Wednesday 21^st August, 2019 2230

I was going to get my head shaved yesterday but summer ended rather abruptly and it rained all day. My indolence needs no encouragement to stay home and so it never happened. I was also going to go again today but even though it was dry I procrastinated yet again. I shall go tomorrow morning or lunchtime before I go to BHG. In order to get the wine girls I have learnt I need to be there early or after 1500, otherwise they are in the warehouse gossiping.

With nobody to cook for I have been in “can't be bothered” mode since Shanghai and so on Monday I made the effort to copy a translation of “sweet pork” for the restaurant around the corner – the one that served me prawns from Vesuvius. Now I am normally observant but clearly in familiar (or what I think are familiar) surroundings, patently I am not, for when I walked into the restaurant nothing was familiar.

What I had thought of as one eatery is in fact two. Having walked into the “wrong” one I wasn't about to walk out and decided to check it out. I will be using it again! Ok, big minus seems to be no smoking. Major pluses are a menu with photos and the fact they do sweet pork, sashimi and a prawn dish with dip but which has no price – that will be Alice's job to find out. And so it came to pass that I had a doggy bag of sweet pork to reheat last night for my dinner. The spare ribs/pork bits I ordered are frozen for Alice to take to her dorm, I tried one and hated it but I am sure her room mates will love them.

Alice is coming on Friday with my new work permit and hopefully a packet of mint seeds. The last lot we ordered never sprouted and I would like to at least try and get a few plants growing before winter sets in. Not much of a summer here in the north, three months if we are lucky.

So I have promised to make meat pizzas using the salami I bought in Shanghai and I will bake banana bread/cake for her to take to her dorm as well. She likes it, I don't.

I know a goodly percentage of my readers are OAPs, a group I hope to be lucky enough to number among in a few years' time. A vastly underrated body of people, only appreciated at election times for the silver vote. However, as I seem to have been on holiday forever (and rest assured when it ends in two and a half weeks it will have gone too quickly!) I have had oodles of time to ponder and muse and read.

I was reading an article on the BBC news website about how hard it is to retire. Yes, you read that correctly – how difficult it is to retire! Apparently some people are traumatised by suddenly having nothing to do all day!

I can't wait. Ok, I haven't worked “proper” hours for the last nine years and seem to be on holiday for five months a year and yes, I actually have no plans to retire as in tending a garden and sitting in an armchair awaiting the grim reaper. But having the choice as to working or not and not having to concern myself unduly about money? Well, that's to be looked forward to. It has occurred to me that IF the venture with Joan goes ahead and she cannot raise enough capital, then maybe I could continue working whilst drawing my pensions. I don't see that business as a get rich scheme, rather a ticket to remain in China and have more money to explore the world.

I suppose in a year or eighteen months it will become clearer and I will need to find out if Joan is going to put things in motion.