Saturday 14th November, 2015                      1845

No I haven’t been lazy, nor; if it makes any sense; have I been busy - I have simply had a lot on. Sounds Irish I know but I can’t really explain it any more succinctly than that.

Now I must try to remember all the thoughts that enter my head on my number 29 bus trips!

The CCTV footage. Huge obstacles were put in my way on this matter. Initially I was told the camera only covers the actual road, which was odd given that the mounting for said camera has a 360 degree screen obstructed only by the post it is attached to. Fine, said I, just give me it anyway, if I can spot someone going out of the field of view and returning very shortly afterwards then I will have a good idea. But it might not be a student from our department. I don’t care. You’re not a policeman. So what? You think nobody can investigate other than the police? Why don’t you park on the road so the camera can see? Because my charging extension is short, I need to park close to the building. You could buy a longer one. Why should I have to do that? This went on ad infinitum until in true Chinese fashion I was ground down to accepting there was never any intention of either giving me access to the footage or for that matter anyone else taking a look.

There has been no repetition as yet but if there is I will create merry hell and I WILL splash out on my own camera. I am loath to do so at the moment as I am marshalling all my funds for my winter trip and I have just had to pay a significant amount on another matter, more on that later. Suspicious mind that I have, I am now wondering if in fact it was a teacher and that is why they are reluctant to let me see. This is China after all.

Now to the recent sizeable expense. Bristle. Earlier in the week I asked Joan to call the vet and ask how much it would cost to spay her. 500 yuan plus the choice of anaesthetic - that ridiculous option whereby you can opt for the cheapest (Chinese) at 600y or imported for 800 or 1,000 yuan. Sorry Bristle but you are after all a stray feral kitten, cheapy Chinese it must be. So that made 1100y plus two or three days board while she recovered, so let us say about 1,200 yuan or nearly a week’s wages. I have no idea of prices in the UK now but that’s certainly more than I paid for my cats in England and 50% more than I was quoted for a dog for the same procedure. Joan of course never had the presence of mind to pretend the quote was for her.

Stunned and outraged, I tried to look online for alternative vets. It’s one thing to be ripped off, quite another to be savaged by a wallet wolf. Then I asked Dumpling to call them and say it was for her. How odd - suddenly the price was 500y all in plus 20y per diem for board (2-3 days). Dumpling, Bristle and I went to town yesterday. I stopped in McDonald’s  while Dumpling took a taxi to the vets and all being well we will repeat the exercise tomorrow to collect Bristle. And get this - Dumpling added the vet on WeChat (Chinese Facebook) and asked for a discount because she is a student. They gave her 10%!!!!! She had McD yesterday, tomorrow she will have a western type meal in one of the plush bars. She earnt it.

The weather now has truly cooled and there is occasional rain. Of course I am grateful that the winter in this neck of the woods is relatively short but hey! - I wouldn’t be able to see the ice festival without it! I paid for the return flights last night, 1020y for two which was a veritable bargain but now we return to Nanjing. Joan hasn’t been there as I mentioned, so we will have two nights there in order for her to be able to spend an entire day exploring. She showed more excitement over that than she did when I took her on her first flight. Pity Titanic II still hasn’t started construction. Still, at least we can go to the Taj Mahal for a great Indian meal.

Tomorrow at two the Lingdian society is holding an English speaking competition. I was asked to be, and agreed to be, a judge but today the call for help came. So far there were only two judges and 30 contestants. Richard wasn’t answering their texts. No idea if he is on campus or visiting his girlfriend but Andrei, Juliette and my co-teacher Anthony have stepped into the breach so now we are five. I do hope it finishes early due to the probable collection of Bristle afterwards.