Saturday 17th September, 2016                  1540

For three days now there have been men with pickaxes right outside my flat. Luckily I have been in the habit of retiring early and thus, waking likewise. It dawned on me that just where they are excavating is ideal for them to plumb the waste pipe from my washing machine. I doubt however this is being done for my benefit, particularly as they are doing the same outside another flat just up from me. It would however make sense for them to combine this (they are after all uncovering the underground waste pipes) with my little job but then that would be like asking Npower, British Gas and BT to all do their business in a road at the same time instead of digging it up after someone else has already been there.

A slightly cooler day today, and the forecast is for a chilly 16C with rain tomorrow. Hopefully not too much of the wet stuff as you know who hasn’t got an umbrella yet.

I never had bread with my dinner last night. Whilst the result of my efforts wasn’t exactly brick-like, it nevertheless was a bit dense. This was because A) I followed the recipe and B) I can’t find bread flour which worked a treat before, so am having to use all purpose. It didn’t help that I hadn’t used the machine for three years or so beforehand and have forgotten my quantities. Another loaf is currently baking, which looks more promising although knowing my luck it will be just as dense only bigger!

This place is terribly dusty. I am not convinced it is all down to the roadworks and suspect it is always thus, surrounded as the city is by barren mountains. One possible clue I may be right is the predominance of water tankers everywhere that drive along the roads with warning tunes belting out (just like Mr Whippy) so you can leap back and avoid getting a showering. Christ knows what it will be like during the sandstorms.

I took a wander the other day to explore the actual campus here. At the back of my building is one student dormitory block but that’s all, so I ventured a little further. It seems as if to get to the campus proper you have to go through the grounds of a factory that appears to manufacture large steel items, a bit like Bill & Ben the Flowerpot Men when they occasionally escaped out of the back of the shed! I didn’t bother going in because after all, I am a mere two minute walk from all the fruit, veg and meat stalls and the proper shops and restaurants are two minutes the other way. I am damned glad they didn’t billet me there though, it may be that someone was actually thoughtful and considered my age when allocating location and also the bonus of being on the first floor?

Well the bread is done. I think it may be slightly less “heavy” than yesterday’s but something’s amiss. Probably the flour but next time I will include sugar and see if that makes a difference. It makes me laugh - they stock all sorts of flours except the one I want, noodle flour, dumpling flour, you name it. Another omission is tinned tuna. Now that’s something I often have with pasta, peas, mayonnaise and chilli sauce for a quick and easy meal (and one you can eat cold at work if you like). They do though sell proper sized tins of baked beans, albeit not the king of beans, Heinz. Thank heaven for small mercies.

I am rather hoping my legs will become accustomed to all the activity they have been subjected to recently in the not too distant future. With no old hands (I haven’t met ANY) who might be able to show me around the city it looks as if I shall simply have to go it alone. The booklet the school gave me has a very helpful map of the city’s transportation system, the only problem being you need a Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass to attempt to read it. I am sure there must be decent supermarkets and wonderful restaurants in the city centre. The BRT sadly only runs for about five miles so it would be a case of by guess and by God both getting there and coming back. Oh for the simplicity of Chizhou - who incidentally have still failed to replace me. I shall be watching the website like a hawk after the 20th to see if they give Andrei the job on his return