Wednesday 29th April, 2015 1230
Lunchtime and little to do.
I went downtown for breakfast yesterday - I need to make early rises a routine this week as I need to get up early on Friday for the trip - miss the train and that’s it as there is only one a day.
As I was eating my breakfast a diminutive woman and what I assume was her granddaughter entered to order a takeaway. The granddaughter was three times the size of Gran and by her manner of speaking clearly had some form of mental disability. They took forever to order and once they did they sat at a table and waited. I have absolutely no idea what they spoke about but both ended up in tears. It rather affected me for some reason and in so doing took away any enjoyment of my food. It was most sorrowful.
I did my shopping and came back. I had promised Mulan and Joan enchiladas for dinner. Joan helped and was a little over enthusiastic with the hot chilli peppers. I was able to eat them but only just. They were nonetheless delicious and will definitely form part of our next communal meal, although quite how I will fit eighteen of them in the two trays is a mystery as yet.
After a short thunderstorm last night today is bright, sunny and in the mid-twenties. As usual though, when I am going away the forecasters take some perverse delight in predicting heavy rain. At present (if they are right) I should be able to get to the hotel without getting soaked on Friday but Saturday will be grim. Sunday in theory will be dry.
Thursday 30th 1730
Quite a hot one today and hopefully the rain will hold off tomorrow until the sanctuary of the hotel is achieved in the early evening. I am absolutely exhausted today, due mainly I think to sleeping with the big windows open. Quite possibly the barking dog interfered with my sleep and certainly the school loudspeakers playing music at 0715 did. On the plus side it means I will be able to retire early tonight, I need to be up for seven. Actually I don’t but as Joan is taking the same train I have said we could go on the bike and have breakfast first. The train leaves at eleven but Chinese train stations are unlike the west.
You have security screening, ID cards to produce on arrival then a hike to get to the waiting area. Next comes a long trek once they open the gates to actually get to the train, followed by struggling along with what seems like half the population of the city to find your seat. As it is the Labour holiday tomorrow I am not hopeful that the first leg of the journey (to Tongling) will be as quiet as it was before. If there were business or first class seats available I would have booked one of those - at least they recline and you can try and sleep.
My packing checklist is done for the morning, I have just discovered I have 1,000y less in my account than I thought (the coin jars may well be raided next week!) and I am about to prepare a simple dinner of ham and cheese quesadillas.
Have a good weekend folks.
Monday, 27 April 2015
Monday 27th April, 2015 1330
Yes I know it has been a week but the truth is the interim has been pretty humdrum with little of note to post.
However, on Saturday evening I discovered Joan was free all day Sunday and so gave her a choice of things to do. I said we could go to Chizhou airport (she had never seen a plane up close and never seen an airport either until Saturday when she saw a fighter jet in Hefei on display in a park) or alternatively we could cross the Yangtse on a ferry (she had never been on a boat or on water).
She chose to cross the Yangtse, saying she was excited and “timid” at the same time because like most inland Chinese she never learnt to swim. I did however warn her that it was an exercise in futility as I knew from my previous foray when I took my beloved Pepsi that there is bugger all the other side. But hell, it was going to be a new experience for her so that was enough for me.
We duly left campus at ten on a beautiful warm Sunday morning which quickly got much warmer, just shy of thirty degrees. Unfortunately I had gone and got my hair cut to skinhead proportions the day before so now my scalp is a little tender.
Anyway we arrived at the dock and I was happy at our good fortune - I bought the tickets, we sailed straight through the gate and found ourselves to be the first aboard the ferry. I did rather wonder why there were cars and buses being held back by the barrier though but last time I bypassed them so I assumed e-bikes are treated as pedestrians.
Due to Joan’s fear of sinking and drowning I familiarised her with the position of the lifebelts and told her at all costs she was to grab one if we were going down. Tied up alongside the ferry was a rather nice port authority launch (which would make a beautiful cabin cruiser) on which there were some officers doing generally nothing until they spotted me.
They came and started talking to Joan and after a while I thought I heard one of them say my name after Joan had explained in Chinese I was a teacher at the university (yes, I DO understand that much!). Then Joan said the man wanted to know if I knew (insert Chinese name) and I said I would need her English name. She is his daughter and he phoned her, spoke for a minute and then said to me “Linda” and offered me the phone. I have known Linda the entire time I have been here so marvelled at what a small world it was.
Once finished, I had a good idea. This was Joan’s first time on a boat so I asked Dad if it would be possible for her to go on the bridge once we were under weigh to meet the Captain. Yes, no problem indicated he, gesturing toward another ferry about to dock next to us. Oh, thought I, the Old Man switches ships between crossings. Sometimes I can be very slow on the uptake.
Joan and he then had a brief conversation and then she said to me let’s go. No said I, I have seen many bridges in my time, I just want you to have a new experience and anyway with my leg I don’t want to climb the stairs. Off she went.
Bugger me if she didn’t get off the ferry and go on the newly arrived one. Ok, it was a newer model. It was only when I became aware of bikes, cars and buses coming down the road and boarding the other ferry that it dawned on me I might be on the wrong bloody boat! Using body language to the officers, it was made apparent that the reason I was the only one aboard the ferry I was on was because it was the wrong one and it was going nowhere! Had I sat there blissfully unaware, Joan would have sailed off waving to me!!
All’s well that ends well though, I relocated and Joan got to meet the Captain and watch him con the vessel, in fact she stayed up there the entire crossing. As promised, there was bugger all the other side but we had a ride and I told her to pick a place for lunch. She didn’t think any would be any good and suggested we have lunch in the business street when we got back. I agreed to that but said I needed a beer (it was hot) and there was a restaurant near the dock I could get one and have a sit down. No, she said, there’s no restaurant. Yes said I.
“I can’t believe you knew how to get beer here!” she exclaimed as I opened the bottle seated at a table in the little eatery by the dock. Oh Joan, I’m a professional - if there is beer to be had I will sniff it out! Actually I had to have two because maybe the boats run on the hour that side and we arrived ten minutes too late (must remember in case I need it in the future) but at least the return voyage was a lot faster.
By the time we got to the business street for a lunch of rice, sweet and sour and meatballs we were both cream crackered and so siestas were in order but I was happy to have given my friend a novel day, which by the way was all over the internet before it had even started!
Anyway, later I saw Ollivier and Coco out walking Hadrian in his three-wheeled buggy and we arranged to meet at south gate this morning at nine so I could get a lift to McD’s for breakfast and they carried on doing their own thing. I would get a bus back. No sign of them at the appointed hour and no reply to my messages - bloody French. I took a bus.
No big deal, it’s just that the walking does me in at present, however I had my breakfast (lunacy really because I could fry eggs and grill bacon and even make toast if I shifted myself and baked bread - in much less time) and then went to RT Mart. There I met the French/Chinese contingent who apologised for the lack of a lift but it wasn’t necessary, the bus is easy enough apart from the hike and anyway, Ollivier got eight bottles of wine for me which will last me until after my trip to Huainan, where by pure accident I may just meet Joan - she does rather seem to turn up in the most unexpected places!
When I moved in here to the new place the first thing I bought was a chest freezer for !,000y (£100) because it made sense with all the meat for the pets (it doesn’t now Pepsi is gone though because to make things easy I have switched the cats to complete dry food). The majority of the space is now used by the Ollivier family and after they returned he came to stash more food. It was then that he proved he wasn’t lying before (I did think he was making it up the first time) when he said he found some stockings in my freezer - he brought three pairs to my bedroom to show me what he found in the freezer. This was a first for me. Joan would have told me if it was her so the obvious choice had to be Mulan. Guilty as charged. I should add they are brand new and in their packets and apparently it prevents ladders. I have since had it confirmed from the UK (I was thinking it was yet another Chinese folly) and may just do some further research to find the truth and the reason behind it.
Enough for now - I need a kip.
Yes I know it has been a week but the truth is the interim has been pretty humdrum with little of note to post.
However, on Saturday evening I discovered Joan was free all day Sunday and so gave her a choice of things to do. I said we could go to Chizhou airport (she had never seen a plane up close and never seen an airport either until Saturday when she saw a fighter jet in Hefei on display in a park) or alternatively we could cross the Yangtse on a ferry (she had never been on a boat or on water).
She chose to cross the Yangtse, saying she was excited and “timid” at the same time because like most inland Chinese she never learnt to swim. I did however warn her that it was an exercise in futility as I knew from my previous foray when I took my beloved Pepsi that there is bugger all the other side. But hell, it was going to be a new experience for her so that was enough for me.
