Saturday 26th August, 2017                            1400

It was so miserable yesterday I only popped out briefly for liquids and ice lollies. On the plus side, it meant I actually got to finish the loaf I baked a few days ago, making a simple dinner with sardines on toast.

Inexplicably, by 2230 last night I was so tired I called it a day. This morning I awoke feeling like Herman Munster. In fact my stiff neck was the cause of rousing me at 0500 - for the life of me I couldn’t find a position where it didn’t hurt so I got up.

There was no excuse for not going for that haircut although I did procrastinate until lunchtime. I was disappointed to find only the owner in residence at the barber’s, my “girlfriend “ was, I assumed, at lunch. I was wrong. She has left. However, the owner has observed her doing my hair often enough that he knows what I like and I have to say, took half the time doing it. Straight in with the clippers set on 1 and less than 10 minutes later I was done. I can’t ask for more, forget all that faffing about with scissors, quiffs and the latest “fashion”, just reduce my shampoo consumption and I’m happy.

Then it was off to the underground market to buy a replacement USB memory stick for the one that was pilfered at the end of last term. I asked for the biggest (I saw online there is now one that takes half a terabyte!) and was pleased to see they had a 64Gb one. Bit pricey I thought at 230y but I asked nicely for a discount and it came down to 200y - done. I probably was! Next it was to look for a penknife. Finally I found one that just might be small enough to escape the WMD police at train stations. The blade is about 1.5” long. Any smaller and it would be a drawing pin. Didn’t ask for a discount that time, at 18y I thought the asking price was reasonable. And if it gets confiscated again at least I won’t cry over the price.

If I thought I would be up to it later I would go out for dinner but I know I won’t. And yet the idea of a roast doesn’t enthuse me. What I did was buy a chicken breast, onion, garlic and a slightly hot green pepper. No idea what I shall do but it will become some form of stir fry, probably with soy and sesame oil. The nice potatoes seem to have disappeared, both from the supermarket and the little stall nearby. I used one the other night to make chips and they turned out so hard they skidded off the plate when I tried to impale them with the fork! I wish I could import King Edwards and grow my own.

Talking of growing your own veg, I see Chizhou have now stopped teachers on campus from doing so. Quite what harm it is doing I know not and it seems rather petty to me. Mind you (and I am pretty sure I have not mentioned this before) about a month ago I learnt that the leader of Chizhou university fell from grace with a loud bang earlier this year, although they never put THAT on their website!

It would explain why salaries were often paid late, why the teaching blocks were allowed to deteriorate without the occasional lick of whitewash, possibly why money was squandered on importing huge boulders that served no purpose and why neither Kevin nor I received a pay rise for 5 years.

He was found to have abused his position by way of chauffeur driven cars, expenses, nepotism, failing to pay proper salaries, taking bungs - in fact the whole gamut that can be labelled abuse and embezzlement.

As far as I know he is now doing a lengthy stretch inside (not heard if he was taken out into a field and disposed of ), was relieved of command, Communist Party membership, loss of pension (that WILL hurt) and everything else that they do before executing or locking up officials for life.

That was just plain greed. Nobody can tell me he wasn’t on a decent package.