Wednesday 17^th October, 2017 2215

God help me if I am ever late getting up for Wednesday classes on Peili campus. This morning I had a painful hip before I even reached the teaching block! As for climbing 7 floors, well I reckon some of the students consider calling 120 or 119 or whichever number it is for an ambulance here as they pass me on their way up – either that of they think I enjoy leaning on the banister every floor to admire the view!

Of course it didn't help matters that I had my shoulder bag, computer bag and another bag stuffed full of bread pudding. I really needed those fifteen minutes when I finally scaled the heights before class to have a cigar, slow my heartrate and get some breath back.

But of course, this time the lunch break was not going to be quite so tedious, I had the new toy and plenty of downloads to watch in solitude in a classroom. This despite the fact it is now becoming most tiresome to actually connect to the UK AND to a site the Beeb bloodhounds don't sniff out and deny access. It was impossible yesterday and took me an hour tonight to do so. Of course, once the Communist Party conference is over, I imagine the overtime for the Firewall Police will be scaled down. As it is, I am mostly confined to Los Angeles which is fine if you are a Yank but not great for me.

In the break between classes one and two I took the pudding in for class three – two dozen cubes of it. I put it on the desk of one of the girls who bought me chicken and she was horrified. “But I have already eaten!” she exclaimed. I pointed out it was not all for her, there was one piece each for all the class and the others could thank her and her friend for it. The suspicious sniffing and dubious looks from the students were amusing but once a couple had declared it delicious everyone followed suit.

Then when I had their class in the afternoon I invited her and her mate to dinner tomorrow before English Corner. I can't believe I am actually going to these sodding corners but I am despite my abhorrence, primarily to support Annie.

I can but pray the potatoes on the local stall are not the dusty/turn to mush type and that my first crack at a steak and vegetable pie is not an utter calamity. Not being proficient at desserts, I will opt for leek and spud soup and rely on an iced lolly for afters!

By midweek next week though I will have recently divested myself of approximately 1200 pounds (only now do I discover this new set has no pound sign key and somewhat puzzlingly, no yuan option in its place) what with the outlay on the laptop and finally, although it will wipe me out, repaying my debt to a good friend in Shanghai. Not once has he mentioned it and is still willing to wait but I want it discharged, then I know everything I save is mine.

So in todays classes I enjoined Pat's lot to be an extra special class tomorrow for the observance, not by being an ogre but by using what salesmen call the sympathy close – do you like Annie? Do you want her to succeed? How would you feel a month after becoming a teacher if authorities came to assess you?

They made their own decision. I will find out at dinner.

Oh yes, finally this afternoon the courier dropped off my parcel from Rabbit. I assumed it would be a small trinket or memento so went straight from class to collect it, still toting my shoulder bag and computer. Jesus! I wondered what the hell was in the box! I kept having to change arms and it is only about 150 yards walk to home!

24 cartons of what I thought was milk once I investigated. I thanked Rabbit on Skype messenger, a sweet gesture but she could have warned me about the weight. I won't have to buy milk for a while. Except she informed me it wasn't milk but drinking yoghurt. Good job she told me or tomorrow morning's coffee may have tasted odd!

And later when I went to the jing jo shop the husband seemed to want me to go for another drive! I could have, this time I had my smokes and a supply of grog but after yesterday for all I know we could have been going to another province. I politely declined, unsure as to whether he was pulling my leg.

I am looking forward to a decent length of time in bed tonight but don't want to go just yet because my phone has been off for 3.5 hours while the battery charges. You may remember the phone won't now charge via cable so the battery has to be taken out and slid into a universal device plugged into a socket. With a battery that lasts a fortnight it takes a fair old time to fill up even when only half empty.

New phone next month.