Wednesday 3rd February, 2016                 1115

Whilst arriving at the supermarket early is definitely the right thing to do at present, it certainly knocked the hell out of me!

Try as I might I couldn’t get to sleep until 0130 and I had set my alarm for 0630. Five hours should be enough, thought I, I used to survive on less all the time at sea. It was not enough by a wide margin and I found myself ignoring the phone alarm (it stops after a while even if you don’t hit “snooze”) and finally tottered to the bathroom twenty minutes later. I really wanted to just go back to bed, it wasn’t even properly light yet.

Showered and dressed, I just missed a bus (again) when I arrived and I certainly don’t run any more, so it was a case of waiting for the next one. Seeing as it was already past eight I wasn’t going to get to the shop for opening time but I hoped my plan would still be successful.

I did in fact get there at 0840 and from the bus window I could see the e-bike population in the car park was sparse, a good sign. Indeed, there were few shoppers inside and so there was no repeat of the previous two days. Great stuff, they had put more of my wine on the shelf and even better, they had capsicums - admittedly expensive but perfect for Bolognese, which will now be tonight’s dinner. The Great Cheddar Drought continues though. Fool that I am, I also bought the cheapest bits of pork, fat and skin on offer for Mum & co. I thought it was inordinately cheap at 5y a kilo until the woman serving spotted an error and slid the price tags over a bit to triple my price! The cheap one referred to just skin and fat, something I may well buy at some point if I want to make crackling but hardly healthy to give dogs.

I even managed to take the one bus on the return, buy some pijou from the traffic light supermarket and still be home just after ten. The drawback is that now I am dead on my feet so very shortly I shall be taking to my bed for another couple of hours - if the damned cats shut up.

Thursday 4th                      1900

That’s the problem of living in an almost deserted university (although I have heard mice scurrying overhead so I think the France/Romania Pact have returned from whence they have been!), having sod all to do and taking a three hour nap. At two this morning I was still wide awake so the early town trip was looking highly doubtful.

By 0500 when I finally did clamber into bedding which now needs to be changed (just normal use you understand!) it had disappeared out of the window completely. In fact the new plan was…………..nothing.

I got out of bed at midday. I have enough of everything to last well into next week but just sitting in a flat the entire day, even for a lazy git like me, is hardly enjoyable. Certainly I could walk around the campus but just lately the foot I broke a year ago has started to give me gyp without warning, the last time being Tuesday when I was halfway around the supermarket. It comes and goes at will with not so much as a by your leave so the thought of it coming on at south gate and having to limp back doesn’t appeal much.

And so it came to pass that, having showered and sat contemplating what to do, I decided I would indeed go to town. I had nothing to rush back for so I prepared to face the rigours of a shop at some point, although seeing as I needed little bar a couple of spuds, an onion and a couple of frozen meals, I would only need a basket and so wouldn’t be hindered quite as much as with a trolley (cart to Americans and Chinese English majors who have picked up bad speaking habits).

On the way in I decided I would eat in town. I am trying to be a trifle frugal in order to save money each month from now, so I went to Ke Bi Wang, somewhere I stopped going when McDonald’s opened. The food is still pretty awful (and exactly the same dishes) but it is cheap and Jin Jun still works there, looking as lovely as ever but suffering with a sore throat. She has worked there six days a week ever since I have been here and I honestly don’t know how she stands it, it’s not as if they have job rotation in effect.

Afterwards I went to Yumeic bakery and bought a doughnut and a couple of sweet treats. I can never reconcile seeing sweet buns and bread with meat/sausage fillings though, such things though comprise about half their offerings. Clearly they are popular but the combinations make me feel slightly nauseous just to look at.

Now the supermarket was busy but not overly so, which surprised me, and I got my things in short order. I didn’t even have to queue long at the checkout. Then it was decision time re the bus. Whilst eating I had observed them passing both ways and regardless of whether they were headed north or south, some were full and others only half so. I took a gamble on not taking the extra bus. It must have been my lucky day because when I got to the stop I only had time for three puffs before my carriage arrived and there were seats for all. Why can’t it be like that all the time?

I shall probably go again tomorrow because I forgot to buy meat for Mum. I had two (I think) pork knuckles to give her from the other day and although I am sure I have a few chicken breasts lurking at the bottom of the freezer I may just need them myself. And they are expensive in comparison to bits of skin and bone. She likes them though.

Riding back home this evening I counted eight apartments with lights on so I guess perhaps there are still ten dwellings occupied. I wonder what the count will be on Sunday evening?

I could if I wanted hop on a train somewhere to be in the midst of the new year celebrations -  the temperatures are not so bad so it is feasible to ride the bike to the station - and stay a night in an hotel but that saving thing keeps rearing its ugly head. If they actually had spring festival in spring instead of the freezing winter then I could pop to town on my bike, enjoy the midnight celebrations and ride back!