Wednesday 30th July, 2014 1300
I arrived back home last night utterly drained and contemplating the wisdom of agreeing to do another morning at the mountain school tomorrow, so soon after getting back. Nonetheless I agreed and Christina wants to come, so do it I will, although a six o’clock alarm call is going to be most unwelcome.
For now I am about to go and do some shopping (I have threatened to make cottage pie for Ellen, Fallrain and Vivi tonight) and then go and release Pepsi for all of two days before she goes back in again. I leave for Huainan and the lovely Air on Friday.
2000
Considering I ate hardly anything yesterday I was really looking forward to filling up on cottage pie. I sweated buckets in the kitchen and when I turned on my mini oven it didn’t work! Marvellous. Thankfully Kevin has one so we used that, Ollivier’s is too small to take the dish. We all ate though, albeit a little later than planned. So now it’s a must for an early night as I need a decent sleep so I can be Mr Jolly for the kids tomorrow.
Thursday 31st 1845
Well despite the early rise it was a good morning. Christina must have been as keen as mustard as she arrived at about seven, half an hour before we were being picked up. I think the kids enjoyed it and certainly Prof Wu did because he wants me back for a third time on the 10th August!
Tomorrow I am off to Huainan on the 1100 train. It may well be interesting. This is certainly the busiest summer holiday I have had here but now normal service is restored.
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Friday 18th July, 2014 0230
I know, silly time to still be awake.
I was right not to hold my breath last night, for I indeed dined alone. Qing is a very strange girl indeed and one who doesn’t understand the courtesy of sending a simple text to confirm or deny. No matter, it was cheaper and yes, I did go to Pizza Hut flushed with success at being able to eat as much as I did the night before. It was a relief to actually eat normally (by my standards) because if I am honest thoughts of the big C had been running through my mind with the inability to eat lasting as long as it did. I don’t regret staying an extra night (costly though it was) because the rain and being crippled rather sealed the decision rather than her phone call.
This morning the maintenance man held off on the drilling until eight but had I been able to tell which room he was in I would have gone and cheerfully throttled him. I think the only peaceful and good nights sleep I have had in China have been when I stayed in the Hefei Hilton with my friend Steve. In fact, Chinese hotels can be (and often are) even louder than here on campus.
At least the capsules Amy brought me yesterday had worked by the evening and another pre-emptive one before bed last night saw no repetition in the morning. It was actually quite warm when I left the hotel but when I got to the bus station I found I was the only passenger on the bus! Considering the driver probably owned the vehicle I felt for him. Despite his crawling all the way out of Tongling and tooting at everyone he saw standing at the roadside he only managed another five passengers. With the fare at 20y (£2) apiece for a one and a half hour journey, it cannot have been profitable because fuel here, although only about 73p a litre, is more expensive relatively speaking than the UK. I can only hope for his sake that he had more luck on the return trip.
Pepsi looked rather sorry for herself when I collected her and to be honest I can’t blame her. She had her annual vaccination (or naccination according to the little book) and off we went. I know her well enough to know that as soon as I get to open spaces I need to let her off for a run, I swear she saves up her pee and poo until she is desperate because every time she needs to evacuate everything as soon as I liberate her. Can’t be pleasant crapping in a cage and it sitting half an inch beneath your feet so I don’t blame her. As always the vet gave me a worming tablet. Completely unnecessary but as she is so thin and she presumably hardly eats any of the dry food they give her because she is used to meat at home, understandable. She certainly doesn’t have worms, not with what I give her.
To my astonishment the campus supermarket is still open, as is Meile the student café on campus. I bought a handy-sized suitcase with wheels and telescopic handle today for 128y which I will use on my upcoming longer break. Handy to know I can at least get some egg and tomato if I am desperate as well from the café. Those two being open is a first, certainly in five years to my knowledge.
Tomorrow I shall go shopping for pet food and I have decided to make spaghetti Bolognese for the girls and also Vivi if she wants some. Saturday I thought I might take them to Donna’s restaurant in the hope curry is back on the menu. I haven’t decided yet. Sunday could see me treating us all to hamburgers. I bought some Australian burgers online, I have dill pickles and burger cheese and I will want an early night as my train leaves late morning. Yes, I will be taking my first train (other than the Maglev) in China.
1750
I rode to town at lunchtime with the temperature well into the thirties. That’s not too bad except it is quite humid. Whilst on the move it is fine but when I stop I start to leak. I picked up this month’s supply of cigars and did a quick shop for two nights food for the animals and ingredients for Bolognese and headed back home. I will be shopping again on Sunday (I need to take Pepsi to be incarcerated the day before I leave as I daren’t leave the bike at the station for ten or eleven days and dogs aren’t allowed on the buses. If it was a certainty I could get a taxi FROM campus then she could have another night here. Anyway on Sunday I will buy a fortnight’s worth of cat meals and prepare them into daily portions - the girls have no idea how much to feed them. Come to that, neither do I really now I am down to two moggies. Still no sign of Pooh.
Vivi isn’t coming for dinner tonight because when I sent her an invite she was on the way home but later when I was having a beer in Meile, to my surprise in walked Anna, who you may recall came to one of our western Wednesdays not so long ago. She is coming instead to make up a foursome. Although my bedroom is lovely and cool with the aircon, cooking in the kitchen in the summer is like being in a furnace! Definitely another shower before bedtime. At least I remembered to turn Ollivier’s a/c on so the actual eating should be comfortable.
Saturday 19th 1400
Anna’s teacher made her team have a late rehearsal. She made the finals of a national English speaking marketing competition and leaves for Wuhu tomorrow, where it will be held. Accordingly, she apologised and said she couldn’t come to eat so the rest of us tucked in - the girls far more heartily than I. Just as we finished I received a text from Anna asking if we were still eating. When I said we had finished she said she didn’t want to come and cause inconvenience. I brushed that aside - I didn’t want to freeze the leftovers in the pot and so told her to come and I would put more spaghetti on.
My God was she hungry! She polished off a portion of the size the other two had had and then (in Chinese) whispered to the others that she was still hungry! I put some more spaghetti on.
I think she consumed an amount equal to the three of us combined! Nothing left to freeze though.
As she is clearly not eating enough on campus (she doesn’t like the food in Meille and doesn’t want to bus to town) I invited her for dinner tonight in town. Due to her prodigious appetite I thought it prudent to take her to the all you can eat barbecue place! Later in my bedroom Christma Cheng sent me a Skype message. We have chatted online occasionally for a few months and I thought she was one of Kevin’s students. She isn’t, she is studying at Dalian university and she initially contacted me as she is a friend of one of my students, who gave her my phone number. So now I will take Anna on the bike and if all goes well we will meet up with Christina and have a threesome for dinner. I feel a tad guilty about not inviting the other two but temper that with the knowledge that I am sure I will cook for them again before the holiday is out - I have already promised to make them my chilli shepherd’s pie after my return a week Tuesday.
So for now it’s off to the shop and give Pepsi some warm air (33C now) and then rendezvous with Anna at five.
Sunday 20th 1130
“Oh I’m so scared, can you go slowly?”
Those were the first words spoken by Anna (who presumably had never ridden pillion before) as we set off from campus. I only have two speeds on the e-bike, full ahead or stop. Not that I am a boy racer - with a top speed of 27mph, hardly - rather it is because I find it difficult to balance at low speeds. I am pleased to report that within half a mile the fear had evaporated to the extent that she kept moving on the saddle, becoming a danger herself!
Now Anna is a girl who is seriously wasting her life and I told her so. She rarely goes to town, preferring to spend her free time in her dormitory. As a result she had never seen Pyngtian lake, the mock ship hotel that has yet to open or anything else for that matter. She didn’t even know where the commercial centre was, which was where we were headed.
We arrived a little earlier than five-thirty (the agreed meeting time) and I sent a message to Christina to let her know we were outside KFC ready and waiting. As it happened she had arrived even earlier and was waiting for us inside and emerged to find us on getting the message. She is an IT major and considering she is not studying English her command is surprisingly good. Her dream is to go and study for a masters degree at a London university and there is little to stop her other than perhaps not applying herself sufficiently to her studies. Her parents own a small company so I imagine the fees could be found from somewhere to send her. She and Anna hit it off from the start and indeed they were both excellent company for the evening.
My decision to go to an all you can eat place was vindicated seeing as they both consumed colossal amounts. Whilst I marvelled at their capacity they were in turn amazed at how little I eat. I did though feel full on departure and if they didn’t then there is something seriously wrong with them! We had a lovely evening with Christina agreeing to come with me to the mountain school when I return to play my games on the 31st.
As we left at 2030, the air was nicely cooler than when we had ridden to town and thankfully there was no evidence of insect life to collide with my eyes or fly into my mouth on the ride back. In fact there was the odd spit of rain, which was most welcome. Anna was concerned the “Auntie” in charge of the dormitory would “scold” her for being late. I said I would have her back by nine and she said that was when they locked the dorms in the holidays. And these are adults!
Additionally she said she needed to go and get some hot water in her flask for her morning wash. That WAS going to make her late. Indeed, when we went to “Flask Central” on the other side of campus to her dorm, the hot water house was locked. There then ensued a trip to my place whereupon I filled her flask from my shower and despite her protestations I gave her a ride to the dorm, which was indeed locked. She told me I needn’t wait but I explained that if the Auntie saw me outside she would blame me and not Anna for waking her up. As far as I know she wasn’t berated. She left three hours ago with her teacher and team ready for the contest tomorrow. I will attach a photo of the two girls last night, Christina is on the left, Anna on the right.