We duly left campus at ten on a beautiful warm Sunday morning which quickly got much warmer, just shy of thirty degrees. Unfortunately I had gone and got my hair cut to skinhead proportions the day before so now my scalp is a little tender.
Anyway we arrived at the dock and I was happy at our good fortune - I bought the tickets, we sailed straight through the gate and found ourselves to be the first aboard the ferry. I did rather wonder why there were cars and buses being held back by the barrier though but last time I bypassed them so I assumed e-bikes are treated as pedestrians.
Due to Joan’s fear of sinking and drowning I familiarised her with the position of the lifebelts and told her at all costs she was to grab one if we were going down. Tied up alongside the ferry was a rather nice port authority launch (which would make a beautiful cabin cruiser) on which there were some officers doing generally nothing until they spotted me.
They came and started talking to Joan and after a while I thought I heard one of them say my name after Joan had explained in Chinese I was a teacher at the university (yes, I DO understand that much!). Then Joan said the man wanted to know if I knew (insert Chinese name) and I said I would need her English name. She is his daughter and he phoned her, spoke for a minute and then said to me “Linda” and offered me the phone. I have known Linda the entire time I have been here so marvelled at what a small world it was.
Once finished, I had a good idea. This was Joan’s first time on a boat so I asked Dad if it would be possible for her to go on the bridge once we were under weigh to meet the Captain. Yes, no problem indicated he, gesturing toward another ferry about to dock next to us. Oh, thought I, the Old Man switches ships between crossings. Sometimes I can be very slow on the uptake.
Joan and he then had a brief conversation and then she said to me let’s go. No said I, I have seen many bridges in my time, I just want you to have a new experience and anyway with my leg I don’t want to climb the stairs. Off she went.
Bugger me if she didn’t get off the ferry and go on the newly arrived one. Ok, it was a newer model. It was only when I became aware of bikes, cars and buses coming down the road and boarding the other ferry that it dawned on me I might be on the wrong bloody boat! Using body language to the officers, it was made apparent that the reason I was the only one aboard the ferry I was on was because it was the wrong one and it was going nowhere! Had I sat there blissfully unaware, Joan would have sailed off waving to me!!
All’s well that ends well though, I relocated and Joan got to meet the Captain and watch him con the vessel, in fact she stayed up there the entire crossing. As promised, there was bugger all the other side but we had a ride and I told her to pick a place for lunch. She didn’t think any would be any good and suggested we have lunch in the business street when we got back. I agreed to that but said I needed a beer (it was hot) and there was a restaurant near the dock I could get one and have a sit down. No, she said, there’s no restaurant. Yes said I.
“I can’t believe you knew how to get beer here!” she exclaimed as I opened the bottle seated at a table in the little eatery by the dock. Oh Joan, I’m a professional - if there is beer to be had I will sniff it out! Actually I had to have two because maybe the boats run on the hour that side and we arrived ten minutes too late (must remember in case I need it in the future) but at least the return voyage was a lot faster.
By the time we got to the business street for a lunch of rice, sweet and sour and meatballs we were both cream crackered and so siestas were in order but I was happy to have given my friend a novel day, which by the way was all over the internet before it had even started!
Anyway, later I saw Ollivier and Coco out walking Hadrian in his three-wheeled buggy and we arranged to meet at south gate this morning at nine so I could get a lift to McD’s for breakfast and they carried on doing their own thing. I would get a bus back. No sign of them at the appointed hour and no reply to my messages - bloody French. I took a bus.
No big deal, it’s just that the walking does me in at present, however I had my breakfast (lunacy really because I could fry eggs and grill bacon and even make toast if I shifted myself and baked bread - in much less time) and then went to RT Mart. There I met the French/Chinese contingent who apologised for the lack of a lift but it wasn’t necessary, the bus is easy enough apart from the hike and anyway, Ollivier got eight bottles of wine for me which will last me until after my trip to Huainan, where by pure accident I may just meet Joan - she does rather seem to turn up in the most unexpected places!
When I moved in here to the new place the first thing I bought was a chest freezer for !,000y (£100) because it made sense with all the meat for the pets (it doesn’t now Pepsi is gone though because to make things easy I have switched the cats to complete dry food). The majority of the space is now used by the Ollivier family and after they returned he came to stash more food. It was then that he proved he wasn’t lying before (I did think he was making it up the first time) when he said he found some stockings in my freezer - he brought three pairs to my bedroom to show me what he found in the freezer. This was a first for me. Joan would have told me if it was her so the obvious choice had to be Mulan. Guilty as charged. I should add they are brand new and in their packets and apparently it prevents ladders. I have since had it confirmed from the UK (I was thinking it was yet another Chinese folly) and may just do some further research to find the truth and the reason behind it.
Enough for now - I need a kip.
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Monday 20th April, 2015 1300
The “party” wasn’t quite what I had expected in that the girls never cooked, instead they brought snacks with them, such as dried sweet potato chips, crisps, fruit etc. Incredibly they prepared a plate of apple wedges and poured Heinz salad cream all over it - and ate it!
They brought their own beer and lemonade and made shandies with it. They didn’t drink much but it did was enough to get a couple of them dancing around my bed. Very kindly when they left they took the trouble to clean the place up so it was a good evening all round.
Yesterday though, because of the on/off rain I wasn’t going to do much and so was sitting here late morning when Joan turned up. She was close to tears. Her left cheek was swollen and painful. My first thought was that perhaps she had dislocated her jaw (I used to do that with excriciating and annoying regularity) but it wasn’t that. One of her friends had suggested lymph nodes but I sided with an ear infection.
I said I would shower and take her to hospital but she asked to borrow the bike so she could take another friend who had scalded her foot. Unbeknown to me, there is a clinic in the business street so she didn’t have to go far. She spent the next two hours there because the clinic did their favourite thing and put her on a drip, most likely salt water and told her she had inflammation. You didn’t need to be a genius to see that. Surprisingly she was given no medicines or painkillers but she does have to go again today and tomorrow for more salt water just to pump the bill up to 165y.
Tonight we will hold Mongolian Monday and as I won’t post this until afterwards I can reveal the dishes. Hopefully if I don’t cock it up we will dine on chicken satay followed by beef and peppers in black bean sauce. The dessert you already know. In about twenty minutes with luck the chicken and beef will be half defrosted so I can go and slice them. When I am doing stir fried beef I like to make it thin and uniformly sized where possible and it’s much easier if it is just soft enough to cut.
Tuesday 21st 1330
The dinner party was held in Kevin’s place because otherwise it would have meant banishing Coco and Hadrian for the duration. It was a pain for me because he is up in the rarefied atmosphere of the 4th floor. I had invited Joan, Kevin had Vivi and Ollivier had a girl who only had a Chinese name, which of course I can’t remember. She turned out to be a bit of a trencherman too.
I made 12 large satay sticks and far too much sauce and poor Joan had to carry the food up because I didn’t trust myself not to drop it whilst limping. I had struggled to stand for more than a few minutes at a time in the kitchen - two and a half months of mostly sitting have taken their toll. Amazingly nobody recognised it for what it was until I told them but it disappeared pretty quickly, as did the beef and peppers. I was the only one disappointed in it because whilst the lump of beef I had bought looked perfect, I found it chewy. The black bean sauce didn’t taste like anything I ever bought in the UK either. Still, everyone was content to chat in three different languages for a while and then Ollivier’s second ever lemon meringue pie (or tarte au citron meringue as he puts it) was produced. And an excellent job he did as well - less sweet and more lemony. All in all a very nice evening and Kevin had provided some first class wine to wash it down.
Kevin turfed us all out at 2215 so he could call his father and so Ollivier and I went to mine to polish off an opened bottle of wine and Joan used my shower.
I was going to go to town today for breakfast but was too tired to get up. I also need a couple of bits for tonight’s dinner I will make for Joan - quesadillas. I have hot peppers and I think some ham so I might buy an onion or tomato locally and just have those with some cheddar. The question is, do I make the double tortilla round ones or the single tortilla omelette type? Decisions, decisions.
It’s a lovely day outside, in the 20s, so soon I will shower and go to the business street for an hour or two. I have thought of five games for this Friday’s class party (I am assured it is not a Lingdian Society thing) which is to be held by Rita’s class. They must think I am a bottomless pit of games ideas - if all five classes end up doing it that’s 25 different games. Good job I have a fair imagination.
