Wednesday 29th March, 2017         1830

Everyone should start doing this. Very occasionally I respond to one of those Nigerian email scams where I will end up £20 million better off. Sometimes it is an injunction to learn English first, others are met with nautical language and occasionally I play with them.

I chose earlier to try to play with one who was allegedly an envoy of the Director of the FBI (Robert Comey I think) and they were desperate to unite me with my $12.8M ATM card but first I had to provide certain information. There cannot be a soul reading this who hasn’t had something similar. I sent back a query as to why they required my occupation and telephone number in order to issue a bank card. The bit about how I am the beneficiary will come much further down the line if indeed it goes further.

I have thus far received three responses once again requesting the information they need to empty my bank account - sorry, unite me with my fortune - and on each occasion I have pointed out they have not answered my question. I have a feeling I will not hear from them again but I hope I do just for the craic.

Why should everyone do this? Obvious. Tie them up with possible bites and just maybe if a billion people flood them with hopeful leads for a mark, they will get as tired of doing it as we are of receiving their crap in our spam folders. In fact, I am going to do it more often from now on.

This evening it was confirmed the Shenyang Sect will indeed comprise four people (bastards, now I will have to at least make some effort to clean the floors unless I can bribe a student, just in case they want to see my place) so at least the run from the airport is resolved. With four people it will be cheaper taking a cab than the train and being the fattest I will get to sit in the front.

I have been helping Georgina more and more of late with the website for her innovative new recruitment company which took her on. I expect nothing for my assistance, my students have helped me enough over the years and it is nice to repay sometimes. Now this firm allegedly wants to stand head and shoulders above the crowd and they offer a guarantee that they will help with opening a bank account, whichever school they put them in touch with will not only exist but be certified to hire foreign teachers and if the school goes out of business they will pay any unpaid wages.

Sounds great and would indeed be a first in China.

Today though we had a lengthy discussion about the difference between country and nationality. It was time consuming explaining that country and nationality can be quite different. I am British but live in China. Cliff Richard was born in India but is British etc. So I said that for form-filling they should use the country (UK, USA, Aus, NZ etc) but in the teacher profiles they should use the nationality ie Joe Nationality English rather than UK or Sarah Nationality  American instead of USA. I am not Nationality UK, I am English first and British second.

She took this to the bosses and what did these people who want to be a breath of fresh air and so innovative say? No, all the other Chinese sites do it this way so we will too!!!!!

So hang on a minute. They want to stand out from the rest but they still want to do it wrong like all the other sheep who simply copy others? Give me strength. I suggested she should perhaps start seeking a job elsewhere at a company that actually walks the walk instead of talking the talk and is hell bent on being a homogenous run of the mill outfit simply following in footsteps.

Then she told me that two days ago she had received a message from someone at Tesla in Beijing asking if she was interested! What??? One of the most innovative (albeit not yet as successful as Apple and Microsoft) companies going and she was ignoring it? A firm that has boundless opportunities for career enhancement and training even if she would probably start on the phones. She wouldn’t be doing five hours of overtime a day for no pay, that’s for sure.

Answers on a postcard please as to what advice I have offered.