Thursday 1st November, 2012 1330
A day off and to be honest it is most welcome after last night!
At lunchtime I was asked to appear in two graduation photos - a first for me. I was given conflicting times of 1320 and 1330 so I arrived at 1321 to find that I had missed the first one. I was told later by Kevin that Prof Fang was less than amused. That I can handle, the disappointment in Tutu’s voice I cannot. I actually feel really bad and it just HAD to be the only time ever something has been smack on time here. By way of making it up to Tutu she is invited to the next western Wednesday and she can have pictures taken with me and I have also offered to appear any time if that class want to have a group photo - we can take it with my camera and I will happily email it to everyone who wants it.
Of course there is no such thing as that American invention “Trick or Treat” on All Hallow’s Eve here, so we simply had dinner. And damned nice it was too. I made a veritable bucket load of Bolognese, Kevin boiled three packs of spaghetti and I made garlic bread. Not everything was perfect however, for Kevin managed to actually BURN some of the spaghetti (how the hell can you burn it when you are simply boiling it???) and I attempted a calzone-type bread. It didn’t help that I left the rolled-out dough on the chopping board for two hours allowing it to become stuck, meaning when I loaded it and folded with the garlic butter and cheese, the perfect semicircle I had envisaged took on the appearance of a death mask taken from a corpse which had suffered a particularly gruesome end. Despite this it was very, very tasty.
I couldn’t have made any more because when I started cooking my large cauldron was nigh on full, yet seven of us scoffed it all bar enough for a small portion which Ollivier almost begged to be allowed to take home for another day. Kevin invited Susan and Daisy (they are joined at the hip), I invited Happy and Ollivier brought his boy student John. It was a really nice evening with plenty of good-natured French bashing (Kevin and I both bully Ollivier!) and much talk of Chinese opinion on gay people. I never started that particular topic. Happy was suffering from a cold so sadly she left just after ten but the others stayed until it was nearly time for their dormitory buildings were locked. As a treat Ollivier had made a pile of pancakes as well. I didn’t like them because he had used pastis and they tasted of aniseed but everyone else tucked in with gusto. He has promised to make ordinary pancakes for me next time so I will buy my preferred accompaniment - lemons.
At the end of the evening after the students left I could see Kevin was tiring, so I asked Ollivier what the French was for “eff off”. He told me, so I repeated it to him and we both left. It’s fine for us because my Thursdays are free and he only teaches three classes a week at present, so although Kevin has a lighter workload than me he works every day. I came home and had a couple more glasses whilst checking emails and retired, the result being I feel decidedly lethargic today.
As a consequence my idea of taking Pepsi for a quick check-up at the vets has been cancelled, which leaves me with a problem. I have no animal feed. But, I still have those disgusting beef burgers in Kevin’s freezer so I have a plan.
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