The “party” wasn’t quite what I had expected in that the girls never cooked, instead they brought snacks with them, such as dried sweet potato chips, crisps, fruit etc. Incredibly they prepared a plate of apple wedges and poured Heinz salad cream all over it - and ate it!
They brought their own beer and lemonade and made shandies with it. They didn’t drink much but it did was enough to get a couple of them dancing around my bed. Very kindly when they left they took the trouble to clean the place up so it was a good evening all round.
Yesterday though, because of the on/off rain I wasn’t going to do much and so was sitting here late morning when Joan turned up. She was close to tears. Her left cheek was swollen and painful. My first thought was that perhaps she had dislocated her jaw (I used to do that with excriciating and annoying regularity) but it wasn’t that. One of her friends had suggested lymph nodes but I sided with an ear infection.
I said I would shower and take her to hospital but she asked to borrow the bike so she could take another friend who had scalded her foot. Unbeknown to me, there is a clinic in the business street so she didn’t have to go far. She spent the next two hours there because the clinic did their favourite thing and put her on a drip, most likely salt water and told her she had inflammation. You didn’t need to be a genius to see that. Surprisingly she was given no medicines or painkillers but she does have to go again today and tomorrow for more salt water just to pump the bill up to 165y.
Tonight we will hold Mongolian Monday and as I won’t post this until afterwards I can reveal the dishes. Hopefully if I don’t cock it up we will dine on chicken satay followed by beef and peppers in black bean sauce. The dessert you already know. In about twenty minutes with luck the chicken and beef will be half defrosted so I can go and slice them. When I am doing stir fried beef I like to make it thin and uniformly sized where possible and it’s much easier if it is just soft enough to cut.
Tuesday 21st 1330
The dinner party was held in Kevin’s place because otherwise it would have meant banishing Coco and Hadrian for the duration. It was a pain for me because he is up in the rarefied atmosphere of the 4th floor. I had invited Joan, Kevin had Vivi and Ollivier had a girl who only had a Chinese name, which of course I can’t remember. She turned out to be a bit of a trencherman too.
I made 12 large satay sticks and far too much sauce and poor Joan had to carry the food up because I didn’t trust myself not to drop it whilst limping. I had struggled to stand for more than a few minutes at a time in the kitchen - two and a half months of mostly sitting have taken their toll. Amazingly nobody recognised it for what it was until I told them but it disappeared pretty quickly, as did the beef and peppers. I was the only one disappointed in it because whilst the lump of beef I had bought looked perfect, I found it chewy. The black bean sauce didn’t taste like anything I ever bought in the UK either. Still, everyone was content to chat in three different languages for a while and then Ollivier’s second ever lemon meringue pie (or tarte au citron meringue as he puts it) was produced. And an excellent job he did as well - less sweet and more lemony. All in all a very nice evening and Kevin had provided some first class wine to wash it down.
Kevin turfed us all out at 2215 so he could call his father and so Ollivier and I went to mine to polish off an opened bottle of wine and Joan used my shower.
I was going to go to town today for breakfast but was too tired to get up. I also need a couple of bits for tonight’s dinner I will make for Joan - quesadillas. I have hot peppers and I think some ham so I might buy an onion or tomato locally and just have those with some cheddar. The question is, do I make the double tortilla round ones or the single tortilla omelette type? Decisions, decisions.
It’s a lovely day outside, in the 20s, so soon I will shower and go to the business street for an hour or two. I have thought of five games for this Friday’s class party (I am assured it is not a Lingdian Society thing) which is to be held by Rita’s class. They must think I am a bottomless pit of games ideas - if all five classes end up doing it that’s 25 different games. Good job I have a fair imagination.
Saturday, 18 April 2015
Saturday 18th April, 2015 1700
Life has to continue so whilst I told all of this week’s classes what had happened, I put on what I think was a passable act. Everyone who has lost a dog will know you still find yourself expecting the dog to do the little things peculiar to them such as shake her collar to tell you she wants to go out and sometimes in your mind you hear it. It is strange not to have to go for walks or return after lessons too so she can go out. It will take a while.
I haven’t actually been doing much although this week even though I didn’t have to, I have been leaving the classroom at lunchtimes when I have an afternoon class, then climbing up again later. I did somehow think it would speed recovery but when I do that my leg seems to kill me the next morning just as much as it did a couple of weeks ago! Mind you, definite improvement in that I am walking both ways with one foot in front of the other instead of one step at a time.
This morning I took Joan for breakfast and shopping. We are having our first meal of this term on Monday, which was the only weeknight all three foreigners are free together next week. It has been dubbed Mongolian Monday in light of the fact that I am going to have a go at making two Asian dishes, so far I have kept their precise nature a secret. Ollivier will make a lemon meringue pie for the occasion, he had his first attempt at one a week ago and I must say for the first one he made a pretty good fist of it.
After I dropped Joan off back at her dormitory I went to the local shops and afterwards to the office for a couple of pijous before returning for a nap. Because I arrived at about noon the place quickly filled up with students looking for their lunch. The place does have an upstairs with quite a few tables but downstairs was full. With me hogging a table for four all to myself and two bottles of the amber stuff, when I saw two girls in need of somewhere to sit and eat I indicated they were welcome to sit with me.
When their noodles and rice arrived and they were tucking in, a stilted conversation started. After a little while one of them said, “We are both your students.” I know that sounds shameful but I never recognised either of them! It says to me that neither of them are at all active in my lessons because although I am awful with names I am usually pretty good at faces. The smaller of the two has a kind of excuse because she has only been mine this term, having switched majors at spring festival but the other must sit right at the back with her head down at all times!
Joan is here now with four of her classmates. They want to “make me a party”. I have no idea what they are doing in my kitchen and I pray I will be able to eat at least a little of what they will prepare.
And as a prologue to the student class party last Friday, Dumpling’s class told me yesterday that all the monitors of my classes were summoned to a meeting and informed that their event was a complete failure despite the students really enjoying it. As a consequence, from what I can gather none of the remaining four classes now wants to put on a show. I don’t think the concept of saying “You did ok but…….” has caught on in some quarters yet.
I can hear thunder in the distance heralding what is supposed to be three days of rain. Doesn’t bother me as I don’t need to set foot outside until Wednesday if I don’t want to but the five girls neglected to bring umbrellas with them. Mind you, it should be an interesting night - Joan has just informed me they all want to drink beer tonight! If you don’t hear from me ever again you will know what happened…….
And the evening just got even more terrifying - Anna has arrived as well!
Life has to continue so whilst I told all of this week’s classes what had happened, I put on what I think was a passable act. Everyone who has lost a dog will know you still find yourself expecting the dog to do the little things peculiar to them such as shake her collar to tell you she wants to go out and sometimes in your mind you hear it. It is strange not to have to go for walks or return after lessons too so she can go out. It will take a while.
I haven’t actually been doing much although this week even though I didn’t have to, I have been leaving the classroom at lunchtimes when I have an afternoon class, then climbing up again later. I did somehow think it would speed recovery but when I do that my leg seems to kill me the next morning just as much as it did a couple of weeks ago! Mind you, definite improvement in that I am walking both ways with one foot in front of the other instead of one step at a time.
This morning I took Joan for breakfast and shopping. We are having our first meal of this term on Monday, which was the only weeknight all three foreigners are free together next week. It has been dubbed Mongolian Monday in light of the fact that I am going to have a go at making two Asian dishes, so far I have kept their precise nature a secret. Ollivier will make a lemon meringue pie for the occasion, he had his first attempt at one a week ago and I must say for the first one he made a pretty good fist of it.
After I dropped Joan off back at her dormitory I went to the local shops and afterwards to the office for a couple of pijous before returning for a nap. Because I arrived at about noon the place quickly filled up with students looking for their lunch. The place does have an upstairs with quite a few tables but downstairs was full. With me hogging a table for four all to myself and two bottles of the amber stuff, when I saw two girls in need of somewhere to sit and eat I indicated they were welcome to sit with me.
When their noodles and rice arrived and they were tucking in, a stilted conversation started. After a little while one of them said, “We are both your students.” I know that sounds shameful but I never recognised either of them! It says to me that neither of them are at all active in my lessons because although I am awful with names I am usually pretty good at faces. The smaller of the two has a kind of excuse because she has only been mine this term, having switched majors at spring festival but the other must sit right at the back with her head down at all times!