I will be showering shortly then taking Pepsi to the vets for a 10 day stretch, followed by a pet food shop. After that I may well have a late lunch so as not to need dinner this evening and on my return I will need to start packing. I have drawn up an idiot list in the hope that I won’t forget anything vital this time.
I am viewing my first train trip with some trepidation because I will be alone. Silly really because I manage the bus trips perfectly well even though neither the stations nor the buses have the destinations signed up in English and from my online research I gather train stations do.
This does mean though that the blog is now suspended for about a fortnight. Although I will have my laptop with me I have decided to take a break for the duration. On my return though I intend to travel to Huainan in the north of the province, which will hopefully provide some good material to write about.
I know, silly time to still be awake.
I was right not to hold my breath last night, for I indeed dined alone. Qing is a very strange girl indeed and one who doesn’t understand the courtesy of sending a simple text to confirm or deny. No matter, it was cheaper and yes, I did go to Pizza Hut flushed with success at being able to eat as much as I did the night before. It was a relief to actually eat normally (by my standards) because if I am honest thoughts of the big C had been running through my mind with the inability to eat lasting as long as it did. I don’t regret staying an extra night (costly though it was) because the rain and being crippled rather sealed the decision rather than her phone call.
This morning the maintenance man held off on the drilling until eight but had I been able to tell which room he was in I would have gone and cheerfully throttled him. I think the only peaceful and good nights sleep I have had in China have been when I stayed in the Hefei Hilton with my friend Steve. In fact, Chinese hotels can be (and often are) even louder than here on campus.
At least the capsules Amy brought me yesterday had worked by the evening and another pre-emptive one before bed last night saw no repetition in the morning. It was actually quite warm when I left the hotel but when I got to the bus station I found I was the only passenger on the bus! Considering the driver probably owned the vehicle I felt for him. Despite his crawling all the way out of Tongling and tooting at everyone he saw standing at the roadside he only managed another five passengers. With the fare at 20y (£2) apiece for a one and a half hour journey, it cannot have been profitable because fuel here, although only about 73p a litre, is more expensive relatively speaking than the UK. I can only hope for his sake that he had more luck on the return trip.
Pepsi looked rather sorry for herself when I collected her and to be honest I can’t blame her. She had her annual vaccination (or naccination according to the little book) and off we went. I know her well enough to know that as soon as I get to open spaces I need to let her off for a run, I swear she saves up her pee and poo until she is desperate because every time she needs to evacuate everything as soon as I liberate her. Can’t be pleasant crapping in a cage and it sitting half an inch beneath your feet so I don’t blame her. As always the vet gave me a worming tablet. Completely unnecessary but as she is so thin and she presumably hardly eats any of the dry food they give her because she is used to meat at home, understandable. She certainly doesn’t have worms, not with what I give her.
To my astonishment the campus supermarket is still open, as is Meile the student café on campus. I bought a handy-sized suitcase with wheels and telescopic handle today for 128y which I will use on my upcoming longer break. Handy to know I can at least get some egg and tomato if I am desperate as well from the café. Those two being open is a first, certainly in five years to my knowledge.
Tomorrow I shall go shopping for pet food and I have decided to make spaghetti Bolognese for the girls and also Vivi if she wants some. Saturday I thought I might take them to Donna’s restaurant in the hope curry is back on the menu. I haven’t decided yet. Sunday could see me treating us all to hamburgers. I bought some Australian burgers online, I have dill pickles and burger cheese and I will want an early night as my train leaves late morning. Yes, I will be taking my first train (other than the Maglev) in China.
1750
I rode to town at lunchtime with the temperature well into the thirties. That’s not too bad except it is quite humid. Whilst on the move it is fine but when I stop I start to leak. I picked up this month’s supply of cigars and did a quick shop for two nights food for the animals and ingredients for Bolognese and headed back home. I will be shopping again on Sunday (I need to take Pepsi to be incarcerated the day before I leave as I daren’t leave the bike at the station for ten or eleven days and dogs aren’t allowed on the buses. If it was a certainty I could get a taxi FROM campus then she could have another night here. Anyway on Sunday I will buy a fortnight’s worth of cat meals and prepare them into daily portions - the girls have no idea how much to feed them. Come to that, neither do I really now I am down to two moggies. Still no sign of Pooh.
Vivi isn’t coming for dinner tonight because when I sent her an invite she was on the way home but later when I was having a beer in Meile, to my surprise in walked Anna, who you may recall came to one of our western Wednesdays not so long ago. She is coming instead to make up a foursome. Although my bedroom is lovely and cool with the aircon, cooking in the kitchen in the summer is like being in a furnace! Definitely another shower before bedtime. At least I remembered to turn Ollivier’s a/c on so the actual eating should be comfortable.
Saturday 19th 1400
Anna’s teacher made her team have a late rehearsal. She made the finals of a national English speaking marketing competition and leaves for Wuhu tomorrow, where it will be held. Accordingly, she apologised and said she couldn’t come to eat so the rest of us tucked in - the girls far more heartily than I. Just as we finished I received a text from Anna asking if we were still eating. When I said we had finished she said she didn’t want to come and cause inconvenience. I brushed that aside - I didn’t want to freeze the leftovers in the pot and so told her to come and I would put more spaghetti on.
My God was she hungry! She polished off a portion of the size the other two had had and then (in Chinese) whispered to the others that she was still hungry! I put some more spaghetti on.
I think she consumed an amount equal to the three of us combined! Nothing left to freeze though.
As she is clearly not eating enough on campus (she doesn’t like the food in Meille and doesn’t want to bus to town) I invited her for dinner tonight in town. Due to her prodigious appetite I thought it prudent to take her to the all you can eat barbecue place! Later in my bedroom Christma Cheng sent me a Skype message. We have chatted online occasionally for a few months and I thought she was one of Kevin’s students. She isn’t, she is studying at Dalian university and she initially contacted me as she is a friend of one of my students, who gave her my phone number. So now I will take Anna on the bike and if all goes well we will meet up with Christina and have a threesome for dinner. I feel a tad guilty about not inviting the other two but temper that with the knowledge that I am sure I will cook for them again before the holiday is out - I have already promised to make them my chilli shepherd’s pie after my return a week Tuesday.
So for now it’s off to the shop and give Pepsi some warm air (33C now) and then rendezvous with Anna at five.
Sunday 20th 1130
“Oh I’m so scared, can you go slowly?”
Those were the first words spoken by Anna (who presumably had never ridden pillion before) as we set off from campus. I only have two speeds on the e-bike, full ahead or stop. Not that I am a boy racer - with a top speed of 27mph, hardly - rather it is because I find it difficult to balance at low speeds. I am pleased to report that within half a mile the fear had evaporated to the extent that she kept moving on the saddle, becoming a danger herself!
Now Anna is a girl who is seriously wasting her life and I told her so. She rarely goes to town, preferring to spend her free time in her dormitory. As a result she had never seen Pyngtian lake, the mock ship hotel that has yet to open or anything else for that matter. She didn’t even know where the commercial centre was, which was where we were headed.
We arrived a little earlier than five-thirty (the agreed meeting time) and I sent a message to Christina to let her know we were outside KFC ready and waiting. As it happened she had arrived even earlier and was waiting for us inside and emerged to find us on getting the message. She is an IT major and considering she is not studying English her command is surprisingly good. Her dream is to go and study for a masters degree at a London university and there is little to stop her other than perhaps not applying herself sufficiently to her studies. Her parents own a small company so I imagine the fees could be found from somewhere to send her. She and Anna hit it off from the start and indeed they were both excellent company for the evening.
My decision to go to an all you can eat place was vindicated seeing as they both consumed colossal amounts. Whilst I marvelled at their capacity they were in turn amazed at how little I eat. I did though feel full on departure and if they didn’t then there is something seriously wrong with them! We had a lovely evening with Christina agreeing to come with me to the mountain school when I return to play my games on the 31st.
As we left at 2030, the air was nicely cooler than when we had ridden to town and thankfully there was no evidence of insect life to collide with my eyes or fly into my mouth on the ride back. In fact there was the odd spit of rain, which was most welcome. Anna was concerned the “Auntie” in charge of the dormitory would “scold” her for being late. I said I would have her back by nine and she said that was when they locked the dorms in the holidays. And these are adults!
Additionally she said she needed to go and get some hot water in her flask for her morning wash. That WAS going to make her late. Indeed, when we went to “Flask Central” on the other side of campus to her dorm, the hot water house was locked. There then ensued a trip to my place whereupon I filled her flask from my shower and despite her protestations I gave her a ride to the dorm, which was indeed locked. She told me I needn’t wait but I explained that if the Auntie saw me outside she would blame me and not Anna for waking her up. As far as I know she wasn’t berated. She left three hours ago with her teacher and team ready for the contest tomorrow. I will attach a photo of the two girls last night, Christina is on the left, Anna on the right.
I will be showering shortly then taking Pepsi to the vets for a 10 day stretch, followed by a pet food shop. After that I may well have a late lunch so as not to need dinner this evening and on my return I will need to start packing. I have drawn up an idiot list in the hope that I won’t forget anything vital this time.
I am viewing my first train trip with some trepidation because I will be alone. Silly really because I manage the bus trips perfectly well even though neither the stations nor the buses have the destinations signed up in English and from my online research I gather train stations do.
This does mean though that the blog is now suspended for about a fortnight. Although I will have my laptop with me I have decided to take a break for the duration. On my return though I intend to travel to Huainan in the north of the province, which will hopefully provide some good material to write about.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Tuesday 15th July, 2014 1130
You can just FEEL it by now that whenever I go away somewhere, things are guaranteed to go wrong, can’t you?
