! I had the hump throughout because being typically Chinese they made so much noise they drowned out the singers, sometimes they are so discourteous I want to strangle them. And yes, the little girl who sang Count On Me was given the highest score of the night by yours truly as I had vowed to do and she definitely won a prize. I’m not sure whether a first, second or third but she got one - in fact the goody bags I saw looked worth having, certainly the first prize ones included a digital camera.
The food I was offered before the contest started was provided by the school owner’s wife’s fast food restaurant and was in pre-packed plastic tubs. Not my cup of tea and so afterwards I, along with Nancy and the film crew, wandered across to McDonald’s for a spot of supper. Quite what the motorists thought when they saw Santa crossing at the lights I know not but the staff in McDonald’s all wanted photos taken with Father Christmas. I ordered the “bucket” of chicken and regretted it. Sixty-nine yuan for wings, legs and quarters and all of it was so spicy it hurt! I live and learn.
Yesterday I was thankful I just had the one class as I felt decidedly ropey and ended up actually going to bed at a reasonable hour. It didn’t do much good though as the moment I finish this I am taking a nap. I think I will be boiling ham until very late tonight as it weighs about ten pounds. First though I had to go and watch the gymnastics display at which Anna, Joan and Nancy were competing (in different teams). They only decided to hold it in the sports ground instead of the gym! The girls wearing skimpy costumes must have been frozen rigid. I don’t know about the others but I believe Anna’s team came a creditable third. They had the nicest team kit as well.
This morning the two lads who are filming me followed me to town. I had to take the bike for a check up as it is now a month old. They had a motor scooter so I assumed they would have no problem keeping pace. Incredibly when I got to McDonald’s (yes, yet another breakfast) they were way behind and when they did finally arrive - get this - they complained I rode too fast! I am rather chuffed.
After breakfast they wanted to film me shopping in RT Mart when I bought the last minute veg for tomorrow. Security stopped us at the entrance to the mall and told the boys filming was forbidden. I told the guys to tell him we could always go to Lottemart instead but he was having none of it. They told him it was a university project and still it was no. I went to the toilet and when I came back I went to customer services and informed them I wanted to speak to the general manager of the mall as I felt this was unreasonable. I also said (and it wasn’t a complete lie) that the video was for my Mother. Faced with such determination, we were eventually allowed to film in the mall. Quite why it is banned is beyond me, it’s not as if there is crocodile meat on sale there, in fact the only things that westerners might possibly find unpalatable are the live fish, turtles and frogs but they didn’t feature today.
Then it was service time for the bike. The suspension was oiled but annoyingly still squeaks so it is now a case of getting the WD40 out again. The trouble is, that only lasts a couple of days.
2100
Well I confess to worrying about our Christmas dinner tomorrow. This is the first year we haven’t simply let a restaurant take the strain and the bulk of the responsibility lies with me. I am happy that the pate will go down well and Kevin will bake bread so we can make toast. The Tesco Finest Christmas pudding set the nerves ajangle as it still hadn’t arrived when I went to sleep. I am happy to report though that it came this evening so we have pudding and hopefully whipped cream. That just leaves the main course.
Ten pounds of ham is simmering right now and it looks a bit pink so hopefully I did it right. Tomorrow Ollivier will be roped in as the veg chef because my two burners will be busy with spuds and steaming the pudding, which to my horror I discovered takes TWO HOURS to steam! I can handle the roasties and the stuffing in my oven so as long as I boil the ham long enough tonight the biggest problem is going to be timing and that’s not easy when you are using kitchens in miniature. I hope I can report back at a later stage that it was a successful meal………
God it’s cold! Yes, the internet says it is 12 degrees but that is blinking freezing for me now. Bad enough that it drops below zero at night but this morning there was yet another planned power cut so the classrooms were cold too. Nice of them to stick the notice on the school website this morning rather than last night (I checked and there was no mention) and thank goodness it never affected me because I had to be ready to leave before the switch off time of eight.
I could so easily have slept much longer this morning. I went to bed at a sensible hour but still, when the dreaded tune played on my phone at six-thirty I silently groaned. I will be going to bed very shortly for two hours. This is ridiculous.
My ride to class in the “bracing” air was filmed. Yes, I agreed that the students could yet again use me as their subject for their homework. At least I shall get another video in payment for allowing the intrusion and they have said it should only take a week or so to complete rather than the aeons the last one did.
Don’t talk to me about Christmas. In the space of a few hours my schedule has suddenly become manic. Tonight I am taking Rita for dinner. Early tomorrow I am taking Joan shopping and for Mcbreakfast and in the evening one of my classes has a Christmas party so I will attend. I told the monitor I would telephone Santa to see if he could come - I need to get some mileage out of the costume after all!