Joan is here now with four of her classmates. They want to “make me a party”. I have no idea what they are doing in my kitchen and I pray I will be able to eat at least a little of what they will prepare.
And as a prologue to the student class party last Friday, Dumpling’s class told me yesterday that all the monitors of my classes were summoned to a meeting and informed that their event was a complete failure despite the students really enjoying it. As a consequence, from what I can gather none of the remaining four classes now wants to put on a show. I don’t think the concept of saying “You did ok but…….” has caught on in some quarters yet.
I can hear thunder in the distance heralding what is supposed to be three days of rain. Doesn’t bother me as I don’t need to set foot outside until Wednesday if I don’t want to but the five girls neglected to bring umbrellas with them. Mind you, it should be an interesting night - Joan has just informed me they all want to drink beer tonight! If you don’t hear from me ever again you will know what happened…….
And the evening just got even more terrifying - Anna has arrived as well!
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Tuesday 14th April, 2015 1120
I set my alarm early in order to ride to town, have breakfast and visit Pepsi just to let her know she wasn’t abandoned and alone. And to see for myself if the treatment was working.
I had just finished my shower when I heard Ollivier’s front door closing and shortly after there was a knock on mine. Forgetting that because Mulan had stayed at her aunt’s I had bolted my door, I waited for him to come in but he returned home. I knew what he had come for.
Before I could finish typing my text to him, he phoned to tell me.
Sometime between midnight when the vets left and breakfast time when they returned, Pepsi passed away, all alone and in the dark.
Many thanks to Ollivier for offering his services as chauffeur because he felt I would be a danger to myself on my bike (probably correct) and I stuck to the plan by having breakfast anyway. Pepsi had already gone where she was going anyway.
Yesterday I had wondered why the vet had placed a canvas cover over her cage after she was put in it but I now realise it was probably to avoid distressing other dogs nearby and hopefully to reassure Pepsi. If I had only known she wasn’t going to even last until this morning I would have asked to sit with her all night but I never dreamed she could go from happy and joyous to be home again to deceased in just over 24 hours. I should have been there with her and I will regret that until I myself pass away. I did as much as I could for her but in the end I failed her. The being alone in the dark and dying will haunt me forever.
I bade farewell to her cold and lifeless shell and told her I was so sorry. Nonetheless, Ollivier’s very touching gesture by way of standing as large as he could in the doorway with his back to me as I did so to shield my tears from the prying eyes of the Chinese customers did not go unnoticed and when you read this Ollie, yes it was appreciated.
I got a refund on the 1,000 yuan I paid upfront yesterday because as her final gift to me my sweet Pepsi saved me further expense. Now all that are left are her collar and lead. I would rather have been handing over my last penny to the vet today than being given money back.
This entry is dedicated to the strangest, most timid and idiosyncratic dog I have ever encountered. She was MY strange dog and I loved her so much I am only now with rain falling on my cheeks realising just how deep that love was.
Sleep in peace my little one, no need to be frightened ever again.
To Pepsi
RIP
10.4.12 - 14.4.15
I set my alarm early in order to ride to town, have breakfast and visit Pepsi just to let her know she wasn’t abandoned and alone. And to see for myself if the treatment was working.
I had just finished my shower when I heard Ollivier’s front door closing and shortly after there was a knock on mine. Forgetting that because Mulan had stayed at her aunt’s I had bolted my door, I waited for him to come in but he returned home. I knew what he had come for.
Before I could finish typing my text to him, he phoned to tell me.
Sometime between midnight when the vets left and breakfast time when they returned, Pepsi passed away, all alone and in the dark.
Many thanks to Ollivier for offering his services as chauffeur because he felt I would be a danger to myself on my bike (probably correct) and I stuck to the plan by having breakfast anyway. Pepsi had already gone where she was going anyway.
Yesterday I had wondered why the vet had placed a canvas cover over her cage after she was put in it but I now realise it was probably to avoid distressing other dogs nearby and hopefully to reassure Pepsi. If I had only known she wasn’t going to even last until this morning I would have asked to sit with her all night but I never dreamed she could go from happy and joyous to be home again to deceased in just over 24 hours. I should have been there with her and I will regret that until I myself pass away. I did as much as I could for her but in the end I failed her. The being alone in the dark and dying will haunt me forever.
I bade farewell to her cold and lifeless shell and told her I was so sorry. Nonetheless, Ollivier’s very touching gesture by way of standing as large as he could in the doorway with his back to me as I did so to shield my tears from the prying eyes of the Chinese customers did not go unnoticed and when you read this Ollie, yes it was appreciated.
I got a refund on the 1,000 yuan I paid upfront yesterday because as her final gift to me my sweet Pepsi saved me further expense. Now all that are left are her collar and lead. I would rather have been handing over my last penny to the vet today than being given money back.
This entry is dedicated to the strangest, most timid and idiosyncratic dog I have ever encountered. She was MY strange dog and I loved her so much I am only now with rain falling on my cheeks realising just how deep that love was.
Sleep in peace my little one, no need to be frightened ever again.
To Pepsi
RIP
10.4.12 - 14.4.15
Monday, 13 April 2015
Monday 13th April, 2015 1200
For a week off I didn’t get much of the “off”.
Pepsi finally came home on Wednesday when I went with Ollivier in his car. The head vet wasn’t there and although I knew I owed more money than I had paid, the other staff seemed to think there was nothing owing. Nothing I said convinced them otherwise, yet five minutes after we left the boss must have returned because Coco had a phone call to say they needed another 500y. I was going back to town on the bike Thursday so paid it then.
Whenever I have taken Pepsi there in the past they have always commented on the fact she is too thin, has worms or other general remarks about her build (remember Mother was thin and ate like a horse) even though food is always available. Well, when the vet took her away seven weeks ago I had finally gotten her to a state where you could see her ribs no longer. Now she looks as if she was on hunger strike the entire time. Worse, she refused food last night and the night before, was decidedly out of sorts on the midnight walk last night and is now retching often and “moaning” when she dozes. Thank God at times for friends with cars, Ollivier will take us to the vet this afternoon.
Incidentally the “walks” so far have involved her doing the walking and me creeping along on the bike. Her first night back I limped the circuit but paid a heavy price the next day.
What else has happened?
Joan’s cousin came to school to visit her from Suzhou. As the one train a day connecting the two cities doesn’t arrive here until 0330 and as Joan would neither be able to get out of her dormitory to meet her (the doors are locked at 2300) nor get back in even if she did escape, I suggested she stayed here and then brought her cousin back until the morning when she could take her to her own dormitory. My kindness was repaid when she borrowed my bike to show her cousin Pingtian lake and crashed near the ship/hotel. Thankfully the two girls suffered only minor bruising but the front mudguard of the bike is now scratched and cracked. Funny how things work, I never even dented the damned thing in my tumble yet it was ME who ended up broken! Life can be so unfair sometimes…..
On Friday Joan’s class held an English corner/class party. Given the disastrous event the Lingdian Society hosted the last time (when few attended, possibly due to the inclement weather, yet most scarpered after fifteen minutes) the class were understandably nervous that their inaugural party would be a washout as well. They needn’t have worried, for they had a good attendance and people stayed to the end.
There were however huge disagreements behind the scenes with the Lingdian Society not being pleased with the lack of “educational” segments. I am not going to get involved with the politics other than to say my view is that it was the class’s affair and not the society’s, plus I doubt many students want to go to be educated in their free time on a Friday night - they want fun and entertainment. I hear tell that the next class of mine who are supposed to put on a show are now seriously reconsidering whether to do so in light of the criticism meted out. Doubtless I will find out more when I teach them on Friday.
We have a long weekend coming up (1-3 May) so I have decided to go back to Huainan to visit Air. The hotel is booked and the train tickets purchased, it’s just a pity it takes over six hours on the train. I do hope Pepsi doesn’t scupper that trip by having something hideously expensive wrong with her. If they did pet insurance here I would have it but I have never heard of it.
I had better take a shower now, we will leave for the vet after Coco and Hadrian have their afternoon nap.
1830
I should probably have edited the above but it is as I wrote it.
At the vets they took a swab from Pepsi’s rear end and tested in in some machine. Not a bloody soul there spoke English so it took ages for them to use the internet on their phones to translate.
Pepsi has parvovirus.
I knew it by name only at that stage and was at first relieved it wasn’t distemper - Piggy had that approaching my first summer and it cost me 3,000y. My relief was swiftly dispelled by a series of translations on phone screens which stated in turn, high mortality rate, 60% mortality rate etc. I was poleaxed. Two nights ago she was running around as happy as Larry and now I was being told she was possibly mortally ill.
