Saturday 11th February, 2017                  1800

The intended trip to BHG yesterday never took place, partly due to my inertia and partly because I have a split on the turn of my heel which stings a bit when I walk. I never injured it and I think it is purely because of the dryness of my skin here, the climate really is arid.

I was also incredibly lazy too because I didn’t cook, instead opting for a heated bun with an egg and Lord knows what else I picked, it could have been fish, chicken, pork or maybe all three. This time instead of having the bun fried in oil I tried one which was merely warmed through. To be honest the unhealthy option tastes better! However for 10y it filled a hole and I could only eat half.

Today almost went the same way (except I may have had noodles)  but I relented and decided to have salmon - except this time I defrosted it thoroughly so as to avoid a repeat of last time. Somehow I still think the cats outside will be happy later because it’s quite a size. I wish they also did half portions. Chopping it when it’s frozen is not really feasible.

The internet is still slow which is damned annoying because it impedes streaming (although BBC is ok because it merely takes longer to download) and worse, I don’t know if I will be able to actually watch the 6 Nations this weekend. That and the two world cups are pretty much the only sporting events I watch so is it too much to ask? I could get highlights on iPlayer but by the time I downloaded I would have had to stay off the internet for hours because the results are plastered everywhere you look.

After a sudden brainwave I decided to see if I could find Chizhou’s spring festival TV show this year. It was mainly because I wanted to see if they had roped Daniel, Andrei or Juliette in, as they did me in 2014. I sort of went through it which was difficult as it kept buffering and it looks as if the answer is no. Doubtless Daniel went to stay with his girlfriend and the other pair probably holidayed in Thailand or Singapore or somesuch. It was nice though to spot a few familiar faces and places from a city I came to regard as home. If anyone is interested in watching it is here:

http://video.cznbtv.com/video/2017-01/25/cms42071article.shtml

As for me, I keep toying with the idea of going to Xining. It’s 70y and just over an hour away on the fast train (the only one) and if I do weaken it won’t be for any scenic attractions (I think they only have temples and lakes anyway) but because there’s an Indian restaurant there! But I really must save for summer. With absolutely no desire and now no reason to visit Blighty (except for pork pies) I shall do my China Tour. Shanghai has become a calendar fixture (and anyway I have a debt to repay) and if Steve is still in Shenyang I would like to afford to get there also. The problem is, quite apart from flights and hotels, every time you go out for an evening in those two places you end up 1,000y down. Oh to be on UK wages! I have asked Joan if she wants to accompany me but she can’t answer me at present.

If I remain here next year my pay will go up and I won’t have the set-up costs of moving and re-equipping so who knows, maybe next summer I might even be able to fit in a few days in Vietnam or Cambodia?

You, know, considering school doesn’t resume for another fortnight, there appear to be one hell of a lot of students back already. In Chizhou they started returning the day before (and many came late) but here it’s different. I suppose perhaps most of them live in Lanzhou or the surrounding area, maybe their parents are back at work and they want to be back with their mates, I don’t know.

I had to laugh at Alice this morning. I had alerted her to the lunar exclipse which occurred here at breakfast time and told her of she was awake to look for it. She sent me an email with a photograph of a blue sky over Wuhu and it read, “Clear skies and nothing looked different”. So I asked her if she looked at the moon? No, she replied.