Wednesday 25th November, 2015                   0200

Yes, another late one but I did have a snooze and my class today isn’t until after lunch.

Mulan came to clean today and texted me to say how lucky it was I never set my home on fire. Difficult to do given it is almost entirely concrete but I did have a good crack at it. From her messages (complaining about the time it took to clean the kitchen - I never ask my cleaners to wash the dishes) I thought she had sorted my pan.

She hadn’t, the floor was clean though.

The pan is still not useable but it has been subjected to numerous boiling operations tonight to try and loosen some of the black cement which attached itself the other night. Had it not been so damned expensive I would have thrown it out and bought a new one but it is the best and dearest one I have bought. Tomorrow I must scour it.

Joan came for dinner tonight. I cheated and used the cottage pies I froze last week but we both enjoyed a doughnut afterwards. I have discovered Yumeic which is a bakery Kevin used to use. They have branches everywhere but he went for the coffee. Me? I chanced upon the one opposite RT Mart simply because it was pissing down with rain and I thought I could time my walk (no brolly) according to the countdown on the green man at the crossing.

Now, Chinese bakeries have always in my experience been all fur and no knickers. Great presentation but absolutely vile taste. They had croissants, big ones with a cream filling, so I bought some. They were nice! A few days ago I bought a doughnut for Joan and asked for a little bit to taste. Nice! They do plenty of things I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole (sweet buns with a sausage and creamy stuff for instance) but now I go in every time I shop and I spend 30-40y every time.

I am even thinking of trying their hot cross buns.

I have a problem in that Joan is also coming for dinner tonight and I don’t have much by way of actually producing one. Short of going to town again (today was about wine and more pork to replace what I ruined) the only thing I can think of is a tuna pasta bake. I have everything for that and she is not fond of hot spicy food so I reckon that’s what it will be.

Now my thoughts must turn to Friday’s English Corner and the game they want me to produce for the outside of the teaching block in temperatures only just above zero. Oh, and of course something for the Christmassy concert.

No wonder I can’t sleep, especially with the spectre of a 60th birthday and the added threat of not being required here any more because I am a fossil.

Yep, the aforementioned has caused my depression (doctor can I have some Diazepam??) coupled with having enough money for the spring festival trip. The money I will sort, my friend at the translation company has helped greatly although what she gives me now will come to me afterwards. She will get my chilli enchilada recipe as a reward.  

I will be fine. I may be many things but I am a survivor…..