Wednesday 13^th January, 2021 1700

Well there goes the holiday.

After discussion with Alice, who I think had secretly changed her mind and wanted to be with her family anyway, I cancelled it. Thankfully it cost me just 59¥ (£7)for the outbound flight (I hadn't booked the return) and the hotels were all on a cancellation-free basis.

Yes we could still have gone or I could have gone alone but thinking rationally, was it worth it?

Let's say we went. Having been requested by Gansu Provincial foreign affairs not to if possible? And something went wrong. I had an accident for instance – and I haven't taken a tumble for a while (touch wood). Or I became ill? Or my biggest fear these days materialised, getting locked down somewhere other than my home. Now, these days I have much more money in my accounts both here and back “home” (although it stopped being home a decade ago) so I could weather being stuck somewhere for a couple of months staying in a mid-priced hotel but it would somewhat bugger up any plans I may be able to follow in summer. Alice still wants to go to Yunnan then and maybe we will but of course I also want my Shanghai sojourn. But if something were to happen after being asked nicely not to, it wouldn't reflect well on either me or the school. So I'm playing ball. Yet another holiday that is simply time not working.

Not least of all because I want to apply for a new passport so I don't have to worry for another ten years. Macabre thought – for all I know it could be my last one.....

I think Jody has just had her last meeting – the Chinese do love a pointless and overlong meeting – so with luck we will go to Lanzhou Center as planned tomorrow. Trip or not, I still need new trainers/shoes and if I can find decent underwear, those too. But I have slipped very firmly into indolent mode. I blame the cold for my not going shopping, even only seeing Mr Jing Jo every two days. I just sit here on the laptop watching videos and sometimes don't even cook. Tonight though I am making the effort. Fish fingers, boiled spuds and peas. Well it says NZ peas on the packet but if they really are then I would be surprised – more like green bullets.

I wonder what excitement will enter my life in the next two months of dullness.