Saturday 3rd December, 2016                     1400

I know I am a Grumpy Old Man and I complain a lot but in my experience people don’t complain enough except in America where they make it a national pastime.

Further to my complaint about the hotel on Tuesday night, last night I received an email from Hilton head office telling me they are crediting my loyalty card with 10,000 points due to my dissatisfaction.

Well certainly that is great (really I only wanted the 40y for not having breakfast) but they seem to have missed the point of what I was complaining about. Is it just me? Hilton is a famous and respected brand and people who stay there expect continuity of service whether they are in London, New York or Namibia. You just know that no matter what Godforsaken corner of the globe you are in, you are guaranteed consistent standards.

That did not happen here in Lanzhou. I now have to send another email to explain that simply by throwing loyalty points at me (enough for a free night in Hilton Hefei or similar,  so equivalent to what I paid on Tuesday) is all well and good but they should address the causes of the complaints. Ok the hotel is built now so the soundproofing problem is impossible to sort short of demolishing the hotel and rebuilding it again but they could ensure no more are erected without paying attention to this. The breakfast - which was my REAL beef - is an easy thing to sort. The Chinese also eat bacon. Maybe not our sausages but bacon and eggs with some decent white bread to toast would have done me the other day, plus perhaps some marmalade or jam. A simple solution. I fully understand the lack of cereals (Chinese don’t really eat them bar oats) however in a capital city with actually quite a few foreigners I found it mystifying. Remember I did say some weeks back that I would make a special trip to the hotel just for breakfast? Well not now!

Sunday 4th                      1245

Well it was a late one last night, after the biggest meal I think I have had in over a year. Roast dinner followed by the remains of my apple pie, boy was I bloated! It’s nice occasionally to actually feel properly full for a change.

Then it was time for the rugby. It was annoying it could really only be watched on Sky but I listened on the radio, happy that after what sounded like an initial rout ultimately saw England triumph. As an Englishman it is always nice when we beat Scotland and even better, Australia! This morning I did something I never do - I watched the highlights of a game I already knew the result of. Yes we were good, but not THAT good, Oz had some harsh decisions against them and I am certain one of our tries was not. But then the result is what counts. Bring on the 6 nations!

My bread making is still hit and miss so I have now relocated the machine to the office, a warmer environment as opposed to being in the living room. Perhaps the heat will assist the yeast. After yesterday’s Bacchanalian feast I really don’t want to go and buy loads of ingredients for something like a stew. In the UK I always had a stock of ready meals in my freezer for the occasions I just couldn’t be bothered but here, short of awful pizzas, there really isn’t anything available  unless you are a fan of dumplings.

After the rugby last night (ended here after midnight) I managed to find Sully online and so watched it. I had already seen a documentary on it and was interested. I won’t spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it in the cinema, suffice to say I enjoyed it and ended up going to bed at 0330! Luckily this morning I got up at 0930 so with luck I shall sleep tonight. Mondays are early starts and now my weekly shop day.

Lazy weekends are great for me but they are not particularly exciting times about which to blog!

I did have an email from Joan last night, she has been poorly with what sounds like a really bad cold and she wanted some advice. I am sure she thinks I am a pseudo-doctor (probably because I have an entire drawer full of different medicines!) and it is flattering. Her sore throat sounds nasty and I hope it will ease soon. Thankfully those things are now distant memories for me but I do recall some stinkers years ago.

For the past two mornings I have come to and found I have had a rather painful left wrist and hand. Naturally I put it down to having slept on it until I realised I had woken laying on my right side! It has taken a couple of hours for the pain to dissipate and of course now I am wondering if just possibly the metalwork in my shoulder and arm is now causing me problems. I really hope not, it’s been there for nearly six years and the last thing I want is to have to have it removed!