Although I would be the first to stump up the money for euthanasia if an animal would suffer unnecessarily, naturally with my odd, timid yet faithful little dog, I had to ask despite the poor survival prognosis, how much?
I was then presented - this is China - with four different treatment rates! 200, 300, 400 or 500 yuan a day with resolution either way between three and five days. That’s a cruel choice to offer anyone. Was I to gamble on 5 x 200y and a max of a thousand or did I go for the most expensive 2,500y treatment? At a pinch I can stump up the top amount and what sort of animal lover and friend to Pepsi would I be if I didn’t do all in my power to give her life while there was a chance? Could I live with myself if I pinched the pennies and she died? Of course I damned well couldn’t. It’s not much consolation but they did give me the 500y treatment at 20% discount. She may well die before treatment finishes but at least I shall know I did all I could and never deserted her in her darkest hour. It may well prove the case yet that because I took her to hospital so early her life is spared - I did think maybe she just had a tummy bug and almost left it until tomorrow but then I thought that was wrong because were it me who was sick I would probably seek help immediately. If I believed in God I would be lighting candles and praying right now instead of blogging but all I have is hope and the knowledge that she is under the care of the best (and most expensive) vet in the city. Ollivier thought he had just graduated from school and was surprised when I said I had used him for nearly five years now. If anyone here can save my sweet little strange dog it is him. He has to.
I can continue no longer. She doesn’t deserve this, she is so utterly dependent on me and so frightened of life that the very thought that by the week’s end she may be gone reduces me to tears. Coco has also told the vet that if she has to be put to sleep I insist on being there with her so she will hopefully think everything will be fine in the morning when it won’t.
For a week off I didn’t get much of the “off”.
Pepsi finally came home on Wednesday when I went with Ollivier in his car. The head vet wasn’t there and although I knew I owed more money than I had paid, the other staff seemed to think there was nothing owing. Nothing I said convinced them otherwise, yet five minutes after we left the boss must have returned because Coco had a phone call to say they needed another 500y. I was going back to town on the bike Thursday so paid it then.
Whenever I have taken Pepsi there in the past they have always commented on the fact she is too thin, has worms or other general remarks about her build (remember Mother was thin and ate like a horse) even though food is always available. Well, when the vet took her away seven weeks ago I had finally gotten her to a state where you could see her ribs no longer. Now she looks as if she was on hunger strike the entire time. Worse, she refused food last night and the night before, was decidedly out of sorts on the midnight walk last night and is now retching often and “moaning” when she dozes. Thank God at times for friends with cars, Ollivier will take us to the vet this afternoon.
Incidentally the “walks” so far have involved her doing the walking and me creeping along on the bike. Her first night back I limped the circuit but paid a heavy price the next day.
What else has happened?
Joan’s cousin came to school to visit her from Suzhou. As the one train a day connecting the two cities doesn’t arrive here until 0330 and as Joan would neither be able to get out of her dormitory to meet her (the doors are locked at 2300) nor get back in even if she did escape, I suggested she stayed here and then brought her cousin back until the morning when she could take her to her own dormitory. My kindness was repaid when she borrowed my bike to show her cousin Pingtian lake and crashed near the ship/hotel. Thankfully the two girls suffered only minor bruising but the front mudguard of the bike is now scratched and cracked. Funny how things work, I never even dented the damned thing in my tumble yet it was ME who ended up broken! Life can be so unfair sometimes…..
On Friday Joan’s class held an English corner/class party. Given the disastrous event the Lingdian Society hosted the last time (when few attended, possibly due to the inclement weather, yet most scarpered after fifteen minutes) the class were understandably nervous that their inaugural party would be a washout as well. They needn’t have worried, for they had a good attendance and people stayed to the end.
There were however huge disagreements behind the scenes with the Lingdian Society not being pleased with the lack of “educational” segments. I am not going to get involved with the politics other than to say my view is that it was the class’s affair and not the society’s, plus I doubt many students want to go to be educated in their free time on a Friday night - they want fun and entertainment. I hear tell that the next class of mine who are supposed to put on a show are now seriously reconsidering whether to do so in light of the criticism meted out. Doubtless I will find out more when I teach them on Friday.
We have a long weekend coming up (1-3 May) so I have decided to go back to Huainan to visit Air. The hotel is booked and the train tickets purchased, it’s just a pity it takes over six hours on the train. I do hope Pepsi doesn’t scupper that trip by having something hideously expensive wrong with her. If they did pet insurance here I would have it but I have never heard of it.
I had better take a shower now, we will leave for the vet after Coco and Hadrian have their afternoon nap.
1830
I should probably have edited the above but it is as I wrote it.
At the vets they took a swab from Pepsi’s rear end and tested in in some machine. Not a bloody soul there spoke English so it took ages for them to use the internet on their phones to translate.
Pepsi has parvovirus.
I knew it by name only at that stage and was at first relieved it wasn’t distemper - Piggy had that approaching my first summer and it cost me 3,000y. My relief was swiftly dispelled by a series of translations on phone screens which stated in turn, high mortality rate, 60% mortality rate etc. I was poleaxed. Two nights ago she was running around as happy as Larry and now I was being told she was possibly mortally ill.
Although I would be the first to stump up the money for euthanasia if an animal would suffer unnecessarily, naturally with my odd, timid yet faithful little dog, I had to ask despite the poor survival prognosis, how much?
I was then presented - this is China - with four different treatment rates! 200, 300, 400 or 500 yuan a day with resolution either way between three and five days. That’s a cruel choice to offer anyone. Was I to gamble on 5 x 200y and a max of a thousand or did I go for the most expensive 2,500y treatment? At a pinch I can stump up the top amount and what sort of animal lover and friend to Pepsi would I be if I didn’t do all in my power to give her life while there was a chance? Could I live with myself if I pinched the pennies and she died? Of course I damned well couldn’t. It’s not much consolation but they did give me the 500y treatment at 20% discount. She may well die before treatment finishes but at least I shall know I did all I could and never deserted her in her darkest hour. It may well prove the case yet that because I took her to hospital so early her life is spared - I did think maybe she just had a tummy bug and almost left it until tomorrow but then I thought that was wrong because were it me who was sick I would probably seek help immediately. If I believed in God I would be lighting candles and praying right now instead of blogging but all I have is hope and the knowledge that she is under the care of the best (and most expensive) vet in the city. Ollivier thought he had just graduated from school and was surprised when I said I had used him for nearly five years now. If anyone here can save my sweet little strange dog it is him. He has to.
I can continue no longer. She doesn’t deserve this, she is so utterly dependent on me and so frightened of life that the very thought that by the week’s end she may be gone reduces me to tears. Coco has also told the vet that if she has to be put to sleep I insist on being there with her so she will hopefully think everything will be fine in the morning when it won’t.
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Monday 6th April, 2015 1100
Joan, Catherine and I enjoyed a couple of hours of live music, to my surprise when I went down the hotel had put on an easter display. There were two western girls at a long table dealing with kids and helping them to paint eggs and there were two people dressed as rather odd easter bunnies. I did take some photos last night (this morning I took one of the view through the rain from the room) and there‘s also one of the Jolly Green Giant in there which was Mulan making herself beautiful when she was playing nurse during the holidays.
I said come hell or high water we were going to Pizza Hut. Well they both came at once - neither of us was that hungry: me because that often happens when I have been looking forward to something and Joan wasn’t because she made full use of the free snacks on offer during happy hour. With the rain still coming down, we settled for going to the room at 2030 to watch western films and the lights of ships passing by through the gloom.
Given yesterday’s breakfast experience, I made a beeline for the cereals this morning and found bran flakes. I was even offered tea or coffee, having this time taken my own teabag in case. And I found the bread and toaster! It was much better this time although I did try a chicken sausage - disgusting.
Sadly the earliest train I could book for our return trip leaves at 2030 and gets back to Chizhou at eleven. Rather than kick our heels for eight hours I have requested a two o’clock checkout so we can just relax for now. Hopefully we can leave our bags with reception and then I will try to get to that supermarket, later I also just might finally make Pizza Hut before the arduous job of negotiating the train station.
Tuesday 7th 1430
We made the trip to Auchen hypermarket. There were a lot of (expensive) imported goods in tins and jars and were I located there I would certainly avail myself. However with Joan looking after both sets of luggage I confined myself to some flavoured cheese, French ham and bacon. Oh, and a jar of pickled gherkins! They are almost finished.
