Saturday 10th September, 2016        Teachers Day                1230

Well I had a great start to Thursday. Dragging my aching old bones off my concrete slab, I blundered my way in the gloom to the bathroom, thinking it was a cold morning and I was going to suffer waiting for the bus. I knew it would warm up later in the day but with only short sleeved shirts to wear I was really willing my things to arrive soon from Chizhou.

My routine sees the shower as my last act in the bathroom of a morning but when I was brushing my teeth I couldn’t help but notice the water wasn’t getting warm. Neither did the shower when tried it. That was all I needed. I went to the kitchen to investigate. Nothing I did could make the boiler do its job, nor could I get the gas hobs to work. I assumed the gas had been turned off due to the roadworks.

In grumpy mode I left home in the cold to await the bus, which of course was late but the first time I am, you can bet your shirt it will have been on time and I missed it. En route I texted my gripe to Brenda for her to see when she went to work.

When I returned at lunchtime there was still no gas so I waited until 1500 before pestering again. Maybe you need to buy some more gas? You mean it runs out? Apparently so, nobody had advised this and I thought as it was mains rather than bottled it would simply be limitless, given that ultimately I don’t pay for it anyway. So too I believe the electricity also has to be topped up, presumably I reclaim from the school.

Anyway, my meter showed there was plenty of gas available, I just couldn’t get at it!

In came Harriett. I met her armed with my charge cards for utilities and she suggested perhaps the AA batteries in the meter were exhausted so I bought some and we went to my place to see. She was mystified (as I was) as to how I had gas but it didn’t work. After a while she got the hob to fire up but not the shower. Eventually she turned the shower gas supply valve on! There are two valves by the hob and in the early morning in my efforts to get a shower I must have turned one of them off, which despite my thinking it was for one of the burners, was in fact for the boiler on the other side of the kitchen. The problem for me was that there is no indication as to which position is on or which is off. Finally I had my shower and a lesson was learnt. Why couldn’t I have a shower in the morning? Because the gas was indeed turned off until 0700 but nobody had told me.

On Friday the bus was yet again late but on this occasion Stirling Moss actually managed to get us there ten minutes before class started. Much to Janet’s disappointment I said I had to go to my office first to get my things because for this class I had a ground floor room, seeing as there were sixty students and they wouldn’t fit in my normal room.

This class is the one full of aspiring students who want to go to Cyprus for their Masters. Some left in the break, never to return again that afternoon. These kids need intensive English classes to get them up to scratch for acceptance in Cyprus yet already some are displaying a cavalier attitude to their future prospects. Their choice.

Earlier in the day my suitcase and the two smallest boxes of my gear had arrived but the driver refused to bring them to my home so I had gone to the shop/depot, taken the case (it has wheels) and arranged to show the boss where I live on my return at six to bring the two boxes. Well that didn’t happen as he had to go somewhere but would be back between seven and nine, wait for Janet’s call. She called at 2130 to say he hadn’t contacted her, maybe tomorrow. I at least have my fleece.

Running out of ideas as to what to cook in the wok, I had taken the bus to Homwo earlier, a Spanish equivalent of Ikea. They have a café upstairs where I had an edible chicken curry washed down by a miniature bottle of red which to my horror cost twice as much as the food. Whilst I shall eat there again, I will take my own drink in future.

Last night I received an email from a woman whose position is EFL Co-ordinator at the European Cyprus university. She wants to help me by offering ideas as to what to do with Friday’s students. There may be some who would resent the implication that perhaps they weren’t up to the job but I am not one such. Frankly, I have no idea what to do with such a large class in such a short time, particularly as it is already manifest that some of them couldn’t give a stuff and of the remainder, but a handful have passable English. I also assume the school here put her up to it so it would be unwise to refuse offers of help on that basis alone. I have suggested a Skype call on Wednesday afternoon. I have time as I will see that class next Sunday as a make-up class after mid-autumn festival where we have Thursday and Friday off.

So having showered I will shortly go shopping. I await a call for my luggage and hopefully perhaps the remaining four big boxes will show up, that will prove to the shopkeeper that I really DO need someone with an e-pickup unless he is Hercules personified. I had rather hoped that by now I would have my oven and pots so I could buy the makings for a cottage pie (oh how simple things please when you are denied them!) but I won’t just yet. Also, the supermarket doesn’t seem to sell mince, just chopped pork which is odd. Good job I also forwarded the hand mincer which as yet remains virgin but not I fear for much longer.