Sunday 11^th August, 2019 1320

Lekima arrived before we went out last night.

I had no umbrella but that was going to be academic, even if one could hold onto it it would have been inside out or shredded within seconds. I steeled myself to getting a bit damp. As we got to the hotel entrance and poked our heads outside it was a trifle daunting, the wind was ferocious which was fine but the rain was lashing horizontally with it. We weren't going to get damp, we were going to get drowned.

Rather fortuitously, as we waited hopefully (and in the event forlornly) for it to abate, Roland texted to ask if we wanted a lift. YES! Did we ever.....

Before he turned up I took a couple of photos to convey what filthy conditions they were, you can't make anything out in them at all. As I opened the door for Alice to get in the car I was genuinely worried that the wind might actually bend the door hinges during one of the gusts. Amazingly, on emerging from the underground car park at Big Bamboo, we could all use brollies with impunity, on this occasion there was a welcome lee, unlike the front of our hotel.

Alice's brother had called off their planned meeting, as indeed Mulan did whilst we were in the taxi to the restaurant because she couldn't get a cab or a Didi car (Chinese Uber). Maybe many cars decided not to risk it and those that did were ridiculously busy.

So it was just the four of us, Alice, Joanna, Roland and yours truly en route to Zizzi, the other side of the Yangtse. I knew of the chain but had never been. When we arrived only two tables were occupied so we increased trade by 50%. The food was excellent (I had my usual sparrow survival portion!) with a platter of Italian cold meats and an “ostrich egg” mozzarella, another platter of belly port, wings, fries and other stuff together with pizza base garlic bread. Mains were veal schnitzel, seafood tagliatelle and pour moi a meat “pizzetta”, allegedly tiny but in reality twice as much as I could eat. The others had desserts of cheesecake and a sharing sundae which included, of all things, Chinese green tea flavoured ice cream! A very pleasant valpolicella followed some extremely civilised G&Ts to complete a wonderful meal.

Then the bill.

An eye-watering, wallet-incinerating ¥2,400!!! Or to put in in perspective, about 40% of my monthly salary last year. I thanked Him up above it was Roland's turn to pick up the tab. I never even started the night with that much in my pocket! Every bloody year I come here and every year I suffer anxiety attacks over the cost of living. It truly is a different universe to the ones I inhabit.

So today Alice did get to go and see her brother, I am hoping she will make it back after dinner to meet Mulan, who is on for tonight now the wind and rain has moved northwards. In its wake it has left quite a few of the trees in the central reservation of the road running past the hotel either uprooted or snapped at the bole. The workmen and cranes are working to clear the disaster area as I type.

All this means it's my turn to buy dinner tonight. I am thinking of suggesting we have one plate of sushi to share.....

Yes, we are going Japanese this evening.