Friday 13^th March, 2020 2150

Friday the 13^th eh?

Well the hotpot was a success. Not with me, the things on offer in the supermarket were not to my liking but someone else had it that night, last night and just declared she will have it again tomorrow! She was even bragging online yesterday to her friend that she has a British friend who can cook hotpot. I am being given credit for something that is not particularly hard to make – a bit or pork or chicken, chilli, garlic, onion etc for the soup and off you go, make it up as you go along! She thinks I am inventive....

Yesterday we did a big shop (well big in the sense of two cases of wine) at BHG and because I had Delhi belly, she had her hotpot and I had two fried egg sandwiches. Eggs always bind you up, yes? Well not this morning they didn't! The problem abated thankfully by noon.

Today she went to campus again to clear out the room where the magazines and newspapers are delivered as by all accounts it was chock-a-block. Don't cook she said, do you want me to bring you a McDonald's? Who wants a cold Big Mac? I asked for pork baozi thinking that not only are they cheap at 1½¥ each but also easy to find. Not so. She ended up bringing me prawn jaozi instead. Fifteen of them. I ate six so guess what's going in the steamer tomorrow for my dinner?

I started marking at 0900 today and finished half an hour ago. I managed to get three classes done. That leaves two for the week I think, which I will do tomorrow, giving me Sunday free. We will venture out for dinner somewhere where we can sit inside. At least, that's the plan.

I have been watching the situation in Italy with interest. With China having now gotten the virus under serious control and having lived with what they now have in Italy since 24^th January, it is easy for me to feel complacent but the death rate there is horrific compared to here.

And I know the British have a history of calm reserve but I can't help but wonder if Boris is being a bit too Keep Calm and Carry On about this. Once it takes hold, it goes for its life, as China found out.

Oh! I have some new classes this term, sophomores as well as my freshmen. Naturally they are flogging the only horse still here by giving me extra. Anyway, earlier the monitor of one of the new classes (Coco) emailed me to say that I didn't know her but we had met before. She and her boyfriend encountered me in the road that is now demolished and they gave way to me. Apparently I politely thanked them. I have no recollection, I meet hundreds of people every day in normal times. She said she always checked the time in my country when sending me the class homework emails in case she disturbed my sleep!

This is from a generation that have internet on their phones and sleep with them turned on by their heads when they are in bed. I have no internet on my phone and when I am in bed the phone is firmly switched off anyway. I never told her that, just that my country was China, I never left Lanzhou and emails will never wake me up. Isn't it odd, the things the young generation think will be a problem but will never be? At least not for me!