Tuesday 8^th January, 2019 0100

Ok, last one was rather morose but then this blog has always been (mostly) warts and all and like everyone else, I have things that upset me greatly. The difference between me and some of my readers is that at my age a) it shouldn't last long and b) usually it doesn't!

I watched a film today called “What We Did On Holiday” starring my hero Billy Connolly. He is my hero for many things besides his legendary comedy and in this film he explains to a young granddaughter that everyone in their own way is ridiculous and that you only have one life so it doesn't matter. So true and if you can get it, it is on BBC iPlayer currently, wonderfully comic yet tragic film which I shall watch again with Alice. Oddly, I wasn't going to download it but am so glad I did.

Speaking of Alice, she sent me a text late Sunday night but I had already gone to bed. My spring festival holiday mode seems to have deserted me, time was I would be up until three or four in the morning and wake at midday. Currently I go to bed at ten and toss and turn from five. Great if you are a farmer I suppose.

Anyway, with my habit of turning the phone off at bedtime, I never saw it until yesterday morning. “I soooo want to eat your food today!!!” it said.

Actually at first I was a touch annoyed at not getting at least a day's notice until I realised she had in fact done so, albeit after my bedtime. I was also peeved because I hadn't intended cooking or shopping yesterday because I had arranged for men with a stepladder to come and change a lightbulb in my office.

Now the bulb (actually a fluorescent tube) I could do myself and have done but it involves moving the desk and my standing on it. My balance hasn't been good for years (I think I was about fifty when I could last wash my feet in the shower without leaning against the wall for support!) and after my last fall in the shower, and the pain it caused; not to mention the fact I thought I had done for myself; I am afrit to attempt it myself any more.

So I waited all morning for the guys that always wake me up. Only they didn't. I didn't dare shower in case they came and so I waited until noon when I knew I had a two and a half hour lunch window. Showered and then went shopping. It was not long after I came back they came. Easy five minute job with a stepladder and my having bought my own spares and thankfully they knocked just before I turned on the hot water to do the washing up.

I am not and have never been someone who washes dishes straight after dinner. What on earth? You've had your meal and some wine or whatever and you want to spoil it with work? No, for me the day afer or even two days after is soon enough. It's not laziness, I always do it, just not when perhaps most people expect me too. It gets done.

So anyway, when it came to Alice, I toyed with fritatta, easy meal to make and she loves the cheese and Linghams sauce on top. I am not so keen though. In the end I made a prawn and mushroom curry, rice and parathas. “Mmmmm!!” was the first comment. “Your food is so GREAT!” was the second and the third was “School food is so terrible!”

I have to be doing something right when Chinese people want to eat my cooking, surely? Actually the curry was for me, snot-inducing because when I gave her an initial taste when it was still cooking she said it wasn't very spicy so I had to beef it up. I don't know about you but spicy food always clears my sinuses (and sometimes my tear ducts).

I have now told her that if she wants I will cook for her every night, I just need to know, failing that to let me know at a sensible time the day before. I swear she thinks I have Steve Food on tap just because once she asked for hamburgers and I happened to have frozen some patties!

But yes, it cheered me up, both a trip to the shop and pleasing someone's stomach. And on the 17^th she will stay her until our Chengdu, Sichuan province trip so doubtless I will enlist her help in the galley.

Oh, remember I expressed worries that the jing jo shop was closing? They swore blind they weren't (well inasmuch as you can when nobody understands the other!) and I did wonder why it was only cigarettes they had none of. Today I arrived in the middle of a huge delivery of possibly 20,000 coffin nails. I can only assume they are very loyal to their supplier to have resorted to selling everything and buying a carton at a time to sell and waiting – or they get a great deal.

As for the problem, it is diminishing with time and one way or the other it will be resolved. Hahah! Thirty years ago I would have said I would win because that would have been important. The thing is, there is a more than thirty year age difference in this case so just maybe I need to be the bigger man. I have done nothing wrong and could be righteous. But I was young once.

We were all stupid then. Or we didn't admit it.

If I don't fix it Chengdu will be awkward and I somehow don't think the other party knows how. Pride-swallowing time for me I think.