Tuesday 28^th April, 2020 1445

I think the last time I had this many changes of orders was in 1979 aboard the Cape Grenville. She blew a turbocharger on one of the main engines shortly after leaving Marseille en route to Trinidad & Tobago. Faced with a transatlantic voyage on one engine the powers that be decided to fix it immediately. No spares were carried.

We spent the next couple of days chasing all over the eastern Atlantic for ports with airports big enough to handle a plane large enough to bring a new one from the manufacturers. And I spent them being constantly called to the bridge to re-plot a new course and ETA. Eventually we ended up in Las Palmas. This was before AIS, God knows what onlookers would have thought we were up to! I never did get to T&T – one for the bucket list!

I refer of course to the start date on campus. My fifth update was that we would begin on the 11^th May. That was a few days ago. Today my sixth update is that it will now be 18^th May! I don't know why they just can't be done with it and say come back in September! Ah well, the wages are still going into the bank so what the hell.

Jody has had one day off in three weeks, going to campus daily to attend to office nonsense and I think she's getting pig-sick of it. Yesterday she asked me if I was working every day this week. I thought the question slightly odd, she knows I have also worked every day but on my own terms and less hours. If I take a day off it just means I need to work longer the next couple of days.

She wants to go out on Thursday. Nowhere special, she wants to go and have coffee at Starbucks! She loves her coffee (and my Twinings tea) and she discovered that now it's warm, there are tables outside so I can smoke. I've been in Starbucks once in my life, I'm not sure they sell beer but it's near Burger King so I am in! We have an alleged five day holiday starting Friday so any backlog I can clear over the weekend.

I think there may be an avalanche of work anyway. I appear to have got to the bottom of the “grey lines” and lack of justification in the student essays. It would appear it's what happens when they do the work on their smartphones and send it to me. I end up with an extremely annoying pile of dung and eventually, after warnings and it not stopping, I refused to countenance marking them and gave them zero. Realising they probably never knew why it was happening either, I have relented and told them to redo the work properly and send it to me again. I try to be fair.

And yes, it's a lovely day outside even though this morning I ran my heater. I had intended to go to BHG but I am getting lazier as I age (maybe tomorrow), so went to the local place in shirtsleeves. I'm doing a salad tonight. I've bought a whole cooked chicken for the exorbitant sum of 48¥ (I had to inspect the head to see if it was in fact chicken – they couldn't understand “gee” - Chinese for chicken – or my clucking and quacking sounds) and as for trying to find out if it was barbecue flavour, forget it! Jody won't care what flavour, she'll probably just have the salad without any meat, cheese or boiled egg. Exciting.

I see today that Argentina has now prohibited all commercial flights until 1^st September and everyone is up in arms. I can understand the airlines of course but the thing is, ultimately everywhere else may end up doing likewise. I think “normal” will be a long time in returning.

Will anyone ever buy a season ticket again for trains or football clubs?