Wednesday 22nd August, 2012      1700

Well, talk about a “nothing” day!! With no need to go anywhere except out with the dogs in a while, I haven’t set foot outside my place. With Kevin supposed to be coming I have waited patiently to no avail and my texts have gone unanswered which is odd. Not that I have waited in specifically, I wanted a quiet day anyway. I have even managed to wash the dog bed and make some bread for later - now I have a decent egg slice it’s bacon and eggs for dinner! But - I did want to see him so he could punch a hole in my belt.

It’s Valentines day tomorrow. No, I haven’t taken leave of my senses or lost all track of time - it is on this day in China and is the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, which makes it a different date every year in the Gregorian. Hence the mid-autumn festival this year is 30th September when last year it was 12th. I think we will have a lengthy holiday this time seeing as the following day is China’s birthday, when it turns 63. I like the mid-autumn festival because I have acquired a taste for moon cake and the school usually gives us loads and takes us for dinner.

Robin did her dirty stop-out act again last night much to my - and I am sure others’ - annoyance because she never stops barking at night. At about two this morning I heard a puppy bark which sounded close. I was still up, so opened my door to find Robin outside with two little friends. When the door opened they all scarpered. It will be interesting to see if she stays out in the winter, but tonight I am going to leave cooking their dinner until late and not let her out after she has eaten. That’s if she comes in at all, because flat 303 has been feeding her and so hunger is not as big a driving force.

I tried my new trousers on for size earlier, they were perfect for length but I noticed the seamstress had pressed the legs completely flat and there is no trace of a crease. Perhaps they are supposed to be worn like that. I will certainly give it a go because it was make ironing a hell of a lot easier!

I just got my email edition of the Luton newspaper and opened it to find the outside pages are an advertising feature. Nothing unusual in that, except it is August and the ad is for Christmas dinner at a pub!!!

Thursday 23rd        1930

Or “Lovers Day” as it is more properly known in China. I excelled myself last night by staying up until seven-thirty this morning! Having arranged to meet up in town with Kevin at some point for lunch, I set the alarm for three hours later, resulting in my being a little jaded now but hopefully it will jerk my body back into a more sensible sleep cycle in time for starting work again the week after next.

I am almost certain that Robin has distemper. I am also certain she will have to get over it without my forking out 3,000y to “cure” her. She has the cough and the vomiting but so far no other symptoms. There is no cure and so treatment is confined to rehydration, drugs to lessen the cough and being sick and antibiotics. I have to accept it as part and parcel of owning a dog in rural China it would seem, so the one thing I can do for her is give her antibiotics. Aside from feeling a bit sorry for herself last night she is still as mad (and as fast) as a March hare so I hope she will shake it off - never to be able to suffer from it again. It almost certainly means Pepsi will get it too but she will be treated the same. The advantage they have over all the other wild ones who have it on campus - which is how Robin got it - is that they are fit, healthy and have a first class diet.

So I bought the drugs (which seem to have had an effect after only a few hours) and met Kevin and Daisy in Ke Bi Wang. Daisy is going home tomorrow for a few days before term starts, which will allow Kevin to use his bed downtown instead of the camp bed - he let the girls have the comfort!

When I got back the campus had come a little more alive. The supermarket was open and re-stocked although until it gets busier they will close mid-afternoon, one of the mobile phone shops is open and some of the other places that aren’t open yet had signs that they were gearing up again. “My” café is allegedly going to be trading again on Monday.

Earlier I took the mutts out and sat on the bike having a drink. Today was decidedly chilly - I almost needed a jumper - at 27C, and it has been overcast but dry and with a fair breeze. I know I mentioned another restaurant is opening in close proximity to the sweet pork place, but there are at least another four “shops” being fitted out. I discovered tonight they are also going to be eateries. If I was the sweet pork place I would be very worried indeed. They have had the monopoly on selling good quality food here the entire time the new campus opened 3½ years ago and always do a roaring trade with the students. Now we will be spoilt for choice (I hope!) and out in the sticks the local population couldn’t possibly support that number of outlets. Still, if they all sell decent stuff it is good news for me because it will mean I won’t necessarily have to trek into town for a good meal. Campus food is fine if you are Chinese, boringly limited if you are someone with a western palate and can’t eat Mount Etna with impunity.

On a final note, almost half the world’s pig population is in the hands of Chinese farmers.