With more than five hours to kill before the train I wanted to find a restaurant near Pizza Hut where we could just sit and have a drink to pass the time but in the Walking Street that proved almost impossible. It was all shops. With the leg complaining ever more loudly and the unrelenting rain, I was getting rather grumpy but eventually we happened upon a dingy back street where we were in luck. So was the owner, who on seeing a foreigner immediately doubled the price of her beer. I had just the one.
Ridiculously early for dinner, we went to Pizza Hut but it’s not that early for China. Most Pizza Huts here have queues forming for tables shortly after five so at least we didn’t have to wait. I had finally made it and never had a pizza! They now have fajitas on the menu, so while Joan had a super supreme I had chicken fajitas. Well, two to be exact, Joan ate the other three along with her pizza, prawns and ice cream!
Off to the station with ninety minutes still to go and Joan, bless her, found the place for “special” people (the infirm, elderly, soldiers etc - soldiers????). It doesn’t let you start any earlier towards the train but it does avoid the huge queues when they open the gates in the main waiting room. My concern was not being able to get to the train on time - we had 27 minutes - but being knocked down the stairs, there are no handrails.
The two and a half hour trip seemed much longer and by the time we got out of the taxi at home we were both done in. Poor Joan started her community service along with all my freshmen this morning. At least she won’t be weeding or stone picking because it is still raining, instead they are probably cleaning the classrooms and stairwells. I’m stuck here until she comes back because the bike was left at west gate and I got her to collect it on the way to school.
I now need to make a decision on Pepsi. Depending on what the weather is tomorrow I may collect her on the bike or alternatively I may prevail on Ollivier to take me in his car. Either way she is coming home.
Joan, Catherine and I enjoyed a couple of hours of live music, to my surprise when I went down the hotel had put on an easter display. There were two western girls at a long table dealing with kids and helping them to paint eggs and there were two people dressed as rather odd easter bunnies. I did take some photos last night (this morning I took one of the view through the rain from the room) and there‘s also one of the Jolly Green Giant in there which was Mulan making herself beautiful when she was playing nurse during the holidays.
I said come hell or high water we were going to Pizza Hut. Well they both came at once - neither of us was that hungry: me because that often happens when I have been looking forward to something and Joan wasn’t because she made full use of the free snacks on offer during happy hour. With the rain still coming down, we settled for going to the room at 2030 to watch western films and the lights of ships passing by through the gloom.
Given yesterday’s breakfast experience, I made a beeline for the cereals this morning and found bran flakes. I was even offered tea or coffee, having this time taken my own teabag in case. And I found the bread and toaster! It was much better this time although I did try a chicken sausage - disgusting.
Sadly the earliest train I could book for our return trip leaves at 2030 and gets back to Chizhou at eleven. Rather than kick our heels for eight hours I have requested a two o’clock checkout so we can just relax for now. Hopefully we can leave our bags with reception and then I will try to get to that supermarket, later I also just might finally make Pizza Hut before the arduous job of negotiating the train station.
Tuesday 7th 1430
We made the trip to Auchen hypermarket. There were a lot of (expensive) imported goods in tins and jars and were I located there I would certainly avail myself. However with Joan looking after both sets of luggage I confined myself to some flavoured cheese, French ham and bacon. Oh, and a jar of pickled gherkins! They are almost finished.
With more than five hours to kill before the train I wanted to find a restaurant near Pizza Hut where we could just sit and have a drink to pass the time but in the Walking Street that proved almost impossible. It was all shops. With the leg complaining ever more loudly and the unrelenting rain, I was getting rather grumpy but eventually we happened upon a dingy back street where we were in luck. So was the owner, who on seeing a foreigner immediately doubled the price of her beer. I had just the one.
Ridiculously early for dinner, we went to Pizza Hut but it’s not that early for China. Most Pizza Huts here have queues forming for tables shortly after five so at least we didn’t have to wait. I had finally made it and never had a pizza! They now have fajitas on the menu, so while Joan had a super supreme I had chicken fajitas. Well, two to be exact, Joan ate the other three along with her pizza, prawns and ice cream!
Off to the station with ninety minutes still to go and Joan, bless her, found the place for “special” people (the infirm, elderly, soldiers etc - soldiers????). It doesn’t let you start any earlier towards the train but it does avoid the huge queues when they open the gates in the main waiting room. My concern was not being able to get to the train on time - we had 27 minutes - but being knocked down the stairs, there are no handrails.
The two and a half hour trip seemed much longer and by the time we got out of the taxi at home we were both done in. Poor Joan started her community service along with all my freshmen this morning. At least she won’t be weeding or stone picking because it is still raining, instead they are probably cleaning the classrooms and stairwells. I’m stuck here until she comes back because the bike was left at west gate and I got her to collect it on the way to school.
I now need to make a decision on Pepsi. Depending on what the weather is tomorrow I may collect her on the bike or alternatively I may prevail on Ollivier to take me in his car. Either way she is coming home.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Saturday 4th April, 2015 1715
As ever, yet again my trip started in the worst possible way.
I had set my alarm for 0800 this morning but as I so often do, I woke hours before, having dreamt I had overslept my alarm. As it was still dark I didn’t need to get up to check but me being me, as much as I tried I couldn’t drop off to sleep again.
At about 0740 I could hear Mulan trying in vain to turn the bathroom light on and glanced at the a/c unit. The lack of a pilot light told me the university had had a power cut in the night, caused no doubt by yet another storm.
Bloody marvellous. I can’t function in the morning unless I have had a shower. I certainly didn’t want to travel dirty either. Shortly after, Mulan came to my bedroom to say goodbye, she has now gone to Hong Kong until Wednesday. She also informed me we had no power. I asked her if she had checked the breakers outside (in case it was only our flat) and she said she had. She left and I sent a text to Joan to ask if her dormitory had electricity. It didn’t, but five minutes later they did, so I fully expected to have my service restored soon after that. It wasn’t. I waited and waited in vain and eventually had to resign myself to travelling unwashed. I packed an extra set of clothes and swore the moment I got to the hotel I would shower.
Anna is looking after my place while I am away and of course she wanted hot water by nine. By an extraordinary coincidence Joan just happened to be travelling to Wuhu today and by an even stranger coincidence was not only booked on the same train but also the return one as well. She came to help with my luggage and on finding there was no power, promptly went down and reset the breaker for my place. I could have had a shower an hour before but by then it was too late. I wanted to murder Mulan and sent her a message. Her reply was that when she checked (when the whole school was out) all the breakers were in line so she switched mine to another position which meant when the power returned I was the only mug without it. I was not pleased.
Dirty, we boarded the bus for the station. Faced with what to me at the moment is a veritable hike and uphill at that, I got Joan to get a taxi to take us from across the road from the train station to the station entrance. Yes it cost me 5y for 150 yards but for me it was money well spent. I then had a couple of pieces of luck which almost cancelled out the electricity farce - the escalator was working for starters and then Joan at my request asked security if I could be let through the locked doors before the herd as I was a cripple. He was very kind and I just managed to take my seat before the masses arrived.
The trip itself was most uncomfortable, I couldn’t get my leg in a good position but at least I could limp off occasionally for a smoke en route. The hotel room is fine but there are some deficiencies. One is the lack of a bath (not that I want to take one) and the other is that the minibar is an empty fridge. Not that I want to use the minibar either and in fact will store my own beer in it but if they advertise something then it should be as depicted. On the plus side we have a lovely view from the 24th floor of the Yangtse just a few yards away which is somewhat marred by the constant rain.
I was going to go to Pizza Hut for dinner tonight but my pelvis is complaining so it’s a quiet night in, free drinks for two hours in the executive lounge and then Joan will meet me for a buffet dinner in the hotel’s east/west restaurant. I am praying they can do a passable English breakfast because the menu only mentions chicken sausages (what???) and sad though it may seem, a proper breakfast is one of the highlights of my stays at Hilton hotels. I will let you know.
For now, the free drinks start in fifteen minutes and I don’t pay a premium for any other reason than to be able to get a G&T or ten so I shall take advantage of that very soon. And I remembered to bring my HP sauce…………
Sunday 5th 1200
I went downstairs to ask where the executive lounge was located last night. Despite the lift saying it was on the 25th floor, it is in Open restaurant on the ground floor. Apparently, two years after the hotel was built, they still haven’t sorted the lounge. It’s also where breakfast is served.
