Junior Junk Mail

Monday 8th July, 2013         2100

I can see myself doing all my packing at the last minute on Saturday. Like a fool I stayed up to watch Wimbledon in the wee hours and as a result it was four before I went to bed and eleven before I got up. At four I showed Joanna how to use the bike but she is not exactly a natural!

She appears incapable of getting on or off it without twisting the throttle, resulting at one point in it departing, her attempting to hold on to it and then dropping it (good job I have the chrome surround bars) and injuring a big toe in the process. Somehow I don’t think she will use it much while I’m away, although as the plan is for me to use it to go to the west gate with my bags when I leave and dump it there, I do hope she will at least retrieve it for me when she finishes work.

I was going to take her downtown for her to meet her colleagues for a meal but she insisted on taking the bus as like all Chinese girls, she is terrified of getting a tan. I took her to the bus and carried on alone, first stop was the ATM. I put my card into the slot, thinking the screen looked unusual but being in Chinese I never knew what it said. I waited for it to ask for my PIN. And I waited. And still I waited. As the bank was closed I got an awful feeling this was one of those scams but took comfort in the fact I hadn’t entered my number so the card was useless to a fraudster. Eventually I pressed the intercom and to my relief someone answered, albeit they didn’t speak English. I grabbed a chap who was outside the booth waiting his turn, mimed what had happened and he relayed it to the woman. Shortly thereafter a security guard came in and started berating the poor man, presumably calling him a plonker for not reading the screen first. Then he noticed me! I looked through the slot and could only see fresh air, so I assume by coincidence I had put my card in immediately before someone inside removed the gubbins in order to replenish the money, for the manager came next and beckoned me into the bank where they put my card into an internal machine and asked me to key in the number. This I assume was to prove I was the rightful owner. After a couple of minutes I was then taken outside to the cash point, the innards were put back and to my relief I got my money.

I took the opportunity to do a fast shop for some potatoes and have my own Korean dinner before making my way back. While I was eating I had a call from the mountain summer school for naughty kids - could I go there this weekend? Er, no, I leave on Saturday for Hefei but I can do August. Oh, are you free Wednesday or Thursday? They are sending a car to collect me at the unearthly hour of 0740 Wednesday so I can write off that day until mid afternoon. But I do enjoy going there even though I do it for free.

Kevin, Vivi, Joanna and I are all going to the Japanese place tomorrow so I will ride in to meet Joanna when she finishes work. In view of my early wake-up the following morning we won’t be carousing late but at least we can start at six.