Sunday 4th September, 2016                          1600

Roll on payday and the arrival of my gear. It will be nice to have a fridge with more than a couple of cans in and an empty freezer. Since arriving here I have laboured with a sore neck each day which I think is partly down to the rock hard mattress and the lack of a decent pillow, it can‘t still be the accident I had in the Chizhou hotel unless I broke my neck and never realised. I can’t even hang my clothes up because no hangers were left here. I mean, who takes wire coat hangers with them? I must have left fifty behind, I am beginning to wish I had put those in the boxes as well.

By what appears to be the standard here today has been warm at 24C (whilst Chizhou is ten degrees above that!) and this afternoon I took the last of my yuan to go and get essentials. A day’s supply of cigars (it pains me to be paying these prices), jing jo, bananas and the rudiments for bacon, eggs and fried bread for dinner. At the till I was sweating on coming in under 160y and it did by 3y - phew. The buses at the weekend are crammed and here nobody offers me a seat. Bastards. I have taken to waiting for a bendy double bus to come along and if it is full, letting everyone else go and then waiting for the next, which is often either sat up the backside of the bendy one or just a few seconds behind. That way I get a seat!

When I got back (complete with paper plates) I took a rest atop the walkover. The shopping was heavy and it was warm so I gathered my breath. I then suddenly realised I had forgotten to buy an essential part of my dinner - eggs! Oh God, whipped out the wallet to count the 1y notes which were all I had left. Seven yuan. At least I knew I could buy a mere two if I wanted, even if it would be embarrassing but at one of the stalls selling reasonably large, beautifully brown eggs I got half a dozen for 4y. Tomorrow I am in the poorhouse if the dollars don’t get changed so I have primed Janet, after all if she wants dinner invites my back needs scratching!

I am just finishing doing some laundry. I will not tolerate for long this trekking back and forth with buckets of water and constant bending down and I am certainly not hand washing clothes. I don’t mind doing a pair of socks if I really have to but that’s as far as it goes. Brenda has an email waiting for her first thing on Monday and while they are about it they can sort the kitchen sink tap. It’s so slow it doesn’t even activate the wall mounted heater. As for the kitchen sink, it dawned on me this morning that it will be a royal pain in the derriere. It’s a double bowl but both bowls are no larger than a foot square! Great for cutlery and glasses but my plates won’t fit, let alone my saucepans and frying pans. I’m sure I will cope but obviously it was installed with Chinese people in mind - they use small bowls mostly at home and if what I was told is true they never clean their woks, simply wipe them out and re-oil them to stop them going rusty.

So tomorrow I meet two of my classes, doubtless through rheumy eyes due to getting up before dawn. Then I shall find out what I am up against. I’m not expecting great fluency from them but am hoping that what I was told regarding them all being industrious and keen is in fact true.

Watch this space.