As I neared Open I could hear music. I wasn’t expecting that and indeed had taken a book to read whilst sat alone but I quickly became a fan of the Phillipino couple (Janet and William) who were performing. It was my kind of music and suddenly all the bad things that had happened that day melted away.
Joan had gone to visit her friend Catherine who she hadn’t seen for eighteen months and so I sent her a message urging her to get back for eight o’clock for the music. I also limped deeper into the restaurant to see what eastern/western fare was on offer. Actually it was ALL Chinese and not only that they said it was 280y per head to dine! I have since learnt that for residents it is 180y but even that is far too expensive. I might have paid if it was western food but the whole point of coming here was in order not to eat Chinese. By the time Joan and Catherine got here I had no appetite, Joan had eaten lunch at Wuhu station and said she didn’t mind skipping dinner so we did.
Breakfast this morning didn’t win any medals either. There were no grilled mushrooms or tomatoes as advertised, the “toast” was rock hard something, the sausages were chicken (yuk) and the bacon had been in the bain marie for hours. A pot of English tea didn’t seem available and the best thing about it was the freshly cooked eggs to order. Tomorrow the cornflakes will get a hammering, that’s for sure!
It’s somewhat of a blessing in disguise with the weather being a complete washout. There is no way Joan would go to Fangte in the rain and I overdid the leg so much yesterday I am not even going to make it to Auchen supermarket. I think Joan was quite pleased when I suggested she go after breakfast to “play” with her friend and not come back until six this evening, when Janet and William will entertain us for two hours. Then at eight, come hell or high water, we are taking a taxi to Pizza Hut.
As ever, yet again my trip started in the worst possible way.
I had set my alarm for 0800 this morning but as I so often do, I woke hours before, having dreamt I had overslept my alarm. As it was still dark I didn’t need to get up to check but me being me, as much as I tried I couldn’t drop off to sleep again.
At about 0740 I could hear Mulan trying in vain to turn the bathroom light on and glanced at the a/c unit. The lack of a pilot light told me the university had had a power cut in the night, caused no doubt by yet another storm.
Bloody marvellous. I can’t function in the morning unless I have had a shower. I certainly didn’t want to travel dirty either. Shortly after, Mulan came to my bedroom to say goodbye, she has now gone to Hong Kong until Wednesday. She also informed me we had no power. I asked her if she had checked the breakers outside (in case it was only our flat) and she said she had. She left and I sent a text to Joan to ask if her dormitory had electricity. It didn’t, but five minutes later they did, so I fully expected to have my service restored soon after that. It wasn’t. I waited and waited in vain and eventually had to resign myself to travelling unwashed. I packed an extra set of clothes and swore the moment I got to the hotel I would shower.
Anna is looking after my place while I am away and of course she wanted hot water by nine. By an extraordinary coincidence Joan just happened to be travelling to Wuhu today and by an even stranger coincidence was not only booked on the same train but also the return one as well. She came to help with my luggage and on finding there was no power, promptly went down and reset the breaker for my place. I could have had a shower an hour before but by then it was too late. I wanted to murder Mulan and sent her a message. Her reply was that when she checked (when the whole school was out) all the breakers were in line so she switched mine to another position which meant when the power returned I was the only mug without it. I was not pleased.
Dirty, we boarded the bus for the station. Faced with what to me at the moment is a veritable hike and uphill at that, I got Joan to get a taxi to take us from across the road from the train station to the station entrance. Yes it cost me 5y for 150 yards but for me it was money well spent. I then had a couple of pieces of luck which almost cancelled out the electricity farce - the escalator was working for starters and then Joan at my request asked security if I could be let through the locked doors before the herd as I was a cripple. He was very kind and I just managed to take my seat before the masses arrived.
The trip itself was most uncomfortable, I couldn’t get my leg in a good position but at least I could limp off occasionally for a smoke en route. The hotel room is fine but there are some deficiencies. One is the lack of a bath (not that I want to take one) and the other is that the minibar is an empty fridge. Not that I want to use the minibar either and in fact will store my own beer in it but if they advertise something then it should be as depicted. On the plus side we have a lovely view from the 24th floor of the Yangtse just a few yards away which is somewhat marred by the constant rain.
I was going to go to Pizza Hut for dinner tonight but my pelvis is complaining so it’s a quiet night in, free drinks for two hours in the executive lounge and then Joan will meet me for a buffet dinner in the hotel’s east/west restaurant. I am praying they can do a passable English breakfast because the menu only mentions chicken sausages (what???) and sad though it may seem, a proper breakfast is one of the highlights of my stays at Hilton hotels. I will let you know.
For now, the free drinks start in fifteen minutes and I don’t pay a premium for any other reason than to be able to get a G&T or ten so I shall take advantage of that very soon. And I remembered to bring my HP sauce…………
Sunday 5th 1200
I went downstairs to ask where the executive lounge was located last night. Despite the lift saying it was on the 25th floor, it is in Open restaurant on the ground floor. Apparently, two years after the hotel was built, they still haven’t sorted the lounge. It’s also where breakfast is served.
As I neared Open I could hear music. I wasn’t expecting that and indeed had taken a book to read whilst sat alone but I quickly became a fan of the Phillipino couple (Janet and William) who were performing. It was my kind of music and suddenly all the bad things that had happened that day melted away.
Joan had gone to visit her friend Catherine who she hadn’t seen for eighteen months and so I sent her a message urging her to get back for eight o’clock for the music. I also limped deeper into the restaurant to see what eastern/western fare was on offer. Actually it was ALL Chinese and not only that they said it was 280y per head to dine! I have since learnt that for residents it is 180y but even that is far too expensive. I might have paid if it was western food but the whole point of coming here was in order not to eat Chinese. By the time Joan and Catherine got here I had no appetite, Joan had eaten lunch at Wuhu station and said she didn’t mind skipping dinner so we did.
Breakfast this morning didn’t win any medals either. There were no grilled mushrooms or tomatoes as advertised, the “toast” was rock hard something, the sausages were chicken (yuk) and the bacon had been in the bain marie for hours. A pot of English tea didn’t seem available and the best thing about it was the freshly cooked eggs to order. Tomorrow the cornflakes will get a hammering, that’s for sure!
It’s somewhat of a blessing in disguise with the weather being a complete washout. There is no way Joan would go to Fangte in the rain and I overdid the leg so much yesterday I am not even going to make it to Auchen supermarket. I think Joan was quite pleased when I suggested she go after breakfast to “play” with her friend and not come back until six this evening, when Janet and William will entertain us for two hours. Then at eight, come hell or high water, we are taking a taxi to Pizza Hut.
Friday, 3 April 2015
Tuesday 31st March, 2015 1615
Yesterday Anna went to town armed with my passport to try and get me a replacement medical card. People sometimes wonder why I vent my frustration at things here which could be so simple yet are made so abjectly difficult.
Apparently the new all singing, all dancing “one card” could take up to a year to obtain, during which time of course I would be unable to use the money on it for medicines, dentistry etc. So she attempted to get me a temporary card. That of course would be too simple. Put bluntly, the people there simply had no idea about how a foreigner got a card in the first place and even less idea about how to issue one. A huge problem was the fact that since the original card was issued I have been issued a new passport - that completely short-circuited the system. I am still without a card and the only good news I had was that the card has not been used by anyone else and the money is still there. I can’t use it though.
Today my Prague No 1 arrived at long last. With a view to making bacon instead of ham for a change, I searched the internet for methods and came across a different site to the one I referred to when making ham. Now this stuff is expensive at 236y a pound (£24) and the original site stated 1/3 cup each time, so as you can imagine it didn’t last very long. This new site says two teaspoons! No prizes for guessing which recipe I will try for the bacon - if it works it will make it a whole lot cheaper.
Our weather here has gone mental yet again. We have had dismal wet and cold days and yet today we have sunshine and thirty degrees. Naturally, as I am going away at the weekend, heavy rain is forecast. I shall ignore the predictions and hope that they are wrong once again.
My “gorilla gait” with the crutches improves daily and the speed is up, thus reducing my concerns about being able to get to the train on Saturday fast enough in the time allotted between them opening the gates and it leaving. It would be nice to think by then I can throw away the supports but much as it would delight me I think my hopes are set too high.
