Friday 3^rd May, 2019 1830

Not to be maudlin but I suppose it would be remiss of me not to make a passing mention that today would have been my Mum's 86^th birthday. I shan't wish her a happy birthday here or elsewhere – she couldn't use a computer down here so even if they have Facebook in heaven it would be pointless!

My Sunday dinner went well, soup was as expected and the creamy salmon and potato bake was delicious. The strawberry and mulberry fool was another matter. Never again will I use mulberries, far too bitter although the girls found it acceptable once cocoa powder was sprinkled on it!

I am still experiencing mild discomfort in the bulbous bow so I didn't actually eat anything on Sunday (at all) but I did on Monday, hence I know what my efforts tasted like. I am my own worst critic when it comes to gastronomy and it is not that often I declare it high standard but apart from the dessert, it was. It also entitles me in my mind to critique restaurant food – after all, I am paying them for the pleasure!

Interestingly, late in the evening I made myself a G&T and found Annie and Trey (yes, the Mercans have really odd monickers) stunned when I produced an ice cube bag. I was equally stunned that – given where they come from – they had never seen one! Just goes to show.....

I think on Tuesday Alice came with me to get my memory from the Vin Rouge laptop retrieved. The set itself is as far as I know now in landfill and I have no idea if my external drive holds everything but it is the best I could get.

Annie was supposed to go for Peace Corps training on Wednesday night. Her train was at about 2300. Bugger that, for just over twice the price she could have flown and been there in under two hours instead of half a day on a rickety slow train.

Except it was MayDay. The bus to the station took too long and she missed it and had to buy another ticket for last night, meaning she paid almost what it would have cost to fly! Quite why the Peace Corps have sent her for training is a mystery, she will leave China and them in July so it seems rather a futile use of resources to me. A bit like sending me on a teaching course three months before I retire.

She is there now until next Wednesday and get this – the classes she is missing she has to make up! I know what I would say in the same situation, and she doesn't even like teaching! I may cheer her up during Dragon Boat festival by taking her to Maijishan, that idiotic mountain with grottos that I climbed a year ago and was terrified. This time I shall watch from afar and it will be a relatively cheap two-day break.

Oh yes! When Alice and I went to get my memory, afterwards I took her to Metro so she could help carry a whole case of tonic water. When we were asking the assistant he (in Chinese) asked if I wanted Watsons or Schweppes. I never knew they had Schweppes tonic but there's only one Heinz ketchup or Rose's lime so of course I plumped for Schweppes. When I got home and the next day went to put them in the fridge they were ginger ale!!!!

Today I went for lunch with Jody, same mall we went to during Spring Festival. There's a Brother's Boat Japanese place there too we discovered (25% discount if you took photos of your food and uploaded to WeChat! I cannot but she did) so just maybe, if I can remember how to get there, next Thursday that's where I will take Annie and Alice on my birthday. There's a Korean restaurant and a host of others, nothing western sadly but stuff I can eat anyway.