Friday 30^th November, 2018 2040

Well, most of the week saw me waking up as Guy the gorilla (I loved him) and slowly looking a little more normal as the end of each day drew near. Painkillers made it bearable but eating was, and still is, something to be carefully considered – nothing which requires serious biting on the menu yet.

Which gave me a problem for our meal on Tuesday which was a Sunday roast pork with crackling. Crackling has for a while had to have been a fond memory of mine but the others love it so what the hell?

Getting a “butcher” (I use the term loosely, no such thing here, just people who hack dead animals and couldn't offer a joint of beef if their life depended on it) to score the fat the way it should be is a nightmare. Having yet to perfect the art of sharpening knives sufficiently to tackle the job myself has thus far defeated me (may buy a whetstone tomorrow) and so I got the chap around the corner to do it but he cut right through the fat and slightly into the meat.

I never envisaged a problem (do I ever?) and to ensure the meat was as tender as could be (I hadn't eaten since Saturday and it was now Tuesday) I decided to slow-roast. For six hours.

During that time of course half the crackling slipped off the meat altogether into the butter and stock encased in foil. The pork though, I must say, fell apart! I even rescued the crackling and hit upon a new way. Slow roast the piggy and when I open it up the skin will be soft enough for me to score it for crackling!

On Wednesday afternoon I was making preparations for my batch cooking of sausage rolls. I knew Pizza Hut was out due to my teeth problem and decided maybe I needed enough for Thursday and Friday. I had been devoid of energy since Sunday morning and hadn't even bothered making a smooth soup.

Whenever my elderly next door neighbour walks past and sees me in the kitchen, she always climbs up to look in and see what I am making. Normally I hold up a pot or a dish and show her and that's the end of it. This time all I was doing was washing the dishes after Tuesday's dinner.

I felt guilty. No idea why!

Due to my guilt, later when the sausage rolls were cooked (shortcrust – no puff pastry available to buy here, must be home made) I decided to let her have a couple and so took them in foil and knocked on the door. The old biddy must have been out playing mah-jong or whatever so I ended up hanging them in a bag from her door handle with a note that simply said English! By morning they had gone.

Half an hour ago there was a knock at my door. If that's the police again I am going to go ape! It wasn't. It was TWO old biddies from next door (maybe they have a commune) bearing a plate with NINE enormous, steaming, baozi!!!

1. I struggle to finish two
2. I had just eaten!

I immediately emailed Alice. She is coming for an overnight tomorrow so I asked her what the hell I should do with them? I have no idea if they refrigerate or freeze and I thought she may have rushed here to take back to her dorm mates but no, she wants me to keep them in the fridge (presumably I will need to re-steam them) for her tomorrow evening. I suppose I had better show willing too and make them my dinner tomorrow. I KNEW I shouldn't have done what I did! Thank heaven for small mercies, at least they gave me something which depending on the filling, I can eat.

Last night I booked our hotel for Chengdu based on the proximity to the Peace Corps. The Chengdu trip replaces the Xining/Zhangye plan after that huge sandstorm.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-china-46341184/huge-sandstorm-hits-chinese-city-of-zhangye?fbclid=IwAR0MLkv9bsDPY2WWKrbuUUUZTh6p8BXApVewGHo6xsTz8hsVdo8VH69D4q0

Not really because of it but it made me realise I was only going to those places for a flight for Alice. We have both been already and I have never been a “Margate for two weeks every summer” person. Chengdu seemed affordable, neither of us has been.

I had no idea the Peace Corps slaves were training there in the holidays and at that time! What the hell, they can show Alice the sights while I drink the executive lounge dry during evening happy hours!

Minus: 11 hour train journey to get there, not arriving at the hotel in the wee hours having paid for a full night