Sunday 17th August, 2014                           1230

By heck the holiday is rocketing by! Just three and a half weeks left until old and new students arrive back, nearly 4,000 freshmen among them.

Kevin arrived yesterday, as also did Ellen return from home to keep Fallrain company. Good to see them both and for very different reasons. Ellen because she at least cleans the floors (Fallrain is only good for washing up dishes!) and Kevin because of his excellent DIY skills. The girls somehow managed to break the lock on their bedroom door, meaning if they closed it they couldn’t get in or out, said lock has now been replaced by him.

He also brought me back six pairs of boxers, along with some worrying news. You may recall I complained a while ago about the ones here not having flaps at the front? Well apparently it is now fast becoming the fashion in the UK as well and he had the Devil’s own job to find the sort we both like. Very thoughtfully, he also brought back some nicotine patches for use on flights. Interestingly the boxers are “Stayfresh”!!!!! I wonder how true that claim will prove after I next eat beans on toast!

It is a pity that the pharmaceutical companies that produce them are not as thoughtful. I cannot be the only person who only ever uses them when flying and of course when doing so, airport security goes to great lengths to relieve you of anything remotely sharp. The only way to extricate the patches is with a knife or scissors - I defy anyone to be able to tear the packets open and as a long term (ex) pipe smoker whose incisors don’t meet the solution of tearing it with my teeth is not open to me. A much better option in my eyes has to be snuff, even if it does draw some quizzical looks from fellow travellers.

Mercifully although it is overcast today it is not raining. It is bike time and time for Pepsi to go to the vets as tomorrow I am off to Mount Dabie in the far west of the province to see this Heavenly Village of Tiantangzhen. No idea what food I will be able to get (or indeed eat) and I am hoping I will have internet. The only game I have come up with for the coach that kids with limited English can play involves two packs of cards and a load of sweets as prizes. I will get them all to take one card from one of the packs and then give them various different things to spot en route. Each time they spot whatever I nominate, the spotter will pick a card from the second pack and if anyone matches it they win a prize. Of course if I run out of prizes I will simply give them the task of spotting a cow, sheep or horse. In four years I have yet to see any here!

Last night Kevin, Ellen, Christina, Vivi, Fallrain and I went for dinner at the lobster place opposite McDonald’s. Lovely décor but immensely disappointing in that the food, when it arrived, was none too hot. It wasn’t expensive at 300y for six people but they really let themselves down on that point. And they never had the bigger lobsters I had seen when I first found the place.

1715

Well that’s it. Pepsi is banged up - I always feel terrible taking her there as I know she hates it and she gives me pleading looks as if to say “please, don’t leave me here!” but then if she was normal I could leave her in the care of others. If I did though she would just hide under the bed and refuse to come out, meaning on my return my bed would be floating on a sea of animal waste. I could without it, aside from the inconvenience of having to get here there and collect her, it is costing me 250y for her ten night sojourn.

After dropping her off I stocked up for pets and grabbed a burger - still minus the lettuce. Suitcase is almost packed, just the computer to go in in the morning and I am determined to get an early night. I haven’t forgotten my camera so I hope to be able to take some beautiful snaps for you.