Sunday 8th March, 2015                    0950

So far my opinion of today is that it should have been cancelled.

Ollivier told me yesterday that he and the family were going shopping this morning and it was an opportunity to have another breakfast. Not unnaturally, I seized the chance and suggested a departure time of 0930. He said it might be a little earlier and so I ensured I was up and ready just after nine. That’s easier said than done because strangely, although my hip is relatively comfortable in the evenings, by morning it is back to square one and takes me an age to get loosened up even a little. In fact, I am now in the previously unthinkable position of wondering whether I will be mobile enough in four weeks to visit Wuhu in the Qing Ming (tomb sweeping)  holiday.

Anyway, at 0925 the news came through that the crowbar Ollivier was using to prise his wife off the mattress had snapped under the stress and bang went breakfast. That really lightened my mood, considering I could quite happily have slumbered on for another two hours or even more. He may go alone later so as I have eaten nothing since yesterday’s breakfast I have put out a feeler that if he is indeed going alone, he will be quicker in the supermarket and perhaps I could still go and get a curry in KFC. I still may get lunch somewhere but probably at the cost of having to sit in the car for ages while the shopping is done. It is very tempting to simply go back to bed.

Being out of sorts is turning out to be more expensive than I would have anticipated. The ongoing prison bill for Pepsi is rising at 175y each week and with no sign of an end yet. I seem to be doing little else but sit at home and yet the money just keeps flowing out of my wallet and last night Joan boiled chicken breasts for the cats  and succeeded in setting the pan handle on fire because she used the gas on full. I have compounded matters by ordering the pies yesterday and once Yvonne tells me the tally for my Taobao shopping today I have no doubt another 700 or so yuan will kiss me goodbye. I could reduce that by 200y by not getting the cure for making ham but everything else is essential - cat litter and biscuits etc. I can’t even win the lottery because I don’t know how or where to play it here!

1800

Just after eleven we set off for town, at which point I discovered that only one of the children is here with them, the other is already in pre-school in Shandong so they didn’t want to uproot him. While the others went shopping I sat with the car door open in the underground car park smoking cigars for about fifty minutes. Going somewhere for lunch was the top issue for me - a buffet style barbecue place would not be my preferred option, nor was anywhere with loads of steps. When they returned I suggested a place nearby I went to a couple of years ago which had both Chinese and western style food and more importantly, comfortable armchairs.

They agreed and so off we went across the road from the supermarket. Looking up from underneath the building seated in a car gives a very different view than that given from a bus travelling past at a distance so I thought I had made a mistake and the place was further along the road. I hadn’t, I was right the first time but due to the road system we had to make a lengthy detour to get back to where I had shown them originally.

Up to the third floor in the lift, which was what I remembered, and we went in. It was the same place but different. Where there should have been diners and drinkers, in their place were computers. The restaurant, as so many do, must have gone out of business and it is now an internet café. Wrongly suspecting that I just may have made another error in the floor number this time, I asked Coco to enquire where the restaurant was. Fourth floor. So up we went but this was definitely not where I had been previously, it comprised only private dining rooms. Sod it, we were there so we took a room and ordered food. Despite the fact I had rather built up the idea of a Chinese version of pizza as being my lunch, the sizzling rice, beef and tomato pots Ollivier and I had and the beef and pepper version Coco had, it wasn’t bad nosh. We threw in some breaded, slightly spicy chicken pieces and a few beers and I was perfectly happy.

After we returned a nap was required so I put my legs under the quilt on the bed, dragged the chair close and reclined. I really should have turned the phone off, for I was disturbed by messages four times. One day I will learn my lesson. Tomorrow though Ollivier and I are going alone just for breakfast. Kevin has been in Anqing all day getting his car serviced in advance of the MOT and I assume will not return until later this evening after he has had a celebratory meal for his sixtieth birthday. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.