The calamities started before I even left. When I got to the vets I went upstairs with Pepsi (who by now surely knows that if I put her lead on it means she is going to prison) to find the place deserted apart from all the dogs in cages. After ten minutes someone came back but his English was poor. I did however glean that everyone was down the street trying to recapture a client’s escaped dog.
Pepsi in custody, I rode to the station and bought my ticket. It was pretty hot so I was looking forward to an air-conditioned bus. At the gate I thought was the Tongling one, a bus had just started to board but with ninety minutes of a ride ahead I felt it prudent to pay a swift visit to the little boys room. By the time I returned the bus had gone. Whilst annoyed, it wasn’t too dreadful as the Tongling buses leave at about 20 minute intervals and that gave me time to buy a small packet of biscuits and a cold lemonade from the station shop.
Aside from the fact the driver was the slowest I have ever encountered, the trip was fine and the aircon worked nicely. I even managed to get off at the most convenient stop instead of going all the way to the main station. Ali and her “sister” (actually a high school classmate) came to meet me. The sister (despite being an English major at Fu’yan university) amazingly didn’t have an English name. She does now - I christened her Charley as that’s sort of what her Chinese name sounds like.
They checked me into the Jinfeng hotel, whereupon I immediately tried the internet. Despite the girls finding the password for it on a card I couldn’t get access. Ok, so it doesn’t have to be wi-fi - I plugged in. Still nothing. Fine, I would get the hotel to sort it later if it still doesn’t work I thought (sometimes hotels forget to switch the net on when a guest arrives) but I needed a cold bottle, I was parched. The hotel restaurant is in the basement so we went down and asked for bin pijou. Incredibly, (because it is summer) they didn’t have any chilled so we cancelled that idea and got a cab to take us somewhere that did, the Blue Coffee Business Bar. Very pleasant, if pricy, and the girls had a fruit cocktail apiece whilst I slaked my thirst.
We had arranged to meet Amy and her “sister” (her cousin) at six at the place that does the exquisite sweet fish, yet at five-thirty I got a text asking where we were as they were waiting! In the west the girls often keep the lads waiting but here, most times they arrive far too early. The three of us arrived punctually at six. Naturally we had the fish and I was so pleased to actually be able to eat more than I have done on a daily basis since becoming ill. The girls ordered corn, broccoli and some strange rubbery mushroom, some barbecued pork pieces and something else I cannot remember. Whatever it was I never had any! I also had to give Amy’s cousin an English name so she is now Janine.
Ali had brought me a container of her mother’s rice wine as promised, which is rice in a liquid and I have to cook it with something - I will find out tonight exactly what - otherwise she thinks it will be too sweet for me.
It was a really pleasant couple of hours and despite my concern there would be some awkwardness when meeting Qing’s mother again (haven’t heard from Qing since the spring festival) everything was good. We made a date to all meet up this evening at six (and I emphasised six) at Pizza and More. We were discussing pizzas last night in the coffee bar and when it was suggested, I asked if they didn’t have a Pizza Hut because Pizza and More might not be as good. After Ali checked on her phone she looked suitably sheepish when she told me they were one and the same - she knew it by its slogan rather than brand name. I should have capitalised on that later in the evening when she never understood what Tesco was. I should have said tomorrow I am going to every little helps!
Anyway when I got back to my hotel I tried the internet and it still wouldn’t work so I went to reception. They didn’t speak English but I persuaded them to come to my room to see. They couldn’t fix it and with them watching I sat at the laptop and showed them what I had done a half a dozen times to no avail. Inexplicably that time it worked! I thanked them for the help (the irony will have been wasted) and they left beaming.
Thirty minutes later as I was surfing I was suddenly plunged into darkness. I was stunned. I had just left somewhere where it is commonplace during storms but not here - not in an hotel! I looked out of the window and the surrounding dwellings all had power. I opened the door to find the corridor well lit. Was it just me?? Then others emerged from their rooms to investigate. It wasn’t just me but it wasn’t the entire hotel. It wasn’t even our floor - it was MY side of the corridor only! I have no idea whether one of the Chinese residents plugged something naughty in or not but I did see a circuit breaker that had been completely destroyed.
Having the novelty of not only a working TV but with an English language channel, I retired to bed pooped and watched part of an American police film. For the first time in a while I was asleep before midnight and slept well, finally rising at nine. I must remember to take some Twinings tea bags and a carton of milk whenever I go away again, flat lemonade isn’t particularly appetising first thing in the morning. For now, I’m off to Tesco to see if I can find anything remotely interesting food-wise from the UK in there. Last time it was Heinz tomato soup.
1630
Well the only remotely western thing I found in Tesco was a packet of continental digestive biscuits, a packet of which I bought for the bus journey tomorrow. I also bought three disposable razors for 6y because annoyoingly none are provided by the hotel, rather you can buy the pack provided in your bathroom for 20y. In Chizhou you can find somewhere with cold beer in the summer every ten yards but not so Tongling. And when I did spot somewhere after finishing shopping it was on the other side of the road and with a barrier in the centre so meaning a long walk to find a crossing place. Eventually though I did park my weary bum down and have a couple before returning, only to find that my room card wouldn’t work! They had obviously only told the computer I was staying one night rather than the two I took care to stress (and for which they charged me) yesterday. I can but hope nothing untoward occurs in Pizza hut in two hours time.
2200
Well yes of course it did!
We all met up as planned - if a little earlier than planned - and ordered, Thankfully Ali and Charley had gone early because by the time I arrived (still early) people were queuing outside the door. Quite why is beyond me because Pizza Hut is bloody expensive, they charge western prices in China. It must be a status thing. Anyway, I dealt with the “bouncer” and went in to find Ali had secured a table for five, or rather four plus one in the aisle. They don’t have provision for large parties.
I ordered two lots of vol au vents purely because I knew the others wouldn’t have had them before, for starters. Verdict - just ok. Ali, Charley and I all ordered personal pizzas (I ordered a bottle of very expensive merlot - sod it, I’m on holiday) and Amy and Janine decided to go for a big stuffed crust to share betwixt the two. When the waitress clipped the bill to the table I was slightly surprised at seeing a total of nearly 500y and so checked. Yes, fine, my wine at 138y was the biggest item but what was the 116y thing?
Oh yes. Amy and Janine’s pizza to share. Enough said. The little pizzas arrived and were quite good but then the big one came. It was colossal!! The five of us could have filled up on it! I think Amy was feeling guilty but in fairness anyone could have made that mistake - I never knew they did them that gigantic. Needless to say we all tried to help eat it but still Amy took some home for her and Janine’s breakfast. It was worth the error just for the fun I had ribbing Amy. Not only that, for the first time in over a week I actually ate a decent helping of food. I never took the camera as one Pizza Hut looks the same as the next and the company was identical to Monday evening.
Sadly of course this signalled the end of my short break here (although I did get a pretty girl’s email address before we left the restaurant) and we all took our leave. I needed a smoke and you can’t smoke in there so outside I found a re-run of one of the Argentina world cup matches playing on a huge outdoor screen and so sat on a low wall with the locals watching that as well as young children kicking balls about. Drinking the moment I believe it’s called. I stayed only long enough to finish my cigar, after all I knew the result, and took a taxi back to the hotel where I am now finishing a bottle of plonk before retiring and tomorrow’s return.
Despite the travails (which are part and parcel of a Wednesday’s child’s life) it has been an enjoyable, if expensive little sojourn.
Wednesday 16th 1230
Well the plan had been to check out by now and be on the bus home. Two things happened to change that.
Firstly, I awoke a couple of times in the night and felt pain in my left knee. It was an attack of arthritis developing and as I haven’t been troubled by it for months, and only being away from home for two nights, my anti-inflammatories were the only pills I never brought with me. I had hoped it wouldn’t be too severe but by the time I got up (having given up on trying to sleep through the maintenance man’s drilling) I couldn’t walk. And yes, there was now heavy rain outside.
I sent an SOS to Amy and bless her, she went to a chemist, got me some pills and brought them to me. Before that though, Qing phoned me! She couldn’t talk for long, she is working as a journalist here now. The two things combined made me decide to stay another night. I didn’t want to hobble everywhere carrying my luggage in the rain and I rather hope that Qing will have dinner with me tonight although I am not holding my breath on that one.
Somehow the hotel management found out Medicins Sans Frontieres was rushing emergency supplies to me and when Amy and Janine arrived I suddenly had a roomful. It is obvious they think I am about to peg out as the manageress took Amy’s phone number in case of an emergency despite my protestations that arthritis is not normally life-threatening. I am hoping in about an hour or so I will be considerably more mobile.
You can just FEEL it by now that whenever I go away somewhere, things are guaranteed to go wrong, can’t you?
The calamities started before I even left. When I got to the vets I went upstairs with Pepsi (who by now surely knows that if I put her lead on it means she is going to prison) to find the place deserted apart from all the dogs in cages. After ten minutes someone came back but his English was poor. I did however glean that everyone was down the street trying to recapture a client’s escaped dog.
Pepsi in custody, I rode to the station and bought my ticket. It was pretty hot so I was looking forward to an air-conditioned bus. At the gate I thought was the Tongling one, a bus had just started to board but with ninety minutes of a ride ahead I felt it prudent to pay a swift visit to the little boys room. By the time I returned the bus had gone. Whilst annoyed, it wasn’t too dreadful as the Tongling buses leave at about 20 minute intervals and that gave me time to buy a small packet of biscuits and a cold lemonade from the station shop.
