Tuesday 30^th January, 2018 2045

Stephanie was coming to dinner tonight. I was going to make lemon baked salmon and try to produce a yoghurt and cucumber sauce. Instead I dined alone on a cheese and tomato baguette.

I am not annoyed. I am though experiencing a little guilty schadenfreude.

Stephanie has had a taste of my world, the travelling one where everything always goes wrong.

She was in Chongqing and texted me to tell me she was on her way to the train station and did I want her to bring my little suitcase back tonight. Good job I wasn't expecting it, having bought my new one.

An hour later another text arrived. She had missed her (expletive) train. The taxi had dropped her at the wrong entrance, she didn't know where to go, nobody would help her and bystanders were filming and taking pictures of her crying. For some reason they wouldn't sell her a ticket for the last train either, something about the fact she already had a ticket for a departed train. I can't imagine being fobbed off with that tosh personally.

I have no idea whether she slept in an hotel last night or in the waiting room of the other Chongqing station she went to in order to get a morning train. She should be disembarking in about ten minutes.

So I had a lazy day and eventually decided that I really did need to shop if I was going to get a haircut before Xian. I got a male and female work experience/school holiday fill-in couple on the wine section. Terrible English and they were trying to give me six bottles in individual bags. They were at a loss when I pointed out they should go and get a box from the warehouse out the back so they called their supervisor. She knows me but never fails to get me two boxes even when I ask for just one! No matter, I will drink it all anyway if I stay alive.

For most of this afternoon I sat in my office, door closed and fan heater going and I thought it must be exceptionally cold outside because my office was none too cosy. The radiators were barely warm. Maintenance maybe but they are back on now.

So tomorrow I shall get shorn and depending on how brutal my head feels, buy a Homburg or something and maybe some speakers. I will have another clean up in the flat, clear the decks of laundry and then sit wondering if I am going to Xian to be alone on Thursday or not but go I will. I do however hope to have company otherwise it will simply be two days in the hotel – I have seen what Xian has to offer twice in a year already.