Sunday 18th November, 2012          1800

Well today has been a better day morale-wise than yesterday, if not for my bank balance!

It was a lovely day so at lunchtime I hopped on the bike and went downtown shopping. I tried to buy a sweater (I only have one old one with a stain that won’t disappear and another I bought here last year) without success, the largest Lottemart could offer would have looked as if it was painted on. Then I looked at juicers because I could do with one to produce passata seeing as I would use it most times we have a western Wednesday but at 300y I decided I would be better off looking on the internet and spending a bit more on a proper food processor in time. Until then I will carry on doing it by hand. Then it was ingredients for tomorrow’s lasagne and pet food. The bill was 435y! Ok, I bought 2 x 4kg bags of Whiskas and Pedigree biscuits which amounted to nearly half the total and which should last till next payday, but I reckon human food only came to about 100y.

After that I decided the pets shouldn’t have all the fun and treated myself to a late afternoon dumpling and steak platter - haven’t had one for a while. When I left  home it was sunny but a bit nippy, but when I finished my meal it was really warm and I didn’t even need to zip up my coat. it won’t last though as we have more rain forecast for midweek.

Did you know that unbelievably Chinese children are taught to walk on the side of the road where their backs are to the traffic? The flawed reasoning is in case they panic and cause an accident but Kevin is convinced it is simply another way to try to keep the population down. I can’t say his opinion is definitely wrong.

Last night at 2230 I eagerly opened BBC iPlayer to watch the England v Australia match, only to find that Aunty in her wisdom had elected to screen the Scotland match instead! What???? I ended up listening to our match on the radio, and of course I realise that the Beeb is for all four countries but to show a match where a home nation is guaranteed to lose seems a bit odd. Bit like showing England international football matches I suppose.

Monday 19th        2355

Nearly Tuesday.

For a day off it was hell. For starters I was preparing tonight’s meal for most of it (with only one hotplate, a small oven and animals to feed it needs time) and secondly my bread machine has packed in again! Of course it didn’t choose to do it AFTER it had mixed the dough to use as garlic baguettes, it had to do it so I had to take everything out and knead it myself. I don’t mind admitting I got quite puffed out knocking seven barrels out of a lump of dough! Just to make matters worse I either proved I am still a strong lad, or more likely I bought crap, because mid-way through crushing the garlic I managed to shatter my garlic press. I am seriously thinking of making future bread by hand!

The meal went well. On the western side both Kevin and Ollivier snaffled seconds on the lasagne and the girls raved over the crepes and some weird raisin bread sticks Ollivier cooked. It is somewhat disappointing to be the chef for the main course and be usurped by the dessert cook but then that is human nature - especially in China! I confess I ate two pancakes topped by castor sugar (yes I found it) and lemon juice and without the pastis and very enjoyable they were too.

Despite all good intentions to wind up early the girls stayed until five minutes before their dormitory blocks were closing and after polishing off the plonk Ollivier and I left a short while ago. Bedtime shortly as I need to be up to teach tomorrow (at least when we have it on Wednesday I don’t teach the following day but I really owed this to Tutu for missing her grad photo) and so I will end here.

And for those on the Conway site who have read Tutu’s posts, she is the one in the grey coat and yellow sweater underneath.