Aside from the fact the driver was the slowest I have ever encountered, the trip was fine and the aircon worked nicely. I even managed to get off at the most convenient stop instead of going all the way to the main station. Ali and her “sister” (actually a high school classmate) came to meet me. The sister (despite being an English major at Fu’yan university) amazingly didn’t have an English name. She does now - I christened her Charley as that’s sort of what her Chinese name sounds like.
They checked me into the Jinfeng hotel, whereupon I immediately tried the internet. Despite the girls finding the password for it on a card I couldn’t get access. Ok, so it doesn’t have to be wi-fi - I plugged in. Still nothing. Fine, I would get the hotel to sort it later if it still doesn’t work I thought (sometimes hotels forget to switch the net on when a guest arrives) but I needed a cold bottle, I was parched. The hotel restaurant is in the basement so we went down and asked for bin pijou. Incredibly, (because it is summer) they didn’t have any chilled so we cancelled that idea and got a cab to take us somewhere that did, the Blue Coffee Business Bar. Very pleasant, if pricy, and the girls had a fruit cocktail apiece whilst I slaked my thirst.
We had arranged to meet Amy and her “sister” (her cousin) at six at the place that does the exquisite sweet fish, yet at five-thirty I got a text asking where we were as they were waiting! In the west the girls often keep the lads waiting but here, most times they arrive far too early. The three of us arrived punctually at six. Naturally we had the fish and I was so pleased to actually be able to eat more than I have done on a daily basis since becoming ill. The girls ordered corn, broccoli and some strange rubbery mushroom, some barbecued pork pieces and something else I cannot remember. Whatever it was I never had any! I also had to give Amy’s cousin an English name so she is now Janine.
Ali had brought me a container of her mother’s rice wine as promised, which is rice in a liquid and I have to cook it with something - I will find out tonight exactly what - otherwise she thinks it will be too sweet for me.
It was a really pleasant couple of hours and despite my concern there would be some awkwardness when meeting Qing’s mother again (haven’t heard from Qing since the spring festival) everything was good. We made a date to all meet up this evening at six (and I emphasised six) at Pizza and More. We were discussing pizzas last night in the coffee bar and when it was suggested, I asked if they didn’t have a Pizza Hut because Pizza and More might not be as good. After Ali checked on her phone she looked suitably sheepish when she told me they were one and the same - she knew it by its slogan rather than brand name. I should have capitalised on that later in the evening when she never understood what Tesco was. I should have said tomorrow I am going to every little helps!
Anyway when I got back to my hotel I tried the internet and it still wouldn’t work so I went to reception. They didn’t speak English but I persuaded them to come to my room to see. They couldn’t fix it and with them watching I sat at the laptop and showed them what I had done a half a dozen times to no avail. Inexplicably that time it worked! I thanked them for the help (the irony will have been wasted) and they left beaming.
Thirty minutes later as I was surfing I was suddenly plunged into darkness. I was stunned. I had just left somewhere where it is commonplace during storms but not here - not in an hotel! I looked out of the window and the surrounding dwellings all had power. I opened the door to find the corridor well lit. Was it just me?? Then others emerged from their rooms to investigate. It wasn’t just me but it wasn’t the entire hotel. It wasn’t even our floor - it was MY side of the corridor only! I have no idea whether one of the Chinese residents plugged something naughty in or not but I did see a circuit breaker that had been completely destroyed.
Having the novelty of not only a working TV but with an English language channel, I retired to bed pooped and watched part of an American police film. For the first time in a while I was asleep before midnight and slept well, finally rising at nine. I must remember to take some Twinings tea bags and a carton of milk whenever I go away again, flat lemonade isn’t particularly appetising first thing in the morning. For now, I’m off to Tesco to see if I can find anything remotely interesting food-wise from the UK in there. Last time it was Heinz tomato soup.
1630
Well the only remotely western thing I found in Tesco was a packet of continental digestive biscuits, a packet of which I bought for the bus journey tomorrow. I also bought three disposable razors for 6y because annoyoingly none are provided by the hotel, rather you can buy the pack provided in your bathroom for 20y. In Chizhou you can find somewhere with cold beer in the summer every ten yards but not so Tongling. And when I did spot somewhere after finishing shopping it was on the other side of the road and with a barrier in the centre so meaning a long walk to find a crossing place. Eventually though I did park my weary bum down and have a couple before returning, only to find that my room card wouldn’t work! They had obviously only told the computer I was staying one night rather than the two I took care to stress (and for which they charged me) yesterday. I can but hope nothing untoward occurs in Pizza hut in two hours time.
2200
Well yes of course it did!
We all met up as planned - if a little earlier than planned - and ordered, Thankfully Ali and Charley had gone early because by the time I arrived (still early) people were queuing outside the door. Quite why is beyond me because Pizza Hut is bloody expensive, they charge western prices in China. It must be a status thing. Anyway, I dealt with the “bouncer” and went in to find Ali had secured a table for five, or rather four plus one in the aisle. They don’t have provision for large parties.
I ordered two lots of vol au vents purely because I knew the others wouldn’t have had them before, for starters. Verdict - just ok. Ali, Charley and I all ordered personal pizzas (I ordered a bottle of very expensive merlot - sod it, I’m on holiday) and Amy and Janine decided to go for a big stuffed crust to share betwixt the two. When the waitress clipped the bill to the table I was slightly surprised at seeing a total of nearly 500y and so checked. Yes, fine, my wine at 138y was the biggest item but what was the 116y thing?
Oh yes. Amy and Janine’s pizza to share. Enough said. The little pizzas arrived and were quite good but then the big one came. It was colossal!! The five of us could have filled up on it! I think Amy was feeling guilty but in fairness anyone could have made that mistake - I never knew they did them that gigantic. Needless to say we all tried to help eat it but still Amy took some home for her and Janine’s breakfast. It was worth the error just for the fun I had ribbing Amy. Not only that, for the first time in over a week I actually ate a decent helping of food. I never took the camera as one Pizza Hut looks the same as the next and the company was identical to Monday evening.
Sadly of course this signalled the end of my short break here (although I did get a pretty girl’s email address before we left the restaurant) and we all took our leave. I needed a smoke and you can’t smoke in there so outside I found a re-run of one of the Argentina world cup matches playing on a huge outdoor screen and so sat on a low wall with the locals watching that as well as young children kicking balls about. Drinking the moment I believe it’s called. I stayed only long enough to finish my cigar, after all I knew the result, and took a taxi back to the hotel where I am now finishing a bottle of plonk before retiring and tomorrow’s return.
Despite the travails (which are part and parcel of a Wednesday’s child’s life) it has been an enjoyable, if expensive little sojourn.
Wednesday 16th 1230
Well the plan had been to check out by now and be on the bus home. Two things happened to change that.
Firstly, I awoke a couple of times in the night and felt pain in my left knee. It was an attack of arthritis developing and as I haven’t been troubled by it for months, and only being away from home for two nights, my anti-inflammatories were the only pills I never brought with me. I had hoped it wouldn’t be too severe but by the time I got up (having given up on trying to sleep through the maintenance man’s drilling) I couldn’t walk. And yes, there was now heavy rain outside.
I sent an SOS to Amy and bless her, she went to a chemist, got me some pills and brought them to me. Before that though, Qing phoned me! She couldn’t talk for long, she is working as a journalist here now. The two things combined made me decide to stay another night. I didn’t want to hobble everywhere carrying my luggage in the rain and I rather hope that Qing will have dinner with me tonight although I am not holding my breath on that one.
Somehow the hotel management found out Medicins Sans Frontieres was rushing emergency supplies to me and when Amy and Janine arrived I suddenly had a roomful. It is obvious they think I am about to peg out as the manageress took Amy’s phone number in case of an emergency despite my protestations that arthritis is not normally life-threatening. I am hoping in about an hour or so I will be considerably more mobile.
Saturday, 12 July 2014
Saturday 12th July, 2014 1600
Not long before I posted the last entry and not long before I was due to leave for town with Vivi for dinner an email arrived with a proofreading/editing job for the Guangzhou government again. This was at 1630 and the deadline for completion was 1600 yesterday, less than 24 hours notice. No problems thought I, until I saw that it was the biggest one they have given me yet - 10,000 words!
I know I am fast but I thought it would take five hours anyway. I thought I could make a start after dinner and continue in the morning and so off we went to the Sichuan restaurant. Vivi had been before with Kevin but not my four guests and they really enjoyed it, which hopefully you will see from the pictures (yes I remembered this time!). I never enjoyed it so much though because my stomach was still not right and still isn’t plus the job I had been given was in PPP format. I have no idea about them other than you can’t edit them. You can copy into Word and do it but I have no product key for mine so it’s useless. Fallrain said she would sort it but when we came back she couldn’t and of course Kevin the expert had left. In the end I managed to figure it out myself and so made a start just after eleven. By one in the morning I was pooped and finding focusing impossible so packed it in and went to bed.
Because I really wanted this particular job to be submitted perfectly (a brochure) in order for the work to keep flowing, I slept badly and fretted over finishing on time because it was taking far longer than anticipated. I had set my alarm for ten, giving six hours to complete the final two thirds but when I woke at six I couldn’t stop worrying, I couldn’t get back to sleep so eventually I got up and started again. They received it before eleven yesterday morning so hopefully my place in the job queue is now firmly cemented.
When Flora was leaving for her work in the afternoon she couldn’t get out. Her key wouldn’t work. I opened the door with mine. Then later Summer came and couldn’t open it from outside. I had the devil’s job of opening it from inside so obviously something was wrong with the lock. These doors are metal and have nine deadbolts so the last thing I need is to be trapped because the window has bars in front of it to deter burglars. At my request Summer called the number stamped outside every flat and an hour later a chap arrived and changed the whole assembly. Unbeknown to me he wasn’t a school maintenance man so I had to pay him 180y which will now take until the end of next term to get back.
