Thursday 30^th November, 2017 2340

Yet again I found it difficult to get to sleep Tuesday night and of course it was agony when the alarm went. Everyone knows that awful feeling when you are dog-tired and have 10 or more hours of work stretching ahead of you. Not so bad if you simply have to go through the motions but as a teacher you have to pretend to be alert and act happy! Easier said than done.

Nature can be cruel though – you struggle all day and then when work is done, you wake up!

Having taken the best part of a baguette filled with tuna and mayonnaise to the classroom for lunch I wasn't particularly hungry when dinner time came around, so, flushed with the success of my pancakes, that's what I made for my dinner!

Today I lost track of time. Annie sent a text about noon to inform me that all she had been able to think about during her classes was macaroni au gratin. Well, being American she calls it Mac and Cheese.

I had no macaroni but I did have two part-packets of penne, daddy and child sizes and I gauged there was just enough to rustle up enough for the three of us. Dariush never came so it was ample but had he been coming I would have made chips as well.

However, yet again my internet went down. Annoying at the best of times, (in Chizhou we foreigners would text each other to see if it was everyone or just ourselves) I tried to connect to the flat upstairs. Lo and behold it worked. Re-booted my router and still nothing. It's the bloody foreigner thing again!

Annie had complained a couple of days ago that she was offline and I rather smugly informed her mine was fine. And so it was until about 1400.

Anyway, I carried on using upstairs' web connection and sent Brenda an email asking for ideas. Blow me if fifteen minutes later Annie never called to say the IT guy was at hers and Brenda had told him to come to me after! God! It was 1610, dinner needed to be made by 1800 and so far all I had done was four sinks of washing up – we had used every plate and half my pots and pans on Tuesday!

A dash out to buy liquids and a slightly embarrassing visit to the veg stall to buy a solitary tomato and a Steve Budd sprint home (for that, read “slightly brisk walk”) and a couple of minutes later I had Mr Wang the IT chap plus Annie and Stephanie in my home.

I am probably the slowest cook I know. By then it was 1640 and anyone who ever made it knows it takes a lot of preparation. I always chop and fry bacon, onions and if I remember it, garlic (I forgot) plus English mustard which failed to arrive. The girls were going to go to English corner at 1900 to make matters worse.

They remarked as to how grumpy I was. Well, I cannot do two things at once and whilst I was flustered endeavouring to cobble a meal together they kept asking stupid questions such as my passport number, password etc and in American accents, speaking hideously rapidly while I had hissing gas, sizzling bacon, boiling water etc ringing in my ears in the kitchen. And trying to grate cheese.

Yes, my internet is fixed and I could finally start to relax at 1730 when with a sigh I shoved the dish in the oven to cook and proceeded to wash everything I had used. Ok, it wasn't ready until 1810 but that was the fastest I have ever cooked it. I thought it was so-so, the large penne sat atop the sauce where macaroni would have nestled down. A little too crunchy for my liking but Jesus, the two girls were in raptures! They could certainly give Chinese students a run for their money in an eating contest.

Tomorrow I will have something simple for myself, maybe even just cheese and biscuits. That way there will be little to wash up because we leave here by 0945 Saturday for Xining.

The girls are intent on visiting the Dongguan Grand Mosque and insistent that I should accompany them. Unfortunately I may have to because it appears it is a mere mile and a half from the train station. If they want to pay 80y entrance fee and engage a guide they can go in but I will remain outside with my jing jo. Oh the delights of youth! They don't appreciate the only reason we are going is because my sightseeing plans involve merely the Brahmaputra restaurant! And the hotel bar of course, and with luck a western breakfast on Sunday. As far a I am concerned as long as they are on time for dinner they can explore to their hearts' content in between. Just leave me out of it.

It's strange that young people can't grasp that when you approach retirement, rather than wanting to gallivant all over the place and party all night, often your idea of a perfect evening is a good meal followed by a nice comfortable hotel room and a few glasses of wine. And checking the latest news....

Oh to be young again!