Sunday 1st November, 2015                      1430

On my return on Friday I parked up and put the bike on charge. They always say don’t go too far the first time on new batteries and with no inclination to do anything such as go to the business street I thought it would benefit from a complete charge overnight.

I also had no intention of going to town over the weekend, given the bus crowding but when I asked Joan if my Whiskas would arrive by Saturday night she said it wouldn’t. Faced with having no food for the cats by last night I had no option but to take a trip - once they get hungry they make a lot of noise and cause havoc and I don’t need that.

So at about 1400 I went downstairs, unplugged the bike, backpedalled and went to move off. Nothing. Impossible, I had ridden it home on Friday but although everything worked (lights, dash, indicators) the back wheel didn’t. Some time ago Anna had borrowed it and complained of the same thing but after a while it came back to life. It didn’t for me. I pushed it back into my space and took a closer look. The cable to the rear wheel motor was broken. I took a look at it and the “break” was clean and the copper inside was shiny. To me it told that this wasn’t a gradual wear and tear thing.

Desperate for cat food I was forced to walk in the rain to the south gate which took about twenty minutes. Because of the inclement weather luckily there were few students venturing out so we all got a seat on the bus and I did my shopping. There was no way I was lugging a bag full of food, wine and other things all the way back uphill when I got back so I had to fork out for a taxi. All the while of course I was fuming.

I considered the matter. When we first moved in here we were told our section was only for foreign teachers and indeed we could choose whichever flat we wanted. In order to be able to charge up at will, Kevin drilled through the window frames so I could run two proper extensions outside. This means that to reach, I need the nearest spot to the building. Not a problem as Kevin and Ollivier both had cars and the latter a pushbike as well and the Korean teacher, Park, had nothing although she would have been welcome to share my socket. Since then of course the school has populated the section with Chinese teachers, many of whom also have e-bikes. They all have long cables instead of extension leads so they can charge at a distance but there have been occasions where I have had to drag a bike out in order to get mine in to top up. Could a teacher have done this? Unlikely.

Then there was the matter of an anonymous text I received last term instructing me to stay away from my girl students. Naturally my reply for the person to identify themselves was completely ignored and no more arrived. Presumably whoever it was thought I was impregnating my classes systematically. Chance would be a fine thing. I forgot all about it after a while although either Anna or Joan called the number out of concern, only to be told the likely tale that the boy owner of the phone had lent it to someone else to send a message but of course didn’t know their name.

A couple of weeks ago I received another text telling me not to be so arrogant. Indeed maybe I am guilty of being such on occasion but I don’t recall having done so where students are concerned, normally that is reserved for my foreign colleagues on Western Wednesdays! I responded to the effect that perhaps the sender should grow up, be a man and identify themselves. Again it was ignored. I retained the message for a while but my cheap phone’s memory fills up swiftly and I have to delete everything so I have lost the number. Oh how I wish I had written it down now.

Last night Joan came and called the bike shop for them to send someone out to fix it. They sent someone on a bike and he didn’t have the tools so a pick-up had to come and take it to their shop. It is due back at four. I told Joan not to say anything of my suspicions, only to tell them there was a loose wire. On the phone this morning after he had seen it, he confirmed to Joan it had been cut.

My assistant will return to campus later and has said he will ask the guards if the CCTV which should surveille 24 hours a day was in fact working at the time. I don’t hold out much hope even if it was. My main concern now is whether he will strike again after I have paid for all this. Sure I can park it up elsewhere sometimes but I am rather tethered when I need to charge up and I can’t sit outside watching for 6 or 7 hours.

I am convinced the texts and the cut are connected. Whoever it is, is yellow (no racist connotation intended) and cheap. I know this sort of thing happens elsewhere but I didn’t expect to be on the receiving end in what is effectively my workplace.