Last night we had the mother of all thunderstorms. We have had plenty here during my time but this one was not only very loud but there was a strong wind to boot. It wasn’t long before the inevitable happened and the entire area was plunged into darkness, plus of course my aircon stopped. It took them two hours to restore power. For fifteen minutes and then it went off again and took another hour to be reconnected. It also blew my bike over off the main stand. Thankfully I keep candles for emergencies but I stayed up longer than I wanted as I couldn’t face a hot and sticky night and wanted to turn the aircon back on - it doesn‘t restart after a power cut.
I went to bed relatively early at eleven after we had electricity again as I had an 0600 rise this morning to get ready for an 0730 collection to go to the charity school in the mountains. It was an ordeal dragging myself out of bed but I was ready and arrived at the west gate a few minutes early for my lift. Instead of a taxi as before, the school now is using a people carrier so a teacher drove whilst Prof Wu’s son chatted to me. En route they had a phone call to stop and buy some tea eggs. The Chinese never have plain boiled eggs, they are always done in a rice machine with tea and spices in the water and they are extremely brown when finished.
I had a spur of the moment thought when we stopped and I bought six apples. The usual format for these occasions is a meet, greet, introduction by everyone followed by a question and answer session. After that it’s into a classroom where I stage some games and activities. The apples were for just before lunch. They had never seen apple bobbing before so many photos were taken and much fun was had by all. One young lad was determined to get one but had five attempts before nearly doing it, biting a slice off one in the process, so he was given that for sheer persistence. I managed to eat a few morsels of potato and some nice lightly pickled cucumber and then I was whisked back down the mountain and home.
I have to eat something tonight even though I don’t want to and so I have a steak and kidney pie defrosting. Not particularly big but I will be very pleased it I can eat it all. The girls have washed al the dishes, swept the floor and mopped it and then I got some (surprisingly) bad news. Flora and Summer have found an empty house to rent in town so as I type they are packing their things to leave - in yet another thunderstorm. I had an idea, which was that as there would now be only two girls in the bedroom they could have a camp bed apiece. Unbelievably they said they preferred the floor!
There will be no blog tomorrow as I need to shop and get pet food and get ready for leaving on Monday. I am going to Tongling for two nights and will meet Ali and despite her thinking she would be going to Beijing, Amy as well. Pepsi will be going to prison Monday morning before I take the bus there. My big holiday starts a week Monday but I am not leaving the bike parked at the station for 8 or 9 days
Not long before I posted the last entry and not long before I was due to leave for town with Vivi for dinner an email arrived with a proofreading/editing job for the Guangzhou government again. This was at 1630 and the deadline for completion was 1600 yesterday, less than 24 hours notice. No problems thought I, until I saw that it was the biggest one they have given me yet - 10,000 words!
I know I am fast but I thought it would take five hours anyway. I thought I could make a start after dinner and continue in the morning and so off we went to the Sichuan restaurant. Vivi had been before with Kevin but not my four guests and they really enjoyed it, which hopefully you will see from the pictures (yes I remembered this time!). I never enjoyed it so much though because my stomach was still not right and still isn’t plus the job I had been given was in PPP format. I have no idea about them other than you can’t edit them. You can copy into Word and do it but I have no product key for mine so it’s useless. Fallrain said she would sort it but when we came back she couldn’t and of course Kevin the expert had left. In the end I managed to figure it out myself and so made a start just after eleven. By one in the morning I was pooped and finding focusing impossible so packed it in and went to bed.
Because I really wanted this particular job to be submitted perfectly (a brochure) in order for the work to keep flowing, I slept badly and fretted over finishing on time because it was taking far longer than anticipated. I had set my alarm for ten, giving six hours to complete the final two thirds but when I woke at six I couldn’t stop worrying, I couldn’t get back to sleep so eventually I got up and started again. They received it before eleven yesterday morning so hopefully my place in the job queue is now firmly cemented.
When Flora was leaving for her work in the afternoon she couldn’t get out. Her key wouldn’t work. I opened the door with mine. Then later Summer came and couldn’t open it from outside. I had the devil’s job of opening it from inside so obviously something was wrong with the lock. These doors are metal and have nine deadbolts so the last thing I need is to be trapped because the window has bars in front of it to deter burglars. At my request Summer called the number stamped outside every flat and an hour later a chap arrived and changed the whole assembly. Unbeknown to me he wasn’t a school maintenance man so I had to pay him 180y which will now take until the end of next term to get back.
Last night we had the mother of all thunderstorms. We have had plenty here during my time but this one was not only very loud but there was a strong wind to boot. It wasn’t long before the inevitable happened and the entire area was plunged into darkness, plus of course my aircon stopped. It took them two hours to restore power. For fifteen minutes and then it went off again and took another hour to be reconnected. It also blew my bike over off the main stand. Thankfully I keep candles for emergencies but I stayed up longer than I wanted as I couldn’t face a hot and sticky night and wanted to turn the aircon back on - it doesn‘t restart after a power cut.
I went to bed relatively early at eleven after we had electricity again as I had an 0600 rise this morning to get ready for an 0730 collection to go to the charity school in the mountains. It was an ordeal dragging myself out of bed but I was ready and arrived at the west gate a few minutes early for my lift. Instead of a taxi as before, the school now is using a people carrier so a teacher drove whilst Prof Wu’s son chatted to me. En route they had a phone call to stop and buy some tea eggs. The Chinese never have plain boiled eggs, they are always done in a rice machine with tea and spices in the water and they are extremely brown when finished.
I had a spur of the moment thought when we stopped and I bought six apples. The usual format for these occasions is a meet, greet, introduction by everyone followed by a question and answer session. After that it’s into a classroom where I stage some games and activities. The apples were for just before lunch. They had never seen apple bobbing before so many photos were taken and much fun was had by all. One young lad was determined to get one but had five attempts before nearly doing it, biting a slice off one in the process, so he was given that for sheer persistence. I managed to eat a few morsels of potato and some nice lightly pickled cucumber and then I was whisked back down the mountain and home.
I have to eat something tonight even though I don’t want to and so I have a steak and kidney pie defrosting. Not particularly big but I will be very pleased it I can eat it all. The girls have washed al the dishes, swept the floor and mopped it and then I got some (surprisingly) bad news. Flora and Summer have found an empty house to rent in town so as I type they are packing their things to leave - in yet another thunderstorm. I had an idea, which was that as there would now be only two girls in the bedroom they could have a camp bed apiece. Unbelievably they said they preferred the floor!
There will be no blog tomorrow as I need to shop and get pet food and get ready for leaving on Monday. I am going to Tongling for two nights and will meet Ali and despite her thinking she would be going to Beijing, Amy as well. Pepsi will be going to prison Monday morning before I take the bus there. My big holiday starts a week Monday but I am not leaving the bike parked at the station for 8 or 9 days
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Thursday 10th July, 2014 1500
Well not long after I posted the last entry Jeff sent a message to say that he had urgent commitments elsewhere and apologised for not coming to the dinner. In addition, he said he would pay for the meal, with which I said Kevin and I would be uncomfortable and would pay for it ourselves, that having been our intention all along.
It ended up just being three of us, Vivi having cried off at the eleventh hour citing her propensity for car-sickness. We arrived and I immediately noticed the Indian chef was not at his row of equipment, instead being with the other chefs in the traditional Chinese cooking area. To all our dismay we were told that due to problems sourcing ingredients there was no curry to be had that night. Hugely disappointing but certainly credible, I know from my own experience of trying to obtain “exotic” gear to make dishes.
We ordered Chinese stuff which sadly I could only eat a little of, my stomach is still not back to normal. One of the dishes was a liver hotpot which was most unusual but nice and tender. At the end Kevin went to settle the bill (we always go Dutch) but returned, saying the staff refused to take our money. As we left, Donna (through Yvonne) said that she wanted to invite me for a meal there again with her. Having now been there twice and not paid a penny, I said no, I would take her and Jeff to the Sichuan restaurant and I would pick up the damage. The only problem with that will be getting an evening where all three of us are free. Donna did say as we said our goodbyes “I really like you”, which must surely have meant dredging her limited English to come up with it.
Oh, and in typical fashion, I had forgotten to take my camera!
Tuesday was chaotic. With Yvonne still here and four others due to arrive, the two of us set about making chilli con carne for eight - Kevin and Vivi were getting some as a takeaway. I found Ollivier’s blow-up mattress but of the pump there was no sign. Nor was there any evidence of forks in his kitchen. I know he has at least six but I couldn’t find them. I only have two so everyone used a spoon instead. We ate in Olliviers as I have no table and tomorrow I will set the girls to work washing up the aftermath.
Back in my place, I was given both camp beds to keep in my room and the mattress was refused. The girls had decided it would be cooler to all sleep on the floor on thin bead mats! How the hell they get any sleep like that is beyond me but then students can effortlessly fall asleep at their desks during a ten minute class break. They also gave me back the 300y I had given Ellen to pay for an hotel for them to stay in until Yvonne left as they felt I had already done so much by letting them stay here.
Yesterday I took Yvonne and her incredibly heavy case to the station and waited with her until her bus boarded. I miss her company. Later at home I checked the forecast. This weekend is supposed to be rainy so I decided on impulse to travel to Tongling hopefully to see Amy and Ali. Sadly Amy may leave for Beijing on Monday to start a holiday job but Ali thankfully is free and the bonus is that the hotel I booked is not far from her home. Her Mother is making some rice wine and she says she will bring some for me. So that’s the first of my little travels decided - just for two days though.