Thursday 2nd April, 2015 1730
Yesterday I experimented with not using the crutches. Well I used them to get to class but then when I finished I simply carried them downstairs. Emboldened, I went to office number six for a beer and collared Ollivier on his way to the gym for his torture session. After cajoling him into having a beer and then a second, he decided that after all, perhaps he should give the gym a miss.
Having made a chilli on Tuesday and not eating any of it for various reasons (Joan came to help early as planned, Anna came early - not planned - Mulan never came home at all and Ollivier never went shopping for my baguette as promised) I had left enough for me to have last night but with a jacket potato. When Ollivier mentioned the new Korean restaurant that was opened a week ago nearby (and my having failed to locate it on Monday), my curiosity was piqued.
I donated the chilli to Ollivier and his wife and decided instead to try the Korean place. A rather odd set-up it has to be said, for I was the only customer, outnumbered six to one by staff and friends of the boss. No beer either but they did go and buy some for me elsewhere when I asked for it. They have pictures of the dishes, a limited selection admittedly but that’s often no bad thing, and I asked what was in each one. To give them credit they did warn me off one dish as it would be too spicy for me and eventually I plumped for a chicken dish with red sauce and what I assumed were rice cakes. For those unfamiliar, rice cakes look like chips but they are rubbery and naturally made from rice. I love them and they are very filling, They WERE chips! Oh yes, come to Papa!
Soggy from the sauce but what a nice meal, the portion size was too small for many but too much to me. They also do deep fried chicken and chips (not stupid spindly French fries) so I shall try that too another day. Definitely another eating haunt I shall use, just a pity about the lack of a fridge for beer. And get this, the “boss” is one of the school’s female students! Her folks are wealthy so set her up in business (glad they did) and as yet it would appear most of the trade is delivery on an e-bike to campus dorms but that is one restaurant I don’t want to see go down the pan in a hurry. Speaking of which, the last time I went to hospital I noticed activity in the empty ex-Japanese restaurant, must keep an eye on that as well.
Anyway this morning I decided to go to town shopping. Anna is looking after my place and the cats while I am away at Qing Ming so I needed pet meat and also a nice juicy, meaty bone to welcome Pepsi back, who I will be collecting on Tuesday. No point in getting her earlier for two days and putting her back, it would just be cruel.
I went minus crutches to the bike garage to get a new light switch as it was hit and miss whether the headlights worked, then to the chemist where I had to use my own money to get medicine (no bloody card) and then a Big Mac which I didn’t really want. Then RT Mart for meat and some small baguettes for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow while I squat in my classroom. God did I struggle. Ordinarily, what I bought would have only merited a basket but I simply had to take a trolley so I could lean on it to get around the store. I was so glad to eventually sit on the bike and ride home. Having said that, this being my first outside excursion since the accident, I felt afraid the entire time but thankfully made it unscathed.
I had an hour’s rest before class and stubbornly eschewed the crutches again. By the time I got to the fourth floor I felt sick and I can only hope a night’s sleep will repair the pain. As we are approaching a long weekend for the students I gave them a treat by offering them a film instead of a lesson. There were, unsurprisingly, no dissenters and so they were treated to Tarzan. Well half of it that is, because we had a violent thunderstorm and as so often annoyingly happens here, when it hit we lost power. End of film, so they will need the second half next time I see them.
I won’t be posting tomorrow and I have no idea if I will have the time or inclination to do so from Wuhu so for me I hope I have a good Qing Ming and for those who celebrate I hope you have a good Easter. I refuse to be syrupy and say happy holidays!
Yesterday Anna went to town armed with my passport to try and get me a replacement medical card. People sometimes wonder why I vent my frustration at things here which could be so simple yet are made so abjectly difficult.
Apparently the new all singing, all dancing “one card” could take up to a year to obtain, during which time of course I would be unable to use the money on it for medicines, dentistry etc. So she attempted to get me a temporary card. That of course would be too simple. Put bluntly, the people there simply had no idea about how a foreigner got a card in the first place and even less idea about how to issue one. A huge problem was the fact that since the original card was issued I have been issued a new passport - that completely short-circuited the system. I am still without a card and the only good news I had was that the card has not been used by anyone else and the money is still there. I can’t use it though.
Today my Prague No 1 arrived at long last. With a view to making bacon instead of ham for a change, I searched the internet for methods and came across a different site to the one I referred to when making ham. Now this stuff is expensive at 236y a pound (£24) and the original site stated 1/3 cup each time, so as you can imagine it didn’t last very long. This new site says two teaspoons! No prizes for guessing which recipe I will try for the bacon - if it works it will make it a whole lot cheaper.
Our weather here has gone mental yet again. We have had dismal wet and cold days and yet today we have sunshine and thirty degrees. Naturally, as I am going away at the weekend, heavy rain is forecast. I shall ignore the predictions and hope that they are wrong once again.
My “gorilla gait” with the crutches improves daily and the speed is up, thus reducing my concerns about being able to get to the train on Saturday fast enough in the time allotted between them opening the gates and it leaving. It would be nice to think by then I can throw away the supports but much as it would delight me I think my hopes are set too high.
Thursday 2nd April, 2015 1730
Yesterday I experimented with not using the crutches. Well I used them to get to class but then when I finished I simply carried them downstairs. Emboldened, I went to office number six for a beer and collared Ollivier on his way to the gym for his torture session. After cajoling him into having a beer and then a second, he decided that after all, perhaps he should give the gym a miss.
Having made a chilli on Tuesday and not eating any of it for various reasons (Joan came to help early as planned, Anna came early - not planned - Mulan never came home at all and Ollivier never went shopping for my baguette as promised) I had left enough for me to have last night but with a jacket potato. When Ollivier mentioned the new Korean restaurant that was opened a week ago nearby (and my having failed to locate it on Monday), my curiosity was piqued.
I donated the chilli to Ollivier and his wife and decided instead to try the Korean place. A rather odd set-up it has to be said, for I was the only customer, outnumbered six to one by staff and friends of the boss. No beer either but they did go and buy some for me elsewhere when I asked for it. They have pictures of the dishes, a limited selection admittedly but that’s often no bad thing, and I asked what was in each one. To give them credit they did warn me off one dish as it would be too spicy for me and eventually I plumped for a chicken dish with red sauce and what I assumed were rice cakes. For those unfamiliar, rice cakes look like chips but they are rubbery and naturally made from rice. I love them and they are very filling, They WERE chips! Oh yes, come to Papa!
Soggy from the sauce but what a nice meal, the portion size was too small for many but too much to me. They also do deep fried chicken and chips (not stupid spindly French fries) so I shall try that too another day. Definitely another eating haunt I shall use, just a pity about the lack of a fridge for beer. And get this, the “boss” is one of the school’s female students! Her folks are wealthy so set her up in business (glad they did) and as yet it would appear most of the trade is delivery on an e-bike to campus dorms but that is one restaurant I don’t want to see go down the pan in a hurry. Speaking of which, the last time I went to hospital I noticed activity in the empty ex-Japanese restaurant, must keep an eye on that as well.
Anyway this morning I decided to go to town shopping. Anna is looking after my place and the cats while I am away at Qing Ming so I needed pet meat and also a nice juicy, meaty bone to welcome Pepsi back, who I will be collecting on Tuesday. No point in getting her earlier for two days and putting her back, it would just be cruel.
I went minus crutches to the bike garage to get a new light switch as it was hit and miss whether the headlights worked, then to the chemist where I had to use my own money to get medicine (no bloody card) and then a Big Mac which I didn’t really want. Then RT Mart for meat and some small baguettes for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow while I squat in my classroom. God did I struggle. Ordinarily, what I bought would have only merited a basket but I simply had to take a trolley so I could lean on it to get around the store. I was so glad to eventually sit on the bike and ride home. Having said that, this being my first outside excursion since the accident, I felt afraid the entire time but thankfully made it unscathed.
I had an hour’s rest before class and stubbornly eschewed the crutches again. By the time I got to the fourth floor I felt sick and I can only hope a night’s sleep will repair the pain. As we are approaching a long weekend for the students I gave them a treat by offering them a film instead of a lesson. There were, unsurprisingly, no dissenters and so they were treated to Tarzan. Well half of it that is, because we had a violent thunderstorm and as so often annoyingly happens here, when it hit we lost power. End of film, so they will need the second half next time I see them.
I won’t be posting tomorrow and I have no idea if I will have the time or inclination to do so from Wuhu so for me I hope I have a good Qing Ming and for those who celebrate I hope you have a good Easter. I refuse to be syrupy and say happy holidays!