Sunday morning it will be Mcbreakfast with Yvonne and yet more shopping, followed by the singing competition downtown with Nancy as my date. So far next week is pretty free apart from last minute shopping on Tuesday and our Xmas dinner Wednesday but I have just been invited to one of my classes’ party next Sunday night. My train back from Hefei won’t get here until almost six so it will be a case of hopping on the bus, going home and then straight back out again. I just hope I can grab forty winks on the train. For a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas it certainly keeps me busy!
I have to break now, I am yawning for England and I have decided to walk all the way to the south gate for the bus later. Not because I enjoy walking - I hate it - but because I know it will be Arctic conditions later and rather than ride back I will get the taxi through security so we can be dropped off at home.
Tuesday 23rd 1500
It has indeed been manic.
I had a lovely dinner with Rita at Love in the Town on Friday night, Saturday as planned Joan and I went shopping and had our breakfast and in the evening the class party. It was a small affair being just one class in a very cold classroom but I dressed as Santa for them and in return the sods roped me into a balloon game and also a synchronised dance routine which was most definitely not up my alley.
Sunday the little school had the talent competition in the Chizhou hotel. Five hundred strong, comprised of kids and parents! I had the hump throughout because being typically Chinese they made so much noise they drowned out the singers, sometimes they are so discourteous I want to strangle them. And yes, the little girl who sang Count On Me was given the highest score of the night by yours truly as I had vowed to do and she definitely won a prize. I’m not sure whether a first, second or third but she got one - in fact the goody bags I saw looked worth having, certainly the first prize ones included a digital camera.
The food I was offered before the contest started was provided by the school owner’s wife’s fast food restaurant and was in pre-packed plastic tubs. Not my cup of tea and so afterwards I, along with Nancy and the film crew, wandered across to McDonald’s for a spot of supper. Quite what the motorists thought when they saw Santa crossing at the lights I know not but the staff in McDonald’s all wanted photos taken with Father Christmas. I ordered the “bucket” of chicken and regretted it. Sixty-nine yuan for wings, legs and quarters and all of it was so spicy it hurt! I live and learn.
Yesterday I was thankful I just had the one class as I felt decidedly ropey and ended up actually going to bed at a reasonable hour. It didn’t do much good though as the moment I finish this I am taking a nap. I think I will be boiling ham until very late tonight as it weighs about ten pounds. First though I had to go and watch the gymnastics display at which Anna, Joan and Nancy were competing (in different teams). They only decided to hold it in the sports ground instead of the gym! The girls wearing skimpy costumes must have been frozen rigid. I don’t know about the others but I believe Anna’s team came a creditable third. They had the nicest team kit as well.
This morning the two lads who are filming me followed me to town. I had to take the bike for a check up as it is now a month old. They had a motor scooter so I assumed they would have no problem keeping pace. Incredibly when I got to McDonald’s (yes, yet another breakfast) they were way behind and when they did finally arrive - get this - they complained I rode too fast! I am rather chuffed.
After breakfast they wanted to film me shopping in RT Mart when I bought the last minute veg for tomorrow. Security stopped us at the entrance to the mall and told the boys filming was forbidden. I told the guys to tell him we could always go to Lottemart instead but he was having none of it. They told him it was a university project and still it was no. I went to the toilet and when I came back I went to customer services and informed them I wanted to speak to the general manager of the mall as I felt this was unreasonable. I also said (and it wasn’t a complete lie) that the video was for my Mother. Faced with such determination, we were eventually allowed to film in the mall. Quite why it is banned is beyond me, it’s not as if there is crocodile meat on sale there, in fact the only things that westerners might possibly find unpalatable are the live fish, turtles and frogs but they didn’t feature today.
Then it was service time for the bike. The suspension was oiled but annoyingly still squeaks so it is now a case of getting the WD40 out again. The trouble is, that only lasts a couple of days.
2100
Well I confess to worrying about our Christmas dinner tomorrow. This is the first year we haven’t simply let a restaurant take the strain and the bulk of the responsibility lies with me. I am happy that the pate will go down well and Kevin will bake bread so we can make toast. The Tesco Finest Christmas pudding set the nerves ajangle as it still hadn’t arrived when I went to sleep. I am happy to report though that it came this evening so we have pudding and hopefully whipped cream. That just leaves the main course.
Ten pounds of ham is simmering right now and it looks a bit pink so hopefully I did it right. Tomorrow Ollivier will be roped in as the veg chef because my two burners will be busy with spuds and steaming the pudding, which to my horror I discovered takes TWO HOURS to steam! I can handle the roasties and the stuffing in my oven so as long as I boil the ham long enough tonight the biggest problem is going to be timing and that’s not easy when you are using kitchens in miniature. I hope I can report back at a later stage that it was a successful meal………
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