In the evening I used some of the 300y they gave me back to treat all four (Ellen, Flora, Summer and Fallrain) to dinner at the sweet pork place and despite the fact that we had my two favourites plus others my belly still wouldn’t allow much to enter it. I did though enjoy one dish the girls ordered, which was a meatball and tomato type of soup I hadn’t seen before.
Back home I was dog-tired and wanted to get up early(ish) in preparation for Kevin doing as he always does, come and say goodbye as he leaves on holiday. With Ellen and Fallrain working on their teaching plans (they are all teaching at the same place) I showed Alien to the other two and finally called it a day just after one.
I shouldn’t have bothered with the alarm because his ETD of 0930 came and went. For the first time - and I assume because he knew all the girls were here - he never knocked my door on the way out. However, when I emerged to use the loo Flora, looking worried, informed me that there were only two cats. She was quick to deny that any of the girls had opened the window through which it must have gotten out. They didn’t open it, I did. Before I went to bed it was so hot in there I slid it as far as the metal bar I put there to try to cool it down a little. Pooh was (and still is) nowhere to be seen and I think he managed enough strength to actually bend the soft alloy bar enough for him to squeeze out. Nearly four years he has been with me and for all his mischief he means a lot to me so I am hoping he won’t stray far and that in due course I will find him again.
After a brief search on the vicinity of our building I came back and at midday decided I desperately needed to go back to bed. I am taking the girls to the Sichuan restaurant tonight (which will use the rest of the unexpected refund). I failed to turn off my phone and so was disturbed by Kevin’s farewell text sent from Chizhou airport’s departure lounge and then just as I was nodding off, I got a phone call which I cancelled. It rang again and so in frustration I answered. It was the charity school in the mountains, they want me to go there on Saturday morning. I never refuse them and tonight I will ask if the girls are working that day. If not I would like to take Flora with me. Just as I was drifting off to sleep I was yet again disturbed by a message from Happy (who is in Hefei) asking where I was. I did manage to get at least some sleep but it was fitful and with thoughts of Pooh bubbling to the surface every now and again. God knows where he is now because it is roasting out there currently, my computer tells me it is 33C.
Vivi is coming to tonight’s dinner. As the girls will meet us at the restaurant straight from work I can take her on the bike and she won’t get car-sickness. This time I will make sure I remember the camera!
Well not long after I posted the last entry Jeff sent a message to say that he had urgent commitments elsewhere and apologised for not coming to the dinner. In addition, he said he would pay for the meal, with which I said Kevin and I would be uncomfortable and would pay for it ourselves, that having been our intention all along.
It ended up just being three of us, Vivi having cried off at the eleventh hour citing her propensity for car-sickness. We arrived and I immediately noticed the Indian chef was not at his row of equipment, instead being with the other chefs in the traditional Chinese cooking area. To all our dismay we were told that due to problems sourcing ingredients there was no curry to be had that night. Hugely disappointing but certainly credible, I know from my own experience of trying to obtain “exotic” gear to make dishes.
We ordered Chinese stuff which sadly I could only eat a little of, my stomach is still not back to normal. One of the dishes was a liver hotpot which was most unusual but nice and tender. At the end Kevin went to settle the bill (we always go Dutch) but returned, saying the staff refused to take our money. As we left, Donna (through Yvonne) said that she wanted to invite me for a meal there again with her. Having now been there twice and not paid a penny, I said no, I would take her and Jeff to the Sichuan restaurant and I would pick up the damage. The only problem with that will be getting an evening where all three of us are free. Donna did say as we said our goodbyes “I really like you”, which must surely have meant dredging her limited English to come up with it.
Oh, and in typical fashion, I had forgotten to take my camera!
Tuesday was chaotic. With Yvonne still here and four others due to arrive, the two of us set about making chilli con carne for eight - Kevin and Vivi were getting some as a takeaway. I found Ollivier’s blow-up mattress but of the pump there was no sign. Nor was there any evidence of forks in his kitchen. I know he has at least six but I couldn’t find them. I only have two so everyone used a spoon instead. We ate in Olliviers as I have no table and tomorrow I will set the girls to work washing up the aftermath.
Back in my place, I was given both camp beds to keep in my room and the mattress was refused. The girls had decided it would be cooler to all sleep on the floor on thin bead mats! How the hell they get any sleep like that is beyond me but then students can effortlessly fall asleep at their desks during a ten minute class break. They also gave me back the 300y I had given Ellen to pay for an hotel for them to stay in until Yvonne left as they felt I had already done so much by letting them stay here.
Yesterday I took Yvonne and her incredibly heavy case to the station and waited with her until her bus boarded. I miss her company. Later at home I checked the forecast. This weekend is supposed to be rainy so I decided on impulse to travel to Tongling hopefully to see Amy and Ali. Sadly Amy may leave for Beijing on Monday to start a holiday job but Ali thankfully is free and the bonus is that the hotel I booked is not far from her home. Her Mother is making some rice wine and she says she will bring some for me. So that’s the first of my little travels decided - just for two days though.
In the evening I used some of the 300y they gave me back to treat all four (Ellen, Flora, Summer and Fallrain) to dinner at the sweet pork place and despite the fact that we had my two favourites plus others my belly still wouldn’t allow much to enter it. I did though enjoy one dish the girls ordered, which was a meatball and tomato type of soup I hadn’t seen before.
Back home I was dog-tired and wanted to get up early(ish) in preparation for Kevin doing as he always does, come and say goodbye as he leaves on holiday. With Ellen and Fallrain working on their teaching plans (they are all teaching at the same place) I showed Alien to the other two and finally called it a day just after one.
I shouldn’t have bothered with the alarm because his ETD of 0930 came and went. For the first time - and I assume because he knew all the girls were here - he never knocked my door on the way out. However, when I emerged to use the loo Flora, looking worried, informed me that there were only two cats. She was quick to deny that any of the girls had opened the window through which it must have gotten out. They didn’t open it, I did. Before I went to bed it was so hot in there I slid it as far as the metal bar I put there to try to cool it down a little. Pooh was (and still is) nowhere to be seen and I think he managed enough strength to actually bend the soft alloy bar enough for him to squeeze out. Nearly four years he has been with me and for all his mischief he means a lot to me so I am hoping he won’t stray far and that in due course I will find him again.
After a brief search on the vicinity of our building I came back and at midday decided I desperately needed to go back to bed. I am taking the girls to the Sichuan restaurant tonight (which will use the rest of the unexpected refund). I failed to turn off my phone and so was disturbed by Kevin’s farewell text sent from Chizhou airport’s departure lounge and then just as I was nodding off, I got a phone call which I cancelled. It rang again and so in frustration I answered. It was the charity school in the mountains, they want me to go there on Saturday morning. I never refuse them and tonight I will ask if the girls are working that day. If not I would like to take Flora with me. Just as I was drifting off to sleep I was yet again disturbed by a message from Happy (who is in Hefei) asking where I was. I did manage to get at least some sleep but it was fitful and with thoughts of Pooh bubbling to the surface every now and again. God knows where he is now because it is roasting out there currently, my computer tells me it is 33C.
Vivi is coming to tonight’s dinner. As the girls will meet us at the restaurant straight from work I can take her on the bike and she won’t get car-sickness. This time I will make sure I remember the camera!
Monday, 7 July 2014
Monday 7th July, 2014 1540
We found the crab restaurant. Annoyingly it was yet another hotpot restaurant and to be honest I went off them three years ago. Even more irksome was the fact that (especially with only chopsticks to assist) it was a great deal of effort to get a minimal amount of meat, plus ingesting pieces of shell was a near certainty. To make matters worse yesterday when I got up I had an upset stomach which could only have been occasioned by what I ate there as it was all I had had all day.
Various visits to the little boys room ensued and I suffered cramps the entire time. When the time came to leave for the meeting with Jeff I seriously felt like cancelling in case I got caught out with not a western toilet in sight. Not only that but I didn’t feel at all hungry despite having eaten the crab sparsely and it being my sole sustenance in the past 48 hours. On the number seven bus I sipped from a bottle of jing jo (medicine wine, so called because it smells like medicine) and in fairness it did settle my belly somewhat.
Exiting the bus near a China Construction bank as I was down to 60y in my wallet, we then hailed a taxi to take us to the restaurant. Kevin had looked on Google maps, which as it happened placed the restaurant nowhere near its actual location. The taxi driver could only take us to the general vicinity too, for unbeknown to me the restaurant is completely new and situated in a new development, rather than as I had thought, being a refurbished one. It ended with us phoning Jeff and him coming a short distance to pick us up in his car.
The place itself is very nicely appointed and it appears Jeff funded it, he told me the cost of fitting it out was over a million yuan. I believe him. As you enter on the ground floor you are greeted with a vast array of cling film covered platters containing fish, tofu, vegetables, prawns etc and I was asked which I would like. I had been greeted like visiting royalty by all the staff at the entrance, who had obviously been informed a foreigner was coming, who was also a friend of both the financier and the boss (the divorced lady). Respectfully I got Yvonne to explain that I had a gastric problem and would probably eat very little, although having spotted the Indian chef and ascertaining that he does indeed do curries, that was what I would like. In view of the delicate nature of my innards I asked for the least spicy one, which turned out to be completely devoid of any “kick”. they were all chicken ones and quite unlike any I have ever had before. You get a whole chicken intact! The chapattis, whilst being nice, were also quite unlike any I have ever seen, they were crispy and cut into squares but nonetheless tasty.
