Sunday 11th June, 2017                                    1915

It’s a funny old world and made even funnier by women being in it. Chinese women particularly!

Luckily I have yet to actually book anything for my hoped-for summer tour. I am waiting to see if I actually get any of my pension first before splashing out and that should happen by Friday next week my time.

Alice (who will read this) told me work commitments prevented her from accompanying me on my travels so I decided I would go to Wuhu either at the start or end of my grand tour for a couple of days. Doubletree Wuhu is good value at only 5,000 points per night. Eventually I decided to go there first and then fly to Shenyang from Hefei, a couple of hours away by train.

She then decided that as she hasn’t been to Hefei she would like to meet me there rather than her hometown, Wuhu. Fine by me and so I adjusted my plans for a three night stay in Hefei instead.

This morning she asked if I was flying to Shenyang from Hefei. Yes. Is it too late to say I will come with you?

Now I must be clear that I am delighted she has had a change of heart and importantly before I made any bookings and she is simply going to take time off whether her employer grants it or not. Pity she can’t go the whole hog and come to Shanghai but I have groupies there aplenty anyway - Joanna, Rabbit, Rinka (if she’s not pregnant) and Tutu - not to mention someone who is expecting a red envelope with 5,000y in it (although depending on how things go I may have to request a short extension! Hopefully not). And Alice can be left on her own at the airport now I introduced her to flying, she knows the drill, although we should both fly our separate ways no more than an hour apart.

I may well now still visit Wuhu for two nights after Shanghai when she will stay with me. I’m not too happy with my timings for meeting her in Hefei before Shenyang though, I wouldn’t land until 2000 (an hour from the nearest hotel - unbelievable they haven’t built a couple near the perimeter) and the best flight to Shenyang leaves just after 0900 which means an early start. If I fly the day before there is an earlier flight but that would mean two nights in an hotel.

Hefei Hilton charges ridiculous points to stay so I shall juggle with points and cash to leave two free nights in Wuhu for later. What it must be to be wealthy……

I’ve been lazy today, washed the dishes (after three days) and done my laundry. I couldn’t be bothered to cook so tried a new stall just around the corner for a takeaway dinner. Most unsatisfying, it was a Chinese “hamburger” but the bun is fried in oil along with whatever you select. I chose what I think were battered meatballs, cabbage and mushrooms and asked for just a little from the chilli paintbrush they smear the inside with. Stupidly I thought I would automatically get a fried egg thrown in but I didn’t. I probably won’t use them again, which is embarrassing as they are adjacent to my fruit stall but they do sell pinza. It’s like a savoury pizza base, dry and they sell a whole one for 5y. Might be an idea for my teaching days next term. I would never eat a whole one but I reckon the students would polish off what I left. Pity the “hamburgers” here aren’t like the ones available in Chizhou university - they weren’t bad.

And the mint? Deceased. Considering how indestructible it normally is, it is astonishing that a few drops of rain (remember it was actually sheltered so only got a little bit) wiped the lot out. If I try again it will definitely be staying indoors.

I brought my USB stick home for the weekend to check it wasn’t faulty and causing the intermittent sound on the school computer. It isn’t, it plays perfectly on my laptop so the IT teacher who told my students it was my fault is going to be told exactly that. Fat lot of good now though because I only have the coming week to teach left. It would be nice to get them to fix the antiquated equipment before the start of next term though.