The chicken was very tender it has to be said, although the logistics of not only separating a leg from the carcase but transferring it to your plate without dropping it with only chopsticks is challenging to say the least. There were just the four of us at the table - Jeff, Yvonne, me and a male friend of Jeff who couldn’t stay long, just enough to eat and then go and attend to business. The boss came to sit and gambay with me and I found out she didn’t have an English name so I gave her one - Donna. After some time there was some excited chattering among the locals and Yvonne told me Kevin was coming.
Actually he wasn’t. He sent me a text saying he had found the place using his satnav whilst searching in vain for an open car wash, had come in for a business card and was leaving, having already eaten his dinner which Vivi had cooked for him at home. By text I persuaded him to come upstairs and show his face, partly because it meant we could get a lift back. Gut problems aside, it was a nice evening.
We had planned to go as a foursome tonight to the prawn hotpot place as I have a voucher for a free hotpot but instead I suggested we could go back there tonight and we could invite Jeff (he always seems to pay so we will return the compliment) and Donna in between her doing the PR with the customers. So that’s where we are heading in ninety minutes and this time I will take my camera. I still don’t feel 100% but hopefully I can eat more this time and we will order a spicier curry as well.
I have just returned from the outside supermarket and sweet pork place, having taken Pepsi and Yvonne for some fresh (and very warm) air but now she is taking a nap. Tomorrow sees the horde of girls moving in so I have decided to cook a chilli for them all, which will entail a shopping trip in the morning. Ollivier read my last blog and sent a message to offer the use of an inflatable mattress plus electric pump with which to inflate it. I suspect it will be most welcome.
Yvonne leaves on Wednesday and I have offered to take her and her suitcase to the station as I can then continue to town to shop and have some lunch, probably yet another McDonald’s!
We found the crab restaurant. Annoyingly it was yet another hotpot restaurant and to be honest I went off them three years ago. Even more irksome was the fact that (especially with only chopsticks to assist) it was a great deal of effort to get a minimal amount of meat, plus ingesting pieces of shell was a near certainty. To make matters worse yesterday when I got up I had an upset stomach which could only have been occasioned by what I ate there as it was all I had had all day.
Various visits to the little boys room ensued and I suffered cramps the entire time. When the time came to leave for the meeting with Jeff I seriously felt like cancelling in case I got caught out with not a western toilet in sight. Not only that but I didn’t feel at all hungry despite having eaten the crab sparsely and it being my sole sustenance in the past 48 hours. On the number seven bus I sipped from a bottle of jing jo (medicine wine, so called because it smells like medicine) and in fairness it did settle my belly somewhat.
Exiting the bus near a China Construction bank as I was down to 60y in my wallet, we then hailed a taxi to take us to the restaurant. Kevin had looked on Google maps, which as it happened placed the restaurant nowhere near its actual location. The taxi driver could only take us to the general vicinity too, for unbeknown to me the restaurant is completely new and situated in a new development, rather than as I had thought, being a refurbished one. It ended with us phoning Jeff and him coming a short distance to pick us up in his car.
The place itself is very nicely appointed and it appears Jeff funded it, he told me the cost of fitting it out was over a million yuan. I believe him. As you enter on the ground floor you are greeted with a vast array of cling film covered platters containing fish, tofu, vegetables, prawns etc and I was asked which I would like. I had been greeted like visiting royalty by all the staff at the entrance, who had obviously been informed a foreigner was coming, who was also a friend of both the financier and the boss (the divorced lady). Respectfully I got Yvonne to explain that I had a gastric problem and would probably eat very little, although having spotted the Indian chef and ascertaining that he does indeed do curries, that was what I would like. In view of the delicate nature of my innards I asked for the least spicy one, which turned out to be completely devoid of any “kick”. they were all chicken ones and quite unlike any I have ever had before. You get a whole chicken intact! The chapattis, whilst being nice, were also quite unlike any I have ever seen, they were crispy and cut into squares but nonetheless tasty.
The chicken was very tender it has to be said, although the logistics of not only separating a leg from the carcase but transferring it to your plate without dropping it with only chopsticks is challenging to say the least. There were just the four of us at the table - Jeff, Yvonne, me and a male friend of Jeff who couldn’t stay long, just enough to eat and then go and attend to business. The boss came to sit and gambay with me and I found out she didn’t have an English name so I gave her one - Donna. After some time there was some excited chattering among the locals and Yvonne told me Kevin was coming.
Actually he wasn’t. He sent me a text saying he had found the place using his satnav whilst searching in vain for an open car wash, had come in for a business card and was leaving, having already eaten his dinner which Vivi had cooked for him at home. By text I persuaded him to come upstairs and show his face, partly because it meant we could get a lift back. Gut problems aside, it was a nice evening.
We had planned to go as a foursome tonight to the prawn hotpot place as I have a voucher for a free hotpot but instead I suggested we could go back there tonight and we could invite Jeff (he always seems to pay so we will return the compliment) and Donna in between her doing the PR with the customers. So that’s where we are heading in ninety minutes and this time I will take my camera. I still don’t feel 100% but hopefully I can eat more this time and we will order a spicier curry as well.
I have just returned from the outside supermarket and sweet pork place, having taken Pepsi and Yvonne for some fresh (and very warm) air but now she is taking a nap. Tomorrow sees the horde of girls moving in so I have decided to cook a chilli for them all, which will entail a shopping trip in the morning. Ollivier read my last blog and sent a message to offer the use of an inflatable mattress plus electric pump with which to inflate it. I suspect it will be most welcome.
Yvonne leaves on Wednesday and I have offered to take her and her suitcase to the station as I can then continue to town to shop and have some lunch, probably yet another McDonald’s!
Saturday, 5 July 2014
Saturday 5th July, 2014 1400
Yesterday saw the last of the students take their final exam of the academic year, our department being the tail-end Charlies whilst other students had already departed on their holidays. A couple of days ago I saw Ellen and Fallrain who are coming to stay throughout the holiday. They explained that two of their classmates had jobs but still couldn’t find anywhere to stay. Now for the month of July (from Tuesday) I will have FOUR girls staying. I explained that I only have two camp beds but that didn’t bother them in the slightest, they said they will all sleep on the floor.
Yvonne had decided to go to town with her classmate Ping (good English name that one!) and so arranged to meet up with me at six at McDonald’s. The plan had been to go to the Korean barbecue restaurant which suddenly closed last year but has now re-opened. As it had rained solidly all day the only sensible option was the bus and I anticipated a flood of students with suitcases fleeing the campus. I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at the south gate and get a seat, in fact although the bus was full when we left all bar one unfortunate were seated.
This of course meant that I was half an hour early for the rendezvous. Not wanting to sit in McDonald’s twiddling my thumbs, I decided to find somewhere nearby to sit and have a cold one out of the rain - which is still with us today and is becoming quite tedious.
I crossed to the opposite corner from McDs and was about to walk down the street when I spied, under a couple of portable canvas shelters outside a place, some bright red things in a huge pile. I never even knew there was a restaurant there so went to investigate. The red things were what pass for lobsters here and which I generally avoid because they are so small by the time you get a tiny morsel of flesh out of them you are hungry again before extracting the next one. However, the second pile had bigger specimens.
Sitting having a bottle, I was most happy to see oysters and scallops being taken past and mentally earmarked the place for a future visit. To my surprise in walked Jeff the businessman! He was waiting for various female members of his extended family to arrive there for dinner. So while both of us were waiting for our “dates” he invited me again to dinner tomorrow night. Yvonne is included as well and he also told me the restaurant has an Indian chef who makes chapattis. I am now rather hoping she also produces curries because there is nowhere here you can get one.
Anyway Yvonne arrived, was introduced and we walked down to the Korean barbecue place, she having declined my suggestion to eat where we met up. Except the Korean barbecue, although still advertising as being Korean, is now a bloody hotpot restaurant - of which there are dozens and dozens and I am bored with them.
Highly miffed, I gave Yvonne the choice of the Sichuan restaurant or a crab restaurant Kevin found. She opted for Sichuan last night and (hopefully) crab tonight. I stuck to a couple of tried and tested dishes while she ordered some chicken dish with peanuts, garlic and other finely chopped vegetables. It was an odd combination of sweet and hot/spicy but once I got used to the fiery taste I found myself rather liking it. I think it was probably better than the male bullfrog dish I suspect she was tempted to order.
When we came back we went to collect her suitcase from her dormitory so she could move in here. A little later she told me she was leaving on Wednesday. What? She had said Tuesday! So now, instead of having “just” four girls in my spare room I will have five on Tuesday. I hope my bathroom drains don’t clog up with all their moulting hair. Talk about a full house!
So that’s it for now, the rain has eased off a bit and I need to go and get some fresh liquid provisions as I am almost out. Then it will be expedition time to go and find the crab place.
Yesterday saw the last of the students take their final exam of the academic year, our department being the tail-end Charlies whilst other students had already departed on their holidays. A couple of days ago I saw Ellen and Fallrain who are coming to stay throughout the holiday. They explained that two of their classmates had jobs but still couldn’t find anywhere to stay. Now for the month of July (from Tuesday) I will have FOUR girls staying. I explained that I only have two camp beds but that didn’t bother them in the slightest, they said they will all sleep on the floor.
Yvonne had decided to go to town with her classmate Ping (good English name that one!) and so arranged to meet up with me at six at McDonald’s. The plan had been to go to the Korean barbecue restaurant which suddenly closed last year but has now re-opened. As it had rained solidly all day the only sensible option was the bus and I anticipated a flood of students with suitcases fleeing the campus. I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at the south gate and get a seat, in fact although the bus was full when we left all bar one unfortunate were seated.
This of course meant that I was half an hour early for the rendezvous. Not wanting to sit in McDonald’s twiddling my thumbs, I decided to find somewhere nearby to sit and have a cold one out of the rain - which is still with us today and is becoming quite tedious.
I crossed to the opposite corner from McDs and was about to walk down the street when I spied, under a couple of portable canvas shelters outside a place, some bright red things in a huge pile. I never even knew there was a restaurant there so went to investigate. The red things were what pass for lobsters here and which I generally avoid because they are so small by the time you get a tiny morsel of flesh out of them you are hungry again before extracting the next one. However, the second pile had bigger specimens.
Sitting having a bottle, I was most happy to see oysters and scallops being taken past and mentally earmarked the place for a future visit. To my surprise in walked Jeff the businessman! He was waiting for various female members of his extended family to arrive there for dinner. So while both of us were waiting for our “dates” he invited me again to dinner tomorrow night. Yvonne is included as well and he also told me the restaurant has an Indian chef who makes chapattis. I am now rather hoping she also produces curries because there is nowhere here you can get one.
Anyway Yvonne arrived, was introduced and we walked down to the Korean barbecue place, she having declined my suggestion to eat where we met up. Except the Korean barbecue, although still advertising as being Korean, is now a bloody hotpot restaurant - of which there are dozens and dozens and I am bored with them.
Highly miffed, I gave Yvonne the choice of the Sichuan restaurant or a crab restaurant Kevin found. She opted for Sichuan last night and (hopefully) crab tonight. I stuck to a couple of tried and tested dishes while she ordered some chicken dish with peanuts, garlic and other finely chopped vegetables. It was an odd combination of sweet and hot/spicy but once I got used to the fiery taste I found myself rather liking it. I think it was probably better than the male bullfrog dish I suspect she was tempted to order.
When we came back we went to collect her suitcase from her dormitory so she could move in here. A little later she told me she was leaving on Wednesday. What? She had said Tuesday! So now, instead of having “just” four girls in my spare room I will have five on Tuesday. I hope my bathroom drains don’t clog up with all their moulting hair. Talk about a full house!
So that’s it for now, the rain has eased off a bit and I need to go and get some fresh liquid provisions as I am almost out. Then it will be expedition time to go and find the crab place.
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Tuesday 1st July, 2014 1330
I have recently started watching some of the world cup matches - at least, the early ones which kick off at midnight my time! The result has been that my getting up has now retarded until about midday! Thank the Lord, Pepsi (who sleeps under my bed) can last 12 hours without going for a pee.
Yesterday I went out at about 1630 and took the dog for her daily dose of daytime fresh air. At about six I returned to campus to do my shopping. I could have done with riding downtown but the forecast has been saying rain all this week but so far it has only appeared as spits on occasion. Having decided to defrost a steak and kidney pie for my dinner, I was just about to leave for home after my second bottle when Kevin turned up. Thus it entailed another pijou and going home at 2030.
I cursed him mentally after my laptop had booted and I saw an email from the translation company. They had sent it at 1700 with another proof-reading job for the Guangzhou (Canton) government which was needed for noon today! Well there was no chance of me getting up this morning to do it as I wanted to watch the France game so I had to do it simultaneously with cooking for the pets and myself but an hour and a half later it was finished. I think that the reason I am given so little time to complete the jobs is because they get the work then have to get a Chinese person to translate the Chinese to Chinglish before sending it to me.
Late last night the businessman (who I last saw when we went to a restaurant with a Korean teacher from another university) called me to invite me to dinner this evening. I asked if the attractive divorcee would be there and was most pleased to be told we would be going to her newly-opened restaurant. Sadly the invitation was cancelled by text this morning. It will happen another day and indeed this has happened before. He is in business and anyone who has ever been in business knows that when you own the company it takes precedence when something crops up. Pity though, I really like that girl.
In order to let a little fresh air in for the cats cooped up in the living room I have been leaving the sliding frosted window which looks out onto the communal stairs and corridor open a couple of inches. Enough for air and not enough for the cats to get out. A strip of metal I found has been bent and placed in a strategic position so as to prevent them sliding it open further.
Now our section is going to have more residents I now have to consider closing it again so nobody can see in because when I got up this morning and was having my early morning pee in the buff, Kevin peered through the opening. My bathroom is directly opposite! He had brought my renewed foreign expert certificate. Asking him to wait, I went into the bedroom, pulled on some clothes and went outside to let Pepsi take a leak. Kevin told me the school wants him to have another medical examination as they noticed something which concerned them. When I asked what, he said his pulse was too slow. It was 49 when we were at the hospital whereas mine was 103. So he is bradycardic as opposed to me being tachycardic! In addition, my blood pressure is nicely low whilst his is a bit high so I told him to tell the school to just combine the two of us and we would be normal! Now of course he has all sorts of thoughts running around in his head, including the possibility of having a pacemaker fitted. I can’t help but sympathise with him but at the same time his pulse has always been slow, as is his father’s - and he’s 97 and still very active. The paranoia in this school about foreign teachers pegging out in harness is palpable and yet they think nothing of asking me to take part in a tug-o-war or scheduling all my classes on the top floor!
Anyway, after our little chat Pepsi finally got to evacuate her bladder. I stood just outside the front of the building in my slipper/sandals, boxers and shirt and noticed I had left a loop of the wire belonging to my bike charger outside the closed saddle. Going to investigate, I was startled by movement in the grass about a foot away from my (bare) legs. Thankfully the thirty inch snake was more alarmed than I was and it slithered away post-haste, although my heart leapt into my mouth when Pepsi came bounding back right where the serpent had headed.
Faced with an overcast day outside I am now contemplating showering and going out with pooch but am undecided whether to take the bus to town this evening to eat there and perhaps get some pet food. The problem is, the foreign languages dept is the last one to finish end of term exams so students from other majors have already started leaving on their holidays so seats on the bus may be hard to come by even for a teacher. I could always go to the place nearby with pictures of the food though I suppose.
I have recently started watching some of the world cup matches - at least, the early ones which kick off at midnight my time! The result has been that my getting up has now retarded until about midday! Thank the Lord, Pepsi (who sleeps under my bed) can last 12 hours without going for a pee.
Yesterday I went out at about 1630 and took the dog for her daily dose of daytime fresh air. At about six I returned to campus to do my shopping. I could have done with riding downtown but the forecast has been saying rain all this week but so far it has only appeared as spits on occasion. Having decided to defrost a steak and kidney pie for my dinner, I was just about to leave for home after my second bottle when Kevin turned up. Thus it entailed another pijou and going home at 2030.
I cursed him mentally after my laptop had booted and I saw an email from the translation company. They had sent it at 1700 with another proof-reading job for the Guangzhou (Canton) government which was needed for noon today! Well there was no chance of me getting up this morning to do it as I wanted to watch the France game so I had to do it simultaneously with cooking for the pets and myself but an hour and a half later it was finished. I think that the reason I am given so little time to complete the jobs is because they get the work then have to get a Chinese person to translate the Chinese to Chinglish before sending it to me.
Late last night the businessman (who I last saw when we went to a restaurant with a Korean teacher from another university) called me to invite me to dinner this evening. I asked if the attractive divorcee would be there and was most pleased to be told we would be going to her newly-opened restaurant. Sadly the invitation was cancelled by text this morning. It will happen another day and indeed this has happened before. He is in business and anyone who has ever been in business knows that when you own the company it takes precedence when something crops up. Pity though, I really like that girl.
In order to let a little fresh air in for the cats cooped up in the living room I have been leaving the sliding frosted window which looks out onto the communal stairs and corridor open a couple of inches. Enough for air and not enough for the cats to get out. A strip of metal I found has been bent and placed in a strategic position so as to prevent them sliding it open further.
Now our section is going to have more residents I now have to consider closing it again so nobody can see in because when I got up this morning and was having my early morning pee in the buff, Kevin peered through the opening. My bathroom is directly opposite! He had brought my renewed foreign expert certificate. Asking him to wait, I went into the bedroom, pulled on some clothes and went outside to let Pepsi take a leak. Kevin told me the school wants him to have another medical examination as they noticed something which concerned them. When I asked what, he said his pulse was too slow. It was 49 when we were at the hospital whereas mine was 103. So he is bradycardic as opposed to me being tachycardic! In addition, my blood pressure is nicely low whilst his is a bit high so I told him to tell the school to just combine the two of us and we would be normal! Now of course he has all sorts of thoughts running around in his head, including the possibility of having a pacemaker fitted. I can’t help but sympathise with him but at the same time his pulse has always been slow, as is his father’s - and he’s 97 and still very active. The paranoia in this school about foreign teachers pegging out in harness is palpable and yet they think nothing of asking me to take part in a tug-o-war or scheduling all my classes on the top floor!
Anyway, after our little chat Pepsi finally got to evacuate her bladder. I stood just outside the front of the building in my slipper/sandals, boxers and shirt and noticed I had left a loop of the wire belonging to my bike charger outside the closed saddle. Going to investigate, I was startled by movement in the grass about a foot away from my (bare) legs. Thankfully the thirty inch snake was more alarmed than I was and it slithered away post-haste, although my heart leapt into my mouth when Pepsi came bounding back right where the serpent had headed.
Faced with an overcast day outside I am now contemplating showering and going out with pooch but am undecided whether to take the bus to town this evening to eat there and perhaps get some pet food. The problem is, the foreign languages dept is the last one to finish end of term exams so students from other majors have already started leaving on their holidays so seats on the bus may be hard to come by even for a teacher. I could always go to the place nearby with pictures of the food though I suppose.